Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 06:46:32 -0500 From: C. E. Jordan Subject: Village Boy - 15 ******************************** The Village Boy Copyright c.e. jordan zedzero5@hotmail.com >From last episode: "Kevin's your friend, you can stay overnight with him if you want to... as long as homework's done and it isn't a school night. As I uttered those last words, I couldn't help feeling totally weird. All of a sudden I'd switched from lover and friend to `dad'...and that was a disjunction that made me very uncomfortable. Did I have the right to make such rules? Jeremy had stopped chewing and gazed steadily at me. I suppose he sensed my confusion and unease. Just before he cleared away the breakfast things he smiled, and without a word, came around the little table and hugged me. ___________________________________ THE VILLAGE BOY - Part 15 I stood gazing out of the windows of my living area while Jeremy dressed in his room. Down in the street below, torrents of white steam belched from the round black mouth of an open manhole. Workers in yellow construction helmets were scurrying around, appearing and disappearing in the spreading mist. The morning traffic, with an occasional taxicab the same bright color as the helmets, crept carefully around temporary 'Do-Not-Cross' blue barriers placed haphazardly in the street. Kevin. I couldn't shake my vague apprehension as I thought about the blonde boy. What bothered me about him? I searched my heart. No. It wasn't jealousy. I truly liked Kev. He was cute, intense, emotional, plus he had the good taste to love my Jeremy. I also knew in my heart that it was good for Jeremy to have someone nearer his own age to be a companion--to care about him. I must never delude myself into believing the boy belonged to only me. Yet, Kevin, in a way, represented the big alien world outside that belonged to Jeremy without me in it. What exactly was that world like? And how does my young love function in it? Down below, the workers, shouting, yelling, and cussing at each other, seemed to have things under control and had re-fastened the manhole cover. Now, the men quickly removed the temporary wooden barricades they'd set up earlier. The morning sun glinted off windshields as the traffic adjusted immediately and began its steady flow into the distance. I realized with a slight shock, that I knew, actually, very little about Jeremy. We were intimate at an emotional level beyond words, but what about his practical life? I had no idea what things he liked or disliked. Come to think of it, I'd never heard him mention any friend other than Kevin. In the time I'd known him he'd called nobody and no one had called him. **Jer doesn't have many friends,* I remembered Eliza telling me once. Why was that? Jer was gentle and loving and he was drop-dead beautiful. Surely girls--and boys should have been falling all over themselves to be his friend. I frowned. This is something I'd have to investigate later. "Whatcha doin' Charles?" I was startled out of my reverie as a pair of arms closed around me from behind. "Oh...nothing, just waiting for you." I turned around in his arms and leaned back to look into his calm face. "Do you like going to school Jer?" The boy tilted his head and looked quizzically at me. "Yesss...?" He stretched the word out into a question, probably uncertain as to where this was leading. "It's alright... why? We exited the apartment. "Just asking. School will start soon, so we have to think about that. But your mom said you make good grades, is that so? He gave me a mischievous grin, "Yep, I'm very smart, Charles, a real nerd... just like you. "Who ya callin' a `nerd', boy?" I demanded in a gruff voice and playfully elbowed him into the walls of the elevator as we swiftly descended to the apartment lobby. "You! You're a nerd!" He giggled and pushed me back hard against the wall. I grabbed him and pulled him into a headlock just as the doors opened up to reveal an elegantly dressed woman waiting there with a small yapping dog in her arms. Jeremy and I quickly broke apart. Vaguely embarrassed, we exited as my downstairs neighbor, the lovely older actress, got on. She was obviously back in town and staying here in her tiny pied à terre, her home away from home. I guess we were going to hear a lot from Legal, her dog, who yipped a mad welcome at me as the woman smiled. "Hello, darling Charles, seems like you're having a lot of fun with your... friend." There was real warmth in her smile as she patted me on the cheek with a free gloved hand. Her fascinatingly coloured eyes made a quick assessment of Jeremy, "What a beautiful child, you should bring him to visit me soon, okay dear? I tuned away when the elevator doors slid shut before I could answer. But Jeremy remained standing there staring with mouth open, at the closed doors, "Hey! That was...........her... that was... "Yeah, Jer, that was the famous lady herself," I tugged on his arm, "but we have to go, the car's waiting for us. *** The limo flowed steadily along the road on the way to the hospital. We were barely aware of the car moving. Jeremy had retreated into himself again and was quietly staring out of the car windows. I spent most of the trip chatting on the phone with my lawyers, once again