Tiger Paw

Can You Spare a Quarter?

Chapters 7-12

After they were a few minutes outbound from the coast Jamie looked back and he could see a brown haze hanging over the city. He knew that the air back in the city could be dirty sometimes from all the vehicles on the roads but as they flew further and further out it looked more and more like a brown blanket was suffocating the buildings. Looking downwards Jamie could see the tidal line between the outgoing silt laden river water and the much darker ocean water while seagulls circled lazily beneath him over the calm sea. A couple of minutes later they passed by a warning marker on a rocky outcropping and Dave dipped the plane and banked it sharply so Jamie could see the couple of seals that were laying on the rocks below sunning themselves as they flew over. To the right Jamie could see a ferry plying its route between the mainland and the outlying islands, its white wake trailing along behind it. Still further off in the distance there were barges heavily laden with freight being towed by tugs and moving slowly up the strait. Compared to the life he had been leading and what Jamie normally saw daily in the city the view from the plane as it headed out away from the coast seemed almost magical if not surreal.

Dave gradually decreased the altitude of the plane down from five hundred feet [150 m] and it flew low over the sea as it approached Valdez Island. Faint whitecaps could be seen now on the crests of the waves as they rolled gently through the strait between the mainland and the rapidly approaching island. As the floatplane approached the small island the shoreline which was covered in old-growth trees became clearly visible. Except for the occasional house here and there poking out through the trees the island appeared totally undeveloped and pristine. Reaching and then crossing over the shoreline Dave pulled back on the controls and directed the floatplane up and through a small gap and into the entrance to Salish Bay. Jamie looked down as Dave banked the plane and he could see that the small bay was filled with sailboats of various sizes, most at anchor but a few of which were in motion.

"You're going to land in the middle of all those boats?" asked Jamie excitedly.

"This isn't so bad," said Dave. "You should see it in the summer when there's a lot more of them moving about. It can be a real tight fit sometimes."

"See the wharf sticking out from the pub over there on the shore?" said Dave while pointing with his hand as he banked the plane. "That's where we're headed. We'll touch down in the middle of the bay and then taxi our way over to it."

Dave circled once to get a good look at where the various boats were located and picked his spot. Then he banked the plane sharply to the right and pointed down to where he was going to land for Jamie's benefit. Finally he aligned the plane with the open spot in the water that he had selected and swooped in for a landing.

The regular passengers for whom the trip had become somewhat routine despite the world-class scenery found themselves enjoying the trip much more than usual and were smiling at each other. Like Graham they were discovering the infectious excitement that a youngster can bring to life.

The floatplane skimmed across the surface of the water and then there was a brief light shudder as the plane's pontoons touched down. Pulling back on the throttle and adjusting the propeller pitch Dave slowed the floatplane quickly and then began to guide it towards the wharf that he had pointed out to Jamie as they were coming in. About ten feet [3 m] away from the wharf Dave cut the engine completely and let the floatplane drift up silently to the wharf and then jumped out. Grabbing a tie rope attached to the front of the floatplane's pontoons he looped it around one of the dock cleats positioned along the edge of the wharf and then did the same again with the tie rope at the rear of the pontoons. After checking that the plane was safely secured Dave then opened the passenger door.

"OK everyone. You can unbuckle now," Dave called into the open door.

Jamie waited until Dave had helped the other passengers to climb down out of the plane and then grabbed his backpack, squeezed out of the co-pilot's seat, and climbed out too. Dave then opened the cargo door at the rear of the plane and began removing the suitcases that had been stowed there for the passengers. Once the passengers had all of their bags he began lifting out the boxes of cargo that he had brought over and stacked them up in the middle of the wharf. When Dave had finished unloading the plane he noticed Jamie standing patiently off to one side and watching.

Seeing that Dave had finished taking out the cargo Jamie came up to him and said with enthusiasm, "Thanks a lot sir. I'd never been on a plane before. It was great being able to sit up front and see everything."

Dave smiled and put out his hand and shook Jamie's while saying, "You can pilot with me anytime, Captain."

Jamie smiled back at Dave and then walked over to the edge of the wharf to look down into the clean clear water at some tiny fish that were circling next to a wooden piling that was covered in barnacles. Meanwhile Graham came over to retrieve his suitcase. Picking up the bag he said quietly to Dave, "That's a big one I owe you."

"Hey that's the most fun I've had on the run in ages," replied Dave. "Just one thing, you haven't seen your sister in years have you?"

Graham looked at Dave and hesitated briefly before saying, "It's a long story."

Dave smiled at Graham and said, "I saw the bruises Graham and the new clothes. I just hope you know what you're getting into. If I can do anything at all to help just let me know."

"I'm not sure if I know what I'm getting into either," said Graham, "but I couldn't just ignore him."

"You always were a soft touch weren't you," replied Dave with a gentle smile.

Carrying the suitcase Graham began to walk towards Jamie when suddenly a large white dog began to run down the ramp leading to the wharf while barking loudly. The other passengers who were walking up the ramp quickly moved to one side as the dog barrelled past them. At the sound of barking Jamie looked up and watched horrified as the dog reached the bottom of the ramp, leapt into the air, and landed almost on top of Graham.

Jamie tried to shout at Graham to warn him but it all happened too quickly. Jamie was about to run over and help but then realized that the dog was not attacking Graham but instead was licking his face and that Graham had his arms around the dog and was petting and hugging her.

"Cindy! I've missed you girl," Graham said to the overly excited large white Labrador Retriever as she continued to kiss and jump on Graham.

Finally Graham managed to calm Cindy down a bit and she stood in front of Graham as he knelt and continued to hug and pet her. Dave walked up beside Jamie as he watched and said to him quietly, "When Graham first came over to the island here a year ago Cindy belonged to the people that owned the place that he was thinking of buying. While looking the place over, he found out that they had been abusing her. So he told them that either they let him have her along with the place or he would call the police and SPCA on them. So they let Graham have Cindy and she's been his faithful friend ever since he nursed her back to health. She walks all the way from his place down to the bay here every Friday to meet him."

"He really did that?" asked Jamie looking up at Dave.

"Yes he did. Graham's a very kind and gentle man," replied Dave. "It took a lot of hard work on Graham's part to help Cindy stop being afraid of people but as you can see she's doing fine now."

"How does she know when it's Friday?" asked Jamie.

"I have no idea," replied Dave. "But she always knows. The only reason she wasn't sitting waiting for him here on the wharf today is that you came over a bit earlier than usual."

Dave walked down the wharf and then went up the ramp that connected it to the land to organize the pickup of the cargo that he had brought over. Jamie looked on thoughtfully at Graham while Cindy was still excitedly bouncing around next to him.

"Jamie," called Graham. "I want to introduce you to a very special friend of mine. This is Cindy. She looks after my place when I'm away in the city during the week."

Jamie walked towards Graham and the large white dog rather hesitantly. He had seen how the dog had almost knocked Graham over in her enthusiasm and Jamie was nervous about getting too close. Jamie had not known any dogs closely and there had been a few unfortunate experiences being chased by guard dogs on occasion while trying to find a place to sleep for the night. Consequently he tended to think of them as being aggressive and dangerous. However as Jamie slowly approached Cindy sat down next to Graham and held up one paw as if to shake hands.

"Cindy, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is Cindy," said Graham doing the formal introductions.

Cindy barked loudly once to give her own greeting and then got up and sniffed around Jamie a little. She then proceeded to rub against his leg with her head and shoulder.

"I think she likes you," said Graham.

"Maybe," said Jamie as he gingerly began to pat Cindy on her head.

Graham picked up the suitcase he had dropped during all of the excitement and then he, Jamie, and Cindy went over to the ramp and began walking up it. When they got to the top of the ramp Cindy led the way towards a blue jeep parked next to a tree much to Jamie's surprise. The jeep was a total contrast in style to the car that Graham had been driving back in the city. Graham pulled the door open on the driver's side and Cindy immediately jumped up inside and moved over to sit on the passenger seat.

Seeing Cindy sitting in the front Graham said to her gently, "Come on now we have a visitor today. You go and sit in the back."

Cindy obediently moved into the rear jump seat making room for Jamie who then opened the passenger door and climbed in.

"This is yours?" asked Jamie.

"Do you like it better than the little roller skate back in the city?" said Graham.

"This is way better," said an impressed Jamie as he sat down and put his backpack on his lap.

"You need something like this on the island especially in the winter. If it snows out here there aren't any snowplows to clear the roads like in the city," said Graham.

Graham turned the key that Jamie noticed had been left in the ignition and started the engine. After checking for people nearby Graham stepped on the gas and they drove up the hill away from the bay and onto the main road that circled the island.

"Why were the keys were already in the jeep?" asked Jamie.

"Oh I left them in when I went over to the city last Sunday," replied Graham.

"Aren't you afraid someone will steal it?" asked Jamie hardly believing his ears.

"No not at all. You'll find things are quite different here than back in the city," said Graham. "People don't lock their houses, there's not even a policeman here. Although I think there's one that comes over about once a month or so just to shake a few hands. Besides if anyone did steal it don't forget this is an island. You can't get off it without using the ferry and if someone tried that the ferry workers would start wondering why I wasn't doing the driving."

Jamie looked around as they drove and saw that Valdez Island was almost completely forested. Periodically there were side roads leading off to the left or right but Jamie did not see a single traffic light anywhere or even a stop sign. By looking through the gaps in the trees when they occasionally passed a gravel access road Jamie could see that they led to houses and cabins that were nestled in amongst the trees. Some of the places were very small and somewhat rundown while others were large and clearly belonged to people that were very well off. Still others could not be seen at all and were completely hidden by the tall trees and underbrush. The forest was thick and unkempt and Jamie realized that this was not remotely the same as the park he had walked through back in the city. This was the forest primeval in all its dense lush green glory.

The road the jeep was following was full of curves, twists, and hills as it wound its way through the trees that covered the island. They had not encountered a single car since leaving the parking lot at the bay and to Jamie it looked so peaceful and tranquil compared to the city that they had left behind. Overhead in the clear blue winter sky Jamie could even see an eagle circling. While they drove along Cindy was licking at Jamie's ear and he moved around in the seat trying to get away.

"I was right. You've got a new friend," said Graham as he noticed Jamie squirming in his seat.

"It tickles," giggled Jamie as Cindy continued to nuzzle and lick at him.

Passing a cluster of mailboxes set in a clearing next to the road Graham turned to the left onto a side road then a few hundred feet [c. 100 m] further along he turned off into a barely visible gravel path that headed directly into the centre of a tall stand of fir and cedar trees. Jamie looked around but could not see anything through the dense underbrush but then as the jeep continued slowly through the trees they came out into a cleared area and onto a gravel driveway with rose bushes growing alongside it.

The driveway led to a carport that was attached to the side of a small split-level house. The outside of the house was clad in thin layered wooden shakes that were stained a medium brown, and the frames around the windows on the back of the house were painted in white making an attractive contrast with the brown exterior. Graham guided the jeep into the carport and as he did Jamie could see what appeared to be a large grass area with a garden in the middle of it out the other side of the carport.

Graham turned off the engine, climbed out of the jeep, and said, "Welcome to my little piece of paradise."

"This is your house?" asked Jamie anxiously. "Can I get out and look?"

"Why don't you and Cindy walk around see everything together? When you're done just come inside and bring your things with you," said Graham as he walked over to the door at the side of the house and opened it without the aid of a key once again surprising Jamie with the casual atmosphere of the island.

"Let's go and see everything, Cindy," said Jamie eagerly and Cindy followed Jamie out to the front side of the house.

The rear of the house was fairly basic in appearance but the front side of the house was where the builder had put the main effort. Large picture windows on both the main and second floors covered almost the entire front of the house providing a panoramic view of the large garden area and the fruit trees that were laid out in a large U-shaped area which was surrounded at the back by tall fir and cedar trees several hundred feet [c. 200 m] away at the edge of the maintained area of the property.

A covered deck extended out from the front of the house and there was a sliding glass door that connected the deck to the kitchen inside the house. The flower beds that were currently dormant due to the winter weather sloped gently downwards and a pair of small cobblestone paths led across the grass away to the trees in both the left and right directions. Cindy barked once and Jamie followed her as she walked down the path going to the right and discovered that halfway along there was a small fishpond. Cindy lowered her head and took a drink out of the pond while Jamie watched goldfish swimming to and fro in the water as a tiny waterwheel circled off to the side and spilled recirculated water back into the pond.

The combination of the relatively modest house and the wide expanse of property that it was situated on were breathtaking to Jamie. He had spent all of his short life in the city and had never seen anything like it. The wooden house, while obviously a work of man, blended smoothly into the natural surroundings. Its green-coloured roof seemed like an extension of the green of the trees around the perimeter.

Looking back up at the house Jamie could see Graham moving around inside the kitchen through the glass door on the deck and went back up the path with Cindy following alongside him. They both went back into the carport and then entered the house through the side door. Jamie took off his coat and shoes in the small anteroom that was just inside the house and then followed Cindy through the connecting door into the kitchen carrying his backpack over his shoulder.

"So what do you think?" asked Graham with a grin.

"It's fantastic," said Jamie. "All this is yours?"

"The property line is actually a hundred feet [30 m] or so into the trees but leaving all that wild keeps everything nice and private," said Graham. "Of course the place didn't look this nice when I first arrived. A lot of work has been done on it since I bought the place."

"You did all the work yourself?" asked Jamie.

"Oh no, it's not all my doing," said Graham. "The house was here when I bought the place but it was badly rundown and needed a lot of fixing up. I hired some people here on the island to do that for me. The people who live in the next place over introduced me to a native friend of theirs and he connected me with a group of men in his village that were interested in helping me renovate the place. They worked really hard on it and did a wonderful job. The kitchen was completely redone, all the walls were painted, new carpets were put in the bedrooms, the siding on the house had to be all redone and then stained. It was a really big job. The garden I worked on some myself and the people next door's son helped me a lot too. He still helps me out by looking after the place when I'm away in the city and takes care of Cindy when I'm not here. When the weather gets warmer this year I want to make some changes to the flower garden and see if I can learn how to do some woodworking, maybe put up a greenhouse or something like that."

"You're lucky," continued Jamie. "I've never seen a place like this before. You have so much space and a fish pond even."

"The pond was Jason's idea," said Graham. "I didn't know how to do it but he told me what I needed to get and then he did most of the work during the summer. I think he did a really good job."

"Who is Jason?" asked Jamie.

"He's the boy that lives in the next place over that I was telling you about," replied Graham. "He's helped me a lot with fixing up the landscaping around the house. He's around your age so I'll have to introduce you. I think you'd like him. You might like to have a friend your age to do things with."

"Maybe later," said Jamie tentatively.

"Let me show you around inside now so you'll know where everything is," said Graham giving Jamie a tour around the main floor. "This is the kitchen of course, that room over there is my office when I'm at home, there's a bathroom over here, and through this way is the living room."

Entering into the main living room Jamie could see out the large picture window to the garden area outside. The nearest wall was covered by a couple of large bookcases full of books and the wall on the opposite side had a large stone fireplace set against it with a black woodstove that was connected to it sitting directly in front of the fireplace. At the back of the living room was a wooden staircase that led up to the floor above.

"When it's cold at night the woodstove makes the whole house toasty warm," said Graham. "I'll fire it up after dinner and you'll see what I mean."

