Written by: J.P.G.
{"The Shadow of My Father" is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.
Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.
This story cannot be distributed in anyway, shape or form without authors' express written consent.}
Story Written by: J.P.G.
Love Scenes Written By: Trevor
Edited By: Ed
Edited By: Jack
Edited By: Trevor
I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/
Chapter 6
While everything was unfolding down in the lobby with Martha, the governor and Barbara had welcomed a new eight-pound baby boy into their lives. He was born January first, nineteen ninety-two at eight minutes past one in the morning. No matter how much they wanted to celebrate the birth of their son, they still had work to do; one more Lopez was coming into this world, and was not going to wait on mommy and daddy.
The contractions were getting worse by the minute, and the pain medicine Barbara got when she arrived was wearing off. The doctor could not give her any more pain medicine since she was already pushing out her next child. She begged and pleaded with the doctor, but he did not budge on it.
Daniel did everything he could to help his wife, but nothing helped. All she wanted at this point is the little one that was still inside her to come out so she could relax. After a lot of yelling, breathing, and swearing, the doctor informed them that the babies head was out and then less than a minute later he had the twin in his hands.
Looking over to see why he did not hear any crying, Daniel started to get worried. He let got of Barbara's hand and began to walk over to see what was going on, but right when he got to the doctor, the baby started to cry. He turned around and handed Daniel his baby wrapped in a pink blanket.
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Lopez, you have a healthy baby girl." Daniel held his newborn daughter in his hand and could not help but smile down at her. After five boys, he thought, he finally has a girl. He could not believe he finally has a girl that he can call daddy's little girl. A girl that his sons can protect and ensure no harm comes to her.
He walked over to Barbara and handed her their baby girl. As she got her daughter from her husband, one of the nurses brought over the baby boy. Handing the young one to the governor she went back to deal with paperwork.
Barbara was only able to hold her daughter for a few minutes before the same nurse came over and got her. She needed to clean the baby up, weigh her, and make sure everything is well. As she was cleaning the baby, the doctor walked over to the governor to see if they had names already for their babies.
While they were deciding which names they liked the most, the doctor went over a few bits of information. "Your daughter was born on January the first, nineteen ninety two, at two thirty-six in the morning. She weighs a little under eight pounds, but very healthy. Once again, congratulations on having two healthy twins."
At the same time, Barbara and Daniel thanked the doctor and went back to discussing names. It did not take them long to decide on the names after that. They informed the doctor of their choice and he wrote it down for the birth certificates. After they decided on the names, they thought their work was done for the night, but boy were they wrong.
Two nurses walked over holding a baby each. "Mrs. Lopez have you decided if you are going to breast feed the babies or put them on formula." Barbara looked up at her husband and then back to the nurse that asked her the question. "Ma'am either way is fine. It is just best if you are going to put the babies on formula, we do it right away."
"No don't do that, I am going to breast feed them. Heck they are the ones that got these babies so huge." Barbara pointed to her breasts. "I am pretty sure they want what is inside of them since it was made for them."
Everyone cracked up laughing as Barbara and Daniel teased back and forth with each other. After a few minutes of playing, the nurses handed Barbara her son and showed her how to breast-feed him. Once he had enough, and fallen asleep, the nurse took her son from her and handed her their daughter.
Just as their daughter started to eat, Benedict walked into the room. The minute Daniel Sr. saw the look on his face he knew whatever he came in to talk to him was not going to be good news. He excused himself, and walked Benedict back out of the room. He did not want whatever he was going to tell him, put a damper on the mood in the room.
When they were far away from the room, Benedict spoke in a whisper. "I really don't know how to say this, but to just come out with it. Martha has passed away this morning." Daniel fell against the wall hearing the news of his son's mother dying.
"What happen, did she have another stroke or something?"
"No sir, it was nothing like that." Daniel looked at Benedict with a confused look. "Sir, she was killed at the hands of the police moments ago. She somehow got from her floor to the lobby, was heading to the ER when an officer saw her. He asked her several times to stop, but she refused to do what she was being asked."
"Come on now, this woman was a mean old you know what, but she couldn't harm a trained officer." Daniel started to get loud. "The woman was in a wheel chair. Was she was coming at the officer threatening to run him over with that chair? There'd better be more to that story, or someone is going to lose a lot more than their job."
"Yes sir, there is a lot more to this whole thing. Although a lot of this is still sketchy, but what caused the shooting is not. She turned around with her hand under her blouse. The officer that caught her pleaded with her to take her hands out of her blouse. He kept pleading with her even after they all heard her cocking her gun.
Sir, she pulled out a gun and fired at them first, leaving the officers no other choice but to open fire on her. They did everything by the book dealing with her." Benedict looked down at his note pad to make sure he did not mislead his boss. "Even after she was shot, she was still alive. The ER staff right away started working on her, but she did not make it to the ER. Martha passed away on her way to the surgery at two thirty-six this morning."
When Daniel heard the time that his ex-wife had passed away, he had goose bumps all up and down his arms, back and legs. His daughter was born the exact same time. That gave him the creeps because it proved to him that when a person leaves this world, another is born. In this case, his ex-wife passed on and his daughter was born.
"I do not know how I am going to tell the boys. Even though they have not been happy with their mother as of late, I know they still love her. With her death, this going to put a damper on this day we are supposed to celebrate. Not only because it is the first day of the year, but also two new Lopez's came into the world on this day. No matter how much we try to ignore and forget about losing Martha today, it will always be there."
"Well sir I can't say I know where you are coming from because nothing like this has every happened to me. However, one thing you need to take away from this and that is you, your family, Barbara and new additions are alive and well. Martha was coming after Barbara to make sure you were hurting with the death of the babies and maybe Barbara as well, instead of celebrating their birth."
Daniel saw where Benedict was coming from, but several questions came to mind. "Let me ask you, how in the world did Martha get a gun in here? In addition, how did she manage to get as far as you said she got down there? She should have never made it off her floor; more so in the lobby a hop, skip and jump away from the ER with a loaded gun."
"As far as the gun, we are still putting those pieces together. As of right now, the police have nailed it down to two possible people that might have brought her the gun. It was either her attorney or her best friend that bailed her out of the jail when she was first arrested. Whoever it was, will be found, and held accountable for what he or she did.
Now as far as her getting as close as she did to the ER, I already had this discussion with the director of this hospital. They stopped locking down the employee elevators because their employees kept losing their badges. They found it less costly to leave those elevators unlocked, than to keep issuing new badges.
