Post by Tammy on Aug 17, 2006 11:28:58 GMT -5
I am walking around trying to find Bo’s nephew and I don’t have a clue where to look. I decided to walk around the area surrounding the Pub. I mean the kid is what…6 years old? He couldn’t have gotten too far. I stopped to rest a minute on the steps of St. Luke’s church which is about a block away from the Pub. I run my hand through my hair in frustration. “Where could he be?” Suddenly I hear the faint sounds of crying. I look around and don’t see anything. I rise to me feet and walk over to the side of the church to the small cemetery. I squint my eyes trying to focus threw the darkness. After a moment I focus on a small figure kneeling by a grave. I approach quietly so as not to disturb them. After getting closer I can recognize the figure that is weeping beside the grave, “Johnny?” He jumps at the sound of my deep voice. He turns to look at me with tears in his eyes, and then turns back to the grave that he is kneeling before. I walk over to him and kneel at his side, “Johnny…why did you run off like that? You had your uncle Bo scared out of his mind.” I try not to be harsh with him, I can see that he is upset. He shrugged his shoulders, “I wanted to come and visit.” he said in a low tear filed voice. I didn’t want to pry on his private moment, but I was curious what could make him want to come to the cemetery at night. I look at the head stone, which only held a name… Johnny Jacobs. Before I could stop myself I spoke out loud. “Johnny Jacobs…who is that?” Then after a moment I heard him whisper, “That is…my daddy.” I looked at him as he wiped a tear away. I don’t know this boy well…but from what I can see he is in pain. “Is that where you got your name? Are you named after your daddy?” He nodded and a small smile came to his face, “Yep…my name is Jonathan Jacob Evans.” I want desperately to make this little boy feel better. “Hey I have an idea…I was wondering…if it’s okay with you…well since my name is John too I was wondering if I could give you a nickname?” He looked at me with a curious expression, “What’s that?” I smile at him, “A nickname? Well it is a special name that you give to your friends…or someone you love.” He smiled at me, “I get it…kinda like how I call Aunt Marlena… Mimi?” I nod at him and laugh a little. “Exactly! So what do you say…do you want one?” He nodded at me excitedly. “Okay what do you say that I call you…JJ…would you like that?” He looked kind of sad again but he nodded his head, “Yeah…that would be cool.” We sit there in silence, I am not sure if I should talk to him about what is bothering him or not. But…I have to do something…this silence is killing me. “JJ…why did you come here all by yourself?” He shrugged again, ”It’s…Father’s Day…I wanted to say…hi to my daddy…before I went to bed.” I feel horrible…I don’t know what to sat to make him feel better. I glance at the head stone and see six red roses sitting there. “Did you bring your daddy those pretty flowers.” He smiled triumphantly. “Yep…they were on that big, long table at grandma’s.” He looked at me with wonder on his face. “Do you think that daddies like flowers?” I laughed a little and smiled. “I think they do… I love flowers.” That made JJ laugh, “Hey you…what’s so funny?” I said as I tickled him slightly. After he got his giggles under control…he spoke. “I just…didn’t think that…boys are supposed to like flowers…dats all!” I chuckled at his comment. “Well I don’t care what other boys like…I love flowers.” I paused for a moment, not sure if I should bring up the subject. “So JJ…did your daddy like flowers?” He looked away from me and back toward the headstone, ”I don’t know…I don’t member my daddy.” Oh man…I knew I shouldn’t have said anything… me and my big mouth. Now what am I going to say to him. But it turns out that I didn’t have to say anything…Johnny broke the silence.
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I walked up to the cemetery behind Bo. Bo peaked around the corner and pulled me up beside him, “There he is sis…and that is…John with him.” Oh thank you god…thank you for watching over him. I nudge Bo and whisper in his ear, “You can go on back to the Pub. I can handle this from here.” Bo looked at me skeptically, “I don’t think that is a good idea.” I shake my head at Bo’s ridiculous comment. “Bo…you have nothing to worry about. I am not going to…rip into your friend. I just want to get our nephew and bring him home. Besides…You need to go back and tell everyone that we found him…so Abe can call off the search.” Bo nodded in agreement, “Are you sure?” “Yes I’m sure. Tell everyone I said…thank you!” Bo gave me a kiss and walked away. I make my way over to the cemetery gate when I hear my nephew talking to John. I might as well take a moment to listen, maybe I can figure out why Johnny came here. Then I won’t have to ask him any questions later. I can’t believe what I am hearing. I have never heard my nephew talk this much in his young little life. He is talking to John as though he has known him all his life.
