Chapter 98

The bright rays of the morning sun made their way through the cracks of the blinds, hitting Tom directly in the face. He tried to escape the light by going under the covers, but all that did was make him hot. After trying to fight the heat his body was creating under the covers, Tom gave up and tossed off the blankets. He lay there looking up at the ceiling of his room thinking of where he might be if the bad luck of the accident hadn’t happened.

So much of his life had changed in a blink of an eye and now he can’t stop being angry at himself about it. He blames himself, even though the accident wasn’t cited as his fault. In his eyes and thoughts the accident happened because of his showing off behind the wheel of the new truck Jacob had just bought him. If only he had stayed behind Jacob and the others and not sped up that day. If only he had paid more attention to everything that was going on around him. If only he…. Tom stopped thinking of the what ifs. All the what ifs aren’t going to change where he is now or what he has to do to get back to how he was before the accident.

It’s only been in the last couple of days that he has come to that realization. Before that, he wallowed in sorrow, anger, and played the blame game. It took the heart-to-heart talk he had with David to get him to start thinking differently, to start thinking that his future can be bright as long as he puts the effort and time into it, something he is now determined to do.

Taking a few minutes to motivate himself, Tom reached up for the bar hanging over his bed. Once he got a grip on it with both hands, he pulled himself into a sitting position. Leaving one hand on the bar, he used the other to move his left leg off the bed, followed by his right one. Just as he finished moving his right leg a nurse walked in and ran over to him. She didn’t look too happy with what she saw and she let her feelings be known.

“When you first got here, Tom, we were fighting to get you to move in your bed, and now we can’t turn our backs on you without worrying that you might hurt yourself,” Brenda, the nurse assigned to take care of Tom, said as she helped him into a sitting position. “What would have happened if I didn’t walk in here when I did and your hands had slipped off of that bar? I’ll tell you what would have happened: you would have fallen off this bed and possibly permanently damaged your spine. If that happened you would never walk again. I know that isn’t what you want, right?” Brenda looked at Tom with a concerned look on her face.

“No, of course not,” Tom replied, “that isn’t what I want, but I…”

Brenda interrupted him. “There’s no “but” in the question I asked you. If you had fallen that would probably be it for you. So, let’s make a deal between us here and now.” Tom gave all his attention to see what deal was. “As you know, you are my only patient, which means I’m here just to help you. You won’t find this in any other rehab center. So, whenever you need anything all you have to do is hit this button.” Brenda pointed to the call button on the bed. “It calls directly to me and to the nurse’s station. Once I get it, I promise you I will be here to help you. It won’t be in seconds, but close, unless I’m helping out with other patients. If that is the case another nurse will be here in my stead. Promise me you will push the button before doing anything as stupid as this.”

Not wanting to get Brenda angry, Tom thought about what she said for a few seconds before answering her. “You got it! From now on I won’t move around this room by myself until…” Tom looked at the nurse with an evil grin on his face, “…I’m told by my physical therapist that he wants me to do it on my own. After all, I plan on walking out of here when I leave, not being wheeled out.”

That put a smile on Brenda’s face. “I’m fine with that, but you better not do anything until you are told that you can by the physical therapist staff here, not from someone that you know from home, like a friend or a family member. They can visit, but not play doctor. It has to be someone on staff that gives you permission to exercise on your own, and that might be a while.”

Tom chuckled at the last thing Brenda said, but she could not ask what he found so funny since David walked in. She went about her duties while Tom and David talked about how their nights went. Once Brenda got Tom up in a sitting position with his back against the wall, she walked out to get a nurse to help her get him into a chair. When she returned, David jumped up from the bed and walked over to the chair, which surprised Brenda and the nurse. They were aware of the relationship between Tom and David and wanted them to feel comfortable showing it, but knew by the way David jumped up that they weren’t that comfortable yet.

Putting that aside for now, Brenda and the nurse moved Tom from the bed to his chair to take him down for breakfast. His first couple of days he was allowed to eat in his room, but now that he has settled in, his doctor wanted him to be out of his room more than he was in it. Tom didn’t mind because he was already tired of looking at the same four walls all the time.

David went with them and joined Tom for breakfast, which didn’t sit well with the staff. They wanted Tom to start getting used to doing things on his own, not depending on others to do them for him. Former patients that had someone like David around had a longer stay at the facility because they kept leaning on the loved one that was at their side. Even though they hadn’t seen that yet from Tom and David, they didn’t want to wait and see if they would follow suit. If they fell into that trap it would take a lot of work by both Tom and staff to get him to stop depending on others.

Tom felt the staff watching David and him, but thought it was for a different reason. He thought his relationship with David was grossing them out, and that they couldn’t voice their disgust since he was a paying client. He didn’t share his thoughts with David, but David knew his boyfriend was bothered by all the attention they were getting.

Neither of them said a word about what was going on around them as they ate their breakfast. They kept to themselves, talking about everything under the sky except for why they were there. With both of them on the same page about the day’s events, there was no need to put a black cloud over them during one of the few times they didn’t have to be in reality.

“I know you’d rather be with the guys in California than with me here,” Tom spoke softly as he put a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. “To tell you the truth, I’d rather be anywhere else than here, but we both know it’s the best place for me. I need to take this seriously so I can get back what I had before the accident happened,” Tom chuckled as he made eye contact with David. “Well, I know everything I had before the accident I won’t ever get back but I still want to get as close to my former life as possible.”

“Stop thinking and talking this way or they might think you’re crazy!” David reached over and placed his hand on Tom’s as he looked around the room. “I mean, come on, Tom, these guys are looking for any reason to keep you here longer than you have to be. Don’t give them that. If you stay upbeat and on the schedule we set out for you you will walk out of here in a couple months. I know you want that as much as the rest of us do.”

Tom nodded his head as he finished up what he had left on his plate. “In a few minutes they are going to come in here to take you to physical therapy. I want to be there, but they don’t allow family members in that room. That doesn’t mean I won’t stick around. When you are in that room I will be out here waiting for you.” David squeezed Tom’s hand a little tighter. “We’ll get through this together. I promise you that!”

Before Tom could respond to David, one of the nurses assigned to the physical therapist walked up. He looked to see if Tom had finished his food, unlocked the brakes to the wheelchair and moved him away from the table. The lack of information on what was happening not only got Tom angry, but David as well. It wasn’t that they weren’t told where Tom was being taken to that got them angry, it was the manner in which the nurse did it.

“Hey, dude, you need to stop being so fucking rude and ask permission before you just come along and start pushing a person around.” Tom spoke loud enough for everyone around him to hear, but he wasn’t yelling. “I deserve respect and you need to give it to me no matter what you think of me or how your day has been going.”

