by Nick Poff
When it was time for the guys to leave Gordy wrapped Rex in his arms. “What do you think?” He asked, looking at Pete and Ed. They both nodded. “It’s official, then,” Gordy said, holding him tight. “You’re our little bro now. And if anyone ever tries to mess with you again you remember we’ve always got your back. Understand?”
“I get it,” Rex whispered against Gordy’s t shirt.
“Oh!” Gordy added as he and Pete climbed into the truck “If you ever get new tires for that hunk of junk, drive up to the big city and see us, okay?”
“I will!” “Rex shouted.
Ed and Rex waved at them until they were out of sight. “Wow,” Rex exclaimed softly.
“Yeah,” Ed said, glancing at his new little bro. “He’s something else, isn’t he?”
###
The restored tranquility at Penfield Manor lasted until Tuesday afternoon when it was shattered by Harriet Drinkwater.
Both Rick and Ed had come early that afternoon. Norma had promised to drop by after the weekly meeting of the Posies to report on whether Josh had been accepted for membership. Josh and Tess were on hand as well, just as eager as anyone for the news.
Norma’s car entered the driveway. She hopped out, the smile on her face telling them what they wanted to know. They were all gathered near the impatiens bed, chattering about Josh’s membership and what it would mean for both Josh and the Posies, when a late model Mercedes roared onto Race Street and screeched to a halt opposite them. A visibly furious Harriet Drinkwater emerged, slamming the car door in dudgeon.
“Doesn’t she look like Henrietta Hippo on New Zoo Revue?” Josh commented to Tess, who glared at the woman who was storming across the street.
“I see you’re celebrating your victory!” Harriet Drinkwater shouted, coming to a halt at the edge of the yard. She sent a venomous look at Norma, and then turned her attention to Josh. “You won’t get away with this, young man. I shall do everything in my power to overturn this outrage! If your parents were not out of town I’d have them stop this ridiculous stunt.”
“How?” Josh asked in genuine curiosity.
“Well…I…I…” Harriet sputtered. “I’d speak to them! They would see what an embarrassing spectacle this is for them. I’m sure they would discourage such poor sportsmanship and hooliganism, not to mention the moral responsibility they have to this community.”
Ed could see Rick was getting ready to say something so he put a gentle hand on his arm. Ed had learned from past experience that Josh could handle this himself.
“My stepfather is a lawyer,” Josh told her calmly. “If there was something immoral or wrong about my club membership I’m sure he’d let me know. When I spoke to my mother on the phone last night she told me they were both proud of me.”
“Don’t you be insolent with me, young man!” Harriet took a step forward, her large handbag swinging ominously from her arm.
Suddenly Tess darted out from behind Josh. “If you lay a hand on my boyfriend I’m gonna knock you into next week, you old bag!”
Ed’s mouth fell open. “She actually said something!”
“Boyfriend?” Rick muttered.
“So she is Josh’s girl!” exclaimed Effie Maude, who had joined them the moment she heard Harriet Drinkwater shouting.
Harriet Drinkwater exchanged glares with Tess, who had her hands on her hips in a “just dare me” sort of way. Harriet Drinkwater shook her head and turned her attention to Ed and Rick. “I should have known,” she hissed. “You’ve been indoctrinated into this misbehavior by those two…those two…”
“Watch it, Harriet,” Norma said sharply.
“Homosexuals!” Harriet Drinkwater finished. “They are a stain on this community.”
There was a stunned silence, broken eventually by Norma. “If you say one more word about my boys, Harriet, I will knock you into next year!”
Harriet Drinkwater opened her mouth to speak but Norma beat her to it. “Everything anyone ever told me about you was right, you and your phony values. You think money can buy anything and allow you to do anything you please. Why, if the way you bulldozed your way into the Posies wasn’t poor sportsmanship, I don’t know what is! You should be ashamed of yourself, but I guess people like you pay someone else to do that for you.”
“How dare you speak to me that way, Norma Stephens!”