Because they tried to save money, Martha was able to use those elevators and get down to the lobby undetected. The security and police officers all assumed that the hospital was following their procedures, which included the lock down of those elevators. Lucky for us one officer saw her and got her away from the lobby where she could have hurt someone, or worse, killed someone."
"Okay I am going to make this fast because I need to go and tell my family about the birth of my son and daughter. Call who ever you need to call and make sure this hospital gets the highest fine possible for not doing what they were supposed to be doing. Also, get the officers that did the shooting alone in a room, away from the press. We need to control this circus, if it is even controllable at this point."
Daniel started to walk to the waiting area, but stopped and turned around. "A couple last things before I talk with my family. After I give them the news, quietly pull my press officer and chief-of-staff aside and brief them on what is going on. Let Rich know he is running the show, then step back and let him."
Benedict shook his head as he followed the governor to the waiting room. When they were in eyesight of the ones looking out for them, they informed the others. Before Daniel Sr. could make it to the lobby, everyone came running out. The majority of them had smiles on their faces, but a couple had a worried look.
Not wanting to alert anyone that anything was wrong, Daniel smiled. "Barbara is resting well after giving birth to two healthy new additions to the Lopez family. The first to be born was Abraham, your new brother." Daniel Sr. looked at his sons. "A little over an hour and half after he was born, Victoria was born."
Hearing a girls name made everyone smile even more. None of them would have felt any differently if it is was another boy, but the Lopez boys wanted a baby sister. Now they have what they wished for along with a baby brother too. Brandon was not only happy that he has a baby sister and brother, but he was also happy that he was no longer the youngest.
After everyone congratulated Daniel Sr., everyone took turns visiting with the new arrivals. Daniel sat back looking on as his family and friends made google eyes and weird noises at the two sleeping infants. When his sons walked in to see their little brother and sister, he could not help but think about the other piece of news he is going to have to break to them this morning.
He knows he has to do it quickly before his sons hear the staff talking about the crazy woman that tried to kill several police officers. At first, they will not know the woman's name, but eventually they will. Either by the press or by an officer that cannot keep his or her mouth shut. No matter how the staff hears it, Daniel does not want his sons to find out about their mothers death in that fashion.
While family and friends were taking turns meeting the new Lopez's for the first time, Johnny Walker, the governor's press secretary, was preparing to go out and speak with the press. He was briefed on what happened earlier with Martha and what could be said, and when the new editions to the governor's family were born as well as their names.
Johnny checked with Rich before heading out to make sure there was no change with their strategy. Once he confirmed there was not, he headed off to the front entrance where the police had put the press. As he made his way, he saw that the lobby was filled with El Paso PD in and out of uniform, as well as military men and woman and state police.
Showing the heavy police presence did not bother him, Johnny rolled by. The officer at the door recognized him and opened the door for him. The minute he reached the doors, the camera lights were turned on and they started asking him questions. He ignored the questions and continued his way to the microphones.
Once he reached the batch of microphones, he waited for the press corps to quiet down before speaking. "Good morning you all, I know it has been one of those mornings and I hope I can clear up all the questions you might have. I am going to give a short statement, and then open the floor for questions. When I tell you I cannot answer the question that is being asked, I mean I cannot answer it. I am not trying to hide things, it is just we do not have all the facts on certain things on what happened here this morning.
Let me start with why we are here. Many of you first reported that the governor or someone in his family was hurt, you were wrong. I cannot tell you how to do your job, but you all should wait for the facts to come in before floating a story. This is not the first time you all have done this, and I doubt it is going to be the last.
The sad thing is, you all have to retract your first story, and it will get to the point those that turn to you all for the news will stop believing you guys. Again, I cannot tell you how to do your job because that is not my place. Let us move on from that and let me clear up all the reports on why we are standing here.
As you all know, Barbara Lopez, our first lady of Texas was pregnant, yes you heard the word right, was. She went into labor at eleven thirty four on New Year's Eve and rushed here to Providence Hospital. On arrival, she was immediately taken to the fourth floor where her doctor was standing by.
Mrs. Lopez felt bad that she pulled her doctor from his New Years celebration, but he didn't mind." Johnny got a chuckle from the press corps. "It was not long after she arrived here that she had the first of two babies." The press corps started to whisper to each other, causing Johnny to stop talking and he did not start again until they went silent.
"Abraham Lopez was born at eight minutes past one this morning, weighing eight pounds. Victoria Lopez arrived a little close to an hour and half later at two thirty-six, weighing seven pounds and nine ounces. Both have already eaten and are resting comfortably with a very happy Lopez family on the fourth floor of the hospital."
Johnny took a deep breath. He is about to talk about a subject he did not want to talk about this morning or any morning while he is the governor's press secretary. Still, he knows it is not what he wants; it is what he has to do. Since Martha has put herself into this news cycle, he has to brief the press on her.
"Moving on to the other topic of the morning, Martha Lopez and what happened here dealing with her. Let me start off by saying information is still coming in and the investigation is barely on its way. I will brief you on what I know and what the governor knows about this incident.
About two ten this morning, an El Paso police officer spotted Martha Lopez making her way back to the service elevators. He had no idea who she was. All he knew is what he saw, a woman in a wheel chair in an area where she did not belong. He in return ran after her, asking her to stop, but she didn't. She kept going to the elevator ignoring the orders of the police officer.
Seeing that she was not going to stop, the officer radioed in and had the elevators shut down. That ensured that she could not get onto any other floor. At that point, he also asked for back up, which he got. When the back up arrived, Martha was facing the elevators, still refusing to turn around..."
Johnny went through everything that happened between the officers and Martha. He did not leave out any detail of what he was told and was cleared on to brief the press. When he got to the point of Martha being rushed into the ER, he only told the press that she informed the doctor to give her children a message, but did not tell the press what the message was. That got some sighs, but Johnny did not care, he continued.
"Ladies and gentleman, this is a day of mixed emotions for the Lopez family. It started out as a day of celebration, welcoming in two new members into the family, and at the same time, finding out Martha had passed away. I am pleading with you all to respect the family, and do not ask them for comments about Martha's death. They already have a lot to deal with, and they do not need the pressure of you all hounding them for answers."
