Chapter 9

The Routine

(Six Months Later)

"I won't be home until late; I have to see the tax lawyer about the audit." Dad looked through a pile of documents and then gave me one of his funny faces, "You're going to have to multiply into more kids…I need more tax deductions." He ruffled my hair, "You'll have to go to Wilson's after school. I'll pick you up when I'm done." Dad put the empty orange juice glass down and looked at me with one of his looks.

I was tired, not quite awake. My face reflected back in the pitcher and I could see my hair sticking up in several directions along with a self-inflicted scratch on my face which hadn't been there last night when I went to bed.

"You've got to clip those nails or I'm going to wake up one morning to find you've bled out from one of your nocturnal scratches. How's the toe nails?" He asked.

I was still groggy so I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Get your butt over here." Dad pulled out the other stool for me to sit on. I dragged my body over to the stool and got up on it. He picked up my bare feet and frowned. "Dude, you have to keep them clipped or you're going to get an ingrown toenail. You know your Mom died of an ingrown toenail."

I knew this wasn't true. Uncle Jim had explained in painful detail how my Mom had died of a tumor that caused her to "stroke out." But Dad always told me something killed my mother when he wanted me to do something. I guess he thought I'd listen better. When I wouldn't take my yucky vitamins, she supposedly died of a vitamin deficiency, an agonizing death consisting of turning into an albino first (at least that's what Dad said.)

"Dad, I have to come up with a science project."

"Have you thought of a small nuclear bomb? It serves two purposes, you're bound to get an A and you won't have to go back to school and pick it up, just …" He pretended to hit a remote control, his eyes looking wild like a mad scientist.

"Nah, I think the paper said no nuclear devices unless we had the President's permission."

"I'll call the White House. If you need help, ask your other Dad, he likes to do those kind of things."

"But Uncle Jimmy told me the next project was your responsibility."

My Dad put his face near mine, "No, it's yours."

"But Daaaaaaddd."

"Uncle Jimmy will take pity on your sorry butt and help you. Just use your blue eyes and act helpless."

I was tempted to open the gate and see if he was really going to help or not, but he was getting pretty mad at me for using my talents so much lately. I decided I better not chance it. He was getting better at feeling my presence when I did open the gate.

I was popular at school mainly because I would listen to their thoughts and tell the kids what they wanted to hear. My Dad and Uncle Jimmy had numerous "discussions" about me using my talent on fifth graders. My Dad argued in my favor, telling Uncle Jimmy that every kid needs all the help that they can get and that some were more gifted at reading other people's emotions. It just so happened that I was the king of reading others. Uncle Jimmy said I would never know how to deal with people properly if I didn't do it on a level playing field. The truth was that I was often overwhelmed by the feelings and paralyzed by their ferocity. It wasn't always a blessing that I knew what was going on inside someone.

I had just started fifth grade two weeks before, having skipped fourth, and was getting to know my classmates and teacher. My teacher was new and somewhat frightened of us. She had just graduated from college and was so afraid that she was going to fail that I wanted to go up and give her a hug sometimes. Toby Johnson was a new friend and often came to school after his Dad had beaten him and he'd be in such physical and mental pain that I could feel it without even opening the gate.

I went to school that morning and was playing on the jungle gym when Toby showed up. I went dizzy for a minute. There was a horrible pain under my arm, I had trouble breathing. I knew it was Toby sending these waves of pain to me. I got off the jungle gym and went over to him. He was looking down at his shoes.

"Toby, you need to tell the teacher you're hurt."

He shook his head, "I'm not hurt" Papa said if I told anyone, he'd make it worse.

"I don't care what your Dad told you, you need to see a doctor."

Toby's mouth and eyes were wide open; stunned that I had obviously read his thoughts. I didn't confirm or deny. I just continued to beg him to tell her. He said no and I knew that she wouldn't believe me if Toby denied it.

That evening I went to Uncle Jimmy's after school. I walked in and gave Aunt Jennifer a kiss and rubbed her tummy. She always let me touch it, now that the baby was so big. I was worried that they were going to want my room for the baby, but it was Aunt Jenny who sat me down and told me that I would always have a room in their house and that, for now, the baby was going to sleep in the room next to theirs. I was excited, it was the closest that I was going to come to being a big brother.

