Soldier

by AKM Miles

  “That’s good. We’ll have to plan some outings.”

  “The only one I worry about is Tommy. He’s from the next town over. His family is still there. They tried to get him back twice from the system after he was finally taken away. After what he told us, I guess we know why. I figured he was safe with you the other day.” Dillon put his hand up to Soldier’s scarred face and smoothed his hand absently over it as he talked.

  “How’d that happen? I mean, how’d he end up here?”

  “Well, he ran away, but had nowhere to go. He ended up in a shelter like Daniel’s and they put him into the system, then back home. He ran again and it happened again.” Dillon shook his head against Soldier’s shoulder at the stupidity of the system sometimes. “This time they put him in a foster home. Something went wrong there, I don’t know what, but the SS person there contacted Daniel. Thank God.” Dillon sighed heavily.

  Soldier tightened his arms around Dillon and rubbed his chin over the top of Dillon’s head. Dillon finished his story about Tommy.

  “They sent him here. His mother and some man tried to get him back, but it wasn’t allowed. But he’d seen and heard them and was scared to death he’d be sent back to them. He still lives in fear that they’ll be allowed to take him back. Not going to happen.” Soldier smiled in the dark at the mighty warrior in his arms, this small man who would fight like a gladiator for his boys. “They don’t know where he is now, but I’m afraid if they find out, they’ll try again. Legally, they can’t get him, but they’re filth; they aren’t worried about the law. We’ll protect him.”

  “Damn straight.”

  “Soldier?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m tired. So tired. It takes so much out of me, the way these boys have been so hurt. It just hurts me and I just feel so worn out right now. I’m so glad you’re here, sharing this.” Dillon cuddled in closer to Soldier like he was soaking up the comfort Soldier was offering. “It feels like I’m not the only one responsible anymore. Having your help makes it easier. But, oh, I’m just sick thinking about what’s happened to those two. I need you just to hold me a little while. Then I’ll go in and sleep as much as I can. I imagine you’ll end up with a wet blanket again.”

  Soldier was glad that Dillon could admit his need. “Not a problem. Gom’ll come 'round. He just needs to feel safe and secure. He’s getting there. Did I tell you he cried on me before he went to sleep and there were a few sounds? You know how he always cries silently?”

  “Yes. Really?” That brought Dillon’s head up to look into Soldier's eyes.

  “Yeah, he told me that sometimes he just needed to cry. I told him he could for a few minutes then he had to go to sleep. So he did and there was an occasional whimper and a few little hiccups, but it’s more than I’ve ever heard before. It was funny. I told him time was up and he just said okay and went to sleep. The kid is a marvel to me.”

  “Yep. You are a marvel to me. You have such compassion for these boys. It warms my heart.”

  “Well, what can I do to make you feel better right now? Just hold you? Or would you like a kiss or two to help you make it through the night?”

  “Dumb question. I’ll always take a kiss from you. You’re a master. I love your mouth... love kissing you... lo... mmmph,” If he could have, Dillon probably would have said he loved the way Soldier shut him up when he started rambling.

  In about a half hour, Soldier carried a sleeping Dillon back into the house and was surprised when he saw Tommy waiting in the kitchen. He whispered, “Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah. I was just making sure you all got back in okay.”

  “You’re not still worried that I’m doing something Dillon doesn’t want, are you?”

  “Uh, no. Is he all right?” Tommy looked at Dillon’s slack body held in Soldier’s arms.

  “Tired. Sound asleep. Worn out. Will you lock the door and help me get him into his bed? Then I’ll slip back down to the chair and you can go on to bed.”

  “Soldier, you don’t have to sleep in the chair. I know you all are together now and it’s okay. Really.”

  “No, Tommy. It’s not okay here. I told you. Not yet, anyway. We’re being very careful to not do anything that would cause us to lose you all. If they thought we were carrying on in the house with you boys here, it could cause us to lose you all. We won’t let that happen.” That was something he and Dillon felt strongly about. He went on to explain to the twelve-year-old who often acted like he was going on twenty. “So, we go out back, and we talk about the day and what we need to do next and how we’re going to handle things. We might sneak in a kiss or two. But I promised you nothing else would happen here. He just sacked out. I couldn’t wake him, so I just carried him in.”

  “You’re awfully strong.” Tommy said, sounding envious.

  “Yeah. I am. You want to start working on what we talked about tomorrow? We can set aside a little time each day, just the two of us, if you’re comfortable with that.” Soldier wanted to keep his promise to help Tommy learn self-defense.

  “Yeah. I’d like that. Tired of being scared all the time.”

  “I understand. All right, go on up. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Soldier nodded to the door, indicating that Tommy should head on to bed.

  “Soldier?”

  “Yeah?”

  Tommy spoke quietly, and obviously from the heart." It really is okay, I mean, the two of you. It doesn’t bother me. I know you better now and I know you’re a good man. I’m glad Dillon has you. You make him happy. I think he was a little lonely before.”

