Chapter 45
Well, here we are . . . the next to the last chapter. As I said before, Chapter 43 and this one were the hardest to write because of the Kents view points. Also, I'm back at Camp again and again, very busy. But I will get this done! To all those who have stuck with me…. Tizameh. Or as Johnny would say, Pilamaya. And in English . .. Thank you very much. For those of you who have recently found this tale .. . .welcome. Now, sit back and strap in, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
When Tammy told Terry and Amy to go to the backyard, Terry raced out ahead while Amy lingered, wanting to hear her mother tear into this low class fireman's wife but instead her mother was being sociable. So with a sniff of distain, she headed out back, looking for Jenny. She was sure she could con the girl into playing what she wanted.
What greeted her eyes both shocked and disgusted her. All the kids, and there were nearly a dozen of them both girls and boys, were playing some sort of chasing game with . . . with that drunken savage! She glared openly at them as they twisted and turned, squealed and raced around him. When Jenny came close to her, she reached out and grabbed the girl, nearly knocking her off her feet as her shirt tore slightly at the neck. Jenny's head swiveled around to see who had grabbed her and the smile faded from her face. Remembering her mother's instruction that all the children "play nice" so as to not upset their Uncle Johnny on his special day, she quickly smiled again. "Amy . ." she started but the other girl was pulling her, saying, "Jenny come on. I want to play with that doll that's up in your closet. You know, old looking one in the box."
Jenny set her feet, the force jerking Amy to a stop. Amy turned to look at Jenny to find cold blue eyes looking back at her. "No Amy. For one, I'm not allowed to play with that doll. My grandmother bought it when she was in England; it's really special 'cause it's made of Chinese and only for looking at." She looked back out to where the other kids had just tripped up a laughing Johnny and were mercilessly tickling him. She smiled at the sight, "And two, we're all playing out here with Uncle Johnny. It's his birthday so we promised to all do what he wants."
Amy snorted, "Who wants to play with a stupid Injun?"
Jenny looked evenly at her. "I do."
"Hey Jenny, aren't you gonna play with us anymore?" Came Johnny's breathless voice as he came up behind her. Then he saw Amy glaring at him and the smile dimmed. He nodded and made his voice pleasant, "C'mon Amy, you can join us. Look." He pointed out into the yard. "Your brother's having fun."
Amy snorted at him as she crossed her arms and sneered, "No thank you. I don't roll around in the dirt like an animal. My mother raised me to behave in a civilized manner."
Johnny started at the retort and his voice was firm as he replied, "There is nothing wrong with letting go once in a while and having fun."
Amy tossed her head and looked pointedly away from him, "I would expect that answer from someone who isn't smart enough to know differently."
She saw her remark stung him as he pulled slightly back, blinking at her, the smile now gone from his face. Then he casually shrugged. "Suit yourself." And he turned, running back into the midst of the children who squealed in delight and ran from him. Amy pulled again at Jenny, "C'mon, let's go play."
Jenny resisted. "No."
Amy looked the other girl over then tried what she did best—she whined. "Why not? I thought you were my friend! Why won't you do what I want?"
Jenny looked at her with all the seriousness a girl her age could muster, "I thought you were my friend too. Until you said all those nasty things about my Uncle Johnny then you hit me." She shook her head, "I don't like you at all anymore. You go do what you want. I want to play with my Uncle Johnny and my friends—my real friends." With that she turned and ran back into the group. Soon Amy was totally forgotten.
Unused to not having her way, Amy stood for a moment in shock then anger began clouding her vision as she watched the other children run, laugh and play with that . . .that . . . garbage.
She turned on her heel and stomped over to her mother. "Mother. Mother!"
Tammy patted her on the head without looking and continuing her one sided conversation with JoAnne about the food. Amy frowned, knowing better than to continue to try and get her mother's attention when she patted her head. To do so would only get her grounded. Muttering angrily, she crossed her arms and stalked back into the house, slamming the glass door as hard as she could. Once inside she threw herself on the couch, swinging her feet to thump solidly on the frame. She quickly tired of that and began looking around. A grouping of pictures on the walls caught her attention and she wandered over to them. She carefully studied each. Most were the typical type taken at school but others showed fun scenes of the DeSoto family. She noticed several were either at the beach or in the mountains. She sighed; her family never did neat stuff like that. Her mother would never leave her precious shaker and special bottles that long. Then she looked closer and frowned deeper as she noticed many had that same stupid Indian in them. "What right do they have to look so happy with that idiot there?"