“I’m sorry if I offended you. Your nurse was supposed to drop you off at the physical therapy room over twenty minutes ago. When we called to see what the delay was, she didn’t answer. That left us spending the time that we should be spending with the patients in the room looking for you.”

“Okay, I understand things aren’t going according to your schedule, but that has nothing to do with me. The beef you have is with your fellow worker, so treat me with respect.” Tom lowered his voice, but still not to his normal level. “We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other for a while and I would like us to be able to get along, and not hate each other.”

The only response Tom got out of the nurse was a nod. Before he could say another word he was pushed into a huge room that he hadn’t been in before. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind what the room was used for. It was packed wall-to-wall with different machines, weights and other items Tom hadn’t seen before. He knew they were used for one thing: to assist people like him get back what they lost physically. No matter what body part one couldn’t use anymore, this room had a machine to help get it back.

“Ah, you must be Tom!” a middle age man in a white doctor’s coat said as he walked up and extended his hand to Tom. “My name’s Dr. Fredrick Gill, but you can call me Freddy, or Fred, like everyone else does.” Tom took Dr. Gill’s hand and shook it as he introduced himself. “I know you’re new here and probably a little nervous. So let me try and put your nerves at ease right off the bat.

Consider this room your private sanctuary. Nothing from the outside that has you on edge can bother you in here,” Dr. Gill started to explain as he walked alongside of Tom’s wheelchair that was being pushed slowly around the huge room. “What you do in here will stay in here, like what you do in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Gill chuckled as they stopped. “Seriously though and all kidding aside, you don’t have to worry about anything getting out of this room. The staff that I have is small and never talks about what happens with my patients in here no matter who is asking. That includes your family, wife, everyone else!”

Tom stopped Dr. Gill right there to correct him about having a wife. When he was done, he didn’t get the response that he thought he would. “Son, hats off to you for not being afraid to tell others about the true love in your life. I’m happy not only that you have someone in your life that loves you as much as you love him, but that he has put his life on hold to be here with you. With that said, though, he won’t get any information from or me or my staff.”

Dr. Gill had a serious look on his face that made Tom nod his head. “Good, I’m glad we understand how that part works. You can tell whomever whatever you want, but when it comes to my staff, your information won’t released. It’s not just to protect us, but as you get further into your program it will get harder. At times you might have setbacks. On those days you won’t want anyone to know about the setback you had. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but in my experience with former patients, they do blame themselves. No matter how much we tell them it’s not their fault, that it’s part of the program, they still do.”

Tom nodded his head as he looked into the room that he was in and what was in front of him. “Let’s get off the somber parts of this program and move on to showing you around this magnificent facility. We have state-of-the-art machinery, computers and assistant tools to help you accomplish your goals. No other physical therapy program in our region comes close to what we have here.

In this room you will find…” Dr. Gill went on to tell Tom what was in the room they were in front of and what it was used for. Once he was done, they moved on to the next room and then the next room, doing the same. It took close to an hour to tour the whole therapy department. Once they were done, Tom felt a little more at ease than he was when he first was rolled into the room. Even the previously rude nurse opened up and started talking to him, showing a different side of himself than when they first met.

As soon as they were done with the tour and ended up back where they started, Dr. Gill sat with Tom. He went into detail on what to expect in the days, weeks and months ahead. At no time did he give Tom a promise that he would walk out of there, but he got very close to that. He made it very clear that what happens from this point on as far as Tom’s ability to do more than just sit there in that chair would be up to him, and no one else.

The whole time Tom was in with Dr. Gill, David was true to his word. He didn’t leave. While Tom was in therapy, he went to Tom’s room to make it more livable. Tom had somewhat unpacked his suitcases, but he hadn’t yet made the room his own, so David took it upon himself to do just that while he had the room to himself.

Meanwhile, as Tom was getting the low-down on how his physical therapy was going to go and David was making Tom’s room more homey, Jacob and the guys were already up. Being too excited to sleep they all awakened without the need of a wakeup call. All they wanted to do was get out there and start their Disneyland adventure.

Jacob wasn’t an exception to that, but he had some responsibilities to take care of. Even though Jeremy was all right so far, Jacob knew that if he didn’t sit with his older brother and explain what was going to happen he would lose him. Jeremy is okay with his routine the majority of the time, but if that routine is interrupted or changed in any way he could get to the point where no one could handle him, something Jacob wanted to avoid if at all possible.

The minute he was dressed, Jacob was out of his room and into Jeremy’s. He wasn’t surprised when he walked in that Jeremy was in a corner of his room with his arms wrapped round his legs and his head hidden away from view. In order not to make things worse, Jacob walked slowly to Jeremy, every few seconds stopping to make sure he didn’t startle him. Once he got to his brother, he slowly slid down the wall and sat next to him.

Lightly Jacob tapped Jeremy on the shoulder. When that didn’t get his attention, he did it again. The second time, Jeremy peaked through his legs. When he saw it was Jacob, he quickly moved towards his younger brother and wrapped his arms around him. Jacob had no idea Jeremy was signing to him since his hands were not in sight. They were behind him.

It took a few minutes for Jacob to calm Jeremy down. When he was able to break free from his brother, he gently pushed him away so he could sign to him. ‘Jeremy, how are you this morning?’ Jeremy started to sign so fast Jacob was not able to catch one thing he was trying to get across. ‘Please, Jeremy, you are going to have to slow down so I can understand you. I know you’re scared and lost, but you have to trust me that you’re safe here with me.’

Jeremy still looked terrified, but nodded his head. ‘I know when you woke up this morning you were lost and scared. You forgot that we’re on vacation.’ Jeremy nodded his head for the second time. ‘I’m really sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I wanted to be, but you got up at your normal time and I accidently overslept.’

‘Where are we?’ Jeremy finally started to sign slowly enough for Jacob to understand. ‘Where is Cupid at? I can’t find Cupid! Did she run away?’ Jeremy started to crawl on his knees looking for Cupid. Jacob tried to stop him, but Jeremy was too strong for him. He knocked Jacob away as he made his way to his bed to see if Cupid was underneath it.

Seeing how agitated Jeremy was, Jacob had no other choice than to let him search for Cupid. He knew it was best for Jeremy to wear himself out rather than try and explain to him when he isn’t willing to listen. So he sat there on the floor with his back against the wall watching his older brother look for his dog that was back home being taken care of by a friend. It took almost thirty minutes for Jeremy to give up, but when he did Jacob was able to talk to him.

He had no idea if Jeremy understood what he was saying concerning his dog. The only thing he did know for sure was that his brother had calmed down enough that he was able to take his meds. While he was waiting for the medicine to kick in, Al walked in to see if Jacob needed any help dealing with his older brother.

