Roses part 3

Chapter 66-2

Roses

Part 3

 

My sisters had left to dress soon after I had introduced them. Which I thought was quite rude on their part, but I couldn’t move mountains. Aaron, on the other hand, was fascinated wanting Mom to sign him up. Mom saying she would check into it giving no promises. I knew by the tone in her voice that it was never going to happen, but I didn’t want to shatter my brother’s dream. I quickly grabbed my large gym bag that held everything including the kitchen sink. Mom couldn’t believe how heavy it was, watching me sling it over my shoulders.

I gave Mom a tour of the building, showing her where I would be practicing my gymnastics and where my team met for kicking boxing on Thursday. Mom cringed watching a boy fall from a bad landing, falling flat on his face causing his nose to bleed. I didn’t know the kid personally, but I have competed against him a time or two. Mom and Aaron were absolutely in awe of the place. Even more so watching other kids practice; Susan and Becky turned their eyes seeing cute boys wearing tight leotards like mine or swim trunks that showed more flesh then they were used to seeing. For me, it was no big deal, but it did make me grin knowing they were slightly embarrassed when it came to other boys that weren’t their brothers.

Mom knew where I lived, the fact she lied to Family Court was obvious as she drove down the road towards my house; When Mom and I had just reached the top of the field seeing Danny and Shawn running laps. Susan said. “Mamma, those boys are naked.”

Mom making a quick reply, “I can see that.” Nearly driving off into a ditch quickly corrected her self and pulled over. Mom’s face was angry when she looked out into the field seeing my foster brothers running naked as the day they were born. Looked at me long and hard before turning the key, something said we were going to have a long talk and it wasn’t going to be pleasant. I didn’t understand what the big deal was Mom perfectly well knew that I and my brothers ran laps or sunbathed in the nude on more than one occasion, which explained our nice even tans but seeing them and it was enough to make her angry enough to spit nails.

When we arrived I told everyone that my foster parents would require them to remove their shoes if they were planning to come inside, if not they could remain in the car. Mom said “not a chance;” she wanted to have words with my foster parents. I shrugged my shoulders. Aaron had refused to stay in the car wanting to see my bedroom and where I lived. My sisters chose to remain, but Mom made them come in case they went exploring on their own; most likely to stare at my brother's naked bodies. I didn’t know if I should ring the doorbell or simply go inside. The decision was made for me when Mom (Rothwell) opened the door seeing us pull up.

She invited us all in asking politely to remove their shoes. I had already forewarned them and already had removed mine. Mom (Rothwell) invited us all into the living room. I could see the hate in her eyes when she looked at my mother. I understood why, considering the fact she knew perfectly well what she and my father had done to me, but she was doing her best to control the monster inside.

I quickly introduced her to my brother and my sisters; Mom (Rothwell) giving Aaron a warm smile asking if he would like a cookie. What boy in their right mind would turn down a cookie? He was very polite said,” yes ma’am.” Mom (Rothwell) saying she can see were his manners had come from. My sisters didn’t say a word just stood there looking at the room whispering that it was very clean.

Dad came in soon after, Mom and my sisters blushed when Danny and Shawn quickly high tailed it to the room down the hall. Giving no apologies or hiding the fact that Danny and Shawn had exposed themselves. Dad was Dad and this was his house. Mom, on the other hand, apologized to my mother and my sisters having to see it. Dad quickly said, “Karen, it’s not like they haven’t seen their brothers naked before.”

Mom knew better than to argue in front of the guest. Simply asked if my mother if she would like a tour of the house. I didn’t have to ask, I could see that my foster parents had chosen to make some changes. Dad confirmed it saying “Danny and Shawn are currently sharing a room upstairs while he and Shane were working downstairs.” I knew that more was going on then he was saying, but personally it was none of our business.

I followed everyone hanging back letting my foster Mom introduced the rest of the family in the family room. It bothered my sisters seeing my all brothers without their shirts and tried to hide the embarrassment. Shane smiled seeing Aaron and reintroduced himself saying he was my big brother handing him three more cookies after seeing him quickly making the other ones disappear. Susan and Becky declined the offer saying they weren’t hungry. I remained upstairs with Shane, asking if he would do me a favor. He said “anything for my little brother.”

