Ring in Mine #3: Nephi & Jerome: Chapter 36
I am trying to keep up. I am writing on Chapter 42. I keep chapters for a while until I make sure the continuity is there.
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Thanks Zach for your editing skills. Here is Chapter 36. ----------- Chapter 36
Kenton found security at the farm and refused to leave the compound. His tormentors at Lagoon couldn't have known he would be there. It was a large gang, for all he knew they had circulated his picture. He wasn't willing to take the chance it would happen again.
He woke from a dream reliving his interrogation with the police, realizing his testimony had connected the gang leader to the death of his family. If the police pursued that line of inquiry, there could be a price on his head.
Kenton kept his suspicions to himself. He avoided the field in front of the house where he was visible from the street. He wondered, "If people are after you, is it still paranoia?"
Phil had brought one major change to the compound. The guys went out more. This was a radical change for Zeke and Rafe, who could count the number of times they had left the compound before Nephi.
The guys went to the movies, hung at the mall, and even went miniature golfing and bowling. Ester often went with them. They invited Kenton, but he always stayed home.
The business was booming. Nephi added a fourth maintenance team to Peter and Sons. Each new design installation lead to another satisfied maintenance customer. Nephi was providing free yard service for Paula, Marie and Sister Thompson. The teens made an awesome team. They could finish all three yards and the grass around the chapel Paula and Peter had attended for so many years. To keep things even, they finished the Catholic Church before breaking for lunch. They were doing so well that Jerome gave them all a raise and assigned Sean to manage a team that was struggling.
As they finished Marie's lawn, she and Paula brought out sodas and Jared's new favorite, Bertram's new lemon-bars. Jared took a small bite. He closed his eyes savoring the subtle blend of sweet and sour.
"This is better than sex and it won't stab you in the back." Jared still hadn't filled in the details of his split with Drake, but hints slipped into conversation now and then.
A pickup drove past. "Hey faggot, are those your new bend-over boys?" One threw a bottle at Jared. He side-stepped as the bottle flew past.
"Wasn't that Drake's truck?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, it was." Jared pushed the rest of the lemon bar in his mouth and loaded the equipment in the trailer for the trip to the church. Tears streamed down his face.
Zeke put his arm around the older boy. "Do you want to talk?"
Jared shook Zeke's arm off. "No."
"Jared, would you help me lift a box out of the closet before you leave?" His grandmother asked.
Once inside her bedroom she put her arms around her grandson pulling him close. "Here it is just you and me."
Jared's shoulders shook as he cried. Marie asked no questions. "Jared, I love you. Whenever you need to cry, my shoulder is here."
"I'd better go the guys are waiting." Jared struggled to get his emotions under control.
"They will honk when they finish at the church. I want to spend time with my special grandson." Marie hugged him closer.
"But Jerome isn't here." Jared teased. Marie reached for Jared's one ticklish spot on the back of his arm. That broke the tension. "You still love Drake, don't you?" Jared still out of breath after Marie's relentless tickling nodded his head. "If he came back would you take him back?"
Jared considered her question. "Grandma, I don't know. I want him back, but could I ever trust him again?"
"Do you think he could ever regret his decision?" Marie asked.
"You know, don't you?" Jared wondered had he given any clues about that day.
"It cost me a plate of Bertram's brownies and I had to buy tickets to Holly's fundraiser before she spilled the beans. That's why you are living with Jerome, isn't it? So, you can attend a different high school your senior year." Jared nodded. "I think it will be for the best."
The guys honked before they could continue their conversation.
"Take these out to the guys. Remember we both have telephones." Marie handed Jared a plate of desserts.
The boys were working on Sister Thompson's yard. "Jared, can we talk?" Drake was by himself.
"You had your chance to talk and made your choice. Go hang with your new friends. You aren't welcome here." Jared didn't even look at his old boyfriend.
Drake looked around. "I'm on the sidewalk. Will you give me a chance to explain?"
"What is there to explain. You found new friends. When they suggested you were gay, you outed me to the whole school. Go hang with your straight, redneck, Young-Republican, super conservative, bible thumping, asshole friends. Don't worry I won't tell your dirty little secret." Jared turned and walked away. Drake followed. Phil stepped into Drake's path.
"It's bad enough he still misses you without you making things worse. We saw your friends this morning. Jared may care too much to tell your secret, but if you cause him any more grief, I'll make sure everyone knows you love it up the ass." Phil let his message sink in.