Johnny opened up for questions, and right away, everyone spoke all at once. He looked out at the press corps and picked a familiar face he has gotten friendly questions from in the past. "Mr. Walker, are the Lopez boys aware of the death of their mother, and if so, are they being told the truth on how she passed away?"
"As we are speaking, the governor is sitting with his boys and telling them of the passing of their mother. He is not going to lie to his boys, but at the same time, he does not want them to hurt more than they will. What I mean is he is not going to tell them what we all think she was doing in the lobby. That is something he feels is wrong and will not go there."
"What are you guys thoughts on why she made her way down to the lobby?" Johnny refused to answer that question. "Come on Mr. Walker, you have said since day one when you took over that podium that you will not hold anything back from us. Do not hold this back. What is the thinking right now why Martha Lopez was there?"
"That is a question I can't answer because we do not have the facts in on it yet. I will not sit here and assume things. All I can tell you is what I know, and that information I do not know. So let us move on to the next question."
"How did Martha Lopez get a gun into the hospital?"
"At this moment we don't know how she got the gun, but we are getting there. There were only two people that have paid her visit, besides her ex-husband the governor, and the kids. They are being looked at, but without proof that someone saw one them hand the gun to Ms. Lopez, no one will be prosecuted for bringing a weapon onto these premises."
"How is Barbara Lopez doing? She just had two kids, how is the new mother doing?" Johnny loved the question because it got him away, at least for the moment of the questions dealing with Martha.
Like the times before, Johnny sat out there with the press corps fielding every question they had, until they had no more. Once he tired them out, he thanked them for their time and rolled back into the hospital. As he made his way to the elevator, Rich met him and complemented him on a job well done. Meanwhile back on the fourth floor, Daniel Sr. knew it was time to pull his sons aside and give them the bad news. Since his mother and brother had not been told about Martha either, he decided to bring them into the room as well. Not just to give them the news, but to help him with his sons if they react the way he thinks they might.
He got up from the chair, walked over to Daniel Jr. and Carlos, and asked them to go to the room next door. Both of them looked up at their father wondering why he wanted them to go to the room, but did not ask they just did what they were told. After they had left, Daniel Sr. went looking for the others and found them all in the waiting area about to fall either asleep or talking with each other.
First, he went up to Josh and Brandon and gently shook them awake. They looked up at their father, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes as he asked them to go to the room that he sent the others too. As Josh got up, he gently put Cesar's head down onto the chair where he was sitting, being successful on not waking him up.
While the boys made their way down the hall, Daniel went over to his mother and brother and pulled them away from Father Gomez and Coach Montoya. Not telling them a thing, he asked them to follow him to the room where the boys are. As they walked down the hall, their minds were going crazy. Not one of their thoughts was about Martha.
Daniel Sr. walked in, held the door for his mother and brother open, and once they were in, he closed it. After making sure that no one was near the room as he closed the door, he turned his attention back to those in the room. He saw in all their faces the same thing, a worry look. A look he never thought he would see on their faces on this day.
"Um, let me first say that we are not here because something is going on with the babies and Barbara. They are fine and resting after a rough morning." All their faces show a little bit of relief, but they still looked worried. "With that said, I did bring you in here to tell you some bad news and I don't even know how to start."
Rose looked over to her grandsons and then at her own son before speaking. "Son just let us what is going on. We are a family that is here for each other no matter what. So if the news you have to deliver is bad, we will hold each other up."
"Thank you mom, I really appreciate that." Daniel started to pace back and forth. "As we are talking, my press secretary is down stairs briefing the press. He is not only briefing them on the birth of Abraham and Victoria, but as well about what I am about to tell you all. The reason I am having him do that is because I do not want them coming to you asking questions about this issue. I know you won't want to talk to them."
Daniel was rambling because he wanted to everyone to relax a little, but when he looked into the faces, it was not working. "Boys as you know your mother is in this hospital, a few floor ups." Daniel Jr. and Carlos at the same time interrupted their father, telling him that they are not going to go up and visit with her.
"No boys that is not why I brought you in here to talk about. I brought you in here to tell you that, um, that..." Never before has Daniel sweated this much in his life. He has been in wars, debates and in front of a very unfriendly crowd, none of those made him sweat and feel the way he is feeling right now on the news he is about to tell his sons.
"There is really no easy way on telling you this, but to just come on out with it. Your mother passed away this morning." Everyone's faces went from worried to stun in seconds." You guys are going to hear a lot about what happened here tonight, but you have to remember the last words out of her mouth before she past away was a message for all of you boys."
He pulled out a piece of paper that was handed to Benedict by the doctor who heard Martha's last words. He wrote down what he was able to remember, which most all of it is. Looking at Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon, Daniel Sr. did not skip a word on the paper and read what their mother said. When he was done, he looked over to Josh, and read the last part that was meant for him.
After all the hell she had put Josh through, he started to tear up hearing the news of her passing. Then when his father read what she had said, he started to sob, a reaction Daniel did not expect to get from any of his kids. He thought it was going to be the opposite, them throwing things and yelling, but not cry over the loss of their mother.
With Josh breaking down, his brothers followed. They all were angry with their mother, but they did not want her to die. Now they are regretting that they never had a chance to make peace with her before she passed away. Each of them was feeling really bad that their mother died thinking that her own kids, her own blood, hated her.
Isaac and Rose put aside their thoughts and went over to help Daniel Sr. comfort his kids. They now realize why they were brought in here and did what they knew the boys needed a person for them to lean on. It took a while, but the boys did get control of their emotions, wiped their tears away, and let their father tell them what happened.
"Boys like I said there is going to be a lot said in the days to come on what your mother was up to. That is why I had the televisions on this floor shut off. I did not want you to hear them talk on what they think, without a fact to back their thoughts up. So rest assured I am going to tell you the truth about what happened here and will keep you informed as I get any new information. Do not take what is said on the TV as fact."
Leaving out the ugly details on how their mother passed away, Daniel Sr. took his sons through the events around their mother's death. The boys listened closely to what their father had to say, not interrupting him even once. Rose and Isaac were as glued to their seats to what was being said as the boys were.
"You mother is gone and what lead up to her death, and the last couple of years should not take away from who she truly was. Before hatred clouded her judgment, she was a loving, caring, and beautiful woman. She gave life to four wonderful boys that will change the world that they live in. I have no doubt in my mind on that, or did she.