She smirked as she saw in one picture Johnny was loaded down with a heavy pack and carrying what looked like a bunch of poles and tarps. "Huh. That's it. The only thing he's good for is as a pack mule. 'Bout the same smarts." She giggled to herself and wander down the hall. She'd not been down here before, she'd only seen the living room, kitchen and Jenny's room. And of course the upstairs bathroom.
She opened one door and found a bright sunny room with a daybed shoved near the ceiling-to-floor windows. A few cabinets and a chair completed the room. Nothing interesting. The next room was another bathroom. Big whoop. She glanced at the walls of the hall and the frown returned as she noticed more family pictures, many with that Indian again. "Boy is Dad gonna be mad when he finds out that Mr. DeSoto loves that stupid Injun. Bet he'll never want Dad in the squad with him like Dad thinks as long as the redskin's around!"
The next room was a laundry room, she wrinkled her nose at the hanging clothes—several blue uniform shirts, dress shirts, a couple of simple dresses—boring!
The next room she peeked into held promise. It was filled with bookshelves and a large desk dominated it. She looked the shelves over, picking up several items—a heavy metal fire engine with chipping red paint, some really cool looking rocks, a couple arrowheads—she giggled at that. "Wonder if his partner made them!" Several shelves held a bunch of boring old books on medical stuff and firefighting. She passed those with barely a glance. Another shelf held a collection of small framed pictures. Many of them showed the same men that she'd seen in the backyard only they were in uniform and gathered around an engine. Others showed a large park where they played baseball or something like it. She frowned as the Indian predominantly featured in each, his grinning face either looking at Mr. DeSoto or toward the camera.
She'd moved over toward the large desk and had just opened the first drawer to search it when a deep voice startled her. "I don't think you should be in here, young lady."
She looked up into the dark eyes and frowning face of a tall slender man. She gave him her best smile and innocent look. "I was looking for a rubber band for my hair. Mrs. DeSoto said there were some in here." She lied to the fire captain.
With the same frowning expression on his face, he stepped forward, pulled open the middle drawer, scooped out a rubber band and handed it to her. Then he shut the drawer again. The whole time, his stern gaze never left her. "There. Now I think you should go back out with the other kids."
She smiled sweetly at him, "Thank you sir, I will." She snapped the rubber band around her wrist and moved passed him. She gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes as he followed her out. Instead of joining the kids, who were now watching Mr. DeSoto and the rest of those loser firemen play volleyball, she made a beeline to the corner of the deck where her mother had dropped the basket she'd brought. She opened it up, pulled out a soda and some cheese puffs. She ate a good portion of the bag and drank the soda. She looked around for something to wipe her hands and finding nothing close, went back inside. She made her way to the table covered in presents and wiped her hands on one lacy corner of the white table linen.
The gifts next drew her attention and she picked one up. She shook it. It felt like books. She picked up another but it didn't shake. The next one rattled nicely and she was tempted to use the same technique she used at Christmas to make sure she got what she wanted. A glance out the glass door revealed adults too close for the time she would need. Instead she read the tag. "To Johnny."
She frowned. Mr. DeSoto's son's name was Chris. And her father had said this was a birthday party for Mr. DeSoto's son. She picked up another one, "To Tanagila, that's a weird word." She tossed it back, grinning at the faint tinkling sound coming from the package. She looked at several more of the tags. Almost all said, "To Johnny."
She grinned wickedly as she thought of the mistake her parents had made. "It's not a party for Chris; it's a party for that stupid Injun!"
Happy giggles from the backyard drew her attention and she saw Jenny being swung wildly around and around by that Indian. Anger tightened her jaw and then a wicked gleam came to her eye. She threw the gift in her hand back onto the pile, not caring that it slid back off, carrying several more with it. She raced through the living room and up the stairs.
She immediately went into the pink girl palace she and Jenny had played in before. In a easy manner, she walked around the room, picking up this or that, before putting it back down. The sounds of squeals and laughter came in through the open window. She gritted her teeth at the happy sound, then giving action to her anger, she reached out to the bookshelf in front of her and yanked the stacked books free. They hit the floor with a satisfying thump.