“It looks like you got him to take his medicine,” Al whispered as he sat next to his grandson on the floor of Jeremy’s room. “That had to be hard. He had to be climbing the walls when you walked in this morning being that this…” Al pointed around the room, “isn’t a place that he is used to waking up and seeing. On top of that, Cupid not being at his side had to get him going.”

“That’s no lie, but I was ready for anything when I walked in here.” Al could see Jacob hadn’t really rested since he saw him when he arrived earlier that morning. “I want him to have a life like the rest of us, experiencing things that we all as teenagers should experience at least once in our life, like a trip to Disneyland. I have hated myself for not bringing him along when we went to DisneyWorld a couple years ago. When I got back and saw him I swore I wouldn’t do that to him. His facial expression tore me apart when he asked me where I was.”

“Jacob you need to stop carrying so much on your shoulders. You’re still a teenager in high school. No one your age should have the worries that you have,” Al spoke with concern in his voice. “I know a lot of the new things that are weighing on your shoulders right now are my fault by leaving you with the company to run by yourself, but that is why I fought with you to hire a CEO.” Al looked off to the distance not really looking at anything in particular. “That subject is for another time to get into, not now on your vacation.

Anyway, as I was saying, you’re worrying too much. If you don’t stop and relax every once in a while you’re going to die young. I won’t outlive another one of my children, moreover a grandchild. You need to take this week and act your age, hang with your friends and just have fun. As you said, the last time you really had a vacation was a couple years go.”

“Everything you’re saying, Grandpa, I know is right. I keep telling myself that I need to start acting my age, at least once in a while and stop trying to be the one that fixes everything. The only problem with that is if I’m not the one doing that, everything could go to hell very quickly. I’ve seen that hell in my friends and their families. I’m sure don’t want any of them, my family or myself to go through it if I can help it.”

Al understood where Jacob was coming from, but he wasn’t going to give up on trying to get him to start taking life a little less serious. His grandson had been thrown into adulthood a lot earlier than he should have, at least in his generation that is. If he was born during the Great Depression he would be out working after Junior High School, but he wasn’t. He was lucky to be born during one of the calmest times in American History.

“There are a lot of things you can control, Jacob!” Al had a very serious look on his face. “But there are a lot of things that are just out of your control. Yet, you seem to blame yourself for everything that goes wrong with those that live under your roof. You need to stop that or, as I said already, you’re going to go to an early grave.

Enjoy life and your youth while you have it. You’re here in Disneyland with family, friends and, most importantly, Dewayne. Stop for once and smell the roses. Have fun with him and all your friends. Let your mother and me take care of Jeremy and all the other adult things that need to be looked after. For this one week you‘re seventeen and a teenager who is here in the greatest place on earth to have fun and maybe get into a little trouble.”

The last part got Jacob to smile. He agreed with his grandfather on everything that was said, but at the same time he didn’t know if he could do what his grandfather wanted. It’s hard to forget everything that is going on in life and only live for the day. At least that’s true for Jacob, or at least it has been for the last couple years.

“Grandpa, I hear you loud and clear, I really do, but…” Al raised his hand. “There aren’t any buts with what I’m asking you to do. Either you’re willing to have fun with your friends or boyfriend or you’re not. It’s that easy! You have to make up your mind here and now and then stick with your decision from the moment you leave this room.”

The last time Jacob saw the look his grandfather had on his face at that very moment was when he was younger still living back in Wyoming, the day he and his brother were playing with matches and accidently set the neighbor’s yard on fire. It wasn’t a disappointed look, but,still, it was a look that you never want to get from your grandparents or parents.

Jacob looked over at Jeremy, who was drawing quietly on his unmade bed. Seeing that he was calm and the brother he was used to put Jacob in an even better mood than he was when he walked into the room, but when he turned his attention back to his grandfather his mood changed. He knew he couldn’t get out of this conversation this time around, like he’d done many times in the past, without giving an answer. His grandfather isn’t going to let him.

“Grandpa, Jeremy deserves to enjoy being here like the rest of us. I know he can’t do a lot of the thing we do because he will flip out, but there are things he can do. If I do what you’re asking me to do, please promise me that you won’t just medicate him, toss him into his room with coloring and drawing books and leave him. Take him out to the areas of the parks that he can deal with and let him get on the rides that you know he won’t slip out of.”

“Jacob, when have you ever known me to do that crap to Jeremy. The drugging and putting Jeremy in a corner and forgeting about him is one of the main reasons we took him out of that place where he was. There is no way I’m going to do what they did to Jeremy. As you said, he deserves better and we as family are the ones that can give him better.”

Jacob got up and walked over to Jeremy. Just as he stopped next to the bed, Jeremy looked up at his younger brother with a smile on his face. There was no way Jacob could ever get angry with Jeremy. No matter what he does he just can’t, not with that innocent look on is his face. Plus, Jacob knows his older brother doesn’t know that he is doing wrong when he’s doing it.

“Okay, Grandpa, you’re right about everything!” Jacob playfully rubbed the top of Jeremy’s head as he turned and walked back to their grandfather. “You, grandma and mom know more about Jeremy than I do since you’ve been taking care of him since the day he was born. I have only come into the picture as far as a helping hand in the last year or so. That doesn’t make me an expert on what is best for him, and I do believe that you will make sure he has fun here.”

“Yes, we’ll make sure he does.” Al got up from the floor and walked with Jacob out into the hallway. “You need to go and have fun with Dewayne and the guys. Andy Jr. and his friend are here as well. I’m sure they’re going to tag along with you guys since they have no one else here to hang around with and have fun.”

Jacob nodded his head as he reached into his inner coat pocket. He pulled out envelopes that were rubber-banded together and started to go through them. Every few seconds he would pull one out until he reached the bottom and then went through them again. Once he had pulled out all the envelopes he was looking for, he rubber-banded the ones he didn’t separate and put them back in his pocket and handed his grandfather the others.

“Grandpa, these are yours, Grandma, Mom, Dad and Jeremy’s tickets to get into all the parks here. No matter what you guys want to see or do you don’t have to pay to do it. These tickets pretty much give you full access to everything. Now eating is a different story. That is why in each envelope there is an amount of money for each of you to eat or buy things with. From what I hear about the prices of the food in the parks, I recommend we stay away from eating while we’re in the park, if we don’t want to go broke within the first couple of days that is!”

Both Jacob and his grandfather cracked up laughing. Neither of them brought up Jeremy again as they talked in the hallway. Several times Al tried to give his grandson back the money that was in the envelopes, but Jacob refused to take it back. Finally, after the third attempt, Al gave up. He thanked his grandson as he turned and walked back into Jeremy’s room.

Jacob felt weird standing there in the hallway without his brother at his side. He had left his boyfriend getting ready while going to bring his brother back with him, but he will be going back empty handed. It took a few seconds for Jacob to snap out of it and move, but once he did he moved quickly down the hallway checking in each room to see if everyone had made their way down to the lobby. Just as he checked the last room, Dewayne joined him.

