Family Found

By Chris B.

Lee Crane, newly minted Third Classman at the US Naval Academy sighed in total defeat. He really hadn’t been given an option, he had for all intents and purposes been ‘ordered’ to go and there was no getting out of it. Not if he wanted any kind of relief from his P.I.T.A. roommate Chip Morton once the new school year began; he’d just have to suck it up and spend the entire 3 week summer vacation with Chip and his family.

After learning how Lee had spent the Christmas break, Chip was livid with Lee for not letting him know he didn’t have a place to stay when Bancroft Hall was closed to fumigate the building for mold and for not coming home with him for the holidays. He was now adamant that he was coming home with him for the summer break so there was no repeat of that, end of discussion. For some reason that Lee had yet to divine, Chip had decided that Lee was in need of a guardian or big brother and had taken on those duties and responsibilities with a vengeance. Chip was making damn sure Lee didn’t spend the break playing vagrant until classes resumed and they could return to their quarters in Mother B.

All this brotherly concern was rather puzzling to Lee. Having been orphaned when he was 3, Lee grew up as a ward of the state spending time in orphanages, group homes, foster homes and even on the streets when things got too dangerous in the sanctioned facilities, until he scored a scholarship to the Farragut Military Academy when he was 12. He was used to taking care of himself and had done a pretty good job of it as far as he was concerned. He had no concept of family and found Chip’s oversight and hovering a bit annoying. The thought of spending 3 whole weeks with the family Morton, for some reason, unnerved him.

What Lee didn’t know was that Chip was pretty much under orders as well to show up with Lee when he arrived home or else. Once Chip had passed on to his mother what had transpired over the Christmas break she was equally adamant that the young man would spend his leave with them so he could be properly mothered until it was time to go back to school. Lee never stood a chance.

“Would you hurry up and finish packing, it is not gonna happen by itself. We’re gonna be late and miss our flight if you take much longer.” Chip chided from across their room.

Lee sighed deeply again and shoved the rest of his clothing into his duffle bag. “Yeah, yeah, hold your horses, I’m just about ready.” Lee replied once again wishing he’d had the resolve to stand up for his right to spend his break as he wanted. Not that he really had any plans but still it was the principle of it; it was his life.

Chip smiled at his younger roomie taking in his uneasiness at going home with Chip and meeting his family. He walked over and slung an arm around Lee’s shoulder. “Would you relax and cheer up. I guarantee you’ll have a great time and my family will love you. How could they not with those sad puppy dog eyes and curly locks.” Chip said as he tousled Lee’s hair trying to get a rise out of his reticent roommate.

Lee cinched up his bag then slung it suddenly over his shoulder nearly knocking Chip on his butt. He let out a laugh at the stunned look on Chip’s face. “Okay, I’m ready to go. Hurry up we don’t want to be late.” He said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Chip laughed as well glad to see Lee loosen up. He grabbed his bag and they both headed out the door and down to the bus that would drop them off at the airport.

OooOooO

The flight from Baltimore to Cincinnati, Ohio went off like clockwork and even arrived a tad early. It was the first time Lee had ever been on an airplane and he delighted in the whole experience. It was also the first time since he had ‘agreed’ to accompany Chip that he really relaxed. That abruptly changed as they exited the plane and made their way towards the baggage claim.

As they walked down the concourse Chip noted the change in Lee’s demeanor. “Come on Lee, just relax buddy. They don’t bite and everyone is really looking forward to meeting you.”

Lee gave him a weak smile as they continued their walk. “I know Chip, I know. I’ll try and relax.”

Lee had seen nothing like it before. As they walked past the security check point a surge of people came forward and completely enveloped Chip. The noise was incredible as everyone seemed to talk at once welcoming Chip back. Put off by the sudden crowd Lee fell back and moved slowly off to the side hoping not to attract attention. He was giving serious thought to making a break for it just about the time Chip grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the crowd.

“Everybody this is Lee. Lee this is everybody.” Chip said laughing at the look of total disbelief and trepidation on his friend’s face.

The group of Mortons suddenly enveloped Lee and he was the recipient of any number of handshakes and back pats as people introduced themselves and welcomed him. He had never experienced anything like that before in his life and wasn’t overly sure what to think about it.

Taking pity on his overwhelmed roommate Chip gently pulled him out of the pack and headed them down the hall to baggage claim. “See, I told you they were looking forward to meeting you.” The total look of befuddlement on Lee’s face made Chip bust out laughing. “Don’t worry Lee; I’ll reintroduce you to everyone once we get in the car. It’s not like there’s going to be a test, at least until later.” He said with a wink.

Lee blushed slightly and cracked a smile himself. “Gee thanks Chip,” he said sarcastically. “Is it like that every time you come home?”

Chip laughed again. “Pretty much. We’re really close as a family and since I’m the first one to leave home it’s a new experience for them too.”

“Well thank god that’s over,” Lee replied quietly. “I don’t think I could go through that again.”

Chip stifled a laugh. Poor Lee, this was just the advance guard. The rest of the family and friends were back at the house setting up the welcome home party.

OooOooO

After claiming their bags and making it out to the family van the trip home went pretty well. Lee finally got sorted out the names and faces of Chip’s three sisters Rachel, Andrea and Michelle, his parents Robert and Carolyn, and his two first cousins Tracey and Jean. The sisters were the hardest to get right as Chip’s only help when asked who was who, was asking if he meant the blond, blue eyed one. They were all blond and blue eyed. Lee punched him hard in the shoulder the second time he replied that way much to the delight of his sisters who added their own shots to their older brother’s broad shoulders.

Carolyn laughed at the byplay in the back. “Looks like Chip found himself a brother.” She remarked to her husband. Robert looked into the back via the rear view mirror and had to laugh nodding his agreement.

Lee was starting to feel more at ease with Chip’s family on the way to the Morton’s house. The conversation was lively and both boys were bombarded with questions from the girls. That feeling immediately evaporated as he took in all the people that spilled out of the house once their van was spotted. When the van pulled to a stop the side door was flung open and Chip was seemingly sucked out by waiting family and friends. Lee sat frozen in the back seat staring in amazement at the flood of people that came flowing out of the house to greet them.

Thoughts of fleeing the scene once more danced through Lee’s mind as the sea of humanity ebbed and flowed around the van. Chip had been immediately swept into the house by the throng leaving Lee alone sitting in the car. He breathed a quick sigh of relief thankful for the brief respite. Cautiously he eased his way out of the back seat and stood outside the van just taking in the view.

Lee had seen pictures of it in the movies, on TV and in magazines but he’d never really been in suburbia before. All the picture perfect houses, neatly manicured lawns, white picket fences and tree lined streets amazed him. As he gaped at the scenery he turned back towards the house and nearly ran over Chip’s mom.

“Lee what are you still doing out here?” Carolyn asked.

“Uh just taking in the scenery and giving Chip a chance to say hello to everybody. I didn’t want to get in anybody’s way.” He replied with a shy smile.

She laughed lightly. “It can be a bit overwhelming. I felt that way the first time I met the Morton clan when Robert and I were dating. My own family is pretty small, just my parents, me and my brother so it was quite a culture shock to encounter such a huge extended family when he brought me home to meet the ‘folks’.”

“I had no idea anyone could have a family that large.” Lee replied honestly. “It really reminded me of the scene in that movie where the guy meets his soon to be Greek in-laws for the first time.”

Carolyn laughed again and placed her arm around Lee’s waist and gently started moving him towards the front door. She wasn’t at all sure he wouldn’t make a break for it if left unattended too long. “Come on dear they don’t bite and they’ve all been looking forward to meeting the young man that has been able to put up with Chip for an entire year.”

Lee chuckled. “It truly has been an education, Mrs. Morton.”

“None of that Mrs. Morton stuff, that’s my mother in-law. Please call me Carolyn or even Mom if you’d like. From the way Chip has gone on about you, we already feel like you’re a member of the family.”

Lee blushed privately pleased to be thought of as a member of anyone’s family. He let her lead him into the house and take him around to meet the rest of the Morton clan. He quickly gave up trying to remember all the names of the people he met, there had been so many. Not at all comfortable in such a social setting Lee tried his best to interact with everyone and stay engaged in the party.

As the party wore on Chip started getting concerned when he couldn’t find his introverted roommate. He felt kind of guilty leaving him by himself but there were so many people he wanted to talk to after his time away at school. Working his way through the crowd he eventually spotted Lee practically hiding behind one of his mother’s large potted plants in one of the corners looking very much like a wildlife researcher in an observation blind taking notes on the local fauna.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Chip inquired.

“I’m fine. You could have told me what to expect Chip.” Lee replied with some exasperation.

“No way, if I had told you what awaited us I would never have been able to pry you out from under the bed.” Chip replied with a laugh. “So what do you think?”

“Everybody seems real nice, especially your mom. I just had no idea there were so many of you Mortons. How do you remember all their names?”

Chip laughed again. “You’ll get used to it. Come on it’s getting late and things are winding down, let’s go out and get our gear and I’ll show you my room. Lucky you, you get to bunk with me.”

Lee rolled his eyes. “I knew there was a reason I really didn’t want to come.”

Chip hooked his arm around Lee’s neck, pulled him down and gave him a vicious noogie on top of his head; payback for the slam and for the shot in the arm on the way home. They both laughed and headed out the front door to collect their bags.

OooOooO

Chip led them upstairs and into his attic bedroom on the third floor. Lee marveled at the size of the room and the décor, it was straight out of some teen movie. Never having had his own room, Lee was intrigued by the notion. He took in the school pennants, posters of some babe in a bikini and the Ohio professional sports teams, various trophies for sporting events, a closet stuffed with clothes and sports gear, stereo, TV, computer, game console; everything that cried out all-American boy at least in the movies.

“Wow this is nice Chip and it’s just you in here?”

“Thanks. Yup just me.” He replied. “I’m just lucky I’m the only boy or I no doubt would have shared it. Drop your bag over there, we’ll unpack later.”

Chip walked into the closet and started rustling around inside. Various bits of clothing, old toys, and sports stuff flew out of the closet until he unearthed the inflatable mattress he was after. He unfurled the mattress and dropped it on the floor then returned to his search for the inflator. Lee stood there mesmerized watching Chip root through the closet, amazed at how much stuff seemed to be stored in there.

“What?” Chip inquired looking at his friend.

“I just wondered if you were going to pull out a dresser, nightstand and mini-fridge too.” Lee replied chuckling. “Is Hoffa in there?”

Chip rolled his eyes and threw the pillow he’d just pulled out at Lee. Lee grabbed the pillow mid-flight and then swung it quickly around catching Chip in the head. The ensuing battle was vicious resulting in several fluffy blows, the death of a large down pillow and a feather coating of the room. Both young men broke out in laughter from the sudden snowfall, breathing hard from their hard fought battle.

Suddenly from down below there came a “What’s going on up there?” from Chip’s mom.

Simultaneously the boys replied innocently in unison “Nothing.”

The next thing they heard was Chip’s mom coming up the stairs. The door slowly opened and she stepped cautiously into the room. She fixed them both with an exaggerated, exasperated glare taking in the down-covered room and boys.

Immediately pointing at each other they both said, “He started it!”

As the last remaining feathers still aloft settled gently on Carolyn’s nose they all broke out in laughter. “Boys!” she said fondly as she rolled her eyes. She walked over to her oldest and gave him a big hug which he readily returned then she did the same to Lee. Lee froze briefly not quite sure what to do then tentatively returned her embrace.

She stepped back and fixed the boys with a steely glare. “Now get this cleaned up and get to bed, you’ve had a long day.”

“Yyyeeeessss Mom,” they both replied and quickly went about picking up pillow pieces and herding feathers. Once they had cleaned up the carnage they finished making up Lee’s bed and then both collapsed in their beds and went immediately to sleep.

OooOooO

Lee awoke early. He lay in bed quietly listening for any indication that anyone else was up and about. The house was quiet; the only noise was the soft snores emanating from Chip. Lee looked at his watch finding it to be 0530 which explained why there wasn’t anyone up. Extricating himself from the bed, Lee silently donned a pair of shorts and a tee shirt then grabbed his socks and running shoes and eased out of the room. He descended the stairs to the second floor and made use of the facilities. From there he continued down to the first floor, went out the front door and sat on the steps to put on his shoes and socks. Once he was dressed he quickly did a few stretches and then headed off for a run through the neighborhood.

The neighborhood was quiet as most of the residents were most likely still in bed. Occasionally a dog would bark at him as he trotted past its yard but aside from the birds and insects that chittered and chirped in the cool morning, there wasn’t anything else astir. Lee enjoyed the run, feeling himself relax more and more as his muscles warmed up. He took in the sights of the area and was amused at much of the quirky lawn art and other trappings of the suburban environment.

He continued on covering what he estimated to be 8 miles before he turned around and headed back to the Morton’s place. He was surprised not to have encountered any other runner’s on his jaunt but he enjoyed the quiet and calm after the rather intense afternoon and evening the previous day.

OooOooO

Chip slowly awoke and lay there relishing being back in his own bed and own room. He rolled over to see how his friend had fared on the inflatable mattress. He was momentarily concerned when he took in the empty bed fearing his curly headed friend had taken off in the middle of the night until he spied his duffle bag resting at the side of the bed. He rolled back over and took a look at the clock. The bright green numbers told him it was 0805; he hadn’t slept in that late in nearly a year. He listened intently and heard the telltale signs of his family moving around downstairs, probably working on breakfast.

Knowing his roommate, Chip wasn’t surprised Lee wasn’t still in bed; he probably got up hours ago. Chip gave himself a big stretch and savored the last few moments in his bed then sat up, pulled on his shorts and tee shirt and headed downstairs to greet the day.

“Well good morning sleeping beauty, it’s about time you roused yourself out of bed,” Robert said as his son ambled into the kitchen. “Lee still asleep?”

“Morning Dad.” Chip replied as he made his way to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of the inviting brew. “No he’s not. I’m surprised he isn’t down here. His stuff’s still here so he didn’t slink off into the night; he must have gone out for a run.”

