by C. E. Wilson
“Come, look down the back of my shirt.”
Simon went behind him and pulled his collar out and looked down the back of Justin’s shirt. He was shocked to see a big picture of a dragon breathing fire. “That’s so cool. Do you think Hunter will let me get a tat like that? I would love that.”
“Let me see if I can get John Willis over here and look at your back and see if we can fix it. If not, then I’ll show my tat to Hunter and see if he’ll let you get one. Just don’t say anything yet to anyone about the tat and wait to see what John says.”
“You have a deal. Thank you, Justin.”
Justin smiled at him. “Wait with the thanks until we get it fixed one way or another. Then you can thank me.”
Simon smiled. It was the first smile Justin had seen from the boy. He felt he made a little headway with Simon, at least, that would help get him an in with the rest of the boys.
Chapter 6
When Simon went upstairs, Justin got his phone and called Link. When he answered, he said, “Hi Link, this is Justin Redmond. I wanted to ask a favor from you. I wouldn’t ask, but I’m working in a teen halfway house, and I need John to come and look at a boy’s back and see if something can be done with it. I know he is a heart doctor, but this boy’s back is worse than George’s, and this boy is sixteen. He was beaten about like George was, and he has so many scars. If John says it can’t be fixed, then I’m going to try and talk the guardian into getting him a big tat on his back to cover it up.”
“I can call Bradley and see if he can talk John into it. Is this halfway house on the up and up? I mean, John isn’t going to do anything that might be close to illegal.”
“Yeah, it is Judge Stone’s pet project. When I went and told him about Darlene, he gave me a job here. I just have to take my state board next week, and I’ll be a licensed psychologist. He hired me right away, and I started that night.”
“Oh, if Judge Stone is involved, I can almost promise he’ll be there. Did you try and call him yourself?”
“No, but he doesn’t know me either. I didn’t think he would come just for me. You know how self-conscious a sixteen-year-old boy would be with the girls, with all these scars on his back.”
“Yeah, that would bother me too, and I am grown. I was going to see a plastic surgeon about George’s back, but I was going to wait until he was a bit older. John recommended one for me, but he said to wait until he was at least eighteen. I’ll call John right now and call you back with his answer.”
“Thanks, Link. These boys have all been through hell, and something good has to happen for them at some point. They are all good kids just been through so much abuse.”
“I’ll call you back in a minute.”
Link called back a few minutes later. “John said he would swing by tomorrow on his way home from work to check over the boy. You’ll be there, right?”
“Oh yeah, I’ll be here with him. Does John know where the house is?”
“Yeah, he said Judge Stone had called him in one time to check one of the boys that Hunter thought was having a problem with his heart, but it was just indigestion, so there was no problem with his heart. Is Hunter still there?”
“Yeah, he’s still here. He’s really a sexy guy. I’ve been trying to get him to date me, but he’s afraid the boys will find out he’s gay and look at him differently.”
“Do you think they will?”
“No, they all love Hunter. They think he put the moon and stars in the sky. I don’t think he could do anything that will make them not like him.”
“Let me talk to Alex and see if we can set up a BBQ for this weekend, and you and Hunter can bring the boys over to swim and eat some BBQ. Give them a chance to get out and do something. What do you think?”
“I have to talk to Hunter about it. He’s really the one over the boys, but I think it would be good for them to have a day out like that. I’m sure they would enjoy it.”
“Ok, I’ll call you when I talk with Alex, but if Hunter says no, then call me before we make plans.”
“I’ll talk to Hunter tonight and explain what you want to do, and maybe he’ll say yes. I think he’ll like the idea, but I can’t be sure. Either way, I’ll let you know.”
“Ok, John should be there around five-thirty. He usually gets off at five except on Tuesday, which is his surgery day.”
“I’ll look for him then. Thanks, Link, for everything.”
Link hung up, and Justin headed upstairs to find Hunter and talk to him about not only Simon and Dr. Willis but also about the BBQ that might happen. He found Hunter sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. All the boys were gone, so Justin assumed that they had already gone to bed. “Hunter, I need to talk to you about a couple of things.”
“If it is about the boys, then go ahead. If it is about you and me, then forget it.”
“I told you that I wouldn’t make a move on you again. If you want me, then you have to make the first move. It is about the boys. Tomorrow Dr. John Willis is going to come and check Simon’s back to see if sometime in the future it could be fixed. He has some horrible scars, and it makes him self-conscious. I told him if John said his back can’t be fixed, I would talk to you about a tattoo on his back to cover the scars. If you let him get one, I would take him to a friend of mine that did my tat, and pay to have him tat his back.” Justin stood up and unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. He turned his back to Hunter, and Hunter gasped.
“I can’t believe you have that on you back. Did you have scars that you had to cover up?”
“No, I just wanted the tat.”
“Can I touch it?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt or anything. Of course, it did at first when I got it, but once it healed, it didn’t hurt anymore.”
Hunter stood up and ran a finger over the tat. It was beautiful, and Hunter couldn’t touch it enough. “Is this what Simon wants? A dragon breathing fire?”
