Chapter 7. The truth and moving on.

“So you have a choice Ryan, please choose wisely for the sake of my brothers.”

I wasn’t sure what to do, but deep down inside I did know what I had to do…tell the truth.

“Okay we made the whole thing up Caitlin. They were bored and between the three of us, we wanted to spend some real time together and get to know each other better. They were so sick and tired, and fed up with being here at the park that we decided to do whatever it took to get them some freedom.”

“I see,” she said in disgust.

She turned and walked back across the floor, about back to where she was before. Then she turned and looked at me.

“I don’t like being played by them and lied to Ryan.”

“I understand, but after spending the last few days with them and getting to know them I could understand why they wanted some kind of freedom, even more some kind of attention paid to them.”

“It was still wrong, I trusted you to take care of them.”

“And I did take care of them! Where do you come off telling me that I didn’t take care of them? You know Caitlin, I can see that you care about them some, but I won’t pretend to even guess what is going on between you and your brothers that makes them need to take up a friendship with a stranger like me and practically beg me to get them out of here. Now you wanna yell at someone, you can feel free to yell at me, but before you do, I think you need to do something for them, and let them know that you care about them.”

“I do care about them, and how dare you tell me that!”

“You care about shit Caitlin! I heard some of the stories about you and what you do for them. Other them spend some cash on them it’s really sad. Last year you went away for Christmas and they didn’t even see you till you got done with your trip right?” I said with anger in my voice.

Suddenly, she got quiet. She didn’t answer my question, apparently it didn’t take much to shut her up so I continued...

“I’m not saying what we did the past two days was right Caitlin, but I showed them more attention then you have in the past few months didn’t I? So, like I said, be my guest, bitch me out and send me on my way! But, don’t tell me about how much you have cared about them, show me! Call them in here right now and tell them something or tell them I am leaving and they can find someone else to be their friend now. Then take care of them while you go on working and living your life while they stay miserable and bored.”

I headed for the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled it open without waiting for her to say or do anything else. I walked out, looked up the walkway at them, turned, and went the other way. Both boys and Caitlin came together outside as I slowly walked away. I heard yelling. Then some loud screams, and no sooner then I could turn to see what was happening. Caden was running to me followed by Conner. I stopped about twenty feet away as both boys came to me and hugged me while Caitlin watched from where she stood with surprise and shock on her face.

“Please don’t go Ryan… Please come back we need you!” they said to me.

Caden grabbed my hand and pulled me and I went along with him. Conner walked along side of me as the three of us walked right back up to her, as she stood there somewhat stunned at her brother’s reactions.

“Sis you better do something now because if you let Ryan leave, we will both hate you! He did more for us in the last two days then you have in the past year!”

That statement surprised me. As for Caitlin, her face went blank, it was easy to see her mind was going the same way mine was not too long ago when I was trying to figure out a way to stay with them. She looked at me.

“Ryan lets go inside. I don’t want to bring anymore attention to us then this already has.”

She turned and headed back inside and I followed with Conner and Caden at my side. A strange turn of events if there was one so far. One of the boys shut the door as we all entered the house. Then as I went to sit on the small couch, both boys came immediately over to me and sat on either arm of the chair next to me, as she watched this, continuing to be impressed on some level with the sudden control or should I say respect, they had for me.

“Well it appears I am wrong Ryan. I guess we need to do something to fix this,” She said somewhat arrogantly.

“What are you gonna do sis?” Conner asked.

“After talking to Ryan and seeing how you two feel and being reminded of how bad a guardian I am, I guess I need to fix this some how.”

“But how?” Caden asked.

“What if I ask you and Conner that question Caden? What do you want me to do to fix this?”

“Let Ryan take care of us,” he said.

“Yeah at least for the rest of the summer, then we can go from there. How about it sis, we will be out of your hair and we will come here a few times a week to do stuff and let you see us. What do you say?” Conner asked excitedly.

