Tad and His Manny, Chapter 2
On Saturday morning, Camden awoke slightly later than he normally would have. He'd been edgy for the past couple of weeks, hoping to get this job, and now that he had it, the relief made him relax to the point that he could catch up on his rest. He really had no duties for the next couple of days, however, he wanted to be actively involved with the boy he would be mentoring. It would allow him to see how the household operated so that he could keep what he did as consistent as possible with what Preston's routine. He knew Tad would thrive better if he felt secure.
When he'd dressed and wandered out to the kitchen, he found Preston beginning to make breakfast. He immediately pitched in to do what he could.
"Hey, you're supposed to have the weekend off," Preston said. "Not that I mind having help. Do you have a lot more to move? Perhaps Tad and I can give you a hand."
"Nah, but thanks for the offer. It's a furnished apartment and there's not much left to bring. I have my stereo equipment, my bike, and a few incidentals. Then I need to mop the kitchen floor. I've already dusted and vacuumed. I plan to leave it spotless so I'll get my whole deposit back."
"That's a good plan. You might take a few pictures to prove how it looks, in case your landlord tries to screw you out of it. If he does, I'll be happy to write a letter as your attorney to make him pay up."
"I'll take your advice. I don't think the guy will mess me over, but it couldn't hurt."
"Text me if you don't finish as quickly as you hope to. I'll plan to serve lunch around your schedule."
Preston heard the garage door go up a little after 11:00. A smiling Camden came into the kitchen with his deposit money in his hand. All had gone as planned.
On Sunday morning, Preston was busy helping Tad get dressed for Sunday School. Camden made breakfast so that the pair wouldn't be late. Preston offered to take Camden with them if he wished to go.
"I'm not trying to proselytize, but you'd be welcome to join us. Trinity Episcopal is a friendly place. I know you'd feel at home there."
"I may take you up on it sometime. Right now, I'm kind of off religion. My mother suffered bouts of depression after my little brother was born. She never should have become pregnant at that age. The same Catholic priest who told her it was a sin to use birth control molested altar boys."
"Were you an altar boy?"
"Yes," Camden uttered in a near whisper.
"Damn!"
"Yeah."
"Was he ever held responsible?"
"Not that I know of. Things were swept under the rug. My parents didn't believe me, and now I guess it's too late."
"Not necessarily. The statute of limitations has changed recently. I can pursue it if you like."
"Thanks! I would like that."
"Man, you missed a good sermon. I'm not trying to be pushy, but the message really got to me."
"Okay, tell me what it was about."
"It was the parable Jesus told about a rich man and the beggar, Lazarus. Do you remember the story?"
"Yeah, they both died and the rich guy was sent to someplace hot while Lazarus was safe `in the bosom of Abraham,' I believe it reads, with others who followed God."
"True. Father Cavendish emphasized that all of us in the congregation are rich in comparison with many others in the world. He challenged us to give more to those in need. Not in order to save ourselves from the eternal flames, but out of love for God and others. I know I can do more. I'm going to help pay for a desalinization project in Haiti that I heard about. They need it more than I need a new car or another set of golf clubs."
"That's cool, maybe I'll go hear this guy for myself next week."
Camden did go to church with Preston and Tad the following Sunday. He was impressed with the young priest and pleased that he was allowed to take the Eucharist since he was a baptized believer. I didn't matter that it had been done in the Catholic Church.
He also experienced a warm welcome from several of the members of the congregation, especially Preston's mother, Dora. She spent quite a few minutes with him while her son was chatting with another friend.
"It's so good to finally meet you," she said. "When I saw Tad last week, he couldn't stop talking about how wonderful you are. Preston was nearly as enthusiastic as he was. You've made a good impression on both of them. I feel that you're a godsend to help them get through the tragedy of losing Cathy. She was as sweet as anyone I've ever met. And coming from a mother-in-law, you have to know that's high praise."
"You strike me as a gracious lady who looks for the best in everyone. I hope I can live up to the image you have of me."