  “So was I, kid. So was I.”

  Chapter Ten

  Things moved quickly when you had money and good lawyers. They checked on the status of Dillon’s application and found it had been approved but not processed yet. They got that finished and next thing they knew, he was official, with special connections to Daniel’s shelter. He would still only be handling the cases that Daniel deemed right for the house.

  Soldier’s lawyers had gotten all the paperwork completed on getting the house listed in Dillon’s name. A chunk of Soldier’s money was set aside for the house. Soldier made the crack that between the two of them (and, secretly, Gom) it could be called Scar City. Dillon laughed and said they should put it together and call it Scarcity. That’s just what they did.

  Some people would mispronounce it and think it meant things that were scarce, but they all would know it was for people who were scarred in some way, visible or otherwise. It would be pronounced with the accent on “scar” because it had meaning to all of them. They discussed it with the boys and made it clear what the name stood for, and that it did not mean they were scarred. It meant that they were there for healing and help and everyone had things they needed to get over.

  The boys were just lucky enough that they had people and a place to help them. They thought it was cool, and thought of it more as Dillon and Soldier’s place because they both had big scars people could see. Whatever worked for them. Both Dillon and Soldier liked the name and what it meant to them was that it was theirs, shared. It was them.

  Dillon talked to a couple of local construction companies and went with one that had a good reputation and could start right away. He worked with them on plans for just what he wanted. The two buildings would join by a breezeway and it all came under the name Scarcity.

  They met with Daniel and Soldier took a look at all the paperwork on the boys and got a better idea of how the deal worked with Daniel and the Social Services workers. Soldier filled out forms and got his process started, giving details on the new building and the fact that he would have a private apartment in it. The apartment entrance was what would connect to the other building through the breezeway and would be used by Dillon and Soldier for getting back and forth when needed. Everyone else would use the front or back entrances.

  At some point, Soldier saw them living together in the apartment, which would be big enough for that to happen and they could get someone els
e in to stay at the other house... as the kids were older and less needy.

  They would always have needy ones and they would always get the attention they needed. By then, they might just be housed in Soldier’s building. It all depended on the laws governing Texas and how much trouble came from them being gay and working in foster parenting.

  It was about four days later that they had a visit from Officer Bradford again and this time he had his partner, Officer Jansen, with him. When Jansen stepped back a little at seeing his scars, Soldier figured they might have trouble with this one.

  “So you’re the ones who have the little boys here, huh? How’s that workin’ out for ya?”

  “Exactly what are you referring to, Officer?” Soldier didn’t like the sneer in his voice. Officer Bradford looked embarrassed, but said nothing.

  “After Bradford here told me what was going on here, I figured it needed to be checked out a little more thoroughly. Sounds kind of fishy to me. I want to see those boys down here now and I will be deciding if it’s healthy for them to stay here.” Pompous authority rang in the officer’s voice.

  “By whose authority will you be making decisions about these children?” Soldier demanded, thinking the man was not only big and rude, but a smartass, too. The man seemed to be trying to find something bad going on here. Well, Officer Asshole was in for a surprise. Soldier wasn’t easily intimidated. He knew the police couldn’t come in here, on Soldier’s property, and demand things, but he didn’t want to cause a problem for Daniel and Dillon’s program.

  “I don’t need nobody’s authority but this badge. Now bring ‘em down here. What’re you afraid of?” Again, the sneer in the officer's voice made his thoughts clear. He thought he was going to find evidence of wrongdoing in this house and he appeared delighted at the prospect.

  “I’m not afraid of anything. They’re afraid of loud people yelling questions at them. Be nice.”

  “You’re telling me how to do my job?” Officer Jansen said incredulously.

  “I’m asking you to be calm and nice to these boys. They’re here because they’ve been abused by grown ups. They scare easy.”

  “Yeah. I bet they’re scared of you. I’m sure they mind what you say.”

  Dillon started to say something, but Soldier held up his hand and shook his head. He’d come across this kind before. He hoped he could undo whatever damage this man did here today. He looked at Officer Bradford and asked, “Do we have to let him see the boys? Shouldn’t he have some kind of formal papers or something before he can demand to see them? It’s going to cause the kids a lot of distress.” Soldier could imagine Gom and Tommy being scared to death of being taken away, and Jack would probably go after Jansen if the officer said something rude to the boy.

  “I think it would be better to not cause any trouble and just let him see them. We’re not here to take anyone away. He just doesn’t like it that you two are working with them. He’s a little...”

  “Homophobic?”

  “See, I told you they were queers. You said you didn’t know. It ain’t right, them being with young kids. Hell, they could do anything.”

  “Watch your mouth.” Soldier said quietly.

  “You threatenin’ me? Are you that stupid?” Jansen looked gleeful, apparently hoping Soldier would do something he could take him in for.