“I say, I need to talk it over with Ryan. Since Ryan is only seventeen if I remember correctly, he is going to have to talk to his mom and dad too. You guys take off and let me figure this out with him and I’ll come find you when we are done. And again, stay close if you want to know when we are done.”

They headed out and once again, I was alone with her. As soon as the door closed, she looked at me.

“Before I even agree to this, are you going to be able to spend time with them for the rest of the summer?”

“I think so. We still have about two months before school starts. I could tell my mom it’s a summer job and she might go for it.”

“Its way more then a summer job Ryan. How long before you are 18?”

“I’ll be 18 in about six months.”

“So that’s January?”

“Yes, the end of January, why?”

“Because I just wanted to know for my own reasons.”

“You can drive then I guess?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I have my own driver’s license but I can’t afford a car or the insurance since I am not working.”

“Okay then we will do this. You swear to me that you will take care of them and you want to do this?”

“Yes, I swear I want this Caitlin.”

“Okay then, if you take care of my brothers and keep them safe I will pay you for your time.”

“I don’t need money to care for them, I will do it because I really like them.”

“Listen to me Ryan. First, even if your parents okay this, do you really think they are going to let you invest the rest of your summer for free? How are you gonna explain that? I might not be the best sister in the world, but I know about money, so trust me there. Second, I am going to have to trust you with cash to take care of them since they expect a lot and basically I give them what they need since I don’t spend a lot of time with them. So, this is all of course based on your parent’s approval and then after that, I would like to do this for you.” She paused briefly. “I will get you a good car and pay it off along with the car insurance.”

“WOW!” was all I could think of saying.

“Yes Ryan, you are going to be well taken care of if you are going to be taking care of my brothers. So, you did get into something here, now let me finish. You get a car and insurance, which I am sure your parents will be very happy about and they are yours to keep for opening my eyes and making me realize that I have been so distant with my brothers. Next, you will need cash to take care of them, so each week I want you to come to the amusement park and I will give you $1000.00 to spend on them. If you need more that’s fine but since my little brother won’t be collecting the extra money anymore, he won’t be able to get that little bit he helps himself to now.”

‘Shit,’ I thought to myself, ‘she even knows about that.’

“I don’t know what you mean and I am sure I don’t want to Caitlin,” I said quickly, as I thought she could read the suspicion in my mind about what I really knew.

“Don’t worry about that Ryan, eventually that will be between him and me. But, as I said, I will give you a thousand a week for them and five hundred for you so spend. Now… after the summer is over and school starts, we will talk about the rest of this. I know you will have school, you are in what year?”

“This is my last year. I will be a senior in September when I go back.”

“Okay, so when you and they go back to school, just about the same time, the hours at the park change. I will be around more, but I have a feeling by then they will be attached to you way more then me.”

“I am sorry Caitlin. I really don’t want to get between you and them.”

“Ryan, what you don’t know is you already have. I am not that upset. One day when I have more time and trust you more, I will tell you the story and what I do know that you probably don’t. For now, all you need to do is take care of them till school starts. Bring them around when they want to, when I need you to, or when you need a break, and I will keep them at the park with me if you have something you need to do, or in other words if you need an occasional day off just tell me. I am sure eventually they will even wear you down and get to be too much for you. Now the last thing is this…if you make it through the end of summer with nothing serious happening to them, I will first promise not to kill you, and second, I will give you a nice bonus for whatever you want to spend it on. The car is yours as a thank you as I already said. Tomorrow, you and I can go pick out one for you that isn’t too over the top. After all, I want you to protect them when you drive so safety is important. Also, you will have access to the company car and driver so if you don’t want to drive some place all you need to do is come here and tell me. That goes for when they start whining and want to take a trip some place. We will work that all out when that happens. Are you okay with all this?”

“Ummmm…. as soon as my head stops spinning and I talk to my parents I guess so.”

