A Little Common Sense

Chapter 6
Part 6

I don’t think Paulie believed us when we said all the clothes and toys we bought really were for him. I helped move his packages into one of the spare bedrooms, and showed Paulie his bed.

Bobby’s cell phone rang, and a moment later he knocked on the door. "Kevin, it’s the realtor for my father. I could give Paulie his bath while you take care of this."

Paulie nodded, and I patted him on the back.

I took the cell phone, locked myself into my bedroom, and changed back. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Mr. Henderson?" a girl’s voice asked me.

"Yes, it is. I’m interested in the Baldwin house," I said and gave her the address.

"Yes, that is an exceptional property. The asking price is three million dollars," she said, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice.

"I’ll pay cash, and I want to go to closing as quickly as we can."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My dear, my name is Kevin Henderson, of Henderson Soft Drinks."

The silence at the other end said a lot. "Oh, I see," she said and cleared her throat. "Mr. Henderson, perhaps this house is a little small for you?"

"I’m buying it for a new, charitable project of mine. I am going to need extensive work done the house, and I hope you can help me with this. By the time I finish I will probably have spent three to four times the asking price on the place."

"I see. I can arrange whatever you need for the house."

"I thought you might. When can I see the house? I will have my son, Robert with me."

As soon as I had set the appointment with the realtor, the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Mr. Henderson?" I recognized the voice as the policeman that had visited the day before.

"Yes, Officer Green. How are you?"

"I’m fine, thank you. I have a question for you. I understood you to say that you had a fawn that stopped by from time to time?"

"Yes, I do," I said with a smile.

"I saw another one, heading your way, and I wondered...."

"He’s getting a bath, and clean pajamas for the night," I whispered into the phone. "We are having pizza, and we have something called ’Sponge Bob’ for later."

I heard the man’s sigh of relief. "That one was seriously abused by his foster family. He took off, and has been on the streets for about a month. Someone off duty sort of said, within the fawn’s hearing that he -- Kevin could help. Can you keep him?"

"I am not going to force him to stay here, but, yes, for as long as I can. Would you be so kind as to send me information on how I might create a ’safe house’ - for deer? I have an offer in on the Baldwin place, so we should have enough room."

"You’re kidding.... That would be - enough room. You are quite a guy, Mr. Henderson. I’ll get that to you tomorrow."

I changed back to Kevin, feeling more and more that this was now my real self, not the old guy. I headed to the bathroom and found Paulie splashing away in the bubbles.

Bobby looked at me. "You -- in."

"Huh?"

"Get in the tub, Tiger. You need a bath as much as he does. You both need haircuts, and tomorrow I am taking Paulie over to my house. Mary will watch him, and feed him, and he needs a Mom just as much as a big brother."

Without hesitation, I stripped off my clothes and climbed in the tub. "Where’s my duck?"

Scrubbed clean, and in fresh pajamas, I let Bobby pay the delivery boy. Instead of one large pizza, Bobby brought in three and the rest of his family. As Kevin, I had never met his family, so I kept my mouth shut. Paulie grabbed hold of my hand, and I could see the fear all over his face.

"It’s okay," I whispered.

"Mary, everyone, I want you to meet Kevin and Paulie. We’re having a sleepover here tonight."

"Where’s Grampa," Robby, the youngest boy asked.

"He’s not coming home tonight, he wanted this to be for you kids, and us to keep you in line. Okay, Sport?"

Maria looked at me, and I could the puzzled expression on her face turn to one of recognition. I winked at her, and held a finger to my lips. She smiled, and nodded back, as we settled in for dinner.

Paulie sat with me, in fact clung to me, during dinner, but I saw him giving Mary a brief glance from time to time.

"Go on, she’s gonna be your new Mom, kind of. You can hug her."

"You...."

I let Paulie finish his dinner, before I stood up and pulled him to his feet. I held his hand as we walked over to Bobby and his wife. "Mrs. Henderson? I’m Kevin, and Paulie here wants to get to know you, but he’s been really hurt."

He looked up at me, and I pushed him forward a bit. "Hi."

Mary looked as if she would break into tears. She got down on her knees and held her arms open. "Hi."

Paulie hesitated for a moment then ran forward. He held onto Mary for all he was worth. She looked at me, and opened her arms again.

"You are not too old for this, sweetie." She said with a huge smile.

I gave in and hugged her almost as hard as Paul. She held both of us for a while, and at that moment, I knew I had given up my life as a grownup. I would spend the rest of my life as a street kid trying to help other street kids.

I pulled away as Paulie needed more attention, and I looked over at Bobby, who was still eating. He gave me a grin. "We need to talk, kiddo."

That night, I had another dream. This time the dream was much more vivid. I saw my old house, my parents, and Tommy Jones. That kids was such a big part of my life, that I couldn’t have forgotten him, but when I woke up I still had no idea where I had known him.

The next morning I watched Paulie get into the car with Mary and my grandchildren, and ride off. Bobby stood over me.

"I want to talk to my father, please."

I looked up at him. "I don’t know if he even exists anymore. Robert, I don’t know what’s happened to me. I’m a kid. It’s really hard for me to think of myself as an old man, and all I want to do now is help other kids, like that one, and I’m sure in my heart and soul, I’m on the right track. I was given a gift, I think, I can change my shape, but.... This afternoon, Pete is coming over here, and we are going to make the best tasting, healthy drink of all time. I want to ride my new bike, and.... I want to retire as head of Henderson, Inc., or whatever it is now. I want to buy that big house, and fill it with kids that need me, like Paulie, and I’m sure there are several million others. I can’t do all of them, but some of them, and I want to go to Disney World."

