Copright ©2007 Tris
I nudged my brother, Jude, as we lay in a sand dune about 30 yards from Mr. Franklin's beach house.
He lowered the binoculars he was looking through, then shoved me back, hard. "Piss off, I'm trying to see where he is.
I licked my lips nervously, then looked over my shoulder to see if my twin brothers Corey and Chris were still sitting there holding the rope we had brought to tie up Mr. Franklin. They were, and I turned my head back around and watched the house.
"I don't know..." I said suddenly, causing Jude to startle and lower the binoculars once more. "I don't think what we're doing is right."
"Shut up, Tyler, and you'd better not bail out now or I'll kick your ass."
I shut up then, knowing that Jude wasn't issuing an idle threat. He had kicked my ass before and I knew he could do it again. I also knew how important this mission was to him.
It had been Jude's plan to kidnap Mr. Franklin, and I think it was out of desperation that he had hatched the plan to begin with. He was desperate not to have to look after me and my bothers.
And I knew he would get stuck looking after us too, because Daddy had died of a heart attack the year before and Mama was so grief-stricken that she just lay in her bed all day.
The twins ran wild on the beach most of the time, and I didn't care, even when they didn't come home at night. I knew I should care, because they were just twelve, but ever since Daddy died and Mama took to her bed, I really didn't care much about anything.
"If you think I'm going to stay here and take care of all of you, you're fucking insane," Jude had said, after the beach patrolman had brought the twins home and had warned me and Jude what would happen if he found them outside again at night. "I'll call social services," he had informed us grimly. "It's just not safe for boys that age to sleep on the beach alone."
Jude had sounded sincere when he promised it wouldn't happen again, but when the patrolman was gone he had said that thing about not staying. My stomach had lurched when he said it, because I realized that it would be just me and the twins,and Mama laying on her bed all the time, and for a minute I thought I might suffocate.
Sometimes I would take off for days at a time, just bumming around on the beach; trying to forget everything. when I would return, all grungy and exhausted, Jude would usually give me shove or a punch and then say, "You'd better get your shit together, bro, because as soon as I turn eighteen, I'm out of here."
Sometimes we didn't eat except for what we could scrounge up, and sometimes we slept in the daytime, because things had changed so much since Daddy died that we just kind of wandered around in our own little world, not exactly sure how to do things, I guess. The twins got wilder and wilder, and I withdrew into my head. Jude...well, he just got angrier all the time.
And then one day Mr. Franklin dropped by.
He had the twins in tow, and I looked at them--I mean really looked at them-- for the first time in months. Their brown hair was past their shoulder's and was all knotted together, and their t-shirts had holes in them. I remember thinking they looked like street people or something, and the contrast of how they looked now and the way they had looked before Daddy died, made me feel...I guess despair.
"Do these belong to you?" Mr. Franklin had asked with a chuckle, and something about his voice or maybe his chuckle reminded me of Daddy. "Yes," I had admitted as they shoved their way past me and ran off to another room.
"Good, good. Well I found them eating some raw sand crabs and thought maybe they might better come on home to eat," he said with a wink.
I smiled a little, feeling embarrassed that the twins had been doing something like that, then tried to come up with some excuse. "Well, they are just very curious about tasting things. I don't why," I said and then shrugged.
He looked at me for a minute, and then spoke. "How rude of me not to introduce myself. Must be getting forgetful in my old age," he said and slapped at his forehead lightly, causing me to smile more. "I'm Jim Franklin," he said as he stuck out his hand, and I'm spending the summer at the beach house up on top of the cliff."
I rubbed my dirty hand on my jeans before sticking it out to shake. "I'm Tyler Rhodes," I said distractedly, thinking about the old beach house he was talking about and wondering why anyone would want to spend the summer in that old broken down place.
"Your mom or dad anywhere around?" he asked in that same cheerful tone, but I could see him looking at my ratty clothes as he asked the question. "No, Mama has a cold right now," I lied. "She can't get out of bed, but I'll let her know you came over when she's feeling better."
He looked further into the house, and I thought he looked a little concerned.