“Good. Here is two thousand dollars,” she said going into her purse, taking out an envelope, and handing it to me.

“Thanks.” I said. On the outside, I was trying to remain as cool as possible, while inside, I wanted to scream because I was so excited.

“Half is yours and the other half is for the boys for this week. You do what you want with that thousand as another way of me saying thanks. Also, I have found your parent’s credit card information after Conner told me that you guys got passes and I credited that back to your father’s credit card.”

“Thank you.”

“Ryan, thank you…. And please don’t let me or those two down. Apparently, they care very much about you or this never would have gotten this far out of my control already. I am going to be watching and so will the maid and cook. By the way Ryan, don’t let those two fool you… I know what happens in that house as I did the past two days. They aren’t just there to take care of the house even if the boys told you different.”

Wow… I thought to myself. She really does have this shit under control. Well, everything but them…

“Here is my cell number. If you need me, call me and I will also need yours. I assume you have a cell?”

“I do but it’s under my parent’s name.”

“Talk to them and find a way to get better service if you can, so you have a way to keep in touch with me at all times if you have to.”

“Okay, I will.” I said. “As soon as I talk to them, I will get the cell phone stuff worked out too.”

“Good, you have plenty of money to get your own now and if you do run out this week I understand because I am asking you to do a few things to help me out, I will give you more cash if you need it later in the week, just let me know. And, the final thing with Conner and Caden. Don’t let them shit all over you too much. I know you like them but don’t be afraid to ground them. I will be telling them that you are in charge and what you say goes!”

“Got ya.”

“I’ll talk to you after you talk to your parents Ryan.”

She headed to the door and left me standing there stunned. After she opened it, she turned to me.

“Ryan… here is the key to this place. It’s yours to use, just like the boys use it. Just keep it locked when you aren’t in here,” she said tossing a key to me.

“Okay. Thanks.”

She waved to me and headed outside. She left the door open and went to talk to her brothers. A few minutes later as I watched from in the doorway, they both cheered as she walked away. Then they both came over to me and gave me a huge hug. Conner broke the hug and looked at me.

“What the hell happened?” he asked.

“It’s a long story. Come inside and I will tell both of you.”

“Did she give you a key?” Caden asked.

“Yup, I have a key to here now. I probably won’t need one to your house with the maid and cook there. Now both of you take a seat, we have lots to talk about.”

Both boys sat down and I joined them, sitting right in between them.

“I have a lot to say, first off you two need to know that some things are going to change immediately but first I need my parent’s permission to do this. After I talk to them and tell them about this, which by the way, I am almost positive they will agree to let me do this as a job. We also need to get things straight and you two need to know as much as I do about your sister.”

“What do we need to know about our sister?” Conner asked curiously.

“She isn’t stupid Conner. First off, she knows you skim that cash off the receipts every time you bring the money to her.”

“Shit! How could she?”

“Well, if I had to take a guess, it’s very simple and you are pretty stupid.” I said to him.

He gave me a look but didn’t say anything.

“Every penny has to be accounted for since there are receipts and so on. I believe it’s all counted and probably computerized too or anyone handling that cash could do what you do at any time.”

“Yeah so?” Conner said dumbfoundly.

“Come on bro, even I can figure it out,” Caden said. “If you bring in the cash every night and everything is totaled up and the same amount is always missing then she probably put it together a long time ago and she is just letting you have that cash now as part of your allowance or something.”

Conner looked at him and then at me.

“Is he right Ryan?”

“Pretty close I think. I don’t know and she didn’t tell me, but she did tell me she knew you were taking cash and nothing more. My guess is she either said it so it would get back to you from me as a test of my loyalty or she said it to get a reaction from me, or to see if I might have known about it. But either way, you won’t be doing it anymore, so you won’t have the extra cash now. And you can’t go to her either and say a word, because then she will know I told you about it and you will really be screwed in all ways as will I, for going behind her back with something like that.”