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“My daddy…died…right before my brother was born. So I can’t member him.” I nod at him. I don’t want to interrupt his train of thought. “Even though I don’t member him…I still miss him.” He looked over at me with the saddest tear filled eyes, “What is it like…to have a daddy?” Oh my lord…this little boy is going to make me cry. How do I answer that question? I guess…I should tell him the truth. “Well JJ…actually I don’t know. You see…I don’t know my daddy either.” He looked at me in amazement, “Your daddy died too.” I just shook my head, “No…my daddy…well my daddy wasn’t a very nice man. He did a lot of…bad things…and my mommy didn’t want me to see him.” JJ looked at me and innocently patted my leg. “My daddy did bad things too. That is why he died.” I looked at him in shock. How does he knows this if he never meet him. “JJ…how do you know that is why your daddy died?” Once again he shrugged. “One night I heard my papa talking about it.” I listen intently, “Was he talking to your Mimi?” He shook his head at me. “No…Mimi was at school. Papa was talking to my mama.” I shook my head, “JJ…maybe you heard papa wrong.” He shook his head firmly. “Nope I heard right. He said that my daddy did bad things…just like my mama. He said that is why Mimi is takin care of us…because mama can’t.!” I am totally blown away by what JJ just said to me. It is amazing how appearances can be so deceiving. Looking in from the outside you could never tell that anything was wrong with this little boys family.
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Oh my…my poor sweet baby. I never knew that he knew all of this. No wonder he is so depressed all the time. I have to do something to help him…but I don’t know how. I wipe away my tears and compose myself. I make my way towards them. By the time I reach them they are laughing. I heard John talking to my nephew about baseball. “You see…that is how you throw a knuckle ball.” Johnny looked up at him and smiled. “Can you show me?” John laughed at him, “Well…not tonight…but maybe tomorrow if you and your brother aren’t doing anything…maybe Uncle Bo can bring you and your brother to the park…and I can show you how to do it. How does that sound?” Johnny jumps into John’s arms, “Yeah! That would be cool! Pinky swear?” John laughed at him. “What is that?” Johnny laughed, “It is a special hand shake silly. It means that you wont break your promise.” John laughed when Johnny showed him how to do the pinky swear. “Okay then…pinky swear.” They do the hand shake and Johnny lets out a yawn. I walk up to them, “Well well…looks like someone is ready for bed.” John jumps up from the ground. “Yeah…I am pretty tired.” Johnny starts to laugh. “Mimi was talkin to me…silly.” Johnny looks at me after the laughter has faded from his eye…which is now replaced by sadness, “Mimi…I’m sorry I ran away from Uncle Bo. Am I in trouble?” How can I be mad at him when he looks at me like that? “Well…first of all you need to apologize to Uncle Bo…not me. I guess it will be up to him whether or not your in trouble.” Johnny nodded at me. “Okay let’s go back and get your brother. It is time to get you home and into bed young man.” I said as I ruffled his hair. He begins to yawn some more. John bends down to him, “How about a piggy back ride, slugger?” Johnny hops on John’s back and we begin to walk. We only make it about ten steps when Johnny is sound asleep. I take this opportunity to give John a piece of my mind. “Look…first off I want to say thank you for finding him. I will be forever grateful. However…I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t make promises to my nephew that you can’t keep.” I could tell that John was totally blown away by what I said. I could tell the by the way he stuttered his next sentence. “W…wh…what the hell are you talking about?” I look at him with fury in my eyes, “Just what I said…Mr. Black! These children have enough people in their lives who constantly let them down…they don’t need another one.” That was the last thing I said before I grabbed Johnny from his back and stormed off. Leaving him to walk back to the Pub alone!