In the next couple of days, things are going to be bad. Things are going to be said about your mother on the news, and also when you return to school. Those things are more than likely not going to be good things, and you boys are old enough to see through the lies that are being told. Do not allow yourself to be fooled by the lies, or get angry with those that are spreading the lies about your mother.
Also, do not allow yourselves to be filled with hatred and bitterness towards your mother. Be better than she was the last couple of years on this earth. She loved you with all her heart, no matter what she has said and done. Remember that, and remember the times you had with her that she was not bitter, filled with hate."
The boys looked at their father thinking of those times. They had to go back several years to get to those days, but they had them. There was a time in their lives that they could not wait to be with their mother, those are the times they are going to remember, not because their father is telling them to do so, but it is the right thing to do. None of them wants to become the person their mother was when she died. That trait is a trait they do not want to inherit from their mother.
While the boys thought back to the good times with their mother, Daniel went on telling them stories of those times, making it easier for them to begin to grieve. They know they will not be able to get over their mothers death in a couple of days, but remembering the good times will help. It will help them get through it a lot easier and yes a lot faster.
Knowing that his boys were not ready to end the conversation, Daniel Sr. stayed with them in the room. They talked about what to expect in the days to come and the past when their mother was not lost. When the sun started to come up, Daniel Sr. got up and asked his mother to take the boys home. At first, Josh and his bothers did not want to go, but their father would not budge.
They got up and made their way down the hall to the waiting room. The only ones that were still there was the security and Cesar, who was awake. When Cesar saw Josh, he got up and walked over to him asking if everything was all right. The only response that Josh gave was that his mother is dead and he will explain more when they get home.
Cesar did not ask for any more information; he grabbed Josh's hand and held onto it on their way down to the lobby. When the door opened, they half expected to be greeted by the press, but there was no one there. A little surprised about that, it took them a few seconds to get their footing and start walking towards the door.
Halfway to the door, they were stopped and escorted down the hallway they came through when they first arrived at the hospital. The patients and their family members that were in the ER looked on as the Lopez family walked passed them. The looks on their faces were of pity, not happiness. That bothered the boys, but they continued on their way and just ignored the looks they were getting.
When they walked out of the doors of the ER, the press started to take pictures, but they did not ask any questions. They agreed to respect the governor's kids and leave them alone. After all, they are having one of the worst days of their lives, losing their mother the way they did. No one deserves to die that way and the family left picking up the pieces of the mess the person that passed away left behind.
The Lopez boys did not spend much time at home the rest of the Christmas break. They were mostly at the hospital getting to know their new brother and sister. While the boys were with their new brother and sister, Daniel Sr. was dealing with Martha's funeral arrangements. He did not want to do any of it in front of the boys for the fear it will bring them down hearing him discuss all that.
The biggest hurdle Daniel had to jump through was Martha's family. They wanted her body sent to them, in Mexico to be buried there. Constantly through their conversation, they threw at Daniel that he was lower than scum because the way he treated their daughter the last days she was alive.
When he was about to give in to his former mother-in-law and father-in-law, Martha's attorney arrived with her last will and testament. Daniel Sr. put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear what was being said. Before the attorney read what Martha's wishes were, he tried to apologize to the governor for the way he talked to him.
"Sir, this is not the time to talk about that. You are here only to read what my ex-wife's wishes were as far as where she wants to be buried plus anything else that she put in writing for you to deal with. Therefore, let's get down to business, okay?"
"Yes sir, let us get right down to the matter at hand, Martha Lopez's last wishes." The attorney opened the file he took out of his brief case. "Martha updated her living will just two weeks ago. There were a few changes, but nothing dealing with her wish on where she wanted to be laid to rest. The changes were moving things around and taking a couple of people out of the will.
With that said, Martha wants to be laid to rest here in El Paso, Texas." Martha's parents started to curse in Spanish at the attorney and Daniel Sr. "I am sorry that you feel that way, but that was her wish. She wanted to be close to her kids when she left this world, and Mexico was out of the question due to her sons not living there."
"We will fight this in your courts down there. Our daughter will be brought back home where those that love her can lay her to rest. Not over there where she was killed and around people that hate our daughter."
"Sir you can defiantly fight this in the courts, but you will lose. In the mean time your daughter's body will be stuck in the morgue while you try to fight something you will not win." Martha's father mumbled something in Spanish that neither the attorney nor Daniel was able to hear. "Okay then let us move on with how she would like her funeral."
Martha planned her funeral out to the very last detail, leaving out how it was all going to be paid. When Daniel brought that up, her parents started yelling at him. It got really bad at one point; the phone had to be taken off speaker until they settled down. Once they were able to talk without yelling, the phone was put back on speaker and the conversation was picked up where it was left off at before things got out of hand.
"Danny boy you owe this to our daughter after what you did to her when she was alive. The day you and her got married, you stood in front of god and swore that you would be there for our daughter during good times and bad times. The minute things got hard, you ran for the closest exit, and never looking back."
"With all due respect to you sir, I did no such thing. I did everything that I could to make things right with Martha, but it was she that did not want it. She did not want to meet me halfway, and that is marriage. Both sides have to give up a little in order to reach an agreement. Martha's attitude at the end was simple, her way or no way. That I was not going to have, and I know you sir, you would not have put up with that either.
However, let us put that aside for now. What ended our marriage was the way she was treating one of her own kids, her own flesh and blood. No one, I do not care what the person has done in their lives; deserved to be treated the way she treated Josh. When I told her to stop, she did not do it. Instead she got worse and treated Josh worse."
"You are wrong on everything you said. Our daughter did what was right dealing with that sin. The bible tells us to..."
"Sir, once again with all due respect, SHUT THE HELL UP!" Daniel slammed his fist against the table. "You do not talk about my son the way you are doing. If you want to be present for your daughter's funeral, you will keep your mouth shut and not even look at Josh wrong. If you do, I will have you and anyone else that disrespects my son removed. You will not get a chance to say goodbye to your daughter, is that understood?"
Martha's father did not say a word. "I need to hear it from you sir, is what I just said understood or do I put you on the list to be kept away from the funeral. The choice is yours, and I am happy either way." In a low voice, Martha's father made it clear he understood.
"Good, I say we get through the reading of her will and not say another word to each other." Daniel looked over at Martha's attorney. "Somewhere in that will does she explain how this big funeral she planned is going to get paid?" The attorney shook his head as he looked over the documents. "Well then if she did not pay for the funeral that she is asking for, I am not obligated to give it to her. I will pay for a funeral that is within my price range, nothing more or less than that."
