Chapter 15
"So I told my son that if it was good enough for Davey to go along it's good enough for me to go as well!" Grandma Jones was saying with a self-righteous nod. Her hair was freshly done, as were her nails, and I regretted that there wasn't more room in the Eagle. I was stuck between her and Uncle Billy while Uncle Phil and Dad sat in the front seats. Grandma had not stopped her constant chatter since we left Modesto and now, as we were pulling into San Francisco she was still going on and on. "Of course we should be visiting these poor, sick people. Just so long as they don't try to make me sick! I've got to make sure they know better than to try that with my son or Davey as well. You never know what people are going to do when they're desperate."
"Mom, that's enough." Dad said from the driver's seat. She'd ostensibly been talking to Uncle Billy, who was all but snoring as he tried to stay 'asleep' instead of having to listen to my grandmother. For some unknown reason, I loved her, as did Dad. It would be far easier to ignore her if we didn't.
"Don't you talk to me that way!" Grandma sassed right back at Dad and I had to smile with my head turned away. I could see Uncle Billy crack a smile while still pretending to be asleep. "I'm your mother! You ought to be glad I'm going along to keep you safe. Honestly, exposing me and your own son to this disease is pure crazy. What have those people ever done to deserve your attention anyway?'
"They're all God's children, Mrs. Jones." Uncle Phil said from the front seat with a hint of mirth in his voice. Sure, he'd always found Grandma's habits amusing, but he'd never had to live with her like I had in my first lifetime!
"Fine, let them go see God!" Grandma countered with a wave of her hand. "Just so they don't hurt me or my family, let them go see God for comfort."
"They are, which is why God is sending us, his servants." Uncle Phil countered and I was both amused and worried by his comments.
It should have been another twenty years before Uncle Phil really started to understand comforting others instead of judging them and condemning them.
"Would you look at that?" Uncle Billy said as he sat up straighter. He was dressed in a dark suit, like Uncle Phil, while Dad wore his Navy Chaplain's uniform. Grandma was even dressed up in a dark blue dress that actually looked nice on her. I was wearing a simple pair of dark slacks and a white collared shirt. Uncle Billy's statement was referring to the sea of humanity that blocked the street ahead of us. Uniformed National Guardsmen, complete with M-16 rifles were attempting to direct traffic away from the crowd, and keep the crowd back from the large building that was the local hospital designated as a quarantine center.
"Sir, you're going to have to turn around." A guardsman said as we got near the crowd. He'd saluted when he saw Dad's uniform and I had to smile to myself at the thought of how much Dad must have enjoyed that. He always seemed to take great delight in military courtesies, something I pretty much took for granted.
"I'm Lieutenant (JG) Jones and I'm here for the Presidential Commission Inspection." Dad said carefully as he handed over his two identification cards. The Guardsman looked at them carefully and then nodded before speaking into a hand-held radio.
"Okay, sir, if you'll turn off to the left we'll get your party out of your car." The Guardsman said carefully. "Captain Saunders will meet you there and have one of the men take your car to the staging area where our vehicles are. You and your party will then be escorted inside."
"Thank you, sergeant." Dad said and I had to smile. At least he was getting the ranks correct now. We pulled over to the far side of the road and got out of the car as several uniformed men approached us. Both Dad and Uncle Phil remembered to grab their bibles on the way out of the car. The soldiers were led by an older officer who looked as if he had a sore tooth.
"Welcome to the front lines." Captain Saunders said after Dad remembered to salute him (the man was one rank higher than Dad after all). We were still a hundred feet from the closest protestors but it was still hard to hear the man over the din of the crowd. The sight of crowd, and the noise, was something I'd come to expect after two lifetimes of this struggle, but for the rest of my family I knew it must be something new and almost scary. The signs were as unoriginal as those in the last two lifetimes. "AIDS is God's Judgment on Homosexuals" was just one of the stereotypical sayings they carried. "If you folks will follow me, we'll get you inside as quickly as possible."
He had three men who formed a buffer on our right side, between us and the nearest protestors. They led us through an area cordoned off with police barricades and police officers joined the National Guard troops in keeping the area in the front of the hospital clear. There were a couple of National Guard jeeps and trucks near the front, forming a back-up zone a hundred feet back from the police barricades. When they saw us heading towards the front of the hospital, several shouts were clearly audible!
"Sinners"
"You're going to burn in hell!"
"God will deal with you!"
