I spent the rest of the day and night in the hospital, staring at theclock, willing it to move faster. Tick, tick, tick...could the stupidthing move any slower? I was beginning to feel a little stir crazy lyingon this bed all the time. I couldn't get up and move around unless Icalled in a nurse to make sure everything was ok, but I didn't really wantto talk to anyone. I savored the taste of the Coke that Meric had left forme, rolling the caramel colored liquid around in my mouth several timesbefore swallowing. He had left it for me. How did he know that that kindwas my favorite? Was it just a coincidence? Probably, but maybe...maybeit wasn't. Maybe this was how things were supposed to go. Maybe thisreally was going to be something good. Maybe...an awful lot of maybes. Ohwell, a little hope never hurt anyone. Well... Sometime in the evening after I had given up trying to get the second handto move faster, having tried everything from pleading to Jedi mind tricks,the door to my room opened and a nurse walked in. I was in the process oftaking a sip from the can. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at me. Oops,I probably wasn't supposed to be drinking this while I was here. Maybe shedidn't notice. I slowly moved the Coke can to the side of the bed that shecouldn't see, switching it to my other hand and then lowering it out ofsight. She followed it like a hawk, probably wondering what the hell I wasdoing. Oh well, it was getting warm and flat anyways, and there is nothingworse than a warm and flat Coke. I sighed a bit and brought the can backup and held it out to her. She took it immediately, still with a verydisapproving look on her face, and tossed it into the trashcan. Shechecked a few things on the machines next to the bed and then turned towalk out without a word. I think I had finally found the one person in thefield of medicine who had an unpleasant personality. They all couldn't beas nice as Dr. Carter, I guess. I drifted off to sleep, still feeling a little bit of pain in my chest. Mysleep, as it had been since that day less than a week ago, was filled withdreams. Horrible dreams, ranging from what had actually happened to thingsmuch worse. At one point I must have been screaming in my sleep because Iwas shaken awake by a nurse who was able to calm me down. She left andcame back a few moments later with a pill and some water, saying that itwould help me sleep. It did. When I woke up the next morning, I felt refreshed for the first time in awhile. I had managed several hours of deep, dreamless sleep and today wasthe day that I was getting out. I felt like an inmate in a prison, finallybeing released after years of confinement. A nurse came in after a littlewhile and helped me get out of bed and dressed for my big day on the townwith the Kinneys. It finally occurred to me that the clothes I was puttingon weren't mine. I didn't exactly bring an overnight bag with me to thehospital, so where did these come from? "Umm, nurse...where are these clothes from?" I asked. "Oh, Mr. Kinney was by this morning, saying he thought you might like afresh set of clothes. I think they are his son's." I froze, my right armthrough the sleeve in the shirt and the other starting on its way. "Meric's?" I asked, my voice muffled a little bit because the shirt wasstretched out in front of my face. I must have looked really awkwardstanding there with this blue shirt tangled above my head, seemingly frozenin position. "Yes, I think that was his name," she replied. "Now, hurry up and finishgetting dressed, he said that they would be by around 10." I glanced atthe clock. 9:50! I pulled the shirt the rest of the way on, and reacheddown to take off the boxers that I had been wearing beneath the hospitalgown. I froze once again, and looked up at the nurse, feeling a littleembarrassed. She smiled a little and stepped out of the room. I finisheddressing, putting on a pair of tan cargo pants. I went into the bathroomand saw that there was a small thing of deodorant, a toothbrush and sometoothpaste. These people really did think of everything. I stepped out of the bathroom just in time to hear a knock on the door tothe room. I walked over, glancing in the mirror quickly to make sure thatI looked presentable, and opened the door. Mr. Kinney was standing there,a pair of sunglasses hanging from the neck of his shirt. "Ready to go, Brandon?