(The Hero in the Hold)

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Oooooooooooooooooo

Tired, but rested, Hank entered the kitchen and as quietly as possible made a pot of coffee and some toast. He wasn't sure when his grandson would awaken, so he didn't want to cook breakfast too soon. Cold coagulated eggs weren't that appetizing.

His coffee made, his cup filled, Hank sat down at the kitchen table and slowly nibbled his toast. His mind wandered back to the past and to a week after his grandsons had come to live with him. He'd had a slow day at work which was odd for a policeman in Philadelphia and when he'd arrived home, he found the boys sitting on the porch. Jared was sucking his thumb and Seeley was reading a book. "What cha doing out here?"

After closing the book, Seeley placed it on his lap. "Grandma has a migraine and she went to bed. Jared and me are trying to be quiet."

Worried about his wife's headaches, Hank wondered if she should go to the doctor and see about them. "What are you reading?" He didn't know if his voice had been gruff or harsh, but he saw the boy flinch, then hold the book against his chest.

"I'm sorry." The child hadn't realized he had done something wrong and he hoped his grandfather wouldn't hit him. "You have so many books and I thought . . . I thought . . ."

"No, Seeley, I'm not mad." Feeling like someone walking on eggshells, Hank tried to make his voice low and soft. "Honey, I have a bookcase full of books and you can read any of them that you want. It's okay. I'm glad to see that you like reading. I do too. Anytime you want to read one of them, you go right ahead."

Relieved that he hadn't done anything wrong, the boy had nodded his head. "Thank you."

Moving up the steps, Hank patted the boy on his head only to see his grandson jerk his head away. "I'm going to go check on Grandma. Would you like to help me cook dinner? You don't have to if you don't want to, but you might learn something interesting if you do."

Eager to show that he was a good boy Seeley had stood up and help Jared stand up next to him. "Sure, Pops I'm a good helper. Mom used to say so."

"That's good to know." Moving slowly, Hank entered the house with the boys following him. "You go into the kitchen and wash your hands. Let me check on Grandma and then we can start cooking."

Ooooooooooooooooo

The apartment was quiet, the only steady sound came from the cars passing by the building on the street below. Moving into the living room, Hank found a stack of magazines and a pile of books on a shelf. Studying the titles, he found a wide variety of subjects and chose a book by Stephen King. Once he was sitting on the couch, he placed the book on his lap and opened it. After reading for a while, he closed the book and his memories took him back to his younger days.

It had been two weeks since his grandsons had come to live with them and both Hank and Marie were starting to worry about Jared. He never said anything in front of them. They knew he could talk. The little boy had been a chatter box the last time Hank had seen the child before he had taken him from his father. Now, Jared didn't utter a word just nodding his head or shaking it when questioned.

"Maybe Edwin did something to him to stop him from talking." Marie didn't understand what was happening and she feared her son had done something horrible to his little boy.

"No Marie." Hank was certain that wasn't the problem. "He doesn't have any bruises on him except on his back . . . that scar." He paused and swallowed. "If I could get my hands on Edwin, I'd shake him until his bones rattled."

Marie had discovered the scar when she had bathed the boy the first night he was in their house. She had asked the little boy about it, but he'd placed his thumb in his mouth and stared at her. When she'd asked Seeley about it, he'd hunched his shoulders and whispered that Jared had been naughty and his father had become angry. The boy tried to assure her that Jared wouldn't be bad again. Clearly the older boy was afraid they might think Jared was a problem. "He's a little kid, Grandma. The cup slipped out of his hands and it broke. He won't do it again."

Clearly, she had upset Seeley. "No Sweetheart, no I don't think Jared is a bad boy. Accidents happen and your father had no right to hurt him. Do you understand? Hitting children because of an accident is unacceptable." She had watched her grandson closely and saw a boy uncertain about what was going on. "Sweetheart, did your Daddy hurt you too?"

Reluctantly, Seeley had lifted his t-shirt and pulled the waist of his pants down a little showing her a scar on his hip. "I usually say Jared did it while we were playing. Dad . . . Dad said it was our secret."

A tear had slipped from Marie's eye and she knew she would have to tell her husband. "Hank, our babies have scars on their bodies and . . . and I'm so mad I don't know what to do about it."

Unfortunately, they didn't know where their son was and he'd go unpunished for what he had done to his children. "Marie, we need to help those boys forget about the past. I think Jared isn't speaking because he doesn't trust us. If he doesn't say anything then he can't get in to trouble. I heard him talking to Seeley in the backyard yesterday, so he's not afraid to talk to his brother. He's afraid of us."

Tears flowing down her cheeks, Marie had cried in his arms and Hank vowed to help his grandsons as much as he could. First, they had to win their trust and to show them that they were loved and cherished. After that, they would help them to learn to live in the present and ignore the past.

"Marie, I sure miss you Sweetheart." Hank had loved his wife very much and he knew he would never love anyone as much as he had loved her. He had counted on growing old with her, but fate had different ideas. Her headaches turned out to be serious, she had cancer of the pituitary gland and because the tumor was growing her surgeon had recommended that it be removed. Marie had a heart attack during surgery and had died. Hank had been devastated but he couldn't stop living. There were two young boys in his house that had to be taken care of. He had to stick around to make sure they had a chance to grow up. He had mourned Marie's death, but he moved on as he must knowing Marie would approve.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Uncertain if he should wake his grandson, Hank had opened Seeley's bedroom door and looked into the room. The boy was still asleep and he didn't want to disturb him. His grandson had been through hell and he needed rest. Closing the door, he walked back into the living room, searched the shelves and found a photo album. Curious, he carried it over to the couch, sat down and flipped it open. There were pictures of Marie, of him and Jared and of Ruth. Before he moved further into the album, he thought of his daughter Ruth. She had been a big help after Marie had died.

"Dad, would you like me to take the boys? They can live with me and Franny." Ruth had been horrified when she had found out about the abuse her nephews had been put through. She and Franny had searched the city hoping to find Edwin. At the time, she hadn't known what she was going to do when they found him but in the end it didn't matter because they didn't know where he was and they gave up searching.

"What? No, no, Marie would be disappointed in me if she knew I couldn't take care of our grandkids." Hank had appreciated the offer, but he couldn't let the boys be moved again. "They've had enough trauma, Sweetheart. Their father moved them around a lot when he was in the service . . . well, Seeley was and then I took them from him and I don't think they could handle one more move. Not yet anyway . . . I got a plan. For the rest of the summer, my neighbor Mrs. Russo is going to watch them while I'm at work. When school starts, I'm going to get Jared in pre-school and enroll Seeley in the school down the street. After school, Mrs. Russo will watch them until I get home. She doesn't mind. I'm going to pay her and she said she could use the extra money. We'll be okay."

Ruth had felt sad for her father. She knew he had been talking about retiring when he was 55 which was next year, but she didn't see how he could afford to raise two growing boys on a retirement income. "Dad . . . at least let me help with expenses. I'm never going to have kids and this is my chance to spoil my nephews. You know Edwin hated me because of Franny but he isn't around and I want to be their aunt. Will you let me do that?"

"Honey, of course you're their aunt. Edwin is a bigot. God knows I didn't raise him like that, but . . . if you want to spoil them then I don't see any harm. Just don't spoil them too much. I don't want them to turn into brats." Hank sighed. "Those children need to be loved and I'm counting on you and Franny to help me show them that love."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Dad. I love you and I do love them. They're going to alright. I promise."

Ooooooooooooooooo

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