With Cindy leading the way up the stairs and Jamie following close behind Graham continued the tour, "Then upstairs there's a big bathroom and of course the bedrooms."

Hearing Graham speak of bedrooms put Jamie partially on alert but it did not completely quash his amazement with the house. The partial open-plan design meant that Jamie could look down from the upstairs and see all of the living room area laid out below in addition to being able to look out the large picture window to the garden outside. The house while small was open and airy and so completely different from anything that Jamie had seen before.

"This can be your room," announced Graham as they stood next to one of the bedrooms.

Jamie looked around the bedroom while Graham opened up the suitcase he had been carrying and laid Jamie's things out on the bed.

"There's a dresser over there that you can use and of course the clothes closet over here," said Graham. "I'll let you get settled and go down and see about fixing us some lunch. Inside the bathroom you'll find a cupboard that has towels and face cloths, just take anything you need."

After Graham left the room Jamie looked out the large bedroom window at the garden and trees below and felt like he had entered a strange new world. It was so unlike anything he had experienced before. It was quiet here on the island, it was peaceful, and despite his constant wariness Jamie felt calm.

Opening one of the drawers in the dresser Jamie took his new clothes that Graham had put on the bed and carefully placed them inside. Opening a lower drawer he took his old clothes out of his backpack and laid them out. His old clothes looked so inadequate in these surroundings and the large dresser seemed to swallow them up whole. Then Jamie took the box containing his old worn out running shoes and placed it on the floor inside the clothes closet. Lastly Jamie took his backpack and slid it under the bed where it could not be seen. The entire operation of organizing all of his worldly belongings had taken less than a minute.

After putting his things away Jamie once again stopped at the window and looked out of it. He wondered to himself what it would be like to live in a place like this, away from the city, away from the things that he had to deal with on a daily basis. Green trees everywhere, fresh air, no traffic noise, and no police. Jamie still could not get over the last of those – no police, people not locking doors, and leaving keys in their cars. Jamie turned and looked down at Cindy who was sitting next to him and watching him closely. He wondered what it would be like having a dog to play with. Graham had mentioned a boy that lived nearby and Jamie wondered what it would be like to have a friend. What would it be like to be able to go to sleep in a proper bed and not have to worry about who would show up and what would happen in the middle of the night?

Jamie shook his head to clear his mind from his reverie. He knew it was foolish to dream like that, it could only lead to disappointment like it always did. Jamie knew that this place was all too good to be true. He decided to just live for the moment because he knew it would all end soon enough. There was no telling how long it was going to last before Graham revealed his true nature and he would have to run again.

"I hope we can be friends for a little while," Jamie said to Cindy. "At least until I have to leave. I wonder how long Graham will keep me and put up with me?"

Cindy whimpered and rubbed her head against Jamie who knelt and hugged her close. Cindy settled into Jamie's arms and they understood each other in that moment and what had happened to them both in their pasts.

***

While Jamie was familiarizing himself with his bedroom upstairs Graham was working on preparing lunch. When Jamie came downstairs and into the kitchen Graham looked up from the pot he was stirring.

"Thanks a lot for letting me come over here with you Graham," said Jamie. "This is a beautiful place."

"Now you can see why I live in such a tiny little cave in the city," replied Graham with a smile.

"I'd never want to leave if this was my place," said Jamie wistfully.

Graham explained, "I saved my money for years and years so I could have a little place to retire in. I got this a year ago and I've been fixing it up and trying to decide when would be the right time to pull the plug and just stay here permanently. Things are pretty much ready now though. I've just not been able to make up my mind when to do it."

Jamie nodded with understanding and added, "I guess it's hard to make a decision like that. Wondering if you'll have enough money to live on or not."

"Are you hungry?" asked Graham. "I don't know about you but I could definitely use something to eat."

"Yes I'm hungry," said Jamie with enthusiasm but then suddenly added in a worried tone, "I'm hungry a lot I guess aren't I?"

"It's all part of growing up. You're supposed to get hungry," said Graham cheerfully.

"I used to get in trouble when I got hungry," Jamie said very quietly.

"That will never happen here," said Graham kindly. "You open that fridge or the cupboards any time of the day or night and take anything you want. Food, juice, pop, anything at all. No one ever goes hungry in this house."

Graham opened up one of the varnished wood cupboards over the counter and pulled out plates and bowls and handed them to Jamie who then took them and put them on the small table off to the side of the kitchen. Graham put some glasses and spoons onto the counter and a few moments later Jamie had them laid out on the table as well.

"I'll do up something special for us for dinner but how does soup and sandwiches sound for now?" asked Graham.

"That sounds great," replied Jamie. "I like soup. What kind did you open?"

"Oh this isn't out of a can," said Graham. "I'm making this from scratch."

"You make your own soup?" asked an astonished Jamie.

"It's actually pretty easy," replied Graham. "Once you have the soup stock made the rest is just a matter of having the right things in the fridge and cupboards. Today it's going to be chicken vegetable."

Jamie watched closely while Graham finely diced up some celery and carrots and added them to the pot that was simmering on the stove. Tasting the soup stock Graham then reached into an overhead cupboard and added some additional salt and pepper to the pot. Lastly he opened a cupboard underneath the counter and pulled out a package of tiny pasta shells and added a handful into the soup pot before giving it a good stir.

After putting the lid back onto the pot and lowering the temperature so the soup could simmer Graham moved on to making sandwiches. Taking a big loaf of pumpernickel from the refrigerator he cut thick several slices from it and began to butter them. With periodic interruptions to stir the soup and check the seasoning the sandwiches gradually took form. Cured smoked ham, hand cut slices of aged white cheddar cheese, tomato, and green leaf lettuce began to take their place upon the large slices of bread.

"I never saw anyone make soup without a can before," said Jamie. "And I've never seen sandwiches that looked like that."

"I hope you'll like it," said Graham. "I made the chicken stock last weekend just before I left to go back to town. Do you want mustard or mayonnaise on your sandwich?"

"Mustard please," said Jamie as he continued breathing in the aroma coming from the pot on the stove.

After cutting the large sandwiches in two with a bread knife and putting them onto plates he handed them to Jamie to take over to the table. Turning back to the soup and tasting it Graham decided that it was ready and transferred it into two large bowls. Jamie watched as Graham pulled a small brick of beige-coloured cheese from the refrigerator and grated fresh Parmesan over the tops of the steaming bowls of soup. Graham handed the bowls one at a time to Jamie who placed them onto the table. Finally Graham took out some milk and filled the glasses on the table.

"Oh dear I forgot the crackers," said Graham as he quickly took the crackers out of a cupboard and then sat down next to Jamie. "We can't have soup without crackers."

Graham crushed a few crackers in his hand and added them to the soup before saying, "Let's see how this tastes."

Jamie picked up his sandwich and took a big bite and grinned. Graham smiled back and took a bite of his own sandwich.

"Mmmm," Jamie said between swallows. "You're a good cook."

"Oh this isn't cooking. Wait until tonight then you'll really see something," said Graham with a wink.

When they finished lunch Graham picked up the plates and bowls and took them into the kitchen and put them in the sink. Jamie helped out by picking up the glasses and silverware and put them on the counter next to where Graham was standing.

"That was wonderful. Thank you very much," said Jamie.

"You're very welcome," replied Graham.

"Milk tastes a lot better this way than when you have to steal it," added Jamie.

Graham's eyebrows rose at Jamie's sad commentary on his life but he only nodded as he rinsed off the dishes and placed them into the dishwasher.

While Graham was getting the dishes ready to wash the sliding glass door in the kitchen that led out onto the deck suddenly began to open and Cindy who had been laying quietly on a mat during lunch looked up and barked once. Jamie startled by the noise and the door opening quickly jumped next to Graham and then hid behind him keeping a close watch on the door as it slid open.

"Hi Mr. M., how's it going? Everything OK here?" called out a young voice as a boy Jamie's age came in through the sliding door and into the kitchen.

"It's OK Jamie. That's Jason, the boy I was telling you about that helped me with the garden," said Graham reassuring him.

Jamie looked on as a short slim dark-haired boy with a tanned complexion and soft grey eyes came into the kitchen. Cindy went up to Jason and nuzzled him like an old friend and the boy rubbed her along the top of her head. After greeting her Jason then stood and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"Hi, Jason, everything is perfect as always. Thanks a lot for looking after the place, taking care of Cindy, and putting fresh groceries in the refrigerator for me," said Graham as he wiped off his hands on a towel. "I'd also like to introduce you to a new friend of mine. This is Jamie."

"Hi Jamie," said Jason with a big friendly smile and a wave.

"Hi," said Jamie rather timidly, looking the smiling boy over with suspicion.

"Jamie's family had to go away for a few days so he's going to spend the weekend with me," Graham said to Jason.

"Great. Do you like video games? I've got this really neat skateboarding game that runs on my computer. Maybe you'd like to try it," suggested Jason.

"Um, maybe. I don't know," stammered Jamie, unsure of himself. He looked up at Graham while continuing to stand partially hidden behind him.

"I'll be back in a second. I'm going to get Cindy a dog biscuit," said Jason picking up on a subtle nod sideways from Graham.

After Jason left the kitchen Jamie looked at Graham with a conflicted look on his face and said, "Why do you want me when you have him already?"

Graham did not fully comprehend Jamie's meaning for a moment but then suddenly realized what he meant and replied, "Oh no, it's nothing like that. It's like I was telling you, Jason lives in the next place over with his family and he helped me out with the garden during the summer. When I'm away in the city working he also takes care of Cindy for me and just before I come back on weekends he makes sure that I have fresh food waiting in the refrigerator for me. He helps me out and I pay him for the work. Just like if he was the paperboy for example and delivered the newspaper at night."

"You mean he's not your boy?" asked Jamie with a meaningful stress on the latter part of the question.

"No Jamie he's not. It's nothing like that at all. He's just a friend who helps me and nothing else," replied Graham carefully.

"So you and he aren't…" Jamie hinted.

"No we aren't. Never have and never will," replied Graham evenly.

Jamie breathed an obvious sigh of relief. He had thought that he was going to have to compete with Jason over Graham but that fear was now allayed. While Jamie accepted Graham's assurances he also dismissed Graham's denials of any involvement with Jason as simply being pro forma for the sake of appearances. Unfortunately due to past experience it was going to take time before Jamie could accept that a man would not automatically take advantage of a boy. While Jamie was thinking everything over Jason came back into the room and sat down on the floor next to Cindy and fed her a dog biscuit.

"Why don't you let Jason show you around a bit while I clean up things here," suggested Graham.

"OK," said Jamie still feeling rather uncertain about Jason.

"You can use the bathroom upstairs to get tidied up and there are spare toothbrushes in one of the drawers that you can use," suggested Graham.

After Jamie went upstairs to get ready Jason turned to Graham with a questioning look and Graham said to Jason quietly, "Remember Cindy?"

Jason's face went pale and he nodded, "That's why he's so scared. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet. You should have seen him. He was sitting there on the sidewalk just outside where I work asking people for change so he could get something to eat. He was hungry and cold and the weather was freezing. I couldn't just walk on past him," said Graham sadly.

"Does he need clothes or anything else?" asked Jason in a serious tone.

"You noticed the new clothes," said Graham with a smile. "I only got him a few things. I probably should have gotten more but I didn't think of it then. If you had a few things you could spare that would really help a lot if you wouldn't mind. I wasn't thinking too far ahead right then I guess. Actually I haven't had much of a chance to think ahead at all yet. I'm going to have to sit down and try to figure out what to do and start making some decisions."

"We'll disappear for a bit and give you some time," said Jason.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot Jason," replied Graham quietly as Jamie returned.

"We'll go now Mr. M.," said Jason cheerfully.

"You guys have fun," replied Graham.

Walking up to Jamie, Graham looked at him and said, "You'll have a good time I promise. And by the time you get back I'll have something special for dinner cooking. Sound OK?"

"I guess so," said Jamie sounding only partially convinced. "Thanks again for the great lunch."

Jamie went into the anteroom just off the kitchen and picked up his running shoes and his coat and then came back into the kitchen. Graham noticed that Jamie had not put his shoes on yet however. Whatever else Jamie might be Graham thought to himself, thoughtful and considerate were definitely on the list. Graham watched as Jamie followed Jason over to the sliding glass door and then went out, waiting until he was outside before putting on his shoes. Graham wondered silently why a boy like Jamie should ever have ended up with parents like those he had. While he watched Jamie and Jason walk out across the grass Cindy came up and rubbed her side against Graham's leg.

"What have I gotten myself into girl?" Graham asked Cindy as he ran his hand over her head and then finally knelt down beside her putting his arms around her. "You already can feel what happened to him can't you? He's going to be needing your help a lot I think."

Cindy snuggled close into Graham's embrace and licked at the single tear that began to run down Graham's face.

Chapter 8
New Friends

Jamie followed Jason away from the deck at the front of the house and down the cobblestone path going to the left. They went down along the edge of the garden and then out towards the tall trees at the edge of the grass. Walking along Jamie once again looked around and marvelled at the surroundings. Other than their footsteps it was totally quiet, so quiet in fact that Jamie almost imagined that he could hear his own heart beating. Jamie had never experienced such peaceful surroundings as these and he wondered to himself how long his stay here was going to last.

"Where are we going, Jason?" asked Jamie.

"I want you to meet Tails," replied Jason. "And by the way call me Jay."

"Tails? Who's Tails?" said Jamie.

"You'll see. You'll like Tails," answered Jason with a big smile.

The paving stones that the pathway was made from ended where the grass of Graham's garden area met the trees and a thin bare trail took them straight into the middle of the forest. Fallen tree branches crunched under their feet as they walked along and Jamie looked about with interest as they went. The forest floor was strewn with large bright green ferns everywhere Jamie looked and moss hung from the lower branches of the trees in addition to growing on the fallen limbs laying scattered about on the ground nearby.

Here and there Jamie could hear birds occasionally calling out in various tones from the branches overhead. It was a completely different world from the city. Jamie thought he knew what a forest was like from walking in the parks back in the city but this was quite different from the small managed bits of forest he had encountered before. Of course the reason for going into the forest was different this time as well. Today Jamie was going on an adventure and not searching for a place to sleep. The change in purpose gave the walk through the tall trees a whole new feeling and Jamie was enjoying the sensation immensely.

After they had been walking steadily for a couple of minutes Jason stopped next to a large fallen tree and sat down on it. Then much to Jamie's surprise Jason began to look around and started making strange almost kissing-like noises with his lips.

"What are you doing, Jay?" asked Jamie.

"Shhh. Watch and you'll see," said a smiling Jason.

Then as Jamie watched with amazement a large brown squirrel came down a nearby tree and ran up onto the log that Jason was sitting on. Jason continued to make the sounds and the squirrel stopped about two feet [50 cm] away from him, sat up on its hind legs, and began to twitch its bushy tail.

"Oh wow," whispered Jamie.

"This is Tails," said Jason with a grin. "I named him that because of the way he twitches his tail all the time."

Jamie watched open-mouthed as Jason reached into his coat pocket and pulled out some peanuts and began to feed them to Tails. When Jason offered each peanut in turn Tails took it in his front paws and carefully ate it while sitting up.

Jason moved slowly and shifted himself to sit on the log cross-legged and put a peanut on the top of one of his knees. Tails promptly came over, reached up, and took the peanut and ate it. Then Jason put another peanut a bit further up his leg. Tails then climbed up on top of Jason's leg, took the peanut, and sat there while eating it.