I could see Grandma visibly flinch as those and worse things were verbally thrown our way. Sympathy welled up inside me as Grandma had tears form in her eyes and I put my arm around her. I could see a part of Uncle Phil's face as he walked in front of me and he was frowning. Normally, he'd probably be part of that crowd throwing out biblical quotes at anyone going inside, but now that he was on the receiving end of things I could see how they were affecting him.
"Don't they know we're not one of them?" Grandma said as we approached the glass sliding doors at the entrance.
"You're going inside and that's all that matters to them." Uncle Billy said with some anger in his voice. The men in my family really were surprising me this time around.
"They shouldn't be like that!" Grandma griped as we entered the building. Like most hospitals there was a waiting area near the main entrance, and a receptionist desk. Two older hospital employees sat at the desk, looking slightly afraid as our group moved in. The woman on the left frowned slightly while the older man next to her tried to put a smile on his face. Captain Saunders didn't lead us towards them though, instead taking us past two armed Guardsman who snapped to attention as we passed. Coming down the hallway was a slightly older officer, bearing the silver oak leaf of a Lt. Colonel on the collar tabs of his combat fatigues. Captain Saunders saluted him, and I smiled when dad nodded his head. As with Navy tradition, he'd taken his cap off as we entered and Navy personnel did NOT salute indoors while Army personnel did.
Good, all those hours drumming Navy protocols into him were paying off.
"You may return to your duties, Captain." The Colonel said calmly and Captain Saunders turned on his heel to leave, followed by the troops who had escorted us inside. The senior officer looked at us for a moment with a slight frown before introducing himself to Dad. "You must be Lieutenant Jones. I'm Lt. Colonel McCoy of the California National Guard. We were expecting two people."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Colonel." Dad said politely, shaking the man's proffered hand. "My mother and brothers-in-law wanted to see things first-hand, and visit with some of the patients here. The tall man here is my brother-in-law Phil Wright, pastor of the Mountain View Baptist Church in Washington. This is another of my brothers-in-law, Bill Barrows, and my mother Nina Jones. This young man is my son, Davey Jones."
"It's a pleasure to meet you folks." Lt. Colonel McCoy said politely. "Welcome to the San Francisco AIDS Central Quarantine Center. We're honored to have you folks visit here, and especially to have our first visit by a member of the Presidential Commission. If you'll follow me, I've arranged for the leading physician here to meet with you."
"That sounds like a good start, Colonel." Dad said with a smile. The officer nodded and led us deeper into the building. This was the same hospital I'd been in before when Brian and I visited his dying uncle. It was both more empty than I remembered, and busier. There were far more soldiers and police officers than I could remember from the last timeline, about the same number of medical staff, and far fewer civilians. I did get a glimpse of a few Catholic nuns moving through a corridor and two men in monks robes before we were led into a large conference room. Dr. Grayson, who was standing near a buffet table that had been set up against the far wall, was immediately recognizable, and the older doctor with him also seemed familiar but I couldn't remember his name.
"Ah, our visitors are here." Dr. Grayson said with a smile as we entered and crossed the room towards us. "We've got some croissants and other food as well as coffee here if you're hungry. I'm Dr. Grayson, the lead doctor here and this is my colleague Dr. Miller."
Introductions were quick and I shook Grayson's hand for the first time in this timeline. I knew he'd been consulted a lot by the government and I also was aware that he had been cleared to get the full story on how we knew as much as we did, which meant he knew about me. That knowledge earned me a longer handshake than the rest of my group, and he stared deep into my eyes as if searching for some hidden meaning in them. In return, I smiled at him as warmly as I could until he nodded and sat down at the conference table. Being the good son I was, it was up to me to get coffee and food for everyone in our group, including the Guard Officer. When everyone was seated, including me, and ready, Dr. Grayson began.
"Let me begin by stating that nothing shared here is classified information." Dr. Grayson began once we were all seated. He spared me and Dad a quick glance at that comment and then continued to speak, looking each of us in the eyes briefly. "This hospital has been designated as a Quarantine Center for the Northern California area. It's meant to be a temporary facility until a more permanent care center can be constructed in the Presidio. All non-AIDS related patients have been transferred to other hospitals in the area."
"These croissants could be fresher and this coffee is cold." Grandma said as she leaned over towards me. I was cursed with sitting next to her, and I'm sure she meant to whisper, but it was loud enough everyone heard. Uncle Phil chortled and Uncle Billy hid his face in his hands while Dad blushed furiously while groaning. I just shook my head. She realized she'd been heard and looked Dr. Grayson in the eye. "Well, it's true!"
