Recovery of a Hero Ch. 06

I thought about the medal Uncle Dar had given me, and I think I began to understand what he'd been saying. It wasn't about bravery when he went after George. It was about helping a friend. It was the same with me too. He risked his life for a friend because that's what friends do. They take care of each other no matter the cost. He'd paid it too.

George and Janny came out then and asked me if I'd be willing to give up my room permanently. I agreed immediately. I told them that they were my friends and I had a great room thanks to Uncle Dar.

Janny looked at me for a second and said, "Uncle. When did that start?"

"At the carnival," Said Shelly. "We've all adopted him as our uncle now. He's uncle Dar for the entire cheer squad. Even Coach Coulter called him that a couple of times yesterday."

"Coulter called him that?" asked George. "I remember her from school. She taught Senior Math sometimes, and I took it from her. Tough lady, but she was always fair and if you had a problem, the only thing that would make her mad is if you didn't ask her for help."

"That's her alright," said Janny. "I took Phys Ed from her."

"Ok," said George. "Here's what we're going to do. Janny and I are already signed up as foster parents and were approved. We called CPS and told them about the girls. They were already looking for them as they didn't say where they were at when the police called them. I told them that we could take them in for as long as they wanted to stay here and they agreed. They'll send someone out here today."

"What do we need to do?" I asked.

"Just stay with them for now," said Janny. "When CPS is done, I'll take them home to get what they need for a few days, and when the estate is settled, I'll get the rest of their stuff. Just don't leave them alone at all. I'll set up a place in the basement for all of you for tonight so they won't be alone then either."

George said, "Tomorrow we'll take them to the mall and get a few things for them. They won't be able to take much from home for a while, so they'll need a few things."

"I think we'll need a bigger car for that." I said. "With 7 of us now, we won't be able to go very far as a group and with uncle Dar's wheelchair, we won't have much room in the trunk of the one we have"

"Dar already thought of that," said George. "He wants to buy a large van for himself anyway. He said that he should be able to drive soon, and he wants something big like a van. We'll check out the car dealers while we're out tomorrow and see what we can find."

"That would be great," I said. "Then he won't be stuck here if he wants to go somewhere. I'll still go with him, but he won't need someone else to drive anymore."

Janny said, "And you girls will have your own driver when ever you want to go some place. I bet you have him rapped around your fingers already."

I blushed and said, "I think you got that backwards."

George laughed at that and said, "I bet if any of you asked him for something, he'd get it. I think that he'd be glad to do it for any of you. He told me that he plans to adopt Ellen and Nancy as soon as he legally can so they won't ever be split up. I also think that he loves all of you girls as much as Janice and I do."

I got teary with that. I seemed to be crying a lot lately, but mostly happy tears. I ran up and hugged George and said, "I love you guys too. When you started dating Janny, you would take Erica and me with you. You never ignored us or told us to go away so you could be alone. I was so happy when you asked Janny to marry you and you said yes."

George hugged me and said, "I knew it was a package deal from the start. I didn't want to leave you or Erica out because I knew how much you meant to Janice. With time, you started to mean a lot to me too. You were always ready with a hug, and Erica was too. Neither of you got jealous of me about Janice and I loved you for that and for yourselves. You 3 are the most important things in my life twerp."

I punched him for calling me twerp, but immediately hugged him again. I knew he was just kidding me and I loved him for it. I thought that Janice was so lucky to find him.

Uncle Dar came out with Ellen and Nancy then. They were still crying, and both were hanging onto uncle Dar like a life preserver in a flood. I ran up to them and said, "You're both welcome to stay here as long as you want. If you need anything, just ask. I even have extra clothes that you can have since we're about the same size."

Uncle Dar said, "That won't be necessary. I'll get them clothes later today and any thing else they need." He looked at me real hard for a second and said, "My job now."

I gave him a sad smile, and said, "Ok, your job now. But I get to help. They're my friends, and a very wise man told me that that's what friends do. That's the same man who gave me a special gift."

"Smart girl," he said.

"Yup, that's what I am when I have a good teacher," I said.

"I also had a good teacher recently," he said. "Just remember that too, munchkin."

He suddenly started wobbling a bit and said, "I need to sit down now."