I wanted to do something special for my two Moms for taking such good care of me. Quickly handed Shane a fifty dollar bill out of my wallet; telling him too buy my mother and Mom a dozen long stem red roses and give them to them at my swim meet tomorrow, and something nice for Dad, giving him another fifty from my piggy bank. He quickly putts the money way when they reached the top of the stairs giving me a knuckle bump, sealing the deal.

My foster Mom asked my brother and my sisters if they would like to see my room. Susan and Becky declined, Mom nearly slapped them for their rudeness, but let it go for now. Aaron, on the other hand, couldn’t wait, nearly jumping up and down. I quickly took his hand and showed him where I and Shane slept; his eyes as big as basketballs seeing one big bed. He quickly tried it out having me lay next to him. I asked if he felt jealous of me having a big brother, he simply said he was glad that Shane was my brother, saying that he feels better knowing I had someone to protect me from the nightmares. I hugged him tight telling him how much I loved him and he could never be replaced as my brother, and quickly tickled him.

I had put posters up of mine and Shane’s favorite bands and pictures they had taken of me and my animal friends. My mother hands shook when she traced each picture of me, on the walls.  I could tell she was quite jealous of the Rothwell’s of the life they had given me. Saying to herself that she had missed so much of my life.

She paused long enough at the picture where I was sleeping in Shane’s arms, wiping an escaped tear. Mom (Rothwell) said that was her favorite picture of all of them. My mother nodded saying she could see why. Even the ones with Dad or my foster sisters couldn’t compare. It bothered her that I was so happy here, and she doubted that she or my father could replace them; even more so when my foster mother draped her arms around me kissing me on the head. I could see it deeply hurt her even though she tried not to show it.

Mom (Rothwell) asked me if I would like to show my brother, my animal friends, what she really meant she wanted to time alone with my mother. Aaron couldn’t wait after hearing it said. “Can I Mamma, can I?” Mom gave her permission watching us quickly put on our shoes and dashed out the door. Mom asked my sisters if they would like to see them, but again they declined making themselves comfortable on the coach. 

I knew Mom was going to have words with them and they weren’t going to be pleasant. We weren’t gone long, but it didn’t matter to Aaron, he was simply glad to be with me and seeing how I lived. Telling me he felt better knowing I had found a family that loved me just as much as the Downing’s. I didn’t want to shatter his dreams, so I let him think that I was truly happy here, in some ways I was. It bothered me knowing he would most likely never experience what it was like to have a family that loved him.

Aaron loved petting the horses the most. Telling him if he was good, maybe next time I would let him ride one. Which of course made his day, it was getting late and I knew Dad like to eat at a certain time and I hated to leave this life behind and enter to unfamiliar life of cruelty, always looking over my shoulders waiting for the monsters to come out and beat me to death, but postponing it wasn’t going to make it any easier.

I simply open the door hearing my foster parents and my mother having a heated discussion, which ended the seconded I entered the door; my foster Mom telling me if I could take my brother down to wash up for supper. Mom said it wasn’t necessary, but I knew my foster parents if they say something was going to happen it was going to happen.

My mother had lost the argument saying at least let us help set the table, but they declined the offer; having Shane take my brother and my sisters into the Family Room so they could visit with my foster sister and brothers. Once again my sisters blushed to see my brothers come in the back door without their shirts, they were quite decent in their shorts. I didn’t understand what the big deal was considering we had just come from the pool and wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before a million times over. Jody wasn’t embarrassed. My mother wasn’t embarrassed, only Susan and Becky were.

Jody simply asked them if they wouldn’t mind putting on a shirt, hoping to make my sisters a little more comfortable. Shawn and Danny argued about it saying how hot it was. Dad ended it telling them “to mind their sister. We have a guest in the house and he wasn’t about to make them feel uncomfortable.” Dad quickly tossed them each a shirt from the laundry room apologizing to my sisters. They didn’t say anything, but I knew they were thinking plenty.

When Dad left, Jody said, “Dad doesn’t like to turn on the air conditioner more than necessary.” Again neither of them said anything, but it was quite hot outside and even more so in the house. If dinner wasn’t on the table I would have stripped mine off too. Decency be damned.