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Sir?" He laughed. "Brandon, this isn't the military and I'm certainlynot your commanding officer, so there's no need to call me sir. Besides,it makes me feel older than I already do, and lord knows I don't need anyhelp in that department. Just call me Jack or Mr. K, whichever you feelmore comfortable with." "Ok, Mr. K. Oh, thanks a lot for the clothes." "No problem. Meric mentioned last night that you probably would needsomething to wear and picked that outfit out for you. Seems to fit youwell. You two look a lot alike, you know. Well, except for the brown hairand blue eyes...but other than that, you've got a very similar build." I nodded and followed him out towards the nurse's station for the floor.Mr. Chase was standing there waiting for us. He smiled at me. "Morning! How are you feeling? Ready for your big day?" He asked. "I'm ready to get the hell out of this hospital, that's for sure," I said,grinning. I cringed, then, realizing where I was standing. I looked overat the nurse on duty. "Sorry," I said, once again feeling a littleembarrassed. And it was the same nurse I had almost undressed in front ofearlier. Great. "It's okay, I understand," she replied, smiling. I turned to Mr. Kinneyand pointed towards the elevators. "Let's get out of here before I say something else stupid, please." Iwaved to Mr. Chase and told him that I would call him later in the day. We got in the elevator and Mr. Kinney pushed the button marked 1. It gavea little shudder and then started moving downward slowly, beeping as wepassed each floor. 6...5...4... "So, Brandon, where are we going to go today?" "I thought we could head over to the zoo for a little while, and then tothe park next to it. There's this great waterfall over some rocks behindthe performing arts center. It's a really nice place." 2...1. "Sounds like a plan. We've already got a place for dinner picked out nearthe hotel where we are staying that looks really good." We stepped out ofthe elevator into the lobby just as he was finishing. I saw Mrs. Kinneyand Meric standing around waiting for us. They spotted us almostimmediately. Meric jogged over with his mother following behind at aslower pace. He looked me over appraisingly, nodding a couple times tohimself. "Looks like I was right," he said. "Huh?" I asked. "Well, I figured you needed clothes to wear. Can't go wandering around ina hospital gown." "That's for sure. Don't want everyone to see my bum," I said. He noddedin agreement. "Come on, let's get going, it's already after 10:30 and we got lots to dotoday," said Mr. Kinney. We stepped out of the hospital into the bright morning sun. I immediatelycovered my eyes, not used to such brightness after having spent nearly aweek in the hospital. I staggered after the Kinneys, trying to squintenough to keep sight of them in the parking lot. They walked out to a darkblue Toyota 4Runner that glinted in the sunlight. "Wow, cool car!" I remarked. "Yeah, it's nice...but we're actually thinking of selling it," saidMrs. Kinney. "Why?" "Well, with the way the world is these days and the price of gas because ofit, it's not really smart to be driving an SUV." "Oh, I guess that makes sense. What were you thinking of getting instead?" "Most companies these days are coming out with hybrid cars - they run onbattery power most of the time, but still use gasoline when necessary.They get really great mileage." "Yeah, except they all look retarded," said Meric. Mr. Kinney smiled alittle and nodded. I got the impression that that sort of thing wasn'tnearly as important to him as it was to Meric. We all piled into the car. Mr. Kinney started it up and headed out of thehospital parking lot. I watched the hospital go by through my window,feeling very relieved to actually be getting out. I didn't want toactually believe it until it happened. I may have been there for less thana week, but it sure felt like forever. "What are you thinking about?" I turned to face Meric, who was sittingacross from me in the back seat of the vehicle. He had spoken low enoughthat I was fairly sure that Mr. and Mrs. Kinney hadn't heard what he hadsaid. "Oh, just glad to be free of the prison finally," I whispered back. "Idon't want to seem like a wuss or anything, but I really hate hospitals."He leaned in a little closer to me and after a moment, I did the same. Ourfaces were now only inches apart, hovering over the armrest dividing ourtwo seats. "When I was 6 my dad hurt himself working outside in the yard. Slipped andfell off a wooden beam. Hurt his back really bad. He won't admit it toanyone, but he cried like a baby when it happened. Had to go to thehospital. After the way he acted about all of it, you're like...asuperhero or something. You got nothing to worry about." He winked at meand straightened back up in his chair, turning to look out the