“So, where is Jeremy?” Dewayne asked as wrapped his arms around Jacob to pull him in for a kiss. “I hope he’s alright and is just getting ready.” Dewayne whispered in-between giving Jacob pecks on the lips. “I hope he’s not sick or not wanting to go, because if either of those is true we will have to stay here taking care of him while the others head to the parks.”

“Don’t worry, none of what you are worrying about has happened. My grandfather came in and told me he will take care of Jeremy while we have fun,” Jacob smiled as he pulled Dewayne in even closer, “so I say we do what he wants us to do! The guys are downstairs already waiting on us. Let’s get down there and start this vacation!”

There was no objection from Dewayne. They walked together to the elevators and in minutes they were down in the lobby looking for the others. It didn’t take long for them to get the entire bunch together as they hadn’t wandered off too far from the lobby. Those that did were in groups, which made it a lot easier for Jacob and Dewayne to find them.

“Okay, listen up, you guys!” Jacob spoke in his normal voice trying to get everyone’s attention, but was unable to. It took him almost yelling to get everyone to quiet down. “Now that I have your attention, let me say a few words before we head out to the Magic Kingdom or wherever we decide to go.” Once again Jacob reached in to his inner coat pocket and pulled out the same envelopes he pulled out when he was talking with his grandfather upstairs.

“Listen, please. What I’m handing to Dewayne to hand out to you guys, please don’t lose. The envelopes contain…” Jacob repeated what he told his grandfather just thirty short minutes earlier. “The reason I’m giving each of you everything at once so you don’t have to be looking for me for any of it. But, if you lose any of the passes or spend your money all at once you are up shit creek without a paddle. If you know you might do either, please give your envelope to someone you trust to take care of it.”

Everyone looked around at each other, but none of them gave up their envelope. “Okay, I have said my piece on the envelopes, so let me move on. From this moment on, I’m here to have fun with Dewayne and the rest of you guys. If you run into any problems or need help you can still come to me or to my grandfather, mom, dad or any other adult that’s here with us. I hope none of you will need to, but, if needed, please don’t hesitate to do so.”

Jacob took a deep breath as he looked into the eyes of his friends. “One-way-or-another, each of us has been through hell in the last couple months. We deserve to have at least one relaxing week without anything going wrong. This is our Spring Break vacation, where hopefully we can have that one week without anything blowing up in our faces.

Let’s go out there and have fun. Don’t worry about anything that is going on in our lives back in El Paso. Leave that there and just enjoy ourselves. I’m going to do that, and you all know that’s hard for me to do.” That got everyone to chuckle as they nodded their heads. “If I can do it, all of you can. So, no excuses, let’s get out there and just have fun!”

All at once, everyone stated rooting and hollering as they moved into a circle. They went back and forth for a few minutes on where they were going start their vacation. It didn’t take them long to all agree to start off at Fantasyland, move to Frontierland and, if they still had time, they wanted to try to go to Toontown. None of them believed they would have the time, but they all agreed to at least try and squeeze it in before heading back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, as Jacob and the guys headed into Disneyland, back in El Paso Ralph had just finished breakfast. He was heading out the door, but didn’t get more than two steps out when he was called back by his mother. Reluctantly, Ralph walked back into the house, slamming the front door behind him as he walked into the living room where his mother was seated. He knew what the conversation was going to be about: the same thing it has been about the last couple of days.

“Ralph, sweetheart, please come and sit with me for a minute.” Ralph stomped to the chair next to the couch. “I don’t want to come off as annoying, but you haven’t said anything to me or your sister about your original plans as to what you were going to do over your Spring Break. Your plane ticket is still sitting here.” Ralph’s mom picked the ticket off the coffee table and showed it to her son. “If you don’t use it by tomorrow it’s money wasted. You need to make up your mind on what you are going to do so if you decide not to go you can let Jacob know in time that he can get whatever refund on this ticket.”

Not saying a word, Ralph just sat there looking at the ticket his mother was holding in her hands, which wasn’t sitting well with Emily. She’s done everything in her power to help her son get through this moment in his life, but every avenue she has taken has failed. The more time passes since the day Daryl died, the more Ralph is closing up. She is starting to fear that if she doesn’t stop him now from withdrawing into himself there will be no saving him.

“I really don’t know what else to say.” Emily put the ticket down on the coffee table and looked back at her son with a concerned look on her face. “I’m so scared, Ralph, that if I keep pushing you to do anything you will do the opposite. No matter what I suggest you do, you ignore me and just sit there like a lump on a log or run out of the house to God knows where.” She moved down the couch to get closer to Ralph.

“We all lost you father! We are all hurting from that loss! But, Son, none of us is giving up like you seem to be doing. No matter how hard it is, and it is hard, we’re trying to get through each day, not by moping around, but by doing what your father wanted, which I know you know he wanted us to live life to the fullest.” Emily reached over and grabbed Ralph’s hand. “Ralph, you can’t give up. You can’t crawl inside yourself and hide.

I know it’s a lot easier said than done, and more so for me since I wasn’t here when your father fell ill, so I’m not about to sit here and try and pretend I know what you are going through. My hurt is a lot different than yours. You are the only one that is feeling the hurt you’re feeling, no one else in this family is. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on everything you worked for.

I don’t care if you join your friends in California for Spring Break anymore. If you feel you really don’t want to go, fine, stay here with us. But don’t close yourself off. Don’t hide yourself up in your room and only come out when it’s time to eat. If your decision is to stay here, then stay, but have fun. Get out and do something every day even if it’s just riding your bike or going to the park. Just get out of this house and try to live like your father wanted you to.”

Ralph held Emily’s hand for a while, but didn’t say a word or move. When he did move, it was in silence as he got up from the chair. Emily watched him as he walked out of the living room and out of the house. She couldn’t believe that through everything she had said she didn’t get a peep out of him, just silence, and then he just walked away without as much as where he was going.

Outside, Ralph got into his car and pulled out of the driveway. At first he had no idea where he was going. All he wanted to do is get out of the house and the room where his father spent his last moments alive, the room where he had to stay by his side and watch his father suffer and little-by-little slip away. Even though he officially passed away in the hospital, Ralph believes his father actually passed away in that room, and now he can’t stand being in it.

As he drove around the side streets near his house, Ralph wasn’t really looking. He was lost in thought. His head was flooded with so many thoughts he felt like it was going to explode. Between the thoughts from the day he was taken from his real parents to the day his dad passed away, all he could remember was misery. His life has been full of a lot of death in the short span he has been on this earth. It seems to him that everyone he gets close to ends up dying.

