This story is purely fictional and is based solely on the author's imagination. Any connection between real people, or situations is purely coincidental. It depicts a love relationship between two men, both being of legal age, and their involvement with a teen boy.
This story is a sequel to the story CABIN IN PARADISE, which can be found in the "Beginnings" section of Nifty's Archives. The author recommends you read that story first. Otherwise, there may be parts in this one that just don't make sense!
The author reserves all copyright privileges. This work may not be reproduced, except for personal use, without permission of the author, and may not be linked to any pay sites.
Chapter 1
"Finally!" I uttered as the plane landed at San Francisco International Airport. "What a horrible flight."
"Well, what do you expect when you book last minute?" Kenny smirked.
"That's not funny, Kenny!" I glared at him scornfully.
"Look, you need to relax. I told you that you should have taken advantage of the free liquor. It is first class, you know." Kenny tipped the small bottle upward, swallowing the last few drops of vodka.
"Oh yeah, now that's a pretty sight for the Child Welfare worker to see: a Drunk Uncle."
"Oh relax, Russell. You're going to do fine. Besides, if anyone can take care of your sister's kid, you can! You'll make a great dad."
I hoped Kenny was right, but somehow, I wasn't so sure.
Our visit back to California would be a short one, with no time for site seeing. We were there for one reason and one reason only: Timothy.
"Jesus, Russell. You look as white as a ghost. Breath for Pete's sake!" Kenny admonished as I buckled the seat belt of the rental car.
I looked at Russell, and our eyes met. "I could never have done this without you, Kenny. You know that, don't you?"
"Hell yeah I know it. I'm the best damn lawyer in Alabama!" Kenny started to laugh. He knew he couldn't hold a serious look on his face.
But this was serious. Our visit wasn't social by any means.
Kenny pulled the car in front of the Youth Hostile, where we agreed to meet with the Superior Court's Child Advocate.
As we walked inside, we were greeted almost immediately. "Ah, here we are. Hello, Mr. Tibbs. I trust your flight went well." Mrs. Grass extended her hand.
"Bumpy, but tolerable, thank you. Is he here?" As usual, my impatience was showing through.
"Oh, mercy no. We keep the kids locked in boxes over at the zoo." She quipped, looking at Kenny.
I stopped for a moment before realizing she was kidding. A sense of humor was not something I needed right now.
My nerves were shot; I hadn't slept well in three days; and now this reunion was edging on clipping the last remaining nerve I had left.
Kenny broke my concentration by clearing his throat.
"Yes, yes, this is Kenny Schilte, Mrs. Grass."
"Oh yes, the attorney. How nice to meet you," she said, sticking out her hand.
"Right this way. Tim's excited to see you." Mrs. Grass smiled, leading us to a meeting room.
The hallway seemed as long as the Golden Gate Bridge. Along the way, she made small talk with Kenny, while I reflected on how I ended up here.
I was one of only two siblings in my family. My sister, in a last-ditch effort to extend her life, after the diagnosis of terminal cancer, moved herself and her son, Timothy, to California.
It managed to work for a while, but as happens with the dreaded disease, it got the best of her, and finally took what little life she had left.
My only prayer of thanks, was that she died in her sleep, painless and quickly.
That left Timothy, now just fourteen, alone. His father? Well, it seems that when Maggie, my sister, was diagnosed, he took off. Found another 'healthy' woman, and was never heard from again.
So, Timothy was stuck with me...like it or not.
It was no wonder I was nervous as hell. It had been...geez, a good five years since I saw Maggie. We weren't on the best of terms, and I was a little surprised that I was even 'chosen' to take custody of her only child.
But then, like Timothy, she didn't have many options. And since Kenny and I were pretty comfortable in Alabama, she figured at least the kid wouldn't want for anything. It was sort of how I reasoned with it as well.
There was a small 'scuttle' at the beginning of the process, but when you deal with the 'best damn lawyer in Alabama,' things tend to get smoothed out pretty quickly. Of course, we had a lot of help from Judge Wilkins as well.
So, today was the day we met Timothy and took custody of him.
Mrs. Grass opened the door and led our way in. "Hello, Tim. I've brought you some guests. Do you remember your Uncle Russell?"
"Hi, Tim," I said, nervously sticking out my hand.
"Hey." He answered solemnly, not even looking up, let alone taking my hand.
"Well, why don't you boys sit and get acquainted. I have some paperwork to round up." Mrs. Grass quickly left us alone in the room, closing the door behind her.
We sat for a moment...silent. I looked at Kenny, who just smiled encouragingly.