Jason grinned at Jamie who was absolutely amazed by what he was seeing. Jamie had never managed to get this close to a squirrel before and the idea of having one climb up on him to eat astounded him. He watched closely as Jason continued to feed peanuts to Tails who promptly ate each one as he took it from Jason's hand.

"Want to try feeding him?" asked Jason while holding out some peanuts to Jamie.

"Can I? Really?" said an excited Jamie.

"Sure. Just hold one out to him and don't make any sudden moves or you'll frighten him," replied Jason.

Jamie took the peanuts from Jason's outstretched hand and held one out to Tails. The squirrel moved over on Jason's leg a bit and plucked the peanut right out of Jamie's hand and began to eat it. As soon as Tails finished it Jamie held out another and the squirrel took that as well. When Jamie finally ran out of peanuts the squirrel sat up and sniffed in Jamie's direction looking at him expectantly. Then Tails jumped down off Jason's leg and ran over to where Jamie was standing. The squirrel moved up and stood on Jamie's foot, placed his front paws on Jamie's pant leg, and looked up at him hopefully.

"Here's a couple more," said Jason handing Jamie the few remaining peanuts from his pocket.

"Thanks," said Jamie.

Jamie took the peanuts and kneeling down began to feed them once again to Tails. While the squirrel waited for each peanut he rested his front paws on Jamie's pants and then reached up to take the next peanut from Jamie's hand.

After the last few peanuts were exhausted Tails sniffed around Jamie's hands to check if there were any more. Realizing that was the end of the treats Tails ran over to the tree he had come down and then went back up it.

"What do you think of Tails?" asked Jason with a grin.

"That's the most amazing thing I ever saw," said Jamie with delight. "They always ran away from me whenever I'd see them in the parks back in the city."

"They do here too mostly," said Jason. "Tails is used to me though. I've been feeding him peanuts for a long time so he knows me and feels safe around me. Let's go this way and I'll show you the stream where I go fishing sometimes."

Jamie followed Jason on a small detour away from the trail they had been following and soon they were standing on a dilapidated footbridge going over a small stream that flowed along gently through the forest. Here and there along the edges of the stream were eddy pools that trout could be seen swimming in. While they watched the head of a fish briefly popped up out of one of the eddy pools to catch a bug that had landed on the surface of the water.

"Sometimes I like to come here to fish, the trout here are really great," said Jason. "Other times though I also like to come just to watch the fish in the water and to just listen to the wind in the trees."

"Wow look at them all," said Jamie. "It's beautiful out here. So different from what I'm used to seeing every day."

"Come on, let's get going over to my place and I'll show you my computer," said Jason.

The two boys walked back towards the trail that they had been following. After another couple of minutes of walking through the forest they came to a cleared and grassy area with a small house situated in the middle of it. There were a few small empty flower beds and there were a number of currently bare fruit trees scattered about as well.

"This is my house," announced Jason.

"Does everyone live like this here?" asked Jamie. "I've never seen places like this in the city. You have so much room."

"No, there's one part of the island near the bay where the houses are all close together like in a city. But most people live here because they like having a little more space so they don't feel all squished together," replied Jason. "I've gone over to the city sometimes but I don't like it there and I'm always glad to get back to the island."

"I sure wish I could live in a place like this instead of…" and Jamie's voice trailed off.

Suddenly Jamie spotted something and pointed and said excitedly, "Look over there, I don't believe it!"

Jason looked where Jamie was pointing and smiled, "Oh, that's Kushe-suksi."

"What does that mean?" asked Jamie.

"It's an Indian name. It means Great Deer," replied Jason. "He comes here to eat the grass and in the summer sometimes the flowers too. Dad chases after him and tries to stop him from eating the flowers but he just keeps coming back anyway. Be completely quiet, don't move suddenly, and follow me slowly."

The large white-tailed deer was busy nibbling away at the grass as Jason slowly led Jamie towards him. Walking very carefully Jamie followed Jason as he moved closer. The deer looked up and watched Jason intently but did not run away as they approached.

"Watch this," said Jason softly as he slowly reached out and ran his hand gently over the deer's flank. While Jason stroked his hand gently over the deer's side it lowered its head and resumed nibbling at the grass clearly unconcerned about Jason being close or touching him.

"That's incredible. How do you get him to not run away?" asked Jamie quietly so as not to frighten the deer.

"Animals have a strong sense of who is dangerous and who isn't," answered Jamie. "They know I would never hurt them and they're used to seeing me around. That's why they aren't afraid of me. A wise Indian man I know taught me how to talk to the animals and if you do it right then they aren't scared of you."

"Talk to the animals?" said Jamie incredulously. "That's crazy. No one can talk to animals."

"Sure they can if you know how," continued Jason. "Haven't you said something to Cindy and didn't she understand you?"

"Yes, but that's different," said Jamie.

"Not at all, it's all in how you do it," explained Jason. "My friend Pony Twofeathers is an old medicine man and he taught me how people don't pay attention to nature any more. How if you listen to the sounds of the forest and what the animals are saying to each other you can tell what kind of weather is coming, who else is in the forest, and all kinds of things."

"But it's quiet out here. You can't hear anything," said Jamie.

Jason replied, "You're still using your city ears. You need to unlearn those ways and then you can begin to hear the sounds in nature. Nature is never quiet if you know how to watch and how to listen. Once you open yourself to it you can hear it inside you and communicate with it."

While Jason explained Jamie looked on and was profoundly impressed with the wisdom of a boy who was no older than himself. Jamie wondered if he might be around long enough to learn some of the things that Jason was describing to him. Although it initially sounded far-fetched, after giving it some thought Jamie realized that what Jason was telling him did make sense. Surviving on the streets Jamie had learnt to read the signs, to hear the sounds, or notice things in people that made the difference between surviving and becoming a victim. The language and signals here were going to be very different but the basic concept was the same. Jamie then realized that it would be a matter of being taught, getting to know the environment, and not being oblivious as most people usually were to their surroundings.

Leaving the deer behind Jamie followed Jason up towards the house and they went through a door in the back. After taking off their coats and hanging them on hooks in a tiled area just inside the door, Jason led Jamie down a hallway and into the kitchen where his mother was busy stirring something in a large mixing bowl.

"Hi Mom," said Jason. "This is Jamie. He's a friend of Mr. M's."

"Nice to meet you Jamie," said Jason's mother as she added some chocolate chips into the bowl while looking up from the cookie dough that she was mixing with a smile.

"Hello, ma'am," replied Jamie quietly while looking slightly downwards and avoiding direct eye contact.

"You don't have to call me ma'am," said Jason's mother in a friendly tone. "If you're a friend of Graham's that means you're now a friend of ours. So just call me Kathy."

"Um, yes ma'am… Mrs.… Kathy," stammered Jamie feeling very uncomfortable and still avoiding looking directly at Jason's mother.

"I'm going to show Jamie my computer," announced Jason as he took Jamie by the hand and went out of the kitchen.

Walking up the stairs to his bedroom Jason said, "You're going to love this game I've got, it's really great."

"Are you sure your Mom won't mind me being here?" asked Jamie hesitantly.

"No way, she'll think it's great I've got a new friend," replied Jason happily.

Jamie smiled as he heard Jason refer to him as a friend. It was hard to have or keep friends while living on the streets and the few he did manage to make tended to disappear without a trace after a period of time. Jamie often wondered what had become of the boys that had vanished but he tried not to think too much along those lines. The answers he knew all too well were not particularly pleasant.

"You've got a TV in your room!" exclaimed Jamie as they entered into Jason's room.

"It's an old one but it's mine," replied Jason. "That way if Mom and Dad are looking at a movie I can watch something else if I don't like it."

"Wow," said Jamie taking in the other things in Jason's room, then adding slowly, "But… don't you have to do stuff to get all these things?"

"I've got chores to do sometimes," said Jason not understanding Jamie's question.

"Just chores?" asked Jamie dubiously. "Nothing else?"

"What else would I have to do?" asked Jason not following Jamie's line of questioning.

"Oh nothing," replied Jamie quickly covering up and not completely believing the answer that Jason had given him.

"Look at this," said Jason as he turned on the display screen for his computer and then started the machine up. "It's the latest model. Mr. M. talked to a sales guy at a computer company he did some work for that owed him a favour and helped my dad get it at a discount for me."

After the machine was running Jason started up the game program and grabbed the hand controls that had been sitting on the side of the desk and gave one to Jamie. Jamie sat next to him on Jason's bed and watched closely as Jason showed him how to play the game.

Watching Jason closely Jamie quickly picked up on how to play the game and after a couple of solo demonstration runs Jason then switched the game into dual-player mode so they could play against each other. At first Jason was beating Jamie handily but in short order Jamie was catching on to the subtle tricks needed and began to give Jason serious competition.

Totally absorbed in the game neither boy noticed right away when Jason's mother entered the bedroom. However within a few seconds the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies collected their attention away from the game.

"Here you go boys. I thought you could use a little treat," said Kathy as she passed over the plate of cookies she had balancing on top of two glasses of juice.

"Thanks a lot Mom," said Jason taking the plate of cookies from his mother.

"Thank you ma'am… I mean Kathy," replied Jamie quietly still avoiding Kathy's eyes. "You didn't need to do this."

"Oh it's no trouble at all. I know you boys need lots of brain food when you're hard at work," Kathy chuckled as she left the bedroom to go back down to the kitchen.

The game continued and as it did the cookies on the plate gradually disappeared along with the juice. Eventually Jamie completely caught up to Jason and was just about to overtake him when out of the corner of Jamie's eye he saw a large shadow appear at the door at the bedroom door.

"Hi there boys. Who's winning?" boomed a deep voice from a tall muscular broad-shouldered man standing in the entrance to Jason's bedroom.

"Hey Dad, you're home from work!" said Jason happily. "This is my new friend Jamie. He's staying over at Mr. M's place."

Looking up and suddenly seeing the big man standing in the doorway Jamie's face blanched. In a flash he had dropped the game controller he was holding and was moving fast. He leapt from the bed as if struck by lightning and now was standing with his back against the wall and was facing the man with his eyes locked onto him.

"Hello Jamie, I'm Frank Tomlinson," said Jason's father pleasantly while walking fully into the room and extending a large hand towards Jamie.

The abject terror in Jamie's face was plain to see but nevertheless the petrified boy slowly put his hand out and let Frank shake it. The moment that Frank let go of Jamie's hand the frightened boy snatched it back while remaining glued against the wall. Jason saw that Jamie's eyes remained trained on his father watching his every move. Jason had seen this kind of look before but only in a wild animal that was cornered and knew it was about to be attacked or killed. It was the same reaction Cindy had when Graham had first introduced her to Jason after he had rescued her from her previous owners.

"Is everything OK Jamie?" asked Frank with concern.

"Yes sir. I'm OK," stammered Jamie his body visibly trembling. "I didn't do anything, honest I didn't. I was just sitting quietly and not touching anything."

Jason and his father exchanged a glance with each other and were not quite sure how to respond to Jamie's panic stricken reaction. Frank backed away a couple of steps from Jamie and knelt down so he did not appear as large from Jamie's point of view. Despite this however Jamie remained plastered against the wall and watched Frank's slightest movements like a hawk.

"Everything is OK Jamie. I just wanted to say hello to Jason's new friend," said Frank gently.

"Yes sir," replied Jamie formally like a soldier facing a firing squad. The blood had drained from Jamie's face and its whiteness clearly attested to his continuing deep fear. Frank could also tell Jamie did not believe his good intentions for a split-second.

Realizing that the best course of action for now was a retreat Frank stood up and backed out of Jason's bedroom and as he did a visibly relieved Jamie let out his breath. Jason looked over to Jamie with concern and patted the bed next to him to indicate to Jamie that he should come back and sit down next to him.

"It was really bad at home wasn't it," said Jason gently after Jamie hesitantly sat down again next to him.

"Bad enough I finally had to run away in the spring," replied Jamie still shaking from fear.

"It was your dad that hurt you," said Jason as a statement and not a question.

Seeing Jamie nod silently Jason added, "I guess that means you're kind of scared of Mr. M. too aren't you?"

"Yes, but I have to do what I have to do if I want to eat," answered Jamie.

Not quite understanding Jamie's answer Jason asked a final question, "Where have you been living since you left home?"

"The corner of Knight Avenue and Wharf Street," whispered Jamie with his head lowered.

Jason's eyes opened wide as a full understanding of Jamie's life finally came to him. Hearing the well-known pickup spot being provided as a home address was not quite what Jason had been expecting. Jason realized when he first saw Jamie that things in the boy's life were not what they should be, but he had not been expecting this. It explained a lot but opened up an equal number of new questions.

Seeing the look of shock on Jason's face Jamie started to get up and said quietly, "I'd better go now. You don't want me around anymore now that you know what I am."

"No, no. Don't go," said Jason putting his arms around Jamie. "You're my friend and I don't care about any of that stuff."

"But what about your parents? They're going to get mad when you tell them," said Jamie.

"No they won't. Besides I'm allowed to have whoever I want for a friend. And I want you," said Jason with finality. Getting up off the bed Jason picked up the dropped game controller and handed it back to Jamie and said, "Here you play a game yourself for a minute, I'm going to go and get us some more cookies."

***

"I can't believe what just happened up there," said Frank to his wife. "That boy was absolutely terrified of me Kathy. I walked into Jason's bedroom and you wouldn't believe how he reacted. You'd have thought I was about to murder him or something. He couldn't have been any more scared of me than if I'd walked in carrying a knife dripping blood. It was unbelievable, like he'd just seen the devil himself walk in."

"You are a bit of a devil sometimes you know," Kathy said elbowing Frank.

"This is no joking matter," continued an exasperated Frank. "That poor boy was frightened out of his mind."

"I know," said Kathy softly. "He wasn't exactly thrilled to see me either when Jason brought him over. Something isn't right at home with his parents I can tell you that much without even asking any questions."

Just then Jason slipped quietly into the kitchen and said, "Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you for a second."

Frank and Kathy looked on with pain as Jason told them what he knew of Jamie while leaving out Jamie's mention of what he had been doing in order to survive. Frank looked at Kathy and both could tell that Jason had not told them everything he had learnt but they trusted their son and did not prod Jason to reveal everything.

"Mr. M. said that he found Jamie asking people for change to get food to eat. He was also wondering if maybe he could borrow some of my old clothes for Jamie," added Jason after briefly outlining the fact that Jamie had run away from home and had been living on the streets.

"Oh of course he can," said Kathy. "Oh my goodness the poor little dear. It's no wonder he acted the way he did. Whatever it was that happened at home it must have been terrible for him to have to run away. He seemed awfully shy with me but given how he reacted to your father it's a safe bet that his own father must have been at the heart of whatever it was."

"I don't know what it was he did to that boy but I think I want to meet this father," said Frank darkly. "If Jamie's reaction to me is any indication of what the guy is like it's going to be a very short conversation."

"Jamie's had to do some things to be able to eat and I don't want him to have to do that anymore," said Jason sadly.

"Do you mean…," asked a horrified Frank.

"I really want to help him if I can," said Jason avoiding answering the question.

Frank and Kathy exchanged a shocked look and both understood what Jason was telling them while nevertheless avoiding a direct answer. Frank swallowed heavily as his mind started down the path that Jason had indicated and the obvious conclusions that followed where not happy ones.

"Make sure that Jamie knows that we'll do anything we can to help him," said Frank. "And let Graham know too."