“Yes, he looked at it and said he thought it was cool, and he would love to have this. I think it’ll make a big difference in him. He’s afraid to get a girlfriend because he has the scars.”
“Are you telling me something that you shouldn’t?”
“No, I told him that I would talk to you about this in case John said that it couldn’t be fixed, maybe we could get it covered with a tat, but you would have to give permission since you’re over the boys.”
Hunter nodded. “We’ll see what Dr. Willis has to say. I trust him completely. If he says it would be better to get him a tat to cover his back, then I’ll go to the Judge and tell him what Dr. Willis said and ask him about the tat. I’m over the boys' yes at home, but something like this will take his permission to do. You don’t need to pay for it. If the Judge agrees, I can take the funds out of the donations we get. I want to be there when Dr. Willis examines his back.”
“I assumed you would be there. I think Simon would feel better if you were. What do you think about the tat?”
“If it gives him the confidence he needs, then I’ll approve it, but something like that, I’ll have to get the judge’s approval as well.”
“The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is a friend of mine has a house close to here, and he wanted me to see if the boys could come to him and his husband’s house sometime this weekend probably Saturday and have a BBQ and swim in their pool. It’s a huge pool, an Olympic size pool, and they keep it maintained very well. Their son George has the same scars on his back as Simon does. Just maybe not as severe. They adopted George not long ago. They are good people.”
“Yeah, I think the boys would enjoy that. What time and what do we need to take to the BBQ?”
“Well, Link still has to talk to his husband Alex and see if it’s alright with him. Link is a schoolteacher, and Alex is in business management. They have a beautiful mansion.”
“Is this to show me it’s all right to be married to another man? Is this to make me want to be with you?”
Justin took a deep breath. “
No, Hunter, it has nothing to do with you. I didn’t ask Link to invite us, he just did it on his own. He has a son that was beaten daily, and he thought it would be nice for the boys to come and enjoy the pool. I’ll tell him no because you don’t want to see two men happily married.”
“I’m sorry, Justin. Don’t cancel it. The boys would enjoy it very much. I just thought maybe since you want to be with me that you would try something to make me and the boys see that it’s ok.”
“Hunter, your gay, and you don’t think it is ok to be with another man? How do you figure that? I won’t do anything to try and make you be with me. If you don’t want me, that’s fine. There are a lot of other men that do. I’m not desperate.”
Hunter stared at him for a few minutes, then got up and rinsed his cup out and put it in the dishwasher, then slammed the door shut and stomped out of the kitchen. Justin watched him, then chuckled. He got up and rinsed his cup and put it in the dishwasher and started it so it would run at night. He went upstairs and went to bed.
The next day when John got there, Justin was in his office with Simon, and Hunter brought John down to the basement. Justin stood up and shook hands with John, and Simon took off his shirt. He turned his back to John, and he started examining his back. He ran his hands over the scars on Simon’s back, and there were so many scars and ridges that he shook his head.
“Hunter, they aren’t going to be able to fix this. He has way too many scars, and over so much of his back, there is nowhere on his body to get this much skin from. He is this bad at his size; there will never be enough skin on his thighs to get this much skin. It would only cause more scars. I think Justin is right, and maybe a good tattoo would cover up most of this. It would have to be big enough to get the whole back.”
Simon said, “Justin, can you show Dr. Willis your back and see if he thinks that would work?”
Justin nodded and pulled his shirt off and turned for John to see his back. John came over to see his back and ran his hands over the tat. “Justin, this is a perfect tattoo for Simon’s back. Where did you get it?”
“A friend of mine downtown has a tattoo shop, and he’s really good at it. I was going to take Simon down there and get the tat and pay for it if you said he couldn’t get it fixed. I think with the ridges in the scars, he could incorporate those into the dragon as scaled or something. He would make it look beautiful.”
John looked at Hunter. “Who has the final say about that tattoo?”
“That would be Judge Stone. I am their guardian, but he has to ok things like this.”
“I’ll call him when I get home and get it approved. Simon, you know it’ll hurt and be very sore for a while, don’t you?”
“Yes Sir, I know that, but it won’t hurt near as much as the beating I had every day of my life until I got here. I can handle it as well as all the boys that live here.”
“If the judge lets you get that tat, then you’re going to have to let Justin take care of it for you. It will have to be taken care of until it heals and with his, then he knows what to do. So, before I call Judge Stone, promise me that you’re going to do that.”
“Yes, Dr. Willis. I can’t see it to take care of it and won’t be able to reach it anyway. I promise I’ll let Justin take care of it for me.”
“Justin, if the judge allows him to do this, just tell your friend to bill Clayton and me. We’ll be more than happy to pay for all of the boys to get tattoos if they need them to cover the scars they have on their backs. Hunter, you know the boys that have bad scars but wait until they are from sixteen to eighteen years old. That way, the tattoo won’t stretch too much, and you will be able to tell what it is.”
“Let me know after you talk to Judge Stone, and I guess maybe we will need a permission statement for him to get the tat? I don’t know what else we need to do, but I think that should be it. If it’s signed by the judge, then it’ll make it legal. Is there something else we need, Justin?”