"I have no doubt that you will."
Having Camden as part of the household allowed Preston to resume a more normal work schedule. It was a relief to know that Tad was in good hands if his day ran late or if he had to meet someone for dinner.
Despite increasing his workload, he didn't bury himself in his job like some widowers would have. He felt that he had to be home for his son as much as possible.
For his part, Tad actually enjoyed some of the times his father couldn't be home. It wasn't that he didn't love his dad, but it was a case of liking the one-on-one time with Camden. Camden engaged him in a lot of fun activities. Not only did they play with Legos on the family room floor, but they also pursued arts and crafts in a room in the basement where Preston had encouraged Camden to set up a studio. Sometimes, Camden would work on a pastel painting while Tad drew pictures with his own set of chalks or colored pencils. With Camden as his role model, the boy was creating things beyond the scope of most children his age.
Shortly after the autumnal equinox, the weather began to change. In September, temperatures began to drop, and the leaves started to turn. A chilling frost in the latter part of the month killed off all but the hardiest of flowers.
October continued the trend. Soon the maples turned shades of orange and red and the ash trees a bright gold as their leaves began to fall. Camden raked the leaves in the front yard and piled them on the parkway for the city truck to vacuum them up with its machinery. He left a few in the back for Tad to "help" him with. Some of that help amounted to jumping in the pile to crush them so they'd take up less space at the curb. Tad was in his glory.
In the third week of the month, Tad and Camden created three jack-o-lanterns. It was the child's idea to have too big ones for his father and his manny. There was a little one to represent him. He drew the faces with magic marker and Camden did his best to follow the lines in carving them to look like what the boy had envisioned. Preston got home in time to help. It turned into a kind of bonding experience for them all.
Preston used the camera in his phone to capture Tad's smiling face as the boy posed with their handiwork.
When Thanksgiving came in late November, Tad and Camden made turkey decorations for the house. The big dinner would be at the home of Preston's parents.
Camden had signed up with some of the members of Trinity to help serve a meal for the homeless. Preston commended him for his generosity in volunteering but wished he could have dinner with family.
Camden may have been charitable, but he had another motive as well. He didn't want Preston to know that he had nowhere to go. He let him assume that his parents might have invited him. He didn't want to reveal that he was alienated from them. If he did, he would have to explain about his orientation. While he didn't think it would jeopardize his employment, he wasn't ready to come out to Preston just yet.
In December, Preston began to suspect that Camden might not be welcome in his boyhood home. The parish in which the young man had grown up was just across town. Unless his parents had moved or died, they were probably still somewhere in the neighborhood. Camden had barely mentioned his family, other than that he had a little brother, and when he'd done so, the references were all made in the past tense.
Dora had told her son to extend an invitation for Christmas dinner early enough to let Camden know he was welcome. So, on December 5th, he made the offer.
The three of them were in the family room after dinner, Camden on the floor with Tad playing with Tad's favorite Legos, Preston in the recliner working the daily crossword puzzle.
"Mother wants you to celebrate the holidays with us unless you have other plans. If you do, she's willing to have our big dinner on Christmas Eve Day or on the 26th so that you can be present."
"That's great of her. I'll be available on the 25th. I have no other place to go."
"So, your family won't be offended if your absent?"
"I have no family," Camden swallowed, as he unsuccessfully tried to hold his emotions in check.
"You have Tad and me. Is the breach too large to repair?"
"They disowned me the summer after my sophomore year in college. I, um, came out to them and they threw me out. I'm not allowed to have any contact with Brendon for fear that I'll turn him gay. I miss him a lot because I practically raised him the first five years of his life."
Preston got out of his chair and sat on the floor beside Camden, putting his right arm around the young man's shoulders. Tad scooted over to sit on his lap.
"I can be your little brother, if you want," the boy offered. "I don't want you to be sad."
