Shadow Of My Father

Rich and several members of the governor’s staff walked in for the end of the day meeting with the governor. Before he came back, the governor had been unhappy with a few of the items that have been going on in Austin in the last couple of months. He made it clear once he got back that he wanted solutions to what is going on, but they haven’t yet found the solutions, so they know they are going to get an ear full on that.

As they took their seats, they knew they were going to be put in the hot seat. They looked at the governor and knew by the look on his face what the first thing he was going to ask, which none of them had the answer. They sat there quietly as the governor finished up what he was doing and made his way over to them.

“Gentlemen, I am a little afraid to ask this, but I am going to. Have you guys found a way to get enough Republicans on board to get my bills passed?” Governor Lopez looked around the room and saw blank faces in his staff. “I am getting tired of you guys coming up empty handed on this. I not only want these bills to get passed, but they need to get passed.” Governor Lopez stood up and walked around his chair.

“I know Rich you will agree with what I am about to say.” Rich looked up at the governor a little confused on what he just said. “It is high time that every citizen of this state is treated equally, no matter who you are and who you love. I am tired of the homosexual of this state being treated as second and third class citizens.

I bent a lot on my crimes bill because I want my gay rights bill to pass. These two bills will be hitting the floor in the next couple of months, but before they do. I want to know that we have the votes to get them passed. That is your job, so get it done. Get those damn Republicans on the fence over to our side and make sure they stay there. If they need arm twisting, send them to me if you can’t get the job done.”

“Sir we are doing everything that we can to get those Republicans over to your side on getting those two bills and the other one past. However, as we are working on them, so is the base of the party. They are being pressured into saying no by threats of not getting the support of the party when they come up for reelection. Sadly, everyone here in Austin looks out for only one person at the end of the day, and that is themselves.”

“Fine you tell those that are making their decision based on that, they will lose their seat even with the republican base backing them. I do not care how much money the base throws in their bank accounts, they cannot beat a popular governor like me, with an approval rating hovering in the low nineties.

No other governor of this state or any state has ever had an approval rating as high as mine is and been able to keep it there. I will use that approval rating and take them out. Even if that means I hand over the control of the state senate and house to the Democrats. It seems like they are the only ones that are here to work, not put up road blocks.”

Rich stopped the staff member that got the governor a little angrier than he already was. If he or any other staff member in the office pushed the governor anymore, someone might lose their job. He can see that the governor is at his wit’s end and was not going to take any more excuses from anyone concerning the bill.

“Mr. Governor we will work on those republicans to get them to see the right choice is not to keep the line, but to come over to your side and support the bill. With that said I want to warn you that might not even work. You need to be ready for that and look at the other avenues that we have discussed about passing the bills.”

“The tax payers of this state are paying those up there in those houses a salary to pass the right bills that will benefit all Texans. It isn’t right on them for me to ask them to do the job of their senator and congressman. If that day comes, I will also ask them to fire all of them since they are getting paid to just sit on their asses.”

The governor sat back down and leaned forward, with his hands in his lap. Rich and the others could see that he is in heavy thought, so they stayed quiet. The governor knew these two bills were going to be the hardest of all his bills to get passed, but he never thought that his own staff would ever throw in the towel as early as they have.

He looked up at Rich with a grin on his face. “Call Al and tell him to pack his bags, he is coming to Austin. Not for a day or two, but for weeks. If you guys can’t get it done, it is time to bring in the big guns to get it done.”

Just as Rich was going to object, the governor’s secretary came running in. “Governor something has happened back in El Paso.” Governor Lopez turned and looked at his secretary with a worried look on his face. “Mr. Benedict is on the line holding for you. He has been trying to get through to you on your cell, but you are not answering.”

Governor Lopez did not answer his secretary. He quickly picked up the phone and pushed the line that was blinking. “Mr. Benedict what is going on? What happened that has my secretary running in here like a bat out of hell.” Rich escorted the other staff members out of the office as he made his way to the side of the governor.

“Mr. Governor as you know Josh was promoting the concert today with several interviews, and….” The governor interrupted him. “Stop beating around the bush Benedict and tell what the hell is going on down there. Please don’t tell me that Josh or any of my kids are hurt, please tell me that is not what you are calling me for.”

“I am sorry sir, but one of your kids did get it hurt. It was not Josh, but it was Cesar.” Hearing that, knocked the wind out of the governor! “Things got out of control while Josh and Cesar were at the local NBC station. We did everything by the book, but that was not enough to keep what happened from happening.”

“Stop beating around the damn bush and just tell me what happened to my son Cesar?” Benedict could hear the anger in the governor’s voice.

“As they were at the NBC studios….” Benedict went on telling the governor what happened while Josh and Cesar were at the studio. He explained what they did to try and make sure the boys were not going to be harmed. All the while as Benedict was telling the governor what had happened, the governor was instructing Rich to get the plane ready. He was writing his instructions down on paper as he was listening to everything that was being told to him.

“How bad is Cesar hurt?”

“Governor as of right now we don’t know. I just found out that he was stabbed. At first we thought we got the boys out of there without them getting harmed, but I was wrong. Josh and Cesar were thrown into the SUV face first onto the ground to make sure they didn’t get hurt as the SUV made its way out of the area. Once they were clear, that is when we found out that Cesar was stabbed. He and Josh were allowed to sit up and…”

“And, and, what the hell do you mean and.” The governor pounded the receiver of his phone on his desk a couple of times. “The very first thing your agents should have done was make sure Josh and Cesar were okay. By not doing that, how much time did you guys lose in the meantime. On top of that, did the knife get pushed in further by you guys slamming them into the floor? Damn it Benedict, we have talked about this time in and time again, and here we are talking about it again.”

“Sir, we followed procedure that all agents follow whenever there is an attempt on the person’s life that we are in charge of protecting. I know you don’t agree with the procedures, but that have been tested and it has shown it works.”

“Get down to the hospital and secure the damn place. If anyone gets near my sons again, you will answer for it.” The governor put his hand over the phone and asked Rich about the plane. He got the answer he wanted and returned to the call. “I am on my way and should be there around ten. As soon as I am in the air, I want to know everything.

I want to know how in the world a person was able to get as close as they did to hurt my son. I also want to know who the person that did this was. Whoever that person is, screwed with the wrong family. Damn my political career, I will barrier that person with my own two hands for touching my son.”

“I will have all that information when you call back.” The governor didn’t respond. All Benedict heard was the slamming down of the phone and then the dial tone. He turned and walked over to the agents that were holding down the person that tried to kill Cesar.

“Who is this guy?” One of the agents handed Benedict the guy’s wallet. He looked at the ID and couldn’t believe who it was. “Sir, you have just committed a crime against the people of the state of Texas and you will pay for that crime. Attempted murder of one of the sons of the governor does not hold well for you. You better hope that he doesn’t die, because if he does, you will see the inside of this state’s death chamber.”

“I hope Josh dies! That kid and all those like him don’t deserve to live. I only wish I was able to kill more than just one of them.”

