Part 7
Four days later, Chris stepped into the living room to find Buck on the floor playing a board game with their two charges.
JD was the first to look up and see him, “Mr. Chrwis!” The boy bounced up off the floor and came over to greet him. Chris quickly accepted the hug that the JD gave him. It had become a habit since the second day they had been their that when ever Chris or Buck returned from work, JD would meet them at the door with a hug. Chris was honest enough with himself to admit that he kind of liked someone being that thrilled about him being home.
Releasing his squirming armful, Chris asked, “How was your day today, boys?”
“Grweat!” JD replied as they walked over to join the grinning Buck and Vin. Chris dropped into his chair to listen as JD took his seat at the game board.
When JD didn’t elaborate, Buck spoke up, “Dr. Roberts is going to release Ezra in the morning. He’s still got a cough, but it isn’t nearly as bad as it was and the infection has cleared. The Doc says it should clear up in the next week or so. He’s gained two pounds, so the docs pleased with that.” Chris nodded his agreement, he had seen Ezra yesterday, but there hadn’t been time today to stop by.
“Mz Nettie stopped by the hospital this afternoon while we were there. She was saying she’ll be here tomorrow afternoon sometime to help get Ezra settled in.” Buck finished off as he watched JD take his turn, then took his turn.
Chris leaned back in his chair and watched the other three playing. Bittersweet memories of Buck, Sarah, and he playing similar games with Adam came to mind as he watched JD laugh at some silly thing Buck had said. Vin didn’t say much, just grinned at the antics of the older man and young boy that were with him. Vin looked up at Chris and caught his eye. Chris smiled at him in reassurance. Standing, Chris announced that he was going to go start dinner.
“You made dinner last night, Big Dog. How ‘bout I do the cookin’ tonight?” Buck offered.
“Buck, you forget I know your cooking. It you don’t cook it with charcoal under it, you make charcoal out of it!” Chris quirked a half grin at his sputtering friend as he disappeared into the kitchen. He grin widened into a full smile when he heard JD’s delighted laughter and a quieter chuckle from Vin float through the door into the kitchen.
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A couple hours later, the boys were in bed and Buck and Chris sat in the living room after the finished the evening chores. Chris was just finishing the last touches to the horse he was making for Ezra, and Buck was watching a movie.
With a final swipe of the paint brush, Chris leaned back and looked at the completed horse. This was horse he had been working on just before Adam’s death, a chestnut posed with his neck arched proudly. Chris thought sadly of the night, three days before their deaths, when Sarah had mixed the paint especially for the exact color of chestnut she wanted. After they died, Chris had packed away the partially done horse and all the tools and paints that went into the project.
Sighing he called Buck over, “Hey, what d’ya think?”
Buck walked over from where he had been sitting watching the TV to inspect the carved figure. “Looks good, Pard. Looks just like what JD described.” JD had taken great pains to explain to Buck what he and Vin were playing at during the day. He had even related to Buck some of Ezra’s stories as they acted them out with the wooden horses.
“Good,” Chris said as he started putting away the tools and paints he had used to finish it. Taking the brushes he went into the kitchen and cleaned them. Returning he finished packing them back into the box they had been in. He would leave to horse out over night to dry then hide it before the boys got up in the morning. He’d give it to Ezra when they got him home tomorrow.
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The next morning was a exercise in marginally controlled chaos!
Both Vin and JD were both awake
early and excited about Ezra coming home.
Chris watched covertly from the doorway as Vin
tried four times to get JD to sit still long enough to get dressed. It took all of his self control to keep from
laughing at the look of fond exasperation on Vin face
as he knelt to tie JD’s shoes. Quietly he
made his way back down stairs to wait and made
After a hurriedly eaten breakfast of eggs and bacon, he piled the boys into his truck and drove to the hospital. Buck had to work today, but they were all off tomorrow and had plans to meet at the ranch.
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Getting Ezra released from the hospital was almost anticlimactic. All they had to do was wait for Dr. Roberts to sign the paperwork and the wheelchair to arrive and they would be on their way.
Chris watched his charges as the talked, Vin and JD filling Ezra in on everything that had happened after the left the day before. JD seemed to be describing what had happened the night before when Chris and Buck had moved the extra bed in with the bunks for Ezra. Buck had left Chris to set up the frame and gone back for the mattresses. After getting the box spring propped against the wall he had started shifting the top mattress around. Unexplainably, Buck had slipped and lost his footing, falling on his butt under the mattress. Chris, Vin, and JD had laughed their heads off as Buck hammed it up trying to get out from under the monstrosity.
Chris grinned in remembrance as Ezra laughed with JD and Vin as they told him the story.
When the orderly pushed through the door to Ezra’s room, Chris said, “Well, Ezra, are you read to get out of here?”
Ezra stood, in his slightly too large sweat suit and coat, and walked forward, saying, “Indeed, Mr. Larabee. I am most gratified that you have terminated my medical incarceration.”