Somehow, through his fog, he made it safely to Nancy’s new home, his real mother. He pulled up, put his car in park and just sat there outside staring off into the distance. He wasn’t really looking at anything particular, just staring forward thinking about what has unfolded in his life in El Paso and back home in Montana. A few thoughts of his childhood in Wyoming actually snuck through, and that put a small smile on his face.

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t see Nancy walk out of her house and down to his car. It wasn’t until she tapped on the window that he knew someone was there. Even then, it took him several seconds to see it was her. When his mind came out of the fog and registered that it was Nancy standing there looking back at him, he rolled down his window.

“Ralph is everything alright?” Ralph not only heard the concern in her voice, but he could see it on her face. “I just got off the phone with your mother, who was crying. She is very worried about you and fears the worst.” Nancy opened the car door to try and get Ralph out. “Come on, let’s go inside the house. We won’t talk if you don’t want to, but let’s go in so we aren’t standing here in the middle of the street for everyone to see.”

Nodding his head, Ralph slowly removed the keys from the ignition. Nancy stepped back as he got out of his car, and before closing the door he rolled up the window. Together, in silence, they walked into the house that Nancy still hadn’t completely settled into yet. It wasn’t any surprise to Ralph that Nancy still was living out of boxes since she had just moved in and her furniture and everything else she had in her home in Wyoming had just arrived.

“You know what you can do for me, Ralph?” Nancy spoke in a mothering voice, a voice that Ralph remembers and hasn’t heard for years. “You can help me unpack all this stuff. Having you here with your strong arms we can make this house livable by the end of the evening. What do you say? Will you help me?” Ralph nodded his head as he looked around. “And you decide what to talk about or if you even want to talk about anything. I’m fine if you don’t and just want to work in silence. Or you can play the radio or something you might have in your car that you can put on.”

Ralph nodded his head as he looked around the living room. He had no idea where to even begin to help out Nancy. The only thing he was certain of at that moment was that he felt better in that mess than he has felt in days. He can’t put his finger on it, but there is something about his real mother that made all the things that were bothering him just melt away.

“So you don’t get angry, I’m going to let you know that I’m going to call your mother before getting us something to drink.” The look on Ralph’s face confused Nancy; she had never seen that look before. “She is worried about you and, as a mother myself, I know what she is going through. I want to put her at ease so she stops worrying and, hopefully, crying.”

“I never meant to make her or anyone else cry,” Ralph spoke for the first time since he arrived, but is was in a mumble. “I know she’s trying to help me get through this, but…” Ralph scratched his head as he leaned against the wall. “…well, she knows better and everything she has said is right. It’s just I’m so lost right now. From the moment Jacob told me what he found out to what happened to my dad, my world has been turned upside down and spinning out of control.”

Hearing her son call Daryl his father made Nancy’s skin crawl. It has taken a lot for her to not put some blame on Emily and Daryl for taking her kids away. After all, they were adults when they adopted them and had to have seen the news. At that point, they should have put one and one together and looked into the possibility that the kids they just adopted were the kids on the news. They didn’t do that, at least to her knowledge they didn’t. That is the part that Nancy is struggling with and having a hard time forgiving.

“I know a lot has happened in your life over the last couple of months and that is seems that your life is falling apart right now. Hell, a lot has happened in your life since you were small and were taken away from your home. That alone should make you feel that your world is falling apart. But you have turned out strong through it all. You have made it through the worst and are still standing. Don’t backslide now and push away those that are here for you trying to help. In the end, so many lives will be destroyed when no one involved meant for any of that to happen.”

Nancy didn’t say another word. She turned around and walked into the kitchen, leaving Ralph alone in her living room. When she returned a few minutes later with several Pepsis, she found Ralph digging into one of the boxes stacked against her wall. Not saying a word, she walked over, placed the sodas on the table next to him, and began picking up the things he was taking out of the box.

Neither of them said a word for almost thirty minutes. They just worked in silence, getting as many boxes upacked as they could. Between the two of them, they got the living room done in less than an hour. Once they put the furniture where Nancy wanted it, they moved into the kitchen to begin on the boxes that were in there.

It was then that Ralph broke the silence. Several things he helped Nancy put away in the living room brought back memories of his childhood back in Wyoming, but it wasn’t until he opened the box that contained his and his sister’s plates that the dam broke and the memories that were flooding into his head were as clear as if they had just happened.

At that moment he pictured himself back home in Wyoming at his old house with his sisters around the kitchen table. His older sister was busy on the phone talking to who-knows-who. The only thing that was certain was their mother was running out of patience with her. Dinner was on the table getting cold all because she wouldn’t hang up the phone. It took their mother to walk up and hang up the phone to get her to sit down with the rest of them at the kitchen table.

His sister was yelling at their mother for hanging up the phone, but their mother just ignored her while she served each of them their dinner. By the time she got to his older sister, she had finished her rant and quickly dropped what just happened and moved on to talking about her day at school. Once she was done, it was Ralph’s turn. Their mother, Nancy, sat there hanging on every word they said, or at least made it seem that she was. Ralph believed that dinner was the one moment of the day their mother looked forward to because she was able to hear about her children’s lives.

Just as quickly as that memory hit Ralph, it went away and was replaced by the memory of the last night he was at his mother’s home. It started out like every other night that their mother went out, but it quickly turned into a nightmare the minute she walked out the door. Ralph couldn’t believe that he was reliving that nightmare while he was wide awake.

He started to shake really bad, which confused Nancy. She had no idea he was having a nightmare right there in the kitchen. What it looked like to her was that her son was having a seizure due to the blank look he has on his face and the sudden shaking. Then it dawned on her that he wasn’t having a seizure at all, but a nightmare-like hallucination.

Watching him, she had no idea what to do. The only thing that she could think of is what she was told by her parents when she was young about her younger brother. He used to sleep walk, and if she ever saw him she was to leave him alone because if she attempted to wake him she would do more harm than good. Not if knowing this was the same thing, Nancy wasn’t going to take any chances. She walked over to her son’s side and stood there, ready for anything.

Luckily for the two of them, the episode didn’t last long. Just a few minutes after Nancy walked to Ralph’s side, he snapped out of it. The moment he did and got his footing, Nancy helped him to the kitchen table. As soon as he was safely seated, she ran to the refrigerator, poured her son a cup of orange juice and ran back to hand it to him.

“Do you know what was going on, Ralph?” Nancy said in a frantic state. “I mean, can you remember what was happening or…” Ralph reached out and placed his hand onto his mother’s hand to try and calm her down, which it did. When he showed concern for her, she knew her son was all right. “You scared me to death Ralph. I know what just happened wasn’t your fault, but you really scared me to death. I didn’t know what to do to help you. I was helpless standing at your side, more than likely looking like an idiot.”