Camden smiled despite his tears. At that moment, he felt loved for the first time in a long while. Nothing negative had been said about his orientation, and the two people he'd grown close to recently both expressed their affection for him. This felt like what a family was supposed to be. He was truly thankful for his good fortune. He hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid to mess it up.
At Tad's insistence, Preston took several shots of the "brothers" together.
About a week before Christmas, Tad looked upset when Camden picked him up from school.
"What's up, Bud? Did you have a bad day?" he asked, as Tad buckled himself into the back seat.
"Sort of. Danny Sims told our whole class that Santa isn't real. His church doesn't believe in giving gifts for birthdays or Christmas. He said our parents are lying to us. Is he right?"
"It wasn't nice of him to spoil everyone's holiday. He's probably jealous that the rest of you get presents and he doesn't.
"Santa is part of a pleasant tradition. He may be a myth, but that's not a lie in the true sense of the word."
"I don't understand what you mean. What's a myth?" Tad frowned.
"I'm not explaining it well. Let me try another approach. Does it make you happy to think about what Santa might bring you?"
"Sure."
"Okay. Then think of Santa as the spirit, or idea, of giving. Does that make any sense?"
"I guess. So, he's kinda like an imaginary grandfather who gives you stuff?"
"I think that's a good way to put it. He's the spirit of love."
Tad thought in silence for a moment before he seemed to have a kind of epiphany.
"I guess the Easter Bunny is sorta like that too."
"I think you're on the right track. There nothing wrong with having several expressions of kindness and giving and they seem more real if we give them names."
"Oh, is the tooth fairy like that too?"
"Could be. What do you think?"
"I think I like birthdays and myths and I think Danny is full of beans, like my grandpa would say."
"I agree!"
When Camden told Preston about the conversation, after they'd put Tad to bed, Preston thanked him for how he'd handled the situation. He had hoped Tad would continue to believe in Santa for another year or two, but he'd realized that this revelation would come about someday. He thought Camden had done a better job explaining it that he would have. His compliment about how sensitively it had been done made Camden feel great.
Preston, Camden, and Tad met up with Preston's parents for the early Christmas Eve service at Trinity. It was a pleasant affair with lots of familiar scriptures and carols appropriate for the season.
The family came back to Preston's home where they shared treats that both men had baked, and opened the token gifts the adults had exchanged. Of course, Tad had his share of presents. He said he was eagerly awaiting Santa, but thought he'd better get a good night's sleep, so he wasn't going to try to stay awake this year.
Camden took a picture of him hanging up his stocking.
When Tad had gone to his room to get ready for bed, Preston had to share the incident at school, and how Camden had taken care of it. The elder Rowes agreed that he'd done the right thing. Before they left, they helped the guys set out the things from Santa for Tad to find in the morning.
Christmas Day was filled with food and good cheer. Tad found his stocking filled with some fruits and nuts along with a few small toys. Camden preserved his joyful face with more photos.
Camden was amused to see that there were stockings for Preston and him as well. When he emptied his on the kitchen counter, he found a small envelope at the bottom of it containing five tightly folded $100 bills.
"Whoa, Santa went overboard!" he exclaimed to Preston. "Um, I haven't been that good this year."
"Santa seems to think so. He said that you needed a bonus because you've hardly had a waking moment to yourself since you entered this house. He told me you deserved the reward."
"Tell him I'm overwhelmed. This will help with tuition so I can get my master's degree. Wow!"
Tad seemed to be on an even keel, emotionally. He stayed occupied with his new toys, and he didn't mention anything about not having his mother anymore. Doubtless, everyone missed her, and her parents, in some way or other. However, the mood remained upbeat.
Dinner with the grandparents was a festive event. Camden felt like he was part of an extended family.
Thadeus Rowe II took several photos of his grandson with Preston and Camden so that they could have some tangible memories of the day.
Author's notes: Thanks for reading this story. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to contact me a dlee169@hotmail.com and let me know. Your emails are the only reward I receive for writing. Please put the story title in the subject line in case your email goes into the spam folder.
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Thanks,
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