Ellen grabbed his arm and held him steady while Nancy and Sally raced to his chair. Nancy won, and pushed it up behind him and held it for him while he sat down.

He said, "Thanks. Been doing to much, I think. Why don't you girls take me to my room so I can lie down for a bit?"

Ellen took one handle, and Nancy the other and pushed him inside.

Janny looked at George and said, "Well that was sudden. Even when he first came here he never did that."

"I don't think it was an accident either," said George. "I think he's giving them something to focus on instead of what they lost. If they're busy with him for awhile, they'll settle down sooner and start feeling better."

I suddenly had a suspicion and asked George, "Is that why you suddenly got so sick when Uncle Johnny died?"

George said to Janny, "See? Smart and beautiful, just like her big sister."

I glared at him, but I wasn't really mad. "Taking care of George when uncle Sammy died helped me get through it. He died less than a year after mom and dad, so I was still a wreck. Then George got sick suddenly, and with all the rest of it I had to help with him too. Now I find out he might not have been so sick after all. Still, having something important to do at the time was a benefit.

I thought, what we need is Coach Coulter. I said to Sandra, "We need to call the coach and tell her. I bet she can help."

Sandra said, "Good idea. She was the one who got it set up so Uncle Dar could come to the practices, and I bet she can help now."

George said, "Remember what I said a bit ago about her? The only thing that would really bother her is if you didn't ask for help when you really needed it, and we have 2 girls that really need it now."

While Sandra went inside to call the coach, I got my cell phone out and told Shelly that I was going to start calling the other girls on the team. She said she'd help too, so we both started calling the rest of our friends.

While we were doing this, Sandra came back out and said that Coach Coulter was on her way over right now. She said, "Coach says that she can help with CPS when they get here. She also said that she'll help uncle Dar with the adoption after he gets cleared by his doctors."

"See?" said George. "She's already helping. I told you that was a good idea."

Shelly and I finished our calls, and I said, "All the girls I called said they'd be right out."

"Me too," said Shelly. "That means the whole team will be here within an hour at the most."

Janny said, "I guess I'll have to get a hold of Erica and tell her too. That way she won't walk into the middle of all this with no warning." Then she went inside.

George said, "It's a good thing I got paid recently. I guess I'd better order a big bunch of pizzas."

I said, "No. We'll handle that, won't we?" Sandra and Shelly agreed, so we went into the kitchen and started making a bunch of snacks.

While we were doing this, Coach Coulter arrived. She came into the kitchen and asked where the girls were. I told her that they were in Uncle Dar's room. They'd taken him in there over an hour ago now, I saw.

The first of the other girls started arriving about then. As they came in, I directed them to Uncle Dar's room. By the time Shelly, Sandra and I had finished making up a bunch of snacks and a 5 gallon jug of lemonade, they were all here.

Shelly went to get help and we took the munchies into Dar's room. As big as dads old Den was, it was still crowded with 15 girls and 4 adults. The cousin twins were still crying and looked lost. I understood that look after loosing my parents just over 3 years ago. It still hurt to think about it.

Uncle Dar was sitting in his recliner and had one on each side of him with his arms around both. He wasn't doing anything but holding them as they cried.

I walked up to them and said, "I know it hurts. I know exactly how much it hurts. My parents died when I was 10, and it still hurts. I miss them so much that I still cry sometimes. But I had friends that helped me and you have friends that will help you. If you want to talk, I'll be here. If you want a hug, I have plenty to share. You're 2 of my best friends and a very wise man told me that's what friends do."

Then I hugged each of them and walked away. I was feeling kind of dizzy about then, so I told the others I had to go lie down for awhile. I went to sleep almost as soon as I got onto my bed.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but I don't think it was very long. Coach Coulter woke me up and said that the CPS person was here with 2 cops.

I got up and went into the family room with her. The others on the squad stayed in uncle Dar's room while he took the cousins.

When I got there, George and Janny were already there. They both looked angry for some reason. "Uh oh," I thought. "Some thing is wrong."

I walked over to George and in a whisper, I asked him what was wrong.

George said, "The CPS person has decided that because of Dar this is not a sound environment for children. She's going to take them and she's threatening to take you too. She says that having children in a house hold with a mentally disturbed person isn't safe."