Seeing that the governor meant what he said Martha's attorney moved on. "Ms. Lopez left money to Daniel Jr., Carlos, and Brandon. If you can, can you bring them in so I can let them know what their mother left them?"
"No sir I will not do that. They are underage, which means it falls to me, their only living parent to take care of things of this nature. Whatever money she left for them, let my attorneys know the amount for each, where it is at and any other information that they need to set up trust funds. Daniel, Carlos, and Brandon will have access to that money when they turn twenty-one."
"I will take care of that as soon as you give me the information of your attorneys." Daniel pulled out his wallet and handed Martha's attorney his attorney's business card. "Okay then, I will get right on this as soon as I get back to my office. There is only one last thing that needs to be dealt with, the house and the money Martha is going to get from you and the bail money she put up. How do you want to handle all that?"
"As far as the bail money, I believe she got that back already when she signed the plea deal and went off to the nut house. To make sure I am not wrong, I will have my attorneys check into that. If the money was never given back to Martha, it will be split between all four of sons, not just the three.
Now as far as the other item you brought up about money coming from me that is over. It ended the moment she passed away. If you do not believe I am right, take me to court and we will see. But be prepared if you go that route, you will lose and land up paying not only court costs, but my attorney fees as well."
Martha's attorney pulled out another file from his briefcase and opened it up. He went through the papers pulled several of them out and then handed them to Daniel. Daniel looked them over and gave them back to the attorney just as he was about to explain what he had given him. Instead, he got another tongue-lashing from Daniel.
"You listen to me you little piece of crap, blood sucking ambulance chaser, that ruling is no longer enforceable since Martha has passed away. You read the ruling through and you will see that I am responsible to pay her alimony until all of our kids turn eighteen, or she passes away. Well the latter happened, which means I do not pay the alimony anymore."
Daniel Sr. pointed out on the court ruling where it states what he just said, causing the attorney to turn all shades of red. "Now if you don't mind, if the will reading is complete, I would like you to leave. There is no need for me to waste anymore time on crap like you." Daniel Sr. got up from the table and walked over to the door.
"My ex-wife has been sitting in the morgue going on to four days now. I had hoped to have her buried before the kids returned to school, but because of you holding things up, that will not happen. Now that the will has been read and we know what she wanted, I can get moving on getting her buried and my kids can start healing and putting this behind them. They are my concern I am tired of seeing them hurting like they are."
Holding the door open for the attorney and arguing with him, Daniel had forgotten about Martha's parents on the phone. When the attorney left, he heard his former parent-in-law's voices. He walked over to the table where the phone was, not really wanting to talk to them either, and made it clear once again, they had to be on their best behavior when they come for their daughter's funeral. The last thing they discussed before hanging up was when they funeral was going to be, which Daniel hoped would be Tuesday.
Later that evening, right at the close of the normal business hours, Daniel's personal attorneys gave him a call. They researched the bail that Martha put up and found out that she never did get it. The city of El Paso still has it. Daniel gave his attorneys instructions on what to do with the money before hanging up the phone.
A couple hours later as his sons were about to go home, Daniel pulled them out into the room the hospital gave him to use as his office. Josh and his brothers thought it was more bad news by the look on there father's face. They prepared themselves for the worst, and of course hoped for the best.
"I had a meeting with your mother's attorney this morning. He read her will to your mother's parents, your grandparents, and me. The main reason your mother's funeral has been held up is the will. Now that the will has been read, and her wishes have been heard, the funeral arrangements have been made. She will be laid to rest this coming Tuesday. That means you guys are going to miss school on that day."
The boys stood there looking at there father, not showing any emotion. "One last thing, you mother left each of you some money. It is not much once it is divided four ways. It comes out to about twenty-thousand dollars each. On top of that, the money she put up for bail is being returned, which is yours as well. That will be divided four ways and added to the money that she had left you all in her will. If there is any life insurance, which I believe there is, it will also be divided four ways and given to you boys.
Now I know you guys probably want the money now, but I feel you are too young to get that kind of money. Therefore, I am having a trust fund put together for each of you and when you turn twenty-one, you will have access to your trust fund, but not until then. Your college education I am paying for, so you do not have to worry about that. This money was left to you by your mother to spend on yourselves."
None of the boys knew what to say, so they just stood there in silence. Daniel did not need a response from them, so he let them go. As he watched his boys walk to the elevator, he could not help but feel good on what he did as far as the trust funds. None of them needs to know that their mother reached out beyond the grave and stuck it to Josh. As far as they are ever going to know, all the boys were equally in the will. Josh's amount he will come up with and put it in the trust fund account.
All the way home, no one spoke. They just stared out the windows thinking about what their father just told them. Josh had a weird feeling that something was not right here, but he pushed it back to his mind. He kept telling himself that the reason he was named in the will was because his mother made the will before she found out he was gay and never got around to taking him out.
Cesar saw that Josh was in deep thought and did not like it. He knew that Josh was questioning why he got something from his mother. After all, she hated him with every ounce in her body, so why then leave money to him. However, Cesar did not care about that. All he cared about is that she did and there was no need to question it.
Leaning in to Josh, Cesar started to whisper. "Hey you handsome get out of your mind or you are going to get old and grey before your time." Josh did not respond the first time Cesar said it, but when he repeated it, Josh turned around. When he did, their lips met and neither of them pushed away. They held the kiss for a few minutes until Daniel and Carlos started teasing them to get a room.
When they got home, it was already late and they were all beat. Being at the hospital is no picnic. It bores them to the point they leave their almost in a coma. The only reason they go is because their stepmother and new brother and sister have not been released from the hospital yet, but that is all due to change tomorrow hopefully.
Josh wanted to take a swim before going up to bed, but he was not in the mood. He thought that maybe if he would change into his swimming trunks, maybe he will get in the mood, but it did not work. He could not get himself wound up for swimming. So instead, he jumped into bed and cuddled up with Cesar. It was not long before they were out in each other's arms.
The next morning Rose let her grandchildren sleep in. She felt that there was no need for them to get up earlier and go down to the hospital just sit around in a cold, dingy waiting room. In addition, Barbara, her son and her 2 new grand kids will be busy getting ready to be released, none of them will be able to sit and visit with any of them.