"Of course, ma'am." Grayson replied with a nod of his head. Man that guy was a charmer. Grandma gave a satisfied nod of her head and then proceeded to wolf down the croissant and slurp loudly on the coffee while the doctor continued. For a moment, I really missed her having kicked me out of her life in the second timeline and remembered with dread the first timeline where I'd actually taken care of her when she hit her eighties.
"Please, continue, Doctor." Dad said carefully and Grayson nodded.
"We have at last count three hundred and ninety-four symptomatic patients." Dr. Grayson continued. "There are another sixty-three here who aren't fully symptomatic but have enough corollaries to justify monitoring. Field units have tested another four thousand people and we'll be getting the result back on the first of those within a few days. We're losing about five to ten patients per day."
"How awful." Grandma noted with her mouth full of croissant and she held out her empty coffee cup to me as a signal to refill it for her. I held in the sigh I felt and got up to fill it for her.
"Doctor, thank you for preparing these facts and figures for us." Dad said in the silence that followed her interruption. "We're here though to actually meet some of these people and to observe the conditions of the facility and their quarantine. If you don't mind, how about we move in that direction?"
"Most certainly, Mr. Jones." Dr. Grayson said with a nod. "I have some patients that I need to check up on, but Dr. Miller is ready to give you the grand tour."
"That will be fine." Dad said and stood up. He was followed by Dr. Miller and the rest of the family, including Grandma, who moved immediately to the Doctor's side and grabbed onto his arm.
"Don't we need to wear gloves or those gown thingies?" She asked him loudly as he reacted with surprise to her actions.
"No, ma'am, you'll only be visiting the patients, not administering care to them." He told her while wisely deciding to act as an escort for her. Dr. Grayson made no move to leave, and gave me a significant look. Dad looked over his shoulder right before leaving the room and I nodded towards Dr. Grayson. He nodded his understanding in return and left me alone with the man I'd known very well in the last timeline. For his part, Dr. Grayson made no move to leave for his patients, but instead studied me closely.
"So you're the young man who is really an old man." Grayson said at last and a short burst of laughter welled up from me.
"I see you still have your sense of humor, Doctor." I told him and then smiled wickedly at him. "How is Ellen, Dianne, and William?"
"How…um, they're doing good." He said with a shake of his head. "Okay, so it's possible someone told you their names but if I don't believe you're really from the future you'll probably come up with some personal bit of information that would convince me, right?"
"If you need to hear it, I can provide." I said with a shrug and he just shook his head.
"Okay, so I'll accept you're genuine." He stated with a frown. "Just don't expect me to like this quarantine policy."
"Why should I expect you to like it when I hate it myself?" I asked him and his frown deepened. "Hell, I can't believe the CDC recommended this personally. No quarantine is going to be totally effective with this disease. It can hide for too long, and lay dormant for too long. Sure, many people will be saved, but will it be enough?"
"Let's hope so." Grayson said softly. "By the way, it wasn't the CDC who recommended this. They opposed it and only gave in when they were told they have no other option."
"I see." I said carefully. Either the President had lied to me, or he'd been lied to by his aides, again. I would have to ask him about that in the future.
"So, are you ready for the real tour?" He asked me and I nodded before following him out of the room. We were joined by a Major Anderson before going halfway down the hallway. My tour, unlike Dad and the others, dealt more with security matters, and some of the testing equipment that was being brought on-line to conduct local blood tests for the HIV anti-body.
For an hour I toured the facilities and spoke with many of the soldiers and police officers assigned to 'guard duty' within the facility. My questions were to the point, asking about their attitudes towards being here, what they knew regarding the disease, and what they were thinking. My reactions to what they had to say were mixed. Part of me wanted to find brutal, cruel men who hated gays and thought this was their just reward. If I had, then I could have argued to end this policy.
These men weren't like that.
I knew how to read people, and their reactions weren't faked or rehearsed. Almost all of them had some fear in them, many had a dislike of gay people, but overriding everything else was a strong sense of sympathy and pity for those brought in here. They were firm in their commitment to keep them confined within these walls and the hospital garden, but there was no animosity, no hatred there. Their job was to protect those inside as well as those outside, and they were dedicated to doing that.
"We instituted a policy of requiring each person assigned here to visit with a few of the healthier and more…outgoing patients." Grayson explained after I'd said I'd talked with enough of the soldiers and policemen.
"That explains that, then." I said with a shake of my head. It was a good thing that these people were so dedicated to the right ideals, but it pretty much took away most of the arguments against quarantine that could be made. If some protestor snuck in and tried to harm a patient, they'd be in trouble. A patient would only come to harm by them by accident. All of the guards had gloves and masks if they were needed, but they didn't wear them unless they were having direct contact with a patient trying to escape. I even saw them interacting with men who were not yet so taken by the disease that they couldn't walk. The interactions were friendly for the most part, and actually lively.