“Mom, you have never been helpless and have always known what to do.” Ralph’s voice shook as he spoke. “What happened to me just now has never happened to me before. I don’t know why I was having a nightmare while I was awake. I’ve never heard of that before, but I will never think it’s impossible now that I’ve been through it.” Ralph forced a chuckle to try and calm his mother down even more. “I think I had this nightmare because of all the stuff I have been through lately, but I could be wrong. Who knows? I could just be losing it.”

Nancy hadn’t seen the look that was on Ralph’s face since he was a small boy. It was the facial expression that always appeared whenever he was awakened in the middle of the night from a bad dream or when something bad was going on in his life at that moment. Back then, it was generally a fight he had earlier in the day with his older sister or when he and Jacob didn’t agree with each other. But, whatever the reason was, he would always go to her to feel safe.

“Ralph, you’re not losing it or going crazy!” Nancy knelt down in front of her son. “Listen to me, and listen good. You have been through a lot these last couple weeks and months, as you already said. Anyone else going through half of what you have gone through would have lost a little of their sanity already,so stop beating yourself up for losing it just a little here today. You have the right, and to be completely honest with you, I would be more worried if you didn’t lose it. None of us that care about you wants you to keep things bottled inside you.”

“I know you’re right,” Ralph sobbed, wiping a tear away that was rolling down his cheek. “I know everyone that has been there in my corner, talking to me, trying to get me to move on, is doing it out of love. Everyone wants me to live, not die along with my dad.” Once again hearing him call Daryl dad made the hair on Nancy’s arms stand up. “I need to take their advice and live.”

“Daryl was a great father to you and your sister, and I’ll never forget what he did for you guys. Still, like everyone has told you since his passing, you need to let go and go on. Don’t stop living because he was taken home.” Nancy reached over to put her hand under Ralph’s chin. Gently she lifted it up so she could see his beautiful eyes while she was talking to him. “I don’t care if you decide not to join your friends in Disneyland. I don’t care if you decide not to spend a lot of time with me. Just live; don’t give up. Have fun during your Spring Break like every other kid your age. You fought hard to take back your life once you found out you were cheated out of years of your life. Don’t throw that away now.”

Ralph cracked a smile as he leaned forward. He wrapped his arms around Nancy and pulled her into a hug. “I would never stop spending time with you now that we’ve found each other again. No way will I ever do that,” Ralph said in a whisper as he held his mother tight. “Ever since I could remember I always felt there was something missing in my life. When we found each other that feeling disappeared. I don’t want it to ever come back.”

Nancy tried to hold back her tears, but couldn’t. Once the waterworks started, there was no stopping it. This was a moment she has dreamed about having with her son and her daughter ever since they were taken from her. She has dreamed about wrapping her arms around them once more and holding them when they were hurting, or simply just needing a hug. Now, standing there holding her son, she looked up with tears rolling down her cheeks, thanking God for the second chance she has so often prayed for, a second chance to spend good times, bad times and everything in between with her son and daughter, hopefully with plenty of time still left on the clock for all of them.

“I was wondering something, Mom.” Ralph reluctantly broke the hug. “I feel very uncomfortable right now at the house where my dad passed away. The living room spooks me and I just can’t walk past it anymore. Every day that I’m there, I hate myself for living and for him dying because we had a fight just before he passed away. I think that if I have to live there and see that room every day, I really will lose it.” Ralph looked at his mother’s face to try and read her, but since he didn’t know her as well as he does his other mother, he couldn’t get a reading on her. “I want, I mean, I would like to ask, um…” Ralph scratched his head. “I don’t know how…”

Nancy interrupted her son before he could go any further. She knew what he was trying to ask, but that he was having a hard time spitting it out. She had no doubt that he thought that by even thinking what he was thinking, it was a betrayal to Emily and her late husband. Now, here he is not only thinking about it, but is about to put it out there in words. Nancy didn’t want to put her son into another position that he has to make a decision that will more than likely haunt him for the rest of his life. He already has too many decisions haunting him already.

“There is no need for you to even go where you are about to go.” Nancy spoke in a reassuring voice. “You’re my son and my home is always open to you and your sister. But, before you commit yourself to one thing or another that you might feel you can’t go back on, please take a few more days to think about it. There are a lot of people that will be affected by the decision you’re about to make.”

Nancy could see by the facial expression on Ralph’s face that he was confused. “Look,” she said, “I made sure when looked for a home here that I got one with no less than three bedrooms, one for me, one for you and one for your sister. I did that in hopes that one day you two will start spending the night here, then maybe a weekend and, just maybe, move in, if you are comfortable being here.”

Nancy smiled as she scratched the top of her head. “What I’m trying to get at is I want my family back. You can’t blame me for that since what had happened is no fault of mine, yours, Dina’s or Emily’s. None of us asked for all the drama that’s going on in our lives right now. But that is neither here nor there. It’s happened, and we all need to not only live with it, but figure out a way that everyone involved is happy. There can be no more hurt for anyone that’s involved with this.

Now…” Nancy playfully patted Ralph on the shoulders, “you get rid of all this stress, doubt and anger. Go join your friends in California and have fun. Then, when you return and if you still want to still move in here with me, I’ll welcome you with open arms. Just take a few more days and think about this decision. Let what happened to Daryl sink in and come to terms with it. It might not happen in a week, two weeks or two years, but give it at least one more week. Who knows, by being away for a week you might be able to walk past that room that haunts you again soon.”

“Mom, I know there is no way that will happen. Not in a week, two weeks or in months. I watched my dad fight for his life in that room. Every time I get near it that is all I can see. That doesn’t go away in a week or two and you, of all people, should know that.” The look Ralph was giving Nancy was all that was needed. He didn’t have to put into words what he was thinking. “So, I would like to move in with you. If taking this week to think about it makes you feel better, I’ll do just that, and join Jacob and the guys, but that won’t change where I’m at right now. There is no way I can walk past that room every day and feel good about myself.”

Nancy knew exactly where her son was coming from. She couldn’t step foot back in the house where her daughter was raped and killed, the house where her two remaining children were kidnapped and thought more than likely to be dead, the house where her life was completly changed forever. If it was up to her, she would have burned that house to the ground. She wanted to do it, but her family and friends dragged her away from the area, and she never returned.

For her son, he can’t do any of that, so he is doing the only thing that is within in his power, and that is move away from it. Hopefully, it will not be forever and never returning to the home for a visit, but, for now, he wants to be away from a place that’s his personal hell, a place that he can’t bear to step foot into due to what happened there and changed his life in a negative way.

While Nancy and Ralph were at work unpacking the house and talking about the possibility of him moving in, Jacob and the guys were in Disneyland. They had a schedule of things they wanted to do, but that schedule quickly got thrown out the door. None of them could just spend only a couple of hours at each attraction. Even if they had the willpower to do so, the park wouldn’t let them due to the long lines to get onto each attraction, and don’t get the guys started on those that cut in line that made things worse.

