"You are very lucky boys," the child's service representative told Johnny and Clint. "Lucky that Mr. Rossi agreed to talk to one of his friends about taking you in. They'll have to have a background check of course, but Mr. Rossi is an outstanding member of the community with an excellent reputation, so I'm sure anyone he wants to place you with is the same. And this was after you attacked his son and damaged his violin. You should be thankful for his compassion and his understanding and that his son agreed to go along with what his father wanted and drop the charges. It could've been much worse."
"Yes, I know I could've ended up in juvie hall," Johnny said. Juvie hall was something he had heard bad things about and someplace he never wanted to end up.
"And your brother to," The CPS representative told Johnny. "It's very hard to come back from that, not that its not possible. A lot of employers run a background check on whoever they hire and refuse to hire anyone with any kind of record. The way things have been arranged means that you will not have an official record, but this is a one time free pass, since it's your first offense, as next time will be official, so make sure you don't ruin it. Mr. Rossi, one of those rare people that is very caring and compassionate and this is after you attacked his son and nearly destroyed a very valuable instrument."
"Did we know it was valuable," Clint asked sarcastically and Johnny shot him a look and the younger boy fell silent.
"I suppose you didn't," the CPS representative admitted. "If you had known I'm sure you would've tried to sell it on the black market. I understood you were hungry but you could've just stolen Mr. Rossi's other valuables and runoff and instead when he refused to give you his violin case you wretched it from his arms and started to destroy it. That's certainly shows a certain disregard for somebody's feelings and possessions if nothing else. It doesn't really matter about the value boys, destroying another's person's possession no matter how valuable they may be is wrong and next time it will get you in serious trouble. Not everyone is as compassionate and understanding as Mr. Rossi or his son. The only reason he's willing to help you is he's an orphan himself and he understands about hunger very well. He also said he knows what the foster care system is like and sometimes you get somebody good that will look after you and not just for the money, but other times you're not so lucky. He told me that young people make mistakes and they don't have a lot of choice when it comes to filling their bellies depending on the situation.
"Yes, I understand we're lucky," Johnny said a little testily and the representative shot him a look.
Johnny hated being grateful to anyone, as he has been taking care of himself and his brother for a long time. He knew he had to pay for the damage he had done, though in less than two years he would be free to do what he wanted. His 17th birthday was only a couple months away. Hopefully, the debt would paid off by the time he hit 18, so he could escape.
But he couldn't leave his brother behind, Johnny thought. And he wouldn't have the money to look after him properly. Clint had nearly another three years before he would be 18. He might have to stick around until his brother was of age, Johnny thought resigned, sure he was going to hate whoever the CPS people placed him with, on David Rossi's recommendation.
Johnny had no idea that he would come to love the Roydons, by the time he was 18. They would teach him to care about people other than his brother.
~~~Spencer and Emily~~~
"I'm so glad you alright son," Diana said giving Spencer a hug.
"I'm fine mom, just a few bruises. My violin on the other hand..." Spencer said.
"It's hardly your fault son that you were attacked on your way home," Diana told her son knowing he felt guilty for the damage to his great-grandfather's violin.
"I should've taken a cab I know that now, but it was such a nice night. I thought it would be good to walk, clear my head. I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon."
"I told you that it's possible to repair your violin son," Dave told Spencer.
"I know dad, but it probably won't sound the same," Spencer said with a sigh. "It had all the original parts, except the strings and the pegs. I know the Abernathy brothers are still young and I understand that hunger drives people to do bad things, but there were so many other options they could've taken, even though I know most teenagers aren't known for thinking of consequences. Most young people unlike me don't know how to think things through and attack people, even if that's only verbally, just because they're personality's to different, different enough to be considered an oddball. I know very well that some people just don't fit into others definition of normal. To the Abernathys I probably looked weird to them dressed up in a fancy tuxedo with a bowtie and my hair all slicked back with gel. Most young people their age don't appreciate classical music and don't even think about the people that do. The brothers probably had never seen anyone dressed so fancy so too them I, of course, I would've looked weird."
"That's a good point, Spencer," Diana said impressed with her son's logic just like always. "So many people don't appreciate those that are different and this is especially true of the young, though older people are not totally innocent when that kind of scenario pops up."
"I know I should be grateful that I came out of the incident with no broken bones, especially my hands, but that violin meant the world to me and they went out of their way to try destroy it, just because I wouldn't hand it over to them. I'm grateful that that beat cop showed up before they damaged it to the point it couldn't be fixed at all, but it doesn't take away the pain of seeing it damaged in the first place. It's not even about the monetary value."
"No, it's not," Dave said. "You value your history unlike most young people. Such a fine instrument would have been nearly impossible to replace. You might've found one at an auction house like Christie's or some other one and it might or might not have been as good as the one that was destroyed depending."
"While I understand why you did what you did, dad, getting them somewhere where they'll get three squares a day and have someone that actually cares about them, I don't think I'll ever be able to be in their presence again without wanting to at least punch the older one in the nose and that's at a minimum. You know I don't usually get my temper control me, but that violin, is not only my livelihood, its my heritage as well. I gave him my watch and my money with no argument, but I kept hold of the violin case and they went out of their way to snatch it from me, as if I offended them by not obeying immediately. My protesting about it's destruction is what got me beat up."