I looked around quickly, eying the house like a stranger might. Two chairs were overturned in the living room and there were old newspapers lying around and plates on the coffee table. "Sorry, about the mess," I said quickly, closing the front door a few inches so he couldn't keep looking at how horrible everything looked.
He grinned. "No problem, you should see what my house looks like.... Is your dad home? I think it might be a good idea for one of your parents to know that those boys were eating raw shellfish. I don't know how healthy it is."
"No, he's not home," I said quickly, thinking Mr. Franklin was turning out to be kind of nosy. "I'll tell my mother, but I doubt that they'll get sick or anything."
"OK, then," he had said in that same friendly tone. "I'll see you later, Tyler. Let me know if your mother needs anything at all."
I nodded, and then watched him walk down the steps of the porch. He walked kind of like my dad, with confidence but without any swagger or strut. It seemed to me at that moment, like he would be reliable, and I wanted to go after him and tell him that we needed some help. But, then I thought about what Jude might do if I told anyone about our circumstances, and so I quickly shut the door.
The next time I saw Mr. Franklin again was on the day when Jude was shoving my head under the waves. He just lost it that day because the twins were nowhere to be found and I had been gone for a few days too. Through the blur of water, I could see his eyes and they looked glazed and crazy. I sputtered and fought for air, fearing that he was really going to drown me.
I heard a shout as I came up for the second time, and then I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me to my feet.
I stood in the waist deep water, panting for breath; staring in shock at Jude, who was red-faced and struggling to get Mr. Franklin's hand off his arm.
"Whoa now. What's all this about?" Mr Franklin asked while retaining his hold on my furious brother.
Jude didn't answer he just kept trying to pull away from Mr. Franklin, but he wasn't strong enough.
"I hate you, Jude! You're absolutely the worst brother!" I spat out at my brother. "I swear, I'll get you back for this someday."
Mr Franklin looked at me then, a piercing look that caused me to lower my eyes, and then he suddenly started for the shore, dragging us both by the arms like we were little kids.
"I think we better tell your folks about this," he said as he led up to the house.
"Mama's still sick," I told him. "She has a cold, remember?"
"It's been nearly two weeks, since you told me she had a cold," he said somberly, after marching us up the front steps and then releasing us.
"Our mother is still fucking sick, mister!" Jude reiterated, seeming almost as angry as he had when he had pushed my head under the water. Just then the twins came out of the front door and ran past us with a shout, and neither of them were wearing any clothes.
Mr Franklin looked surprised and then he furrowed his brow. "Now look, I want to talk to your mom or dad. If your mother is still sick I will call a doctor for her, but I need to speak to her about you boys fighting in the water."
I looked over at Jude, while biting at my lip. I knew he hated me and had probably wanted to kill me earlier, but he was the oldest and therefore it was his decision. I wanted to tell Mr. Franklin everything, and I don't know if Jude sensed that or what, but he shook his head fiercely at me.
It was my turn to lose it, at his refusal, and I sat down on the porch, tears streaming out of my eyes, knowing there was no other way out of our predicament.
"Stop it, Ty!" Jude barked at me. "You big wuss!" I looked up just in time to see Mr. Franklin grab Jude's arm and give it a rough shake, and was surprised that Jude didn't lash out.
"You don't talk to your brother like that? Do you understand me? I'll tell you another thing, young man, If I was your father I would give you a hard whipping for that stunt you pulled in the ocean. You don't push someone's head under water. It's dangerous."
I looked at Mr. Franklin, wide-eyed with admiration. Nobody ever talked to Jude like that and got away with it, but my seventeen-year-old brother was looking down at his feet. "All right, sorry," he said sullenly.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and stood up, feeling a twinge of hope for the first time in months. If Mr. Franklin could handle Jude then maybe he could help us all. Maybe he could make the twins calm down, and maybe he could talk to Mama and help her with her grief. Maybe he could handle things for a while so I wouldn't have a big lump of worry in my stomach all the time.