The lab facilities were pretty much what I expected, and as understaffed as I feared. It would take weeks to get them fully operational, and until then there were thousands of people who had given blood samples and were now spending their nights lying awake in fear that there'd be a knock at the door and they'd be told they were infected. The sooner the lab was brought up to full speed, the sooner most of those people could get a good night's sleep.
It wasn't until we went up to the third floor, where the more serious cases were being kept that anything approaching a negative reaction from me was received. Here, there was more of a feel of tension, and as we moved past several rooms I could see some patients strapped to their beds. It was explained that they were the few who had tried to leave or sneak out, or who had assaulted nurses or guards. It was less than five percent of the total number here, but these men weren't happy and they were yelling that fact at the top of their lungs. While I couldn't blame them if I'd been in their shoes, neither could I fault the staff for having confined them in that manner.
"This floor is mostly bed-ridden patients approaching the last stages of the disease." Dr. Grayson explained as we visited the fourth floor. "Your family was brought up here so we might run into them."
"That's fine." I said with a shrug. I was disappointed at not finding anything major to complain about. Still, that was all to the good in the end. However, as we passed what looked like a waiting room, I saw a sight that made my heart stop. It could have been any guy my age with blond hair staring out a window at the protestors in the street below, but I'd know the shape of that head anywhere, the flow of the hair, the way he stood with his shoulders slumped, a signal that he was both angry and hurting, everything shrieked out to me that my husband was here. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a powder blue shirt that I remembered he always loved to wear. It had been one of his last gifts from his Uncle Rich. I must have let out a gasp when I stopped because Grayson gave me a weird look.
"Is something wrong?" He asked me and I shook my head, not trusting my voice. For that matter, I couldn't trust my hands or my legs because they were all shaking as I looked at Brian's back. Sure, last I'd known him he'd been in his mid-thirties, but his twelve-year old self was as beautiful as ever. I wanted him to turn around, to see his dark eyebrows furrow together, to hear him say my name, to tell me that he loved me and to hug me and kiss me. In that moment I felt no older than twelve, and had to remember to even breath. My mouth was dry as I spoke next.
"Dr. Grayson, Major, could you please leave me alone for a few minutes." I stated in a voice that squeaked slightly. Neither could know about my past relationship with the boy standing in that room. There was no way they could know how much I was excited and hurt to see him. As they moved off further down the corridor I stared at him staring outside and realized that nothing was worth being away from him. While it had never been said explicitly, I knew I was expected to stay away from him by the government, but they could shove that thought up their fucking asses! Nothing was going to keep me away from Brian! With a firm resoluteness, I moved forward and opened the door to the waiting room. Brian was so lost in thought he didn't hear me come in, and jumped slightly when I moved to stand next to him. Outside those windows, and several floors down, the number of protestors and counter-protestors had grown until they now looked like a sea of humanity.
"Hi." Brian said in a younger voice than the last I'd heard from him, but it was still a voice I remembered. There was hesitation there, and fear, I knew from my long experience as his husband. With determination I steeled myself to turn to my left and look him in the face. We were mere inches apart, and I could see his strong eyebrows, his beautiful nose, and those crystal blue eyes just as I remembered them being. They'd haunted my dreams every night and were now here before me.
"Hi." I managed to squeak out. He smiled hesitantly and then nodded back towards the doors.
"Got dragged along while the family visits to see the sickos, eh?" Brian asked and I frowned. The way he said that didn't sound like my Brian. He should be throwing a fit to see his uncle, not…talk about being dragged along.
"Why aren't you visiting your Uncle?" I asked him with surprise and realized I had made a big mistake. He looked at me oddly.
"How the fuck did you know it was my uncle in here?" He demanded. "You don't even know my name."
"The Doctor told me." I said with a shrug, and raised a shaking hand towards him. "I'm Davey, Davey Jones."
"Brian Breckenridge." Brian responded with a frown before shaking my hand. We were the same height, just like before, but I was surprised to note how much better built I was than him. His powder blue polo shirt didn't stretch like my shirt did over well-developed muscles. I'd definitely been working out more than he had.
"It's nice to meet you." I said with a tentative smile. He nodded before turning back to look out the window.
"So your family visiting a relative too?" He asked me softly.
"No, my Dad's on the Quarantine commission." I said carefully and noticed him stiffen up. "He's here to check and make sure people are being treated right."
