“Who would benefit?” John asked.
“I don’t think it’s about benefit,” Alex said.
“What’s it about then?”
“Who’s playing the game?” Alex asked. “If I can figure that out, I might be able to figure out why.”
“And what?”
“As in what they’re up to? Big picture.” Alex shook her head. “We may never know.”
FFFFFF
Monday early morning
November 2 – 4:34 a.m. MST
Denver, CO
“What are you doing?”
Colin looked up from the dough he was kneading. Not seeing anyone, he shook his head and went back to work.
“Mr. Colin?” the little voice said. “I’m right here.”
Colin looked up again. His eyes scanned the U-shaped counters until they fell on the small form of Hermes. He was standing next to the end of the counter.
“Good morning, Hermes,” Colin said. “You’re up early.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Hermes said. “Can I come in?”
“Of course,” Colin said. “Can I get you anything?”
“No,” Hermes big eyes looked up at the tall man.
“How about some milk?” Colin asked.
“Do you have milk?” Hermes asked.
“Of course,” Colin said. “We even have chocolate milk.”
Hermes’s eyes lit up and then clouded.
“What do I have to do?” Hermes asked.
“What do you mean?” Colin asked.
“You can’t touch my penis,” Hermes said.
“Good to know,” Colin laughed. He went to the refrigerator and took out one of the small chocolate milk cartons. He gave it to Hermes and went back to his dough.
“Why do you have so much chocolate milk?” Hermes asked.
“The runners in the house drink these after long runs sometimes.”
“Grown-ups?” Hermes asked.
“Grown-ups,” Colin said. “And you know what?”
“What?”
“You don’t have to tell people not to touch your penis,” Colin said. “You just have to know they aren’t supposed to.”
“How will they know if I don’t tell them?” Hermes asked.
“Everyone knows,” Colin said. “Except some really troubled people who don’t know or forgot. Have you seen the other boys telling people not to touch their penises?”
“I don’t know any other boys.” Hermes looked so small that Colin couldn’t help but kneel down to him.
“You will know lots of other boys and girls very soon,” Colin said.
“I hope so,” Hermes said. “What if they want to touch my penis?”
“They won’t,” Colin said. “Only someone really bad would want to hurt you like that.”
“How will I know who is bad?” Hermes asked.
“You’ll know,” Colin said. “If you meet someone like that, you let me know. I’ll take care of them myself.”
With his hands on his hips like Superman, Colin stood to his tallest and biggest. Hermes giggled.
“What are you doing?” Hermes asked.
“Do you want to come up here and watch?” Colin asked.
Hermes nodded. Colin picked up the slight five-year-old and put him on the counter.
“Daddy said this house was like boys camp,” Hermes said. “I haven’t seen other boys.”
“My son Paddie will be here later today,” Colin said. “He’s a lot younger than you.”
“Does he tell people…” Hermes started. “You know…”
“Not to touch his penis?” Colin asked. “No.”
“Do you touch his penis?” Hermes asked.
“I have,” Colin said.
“Why?”
“Good question. I changed his diapers and had to clean up,” Colin said. “I’ve given him baths. I’ve helped him learn how to use the toilet. He’s still a baby so he needs more of that kind of help.”
“Oh.” Hermes fell silent for a moment before repeating, “What are you doing?”
“I’m making cinnamon rolls,” Colin said. “We have some little boys staying with us and I thought they might like them.”
“What little boys?” Hermes asked.
Colin gave him a smile and took a rolling pin from a holder on the counter.
“Me and my brother?” Hermes said.
“Bingo,” Colin pointed to Hermes with the rolling pin.
“Are there other boys?” Hermes asked. “Me and my brother haven’t met other boys before.”
“You met Jesse Jr. and Luis in Washington,” Colin said.
Hermes nodded.
“I think a few of our friends are bringing their kids over to play with you,” Colin said.