"Mary and I talked about this last night, when you and Pauli went to bed. The kids loved this, and I think I have the answer. You’re the one that wants the grownup, and I know what you mean about being a kid.

"Okay," he said and walked over to the coffee pot. "You can’t do this by yourself. You need to be a full time kid for the others, and not an old man. You can buy this house, do whatever you want with your money, but when you move in there you can’t be both."

"I know. I want to think I can do anything, but...."

"So, Mary and the kids, and I will move in there too. We will be running the house as a safe house, foster home whatever you want to call it. Mary will be the grownup. I will be running the company with Carolyn, and you will be doing your best to reach these kids. I know you can do it, too. Since kids will be coming and going there all the time, I can, too, as a kid, and have a little fun while I’m at it, but that’s just it. I have too many responsibilities to my wife, my kids, and you, to give up being me. I would suggest that you go on the tour with me as a kid, not an old man, and that we plan a time when you can make a last appearance on the scene as my father to officially retire, and announce that you are going on an extended world tour."

I couldn’t help but laugh. "I was wondering how I was going to ask you two to do this for me."

After you broke Mary’s heart last night, we don’t have a choice."

"What did I do?"

He gave me a lopsided grin. "You were yourself. Mary found you so brave, trying to be the big kid, thinking only about your little friend, and needing her as much if not more than Paulie. When you hugged her she was on cloud nine. So, kiddo, from now on you can squirm all you want, but you will be doing both of us a big favor if you let her mother you."

The doorbell rang. I opened it to find the delivery man I was expecting. He had several large boxes. "Right in there," I said. "Sign for that, will you?" I asked Uncle Bobby.

"What is it?"

"The company is sending over flavors, every flavor there is, well maybe not every flavor, but Pete and I need something work with."

"You’re serious?" he asked me, suddenly.

"Are you kidding? Of course I am. I always told everyone in the company that they should have taken that Energen stuff to kids, first. No one listened, and by the time it actually shipped I knew what the reason behind it was, but we still need a really good, healthy alternative to ’Choco-Ice.’ Pete and I are gonna do that."

"I believe you," he said and followed me back to the kitchen.

I opened the back door to find a matching set of ten year-old boys standing there. They both had the same feral expression on their faces as Paulie had. "You’re just in time for breakfast, come on in."

They hesitated as they looked for me to Bobby, and back again.

"It’s okay," Bobby said, gently. "We’ve got bacon and eggs, toast, pancakes, cereal, or all of it."

They nodded their heads in unison.

"Kevin, show them where to sit, and get them some milk or something to drink. They both look parched."

One of the boys looked around the kitchen as I showed them to the table. "I’m Mark, he’s Mike. They said you would...."

"This place is safe, as safe as we can make it. You can stay for breakfast, lunch and supper if you want. If you need someplace to sleep you can stay here. If you don’t want to, you can come back anytime you’re hungry, or you need anything - clothes, baths, money."

"You got beds for us?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, and Mr. H., the guy that owns this place, that’s his son, the cook, he’s gonna move us all over to the Baldwin house. You seen that? It’s got swimming pools and a hundred rooms."I looked at Mike again, and smiled. "You won’t have to share a room with boys, either."

She glanced at her brother, and I saw her expression change. "I’m Michelle."

I gave her a wink. "Easier being a boy on the street, I know. Mary, that’s his wife and our new Mom will make sure you get clothes, you know, girls clothes, cause I bet it’s been a while since you could wear something pretty."

Mark cut in, "Who says we’re gonna stay here?"

"No one. You really want to stay out there, no food, no place to sleep?"

"We’re okay. What do you know about it."

"The same as you," I said, casually. "I’ve been here three days. Mr. H., bought me clothes, and a bike, and stuff, and I’ve been helping here with the other kids."

He looked me over, and said. "Yeah, okay, I’ve seen you around. Okay, this is safe?"

"No one’s gonna turn you in, or turn you away. You can stay, go, come back, whatever."

"I want to stay, Mark. I’m tired of not having anywhere to go home to, and we get swimming pools and my own room, and...."

"Breakfast," Bobby said bringing a pair of plates to the table. "Pancakes are coming."

"Don’t forget mine," I said. "With blueberries."

"You’ve had your breakfast," Bobby told me, then tousled my hair.

"But I’m a growing boy here. I can have pancakes."

"I’m a growing boy, too," Mark cut in. "I get seconds."

"You’ve started something here, kiddo," Bobby complained. "What about you?"

Michelle shrugged. "I’m a growing girl, and I want seconds, too. Thank you."

"I see. Okay, Mary will take care of getting you clothes, and bathed. In fact, she should be back with Paulie any time, and we can all go to look at the house."

After breakfast, Mark waited until he had chance, then pulled me aside. "Look, I’ve been looking after Mike for a while, and I know you don’t get nothing for nothing, you know? What’s this really about?"

I put an arm around Mark’s shoulder. "It’s for real. Mr. H., is like seventy and he’s rich, I mean loaded, and he don’t care nothing about his money. Well, not for him, he wants to give back to us. I mean, kids that need it. He got rich from kids, you know."

He looked at me. "What?"

"He’s the guy that makes ’Choco-Ice’. You ever have that?"

Mark licked his lips, and nodded his head. "You mean we could have some here?"

"The fridge is loaded with it. He can get as many cases as he wants cause he owns the whole company, you know. Look at this place. Does it look like a rich guy lives here?"

"No."

"That’s cause he’s never spent money on himself. He spends it on his kids and his grandkids, and now us."

"So it’s real. He’s gonna buy us clothes, and give us a place to stay, and he don’t want anything back?"

"If you stay long enough you gotta go to school."

"You going to?" He gave me a long glance, and I gave him a wide grin.

"Yeah. I want to work for his company when I get old enough."

 

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