Despite the fact that Jude would most likely beat the crap out of me for doing it, I opened the front door. "Mama's room is this way," I said as I stepped over a pile of dirty clothes in the living room, then pushed papers and other stuff out of the way with my feet to make a path.
Mr Franklin didn't say a word about the mess, he just followed me to Mama's door.
I ignored the fact that Jude, who had followed us inside, was glaring at me, and knocked softly on Mama's door. When she didn't tell me to come in, I called out to her. "Mama, a neighbor is here and he wants to make sure you're OK. His name is Mr. Franklin."
I waited a minute, but when she didn't respond, I slowly opened the door and then stepped back, my heart pounding at the thought that maybe Mama would be mad that I let strangers get involved in our problems.
As Mr Franklin softly stepped inside her bedroom, I felt guilty at betraying her privacy, but then a wave of anger washed over me, obliterating the guilt. I was too young to be having to make decisions like this, and if she would just get up and be our mother, I wouldn't have to.
I stood to the side of the open doorway and leaned my back against the wall, listening while Mr. Franklin talked to Mama in a low voice. I couldn't make out a lot of what they said to each other, but I could hear the tiredness in Mama's voice and realized it sounded a lot like I felt most of the time. Just really tired of everything.
After a couple of minutes I heard footsteps and I tensed wondering if there was anything Mr. Franklin could do for us, or if he was going to take us away like the policeman had threatened to do.
When Mr franklin saw me he gave me a nod and a smile that somehow reassured me. I realized then that I hadn't been wrong in letting Mr. Franklin talk to Mama.
"She's very sick, Tyler, she is very depressed. Do you know what clinical depression is?"
I nodded. "Yeah, it's some kind of mental problem," I said, looking him in the eye so he wouldn't think I was ashamed of whatever was wrong with Mama.
"Yes, and she can't help it. She also told me that your father died last year. How come you didn't tell me that when I asked to see him?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I...I don't know."
He put his hand on my shoulder, like Daddy used to do and said, "Your mom told me that you bring her food every day and that you sit and talk with her a lot."
I nodded and looked down at my tattered sneakers. "Yeah, except for the times when I leave, I guess. Jude gets the food for us though, and the twins help out some," I responded, wanting to stick up for my brothers but also feeling a little shame that we all hadn't done more for Mama when she was sick.
Mr Franklin gave my shoulder a pat before taking his hand off. "Well you've done a fine job, Tyler, a fine job."
I felt good at the unexpected praise, but I could also tell that he wanted to say something else, so I waited, looking him expectantly.
He cleared his throat. "Well, I know you boys are independent young men, and are handling things, but I was thinking that maybe I could chip in a little around here, just until your mother is feeling better. Do you think that would be all right?"
I opened my mouth to say it was more than OK, but for some reason nothing came out. I nodded at him.
I saw through the hall doorway when Jude, who had been sitting on the couch, jumped to his feet and left the house. The sound of the screen door banging closed ringing in my ears. I shook my head in defeat. "Jude's the oldest," I said hopelessly, "and I don't think he wants any help."
"I'll talk to him," Mr. Franklin said with a smile. "I'll bet I can change his mind."
I had my doubts. "I don't know. He kind of runs things around here and he..." I broke of from explaining and sighed, knowing there was no way that Jude would accept any kind of help from anyone.
"I'll handle it, Tyler" he said, and the determination I heard in his voice, made me feel kind of hopeful again.
"OK."
Mr. Franklin pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled some bills out. "While I talk to your brother, I'd really appreciate it if you would walk over to the Bayside Market and get some ground meat, tomatoes and pasta. I can't cook very well, but my wife made sure I knew how to prepare a few dishes..."
He had a far away look in his eyes when he mentioned his wife. I knew that look. it was the same look Mama wore if I ever mentioned Daddy to her.
I took the money from him, knowing that his wife must've died, and although I wanted to ask him about it, I didn't.
He refocused his eyes on me after a minute. "Do you like Spaghetti, Tyler?" he asked with a smile.
I nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"Great! You go ahead to the market and I'll talk to Jude. Is that a deal?"