“I won’t tell them not to touch my penis,” Hermes said. “I’ll tell my brother we don’t have to tell people. He’ll like that.”
“Good plan,” Colin said. “What if someone does?”
“I’ll tell Daddy or you or Mrs. Alex or Mr. Trece,” Hermes said.
“Another good plan.”
Smiling, Hermes focused his attention on his chocolate milk. Colin rolled out the cinnamon roll dough. He mixed soft butter, cinnamon and sugar for the center.
“Would you like to help me?” Colin asked.
Hermes nodded. He held out the empty chocolate milk carton. Colin threw the carton away and gave Hermes a spatula. Together, they put the cinnamon on the dough. Colin took out two baking pans and set them on the counter.
“Where did you learn to do this?” Hermes asked.
“I was sick last year,” Colin tore off a piece of parchment paper and gave it to Hermes. “I learned how to do this. It helped me get better.”
“He learned everything he knows from me, laddie,” Cian’s thick Irish-accented voice came from the doorway to the kitchen. “He’s a junior baker. Would you like to be a junior baker too?”
Hermes’s eyes went big as Cian came into the room.
“I’d like to be a junior baker,” Hermes said.
“What do you think Colin?” Cian asked. “Shall we make him a junior baker?”
Hermes eyes shifted from the tall Colin to the smaller, more solid Cian.
“Sounds good to me,” Colin began rolling up the dough and cinnamon.
“First we must be properly introduced,” Cian said. “My name is Cian Kelly.”
Cian held his hand out. Hermes looked at him and then at his hand.
“You’re Mr. John’s brother,” Hermes said. “You look like him.”
“I have a lot of brothers and sisters,” Cian said. “John is my youngest brother.”
“I’m my brother’s youngest brother,” Hermes said.
“That’s very interesting but we still have not been properly introduced.”
“You’re supposed to say your name and shake his hand,” Colin said.
“Oh,” Hermes stuck his hand out. “Hermes… um… Olivas. I used to be Hermes Jasper but now I’m Hermes Olivas.”
Cian shook his hand.
“You wouldn’t be related in any way to my friend Troy Olivas,” Cian said.
“He’s my Daddy,” Hermes said.
“Good man,” Cian said.
“How do I get to be a junior naker?” Hermes asked.
“First you get an apron,” Cian said.
“Mommy used to wear aprons,” Hermes said. “Big flowers and stuff.”
“We have no girlie aprons in this household,” Cian went to a cabinet near the stove.
“How come?” Hermes asked.
“No girls cook here,” Colin laughed.
“The men cook,” Cian said.
“I’m not a man,” Hermes said.
“Yes but you will be,” Cian said.
Hermes leaned over to Colin and whispered, “Should I tell him?” Colin shook his head. Hermes nodded.
“Tell me what?” Cian asked.
“We have some confusion about penis touching,” Colin said. “Hermes i
s sure he doesn’t want other people to touch him. Were you going to touch his penis?”
“I was going to make breakfast,” Cian said. “I tend to leave that entire penis touching business to consenting adults.”
“See,” Colin said.
Hermes nodded.
“I must find our junior baker an apron,” Cian dug into the cabinet until he came up with a smaller apron. “This one might fit you.”
Cian slipped the neck strap over Hermes’s head. Colin tied a knot in the strap to help it fit the child. Cian put the apron over the boy’s SpongeBob pajamas. When he turned, Hector James was standing next to the counter.
“Look,” Cian said. “Another one. Is this your brother?”
Hermes nodded. Intimidated and excited at the same time, Hector James looked from Cian to Colin.
“Well, let’s get on with it then,” Cian said. “I’m Cian Kelly.”
He held his hand out.
“You have to shake his hand and tell him your name,” Hermes said.
Hector James stuck his hand out but didn’t say anything. Cian shook his hand.
“He’s shy,” Hermes said.
“I see that,” Cian said. “I suppose you want to be a junior baker as well.”