"These emotions will pass son," Diana said.
"I know mom, eventually they will, but I'll never be able to forget what they did. The memories won't ever fade like for those that don't have my perfect recall," Spencer said.
Both parents winced at this, because it was very true, to never have the memory fade, like memories did naturally over time. Their son's eidetic memory would never allow him to forget about what happened. Spencer would remember with perfect clarity about being confronted by the Abernathy brothers, about their demands to hand over his valuables and about Johnny wrenching his violin case out of his arms when he refused to hand it over.
Spencer remembered with perfect clarity watching horrified as they had opened the case and started cutting the strings, manhandling the delicate instrument, wrenching out the pegs breaking the bridge. Spencer had been sure that his violin was never going to be able to be fixed, so he had tried to intervene. The brothers, again mostly Johnny had started to beat him up for his trouble and he had instinctively protected his hands, as they were his livelihood. Thanks to that beat cop that had been on patrol, he had stopped worse from being done and Spencer would always be grateful to that officer.
If dad had his way the Abernathy brothers, mostly Johnny would learn about respecting other peoples possessions, but then again, hunger could drive you to do things you normally wouldn't. Living on the streets was rough and Spencer was well aware of this, not that it excused what they had done, but at least it was a reason
"Try your best to put it behind you Spencer," Dave said. "Work on forgiveness and yes, I know how hard that will be, but that kind of thing is supposed to be hard. You must remember that they're not adults, which is why they got off so lightly and didn't end up with a sheet. They will pay every cent for the repairs, even if it takes them the next 10 years. The people I convinced child services to place them with will be a good influence on them, they'll discipline them when appropriate, buy them new clothes, make sure they get fed. I might have taken them in myself, but not with Colton and Emilia still living with us."
"And also not with Spencer visiting on a regular basis," Diana reminded Dave who nodded.
"That was another consideration. I knew it was likely that Spencer would not want to see them for a long time, if ever and that he had the urge to commit violence against them ought to tell you how upset he really is."
"It does," Diana agreed, as her son never lost his temper. He was always patient even with idiots that would try the patience of almost anybody.
"I would never visit so long as they were here," Spencer said. "I don't ever want to see their faces again, especially Johnny's, even if I know that's unrealistic. I'll work on forgiveness, dad, but I make no promises. It's best if they stay away from me and me from them for at least the next few months until my feelings aren't so strong."
"That's all you can do, son," Dave said patting his arm gently. He was always proud of his son, but he was even more proud of him now. Forgiving someone that had done such a thing to you wasn't easy and if Spencer didn't manage it at least he had tried, which many people refused to do. Dave could understand very well where Spencer was coming from. A valuable instrument had nearly been destroyed by a couple of teenagers who had no idea of it's value and he didn't necessarily mean monetary wise. The Abernathy brothers had deliberately started cutting the strings and wrenching out the pegs and had done so in front of its owner just to see his horrified expression. Dave well knew that every human was capable of cruelty if given the right circumstances and for his son that was the deliberate destruction of a cherished musical instrument that had been in his family forever. Spencer had taken care of that violin ever, since Diana had given it to him at 12 years old for his first official performance, he had cherished it and made sure it was in good working order, detuning the strings when not in use.
To see such a valuable instrument destroyed, one with a long, lustrous history would've distressed any serious musician, much less ones like Spencer who loved making music and did so for thousands of people to enjoy at once.
Spencer could have gone against his advice and pressed charges, but what would that have done really? Johnny would've ended up in Juvie Hall at the very least and the younger brother would've ended up in foster care, which was not necessarily a good thing. At least the couple Dave had recommended would look after the boys just like any parent would and give them appropriate rules and appropriate punishment for bad behavior. Dave was sure that Johnny was planning to escape with his brother as soon as possible, but would soon find that was not as easy as he believed. The couple he had asked to do him this favor would be watching out for that kind of thing. Johnny would eventually learn that escaping back onto the street wasn't as easy as it looked nor the best option.
"Johnny isn't stupid and he'll know that this is his only chance to not only make amends for his actions, but to escape the streets without a record. Many prospective employers check backgrounds, and while they might not go deep enough to find something that is say 10 years old that doesn't mean that it can't happen. Of course, some might take a chance if it's something that happens to you before you hit 18 depending on the nature of the crime, but Johnny, especially would have an assault hanging over his head for the rest of his life and it would prevent him from getting many opportunities that're otherwise available for someone that comes from a good family."
"Well, hopefully, he's smart enough to realize that," Diana said.
"He's not stupid Diana and neither is Clint for that matter," Dave told his wife. "Johnny might very well resent the fact that he has reason to be grateful to us, but then, most teenagers particularly the boys would be. However, he'll eventually realize that we got him and Clint into a situation, where they'll be loved and cared for, where they are allowed to eat as much as they want, with no strings attached other then they obey the rules their guardian set out for them."
"Let's hope that Johnny, especially accepts the opportunity, for his brother if nothing else. Clint certainly deserves a decent home and family not living on the street, eating what he can find out of trashcans," Spencer said. "I know very well the teenage years can be tough and some people have it tougher than most, but it's always easier to get through when you have people that genuinely care about your welfare."
Both Dave and Diana readily agreed with that.
~~~Spencer and Emily~~~