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I walked up to the cemetery behind Bo. Bo peaked around the corner and pulled me up beside him, “There he is sis…and that is…John with him.” Oh thank you god…thank you for watching over him. I nudge Bo and whisper in his ear, “You can go on back to the Pub. I can handle this from here.” Bo looked at me skeptically, “I don’t think that is a good idea.” I shake my head at Bo’s ridiculous comment. “Bo…you have nothing to worry about. I am not going to…rip into your friend. I just want to get our nephew and bring him home. Besides…You need to go back and tell everyone that we found him…so Abe can call off the search.” Bo nodded in agreement, “Are you sure?” “Yes I’m sure. Tell everyone I said…thank you!” Bo gave me a kiss and walked away. I make my way over to the cemetery gate when I hear my nephew talking to John. I might as well take a moment to listen, maybe I can figure out why Johnny came here. Then I won’t have to ask him any questions later. I can’t believe what I am hearing. I have never heard my nephew talk this much in his young little life. He is talking to John as though he has known him all his life.
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“My daddy…died…right before my brother was born. So I can’t member him.” I nod at him. I don’t want to interrupt his train of thought. “Even though I don’t member him…I still miss him.” He looked over at me with the saddest tear filled eyes, “What is it like…to have a daddy?” Oh my lord…this little boy is going to make me cry. How do I answer that question? I guess…I should tell him the truth. “Well JJ…actually I don’t know. You see…I don’t know my daddy either.” He looked at me in amazement, “Your daddy died too.” I just shook my head, “No…my daddy…well my daddy wasn’t a very nice man. He did a lot of…bad things…and my mommy didn’t want me to see him.” JJ looked at me and innocently patted my leg. “My daddy did bad things too. That is why he died.” I looked at him in shock. How does he knows this if he never meet him. “JJ…how do you know that is why your daddy died?” Once again he shrugged. “One night I heard my papa talking about it.” I listen intently, “Was he talking to your Mimi?” He shook his head at me. “No…Mimi was at school. Papa was talking to my mama.” I shook my head, “JJ…maybe you heard papa wrong.” He shook his head firmly. “Nope I heard right. He said that my daddy did bad things…just like my mama. He said that is why Mimi is takin care of us…because mama can’t.!” I am totally blown away by what JJ just said to me. It is amazing how appearances can be so deceiving. Looking in from the outside you could never tell that anything was wrong with this little boys family.
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Oh my…my poor sweet baby. I never knew that he knew all of this. No wonder he is so depressed all the time. I have to do something to help him…but I don’t know how. I wipe away my tears and compose myself. I make my way towards them. By the time I reach them they are laughing. I heard John talking to my nephew about baseball. “You see…that is how you throw a knuckle ball.” Johnny looked up at him and smiled. “Can you show me?” John laughed at him, “Well…not tonight…but maybe tomorrow if you and your brother aren’t doing anything…maybe Uncle Bo can bring you and your brother to the park…and I can show you how to do it. How does that sound?” Johnny jumps into John’s arms, “Yeah! That would be cool! Pinky swear?” John laughed at him. “What is that?” Johnny laughed, “It is a special hand shake silly. It means that you wont break your promise.” John laughed when Johnny showed him how to do the pinky swear. “Okay then…pinky swear.” They do the hand shake and Johnny lets out a yawn. I walk up to them, “Well well…looks like someone is ready for bed.” John jumps up from the ground. “Yeah…I am pretty tired.” Johnny starts to laugh. “Mimi was talkin to me…silly.” Johnny looks at me after the laughter has faded from his eye…which is now replaced by sadness, “Mimi…I’m sorry I ran away from Uncle Bo. Am I in trouble?” How can I be mad at him when he looks at me like that? “Well…first of all you need to apologize to Uncle Bo…not me. I guess it will be up to him whether or not your in trouble.” Johnny nodded at me. “Okay let’s go back and get your brother. It is time to get you home and into bed young man.” I said as I ruffled his hair. He begins to yawn some more. John bends down to him, “How about a piggy back ride, slugger?” Johnny hops on John’s back and we begin to walk. We only make it about ten steps when Johnny is sound asleep. I take this opportunity to give John a piece of my mind. “Look…first off I want to say thank you for finding him. I will be forever grateful. However…I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t make promises to my nephew that you can’t keep.” I could tell that John was totally blown away by what I said. I could tell the by the way he stuttered his next sentence. “W…wh…what the hell are you talking about?” I look at him with fury in my eyes, “Just what I said…Mr. Black! These children have enough people in their lives who constantly let them down…they don’t need another one.” That was the last thing I said before I grabbed Johnny from his back and stormed off. Leaving him to walk back to the Pub alone!