“He must have been up pretty early I was up by 6:30 and didn’t see him anywhere. I hope he didn’t get lost.”

“I’ll give him a few more minutes to show up then if he doesn’t I’ll go out and see if I can spot him.” Chip replied. “He really enjoys running so probably just lost track of the time.” Chip refilled his coffee cup and walked out into the family room.

“That was a fantastic party yesterday, thanks. It was great to see everyone and get caught up on things. By the mess it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves too.” Chip called back to his dad.

He turned towards the stairs seeing his mom and two of his sisters coming down. “Morning.” He said.

“Morning sweetheart,” replied his mom. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh yeah, like the dead.” Chip answered with a laugh.

“Where’s Lee? You didn’t drive him out of the room with your snoring did you?” Rachel asked.

“No.” Chip replied as he stuck his tongue out at his sister. “He was gone when I got up. I think he went for a run, but I don’t know what time he started out. Told Dad I’d go out looking for him if he doesn’t show up soon.”

Just then they heard someone knocking at the front door. Chip headed to the door and spied his friend standing on the porch. He opened the door and looked at his sweat drenched roomie. “I guessed you had gone for a run. Why didn’t you just leave the door unlocked?”

“Afternoon Chip.” Lee remarked with a smirk. “I didn’t want to leave the house open plus I figured someone would be up by the time I got back.”

Lee entered the house and followed Chip into the kitchen. “Good morning Mr. Morton.”

“Morning Lee.” Robert replied. “How was the run?”

“Great, thank you. May I have a glass of water please?” he asked Robert.

Robert reached into the cupboard and grabbed a glass and handed it to Lee. “Lee, make yourself right at home; help yourself to anything you want.”

“Yes sir. Thanks.” Lee replied. He filled the glass and drained it then did that two more times. “It got a little hot out there and I forgot to bring a bottle of water with me.”

“What time did you head out for your run Lee,” Carolyn asked as she entered the kitchen.

“I left about 0530 ma’am.” Lee replied. Taking in the glare from Carolyn, Lee quickly amended his answer. “I mean Mom.”

Carolyn smiled. “That’s better. Why don’t you head upstairs and get cleaned up and we’ll have some breakfast.”

Lee smiled. “Yes, Mom.” He blushed slightly then turned around and trotted up the stairs to grab his stuff and a nice cool shower.

“He seems like a real nice kid Chip.” Robert said after Lee had left. “I’m glad you asked him to come home with you, although he is a little quiet.”

Chip laughed. “Oh you haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait until breakfast.” Everyone stared at him looking for clarification on that point. “You’ll see.” Chip said with a wink.

The Morton clan turned to, making a typical Sunday breakfast with eggs, bacon, hash browns, fresh fruit, toast, and cinnamon rolls. The house smelled fantastic as the meal was laid out on the table just as Lee came downstairs followed quickly by Andrea.

Everyone grabbed a seat and started passing the goodies around the table. Watching the Mortons load up their plates, Lee now understood Chip came by his appetite and metabolism honestly. They were all tall and lean; definitely Nordic stock. They all took healthy sized portions as the bowls of food passed by. As Lee got each item he took a small spoonful and passed it on to the next person. By the time everything had been sent around, the table had gone quiet as everyone was staring at Lee’s sparsely covered plate.

“Is something the matter Lee, don’t you like bacon and eggs? If there’s something else you’d rather have let me know and I’ll see if we have it.” said Robert.

“No this looks great. Thank you.” Lee said earnestly.

Chip broke out into a fit of laughter at the look of surprise on his family’s faces and winked at his parents. He grabbed the bowl with the eggs and put another two spoonful’s on Lee’s plate along with three more strips of bacon and a heaping helping of hash browns. Lee just glared at him.

“See what I mean.” Chip finally said. “Come on Lee, eat up you’re going to need it we have a lot of cleaning we need to do today. Lee was appropriately named you know; Crane, he eats like a bird.” Everyone broke out laughing.

Lee lowered his eyes to his plate and gave a small smile picking up his fork and poking at the food. Chip put his arm around Lee’s shoulder. “You’re a Morton for the next three weeks so you better learn how to eat like one. Believe me; you don’t want to hurt the cook’s feelings.”

Lee looked up and saw all the smiling faces and gave one of his bright grins. They all dug in and polished off their meal in no time. Even Lee managed to get the majority of the food on his plate eaten which was no small effort for him. After the meal everyone pitched in cleaning up the kitchen and then set to the task of tidying up after the party the night before.

It was nearly 1300 by the time the last trash bag had been tied shut and taken out to the dumpster. Lee had worked on tasks with each of Chip’s family members and was starting to relax and feel much more at ease. He really liked Chip’s sisters even if Rachel and Andrea kept staring at him with this weird kind of dreamy look in their eyes.

After they finished, they all piled into the van and headed to Chip’s favorite burger joint so he could get his fix of hamburgers, onion rings and strawberry shakes. As they all lined up to give their order Lee held back. Robert turned around and looked at Lee, “Well what would you like Lee? You’re holding up the line.”

“That’s okay sir, I’m not really hungry that was a huge breakfast.” Lee replied.

Chip walked back to the front of the line, “What did I tell you this morning?” he said with a grin. “You’re a Morton now so you better eat up. How about a super cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake?”

Lee just sighed and smiled. “Whatever you recommend, Chip. Thank you Mr. Morton.”

Robert smiled. “You’re more than welcome Lee. You earned it with all that work you did this morning.”

They picked up their order and commandeered the back corner of the restaurant. It was a lively meal with everyone talking and eating and just enjoying being back together again. Lee sat back and took it all in munching quietly on his meal just watching their interactions. They were all so involved with each other, touching, teasing, joking and taking such joy in being a family. Lee felt a definite isolation from the group. He knew he was welcome but he still felt like an outsider, not quite fitting in.

“You’re awfully quiet Lee, is everything all right?” Carolyn inquired.

“Yes, ma’am… I mean Mom, I’m fine.” He replied quietly.

She laughed softly and placed her hand on his. “As I said yesterday, it takes a bit of getting used to but you’ll get the hang of the Morton gang. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”

Chip caught the interaction between his mom and Lee and gave his mom a small smile. He was just hoping he could get his uptight roommate to relax and let himself become just one of the family. There was such a huge void in his life and this was something he so sorely needed.

OooOooO

Once back at the house Chip ran upstairs to his bedroom and grabbed the keys to his car. “Come on Lee; let’s go over to the mall. I want to get a new pair of running shoes and whatever else catches my eye.”

“You’re going to the mall!?” Rachel cried. “Can I come along too? Pleeeeaaasssseeee.

“Me too,” chimed in Andrea and Michelle.

Chip rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. “Sheesh. Can’t Lee and I get a little time to ourselves.” He said in mock indignation.

“Chip quit teasing; take the girls with you.” Carolyn said as she swatted him on the butt. “You know they NEVER get to go anywhere.”

“Oh alright, if you’re gonna make me.” Chip conceded quickly. “You have 5 minutes to get your stuff and if you’re not in the car we’re leaving without you.”

Lee winced at the volume of the squeals of delight. He couldn’t quite fathom what was so exciting about going to a mall. He had never really gotten into the whole shopping thing and found malls far too crowded.

Chip laughed at Lee’s reaction then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the door. They headed to the separate garage where Chip’s car was parked. Lee was duly impressed when Chip opened the garage door to reveal a vintage Trans Am. He didn’t have a car of his own but he did have a serious appreciation for things that went fast and looked good doing it.

“Wow Chip, this is yours?” Lee inquired.

“Yep. I got it from a junk yard. My dad and I spent a couple of years restoring it from the tires up. If the girls weren’t coming with us I’d take you out to my racing place and really open it up and blow the carbon out.”

Chip looked down at his watch. “You all have 20 seconds and if you aren’t here, we’re gone.” Chip yelled across the backyard. Ten seconds later they heard the back door slam and girls chatting and giggling as they ran to the car.

“You just made it,” Chip said sternly. The girls just rolled their eyes at him and piled in the backseat of the car. “Hop in Lee and let’s get out of here before they realize they’ve forgotten something and ‘have’ to go get it.”

Once everyone was in and buckled up Chip fired up the engine. It roared to life after having sat idle for most of the year. He revved the engine a couple of times then backed it out of the garage and they were on their way. Chip pointed out various landmarks to Lee as they made their way to the mall.

“Over there is my high school.” Chip said.

“I thought it probably was when I ran by it this morning.” Lee replied.

Chip just stared at him for a moment. “Seriously you ran all the way out here this morning? That’s 9 miles one way.”

Lee just smiled and shrugged. “I kind of got on a roll, I guess.”

“I guess; eighteen miles round trip before breakfast, not bad.”

They drove on until they reached the mall. It was 5 stories and multiple acres of retail madness. The parking lot was jammed full and they spent about 10 minutes trying to find a place to park that was acceptable to Chip for his ‘baby’. Finally finding an appropriate spot they all headed into the mall; the girls trailing behind the boys giggling and chatting.

As they entered Chip turned to his sisters, “We’re going over to the sports store so I can get some new shoes and stuff. Why don’t you go off and do whatever you do and we’ll meet you in the food court in an hour, okay?”

“We want to hang with you brother dear,” Rachel replied sweetly.

Chip raised his eyebrows in disbelief and caught the look Andrea was shooting at Lee. “I just bet you do. We’ll see you in an hour. Bye.”

Rachel and Andrea stuck their tongues out at Chip, then laughed, gathered Michelle and headed off to the music store. Rachel was the same age as Lee, Andrea a year younger and Michelle five years younger. Chip knew exactly what was going on and didn’t want his roommate running in terror from his somewhat aggressive boy crazy little sisters.

“Are they always like that?” Lee inquired. “I mean giggly and always staring at you?”

“Lee you need to get out more. I think Rachel and Andi have a crush on you.” Chip replied with a chuckle.

Lee looked absolutely mortified at first then a small smile peaked out. “Really?” Lee had never really had a girlfriend or even been around girls that much having gone to a boys’ private military academy since he was twelve. Their year at the Academy had far too many other things to concentrate on to even think about dating.

Chip broke out laughing at Lee’s response and grabbed his buddy by the shirt sleeve and pulled him on towards the sporting goods store. “Come on Romeo.”

After Chip got his shoes and some new workout clothes they headed to the food court to hook up with the girls. When they got there they spied them at a large table with a number of their friends. As they approached it suddenly got quiet as the girls took in both Chip and Lee.

“OMG! Rachel you are so totally right about him, he’s gorgeous.” One of Rachel’s friends commented a little louder than she intended.

Lee immediately blushed and all the girls giggled. Chip quickly put his hand in the middle of Lee’s back to prevent him from turning and running off. “Steady Lee,” he whispered. “If you can’t stand up to a hoard of girls how are you going to handle a marauding enemy?”

Lee turned and glared at him. Chip started laughing right up until another of Rachel’s friends, Julie said, ”Hiiiiii Chip. Why don’t you come over and sit by me?” She patted the seat right next to her.

Chip flushed and then Lee busted out in laughter. “Oh yeah, I can see you’re a veritable wall of resistance too.” They both laughed and then joined the girls.

Lee actually had a pretty good time surrounded by all the girls. He loosened up and chatted easily with them enjoying the attention for a change. Chip just rolled his eyes and chuckled as they fawned all over him. Of course Chip’s ego was getting some pretty serious stroking as well as a number of the girls hung on his every word.

After about an hour Chip looked at his watch. “Well we need to get going, it’s getting late.”

The entire table responded with a chorus of “Awwwwws”. Lee looked up somewhat relieved; his ‘social’ meter had been pretty well pegged having two consecutive days of dealing with large crowds. They got up and started heading towards the door. “Come back tomorrow, okay?” called a number of the girls as they worked their way out of the court.

OooOooO

The drive home was quick and everyone piled out of the car and hit the house. Chip’s parents were sitting in the living room as the group trooped into the house. “Did you have a good time?” Carolyn asked.

“Yes, we hooked up with a bunch of friends from school.” Rachel replied as she headed for the stairs followed by the other girls. “We just hung out.”

Chip and Lee plopped down on the sofa. “Lee found himself with quite a harem,” Chip said with a chuckle.

Lee glared and Chip for a moment then flashed a shy self-conscious grin. “What can I say? When ya got it, ya got it. Although you weren’t lacking for attention either; Julie pretty much glued herself to you.” Lee replied.

Chip rolled his eyes. “Julie…” he said with an exasperated sigh.

Robert and Carolyn laughed. Every time Julie came over to visit Rachel she wound up trailing Chip around the house like a love sick puppy. He finally just took to hiding in his room behind a locked door until she left.

They sat there chatting for a while just enjoying the lazy afternoon. Around 1800 Carolyn got up and headed for the kitchen. “Well I better get dinner started or Chip will no doubt pass out from starvation.”

“Ah, that’s my cue to fire up the grill,” Robert said as he pushed himself out of his chair and headed towards the patio.

After they left Lee just stared and Chip for a moment. Chip stared back and then finally said, “What?”

“Is that all you Mortons do, eat?” Lee said with a mischievous grin. “I’m still trying to cope with that huge breakfast and the even larger lunch.”

Chip broke out laughing and punched his friend lightly on the shoulder. “I suppose it seems that way doesn’t it. Just because you don’t have a metabolism doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have one. We will teach you grasshopper, the joys of eating. Come on lets go set the table.”

They got up off the couch, headed into the kitchen to gather plates and silverware and quickly set the table. The boys went back to the kitchen to see if there was anything else they could help with. Carolyn shooed them out and told them to go relax. They headed back up to Chip’s room and flaked out on the beds.

“So what do you think of everything so far?” Chip asked. “Are you having fun?”

“Everything is great. Your family is fantastic and I see why you’re so anxious to come home on leave. I’m glad you forced me to come; I’m having a good time so far. Thanks.”

“Forced? I forced you to come?” Chip replied indignantly as he glared at Lee. “I would never force you to do anything, Lee. Badger, goad, prod, harass, shame maybe, but never force.” He couldn’t hold the stern look and they both broke out laughing.