making sure that the legal aspects of my relationship with Jer and Eliza were nailed together as tightly as possible. All that remained to be done was to acquire a few signatures from Eliza, and then we'd be set. Anthony Sussman, my lawyer, was supposed to meet me at the hospital to secure Eliza's notarized signatures for the papers he was working on. *** Jeremy waited impatiently as I entered his mother's room first. I halted at the door in shock and stared at the small still figure on the bed. I fought for control against the helpless constricted sensation that twisted in the pit of my stomach. Even the clean white geometry of the chamber was as cool and oppressive as a tomb. It was astonishing how quickly Eliza's condition had deteriorated. That was probably because of the massive medication and radiation she was being treated with. Illuminated by the cold fluorescent bulb above her, Eliza was a faded, almost invisible presence beneath the thin hospital sheets. Her pale tight skin glistened like phosphorescent marble, and wispy strands of her hair blended into the white of the pillow. I almost broke into tears, but her head turned towards me and I fought for control. Smiling, I walked over and took her small hand in mine. "Hey, just look at you." I said. "Yeah, just look at me... I look great, don't I?" She smiled wryly. "Well, to me, you are beautiful as ever. She grinned, "Yeah, right Charles! Too bad you're on the `other' side, I always said you would have made a great boyfriend, you know just the right things to say. She paused for a moment. "How's Jeremy doing? You guys getting along okay? "Yes, so far everything has been going smoothly... he's going to visit Kevin today... She gazed at me, "And that's okay with you, right? "Of course... I like Kevin. "Good." Was all she said. "Eliza... my lawyer will need you to sign the final documents making me Jeremy's legal guardian. "Good, but he'd better get over here soon... or..." Her voice trailed off. I understood that she actually believed she might die before Anthony got there. I had another urge to start weeping, but I smiled instead, "Oh, Eliza, you're not going anywhere for awhile." But I realized she was actually just about gone. I continued speaking, "The lawyer will be here with a notary in a few minutes to get your signature on a couple of papers and that will be the end of that. "Yah... the end. Umm....Charles? "Yes? "I want them to stop all of this. "Huh? "All these medications.... radiation... and stuff... it's really killing me," She laughed feebly at the irony of that statement then continued, "it's only making me feel dead before I am dead, so what's the point? "They're just trying to help you Eliza. "I know, but remember what you promised Charles? Don't let them drag this out... please... I looked at her silently for a moment. "Eliza, do you want to get out of here? I've decided, I'm going to take you home. Her eyes came alive, "You'd do that? I don't want to be a burden... "You're no burden Eliza... you and Jer have been nothing but a blessing to me in the short time I've known you... and I love you both. I could swear she blushed, making her look more vital and alive than she'd seemed since I had arrived. "I'd better let Jeremy come in. and I'll let the hospital know that we will be discontinuing your extreme treatment. Then you're coming home with me as soon as possible. She didn't say anything, but I noticed her blink away the moistness that formed in her eyes... and she looked happy. When I leaned over and kissed her, I felt her fingers tighten around mine. Outside Eliza's door, my lawyer Anthony Sussman, accompanied by the notary, had arrived, and they were chatting with Jeremy. I told him to go see his mother. When he first caught sight of Eliza, he stood there frozen for a moment, then he cried out, his pubescent voice breaking, "Mom.... oh Mom...." Jer ran over to the bed and almost threw himself on his mother, hugging her tightly and almost dislodging one of her tubes. "Take it easy baby.... let me look at you... hey, you look so good." She ran her fingers through his hair and stroked his face, "Has Charles been taking care of you? "Yeah, he's the greatest! Mom... I'm going to see Kevy today... he asked about you... maybe I can bring him to see you? I left the room at that point to talk with Anthony. I told him that I wanted to take Eliza off drugs and all other therapy aside from necessary medications to keep her comfortable. Whatever time she had left I wanted her to spend with her son and me. "Ms. Bell can do whatever she wants," Anthony assured me, "she is an adult and cannot be forced into doing anything she doesn't want to do. After giving Jeremy enough time to be alone with his mother, we got Eliza to put her notarized signature on all the necessary papers. She seemed visibly relieved when it was all done. "I know now, that whatever happens, Jeremy will be taken care of... remember, don't let my boy fall into the hands of my family. The lawyer was cool and assured. It was wonderful how he had cut through official barriers to get these documents ready so quickly. I don't know, and didn't really care what he did to get past certain legal time requirements, but the result of his work was excellent. I guess having money