"So your Dad is one of those responsible for all this?" Davey demanded angrily, giving me a glare. I shook at the thought that he would think…but in a way he was more accurate than he could know. It was me who'd brought this all about, although his uncle would have died anyway…
"N..no." I stammered out at last, forcing my thoughts to stop racing. "He's just here to make sure it's being done with compassion."
"Yeah, whatever." Brian shrugged before looking away from me. I wanted to reach out and hug him, but I knew he'd never let someone he had just met do that. This was actually hurting more than if I'd never come in here! I wanted to hug him, to kiss him, to comfort him the way I had in the last timeline. This had been a key moment for us, a moment when his grief and my support had helped to form a foundation of our relationship and now he was thinking I was part of some machine killing and hurting his uncle!
"Why aren't you seeing your uncle?" I asked him, trying to find someway to get out of this negative spiral.
"They won't let me see him." Brian said sadly. "They did yesterday, but there's a new guard officer on the floor and he wouldn't let me through."
"Come with me." I said, finally able to sound firm. My stride was firm! At last I had something being done wrong AND I had a way to turn Brian's opinion of me to a positive one. Doctor Grayson and the Major were waiting for me and a little surprised to see me coming with Brian in tow.
"Doctor, this is Brian Breckenridge." I said firmly. "His uncle, Richard Wright is a patient here. Brian's parents drove him all the way from Modesto to visit his uncle and this morning Brian was denied entry to see him."
"Let's get that fixed right away." The Major said
and I frowned. He was supposed to resist, to make me fight for Brian, but he
just caved, took Brian under his arm and walked away with my love. I felt like
a sailing ship suddenly bereft of wind, its sails hanging limp and useless from
the masts. When Dr. Grayson put his hand on my shoulder I found myself suddenly
bursting into tears, turning into him and sobbing into his chest.
"It's going to be okay." Dr. Grayson said consolingly. He didn't know
what I was crying about, but he knew I was upset about something. By the time
I got myself back under control, the Major had disappeared with Brian.
"Sorry." I said with a shrug.
"Did you…that young man, was he someone you knew in another time?" Dr. Grayson asked, proving yet again how smart he was.
"Brian and I…" I started, but my voice failed. I took a deep breath, swallowed, and then another deep breath before continuing. "In my last lifetime, he and I were together for twenty-four years."
"Oh, wow." Dr. Grayson said with wide eyes, looking back in the direction the Major had taken Brian. "But you're not…"
"No, but someday he and I will get back together." I said, more to reassure myself than for the Doctor who just nodded.
"Well, your family is on this floor, are you ready to rejoin them?"
"Yes." I agreed with a nod and followed him as he led me in the opposite direction Brian had gone.
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine…let it shine." The voices singing the old church ditty were familiar to me, and I hid my shock as we entered one of the rooms. There was my family, standing between two beds and singing to the two men who bore the ravages of KS on their faces. Both were painfully thin and hooked up to IV lines, but there were wan smiles on their faces.
"Davey, you're here!" Dad said in a genuinely cheerful voice as they finished singing and he noticed my presence. "Come in here. I want you to meet Bill Parkins and Leon Donato. Guys, this is my son Davey."
"It's nice to meet you." I said as I moved into the room and shook their hands. "I hope their singing hasn't destroyed your ear drums."
"No, it was nice." The man in the bed closest to the door said in a breathy voice as I shook his hand. The other man was too weak to raise his hand, so I clasped it in a firm but careful grip.
"Now, honey, don't you worry." Grandma said to the first man, Bill. "I'll bring up that tape for you next week. It has all those wonderful songs on it and I'm sure we can find a recorder to play it on."
"Thanks." Bill said in a weak voice.
"Well, we'll let you gentlemen rest some more." Uncle Phil said with a nod towards them, but he paused before leaving. He bowed his head slightly and prayed aloud. "Lord, be with these men in these, their final days, and bless them with your glory, amen."
I left the room just ahead of my family. Dr. Grayson waited until we were all out of the room before he headed down the hallway while Dr. Miller led us into the next room. Dad had moved to walk beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving me a questioning look. He seemed to sense that something was off with me, and he was right. Having seen Brian a few minutes ago had me struggling mentally. At least I'd been able to help him a little. Maybe that would help me when I tried to get back with him later. Somehow, seeing him now made that seem like it would never happen. Most likely it was because the reality of the differences in the timelines was hitting me, but there was also some continuity. He was here to visit his dying uncle, and like in the last timeline, I'd helped to get him in to see him. When we entered the next room, I wasn't prepared to see him, and his parents, but they were there, visiting with Uncle Rich.