I smiled back at him. "Sure, " I said, fully intending to go to the store but afraid that when I got back Mr. Franklin would be gone from our lives. A shudder ran through me when I thought of what Jude might do to me later on, but I did as Mr Franklin asked of me, trying to keep the flicker of hope alive.
When I got back from the market and walked into the house with the dinner ingredients, a slow grin of relief spread across my face, because not only was Mr. Franklin still around but he was actually in the same room with Jude.
"I got the stuff, Mr. Franklin," I said as I walked to where he he was stooping over picking up paper plates and other garbage from the floor.
Jude was scowling at me but I just ignored it, thinking he couldn't do too much to me while there was an adult around.
"Mr Franklin looked up from his work and smiled at me. "Great job, Tyler. Why don't you put the bags on the kitchen counter and then as soon as your brother goes and fetches the younger boys, I'll prepare dinner."
I nodded and went to the kitchen, thinking about the way Mr. Franklin issued instructions. He wasn't all bossy like Jude and he didn't punctuate his words with a punch or a snarl. No, he was really nice and everything, but you still understood that he expected you to do as he said.
That was just the way Daddy had been, he knew how to tell you to do something without making you feel like a piece of crap. It was more than that though, it was like he made us want to do the things he told us because he made it seem like we were a team.
As I set the bag of groceries down, I decided I was going to listen and watch Mr. Franklin very closely to see how he was able to tell people what to do in a nice way, so that when I was a grown up, I could do the same thing.
I was just standing in the kitchen thinking about that kind of stuff when Jude came up behind me and punched my arm.
I hissed and spun around to face him, grimacing in pain.
"I'm still your boss," he said in a low tone, pushing his face into mine.
I automatically lowered my eyes then forced myself to raise them again. "Yeah, Jude, I know that, but I thought you wanted to leave here when you turned eighteen. Maybe Mr. Franklin will stay and be our dad, and then you'll-"
He slugged me again, a quick, low punch to my belly that I didn't even see coming, and while I was bent over trying to catch my breath, he slapped the back of my head. "You dick! Nobody can replace Daddy. Don't you fucking ever say that again!"
"All right," I panted out, finding it hard to draw any air into my lungs, and hoping he wasn't going to hit me anymore. "I won't s..ay it a..again."
"Good! I'm going to go find the twins," he snarled at me and then left through the kitchen door, leaving me in peace to lick my wounds and think dark thoughts about him.
As the five of us sat at the kitchen table later on and ate our spaghetti, I felt the knot in my stomach dissolve into a warm feeling. Maybe it was the hot food, which we hadn't had in a while, or maybe it was the fact that we were all sitting down together like we did when Daddy was still alive. I don't know exactly why, but I noticed that things literally started looking brighter. The tomato sauce had a rich red hue to it and when I looked over at the twins--who were fully dressed, for once, I noticed a pink tinge of excitement in their cheeks.
"This is really nice," I commented, which earned me a hard kick under the table from Jude. I winced.
Mr Franklin gave me broad grin and then leveled his gaze at Jude. "I know what you just did, and if you do that again, you'll have to leave the table."
I looked out of the corner of my eye at Jude, my mouth now full of spaghetti, and waited to see how he was going to respond.
The twins had stopped arguing with one another about whether seals were mammals, and were staring wide-eyed at Mr Franklin.
It didn't take Jude long to respond to the challenge to his place as man of the house, but I didn't expect him to do what he did.
Standing up and knocking the chair over, he swept his arms across the table knocking plates of food and glasses to the floor.
Chris covered his ears and let out a wail, and Corey squawked really loud, but I wasn't surprised, not really. The ball in my stomach grew as I looked up at my brother's enraged face.
He was leaning on the table, panting and glaring at Mr. Franklin, just like some kind of crazy person might.
I managed to swallow my food, and then I stood up, not knowing what else to do.
"Sit back down, Tyler," Mr. Franklin said calmly before standing up, and striding over to tower over my brother.