“I’ll speak to you any way I want. You don’t impress me and you sure don’t scare me.”
“I’ll remind you, madam, of my position in this community.”
Effie Maude walked across the yard and came to a halt in front of Harriet Drinkwater. Effie Maude’s imposing bulk and quiet anger gave Harriet pause.
“Look here, Miz Drinkwater,” Effie Maude said calmly. “I’ve lived here all my life and I never heard tell of your ‘position’ in this town. I’ll tell you something else, too. For forty years I worked in this house for one of the finest ladies God ever put on Earth, so I know all ‘bout ladies, and I can tell you ain’t one. Now you take your position and your mean talk and get off this property or I’ll have the law out.”
Harriet Drinkwater sent a contemptuous look around the group. Apparently realizing she was outgunned for the time being, she began her retreat, commenting, “We’ll just see who represents the Posies in the contest!” She climbed into her fancy car and sped away.
“Humph,” Norma snorted. “We certainly will see.”
“Don’t you worry none, Josh,” Effie Maude declared. “Cheaters never prosper.”
“I’m not worried,” Josh said, grinning at Tess, who grinned back.
“Can you believe it?” Ed said to Rick. “And we never had to say a word!”
Rick groaned.
“What’s wrong, darlin’? There wasn’t any bloodshed. Yet, anyway.”
Rick chuckled ruefully. “I know, baby, but it’s only the middle of July. The summer ain’t over yet.”
CHAPTER NINE
That night Ed and Rick settled behind their closed bedroom door for a long talk about their houseguests. They were not particularly worried about Neal; they were sure his stay with them was only a panicked pit stop on the way to college and eventual independence. Rex, however, was a different story. In so many ways he remained a mystery.
Rex had been nothing but polite and considerate during his stay. He seemed to be relaxing in the company of supportive gay men, and it was obvious he was thrilled by his new friendship with Neal. Still, Ed and Rick worried. What about his family? To their knowledge Rex had not contacted or been contacted by his family. In many ways that was understandable, but unsettling to two men who were practically surrounded by family.
Neal had reported to them on their first visit to Apex Gym. There had been a few smirks for Rex, he said, but the look on his still healing face seemed to discourage interaction. They had been left alone; however, Neal said, he suspected Rex probably had a lot of name-calling and other verbal abuse in his future.
Ed and Rick admitted to each other they were apprehensive about any sort of long-term stay where Rex was concerned. Although he seemed to be an okay kid, they had not experienced him on a long-term basis, as they had Neal. They were acquainted with Neal’s family and history, and knew exactly what they were getting when he asked to stay with them. They were puzzled as to what was in Rex’s best interest, not to mention theirs. “He’s here so we can help him,” Rick said, “but how do we help him when we really don’t even know anything about him? It’s great he wants to help with the floor installation in the Cooley Street house, but what are we going to do after that?”
They finally decided their first move would be for Ed to make some subtle inquiries with his clients. It had worked with information on Evie Fountain; maybe they could learn more about the Kennedy family, too.
And sure enough, Ed hit pay dirt the very next day when he drove across town to the Westside Hills subdivision to repair a broken window sash for Mrs. Teresa Busby, a widow who had once regularly babysat for Judy, Josh
and Jane when they were younger. Ed knew Mrs. Busby had sat with a good many of the children in Westside Hills, and a remark Judy had made that day at The Iceberg led Ed to suspect that Rex had probably grown up in her old neighborhood.
“The Kennedys?” Mrs. Busby repeated when Ed asked about them. “Oh, sure, I know them well.” She barely looked up from the knitting she was doing. “They attend St. Aloysius Church with me,” she said, referring to Porterfield’s one Catholic Church.
“Judy told me one of their kids was kind of a bully,” Ed said, his back to her as he inspected the window in need of repair. “It made me curious about the family.”