“Damn, that’s right. What you just said would get both of us caught if I said a word and if we stop coming here, I can’t bring the cash in every night. So, I just screwed myself there. She will see the extra coming back now because I won’t be there to take it and she will really know she was right! This sucks!” Conner said.

“She probably figured that out already Conner. You didn’t collect the cash the last few days and you also didn’t collect the cash every single night of every day before this, especially when we weren’t there a few times last year.”

“Damn, that’s right Caden. I just never thought about it. She had to be on to me for a long time, I could have gotten yelled out a hundred times by now. I really wasn’t thinking!”

“Lets not get too crazy trying to figure all this out or too far ahead guys, I still have to get permission to watch both of you and you don’t have to worry about cash anymore now either. She is giving me a thousand a week to spend on both of you as needed and more if that runs out. Plus she is buying me a car tomorrow so I can drive you guys around or we can use the limo.”

“Wow!” They both said.

“There is more guys…”

They looked at me like what else could there be.

“She also knows everything that goes on in the house. You two think you paid off the maid and cook you fools, but you are both wrong. She told me they report everything to her as needed.”

“Shit! That means she knows lots of stuff and we are screwed.”

“I think if she was planning on punishing you for that it would have happened already, but she did know before she came home that Caden wasn’t sick and we were pulling a fast one on her, so it was easy for her to catch us this time.”

“Crap that just sucks!” Conner said. “Hey, what about the cash I have been paying them as hush money? Now I need to know what happens to that.”

“My guess is that they probably gave it right back to Caitlin, so they didn’t lose their jobs for stealing.”

Both boys looked at me as if I was the smartest guy in the world, but I was only using logic to figure this out.

“How do you figure all this out Ryan?” Caden said.

“Think about it and use logic.”

“Logic, what is that?” Caden asked.

“Just forget about it Caden,” Conner said. “You will know soon enough, the older you get the smarter you get when it comes to figuring out adult things.”

“I guess so,” Caden said.

“So, where do we go from here Ryan?” Conner asked.

“We go enjoy ourselves and have fun after I speak to my parents and tell them I have a job. For now, we just do whatever. Since I have been at your house the last few days, I really think I should go home now and tell them… or should I say, ask them about this. Knowing my mom she will have to think about it, but knowing my dad he will say something like, Elaine the boy is finally going to make some cash let him work.”

Both boys laughed as I mimicked my dad.

“So, you really think there will be no problem with it Ryan?” asked Conner.

“Are you kidding… once my dad finds out what kind of cash I will be making and that your sister is buying me a car and paying the insurance, they will probably both be super happy and if not, I’ll just tell them I will give them part of what I make, that has to do it.”

I laughed, as did both of the brothers.

“So are you going to go now?” Conner asked me.

“Yeah but I need a ride since the car took me here and I don’t have wheels here to get around. I think maybe I can take the limo home.”

It’s not a stretch limo it’s just what they call it. It’s a big black Cadillac with a lot of comfort built into it. Its just four doors on the outside and then inside, its pretty neat, with its refrigerator and TV not to mention the four or more speakers that they told me they use sometimes to crank up their tunes on. It’s a really sweet ride, even if they can’t appreciate it yet.

“I am sure sis wont mind lets go ask her,” Caden said.

“You guys can’t come with me you know. Not this time, maybe in the future but not this time because it might be really weird for my parents to discuss this stuff in front of strangers and you both are strangers to them.”

“Yeah, we understand. But we can still be together here and you can call later and tell us what is happening right?”

“Sure, I just need your cell phone numbers. You guys do have cell phones right?”

“Ummmm, no we don’t because we never needed them always being here at the park or at home. Now that you mention it, I think maybe its time we get one each or at least have sis get us one for both of us. If you need us for now, call the park and ask for my sister and she will get any messages to us for now,” Conner said.

“I am going to tell her that I need to keep in touch with you guys when you are here and sometimes if we were to get separated at a mall or something it would be best to get each of you a cell now.”