Even though his grandmother did not wake him up, Josh came back to life around the time she would have woken them up. He turned in the bed to be greeted with the most beautiful sight he has ever seem, Cesar, is still sound asleep, but that did not matter to Josh. He laid there looking at his boyfriend take every breath. He loved the way he looked while he slept, like an angel.
After almost forty-five minutes lying there looking at his boyfriend, his boyfriend started to wake up. At first Cesar did not notice Josh, but once he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he saw him. Knowing he had morning breathe, he did not care. Cesar leaned in and kissed Josh, who did not care either about morning breath. They played tongue hockey before forcing themselves to get out bed and get ready to go.
Once they were showered and dressed, Josh and Cesar headed down for breakfast. They were the first to get up out of the boys, which stunned them, their grandmother, and uncle. Rose was about to start breakfast and once it was half way done; she was going to go up and wake everyone up. However, seeing that two of them were already awake, she had to get breakfast going so they did not eat the table.
All through breakfast, Josh, Cesar, and his brothers talked about how they did not want to go back to school tomorrow. Not only they felt that their Christmas break went by too quickly, but they knew they were going to be looked at by the other students the minute they walk into the doors. They hate when their fellow students do that, because it makes them feel like animals in the zoo.
Rose and Isaac tried to put their worries to rest, but were not doing a very good job at it. They never went through what these boys are going through while they were in high school. Not only did they have a crazy mother while she was alive, but she died weirdly. On top of having that crazy mother, they are the sons of the sitting governor. That has to put a lot pressure on them, both Rose and Isaac thought.
When Rose realized that neither she nor her son was getting anywhere as far as getting the boys to stop worrying, she changed the subject. She did it so abruptly Josh, Cesar and their brothers knew what she was doing and understood. They went along with it and started talking about what they are going to do when the new additions to their family arrive.
That conversation took them through the rest of breakfast and all the way to the hospital. When they arrived, Barbara, Abraham, and Victoria were ready to go. The governor was not with them because he was pulled away to get into a conference call with his staff and other leaders in Austin. When he finished the call, they headed out.
As they made their way to the elevator and then down to the exit on the first floor, everyone stopped what they were doing to get a glimpse at the babies. A few of them actually tried to walk up and get a closer look, but the governor's security held them back. Others had cameras and took many shots of the babies, the governor and his family as they walked passed.
When they walked out of the hospital main entrance, they were greeted by the press, not just the local press, but also national press. They all wanted to be the first to get a close up of the new Lopez's, but the governor was not going to let that happen. At first, he was just going to take his family straight to the car, but he thought about it. Before doing anything else, he asked his wife what she thought and she had no problem with showing off their new borns for the world to see.
With that, they walked up to the press and let them take pictures of the new Lopez's. Their cute little faces looked up at the cameras and at times, they looked like they were smiling. Victoria was wrapped in a pink blanket, with a pink hat on her head and her little feet stuck out with pink shoes on. Abraham was wrapped in a blue blanket, with a blue hat and his feet stuck out with little blue shoes on.
However, that was not what caught the presses attention. It was their adorable faces and their eyes. Depending on how the sun was hitting them, their eye color looked like it changed. Finally, the press gave up guessing what color their eyes were and asked Barbara. She looked up at the press, and then over at Josh and called him over.
"Look at the color of his beautiful eyes." The press turned their attention to Josh and could not decide it they were hazel, green, or blue. "His new brother and sister have the same color of eyes, green. Sometimes depending on the light, they turn hazel, but they are green." The press saw what Barbara was saying. Depending where they were standing, Josh's eyes were either green or hazel.
After answering a few more questions, none of which was about Martha, which surprised everyone, the press started taking pictures. Firstly, it was just of the babies, then the babies and the new mom, and then they asked the governor to step in. Eventually the entire Lopez clan was posing for pictures.
When most of the press went to reload their cameras, the governor took the opportunity to take his family and leave. He thanked the press, answered a few questions as he and his family walked to the limousine. Once they got to the car, everyone got in, and then Barbara, followed by Daniel. The press continued to take pictures and video as the governor and his family drove away, but they did not get any good shots.
All that Abraham and Victoria did was sleep or eat, the boys got tired quickly seeing that. They wanted to spend time with their new brother and sister, but they did not want to sit there on their last day of their Christmas vacation watching them sleep. At first, they felt bad thinking that way, but their father saved them. He walked into the babies' room and saw how bored his sons looked and told them to get out and have fun.
They did not need to be told twice. After thanking their father, they headed to the phone to call their friends to see what they were doing. Within thirty minutes, they were heading out the door to join their friends at either the mall or the movie theatre. None of them walked back into the house until dinnertime.
The rest of the evening, they lazed around. Josh and Cesar made their way to their room before anyone else, and everyone knew why. They have not had much alone time through the Christmas break, and this is their last night. Tomorrow things are going to go back to normal, which means school, practice, homework, and very little time to do anything after all that during the week. The weekends are always filled with chores.
The next day, it was just as if the boys thought it would be. The minute they stepped out of the SUV, everyone looked at them. Josh, Cesar, and Brandon split from Daniel Jr. and Carlos and headed off to the cafeteria to meet up with their friends. Where Daniel Jr. and Carlos headed over to their lockers where they meet up with their girlfriends and friends before going to the cafeteria.
All the way to the cafeteria and through the lunch line, everyone looked at Josh, Brandon, and Cesar. They tried to ignore them, but it was hard not to. Not with every one staring them down like they just won a million dollars. When they reached their tables, Eric leaned over and told Josh to ignore everything, but he knew he was talking to a brick wall.
Patrick and Immanuel knew exactly how they felt because they also were everyone's sights at the beginning of the year. There was nothing that anyone could do that would have made things better, so Patrick did not try. Instead, he moved the conversation away from everyone trying to be there for Josh, Cesar, and Brandon, to what they did during the holiday break when they were not with any of them.
While Patrick was talking, like his old self, Josh's attention was pulled away from him over to Chris. Chris was not paying attention to what was being said. He was in his own little world, and that worried Josh. During the break, he did not get to spend much time with him and Josh knew his friend needed him more than ever before.
Johnny and he switched places and they did it slowly in order to not grab everyone's attention. When Josh sat down next Chris, Chris did not even notice. He was lost in his own thoughts. It took Josh slugging him in the shoulder a couple of times to bring him back to reality. In addition, when he did, Chris looked at his friend angrily.