Hector James nodded. Cian found another apron and Colin helped Cian put the apron on Hector James. Colin gave Hector James a boost onto the counter to sit next to Hermes.
“Well junior bakers,” Cian said. “What shall we make to break our fast?”
“The cinnamon rolls need another hour to rise,” Colin said. “Then about a half-hour or more to bake.”
“Two hours is a long time for a junior baker to wait, Mr. Colin,” Cian said. “What would you lads like?”
“Cereal,” Troy said. “They eat cereal and a little yogurt first. Their tummies are…”
Troy made a motion over his stomach.
“Good to know,” Cian said. “I’ll make you the cereal of champions. We call these ‘pips’ at home.”
“Pips?”
“Steel-cut oats or Irish oats,” Colin said. “Would you boys like to help me?”
He put a baking tray with parchment paper on it in between them. He cut a piece off the cinnamon roll log and gave it to Hermes. Hermes set it on the tray. He gave the next piece to Hector James.
“We’re teaching your boys to be junior bakers, Troy,” Cian turned from the stove where he was making steel-cut oats. “They have some natural skill, but we’ll have to train them up a bit.”
“They’ll be working in a year or so,” Colin said.
Troy smiled. The therapist had told him the best way for the boys to emerge from their solitude was to allow social interactions to happen naturally. It was hard not to step in. Troy came into the kitchen to start the coffee and make the boys some hot chocolate.
“Why are we up so early this morning?” Cian asked.
Hermes looked at Hector James.
“Our mommy came home yesterday,” Hector James said.
“She didn’t really come home,” Hermes said.
“She’s dead,” Hector James said. “We have to say good-bye.”
“We don’t want to,” Hermes’s eyes filled with tears.
“My mum died when I was just older than you, Hector James Olivas,” Cian said. “Bet you didn’t think I knew your name!”
Hector James shook his head.
“Your da has told me all about you and your brother,” Cian said.
“Did your mommy really die?” Hermes asked.
“Johnny’s too,” Cian said. “Johnny was a wee one. Three years old.”
“What did you do?” Hermes asked.
“What do you mean?” Cian nodded to Colin, who was holding out slices of cinnamon roll. For a moment, the boys focused all of their attention on placing the cinnamon rolls on the tray. When their tray was full, Colin replaced it with an empty tray.
“How did you live after your mommy was gone?” Hector James asked.
“Oh laddie, I don’t think you ever get used to losing your mum,” Cian said. “But live you must. Our mum, like your mum, loved us so much. Everything she did, she did so we could have a better life… and become good people. I live every day trying to be the person she’d want me to be. It’s not easy. But I think that’s all you can do.”
For a while, Colin continued cutting cinnamon rolls; the boys continued putting them on trays; Cian continued making oatmeal; and Troy continued working on the beverages. When the second tray was full, Colin covered the cinnamon rolls with moist kitchen towels. Troy gave the boys some hot chocolate and they watched Cian make their oatmeal.
“Do you think you boys can be everything your mum wanted you to be?” Cian turned to look at the boys.
Hermes and Hector James nodded.
“Will you go with us to the funeral place?” Hermes asked Colin and Cian. The men glanced at each other.
“I will,” Colin said.
“I’ll be there,” Cian said. “I always stand by my friends when they need it.”
Hermes nodded. He held his arms up and Troy lifted him down from the counter. Without saying another word, Hermes ran upstairs. Hector James followed his younger brother. Troy came close behind. Hermes flopped on his bed in Troy’s room and pulled the covers over his head. Hector James stood in the doorway.
“Are you okay?” Troy asked.
“I got tired,” Hermes said.
“Shall we rest a bit?” Troy asked.
“Are we going to live here?” Hector James asked.
“If you like it here,” Troy said.
“I do,” Hector James said.
“Me too,” Hermes said.
“Good,” Troy said.