A depraved smile curled her lips and she went around the room, pulling items off shelves, off the walls, knocking them off cabinets, watching as they spread across the floor. With a demented giggle, she ran down the length of the long dresser, sweeping everything off onto the floor, smiling as several items shattered.
Johnny had just shut the garage door and picked back up the two cases of beer when he heard a noise upstairs. He glanced into the backyard but his fast scan showed nearly everyone still seated around the tables. He put down the cases, tilting his head as he listened. This time there was not only several thumps but the distinct sound of breaking as well. With a frown on his face, he quickly moved through the living room and began climbing the stairs.
"Hello? Anyone up there?" He paused just a few steps up, listening.
Nothing.
"Hey? Anyone up there? Do you need help?" He called again as he started back upward. Suddenly Amy rounded the corner and began walking down. He watched her carefully, his face schooled into a neutral expression. She paused several steps above him, making herself slightly taller than him, smiled sickeningly sweetly at him then skipped happily the rest of the way down.
Johnny watched her go until she disappeared at the bottom, headed toward the living room. Suspicious now, he hurriedly finished climbing the stairs. He checked Chris's room first but nothing looked out of place. Next he checked Roy and Jo's room across the hall. Again, nothing looked disturbed. Same with the bathroom.
Then he opened Jenny's door.
He paused at the doorway, his eyes going wide as he scanned the wrecked interior. Then his hands settled on his hips as his face settled into a stern countenance. He spun on his heel and marched down the stairs, his face in a uncompromising mask.
He reached the living room and looked around for his objective. She wasn't there. "Big surprise." He muttered and headed back out toward the backyard. He saw Amy standing by the edge of the deck. Without breaking stride, he clamped a hand down on her shoulder and moved the startled girl forward, causing her to drop the soda can in her hand, even as he called out, "JoAnne? I need to see you."
"Get your filthy hands off me!" Amy growled. Johnny took his hand off her shoulder but stayed behind her. JoAnne came over, her expression curious. Tammy, hearing her daughter's voice, joined her.
"You gonna tell them or should I?" Johnny ground out.
She glared at him, angry that he wasn't intimidated and instead had looked her straight in the eye, not backing down like she's made him do before. "Stupid drunken redskinned savage. Doesn't know his place." She muttered. Johnny heard and his jaw tightened slightly.
At her words, Jo frowned and crossed her arms as well. She looked up at Johnny and could see he was angry about something, "Johnny?"
Johnny still looked at Amy but she resolutely turned from him, sticking her little nose up in the air.
"Very well, your choice." Johnny said. He looked up at Jo. "I was just coming in with the beer when I heard a crash upstairs. I thought maybe someone had fallen or something so I headed up there. Amy here," he nodded at the girl, "passed me on the stairs headed down." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his expression toward Jo now apologetic. "Jo, Jenny's room's been trashed. Stuff all over the floor, the bed ripped to pieces, some of her figurines broken, the mirror on the dresser as well."
Jo gasped as her eyes went wide. "What?" Other voices echoed similar sentiments as they drew closer.
Tammy looked shocked, "How did that happen?"
Johnny looked at Amy pointedly. "Ask her. There was no one else up there."
Now Amy looked at her mother and tears sprang to her eyes. She looked at Johnny with horror-filled eyes. "Oh Mommy! Protect me!" She threw herself into her mother's arms sobbing seemingly uncontrollably. Instinctively Tammy closed her arms around her daughter. By now they had attracted quite a crowd.
Johnny blinked in surprise at her reaction. Marc pushed his way to stand near his wife as Tammy cupped her daughter's head with her hand. "Oh baby! What's wrong? You can tell mommy."
"Promise you'll protect me." Came the child's muffled voice. Tammy exchanged a glance with Marc before answering. "Of course we'll protect you. You know that; we're your parents. Now, do you know what happened?"
Amy nodded but kept her head buried, her wails not diminishing. "Well, baby. Tell us."
Suddenly Amy turned and pointed her finger at Johnny. "It was him! He did it! I was just sitting in Jenny's room reading a book and he came staggering in and started grabbing at me! He chased me all around the room. I was trying to get away from him! I ran down here . .. to get away from him! But he followed me!" She pushed her body as close to her mother as she could, "Protect me, Mommy! You said you'd always protect me!"
At Amy's accusations Johnny's mouth dropped open in shock and his formerly crossed arms fell to his side. "What!" He squeaked.