“Yeah, right.” Lee replied. “So what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”

“I figure we’ll head downtown and I’ll show you more of Cincinnati. Maybe we can play some tennis or catch a movie. No huge plans, just hang.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Chip and Lee chatted about the girls they had met at the mall, Chip’s car and various other things while they waited for dinner. About an hour later Carolyn called the crew down to the table. It was a repeat of breakfast as all the bowls and plates of food were passed around the table while everyone chatted about the day. Lee made sure he took more food this time to hopefully forestall Chip’s super loading of his plate again.

Once everything had made the rounds Chip scoped out Lee’s plate. “Better.” he said with a laugh. “We’ll work on the concept of seconds tonight.”

Lee just groaned. He felt as though he were going to burst as it was from all the food he’d eaten earlier. ‘Where do they put it all?’ he thought to himself.

The meal was fantastic and Lee polished off everything he had put on his plate. As Chip took seconds of the mashed potatoes he eyed Lee’s plate and was preparing to load him up as well.

“Don’t even think about it.” Lee said with a glare. “This was all really good but I can’t eat another bite and don’t want you to waste it.”

Chip laughed and lowered the bowl. “Okay. You’re just going to have to build up your capacity. I guess I don’t want to overwhelm you right at the start.” Everyone laughed and Lee just rolled his eyes.

With dinner over the kids quickly set to cleaning up the table and kitchen. Once the dishes were done and the leftovers put away they all adjourned out to the backyard and played a few games of volleyball to work off the meal.

Lee found himself slowly letting down more of his guard as he became more comfortable with the Mortons. He teased and joked with the girls during the games just like Chip and they responded in kind treating him just like their big brother. He was feeling more at ease with Chip’s parents as well and actually enjoyed the gentle parenting they aimed at him. He was having a great time and he felt as if he almost belonged.

After a number of hard fought games and with everyone feeling winded and tired they decided to call it a night. Chip bolted upstairs and hit the bathroom before his sisters had the chance to lock it up for the foreseeable future. Lee stared in confusion at Chip’s rapid departure, much to the amusement of Chip’s parents; he’d learn in time. Nearly two hours later Lee finally got his shot at the bathroom. He would be much faster up the stairs tomorrow night Lee vowed to himself.

OooOooO

The next few days Chip took Lee around to all of his old haunts. They got in their fair share of exercise as well, going swimming, playing tennis, and a few pickup games of basketball and football with a few of Chip’s buddies from high school. Lee got a great taste of what it was like for Chip growing up. He really envied his friend’s childhood when compared to his own.

At dinner that evening Robert announced that in the morning they would be loading up the car for a road trip to Sandusky, Ohio to spend the day at the Cedar Point amusement park. Chip and the girls got really excited and let out a few whoops. Lee stared at them not quite comprehending what all the excitement was about. He’d never been to an amusement park and had yet to learn the joys of being spun around until you’re just about ready to toss your cookies.

“I take it that’s a good thing,” Lee said a bit unsure.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” replied Chip incredulously. “It’s only the greatest amusement park around. They have fantastic roller coasters, spinning rides, water rides and water slides. Oh man it’s great. Which park did you go to growing up?”

“I’ve never been to an amusement park. I got to go to a county fair once, we only could go to the exhibits because those were free but I saw the rides. They looked kind of fun.” Lee answered honestly.

There was a stunned silence as they all realized just how different Lee’s childhood was from theirs. Even Robert and Carolyn had grown up in a middle class neighborhood not really knowing want for anything. They all had fond memories of going to fairs, carnivals and amusement parks growing up and just took that as a normal part of life.

Lee squirmed slightly in his seat at the quiet scrutiny. He felt as though he were some kind of alien life form that the Mortons had never encountered before.

Catching on to his friend’s discomfort Chip punched him lightly on the shoulder and broke the silence, “Well it looks like we have a lot of ground to make up for come tomorrow. We’re getting the express pass so you can ride them all. You don’t get motion sick do you?”

“Huh?” Lee replied.

“You’ll see.” Chip said with a chuckle followed by the rest of the family. “We are going to have so much fun you won’t want to come home.” They all chatted animatedly about their favorite rides and offered multiple suggestions on which one to hit first. Lee listened intently to all their descriptions, it all sounded fun.

OooOooO

Later that night as Chip and Lee settled into bed, Chip finally asked Lee about how he grew up. Lee had never been very forthcoming about his background other than to say he didn’t have any parents. Chip had always detected a sense of embarrassment from Lee when the topic of his childhood came up. “We’re you serious when you said you’ve never been to an amusement park?”

“Yeah. I grew up in orphanages, group homes and foster homes when I was younger. They didn’t give us money to go to parks or movies or stuff like that. One summer one of the foster families I stayed with took us to the county fair but we just got to walk around and look at stuff. They let their kids go on a couple of rides but us foster kids just got to watch. Still it was fun just getting to see that for a change. There were all kinds of bright lights and noises; people everywhere.” Lee replied quietly.

“How old were you when you lost your parents?”

“I guess around 3, nobody really knows for certain. My parents were killed in a car crash and I was the only survivor. They couldn’t find any next of kin so I was placed in a foster home. They had no idea what my name was so they named me after my parents Lee and Benjamin Crane. I don’t even know what my real birthday is so they used the date of the crash. Isn’t that a happy reminder?”

Chip remained quiet for a moment taking in what Lee had told him. “I’m so sorry Lee.”

“Why? It wasn’t your fault. It’s over and done with, there’s not anything that can be done about it.” Lee replied neutrally. “I learned early on being bitter about it didn’t change things it just made me feel bad. So I’ve made my peace with it and keep moving forward.”

“This all must seem like I’m flaunting what I had in front of your nose.” Chip responded quietly.

“No Chip. This whole trip has been great. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the other side of the fence so to speak. I had never seen the suburbs until we got to your house. I’ve seen movies and TV shows about your world and always wondered if it was real or if it was something somebody made up for the shows. Now I know it’s real and I’m having fun being a part of it. So thanks for bringing me home.” Lee said sincerely.

Chip was struck by Lee referring to this as ‘his world’ like he was some visitor from an alien planet. He’d always looked at his life as though everyone pretty much had and did the same things. He’d been friends with a couple of the poorer kids at school but they seemed to do all right. They didn’t have all the newest and best stuff but they seemed happy. It really hadn’t occurred to him that there were kids out there that didn’t even have a home.

“Uh…Chip”

“Yeah?”

“I would really appreciate it if you would keep this between us. I haven’t told anybody about how I grew up and really don’t want it spread all around. Okay?”

“Sure Lee. It’s our secret.”

“Thanks. Night, Chip.” Lee said as he rolled over and closed his eyes.

“Good night Lee.” Chip lay awake for quite some time after he turned the lights out thinking over all he’d learned about his friend’s life. He was amazed at how much his friend had accomplished with not much of a support system. He felt his stomach churn as he thought about what Lee probably had to endure growing up alone.

Lee lay awake as well wondering if he really should have told Chip about some of his childhood. He hated how some people started treating him differently; almost like he was damaged goods or broken. The pity was the thing he hated most. So he grew up poor and didn’t have parents or a home, that’s not a crime, it’s not like he had robbed or killed anyone. He hoped Chip would just let it slide and not change how he acted towards him.

OooOooO

Lee was up early the next morning and went out for a quick run before everyone else got up. He wanted some time to himself before facing Chip and finding out if things had changed between them after last night. He was thoroughly dreading that meeting. It was 0620 when he got back to the house. No one was up yet so he sat down on the front steps, tossing the paper in his hand and waited for someone to get up so they could let him in.

Fifteen minutes later the front door swung open as Robert came out to get the morning paper. “Lee, you’re up early. What are you doing sitting out here?”

“I went for a run and everyone was still in bed when I got back. I didn’t want to disturb anyone just to get back in.”

“You know, you can leave the front door unlocked when you head out.” Robert replied.

“No sir, that’s not very safe.” Lee answered quite seriously.

“Well then we’ll just have to get you a key if I can’t convince you otherwise.” Robert said with a laugh. He took the paper from Lee and ushered him into the house. They both headed to the kitchen where Lee grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water and downed it quickly as Robert set to brewing a pot of coffee.

“So did you have a good run?”

“Yes sir, I got in about 8 miles this morning. I really enjoy running in the neighborhood; it’s so peaceful and quiet. I like looking at all the stuff people put in their yards especially those funky pink flamingos.” Both men laughed.

“Are you ready for our trip to the park today?” Robert asked.

“Yes sir. It sounds like a lot of fun the way Chip and the girls went on about it last night. I’m really looking forward to seeing it.”

“Good to hear. After you said you’ve never been to an amusement park Carolyn and I decided we’ll spend the night in Sandusky so we can spend a couple days there to make sure you get to experience ALL the rides. We haven’t done that in years so it should be a lot of fun.”

“You don’t need to do that on my account, Mr. Morton.” Lee said quickly.

“Nonsense Lee, it will probably be the last time we do this all as a family with the kids getting older and moving on. Plus it always so much more fun introducing friends to something you really enjoy and hopefully find they love it as much as you do. We are rollercoaster junkies from way back and I can’t wait to see how you like it.” Robert said as he patted Lee on the back.

“Well then thank you sir. As I said I’m really looking forward to it.” Lee said giving Robert a wide grin.

“Lee you call Carolyn, Mom, you’re more than welcome to call me Dad or Robert if you prefer. You don’t need to be so formal. You’re part of the family now, you know.”

Lee stared at Robert for a long moment fighting hard to maintain his composure. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears of happiness. Finally gaining a modicum of control he said, “Thanks I’d like to do that very much, Dad.”

Robert put his arm around Lee’s shoulder and gave him a quick squeeze. “Well why don’t you head upstairs and get cleaned up before the girls lock up the bathroom for the next few hours.”

Lee laughed and nodded in agreement. He turned around and trotted back up the stairs to grab a shower and get dressed for the road trip ahead.

OooOooO

Lee entered Chip’s room quietly so as not wake his friend. As he rustled in his bag for clean clothes and his shower stuff Chip gave a loud yawn and pried one eye open to look at him. “Has it ever occurred to you we are on vacation and don’t have to be up before the sun until we get back to school?”

“No. Has it ever occurred to you, that you’re missing the best part of the day?” Lee retorted.

“No. I find this to be the best time of day to lounge in bed and just relax. You really should try it some time, you might actually enjoy it.” Chip replied snippily then grinned.

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Lee answered returning Chip’s grin.

Taking in his roomie’s sweaty appearance Chip just sighed. “How many miles did you do today?”

“I think about 8; it was a quick run. I just needed to loosen up and stretch things out.”

“Hrumph” answered Chip. “I need to give you some serious instruction on the art of relaxation and how to become inert.” He laughed as Lee stuck out his tongue.

“Your dad said that we’re going to spend two days at the park now.” Lee informed Chip.

At that bit of info Chip shot up out of bed. “What?! Really, we’re doing an overnighter? Oh this is too cool! We’ll be able to ride everything more than once and they’ve got the best chili cheese dogs around.”

Lee busted out laughing. “Does everything revolve around food with you Chip?”

“Oh just you wait. It all goes hand in hand with the rides. You need to mega load so if you do hurl you get serious points for style.” Chip replied with a laugh. He quickly pulled on his shorts and t-shirt and ran downstairs to verify Lee was not just yanking his chain.

Once Chip left the room, Lee let loose a huge sigh of relief. Chip was still Chip and he hadn’t let his knowledge of Lee’s past change how he treated him. The few people he had told in the past had almost treated him as though someone had died or he had some terminal disease. They became overly conscious of everything they said to him so as not to make him feel uncomfortable and in doing so failed at their attempt to make him feel at ease. He grinned realizing he should have had more faith in Chip.

OooOooO

At the announcement that they were going to spend a couple of days at the park, it was pure pandemonium in the house as the girls scurried about packing for the overnighter. Lee was thrilled that he had been up early and had already made his bathroom run since it seemed the girl’s turns lengthened exponentially. He laughed out loud as he heard Chip pounding on the door trying to urge whoever was in there to hurry up. Finally taking pity on his antsy son, Robert told Chip to use the bathroom in their room. Chip grinned in relief and bolted into his parent’s room.

Robert looked at Lee and winked. “Don’t want to let them do that too often or you can never pry them out. Kind of like a roach infestation.” He said with a laugh.

By 1000 everyone was cleaned up, packed and ready to roll. Rachel had received permission to invite her friend Julie along so it was a full van when they all piled in. The ride to the park was another educational experience for Lee as all the sibling antics he had seen on TV played out in the back seats of the van.

After about an hour on the road Chip started lightly tickling the back of Rachel’s neck. There were several petulant ‘Quit its’ as she batted Chip’s hand away until she finally turned around and slugged him hard in the shoulder. That was followed quickly with a ‘Chip act your age!’ from the front seat. Chip flashed an overly innocent ‘What did I do?’ smirk and then grinned evilly to Lee.

Shortly after that Michelle started pushing on Rachel with an admonishment to stay on her side of the seat. A complaint of ‘Mom she’s taking up my seat’ went forward followed by a ‘Rachel, leave your sister alone’ from Carolyn.

Not to be left out of the fray, Andi started leaning into Lee. Uncomfortable with that and not quite knowing how to handle it he kept sliding over towards Chip. Chip finally pushed Lee back over. “Tell her to stop it Lee, sheesh. I’m getting squashed over here.”

Finally deciding to take the plunge Lee threw in his own ‘Quit it’ and gave Andi a wet willy in the ear. That was of course followed up by a loud and drawn out ‘Eeeeewwwwwwww. That’s gross.’ Which met with a ‘Don’t make me come back there’ from the driver’s seat. At that point everyone broke out in laughter.

“Geez, family vacations; you gotta love ‘em. You think we would have learned by now Robert.” Carolyn said with an exasperated sigh followed by another round of laughter. “Next time we install cages.”

The rest of the trip went by relatively quietly as everyone settled in talking, napping or listening to their music. Lee sat back and watched it all. It was fun being part of a family, even if just for a bit, he wished he’d had something like this growing up.