"I am sorry for hitting you like that, but I was trying to get your attention for a couple of minutes now." Josh whispered as he moved closer to Chris. "Tell me if I am over stepping, but you and I know each other better as much as any person could know another." Chris shook his head. "I know the look that you have on your face, and it is not a good look. What is wrong my friend?"
Seeing the concern Josh has for him, Chris could not help it, he opened up. "I feel like nothing is ever going to go right for me. Ever since you and I broke up, nothing has gone right. First, I stayed by myself, and that didn't work. I then tried to date, and we all know how that ended up. And finally, I went crazy and just started to date anyone that would go out with me." Chris looked at Josh with a serous look. "And no I didn't have sex with any of them. I just went out with a lot of different guys, and that's all."
"I know that and there is no need to ever speak of that again. You and I spoke about it, and you changed. That is not about what I am concerned. I am concerned about what you said at the beginning that you feel like nothing is ever going to go right for you. You are wrong on that, and I think you know that deep down inside.
You and I came out together and we were each other's strength at that time. I would not be here if it weren't for you. When things seemed to be at its worse, you were there for me and that I will never forget. Heck I know if I it was any other guy, they would have gone running for the hills the minute they met my mother, more so after what she did to me when she found out that I was gay.
No Chris, you have a lot going for you right now. Yeah you don't have a boyfriend and it hasn't worked out yet since we broke up, but that doesn't mean you won't get one. It just means that the right one has not come around yet. When that happens, you will know it, not only in your mind, but here as well." Josh thumped his chest a couple of times.
"I know you are right about everything, but I am just lonely. Unlike you, I do not have a handsome guy that loves me the way he does and is at my side every moment of the day. That is what I want, not what I had the last couple of months. If I don't find my Cesar any time soon, I'm going to go crazy."
"No you are not, and let me tell you why. Until that day comes, you are going to hang with Cesar and me as we did at the end of last year. You and Cesar get along real good, which makes it a lot easier. Therefore, from now on, after school you are going to go to my house and do your homework after swim practice as we used to last year. Plus we are going to start doing the other things we used to until you get your Cesar."
Cesar kept hearing his name being mentioned, but knew it was not bad. He tried to pay attention to the other conversation that was going on at the table, but his mind kept moving towards the one Josh was having with Chris. Hearing what he was saying, he had no problem with that either. If fact he liked it when Chris hung around. It made things livelier because Chris is very playful.
Josh and Chris continued their conversation on their way out of the cafeteria. One of the root causes that broke Josh and Chris up was making Chris very comfortable. As they made their way out to the stadium, all the students looked at them as they passed them. A few of them Chris and the others were able to hear and they were talking about Josh, his mother and how she died.
One set of students not only was talking about Josh and his mother, but they were talking loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear them. At first Josh was able to ignore them because they were not saying much that bothered him, but then they hit a bone. Josh turned around and walked over to the group ready to throw some blows.
"What did you say?" Josh said in loud and angry voice as he walked right up to the student that looked like was the one the others followed. "You don't have the balls to repeat what you just said with me in your face. You are too much of a pussy and everyone here knows that. Only pussies say things about people behind their backs, not to their faces like you just did."
"I am not a pussy and I am not afraid of you." The student looked at Josh's security. "The only reason you are in my face is because of those guys standing behind you. The minute I raise my fist, I am going down. The one that is the pussy around here is you because you will not fight your own battles, you fucking fag!"
The last two words not only sliced right through Josh, but through Cesar, Brandon, Rusty, and Chris. This is not the first time those words have been tossed at them. It is also not the first time the words were said with that much hate. What is the first time is the kid is ready to back up those words by fighting with Josh. In fact, he is drooling from the mouth for Josh to take a swing so he could swing back.
"You are nothing but a self-hating bigot. It wouldn't surprise me that you are a closet case gay." That did it for the kid! He did not wait for Josh to swing first. With all his might, he swung at Josh, and Josh saw it coming a mile away. Stepping to his right a little, the kid missed and stumbled forward.
Josh looked over at Russ and put his hands up. Russ knew what Josh wanted, but he could not do it. Not if he still wanted to be employed after today. He stepped in and pulled the kid that swung at Josh to the side by his collar. As the kid was being escorted to the other side of the hall, away from Josh, he yelled out at Josh.
"I knew you were too much of a chicken shit to fight your own battles, I knew it you fucking fag. You mother was right on what she done to you when she made you eat off the floor like a dog, because you are one. No forget that, you worse than a dog, you are, um..." The kid could not remember the word he is trying to say. "You know what, there is not even a word yet made for what you are. That is how bad..." Russ slammed the kid against the wall, making him lose his train of thought.
Leaning in, Russ started to whisper. "If I did not take the oath I took, I would have let Josh whoop the crap out of you." The kid looked into Russ's face and spit, but missed. "I do not know where all this hate is coming from, but you will no longer be able to spread at this school. As of this moment you are no longer attending it."
"Bullshit, you are nobody here. In fact you have no right to even touch me the way you are, so get you fucking hands off of me before I throw your ass in jail."
"Not only does he have the right to restrain you, but he has the call to expel you from this school if you are a threat to the governor's kids." Principal Michaels said as he walked up to Garrett Buchanan. "Garrett this is not the first time I have a problem with you, but I am going to make sure it is the last time."
"Try and expel me Principal Michaels and see what happens. Not only will you fail, but my mother will have your job, which what my mother has heard, will not be hard. Your bosses are waiting for an excuse to fire your ass, and I am the one that is going to give it to them." Garratt started to laugh an evil laugh.
Principal Michaels looked over to his security guards and waved them over. They took Garratt from Russ and walked him down the hall to his office. As they walked away, Russ took the principal through the events that led up to the actual physical fight. He did not leave a single thing out, including the words that were said that started this whole thing.
"I knew there were going to be a few students that were going to try and stick it Josh, but I never have thought in my wilds dreams that any of my students would say that." Principal Michaels looked over at Josh for a few second and then back to Russ. "The sad thing here Russ is that Garrett is right. His mother has the connections to over ride anything I do to her son. That is not going to stop me from expelling him, but he will be right back here in a day or so causing mayhem."
"Do you think a call from the governor himself will make sure who ever Garratt's mother knows will think twice before overturning what you do?"
"No I am afraid not. The school district does not fear the governor and they have no reason to. In their minds, and many more out there, the governor right now is very weak. He cannot take on the dogcatcher, more so them. Not after how his ex-wife was killed, plus everything else that has happened in his first year. Many feel that they made the wrong decision and cannot wait until they can correct it."