Marc's face turned red and his fist flashed out but was instantly intercepted by Mike who stood next to him. The two men glared at each other but Mike held firm. With a slow shake of his head, he forced Marc's hand down and held it there.
"Now let's just wait a moment here." Thundered a firm voice. All eyes, including Amy's, went to the stern face of the fire captain. He looked at his youngest crew member who had paled, his dark eyes wide. "John?"
Johnny shook his head, "No! I didn't touch her until just now! I didn't even see her in the room. Like I said, she passed me on the stairs and then I went up to see what the noise was."
"I saw her come out onto the deck. She didn't look scared at the time. She went over to that basket and pulled out a soda. It was a good 5 minutes before Johnny came out." Maggie offered, her crystal blue eyes frowning at the child.
"Yeah. I saw her too." Several others called out.
Cap crossed his arms as he stared at the girl. "I found her in your den, Roy, before we sat down to eat. She said Jo had told her to go in there for a rubber band." He pointed to the rubber band still on the girl's arm. Amy quickly moved her arm behind her back and pulled the band off, dropping it to the ground but several people had already seen it.
JoAnne's eyes narrowed as she stared at the girl. "You've not spoken to me at all since you've been here, Amy. And I wouldn've never sent you to Roy's desk for a rubber band when I have them in a drawer right in the kitchen."
Caught in several lies and being looked at harshly by the surrounding adults, Amy switched tactics. She grabbed her belly and moaned loudly, "Ow! Ow! My tummy! Mommy! Their food has made me sick again."
Immediately Tammy wrapped her arms tighter and crooned, "Oh my angel. Now, just relax. Mommy will take care of you."
"Perhaps I can help?" Kelly Brackett stepped forward and Tammy's face brightened.
"Oh, Dr. Brackett! Oh thank goodness you're here." She stroked Amy's head, oblivious of the hate-filled glares the child sent toward Johnny. "My Amy has such a delicate digestive system. She's so easy upset by certain foods."
Brackett nodded his head as he bent in front of her, "I see. Well, what did she eat?"
Jo had continued her scrutiny of the child, watching her closely as she openly glared at Johnny and now she very sweetly said, "I only saw her eat some cheese puffs and drink sodas she got out of the basket her mother brought." She looked around, "Did anyone else see Amy eat anything else?"
Several responses came;
"Nope."
"No."
"Only the cheese puffs"
And "I haven't even seen her out here much. She's been in the house most of the afternoon." came from the surrounding adults.
At that Tammy's face colored slightly, "Well, yes. I did pack some things that I know Amy has eaten before with no trouble." She turned back to the doctor who was looking closely at the child who still glared at Johnny. "I think she has Cronams disease."
"Um hmm." Brackett muttered as his eyes checked for respirations and skin color and condition.
Encouraged by his attention, Tammy quickly warmed to the subject. "Yes. Some days she can barely eat anything. She has terrible pains in her tummy and awful headaches . . ."
"Does she vomit often?" He interrupted. Tammy blinked, "Well…. She has gagged once or twice. Usually when we eat away from home." Again she started, "See at home I fix her special meals, mostly peanut butter and honey sandwiches on white bread… with the crusts removed. The crusts can make her ill. And I found soda settles her tummy so I no longer give her milk. I also . . ."
"How often has she had bouts of diarrhea? Was it ever bloody"
Tammy blinked, "No. No diarrhea."
Brackett reached for the child, "May I?" At Tammy's nod he palpitated her abdomen. Caught off guard, Amy forgot she was supposed to be hurting until he pushed near her right side. She doubled up and moved away as she cried, "OW. That hurts."
Brackett blinked and his mouth twitched. "Sorry." he told her, then looked back up at Tammy. "You say she has Crohn's? Who is her doctor? What did he say?"
"Umm, well, she's been seeing Dr. Ashton." Tammy admitted next, "He's run several tests and right now it's . . . it's inconclusive." She glanced quickly around her, "But I've been reading and I just know that my angel have Cronam's disease. It fits."
At the name of the doctor, Brackett and Early exchanged glances. Both were very familiar with the pediatrician who was more concerned with pleasing paying parents than diagnosing his patients. And he wasn't above ordering a barrage of unnecessary tests or proscribing sugar pills as long as the parents kept paying.
