Published: 05 Dec 2016

Day 15

I wake to a soft yet persistent beeping. It takes me a few moments to realize that it is my cell phone telling me that I have a text message. A simple ‘call me’ from Bill. After my morning ablutions and getting sweats on, I peek in on Ian who is still asleep. He seems to have tossed about a little but not bad. I will check the tapes later. Finally, with a glass of orange juice, I sit down in the office and call Bill.

“How was your first night?”

“Good morning to you as well,” I respond. “You are too chipper to be waking me up at this hour. The trip went well except for getting pulled over as a possible kidnapper, and we both love the changes to the house. Ian seems to like his bedroom.

“Okay, sorry. Let’s start at the beginning and tell me how your trip went.” Bill seems to calm a bit in spite of my news.

“The trip went well. I decided to go through Yellowstone and make a few other side trips. We also stopped to help at an accident in Idaho where two young men were injured. Got a chance to use the lights and siren on the truck. Later, we stopped to pick up some fruit in Perry, UT and got pulled over leaving the fruit stand. After running my plates, the Sheriff’s Deputy called for Highway Patrol backup and after showing my identification, the Trooper helped me settle Ian and we went on our way.

Bill is taking his time digesting this information and I hear sounds coming from Ian’s room.

“Bill, I think Ian is waking up and I want to be there since it is the first day in the new house. I’ll call you back later.

“Okay Steve. Take care of your boy,” Bill says as he rings off.

Going to Ian’s room, I slowly open the door to find him snuggled tightly in his blankets and he whimpers as he sees the door open.

“Morning son,” I say as the door opens.

Recognizing me, Ian seems to relax and starts to smile.

“Morning dad.”

“You seemed a bit upset when I came through the door. Did you forget that we are home now?”

The slightly puzzled look on his face tells me that this is probably correct but he doesn’t know how to express it so I let him off the hook.

“That’s okay Ian. With all the changes I almost forgot that this was home myself. Everything looks different than when I left two weeks ago.”

“Why did you leave?” he asks.

I try to choose my words carefully.

“Sometimes people need to get away from things for a while. We call this a vacation. I needed time to myself and went to my family’s cabin which is where I found you. Do you remember the first cabin?” I ask this question even though I don’t want the fear that he might have.

Nodding slowly, he tries to suppress a shudder and is only partly successful. I pull him into an embrace of security as the moment of fear passes.

“My taking a vacation when I did is the best thing to ever happen to me!” I state this firmly, and at Ian’s confused look, I finish. “I came home with you, the best vacation present ever.” Then I pull him into a stronger hug, which he melts into.

I have him get dressed and we go down to breakfast. Asking Ian to get out what he wants I am soon making a breakfast of sausage, mushroom, and hash brown omelets with toast, juice and milk.

After eating and cleaning up, we spend some time taking a leisurely walk through the house getting to know where everything is and how it is now set up. We spend about an hour playing a computer game. Ian’s rapid development in the computer leaves me in the dust. After the game, I decide to take us out for a tour of the city.

Going to the garage, I take the time to look at my new bike. Silver blue metallic with gold highlights. 21 speed, it is by far the most advanced bike I have ever ridden. My last bike was back in the days when gears were limited to ten, and you never rode up, or down, a mountain.

We load up into the truck and head for the downtown area. We go around the State Capitol Building and then down to the Salt Lake Mormon Temple Square. Parking, I take Ian and we walk around the grounds and look at all the flowers. Although many people seem to dislike Mormons, this is the most visited spot in the State of Utah, surpassing the five spectacular National Parks that are found here. While walking through one of the garden areas between buildings, Ian surprises me again.

“Dad, when are we going to start looking for my brothers?”

Taking a moment to hide my shock, I ask, “What brothers do you mean Ian. You were the only one in the cabin.”

“I don’t know how I know, but I think I have other brothers out there. I think I can find some information on the computer but I am not sure.”

“In that case, let’s head home and see what you can find.”

We walk back to the truck and do just that.

Arriving back at the house, I take Ian to my office and quickly activate all the recorders. Ian sits at my computer and starts typing. With a great deal of hesitation and many stops and starts, Ian enters a strange combination of letters and numbers into the address bar at the top of my screen. He hits the backspace key several times and reenters data before finally hitting the enter key. A password block comes up in the middle of the screen, into which Ian enters more apparent gibberish.

The screen slowly dissolves and slowly, pictures start filling the screen. Fuzzy at first, they begin to resolve themselves into what at first seem to be various pictures of the same boy but I quickly realize are pictures of about 75 boys, all with features similar to Ian’s. Clicking on one of the photos brings up a data block about the boy with information I only learned about through direct observation.