The dining room was crowded with everyone around it, but it wasn’t worth the effort to put the table outside or bring the big table in. Dad simply added the extra leaves to increase the size and turned on the air conditioner to keep us from all melting at the table. I could imagine what would happen if I fainted from a high fever and having no room to get me to the tub or the shower, being it was wall to wall people. We all took hands and Dad gave the blessing, I was right at home, compared to my mother and sisters being taken out of their element. Considering the only time the blessing was ever given was during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Like I said my parents weren’t spiritual people.

My foster parents weren’t going to let me out of the house until they had seen me in the flesh, and I mean all of my flesh. Mom had no say in the matter as she watched Dad and Mom inspect me like a side of beef confirming every bruise and scratch on my person. Mom (Rothwell) had already taken my temperature, and my blood pressure almost the second we had arrived. She wasn’t surprised I was on the borderline of having a fever, but it was a hot day today, so she told my mother to watch me closely in case it spiked during the night.  Once again saying just like my brothers I had a very cute butt and paddled it enough during my stay here, my foster mom quickly giving it a quick pat too emphases it was all hers, not my mothers; and that was exactly how my mother took it.

I didn’t bother putting my shirt back on because it was too hot to wear it. Instead, I put it in the hamper in mine and Shane’s closet with the rest of my clothes so my mother wouldn’t have to wash them. I had only chosen the clothes that I brought with me, not the ones my mother bought. I did my best to keep them separate, in case Mom decided to give them to a secondhand store after my home visit, which lightened my bag considerably. It seemed if I combined all my clothes from, here, my parent’s house and my grandmother’s house. I could easily fill an entire closet.

Mom had removed Aaron shirt after dinner, watching the rest of my brothers hang theirs up in the laundry room. She simply added it with his shoes and socks inside his gym bag. Sending Aaron out to play on the trampoline with my younger brothers Jarred and Jason; Dad invited my sisters to join them, but they simply declined and chose to remain sitting alone in the living room. They simply wanted nothing to do with me or the Rothwell’s.

Whenever my mother or my foster parents asked them to join in, they simply declined and refused every invitation. Mom became angry dragging them outside anyway so they could see everyone was having a great time and they were spoiling it. When they took a seat on the back lawn she left them to their silence. I knew when we got home Mom was going to let the monster out of its cage, but for now she wanted to spend time learning every scrap of detail about my life here.

She wasn’t in the least embarrassed of all the boy flesh that surrounded her like my sisters were. It bothered me knowing just a year ago she would be having a cow about it, but now they could have run naked and most likely not even bothered her in the least. She laughed and she tickled my brothers when it came to a tickle fight on the trampoline. Dad and Mom seemed as surprised as I was when she joined in the fun. Like me, all they knew was the cruelty they had seen and heard about. Not the fun-loving mother that had changed spots. And like me, they waited for the monster to break loose, but instead, she became part of my family. I prayed that it would stay that way and prayed that my father would have a change of heart. I hated to leave, but sooner or later we were going have to leave.

My foster parents had tried earlier to end the home visit. Giving her away out so she wouldn’t have to drive me back and forth such a long distance to accommodate my active schedule, considering she had given the same excuses months before. But Mom declined said she wanted to spend as much time with me as she can, even if she had to drive me a hundred miles she wanted to be part of my life. Stating she had missed me growing up into the boy I am now and wasn’t about to lose another minute.

My foster parent’s warned her that the law would be on their side if she or my father ever laid hand on me. Mom said she would sign any document they handed her gladly. Repeating she was willing to go as far as putting my father in jail for the rest of his life if meant keeping me and my brother safe.

My foster parents said they would hold her to her word ending the discussion and kissed every inch of me and nearly breaking my ribs from hugging me so tight. It hurt saying goodbye wiping the tears that had escaped as I watched them disappear behind me. When we got home our house was surrounded by police cars. Apparently, my father wanted to take matters into his own hands. What saved us was that we weren’t home, but it didn’t stop my caseworker or Officer Kenly giving my mother a tongue lashing. They were worried sick that we been gone so long. Thinking she had dumped my body somewhere and was on the run.