Tripod Chapter 40

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TRIPOD -- Chapter 40

I woke up on New Year's Day with Darius sleeping next to me, curled up in the fetal position, his back up against mine. Grabbing my phone, I checked the time: 11:12. Temperature: -2º (-19C). Forecast: Sunny. Bitterly cold. Blowing and drifting snow. Total overnight accumulation: From 20 inches (50cm) along the lake to 10 inches (25cm) inland. Evanston sits right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Ah, good, old lake-effect snow. I guess the wind had shifted overnight and brought in tons of unexpected accumulation. No one was going anywhere for a while.

My grandpa David once told me the story of the Chicago blizzard of 1979. I guess the city was caught off guard after a huge snowfall and it took almost two weeks to dig everyone out. The mayor lost his job in the mayoral election that followed a few months later because of it. Ever since then, Chicago has among the best snow removal in the country. Even after the worst storms, the main streets are usually clear within twenty-four hours. Nothing like the fear of losing your job to get politicians motivated to do something. Unfortunately, we weren't in Chicago but Evanston, an independent city with its own timeline for snow removal.

I slipped quietly out of bed and peeked out from behind the window shade. The sun was shining brightly but Sho's car was barely visible under a huge blanket of snow. The street, or rather where I thought the street was, was deserted. Tyler's house is on a side street. It could be days before city crews came by to remove the snow.

Might as well get breakfast going. As I slid on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, Tyler poked his head into the room and yelled, "Snow day, bitches!" startling a previously-snoozing Darius enough to make him scream.

"It's New Year's Day, Ty. There's no school anyway," I responded.

Tyler walked into the room, pushed me down onto the bed, then hopped on it himself. He leaned in to give both of us a kiss on the lips.

"Ready for round five?" he asked.

Darius just moaned. I'd fucked Darius in round three, and in round four, Brandon, switching rolls from earlier in the evening, had given Darius a fucking he wouldn't soon forget, pounding his ass mercilessly for at least fifteen minutes before bringing him to a scream-filled, hands-free, earth-shattering orgasm.

"I don't think I can walk," Darius moaned. "Brandon is a fucking sex machine. There's no top that can match him...and now he's a hungry bottom, too. Went from virgin to taking Jaime balls-deep in one night. Amazing."

"Wanna blow job, Jaime," Tyler grinned, "so the new year can get off to a happy start? `Get off,' get it?"

"I think the snake is going into hibernation, ready to shed its skin. I'm gonna need a little more downtime," I moaned. "Besides, I'm a lot more hungry than horny right now."

"Yeah, that's what Eddie said, too. You dudes are no fun. Wanna go check on Brandon and Sho?"

"Sure," I replied, "I think Darius is gonna pass though, right babe?"

Darius just let out a low moan and rolled over.

Tyler and I quietly walked down the two flights of stairs. We found Brandon and Sho already awake, cuddled up on the couch together under a blanket watching the Rose Parade on TV.

"It got kinda cold down here," Sho said. "Brandon invited me under the blanket to stay warm."

"You two look like some old, married couple watching the gayest thing on TV," I said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Uff, like a dead guy from 4:00 to 10:00," said Brandon. "What's for breakfast? Sex sure helps you work up an appetite."

Sho nodded and looked adoringly at Brandon. A shit-eating grin appeared on his face.

"I'm about to get started on it. Let me see what Tyler's got in the fridge."

Tyler stayed behind and snuggled up on the couch. Eddie was heading down the stairs as I headed up to the kitchen. I gave him a quick kiss as he passed me.

The fridge and pantry proved to be not quite as bleak as I'd expected: onions, peppers, some decent Italian ham, eggs, a sharp cheese; I'd make a frittata. But first, some coffee. I filled the coffeemaker to capacity and got that going. As the coffee started dripping, Darius walked slowly down the stairs. He had a half-smile, half I'm-still-asleep look that made him look even hotter than normal.

"You think they've got some tea?" he asked.

"Let me check. Well, they've got some bags that look like they came with a Chinese takeout order. Not sure how old they are," I said.

"Jasmine or oolong?"

"Uh, generic. Take it or leave it."

"There's a shit ton of snow on the ground. I'm not heading out to get anything better. It'll be fine. What's for breakfast, my pint-sized chef with the gallon-sized dick?"

"Frittata. Wanna cut up some fruit for me?"

"That's getting to be my specialty," Darius grinned, pulling stuff from the fridge. "Where's Tyler?"

"Everyone's downstairs watching the flower-covered floats on TV," I replied.

