I asked him what was wrong, and he softly replied, "Do I get to stay here, or do I got to go to one of those places again?"
I quickly got off my stool and went over and put my arms around Sean and locked him in a very secure hug.
"Unfortunately young man you're stuck here with this old fart for at least 90 days. You're not going to go back to 'one of those places' again if I can help it."
He looked up at me with those deep blue eyes (his right one was now open again) and softly said, "Thanks, sir."
"Why don't you call me pop young fellow? Sir is a little too formal for me?" I said as I smiled at him.
I put my arm around Sean's shoulder as we walked to the front door to say goodbye to Dominic and Katharine. As I was hugging Katharine goodbye, she whispered in my ear, "I told you Uncle Alan…..the perfect placement."
Both Dominic and Katharine smiled at me as they went out the front door, and said they would be in touch with me when they knew more information.
When they had left, I asked Sean how he was feeling and whether he was up to going shopping for some more clothes.
He looked down at the floor again, and mumbled something about he didn't need any more clothes and I didn't need to spend any more money on him.
"Let's go into the living room young man and sit down. We need to have a talk," I said as I gently moved him to the couch.
I took a deep breath while I collected my thoughts, and finally I said, "Sean, I don't ever have to worry about money. You should've realized that by the Lexus RX SUV we drove over here in last night, and by looking around at my upscale townhouse."
The complex I lived in was on a street they affectionately called millionaire's row. I had been fortunate to win a very large sum of money in a lottery a few years ago with a ticket I bought in Myrtle Beach on one of my golfing trips.
"Going shopping to outfit you in clothes certainly isn't going to break the bank. Now please relax and let me take care of you," I said as I put my arm around his shoulder and drew him into my side.
I told him that I had just signed papers that bound me to a commitment as his foster parent for the next few months, and that I took my commitments very seriously.
"You're a handsome young man who I know has the potential within him to become a terrific adult if given the chance," I said, as I smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Why are you doing this for me mist…..ah pop? I don't deserve this," he almost whispered.
"I raised two girls, who I love dearly, but I always wondered what it would be like to have a son," I said.
My wife, Lorraine and I had talked about a third child, trying for a son, but at our time in life we decided that 2 kids were enough.
"Is that your wife and kids in the picture over there pop?" he asked as he pointed to the picture frame on the end table next to the couch. I nodded my head yes and he said, "All three of them are really pretty."
I thanked him and made a joke about the girls getting their good looks from their mother, not me.
"Where is your wife now pop?" he asked with some concern in his voice.
I told him about her death two years ago from Breast Cancer, but didn't go into any more details. It was still hard for me to talk about it even now.
"I'm sorry pop," he said with sorrow in his voice.
Then he leaned his head against my shoulder and said, "I'm scared….I hope I don't disappoint you."
I told him that I only had two major rules that I wanted him to follow, the same two rules that my girls had when they were growing up, and still adhered to even now.
"Always do your best in whatever you do, and always be the best person you can. I'm sure you are going to do just fine young man," I told him.
I ruffled his hair again then hugged him. We sat like that not saying a word for about a minute and finally, he asked to lie down for a while before we went shopping.
I asked him if it was Ok if Rick and his 19-year-old son Rickie could go with us. Everyone called him Rickie, because he didn't like being called Jr. I thought having Rickie along would make it easier to pick out stuff more suitable to a young teenager, not a couple of sexagenarians. Rickie was in his first year at the local university taking Business and Commerce. He seemed to perk up at that, and gave me a big smile as he went upstairs to lie down.
A couple of hours later he woke up and we got ready to leave. We entered the garage through the laundry room door and he noticed the other vehicle beside the Lexus that was covered by a tarpaulin. He asked what that was, and I told him that was my summer car. I didn't bother telling him any more than that. He would get a drive in my BMW M6 Cabriolet soon enough when the good weather came.
We met Rick and Rickie at the large department store that I knew had a good boys' section, at least that's what Rick said. After we picked out some more briefs, socks and pyjamas for him, Rickie suggested that the Hilfiger store was cooler, so we headed out down the mall. Rickie was definitely into the preppy look, and I wasn't opposed to that as I was also a frequent shopper there. I just didn't know they had a boys section, as I never any had any occasion to be interested in that. I could tell that Rickie was relishing the fact that he had a 'little brother' to help as he was the youngest of Rick's 3 kids.
Rickie took over when we got there and picked out a whole bunch of clothing from jeans, cotton twill pants, shirts, to hoodies, t-shirts and 2 pairs of what Rickie said were 'sexy' boxers, a comment which caused Sean to blush. Rickie and the young male sales clerk helping us made sure he tried everything on and that it fit him well and looked cool. Rick and I just nodded our heads in approval at each item and willingly stood back as his fashion consultants did their work.
I noticed as we were making our way to the cash that Sean became quiet and his body language told me something was wrong. As we were waiting for our purchases to be rung in I pulled him aside, put my arm around him and quietly asked what was wrong.
He just shrugged, but as I prodded further he finally said, "This is a lot of money. You shouldn't have to buy me all this."
I leaned down and quietly said, "Please stop it Sean. I thought we went over this at home. You need clothes, and besides, you wouldn't want to disappoint Rickie, he's having a great time picking this stuff out for you."
He finally said, "Ok pop…. thanks."