"Well, granted I can't tell from here." Brackett said. "I would need you to bring her in and we'll do some tests. I'd like to get a cat scan and do a barium scan as well and definitely several blood tests. But I seriously doubt it's Crohn's Disease, her symptoms don't match."
Amy's eyes went wide at that, she knew that tests meant possible blood draws and that meant needles. The last thing she wanted was needles. As Brackett reached for her again, Amy pulled back between her parents, "Don't touch me!" she screamed. Brackett backed off, his face going blank but the corner of his mouth slightly twitched.
"Honey, Dr. Brackett is a doctor. He just wants to . . ." Marc started but Amy glared. "I don't want him touching me. I saw him treating the Injun. I don't trust him." Her eyes narrowed as she looked the doctor in the face, "I don't think he's white. He looks like a WOP or a Spic to me. I only want a real doctor."
Marc scowled at his daughter as he leaned down and hissed, "That's my boss, young lady. He's the head of Rampart's ER."
Amy blatantly ignored him as she looked up at her mother, squeezing a few tears from her eyes. "Please Mommy. I don't trust him; he hurt me. Promise you'll only let a real doctor help me. Promise."
That said, Amy made a small whimpering sound as she backed closer to her mother. Brackett gave a short nod and stood back up. Tammy blinked owl-like at the tall doctor, shock on her face.
"Well. Then. When you bring her in, Mrs. Kent, come see me." Came a soft voice and Tammy and Amy looked into the knowing eyes of the white haired doctor. Amy's eyes shifted over his face but realized he looked too white for her protests to work. With another ploy ruined, Amy glared again at Johnny hoping to stir things back up with him.
"What does all this have to do with what he tried to do to me?" she cried hysterically as she pointed at Johnny.
Johnny's voice was hard as he said, "I didn't do anything to you. I didn't try to do anything to you. I only told everyone that you destroyed Jenny's room."
To Amy's horror her tactic of diversion had worked but not in the way she'd planned. Once more the issue of Jenny's room was being discussed. She had to get them to realize it was all the drunken redskin's fault.
"Are you saying that you all . . ." she scanned the surrounding adults, keeping her tear-fill eyes big and round and as innocent looking as possible—and she had perfected the look over the years, "believe a drunken injun over me?"
"We believe Johnny." came a few muttered replies. Others nodded their heads as they shifted, their expressions showing their doubt over the girl's claims.
Tammy's gaze darted from one cold stern face to another. "No, baby." She crooned in support but her voice was unsteady, "that's not what we're saying at all."
"I'm not drunk. I haven't had anything but soda and Jo's ice tea all day." Johnny hotly contested, his arms again crossed firmly over his chest. Several heads nodded to that.
"You can't believe him. Drunks lie about their drinking." Marc challenged as he, too, glared at Johnny. To his great surprise the crew of Station 51 all chuckled and several other of the firemen around grinned.
"You don't know Gage very well then." Chet chortled.
"That's right." Someone else added, "Gage can be honest to a fault."
"Unless it's over whether or not he's been injured." One of the paramedics in the back chimed in and there was a light wave of laughter on that remark.
"And besides," Mike smiled, "Becky and I brought him a case of his favorite red cream soda. We had a friend bring it back from their trip to the plains."
Now Jo and Roy smiled as Roy chuckled, "With that red cream soda available there's no way Johnny would drink anything else." The crowd agreed and Johnny blushed slightly.
"I bet if we set up a sobriety test, Gage would pass with flying colors." Chet announced, his hazel eyes glaring at Marc. "Unlike some others here." Marc swallowed hard as he straightened up, trying to cease the slight sway he'd had since standing. Then all accusatory eyes turned back to the trio of Kents.
And both Marc and Tammy looked ill under the scrutiny on them.
"Of course he's drunk! He's a Injun and they're all drunks, right Mommy?" Amy insisted. "Besides, you said he drinks when he's here; you've seen him!
Tammy's face blanched as all eyes settled on her, "Well now dearest. Ummm that's not … you see, some people …..ummm."
Amy's look went from wide-eyed to narrowed and calculating, "Mommy, you said all Injuns were drunken, wife beating, child abusing savages and Daddy," She turned her narrowed eyes on her father, "you said that only ones with lots of white blood in them could be trained for simple work, that the rest were too lazy and didn't have the brains of a ass."
Dark mutterings came from several adults. Brackett looked first at Dixie but saw her gaze was on Johnny. He followed her look and saw the paramedic's game face was firmly in place but a muscle faintly twitched in his cheek.