Darius just rolled his eyes and got to work making the fruit salad.

At noon, I called downstairs for everyone to come up to eat.

"They're just getting to the good floats," Eddie called out.

"And the best marching bands," Sho added.

"Bring it all downstairs," Tyler ordered.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I mumbled. "Do I look like a full-service restaurant?"

"No, but you make a super-hot waiter," Darius responded. "I'll help."

We grabbed some plates and forks and dished out food for everyone then carried it downstairs. The guys were all cuddled up together on one sofa, transfixed by the parade. Darius and I sat down in front of them on the floor. Sho reached out and ran his fingers through my hair. Eddie reached down and rubbed Darius's shoulders. I have to admit that I could get used to this.

"Well, the technology behind these floats and just the amount of work that goes into getting all the flowers on them is pretty amazing," I admitted.

"He's hooked," Brandon laughed. "Everything's delicious, Jaime. Thanks."

"You know, guys, I think we're gonna have a problem. The roads are still covered with snow, so we can't really drive anywhere. There's not much food left in the house unless you consider those frozen pizza puffs and sugary cereal to be food. Tyler, you hear from the rents?" I asked.

"Just got a call from Mom. The hotel extended the promo rate for another night `cause of how many people got stuck there from the snow. They're just gonna hang downtown tonight. The L is running but they don't want to leave the car and can't walk all the way from the L stop to our house anyway. Mom asked if we were OK. I told them about Sho. They said how nice it was to offer to help the kid out. I didn't send them a picture so they could see how hot he is or let them know that he'd fucked Brandon into a new year."

Sho blushed. The rest of us laughed.

"Well, I think we're gonna have to walk to the supermarket. It's like a mile in deep snow. Do we have any money?" I asked.

"I've got a bit left," Brandon said.

"I can ask my folks for some money on my debit card," Darius volunteered.

Everyone else agreed to do the same.

"Jaime, Tyler only lives a few blocks away. You can walk home," Dad said when I called to ask for the money.

"I know, but nobody else can really cook. There's hardly any food left here. Darius, Eddie, and Brandon live too far away to walk home. And Sho can't drive anywhere with all the snow," I said, pleading my case.

"Who's Sho?" Dad asked.

I told him Sho's story about delivering sushi and getting stuck in the snow. I left out the part about Sho being a PreacherKidXXXL superfan.

"And is Sho good-looking and into guys?"

"Well, kinda."

Dad couldn't stop laughing.

Once he'd finally caught his breath he said, "The hot, pizza delivery boy meme straight from a porn video titled `Fifty Shades of Gay.' If the walls could talk."

"Well, they can't. Which is probably a good thing," I laughed. "That reminds me, we've got some sheets that need washing."

"Ugh, I bet. TMI. I'll put $50 on the card."

"Thanks, Dad. Have you talked to Asher?"

"He's still at Eddie's house. Had a blast. Said he's never had so much fun. Eddie's mom called this morning to say that they'd stocked up before the storm and that the kids were all safe and sound. Asher will probably spend another night there."

"Good for him...and good for you and Mom. You've got the whole place to yourselves again. Don't let Mom beat you at video games," I kidded.

"Have fun. Be safe. Say hi to your friends. Love you, Jaime."

"Love you, too."

Reassembled downstairs after making all of our calls, we decided that Darius and I would trudge through the snow to the grocery store while the other guys shoveled the driveway and cleared off Sho's car.

I guess that made sense, but given that there were twenty inches (50cm) of snow on the ground and I'm only sixty-four inches (163cm) tall...

"This should be fun," I said rolling my eyes.

"Come on, Jaime," Brandon began, "You're the only one who can walk through a supermarket and pull together everything you need to make decent meals. The rest of us would either wind up with a bunch of stuff we like on its own but that wouldn't go together or frozen shit we could nuke."

We all decided that Brandon and Tyler didn't need to kick in any more money because they'd covered dinner the night before.

Eddie transferred the money his folks had deposited from his account to mine. Darius did the same. Then, Sho handed me $50.

"No, that's your tip from last night," I said.

"It's the least I can do. This has been an amazing experience. I hope we all stay in touch once we can get out of here," Sho said, addressing the whole group, but with his eyes fixed on Brandon.

Darius and I bundled up and grabbed a bunch of reusable grocery bags from Tyler. It took us nearly an hour to trudge the mile (1.6km) to the grocery store. We stopped every few minutes to catch our breaths. Walking in snow up to your thighs is really tough going, even more so in frigid temperatures with a biting wind in your face.