OooOooO

As they pulled into the parking lot at the park, the level of excitement was almost palpable. Lee watched in amusement as Chip and the girls virtually vibrated in anticipation of the car doors opening up and being let loose on the rides. The same scene seemed to be playing out in other vehicles that parked next to them. The doors flew open and the occupants burst out like cattle from a chute.

When they got to the admission counter Robert went up to purchase tickets. Lee closely followed him to get his. “I need seven adults and one child,” he said to the cashier.

“Sir you don’t need to get my ticket I have money.” Lee said quietly.

“It’s our treat Lee. Remember what I said this morning?” Robert said with a smile.

“Yes sir.” Lee replied with a slight flush. “I mean Dad.”

“Good boy.” Robert replied with a wink. He handed Lee two tickets and then they moved back to distribute them to the rest of the group.

Once they went through the gates Lee just stood there and gaped for a moment. He’d never seen anything quite like it. There were huge structures everywhere with coaster and cars flying or whirling by at great speed. “Wow.” was all he could say.

Chip quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and pointed him towards the monster roller coaster dead ahead. Lee’s eyes got even bigger. “We’re going on that?” he asked.

“Yep. You’re gonna love it.” Chip replied.

They all walked over to the Mean Streak, a huge wooden rollercoaster. It was a bit of a Morton family tradition that they all took the first ride together. They joined the line and started the slow move towards the front. As they waited Lee watched in amazement as the cars flew by overhead and listened to the screams and yells of the passengers. He was getting more anxious as they got closer to the front.

“Okay Lee since this is your first time; we have to do this right. We’re going to grab the lead car okay.” Chip said.

“Okay.” Lee replied cautiously. “Lead the way.”

It was finally their turn and they all climbed into the cars. Chip and Lee were up front, Rachel and Julie next, Andi and Michelle after them and finally Robert and Carolyn. Once they were seated the attendants came by and locked down the safety bars across their laps. Lee’s eyes got even bigger. They sat there for a brief moment and then the cars started moving forward and began the climb for the first drop.

“Put your hands above your head Lee.” Rachel yelled forward.

Lee looked at Chip and his were already up so he followed suit. As they crested the top of the hill the reality of what was about to happen hit Lee. The car started hurtling down the track and they all laughed as they heard Lee’s “Oh sssssssshhhhhhiiiiiiitttttt!” That was quickly followed by his yells of absolute delight as the cars rose and fell over the coaster’s route at breakneck speed. By the time the cars came to a halt Lee was hooked; another rollercoaster junkie was born.

“That was fantastic!” exclaimed Lee. His eyes were afire and he was as excited as Chip had ever seen him. All the barriers were gone now. He was a little kid again; open to all the joys and wonders of the world. He was pinging around like a super ball. “Can we do it again?” he asked excitedly.

Chip laughed out loud. He was thrilled to see Lee having so much fun. “Later. There are other coasters and rides we need to get to first before we start doing repeats. We have two days to get it all in.”

Robert and Carolyn were thrilled as well to see Lee really let loose and have fun. Lee was a great young man but far too serious given his age. They enjoyed watching Chip and Lee bounce off each other like 10 year old boys as they hurried off to catch another ride. The boys went one way, the girls another and Mom and Dad did their thing. The rule was they all meet up at the food court at 5:00 so they could count noses and make sure everyone was okay.

Chip and Lee got on every rollercoaster in the park. Lee was practically hoarse from all the yelling he had been doing and Chip wasn’t much better. The girls had hit the other thrill rides and were saving the rest of the rollercoasters for tomorrow. Robert and Carolyn were mixing them up but were just as busy as the kids.

They all met up at the food court as agreed. Everyone was excited and chatting about what they had ridden and what they wanted to do next. Lee’s face glowed with a smile of total joyous abandon that was rarely let loose. His eyes seemed to change colors with each degree of excitement as he described what they had done. Lee couldn’t ever remember having this much fun.

As they got to the front of the line at the snack counter Lee announced that this was his treat. Much to Lee’s delight everyone graciously accepted his offer. They loaded up with chili cheese dogs, chips, fries, sodas and churros, grabbed a couple of tables and dug into their feast.

It was decided that they would all do the next few rides together. First ride on the list was the bumper cars. They made sure they were all in the same session and then scrambled to their vehicle of choice when the gate opened. Everyone had a grand time trying to take each other out and at times teamed up on an unsuspecting driver. After that they moved on to the carousel and teased and taunted each other as they pretended to race each other as they bobbed up and down on whatever animal they had chosen as their mount. Finally they hit the racing cars and it was a hard fought race to the finish line with Michelle being the surprise winner.

By the time they finished that last ride it was getting late and time to head for the hotel so everyone could collapse. They wended their way back out to the parking lot and then slumped into the car. Lee laughed quietly to himself; it was such a turnabout from the exuberant departure earlier in the day. When they reached the hotel, Robert went in to get their rooms. Chip and Lee got their own room and the girls got a connecting room with their parents. They all grabbed their gear and headed up to the rooms to relax.

As Chip closed the door he turned around to see Lee taking a flying leap onto one of the beds. He laughed out loud at his friend’s atypical behavior. Lee was usually so contained and controlled never truly cutting loose. He didn’t quite recognize this person but he liked him. “Having fun Mr. Crane?” Chip said seriously.

Lee just busted out laughing. “Yeah Mr. Morton I’m having a great time. That place was amazing; I’ve never done anything like this in my life. After being on some of those rides I’m thinking maybe I want to be a fighter pilot.” Lee replied with a wink.

Chip just grinned as his friend. “I told you you’d have a good time if you came home with me.”

They talked excitedly about what they had done during the day and which rides they wanted to catch tomorrow. After a bit Chip announced that he was hungry and they went in search of the vending machines. A bit disappointed in what they had to offer they went back to the room and ordered a couple of large pizzas and a 12-pack of Coke. Once those arrived they set off to the girl’s room to share the goodies.

Chip’s parents had headed down to the lounge for a nightcap and to just relax and get away from the kids. By the time they got back to their room they heard the laughter and voices next door and popped in for a slice of pizza as well.

It was nearly midnight by the time Lee and Chip returned to their room. They each flopped on a bed and that was it until the next morning.

OooOooO

Lee was awake again before 0600. He lay in bed for a few moments listening to Chip snore. Exciting as that was he decided he needed to get up and get in some exercise but he wasn’t too keen on running in an area he wasn’t familiar with. He had seen in the brochure that the hotel had a pool so he pulled on his suit and headed down for a swim.

The hotel had a full-sized pool so he would be able to get in some serious laps. He did a racer’s dive into the pool and started swimming. The water was somewhat cool but it felt great as it rushed over his skin. He set a good pace and was soon lost in the comforting cadence of his stroke. What dawned on him as he swam was that as much as he enjoyed being with the Mortons he still needed time to himself just to put things in order and find his center.

After about an hour he became aware of someone else doing laps as well. When he reached the shallow end he stopped and stood up to see who had joined him. He wasn’t all that surprised to find Chip in the next lane laying down laps as well. As Chip reached the shallow end he stopped and stood up too. He grinned at Lee as the water drained off his face. “Morning Lee.”

“Morning Chip.” Lee replied.

“How you doing today?” Chip inquired.

“Fine. I don’t know about you but I was a little sore after all those rides yesterday; we got bounced around pretty good. Still I want to go do it some more.” Lee answered with a smile.

“Yeah me too. I think we’re going to start at the water park and take in the slides and stuff there, and then we can head back to the park to grab last rides before we head home. Come on let’s head back up to the room and clean up so we can go to breakfast.”

Lee just shook his head. “More food. Okay lead on Macduff.”

Chip just laughed. They pulled themselves out of the pool, grabbed their towels and dried off. They got back to the room just in time to get the call from Chip’s mom letting them know they were heading down for breakfast and if they wanted to eat they better get a move on. The boys quickly showered up and popped back downstairs to hit the breakfast buffet.

Lee was actually relieved to be able to pick his own breakfast this morning. He grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit, some toast and a bowl of cereal. By now he had become accustomed to the looks from the group regarding his sparse choice of food items.

After breakfast they all headed back to their rooms to change into their swimsuits and pack their bags for the trip home. Robert checked them out of the hotel then they piled back into the van and headed to the park for round two.

OooOooO

The exit from the van was a little less exuberant this morning but still full of energy as they piled out and headed for the gates. They did indeed head to the water park to partake of the wet amusements. They all divested themselves of their clothes and headed out to play in the water.

It was the first time Chip’s parents had seen Lee with his shirt off and they immediately noticed the number of scars on his body. As it looked like his parents were about to question Lee about them Chip caught their eyes and gave a slight shake of his head indicating not to ask. They got Chip’s drift and let it pass, though it concerned them deeply. What kind of things had this gentle young man endured in his early life? It broke Carolyn’s heart.

Everyone fanned out to try the different slides and rides. Lee enjoyed the water but the thrill of the other rides beckoned him back to Cedar Point. After a couple of hours he and Chip headed back to ride their favorite rollercoasters again before they had to leave.

As prearranged they all met back at the car at 1700. They piled in and were on their way back to Cincinnati. The ride back was much more relaxed as everyone was pretty much beat after a full day playing in the water or racing around the park.

“Well did you enjoy yourself Lee?” Carolyn asked.

“That was the most fun I think I’ve ever had.” Lee responded with a bright smile. “Thanks for taking me; it’s something I’ll never forget.”

“You’re welcome, I’m glad you had a good time.”

By the time they’d been on the road for an hour just about everyone was sound asleep except for Robert, who was driving and Lee who stared quietly out the window taking in the passing scenery and ruminating over all the things they had seen and done. Lee couldn’t believe how much fun he’d had both at the park and with the Mortons. Again he thought Chip to be one of the luckiest guys in the world to have such a great family.

Robert surreptitiously watched Lee in the rearview mirror. He too was concerned by the scars he had seen on Lee’s body and wondered about their sources. He could only imagine what Lee had gone through as a young child.

When they got back in town they dropped Julie off at her house and were back at their place by 2300. It was a ragtag procession of weary, slightly sunburned, revelers that trudged into the house and up to bed. Everyone had crashed by midnight exhausted after playing so hard for two days.

OooOooO

Lee couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown by but they were flying back to school in just a few days. He had enjoyed everything they did; the party when they first arrived, the trips to the mall, hanging out with Chip’s sisters and parents, playing games in the backyard, that incredible trip to Cedar Point and the quick camping trip just he and Chip took. He couldn’t remember a better time in his life.

Ever since they had arrived Chip’s sisters Rachel and Andi had gone on about a new teen dance club located downtown. They kept trying to get their parents to let them go but Robert and Carolyn were not thrilled with the idea of the girls going downtown alone. As a surprise for the girls Chip and Lee agreed to take them and their friend Julie to the club.

If Lee thought the squeals of delight were loud and nerve wracking for the trip to the mall those let out by the girls when told they were going to the club were nearly ultrasonic and made the fillings in his teeth rattle. He stared at Chip in total amazement; even Chip was stunned by the sound and fought hard to regain his composure.

“Geez Chip that was painful. Are my ears bleeding?” Lee said as he touched both ears and then looked at his fingers for signs of blood.

“I think I might suggest that to the Navy as a sonic weapon for use against our most hated enemies.” Chip responded as he shook his head trying to get the ringing in his ears to stop.

Both boys wound up using the parental bathroom because there was no way they were getting anywhere near the inside of the other bathroom before it was time to leave for the evening with all the bathing and primping the girls were doing. Wardrobe changes alone accounted for a good three hours. The guys were showered, shaved and ready in an hour, combined time. Dressed in a nice pair of slacks and button down short-sleeved shirt they looked quite dapper.

When Rachel and Andi finally decided on their outfits it was 5 minutes before they were scheduled to leave to go pick up Julie. Lee had to admit they looked fantastic as they came down the stairs. “Wow, you ladies look beautiful,” was Lee’s comment.

Both girls blushed appreciatively of Lee’s compliment. Chip let out a wolf whistle and bounced his eyebrows which elicited synchronized eye rolls from the girls. Their parents made the appropriate parental compliments and then proceeded to take multiple pictures of the group before they headed out.

Chip rolled his eyes, “Geez Mom it’s not like we’re going out to the prom; it’s just a club.”

“Humor me Chip.” Carolyn said as she snapped another photo. “The purpose of the photos is to document that you are dressed in something other than jeans or shorts and a grungy tee shirt. It happens so rarely.” Chip groaned and stuck his tongue out, which was appropriately captured for posterity.

“All right guys have a good time and be back by midnight, okay?” Robert said.

“Yesssssss Daaaaaadddd,” was the chorused response followed by a round of laughter.

Robert handed Chip some money to handle any cover charges and a couple rounds of beverages for the group. “If you’re going to be late give us a call, okay Son?”

“You know I will Dad.” Chip responded. “Probably see you in the morning.”

Once they picked up Julie, Chip headed downtown for the club. After he found the club he spent the next 15 minutes trying to find a parking spot. It was apparently a very happening place and nearby parking was nowhere to be found. When they were finally parked and all out of the car Lee offered his arms to Rachel and Andi and Chip did the same to Julie as they escorted them to the club.

Chip paid for the cover charge and they entered the club. It was kind of 70’s retro with disco balls and strobe lights above the dance floor. The music was current with a few oldies and some hard rock thrown in every now and then. Lee spotted a table in the corner and they all made their way through the crowd to claim it.

The girls spotted a number of their friends and waved and hollered their hellos. Chip had to laugh at the look of envy some of the girls had for Rachel and Andi’s escort. Of course Chip was gratified to notice that as Julie’s escort he was getting some serious looks as well. Once they were settled the waitress came over and got their drink order; Cokes all around.

Chip kept an eye trained on Lee just waiting for him to bolt; crowds, noise and loud music tended to drive him up the wall. Chip chuckled to himself as he watched Lee locate each and every exit in the room once they were in their seats. He tapped Lee on the shoulder and when he looked at him Chip mouthed ‘Only three and a half hours to go.’ He laughed as Lee rolled his eyes and deflated like a punctured beach ball.