Amy glared hotly at Johnny, her face twisted in a ugly pose. "I want you to make him pay for chasing me. I want you to make him sorry." She looked at her father who seemed to shrink before her eyes then at her mother who was wringing her hands. Her gaze went around to the other adults gathered, saw the distrust in their faces and was shocked to realize it was aimed at her! This was something she'd never experienced before. She had always been able to get most adults to let her have her way. Why were they taking the sides with this stupid redskin savage?
She turned back to her parents. "Why aren't you doing something? Daddy, you always said that if any injun got uppity with you you'd show him his place!" She pointed again at Johnny. "This injun doesn't know where he's supposed to be! He thinks he's as good as us! Look at the way he acts and talks around us! And go look in the house! There's all kinds of pictures of him in there playing with Chris and Jenny and stuff! He even has them calling him their Uncle! That's just wrong!"
She looked sternly at her father, "You said that the Desotos' needed help to get away from him. That he had them fooled. Well, you were right. You have to stop him before he ruins them." She stomped her foot in frustration as her parents looked anywhere but at her. "Daddy, you'll never get back into the squad with Mr. DeSoto as long as he's around!" She looked from her mother's pale stunned face to her father's increasingly red one in irritation. Why were her parents acting so scared of this bunch of garbage? Hadn't she heard them say time and time again how whites needed to keep uppity minorities down where they belonged or they'd take over, ruining the world for good people like them? Why weren't they doing it?
She stomped her foot in anger and desperation. "What's wrong with you!" she cried, "Can't you see he's tricking them? He plays with their kids, eats their food, works beside Mr. DeSoto where you should be, Daddy." She waved her arms around her. "Look around you! Their backyard is filled with wetbacks and foreigners that I bet he brought! He's evil! He must be stopped!" She pointed again at Johnny who stared at her through slitted dark eyes, "Why, he's even got them throwing this party for him! His name is Johnny!" She pointed to where Jenny and Chris and the other kids scowled at her from just beyond the circle of adults, "His name is Chris! Chris DeSoto!"
She watched as her mother's pale face went even paler as she turned toward her husband and her father's mouth formed on straight line. "you said it was a party for his son … you said you saw it marked on their calendar." She breathed, horrified at the thought.
"Shut up, woman." He growled as he glared at Johnny. He was really beginning to dislike everything about the slender firefighter.
Amy had had all she could handled and flew at Johnny, rage in her eyes. "Make him pay! Make him pay!" She screamed as she kicked his shins.
Johnny caught his breath at the pain flaring up as the angry child aimed for his skinned legs. But his rugged past had taught him much and not a bit of what he was feeling showed on his masked face.
For a few moments the adults were frozen by the sudden action but Jenny, who had gone up to see her room and had come back down in time to hear Amy's words, had already been pushing through the crowded adults when Amy attacked. Anger at what had been done to her room only added fuel to hearing and seeing her beloved 'Uncle Johnny' mistreated. She lunged forward, her hand drawn back already. The punch landed square on Amy's chin and sent the other girl staggering.
"That's for my room!" Jenny shrilled. Before Amy could recover, Jenny pulled back and smacked her again, this time with a hard slap on the cheek. "And that's for all the awful lies about my Uncle Johnny!"
Amy stared at the panting angry girl in front of her and lost it. With a inhuman sound, she lunged toward Jenny. The adults finally unfroze and things happened simultaneously. Johnny reached down and scooped Jenny up in his arms, thus moving her away from Amy while preventing her from doing any more damage to the other girl. As Amy lunged Maggie caught her arms and lifted her up, pulling her back several feet from Jenny and the abused Johnny.
Amy lashed out another kick to his legs as she moved but Maggie was quicker. She looked back into the steel-like eyes of the fire captain's wife and growled, "Let me go!"
Maggie shook her head she made a tic-tic-tic sound, her grip firm. "Now now, me bairn. I be thinken we've heard 'bout enough ou'a you." Maggie's voice held a deepening of her brogue, showing exactly how upset she was.
Amy whirled on her. "Shut up, you Mick sow. No one wants to hear what little thought you can have."
Several sharp intakes of breath came but Maggie only smiled, a bit ferally, but still a smile. "Ifin yaur gonna trade racial slurs, lassie, ya better learn yaur races." She said coyly, "A mick is Irish. I'm Scottish."