window. "So, Brandon...how do we get to the zoo. I've got to say, I really don'tknow my way around this town." Mr. Kinney was looking at me through therear view mirror. "Oh, it's near downtown. Turn right up here." I spent the rest of the trip just staring out the window watching trees,fences, people, other cars and everything else flying past. Aftereverything that had happened to me over the past week, I was having alittle trouble accepting these people. I've heard that if things seem toogood to be true, they usually are. I gave Mr. Kinney further directionsoccasionally, but it wasn't a really big town and the signs for the zoowere pretty easy to follow. We pulled into the mostly empty parking lot of the zoo a little after11:00. I guess the zoo isn't really a popular place during the day in themiddle of the school year. School! Oh no, I had completely forgotten.Everyone must be wondering what happened to me. I can only imagine therumors that must be going around about where I am. Though, they willprobably forget about me in a few days. It's not like anyone ever reallytook the time to notice me anyways. I wonder if they even noticed at allthat I was gone, or did things go on just as normal, my name taken off theclass role almost gratefully. Won't ever have to deal with him again,thank God. "Brandon, let's go...don't want to sit here in the parking lot all day."Mr. Kinney was standing next to my open door, looking at me as if he'd beencalling my name for a little while. "You all right? Seem a little spacedout today." "He's fine, dad. He's just probably thinking how good the sun feels orsomething after being stuck in that room for forever." Meric grabbed meunder the arm and pulled me out of the back seat. "Come on, let's go throwstuff at the monkeys." We headed up to the main gate and I started to panic. I didn't have anymoney, how was I going to get into the zoo? Mr. Kinney walked up to thewindow without even looking at me and bought 4 passes. After handing themout to us, he started towards the entrance. "Hey, Mr. K..." I called out. He paused and turned around. "What is it Brandon? The monkeys are waiting you know," He said with afaint smile. "Thanks for the ticket." "Think nothing of it. Today is on us, just enjoy yourself." I nodded athim, feeling very surprised. My mind was really beginning to struggle withwhat was going on. I so wanted to believe that I had found the mostperfect family on the planet and that I would, after 16 years, finally getto live a normal life. However, the side of my mind that had lived throughthose 16 years absolutely refused to open up and welcome these people in,having learned early on that doing so led only to pain and suffering. For the next few hours, we just wandered around the zoo, stopping to watchthe animals doing whatever it is that animals do when locked up in"authentic" habitats. We were planning on throwing some things at themonkeys, but there was someone out there with them cleaning up and wefigured he wouldn't like it if we started throwing things at him. When wegot to the bird pavilion, Meric stopped us. "Hey, I'm starting to feel a little tired. I'm just going to wait out hereon this bench for you, ok?" He asked, staring at me the entire time. "Well, ok...are you sure you're all right, son?" asked Mrs. Kinney. "Actually, I'm going to take a break as well. Still feeling a little weak,I guess. This seems like a good stopping point to me," I said. I walkedover and sat down next to him on the bench. "Go on...we'll be waiting here for you when you come out. Go enjoy thebirds," urged Meric. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney nodded and turned to walk intothe pavilion. We sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying the soundsaround us. In the distance, I could hear birds squawking, monkeys howlingand even the occasional lion roaring. I closed my eyes, ready to nod offfor a few minutes, thinking a little nap would do me good. But, it wasn'tmeant to be. "So, what's on your mind, Brandon? And don't give me that crap fromearlier again," said Meric. I turned to look at him. He was staring atme, his green eyes boring into me, demanding a truthful answer to hisquestion. I sighed and looked away, tears rimming my eyes. He was contentto give me a little while to gather my thoughts, but I could sense that hewasn't going to wait long. "It's just that this past week has been so hard for me," I began. I wasstill looking off into the distance, not really focusing on anything inparticular. "One week ago I lost my parents and was hurt pretty bad. Andnow I meet you and your parents and even though my