I plopped back down in my chair, wondering how long it would take the beach patrol to get to our house if Jude attacked Mr Franklin. My eyes darted from Jude's expression of pure defiance to Mr Franklin's look of raw determination, awhile tryig to gauge the situation. Mr Franklin was at least three inches taller than Jude and he weighed a lot more, but my brother was strong...real strong.
Mr. Franklin did just what I had been hoping he wouldn't do. He grabbed Jude by the arm.
"You've ruined everyone's dinner, young man, and that's unacceptable. Your mother told me that I could help out around here for awhile, including looking after you boys, and that is just what I am going to do, whether you like it or not."
I watched Jude turn his blazing eyes to Mr Franklin and was astonished when he spat full in the man's face!"
"Oh god," I moaned.
Mr Franklin wiped the spit off his face with the back of his shirt sleeve, and I saw the sparkle of anger in his eyes just before he dragged my fiercely struggling brother from the room.
I shot up from my seat. "No!" I shouted out. "Mr. Franklin, No!"
Mr Franklin didn't pay much attention to my outburst, but Jude, who was still trying to jerk away from the man, yelled at me, "Ty, help me beat the crap out of him!"
I stood there paralyzed. Jude was my blood, my bro, and he wanted my help, but Mr. Franklin was our only hope. I felt like I was being twisted one way and another, and I just couldn't make the decision of what to do.
I saw a flash of pain cross my brother's face when I sat back down at the table, and I knew he'd never forgive my betrayal.
"What's going on, Ty?" Chris asked in a shaky voice? What's that noise?"
I was resting my head in my hands, trying to block out the sound with my palms, but I looked over at my little brother, and I knew I had to answer him. "I think Mr. Franklin is giving Jude a spanking. You know, like Daddy used to spank us sometimes," I replied, trying to make it sound normal and sane that a neighbor was physically punishing our big brother.
My heart was thudding like it would burst.
Corey looked at me with big eyes. "Why is he doing that?"
"I don't know. I guess he thinks he needs it," I replied.
I tried to answer their questions while pretending that I couldn't hear the sounds from the other room; sounds that were ripping me in two. I couldn't bear the thought of my proud big brother being hurt--even though he had done much worse to me at times--and I was deeply ashamed because I hadn't taken his part earlier.
Suddenly it was all just to too much to handle, and I stood up from my chair. "I've got to get out of here!" I rasped out to the twins even as I quickly made my way to the door. "I'll see you later!"
There was a small cove about a mile down the beach from out house, and like many times before, that's where I ended up.
Lying on my belly in the still warm sand I looked out at the dark waves of the sea. I calmed down as I watched the rhythm of the surf as it broke along the shoreline and receded again.
I gazed up at the sky and the stars twinkled just like they always did. They were the same stars that I used to wish on when I was the twins' age, and I was tempted to wish on one of them that night. Maybe, it was OK to wish on two stars because that was what was needed, so I did that. I wished on one for my brother, and I wished on one for Mr. Franklin.
After I pushed my wishes out onto the universe, I rolled over on my back and closed my eyes, ready for my memories to take me to a safe place where my stomach might stop hurting and where my brother was not getting a whipping.
The images came quickly--from practice, I guess--and I was imagining me and my bothers and my mom and dad in the backyard having a cook out. In my make-believe we were all dancing around with happiness, and my dad had his arm around my mother and she was laughing...she was laughing. And then my older brother and I were playing football. Jude was smirking proudly at me because he had made a touchdown, and the twins were stuffing their pudgy faces with potato chips and sticking their tongues out to gross everyone out. I was running and jumping, and trying to snatch the football out of Jude's hands, kind of happy that I couldn't do it yet....
When I woke up my mouth was dry and sand was stuck to the corners of my lips where I had been drooling. I shaded my eyes and looked up at the sun. I realized from it's position that it was early afternoon, and I was shocked that I had slept so long.
Just as I was getting to my feet and slapping the sand off the back of my jeans, I remembered the night before, and the day before that, and it felt like a giant rock was settling on my shoulders.
I didn't want to go back home yet; didn't want to know about the aftermath of last night, but I hadn't brought a water bottle with me, and my thirst forced me to plod through the sand toward home.