"Jared is wrong about one thing; he thinks you are smart. You can't be too bright. Who is stupid enough to get involved with a gang? If they find out you are gay, you will be lucky if they wait to beat the crap out of you until after they rape your fine ass and bust your balls." Phil's message was getting through Drake's thick skull. "You might be lucky and just become their pet cocksucker and pussy boy. You won't need your balls for that job."
After Phil's intervention, Drake avoided driving past Marie's house on Wednesday mornings. Drake wasn't sure how he got involved with this group, but they scared him enough he had thrown Jared to the wolves.
Toward the middle of August, the teens spent their mornings landscaping the compound. Kenton was enjoying working with his brothers again. They had learned to give Kenton his space and not to touch him from behind. Nephi wanted the compound in tip top condition for the planned Labor Day celebration. The teens had finished the waterfall and plantings at the entrance. There was still so much to do and the guys had to finish by lunch. Mary insisted they continue their school work even with the looming deadline.
Jerome made his rounds checking on the teams. "One employee must drive a beat up blue Chevy." Jerome thought. He had noticed it at many of their work sites.
Nephi's was back in the field. His landscaping team had fallen behind waiting for the delivery of the required paving stones. "Boys, I need you to help lay sod today so we can finish a project on time."
"Kenton, why don't you come with us. It will just be the five of us laying sod." Zeke suggested. "We will be with you all the time and you won't be in any crowds."
In the beginning Kenton was nervous and turned at the slightest unexpected sound. Sean was helping with the pavers. The boys were behind the house out of sight. They laid the sod but there was a lot of horseplay too. Kenton grew more comfortable but never let the boys be too far away.
Nephi hadn't visited the other work sites, so the blue Chevy didn't seem out of place. By lunch, the boys had finished the backyard areas and began on the front. No one noticed or cared the blue Chevy was no longer across the street.
It was a race to the finish. The boys trying to finish the lawn before the men finished the last two feet of the driveway. Nephi caught a flash of sunlight off of something shiny in the street. He looked up to see the barrel of a gun sticking out of the window of the old blue Chevy. It was pointing not at the adults but at the boys. Nephi ran towards the boys and had covered only half the distance before the first shot caught Kenton. The second and third shots hit Nephi as he knocked the teens to the ground. The blue car sped off.
"We need an ambulance at the Peterson project. Someone is shooting at the kids." Sean shouted into the radio. One of the team ran for the client's house to call 911.
Sean rolled Nephi off of Kenton. Kenton was bleeding from his shoulder. Nephi's injuries were more serious. Sean had Rafe applying pressure to Kenton's shoulder while he was doing the same for Nephi's chest. Zeke applied pressure on Nephi's lower wound. Jerome had only been four blocks away when the radio call went out. He arrived just before the ambulance. The police weren't far behind.
"I saw an old blue car speed off. I think it was a Chevy." Sean told the police. Jerome wanted to hurry to the hospital, but he took a moment to describe the car he had seen at so many of their work sites.
"Why would they wait until today to start shooting??" The officer asked.
Phil made the connection. "Today was the first time Kenton has worked away from home since lagoon. They aimed for Kenton. Someone wants Kenton dead."
Rafe thought it was a little outlandish. Who would want Kenton dead? Phil's comment kept stirring in Sean's head.
"Ok, men. The best thing we can do for Nephi is to finish on time." Sean announced. Sean wanted to be at the hospital, but he felt he couldn't let Nephi down. He had seen enough wounds in the military, including his own, that he knew there was nothing he could do at the hospital but sit and worry.
By the time they arrived at the hospital the whole family was there. Clark avoided driving the big van because it reminded him of the vehicle he hid under during the attack in Vietnam. He swallowed his fears and drove the family to the hospital. Nephi was important to his family. Without him they were disjointed groups. Nephi was the glue that held them together.
Clark had found Jerome in a small chapel. Jerome knelt and sobbed. He had put on a brave face and acted like an adult as long as he could. Now fear was his master. Fear of losing Nephi. Fear of losing himself. He hadn't wanted to disturb the family so like an animal wandering off to die in peace, he sought a place to cry and found the chapel. If the hospital was named after a saint, there should be a chapel somewhere. Jerome had lit his candle as Nephi had so often done and prayed.