"I have to get back now. I don't want Jamie to start worrying," said Jason quickly grabbing a couple of extra cookies to take back with him.

Jason walked back into the bedroom and sat down next to Jamie on the bed. Jamie was engrossed in the game on the computer and Jason could see that Jamie had learnt fast and was quickly racking up the points.

"Sorry I took so long," said Jason as he handed Jamie one of the cookies he had brought from the kitchen. "Mom wanted me to help her with something in the kitchen."

"That's OK," said Jamie putting down the game controller and taking the cookie Jason was offering him.

"You catch on fast," said Jason in between bites of his cookie. "It took me a month to get that good."

"Sometimes playing video games is all there is to do," said Jamie. "That is if I have any money. The arcade is also a good place to maybe find someone that'll…"

"You won't have to do that any more now that you're over here on the island with Mr. M.," said Jason as he picked up one of the game controllers and started a new game so they could play together.

"It'd sure be nice," said Jamie wistfully.

"Things are going to different for you now," said Jason. "I just know they will be."

Jamie and Jason played a few more rounds and after ending up virtually tied Jamie was once again smiling and happy. Jason looked out the window and saw that it was beginning to get dark. With the coming of winter the sun went down much earlier than in the summer and it would not be long before the stars would be visible in the cold and cloudless night sky.

"I should probably show you the way back to Mr. M's place," said Jason. "You're new here and you might get lost in the forest trying to get back at night."

"Oh right, I hope Graham won't be mad at me. He didn't say how long I could stay away," said a worried Jamie.

"Oh don't worry about Mr. M.," said Jason with a laugh. "He's the world's biggest pussycat."

Jamie looked at Jason with a doubtful look even though everything that Jamie had seen of Graham to this point supported Jason's assertion. Nevertheless Jamie's past experiences with men were hard to ignore and the fact that Graham had not become mad thus far did not prove anything. Jamie knew what men were like and he knew that they could change character in an instant.

Getting up off the bed and turning off the computer the two boys went back downstairs. Soon they were standing in the tiled area next to the back door putting on their coats and shoes getting ready for the walk back to Graham's house.

Jamie heard the sound of feet and looked up to see Kathy standing in the hallway holding a large package wrapped in brown paper. She smiled at Jamie and said, "Could you take this over to Graham for me, Jamie?"

Jamie walked over slowly and still avoiding direct eye contact took the package from Kathy saying, "Yes ma'am… Kathy. And thank you for the cookies they were really good."

"I'm glad you liked them," replied Kathy. Then taking a second small package from Frank who was standing behind her she added with a smile, "And here's a little something just for you."

Jamie looked puzzled but then he smiled as he detected the aroma of more freshly baked chocolate chip cookies coming from the slightly warm package.

"Oh thank you. This is wonderful," said Jamie with an enthusiastic smile looking up at Kathy directly for the first time.

"I hope you'll come over and visit Jason and us again soon," said Frank cheerfully while standing back behind Kathy.

"Yes sir," said Jamie quietly while backing up towards the door to the house, the smile on his face vanishing as quickly as it had come.

With Jason's parents watching on with concern Jason led Jamie out the door and back towards the forest for the return walk to Graham's house.

"I think you should call Graham," said Kathy after the door closed behind the boys.

"Yes, I think you're right. I'm not sure what we can do but that boy needs help," replied Frank.

Chapter 9
The Fear Within

Jamie and Jason walked back along the trail between Jason's and Graham's house. With the sun now almost gone the forest was rapidly cloaking itself in dark shadows and seemed very different than it had earlier in the day. The sounds of the animals and the air moving through the tree branches earlier in the day had seemed so inviting but now seemed a bit intimidating to Jamie.

"Don't you get scared walking around out here when it gets dark at night?" asked Jamie.

"No, there's nothing to be scared of out here," replied Jason simply.

"But what about wild animals?" asked a somewhat nervous Jamie.

"What kind of wild animals? You mean like a bear or something?" asked Jason.

"I guess you think I'm being silly don't you?" said Jamie feeling a little embarrassed.

"Not at all," said Jason. "There's nothing on the island like that though. No dangerous animals at all. Well except the one kind… but you already know all about that sort I think."

"I sure do," sighed Jamie.

"Jamie, you don't ever have to tell me anything, not ever, but… you really got scared when my dad came into my bedroom," Jason said carefully. "Did your father hurt you a lot?"

Jamie stopped walking and looked off into the darkness for a minute and then said quietly, "He used to… do stuff to me and when I'd try to stop him he would beat me until I gave in. He's kind of big like your dad is and I just… I'm sorry. I didn't mean your dad is like bad or something. It's just that whenever mine would show up I knew it was bad news for me."

"Didn't your mom try to stop him?" asked Jason.

"She was too busy holding the camera," whispered Jamie with his head lowered.

Jason's heart ached as he listened to Jamie's words and he sat down on a nearby log and motioned for Jamie to sit beside him.

Putting his hand on Jamie's knee Jason looked at him said, "Don't ever feel ashamed about it, not ever. It wasn't you. You were forced into it. They're the ones that should be ashamed. I just want you to know that my dad and my mom won't ever do anything like that to you. The same goes for Mr. M. My dad looks big and tough on the outside but he's really just a big fuzzy teddy bear on the inside. I guess you've not seen many nice guys though have you?"

"You don't living the way I have to," said Jamie quietly.

"Now you know two of them. Mr. M. and my Dad," said Jason. "They're both great, just in different ways."

"I guess. It's just so hard to trust anyone," said Jamie not completely convinced. "Even the ones that seem nice at the beginning always turn out mean eventually and then I have to run again."

"I'm your friend now and you'll always be able trust me," replied Jason with a big smile. "I won't ever let you down. If you ever think that you need to run again please tell me and I'll help you. I want you to be happy here for a long time."

"I've never been able to stay anywhere for very long," said Jamie.

"I think this time will be different," said Jason. "I'm sure that we're going to be friends for a long time."

They got up and walked along in silence for a few minutes and then noticing how Jason always seemed to know which way to turn Jamie said, "Don't you ever get lost out here?"

"No, I know my way around the woods. After a while you recognize the different trees and things just like in a city you recognize the brown house or the yellow house when you're walking along a street. And even if you do get lost nature tells you where you are and how to find your way around," said Jason while pointing up towards the stars that were just starting to peek through the treetops in the rapidly darkening sky.

"You don't see many stars in the city," said Jamie.

"That's because there are too many street lights and because the air is dirty. You'll like it here better. The sky has so many stars it almost looks like it's on fire when it's totally dark," said Jason. "Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?"

"What's that?" asked Jamie.

"It takes your breath away the first time you get to see it," answered Jason. "I saw it when I was visiting my cousins down east during the Easter holidays. There are these big ribbons of colour that hang from the night sky. They can be blue, green, yellow, red, or gold. It's from the sun's rays hitting the magnetism of the earth but that makes it sound boring. Pony says it's the 'fire from heaven that soothes the mortal soul'. I think that's a lot nicer way to describe it."

"It sounds really neat but I don't think I'll ever be able to go there to see it. I don't even know how long I'll be allowed to stay here," said Jamie quietly.

"Don't give up hope Jamie," said Jason taking Jamie's hand in his. "We'll figure out something I know we will."

***

"He did what?" said Graham into the telephone.

"I'm telling you Jamie was absolutely petrified when I popped into Jason's room to say hello when I got home from work," came Frank's voice over the telephone. "His face was as white as a sheet and he was literally trembling. All I did was walk in for just a minute to shake his hand."

"I'll bet it's because of his father," said Graham. "Jamie has told me some of what happened to him and between what he's said and what he hasn't said it's obvious that he was badly abused at home. He ran away and I found him begging for quarters on the sidewalk yesterday next to the office. He was dirty, hungry, and you should have seen the old torn clothes he had on."

"If his reaction to me is any indication it must have been pretty bad," said Frank.

"I think you can safely assume that," said Graham. "After he finished washing up at my place in town I could see scars on his back."

"Scars?" said an astounded Frank. "What kind of scars?"

"The kind you used to see on the slaves in old movies," said Graham slowly. "The kind you get from being whipped."

"Whipped?" said an astounded Frank. "That would explain it then. His father must have been doing it. No wonder he was terrified of me. He must have thought I was going to tear into him."

"That's my best guess," said Graham. "Probably the father is a big guy like you are and the vague resemblance was all it took to set Jamie into panic mode."

"Kathy said he wouldn't even look up at her so I'll take a guess the mother was part of it too," said Frank. "You know we have to do something about this."

"Oh I'm going to," said Graham. "I just thought I'd let Jamie have a few days of peace and quiet first. He doesn't know me at all and I want to let him get to know I'm not a threat to him before I stir the pot and get him upset by poking my nose into his life."

"When the time comes you let me know when you're going back to town and I'll come with you," said Frank.

"I've been mulling it over in my head about what I can do," said Graham. "Somehow I have to get the authorities involved but from what Jamie's told me they're on automatic pilot and when he's been picked up before all they've done is just hand him back to his parents for more of the same treatment. They didn't listen to anything he tried to tell them. There's got to be a way though to get them to wake up and pay attention."

"Let me have a talk with Kathy tonight," said Frank. "Maybe we can come up with some ideas that might help. We can't let him get sent back for any more of that."

"That's what's been stewing in my mind," said Graham. "Trying to figure out an angle so he won't get hurt anymore. That and so he won't have to live the way he has been."

"Jason hinted that Jamie mentioned something about that," said Frank. "Is it on the level?"

"From the way he looked when I first saw him and the little he's told me unfortunately begging for quarters wasn't the only thing he's had to do in order to eat," said Graham sadly.

"Oh no," said Frank slowly. "I'm glad you brought him home with you if that's what he's had to do. No one should ever be forced into a life like that just to survive and especially not a youngster."

"When I first saw him sitting on the sidewalk I was only thinking about getting something for him to eat but the more I saw and the more I learnt I realized that I couldn't just stop there," said Graham. "I have no idea where this is all going. All I know is that I have to do something."

"You know you can count on us all the way," said Frank.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me," said Graham. "I haven't a clue what I'm getting myself into yet but I'm not going to let him go back to that life if I can possibly help it."

"We'll figure it out together don't you worry," said Frank. "I'd better let you go now. They'll be getting back to your place in a few minutes. I just wanted to let you know something was up in case you didn't already know."

"Thanks for calling," said Graham. "It's another piece of the puzzle and it fits in with what I already knew. Once I figure out what I'm going to do I'll let you know."

"You bet," said Frank. "Take care and good luck."

"Give Kathy my regards," said Graham. "Talk to you later."

Graham hung up the telephone and tried to digest what Jason's father had just told him. Putting the pieces together, Graham knew for certain now that Jamie's parents were the focal point of Jamie's troubles. The mother was part of it but the father was the key. Graham made up his mind in that moment that one way or another that the scars on Jamie's back were going to be redeemed in full someday.

Suddenly Cindy who had been laying on the floor next to Graham while he talked on the telephone sat up, barked once, and looked towards the sliding door off to the side of the kitchen. Graham looked out the kitchen window and as he did he could see Jamie and Jason walking up towards the house. Graham went into the anteroom next to the kitchen and opened the outer door and Cindy ran out to greet Jamie and Jason like they were long-lost friends. Jamie knelt down and hugged the dog and Graham smiled seeing that Jamie's earlier concerns about Cindy were fading. They were starting to become good friends and that pleased Graham. Jamie and Cindy had both had a lot in common and Graham knew that they would understand each other better than anyone else.

"Hi Mr. M.," called out Jason as the two boys entered the house and Graham closed the door behind them.

"Hi Jamie. Hello Jason," Graham replied. "Did you guys have a good time today?"

Jamie looked Graham's face over carefully before replying but seeing nothing but a smile relaxed, "We did lots of things."

"Did you like going to visit at Jason's house?" asked Graham.

"Oh yes," said Jamie gradually becoming more animated. "There's this squirrel that Jay knows who sits on him, and we fed him peanuts, and there was this deer at Jay's place and he petted him, and Jay's got this fantastic computer, and his mom makes these incredible cookies! Look, she even gave me some to bring back with me. It was great!"

Graham smiled and said, "It sounds like you both had a wonderful time then. Would you like to stay with us for dinner tonight Jason?"

"No, I'd better get back. I want to finish up my homework tonight so I don't have any to do on the weekend," said Jason.

Jason turned to go and Jamie stopped him and said, "Thanks for letting me visit your house Jay. I liked it a lot."

"It was great you came to visit," replied Jason. "How about I come over tomorrow and maybe we can do something else?"

"I… I don't know if I can," said Jamie looking hopefully towards Graham.

"Of course you can," said Graham encouragingly. "Why don't you come over about ten o'clock Jason. We should be done with breakfast by then, unless of course Jamie decides to sleep in."

Jamie giggled and said, "I won't sleep in."

Jason smiled and said, "OK, so I'll see you around ten then," and he went out the side door after giving Cindy another hug.

After Jason left Jamie turned to Graham and handed him the large parcel he was carrying and said, "Jay's mom said I should bring this to you."

"Oh thanks a lot," said Graham who upon feeling the parcel knew what was in it. "While I'm putting this away why don't you go into the kitchen and check out what's bubbling in the pots on the stove and see what's in the oven."

Running quickly upstairs Graham tore open the package and inside found T-shirts, socks, underwear, a couple of pairs of blue jeans, and some pyjamas. The 'Instant Adoption Kit – just add boy' Graham chuckled to himself as he quietly slipped the contents into the dresser in Jamie's room while also a bit surprised at himself for thinking of Jamie in those terms. Looking at Jamie's old shirt and pants so forlornly laid out in one of the drawers of the dresser hurt Graham profoundly. For a youngster to have nothing beyond the clothes on his back strengthened and reaffirmed Graham's resolve to try and do something even if he was still not sure what exactly that something should be. At least for now however Jamie would have a bit of variety in clothes to wear and Graham smiled at the thought that Jamie would get a nice surprise the next time he checked the dresser.

Graham came back down the stairs and walked into the living room while folding up the brown paper that the clothes had been wrapped in. Opening the tempered glass door on the firebox of the wood stove Graham pushed the wrapping paper in and closed it again.

Coming back into the kitchen Graham said, "Do you think you're going to like what's for dinner?"

"It smells great but I don't know what everything is," said Jamie.

Graham moved over to the stove, began to lift pot lids, and turned on the light in the oven while saying, "In this pot we've got Brussels sprouts and this one is cauliflower in cheese sauce. Then in the oven we've got baked potatoes on the top rack."

"What's that big thing wrapped up in foil on the bottom rack?" asked Jamie.

"Oh that's the main course. It's a surprise," said Graham with a grin.

"It sure smells good whatever it is," said Jamie. "At home a fancy dinner was Hamburger Insta-Meal that was dried-out and usually burnt."

Graham shuddered and replied, "You won't find anything like that here. I'm not a gourmet chef but I think you'll like what's in the oven. For real gourmet food we'll have to talk Frank into firing up his smoker and barbecue. You've not had meat until you've had it done by Frank. It's to die for."

"I've never had anything like that before," said Jamie simply.

"Don't you worry we'll fix that real soon," said Graham. "There'll be lots of it at the Christmas Barbecue next week and you can go crazy."

"What's the Christmas Barbecue?" asked Jamie.