Mrs. Busby sighed. “Well, that doesn’t surprise me, the bullying I mean. Those kids come by it honestly. The father is something of a bully. Also, I’m not telling tales out of school when I tell you he has a drinking problem. That’s common knowledge.”
“How many children are there?”
“Three. Their names all start with the same letter.” She paused to think for a moment. “Oh, yes: Randy, Rita and Rex. Everyone calls their dad Scooter. I can’t think of his real name.”
“Scooter!” Ed snorted. “How did he get that nickname?”
“I don’t know. I sat with those kids when they were little, years ago. I remember the entire family, including his wife, seemed to be frightened of him. Well, who could blame them? He’s a big man, and apparently a mean drunk. His wife is a timid little thing. My guess is she had the same lesson from the priests my mother did when she went to them with help with her husband’s drinking and temper.”
“What was that?”
Mrs. Busby sighed. “I remember old Father Blaine telling Mother that it was a good Catholic wife’s duty to endure her husband’s abuse. He also told her to pray for him. Well, to the best of my knowledge, she lit candles and prayed her knees off, but it never kept Dad away from the liquor store.
“Oh, I know what you must be thinking, Ed,” she said as the rocking chair she was in began to move. Her knitting picked up speed as well. “Why on Earth would I remain in a church that basically turned its back on my family? It wasn’t easy, especially when I was younger, but there is something about the rituals and the worship that speaks to me, helps keep me calm when things are bad. Plus, I figure I have to answer to God, not some priest who thinks he knows everything.”
“Everyone has their own ideas about faith,” Ed reassured her. “There are a lot of know-it-all clergymen out there, too.”
“You’re right. There is. It’s the relationship between a person and his or her god that is important.”
“So what happened to the Kennedy kids?”
“Oh, the oldest two moved away as soon as they were of age. I suppose the youngest one, Rex, will do the same.”
“That’s a shame,” Ed said, thinking of his own loving family. “I sometimes wonder what abused children do to cope with what they’ve been through.”
“Well, there’s help for them these days, if they want it. I can only hope the Kennedys will look back on what they had to endure and not repeat it with their own kids.”
“Yes,” Ed said, thinking of Rex, sad at the turmoil he probably felt. What could he and Rick do to help?
“An abused Catholic kid,” Rick sighed when Ed repeated Mrs. Busby’s story to him. “No, strike that. An abused, guilty Catholic kid. Poor Rex. No wonder he spent his whole childhood acting out. He’s been living in a purgatory all his own.”
“I know.”
Rick looked thoughtful. “You said Pastor Phil was willing to talk with Rex. I don’t know how much an indoctrinated Catholic will listen to a Protestant preacher, but it can’t hurt.”
“I’ll call him first thing tomorrow,” Ed promised.
###
Phil Sturgis came over one afternoon later that week. Rex didn’t appear to be overly enthusiastic about talking with the minister, but he willingly joined Phil in the rose arbor for a long conversation.
Phil reported back to Ed and Rick that evening. “Well, I didn’t get a lot out of him,” he told them. “I think the Catholic in him was only ready to open up so much to a heathen Methodist. He’s toting some heavy burdens, though; it doesn’t take a clergyman with a minor in psychology to see that.”
“Is there anything special we should do?” Rick asked from the bedroom phone. Ed was on the kitchen extension.
“No, certainly no more than what you are doing. You’ve provided the one thing most kids like him don’t get, a safe haven in which to heal and think. I would just let him be in that regard. Otherwise, I think his interest in helping you with that house you’re working on is a positive step forward. Encourage that, and anything else constructive he wants to do.”
“So, put him to work and don’t nag?” Ed asked.
“Yeah, that about covers it,” Phil said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry too much. My intuition tells me he’s a good kid, and quite possibly could be an exceptional man someday, when he learns constructive demon management. You two know better than most people how much time that can take. Meanwhile, if something happens that disturbs you, I’m always here.”
“Do you do exorcisms?” Rick joked.
“Wrong church, bud,” Phil chuckled. “You’ll need to go to Father Bryson for that.”