I slowly opened the kitchen door, trying to prepare myself for whatever I was going to encounter inside. I looked around the kitchen, expecting to see the broken dishes and food still on the floor, but it was all cleaned up.
Trying to force myself to feel brave, I walked on through the kitchen and out into the living room.
The twins were sitting on the floor, in front of the TV, still in their pajamas. They looked up at me in unison. "You're in trouble," Chris said to me before looking back at the cartoon they were watching.
"Where's Jude," I asked quickly, looking around for him. "What do you mean I'm in trouble? Is Mr. Franklin still here? Is everything OK?"
It was Corey who looked up this time. "Jude's in his room, and Mr. Franklin went to look for you. He said you were in trouble for leaving."
I flopped down on the couch, feeling both extreme relief and a dull sense of fear. "Was Mr Franklin mad at me?" I asked, then added,"Is Jude OK. What happened after I left? Is Mama still asleep?"
Chris turned and rolled his eyes at me. "We're watching TV, Ty."
I frowned. "I know. Just answer my questions and I'll leave you alone, OK?"
"Mr Franklin did spank Jude, just like you said," Corey informed me. "When Jude came back to the table his eyes were all red but he helped Mr. Franklin clean up the mess he'd made. Can you believe it?" he said as if it was the most amazing thing in the world, which, I guess, it was.
"Wow," I remarked, finding what Corey was saying a little unbelievable.
Corey turned back to the television and I sat there, trying to figure things out until I was too tired to think anymore.
Just as I was standing up so I could get a glass of water, The front door opened and Mr Franklin walked in.
I heard him sigh when he looked over at me. "Where have you been?" he asked, his voice sounding really tired.
"I went to the beach."
He took a couple of steps toward me. "Do you know how worried I was when I saw you were gone?"
I started feeling kind of defensive, and my cheeks started burning with long pent up resentments. "Well, I leave sometimes, and I don't see why you were worried because I can take care of myself. I've done it for a long time....
He took another step toward me and put his hand on my shoulder. I chafed a little under it. "What's the big deal, anyway?" I asked.
"Well, Tyler, I guess the big deal is that I thought we had come to an understanding yesterday that I was going to pitch in around here. Part of my responsibility is to make sure you boys are safe. When a boy of fourteen-"
"I'm nearly sixteen," I interrupted sullenly, feeling offended by his mistake.
"All right, when a boy of nearly sixteen leaves and stays out all night, I'd say that is very unsafe. What do you think your dad would think if he knew you were staying out all night?"
"It's because Daddy is dead that I can't stand it around here anymore!" I blurted out angrily. "If things weren't complete shit around here, maybe I'd want to stay. Maybe if Mama would get out of bed once in a while and take care of us...." I trailed off, feeling tears stinging my eyes and not wanting to cry in front of Mr. Franklin.
Mr Franklin was quiet for a minute, then he turned to the twins. "Why don't you guys head outside and play for a while? Tyler and I need to talk privately."
It wasn't a question and the twins knew it. They grumbled a little but got up and quickly obeyed, just like when Daddy used to tell them to do something.
Once they were gone, Mr Franklin went and sat down on the sofa, then motioned for me to sit with him.
I hesitated, because after the way he had spanked Jude last night, I was worried that I might be next.
"Come talk with me, please, Tyler," he said so gently that my fears were eased a little and I went over to sit next to him.
"I know last night might have seemed frightening to you, but your brother needed me to take over and show him that I could handle him. I know that may not make any sense to you right now, but when you're older I think you might understand better."
I just looked at him. He was right, I didn't exactly understand what he meant.
Mr Franklin smiled a little and then continued in the same gentle tone, "He's OK, Tyler. He knows now that I'm serious about helping your family get back on track, and that I'm also serious about keeping him in line."
He cleared his throat, just like he had yesterday, and I realized that must be something he usually did when he had to say something really important. "But, you know I can't do everything around here by myself. You boys are going to have to help me, and that means that you can't run away when things get tough. Tyler, I was very worried about you."