does make a difference sometimes. I was able to hire the best and got prime results in return. "If any family members should suddenly show up," Anthony told us, "let me know, and I shall deal with that event if necessary, just give me a call. "Thanks Anthony." We shook hands, and then the lawyer and company exited the room. At this point, I could sense Eliza was tiring from all the activity, and her eyes were closing down, so I gently persuaded Jeremy that we should let her rest. I held her hands again while Jer kissed her goodbye. Observing her son's sad face, Eliza smiled, "Don't worry so much baby, I'll be alright... have fun with Kevin... and tell him hi for me, okay? "K, mom. *** On the trip away from the hospital to drop him off at Kevin's place, Jeremy was pensive, and then gradually became more hyper than I'd ever seen him. I was concerned. He didn't talk or look at me; instead, he would stare out of the windows on one side of the big car for about five minutes, and then slide over to the opposite set of windows for another five minutes. Then he'd repeat the activity. He was like a caged cub- tiger. I restrained my adult impulse to order him to `be still'. I realized that this childish repetitive activity was perhaps a way to preoccupy himself; a means of `not-thinking' about his mother's condition, or of his own future without her. I think he was quite shell shocked about everything. Too many things were happening much too quickly. After all, Jeremy, at fourteen, was still a child. On his next perambulation from window to window, I caught hold of him, and held him captured in my arms. He struggled hard for a moment, looking surprised. It was almost like he'd forgotten I was there in the car with him. And for a second, his eyes were unfocused, much like his mom's used to appear sometimes. "Baby, baby," I cooed, "it's okay, relax, relax... please..." He gradually began to actually `see' me. Slowly, the tension went out of the traumatized boy and he laid his head on my shoulder. I pulled him sideways onto my lap like a child. He put his arms around my neck, clinging tightly to me. He wasn't crying, but I could feel his heart beating hard and hear his breath rushing and rushing by my ear... I didn't know what to say, so I just held him. Rocking him gently, I found myself singing low, a verse from one of my mother's favourite Dinah Washington torch songs: "I'm mad about the boy... I know it's stupid to be mad about the boy I'm so ashamed of it, But I must admit the sleepless nights I've had, about the boy.... I admit it was a weird kind of lullaby, but unaccountably, the old song just popped into my head, and then out of my mouth. But it was surprisingly effective. Jeremy stayed very still until I finished the first verse, and then he sat up in my lap with his arms still around my neck. He was staring at me amazed, a gentle smile on his face. "Oh boy, you can sing! I was embarrassed and shut up right away, but his smile put me at ease. "Sing some more," he ordered. I was so pleased to see that Jer was himself again, I closed my eyes and sang just a little bit more: "Will it ever cloy? This odd diversity of misery and joy, I'm feeling quite insane and young again, All because I'm mad about the boy... "So.... are you *mad* about me Charles? "Yeah.... crazy about you baby." I brushed my lips against his forehead. *** We were pulling to a stop, so Jeremy slid off my lap to grab his backpack. I looked out the window. The curly-headed boy waiting at the door of a red Village townhouse had caught sight of our car, and even before we pulled to a stop, was rushing down the flight of concrete stairs, taking two steps at a time as he raced toward us. Kevin. Dressed only in a white t-shirt and blue jeans, and without his normal baggy clothing, or his skateboard, blonde Kevin was fragile-looking, a slender boy who appeared even younger than I'd remembered. The driver was coming around to open the door for us, but Jeremy didn't wait for him, he opened the car door himself and rushed over to meet Kevin halfway. I fully expected them to embrace each other, but when they came together, they stopped short and shyly eyed each other without speaking. What an interesting duo, I thought, the exotic-looking beauty and the cute blond boy-next-door. I figured I'd better go out and break the ice. Kevin, the sun catching in his golden hair, turned to me, all smiles, "Oh... hi Mr.... um.... "It's just `Charles', Kevin. "Oh, yeah." He said, a bit embarrassed, then he reached for Jeremy's backpack, "Lemme carry that for you, Jer. "Okay. "Is your mom home Kevin?" I figured I should talk to an adult since I was already right there. "Um... yah, but she just went to the store, she'll be back in about an hour... you wanna wait? "No... It's all right Kev.... I'll talk to her later. The two boys turned to leave. "Oh, Jer, wait a second." I took out a cell phone and gave it to him. "This is yours, call me if you ever need to... and you can call for a car anytime you want to, that number's on speed dial, okay? "Wow, thanks Charles." And he hugged me. "'Bye baby, have fun. "'Bye, Charles. Pausing at the green door at top of the steps, still dragging Jeremy's backpack, Kevin turned and waved goodbye to me. .... To be continued...>>>