"Hey, Tim. Ever ridden in a Porsche before?" I asked, trying to make some kind of connection to the boy.
He shook his head.
"Well, Kenny here has got a Porsche and a fancy limo too. We've even got a huge pool in the backyard. Do you like horses, Tim?"
"Don't know," he finally answered. "And it's Timothy!"
"Oh...sure, yeah, Timothy. Okay, that's cool." I was running out of ideas fast!
"Here we are," Mrs. Grass said joyously, as she burst through the door. "Okay, just need a couple of signatures. You brought your I.D.'s with you, right?" Kenny and I handed her our passports, which she whisked back out of the room to photocopy. She was only gone a moment, returning with our passports, and a single suitcase. "This is all Tim has. Traveling light is always the best, isn't it, Tim?"
He didn't answer.
She didn't care. It was one less kid on the books. She knew it...I felt it.
It was when we stood to leave that I finally got a look at my nephew. He was a strapping young man, handsome with strong cheekbones. I was certain he probably had a smile that would melt hearts, but it would be some time before I saw it. His eyes were crystal ice blue. You know the kind that you just lock onto. His dirty-blonde hair needed a trim; still it was brushed away from his face, which showed no signs of a single pimple anywhere. He was one of the lucky ones.
Standing almost as tall as I, at a good 5 foot 9, I knew he would be quite a bean-pole before his growing was done, and I was also willing to bet that he didn't weigh more than 120 pounds soaking wet!
I placed my hand on his shoulder as we left the room. "It's going to be okay, Timothy. We're going to take good care of you."
They were the only words I could think of.
Timothy didn't answer. As we walked back down the long hallway toward the exit, here merely watched the floor go by, as though the only world he knew was going with it.
When we got into the car, Kenny asked, "I'm starved. How about some dinner?"
"That sounds great," I answered. "We've got a couple hours before the flight leaves. What do you say, Timothy?"
"Whatever," he mumbled, still looking downward.
I looked back at Kenny, who only smiled and nodded as if to say, 'It's okay, he'll come around.'
We opted for burgers at a national fast food joint, and as we sat on the plastic seats, Timothy looked as though he hadn't eaten in years.
After consuming three burgers, a large fries and a 'maxi-sized' shake, I would have thrown up! Not Timothy. He simply turned his head, belched the loudest I've ever heard in my life, and said to me, "You gonna finish that?"
I giggled. "No, go ahead."
Hey, it was a start.
The flight back to Alabama was worse than the flight in, if that was even possible.
Kenny consoled himself with the free liquor, and I took solace in a paperback novel I was working on. The story wasn't the greatest, but I didn't have to concentrate very hard to keep the plot.
Timothy curled up in the large first class seat and slept the entire flight, not even waking during several bouts of turbulence.
We arrived in Birmingham at seven at night. As requested, Kenny's driver was waiting in the limousine when we exited luggage claim.
"This is your car?" Timothy asked, through sleepy eyes.
"Yep. Wait until you see the others," I answered proudly.
"Mom never said you were loaded!"
"I'm not. Kenny is! I just sponge off him," I nudged Kenny.
"Don't worry, Kid. I make him work it off!" Kenny mussed my hair and then rubbed my cheek lovingly.
Timothy looked at us for a moment, and then, almost afraid to ask, he said, "You guys...gay or something?"
Well shit. Clearly our money wasn't the only thing Timothy's mother failed to mention.
"Yes, Timothy, we are. Kenny's my partner...my...husband, I guess you'd say."
"Yeah, and he's my wife! Complete with dress and everything!" Kenny said, busting out with laughter.
"That's not even funny!" I scolded.
I was about to berate Kenny for being so insensitive about the issue, but it was too late. Timothy was already laughing at the visual of me in a dress.
For the first time, I saw the boy with a smile on his face. I was right...it was golden and touched my heart.
"I don't wear dresses," I said in a pout-like voice.
Kenny burst out laughing again, and Timothy almost doubled over.
They were having a good laugh at my expense, but it was a laugh, nonetheless.
As we pulled into the drive, Timothy looked out the window at the well-lighted estate. "Dude, I think we dropped into a time warp. This thing is totally 'Gone with the Wind.'"
I wasn't sure whether I should be offended by the 'backward' reference, or impressed that he'd even seen such a classic movie.
"1883," Kenny beamed proudly! "It's been in the family a long time. Maybe tomorrow, you'd like a tour. We don't charge much."
"He's only kidding, Timothy," I reassured him.
"Duh!" Timothy responded.
That sent Kenny into another fit of laughter. "Come on, MOM, let's get the bags."
"Oh, very funny!" I quipped.