As they got more into the swing of things, Lee and Chip danced with their party along with a number of other girls that were friends of Rachel and Andi. Chip was actually surprised at how well Lee danced; somehow he had never pictured him as ever having tried it before. He was aggressively sought out especially for the slow dances, but then again so was Chip. Rachel and Andi had a great time dancing with a number of guys from school as word quickly spread that the guys they were with were their brothers and not their dates.

OooOooO

The evening passed quickly and the midnight hour approached surprisingly fast. Chip started gathering up his gaggle and herded them towards the door. As they exited the club the girls were dancing, singing and chatting excitedly as they walked down the street towards their car.

They were headed down a side street towards the car when suddenly a guy stepped out from a doorway in front of them and brandished a knife. As the group turned to try and move out of his way another two men stepped out from the alleyway behind them blocking their retreat. The leader motioned for them to head down the alley, away from the street. Chip and Lee instinctively stepped in front of the girls shielding them from the advancing thugs.

“Well aren’t we a good looking group,” said the leader of the group.

Chip continued to back down the blind alleyway keeping between the thugs and the girls but noticed that Lee had stopped. Lee’s entire stance and demeanor had changed as he seemed intent on challenging the leader.

“What is it exactly that you want?” Lee asked in a deadly serious voice.

The men laughed. “Well let’s start with your wallets and the ladies purses and then we’ll go from there, pretty boy.” the leader sneered derisively with a laugh.

“No, I don’t think we’ll give you that.” Lee responded.

The thugs laughed and shook their heads at the ‘boy’ that stood before them.

“Lee, let’s just give them what they want and then we can get out of here” offered Chip.

“They aren’t here for just our money Chip,” Lee replied knowing Chip would catch on to other things he meant. “These are low life maggots trying to take things that they have no right to.”

“Oh you’re right about that pretty boy,” spewed the leader. “We’re gonna take whatever we want.”

“Over my dead body, douche bag.” Lee replied evenly. “Why don’t you just come over here and try and take it?” The leader spat at Lee and motioned for his friends to advance and take Lee out.

“What, not man enough to take me on yourself butt wipe? Don’t think you got the skills to take on a ‘pretty boy’? I’ve killed bigger ‘boys’ than you.” Lee taunted some more; the calm, deadly tone more frightening than his words.

“Lee, what the hell are you doing?” hissed Chip. “Don’t egg them on!”

Lee backed up slowly, never taking his eyes off the thugs in front of him, until he was even with Chip and spoke very softly so they couldn’t hear what he was saying. “Chip, just stay back here and make sure the girls are safe. If they try to make a run for the front of the alley all bets are off and this will turn into a bloodbath. If he beats me then charge the fat bastard on the right. That will give you the best chance of getting everyone out.”

Chip stared at Lee as though he had just transformed into someone else. Lee’s eyes had become hard, deadly cold and nearly black as all hints of gold and green had seemingly evaporated. His whole persona had changed taking on a threatening and lethal emanation. His face had become hard and fixed; no longer did he look like a boy but instead a war weary veteran who had seen these types of confrontations all too frequently and would take care of this one as a matter of course. The way he held his body and moved had changed as well, becoming something akin to a large jungle cat carefully scrutinizing its prey before striking its fatal blow.

Chip was ready to balk at Lee’s direction until he fixed him with a glare that demanded immediate compliance with his instructions. As if to ease Chip’s mind his expression softened for a moment and he whispered, “This is my world Chip, trust me I know what I’m doing.”

Chip backed off and made sure he had the girls near him so he could react if one of them panicked and tried to run. “Just take it easy, Lee knows what he’s doing, okay.” he whispered to them with as much conviction as he could muster.

“Well fat boy, you gonna try and take me or show your girls here just how big a coward and momma’s boy you are?” Lee taunted yet again. The man easily outweighed Lee by 50 pounds and had at least three inches on him in height.

“I am gonna bleed you like a stuck pig, boy!” the leader snarled back at Lee.

“Talk, talk, talk, is that all you can do?”

At that moment the leader rushed Lee trying to catch him off guard. What Lee lacked in bulk and stature he made up for with speed. He danced easily out of his way and settled into a low crouch balanced on the balls of his feet ready for the next attack. The leader feinted and charged again and Lee once more danced out of range leaving the larger man swinging at thin air.

“Oh come on my 80 year old grandmother can do better than that.” Lee fired back.

“Come on Tank take him out so we can get down to business,” hollered one of the thugs.

Lee and Tank continued to circle each other with Tank occasionally slashing at Lee with his knife. One move was rapid enough that he caught Lee across the chest slicing through his shirt and drawing blood. Rachel and Andi screamed, “Lee!” Chip quickly put a restraining hand on them making sure they didn’t charge into the field of battle and screw up what Lee was trying to accomplish.

Tank was feeling good now having drawn blood; his attacks became more forceful and less subtle. What Tank didn’t know is that Lee had given him that shot to get a true feel for the length of his reach. There was little finesse in his attacks; he relied primarily on brute strength to overwhelm his opponent. These were the easy foes to defeat for Lee.

Lee kept drawing him in nearer and nearer just waiting for that one unguarded moment when he could strike. Suddenly the moment presented itself and Lee’s movements were like lightening. His actions were quick and decisive and the next thing everyone knew Tank was lying unconscious on the ground as Lee buried Tank’s knife up the hilt in his shoulder. He quickly pulled the blade out, sprang to his feet and turned on the other two ready to take them on as well. Seeing their de facto leader on the ground, bleeding badly from a knife wound courtesy of his own knife, delivered by a skinny, pretty boy, sapped their resolve and they turned and ran back down the alley.

Lee let out a huge sigh and sagged against the alley wall as the adrenaline rush began to fade. His chest hurt and he also noticed he had a painful cut on his left forearm garnered when he made his move for Tank’s knife.

Chip rushed to Lee’s side, “Are you alright?” he said as he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around Lee’s freely bleeding arm.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why don’t you go call the police and get this dirt bag arrested?” Lee replied wearily.

Chip bolted down the alleyway and up the street until he spied a cab at the corner. He asked the cabbie to call the cops and to also send for an ambulance. The cabbie rapidly complied and had Chip get in and drove him back to the alleyway.

The girls quickly ran up to Lee’s side to see if there was anything they could do for him. Lee just smiled and said he was fine. Julie and Andi were in tears and Lee did his best to comfort them. As he watched the girls he noticed a change in how they looked at him. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, fear, disgust, distrust; he couldn’t pinpoint what it was he saw in their eyes.

Feeling uncomfortable with their scrutiny, Lee pushed off the wall and started moving back up the alleyway towards the street to get away from the moaning mass of Tank on the ground. He just wanted to go home and take a bath to wash off the taint of this whole evening. As they reached the end of the alley a cab pulled up and Chip jumped out.

“Come on Lee, come sit down inside. The police are on their way and so is an ambulance.” Chip said as he stepped from the cab.

“That’s okay Chip I’m fine. Why don’t you check with the girls and see if they would like a seat?” Lee replied. He could do without the hovering and attention; he just wanted to be left alone.

In another minute they heard the approach of the police sirens and the cops arrived on scene followed shortly by the ambulance. The cops moved quickly down the alley to take custody of the wannabe mugger. The EMT’s slapped him on a gurney none to gently and bandaged his shoulder for transport to the hospital.

The lead officer approached the kids taking in Lee’s bloody appearance. He called over the EMT to take a look at his injuries. Lee desperately tried to tell them he was fine and not in need of their services. He assured them his wounds were only superficial and he could take care of them at home.

“Come on son,” said the lead EMT, “at least let us take a look at the wounds. We can clean them out a bit and put a bandage on them if they’re as superficial as you say.”

Lee finally acquiesced and let them remove Chip’s jacket and peel off his shirt to check out his chest and forearm. The chest wound wasn’t too deep and had quit bleeding on its own; the cut on his arm was deeper and would most likely require stitches. They cleaned the cut on his arm and applied butterfly bandages to keep the incision shut and wrapped it up in gauze, then gently cleaned the chest wound and applied a light dressing over it.

While Lee was being tended to, the police interviewed Chip and the girls about what had happened. As they told their story, the cops kept looking up in disbelief at the young man sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance and the hulking thug handcuffed to the gurney inside. The meaning of their stares was obvious; they couldn’t quite believe that ‘kid’ took down the mugger. Within about 30 minutes the cops had all their statements and contact information and were ready to release them to go home.

Chip walked over to the ambulance where the medic was working on Lee. “Really son, you need to go to the hospital and have that arm looked at.” the EMT said.

“No, no hospital,” replied Lee. “What you’ve done is more than enough and I’ll be fine.”

“Come on Lee, let’s go to the ER. We’ll drive you there then bring you home when you’re done.” Chip offered.

“No, no hospital,” Lee repeated emphatically. “I just want to go home Chip. I’m fine and we’re already late enough as it is getting Julie and your sisters back home. Please Chip just take us home.”

Chip looked at the EMT who just shrugged, they couldn’t make him go. “Okay Lee but fair warning Mom is going to have a royal fit when she sees you and finds out you didn’t have a doctor check you out.” Chip replied.

“I’ll take my chances Chip.” Lee said with a weary smile.

One of the officer’s took Chip to pick up his car, when he returned they piled in and Chip headed for home. They were running two hours late and hadn’t had a chance to call home so things were no doubt getting tense. The ride back was quiet as everyone was still pretty shook up about what had happened.

When they reached Julie’s house Chip escorted her to the door and then waited until her parents came to the door to explain what had happened. After Chip relayed they details, Julie’s dad pumped Chip’s hand enthusiastically as he thanked him for ensuring his daughter’s safety and waved at Lee who was still sitting in the car. Both Julie and her mother gave him a big hug before they reentered the house.

Chip came back and crawled into the car. “They were all very appreciative Lee.”

Lee just looked at him for a moment taking in Chip’s face; even Chip was looking at him differently as if he were somehow unsure about him now. It was as though the once trusted family pet had just snapped at him. He turned his face forward, laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. “Can we go home now Chip?” he said with a weary sigh.

“Just a couple more minutes buddy.” Chip replied quietly gently resting his hand on Lee’s shoulder.

OooOooO

As they reached the house, the lights were still on inside letting them all know their parents were up and awaiting their return. Chip pulled the car into the garage and everyone piled out. The girls moved quickly across the backyard and into the house. As soon as they saw their mom and dad standing there looking for an explanation for why they were late, the events of the evening finally took their toll and they burst into tears and rushed to the safety and comfort of their parent’s embrace.

“Oh my god, what happened?” Carolyn asked the sobbing girls. They were too far gone to be able to speak as they just hugged them tighter.

Chip moved slowly across the yard towards the back door until he came to the realization that Lee was not following. “Lee, are you okay? Is something wrong?” he asked worriedly.

“Nah Chip, I’m fine. I just need a little time to myself, okay. Go on in and let your parents know what happened.” Lee replied in a quiet voice.

Chip stared at him for a moment. Something had changed again in Lee’s demeanor; he was back to the way he was when they first arrived. He was coming across as the quiet and remote roommate he had first met; the easiness and familiarity they shared was gone. There was a profound sadness that seemed to radiate from him. Robert and Carolyn were Chip’s parents again, not Mom and Dad, something was definitely wrong.

“Okay Lee, don’t stay out too long. I’m sure Mom will be out to collect you if you don’t make an appearance shortly.” He said lightly trying to ease the tension and return things back the way they were before they had gone to the club.

“Okay.” Lee responded quietly.

Chip slowly walked inside and heard a loud gasp from his parents. Looking down quickly he noticed his clothes and hands were stained with Lee’s blood. He looked at his sisters who were still crying and holding on tightly to their parents.

“Oh god Chip, are you all right? Have you been injured?” Robert asked and then looked behind Chip for Lee. “Where’s Lee? Is he all right? What’s happened?”

Chip closed his eyes and sighed deeply before launching into an explanation. “Yeah, Dad I’m okay. We ran into some trouble on the way back to the car. There were three guys with knives that tried to mug us. If it weren’t for Lee they would have succeeded; he was incredible.”

“Where is Lee?” Carolyn asked with a hint of panic rising in her voice. “Is he all right?”

“He’s out back. He said he needed a few minutes to himself.” Chip replied.

“Whose blood is that all over your clothes Chip?” Carolyn inquired.

“Uh it’s Lee’s. He got cut when he made his move to take the mugger’s knife.”

“He what?!” With those words Carolyn gently peeled Rachel off of her and moved her over into Robert’s arms then rushed out the door to find Lee. She quickly scanned the backyard and finally spotted him sitting at the base of a tree. He sat there motionlessly, knees drawn up toward his chest, hands resting lightly on his knees, head back against the trunk and eyes closed.

“Lee, honey, are you all right?” She called out as she quickly approached him. “Chip said you were injured tonight?”

Lee sighed deeply then opened his eyes. He looked at Carolyn and gave her a small smile. “Yes ma’am I’m fine. It’s nothing serious.” He moved to push himself up from the ground and faltered a bit not being able to use his left arm.

Carolyn rushed to his side and helped him stand. “Come on inside Lee and let’s take a look at you, okay.” She said quietly. She too picked up on the transformation in Lee’s personality. He was back to the quiet boy Chip had brought home nearly three weeks ago. She gently herded him towards the door.

As they entered the house both she and Robert let out another gasp. Lee’s shirt was torn and both his shirt and his pants were covered in blood. His left arm was bandaged from wrist to elbow and they could just make out the dressing across his upper chest. His face was pale and pinched with pain.

“Oh my god Lee, come in and sit down. Are you okay?” Carolyn said.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing too deep or too serious; they just really sting.” Lee replied as he moved towards the kitchen. He walked to the cupboard and grabbed a glass and got some water.

“What did the doctor say, son? Did they have to put in any stitches?” Robert inquired.

“He wouldn’t let them take him to the doctor,” Andi replied finally composed enough to speak. “He wanted Chip to get us home first.”

“No doctor?!” Carolyn said with a glower, and kicking into overdrive mother mode.