When Uncle Jimmy got home I got a big smile, ruffle to the hair and an order to take the trash out. I took it out and when I got back inside, Uncle Jimmy was sitting in the family room

"What's going on with you these days?" Uncle Jimmy asked.

I didn't want to look in his eyes when I told him that Dad was expecting him to help me with the science project. I knew he'd get pissed at Dad and spend several minutes trying to get control of his anger so I wouldn't know how aggravated he was with Dad. I guess he sensed this because he snorted and laughed.

"I already know that your Dad isn't going to help with the science project. He told me today. So was that all that was bothering you?"

I sat on the arm of the couch, "Uncle Jimmy, what happens when a Dad hits their son and hurts them really bad."

Uncle Jimmy sat up and looked at Aunt Jen. They were both puzzled and worried. The look on Aunt Jen's face made me realized that she thought my Dad may have done something to me. Uncle Jimmy was just worried.

I looked over at Aunt Jen, "Not my Dad!"

There was obvious relief. Uncle Jimmy smiled, "I know that your Dad would never raise a hand against you. There's one thing I do know about your father, he loves you more than anything in this world."

I wanted an answer to my question, not another lecture on how much everyone loved me, "Yeah, I know."

"Who is this that you're talking about?"

"No one, I saw it on a movie."

I could see that Uncle Jimmy wasn't convinced, but he didn't say so. "The Dad will be put in jail or sent away for counseling."

"What about the kid?"

"It depends. If the mother didn't know about it or was being abused herself, then he may be able to live with her. If they find that the mother helped the father in some way, then the child would go to a foster home. Furey, who are we talking about?"

"Uncle Jimmy, I can't say yet. I'm not even sure there's a problem. I promise to tell you if there is."

"Okay. Now what should we do for a science project?"

I laughed, "Dad suggested a nuclear bomb, but he was going to check with the President first."

Uncle Jimmy raised an eyebrow, "I was thinking of starting somewhat smaller. What about a biology project? How about, 'Does the presence of detergent in water affect plant growth?'"

"Well, it's green and my teacher would like that…she always wants us to recycle. Okay."

"Okay, you need to start listing on paper what we need."

I nodded and pulled my homework out of my backpack and sat down on the floor, using the coffee table to write on. Uncle Jimmy looked over my shoulder at what I was doing. I turned and looked up at him.

"Uncle Jimmy, what's a tax audit?"

He chuckled, shaking his head, "It means that the IRS doesn't believe that your Dad filled out the tax forms truthfully. They want him to prove that he figured it out right."

"Well, he was really annoyed this morning and a little worried."

"He should be, he's claiming gambling bets as educational expenses. He claims it's important to understand the statistics of betting for understanding the chance of a diagnosis being one disease over another. I don't know if the IRS is going to agree with that approach."

I was scared, "Will he go to jail?"

Uncle Jimmy reached out and ruffled my hair again, something he loved to do, "No. He won't go to jail unless he does something stupid."

"My Dad's smart."

"Most of the time."

I had to agree with Uncle Jimmy, he was smart most of the time. I thought he was pretty stupid to let Auri go. My Dad hadn't called her or anything. I knew because she and I frequently opened the gate to talk to each other. She rarely asked about my Dad, but from the questions she did ask, I knew that my Dad hadn't had any contact. My Dad went back to having women over for a night. The same women he'd never let me meet. I missed Auri and wished she would come and see us, but she was really busy with a case, a serial killer, so sometimes when I tried to open the gate, she wouldn't respond.

That night I stayed with Uncle Jimmy. Dad came by to pick me up, but got a call as he was talking to Uncle Jimmy about the unconstitutionality of paying income tax. Aunt Cuddy called him to come into the hospital for a patient

I took Moron for a walk the next day and waited for Dad to pick me up, but he called and said he was going to have trouble getting there, his patient was still ill and he needed more time to diagnose him. My homework was done so I went to play for awhile with Danny next door until he and his family left for his grandparents. I went home to Uncle Jimmy's and crawled on my bed to play Xbox when Aunt Jennifer came in looking somewhat unhappy.