As the small boy was situated in the wheel-chair, Chris shook his head. It still amazed him that such a small body could put so many fifty cent words in one sentence.
When Chris didn’t answer right away, Vin offered, “He means thanks for getting him out of here.”
“I know what he meant, Vin. It just surprises me every time I hear him talk like that,” Chris explained as he took control of the wheelchair from the orderly, glaring at him to keep him from protesting.. The young aide just shrugged and walked along beside them as the exited the room.
Vin grinned and said, “If you think that’s bad, you should have heard ‘em when I first met him. I don’t think he said a word that din’t have at least three syllables.”
Chris didn’t have the chance to reply when an annoyed voice floated up from the chair he was pushing. “It is most impolite to talk about a person as if they were not present when they are.”
All of them chuckled at that, even Ezra gave in and grinned.
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This trip to Wal-mart was just as surprising as the last, but for different reasons. Chris was astounded when the eight year old chose clothing that that most children would have hated. Instead of blue jeans and t-shirts, he went for polo shirts, dress slacks, button down shirts….nothing that could be considered play clothes at all.
That is after Chris spent half an hour convincing him it was alright to voice an opinion at all. Actually, when Chris thought back on it later, I was actually Vin that finally convinced Ezra that he could have a say in it.
Chris finally reached a compromise with the seemingly miniature lawyer he was to be caring for. He convinced Ezra that he would need some clothes that he could not worry about getting dirty, since Ezra had already expressed an interest in the horses, and Ezra was allowed to pick out some out fits that he felt were, as he put it, ‘appropriate for our return to academia.’ It took Chris a couple seconds to realize that Ezra was talking about their return to school and wondered where in the world Ezra had attended that required their students to wear dress slacks, white button down cotton shirts, and ties.
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Arriving at the ranch, Chris quickly gave Ezra the same tour and guidelines he had laid out for the others. Chris smiled when the first thing JD did after they got Ezra’s things put away was to pull out the horses and tell Ezra about them and again he suggested that they could take the horses to the living room to play if they wanted. When the boys agreed to it, he left the room and retrieved his surprise for the newest arrival.
Entering the living room, he found the three of them on the floor sorting out who would have which of the horses. Clearing his throat, he got their attention and walked over. Noting the wary look in Ezra green eyes, he squatted down to be closer to his level.
“Ezra, JD and Vin were telling us about your stories and the horses in them, so I thought you might want this.” With that Chris handed Ezra the chestnut he had finished the night before.
Ezra looked at the figure in Larabee’s hand in confusion. Vin and JD had told him about the set of horses, and he had enjoyed hearing about them playing out his stories. But this was different, this wasn’t something that Chris happened to have in the house and was letting them use. This was something that he had put effort into getting. Ezra didn’t understand.
Nervously, Ezra took the offered toy and looked at it. Vin and JD crowd close to get a good look at it too. “It’s him, Ezrwa! It’s Chaucerw!” JD exclaimed excitedly reaching for it so that he could look more closely. Ezra allowed him to take the animal and looked back up at Chris who had stood when Ezra took the horse from him.
“Thank you, Mr. Larabee,” Ezra said, still unsure how he should respond. When Chris smiled at him he relaxed and turned back to his brothers and asked Vin which story he wanted to play out.
Chris backed away from where the boys sat and watched them for a few minutes. He had seen the trepidation and uncertainty in Ezra’s eyes as he offered him the chestnut. It saddened him that Ezra was so uncomfortable accepting gifts and kindness. He knew so very little about Ezra, but it was blatantly obvious that the boy was not used to being cared for at all.
Sighing, he turned and left them to their game. Silently he
vowed to make sure to investigate their new family thoroughly. He was going to personally make sure that
they
A good family with loving parents was just what they needed.
So why did the idea of them leaving give Chris such a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach?
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It was a busy day, that first day having all three of the boys home. Chris had discovered that Vin loved working with the horses. His second day there he had hesitantly offered to help with the evening chores. Chris agreed to let him help and was surprised to find that the boy made a good companion while he worked. While he didn’t say much, he usually had an interesting and humorous take on everyday occurrences.
Tonight, however, he seemed distracted and restless as they worked. After watching Vin jerk his attention back to what he was doing for the third time, Chris walked over and gently pulled the bucket from his hands and sent him back inside. Vin gave him a crooked grin in thanks and took off for the house. He was just too distracted right now to keep his mind on chores.
Chris chuckled as he watched the long-haired teenager run toward the house. It was good to see the usually to serious kid excited about something. In the last few days he had gotten to know the kid better, and had seen momentary glimpses once in a while of the devious little imp that lived behind the serious façade. He shook his head as he remembered watching Vin sneak up behind Buck two days ago. It had worked too, Buck had jumped so badly that he nearly dropped the bag of feed he had been carrying into the barn at the time. Chris had razzed his good friend about the bid Federal Agent that got taken out by a twelve-year-old. Buck had take the teasing in stride, just happy to have Chris comfortable enough to tease him.