"That's something Frank organizes each year for all of their friends," explained Graham. "Everyone that comes brings something different like vegetables, potatoes, or desserts. Frank usually provides several different types of meat and cooks it all up outdoors on his deck. He starts early in the day and by the time its late afternoon everything is ready and it all just melts in your mouth. It's a really nice way for everyone to get together for the holiday. Jason will be there of course too and you'll have a lot of fun."

Graham took out some dinner plates and laid them down on the countertop. Using a pair of oven mitts Graham pulled the potatoes out of the oven and placed one each plate. He slit both potatoes open, pushed a chunk of butter into each, and then after waiting a few seconds for it to melt used a knife and cut the flesh of the potato in a diagonal pattern to allow the butter to soak in. Then Graham finished the potatoes off by adding a large dollop of sour cream from a container he took out of the fridge.

Next Graham put the oven mitts back on and opened the oven again to pull out the aluminum foil-wrapped main course and placed it onto a serving platter. Picking up a fork Graham then started to coax open the folded seam on the aluminum foil while taking care not to burn himself. Steam started to emerge and momentarily obscured Graham's fingers as he continued to unwrap the foil, while Jamie's nose was on overdrive trying to figure out what it was that was smelling so good.

"Et maintenant, la pièce de résistance," said Graham using an atrociously exaggerated French accent which caused Jamie to giggle as he pulled back the aluminum foil revealing the main course – stuffed baked salmon.

"Oh wow!" said Jamie as he now saw the large fish clearly laid out before him on the platter. "I've never seen a fish that big before, it's huge! It smells wonderful too."

"Just wait until you taste it," said Graham reaching for a dinner plate and a knife.

Graham ran the knife along the back of the fish and then using a fork lifted off a large piece of meat from the bones and moved it onto the plate that he was holding. Then Graham added a large spoonful of the cauliflower and some of the Brussels sprouts onto the plate from the pots that had been simmering on the stove.

"Would you like some of the stuffing?" asked Graham looking towards Jamie.

Seeing Jamie's rapidly nodding head Graham realized that an answer was unnecessary. He spooned out a generous amount of the fragrant stuffing onto the plate before finally handing it to Jamie who stood next to him watching carefully.

"Think you can handle all of that?" asked Graham.

"Absolutely," said a beaming Jamie as he walked over to the table carrying the heavily laden plate.

Graham began serving himself and then noticing that Jamie was waiting for him said, "You go ahead and eat it'll get cold."

A few moments later Graham also sat down at the table with his own plate, although not piled quite as high as Jamie's. After a couple of minutes where silence reigned supreme Graham paused and asked, "So what do you think of dinner?"

In between mouthfuls Jamie replied, "This is amazing! You're a super cook. You always eat like this?"

"Maybe not quite this fancy but today is a special day and I wanted to do something extra impressive for you," said Graham.

"You're the nicest guy I ever met," said Jamie with total sincerity.

Graham blushed and covered his embarrassment by busying himself with offering Jamie some more of the salmon in addition to more of the cauliflower and sprouts. Jamie did not slow down eating and it did not take long before his plate was looking bare again. Graham grinned and nodded when Jamie began to look longingly towards the half eaten salmon sitting on the counter. Graham had heard about the appetites that boys possessed from Frank and Kathy but hearing about it and seeing it firsthand were clearly two different things. At this rate, mused Graham with a smile, he might have to get a bigger freezer.

Eventually Jamie reached his limit and Graham was no longer able to entice him into having any more. Graham then got up and showed Jamie how to put Cindy's dinner together. After the dog biscuits were in the bowl and a few chunks of fish had been added onto the top as a treat Graham gave the bowl to Jamie who put it down onto the floor for Cindy who had been waiting patiently. A couple of minutes later Jamie could see that Cindy was making short work of her dinner so when he turned to help pick up the dirty dishes off of the kitchen table Jamie reached over to the remains of the fish and snuck a couple of extra pieces from the serving platter. Lowering his hand down with the fish pieces hidden inside it, Cindy who had been watching Jamie closely, quickly made them disappear and then rubbed her head against Jamie's leg appreciatively.

Once the dishes were in the dishwasher and everything cleaned up everyone moved into the living room. Graham built up a good fire in the woodstove that stuck out from the fireplace and very quickly they were enjoying the warmth that spread throughout the room.

While he had been putting the fire together Graham noticed that Cindy who normally liked to lie close to the woodstove was instead laying at Jamie's feet as he sat on the sofa. Any time that Jamie would shift position she would look up at him carefully and then settle back down again up against his feet. Periodically Jamie ran a sock-clad foot over Cindy's back and Graham smiled at the bond that was clearly forming between them. Graham knew that there was always something special about boys and dogs but the usual friendship was forming very quickly in the case of these two. Graham sensed that two kindred spirits were beginning to realize things about each other without words even being spoken.

"Is it true that Jay knows an Indian medicine man?" asked Jamie. "I thought that was just in movies."

"Oh no," Graham replied. "Medicine men still exist. They're a respected elder of the tribe and people seek out their advice on a lot of things. Jason's told me lots of stories about his friend and Frank has told me some too. Jason is becoming very attuned to nature and he's taught me a lot of things about how to relax and hear the sounds of the outdoors."

Jamie sighed and said, "I wish I could live on an island like this. Far away from the city, away from them,… far away from everything."

Graham felt the pain in Jamie's statement and wanted to say something but he knew he could not, at least not yet. A plan was half-forming in his mind but he needed to find out if it would work first and until he did he did not want to get Jamie's hopes up by speaking too soon. At this point false hope would simply be cruel and Graham did not want Jamie to feel betrayed if something were to go wrong. In any case Graham wanted to let Jamie have some quiet time before he stirred things up by taking action. This was not the time to be giving Jamie anything new to worry about.

Noticing Jamie yawning Graham asked, "Would you like to go on up to bed? I don't mind if you're tired. I usually have a cup of tea before I do."

Jamie looked at Graham suspiciously but seeing nothing laying behind the suggestion said, "Is it OK?"

"Sure," Graham replied. "Today has been an exciting one for both of us and you probably could do with a good rest. Besides don't forget that Jason is coming back over tomorrow and you'll be able to do more things with him."

"That's going to be great," said Jamie getting up off the sofa. "I like him a lot."

"Why don't you run upstairs then and change for bed," said Graham.

"I don't have anything to put on," said Jamie matter-of-factly. "But I can just take this off and sleep in my underwear."

"That sounds good. Just make sure that you put your clothes away in the dresser before you climb into bed," said Graham knowing that his suggestion would cause Jamie to discover the clothes that he had unknowingly brought back when he returned from Jason's house.

"Don't worry I will," said Jamie as he got up to walk upstairs to the bedroom with Cindy following along right at his side.

A few minutes later Jamie came racing downstairs and gave a rather embarrassed Graham an almost rib-crushing hug. Graham blushed furiously but was pleased nevertheless that Jamie had found the surprise clothes waiting for him in the dresser.

"Thanks for the extra clothes," Jamie said with a big smile while showing off the pyjamas he was now wearing.

"I thought you might need some extra things to wear," said Graham. "I guess I should've gotten you some more stuff when we were in town but I wasn't thinking far enough ahead."

"These are great," said Jamie with enthusiasm. "When did you buy them? I never saw you go out anywhere. Did you get them today when I was over at Jay's?"

"They aren't brand new," said Graham. "I talked with Jason and we arranged it between us."

"They're Jay's?" asked Jamie with concern. "He's not going to like it that I've got his stuff."

"Yes they're his but you don't need to worry because he wants to help and doesn't mind at all," said Graham. "Jason and his family want to help you just like I do."

"You guys are so nice to me all the time," said Jamie a bit sadly.

"What's with the sad face?" inquired Graham.

"When Jay's dad showed up today I got pretty scared and…," Jamie trailed off.

"Oh don't worry about that," said Graham with gentleness. "I know he understands. The first time I saw him I was a bit intimidated too. He's a big guy but you will find that he's also very friendly and kind once you get to know him better."

"I guess," said Jamie. "It's just that he surprised me and I started to remember what used to happen at home and got scared."

"You'll see. Everything will be fine," said Graham. "You go on back upstairs and finish getting ready for bed and I'll check in on you in a few minutes."

Graham eventually heard Jamie finish washing up and after waiting a couple of minutes more to give him a chance to get into bed Graham walked up the stairs and peeked into Jamie's bedroom. Jamie had climbed into bed and pulled the covers up so his head was barely visible. Jamie's backpack was sitting on the floor next to the head of the bed where he could easily reach it, and Cindy was laying on a mat near the bed blocking access from the doorway in an almost protective fashion. She looked up but did not move as Graham stood in the doorway.

"I see you guys are all settled in now," said Graham with a smile.

"All finished," replied Jamie with his voice slightly muffled by the bedclothes.

"It looks like Cindy is going to sleep here tonight," chuckled Graham.

"Is that OK?" asked a concerned Jamie.

"Absolutely. I think it's great that you two are getting to know each other better," said Graham.

"I'm starting to like her a lot," said Jamie feeling slightly embarrassed.

"It's great that you are. She'll always take good care of you," replied Graham. "Goodnight to both of you then. Sleep tight and pleasant dreams."

"Good night Graham and thanks for the wonderful day," said Jamie.

"You're very welcome Jamie. I'm glad that you enjoyed everything," replied Graham as he left the room and turned off the light.

Graham came back downstairs after saying goodnight to Jamie and went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of herb tea. Graham often liked to enjoy a cup of tea before he went to bed and with all the excitement of the day the Chamomile was going to help him sleep soundly tonight. Adding some honey into the cup after removing the tea bag Graham gently stirred it with a spoon and then walked back into the living room to relax on the sofa while he drank it.

Cindy had remained in the bedroom with Jamie and it felt strange to Graham to be sitting on his own in the evening without her for the first time in a long while but he did not mind. He recognized the growing bond between Jamie and Cindy and hoped that maybe it could help both of them to deal with their past. Graham contemplated the rapid series of events that had taken place over the last two days as he luxuriated in the warmth from the woodstove while sipping at his tea.

Cindy suddenly came racing down the stairs and was very agitated. She whined and pawed at Graham indicating that something was seriously wrong.

"What's the matter girl?" said Graham trying to understand what the problem was.

Cindy began to bite at Grahams pant legs, tugging at them, and Graham got up off the sofa. Cindy immediately ran back up the stairs and Graham followed along behind her. Going up the stairs Graham started to become worried and even before getting to the top of them Graham realized that Cindy had been trying to tell him that something was wrong with Jamie.

Graham stood at the entrance to Jamie's bedroom and from the light in the hallway he could see that the bedclothes had been thrown aside and that Jamie was thrashing about violently in the bed. In the full grip of a nightmare jumbled words came out of Jamie's mouth despite his still being completely asleep. Graham entered the room, approached the side of the bed, and reached out to comfort Jamie.

"No, I don't want to," Jamie cried out still locked in the nightmare and his eyes tightly shut. "I won't do it. You can't make me!"

Graham bent down and touched Jamie gently on the arm while softly saying, "Jamie. Jamie, it's OK. You're safe here."

"No! Please! You can't! I won't let you! Get away from me!" yelled Jamie as he fought against the unseen menace.

"Jamie," said Graham speaking a bit louder and taking a firm hold of Jamie's shoulder and shaking it. "Jamie, no one is going to hurt you."

"No!! I hate you!!" screamed Jamie as his fist shot out and connected against the side of Graham's head sending him flying across the room.

Chapter 10
Island Life

"We're running out of waffles down at this end of the table," called out Frank banging his knife and fork on the table while grinning. "What's taking so long?"

"The next batch is just about ready," replied Kathy. "But you're not getting any until you get Jason and Jamie some more sausages."

"I guess that means I have to get up doesn't it?" said Frank in mock horror as he got up and walked over to the stove to pick up the frying pan.

"Only if you want more waffles," said Kathy as she headed over to the table and put the steaming hot waffles she had just taken out of the waffle iron onto Jamie and Jason's plates. Jason immediately reached for the butter and using his knife spread some over Jamie's waffle and then his own. Jason then passed Jamie the maple syrup. Frank came back to the table with the frying pan and popped two more sausages each onto Jamie's and Jason's plates and then offered some to Graham.

"Thank you but I couldn't eat any more even if I tried, I'm ready to burst," said Graham. "I wish I could though, it's been a fabulous breakfast."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping the boys," laughed Kathy watching both Jamie and Jason still eating with gusto.

"These sausages are fantastic," said Jamie between mouthfuls. "I've never had ones like these before."

"Those are Bratwurst sausages," said Frank. "Brats for short. We get them from a butcher down at the village here on the island. He makes them up special for us the old-fashioned way. They're not like the ones you see at the big supermarkets back in town that are made from leftover scraps. Good sausages like these are just the thing for hungry boys."

"And what's your excuse for eating so many?" asked Kathy with an innocent looking smile.

"Well I'm a growing boy too," said Frank with a feigned expression of injury.

"Looks to me like you're mostly growing sideways," laughed Kathy as she poked a finger at Frank's stomach.

Jason and Jamie both started to giggle at Kathy's quick-thinking response. Frank frowned at Kathy and then stuck out his tongue which only caused the giggles to turn into full-blown laughter. After he stopped laughing Jamie glanced around the kitchen and quickly picked up the last sausage that was still sitting on his plate and hid it inside his hand. Then watching carefully that he had not been spotted he looked over towards Cindy who had been laying on the floor off to the side. Her alert eyes had not missed anything and she was now looking at Jamie and licking her lips. Very slowly Cindy stretched herself as if she was getting up after a nap and walked innocently in the general direction of the breakfast table. Jason who realized what Jamie was about to do distracted his mother at the crucial moment by asking for a refill of his orange juice and in an instant the sausage in Jamie's hand had disappeared.

"What are you and Jamie going to do today?" asked Kathy bringing the orange juice over to the table for Jason her eyes twinkling having not missed noticing Cindy's lightning-quick unofficial breakfast.

"I'm going to take Jamie over to the stream to fish today," said Jason. "Then we can have trout for dinner tonight. He told me that he did that once a long time ago with his uncle."

"I guess I'd better go to the grocery store then and get some things that go with trout," said Graham. "Bring the fish over to my place afterwards and I'll make dinner for everyone."

"We'd better get moving Jamie," said Jason. "Let's go and get cleaned up and then we can pick up the fishing gear."

"Thank you very much for the wonderful breakfast," said Jamie. "It was really great. I never had anything like that before ever. Thank you for inviting me to come over this morning."

"I'm glad you liked it," said Kathy with a smile. "You're always welcome here anytime at all."

"Let's go get ready Cindy," said Jamie as he got up and she followed the two boys out of the kitchen.

After Jamie and Jason had left the kitchen Frank said with a sigh, "I guess Jamie's speaking the literal truth when he says he's never had anything like that before based on what you were telling me on the phone the other day."

"I'm afraid it is," said Graham sadly. "Eating like this or the salmon that we had at my place his first night here is like a dream for him. On Friday morning in town I didn't have much left in the refrigerator and I just stirred up some eggs and leftovers for breakfast and he thought he was in gourmet heaven. When I found him asking for change outside where I work he told me that the last thing he'd had before that was something that he'd found in a dumpster a couple of days earlier."

"That's just horrible," said a shaken Kathy looking up from the sandwiches she was making for the boys. "We can't let him go back to that. We have to do something."

"I'm going to," said Graham. "I just want him to have some time first so he can see that we're not all like his parents or the people that have taken advantage of him on the street."

