END OF PART 5
As there was nothing more I could do then and I was hungry, I told Adam I was going out for some lunch. He gave me directions to his house so I could join his family for dinner at 5:30 and told me to go home and get some rest after lunch. I hated to leave Vince's side, but I knew I needed the rest. The evening ahead would be awkward at best, now that the cat was out of the bag about his dad and me.
PART 6
After some fast food for lunch, I stopped by a grocery store to pick up a few things for Vince's kitchen. I didn't know just how long I'd be there or when I'd be able to fix meals, but I wanted a few things in the freezer to heat up as necessary. I wasn't a great cook, and I was long since used to eating quick and easy things alone.
Alone. I hated that word. That wretched word almost defined my heretofore empty adult life. I'd never had a partner for any length of time. After my brother and then my parents died, I had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving or Christmas, except occasionally when a co-worker or friend would take pity on me and ask me to join their family get-togethers. I always felt like a fifth wheel at those times, even though it was better than spending the day alone watching TV.
Then two months ago I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. I reunited with Vince Paulson, and in the course of only a weekend together it became apparent that we both wanted to be together for the rest of our lives. It was like a miracle. A wonderful, exciting miracle.
For weeks I'd been looking forward to a long intimate weekend with him...and now this. This miserable aloneness was going to continue to stalk me like a crazed groupie until Vince had time to recover from his accident.
I went to bed to try to rest up for the dinner at Adam and Sarah's house, but sleep was elusive. As I wallowed in my self-pity, I thought of Trevor. By then he was probably out of surgery and sleeping off the anesthetic in the recovery room. I thought back to those haunting eyes of his when he was wheeled out of the hospital room he was sharing with Vince, and I started to cry. His aloneness at that critical time in his life must have pained him almost as deeply as his appendicitis.
I thought of him waking up and wanting to see his mother's loving face. Had she made it to Montgomery yet? I didn't know how long it would take to drive down here from Virginia, but it had to be 10 hours or so. I didn't know what time she had started out or whether she could make it all in one day by herself, but it was unlikely she would be there as soon as he woke up.
I wanted to race back to the hospital to check on Trevor, but I thought better of it. Adam might still be there, and he would probably think it strange. Adam and I already had enough to deal with, between his father's coming out and then his accident. How did life get so complicated so quickly?
After a fitful nap I took another shower and found something decent to put on. I would've taken a bottle of wine for Adam and Sarah, but I didn't know if they drank. I thought it best to take some flowers for Sarah and a toy item for each of the boys, which I picked up en route to their house.
I found it easily -- it was only six blocks from Vince's house -- and walked up to the door with more than a little apprehension. Adam met me at the door. I didn't have a free hand at that moment to shake his, but I delayed that until I could offer the flowers to a smiling Sarah, who greeted me warmly.
"Mr. Mitchell...Drew...it's so good to see you again. Please come in. Oh, thank you for the lovely bouquet. I'll go find a vase."
By that time I had a little boy clinging to each pant leg. "Mr. Drew!" they squealed. I was glad they remembered me, probably with a little pre-coaching from their parents. I gave them each a little stuffed teddy bear.
"What do you say, boys?" Adam said to them.
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, Tyler. You're welcome, Todd. It's nice to see you again."
Now that my hands were free, I offered my hand to Adam, who shook it -- rather perfunctorily, I thought. I asked him how his afternoon with his dad had been, and he said "Fine -- no change," but I could tell that there was something else on his mind.
"Please come in and sit down," Adam said, offering me a drink, which I gladly accepted.
While Sarah busied herself in the kitchen and the boys played with their new toys, I asked Adam if Trevor had returned to the room while he was there. My question made him wince.
"Yes, he was back around 2, I guess. Poor kid -- I felt sorry for him. He was looking all around for his mother, and all he saw was me. After a while, he started moaning in pain. The nurses came and finally were able to sedate him again. He was asleep by the time I left, but it was painful to watch. I can't tell you how much I hate hospitals."
I was saddened by Adam's remarks, but glad that he had shown some empathy for Trevor's situation. I decided to change the subject since talking about Trevor just made me feel bad for him. We talked about Adam's job, where he went to school, and about his mother.
Before long, Sarah invited us to the table for dinner. The boys had already been fed, but they were never far from the table, tugging on our clothing often for attention and wiggling around under the table.
Sarah finally was able to be a part of the conversation and asked me about my trip down and whether I was comfortable in "Papa Vince's" house. I assured her that everything was fine but that I was very sorry that her father-in-law was laid up in the hospital.