Benedict turned and walked right up to Martha’s father, not leaving any space between them. Their noses were touching and they could smell each other’s breath. “You son-of-a-bitch, you have no idea what you just did. Not only you screwed with the wrong family, but also with a father, that has had enough of your shit. Josh was not the one you got. It was Cesar, you fucking idiot. With all that anger inside of you, you just swung that knife.”

Benedict could see defeat in Martha’s fathers eyes. “If you think the courts are going to treat you the way they treated your daughter, think again. The courts were gearing up to put your daughter behind bars for the rest of her natural born life. She took that from the courts when she tried to kill the first lady of the state of Texas. If they were ready to do that to the former wife of the governor, what do you think they are going to do to you?”

Benedict took several steps back and looked over at the other agents. “We know where he and the rest of his family are staying, so go and pick the rest of them up. I will make sure by the time you get down to the hotel where they are staying that you will have several EPPD officers there waiting with arrest warrants for the rest of the family. We might not be able to keep them locked up for long, but we will have them all in one place so we can send their fucking asses back where they came from.”

Mr. Mendoza started yelling at Benedict in Spanish and English, but Benedict ignored him. He walked over to his SUV to call the judge that he knows to issue the arrest warrants that he needs to pick up the rest of Martha’s family. As he was on the phone, several officers tried to take custody of Mr. Mendoza, but Benedict’s men wouldn’t let them. It started to get into a shouting match between all of them, he had to get off the phone and go and settle down the situation before it got out of control.

He got down from the SUV and walked over to where his men were arguing with several officers of EPPD. “Gentlemen, we are not going to have a problem here today, are we?” The officers turned and looked at Mr. Benedict. “Mr. Mendoza is not going anywhere. He is going to remain in our custody until we take him before a judge. At that point, he will be released only to the county sheriff’s office. The only reason for that is because they are the ones that run the county jail.”

The officers didn’t say a word. They just stood there looking back and forth from Benedict and his men. “Look, I spoke already with your bosses, the mayor and the governor who is now on his way into town. They have all handed over complete control of this scene to us, with you guys backing us up. I don’t want a turf war here today. There is just way too much going on at this moment. We can’t add us fighting to that.”

One of the officers walked away from the group and got on his radio. A few minutes later he returned and ordered the other officers that were with him to stand down. As they took a couple steps back, the officer that looked like was in charge informed Benedict that he has confirmed what was said and they will help in any way they can.

While Benedict was controlling the scene in El Paso, the governor was rushing out as fast as he could to get down to his family. Rich was right behind him as they rushed through the halls to the back exit where the limousine was pulled up. Rich had it done that way so the governor did not have to deal with the press, but they had wind that something was going on and found their way to the back exit.

As the governor exited out of the building, the press started to yell out questions. Those that were still photographers started to take snap shots and those that were there from news channels went live, in hopes they would get something to report. The governor didn’t say word, or even look at any of the press. He kept talking to Rich, ignoring those out there yelling at him.

Once they were in the car, the governor got on the phone and tried to reach Benedict, but had no luck. He then tried to call his house, but everyone had left already to the hospital according to Isabella, Jonathan’s sister. Not meaning to, the governor hung up on Isabella without thanking her as he normally does when he ends a conversation.

The rest of the way to the airport, Rich tried to help the governor get a hold of someone on the ground in El Paso, but they had no luck. It seemed like everyone had just disappeared, which was not making the governor happy at all. He thought he made it clear to Benedict that he wanted him to be available whenever he had a chance to call.

When they reached the airport, the press had already arrived. They heard that the governor had ordered his plane to be ready within an hour, which raised red flags. Many of them at first had no idea what was going on, but the more they looked into it, they found out about what was going on in El Paso concerning the governor’s sons.

At first, they reported that Josh was the one that got stabbed and was being rushed to the hospital, but almost immediately the stations backed off saying that. They informed their viewers that they have not confirmed who was stabbed, if anyone was. All they knew at that moment was the governor is rushing back to El Paso and two of his sons are being rushed to a local hospital in El Paso.

The press stayed on the limousine the minute it came into sight. The viewing audience at home was glued to their televisions, as things were unfolding. Their screens were split into two. One side was at Austin with the governor arriving at the airport, and the other side was the scene outside the NBC studios in El Paso, where the stabbing took place.

All the viewers could do is sit there and watch as everything was unfolding, but nothing was being confirmed. They watched as the governor’s limousine pulled up to the airplane and doors opening. The first to step out of the car were several agents, then Rich and finally the governor. Just as he did when he left his office, he didn’t look over at the press corps. He walked straight up the stairs and disappeared into the aircraft.

As the viewers watched that, they got very worried. Not just because he didn’t say a word to the press, but because of the look on his face, a look that they have never seen before. They could tell that not only was he hurting, but also he was worried. Ever since he became governor, even before that when he was running for the position, he never ignored the press corps as he was heading somewhere.

That alone spoke volumes to the viewers. They knew what ever was going on in El Paso, was not good at all. The governor not only stopped what he was doing, he is now rushing back home to his kids. On top of all that, the reporters can’t get an answer from anyone on what is exactly going on with the governor’s family.

Almost immediately, after governor got on the plane, the door was shut and the plane started its way down the runway. As the plane was taking off, the governor and Rich got on the phones to try to get a hold of someone in El Paso. Once again, they couldn’t get a hold of Mr. Benedict or anyone else on the scene.

Knowing that things are probably very crazy right now in El Paso, Rich tried to settle the governor down, but he wouldn’t hear any of that. Every minute that passed that he couldn’t get hold of anyone, was a minute he felt something was definitely wrong. He doesn’t like being kept in the dark on anything, more so his kids.

One final effort on getting a hold of someone, the governor called the house again. He knows that more than likely he was only going to get Isabella, but at least he would be speaking with someone that might be able to get him someone that can get him some information on what exactly is going on.

The phone rang a couple of times before it was picked up. The voice that came over the line got the governor’s juices going. “Jonathan it’s good to hear your voice. I have been trying to get a hold of Benedict and Russ, but neither of them is answering their phones. By any chance do you know what in the world is going on with my sons?”

“Sir I just walked in to grab some insurance information that Barbara forgot as she and your other sons rushed out to the hospital. As far as I know, Josh and Cesar have not arrived at the hospital yet. They are being escorted there by several police cruisers, but because everyone is heading home from work it’s making it more difficult to navigate through everything without getting anyone else hurt.”

“I understand all that, but why can’t I get a hold of Benedict or Russ?”

“That sir I don’t know. I just finished talking to Benedict, shortly before that I talked with Russ.” Jonathan looked down at his notes that he took from his phone calls. “There is a lot going on where they are at right now. Benedict is trying to keep control of the scene, but the reporters and those that want to get pictures of the place are not making it easy for him. The local police have called in all off duty officers, but it is taking more time to get them in than they thought.”