  “Not at all. Just don’t say anything ugly in front of these kids. They don’t even know we’re... as you say ‘queer.’ The subject never comes up. We just work with them and make sure they have what they need. Please don’t make something ugly out of this.” It galled Soldier to say please to the idiot with the badge and the attitude.

  “Get those boys down here or I’ll go looking for ‘em.”

  Things were getting out of hand. Soldier looked at Officer Bradford again for help but the younger officer was obviously cowed by his older, bigger partner. Soldier looked to Dillon, who actually looked sick at the coming confrontation.

  Soldier went to the bottom of the stairs and called up, “Tommy, will you bring Gom and Ben and the others down here, please. There are a couple of officers who just want to talk to you. No one’s in trouble here, okay? Don’t worry.”

  The door opened and Gom came first. He looked like he was going to cry and Soldier smiled for him

  “Hey, buddy. It’s okay. Come on down. You know I won’t let them hurt you.”

  “I know, Soldier.” Gom tried to be strong, but by the time he got halfway down the stairs he was shaking hard and tears were streaming down his face. Soldier had to bite his lip. He held out his arms and Gom jumped. He caught Gom to him and winked at Tommy who held Ben’s hand as the others trailed down. Gom refused to raise his head from Soldier’s neck so he just held on to him.

  Tommy was great. He herded the guys over to the couch and got them all sitting in a row, then he sat on the arm and looked up at the policemen and in a very brave voice, he said, “What do you want to know?”

  “These guys do anything to you?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I knew it. Tell me what, boy.” You’d think Jansen had won the lottery from the smile on his face. Soldier didn’t know what Tommy was up to.

  “Well, Dill, uh Dillon, took us in and takes care of us and gets food for us and makes sure we have enough to eat.” He looked at Dillon with respect. “Then Soldier came and he owns the house and he bought lots of stuff like clothes and beds and sheets, even a washer and dryer. He got us two dogs and that makes the little ones happy.”

  This time his gaze went to Soldier and his admiration shone through. “He’s the only one who can get Gom to go to sleep, so that’s good. Let me see. Oh, he told me he would help me defend myself so no one else would ever hurt me again. That made me feel better. He makes us breakfast.”

  “So. He sleeps here, too, does he?”

  “Yeah, sometimes. He has a hotel room, I think. But sometimes, he sleeps in that big chair over there.” He pointed to the poor broken chair against the wall. “That’s when Gom can’t sleep, so he just sits and holds him all night. I doubt if he gets much sleep, but Gom does. He doesn’t sleep very often so when he really needs it, Soldier stays and holds him. I guess that’s it.”

  “You sleep with that little boy there?” Jansen was still trying to find something wrong in all that Tommy had said.

  “I do. Sometimes.”

  “Hey, little boy, look up here,” Jansen ordered.

  Soldier glared at Jansen and said, “Easy.” To Gom, he said, “Hey, buddy, look at the man and answer his questions. He thinks there’s something wrong with us sleeping in the chair.”

  Gom pulled back his head and looked at Soldier for a few seconds and then Soldier turned a little so Gom could look at Office Jansen.

  “Does this man sleep with you in that chair?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Does he do anything to you?”

  “He hugs me and tells me I’m a good boy and lets me cry when I need to. Sometimes I just cry and he doesn’t get mad. He tells me to cry 'til I’m done and then to go to sleep and that’s what I do.” Gom patted Soldier’s face. “He makes me feel better. I can sleep when I’m on him, but other times, I wake up really scared. I try not to ask him too much cause I know I’m heavy and he probably don’t sleep so good. Only when I get really so tired... then he stays and I sleep so good then.” Gom glared at the man.

  And it seemed Gom wasn’t quite finished. He added, “He’s a good man... and I’m a good boy, he said I was. So there.” Gom dropped his head back to Soldier’s neck and reached up and patted his scarred cheek again. Soldier found himself shaking with anger at the officer and love for the boy.

  They all waited for Officer Jansen to decide what he was going to do with what Gom had told him. He finally looked at all the others on the couch. “What about you all? You got anything to say? These men ever do anything to you? Touch you where you don’t want them to, try to do private stuff to you?”

  “No, and you’re ugly for s
aying so. Why you come in here bein’ ugly about Dill and Soldier? They don’t do nothin’ but take care of us. Why you sayin’ that stuff? You oughta leave, mister.” This came from Jack. You go, little bit.

  “Uh, Jim. I think that’s pretty clear. Your fears are unfounded. These two are good and decent men and they’ve given these boys a good home. Let’s leave them alone. I’m sorry to have troubled you all.” Officer Bradford looked apologetically at Soldier and Dillon. Finally, he’d spoken up and got it right.

  They both left with Jansen still blustering, but he had no leg to stand on now, so it was just hot air. As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, the boys were off the couch and Soldier dropped down in the middle of it. They all piled on top of him and tried to hug him. The couch groaned and broke and they all laughed and tried to untangle themselves. Dillon stood watching them and smiling. Soldier loved them all so much. What brave boys Tommy and Gom had been. They deserved a treat.