Page 18 of Protecting Silver
Chapter 10
Patch openedhis apartment door at the knock, and after nodding to Finn, he bent down and rubbed Major, before stepping back and allowing them inside. Patch frowned when Finn paused to look around, and realized this was the first time he’d ever had visitors since he’d settled in. Sure, Finn had helped him move in, but hadn’t been back since.
“Wine, beer, coffee, water?” Patch asked.
“What smells so delicious?”
“Lasagna. Thought I’d feed you, I don’t know how long you can stay, but I thought I’d offer you food.”
“It smells wonderful, and I can stay until nine.” He looked at his watch and nodded. “That gives us almost four hours. So, I’ll take a glass of wine.” He watched Patch pour two glasses from the bottle already open on the counter, then after handing the glass to Finn, Patch washed his hands, and dished up two huge servings of the savory meal. Before he joined Finn at the small kitchen table, he poured dog food into a bowl, and filled another one with water for Major.
The men ate in silence for a few minutes, then Finn looked up at Patch. With a frown on his face, and his fork poised halfway to his mouth, he asked, “What wrong?” Finn studied his best friend of almost twenty-five years. “And don’t tell me nothing’s wrong. You forget, I’ve known you since you were twelve. You always made something to feed me with when you had something on your mind. Now spill.”
Patch grinned as he took a bite of lasagna, and delayed speaking until he’d chewed it all, swallowed, then took a sip of his wine.
“You’re right, there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about. But nothing is bad, or at least I hope nothing is. I also just wanted to touch base with you, as it’s been several months since we’ve gotten together.”
“There is that, but answer me this, you’re not dying are you? This meal isn’t to butter me up to give me bad news?”
Patch threw his head back and laughed. “No, I wouldn’t do that to you with your favorite food. Some things have been happening in my life lately, and I wanted to share them with you. Afterward, I’d like your advice with something.”
“Oh, well, in that case,” Finn grinned as he took his bite of lasagna, and continued eating while he waited for Patch to begin. He knew his best friend was a very private person and it would take him some time to get his words out. As he waited, he wasn’t letting this delicious meal go to waste. It turned out that Patch waited until he’d finished his meal, then pushed the plate away. With his wine glass in his hand, he leaned back and studied his best friend.
“You knew I grew up in the foster care system, correct?”
“Yes, I met you your first day of school in the seventh grade. It didn’t bother me then, and it still doesn’t both me. Does it you?”
“Some things still rub me the wrong way. I’m not crying in my spilt milk here, I’m stating facts. I had it rough from age six to twelve. I don’t really remember much of anything before the age of six. Until Patty showed me a picture of the Fosters, I had no memory of them. Once I saw them in the photo, then again at that Halloween party years ago, it all came back to me.”
“Can you talk about it?”
“I can, but I need to explain something first.”
“I’m listening.”
“I moved back here to Elk Junction to be closer to you and Ronnie. If you recall, I showed up at every fundraiser you had since starting to work at your family’s foundation. I had nothing over in Helena. I barely had any friends, and I didn’t have any family. In case you’re questioning it, you, Eric, William, and now Ronnie are my family.”
“After meeting the Fosters again, back in Helena, Carole had me over to dinner at least once a month. They flat-out told me they had started adoption papers on me, and still considered me their son. They even had a birthday party with me. Oh, it wasn’t much, just a few people from work, and Patty and Norm went out to attend. You know, things family did.”
“If I had known, we would have been there too.”
“I know, but I asked them not to bother you. I think the last birthday I celebrated before these last ones was when the Fosters celebrated my sixth birthday just before I started school. I don’t remember having any with my other foster parents. Anyway, that’s not the issue. The issue is that Max and Carol Foster are retiring in the next six months and moving to the area.”
“Why?” Finn was shocked by that bit of news.
“Patty and Norm are finally wanting to start a family. Max and Carole said since both their children live in Elk Junction, then they’re going to retire, then sell everything they have in Helena, and move here. They want to take their time to find the right house, and get settled before any grandbabies come. Patty’s ecstatic to have her parents move closer.”
“And you?” Finn asked.
Patch shrugged, then sighed as he finished his wine, then jumped to his feet, and retrieved two bottles of water from the refrigerator. “I’m unsure yet. Oh, not that I don’t want them around, I do, but I have an issue as yet unsolved, and I’ve taken measures to try to solve it.”
When he remained silent for so long, Finn asked, “What measures?”
Patch jumped to his feet, and began clearing the table. Knowing Patch as he did, Finn let him do his thing, but he helped by taking the dishes to the sink. He knew Patch would start talking when he was ready. “A few weeks ago, I was sleeping in the on-call room after being up for fourteen hours, then going into a surgery that lasted damn-near twelve hours. I was exhausted. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I must have, because I had a dream. Something about my past that I never remembered before.” Patch paused in putting the lasagna into two different containers, and waved the spatula around as he talked. “It was about the time my caseworker took me from school. I was living with the Fosters then. My teacher told me I was needed in the principal’s office, and the lady from the office would walk me down. Merrick was there. He was my caseworker. He took me from the school without my backpack, or my jacket, nothing but the clothes on my back. When I asked him where we were going, he said to a new foster home. I then told him that Mommy and Daddy would be mad if I didn’t go home. That’s when he told me that Mr. Foster had called and said that he lost his job and couldn’t afford me any longer. To a six-year-old boy, what was there to question? I didn’t know any better, so I sat in the back seat of Merrick’s car, and we drove for hours. When we arrived at our destination, he left me in the car, went to the door, and I didn’t hear what was being said, but the woman gave Merrick an envelope of cash. I know, because I saw him count it. Next thing I know, I’m being hauled out of the car and given to the woman.”
“Jesus, so he kidnapped you?”
“Basically. Since meeting up with the Fosters again, we’ve been discussing that time. I’ve come to the conclusion that because they’d just started the adoption proceedings, the school only needed Mr. Merrick’s statement as the papers hadn’t been presented to the judge.”