A few minutes later Jamie and Jason were standing by the back door putting on their coats and getting ready to leave while Cindy stood close by waiting for them. Jason had collected his fishing gear from the garage and it was sitting beside the door ready to be picked up. While they were dressing for the walk up to the stream Jason saw that Jamie was putting on his new running shoes and quickly went back up to his room and grabbed his old pair of hiking boots and brought them back for Jamie to wear.

"Use these then you won't get your nice new running shoes all wet and dirty," said Jason handing the boots to Jamie. "They'll also keep your feet warmer too."

"Thanks a lot," said Jamie. "Are you sure you don't mind if I borrow them?"

"You go ahead and keep those Jamie," said Frank looking down the hallway from the kitchen at the boys while they were getting ready. "That's an old pair that Jason doesn't use anymore. You'll need boots like those now that you're over here with us and away from pavement and concrete sidewalks."

"Thanks," said Jamie with a big smile while lacing them up. "I never had boots to wear before."

"We're going now," said Jason as he opened the back door. "We'll be back when we catch enough fish for dinner."

"You'd better take this with you," said Kathy coming down the hallway and handing Jamie a small bag she had just finished assembling. "You and Jason will be wanting something to eat when it gets to be lunchtime."

"You didn't have to do that," said Jamie. "Breakfast will last me a long time."

"Perhaps it used to," replied Kathy with a smile. "But now it doesn't have to. I also put in some of the cookies that I made a couple of days ago and there's an extra sausage for Cindy too."

Jamie blushed realizing that he had been spotted sneaking food for Cindy and said, "Thanks, that's going to be really great."

Jamie closed the door after him and followed Jason and Cindy across the grass to where the trail into the forest began. The day was partly cloudy and cold but with the gloves and scarf that Graham had found for Jamie earlier in the morning added to the leather jacket he had given him back in the city Jamie was warm and comfortable.

"Your mom must have seen me give my last sausage to Cindy," said Jamie as they started walking through the forest along the trail.

"She doesn't usually miss very much," laughed Jason. "I sneak stuff for Cindy too when she stays with us while Mr. M. is at work during the week but Mom usually spots me."

"Doesn't she get mad when she catches you?" asked Jamie as he walked along the path with Jason and Cindy.

"Not really," replied Jason. "She knows I only do it when I've eaten everything I can and it's going to be leftover anyway. She only gets upset about the things that really matter and even then I usually know that she's right about whatever it is."

"That's so different," said Jamie wistfully. "My parents would blow up over almost anything and then I'd really get pounded."

"Mr. M. is like my mom and dad so you don't need to worry," said Jason. "The only time I ever saw Mr. M. get upset was when he first came over to the island and found out that the people that had Cindy were hurting her. My dad didn't know they were doing it either and when he found about it he got really upset too. He made sure that the people knew that if they messed with Mr. M. they were going to have him to deal with too. That's when they finally gave up and let Mr. M. have Cindy. That's also when we first met Mr. M. and got to be friends with him."

"This morning before we came over to your place for breakfast we had some grapefruit juice and I accidentally dropped the glass and it broke," said Jamie. "I thought Graham was going to kill me and I got really afraid but he didn't do anything except help me pick up the pieces. I was sure surprised, I thought I was dead for sure."

The boys continued to talk as they headed for the stream that Jason had shown Jamie when he had first arrived on the island. Cindy occasionally got the scent of a rabbit trail and would bark for the boys to follow but Jason would shake his head and she would then come back and follow along the path that they were taking.

After about ten minutes of hiking through the forest Cindy and the boys arrived alongside the trout stream. It was quite full due to the runoff from the mixed rain and snow that had come down heavily overnight and Jamie could see a fish swimming lazily in one of the eddy pools along its edge.

Jason put down the tackle box that he was carrying and proceeded to slide the two sections of a fishing rod out of the long case that he had also been carrying over his shoulder. Jason carefully aligned the two pieces and then pressed them together firmly before handing the completed rod to Jamie. Taking the parts to a second fishing rod out of the case Jason repeated the assembly procedure. Handing the second rod to Jamie, Jason then leaned the case up against a nearby tree and knelt down to open the tackle box. Taking two reels from the box Jason attached them to the handles of each of the fishing rods in turn as Jamie exchanged them with him. Jason then strung the rods with fly line from the reels and added a tippet to the end of each line carefully showing Jamie how to tie a nail knot in order to join the uneven sizes of line together. Jason then looked at the stream and the surrounding ground carefully before checking the selection of flies that were lying in a tray in the tackle box. Since it was winter there was very little insect or nymph activity evident and so Jason selected a couple of Hendrickson dry flies from the tray in the top of his tackle box. They were a rusty brown in colour and had a wispy tail at the hook end. Jason showed Jamie how to tie a blood knot as he attached first one and then the other fly to the tippets at the ends of the line on each of the fishing rods.

Jason passed one of the fishing rods back to Jamie and took his place at the edge of the stream. With careful deliberate motions he then showed Jamie the proper way to cast the fly.

"You go back and forth with the fishing rod from ten 'til two like a metronome then make sure you snap it slightly so the fly stays in the air and then watch the line for a figure-eight shape. That way you know you've got the right rhythm. Slowly strip line from the reel and then let it slip through your fingers a bit to get the distance you want," explained Jason carefully while demonstrating the technique for Jamie. Jason cast the line smoothly and his movements as he did so were graceful as if it flowed naturally from within him.

"Make sure you have just a little bit of snap in it so the fly doesn't land too hard on the water's surface or you'll spook the fish," Jason continued and as he did this the small fly landed deftly on the water right in the middle of the eddy pool that he had been aiming for and began to drift slowly in the water. "The big key to it is your wrist and forearm action. You need to feel like the fishing rod is a part of you when you're casting."

"How do you do that without catching yourself on the hook," said Jamie as he watched Jason repeat the procedure with the second fishing rod before handing it to Jamie.

"My friend Pony is a good teacher. Of course I did catch myself in the ear once and that taught me even faster," said Jason with a grin.

"That must have hurt a lot," winced Jamie in sympathetic pain.

"You better believe it," said Jason. "It was dug in good and the barb didn't want to come out. It didn't hurt nearly as much as when I got my ear pierced."

Jamie shivered as he listened to Jason describe the gruesome details of the incident and getting the hook out of his ear. Smiling Jamie admired the skill with which Jason spun out the second fishing line and settled its fly down onto the surface of the water in a second eddy pool.

"So what do I do now?" asked Jamie. "Just wait for a fish?"

"No," replied Jason. "You let it drift for a bit in the eddy pool that you've landed the fly in, then you make a quick jerk which pops the fly off the water, and then you start casting again. The idea is that you're trying to make the fly on the end of the line look like a real fly to the fish. Insects land on the water, take a drink or rest, and then fly off again. So you want the fish to think that's what you're doing. Trout eat insects and so you want them to try and take a bite at you. When they bite they'll get caught on the hook and that's how you catch them."

"How long should I let it sit before I wind it back in and try again?" asked Jamie.

"No more than thirty seconds," said Jason. "The exact amount of time isn't too important, just as long as you don't do it for too long. Take a look at the eddy pools along the stream and watch for any fish that might be coming up towards the surface of the water. If you see one, try and aim for that spot. They might see your fly land and try to grab it."

Jamie reeled in his line and prepared to try casting. Remembering how Jason had done it Jamie swung the rod back and forth a couple of times letting the line out as he did. On the final swing towards the stream he held the rod steady and the fly dropped down into the middle of the stream about five feet [1½ m] away from the eddy pool that he had been aiming for.

"That's pretty good for a first try," said Jason with a smile. "As you keep doing it your aim will gradually get better and better."

Jamie let the fly drift for a bit in the stream and then jerked on the line again and began to swing the fishing rod back and forth letting the line feed back out. This time Jamie's aim was better and the fly landed close to the edge of the eddy pool that he was aiming for.

"I'm getting closer," said Jamie with a grin.

"You're doing great," said Jason. "You keep going like that and you're going to be an expert before long. Another thing that you can do when you get really good at it is what's called Shadow Casting. That's where you hover the fly as long as you can over the same spot. You keep doing that until you see the trout start to surface and then you let the fly drop down gently onto the water. If you're lucky sometimes they'll think it's an insect that just landed and they'll go after it."

Seeing that the boys were going to be fishing for a while Cindy walked over, circled once, and then settled herself down on a pile of soft leaves that were laying on the forest floor underneath a group of currently barren Alder trees. She yawned and then put her head down between her paws and kept a careful watch on Jamie.

"Has Mr. M. told you about the Christmas Barbecue that's coming up in a few days?" asked Jason while they fished.

"He said your dad cooks up some meat and then you have friends come and bring other things to help out," replied Jamie.

"You're going to love it," said Jason. "This year dad has three different things planned. He's going to do a brisket in the smoker plus prawns and steak on the barbecue. Dad marinates the brisket for a whole day ahead of time, then on the day of the party he gives it a spice rub and puts it into the smoker early in the morning. Later in the afternoon he starts putting sauce on it and it slow cooks the entire day. When it's done it's just incredible."

"Sounds really good," said Jamie with enthusiasm. "Graham took me to a place the night before we came over here that had ribs and they were fantastic."

"It's not just going to be just meat either," said Jason. "My mom makes a really great potato salad, Pony came over last year and brought some salmon, Mr. M. made a couple of really incredible cakes for dessert, and there'll be other people coming too with other stuff. Everyone shows up in the middle of the afternoon and it usually goes on late into the night. I'll ask Mom if you can sleep over too then you don't have to worry about going back after and you can stay all night."

"Are you sure that'll be OK?" asked Jamie skeptically. "They know that I was…"

"None of that matters," said Jason firmly. "You saw how everyone feels about you when you came for breakfast this morning, and you're starting to relax around my dad now too. You're going to love it. It'll be great and we'll have a lot of fun, you'll see."

Jason continued telling Jamie about the people that would be showing up at the barbecue and the food that everyone brought last Christmas. Despite having just finished a big breakfast, Jamie's stomach was making its interest in the upcoming barbecue unmistakably clear to him. While Jamie was listening to Jason he suddenly felt his fishing rod wiggle slightly. At first Jamie did not pay attention but then it happened again and he looked over towards the end of the fishing rod which he saw jiggling.

Finally the line in the fishing rod jerked hard and Jamie shouted, "I think I've got one!"

"Be careful you don't jerk the line too much, you don't want to lose the fish," cautioned Jason quickly.

"Can you help me do it?" asked an anxious Jamie offering his fishing rod to his friend.

Jason quickly reeled in his own line and put his fishing rod down. Jason then went over to Jamie, took his fishing rod, and showed Jamie how to slowly let out some line so the fish would not break free, "You loosen the drag on the side of the reel here and then you hold your palm against the side of it to slowly let some of the line go when the fish pulls. Then as the fish moves back in your direction again and the line goes slack you wind it in slowly. If he starts to yank too hard don't keep reeling the line in, instead let it go again. Get the net and you can help me land this one."

Jamie quickly picked up the net and went over to the side of the stream and Jason gradually guided the fish into towards where Jamie was standing. When Jason got the fish close enough Jamie put the net down and then lifted the fish up and out of the water.

"We got it!" said an excited Jamie. "We got a fish!"

"Can you get the bucket over there and fill it with water for me?" asked Jason as he put down the fishing rod and reached into the net to quickly remove the hook from the fish's mouth. Jamie picked up the bucket, dunked it into the stream to fill it, and then put it on the ground next to Jason who then gently let the fish go into it.

"Wow," said an impressed Jamie. "It's a big one."

"Looks like about a twelve inch brook trout," said Jason. "It's a good sign to catch the first one that fast."

The boys continued to fish and took a break around noon. Digging into the lunch bag that Kathy had prepared for them Jamie found a sandwich for them both. They sat down on an old log near the stream and began to eat. After a few minutes Cindy got up and came over beside Jamie and looked up at him with her deep brown eyes whereupon Jamie dug into the bag again and found the sausage that Kathy had put in for Cindy. Jamie tore the sausage into several pieces and gave them to Cindy in between taking bites of his own sandwich. When the sausage had completely disappeared Cindy licked her lips and rubbed up against Jamie. Jamie looked into Cindy's eyes for a moment and then tore off a bit from the last part of his sandwich, gave that to Cindy as well, and then popped the rest into his own mouth.

"You'd better be careful or she'll want all of your sandwich next time," said Jason with a smile.

"She looked hungry and I know how that feels," said Jamie wistfully.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," said Jason putting his arm around Jamie. "Those days are over with now that you're safe here."

"I hope so," said Jamie. "It would really be nice to not have to worry about that and everything else any more."

"I'm sure Mr. M. is working on a way to make sure that you'll be able to stay and I know my parents have been talking about it too," said Jason. "Now that I've got a special new friend I don't want to lose you."

"No one has ever listened before or tried to help me," said a doubtful Jamie. "Even when I tried the last time to tell them nobody would listen."

"Things are going to be different this time I just know it," said Jason.

"Should we try and get more fish?" asked Jamie putting away the lunch bag.

"Let's see how many we've got now," said Jason getting up and walking over to the bucket that was sitting next to the stream with Jamie and Cindy following along close behind.

"Looks like five so far," said Jamie. "Let's get another one."

"No," said Jason. "We only need five. Taking any more would be wrong."

"Why not?" asked Jamie with a puzzled expression.

"My friend Pony taught me that we should never abuse nature," said Jason as he sat down on an old tree stump next to Jamie and motioned for Jamie to join him. "Nature will give us what we need but we should never take anything more than what's absolutely necessary. Some day it'll be our turn to give ourselves back to nature but until then it's up to us to look after it. We have to always remember that we're just one small part of something that's much bigger than we are. A lot of people think that we're special or different and can do anything we want to the world or the people and things in it but that's not true. We aren't any more important than any other part of nature."

"I never thought about it that way before," said Jamie. "That's a really different way of looking at things. All my life it's always been the other way around – people just taking and doing whatever they wanted and whenever they wanted to do it. I never had anything to say about it."

Jason looked deep into his new friend's eyes and put his hand on top of Jamie's and said, "I think it's time you did the deciding and choosing yourself."

Jamie hesitated and then looked down while slowly saying, "I've never been able to choose before."

"You can now if you want to," said Jason very softly as he moved his head closer to Jamie's.

"It's a lot better this way," said a breathless Jamie a few seconds later.

"When I first saw you I knew that you were special," said Jason after another brief pause.

"Has there ever been someone special… I mean, have you ever had a friend that…" stuttered Jamie.

"No," came Jason's muffled voice. "I knew I wanted to wait until I found the right one."

"You know that I…" began Jamie almost inaudibly.

"No," said Jason with determination while putting his arms around Jamie. "You've never had someone special in your life before either."

"You're right," came Jamie's voice a few seconds later. "It was never like this before."

A few minutes later Jason said reluctantly, "I guess we'd better get these fish back to Mr. M's house or everyone will be wondering what happened to us."

Cindy who had been sitting next to Jamie watching barked her agreement and got up whereupon Jamie giggled and said, "I guess it wouldn't be the best way to explain why dinner was late arriving."

"Yes, and we'd get scolded for having had dessert first," said Jason with a twinkle in his eye.