I almost yelled, "She said what?"

"She said that Dar is mentally disturbed and is therefore a danger to young children, including you," said Janny.

I turned around and looked at the woman from CPS and said, "You have insulted a man who almost died saving my brother-in-law's life. You have insulted a man who almost bled to death when he reopened one of his wounds from that incident saving my life. If you don't leave RIGHT NOW, I'm going to do something I may regret, but you'll regret more. Go. Now."

George grabbed at me but I dodged. I walked toward her and I really intended to hurt her. I didn't know much about fighting, but I thought that my gymnastics skills would be a help and I was determined.

Uncle Dar pushed his way in between us and told me, "Let me handle this. I can fix it and her at the same time. Don't do any thing foolish."

"I wasn't going to do any thing foolish, uncle Dar. I was going to get rid of a problem that has really angered me. She insulted you and my sister and my big brother. If she doesn't get out of here now I'm going to make her leave. Hard."

"No. I've got a better idea. You seem to forget that this house has an intercom system with recorders on it. There are 2 tapes of everything that has been said since these three arrived, and I'm going to file a criminal complaint against all of them."

"You're what?" said the CPS woman.

Uncle Dar said, "I'm filing a felony discrimination complaint against you. You should really think about a good attorney about now."

"You can't do that," the woman said.

Uncle Dar said, "Watch me.

He then pushed himself over to the phone, and dialed a number. He then said some funny words and said, "Do you recognize that? Good, I have a problem. It seems that I'm being classed as mentally deranged and a danger to children by a CPS official here. I want someone to come out here right now and deal with it. If you can't get someone out here fast, then you'd better include a coroner."

"One of the people this woman is harassing is myself, and the other is also a disabled vet," he continued. "He has 2 purple hearts from Iraq."

I wondered who he was talking to, and I wondered what he really meant when he said 'coroner'.

When he hung up the phone, he looked at the police officers and said, "This has just become a federal investigation into the misconduct of a State employee who is using her position to harass and threaten 2 disabled veterans. You have a choice. You can assist in this matter or be included in the investigation."

The older one of the 2 smiled and said, "Oh you'll have no trouble from me. I would have filed a complaint myself when we got back to the station. I've worked cases like this before, and this is the first time I know of that the medical condition of someone who isn't directly involved in a case is considered grounds to refuse custody of an orphan." The other nodded his head in agreement.

I said, "Well they better put her away for a long time. I meant what I said. Uncle Dar almost died saving my life just a couple weeks ago when I had an accident in the pool and almost drowned. If you want, I'll show you the wheelchair he wrecked getting to me."

"I'm familiar with the case mam", said the older police man. It's still being investigated as an assault with a possible intent to kill. That oil on that diving board was no accident, and as far as the chair goes, I was the one to pull it out of the pool. I have no doubt about Mr. DeShade being safe to have around children. I'd trust him with mine."

I smiled at that. Another believer in my uncle Dar.

The CPS woman then said, "Are you going to let that juvenile delinquent get away with threatening me? I demand that she be arrested at once."

"Can't do it mam," said the older police man. "We have reason to believe that this case will be investigated by federal authorities, and we have no cause to intervene in it. If that man in the wheelchair did what I think he did, then it's not the girl that's in trouble, it's you. We can only wait and hold all participants in the situation until higher authorities arrive. That includes you, by the way."

Since we're also witnesses to the incident in question," he continued, "we will have to remain here until released by said authorities our selves."

I was beginning to like this man. That had to be the nicest way of telling someone off that I had ever heard. Even George was smiling now, and I knew he was mad. He hadn't even tried to stop me when I went after that woman. Good thing to because he wouldn't have succeeded. The only person I would have stopped for is the one who intervened. I would never do anything to hurt uncle Dar. I couldn't.

"I don't know about the rest of you," said Janny, "but I'm thirsty. Would you 2 officers like a cup of coffee?"

They both said no thank you.

As Janny headed to the door, she beckoned me to come with her. I went, thinking that I was going to get it now. George might not have been mad at me, but I thought that Janny would let me have it with a passion. She didn't like violence, and fighting would get me in more trouble with her than anything else I could think of.

*

This ends chapter 6.

Chapter 7 follows with Sally continuing the story.