Jacob and his group all stood in line for whatever attraction they wanted to see or what ride they wanted to go on, unlike many in line before them that didn’t care or didn’t think of those behind them. It was adults and teenagers alike. Age didn’t matter when it came down to those who were cutting in line. There were several instances where people were cutting in line to catch up to the one person who ended up pulling the smaller straw to hold their spots. Almost on every attraction or ride this happened, but Jacob and the guys took it in stride. They didn’t like those cutting in line, but they weren’t about to let it destroy their vacation.

Their day passed quickly. None of them could believe how fast it went or the amount of fun they had. They went from ride to ride, and attraction to attraction. Not once did anyone complain. They made fun of things that they would normally complain about, but never uttered a negative word. They laughed, teased one or another, and just had a good old time.

Everyone really enjoyed The Haunted Mansion. The house looked like a normal old home that you might see in an old neighborhood in your town. Once the guys got through the front doors they could hardly hear the guy telling the story over the voice of the others in there that were talking. Jacob strained himself to hear, but he gave up after the first couple of minutes. He wanted to enjoy the attraction, not piss himself off on not able to hear what the guy was saying.

The lighting was dim, and a little red. Jacob figured it was this way to make the place even scarier. All the lights looked like candles that were flickering with whatever wind was blowing. Pictures were hung around the room, which most of them were huge and in black in white. Then, all of the sudden, the pictures started to stretch, grabbing Jacob and Dewayne’s attention. Jacob looked around at the others and they were looking at the pictures as well.

It got really quiet in the room, allowing Jacob and the others to hear the guy speaking, which wasn’t good. The voice over the speakers brought together the full effect of the room. The way he spoke was chilling, telling them to notice the chamber had no windows or doors to escape through. Then he dared them to find a way out ending it with an evil laugh. The voice came back seconds later, saying they only had his way out. Once he said that, the roof of the chamber lit up, pictures started flashing and everyone in the room started to scream, then the room went dark.

A few seconds later, the lights came on and everything was like it was when the boys first entered the room. A door opened up to the left and everyone started to walk through it, very slowly. The next room was as dark as the room they just left, and had pictures all over the walls. The only difference was that the pictures were flickering. Jacob looked around as he followed the group, but one picture caught his eye, one of a gentleman who looked like he lived in the early eighteen hundreds. When it flickered, the picture turned into a skeleton of the guy. It was a little spooky for Jacob, and for a couple of the other guys, too.

Everyone kept moving down the hall and through a door that had waiting carriages for everyone to climb into to take a seat. It took a few minutes for everyone to find a seat, but once they did the carriage started to move. It passed by scenes with different things that were meant to scare people. One of them had a coffin in it, in another the doors were shut and weird noises were coming out of them like scratches and banging, and one had a talking head in a crystal ball.

Most of the ride wasn’t scary at all for the guys. They figured the younger kids might get scared, but for them it didn’t do much except entertain them. All of them liked the room where there were ghosts walking around, dancing, playing a piano and one looked like an astronaut still in his space suit. Other than that, nothing else really grabbed their attention or scared them. From the piano playing on its own to a picture with the heads disappearing to a ghost in white, it was neat effects, but nothing more than that.

The music that started to play took away from the scariness of the ride. Then, when they got to the part where the birds started to squawk, Jacob started to laugh. He thought to himself that if the birds were meant to scare them, they did the exact opposite. The hitch hiking ghost was just as comical as the birds up in the tree, but Jacob kept his cool and just went along with the ride.

When it was all over and they walked out of the Haunted House, none of them regretted waiting in line for the ride, but knew they weren’t going to go back to that attraction again, unlike the Indiana Jones ride. All the guys loved the Indy ride and wanted to at least go back to it a couple more times before they headed home at the end of the week.

The only time they took a break from the rides was to get something to eat. The food came fast and some of it was not too expensive. Jacob and Dewayne tried to steal private moments to cuddle with each other throughout the day. A couple of the times, they were caught by one of the others in their group or got dirty looks from others passing them or looking back at them. Neither Jacob nor Dewayne let those dirty looks take away from their spending time with each other. In fact, it made them show the love they have for each other even more.

The others in Jacob’s group that were in a relationship and there with their significant other followed Jacob and Dewayne’s lead. Once they saw those two not afraid to show they were a couple, they followed their queue. When they walked around the park, they held each other’s hands and when they wanted to give one another a kiss, they did it, no matter who was looking. Even though they got a couple of dirty looks shot in their direction, no one made trouble for them. People just went on with their Disney vacation and let Jacob and his friends be.

By early evening, everyone was getting tired and hungry, but no one wanted to leave. There was so much still left to do and see and none of them wanted to lose a minute of it sitting in their hotel rooms looking out their windows at what they could be doing. So, they ignored their bodies and went on to the next ride and then the next. They hit as many of the rides as they could and made a mental note as to which ones they would like to ride again and again before leaving.

When they finally called it a night, they were heading back towards their hotel room and ran right into the evening parade. Even though they had all week to watch the parade, they decided to stick around just the same. Each and every one of them enjoyed every second of the parade. They really got into it, and when a float passed by, they would talk about it or wave at whoever was riding on it waving back at them. At the end, they didn’t regret at all watching the parade.

The only thing they did regret was the day ending as quickly as it did. They sat around the table, eating their super and talking about how much fun they had on their first full day. Each of them had a different story of the day even though they spent most of the day together. Each one saw Disneyland differently than the others saw it. Even Jeremy tried to get into the conversation, which somewhat surprised Al and Jacob since he had never done that before.

They sat at their table in one of the hotel restaurants for several hours just talking away, not caring on how late it was getting. When they finally did call it a night and headed back to their rooms, they were out the second their heads hit their pillows. Jacob and Dewayne were the only two that didn’t fall asleep the minute they went into their room. They spent time in each other’s arms making patient love to each other. It was going to be hard to top the day they just had with each other, but they were willing to try.

Back in El Paso, Ralph and Nancy had wound down their day several hours ago, but Ralph hadn’t gone home yet. A lot was on his mind that he needed to clear out before actually going home. He drove around town trying to do just that, but he quickly realized he didn’t have enough gas to continue nor did he have his complete attention on driving. Instead of taking a chance on getting into an accident or wasting what gas he had, he made his way to the top of Trans-Mountain Road.

He got out and walked over to the walk wall where he could overlook El Paso. It was a beautiful sight, one he hadn’t seen, at least not at night. With the lights of the city glaring in the moonlight, it was just breathtaking. In the fresh air and with the silence around him, he was able to clear his head and come to terms with a few of the things that were driving him crazy.