After disassembling the fishing rods, picking up the tackle box and the bucket with the fish, the boys began to hike back towards Graham's house. Jamie looked at the trout in the bucket he was carrying and over at Jason as they walked along with Cindy leading the way. The only sound to be heard in the cold crisp air was the crunch of their hiking boots on the forest undergrowth and fallen tree branches. Overhead patches of blue peeked out from behind the clouds scattered across the winter sky. It had only been a few days since Jamie had been sleeping in a back alley in the city and already it seemed as if that life was a million miles away. Jamie could feel the heaviness that always weighed on him lifting but at the same time he wondered how long the current state of calm would last. What would it be like to be able to live like this every day? What would it be like if Graham let him stay and he could sleep in a warm bed every night? What would it be like to have a special friend like Jason to spend time with?

Jason noticed Jamie was lost in thought and decided that it was time for a distraction and said, "Don't forget this afternoon we're going to help Dad look at Mr. M's jeep."

"Sorry I was daydreaming and didn't hear you," said Jamie self-consciously. "What did you say?"

"That's OK," replied Jason with a smile. "I know you've got a lot on your mind. I was just saying when we get back remember that we're going to help my Dad change the oil in Mr. M's jeep."

***

"Can you hand me the five-eighth's socket wrench please," came Frank's voice from underneath the jeep.

"Wrench coming down," said Jason as he passed the requested tool down into Jamie's hand which came up from below.

"Put the wrench on the oil plug here," said Frank as he showed Jamie who was laying alongside him under the jeep. "Then you pull on it this way to loosen it. Only loosen it about one turn, don't take it all the way out yet."

Jamie pulled on the wrench and grunted with the effort but the plug was stuck and refused to budge. Frank reached over, put his hand on the wrench as well, pulled with Jamie, and the plug gave a squeak and began to loosen.

"Now you have to be careful at this point or you'll get your face covered in oil," said Frank. "Pass that tray over here and put it just off to the side of the oil pan. Always put it about six inches [15 cm] or so off to the side because the oil will arc out instead of coming straight down, that way you don't end up with oil all over the ground or on yourself. Now that you've got the tray positioned and yourself out of the way, take the plug the rest of the way out."

Jamie put the wrench back on the oil plug and gave it another turn. When the plug felt loose, Jamie removed the wrench and undid the plug the rest of the way with his fingers. Just as Frank had explained the oil immediately sprang out of the drain hole and curved down into the tray that Jamie had put in place.

"Wait until the oil stops flowing completely and all you have left are drips," said Frank. "In the meantime take this rag and clean the plug off and make sure that it's in good shape. Sometimes if you go to those quick lube places they don't pay attention and next thing you know you've got a bolt that they've slammed in too quick and its cross-threaded. That's probably why it was so hard to get this one started, they screwed it in too tight."

Jamie listened carefully and then took the cleaning rag and wiped the accumulated grime off the plug and checked its threading carefully. Then seeing that the flow of oil had reduced itself to a trickle Jamie got ready to put the plug back into the bottom of the oil pan. When the trickle turned into slow drips a few moments later, Jamie reached up and hand-threaded the plug back into the drain hole. Jamie then took the socket wrench, flipped the ratchet lever on it, and tightened it up.

"I think you've done this before," said Frank impressed. "How did you know that you needed to flip the lever on the wrench?"

"It just made sense," said Jamie as he tightened up the oil plug. "The wrench was set to loosen the bolt the way it was so I knew there had to be a way to change it and that's the only thing on the wrench that could be adjusted."

"I think we have a budding mechanic on our hands here," said Frank with a smile while Jamie blushed. "Now all we need to do is change the oil filter and then refill the crankcase."

Jamie and Frank slid themselves out from underneath the jeep and looked down into the engine compartment together. Frank reached up and adjusted the position of the work light to illuminate the area where the filter was located.

"You can see it right there," said Frank pointing to the dirty cylindrical oil filter. "We'll need the oil filter wrench to get it off."

Jamie walked over and looked into Frank's toolbox and examined the selection of tools for a moment. He then reached in and selected a tool that had a thin metal band joined at both ends to a handle and brought it back.

"You are a born mechanic," said Frank happily. "How did you know that's the right tool?"

"It had to be something that could grab onto the case of the filter and this is the only tool that could do that," said Jamie matter-of-factly.

"Did you hear that Jason?" asked Frank. "I think I'm going to leave taking care of the house and garden to you and hire Jamie here instead as my new apprentice down at the gas station."

"Sounds good to me," said Jason with a grin. "I like the outdoors more than working on cars anyway."

Jamie was pleased with the unaccustomed praise from Frank although somewhat embarrassed at the same time. At home before he ran away being complimented was something that had been completely foreign to Jamie. Anything Jamie had ever attempted had invariably brought him an endless barrage of withering criticism. Long before he had finally given up and run away Jamie had ceased all attempts to do anything knowing in advance that he would be attacked over it.

"Think you might like to give it a try when the weather starts getting warmer?" asked Frank. "When the tourists begin showing up on the island I'm always run off my feet trying to take care of everything myself."

"You really mean it?" said a shocked Jamie unable to believe that Frank was serious. "You want me to come and work for you?"

"Absolutely," said Frank. "I think you'd do well. You can start with the easier things and work your way up gradually. I'd pay you and then you'd have money of your own to spend on whatever you want."

"But what about Jay?" asked Jamie with concern. "He's your son not me. I shouldn't get in the way between the two of you. You don't want someone like me taking his place."

"Go for it Jamie," said Jason. "Dad's tried to turn me into a mechanic but I just don't have the knack for it. I'm better at working with plants and things like that. I can help Mr. M. do the changes he wants to make to the flower garden next year."

"That would mean I'd have a real job instead of having to…," said Jamie softly with amazement and then he started to cry.

"What's the matter Jamie?" asked Jason quickly putting his arms around Jamie.

"No one ever trusted or wanted me to do anything before," cried Jamie. "They always said I was a useless idiot and only good for…"

"No you're not Jamie," said Frank kneeling down next to Jamie. "I'm completely serious. I think you'd be a great helper for me at the station. I wouldn't be making the offer or be willing to pay you if I didn't think so."

"You aren't an idiot Jamie," said Jason looking into Jamie's face. "You're a wonderful person and I'm really glad that you've come here. I've always wanted a friend like you."

"You really mean it?" asked a still doubting Jamie wiping away his tears.

"I wouldn't have told you what I did earlier if I didn't think so," said Jason meaningfully.

"Oh right," said a now completely embarrassed Jamie.

"Things have changed Jamie," said Frank. "Graham will figure out a way for you to be able to stay and we're going to help him. The bad old days are over and it's going to be different for you from now on."

"It's hard to believe sometimes," said Jamie. "It all seems like a dream here and then I start worrying that I'm going to suddenly wake up back in the city hungry and shivering in an alley."

"No more going hungry and no more having to sleep in alleys," said Frank. "That's over with now for good. Graham won't let that happen to you anymore and neither will I. You come and work for me and I'll teach you everything that I know about cars. How about a handshake to seal the deal?"

Jamie thought for a moment and then shook Frank's extended hand with a smile and said, "It's a deal."

Just then the door at the side of Graham's house opened. Graham came out into the carport to see a smiling and slightly oil-stained Jamie shaking Frank's hand.

"How are things going out here?" asked Graham.

"Jamie just got himself a job for the summer working at Dad's gas station," said Jason happily while Jamie smiled shyly. "Now I can help you enlarge the flower garden like you want and maybe we can try to draw up and plan out that greenhouse you've talked about building some day."

"That's right," said Frank. "Jamie's going to be my new apprentice. He's a natural and I think he's got the makings of a great mechanic."

"That's wonderful," said Graham with a smile. "Does that mean I'll get a discount if I bring the jeep into the station now?"

"I don't know about that," laughed Frank. "Now that I'm going to have a new employee to pay I might have to raise prices."

"So how is the jeep doing?" asked Graham. "Did you come across any problems while you were changing the oil?"

Frank's eyes sparkled and he nodded to Jamie with a serious look on his face. Jamie looked over at Jason who nodded back while trying not to grin.

"It's mostly in good condition," began Jamie. "But it looks like the buckle on the fan belt is loose and Frank noticed that the muffler bearings were out of alignment."

"Oh no," said a worried Graham. "Is that going to be expensive to fix?"

Frank fought to keep a straight face and took over saying, "Well it's a good thing we caught it early or it could have been pretty bad. However with Jamie's help we've been able to take care of everything so you should be OK now."

"I always try to be careful when I drive," said Graham. "Is it something that I did?"

"This model has always been prone to those kinds of problems," said Frank in a grave tone while catching a glimpse of Jamie and Jason out of the corner of his eye biting their lips to try and not burst out laughing.

"After you're finished out here let me know if you find anything else," said Graham. "You're probably hungry after all the hard work you've done out here so I'll go back in and get started fixing up a snack for all of you."

A few seconds after the door closed behind Graham the giggles began and within seconds turned into peals of laughter.

"I didn't think he'd believe it," laughed Jamie. "I thought he'd know we were pulling a joke on him and then get mad."

"I told you he'd fall for it," said Frank while continuing to laugh. "Graham's a great guy and is incredible with computers but he doesn't know anything about vehicles."

"But he'll figure it out eventually and then get upset," said Jamie with concern.

"Oh we can take care of that," giggled Jason. "We'll hide a little box in the back of the jeep with some small rocks in it and then he'll start wondering where the rattling sound is coming from."

Chapter 11
The Christmas Barbecue

The day of the Christmas Barbecue finally arrived. Jamie had been watching Graham working hard in the kitchen for the last couple of days and helping out where he could. The oven had been on most of the time filling the house with wonderful aromas and out of it had been coming several different varieties of cookies and squares, pound cakes, and now Jamie was watching Graham put the finishing touches on a gingerbread house that he had made. Jamie observed closely as Graham piped icing along the sides of the house's foundation and then along the edges of the roof to decorate it. Jamie could not help feeling a bit sad at the thought that eventually the house would be broken up and eaten but in the meantime it was going to be a beautiful centrepiece for one of the tables at the Tomlinson's house.

The quantity of food was staggering to Jamie as he contemplated the fact that he was only seeing the dessert portion taking shape in front of him. What would the main courses be like? Graham had assured him that he would get to taste many different kinds of food but that the main event was going to be the meat that Frank would be cooking. Jamie remembered the restaurant that Graham had taken him to for ribs on their first night together and his mouth watered at the prospect of what the day would bring.

Jamie's initial suspicions that Graham was likely no different than the other men he had known had now started to recede and he was beginning to feel quite comfortable around the man he had met only a half dozen days ago. It was a strange feeling – safety – but Jamie was slowly starting to consider that perhaps Graham was not going to make advances as the rest had always done in the past. In the entire time that Jamie had been with Graham he had not once been on the receiving end of a leering look or even a veiled suggestion. From time to time Jamie still attempted to flirt with Graham to test what kind of reaction he would get but Graham either did not notice or chose not to. Regardless of the reason for the lack of reaction on Graham's part Jamie was now beginning to let down his guard and was starting to feel more relaxed than he had been in a long time. Nevertheless Jamie simultaneously knew that all was not well within him. He still had horrible dreams about the past and sometimes he would awake suddenly in the middle of the night terrified and in a cold sweat. He hoped that eventually the night terrors would leave him in peace but for now while Jamie might have control during the day, his nightmares still ruled while he slept.

"So what do you think?" asked Graham as he finally stepped back from the counter on which the completed gingerbread house was sitting. "Do you think it sort of looks like the Tomlinson's place?"

"It's beautiful," said Jamie with amazement. "I've never seen anyone do something like that before."

"The funny part of it is that I can make something like this but I wouldn't have a clue on how to put a real house together," laughed Graham. "If I ever tried to build a real one it'd probably fall down on top of me the second I opened the front door. Now that everything is finished we need to get out some plastic tubs and put all the things we've made into them so we can take it all with us to the barbecue. Can you help me with that?"

"Sure," said Jamie happily as he opened up the kitchen cupboards and started hunting for containers while Graham worked to fill them up as quickly as Jamie found them.

In short order everything was made ready for the trip and all that remained was the gingerbread house itself. Jamie watched as Graham brought out a medium-sized Styrofoam cooler. Graham put a layer of crushed tissue paper in the bottom of it for a cushion and then gently picked up and laid the gingerbread house in the cooler on top of it. He then carefully secured the house by encircling it with a number of thin wooden skewers that he pressed down into the bottom of the Styrofoam cooler to ensure that it could not shift position during the trip over to the Tomlinson's.

"Just in case we have an accident I'll also take some extra icing along with me so I can make repairs if I need to after we arrive," said Graham once he was satisfied. "Normally I'd head over in the middle of the afternoon but Jason said we should come right after lunch today because he has something he wants to show you."

"What is it?" asked Jamie.

"I don't know," replied Graham. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

Jamie helped Graham carry the plastic containers of cookies and cakes out to the jeep and stacked them up on the rear jump seat. After they had put on their coats and shoes Graham then slowly walked the cooler out that held the gingerbread house. Jamie got into the passenger seat of the jeep and Graham placed the cooler carefully onto his lap. Closing the passenger door beside Jamie, Graham then walked around to the driver's side of the jeep and held the door open so Cindy who had been patiently waiting could jump up into the back of the jeep. Once she was sitting down next to the plastic containers that were also in the back Graham got in and closed the door.

The trip to the Tomlinson's would only take a couple of minutes given their place was so close but rather than trying to walk the gingerbread house along the path through the forest between their homes Graham felt that driving was the best way to ensure that it would arrive safely. As Graham slowly drove the jeep back through the trees and onto the road Jamie observed him closely. Over the past week as Jamie grew more and more comfortable with Graham he was learning to enjoy the company of a man that he did not fear. It was still a sensation that was new to Jamie but he now found himself wondering what it might be like to live in a home like this all the time. Jamie had always shied away from thinking along these lines in the past because it had inevitably led to disappointment. Nevertheless, the thoughts kept swirling around in his mind.

They went just under half a mile [500 m] down the road and then Graham turned the jeep off onto a gravel driveway that disappeared into a stand of fir trees. Graham pulled the jeep up tight behind a red pickup truck that had the name of Frank's gas station written on the side of it and shut off the engine. While Jamie waited Graham quickly got out of the jeep, went around to Jamie's side, opened the door, took the cooler off of his lap, and stepped back so Jamie could get out. Jamie then ran to the front door of the Tomlinson's house and knocked.

"It's so good to see you Jamie. Merry Christmas," said Kathy as she opened the door.

"Merry Christmas," replied Jamie happily. "Graham's got something he needs to bring in right away and put on a table."

"Certainly," said Kathy holding the door open wide for Graham to walk through. "Just go right in and don't worry about your shoes."

Graham walked up to a coffee table that was covered with a Christmas tablecloth on the far side of the Tomlinson's living room and gently placed the cooler down on it. Meanwhile Jason and Frank had appeared and were watching closely.

"What do you have in the cooler?" asked Jason.

"I need something to use as a base before I take it out so you can see it," said Graham taking the top off of the cooler. "Do you have a serving plate that I can borrow?"

"I'll get one for you," said Frank who returned a few moments later from the kitchen and handed a rectangular glass serving dish to Graham.

Graham positioned the dish in the centre of the table and then reached into the cooler and lifted out the gingerbread house and put it on the plate. The careful packing and transportation had been successful. The house had arrived in perfect condition. The Tomlinson's all watched with surprise as they saw Graham's creation for the first time.