“No, Hunter, that should be enough. He’ll accept it with Judge Stone’s signing it.”
John nodded. He turned and went up the stairs to the front door. Hunter had followed him up and stopped him when they got to the door. “Do you know Justin?”
“No, this is the first time I have met him. Why?”
“I just wondered. He acted like he knew you, so I wanted to ask what kind of guy he is.”
“He knows Link. He’s a decent guy. At least Link thinks he is. A lot happened between Link and Justin’s sister, and Justin made it right. That’s about all I know.”
“Ok, thanks, John.”
He went out the door and drove off.
Chapter 7
John called Hunter an hour later and said, “The judge is sending my father over there tomorrow with permission slips for all that need the tats when they get old enough and a debit card for Justin to use to pay for the tats. My father is bringing them because he has a lot of money and he wants to help. So, he’s opening an account for the boys and putting you and Justin in charge of it. He should be there before noon.”
“Ok, is that money just for the tattoos?”
“No, he’s going to put enough in the account that you can use it for anything they need, even groceries if you need them. Clothes and whatever else they need.”
“Are you going to come when the boys get old enough to see if they need plastic surgery or a tattoo?”
“Yes, that’s the only stipulation the judge had for it, was for me to check the boys and see who needed surgery or who needs to get a tat to cover the scars.”
“I have three that are seventeen-years-old, so I’ll check them and see if their scars are bad then let you know. Most of my boys have had terrible beatings. I’m sure some of them have bad scars. I know that Steve does, but he’s only twelve.”
“He’s too young. Call me when he’s sixteen, and we’ll see what we can do for him.”
“Thank you, Dr. Willis. I appreciate you looking out for my boys. I don’t think I could handle it if something happened to them or if they had to leave here unhappy.”
“I know Hunter. As long as you take good care of them, we’ll do all we can to help you.”
“I will. They are like my own children. I even want to adopt Steve. He needs me.”
John chuckled. “I’m sure they all do, Hunter. Let me know if I need to come and check on the three oldest ones. They will be aging out of the system next year, and we need to get them ready.”
“I’ll call you after five tomorrow and let you know.”
After they hung up, Hunter went down to the basement to see Justin. “I just got a call from Dr. Willis. He has gotten permission from the judge to get any of the boys tattoos that Dr. Willis says needs them. His father will be here before noon tomorrow with the permission slips and a debit card to pay for all their tattoos that he says needs them. It’s going to be for everything they need. You and I will be over the card, so we have to make sure we both know what the other one used it for and keep track of the money.”
“You take care of the card. I’ll only use it for the tattoos. After that, you can take care of it.”
“Mr. Willis wants us both to use it for the boys. We can even get the boys some new clothes and things they need. Groceries too.”
“I don’t take them shopping, and I don’t buy their groceries, so you need the card. I only need it to pay for Simon’s tattoo. I said I would pay for it, but if Mr. Willis wants to pay for it, then I don’t have a problem with that.”
“The judge said that any of the boys that Dr. Willis said needs a tattoo can get the tats. He’s sending more than just one permission slip, so we’ll have them. I’ll give them to you, and you can put them in your desk. Dr. Willis has to say they need it, and they have to be between sixteen and eighteen.”
“I’ll take Simon over to my friend's shop on Saturday unless you have something I need to do, or if we are going to Link’s and let the boys swim. I’ll call Link today and see if Alex said he can have the boys over.
I’m sure he’ll let them. They are both pretty nice guys.”
“How long will it take to get it done? Can he do it in one day?”
“No, mine took a month. I was there every Saturday for a month before he had it done. He’s good, but he doesn’t rush. Simon will love it when it’s finished.”
“Call your friend and see if the boys can come over this Saturday, and then you can make an appointment for Simon for the next Saturday, and we’ll have that worked out.”
Justin nodded. He picked up his phone and called Link. “Hi, Link. I was just calling to let you know that Hunter said the boys can come over and swim if Alex says it ok. Just let me know.”
“Yes, I just talked to him, and he said that sounded like fun. Some of the family is coming too. I know for sure that Cade and Bradley are coming and maybe John and Clayton. We have to invite Sam, John’s dad, because he does the best BBQ. You and Hunter bring the boys this Saturday at around ten, and they can swim while Sam cooks the meat, and I know Alisa will be cooking for two days and bring everything else.”
“Hunter wanted to know what you wanted us to bring.”
“Your boys with bathing suits. How many boys do you have?”
“There are sixteen of them. They range in age from twelve to seventeen. All good boys just had a rough start to life. We think they will enjoy swimming and having a BBQ.”
“Ok, Justin, we’ll see you Saturday around ten then. It’ll be good to see you again.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up. “Yes, Hunter, we are going to Link and Alex’s house for the BBQ and swimming. He said just bring the boys and their swimsuits. John’s dad, Sam, will do the BBQ. His wife will bring everything else, so we don’t need to take anything.”
“Ok, if you’re sure we don’t need to bring anything. I feel bad taking all the boys over there and not bringing any food or drinks.”
“Maybe sometime we can invite them over here for dinner and have James and Leon cook for them. They are pretty good cooks.”