Chapter One-Hundred

Thomas wrinkled his nose at the scent of oil and grease, looking at John as he smiled and inhaled a huge breath of it. "You like this?" He asked, chuckling as John nodded.

John walked up to the counter, writing a few words in his notebook, before handing his application and the notes to the woman at the counter. "I'm John, I got this application yesterday and just wanted to drop it off for you guys."

The woman smiled, giving John a confused look. "Are you deaf, sweetheart?" She asked, speaking slowly incase he had to read lips.

John shook his head, looking at Thomas in hopes he would explain so that he didn't have to write it all down.

Thomas nodded, knowing what John was asking. "He can hear just fine, actually he can hear a little too well, he just lost his voice when he was singing in the Battle of the Bands last week. He's under doctor's orders to not speak until his vocal cords heal up."

The woman dipped her head, motioning for John to follow her into the main office. "You're in luck, my husband actually just came in." She opened the door, smiling at her husband as he looked up from the paperwork spread out on his desk. "Lee, this is John, he's applying for the new mechanic job."

Lee waved them inside, his brow furrowing at the redheaded man who walked in with the teen. "Take a seat." He smiled at John, noticing the notebook in his hand. "How old are you?" He asked, watching as John scribbled his answer in the book. "Is he mute?" He questioned looking to Thomas, wondering if he was acting as John's voice.

Thomas shook his head, letting John take a little more time to write. "He lost his voice a few days ago when he was singing. His doctor told him not to speak for a while."

The man nodded, looking at all John had written for him. "You're seventeen, hard worker, experienced with mechanical workings… and you're saving to buy an engagement ring for your sweetheart?" He looked up at John, noticing the hint of pride in the boy's eyes. "Do you have her father's approval?"

Thomas chuckled, patting John on the back. "He sure does." He smiled at the man. "Thomas Becket Standish, I'm John's foster father, and my daughter is the girl he wants to marry."

"Lee Cook." He reached his hand out to shake Thomas's and then John's. "Is John all he says he is?"

Thomas smiled, looking at the silent boy beside him. "He's all that, and more."

John cracked a little smirk, trying his best to make a good impression.

Lee grinned at the pair, placing John's application in the drawer. "Can you start on Wednesday after school?" He asked, laughing at John's excited nod. "Well then, I need you to take this home, fill it out, and bring it in then." He handed John a tax form, noticing how he looked at it with concern. "What's the matter?" He asked, letting John have a moment to show what was wrong to Thomas.

"His driver's license is suspended at the moment. He's been struggling with medical issues that have kept him from driving over the last few months."

Lee looked at the kid, seeing the shame he was trying to hide. "Is it anything that could keep him from doing his job?"

Thomas shook his head, knowing that John's license would be activated again if his next set of testing went okay and the scans showed that he was no longer in danger of seizures. "I think you're safe. He just can't get too excited, or he might suffer a seizure."

Lee's wife gasped, remembering where she'd seen John before. "Are you the boy from the news?"

John dropped his head, twisting the ring around his finger as the memory of the high he'd gotten from the meth returned.

Thomas answered for him, knowing how ashamed John always became when asked that question. "He is. But the media got it wrong. I'm not sure where they got the information that John was addicted to meth, but he didn't choose to have it in his system." He let John walk out of the room, noticing how Lee and his wife seemed shocked at the kid's reaction. "He was drugged when he was trying to protect a little girl from her kidnappers."

Lee seemed to understand, knowing that a few of his employees had addictions of their own. "Well, I don't care about the past. As long as he works hard, and does an honest job, I'll keep him on." He looked up at his wife, handing her some money. "Bridget, will you get me a sandwich from Vinny's for lunch, please?"

She smiled, taking the money from her husband as she started for the door. "Only if I get my coffee."

Lee chuckled, standing as if to leave. "I'm glad John's doing better now." He paused, looking at Thomas as he stood. "Do you know what size he wears, I would like to get his name stitched on one of our coveralls so he doesn't stain his clothes and ruin your washer and dryer."

Thomas watched as John walked into the restroom, trying to remember his measurements. "He's five foot ten, and I think that he wears a size medium shirt."

Lee raised his eyebrows, shocked to hear exactly how small John was. "He's that thin?"

Thomas nodded, remembering how thin John had been when he'd first come to him. "The meth did a number on him. But he was thinner when he first came to us." He remembered seeing John's body for the first time when he'd been in the hospital and had needed to change his gown after he'd gone through a couple days of a bad fever from his body getting used to the blood transfusion, and had sweated through the thin fabric. "His parents were neglective, and he never got a lot to eat."

Lee shook his head. "Sick bastards."