Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Dead Poets Society... I am just inspired by it.
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Todd and I gave Knox our letters to Mr. Keating, in hopes that Chris would indeed be up to visit. Todd told Meeks and Pitts at breakfast that he had a way of contacting the Captain, and that if they wanted to write him as well, they needed to give Knox their letters immediately after lunch. Both of them looked astonished, but simply nodded and vanished to write. Knox addressed their envelopes for them, and added them to the pile for Chris to take. Todd and I were almost as glad as Knox when Chris arrived for the Sunday visiting time.
And so we settled in to await replies. It hasn't been a week yet, so we don't expect to hear back from the Captain quite yet. But on Friday, Todd and I both receive letters from our respective fathers. Todd gulps nervously as he looks at the envelope in his hand. I'm nervous as well, but I take a deep breath and open mine.
Dear son,
I spoke with Dr. Anderson as you requested. Your friend Todd will not only be accompanying us to Martha's Vineyard, but he'll be spending the first two weeks of August with us at our home as well, as his parents will be attending a convention in Washington. I didn't think you boys would mind spending the extra time together, and Dr. Anderson was quite pleased to avoid having to hire someone to look after Todd and the house while they are gone. Apparently the older son will be doing some sort of internship in Connecticut, and will also be away for the majority of the summer.
Tell your friend to make sure he brings a tennis racket if he plays, and a fishing pole if he has one. If he doesn't, tell him we'll loan him one, and teach him to fish. I told Dr. Anderson that we'd pick up Todd at Portsmouth harbor on June 30th, around 10 in the morning. That should leave us plenty of time to sail to Martha's Vineyard before sunset. AJ will drive down to Woods Hole and take the ferry over. He'll meet us with the car at Oak Bluffs harbor to bring the rest of us to the cottage. Oh, and Todd is welcome to use AJ's bicycles at the cottage and at the house, so he won't need to bring one of his own. AJ says he can drive or take the bus if he wants to go wandering while we're on the Island.
Your mother and I are both looking forward to meeting Todd. Be sure to introduce us when we come to get you at the end of the school year, and then we'll have most of the summer to get to know him. Keep up your good work meanwhile, Richard. Mother sends her love.
Father
I look up at Todd, a huge smile wreathing my face. "Six weeks!" I say. "We're going to have six weeks this summer... all of July and part of August."
Todd blinks, then gives a relieved smile. "I can hardly believe it... let's see what my letter says." He opens the envelope.
Todd,
You will be spending six weeks with your roommate's family this summer. Jeffrey is going on internship and your mother will be accompanying me to Washington where I will be attending a medical convention. The Camerons have kindly agreed to keep you with them until our return on August 15th. They will be picking you up from the Portsmouth harbor on June 30th, to sail you to their vacation home.
Be sure to thank them for their kindness in putting you up, and don't you dare cause them any problems while you are visiting them.
Dr. J. Warren Anderson, Jr.
I shake my head, reading Todd's letter over his shoulder. "How did you get so nice, with a father like that?" I can't help but ask. "My father might not be the warmest man around, but... God. How do you put up with it?"
Todd sighs and tosses his letter onto his desk. "I guess I just got used to it. It was always about Jeffrey, you know? They never wanted a second child at all. But it was during the war and Father chose to enlist in the navy rather than wait for the draft to catch up with him. He figured that with being a doctor and knowing the right people, he'd serve out the war stateside. Which he did, but he got sent to Newport News instead of remaining in Portsmouth as he'd planned on. Mother couldn't go with him, housing there was too limited, and of course they didn't want to uproot Jeffrey. However, Father did manage a weekend pass in June of '42 and they met in Washington. Apparently they were... careless... that weekend, because I arrived in March of '43."
I slide my arms around him. "I was an accident as well, according to my mother. But she said I was a welcome one. My father went through Dartmouth on an ROTC scholarship, and he went air corps. He was supposed to have gotten out in June of 1941, but with the war on, he chose to stay on, and he got stationed at Hickam... in Hawaii. There was good base housing for families, so my mother and AJ were there with him. They were there when the Japs attacked Pearl... and they got Hickam as well, to make sure we couldn't chase them back to their carriers. I arrived on October 2, 1942... the direct result of my parents finding each other alive in the aftermath of the bombing."
Todd grins faintly. "My father is a big flag-waver, but he never saw combat."
"Mine wasn't in a combat position, but he served for a year after that in the field as a personnel officer, so he got fairly well acquainted with the sound of combat. Then he got hurt... it sounds funny now, but I'm sure not at the time. He got hit in the leg with the door of a deuce and a half... the truck got blown up by a Jap plane, and somehow the door blew off in one piece and hit him as he headed for the shelter." I shake my head, torn as always between wanting to laugh at the mental image of a combat injury caused by a door, and wanting to flinch because it happened to my own father. "It smashed his leg up pretty badly, to where they weren't sure he'd be able to walk again without a cane. So they gave him a Purple Heart and an honorable discharge. He used the bonus money they'd paid him when he re-upped to go to law school while he went through therapy for his leg, and he worked his way up into partnership at the law firm started by my grandfather."
"You sound like you have a more or less normal family, don't you?" Todd's voice seems more wistful than anything. "I think only Neil's father is as screwed up as mine, from what I've heard from you and the others. Are you sure you want to risk having me stay with you this summer, Richard? I mean... what if we slip?"
I kiss him gently. "I want you there," I tell him. "I know it will be a shock to them when they find out. But... no one stays with his parents forever, right? We'll just have to be careful. Besides, it won't be any worse than here... maybe easier, since there won't be as many prying eyes and ears around."
Todd leans into my embrace with a sigh. "I just... I worry sometimes. Being with you... it's like a dream. I keep getting scared that I'm going to wake up and find out none of it is real. I love you, Richard."
"I love you, too, Todd," I answer softly.
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A/N: I just wanted to thank my most enthusiastic reviewers Thin-K, SingingPerson, and SamdumtheBouncingHobbit for their frequent comments on my story. I hope all you lurkers that keep giving me hits are enjoying it as well! Catstaff