"Good morning!" Dr. Miller said to them as soon as we entered. He looked genuinely happy to see them. "How are you folks doing today?"
"Not too bad, Dr. Miller." Mom B answered with a wan smile.
"That's good to hear." Dr. Miller said and turned so that he was facing us halfway. "I'd like to introduce you to Lt. Jones, he's a Navy Chaplain and a member of the Presidential Commission. He and his family are visiting many of our patients today. Lt. Jones, this is Mr. and Mrs. Breckenridge and I believe their son. They're here visiting Mr. Wright, her brother."
"It's good to meet you." Dad said confidently as he moved across the room and shook each of their hands. "This is my brother-in-law Phil Wright, and another brother-in-law Bill Barrow and my mother, Nina. Also, this is my son Davey."
"We've met." Brian said with a nod to me with a small smile on his face. That smile almost made me melt since it was directed at me. "Davey got me back here."
"What do you mean?" Dad asked with a puzzled expression.
"The guards weren't going to let Brian back here." Mom B said with a frown. "They said he was too young…"
"That's not supposed to happen." Dr. Miller said angrily. "They have strict orders that all family members are to be allowed to visit."
"It was a new officer." I said with a shrug.
"Well, if it happens again you have a nurse page me immediately." Dr. Miller told the Breckenridges. "I won't allow any of our patients to be denied visitors who care about them."
"Thanks." Uncle Rich said weakly from the bed and my heart did a little lurch as I remembered talking with him in the last timeline. I wouldn't really get to do that here, now, like I had before when I'd been Brian's boyfriend. Still, I was here now, so I weaseled my way through the assembled adults and reached his bedside. This put me standing across from Brian.
"Dude, you really claim this guy as your nephew?" I asked Uncle Rich who stared at me with wide eyes before smiling. He had KS forming on his face already and was very weak, but his eyes were shining with mirth.
"I'd claim him before you." Rich countered, garnering laughter from everyone.
"Please, you could have him!" Grandma joked from behind me, or at least I gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed she was joking. With her, you never could tell.
"That sounds good to me." Dad was joking when he said that, and got some more smiles.
"Oh, please, like I'd need a brother." Brian said with another small smile.
"Hey, you never know…you might like it." I teased him and got a few more laughs.
"So, where are you folks from?" Dad asked.
"Modesto." Dad B said.
"Really?" Dad was a little surprised, but then again I'd never really told him Brian's name or anything like that. "We're originally from Modesto. We live in Eureka, Nevada now, but we just moved there over the summer."
"Wow, it really is a small world, isn't it?" Dad B said with a smile that told me he was feeling more relaxed. Even Mom B was smiling softly and she hadn't smiled really that first time we'd been here. "What school did your son go to?"
"He went to El Vista." Dad said. "If we'd stayed there, he'd be going to La Loma now."
"Dude, we could have been going to the same school!" Brian said with a smile and lifted his hand for a high five. I gave it to him and we smiled at each other. "So, do you play sports?"
"Davey's basketball team won the state championship this year." Dad said proudly and I got a round of congratulations from them.
"Brian won State in wrestling." Mom B proclaimed proudly and Uncle Rich coughed, grabbing our attention.
"Way to go, little buddy." Uncle Rich said while lifting his hand and resting it on Brian's arm. Brian blushed and leaned down to give him a brief hug. That caused me to get a hitch in my throat so I quietly pulled back from the bedside and moved out of the room. I thought I was unnoticed as I leaned against the hallway wall and tried not to break down.
"Are you okay?" Dad asked me, making me start a little. Obviously I hadn't escaped unnoticed. He looked at me carefully and I shook my head with tears in my eyes.
"That's MY Brian in there." I said in a small voice and I could see the light of understanding appear in Dad's eyes. To my surprise, he wrapped me in a hug.
"Oh Davey, that must have been a surprise for you." Dad stated softly.
"I…I knew he'd probably be here." I sobbed into his chest. The tears were trickling down my face now. "I just didn't expect to see him face to face."
"I'm sorry, son." Dad said softly, surprising me as he wrapped me in a hug. "I still don't agree with the…choices you're making, but he seems like a good young man."
"You have no idea." I said softly. "It's like looking at my own past and I remember how us visiting his uncle was what really sealed our relationship in the beginning. We were together for twenty-four years, Dad. Twenty-four years of our life together and I had to make a choice of leaving him behind or letting someone else make the attempt to secure the Chinese facility. It ripped my heart out to leave him, but I did because it was my duty and now…now I live hundreds of miles away from him and he's living his life without me. How do I even know he'll still be interested in me if I wait longer?"