Chip cringed at the tone of his mother’s voice, looked over to Lee and mouthed ‘Told you so.’

“Really ma’am I’m fine. The EMT cleaned both cuts out and wrapped them up. It’s no big deal.”

“You may think it’s no big deal but we are going to the doctor in the morning young man to get a professional opinion on that.” Carolyn stated brooking no disagreement from Lee.

“Yes ma’am” Lee said flatly. “Um I’m kind of tired, I think I’m going to head up to bed. Good night everyone.”

“Lee is anything else wrong?” Robert asked.

“No sir, I’ve just had enough tonight and really just need to lie down. See you all in the morning.” Lee walked quietly upstairs leaving the Mortons to stare after him in complete confusion.

“Chip what’s wrong? Did something else happen?” asked Carolyn.

“I have no idea. Everything was fine at the club. He danced with a lot of girls and seemed to have a really good time. He seemed to change after the fight in the alley; it’s like we we’re back to day one at the Academy. He’s gone super quiet and very distant. I’ve asked him what’s wrong and all he says is he’s fine.” Chip replied.

“It was truly something else watching him take control of that whole situation in the alley. He started goading the guy, Tank, and finally provoked him into taking him on. He was adamant that I stay back with the girls and make sure they didn’t try to run until the fight with Tank was done. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen; one moment they’re circling around each other, then Tank takes a swipe at Lee and the next moment the guy has his bell rung, Lee’s pulling the guy’s knife out of his shoulder and is turned around ready to take on the other two jerks. They beat feet as soon as they realized Lee had bested their boy. I’ve never seen moves like that and it wasn’t anything we were taught in hand to hand combat training. I totally didn’t recognize him.”

“Well I’m sure it’s just the excitement of the moment and the realization of what happened that’s got him spooked.” Robert said.

“I don’t know, somehow I don’t think it’s that. I really got the impression that he had been in similar situations before. Before he got into it with Tank he told me that this was his world and to trust him.”

“Well let’s all get to bed and we can sort things out in the morning or more correctly later in the morning.” Carolyn added. “Come on everyone it’s almost 4:00 let’s all try to get some rest.” They turned out the lights, locked the doors and headed upstairs to call it a night.

OooOooO

Chip entered his room quietly hoping that Lee was already asleep. He was concerned about his friend and wanted to know what had caused everything to change. As he looked over to the inflatable bed he found it empty. He turned around quickly and flipped on the light; Lee’s stuff was still there except for his running gear. He scanned the room and noticed that the bedroom window was now open. He popped his head out of the window in hopes of catching sight of his elusive roommate. “Damn you Crane.” he said to himself.

Chip rapidly stripped off his bloodied clothing and pulled on his shorts, tee shirt and running shoes. He grabbed his wallet and car keys and crept as quietly as possible down the stairs and out the back door. He quietly opened the garage door then put his car in neutral and pushed it out of the garage and back down the driveway into the street. He hopped in, started the car and headed out looking for his wayward friend.

It was nearly 0530 by the time he spotted Lee running laps around the track at his old high school. Chip parked the car then walked out to the track to wait for Lee to come back around. As he approached Chip started trotting towards him and then turned and matched strides. They did another lap of the track in silence before Chip spoke.

“You want to tell me what the hell you’re doing out here running laps at this time of the morning?”

“I just needed to think.” Lee responded quietly.

As they came to starting line Chip reached over and pulled Lee to a halt. “Lee what’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing, ‘nothing’ doesn’t have you out here running laps in the middle of the night.”

“I’m just beating you all to the punch, that’s all.” Lee answered.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I’ve been through this all before Chip; I know the signs, the looks. I know what’s coming next and I’m just making it easier for you all.”

“What looks? Making what easier for us? I haven’t got the slightest idea what you’re talking about, Lee. Help me out here tell me what’s going on.”

“I saw the looks you and the girls gave me after the fight. Like you were afraid of me or weren’t quite sure if you could trust me anymore after what I had done to that guy in the alley, like I might just turn on you. As soon as I get those looks people start putting distance between them and me; start backing away, pretending they don’t know who I am. That’s my cue to move on.”

Chip stood stock still; dumbfounded that Lee could think that any of them would walk away from him. “Lee that was the first time any of us have ever been exposed to something like that. Of course it was frightening, but we weren’t scared of you Lee.”

“You should’ve been. I totally lost it last night. I never should have stabbed that man; you don’t know how close I came to shoving that knife into his heart and killing him. I had him down, he wasn’t a danger to us anymore but he made me angry, he’d threatened my family! When you all looked at me it was like you knew I’d pushed it too far; I’d lost control and wasn’t safe to be around.” Lee said quietly. “Once people find out what I’m capable of they don’t want me around anymore.”

“Geez Lee that’s not even remotely close to what I thought after the fight. You surprised me Lee, that’s all. What you did was the last thing any of us expected, especially from you. You became someone I didn’t recognize, I admit it was a bit frightening but only because it was such a rapid transformation. I was in awe Lee, I couldn’t have done what you did and I am exceedingly glad you did. You saved my sisters; you saved us all from something that was probably going to be a lot worse than just taking our money. I can’t even begin to thank you for that; I owe you more than I can ever repay. I’m not about to walk away from you Lee and I don’t think my family is going to either.”

“Plus you didn’t know what those guys would have done if you just left Tank on the ground unconscious. They may have decided to charge us and that would have been a lot worse. You didn’t kill the guy, you just made sure he wasn’t going to get back up and join in the fight again and his buddies knew you meant business. You didn’t start that Lee, but you brought it to the best end we could have had.” Chip added.

Lee just stood there staring at Chip uncertain whether to believe him or not. Chip watched as a myriad of emotions stormed across Lee’s eyes as he considered his words. Lee turned and started walking down the track until he was back up to a run.

Chip stood there and stared after him for a moment. The sun was coming up and Chip now got a good look at Lee and spied the blood soaked bandage on his left arm. Chip quickly followed after him once more pulling him to a stop. He placed his hands on Lee’s shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes. “Lee believe me I’m not going to turn my back on you. Come on give me a chance.”

The look in Lee’s eyes told him he so desperately wanted to believe him but something was still in there holding him back. He was almost afraid to trust in Chip for fear that it would be yet another lie, that he was setting himself up for another fall and further proof that the only person he could ever rely on was himself.

Chip suddenly pulled him into a crushing bear hug. “Come on bro, I’ve got your back just like you had mine last night. I’m not going anywhere.”

After a moment Lee slowly responded and returned Chip’s hug. He’d been let down so many times he wasn’t sure if he could take it again. He swallowed hard and patted Chip on the back. “Okay Chip” was all he could squeak out as he fought back the wave of emotions that warred inside him.

As they broke their embrace Lee turned and began walking along the track again. Chip quickly joined him and they walked in silence for a few minutes. He knew Lee needed to see a doctor soon about his arm but also could see that Lee wasn’t ready to go home and face everyone yet.

“Lee can I ask you a question about what you said last night?”

“Sure,” Lee responded warily, not exactly sure what all he had said; things had been pretty much a blur after they left the club.

“Before you took that guy on, you told me that that was your world. What did you mean by that?”

“I grew up on the streets, dealing with people like that. I had to learn how to handle them if I wanted to survive. I’d seen Tank’s type a thousand times before and knew how to turn him stupid in a hurry.”

“You actually lived on the streets?” Chip asked incredulously. “How long did you do that?”

“I guess it was about 2 years; I think I was 9 or 10. I had been placed in a really bad foster home and the streets were a lot safer than staying there.” Lee replied.

“What was so bad about the foster home that drove you out?” Chip inquired almost afraid of what he was about to hear.

Lee was quiet for a long time considering how much he really wanted to reveal. Again saying too much tended to drive people away because they were just too uncomfortable dealing with an ugly side of life. After a moment he began to speak. “There were six of us, 4 girls and 2 boys, placed with the Jenkins. They were only in it for the money; I don’t know how but they somehow got qualified for the program. They provided the bare minimum to keep us alive and kept us in what were essentially insulated dog houses and chained us like dogs to keep us from escaping and telling anyone. We’d get one meal a day which was barely enough to feed us all; if someone took too much not everyone got to eat. Mrs. Jenkins told the social workers that she was home schooling us so they didn’t have to send us to school and wouldn’t have to explain why we were filthy, malnourished and always bruised.”

Chip just stared open mouthed in total disbelief. How could anyone treat another human being that way, especially a child?

“After about 4 months I figured out how to pick the lock on the leg shackle. I told the other kids what I could do and we all decided that we would make a break for it the next time the Jenkins went into town to cash the checks and live it up on the foster care money. They usually spent at least two days shopping and having a good time in town. It was a couple of days later that the checks arrived and they made preparations to leave. They’d give us a double ration of food to tide us over while they were gone and then just leave. As soon as they left I started working on the locks and had everybody free in a couple of hours. We packed up what food we had and grabbed any clothes and blankets we could find and started walking for the city. They lived probably a good 20 miles out in the country. It took us nearly two full days to reach town. As soon as we hit the city limits we found an old warehouse and made camp there.” Lee continued on.

“Why didn’t you go to a cop or another adult and tell them what was happening?” Chip asked.

“We figured they wouldn’t believe us then take us back to the Jenkins’ place. That would have been a very bad thing and we weren’t willing to risk it. They could be damn mean and with us escaping it would have made them furious. Anyway we stayed at the warehouse for a few days, but it was in a deserted part of town so there wasn’t much food that we could find so we decided to move closer in. We found an old abandoned building that was near a couple of restaurants, a grocery store and a worksite so it was a lot easier scavenging for food. It was actually pretty good, we’d hit the dumpsters after everything closed down and were eating better than we ever did at the Jenkins.”

Chip shuddered at the thought of Lee and the other kids picking through garbage to try and find something to eat. He was starting to get angry then quickly schooled his expression so as not to alarm Lee.

“That worked for a couple of months until some of the people around there caught sight of us and called in the cops to try and catch us. Once they started going through the buildings trying to find where we were holed up we decided to move on further into town. We actually ran into some other kids that were in the same situation and they showed us where they were staying. I stayed there for about a year; it was a busy area near the bus station so we all didn’t look too out of place and nobody really cared, we were just a few more street urchins.”

“I made friends with a guy named Slapjack and he belonged to one of the gangs in the area. He’s the kid that taught me a lot about street fighting, like when to run and when to stand. We practiced fighting a lot so that we could take care of ourselves when other kids messed with us or adult streeters came looking for some fun or something else. He kept trying to get me to join up with his gang but it wasn’t something I really wanted to do. When Slapjack was killed in a gang fight I moved on to another place. I stayed there for about six months until the cops caught me and sent me to a group home.”

“That actually wasn’t too bad. It was clean, there was food to eat, a warm place to sleep and they made us go to school. That’s where I got hooked on reading and learning about things. They made me take an IQ test and I guess I scored really high because that’s when I got the scholarship to Farragut Military Academy. I had to go to classes for a year straight to catch up with my age group. After the second year there they bumped me up two grades because I was finding everything too easy and I was getting into trouble because I was bored. That’s also when I decided I wanted to join the Navy and my advisor encouraged me to try for the Academy since I had the grades for it.”

By the time Lee finished talking he had stopped walking and was pretty much staring blankly into space as the memories came flying back. There was no emotion in his voice as he related the events of his past as though reading a passage from some old book. Chip just stood there quietly watching his friend as he slowly returned to the present.

Not knowing what to say Chip just slung his arm around Lee’s neck and pulled him over until they touched heads. “Come on bro, it’s time to go home. Mom and Dad are probably having a cow by now.”

Lee turned and stared intently at Chip’s face looking for any indication that he wanted no more part of Lee; all he saw in his eyes was deep concern and caring. He gave him a small smile and started walking to the car.

OooOooO

By the time they got back to the house it was almost 1000. Chip was totally right, Robert and Carolyn were fit to be tied after finding them both gone. As the boys entered the house they descended on them demanding to know where they had been.

“Lee just needed a little time to decompress after last night,” Chip explained and hoped his parents wouldn’t push the issue. Lee looked totally exhausted. His eyes had taken on a dull lifeless look and he was more or less just moving on autopilot. He stared blankly at the floor as he waited to be dismissed.

“Lee, honey, are you okay?” Carolyn said as she gently lifted his head up and looked into his eyes, she gently brushed the stray curls off his forehead. She then gave him a hug.

Lee blinked a couple of times. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m just tired.” he said numbly.

Carolyn quickly took in Lee’s condition and was becoming quite concerned. “Chip why don’t you guys go upstairs and get cleaned up, okay? I’m going to call Dr. Mason and see about getting Lee in to check out his arm.”

“Sure Mom.” Chip replied quietly. “Come on Lee let’s head on up. I’ll even let you use the bathroom first.” Chip joked as he gently grabbed Lee by the shoulders and pointed him towards the stairs. They headed upstairs to Chip’s room. After the boys had gone, Carolyn picked up the phone and called the family doctor.

OooOooO

Lee grabbed his shower stuff, some clean clothes and headed down to the bathroom. He ached all over and felt scoured and raw inside. He turned on the shower then crawled in and let the hot water beat down on him. The water stung as it rolled over the cut on his chest but on the whole it felt good as it flowed over his body taking away the remnants of last night. He was careful not to get the dressing on his arm wet because he didn’t have anything to replace it with.

He thought over Chip’s reaction to what he had told him and was encouraged that Chip didn’t start treating him differently. He seemed genuinely concerned and didn’t get all nervous or try and drown him in sympathy. Maybe, just maybe it was time to trust someone again.

While Lee was in the shower Chip came back downstairs and gave his parents an edited version of what Lee had told him. As he relayed what Lee had said he got a firsthand feeling for the looks Lee referred to as his parents reacted to the information. Carolyn and Robert were stunned and their parental instinct to ‘make it all better’ was written all over their faces. Once Chip finished the story he made a point of telling his parents not to overreact to this and to treat Lee like they had before this all came out.