"It was good of you to come down early," Sarah assured me. "It's such a help to Adam to have someone to help him sit with his dad. How long can you stay in town?"
"I'll stay as long as I can. My job can wait for a while. I want to be here when Vince wakes up, and of course we all want that to happen as soon as possible."
"Yes, of course we do. It's so sad what happened to him."
"Was it a hit and run?" I asked.
"No, the other driver was injured, too, although apparently not as bad as Dad was," Adam said. The police came quickly and filed a report. The other guy was drunk and ran a red light, and Dad didn't have a chance to avoid the crash. I hope the guy loses his license for a long time."
Sarah's meal was delicious, and I raved about it. It was so good to have a home-cooked meal again. Predictably, the conversation lagged after a bit, and Adam excused himself to bathe the boys and get them ready for bed. I offered to help Sarah clear the table and wash the dishes, and she accepted.
"It was very thoughtful of you to invite me this evening, Sarah. It means a lot to me."
"Of course. It was time we all got to know each other better. From what Papa Vince told Adam recently, it looks like we'll be seeing you rather often, and I think that's wonderful."
I saw an opening, and I took it as I dried the dishes that Sarah washed.
"Sarah, Adam told me last night that he knows about my relationship with Vince. How is he taking it? It must have been a bit of a shock."
"I can't deny that, Drew. Adam has had a hard time with it, but I've been trying to help him see that his dad is suddenly so much happier than we've seen him since Adam's mother died five years ago. You're a good influence, and I think that Adam has started to realize it. At first he hesitated about calling you, but I urged him to follow his dad's wishes in that regard. It's only right that you're here, because we can tell how much you care about Papa Vince -- and how much he cares about you."
"Thanks. This whole situation is a whole lot better than it would have been without your support, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it."
"You're a good man, Drew. Anyone can see that. Adam grew up as an only child and lost his mother too soon, so he's very protective of his father. You'll have to give him some time, but I think he'll come around eventually."
The freshly scrubbed boys came back in their pajamas to kiss us all good night. I gave them each a hug and told them to be good. Then they bounded off to bed. The house grew quiet. Suddenly I felt awkward and knew I should be heading home. But we still had some practical matters to discuss.
"Tomorrow is Monday, Adam. Don't you have to work?"
"Yes, unfortunately I do. I've been off since Dad's accident last Thursday afternoon. I want to be with Dad, but there's not enough of me to go around. Do you mind sitting with him part of the day? I can stop by at lunch time and after work for an hour or so."
"That's fine. I'm glad to be with him, and I'll certainly call you on your cell phone if there's any change in his condition at all."
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
"Two other quick questions, Adam. First, I saw a young gardener working in your dad's back yard this morning. How often does he come, and should I be paying him until your dad gets back home?"
"Oh, I forgot all about Dad's help. Thanks for asking. The yard guy is Jimmy, and he works a couple of days a week for Dad. He's a horticulture student somewhere here in town and has been working for dad for almost a year now. I don't know what Dad pays him, but you can ask him. Can you take care of that for now? I'm sure Dad will reimburse you. I haven't even thought about things like that.
"His cleaning lady is Gerry, I believe. I've never met her, but she cleans house for Dad on Fridays. Do you want her to continue while you're living there?"
"Frankly I'd rather do the cleaning myself while I'm here. I'm good at it, and it'll give me something to do when I'm not at the hospital. I'd like to make myself useful."
"Well, you're doing a lot just to help me keep watch over Dad. Like I said, I'm glad you're here. I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up. It's just the other circumstances that I...well, we'll talk more about that some other time. I'll call the cleaning agency and have them send Gerry somewhere else until further notice. Thanks for asking."
"You bet. I'm going to go now and let you two get some rest. I'm sure you need it after all you've been through in the past few days."
"Well, I can't deny that I'm tired, but I'm glad you were able to join us this evening," Adam said, rising to his feet. "I know we have more to talk about, but, like I said, let's wait until things settle down a bit."
"Thank you both so much. I had a lovely evening, and I appreciate your hospitality."
I gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek, and she reciprocated with a warm hug. Adam shook my hand, and I took my leave. I felt good about how the evening had gone. I wanted to be part of this family. I just hoped the day would come when they'd all want to be part of me.
I was at the hospital by nine the next morning. Of course, I was anxious to see if there was any change in Vince, which there was not, but I had to admit to myself that I also wanted to see how Trevor was doing and whether his mother ever arrived. His plight had affected me more than I expected yesterday.