They both looked at me and smiled.

“You really think you can get her to do that?” Caden asked.

“Yup, without asking twice. All I have to say is, since we will be spending more time together, there will be more opportunities for us to get separated and it would not only be safer, it would be wise if both of you had one.”

“Kewl!” They both said to me.

Then they went on talking to each other about how having a cell would be awesome. Then they suddenly realized they didn’t really have a lot of friends or people that they could call and both of them got a little depressed. They’ll live! I also think if everything goes well they may make a few friends now, especially since they will be getting out more and seeing more of our world with me. Anyway, this whole time we were walking and heading over to the main building where Caitlin was at to get myself a ride home and also to tell her about the cell phones. We got to the front door, which was locked for some reason, and Conner pulled out his key.

“Why is this locked?” I ask.

“There was a problem with money disappearing a while back and before you ask it wasn’t me, but they decided not to take any chances and locked this door. You can get buzzed in or use a key like I have, my brother has, or the employee’s have.”

“Okay, now I understand,” I said as we walked inside.

We entered a hallway that ran for about 50 feet. On the left were five doors and on the right were four.

“This is where the main office is and of course all of the inside office workers are also in here. The left side is for the office workers, and the first three doors on the right are where my sister is, where they count the money and tickets sales and so on. The last door is storage and that is the biggest room in here.”

Okay I thought. I really didn’t need a run down, but what the hell, now I understand the setup of this building incase I ever need to come here for something. Never know now that I am part of the family. I laughed as I kidded myself that way. We walked up the hall, entered the second door on the right, and inside were three desks and another office on the left, which was where Caitlin’s office was. Since it was the middle of the week, each desk had someone at it and Conner and Caden either waved or said hi to them as we went in.

“Sis we are here or Ryan is here to talk to you.”

“Okay Conner, just shut the door behind you so we can have a little privacy.”

In her office was a TV up on a swivel bracket in one corner, two windows with curtains on them next to it. The middle held her desk, which was about 10 feet long and behind her, a smaller desk with her computer on it. On the left side is a small refrigerator and table with a coffee maker with miscellaneous food and supplies on it. The room was basically set up for someone who would be in it quite often. On either side of that table were filing cabinets. There wasn’t much open space but it was pretty well organized and not too cluttered.

“So what can I do for you Ryan?”

“I wanted to offer up a good suggestion and then I need a ride home to discuss this with my parents.”

“Okay, no problem on the ride, what did you want to discuss?”

“Since we are going to be doing a lot of things outside the park and going places that could separate us, I think it would be a good idea if each of the boys had a cell phone now. It’s a lot safer if we can call each other.”

“I have been waiting for this day Ryan. I expected them to come to me a long time ago and ask for them, I am really surprised they haven’t sooner.”

“We didn’t need them sis. We were either here or home before Ryan, so why would we have to call anyone?”

“I know Conner. I was just saying that I expected this to happen eventually.”

She got up from her chair, went over to one of the filing cabinets, and opened the top draw. She reached in, pulled out two boxed cell phones, and handed one to each of them.

“Here you go boys. I am expecting you will take good care of these, your phone numbers are inside each box and they are already activated. If you lose them, you will replace them with your own money. Which I know is silly to say but I am trying to ask you to be careful and responsible with them. They aren’t toys.”

“I know sis,” said Conner, “Thanks.”

“Yeah thanks sis,” Caden added.

“You are both welcome.” She smiled with some level of delight as she watched them both open their boxes and take out their cell phones. “We are on an unlimited plan and all three of us have the same service so there is no worry about how long you talk. I figured this would be best since you two may actually do some things now that will enable you to make friends outside of the park.”

“Yeah sis I know. I was thinking about that before when Ryan suggested we ask for phones. I was like, who would we call?”

“Let’s hope you are able to make some friends now outside of here and the few you guys have from school.”

