It Takes One to Know One
Part 12
The first thing past his lips was an apology. Paddy had told him he needed to make one but he'd known that already, he'd been bang out of order.
Gary Elias' response was to eye him knowingly before saying, "You were angry at yourself not at me."
As true as that was he knew it didn't excuse his behaviour, "Yeah. But I shouldn't have walked out like that."
"No, but no matter, no harm done. Maybe we can pick up where we left off?"
That unnerved him, "Paddy said he'd told you everything, about me I mean." He wasn't going to have to go through it all himself was he? He didn't think he could.
"He told me what he could about you. You've had a difficult few months, a difficult few years by the sound of it. Only you can tell me how you feel about everything now."
That was easy enough to answer, "Like I finally woke up from a never ending nightmare!"
"Go on."
He wasn't sure what more Gary wanted him to say. "Everything feels right now, before it all felt wrong."
"Everything?"
"Yeah, everything." Gary was still wanting more from him, but what was it he wanted to hear? "I know who I am now, what I am, where I belong, and who I want to be with."
"You're eighteen. Some people would say you were a little too young to consider yourself settled..."
"They wouldn't, not if they'd been as lost as I was." He was on the defensive now, "I was never in one place long enough to call it home, to even want to call it home. No one stuck around long enough for me to believe they cared, and when I acted up or messed up no one could be bothered to ask why."
"Not until you came here?"
"No. First Paddy, then Jackson. They really did care. They cared enough to help me find me."
"And Cai knows you're gay."
"He does now. I had to put him right, " Aaron shifted uneasily in his chair, he wasn't sure what Gary would make of the misunderstanding, would it make him question Cai's reasons for wanting to stay with them? "He thought me and Jackson were...well he thought we were brothers, he thought Paddy was our dad."
"So he saw a close family unit?"
"He thought he did."
"But isn't that what you are? Not a conventional one by any means, but how it's packaged doesn't matter or does it?"
"No."
"There's a lot of love in this house."
He wasn't used to talking so openly about such things and so was thrown. He wasn't sure if Gary had asked him a question or was just stating a fact; he did know that one word would do in reply to both, "Yeah."
Gary nodded, "And that's exactly what's missing in Cai's life."
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Gary Elias had been more than impressed with Jackson, had found him warm, articulate and wise beyond his years. He'd liked his sense of humour too. He'd obviously been a steadying influence on Aaron and he was certain he would be where Cai was concerned.
After talking to Jackson, Gary Elias had had to make a decision, did he leave Cai in Paddy, Aaron and Jackson's care or did he follow official policy and take him to registered foster parents. His head told him one thing his heart something else; the deciding factor had been his gut feeling, that had agreed with his ticker.
He was taking a lot upon himself by placing Cai at Smithy cottage, rules and regulations had gone out the window, but he knew that was exactly what Cai would do if he'd been placed anywhere else! There was no point telling him he'd have to wait until the three men got the ok from the powers that be.
Decision made and before he told Cai the good news he knew he was going to have to fill the men in on Cai's history, again it was something he shouldn't really be doing, but he couldn't expect them to take the boy in or deal appropriately with him unless they had some idea of why he'd come to be in the care of social services.
They were all gathered around the kitchen table, Cai watching some DVD in the living room, safely out of earshot. Setting down his mug of coffee Gary started to talk...
"Cai's mother walked out on him and his dad when he was eight. He had very little contact with her until his dad died. That was two years ago. It was a car accident, so of course unexpected and Cai took it badly. He went to stay with his mum and her boyfriend. It wasn't known at the time but this boyfriend was abusive to her and in turn to Cai. Not long after moving in with them he started getting into trouble, playing truant, getting into fights, vandalism, stealing. It was eventually brought to our attention and six months ago we removed him from the home.
"He can see his mum if he wants to but it has to be a supervised visit. He's not allowed any contact with her boyfriend..."
"But the bruises on his face..."Aaron interrupted, "He said this boyfriend of hers hit him."
"He most likely did. Cai's not supposed to go to their flat but he does, he goes to check on her. He won't tell me where he was before he came here, before you found him in the garage but I'm certain it was there
"Has he been done for hitting Cai?" Paddy felt sure he wasn't going to like Gary's answer.
"We can't prove the abuse, his mother won't admit to it and neither will Cai, he might have admitted it to Aaron but he's denied it to me and my colleagues and to the police."
"Why would he do that?" It made no sense to Jackson.
"Because he fears his mother's reaction, she's not going to thank him for getting her lover into bother now is she?"
"She puts him before Cai!"Jackson found it all so hard to believe.
"Every time."
"She sounded worried on the phone, like she cared."
"That wasn't Cai's mother Aaron, that was the foster mother he'd been staying with prior to his running off, he'd stolen her son's mobile before leaving."
Aaron sat back in his chair, he'd been hoping there was something salvageable between Cai and his mother, it seemed he'd hoped wrong.
"Do you have any questions?"
"What about school?"
Trust Paddy to think of that! Aaron thought scornfully only to realise seconds later that it was something he should have thought about, well he was supposed to have Cai's best interests at heart.
"I'll enrol him in the local one, if you're happy for him to go there that is?"
"You liked it there didn't you Aaron?"
Was Paddy taking the piss or what? He'd hated school and he knew it! Jackson knew it too and yet they were both managing to hide the fact right now. With Gary eyeing him expectantly he knew he had to give a suitable answer. He didn't hate that particular school anymore than he'd hated the others he attended so ..."Yeah, it's ok there."
"Right I'll sort that out first thing tomorrow and get back to you. Anything else?"
There hadn't been although Gary had said they were bound to think of something the minute he'd gone, so to just phone him at any time.
He'd called Cai into the room then, sitting him down and telling him he'd be staying where he was for the foreseeable future.
All three men had been disappointed by the boy's reaction, sullen faced he'd said a barely audible "Ok"
Gary was able to offer them some reassurance, telling them, "You'd have got the fingers if he hadn't wanted to stay!"
TBC