"Greg, I asked you to put your clothes away before you went out to play."

Looking in the corner, a huge pile of my clothes, folded neatly, were stacked for me to put away. "Sorry Aunt Jen, I'll do it now."

"If you're going to stay here with us, you've got to mind me."

Aunt Jen had never threatened me with staying at the house before. I always felt like it was my house too. But, with the baby coming, maybe Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Jen thought less of me and more about their own flesh and blood. Aunt Jen left and went to the linen closet to put something away. I opened the gate and listened to her thoughts.

…not fair. I have to take care of a baby and House's kid. Come on, he's a good kid… but he still needs looking after. And it means House is here too. I do love the kid; I just wish he wasn't around all the time. I need to have a little privacy before the baby arrives…a little time to myself.

I was sad. I didn't know that I had become a burden to Aunt Jen. I wondered if Uncle Jimmy felt the same. I put my clothes away and then turned off the game. I went out to find Uncle Jimmy who was in his office reading medical journals on the little couch. He looked up and smiled at me.

"What's up?"

"I was just wondering when my Dad was coming?"

He looked worried, "I don't know, why? Is something wrong?"

I shook my head, "I just don't want to cause any problems here. I don't want to be a burden to you and Aunt Jen. With the baby coming, maybe I shouldn't come over so often."

Uncle Jimmy chuckled and motioned for me to come over to him. I did, sitting down on the couch next to him. He put his arm around me and squeezed my shoulders. I opened the gate to find out what he was thinking. At first all I got was this bath of love. If I ever doubted that my Uncle Jimmy didn't love me; that flow of love would be proof that he did.

His voice was warm and comforting, "This is your home. You can come here anytime. Aunt Jen loves you too; she's just overwhelmed with becoming a mother. It's not easy and it is her first time with a newborn." He hugged me again and we sat there for a minute. I could read his thoughts loud and clear.

Not come over? Not see him? I look forward to having him around. He's more stable than his father and more fun to play with…ha, ha, ha. But, it would be good if Furey had a stable home life with House. If there was a woman for Furey to think of as a mother-figure. He loves Jen and she loves him, but there isn't really a mother-son bond. Furey deserves that.

"Uncle Jimmy, I don't tell you very often, but I love you."

Uncle Jimmy smiled warmly and hugged me, "The same goes for me. You mean a lot to me, Furey. I'm so glad that my daughter is going to grow up with you around."

"Thanks Uncle Jimmy, I can't wait."

The truth was that I was having mixed feelings ever since I heard it was a girl. Girls at school were a nuisance. They'd say one thing and think another. You'd think by the way they talked to most boys that they didn't want us around. Yet, I'd listen to their thoughts and they'd be dying for us to talk to them or phone them. I was glad I was only nine and had a long way to go before I had to kiss one. Still, I knew I would enjoy being a big brother and I really wanted to show Aunt Jen that she could rely on me around the baby.

Uncle Jimmy had been over the moon when he found out his baby was a girl. In his mind, he had the perfect combination, a son and a daughter. It seems strange, but he never thought of me as just Dad's. He thought of me as his kid too. And when he was mad at me, he didn't send me home for Dad to punish, he took care of it himself. I only remember once that he swatted me and it really shocked me. I was about the reach up and grab a pan off the stove and wham, he connected with my butt and I pulled back right away. Of course, now I know why he did it. But back then I was confused. I didn't think he loved me anymore. As soon as I realized he had hit me, I felt all his worry and fear projected at me at such a high volume that, even as a three year old, I knew that I had been in danger. I cried and cried until he managed to rock me in his arms to sleep. Uncle Jimmy is a yeller and a "time out-restriction" parent. I've had my Xbox taken away a lot for reading thoughts when I was told not to. Luckily, he doesn't know how often I really do it or I'd never get to play Halo. I love my Dad the most in the whole world, but Uncle Jimmy and Auri come a close second.