“Can we sleep now?” Hermes asked. “Everybody keeps me up.”
Smiling, Troy turned off the light to let the boys sleep.
F
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Eight hours later
Monday midday
November 2 – 1:34 p.m. MST
Denver, CO
“Enjoy your run,” Alex said. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Going to have lunch with some non-existent friends from high school?” John asked.
“No, but Max went to lunch with some friends from high school,” Alex gave him her best puzzled look. “Are you confusing me with my twin?”
John laughed. She hugged him.
“How about this, my favorite spy?” John kissed her nose. “Troy and I are going for a run in City Park. We’re hoping to get at least ten miles in while his boys are playing light sabers with Fionn. If all goes well, we’ll be back in about an hour and a half. If not, we’ll be here in a jiffy.”
Alex nodded. He smiled and held her tight.
“Don’t die,” he said into her ear like he always did.
“I love you too,” she said.
Stepping away, he nodded. He whistled for Maggie, their English Springer spaniel, and joined Troy in the front. She waved and went into the kitchen where Raz was waiting for her. They stood looking at each other until the door to the front closed after John and Troy. Nodding to him, she picked up her travel coffee mug and followed him out the back of their home. They went around the back of the house to the side garden gate. They waited for a moment as they heard John, Maggie, and Troy run by and then went out the gate. They slipped into the backyard of the house next door and up a short flight of stairs to the back door.
Alex tapped once on the door. Raz counted to ten out loud. She tapped again. They looked up for a camera to capture their faces. They waited another moment before the lock to the door opened. To ensure security, Raz went in first. He turned and nodded to her.
“Hey, I didn’t know you made it,” Raz said as he went inside.
Alex shut and locked the door.
“You’re late,” her father, Patrick Hargreaves said when she entered the living room. In perfect health, he was sitting at a table with her boss, Colonel Howard Gordon, on one side and the Admiral
on the other. Noémi, Ben’s mother-in-law, sat across from them.
“You’re supposed to be on bed rest,” Alex said to Patrick. “So are you.”
She pointed to Colonel Gordon. He winked at her.
“How’s your daughter, sir?” Alex asked the Admiral. “We’ve been quite concerned, especially her husband.”
He beamed his answer back at her.
“What I can’t figure out is if I’ve joined you in your beds,” Alex said. “Or…?”
“You make it sound so tawdry,” Ben said as he came into the room with Raz.
“I feel so slutty,” the former head of the CIA said as he came into the room.
“That’s because you are,” Mammy said. She came in carrying a tray of freshly made doughnuts. The men hopped up from their seats to grab a doughnut before they were gone. “Who’s going to get the Mister from the car?”
“I’ll go,” Jimmy Kelly said. He hugged Alex before heading for the door.
“Where’s the Captain?” Alex asked.
“He, Max, and Zack are working on flight maps,” Patrick said. “How are you Pumpkin?”
Alex nodded to her father.
“Is it true?” Mammy asked.
“Is what true?” Alex asked.
“Do you have to have some draconian medieval treatment for the damned flame retardant in your stupid fatigues?” Steve Pershing asked as he entered the room.
“Agree to nothing,” Dominic Doucet said in French. He hugged Alex. “Come to France. We’ll fix whatever ails you.”
“She received that injury in France.” Her friend Xavier, member of Anonymous and top computer security expert from Finland, looked up from his laptop. Alex skipped over to say hi. He got up to give her a quick hug.
“But not from a Frenchman,” Dominic said. “Outside of a few ego-bruising days of fly fishing, Alexandra has never been injured at the hands of the French.”
Alex shook her head at him. He smiled.
“Are you having a heart incident too?” Alex asked Dominic in French.
He hacked a fake cough and sat down next to Ben.
“Need to see the docs at National Jewish for my asthma,” Dominic said in French. “You see, my father and elder brother smoked when I was a child. My lungs are challenged.”
Lean on Me Page 20