“I don’t care what it takes, but Benedict must keep control of that scene. If he doesn’t, the person that did this to my son might get off because the scene was contaminated. That I won’t have happen is that understood.” Jonathan agreed with the governor. “What about Cesar, what is going on there?”

“According to Russ when I spoke with him, he is not only bleeding out badly, but he has lost consciousness. They are trying to wake him up, but he is out, which is scaring your son Josh a lot. I was able to hear him yelling at Cesar to wake up as I spoke to Russ. I have never heard Josh like that in all my time here.”

Hearing that once again knocked the wind out of the governor. He is barely able to hold it together. Not just because Cesar has lost consciousness, but on how his son is taking it. Ever since what had happened between him and his mother when he came out, Josh has been a wall of steel. Nothing has been able to penetrate that wall until now.

Taking everything he has, the governor tried to show he is in control. “Look Jonathan I need you to carry a cell phone with you at all times and stay in contact with me. Until I am able to get through to either Benedict or Russ, you are my eyes and ears down there. It’s going to be a least another hour and half before I land, until then I need to know what is going on, okay?”

“Yes sir, I will be carrying the cell phone with the number….” Jonathan grabbed one of the cell phones from the charger in the guardroom and read off the number to the governor. Once the governor confirmed the number with him, they hung up. He put the cordless phone back on its charger, as he grabbed the paperwork he came back for and ran out of the house.

The traffic was horrible from the governor’s house to the hospital. Jonathan tried to speed, but he was lucky if he was even able to go the thirty-five miles an hour speed limit. The only luck he was having was that he was getting almost all the lights green. The ones that he did not get green turned green just as he stopped.

When he drove up to the ER of Providence hospital, he was surprised to see Josh’s SUV wasn’t there yet. He quickly parked his car and ran into the ER looking for Barbara and the others. They saw Jonathon first and called him over. As he walked over to the family, he looked around trying to figure out what was going on with Josh’s motorcade. They should have beaten him to the hospital with police escort, but by the looks of it, they didn’t.

“Ma’am, Josh and Cesar haven’t arrived yet?” Barbara shook her head. “I don’t understand what is taking them so long. It has been a little over forty minutes and they have not yet arrived. This doesn’t feel right at all.” John handed Barbara the paperwork he was sent back to the house to get.

Just as he turned to walk up to the counter to find out if they knew anything, he could hear the sirens of the police cruisers. Barbara and Josh’s brothers quickly made their way to the door, but were pushed back by the security agents that cleared out the ER for the first family of Texas’ arrival. When they noticed whom they were pushing back, they apologized and let them get through.

John was the first out the door as the first cruiser drove past him. Right after the first police cruiser drove past, Josh’s SUV pulled up, slamming their brakes. The passenger side back door flew open and one of Josh’s agents stepped out of the SUV with blood all over his shirt and jacket.

Before the second person stepped out, Jonathan was pushed out of the way by the ER doctors and nurses. They were wheeling out a bed to quickly get Cesar and move him into the ER. Jonathan, Barbara and the rest of the family just stood looking on as the nurses popped their heads into the SUV. They were getting frustrated because they were not seeing any movement from the nurses.

After what seemed like eternity to everyone, but which was only a few minutes, the nurses stepped aside and pulled the bed as close as they could to the open door. It looked like they were pulling someone out, but then all of a sudden they stopped what they were doing. One of the nurses that were trying to pull out Cesar, rushed passed the Lopez family. When they saw that, they started to worry even more.

A couple minutes later the nurse that ran passed them came running back, followed by a doctor who went around the other side of the SUV. The door flew open and Josh looked over and saw a guy in green scrubs getting in. Josh wiped his face, but couldn’t stop crying as he held his motionless boyfriend in his hand.

Several minutes before they drove up, Cesar started having problem breathing, coughing up blood, which got Josh more emotional than he already was. Then a few blocks from the hospital, Cesar stopped breathing altogether. If it wasn’t for Josh’s quick action, Cesar would not be breathing.

He gave his boyfriend mouth to mouth until he saw Cesar starting to breathe on his own. When he did, Russ tried to take Cesar from Josh, but Josh didn’t let him. He didn’t care what Russ said, he was not going to let go of his boyfriend until they got him to the hospital, and maybe not even then.

“Josh, look at me please, Josh…” The doctor snapped his fingers several times to get Josh’s attention. “My name is Dr. Whitmore and I was held over to take care of Cesar here. I promise you, my staff and I are going to do everything we can to make sure he walks out of this hospital through the front doors on his own free will. I need you to remove your hands so I can take a look at his wound please.”

Josh nodded and did as he was asked. Dr. Whitmore looked down at the knife wound and knew that right away they could not move him. He looked up at his nurses and instructed them to get into the SUV through the front doors. They did as they were told as quickly as they could, bringing in all the stuff Dr. Whitmore was going to need.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the way the knife is, we can’t move this young man. If we attempt to move him, he will bleed out in seconds, and that I won’t have. So we are going to have to do the work in here on removing the knife and stop the bleeding before we even attempt to move this young man into the ER.” Everyone just looked at Dr. Whitmore, stunned on what he was asking them to do.

“I know this is not a sterilized area, but we have no other choice. So in order for this to work you must do what I ask when I ask it. We have no room for error on removing this knife and stopping the bleeding. If any of you hesitate for even a second, you can cost this young man his life. If you can’t do this, step out and send the next one in line. Once I start, there is no stopping or trading places, is that understood?”

All at once, Dr. Whitmore’s staff said yes. “Good, now first give me a blanket.” One of the nurses reached out and was handed a blanket from one of the nurses that was standing outside the SUV. Dr. Whitmore tried his best to place it around Cesar without moving an inch. Once he felt comfortable with what he had done, he turned and looked at Josh.

“He is going to need you to stay strong for him. What I am about to do is going to look like I am hurting him more than helping him, but that is not the case. As I start working on Cesar, you need to hold his hand and talk to him. Let him know that everything is going to be okay and that he is going to wake up very soon.”

Josh nodded his head as he grabbed Cesar’s right hand. He bent down and started to whisper. “You know how much I love you and how I can’t live without you in my life. You’d better not leave me Cesar, please don’t leave me. There is no way I can stay here without you in my life, please hang on and fight this. Don’t give in…” Josh tried to hold in his tears, but he couldn’t. He started crying, but didn’t stop talking to Cesar as Dr. Whitmore set up his surgical equipment.

Dr. Whitmore asked the nurse to give Cesar a shot to knock him out, which he was hesitant on ordering due to the fact he stopped breathing. At the same time, he knew he had to put Cesar out or he would feel everything that he is doing. There is no way he is willing to put anyone through that much pain.

The nurse leaned over the console and inserted the needle into Cesar’s arm. Josh sat watching as the medicine went in. As soon as the needle was empty. Josh looked down at his boyfriend and saw peace in his face for the first time since he was stabbed. He looked like he was just asleep, nothing more than that, except the knife sticking out of him and the blood leaking out like an open facet.