###
So with that they determined to let Rex heal and process recent events in his own way, only letting him know they were in no hurry for him to leave, and that they were available whenever he needed them. Rex accepted this with gratitude, continued to concentrate on his workouts with Neal, and assisting Effie Maude and Josh in any way they requested.
Their attention was directed elsewhere when they received an unexpected phone call from their old friend Doug Morgan. Doug and Gordy had once lived together, and there had been a good deal of tension when they broke up, but the friendship had endured. A mortician by trade, Doug now lived and worked in New Mexico, so a phone call from him was a welcome surprise.
“Hey!” Ed exclaimed when he realized who was calling. “Rick! Pick up an extension. Doug’s on the phone. How are you, you old corpse grinder?”
“I have never ground a corpse in my life,” Doug laughed. “You’ve watched too many horror movies.”
“Doug!” Rick shouted over the bedroom phone. “How are you? We were thinking about a trip to see you this fall.”
“Well, how ‘bout I come there instead? I’m going to Chicago to see the family. I’d love to drive down and spend a couple of days with you guys, and see Gordy. Everything good with him and Pete?”
“The best,” Ed assured him. “We’d love to see you. Come and stay as long as you want.”
“Yeah,” Rick agreed. “When are you going to Chicago?”
“I’ll be there the first week of August. I promised Mom and Dad I’d go to the Morgan family reunion with them, but after that I’m free. I’ll call you from there. Is that okay? I won’t be messing with your schedules, will I?”
“Shoot,” Ed said. “Who cares about that? We just want to see you.”
“Absolutely.” Rick seconded it. “We’ve still got room for you, and Effie Maude will be thrilled to see you.”
“Still got room? What’s going on?”
Ed and Rick both laughed. “Oh, it’s too much to go into over the phone,” Ed said. “We’ll tell you everything when you get here. It’s been a busy summer. Having you around will be just the break we need.”
“How ‘bout that!” Rick said happily after they had hung up and he had bounded downstairs. “We really will have to hang out the NO VACANCY sign.”
###
Ed had several unscheduled hours that Friday afternoon so he decided to spend them at the Cooley Street house. Ron Marlowe’s brother had taken out the worst of the overgrowth. The house almost seemed naked without its shroud of bushes and vines, but Ed was confident a coat of paint and some new landscaping would take care of that. Already Josh had begun some improvements with help from Rex, and probably Tess as well.
> He was in the backyard checking on the ripening grapes when the woman from next door Rick had previously encountered, Celeste Burns, appeared. “I just wanted to tell you you’re doing a nice job with this place,” She said. “My husband and I are impressed.”
“Thank you,” Ed replied. “Hopefully we’ll finish before cold weather and have some nice new neighbors for you.”
“Couldn’t be any neighbor nicer than Evie,” she said. “She had some problems, but she wasn’t crazy like people say. Why, I remember one time, years ago, both my husband and I were down with the ‘flu and Evie came over here and took care of us. So just how crazy could she be?”
Ed shrugged. “I didn’t actually know her.”
“The people who called her crazy as a loon didn’t know her either,” Celeste sniffed. “Some people just like to kick someone when they’re down.”
“That’s for sure,” Ed said. “I’m beginning to think there wasn’t any truth at all to the rumors I’ve heard about Evie.”
Celeste beamed, pleased they agreed. “You know,” she said confidentially, “there are a lot of people who will push and push to find out things that aren’t their business, and when they don’t hear what they want they’ll just make stuff up.”
“Oh?” Ed, thinking of Rick’s initial impression of Celeste Burns, wondered if she might be one of those people.
“Yes,” she said. “Don’t believe what people say about Evie Fountain or her family.”
“Her family?”
“Well, she had one,” Celeste said rather testily. “By the way, have you found anything interesting in the house?”
“Such as?”
“Oh, nothing in particular,” Celeste said, waving a hand, “although I did wonder about her mama’s jewelry. She mentioned that once.”