"I am sorry to hear that, truly I am, but if Garratt so much as looks at Josh the wrong way, I will deal with him on my own. He will not be handed off to you the next time, instead he will have handcuffs put on him and taken to jail. Let us see how much pull his mother has with the police department."
"When I talk to him, I will let him know what will happen to him if he steps out of line once again with Josh or any of the governor's kids. With that said, I do not think it would matter because I have dealt with kids like Garrett. Kids that think they are privileged and have gotten away with everything all their lives. This will not be the last time I am going to deal with him and I am afraid the next time it is going to be worse."
Principal Michaels thanked Russ for everything and headed to his office. Russ rejoined his security detail that was already heading outside to the stadium. As he stood there watching Josh and his friends, he started to pray that Principal Michaels was wrong. Not only does he expel Garrett, but also his mother does not succeed on getting it overturned.
TO BE CONTINUED...
WRITER'S CORNER:
{Welcome back one and all to another chapter of this great saga. A lot happened once again in this chapter, I do not even know where to begin. I know it did not have a lot of excitement like you are use to, but it was not a boring chapter. There were a few heated moments in the chapter that involved several of the main characters. Let us get started with the summery of the chapter.
Now the last we heard from the Lopez family was Martha meeting her demise. While she was having a stand off with the police, the governor and Barbara were up on the fourth floor welcoming in two new members to their family, Abraham and Victoria. I know these are unusual names for a Hispanic family, but there is a story to those names that you will hear in the chapters to come.
In my last writer's corner, I asked you guys to remember a few items from the last chapter. Now I did not tell which items to remember, but I did tell you. The one thing I wanted you to remember was the time of death for Martha because that is the exact time Victoria was born. The governor saw that, and I do not think he liked it.
He is not a religious man, but at the same time, he does believe in the man up stairs and what lies below us. He believes that when a person passes on, another is born. Now does the soul of that person that passes on go into the body of the one that was born, let us hope not. The world finally got rid of one evil person and they do not want her back.
The governor and his kids took the news pretty well about Martha's death. In fact, the boys stunned me on how they reacted hearing the news of their mother's death. I half expected and wanted them to jump up and celebrate that their mother is completely out of their lives for good, but they did not do that. Instead, they went the other direction and actually felt bad, shed some tears on losing her and started to remember the good times they had with her, trying to forget the bad times. The one thing I hope for these young men is that they do not hurt for a long time. I hope that they move on fast.
Talking about the Lopez boys, they spent the rest of their Christmas break at the hospital with their new brother and sister. How many of you would have done that at their age? I know I would not have done that because I probably would not do it at my age, LOL! Anyways they are really excited about their new brother and sister and want to spend as much time as they can with them.
As the week wore on, Daniel Sr. wanted to get his ex-wife's funeral out of the way, but was held up by his attorney. He delayed her funeral in order to read her last will. That meeting did not go down too well at all. Not only did Daniel have his ex parent in laws breathing down his neck, but also he had the attorney from hell sitting there.
Before I get into the attorney plot, let me talk about the ex-parent in laws for a few sentences. They seem to have the same hatred their daughter had towards gay people. If any of you wondered where Martha got that hatred, you got your answer in this chapter. I hope they come into town and do what they promised to do and that is be on their best behavior, but I don't think that is going to happen. After all, they are the parents of Martha, which means they are at least as equally evil, if not worse than Martha is.
Back to the attorney, what was up with him? He was sitting there before the governor of Texas and showing his disrespect. He does not have to like the governor as a person, but he should have respected for seat he was elected to. Then at the end to ask about alimony, come on, the woman is gone, which means the governor does not have to pay that anymore. I do not think this is going to be the last time we are going to hear about this. So keep that conversation in the back of your minds.
The Lopez boys went back to school in this chapter, and boy their day has not been going too well, at least for Josh. Before I go there, let us talk a little about Chris and Josh's conversation. I feel bad for Chris, and how he is feeling. I really hope he does find a boyfriend and soon. At least for the mean time, Josh and Cesar are there to help him through this time in his life.
Finally, the ending of the chapter! Did any of you recognize the name of the guy that wanted to throw down with Josh? I will give you a hint, you have read about him recently if you are keeping up with all five of the stories. He was front and center in another of the stories of the sagas causing a lot of trouble. Knowing that, the principle was right and his worst nightmares came true.
I understand why Josh reacted that way, but it was out of character for him. I am afraid that there is a lot of buried anger inside of him about what his mother did that we have not yet seen come to the surface. I am afraid if this is the tip of the ice burg, what is going to come with Josh and all the anger he is carrying around.
So much going on in this story and not enough paper to write it all on! I know if I forgot anything in my writer's corner about this chapter, Trevor will take care of it in his. There are still a lot of open plots out there that I have not even touched on, and many more plots that are new are to come. I hope that you all did not forget about any of those plots, and if you did, well then it will be a lot of fun when they come back up again. So hold onto your hats ladies, and gentleman, the ride is just beginning!
I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacob@jacobmillertex.com, Thanks!}
EDITOR'S CORNER:
Poor Josh, I really feel for him right now. I suspect that he is coming into another bad part of his life, and what Martha did to him will hang over his head for a long time to come. I hope he remembers that Cesar will be there for him to help him pull through.
The name Garrett Buchanan is familiar because he is the one responsible for raping and almost killing young Davey in the first chapter of Rebirth.
Talking about Rebirth the news may already be out by the time you read this, but I have taken over writing this story. Sadly, due to other commitments Roland is unable to continue which is a pity because he is a good writer with some great ideas. He will still have some input into the story but I will be putting down the words.
Back to the story and I have been giving the gun business some thought. I think I have worked out how Martha got the gun, I'm not going to say anymore in case I'm wrong but re-read the last chapter before this one, and the clue is right there.
Twins, one of each I knew Jacob would throw us a curved ball and the birth would be different. We did not hear how Barbara took the news of Martha's demise, I can only imagine the sorrow she felt for those four boys who let us face it she looks upon as her own.
Anyway, I can see some stormy times ahead for Josh and the boys and do not worry about Chris Josh and Cesar will look after him, maybe get into a threesome?
Keep on letting us know what you think and do not miss any of the chapters or you will lose the plot because I can see them becoming more closely entwined in the future.