Dr. Whitmore grabbed a pair of scissors and gently started to cut away Cesar’s shirt. Once he had the shirt completely cut off. He put down the scissors and picked up a metal rod with cotton on the end. Dipping into some orange, yellow liquid first, he rubbed that liquid all around the area where the knife is sticking out.

Once he felt that he had put enough of the liquid, he put the medal rod back down on the tray and picked up his surgical knife. With a steady hand, he started to cut a straight line up, and another straight line down, as a nurse held the knife in place.

Whitmore made it clear to his nurse that the knife cannot budge an inch, because if it does. It would be worse than moving him. He will bleed out right there in back seat, and there would be no way they could stop it. So he made sure he got the nurse that had the steadiest hand and had proven in the past that she works great under pressure.

“Okay, I cut as much as I can; I need the portable sonogram please.” The nurse in the seat right next to the one that is holding the knife pulled over the sonogram and handed it to Dr. Whitmore. As he rubbed the gel on the end, he moved the screen as close as he could to him. Gently he placed around the wound and a weird picture appeared on the screen that Josh could not make heads or tails out of, but Dr. Whitmore knew exactly what it was.

Josh looked at Dr. Whitmore and knew something was wrong by the look on his face. Just as he was about to ask what he was seeing, he asked the nurse to take back the machine and grabbed another tool off the tray. He placed it on the skin and started cranking it, making the skin open.

“We need to move fast here ladies and gentleman. Once I have this wound open, I will need whatever I am calling for immediately. If that doesn’t happen, well let’s just say I will not be a happy camper.” Dr. Whitmore looked up at his staff as they all said yes.

Immediately, once he got the skin spread as wide as he could, he started yelling for things from the tray. Blood was gushing out of the open wound, which was worrying Josh and those that were able to see inside the SUV. As he was working inside the wound that he opened, he kept ordering for tools and his staff to keep the blood coming.

As he worked on Cesar, Josh lost track of how many bags of blood they hung. All he knew was that they were going through a lot in order to keep enough blood pumping through Cesar’s body. Just as it looked like everything was looking good, things turned for the worst.

All of a sudden, the machines started to sound, causing Whitmore to yell for more things at the same time. Then he yelled for the paddles. Josh had no idea what he meant when he asked for the paddles, but when he saw them being handed to Whitmore, he knew exactly what was going on. Cesar heart has stopped, and it needed to be jump-started.

Dr. Whitmore looked over at Josh worried that he might get some of the shock, but he had no time to waste. He quickly looked down to see if their skin was touching. When he saw they had clothing between them, he felt a little better. The clothing would help a little, but Josh is going to feel some of the shock.

“Josh you are going to get a shock, but I don’t want you to worry. I will make sure nothing happens to you as well.” Before Josh could say a word, Whitmore yelled clear and shocked Cesar and that was the last thing Josh remembered until he woke up with a nurse flashing a light in his eyes.

The noise around him started to come clearer and clearer until he was able to hear everything clearly. He looked down at his lap and saw that Cesar was still there and Dr. Whitmore was working away on getting the bleeding to stop. All the noises from the machines were gone and the bleeding had slowed down some.

Josh looked back at the nurse that was taking his pulse and told her that he was okay, before returning his attention to Cesar. He placed his hand on his boyfriend’s forehead and leaned down. At first, he just pressed his lips on Cesar’s forehead, but after a minute or so, he started to give him pecks on the cheek.

“You are doing great Cesar, you are doing great.” Josh started to whisper. “There is no way anyone will be able to take you away from me, no way. Keep fighting and stay away from that white light you are seeing. Stay with me Cesar, because there is no way I can live without you in my life please make it through all this, PLEASE!” Tears started rolling down Josh’s cheeks as he turned to watch the doctor working.

What seemed like forever for Josh, was only fifteen minutes since he talked to Cesar, Dr. Whitmore stopped working. He quickly got out of the SUV and ordered the nurses that were standing out there to move the bed as close to the vehicle as possible.

“It is time to move this young man into the ER where we can finish patching him up.” He looked around at the ER staff. “Be very careful as we move him out of the truck. I have removed the knife and sealed off the bleeding, but one wrong move can reopen what I have done in there.” Everyone shook their heads as they walked up to the rear door.

Several nurses crawled into the front and a couple leaned over Josh. A few more were at the door where Dr. Whitmore was standing waiting for their orders. They all gently grabbed onto Cesar and when Dr. Whitmore counted to three, they gently picked him up and moved him slowly out of the truck.

Little by little, Cesar was coming out of the truck and being placed onto the bed. Once he was completely on the bed, the crowd that was standing around watching what was going on started to applaud. They watched the ER staff quickly move the machines that Cesar was connected to onto the bed as they started to roll him into the emergency room.

A couple nurses stayed back to make sure Josh was okay from the shock he received when Dr. Whitmore had to use the paddles on Cesar a couple of times. They tried to get Josh to sit in a wheelchair, but he refused. He crawled out of the back of the SUV covered with blood from head to toe.

Barbara and Josh’s brothers rushed over to Josh to see if he was okay, but all Josh wanted was to be at Cesar’s side. He walked into the ER, with his stepmother and brothers right behind him. As he approached the double doors that they took Cesar through, he was stopped. The nurses tried to explain that he could not go where they were taking Cesar, but Josh was not hearing any of that. He was trying to push through, but the nurses were able to hold him back barely.

It took Josh’s brother’s to pull him away from the door, to stop him fighting the nurses. As he turned and looked at his brothers, it looked like he was in shock. Josh didn’t move an inch for a few minutes, and when he did, he looked up and down his body, at the blood that was soaked through his clothes.

That is when the shock of what he just went through hit him head on. He fell to his knees and started crying, yelling out for Cesar. All he wanted was to be with Cesar, but he felt that everyone was keeping him from him. He felt empty without Cesar around him. Everywhere he has gone and done since he got with Cesar; Cesar has always been there at his side every inch of the way.

Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon fell to their knees and pulled their brother into them. They tried to comfort Josh, but nothing that they said stopped him from crying out for Cesar. He started to shake really bad, which got the brothers scared. The nurses that kept Josh from following Cesar saw what was going on and quickly reacted.

One of them yelled that Josh was going into shock and they needed to get in there before it gets any worse. Reluctantly Daniel Jr., Carlos and Brandon let go of their brother and moved away to let the nurses to their job. As they let go of him, he fell onto the floor crying and yelling for Cesar. The screams of hurt and sorrow touched everyone in the room so much; they were in tears as well.

A nurse gave Josh a shot to calm him down. Once it kicked in, they were able to move him off the floor and into a wheel chair that they pushed to a bed. With help from Josh’s brothers, they moved Josh from the wheelchair to the bed. As they laid him down, all they heard was Josh mumbling out Cesar’s name.

Meanwhile back at the scene where all this began, Benedict was tying up all the loose ends. Mr. Mendoza had already been taken downtown to get booked into the county jail along with his family that stayed here in El Paso with him. It took a little doing, but Benedict was able to persuade the on call judge to sign off on the warrants for the entire family of the Mendoza’s.