Standing there in the cool summer breeze, Ralph started to see what both of his mothers were trying to get him to see. He understood for the first time there was nothing he could have done to change what had happened the day his father fell ill, or anything after that. The only thing he can change is what happens from this point forward. He could keep feeling sorry for himself and destroy his relationship with the guy he really loves, his two mothers, and maybe even his sister and friends. There is no way he is going to do any of that.

At that moment there on Trans-Mountain it was clear as day to Ralph where he needs to go with his life: live, live for today, for himself and everyone around him that cares about him, not just in memory of his father, but for himself. After all, in the end, his father is now gone and he can’t know the decisions that are being made. Ralph finally realized that the decisions he is making he are the ones that he has to live with, as well as those whom the decision directly effects.

For the first time since he could remember, Ralph was smiling. Not a forced smile to satisfy those around him, but actual smiles because he was feeling good. He walked back to his car and headed back down the mountain to tell his mother and his sister, and then to call his boyfriend to tell him what he had decided. Hopefully, his decision would put a smile on their faces as well.

TO BE CONTINUED……………………………

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Well guys welcome back to another chapter in the saga of ‘Jacob Finding His Way’. I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter. This one took me a bit longer to write out since we are finally at Disneyland. I have never been to Disneyland, Disney World, but not Disneyland. So I have had to do a lot of research on it so I could do it justice. I thought it was almost the same as Disney World, but boy was I wrong on that.

The last chapter I posted I changed my corner from summation of the chapter I just wrote to give the reader something to look forward to in each of my sagas. I got a lot of feedback on that change, which mostly was negative. None of the feedback was positive on the change, so I decided to take the corner back to the summation of the chapter I just wrote.

With that said let’s get down to business. In this chapter we visited many of the characters of the story and got to see what was going on in each of their lives. Nothing on the business of Jacob, which that is just right since Jacob and his entire family, are on vacation. We were able to catch up with a few of the characters that have been missing in the last couple chapters that have been put out there.

The chapter started for us with Tom and David. Tom had just woke up and got into trouble with his head nurse. She didn’t like the fact that he was moving around with no one there to support him. I understand where she was coming from because if he would fall, the rehab center can be sued. I’m sure they are all aware that Tom did sue the trucking company that the guy that caused the accident was working for. Anyway, they came to an agreement and moved on.

David showed up and took Tom for breakfast. Who knows why everyone was looking at them. The sad thing for guys and girls like Tom and David we always seem to go where they did, or at least a good percentage of the time. I think some of them weren’t looking at them for the reasons the guys thought, but there are those few that probably were.

Tom finally started his first physical therapy day. Much of that part I took from when my mother had a stroke and was taken to a rehab center. Since I have really never seen one before then, I can only write about the one I have seen. They were strict on their rules about the patient being alone in rehab. They explained it, but I didn’t like it. Same like I made the character David not being there for Tom. I truly hope Tom takes advantage of his physical therapy and gets where he wants to get and that is walk out of there the day he leaves.

I’m pretty sure for those that have been with me since the beginning of this saga are getting a little tired of people telling Jacob to act his age. If he hasn’t done it yet, he never will. Grandpa Al was coming from the right place when he told Jacob that in Jeremy’s room, but I really think it’s a little too late for Jacob to act his own age. He has too many things going on in his life.

Taking care of Jeremy is one of them. Those that have or had family member or a friend like Jeremy in their life know how they get when things change. They like things on a routine or they go a little crazy. It took a few minutes for Jacob to calm Jeremy down, but he has a knack on getting it done and was successful. Mainly because Jeremy has got used to Jacob and trusts him whenever he says something. Like Al and even Alex.

Well it looks like the guys first day in Disneyland went well for them all. They had a lot of fun getting on the rides and going through the attractions. I only went into detail on one of the attractions in this story, but they went on several their first day. Some of the others I will go into detail how the guys liked it and did in my other sagas, but I feel one was enough. I hope I did it justice and those that have been to Disneyland aren’t too angry with me if I didn’t. What do you guys think should I spend more time talking about the attractions and rides? Or should I spend more time talking about how the guys are liking their trip, or maybe not liking it?

The ending of the chapter isn’t a huge cliff hanger, but it is one. It looks like Ralph is finally able to move on, or at least start. Do you guys think he is going to actually move in with Nancy and leave his sister alone in the long run? If he does move in, how do you guys think Emily is going to take it? Is she going to permit a move? Will it be better or worse for Ralph? So many questions are out there with this plot twist that needs to be answered. Those that I asked and those I haven’t, but you guys are wondering the answers to. It looks like Ralph has decided to go also to Disneyland. Will he change his mind? Will his boyfriend go with him and or his sister?

Well that is it for this writer’s corner. Come on back for the next installment of this saga because I promise you it is going to be exciting. Besides almost everyone in California already, there are a few that aren’t. Tom and David we will see what is going on with them. There are all those that are in California that will for sure bring a lot of drama into the story. Plus a lot more.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. So many plots can take a turn at any time. You might think it is going to go one way, but is lands up going another. Do not miss anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it. If I missed anything in my summation, my editor will hopefully go over it in his.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

An interesting chapter which I hope you all enjoy reading. It was back around nineteen ninety two that I was in Disneyland and Jacob described the haunted house pretty much as I remember it. There were lots of other attractions in an around Anaheim back then which I passed onto Jacob and hopefully he will find space to include some of them.

One which comes to mind is the medieval night with the cutest young guy I have ever seen. Long blond hair down to his shoulders wearing only a loin cloth with the skimpiest pair of briefs underneath and boy was he hung. I got off on his memory for quite a few years LOL.

I think we all realize what a struggle Tom and David are facing until the day Tom walks out of that facility. There is sure to be a lot of blood sweat and tears and a test of their relationship until that part of their life is over.

As for Ralph I really feel for the poor guy and think that he should move back with his birth mother, after all she didn’t give him up but had him taken under tragic circumstances. His sister on the other hand because she was so young at the time might be better off for the time being with her adopted mother. This way both women will have someone as company to look after.

All four of them have a long way to go before their lives are anywhere back to normal. Ralph should start living his life over as a young guy growing up finding love with two women who both love him and a boyfriend who also loves him.

I can just imagine Jeremy having the time of his life on things like the tea cup ride or the carousel and I can see Al reliving a childhood dream at the same time. Once you pass through the gates of Disneyland you enter another world of fantasy and dreams and no matter how old you are you can’t help but get caught up in those dreams.

I can see the boys doing things and enjoying things which they would be embarrassed to do outside of Disneyland. I hope you are enjoying the journey and don’t forget it will all come to a climax with a massive country music concert when Josh gets there.

Even though I don’t get a single cent for editing Jacob’s fine stories for me it one of the best jobs in the world and I hope you get the same sort of pleasure reading his sagas as I do editing them.

Hugs Trevor.