"I can't feel my face," Darius said when we'd reached about the halfway mark.

"I'll feel it for you later if we make it," I laughed.

Luckily, the supermarket was open. They'd cleared their parking lot, having moved the snow into huge piles at the far end of the lot. The street in front of the supermarket still had snow on it, but it looked as though the city had at least tried to keep it clear overnight. It wasn't in great shape, but a four-by-four could get through. Unfortunately, that couldn't be said of the route we had to take back to Tyler's place, which was all side streets.

Darius and I walked through the store gathering up food that we could carry back with us without collapsing under the weight. We'd have to drink water back at Tyler's because carrying heavy liquids just didn't make sense. I did get a small container of milk for coffee and to make pancakes the following morning.

We stopped for a second to sneak a kiss in the ethnic foods aisle, then made it to the checkout line.

The wind had started to ease up and was at our backs as we walked home to Tyler's but the added weight of the groceries made us sink in even deeper than before.

It was now after 3:00 PM. It would be dark in an hour. As we rounded the corner onto Tyler's street, exhausted and frozen, we could see that his driveway was clear and Sho's car had been freed from its snowy tomb. Sitting on the lawn with their backs to the street were six snowmen of various heights. Unlike the usual large, round snowball, the torsos of those snowmen were distinctly different. Each had broad shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist. As we moved past Sho's car and up the path to Tyler's front door, the fronts of the snowmen came into view.

Darius and I took one look, glanced at each other, dropped our groceries, and fell over laughing. Let's just say that each of the snowmen was "anatomically correct." Each had huge pecs, washboard abs, and a huge penis. The shortest snowman's frosty penis hung right to the ground with two baseball-sized testicles plastered beneath it.

Once we'd regained our composure and picked up the bags, we glanced up to see our four friends through the window doubled over laughing.

"Very funny," I said as we walked through the door. "Now shut up and grab these groceries and help us get undressed. We're frozen stiff."

"Really?" Tyler said, walking over, unzipping my jacket, and grabbing my crotch, "Mmm. Not quite stiff enough. I know how I can help."

Before I could even kick off my boots, Tyler dropped to his knees, slid my jeans down to my ankles, and slipped my cold and shriveled dick out of my underwear.

"Oh my God, Jaime, look how it's shrunk up to almost nothing," he said sarcastically, grabbing onto about 7" (18cm) of soft cock.

Eddie took hold of Darius and did the same. Sho and Brandon walked over to give us warm hugs and lock lips with us while Eddie and Tyler worked their magic on our cocks.

"Just a quick BJ, guys. We've got work to do in the kitchen," I chided.

Tyler pulled off my cock for a second, "This isn't Florida, dude. We're not serving dinner at 4:30. Relax."

Over the course of about twenty minutes, the boys played tag-team on Darius's and my dicks, switching off every few minutes, moving from cock to kiss and back, while stroking their own.

For a guy who said he wasn't all that experienced, Sho had some pretty impressive oral skills. He managed to get more than half of my dick down his throat, only resting to grab it with both hands and admire its size. I guess he'd been practicing on Brandon the night before.

Darius came first, delivering a nice load into Brandon's open mouth. Seeing my boyfriend's head roll back and his body quiver in ecstasy pushed me over the edge. I gave Sho a cum facial, shooting seven jets of jizz onto him. Not quite as impressive as the night before, but your body needs time to recover, right? Brandon, Tyler, and Eddie stood up and took aim at Sho, each blasting their load over the eager Boococky, who by then was so turned on that he blasted jets of hot, white jizz all over the entryway tile floor.

Eddie grabbed a towel for Sho, while the rest of us just stood there huddled together.

"What's for dinner?" Brandon asked. "Sex makes me hungry."

"Really? I'd never have known. I'm making Lasagna. Nothing fancy. But let me get the meat sauce going. It needs to simmer for a while. Then I can take a nap. I'm wiped. Who's gonna help me cook?"

"I will," Sho volunteered. "I know my way around a kitchen."

"While we're cooking, maybe the rest of you can do a little cleaning up. Those sheets from last night...with all the cum on them, they can probably stand up on their own by now," I said.

"You guys have anything you need washed?" Tyler asked. "I'm guessing you didn't bring enough clothes."

Everyone nodded and ran to get their dirty laundry.

"Throw it into the washer," Tyler instructed. "I don't need to touch your dirty undies."

"Oh, puhlease," I moaned. "You've sucked all of our cocks and licked all of our butts and now you're freaking out over some underwear?"