“Don’t go all sappy or overly sympathetic on him when he comes down. I’m going to tell him I told you some of the things he told me so he won’t think I’m talking behind his back. If you’ve got questions, ask them but don’t treat him any differently because he will shut you out in a heartbeat. That’s all he’s found when he’s told people about his past and putting up the walls and walking away is his way to keep from being hurt when people back off.”

As Chip finished he heard the door to the bathroom open and Lee head back up to his room. Chip went back up the stairs to get his stuff and to let Lee know what he had shared with his parents. When he got to his room Lee was already on his bed sound asleep. Chip quickly grabbed his stuff and headed back down to the bathroom to get cleaned up so they could get Lee to the doctor.

Chip rushed through his shower then tore back upstairs to make sure Lee hadn’t decided to run off again. He was greatly relieved to find him still sound asleep when he returned. He quietly finished getting dressed and went back downstairs to talk to his parents.

“He’s upstairs sound asleep. Do you want me to wake him so we can go to Dr. Mason’s or just let him sleep?”

“You need to wake him up dear; the doctor said that until his arm is properly taken care of it’s just begging for an infection.” Carolyn relayed. “You get Lee and we’ll get the car.”

Chip turned around and trotted back up to his room. When he came in it was quite obvious that Lee was dreaming as he thrashed back and forth on his bed and it didn’t look like it was a good dream. Chip walked over quietly and laid his hand on Lee’s shoulder and gently shook him to wake him up.

Chip found out quickly that was the wrong way to wake up Lee from a dream. As Lee’s eyes flew open he grabbed Chip’s arm and flipped him over the bed into the closet. He lay there stunned having the wind knocked out of him as he landed roughly on the floor. Lee had sprung to his feet and looked very much like he had in the alley just after taking on Tank.

As Chip moaned Lee shook his head, he finished waking up and realized what he had done. “Oh god Chip I’m so sorry. Are you all right?” Lee said his voice tinged with fear that he had hurt his friend.

The look of panic on Lee’s face was palpable and Chip struggled to simultaneously catch his breath and assure Lee that he was fine. He pushed himself up to his feet and quickly grabbed Lee to keep him from running. “I’m fine Lee,” he said after a moment. “You just caught me off guard. I’m sorry I startled you. Come on let’s both sit down and catch our breath.”

As they both caught their breath and their heart rates returned to normal Chip started to laugh. “What’s so funny?” Lee inquired.

“I didn’t think I was supposed to fly for another couple days.” Chip said with a smirk while rubbing the back of his head. “I hope I get a softer landing.”

Lee let out a sigh of relief and grinned. “I truly am sorry Chip, I was dreaming about last night and that guy was coming after me just as you touched me.”

“Well at least I know to wake you from a distance next time you’re dreaming like that. I can understand now why Tank didn’t get up after you got hold of him.” Chip replied with a chuckle. “Come on Lee we need to get you to the doctor and I probably need to have my head examined.”

With that they both broke out laughing. It was good to see Lee lighten up a bit and Chip stood up and pulled Lee to his feet. They went downstairs and headed out to the van; both Robert and Carolyn were inside waiting for them to arrive.

“Took you two long enough, have you been taking lessons from the girls?” Robert said as the boys crawled in.

“No,” Chip replied snippily. “Lee was just teaching me about the wonders of flight.”

“Huh?” both Carolyn and Robert replied.

Chip just laughed. “I’ll tell you later. We better get moving before Lee makes a break for the door. Doctors are not his favorite people.” Lee just rolled his eyes and sat back in the seat.

OooOooO

When they got to the doctor’s office, Robert let Lee and Chip out at the front door and then he and Carolyn went in search of a parking place. Entering the waiting room Chip walked up to the front counter to check in. “Hi Nurse Wilson,” Chip said.

“Chip! It is so good to see you. It looks like the Academy suits you.” She said with a smile. “What can I do for you today?”

“A friend of mine had a run in with a mugger last night and needs to have the doctor take a look at his arm. I believe Mom called and set up an appointment.” Chip replied.

“For Lee Crane?” she asked.

“Yep, that’s the man.” Chip said with a smile while Lee just sighed in resignation as he plopped down on one of the plastic waiting room chairs.

The nurse put together a number of forms that Lee needed to fill out then passed them out the window. “Here, have him fill these out and the doctor will be right with him.”

Chip passed the clipboard to Lee to start working on the forms. Lee quickly completed them and returned them to the nurse. She did a quick review to make sure everything was properly filled out then got up and opened the door to admit Lee to the exam room.

“You want to come along Chip, maybe he can examine your head as well.” Lee said with a smirk. Chip sneered back and surreptitiously flipped him the bird. Lee laughed out loud and followed the nurse back to the exam room.

“Go ahead and have a seat on the table, the doctor will be right with you.” Nurse Wilson instructed. As he was hopping up onto the exam table Dr. Mason walked in.

The doctor was busily reading the forms Lee had just filled out. Once finished he looked up and introduced himself. “Mr. Crane, I’m Dr. Mason. From what I hear you went a couple rounds with a mugger last night.”

“Yes sir.” Lee replied.

After a moment of silence the doctor looked up, he was expecting more of a response than Lee had given. “Says here you have a laceration on your left forearm; let’s see what you’ve got.”

Lee slowly extended his left arm and the doctor grabbed a pair of scissors and cut away the bloodied bandage revealing a foot long cut from just below the elbow to just above the wrist. His arm was red and hot as infection was starting to set in. The doctor grimaced a bit and gently peeled off the butterfly bandages.

“Geez son you should have had this taken care of last night. It looks like it’s already infected.” he said gently prodding the area around the cut. He pulled the rolling cart next to the wall over to the exam table and pulled out some clean gauze and dampened it with an antiseptic. He started to gently swab the cut cleaning it out.

It stung like a son of a buck but Lee didn’t make a sound or even flinch. He sat there stoically as the doctor completed debriding the wound. Once that was finished be pulled out a syringe and a small vial. He drew off a measured dose and prepared to inject it along the injury to deaden the area.

“What’s that for?” Lee finally asked.

“It’s just a local anesthetic. I need to numb the area around the injury so I can stitch it up. I don’t think you really want me sewing on you without something to kill the pain.” Dr. Mason replied as he began the injection.

“Okay,” was all Lee said.

After a few minutes he touched Lee’s arm along the injury. “Do you feel that?” he inquired.

“No.” Lee replied.

“You’re not the chattiest patient I’ve ever had,” the doctor said in hopes of getting Lee to relax. His attempt was quite obviously wasted. He opened one of the drawers of the cart and pulled out a suture and needle then got to work sewing up Lee’s arm. Halfway through, he felt Lee jerk a bit as he pushed the needle through the skin. “Did you feel that?” he asked with some concern.

“Yes, it’s no big deal. Please just finish.” Lee said quietly.

The doctor stared at him for a long moment. “You shouldn’t be feeling anything for at least another hour. Let me give you another shot before I continue.”

Lee just shook his head. “Please just finish, sir. I’m fine.”

“Really I need to give you another shot. I don’t want to hurt you,” the doctor said.

“No sir. Please just finish.”

The doctor shrugged and then added another stitch all the while closely watching Lee’s face for any signs of severe discomfort. Lee remained still and just watched as the doctor continued to sew until he added the last stitch and tied it off. Lee was starting to sweat but the doctor wasn’t sure if it was due to the stress and pain of the sutures or because of a fever.

He reached into the cart again and pulled out a thermometer and popped it in Lee’s mouth. After a couple of minutes he removed it and was not happy to find a temperature of 101. “You’ve got a nice fever going there Lee; it looks like the germs wasted no time going to work on that wound. I need to give you a shot of penicillin to knock that out.”

“I’m allergic to that sir.” Lee replied.

The doctor picked up the form Lee had filled out and perused it again to see if it indicated his allergy. “I don’t see it mentioned here.”

“I just remembered sir. Last time they gave me penicillin I had a very bad reaction and nearly died.”

“Well I’m glad you remembered or we could have had quite a situation on our hands. Any negative reactions to streptomycin?” Dr. Mason inquired.

“Not that I’m aware of sir.” Lee answered.

“Good.” The doctor moved to the cooler in the corner and pulled out a vial of streptomycin, he drew a measured dose and injected it into Lee’s shoulder. Next he grabbed some sterile pads and laid them over the stitched wound and secured it in place with some gauze. He then set to writing a prescription for oral antibiotics and a pain killer to ease the discomfort in Lee’s arm.

He handed Lee the prescriptions. “This one if for antibiotics to make sure we knock the infection out and this one is for a pain killer to let you rest easier until your arm heals up a bit.”

Lee took the sheets and started to push himself off the table. Because he could only use one arm he twisted awkwardly then gasped slightly as he felt the wound on his chest pull. The next thing he knew a thin line of blood began to appear on the front of his tee shirt.

The doctor turned back to Lee and spied the telltale sign of the other injury. “Why didn’t you tell me about that?” he said as he pointed to Lee’s chest.

“It’s no big deal, there’s not much you can do for it.” Lee replied.

“Take the shirt off.”

Lee sighed resignedly then slowly peeled his shirt off revealing about an 18 inch slice across his upper chest. It too was red and swollen.

“You might as well take your seat again, we’re going to be here a little while longer,” Dr. Mason said pulling out more gauze and antiseptic. After Lee eased himself back onto the table the doctor cleansed the wound then slathered a topical antibiotic over it and covered it with sterile pads and gauze. “You’re quite a mess Mr. Crane.” The doctor finally said.

“You should see the other guy.” Lee said in a deadpan.

The doctor’s head shot up in surprise and started to laugh. Lee cracked a smile as well and went about putting his shirt back on.

Patting Lee lightly on the back he gave his final instructions. “You need to limit how much you use your arm for the next week or so to allow it to heal. Keep it clean and dry and change the dressing every day. Come back in 10 days and we’ll see about removing the stitches.”

“I’m heading back to the Naval Academy in two days,” Lee replied.

“You go to the Academy?” the doctor asked in surprise.

“Yes sir. I start my second year this fall. I’m roommates with Chip Morton.” Lee answered.

“Well check in with the physician there as soon as you return so he can check you over and make sure everything is healing all right, okay?”

“Yes sir.”

“Come on, I’ll see you out.” Dr. Mason said opening the door to the hallway. He opened the door to the waiting room and was surprised to see Robert, Carolyn and Chip waiting for Lee.

“How is he, Doctor?” Carolyn asked as Lee entered the waiting room.

“Well he’s got 32 stitches in his left arm, an 18 inch gash on his chest and one very nice infection brewing.” Mason replied. “I’ve given him a couple of prescriptions one for antibiotics and another to knock the pain down.”

Looking at Lee, she held out her hand, “Give ‘em, we’ll hit the pharmacy on the way home.”

Lee just rolled his eyes and reluctantly passed the documents to Carolyn. “Yes, ma’am.” Carolyn glared at him hard. “I mean yes Mom.” Lee amended quietly.

Robert, Chip and Dr. Mason chuckled. “I see he’s in good hands.” Dr. Mason said. “I’m sure you’ll see to it he checks in with the infirmary at school, won’t you Chip?”

Chip broke into a huge grin. “You can count on that Doc.” Lee just groaned and sighed.

OooOooO

By the time they got done at the doctor’s office and picked up the prescriptions it was nearly 1400. As they drove back to the house Chip’s stomach let out a noisy growl letting them all know he hadn’t been fed in a while.

Carolyn and Lee both looked at him and said in unison, “Really?”

Chip blushed a bit then emphatically stated, “Yes! Unlike bird boy over here I need to be fed on a regular basis and by my calculations I’m down two meals. Can we grab something to go on the way home?”

Robert laughed. “You like tacos Lee?”

“Yes sir.” He replied quietly.

Robert headed for their favorite neighborhood taco stand and hit the drive thru. By the time the entire order had been filled, it seemed like they had enough bags to give everyone at least three. As they pulled up to the house the girls rushed out to check on Lee. Lee climbed slowly out and immediately found himself in the arms of both Rachel and Andi. He tentatively returned their embrace.

Both girls stepped back then clasped their hands together and placed them over their hearts, bent one leg up and batted their eyelashes rapidly. “Our hero,” they said in unison and sighed heavily. Everyone laughed and rolled their eyes. Lee blushed and would have made a break for it if Chip’s hadn’t gripped his shoulder firmly and turned him back towards the house.

Once back inside they gathered plates and silverware, and the goodies from the Taco Barn and headed for the dining room. Bags were quickly passed around the table as everyone grabbed what they wanted. Lee just took a taco and kept passing the bags. Chip snatched a couple of the bags back and added two more tacos and a burrito to Lee’s plate.

“I’m not that hungry, Chip.” Lee stated quietly.

“There’s more than enough for everyone. Eat.” Chip answered recalling what Lee had told him earlier.

After everyone had filled their plates they dug in with relish. The girls asked Lee about his injuries and how he was feeling; then went on about how much fun they had had at the club. As they finished and were beginning to clear the table the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get,” called Robert. He went to the front door to find Julie and her parents on the front steps. “Mike, Jenny, Julie, come on in. We were just finishing up a late lunch.”

“Thanks Robert,” Mike replied. “We just wanted to stop by and thank Lee for what he did to protect Julie and your girls. He didn’t look like he was in much condition to talk to anyone last night and Julie said he had been injured in the fight.”

“Go on in the living room I’ll go find him.” Robert said moving off towards the kitchen. “Lee, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Really, who?” Lee asked.

“It’s Julie and her parents; they would like to thank you for all you did last night.”

Lee and the rest of the family followed Robert back into the living room. As they entered, Mike and Jenny rose to greet them.

“Lee Crane, this is Mike and Jenny Crandall.” Robert said making introductions.

Mike came forward and extended his hand to Lee. Lee returned the gesture and shook hands with both Mike and Jenny.

“Lee we can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate all you did to keep Julie and the girls safe last night. Julie told us about the entire thing and we are immensely grateful for all you did.” Mike said. “Julie said she was pretty certain that if you hadn’t taken care of that guy all of you would have been hurt if not killed.”

“You’re welcome Mr. Crandall.” Lee replied quietly. “I’m glad things worked out for us; I just did what needed to be done.”