Trevor was asleep when I got to the room. He looked pale and small lying there. I took the quiet opportunity to whisper some sweet nothings in Vince's ear while I stroked his right arm -- one of the few body parts that wasn't bandaged up. From what little I could see, his color looked good, and he was breathing normally. His monitors seemed to indicate that his heart was beating like it was supposed to. I felt like my own breathing and heart rate had been anything but normal since the moment two and a half days ago when I first heard about Vince's accident.
I thought I heard a slight groan behind me, and I turned to see Trevor looking at me through half-open eyes.
"Mr. Mitchell!" he said, recognizing me from the day before.
I went over and stood next to his bed and touched his arm.
"It's Drew, Trevor. How are you doing? Did your surgery go well yesterday?"
There was no sparkle in his eyes today.
"I guess so, but it sure hurt. I thought it was going to be laparoscopic, but they had to open me up when I had a near rupture. I guess I made a lot of commotion after I got back to the room. I think your friend Adam was a little freaked out by it."
"Did your mother make it down here yet?"
Trevor looked away. It seemed like his pain wasn't entirely physical.
"The nurses told me that Mama's car went off the road. She apparently fell asleep at the wheel, but she's okay. She was lucky -- she just missed a tree and went into the ditch while she was rounding a curve at a slow speed."
"Oh, Trevor, I'm so sorry. When did you learn about that?"
"Some time last night, I guess. I can't keep track of time here. She never made it out of Virginia, but my aunt and uncle came and took her back home and called the hospital to let me know. She's too bruised up now to make the trip down here, and her car has to be repaired. That's the last thing she needed. She's always living on the edge."
"Well, I hope both of you recover quickly. Have you been out of bed since your surgery? I think they get you up pretty soon now, don't they?"
"Not yet. The nurses said they'd get me up this morning. I need to pee like a racehorse. Can you help me find the call button?"
I located it quickly and gave it a push, but no one came right away. The nurses must have been overloaded at that moment.
"Would you please help me? I really need to go bad. There's a pee bottle right over there."
I went to the door to see if anyone was coming to help the boy, but no one was in sight. I didn't think I should be doing anything like that, but he was desperate. I closed the curtain and uncovered Trevor by pulling his sheet down and his hospital gown up. Bandages covered his surgical incision. He had pajama bottoms on, so I pulled those down to his knees. I put the bottle between his legs and slipped his flaccid but ample uncut penis into it gingerly, and he quickly filled it up.
"Oh, my God, that felt good," Trevor sighed. "Thank you!"
"Here's some tissue," I said, removing the bottle. "You might want to clean up those last drops on your, uh..."
"My dick, you mean? You can say it -- it doesn't bother me. You saw it all yesterday. Looks pretty funny down there with no hair, doesn't it?"
"Mmm, I guess so, but I don't know what it looked like before."
"Like every other guy's, I suppose."
Discussing Trevor's genitals with him was feeling a little weird, so I quickly got him covered back up and returned to my chair between the two beds. Nurse Patty finally arrived five minutes later.
"You need some help, sweetie?"
"Not now. I needed to pee, but Mr. Mitchell helped me when no one came right away."
"I'm sorry. Everyone's been calling for us, and there aren't enough of us to go around sometimes. Are you ready to try to stand up now, Trevor? I can help you."
"Okay," Trevor said, dubiously, as Patty got him into a sitting position with his legs over the side of his bed. He was facing away from me. He was still tethered to an IV pole, so he held onto that as Patty carefully got him on his feet.
"You doing okay so far, sweetie?"
"Yeah. It hurts, but I'm okay. Feels almost good to stand up again."
I watched as the pair made their way to the door and out into the hallway. I was glad to see that the boy was walking. He was taller than I had thought -- but probably an inch or so shorter than six feet.
I turned my attention back to Vince and talked to him again as he lay there, still unresponsive. I was anxious for any sign of improvement, but I guess it was too soon. I'd never been in this situation before, so I had no idea what to expect.
A doctor appeared at my side, and I kind of jumped since I hadn't been aware of his presence.
"I'm Dr. Tompkins. Are you part of Mr. Paulson's family?"
"Well, I'm not a blood relative, but I'm a close friend, Drew Mitchell, and I'm helping Mr. Paulson's son keep an eye on him. How is he doing?"