Clark knelt next to him in silence and joined Jerome in prayer. Just as Nephi had given Jerome a chance at a new life, he had given Clark the same thing. Clark had gone from a meaningless cycle of homeless days to a productive life filled with joy, meaning and belonging.
Sean sat holding Kenton's hand in recovery, while the others waited for news of Nephi. He felt guilt and fear. Kenton was his responsibility. "It should have been me saving my boy not Nephi. I shouldn't have let him come to the work site. I should have made him stay safely at home. I should have followed him into the restroom at the mall." The self-recriminations cycled around and around.
A hand rested on his shoulder. "The world is filled with should haves. Daily you put the needs of your son before you own. In that dark place you saved him before they could end his life. You have filled his days with the love his family didn't provide. If Nephi dies, it will be doing what was important to him, protecting his family. Deep down you know Nephi would give his life to save any member of his family, even yours. Celebrate in the life of your child and care for him. Let God care for Nephi."
Sean closed his eyes in prayer. He felt a feeble squeeze. "Water." Following the nurse's instructions Sean gave Kenton some ice chips to suck on. Sean closed his eyes and gave thanks to his Lord.
"Love you, dad." Kenton closed his eyes but held onto Sean's hand. Tears of joy traced their patterns down Sean's face. Nephi had given him his life twice. Once when Nephi welcomed him into his family and again when Nephi saved his son.
The surgeon stepped through the double doors. "The lower bullet went straight through the pelvic area. It was close to the spinal cord. There may be some paralysis. We won't know until he is awake. The other bullet bounced around inside his chest. We've fixed the damage the best we could. Now we play a waiting game. If he makes it through the night, he has a chance."
Paula looked around and realized she hadn't seen Jerome for quite some time. "Where is Jerome? Clark is missing too."
Security found Jerome. The family's news brought little relief. The Intensive Care Nurse refused to let Jerome sit with his partner. "Hospital rules only allow one family member." She emphasized `family member.'
"I don't know what the problem is. They are both my sons. That makes them brothers." Paula insisted.
Jerome sat holding the hand without the tubes and wires. The nurses insisted the patient wouldn't wake until morning if he made it through the night. If Nephi was going to die, Jerome refused to let him be alone. He prayed if Nephi passed that the Lord would take him too. Jerome had considered suicide more than once. Nephi was the anchor that kept Jerome in this world.
Jerome fell asleep to the rhythmic beeps reassuring him the love of his life still lived. The night nurse wrapped a blanket around Jerome hoping someday he could find a guy he could love this much.
The blare of an alarm jerked Jerome awake. A nurse pushed him out of the way telling Jerome to leave. Many doctors and nurses pushed past him into Nephi's room. Jerome had seen enough hospital shows on television to know Nephi's heart had stopped. The love of his life was dead. Jerome knelt next to a chair in the waiting room.
"Dear Father, don't take Nephi from me." Jerome prayed. "This is my punishment for being gay. You are taking Nephi away because I chose him instead of the church. If I die You wouldn't have to take Nephi."
Jerome took the elevator to the highest floor. He searched for the stairway to the roof. He climbed the stairs and pushed the crash bar giving him access the overcast sky. Jerome hadn't realized the hospital was as big as it seemed on the roof. It was a maze of machinery and Heating/Cooling units. He searched for the edge to throw himself to the ground below saving Nephi but kept returning to the open door leading back into the hospital.
He sat on the top step of the stairway realizing the split flights weren't long enough to kill him. How could he keep the Lord from punishing Nephi?
"Why would it be a punishment if the Lord brought Nephi home? Dying's not so bad. The suffering before isn't great but dying is more of an awakening." Jerome didn't even question where the old man sitting next to him had come from. "I closed my eyes in this world and opened them in the next. It's nice. My dad was waiting for me. I had missed him for so long. I thought heaven would be boring playing the harp all day. It's not like that at all. I watch over my family that is still here. They keep me busy and Nephi's family keeps growing."
The pair sat side by side for a while in silence. "Your Heavenly Father loves you both. You've made Nephi happy. Nephi will need you to carry on his work even if he passes. Can you do that for Nephi?"
"I'm not sure, but I will try my best." Jerome answered.
"That's all the Lord asks. Today He's letting me do something really cool. I call it a rewind. Close your eyes." The man put his hand on Jerome's shoulder and shook it.
Jerome opened his eyes. He was still on his knees in the waiting room. The hand on his shoulder belonged to the nurse. "He's back with us and looks stable. You are welcome to come back in."