"Son, if God intends for the two of you to be together, things will work out." Dad said after taking a deep breath. "I may not believe he shines his grace on relationships between men, but if he does, he'll make it possible."
"Thanks Dad." I said as a wave of relief swept over me at his words. We may believe different things, but his faith spoke to something deep inside of me. If Brian and I really were meant to be together, then it would happen. I pulled back from him just as Uncle Phil led Billy and Grandma out of the room.
"You folks getting hungry?" Uncle Phil said as I wiped the tears from my eyes. They would probably assume that it was from visiting the sick patients, and I'd just let them believe that.
"Food sounds good right now." Dad said. "Do we eat here or go out?"
"I want to eat at a real restaurant." Grandma said firmly. "We can always come back."
"Okay, let's get a move on." Dad said and we made our way out of the hospital. As I'd noted earlier, the amount of people demonstrating outside had grown, and as we exited the building the roar from both sides was deafening. Dad paused as he listened to the different sides shouting at each other, and even Uncle Phil frowned at the vehemence. To my eye, it looked like a riot was brewing right here and right now. An extra squad of Guard soldiers had been deployed to help control the crowd, and a jeep with a loudspeaker was in the middle of the two large groups, but the roar of the crowd drowned out whatever Lt. Colonel McCoy was saying.
"This needs to be stopped." Dad said firmly and marched towards the Colonel's jeep. It was mere feet from the edges of the crowd, right in the middle of the barricades separating the two sides. We all followed him, albeit less confidently as he put his cap on and moved to salute the Colonel before saying something to him. I moved to stand beside Dad just as he took the microphone and let loose with a whistle so shrill that the amplified form of it nearly burst my eardrums. That sound managed to reach even the furthest parts of the crowd, and what had been a deafening cacophony of shouts became total silence. Somewhere, someone dropped a bottle and the sound of it shattering was the only noise.
"Howdy folks." Dad said into the microphone, moving as he spoke and stretching the cord to its limit. He managed to come within a foot of the barricade facing the counter-demonstrators who had been screaming about the mistreatment of the people in the hospital. "My name is David Jones Sr. I'm a Navy Chaplain and pastor of a church in rural Nevada. I've spent this morning inside this facility, visiting with the patients inside. All morning I've seen soldiers, I've seen police, I've seen doctors and nurses. I've also seen a few Catholic priests and nuns. This facility has orders to allow anyone who wants to visit a friend or relative inside, or anyone who just wants to offer comfort to those inside will be admitted without prejudice. It's obvious you folks care about the people inside. What I'm wondering is why all of you are out here instead of in there? The only visitors I've seen besides religious folk was one family visiting an ailing family member. Why aren't you in there instead of out here where you're doing them no good? These men are dying and they're dying alone because you'd rather be out here shouting than in there with them, making sure they don't face death alone!"
"And you folks!" Dad continued without waiting to see the effects of his words. As he spoke he turned to the large amount of 'Christian' protestors with their signs saying this was God's punishment or worse, and he rounded on them as he continued to speak. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several television crews catching every moment of this. To my surprise, Dad's charisma still held both sides captive. "What are you doing out here? What are you doing holding signs that proclaim judgments only God has a right to proclaim? We will all face God's judgment one day, and those of us who have the audacity and pride to proclaim we know what he will say about the lives of others will hear things they don't want to hear. One of our Lord, Jesus Christ's most serious callings for us, as his followers was to minister to the sick and dying. Well, guess what, we have hundreds of men in that building who are sick and dying right now and instead of following Jesus' commands and giving them our love and compassion, you're out here cheering the devil on!"
"They're sinners!" One man near the front of the crowd shouted and the attention of everyone was focused on the man. He looked to be in his later thirties, with thin brown hair and aquiline features. Dad motioned for him to be let through the lines as he struggled forward, and soon he was standing in front of Dad, on the other side of the Guard troops who had been reinforcing the barricade. He stood tall and proud in front of Dad, his clothes contrasting slightly. Dad was dressed in the dark blue Navy Dress uniform while the man was wearing corduroy brown pants, a white collared shirt and a brown windbreaker. They were both about the same size, but Dad was taller.
"You call the men inside sinners?" Dad asked into the microphone before putting it in the man's face.
"Of course they are!" The man shouted angrily. "You call yourself a pastor and you won't say they're sinners?"
"When have I said they aren't sinners?" Dad asked as the crowd on that side murmured their agreement with the man's words. My father's response caught them off guard and they went silent again.