At first, the judge refused to issue them because they did not do the stabbing, or there as the stabbing was carried out. Benedict remembered about the pictures that were taken at the old house and rushed back to the house to get them. He got back on the phone with the judge and described the pictures to him, and that persuaded him.

Once all the warrants were issued, the EPPD and several agents from the governor’s security rushed the rooms. They didn’t want any of the family members to think they could escape. A few of them tried to run and jump out of windows, but there was an officer or agent standing there waiting for them.

When they were all in handcuffs, they demanded to know why they were being arrested, but were ignored until Benedict arrived. “You all are being arrested for terrorist threats against the governor and his family. You will be booked under that charge and not receive bail, trust me on that one. The next time you are free, you will not be on American soil and will never again be allowed back on American soil.”

Benedict turned and nodded to the officers. They picked up the Mendoza family one by one and placed them into a police cruiser. As the last one was being shoved into the back seat, Benedict’s phone went off. He looked down and saw it was the governor. He answered it, but before he could say a word, the governor started yelling.

“Why in the hell haven’t you answered your phone when I have called? You know damn well that whenever I am calling, you stop what you are doing and answer the phone, no ifs, ands or butts about that, is that understood Mr. Benedict?”

“Sir I’m sorry for not answering you when you have called, but I was working on getting things done over here. I didn’t want anything to slip through the cracks or any procedure skipped as we gathered the evidence.”

“I understand all that, but you should have at least answered and told me that. It would have only taken you a minute of your time and I would have let you go. I am about to land in twenty minutes and I want you to meet me at the airport when I do. I want you armed with all the information you have at this moment on what happened there this evening. I also want to be briefed on my son’s condition.”

“Yes sir I will be there when you land with all that information.” The governor thanked Benedict and hung up the phone. Benedict jumped into his car and sped off towards the airport. As he was driving, he called Russ, but got no answer. He then tried his second in command, and again no answer. He knows now how the governor felt when he couldn’t reach anyone to find out what was going on and it isn’t his son that is hurt.

Just as he reached the airport, he saw the governor’s plane landing. He pressed on the gas and made it to the motorcade just as the plane came to a halt. He jumped out of the car and walked over to one of the agents standing there. Tossing him the keys to the car, he asked him to follow the motorcade with his car.

The door to the plane opened as the stairs were being lined up with it. The local and national press had set up camp at the airport knowing that the governor was going to arrive and when he did, they jumped into action. The minute the governor popped his head out of the airplane, they went live.

Governor Lopez looked around at the press as he made his way down the stairs. Mr. Benedict greeted the governor, but nothing more than greetings were exchanged in public. Benedict did not begin his briefing until they were in the limousine.

“So tell me what you as of right now know Mr. Benedict?” The governor looked out the windows as his limousine passed the press, who were trying to get pictures. “Do we know who tried to kill my sons and why? By what you have told me already, we have the one that did the stabbing in custody, did I hear you right on that?”

“Yes sir you heard me right on that. I also have a lot more information to report to you on why this happened.” The governor interrupted Benedict. “I know why it happened! It happened because we have idiot people out there that don’t understand their ass from their face when it comes to homosexuality. They are so far gone that they think they are doing the right thing by ridding this world of all gays, but how wrong they are.”

“You are right on that sir, but there is a little twist in this one.” The governor looked at Benedict with a confused look on his face. “The one that tried to kill your son is someone you know, Mr. Mendoza, your former father-in-law.”

Hearing the news, the governor wanted to order his driver to go to the county jail instead of the hospital so where he could put his hands around the neck of his former father-in-law. He knew they hated Josh and they made threats, but he never thought that they were that stupid to carry out the threats. Now he can see how wrong he was.

“He admitted that he was after Josh, not Cesar. The only reason he got Cesar instead is because Cesar saw him and jumped in front of the knife. If it was not for him doing that, the knife would have gotten Josh instead.” Benedict looked down at his notes to make sure he was quoting the facts right. “I know that is not what you want to hear. I don’t want to deliver you any bad news like this.”

“By the way it sounds you have my former father-in-law in custody at this moment. What about the rest of my ex-wife’s family. I know you know not all of them went back to Mexico after the funeral. In fact, most of them stayed here in El Paso, which got us all worried because of what they did to the old house.”

“Yes and I have already taken care of that as well. They have all been arrested under terrorist threats to your family are now as we speak being booked down town with your former father-in-law. I just need to warn you, the press is going to have a field day with this once they find out what we did with the entire family, not just the one that did the stabbing earlier today.”

“You let me worry about the press and what they are going to say. I want every one of them booked and denied bail. If they are given bail, they are to give up their passports and sent back to Mexico. No matter what they say, they are a threat to my family and the proof is what happened earlier today.”

The governor looked over at Rich to see if he understood. When he saw Rich nod, he turned his attention back to Benedict. “Now what about my son Cesar, how is he doing? What are the doctors saying and what have they done? Also, what about Josh? Is he doing okay seeing his boyfriend getting stabbed right before his eyes?”

“I have not heard much on what is going on down at the hospital. The last I heard they were having a problem getting through the evening traffic. Even with the police escorts, the nightly commute had started and they were having a hell of a time getting around all the cars on the highway and side streets from the NBC studios to the hospital.”

The governor had a bad feeling about everything before hearing the news that Benedict just delivered, but now he is going crazy with worry. Rich could see that the governor is about to explode, so he picked up the car phone and called Russ, but got no answer. As he was hanging up, he remembered about Jonathan. He grabbed his notebook and dialed the number that Jonathan had given the governor.

A few rings later, Jonathan answered the phone. “Jonathan, this is Rich, I have with me in the car the governor and Benedict. I am going to put you on speaker so you can let the governor know what is going on with his sons Cesar and Josh, hold please.” Rich laid down the receiver and pressed the speaker button.

“Jonathan you are now on speaker, please tell us whatever you know about Cesar and Josh.” Rich looked over to the governor who was looking down at the phone. It looked like he was trying to will good news from Jonathan.

“Mr. Governor I am here with your family in the ER of Providence Hospital. Cesar and Josh have arrived and right now Cesar is in surgery. There were some complications when the boys arrived, but the hospital called in their best doctors and staff to work on him. He has ensured has that he is going to do everything he can to make sure Cesar walks out of the hospital on his own free will.”

“What do you mean there were some complications when they arrived? Is Josh and Cesar all right? What happened?”

“Well with what I have been told, Cesar stopped breathing on his way to the hospital. Since Josh was the closest, he ministered CPR that he learned in ROTC last year. Thankfully, he knew CPR because that saved Cesar’s life. Then when they tried to move Cesar, the ER staff realized they couldn’t do it because if they did, he would have bled out before they got him from the SUV to the bed.

Dr. Whitmore rushed out and did part of the surgery in the SUV before they moved Cesar into the ER surgery room. As he was performing surgery on Cesar in the SUV, his heart stopped, so they had to shock him. Because Cesar was on top of Josh, Josh got some of the shock from the paddles, but he is okay from that.”