heart yearns for all ofthis to be real, to be true, my mind refuses to accept it. I know that atany moment it's all going to come crashing down around me, like everythingalways has and I just don't know if I can take it again." I was lookingdown between my legs at the ground by the time I was finished, tearsrolling freely down my face. We must have sat there for a good minutebefore I felt the bench move a little and I saw Meric's legs scootingcloser. I felt his arm go around me and he leaned into me, hugging me andlaying his head on my shoulder. "Brandon, I know I just met you yesterday, but for some reason I feelthis...this connection with you," He whispered into my ear. "I don't knowwhat it is...it's almost like I was meant to be with you, to be yourbrother. I know it sounds corny, but I've always wanted a brother, but myparents aren't able to have any more kids so I thought it would neverhappen. And now that it is about to, I want to start things off right. Ipromise you this - whatever was wrong in the past will be gone. You'rewith us now, and only the future is ahead of you. The past is justthat...the past. When and if you want to face it, I'll be there for youand we'll work through it together, ok?" He pulled me a little closer tohim. I knew that if I looked up, I would completely lose it. Here I was,sitting in the middle of the zoo crying my eyes out with another boyhugging me. What a sight I must have been. I nodded slightly and put myarm around him as well, completing the embrace. "Brothers?" He asked. "Brothers," I said, smiling a little through the tears. He pulled his armout from around me and leaned back on the bench, crossing his arms behindhis head. I wiped the tears from my eyes and sat up as well, leaning backto stare up into the blue sky, watching the clouds floating lazily byoverhead. It felt right to be sitting here on this bench, at this moment,with Meric...sharing in the beautiful sky and the warm sunlight. After about 20 minutes, I heard footsteps approaching from the direction ofthe pavilion and I turned to look in that direction. Mr. and Mrs. Kinneyhad finished the walk through there and were slowly making their way towardus, talking with each other. "Have a good nap, boys?" asked Mr. Kinney when they got up to us. "We sure did, dad. Can we go get something to eat now?" As Meric saidthat, I realized that I also was really hungry. I nodded my agreement tothe request, realizing that it must be almost 4:00 by now and I hadn'teaten anything all day. Mr. Kinney looked down at his watch and seemed alittle startled. "Wow, I can't believe it's already 4:30. Time flies when you're havingfun, eh? I'd like to go see this waterfall you mentioned, and then we canhead to dinner at the place near the hotel. Sound good?" We both noddedand stood up from the bench. I stretched my legs a little and the four ofus headed out of the zoo and back to the parking lot, climbing into the4Runner. I once again gave directions to Mr. Kinney so that he could findthe park where the waterfall was and we arrived there in short order. "It's a little bit of a walk, but not too far," I said as we started downthe path. To tell the truth, it wasn't really a waterfall in the normalsense. It didn't fall hundreds of feet to crash into a swirling, frothypool. Instead, it seemed to cascade down at an angle over a bunch of hugerocks, the tops of which, having been smoothed over after years of beingpounded by water, glinted in the afternoon sun. "I used to come here afterschool sometimes to do some homework. It can get pretty hot here in theafternoon, and the mist from the falls is very nice after a long day.Plus, it just feels...alive down here." We stood there for a good 10 minutes, just enjoying the cool water sprayingover us, each lost in our own thoughts. If Meric's stomach hadn't startedgrumbling, we probably would have stood there for quite a bit longer. "All right, all right...off to dinner," said Mr. Kinney after Meric'sinterruption. I wasn't really paying too much attention to where we were heading asMr. Kinney left the park, but after we had been driving for a little while,I started recognizing certain things around me. No, they couldn't beheading there...no way. I dismissed the idea as silly. That wasn't areally well known restaurant and with all of the places to eat in town, itwould have to be a massive coincidence for that to be the one they hadchosen. But, as we continued to drive, continued to pass otherrestaurants, a feeling of dread settled into my stomach. I held out hopeuntil we actually got to the parking lot and Mr. Kinney put on his signalto turn in there. I