Several chuckles sounded at that. Amy blinked at the reaction, then screamed. "You're all nothing but a bunch of stupid firemen and their stupid wives and friends. You don't deserve to even be in the same place with decent white Christian folk like us! Go back to whatever run-down foreign countries you came from."
"Now I know you haven't done your research." Johnny's voice came and his gaze was unnervingly steady as he backed her down. "This is my country, you're the invader."
"And this is my home." Roy's voice was sharp. He spread out his arms to encompass the surrounding area. "And these are mine and my partner's friends. This is a private party for Johnny." He looked straight into Marc's red face. "You weren't invited. I suggest you take your family and leave. Now."
Meanwhile, Amy, unused to being manhandled so easily… and by a stranger no less, did what she did best—she threw a temper-tantrum. She began kicking and screaming as loudly as she could, pulling at her trapped arms, trying still to reach Johnny. But her target was no longer alone, the two firemen who had been standing to his side had moved in front of him and the fire captain was in front of them.
Marc, too, had stepped forward ready to take on Johnny, not knowing in his drunken state that the reason his right arm wouldn't swing forward was because it was attached to a 195 lb engineer. He aborted his attempts when Captain Stanley's trained voice bellowed, "That's enough!" Everyone halted and turned toward him. He looked from one face to another, "All of you, that's enough." His gaze lingered on Amy and with a gentle smile to her husband, Maggie released Amy and pushed her toward her mother.
Amy grabbed a hold of her mother's legs and looked up into her face. "Mommy! Aren't you even gonna . . ."
"I said that's enough!" Hank snapped and Amy jumped at the voice so close to her, blinking shocked blue eyes up at him. Hank looked at the Kents. Tammy had a blank expression on her pale face, her eyes wide and vacant. Marc was red faced and Mike still held tightly to his right wrist. At Hank's faint nod, the engineer released him but didn't move back.
Roy stepped forward, his gaze going first to his partner's face. His brows twitched as Johnny met his eyes but his own were heavily guarded and his professional face firmly in place. 'You and I will talk later.' His gaze promised the younger man. Johnny gave a very faint nod though no emotion showed in his eyes or face. Roy looked Marc in the eye, saw the blurriness and heavy blinking. He glanced at Marco who gave a nod and ran off. Chet moved so he was now in front of Johnny and Jenny.
Finally Roy looked at the unwanted and –he now knew—uninvited guests. "I think you and your family should leave now." He repeated. He kept his voice firm and calm although he felt anything but. "This is a birthday party for my partner, John Gage, and you are not welcome here." He took a deep breath and continued, "In fact after this latest display, neither you or any of your family are welcome in this house ever again."
He stepped closer, his voice going lower, "Johnny is my partner. And he's my best friend. This is his home as well as much as Chris' or Jenny's or Jo and mine and anyone who can't accept him as he is, is no friend of ours. You have made your feelings about him quite clear through your daughter and I will not tolerate that kind of prejudice in our home. Am I clear?"
Marc nodded at the barely contained anger he saw in the blue eyes staring firmly into his.
"Roy. Cab's here." He turned and acknowledged Marco. Hank had picked up the basket Tammy brought and followed along behind as Mike, Marco and Chet escorted the subdued family out of the backyard. Roy watched them go then turned toward his partner. "Johnny . .."
"Not now Roy." Johnny's voice was low and Roy noticed Jenny was now sobbing as she clung to her uncle's neck.
"She was mean, Uncle Johnny. She said nasty things about you again. And . .and . . .and she broke all the pretty horses you gave me! And tore my bed and my books and broke all my pictures off the wall." She sobbed harder, "I hate her! I hate her!"
Johnny nuzzled her where her face was buried into his neck as he patted her back with his free hand. "No. No, Jenny. Don't hate. Please, for me, don't hate." There was something in his voice that made the little girl pull back and look at him.
"Why not? Don't you hate her?" Jenny hiccupped.
Johnny shook his head, "No, Jenny I don't. And I beg you not to hate her either. I don't like what she did and her words made me angry but I don't hate Amy or her parents."
Jenny was clearly puzzled but becoming more distressed by the pleading look in her uncle's dark eyes. "Why not?"