As Jonathan went on telling the governor what had happened at the hospital in detail, all he wanted to do is get there. Then when Jonathan told the governor about Josh going into shock when they took Cesar in surgery that was it, he turned to the driver and instructed him to run every light and break the speed limit to get him to the hospital.

The driver didn’t need to be told twice. He stepped on the gas as the agent sitting in the passenger seat radioed to the police cruisers in front of them to go red. Before he got off the radio, the lights and sirens went on and the motorcade picked up speed. They were passing cars going well over ninety miles an hour on the highway. Those that were driving on the highway at the time, pulled over to the side in order to get out of the way. Each and every single one of them knew who it was and why he was in a hurry.

“Jonathan this is Governor Lopez. Tell my family that I am on my way and should be there in a few minutes. As well, get me who ever you can to brief me on the condition of Cesar and Josh. I want to know where they are in the surgery with Cesar and the shock that Josh is suffering is going to be long or a short term thing.”

Just as Jonathan agreed with the governor, he heard the sirens of the police cruiser. Barbara and the boys got up from their seats and walked over to the entrance of the ER as the governor’s motorcade drove in. As soon as the door opened to the limousine, Governor Lopez stepped and quickly walked over to his wife and boys.

He hugged them all before entering the ER, a place he was beginning to hate. The head of the hospital was there to greet him, but the governor didn’t care to talk to him. Not that he was trying to be mean, but it was because the guy could not give him the answers he wanted. The only ones that can do that are the doctors and the staff in the ER.

Barbara pulled Daniel away from everyone. “Josh is in a bay asleep. The staff here had to give him something to settle down because he went into shock. Russ and his team are with him to ensure no one harms him. Cesar is still in surgery, but what we have been told; they have their best working on him right now.”

“I have already been told all that. What I haven’t been told is how did this happen? How in the world did the security agents allow my ex father-in-law that close to Josh and Cesar to stab one of them. All of them have pictures of Martha’s family and have been instructed to keep an extra eye out for them, but yet here we are.”

“Daniel I have the same questions, but right now is not the time or place to ask them. Let’s first get through the surgery with Cesar and Josh’s shock. After we get through that, we will find the answers to those questions, okay?” Reluctantly, Daniel shook his head as he made his way to the bay where they had Josh.

Russ and a couple of the other agents that were standing guard stepped aside allowing the governor to go in. Russ knew by the way the governor looked at him as he passed, he was not happy at all. Once again, here is his son and boyfriend hurt, which should not have happened in his mind. They not only should have kept control of the area, but as well they should have been able to get Josh and Cesar from the building to the SUV without anyone getting hurt.

Daniel Sr. walked over to the head of the bed and looked down at his son lying there asleep. He could tell that Josh was not in a peaceful sleep by the look on his face. His eyes were moving around under his eyelids, he was mumbling and his body was twitching every so often. Whatever they gave was not relaxing him, Daniel thought. All it did was knock him out so where they didn’t have to deal with him.

He pulled the seat up to the bed and sat down. As he sat there, he was trying to put together the words he wanted to say to Josh. It is rare that he is lost for words, but he is now. He is lost for words when he needs them the most. Luckily he is out and doesn’t need his father to say the words a father needs to say at a moment like this.

Not having even five minute alone with Josh, Benedict and Rich walked into the room. Daniel was about to ask them to leave, but they spoke first informing him that Dr. Whitmore is looking for him. Not knowing who Dr. Whitmore was, he decided to go and find out what the doctor wanted.

As he walked out of the bay, Dr. Whitmore walked up. “Mr. Governor my name is Dr. Whitmore. I was called in to take care of your son and his boyfriend.” Dr. Whitmore extended his hand and the governor took it. “When your son and Cesar first arrived…”

“Cesar is my son as well Dr. Whitmore, so there is no need to separate him as if he is not part of my family, because he is.”

“Sorry sir, I was unaware that he was considered part of your family.” Dr. Whitmore for the first time was nervous. He has never been nervous before talking to parents or family members, but with the governor he is. “As I was saying, when your sons arrived, things were not very good. Cesar had already lost a lot of blood and stopped breathing once. On top of that, we couldn’t move him because of how the knife was stuck in.”

Dr. Whitmore went over what they did with Cesar in the SUV in complete detail. He even told the governor about having to shock Cesar and how Josh was knocked out from the shock. The face the governor made told him that he didn’t make him happy with that news. Seeing that, Whitmore made it clear Josh was okay and was not going to have any health problems in the future from the shock.

“I know you probably have a lot of questions for me, but right now I need to get back in there with Cesar. Once I am done in there, I will come right out and talk with you and your family. Until then, I will send out someone from my staff every half hour to let you know how things are going. But I need you and your family to understand we can’t and will not forecast how things are going to turn out.”

“None of us is going to ask you or your staff to do that. All I am going to ask you and your staff to do is make sure Cesar comes out of there alive. Make sure that he has a chance to live a long and healthy life. That is all I am asking, nothing more and nothing less than that, okay?”

Dr, Whitmore nodded his head as he left. Governor Lopez looked over at Russ and pointed to him to follow. He also turned and pointed to Benedict and Rich to do the same thing. No one said a word as they walked down the hall to the employee break room that was cleared out for the governor to use for meetings while he was there.

“Gentleman I am very concerned about what happened here today. With the little I know, you guys screwed up.” Governor Lopez started to speak the moment Rich closed the door. “First of all, I might be wrong on this assumption, but because I couldn’t get a hold of you key people after the stabbing, I really don’t have all the facts.

Before I go any further, let me make this one thing as clear as I can. I am the fucking governor and I won’t be ignored when I call you guys. I don’t care what you are doing. You will stop whatever it is and pick up the damn phone, especially when it comes to my family. I don’t like to be kept in the dark like I was.”

The governor looked around the room to see those he asked to follow him respond. All they did was nod their heads in agreement. “I understand things got out of control, but what I don’t understand is why you guys didn’t clear out the area before bringing out my sons. Forget that one for now! What I don’t really understand is how in the world did you guys miss a person that you have a picture of coming at my sons with a knife.”

“Sir with all due respect, it was crazy out there! Something we didn’t expect to happen or plan on dealing with. When I saw that things were getting out of control, I called for backup and as well called for help from the EPPD. With the back up and the officers from EPPD, I thought we would be able to handle it.

Now as far as who was the stabber, things just unfolded way too quickly. At the moment when we were pulling out Josh and Cesar from the building, our concern was getting them to the SUV. Due to that fact alone, we rushed when we should have taken our time and watched for any one that might look like a threat.”

Daniel understood where Russ was coming from and really couldn’t blame him or his staff for what happened. Things got out of control too fast, and they couldn’t foresee that happening. In addition, there is nothing in their training manuals that tells them what to do in situations like what happened today.

“Sir I believe after what happened here today we will be able to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again in the future.”