couldn't go in there...we had gone there at least oncea week for the past 4 years. Everyone in there knew me on sight. Therewas no way I could go in there ever again. The idea of eating in a place Ihad frequented with my parents was too painful to even consider. Justthinking about it made me start crying again. I was staring down at myfeet, sobbing softly as Mr. Kinney pulled the car into a spot in theparking lot. "Ready to go..." his voice trailed off as he turned to look at me."Brandon...what's the matter?" I just continued crying, hardly hearingwhat he had said to me. I felt Meric's hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. "Let's just head back to the hospital, dad...we can grab some food at thecafeteria there." Mr. Kinney must have agreed because I felt the car startup once again and pull out onto the street, heading in the direction of thehospital. I spent the ride still staring at my shoes, but crying for adifferent reason now. I had ruined whatever chance I had had to get into anormal life with the Kinneys. After seeing me start bawling like a littlekid because we drove into a parking lot, there was no way they would wantto take me all the way back to Arkansas. I had a chance, and I blew it.It always seemed to happen. No matter what I did, something always wentwrong and it was all my fault. As soon as Mr. Kinney stopped the car inthe parking lot of the hospital, I opened the door and took off running forthe safety of my room. This morning, I had wanted nothing more than to getout of the place, and now, less than 12 hours later, the only thing on mymind was getting in there and into the bed. I heard Meric call out for me,but Mr. Kinney told him to let me go. Yeah, that's right...drive on backto Arkansas, forget you ever met me. There's no reason for you to stay, sodon't bother. I almost ran into Mr. Chase as I came out of the elevator onmy floor, but I brushed past him, ignoring his calls and rushed into myroom. I climbed into the bed and curled up into as tight a ball as I could,crying freely now. I lay there for a few minutes, until I heard voices outin the hallway. I rolled over and noticed that the door hadn't closed allthe way behind me. I could see a crack of light through the opening. Igot off the bed to go close the door, but when I got nearer I recognizedthe voices of the Kinneys and Mr. Chase. Probably here to tell him thatI'm crazy and to yell at him for trying to give me to them. I couldn'thelp but overhear what they were saying. I paused at the door, listeningto them. "I couldn't believe it...we had just pulled into the parking lot and Iturned around and he was just...crying. I didn't have any idea what waswrong. He seemed fine all day, even happy at some times," Mr. Kinney said. "Well, I guess I'll get rid of this paperwork, then," said Mr. Chase. "Hang on just a moment, Graham. No need to do anything hasty. Susan and Iwould like to talk this over ourselves for a little while and we'll let youknow, ok? We'll call in the morning." My heart sank even lower. Theywere going to run for it. I reached up to push the door closed, when Iheard Meric speak up. "No." "What was that, son?" said Mr. Kinney. "I said no. We aren't leaving him here." "We need to talk this over, Meric...we'll come back in the morning." Icould tell Mr. Kinney was getting a little agitated. "No way, he's coming with us tonight. I'm not going to let him stay inthis place any more than he already has. Come on, dad...there's nothing tothink about. Brandon is going to be my brother. Besides, he likes VanillaCoke. That should be all the proof you need." After Meric finishedtalking, there was just silence from the hallway. I sighed, knowing it wasfoolish to think that he had talked them into letting me come with them. Iturned to walk dejectedly back towards my bed. When I was about halfwaythere, I heard the door open behind me. "Go away, Mr. Chase...I don't want to talk to anyone right now," I said,trying my best not to start crying again. "I hear they're serving lasagna down in the cafeteria. Let's go getsomething to eat," came Meric's voice from the doorway. I spun around,hardly believing my ears. I had to see it with my eyes to believe it.Standing there in the doorway were all three of the Kinneys. Mr. andMrs. Kinney were smiling, each with a hand on their son's shoulder. Mericwas standing there with a look on his face that I knew meant he wasn'tgoing to take no for an answer. I smiled a little and wiped the tears offmy face. I looked around the room one last time, glad that I was leaving.Leaving to go home.
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