I ask Ian to let me in and quickly forward the URL to Bill. Now to wait for the fireworks.

In the remaining time before lunch I have Ian doing his schoolwork to keep his skills growing although I am again astounded at the speed at which his knowledge is building. His vocabulary, math skills and reading abilities seem to be advancing by months every day.

While he does that, I call Bill and go over the new events. I don’t worry about missing anything since I know that both sides of the conversation are being recorded by our respective telephone systems. It happens automatically when I call Bill but otherwise only if I activate the built-in recorder.

“Steve, this doesn’t make any sense! How could Ian possibly know any of this?” Bill’s incredulity would be obvious to even an untrained listener.

“Bill, how is Ian’s existence possible? How can he go from coming out of a pool of goo to being a nearly normal 10-year-old in two weeks? How does he know he was created? Nothing about Ian makes sense. It is all new ground. After all; isn’t that the reason I now work for Homeland Security?”

“Okay smart-alec. Don’t rub it in my face. I was only asking the obvious question. I leave the brainier inquiries to you and your team.”

“Bill, you are a big part of this team. None of this would have been possible without you. Although my religion doesn’t really believe in God Parents, I think Ian has three Godfathers, and possibly four when he gets to know Jarod.”

“Okay Steve. Don’t get maudlin. What did you and the boy wonder do this morning?”

“I took him for a tour of the city and Temple Square, that is where Ian laid his bombshell on me.”

“Why don’t you have lunch and take in a movie or something.”

“Actually, I am planning on taking Jarod and the boys to dinner tonight. I have been missing my favorite Italian restaurant. I’m thinking of taking Ian and maybe Jarod and Jeff up to the park for some bike riding.”

“You’ll have to share the restaurant next time I come down.”

“Okay, but you can buy since I just got you a raise. Have fun and see you later,” I finish and ring off.

Logging onto my computer, I take several minutes documenting the episode with Ian and the discussion with Bill. I also make copies of the phone call and send everything to Marty and Gordon. I would really like to see their faces when they read this.

Going to the kitchen, I start cleaning lettuce and slicing tomatoes. When everything is ready I start cooking the thick sliced bacon then put the sourdough bread in to toast. When I finally have everything ready I call Ian to the kitchen and we make BLT’s. Glasses of water and a small dish of Jell-O, the official snack food of Utah, complete our lunch.

After loading the dishwasher, we go up to Ian’s room and check his schoolwork. Everything is completed properly so we take the time to look over a few of the toys and games that he has before Ian interrupts.

“Dad, can we go out again?”

“Sure, Ian. How about if we get Jarod and Jeff to come on a bike ride with us. Would that be okay with you?”

Ian looks uncertain for a moment so I continue.

“Ian, I think Jeff can be as good a friend as Alex. Remember that Jeff is the one who sent you the clothes when I first found you. He really wants to be friends with you and Jarod is a good friend of mine and will be your doctor so you need to get used to them both.”

“Okay, dad. They can come along.”

“Thanks pal. Why don’t you get our helmets and I’ll call Jarod and meet you in the garage. We’ll ride up to the park then ride the circle a couple of times. Tonight, we are taking Jarod and Jeff to dinner at a place I hope you like as much as I do”

I don’t even know if Ian heard the last of that as he ran to get ready. I think I am going to need some vitamins to be able to keep up very soon. When Jarod tells me they will be ready in five minutes I go meet Ian and we head out.

After picking up our sidekicks, we head up the road to the park. One thing that I like about here is that there are level areas as well as hills for the road. There is even a man-made hill that is a popular tubing and sledding spot in the winter. After working the level area back and forth for about 20 minutes, I get the tools out of the kit mounted below my seat and unlock the rear axle gears on Ian’s bike. Explaining the basics to Ian, he now has six gears to shift through and I ride next to him and talk him through those as we ride in great circles around the park’s 1.3-mile loop road.

After two laps, we stop at one of the playground areas and let the boys try the swings. As we watch, I tell Jarod some about the last two weeks and invite him and Jeff for dinner. Ian has never been on a swing but it only takes a few minutes before he is trying to loop his around the upper bar. With only minor suggestions from Jeff, Ian is trying all the equipment here. After about 30 minutes, we take one more lap of the park and then head for home. Leaving Jarod and Jeff I say that we will see them in about two hours to go to dinner.

Ian is yawning as we get our bikes put up so I suggest a quick shower and a brief rest before we change to go to the restaurant. Ian trudges up to his room and I hear the shower start as I go to my room and do the same. Dressing in my usual sweats and setting the alarm on my watch, I sit in my recliner and promptly drift off.