“Benedict I can guarantee it won’t happen in the future because as soon as Josh and Cesar are well enough to travel, they and my other sons are going to get pulled out of school and moved to Austin. You guys have shown me that you can’t learn from things because things keep happening to my kids. I want them safe and the only way that is going to happen it seems is by them living under the same roof as me.”

Stunned on what they all just heard, no one spoke. “As soon as things settle down here Benedict, you and I are going to sit down and discuss your staff. There is no need after the move for the staff to be as big as it is here in El Paso. So have a list ready of who you feel should be the ones let go. Among those names I want to see the agents that failed at their job on keeping my sons safe.”

Benedict looked at the governor trying to figure out if he was bluffing. Right away, he could tell that he was serious as a heart attack. Not only is he going to move his family to Austin, but also he wants to fire the men that were at Josh and Cesar’s side.

“With all due respect sir, if you do that, the other men will be always double, triple checking their jobs. When men do that, more things will go wrong. You don’t want to create that kind of atmosphere in your security detail around your family.”

“Mr. Benedict if you can’t handle my request, hand me your resignation and I will find someone that can.” Everyone in the room was stunned once again on what the governor had just said. They have never heard him request someone to hand him their resignation before and there is not a doubt in their minds that the governor is serious.

“If giving you my resignation saves the jobs of the others, I will have no problem doing so. All I want at the end of the day is for the agents that put their lives on the line every day for you and your kids to feel comfortable doing so. Feel like they do not have to worry about their jobs every day they go to work.”

Benedict walked closer to the governor. “You also must remember those that you assign to guard Josh and Cesar have a very hard job. In fact, I think guarding them is harder then guarding you due to the fact that they are gay. Because of that fact alone, the agents around those two have to deal with all the crazies out there.”

“Everyone that was hired to Josh’s and Cesar’s detail was made aware of that the day they were hired. They were asked if they could do the job and they said yes. When they agreed on taking the position and understood what it entailed, they understood that if they failed, they would get fired. I told them that straight out.”

“No sir that is wrong holding them to that level. The two we are talking about are gay and that makes it very hard to do our job. I am glad that I am not on the detail because I don’t know if I can do that job day in and day out. Throwing myself in front of a knife one day or a gun another all because of whom they chose to love, I do not think so. Sir you…”

“Mr. Benedict forget handing me your resignation, you are fired. If you are unwilling to do your job because of who my sons are, I don’t want you running the security detail down here in El Paso. Get what you have here and leave. Don’t go to the house or your office because what is there that is yours will be boxed up and sent to you.”

The governor turned and walked out of the break room, leaving everyone else that was in there with him wondering what was going on. None of them ever thought that the governor would have ever done what he just did, but yet no one ever thought anyone would have been successful getting to his kids either.

It was several more hours before anyone heard anything on Cesar. Josh had woken up during that time, and was a lot calmer when he saw his father walking in the room. None of them asked about what happened. They tried their hardest to stay away from the subject because they didn’t want Josh to go into shock again as he tried to explain what had happened with him and Cesar.

Little over an hour and a half after Josh had woken up, Dr. Whitmore and his team walked out with smiles on their faces. Whitmore pulled Daniel Sr. and Barbara off to the side while several nurses wheeled Cesar out of the surgery room and into the room where Josh was when he was given a shot to calm down.

The minute Josh saw Cesar being wheeled in; he jumped off the bed and walked over to Cesar, at times getting in the way of the ER staff. They understood and didn’t ask Josh to get out of the way. Instead, they worked around him plugging in the machines as they moved Cesar from one bed to another.

As soon as the nurses finished what they were doing and left, Josh pulled over a seat as close as he could to the bed and sat down. He looked Cesar up and down, mumbling to himself how sorry he was for what happened. After looking over his boyfriend a couple times, he grabbed his hand and held it tight. At the same time, he leaned in and kissed him on the forehead and then the lips.

He had hoped that Cesar would wake up and return the kiss, but he didn’t. Reluctantly Josh broke the kiss and leaned back in his seat a little. As he sat there looking at Cesar, memories of the past came rushing back. Memories of when he snuck off and sat at Chris’s bed side when he got into the car accident. The doctor’s back then didn’t think he was going to make it, but he never gave up hope.

Every chance he got, he went down and sat there singing to Chris. When Chris woke up, he told Josh that he heard him singing to him and that kept him fighting. Remembering that gave Josh an idea. He leaned forward and grabbed Cesar’s hand, wrapped both of his hands around it, he leaned forward and didn’t stop until his head was on the pillow next to Cesar’s right ear.

“Please don’t stop fighting, please.” It took everything Josh had not to break down in tears. “You made it through the hard part already, please stay with me, please Cesar don’t leave me here all alone. I won’t survive without you at my side anymore.”

Tears started to roll down Josh’s cheeks as he started to hum the first song that came to his mind. As he tightened his grip around Cesar’s hand, Josh started to sing softly into Cesar’s ear, ignoring all the noise outside of their bay.

It must have been cold there in my shadow, 
to never have sunlight on your face. 
You were content to let me shine,
you always walked a step behind.

So I was the one with all the glory, 
while you were the one with all the strength. 
A beautiful face without a name
a beautiful smile to hide the pain.

The tears started to roll down Josh’s cheek in a steady stream. He felt a huge lump in his throat, but he didn’t stop singing. No matter what, he had to finish this song hoping like Chris, Cesar was hearing him. Hearing how much he loves him and how much he wants him to wake up and smile the smile he fell in love with.

Did you ever know that you’re my hero, 
and everything I would like to be? 
I can fly higher than an eagle, 
’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed, 
but I’ve got it all here in my heart. 
I want you to know I know the truth,
I would be nothing with out you.

Josh’s family, Dr. Whitmore and anyone else near the room could hear Josh singing. They quietly moved closer to the curtains and poked their heads in to see for themselves what was going on. They saw Josh holding onto Cesar’s hand tight, leaning down on the pillow as he sang to him. They could see how much Josh is hurting. The pain in his face and in his voice brought everyone that was looking and hearing Josh sing to tears as well.

Did you ever know that you’re my hero, 
and everything I could like to be? 
I can fly higher than an eagle, 
’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did you ever know that you’re my hero, 
and everything I would like to be? 
I can fly higher than an eagle, 
’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

you are the wind beneath my wings.

As Josh finished singing, he closed his eyes and rested his head on the pillow next to Cesar. His family and the ER staff that was looking in stepped away all in tears. They all knew Josh was hurting due to what they saw when they first arrived, but they never could imagine that he was hurting as much as he was. The Lopez family knew that those two loved each other, but now they know they really can’t live without each other.

Josh started to whisper into Cesar’s ear, when he felt his hand being squeezed. He quickly looked up and saw that Cesar had woken up. Cesar turned his head and looked straight at Josh as he cracked a smile that got Josh crying even more.