Everyone nodded and snickered.

"Guess you've got a point," Tyler conceded, then laughed at his own silliness.

"Anyone wanna watch a bowl game? We've got some chips and salsa. We can munch on that until dinner's ready," Eddie said.

Eddie, Tyler, Brandon, and Darius headed downstairs while Sho and I walked into the kitchen.

"You know, you seem to be the guy everyone looks up to," Sho said.

"So to speak," I laughed.

"I need some advice," Sho began. "You know how you read stories about celebrities who seem so nice on screen or in interviews, then you hear horror stories from servers or their former personal assistants?"

I nodded.

"Well, when I saw Brandon standing in the hallway last night, I expected him to be kind of an asshole. I mean, he's so hot and so hung. I figured he'd just been acting nice for his fan page. But he really is that nice. He's sweet and smart, and easy to talk to. Do you think he'd ever, like, want to date me?"

"Before I give you a `yes' or `no,' let me give you some background. Brandon's had a very tough life. He was abused by his father in a lot of ways. His little brother was, too. His dad's out of the picture now, but it's gonna take time for Brandon and his family to heal. He's so much better now than he was a few months ago and last night kind of proved that. You were the first to do something with Brandon that I never thought he'd feel comfortable doing. He trusted you and you were very careful and concerned. He has a very kind heart and he's a very loving person but I'm not sure he's ready for a relationship yet. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. The only way you'll know is to ask him if he wants to stay in touch, then if he says `yes,' ask for his phone number. After you've chatted for a while, feel him out and see if he'd like to go on a date. Just remember something, the other four of us are part of the deal. We're very protective of each other but especially of Brandon. If he decides to date you, expect to see a lot of us, too. OK?"

Sho gave me a big hug. "Thanks, Jaime. I can see how much you guys love each other and I wouldn't want to change that. I'm not the jealous type and could definitely handle seeing you guys again. So much fun! So, how can I help with dinner?"

"Here's the one good knife they have in this house. Would you mind chopping onions, celery, and carrots so I can start on the sauce?"

"Sure. No problem."

"I'll get the ground beef browning and chop up the canned tomatoes," I said, "And Sho, for what it's worth, I think you and Brandon would make a really handsome couple and you seem like a great guy."

Once the sauce had been assembled and was slowly simmering on the stove, I called downstairs to see if Darius wanted to take a little nap. Apparently, he'd already started to doze off cuddled up with the other guys, so we headed upstairs for a little lie-down. I set the timer for an hour. Before we drifted off, spooning on the guest room bed, I asked Darius, "Do you think Sho and Brandon should date?"

"If you'd asked me a month or so ago, I would have said that Brandon wasn't ready but honestly, I think that having a special guy, and one who thinks Brandon is all that, would be good for him."

"Yeah, I kind of feel the same way."

Refreshed from the nap, but sore from our trek to the supermarket, Darius and I headed back downstairs to finish up dinner. He helped with a salad while I assembled the lasagna and got it into the oven. By 7:30 PM, dinner was ready and we all gathered around the table.

"Imagine it's ten years from now," Eddie began, "and this was real life. All of us living together like a family. All grown up, with careers but still together. I think that would be pretty sweet."

We all held hands, thinking dreamily about a future that would probably never happen.

"And Jaime could be the mommy," Tyler laughed. "He'd slap you with that ten-foot pole if you acted up."

"Mommy, I've been really, really bad," Darius said, doing everything he could to keep from laughing.

Everyone else laughed. I just smiled. "I think we should take a selfie and post it. I want to remember this New Year forever. Sho, are you OK being in the shot?"

"Sure, no problem," he replied. "Jaime, this lasagna is amazing."

Everyone agreed with Sho and once we'd all eaten our fill, the others formed a circle around me, gave me a group hug, and we snapped the selfie.

"Down to the sex pit for some more action?" Tyler asked.

We all looked at one another.

"How about we just pick a show and hang out tonight?" Darius asked.

Everyone nodded, with the other guys almost as tired from shoveling all the snow and building the snowmen as Darius and I were from our supermarket ordeal.

By 11:00 PM, we were all dozing off, so we headed to our beds.

Darius and I were sleeping within minutes, way too tired for another round.

At 7:00 AM, I poked my head out from behind the shade again to discover that the street had been plowed overnight but the plow had pushed snow up into Tyler's driveway, blocking Sho's exit.

I left Darius in the room, telling him to take a quick shower and get dressed. Then I knocked on Tyler's door and told him to go shovel so that Sho could get out. I headed downstairs to alert Brandon and Sho. They were already awake and cuddled up together on the sofa.