"Yeah...well sometimes I just have to go, Mr Franklin, because I can't handle stuff," I mumbled.
He rested his hand lightly on my arm. "You really don't have to worry about handling so much while I'm here, but, you do need to bear with me as I establish a little bit of order. Together we can pull things together, but you've got to place a little faith in me and my abilities. Do you think you can do that?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
He sighed heavily. "I thought we had come to an understanding, you and I," he repeated.
"I'm sorry, but sometimes I just have to be by myself, but I am glad you're here," I added, wanting to end the conversation but not wanting to hurt his feelings either.
I knew that if we continued talking, I might start getting upset and angry all over again, and all I wanted to do at that moment was to get a glass of water and go take a bath to wash the sand off."
The hand that had so gently lain on my arm a minute ago now tightened it's grip. "I thought we could talk this out, Tyler, but it looks like I'm going to have to show you that I mean business as far as your leaving and staying out all night. Just like Jude kicking you under the table and then knocking our dinner onto the floor, your leaving is not acceptable behavior.
I frowned, trying to slowly twist my arm from his grasp without actually jerking it away. "I don't know what you're talking about," I gasped out. "But,you can't just come in here and take over like this. Our father would've never allowed you to punish us or..." I stopped talking when I remembered that I was the one who had taken Mr. Franklin to see Mama in the first place so he could help us.
He looked at me for a minute, and I guess he had already decided what he was going to do to me, because the next thing I knew I was upended across his lap, my shoes making squeaking sounds as I pedaled at the living room floor, and my chin digging into the arm of the couch.
"Hey, let me up!" I shouted while still struggling. He was too strong for me though, and when he pinned my legs between his, I knew it was hopeless to keep trying. I finally stopped kicking and scrambling and just lay there fuming.
My face was flaming hot with embarrassment, because for one thing my butt was sticking up in the air. Mostly, though, I was embarrased because he was treating me like a little kid when I was anything but.
"All you boys are going to get your chance to go over my knee now and again, I imagine" he said, "and there's no shame in that. My dad spanked me many a time when I was your age, and until the five of us come to an understanding, this is likely to be commonplace. Don't be ashamed to cry, Tyler, because this is going to hurt."
"I'm not going to cry!" I spat out. "My brother beats the crap out of me all the time and I don't cry, so why would I cry from a spanking?"
"He won't do that anymore as long as I'm around," Mr. Franklin said calmly, but before I had the chance to respond, he brought his hand down on the seat of my jeans with a solid whomp.
My eyes widened at the shock of that spank. It hurt some, but I'd had much worse from Jude. I could handle the sting, but the embarrassment was what was so unbearable.
He continued swatting my butt, and I gritted my teeth and dug my fingernails into a sofa cushion. I didn't cry. I wasn't going to let Mr. Franklin make me cry, because I needed for him to think of me as strong and brave, even though I wasn't.
He just kept whaling on me though, his palm slapping down on the same place over and over, and though I toughed it out the best I could, I started to worry that he wasn't ever going to stop.
Hopelessness welled up inside of me, as my butt continued heating up. "You don't know what's it been like!" I suddenly burst out. "You don't know how hard I tried at first, but our father left us and our mother doesn't care about us at all or she'd take care of us!"
He stopped whacking me after I said that as if I had uttered some kind of magic words, and then he helped me off his lap, guiding me by the arm to sit back down on the sofa beside him
"Your father died, Tyler. He didn't leave you," he said, panting a little with the words as if he was all worn out from spanking me. "I'm sure he didn't want to die, but he just couldn't help it. Your mother is very ill, and she can't help that either. I don't think she can care about much of anything right now, because the illness affects how she is able to think."
He slowly put his arm around me as if he didn't know how I would react, but strangely enough I wasn't mad at him. I was too busy trying to understand what he was saying to me.
Sometimes, Tyler, things just happen, and it isn't anyone's fault. Sometimes, I think it's just easier on us when we believe that it is. When my wife died a few years back, I believed the doctor could have saved her had he done more, or worked harder, but now I've let that go."