"Well, I can't really tell you anything if you're not family, but let me take a look. Would you step outside for a moment?"
The doctor closed the curtain and made me wait by the door as he examined my soul mate. In the best of all worlds, I'd be there, too, but I understood their rules. Sort of.
After a couple of minutes, he opened the curtain and found me.
"When will Mr. Paulson's son be here again, Mr. Mitchell?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but he was going to try to swing by during his lunch hour and then again right after work around 5 or so. Is there any message I can give him? I'll be here most of the day."
"Well, I would need the younger Mr. Paulson's permission to share any information with you. I'll ask the nurse to give him a form to sign when he comes in next. All I can say is to be patient with your friend. These things take time."
"Thank you. Mr. Paulson means the world to me, and I'll be here until I'm sure he's going to be okay."
I thought the doctor looked at me kind of funny after that remark, but I wasn't going to worry about it. All that mattered was Vince's full recovery.
Trevor was back in his bed by then.
"How did it go, sport? Did you have a nice walk?"
"Yeah, it was okay, but I don't have much energy."
"That'll come. You're young and healthy, and you'll bounce back soon. Did they tell you how long you'd be in here?"
"Not very long. You know how it goes these days -- the insurance companies want you out yesterday."
"Yes, you're right about that."
I hesitated before asking the next question, but it was only natural to ask. I was afraid of the answer.
"So what are you going to do after you're released?"
He looked away.
"I really don't know. I had hoped to ride back to Virginia with Mama. I guess I'll have to take a bus up there, but I won't be able to make the trip for a few days, I suppose."
"Can you go back to your dorm room for a while?"
"I don't think so. I was supposed to be out of there by yesterday, but then this appendix thing happened on Saturday. I hope they didn't toss all my stuff into a dumpster."
"Does anyone from the college know you're in here?"
"My roommate might have told them. We were packing up our stuff on Saturday when I started feeling sick. I'm not sure what happened next. I guess someone called an ambulance, and the next thing I knew I was here."
I desperately wanted to help this young man, but I wasn't sure how I could.
"Mr. Mitchell, can I ask you to do me a really, really big favor?"
"Of course. What's that?"
"I hate to ask this of you, but I wonder if you would call the college for me and tell them what happened and ask them if I can still live there for a while until I can go back home. I sure would appreciate it."
"I'll do better than that -- I'll just go over there in person in a little while. What dorm do you live in?"
"Searcy Hall."
"Sure. I'll go over there and see what the score is."
"Mr. Mitchell, you're a god-send. I hardly know you, but I just don't know who else to turn to now that Mama isn't able to come down here."
"Remember you can call me Drew, Trevor. You seem like a nice young man, and I'm glad to help you out while Mr. Paulson is recovering."
"You must be really good friends with him, aren't you?"
"Yes, we've known each other almost our whole lives. We grew up on the same block here in Montgomery and were always best friends. We kind of lost track of each other after we got older, but we found each other again a couple of months ago."
Trevor looked into my eyes searchingly. I felt suddenly transparent to him. He knew the score, I was sure. But before he could ask me any more questions, Morgan appeared at the door -- the same orderly who had shaved Trevor yesterday morning.
"Time to get you all cleaned up, Mr. Butler," he said, drawing the curtain around his bed. "Let's get you undressed."
I waited to see if Adam would come before I went to lunch, and he did. I explained to him what the doctor had said about needing his permission to share any information with me. He agreed that would be a good idea since he wasn't able to be there himself very much on weekdays, and we got Patty to find the form that he needed to sign.
He sat with his dad for a while, and I left to get a bite to eat and to find my way over to the college. I was pretty sure I knew what I would find out, and I was right.
(To be continued)
If you didn't receive an e-mail notice from me about this chapter posting and would like to be notified each time I post a new chapter to this or any other story, please let me know and I'll gladly do that. All others on my mailing list will get announcements of only the first chapter of a new story. I don't want to burden you with more e-mails than you really want.
Please don't reproduce any part of this story without permission, but do write to me if you're so moved. I answer every e-mail, but I don't accept invitations to link to social networking sites. Please put "Vince" in the subject line so I know your message is not spam. Mention your location, if you don't mind. Thank you.
To see a clickable list of my other Nifty stories, please click on the "Authors" tab on the Nifty site. Then scroll down and click on "Damian" (but note that "Damian Chandler," just below my name, is a different author). I encourage you to make a donation to Nifty to support the work they do to make these stories available.
Damian nvtahoeus@yahoo.com