“Boys, here is a little something to say thank you,” Jenny said as she passed cards to Lee and Chip. “It’s not much in comparison to your gift to us, but hopefully you can find something you like at the mall. You have no idea how much we appreciate all that you did.” Chip and Lee blushed as they took the cards.

“This isn’t necessary; you don’t need to give me anything. I’m just glad that everyone stayed safe.” Lee replied.

“Everyone but you; it’s not many young men that would risk taking on an armed man to protect his friends.” Mike replied. “Chip, thank you again too. Julie told us how you kept them all calm and out of danger. Robert, Carolyn you should be quite proud of your son.”

“Thanks Mike, we are proud of both of them.” Carolyn answered.

“Well we don’t to take up any more of your time and I’m sure the guys would just like to kick back and relax; they both look a bit sleepy.” Jenny said. “Thank you again Chip, Lee, what you did means the world to us.”

“You’re welcome Mrs. Crandall,” Chip replied for them, “and thank you for the cards.” They all shook hands again and the Crandalls headed for home.

Lee and Chip opened the cards and found gift certificates for $200 good at the mall. They were both stunned at the generosity of the gift.

“I can’t accept this,” Lee said. “This is way too much.” Chip nodded his agreement with Lee’s statement.

Robert looked at the cards and gift certificates. “You both can accept their kind gift. What you guys did meant the world to them and kept safe the person they hold most dear. I know exactly how they feel.”

“My god we haven’t even thanked you Lee for keeping the people we love best safe. Thank you so much Lee.” Carolyn said as tears started rolling down her cheeks, the emotional toll of last night finally catching up with her. She moved quickly to Lee and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you Lee.” Robert said as he walked over and folded Lee and Carolyn into his arms.

Chip and the girls came over next and joined in the group hug thanking Lee as well.

Lee stood there totally overwhelmed as tears started to roll down his cheeks. He tried to respond but found emotion had choked back his voice. They didn’t need to thank him; he did what anyone would have done. He had no idea how to react to this. Was this what it was like to have a family?

After a few moments they all stepped back, wiped the tears from their eyes and faces and smiled. Chip slung his arm around Lee’s shoulder and started pulling him towards the stairs. “I don’t know about you Lee, but I could use a nap; I didn’t seem to get a whole lot of sleep last night.” Lee just sighed and nodded in agreement.

“Before you do that, you need to take a pain pill Lee.” Carolyn said.

“That’s okay I’m fine.” Lee replied. “It doesn’t hurt much and an aspirin will do.”

She stared at him for a few minutes trying to decide if he was telling the truth. “All right Lee, if you say so; but if it gets to be too much come down and get a pill okay.”

“I will,” Lee promised.

“Well head on up to bed and we’ll wake you when dinner’s ready in a few hours.”

“Thanks.” Lee replied. ‘Oh god more food’ he thought to himself and started climbing the stairs to Chip’s room.

OooOooO

Chip and Lee lay wearily down on their beds; both let out huge sighs of relief as they began to relax. After a couple of minutes Chip spoke. “Lee you still awake?”

“Yeah.” Lee replied.

“I wanted to let you know that I told Mom and Dad some of the things you told me about how you grew up. You were acting kind of weird and they were really concerned and were looking for some kind of explanation as to why. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

Lee sighed heavily. “No Chip, I’m not. I guess I overreacted after everything went down. I’m sorry if I scared them and you too. Thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was talking behind your back if they said something about it. They said they could understand why you got so quiet and why you had run off. Don’t worry they’re not going to go all psycho on you.”

Lee chuckled quietly. “That’s good to know.”

“Chip?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for everything bro.”

“You’re welcome and thanks for everything you’ve done too.” Chip replied. With that they both nodded off and slept soundly until Robert came up to get them for dinner.

OooOooO

Lee woke up at 0500 the following morning and lay quietly in bed. This was their last full day here and tomorrow they would be back at the Academy. He couldn’t believe how fast it had all gone by or how much had happened. Not one to stay in bed once he was awake, Lee quietly got dressed and made his way downstairs. He stopped in the bathroom to use the facilities and to grab a few aspirin to tamp down the pain in his arm.

He continued on downstairs to put on his socks and shoes to head out for a walk; his arm hurt way too much to allow for a run. As he finished tying his shoes he heard a noise coming from the stairs and looked up to see Carolyn coming down dressed to go for a run.

“Good morning Mom,” Lee said quietly.

“Good morning Lee, how are you feeling today?” she replied.

“I’m fine, thanks. What are you doing up so early?” Lee inquired.

“I thought I’d join you this morning, if that’s okay, although I didn’t think it would be quite this early.” She said with a chuckle.

Lee flashed a quick grin. “That’s fine with me, I welcome the company.”

They exited the house and started walking briskly down the street. The morning was cool and the neighborhood as usual was quiet as most of the residents were still asleep. They walked for a few minutes in silence as they warmed up and found a pace comfortable to them both.

“Lee, I really wanted to talk with you a bit. Chip told Robert and me a little of what you had told him about how you grew up. He also told us how concerned you were that we would back away from you after we learned how you had acted protecting the girls.” Carolyn started quietly.

“I know. Chip told me yesterday he had spoken with you both. I’m sorry that I scared you.” Lee replied.

“I’m only going to say this first part once and then I will consider the topic closed unless you choose to talk about it more. Lee I am so sorry your life was so hard growing up; I can only imagine how lonely and frightening it had to be. I wish I could turn back the clock and erase that all but that’s just wishful thinking. We’re all incredibly impressed at the sweet and caring person you are given all the ugliness and hurt you’ve endured and been witness to. I also am selfishly thankful in a way that you went through that because that meant you knew how to protect the family and keep them safe.”

Lee blushed and swallowed hard as his emotions started to rise. He was afraid this was going to happen, the up swell of pity and sympathy for things that were past change. “Thank you.” He responded quietly.

“What I really want you to understand and truly believe Lee, and I hope Chip made this point as well, is that we will never turn our backs on you dear. In the three short weeks that you’ve been with us, you have truly become a member of our family and we will all be there for you like we would be for Chip or Rachel or Andi or Michelle. I honestly feel as though I have two sons now Lee and hope you feel you’ve found your family.”

Lee came to a halt completely caught off guard by what Carolyn had said. He closed his eyes trying desperately to compose himself, breathing deeply as he attempted to reign in his emotions.

“Lee, honey, are you okay?” Carolyn asked.

Lee opened his eyes and smiled. He pulled her into a strong embrace still unable to speak. Carolyn readily returned his hug and held on tightly slowly rubbing up and down his back. After a moment he let her go and stepped back.

“I have a tough time talking about my feelings and my past; in my experience those are dangerous things to acknowledge let alone share. Every time I’ve opened myself up I’ve been slammed hard and find it hard to willingly expose myself to that kind of hurt any more. I have never experienced anything like the last three weeks in my life. For the first time ever I felt like I belonged to someone; like someone actually cared, actually wanted me around. I had no idea what it was like to be part of a family and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I can’t begin to thank you enough for taking me in and letting me be a part of the Morton clan. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.” Lee said, eyes brimming with tears.

Carolyn smiled her eyes likewise full of unshed tears. She reached up and brushed her fingers over Lee’s cheeks and pushed a stray lock of hair up off his forehead. She stood up on her toes and kissed him gently on the cheek.

“Well what say we get in a couple of more miles then head back to the house and get some breakfast going?”

“That sounds like a great plan, Mom.” Lee responded, kissing Carolyn lightly on her cheek and flashing his most joyous smile.

OooOooO

Returning to the house Carolyn and Lee started making a big breakfast for the family. Lee took on bacon and egg duties while Carolyn focused on the fruit and a batch of waffles. Lee shook his head still amazed at the amount of food his family put away.

The tantalizing aromas slowly worked their way up the stairs and the sounds of everyone stirring to life could be heard. Within minutes they all slowly filtered down the stairs and into the dining room for breakfast. They enjoyed a leisurely meal as they discussed what they should do for Lee and Chip’s last day at home.

They had to go to the mall so they boys could use the gift certificates the Crandalls had given them and of course hit Chip’s favorite burger place so he could get his last fix before he left. Then they would come back to the house and just hang out and putter around or play some more games. Mainly they all just wanted to be together as a family until the boys had to get back on the plane tomorrow morning.

The day flew by and once again they found themselves at the dining room table for dinner. Carolyn and Robert had gone all out with steak and crab legs, wild rice, fresh squash and a salad. Everyone dug in and enjoyed the feast.

As they were eating Lee tapped Chip on the shoulder, “Would you pass me the rice, please Chip?” The room went completely silent as everyone looked up from their plates and stared in amazement at Lee. “What?...What?!” Lee asked.

“You’re asking for seconds?” Chip asked incredulously.

Lee blushed and gave them a small smile. “Well I guess you all kind of rubbed off on me.”

Everyone burst into laughter. “Now you’re a true Morton,” Chip said as he passed Lee the rice and patted him on the back.

After the dinner plates were cleared away, Carolyn came back out with a huge Black Forest Cherry cake for dessert with two candles on top. It was the biggest cake Lee had ever seen. “In honor of our last dinner together before Chip and Lee head back to school I thought we’d celebrate it right with Chip’s favorite cake. Okay boys blow out the candles and let’s get to the cake.”

Chip and Lee quickly dispatched the candles and soon everyone was digging into thick layers of chocolate cake soaked in kirsch, cherries, whipped cream and lots of shaved chocolate curls. There was hardly a crumb left when they were all done.

“Oh my god I don’t think I’ll ever eat again,” moaned Lee holding his stomach. “That was fantastic, thank you Mom, you too Dad, great steaks.” The rest of the kids echoed Lee’s words and then the girls set to clearing the table and cleaning the kitchen as a goodbye treat for the guys.

They all went out onto the back porch and chatted until it was time for bed. Chip and Lee headed up early as they had to get all their stuff packed since they needed to be at the airport early to catch their 0800 flight.

Once everything was packed and they were in bed Lee quietly spoke, “Chip thank you. Thanks for giving me a family, I love you bro.”

Chip smiled. “You’re welcome Lee. I love you too bro. Good night.”

“Good night.”

OooOooO

Lee and Chip were both up early the next morning. They quickly showered, shaved and dressed for the flight home. They deflated Lee’s mattress and shoved it back in the closet and then gathered up all the sheets and towels and dropped them into the laundry room. They went into the kitchen and as Chip was starting the coffee Robert came downstairs.

“Morning, Chip, Lee. Are you ready to head back to the Academy?”

“Morning, Dad. I am,” Chip replied “I’m excited about starting the next year not being the lowliest thing on the planet for a change.” Lee nodded emphatically at that and they all chuckled.

“I’m ready too,” answered Lee. “It will be nice to sleep in a bed that doesn’t flop over if you get too close to the edge.” They all laughed at that having slept on the air mattress and experienced the same thing at one time or another.

“You guys want some breakfast?” Robert asked as he pulled three cups from the cupboard as the coffee maker finished up. He poured them all a cup and passed them to Chip and Lee.

“Naw, we’ll get something at the airport.” Chip replied

As they stood there sipping their coffee, Carolyn ambled into the kitchen. “Good morning boys.” She said as she gave each boy a kiss on the cheek.

“Morning Mom,” they replied in unison.

Robert grabbed another cup from the cupboard and filled it for her. She gratefully took it and sipped at the hot brew. A few minutes later all three girls came downstairs to join the family. They hit the fridge grabbing juice or milk to start their day.

“Well it looks like it’s time to load up and head out.” Robert said as he finished his cup of coffee and looked at his watch. The boys nodded and headed upstairs to grab their bags. A couple of minutes later they came tromping down and made their way out to the van and loaded their bags.

Robert grabbed his car keys and they all moved out to the van and crawled in. He backed out of the driveway and they were on their way to the airport. It was a quiet and subdued ride; nothing like the exuberant trip back from the airport when the boys first arrived. Everyone pretty much stared out the windows lost in their own thoughts going over all that had happened in the intervening time.

Robert pulled up in front of the airline check-in door and put the van in park. They all jumped out and Lee and Chip collected their bags and set them on the curb.

“Well, I suppose this is it.” Chip finally said. He stepped forward and gave his mom and dad a huge hug. “Thanks for everything; I had a great time being home.”

They each gave him a kiss and returned his hug. “Take care Chip; we love you son.”

Chip then turned to his sisters and gave them each a huge hug and kiss. “You stay out of trouble. Lee and I won’t be here to bail you, okay?” They all smiled and wiped the tears from their cheeks.

“Bye big brother.” they said.

Lee stood quietly off to the side much as he had done when he first arrived. He no longer felt as though he were an interloper as he watched them say their goodbyes. He knew what it was now to be part of a family and he loved the feeling and loved them all dearly.

He moved forward and offered his hand to Robert. “Thank you for everything, Dad. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it all.”

Robert took Lee’s hand the pulled him into a tight embrace. “You’re more than welcome, son. Thank you for all you did for us.”

Lee stepped back and then moved to Carolyn. “Thank you for everything, Mom. I had a fantastic time.”

Carolyn likewise pulled Lee into a tight embrace. “You’re always welcome here Lee, you have a family now; don’t you ever forget that. I fully expect to see you at Christmas, young man. You take care of yourself.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and wiped the tears from her eyes.

The girls came over and each gave him a big hug and a kiss; which Lee readily returned.

“Lee thanks for taking such good care of us.” Rachel said.

“Keep Chip for getting too cocky, okay?” Andi added.

“Don’t let him boss you around,” added Michelle.

“Thanks girls.” Lee responded

“Okay everyone who lives here, get in the van. Give us a call when you get back, so we know you made it okay. Have fun boys.” said Robert.

“Will do, Dad.” Chip replied.

Chip and Lee watched as their family climbed back into the van and drove off everyone waving frantically until they were no longer in sight. It had been one heck of a summer leave. Chip scored a brother and Lee found a family; it couldn’t have been any better. As they picked up their bags and turned towards the door Chip threw his arm over Lee’s shoulder and smiled broadly. “Come on bro, it’s time to go back to work.”

The End.