Timothy stopped midway up the steps. As he gazed up the tall columns, I heard him whisper something.
"What?" I asked.
The smile was gone from his face. "Mom would have liked it here. Why didn't you bring her here, Uncle Russell?"
My heart broke into a million pieces. "Timothy, sit down for a minute."
"I'll just take these inside," Kenny said, leaving us alone on the white steps.
"Timothy, I loved your mother more than my own mother. She and I were like Batman and Robin, you know? Always looking out for each other." I inhaled deeply, trying to fight back the tears forming in my eyes. "She wouldn't come, Timothy. I don't know why, she just wouldn't. I begged her. Even made arrangements for plane tickets. She wouldn't do it."
I stopped a moment, and placed my arm around his shoulders.
"When the cancer hit, she changed, Timothy. It was like; she wasn't my sister any more. After a while, she stopped calling me, and stopped taking my calls. I just figured we fell apart. So..." I gulped hard. "I just stopped trying."
Timothy looked up at me, and for the first time since our reunion, our eyes met. "Uncle Russell? What's Bart's Revenge?"
I stopped breathing; I know I did. I felt my heart pounding in my ears. He couldn't have struck me harder if he had used a hot knife directly in my heart.
As I choked the tears, I relayed the story of how his mother and I used to play together at a park near our house. We weren't more than seven or eight at the time, but I remembered it like it was yesterday.
Our favorite game was 'Bart's Revenge,' and each of us would fight to be 'Bart.' Bart, as would have it, was a pirate, and not a very nice pirate. He was Captain of the pirate ship, which were really the monkey bars at the park. But to us, it was a ship, complete with anchor and crew.
Of course, if you could convince the crew to commit mutiny, ahhhh, then you could be captain. But, it was always 'Bart's Revenge' to take back what was rightfully his!
As I told the story through tears, I tried my best to speak with a pirate growl, just the way Maggie used to do it.
By now, the tears were flowing freely down my face, and I missed that little girl more than ever!
I couldn't help myself and I hugged Timothy tightly to my chest. "We're gonna get through this...together, Timothy!" I released the boy, and wiped the tears from my face. "Why don't you go inside? Rebecca will show you to your room."
As Timothy started up the stairs toward the double door entry, he turned to me, "I'm glad you came for me." Realizing he may have let down one of his hardened walls, he quickly turned away from me, and ran into the house.
I sat there for a moment, stunned mostly. Then, as I looked up at the starry sky, I prayed to Maggie. "Thanks, Maggie. I guess now I know why you chose me. I won't let him forget you...I promise!"
I blew her a kiss goodnight, and then made my way into the house as well.
As I went upstairs, I passed Kenny's old childhood room, and the door was cracked open.
As I drew closer, I heard soft voices inside. I peered in the doorway.
"My mother hated this room." Kenny said.
"Cuz of the horses, huh?" Timothy asked, pointing to the wall border.
"Yep. Smart kid."
"Thanks. Anyway, I think they're cool."
"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you stay in this room? I mean, I don't use it anymore, and it has an awesome view of the pool." Kenny pulled one of the curtains aside, showing off the lighted pool.
"You wouldn't care? I mean...it's your room."
"Not if we make it yours, Timothy." Kenny turned to the boy, and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Look, Timothy, we're a family now. You, Russell and me. It's all we've got. I want you to feel like this is your home too, okay?"
The boy simply nodded, looked around the room, and nodded again. "Yeah, it could work." Timothy smiled.
"Oh...it could work, huh?" Kenny grabbed Timothy in a headlock and quickly mussed his hair.
"Hey, easy on the do." Timothy laughed out loud.
I pushed the door open. "So, there you are. Not even twenty minutes, and you two buffoons are trying to beat each other up. Oh yeah, this is going to work out splendid." I stood with my hands on my hips.
"Uh oh, Timothy...Mom's pissed off!" Kenny fell to the floor laughing, and Timothy joined him.
"Oh, ha ha...very funny!" I walked out, leaving the two to their hysterics.
As Kenny crawled into bed and snuggled up next to me, I hugged him. "That was really sweet, Kenny."
"What?"
"Your room. I know how much it means to you."
"Hey," he looked up at me. "If this is going to work, we've got to work together, okay? Now, I'm beat, let's get some sleep."
"Okay...DAD!" I couldn't resist.
Kenny looked at me for a moment, and then we both fell into fits of snickers.
I hope you're enjoying my story of Russell, Kenny, and Timothy. I welcome comments and questions, so email me at mycandlelight_dreams@yahoo.com I also have other stories posted on Nifty. If you'd like the titles, just ask me.