"Good morning, guys. The street's been plowed. Time to head home."

Sho looked a touch sad but then he said, "Brandon and I are going to go to the movies together on Saturday afternoon."

"Awesome! Now get dressed and help dig us out of the driveway while I make breakfast."

With the driveway clear and breakfast served, we all ate quietly, sad at the realization that our magical New Year celebration of sex, love, and friendships both new and old, was over. School was back in session the next day and it was time to go.

I could walk the few blocks home. Sho offered rides to the others. The six of us huddled together in a tight group hug, knowing that we'd just made a memory we'd never forget.

***

The usual lunch group was sitting around the cafeteria table with nothing much to talk about one day in mid-January a few weeks later.

"Let's play `You're So Gay," Tyler said.

"What are you talking about?" Eddie asked.

"It's kinda like a `Yo mama so ugly' joke... Here's one: Jaime, you're so gay your favorite vitamin is Vitamin D."

"In huge doses," Eddie smirked.

"No, it's not! My favorite is Lycopene," I replied.

"Wait, lycopene isn't even a vitamin," Seán stated totally confused.

"'Vitamin D' as in `dick.' `Lycopene,' `Like a peen.' Get it Seán?" I asked.

"Not that funny," said Seán.

Then it was Eddie's turn, "Seán, you're so gay that your favorite tea is oolong."

"That's Darius's favorite. He's the tea drinker...and the size queen," I responded. "Tyler, you're so gay your favorite dessert is spotted dick."

"That's not a dessert. Isn't that some disease?" Tyler asked.

"Nope. See?" I pulled up a picture of the English steamed pudding.

Then Tyler said, "Brandon you're so gay your favorite football position is tight end."

Brandon laughed, "Not so tight anymore!"

Then Seán gave it a try, "Jaime, you're so gay your favorite sport is lickball."

All of us said in unison, "That's not a sport."

"Well, it should be," Seán laughed, then he changed the subject. "Hey, how's Asher doing? I've seen him walking down the hall a few times, but didn't have time to stop and chat."

Eddie, Tyler, and Brandon had already heard frequent reports about Asher, so Brandon pulled out his phone to check for another romantic text from Sho while Tyler and Eddie checked their social feeds as I filled in Seán.

"Asher's doing amazing. I can't get the kid to shut up about how much he loves school. From his very first day, he told us about how he had people to hang out with, most kids were really nice, and he liked his classes. And I think what's most important to him is that he has friends to sit with at lunch. He isn't all alone."

As I looked up, I caught a glimpse of Tyler and Eddie running out of the cafeteria.

"What's with them?" I asked.

Both Seán and Brandon shrugged. It wasn't like either Tyler or Eddie to walk off without a hug, let alone without saying a word. Within a few seconds, my own phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a text from Tyler:

Meet us in the bathroom down the hall. DON'T TELL ANYONE

"Hey, guys, I really gotta pee and lunch is almost over anyway. I'll catch you later, OK?"

"Later, little buddy," Brandon said, eyeing me suspiciously.

"See you at practice, Jaime," Seán replied.

A minute later, I was in the bathroom where Tyler was sitting at the sinks looking like he was going to be sick. Eddie was holding onto him looking equally grim.

"What's happening? Are you OK? Are your families OK?"

Tyler handed me his phone. On the screen was a photo of what looked like one of those home pregnancy tests with "Pregnant" clearly displayed.

"Who sent you this picture? One of your ex-girlfriends? I mean it's been like almost four months since you guys broke up, right?"

"No. It's not Megan or Mia," Eddie said.

"Remember the girl I work with at the Multiplex," Tyler asked, "the one that Eddie and me fooled around with last month?"

"Sure, but you guys used protection, right?"

"Of course, we did, Jaime," Eddie said.

"Let me ask a stupid question. Did you guys bring the condoms or did she give them to you?"

"She's a nice girl, Jaime. We brought the condoms. It's not like she poked holes in the condoms and tried to get knocked up. She's freaking out. She's not sure what she should do."

"What happens if she decides to have the baby?" I asked.

"We haven't gotten that far yet," Tyler replied. "I guess we should meet up with her face-to-face and try to figure it out. I mean, we're not assholes. We're not gonna run away and pretend like this isn't happening."

Eddie jumped in, "We're not ready to be dads. Tyler and I have talked about wanting to be dads someday but not right now, for fuck's sake. Oh my God, this could fuck up everything. No college. Have to work to support a kid."