"Why?" I asked feeling really confused. "Why did you let it go? I wouldn't have."
"Maybe so I could go on living," Mr Franklin said.
"All I want is for things to go back to the way they were," I said tiredly.
"Me too," he said softly, as if he were a long ways away. "But I don't think they ever can, so how about we work together and try to make things better for your family without trying to make them exactly the way they were?"
"OK, I'll try," I said feeling a sense of purpose growing inside of me. "I really will, Mr. Franklin. I'll try."
He gave my shoulder a squeeze. "And, no more leaving, because I don't want to ever have to repeat this again."
"Me neither," I agreed, still able to feel the sting in my butt from the spanking he had given me.
I did try after I made that promise to Mr. Franklin. I did my share around the house and I tried to study more for school, like Mr. Franklin asked. But it wasn't just me and Mr. Franklin who tried. I could see that Jude was trying to control his anger, and that my twin brothers were trying in their way, to behave, although they found themselves across Mr. Franklin's knees a few time getting their butt's warmed up.
Mr Franklin came over every day to cook meals and he stayed late until we were all asleep. Sometimes I could hear him in Mama's room talking to her.
It wasn't like a fairytale or anything, but slowly things did start to improve a little. Jude even smiled on occasion, which was something that amazed me.
The arguments and power struggles continued, especially between Jude and Mr. Franklin, but we all sat at the table together every night to eat, and we sometimes played board games together. One time Mr.Franklin even convinced Mama to come to the table, and that was the most amazing thing of all. She was really tired and had to go back to bed after a few minutes, but she ate a little and she talked a bit.
Mr Franklin told us later that she had agreed to let him drive her to a doctor that he knew, a doctor who helped people with the kind of sickness Mama had. It was then that I really felt that things were changing for the better.
Then came the day that Mr, Franklin sat my brothers and I down and explained he would have to leave for a while. He explained that his sister's husband had died suddenly and that he needed to be with her for a few weeks. He promised us he'd be back, but I didn't know what to think.
"I knew it," Jude said in a really cynical way. "I knew you'd bail on us."
Then he gave me a look that seemed to say 'I told you so.'
I didn't say anything at all, but I started having sharp pains in my belly after he told us, because I figured Jude was right. There was no reason for Mr. Franklin to come back to us. After all we weren't his real family, and we were a lot of trouble. I knew if it was me, I wouldn't come back, and I just figured he felt the same.
So we lay there in the dunes watching and waiting for Mr. Franklin to emerge from his house, knowing what each of us had to do to keep our surrogate father with us.
We were ready and waiting, but I know in my heart of hearts that it probably wasn't going to work out. I knew you couldn't make someone stay around if they didn't want to, even if my big brother couldn't get it through his head.
I rubbed a palm over the swollen flesh under my eye, where Jude had punched me the night before to persuade me to agree with the kidnapping plan, and then I looked over at him and watched the fierce way his mouth moved in unspoken rage while he stared through the binoculars.
I made a hard decision then, so quickly getting up from my hiding place, I made a mad dash up the sand dunes and over to the paved walkway that led up to Mr. Franklin's house. "Mr Franklin! I yelled out at the top of my lungs. "Stay Inside!"
He opened his screen door and looked out at me, a suitcase in each hand, while I explained what we had planned to do to him. I was filled with shame as I told him, because he had been good to us....
"Mr Franklin! You came back!" I said as I lunged out to hug him.
He hugged me back and ruffled my hair, then held me at arm's length and gave me a long, hard look. "Didn't I tell you I would? Now let's go find your brothers so we can deal with this kidnapping business."
The grin left my face as it dawned on me what Mr. Franklin meant when he said "deal with this kidnapping business."
I nodded and led him into the house and over to Mama so he could say hello to her, knowing full well that my brothers and I would soon be getting what we had coming to us for what we had attempted to do.
And even though I wasn't smiling anymore, there was a warmth in my stomach where the huge knot used to reside, because Mr. Franklin had kept his word, in spite of everything, and had come back to us.
Copright ©2007 Tris