"I…you…" The man spluttered for a moment before Dad smiled and put a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Brother, I never said they weren't sinners." Dad said into the microphone. "Nor did I say they were sinners. It is not my duty as a Christian to judge them in that way. Soon enough they will be before God. Jesus has not called on me, on us to judge them and hate them. He's called on us to show them his love by giving them our unconditional love. Anything less would be to fail to live up to our Lord's standards. When the wise men of a village approached our lord with a harlot captive in their midst, they said to him that the law commanded the women to be stoned for adultery. They put the burden of what to do upon him and we all know his response."
As Dad spoke, he put his free hand into his pocket and when he lifted it up to the sky, he had a long, flat stone in it. He held it up high for most of the people to see, and he turned slowly making sure they could all see it before he spoke. "I am not Jesus. I am a man just like any of you, but I am his shepherd. When Jesus was faced with this woman, this sinner, he picked up a stone and turned to the wise men. He held the stone out to them and he said 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone'. I stand before you now, nearly two millennia later. Inside that building are those many of us consider to be sinners, who you are here today to condemn in God's name just as those men sought to condemn the harlot two thousand years ago. I stand here, in God's name, and I ask you: who here is without sin? Who here can stand up and take this stone to throw at those inside with a pure heart, with no hatred, no contempt, no sin?"
"Give me that." The man in the brown jacket said loudly. He moved forward enough to take the stone from Dad and he tossed it into the air. The sound of that large crowd of people drawing in a deep breath at the audacity of the man could be heard, just as the slap the stone made when it landed in his palm could be heard.
"Jesus was the perfect man, without sin." The man said loudly, and Dad keyed the microphone so he could be heard. He tossed the stone into the air again, and I couldn't help but watch it as it went straight up and then down. When it smacked into palm again, he looked at Dad with a glint in his eye that I would call evil. "I'm not Jesus, but I do know evil when I see it!"
As the man spoke, he cocked his hand back and threw the rock towards the hospital. It was a good throw, shattering the glass of the entry door. The tinkle of falling glass could be heard, and I turned back from watching the man's throw to see something that I had not expected. The man had reached into his jacket while the stone was flying and now stood with his legs braced, and a small automatic pistol in his hands.
"GUN!" I shouted surprised that I was the only one who'd turned back to face him. Dad was just now turning back around, and I could see the look of surprise on his face as the sound of a gunshot filled the air. Somehow, me, a combat veteran, stood there frozen as the man fired a second time into Dad, who began to crumple. It was Uncle Billy, out of all of the soldiers and guardsmen who reacted first. He leaped across the space between him and the man, tackling him to the ground just as Dad collapsed onto the ground. That seemed to break the stasis everyone felt. The crowds behind the barricade surged backwards as I surged forwards towards my father. In the background, I could hear screaming voices, including Grandma's terrified screams for her 'baby boy'. I vaguely noticed Uncle Phil was holding her up as I reached the spot where Dad lay on his back.
"MEDIC!" I shouted as Lt. Colonel McCoy also reached Dad. There were two bullet holes, one in his upper left chest and one in his abdomen. Both were bleeding pretty bad, but I put pressure on the shoulder wound to try to stem the bleeding. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Uncle Billy being joined by two cops who were handcuffing the man who had shot my father. At that moment, a medic gently pushed me to the side, and I was surrounded, like the rest of my family, by Guardsmen armed with M-16's. It was obvious they were intent on keeping us safe, but my attention was focused on the shooter who was now being hauled to his feet with his hands cuffed behind his back. As Uncle Billy dusted himself off and looked at Dad with concern, the police officers began leading the shooter away while he shouted all sorts of obscenities. Something in my brain snapped at that and I lashed out.
The soldier next to me didn't know what hit him as I kicked him in the back of the knees. As he flailed, trying to gain his balance, I grabbed his M-16 out of his hand, pulled the charging handle, set the safety off and brought the weapon to my shoulder. I sighted down the sights carefully, putting the chest of the shooter dead center. Before I could fire though, a hand descended over the sight, blocking my vision.
"No, Davey, your Dad wouldn't want this." Uncle Phil said to me as he pushed the weapon lower. The guardsman I had kicked was back on his feet now, and moved to take the gun from me. He was nervous, but Uncle Phil's words broke the murderous rage I had felt and acted on. I released the gun and collapsed against Uncle Phil's chest.
"It's going to be okay, Davey." Uncle Phil said softly as I cried against his chest.
It was just too much to take and I passed out.
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
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