"What is that ringing?" Jerome asked fearing the worst.
"Someone opened the door to the roof." The nurse answered.
As Jerome walked towards Nephi's room a doctor in white scrubs came out and winked at Jerome. Jerome turned around; the doctor wasn't there.
Jerome resumed his place by Nephi. He told his partner all about his strange dream. Did Nephi just squeeze his hand? Jerome believed he had.
Jerome woke to the steady beeping of Nephi's monitors. "Can you give us a minute to do our thing and you may come back in. Why don't you grab a breakfast sandwich from the canteen and bring it back up? I will find you a juice."
When Jerome returned, the nurse was just finishing up. True to his word the nurse provided a plastic cup of juice. Jerome felt guilty he hadn't even asked about Kenton. Sean rolled Kenton into the room; his right arm was in a sling.
"How's Daddy Nephi?" Kenton asked.
"He hasn't woken up yet." Jerome explained. "But he made it through the night."
Kenton tried to roll next to Jerome. Jerome met him halfway. Kenton put his good arm around Jerome. "Nephi saved my life. If he hadn't knocked me to the ground . . ." Kenton sobbed. "I should be the one lying in that bed."
Jerome wanted to agree with him but said what he thought Nephi would say. "Kenton, what is painted over the archway we read every time we leave the compound?"
"Go forth and do good." Kenton repeated.
"Nephi did what he preached. His family is so important to him, he would have taken the first bullet too." Jerome hugged Kenton even tighter. The monitor skipped a beat and returned to its steady rhythm. "I think Nephi agrees."
Paula arrived. "Benny is taking Kenton and Sean home. Jerome, I think you should go home, shower, get something to eat and maybe get some sleep."
"I want to be here when Nephi wakes up." Jerome insisted.
Paula handed him a grocery bag of clean clothes. "At least washup and change."
Jerome returned from the restroom just in time to leave again while the medical team did their thing. When Jerome and Paula entered the tubes had been removed from Nephi's nose and throat. "He is breathing on his own. We will cut back on his medication. Hopefully he wakes up in the next hour or so." The doctor reassured Paula and Jerome.
The compound buzzed with activity. Many of the Peter and Sons employees volunteered to complete the compound's landscaping. A stone arch had replaced the simple entrance. "Samaria" in rusted iron letters stretched across the top of the arch. Kenton knew what would be printed on the backside of the arch. Iron gates replaced the chain link. The rock wall extended 20 feet either side of the gate. A single electrified wire ran six inches above the rock.
Benny had located some larger evergreens and mature plants to replace the seedlings in the alpine waterfall at the entrance. Workman used the bobcat to lower the large flat piece of sandstone engraved with the Peter and Sons logo as they drove past.
One team dug another trench from the house to the front gate. "What are they installing this time?" Kenton asked.
"I am having security cameras installed around the property." Benny answered concerned for Kenton's safety.
"It sounds expensive." Sean responded. He marveled at the finishing details that had gone into the compound. He knew about the insurance money but that had been spent on Paula's house. Nephi didn't have this kind of money, Sean knew most of Nephi's clothes came from the thrift store.
As they pulled into the parking area its mature evergreens hid it from the street by more. They weren't huge, but they were more than bushes. Here the new trench was filled, and the sod replaced. Inside the compound was just as busy as the entrance. The little ones occupied the now completed playground. All the windows along the courtyard were open. The stacked iron fence sections had been installed around the pool replacing the chain link.
Rebecca rang the dinner bell, and everyone made their way to the old boys' dormitory. The guys were setting up the last of the tables and chairs. Kenton noticed the new backboards and basketball hoops on either end of the two-story room. The workmen helped themselves to the buffet lunch. Benny, Kenton and Sean joined the end of the line. Sean carried Kenton's plate.
Benny left Sean and Kenton to get settled. He stood at the head of the tables and rang the mounted school bell that had roused the residents of the dormitory every morning for years. The room grew silent.
"Thank you all for giving your Saturday to help make Nephi's dream come true. I want to reassure you that Monday morning it will be business as usual. All of your jobs are safe." Benny began. "The news from the hospital is optimistic. Kenton has returned to us and will be right as rain in a couple of weeks. Nephi made it through the night and is breathing on his own."
"The Labor Day Picnic for you and your families is next weekend. Nephi wouldn't want to cancel it."