Wakened by my watch, I go up and gently wake Ian and start him getting dressed in nice slacks, collared shirt and dress shoes. I do the same then with a quick call to be sure that Jarod and Jeff are ready, we load up the truck and head out.

Pulling up in front of Jarod’s place, we sit for several minutes with me not realizing that Jarod has not seen the new truck. I walk up and ring the bell apologizing as Jarod comes out.

“Gee friend,” Jarod teases as we walk to the truck. “The least you could have done is to warn me about the new wheels.”

“I think they are kewl!” responds Jeff from the backseat.

Waving my hand dismissively, I reply, “Well, they are a requirement for my new job.” I state flatly.

“What have you gone and done now?” Jarod queries.

“Have you told Jeff much about Ian?” I ask.

“Only the basics. I figured you might want to fill in any blanks as you felt comfortable with things.” Jarod responds, then after a pause, “You have to remember that sometimes Jeff forgets to keep secret things secret.” he finishes with a slight giggle.

“Daaad, that was a couple of years ago, aren’t you ever going to forget that?” Jeff whines from the rear.

Turning to look at his son Jarod explains that he has forgiven Jeff for his slip and together we briefly explain more about Ian telling Jeff that if the wrong people learn about him it could be very dangerous.

“Jeff, I need you to understand this and if anyone asks about us, you just say that you know I have adopted Ian but nothing else. Then you have to immediately let your dad or me know about it. You should also try to remember anything about the person who asks you for this information.”

“I can do that easy Steve. It’s like playing cops and I need to identify the suspect.”

My heart skips a beat or three as Jeff says this in the way only a ten-year-old can. If he only knew how close to the truth, he probably was.

Sensing the quickly building tension Jarod asks, “So, what is this new job?”

Sliding my badge case out of my pocket I hand it to Jarod who looks and starts coughing. “Are you kidding? Homeland Security?” I nod and he continues. “I think I know why you were paling a minute ago.”

“Although I’m still a counselor, I am also classified as a Federal Investigator. Using Home-Sec was just the only way to ensure that no one can question me about Ian. I can supersede FBI or any local jurisdiction. I even got pulled over yesterday by a Box Elder County Deputy and he about had a heart attack when I showed my ID. I did take the time to thank him for doing such a good job. He recognized that Ian looked close to the Amber Alert kid that we posted. After he got a Highway Patrol Trooper there, we had a bit of a laugh and went on our way. Also, before you ask the answer is a definite YES!” Jarod looks for a moment before I see the lightbulb go off over his head, then I glance down and to my left so he knows for sure.

By this time, we are getting near the restaurant and I find an empty parking lot and pull in. I have Jarod and Jeff get out with Ian then turn on the lights so they can see things. As they get back in I tell them I haven’t shown them much but I felt they needed to know just in case.

We finally arrive at the restaurant and go in. Having a reservation seems to have helped tonight since when we get there, there is a slight waiting list now being formed. We however, are shown to our table within a few moments. The Old Spaghetti Factory may be a chain, but they have great food. We sit near one of the fake cable cars so it brings back some fond memories of my childhood in San Francisco.

After a wonderful dinner and some great company, we start to head back home, but I take a detour that takes us up into the Avenues area so we can see the city. While small in comparison to many others, it is still great to see. This time of year can be especially nice since there is little smog to impede the view. I make a note to myself to take Ian to the copper mine to see the big hole there.

After dropping Jarod and Jeff off at their place, I take Ian home and we get comfortable, as usual. With a sudden idea, I go to the computer and quickly set up a chat with Gordon and Alex. After updating Gordon, we each call our boy in. Ian almost goes bonkers when he sees his friend. After reminding both boys that everything is recorded, Gordon and I agree to give them their privacy and move away. The boys take about ten minutes telling each other what has transpired in the three days since they saw each other. Finally, I come back in to tell them it is time to end the chat. I say a quick goodbye to Alex and Gordon before shutting down the messenger. I’m so glad to have a webcam built in to my system.

Finally, it is time for bed. Today, while being the first full day in the new home, is also the start of the new life. What will it bring? Will we be able to find Ian’s “brothers?” Only time will tell.

The End?

Authors Comment:This is the end of this story. Will there be more? I don’t know. This has taken 16 years to complete since it came to me in a dream. I may have another idea cooking but have to see what comes out of the oven of my head.

My thanks to Roland and Al for allowing me to post this here. Also to those who chose to comment on my story. I also want to thank Scott for helping edit the last chapters.

Stevesteve@castleroland.net