Chris finished up quickly and headed for the house to help Buck put the boys to bed. They had been told in no uncertain terms that the boys could get themselves ready for bed, but it still made them feel better if they were upstairs in the area. Just incase the boys needed anything, they told themselves.
Trying not to crowd them, Chris and Buck stayed out of the way, but available as the boys got ready for bed. As usual Vin helped JD with his bath before taking his own shower. Ezra did his own ‘ablutions’ by himself, but very quickly.
Waiting fifteen minutes after the lights went out, Buck and Chris crept to the door of their room and looked in. JD had lain claim to the single bunk, leaving Vin on the top bunk and Ezra in the bottom bunk. They looked so peaceful and innocent as they slept. As if they hadn’t a care in the world.
Carefully closing the door, Buck and Chris moved back down stairs.
“Things went pretty good today, huh, Chris?” Buck asked.
“Yeah,” Chris sighed as he sat down. “Pretty well, I’ve got a few more questions about Ezra, but all in all, it was a good day.”
“Like what?” Buck asked as he leaned back.
Shrugging, Chris said, “Ezra seems to be under the impression that he can’t attend school in anything less than clothes that could be worn to meet the President. Those kind of schools are usually expensive, and that doesn’t jive with what Doc Roberts said about the abuse. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Buck frowned and thought about that for a few moments. “I don’t know, Chris. When are you meeting with the principal and having the tests done?”
“Two days, and we’re all going,” Chris shot his old friend a meaningful glare.
Raising his hands in submission, Buck readily agreed, “Okay, sure.” After a moment, he went on, “Josiah and Nathan were talking about coming over Saturday afternoon for a few hours to get to know Ezra better. All Josiah could talk about today was how much fun he had watching Vin and JD yesterday. You’d think he was the one fostering them the way he went on this mornin’.” Buck grinned and shook his head as he thought about the usually quiet man’s rambling.
Chris frowned slightly as he replied, “If they want to come out, fine, but I hope they don’t get to attached. They’re not going…”
Buck cut him off as he stood and headed upstairs to his room, “Chris, stop and listen to yourself. I know you think you mean that, but I want you to stop and think about it. Who are you trying to convince, me…or yourself? In the last week you’ve been more alive than I’ve seen you in five years. He…heck, you even pulled out and finished that horse so that Ezra would feel left out!” Buck corrected himself swiftly when Chris frowned at his language. They had had quite a discussion about language and other things when he had returned from doing chores that first night the boys where at the ranch. Buck couldn’t believe how many things he hadn’t thought of until Chris pointed them out.
Looking compassionately at his friend, Buck asked more quietly, “Do you really think you could give up those boys now? They’ve been here less than a week, and done more for you than I’ve been able to do for the last five years. Chris, don’t let a fear of repeating the past stop you from enjoying the present and the future.” With that Buck left Chris to think about what he said and went upstairs.
And for once Chris took his advice. He sat and thought about the boys that had been placed in his care.
And he thought about giving them to someone else. About letting someone else safeguard those
precious lives that had been
Dragging his hand over his face, Chris sighed and conceded that Buck was right. Standing he walked upstairs, still thinking. There was no way in HELL he was going to let anyone take those boys away. Just the idea brought images of green and blue eyes filled with fear and betrayal to his mind, and he would do just about anything to keep from seeing that for real. They had gained Ezra and Vin’s trust, a feat that he was sure wasn’t easy. He couldn’t imagine betraying that trust, freely given, and somehow he knew that would be how those boys would take it. JD might bounce back from it, but Vin and Ezra wouldn’t.
Walking past the boys room, Chris stopped when he heard voices.
“What d’ya think, Ez?” Chris recognized Vin’s
slight
“I think it’s time to choose to chance the rapids, Vin,” finally came the almost inaudible Southern accented reply.
Chris slumped silently against the wall beside their door, almost missing Vin’s equally reply, “Yeah, that’s what I was thinkin’, too. ‘Night, Ezra.”
Careful no to make any noise, Chris retreated down the hall to his room. He didn’t allow himself to think about what he had heard until he was in bed. ‘I think it’s time to choose to chance the rapids,’ Ezra had said and Vin had agreed.
Chris pondered what they had said. After a few minutes a fragment of an old song floated through his memory. So don’t you sit upon the shoreline and say you’re satisfied, choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tide!
“They're going to take the chance,” Chris said softly.
It was a precious and sacred gift to be allowed to raise a child. He had known that once, before Adam and Sarah died. Now he had another chance. But he was afraid of getting hurt again.
After all of the hurt they had endured, they were still willing to take the chance with him.
He knew he could do no less. He’d call DFS first thing in the morning.
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(For now anywayJ)