Johnny sighed heavily and sank down onto the bench by the table. The two were oblivious to the adults surrounding them. "Because Jenny, the kind of behavior you saw here, the anger and the mean words . . .well, that's what hate leads to." He dropped his head for a moment as he thought about what he wanted this little one to understand. Then he raised his face and looked straight into her eyes, "See, sometimes people say things about people who are different than them. Sometimes they just think of it as teasing or innocent comments but those words can hurt. And when you hurt someone, either their feelings or them physically or hurt their things, well, that's really hate. And that's what Amy was showing by her words and what she did to your room. What she called me? And the others? That's prejudice, and prejudice of any kind can lead to hate which leads to this sort of behavior." He took her chin gently in his hand and wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. "So please. Please, my tonkala. Don't hate."
She stared at him for several hiccupped sobs then threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely. "I won't Uncle Johnny, I promise I won't. I don't want to hurt you!" Somehow, she knew that turning into someone like Amy would hurt her beloved uncle very much and there was no way she could do that to him.
"Johnny?"
He had felt his partner sit down next to him and felt the gentle hand that rested on his empty shoulder. Now he turned and looked into worried blue eyes. He sighed mightily, "Not . . . not today, Roy. Please?"
Blue eyes looked deep into brown and once more silent communication passed between the two. Roy nodded, satisfied that even though Johnny didn't want to talk about the upsetting turn of the day, they would be discussing it in the near future. Copying a gesture from their captain, Roy clapped his hands together and stood up. "Well! I could sure use some cake and ice cream! Who'd like to join me?"
Instantly the children all began to clamor excitedly and rushed toward Johnny, jumping around him. Johnny began perking up at their actions, the light coming back into his eyes. "Yes! Ice cream!" Jenny cried and smiled at Johnny. "And I want to see you open your presents!" She jumped from his arms and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him to his feet. The other kids joined her and soon he was standing among them, their happy faces looking up at him.
Johnny blushed at the thought that he had gifts. Roy watched him, "Waddya say partner? Ready for that cake and ice cream?"
He turned, a smile creeping across his lips as he looked around at his friends, seeing the caring on their faces. The sliding glass doors opened and Jo immerged onto the deck, a large cake in her hands covered in lit candles. As the familiar strains of a off key but enthusiastic version of 'Happy Birthday' echoed across the yard, Johnny felt the cruel words spoken earlier slip from his mind.
As the Kent family was loaded into the cab, Hank leaned into the driver's window and handed the driver several bills. "Get them home. The address is . . ." he looked pointedly at Marc who mumbled, "15936 Western Tiered Blvd." Hank nodded and added, "We'll see that your car gets home for you." With that the doors were closed and the cab headed off. Hank, Mike and Chet headed back to the party and arrived in time to hear Johnny's explanation to Jenny. Marco cocked an eyebrow at Chet who had the good graces to color slightly, knowing he was sometimes guilty of carrying his jokes on Johnny a little too far. Right then, he made a promise to remember those words.
In the front seat of the cab, Marc stared blankly out the passenger window, his blurry mind in shock over the way Roy had spoken to him. Tammy leaned against the backseat window, moaning softly about never being able to show her face again in public. Beside her, Amy was still scowling, her arms crossed as she kicked the seat. "Why did you let them do that to us, Daddy? Why didn't you do something? They can't treat us like that, we're better than them foreigners. They can't just kick us out of their party like that! Why, we should . . ."
"SHUT UP!" Terry had had enough. Amy looked at her brother in shock. The normally quiet and obedient boy had taken all he could and now exploded. "Just shut up you stupid selfish pig! I was having fun! I had friends there, real friends! And like always you had to ruin it! Well I'm sick of it. And I'm sick of you! You only think about what you want. Well I wanted to stay and I wanted cake and I wanted to play more with Johnny! I hate you!" He turned from his open mouthed sister and curled as tightly against the door as he could, soft sobs shaking his body.
Amy blinked at him for a moment longer then her brows came down again. "Daddy!" She whined. "Terry's being . .."
"Amaryllis Rose Kent, if you don't shut that poisonous mouth of yours I swear I'll lock you in your bedroom into you're old enough for college." Marc growled out without turning around. Amy froze. Her father had never talked like that to her before. She turned toward her mother, intending to whine to her to get what she wanted. But the sight of the white face and blank eyes frightened her even more than her father's growling. She settled back into her seat, confused and more than a little scared at how fast her world had been upset.