Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 00:10:02 -0700 From: Robert Just Robert Subject: Skateboard Boy Part three Disclaimer....this is a work of ficiton concerning the love of a man for a boy.If you are not of legal age, or this sort of story is offensive or illegal for you to read...leave now. Everyone else...enjoy. Skateboard Boy Part three As I mentioned earlier I had become friends with Cody's Mom,Susan. At first I was afraid she would think of me as a possible love interest, new dad for the kids, that sort of thing, but she always kept our relationship purely platonic, to my relief. I helped out with transportation and I was always available for babysitting at any time. I didn't know exactly what she did for a living, until she got sick. Christmas came and I worked extra hours at my job to make more money to give the boys a good Christmas. I invited them all over to my place, Cody having spent the previous night. I had a tree and presents for everyone and cooked a tradition Christmas dinner. The boys ate like little pigs, but I noticed Susan seemed to just pick at her food. As I observed her that day, I noticed she had lost weight as of late and looked pale. I asked her about it and she said it was just a flu bug or something and I dismissed it. The boys had a great time, and were very apperciative of my gifts. It filled my heart with joy, the first joy I had felt at Christmas in a very long time. The evening wore down and the boys began to tire, even Cody looked like he was ready to sack. Susan fell asleep on the couch and the boys piled down in the floor and napped. Cody and I snuggled on the love seat beneath a blanket, trying our best to be discreet. It was a great Christmas day for us all, one I would always remember. It was filled with great joy, but later much sadness. Susan woke up after sometime and looked thoughtfully at Cody and I on the couch. Not once in the whole time I had known her had she ever acted as if anything was wrong with my relationship with her son and even now, she seemed to approve in a nonchalant way. I could see the serenity in her face and the faces of her boys and I felt good to know that I had helped them to achieve it. But there was something else in her face, something I had seen before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It would become all too clear in the hours that followed. I took the Susan and the two younger boys home around 10 o'clock but Cody insisted on spending the night again, and Susan had no problem with it. Cody's brothers were too tired to protest and so Cody and I drove back to my apartment, tired but happy. We had not been in bed more than a half hour (just sleeping, as both of us were very tired) when the phone rang. It was Mikie, and he was in tears. "Moma's sick, come quick uncle Robert.....pleaseee." He chocked out between sobs. Cody and I dressed quickly and drove the short distance to his apartment. Mikie let us in and was sniffing back tears as was his younger brother. I went in to where Susan lay in her bed and she motioned me to her side. She told the boys to go wait in the living room, that she wanted to talk to Uncle Robert alone. I closed the door and sat on the bed beside here holding her hand. "Robert." She said weakly. "I know about you and Cody." I swallowed hard, but deep inside I had known for a long time that she knew I loved her son, and that he loved me. I remained silent and allowed her to continue. "I know you love him, and I know he loves you. And I know you would never hurt him, or my other boys either." She said between ragged breaths. Her face was pale and droplets of sweat ran down here tortured face. "You know I love all of you." I added. "And I just want to help. What's wrong Susan?" "Let me finish. I have to say this." She said quietly. "Sorry, go on dear." "I know you love my Cody in a special way, I can see it in your faces. I know a lot of folks would say you were bad, but I know you are good to my Cody and to us. I don't need to know all you two do, I just know that since Cody found you, he is a changed boy...hell all of us have changed. You been mighty good to us...God will reward you for that." She began coughing and looked weaker. I got her a glass of water and returned to find her sitting up. "I'm sick Robert, real sick. I don't know how long I got. But, you gotta promise me something. Please say you will take care of my boys when I'm gone." She was crying now, and I was near tears myself. "What is it Susan. I can help with the medical bills, we will get you better. The boys need their Mom, don't give up." I said hoarsely. "It's AIDS, Robert. There aint no cure, no hope. The doctor says I got maybe two or three monthes left. I lived a pretty wicked life, I slept around for a lot of years, and it finally caught up with me. But when you came along, I quit worrying about what would happen to my boys. God sent you to take care of em. Please say you will, I beg you. I know it's not fair to tie you down with three boys, but I know you love them and it has to be you." She looked tired and ready to collapse as she looked expectantly at me. "I promise you Susan, if it is possible, I will take care of your boys. But, you know it might me hard for me to get custody of the boy, my being single and not a relative. I don't know the law, but if it's possible I will make sure they are taken care of." I felt no fear or remorse in committing myself to these wonderful boys that I had come to love. I just wasn't sure if the law would allow me to fulfill my promise. "I already got that worked out. I already talked to a lawyer and he says if you agree, he can make up the papers and it will be a binding contract. I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you first, but I had to be sure it would work. My other choice was to get you to marry me." She laughed a little and I smiled. "You rest now, is there anything I can get you?" I asked stroking her frail arm. "No, I just need to rest now. I'm really tired, but now I feel a whole lot better. I don't have to worry about my boys. God bless you Robert, I thank you with all my heart." I kissed her forehead and she fell into a deep sleep. The boys were waiting impatiently for me in the living room and I told them that their Mom was ok and that she was sleeping. They seemed relieved but, I knew at sometime we were going to have to tell them the awful truth. I spend the night, alone on the sofa and Cody slept in his own bed. Neither of us felt that it was proper to be together under the circumstances. A few days after Christmas, Susan had regained her strengh and we made a trip to the lawyer's office. I felt scared and wondered what the lawyer thought of a single man wanting to take on three young boys, but I knew it was what Susan wanted so, I was damned if it mattered. The paperwork was in fact a will which granted custody of the boys to me, in the event of Susan's death. We left the lawyer's office and went back to Susan's apartment and found the boys waiting impatiently. This would be the most difficult task of all, telling the boys, but we both decided they needed to know the truth. There was of course that nagging feeling that maybe the boys wouldn't want me to have custody of them, and if that was the case we needed to know now. Watching the boys' reactions as they learned the news was devastating. I wondered how life could be so cruel. I had found love and happiness with Cody, and now I was experiencing the pain that relationships often bring. I hugged the boys close and they cried but, each agreed that they wanted to live with me when the time came. Susan seemed to have a look of contentment on her face, despite the tears that rolled down her tired face. I took them out to dinner that night and she was almost like her old self. We didn't talk of bad things that night, we enjoyed the love and companionship of each other and made a memory for the boys to share for years to come. It was the last such good time for us all for ten days later Susan died in her sleep. We buried Susan on a cold January day and I was surprised to see that so few people attended. I didn't know any of Susan's friends and there was no family, save for her ex-husband who refused to come to the "tramps" funeral as he called her. I hated the man for what he had done to the boys and to Sasan, and I vowed he would never see the boys again. We went back to my apartment after the service and the boys spent the day exchanging fond memories of their Mom. I told them that they should always keep her memory alive, and never be afraid to mention her. They hugged me and we all had a group cry. It was the beginning of a new life for us all. Sorry if this chapter seems a bit sad, and well not very sexual, but hey.....that's how life is. More to come.........