Eddie slumped to the floor and started to cry. Tyler grabbed him and they sobbed together.

"Only one of you would be the dad," I reminded them.

"No," Tyler replied firmly, "Eddie and I both had sex with her. It doesn't matter who got her pregnant. It could be either of us. We'll both take responsibility."

Eddie nodded.

"I think it's too early to do a paternity test anyway. I can't tell you guys what to do. And we certainly can't force this girl to do anything. But I do know a few things. If either of you changes his mind and decides you want to be a father now, you can't force her to have it, if she doesn't want to. How old is she?"

"She's 17. Same as us," Tyler replied.

"I learned from my Grandma Bernice, the one who runs the women's health clinic on the South Side, that if she decides to end the pregnancy, the sooner, the better. Medical abortions are a lot easier and cheaper than surgical ones, but I think they can only do them up to like seven weeks. When did you guys have sex with her again?"

Tyler and Eddie stopped to count.

"Six weeks ago," Eddie responded before Tyler could finish doing the math in his head.

Tyler skipped the gymnastics team workout that day. I told Coach Melnyk that Tyler's grandma was sick and that they had to drive down to Tinley Park to see her.

At 6:00 PM, I got a text from Tyler: We're meeting up at 8:00 to talk about what we can do

ME: I'll help in any way I can. Love you guys. You know I mean it

TYLER: I really want to be a dad. Just not now

At 9:30, Tyler texted me a link for a three-way video chat.

"Are you guys OK?" I asked.

"We're all really freaked. She knows we used condoms. She's not blaming us," Eddie said.

"Has she decided what she wants to do?" I asked.

"It was a really hard decision. We all want to be parents. We all love kids. But she knows that there's no way she can have a baby without taking serious hell from her parents, even if she wanted to give it up for adoption when it's born. And obviously, none of us can support a kid anyway," Tyler said.

"Jaime, you think you could talk to your grandma tonight?" Eddie asked.

"Sure, guys. Do you think you could drive down to her clinic tomorrow after school?"

"No problem. Except money," Tyler said.

"Let me talk to Mama Bernice, OK?"

***

"To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, Jaime, especially so late in the evening? Everything OK?"

I recounted my friends' story and asked what they should do.

"You sure she's just six weeks pregnant?"

"Yes. Early December," I replied.

"OK, the clinic is open until 6:00 PM and I'll be there personally until then. I'll make sure you guys get on the appointment book. The good thing is that we just need to give her an ultrasound to prove that she's not further along, then we dispense the pills to end the pregnancy, which she'll take when she gets home. They're extremely safe and extremely effective. She'll need to come in for a follow up later in the week to make sure that everything went according to plan, OK?"

"Um, how much is this going to cost?"

"Does she have insurance?" Mama Bernice asked.

"She doesn't want her parents to know. She's only seventeen."

"OK, she's lucky she's in Illinois. No parental notification necessary. We're getting a big influx of people coming in from Indiana and Wisconsin now. They're scared and desperate. Without insurance, it's usually about $450. She'll probably qualify for financial assistance though. Let's see how we net out. If your friends can pay some and it doesn't cover all the costs, I'll pick up the rest. Oh, and Jaime, your friends are lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have you. Maybe Asher and I can come down to see you, Grandpa David, and Great Grandma soon? You know how Asher is in love with Great Grandma."

"We'd love it! What more can grandparents wish for than a visit from their grandkids, especially once they're old enough that you don't have to change stinky diapers or worry about them writing on the walls."

"Thanks, Mama Bernice. Love you."

"Love you, too, Jaime."

I called Tyler and Eddie right away and relayed the details. They both started crying with relief.

"We'll let her know. Just send us the address. What's your grandma's name?" Eddie asked.

"Dr. Bernice Johnson-Fine. She's the head doctor there."

***

Needless to say, Eddie and Tyler were not their usual selves over the next few days. Eddie was extremely quiet and Tyler, who was always ready with a joke, had none. Seán and Brandon noticed but chose not to pry when Eddie and Tyler kept saying that everything was OK. They just sat quietly at the table each lunch period, ate their lunches and held hands under the table.

By Friday of that week, their mood had improved slightly. I pulled them aside during chemistry class and asked if they had news.

"Everything went fine. Those pills aren't fun, I guess, but she's feeling better now and your grandma says she's good to go."

I could see that the weight of this decision had been really painful for my friends; the kid that someday they would have welcomed with open arms was today not to be. It would be weeks before they were back to normal.

END -- Tripod - 40