We paid for the purchases and then stopped off at Sportchek to get some workout clothes, and a warm winter coat, as well as a shoe store to get him some snow boots and some casual shoes. We stopped at the food court at Tim Horton's to have something to drink and munch on before we left for the car. Sean noticed that the staff at Horton's was very familiar with me and that I didn't pay for the food. While we were sitting at a table, an older man came out of the back and came over to the table and sat down with the four of us.
"Hi John, this is Sean, he's staying with me for a while. You know Rick and Rickie," I said.
John sat with us for a while, and he talked to me about how the business had been and that we needed a meeting soon to go over the financials. He then left and went into the kitchen. Sean just looked at me with a bewildered look on his face.
"That's one of my partners Sean. I own the business with 3 other people. I'm one of the silent partners," I told him. He just looked at me with wide eyes, as I think he was finally getting the idea of my wealth.
We got home and there was a message on my answering machine from Katharine asking me to phone her. I decided to make dinner for us and call Katharine later. I made a chicken stirfry with lots of vegetables and again once he had finished two more pieces of the pie and his main course, he had consumed the equivalent of two full adult meals. I was glad he had an appetite, as he certainly needed to put on some weight.
After we cleaned up after dinner it was time to watch Hockey Night in Canada and the Toronto Maple Leafs game. I was certainly glad he was a Leafs fan, as we are a dwindling breed. I took him downstairs to the walkout basement and the media room, which was another of my extravagances.
I had it professionally done with a hydraulic screen that came down from the ceiling, an overhead projector, and a very sophisticated surround sound system. As well, I had home theatre seating installed for 10 people. His eyes opened wide when he saw the setup. I turned on the projector and tuned in to the game and watched the first 10 minutes with him then I told him I would be back down in a few minutes. I went back upstairs to the den to call Katharine.
"Hi Katharine, what's up?" I said.
She told me that things were going well and that the police had Sean's mother and Mr. Greeves in custody.
"Thanks to Dr. Scott's verbal report to me and Dean and Dominic's interview with Sean, he has been charged with physical and sexual assault, offences," she said.
As well, there were a series of drug charges laid against Greeves and the mother, as apparently they were running a mini grow-op in the basement and were stoned when the police found them.
She went on to tell me that the mother apparently stopped the assault on Sean, as he had told Dominic and Dean, but not for the reasons Sean thought. The mother was only concerned about the welfare stipend she received for Sean, and if he were dead that would be cut off.
"We are going to start the process to terminate the mother's parental rights, and I don't think that's going to be a problem," Katharine added.
I suggested that we should keep that detail about the mother to ourselves, as it would be devastating if Sean knew this. After we hung up, I decided I was going to make a call to Ken Robson, the police chief (another golfing partner at the club) and see if we could have the charges of sexual assault with a young boy made known to Mr. Greeve's cell mates. I also called my friend Peter Tallofsen, the Crown Attorney, to make sure he was denied bail.
I was astounded that a mother could be so callous as to put her monetary needs before her own flesh and blood. After I made my calls I went back down to the media room and by then the first period was just ending, and as usual, the Leafs were losing.
"That was about my mom wasn't it pop?" Sean asked with a hard edge to his voice.
"Yes, it was Sean. Your mother and Maury are in custody, and will likely be there for a long time," I answered.
He stared at me for a few seconds, and then turned to watch the screen without saying a word. I didn't say any more and we sat in silence for about five minutes.
"I hope they help my mother get better, but I don't ever want to go back to her," he finally said as he turned to me with very misty eyes.
"Come here young fellow," I said, as I reached over and pulled him into a big hug.
He was quietly sobbing, which made my eyes a little misty. He was reciprocating the hug, which got stronger as time moved on. We stayed like this for a couple of minutes and he finally he calmed down.
"I hope your mother gets help too Sean, but you have to be prepared for the fact that she may never get better," I said, as I wiped away some of the tears from his cheeks.
I told him that I didn't want him to have to endure any more hurt or heartache in his life and that I was going to do my best to make sure that didn't happen again.
"You don't deserve what you've been through in your short life," I said as I brushed his mop of blond hair to the side of his forehead.
We watched the rest of the game and ate popcorn that I made in between the second and third periods. After the game was finished he went to bed. I tucked him in and went back down to watch the second game of the doubleheader.
As much as I was fully committed to fostering and protecting Sean over the next few months, I was having second thoughts about agreeing to anything long-term. I was doubting that I could provide what this young man really needed given my age. However, the more I thought about it, Katharine was right. My father and I were in a similar situation, and I had only fond memories of our relationship. Even though many times people used to think that he was my grandfather, there was no mistaking in my mind that he was my dad. I went to bed with a resolve that I wasn't going to abandon him now and that I could give him what he needed. I went upstairs to bed with a measure of inner peace I hadn't had for a long time.
I hadn't been asleep very long when I once again heard noises coming from Sean's room. When I went into his room he was just awakening from another nightmare, and was sitting up in bed. This time he was fully awake, and I sat down on the bed beside him and drew him into a hug.
"I know he's going to get me pop…..I'm scared," he whimpered.
I looked into his eyes and said, "No he's not Sean; I'm going to make sure he doesn't… and that's a promise."
"Can I sleep with you tonight pop?" he asked.
I looked into his deep blue eyes and I knew he needed a sense of security.
"How about I sit in the chair here with you until you fall asleep?" I asked.
He nodded yes and he put his head down but turned so he could see me. I waited until I was sure he was asleep and went back to my own bed. I hadn't felt this needed since my wife died and it was a great feeling.