“Don’t cry for me Josh, I’m fine.” Cesar spoke in a scratchy voice. “Your singing brought me back from a dark room, a room in which I couldn’t find the door until I heard your voice. Your beautiful voice helped me find my way back to you.” Cesar started to cry because he couldn’t stand seeing Josh hurting the way he was.

Josh gently put his finger on Cesar’s lips. “Don’t talk, save your energy. All that matters now is that you are okay and you are back.” Josh leaned down until their lips were almost touching. “I love you so much! There is just no way could I live without you. You are my whole world and nothing or no one will ever give me what you do” Josh leaned the rest of the way in and this time Cesar returned the kiss.

TO BE CONTINUED…………

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Well you guys you just finished a very emotional chapter of “Shadow of My Father”. These emotional chapters take lot out of me when I write them because I actually do cry as I write out the emotional scenes. I hope you guys are able to feel what I tried to write in the chapter. If I didn’t get you guys to feel the hurt and love in this chapter, I am not doing my job as a writer.

Before I go into the summation of the chapter, let me give you guys some heads up on what is going to happen in the future as far as posting. I have been getting a lot of emails and comments about the time lines and why don’t I catch them up. I understand the frustration on that, so I have decided to change a few things. I won’t do what I did at the beginning of book two to catch the chapters up. Instead, I am going to change the posting schedule for a while.

As you know “Jacob Finding His Way” and “Beneath the Mask” are on the exact day on the last chapter you have read. “Regrets and Heartaches” is about four days off those two stories and “Shadow of My Father” is about a month and two weeks off of those two stories. In order to catch up I am going to do the following.

“Regrets and Heartaches is going to be posted for the next two Mondays, and that should bring it up to the same day as far as “Jacob” and “Beneath”. “Shadow” is going to keep being posted on Friday and then when “Regrets” is caught up, “Shadow” will be posted every Monday and Friday until it catches up to “Jacob” and “Beneath”. IN other words, you will not see another “Jacob” or “Beneath” until all the stories are caught up on the same time line. You all have demanded it, and now I am going to deliver it.

One last thing many of you are a little confused on where “Jacob” is as far as the time line. You guys keep asking me why haven’t they moved into the new house yet or talked about it. Well here is the short story on what is going on there. The house of Jacob’ burnt down in chapter seventy, and we are already are on eighty. Believe it or not, in those last ten chapters it only covered a week in the time line. That is all the time that has past. So on chapter eighty it is a week after the house burnt down.

Now that we understand what is going on in the stories and what I am going to do as far as posting, let’s get on to the summation of the story. It is going to be small due to this chapter only covering a couple of hours and that is all. Therefore, there is not a lot for me to go over with such a short span in the time line of this story.

The chapter didn’t exactly pick up where the last one ended, but it was close. You all visited the governor in Austin talking about his bills, mainly his gay rights bills. We now know what happened that caused Al to be called up to Austin in the week of February fourteen, just three weeks later from where this chapter is at the time. I really hope that Al is able to do what the governor thinks he can do, because if he can’t and the gay rights bill fails, it will be a big blow to the governor and what he wants to get done.

Just as the meeting was being wrapped up, the governor got the worse news that any parent could get, news of his sons getting hurt. He had a hard time getting a hold of those that should have answered their phones when he called, but didn’t. He rushed out of Austin and got to El Paso as quickly as he could, but not able to talk to his guys on the ground made him worry even more than he already was.

I am split with the plot of firing Benedict. On one hand no one should get fired for what happened. They did everything they could, it just happened. At the same time on the other hand, Benedict stuck his foot in his mouth when he was talking to the governor. I believe that is why he got fired, not because of what happened to Cesar. What do you guys think about that? Should he have gotten fired?

I know this chapter had a few cliffhangers and one of them is the governor making it clear that he plans on moving his family to Austin once Cesar is well. Do you all think he is going to do it? Is there anyone on the family able to talk the governor down on that decision? If there is, who is that person and can that person do it?

Once again Dr. Whitmore came to the rescue. This guy is so good, he better be making the bucks as a doctor. Performing that surgery in the SUV was way out there, but he was successful and Cesar made it out the other end. I don’t think this is the last we are going to see of Dr. Whitmore in this story or the others in my sagas.

There shouldn’t have been any big surprise with Josh’s reaction. I am glad at the end he was able to be there for Cesar. These two depend on each other to get through the day. When one is hurting, they lean on the other for support. A relationship made in heaven if you ask me. I hope this is the last bad thing to happen to these guys, but who knows I am evil and I might throw in something else that will blow your socks off.

The song Josh remembered and sang to Cesar while he was out was not the first time he sang it. If you all could remember way back at the beginning of this story, he sang it as well in chapter eight of book 1 in his first competition in the Glee Club. He surely knows how to show his emotion through his voice.

I am glad that Cesar woke up, but is it all over. We didn’t hear what Dr. Whitmore said to the governor when they came out of surgery. Is there going to be complications from the surgery? Is Cesar going to be able to go home soon, or is he stuck in the hospital for a long time. So many unknowns there you guys will have to come back to the next chapter to get your answers to those questions and many more.

Before I let you go I would like to remind you what is going to come really soon that you may have forgotten. In little over a week we have the standoff between the governor and the president of Mexico. Remember Joey’s mother and uncle escaped to Mexico and they refused to send them back. In February, the upcoming month, there is Al arriving in Austin to help the bills, the chief-of-staff Rich is leaving and Al takes over, the school shooting and much, much more to come. So much excitement you can’t afford to miss out on one chapter or you will be kicking yourself for that.

So much going on in this story and not enough paper to write it all on! I know if I forgot anything in my writer’s corner about this chapter, Trevor will take care of it in his. There are still a lot of open plots out there that I have not even touched on, and many more new plots are to come. I hope that you all did not forget about any of those plots, and if you did, well then it will be a lot of fun when they come back up again. So hold onto your hats ladies and gentleman, the ride is just beginning!

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacob@jacobmillertex.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

Jacob sure knows how to open my tear ducts. I was crying so much when I did my first read through that I could barely see my computer screen. Jacob admitted that he too cried while writing this chapter and you guys should understand that we treat all of these characters as real people. If we didn’t our stories wouldn’t be anyway as authentic or real as we try to make them. Jacob is a master writer due mainly to the emotion he puts into his words.

He asks you guys a lot of questions regarding this plot and I can only think of one person who hasn’t said much in this chapter but is capable of smoothing things over and making the governor see the situation more clearly.

Blind Freddy can see just how deeply in love these two young men are. I wonder how many of you wish or have wished that you had a relationship like that one. Regarding Mr. Benedict, well he said many wrong things at the wrong time. He basically admitted that the job would be so much easier without gays to guard. In front of his boss about two of his sons. I would not only have fired him but would have kicked his ass all around the room.

Well I’ve said my piece so we’ll have to wait for the next chapter to see how the story pans out. Please write and let us know how we are doing. My next chapter will be Michael and Robert and that too is a bit of a tearjerker.

Hugs
Trevor
trevor@jacobmillertex.com