They both thanked her and she told me by the time we walked to the car the driver would be there waiting.

“I am going alone Caitlin, after I talk to my parents I will call you for a ride back or with whatever the decision is.”

“Fair enough Ryan, I have a feeling once your parents find out what you will be doing and how much you will get for it you won’t have much trouble at all. So I guess I will see you back here after lunch?”

“As long as I can talk to one of my parents, I think mom should be home. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

“Great, thank you Ryan.”

“Thank you Caitlin,” I said back.

I got up and the boys told her they were going to walk me to the car and then they jokingly said if she needed them to call. All she did was roll her eyes. They were giggling as we walked out. They were both giddy about having a new toy in their pocket. It took all of two minutes once we left the building for one of them to call the other and they both started laughing.

“This is going to be fun Conner,” Caden said.

I stopped, turned to both of them, and looked at them.

“Know what guys, it will be fun until your sister calls you all the time and wants to know where you are, what you are up to, and so on, when you aren’t with me or even if you are with me and she needs you for something.”

They both thought for a moment and looked at each other.

“We’re screwed!” Conner said to Caden.

I laughed loudly at their sudden demise.

“Ya know guys, with every good thing comes something bad occasionally. You both have communication now and with that comes the nagging. The do this, and do that for your sister!”

“Yeah Ryan until we stop answering it when she calls!”

Both of them high fived each other and started to laugh. It took them a good minute to come up with that idea. They will probably have twenty other excuses soon for not answering when Caitlin calls too.

“We ignored her before the cell phone, why should we start listening now?” Caden said as he laughed once more.

“Hey you two can do what you want, as long as you answer when I call, and as long as she doesn’t call me when you two decide not to answer. First time that happens one of you will have to answer to me!”

“Oh don’t worry Ryan, we like you so we won’t blow you off or use you as our answering service for Caitlin!” Conner said. It was easy to tell they were both enjoying their plotting against their sister for any future phone calls.

“Yet!” Caden added.

I stopped and reached for him and twisted his body out of the way, as he ran off giggling like he was expecting some kind of payback for his wiseass comment.

“Remember boy,” I said. “I know where you live, sleep, and a few other embarrassing things.”

Conner looked at Caden.

“He got you bro…!”

“Yeah same goes for you too big brother!” Caden said back to him.

“Yeah but he wasn’t talking to me!” Conner snapped back to him as they kept trying to one up the other one.

“Not yet!” Caden said.

“Okay you two enough ‘one upping’ each other!”

We were almost at the car and suddenly their playing turned serious.

“Ryan do you think you will have any trouble getting your mom and dad to agree to this? We really don’t want to lose you. We just got you in our lives.”

“I don’t think so Conner, I think it should be okay. And thanks, I am glad I have both of you in my life too.”

I messed with both of their heads, running my hands through their hair before I got into the limo and smiled as I waved from inside. They both waved back as the limo took off to take me home. I was expecting my cell to ring any second and sure enough, it did. I looked at the caller id since I already put all three of their numbers into my cell before I left the office. It was Caden calling me already.

“Hello Caden, that took you about thirty seconds, what can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to tell you thanks, I love you, and I hope it goes well with your mom and dad.”

“Thanks Caden, I love you too and I am sure it will.”

In the background, I heard Conner yelling… tell him I love him too! I laughed.

“I heard him.” I said.

“He heard you!” Caden told Conner.

“Okay then… I’ll call later when I know something. Now you and your brother go check out some of the cuties in the park for yourselves and for me.”

He laughed.

“Sure Ry, I’ll do that, we’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

“Bye,” I said.

Now let’s see what my parents have to say when I start telling them all this exciting, new, good news. I am willing to bet I still get some type of argument from my mom before my dad finds out money is involved and tells her to just let the boy do his thing Elaine. As usual, good thing I have dad around or I would probably have to argue for everything I wanted.

To be continued…