"It looks just like our house," said Kathy with a smile. "That's amazing. I didn't know you could make something like that."

"Neither did I actually," admitted Graham. "But with Jamie's help I got everything else done sooner than I expected so I thought I would experiment with the extra time I had. It turned out pretty good I think. We'll go and get the rest of the things out of the jeep now."

Jamie and Graham went back outside and let Cindy out of the back of the jeep whereupon she promptly went inside the house to greet Jason. They then started to carry in the filled dessert containers while Jason helped by getting some more plates from the kitchen. While Jamie and Graham were taking off their coats and shoes Jason began opening up the containers, filling up the plates, and laying them out on the table around the gingerbread house centrepiece.

"That's sure a lot of desserts," said Jamie as he looked over the table which was soon covered in goodies.

"If you think that's a lot of food you should go into the kitchen and see what's happening in there," said Jason with a laugh. "Mom and Dad have been going crazy cooking for the last couple of days."

After giving Jamie a quick peek into the kitchen Jason took him up to his room. No longer nervous around Jason's parents, Jamie had emerged from the kitchen with a sandwich in one hand that Frank had just made for him. Jamie was smiling as he bit into the thick sandwich of sliced roast pork that had been the Tomlinson's main course for dinner the previous evening.

"Before everyone gets here there's something that I want to give you," said Jason holding a small box out to Jamie that was wrapped in Christmas paper.

"You didn't have to get me anything," said Jamie surprised by Jason's unexpected generosity. "I don't have anything to give you."

"That's OK," said Jason. "You only just arrived on the island."

Jamie popped the last of the sandwich into his mouth and then sat down on Jason's bed to open up the present that Jason had given him. He removed the paper around it carefully, lifted the lid off the box, and looked inside.

"Oh wow," said Jamie as he looked down on the beaded friendship bracelet that sat curled up inside the box. "You made this yourself?"

"I've been working on it every night for the last few days," said Jason. "Do you like it? The big beads along the middle of it are called Pony beads, the alternating medium-sized ones are called Crow beads, and the little ones that are along the edges are called Seed beads. I picked the orange ones to represent you and the blue ones are me."

"I think it's wonderful," said Jamie with sincerity looking at the intertwining zigzag pattern the two colours made with each other and understood what Jason was saying with the bracelet. "No one ever gave me anything like this before. Last Christmas my father threw a pack of cigarettes on my bed when he was walking out of my room."

"You won't ever have to have a Christmas like that again now that you're here," said Jason saddened at the example of casual abuse and disregard that Jamie had endured at the hands of his father. "You're supposed to make a wish when you first put it on and then wear it until it falls off on its own – that's when the wish comes true."

"Can you help me put it on?" asked Jamie holding out his wrist.

Jason took the bracelet out of the box and went over to his desk and picked up one of the needles that he had used to help thread the beads for the bracelet. Jason then put the bracelet around Jamie's wrist and began to sew using the two loose ends until they were completely woven together.

"I know what I'm going to wish for," said Jamie hopefully.

"If it's what I think it is maybe I shouldn't have sewn the ends together so well," replied Jason with a smile. "I don't want you to have to wait that long for it to fall off so the wish will come true."

"Thank you very much," said Jamie holding his arms out towards Jason. "It's the nicest present I ever received from anyone."

A few moments later a breathless Jason replied, "You're not as shy now as you were on that day when we first went fishing together."

"I never used to know anyone that made me feel this way either", said Jamie. "Before we go back downstairs I think I'd like to say thank you one more time if that's OK with you."

"You can say that to me any time you want," said Jason with a big grin. "I asked my mom if you could stay over tonight after the barbecue and she said 'yes'."

"That's great," said Jamie as he put his arms around Jason again. "This is going to be my best Christmas ever."

While the boys were upstairs Frank was in the kitchen getting ready to give the brisket in the smoker outside its first basting with sauce. Frank did not believe in using bottled sauces from the grocery store and instead made his own. He took the same approach when it came to the spice rub that he had put on the meat earlier in the day before it went into the smoker. Certainly store-bought items were a part of Frank's recipe, but supplementing that were herbs from the garden outside, homemade tomato sauce, and other things that he added to make a creation that was well-known all over the island and uniquely Frank's. He was stirring together the various ingredients for the sauce in a large bowl when Jamie and Jason came back into the kitchen.

"How much do you know about cooking brisket Jamie?" asked Frank while testing the sauce's flavour using a teaspoon.

"I've never had it before but I bet it tastes good," said Jamie with a giggle. "I only had barbecue once when Graham took me out to a restaurant before we came over to the island."

"In that case it's time for you to learn how it's done," said Frank picking up the now ready bowl of sauce off the counter and a small cooking brush. "You can't live on the island here and not know how to cook outdoors. I'll show you how to do steak later in the day but the key to doing brisket right is long slow cooking. You start it really early in the day, give it a good rub with fresh spices before you put it in the smoker, and then baste it with sauce all day long to make sure it never dries out. People try to cook it too fast and that's when it ends up tough. Long and slow is the secret. The other important thing is to make sure that you use your own home-made sauce and never touch anything that comes out of a bottle."

Frank continued explaining the secrets of outdoor cooking as Jamie followed him out the back door of the Tomlinson's house and in the direction of the smoker which was set up on the deck outside at the back of the house. Graham watched from inside the Tomlinson's house out the kitchen window as Frank raised the top on the smoker and Jamie was partially obscured for a moment by a cloud of steam that formed around him as the heat from the smoker met the cool outdoor air.

"You'd better watch out," said Kathy with a laugh. "Frank is going to turn Jamie into a chef in addition to an auto mechanic."

"It's amazing how much he's come out of his shell in just the little time that he's been here," said Graham watching Jamie observing carefully how Frank was applying the sauce to the meat. "He was almost afraid to say anything when I first found him. This environment seems to be just what Jamie's needed but I think a lot of the credit has to go to you, Frank, and especially Jason. Jamie's never seen how a normal family operates and you guys have to be the best example there is for that."

"Don't forget to put yourself on that list too," cautioned Kathy. "If you'd not found Jamie and then shown him that not all men are like his father none of this would have been possible."

"Maybe you're right," admitted Graham. "Mostly I just think I've done what anyone else would do."

"Except they didn't," pointed out Kathy. "I've seen how Jamie looks at you when he thinks no one else is watching. Believe me, he doesn't think you're just like everyone else."

"Mom's right," said Jason who had been standing nearby listening. "You've become very important to Jamie very quickly. I don't think even he realizes how much."

"I'm not very observant about things like that," said Graham now feeling very self-conscious. "I've never tried to help anyone like this before. This is all completely new to me. I don't even know what to do most of the time."

"It may be new to you but I think you're doing a great job," said Kathy giving Graham a quick hug.

Looking out the window and seeing that Jamie and Frank were on their way back into the house Kathy and Jason smiled at Graham's embarrassment and busied themselves with the final preparations for the party. The first guests would be arriving soon and there was still a lot to do.

***

The Tomlinson's house was starting to fill up with guests and some of them were spilling out onto the deck in the rear on lawn chairs that were scattered about so people could enjoy the warmth of the sun on the mild winter day. There was a giant cooler filled with ice off to the side of the deck stocked with bottles and cans of soda pop and other drinks. Next to that was a long table covered with appetizers of all types that various guests had brought with them to the party. People were milling about chatting, catching up on the happenings in each other's families, talking about the year past and the year to come, and Jamie who was still quite shy around strangers was helping by monitoring the plates of food and bringing more from the kitchen whenever anything started to look like it was running low. While Jamie did his best to keep a very low profile the presence of anyone new on the island was always cause for notice. It did not take long for word to discretely get around that Jamie was staying with Graham due to unspecified unfortunate reasons.

Jason came up to Jamie and said, "There's someone in the house that I want you to meet."

"Who's that?" asked Jamie as he followed Jason back in the house and into the living room.

"Jamie, this is my friend Pony Twofeathers," said Jason stopping in front of one of the guests. "Pony, I want you to meet my new friend Jamie. He came over from the city last week and is staying with Mr. M."

Pony was a large powerfully built man with long dark hair that was beginning to turn grey. He stood as Jason introduced Jamie and was clearly the tallest man in the room.

"I am very honoured to meet you Jamie," said Pony formally with a slight bow of his head.

"It's nice to meet you too sir," replied Jamie apprehensively but nevertheless meeting Pony's gaze directly.

Sensing almost immediately Jamie's nervousness Pony avoided offering his hand but simultaneously noted Jamie's courage in standing his ground and looking straight up at him. Pony then also noticed the friendship bracelet on Jamie's wrist and the glow that was on Jason's face.

"I have heard many good things being spoken of Jason's new friend and the great help he is being to our hosts," said Pony. "I can see that their compliments are justified. I have also heard it said that certain of the cookies on the dessert table are particularly good."

"Graham did most of the work I only helped a little bit," said Jamie with a shy smile.

"You have made a contribution," said Pony kindly. "Everyone gives and therefore everyone receives. That is the essence of this occasion."

"We should go back and help Mom in the kitchen now," said Jason tapping Jamie on the shoulder.

"I look forward to when we next meet Jamie," said Pony still quite formally. "Anyone that Jason picks as his friend is someone worth knowing."

"Thank you very much sir," replied Jamie as he followed Jason back to the kitchen.

Sitting back down Pony watched the two boys leave the room. Pony had felt an undercurrent of wariness in Jamie but at the same time he also was left with a distinct impression of hidden inner strength. Despite their relatively short introduction Pony knew that Jason's new friend was going to be someone that he would want to know more about. The friendship bracelet around Jamie's wrist clearly attested to Jason's feelings about his new friend and this only confirmed Pony's opinion.

Frank came into the kitchen from welcoming more guests that had arrived at the front door and said, "Has anyone seen where my bowl of basting sauce went? I forgot about the brisket and I need to go out and put some more on it."

"I think you should take a look outside," said Kathy. "It looks to me like things are well in hand."

"Well I'll be darned," said Frank looking out the window onto the deck only to see Jamie standing in front of the smoker carefully using the brush to paint the meat with sauce exactly as Frank had shown him when he had first arrived.

"You've been busy talking with the guests but Jamie hasn't missed a beat all afternoon," said Kathy. I don't think that meat's ever been basted better or more consistently and the appetizer plates are being restocked as soon as they even start looking empty. When it's summer and he's helping you at the gas station I think you're going to be pretty impressed."

"I'm already impressed," admitted Frank. "It's pretty hard not to be where that little guy is concerned. He's never been anything but polite, friendly, and helpful. I just don't understand how anyone could have ever wanted to hurt him."

"Why don't you show Jamie how to do the prawns?" suggested Kathy handing a heavily stacked plate to Frank. "The guests always like them and it'll give you a chance to show Jamie how to use the barbecue."

Frank took the plate from Kathy, headed out the door, and met Jamie on the deck. Once Jamie lowered the cover on the smoker Frank steered him over to the barbecue that was set up on the opposite side. Putting down the large plate of prawns that Kathy had been marinating Frank lifted the lid on the barbecue and then removed the grill inside it. Picking up the sack of chunk charcoal that was leaning up against the side of the house Frank then poured a layer into the base of the barbecue.

"Always use chunk charcoal Jamie," advised Frank. "Those round briquette things give off a chemical smell and it always makes the food taste funny. The other thing that's important is to never use starter fluid because that also puts a funny taste in the air that the food picks up."

"How do you get it going then?" asked Jamie. "I thought everyone always uses fluid."

"Most people do but I've got a better way and it's faster too," said Frank picking up the small propane torch that was sitting on the floor of the deck next to the barbecue. "This doesn't leave any odours and it's much quicker."

Frank used the striker and then adjusted the flame on the torch until it was an almost invisible blue. He then laid the torch in the bottom of the barbecue with the flame pointed directly on the left half of the bed of charcoal. In only a minute or two the coals were already starting to turn red and before long were turning white in spots. Frank then quickly picked up the torch and pointed it at a different section of the bed of charcoal. Once most of the coals on the left side were turning colour Frank picked up the torch and played it over the right side of the charcoal bed that he had laid down. Less than ten minutes after starting the entire bed of coals was a characteristic off-white colour and they were emitting a significant amount of heat. Frank then turned off the torch and put it back down next to the barbecue.

"That was fast," said an impressed Jamie. "I thought it was supposed to take a long time to get a barbecue ready."

"It does if you do it with starter fluid or by using paper and wood chips to make a small fire under the charcoal," said Frank. "I learnt this method a long time ago from a friend and I've used it ever since. Once it gets hot like this don't put the grill back on with your hands or you'll get burnt badly. Always be sure to use a pair of pliers to protect yourself."

Demonstrating for Jamie, Frank then picked up an old pair of pliers that were sitting on the tray underneath the barbecue and used them to reinsert the grill over the now hot bed of coals. Frank then lowered the lid over the barbecue to allow it to heat thoroughly.

"It'll be ready in no time at all now," said Frank. "Prawns don't take very long to cook because they're fairly small. See if you can spot Jason and ask him to find us a plate to put the cooked ones on and then we can begin."

A couple of minutes later Jamie reappeared with a large serving plate and a small egg cup that was filled with toothpicks. Jamie put the plate down on the table next to the barbecue and positioned the egg cup in the centre of the plate.

"What are the toothpicks for?" asked a puzzled Frank.

"I thought it would help so people wouldn't get their fingers sticky when they're picking up the prawns," said Jamie.

"Jamie, I've done a barbecue here every Christmas for ten years now and I never thought of doing that even once," laughed Frank. "I've always put out stacks of serviettes for people to use. I think we'll have to promote you."

Jamie watched as Frank lifted the lid on the now hot barbecue and started to lay the prawns out all over the grill. Jamie could feel the heat from the coals on his face as he smelled the prawns starting to cook. By the time Frank had the grill covered the prawns that he had first laid out were almost ready to turn over.

"You have to watch prawns carefully because they cook fast," explained Frank. "You also don't want them to get overcooked or they're tough. All you have to do is watch for them to turn colour and then flip them so both sides get done evenly. Then once they're nice and pink all over they're ready to come off the grill and you can put more on. Can you look after these for me? I should go back inside and see what Kathy and Graham are up to in the kitchen."

"You can trust me," said Jamie with a smile holding out his hand for the tongs.

Walking back into the kitchen Frank found Kathy laying out a large plate of fresh fruit while Graham was putting together another plate with vegetables and dip. Jason was standing nearby and as soon as Kathy was finished he took the completed plate from his mother into the living room for the guests that were in there. Returning almost immediately Jason then picked up the plate that Graham had completed and headed to the deck outside for the guests that were out there.

"I thought you were going outside to barbecue the prawns," said Kathy.

"I was but they're now in the hands of an expert," explained Frank. "Have a look for yourself."

Graham looked outside and saw Jamie expertly laying the cooked prawns on the serving plate in a circular pattern around the cup of toothpicks he had put in the centre. As the cooked prawns came off the grill Jamie added more of the fresh ones always keeping the grill fully covered. A few people were already trying out the prawns and from their enthusiastic reactions Graham could tell that Jamie was doing an excellent job.

Throughout the entire afternoon Cindy had been keeping a watchful eye on Jamie. Initially she had been following Jamie as he moved around the house helping monitor the plates of food but now that Jamie was mostly helping with the cooking outdoors she had settled down there to observe. Whenever Jamie would go back inside the house for something she would sit up and if Jamie remained inside for more than a minute or two she would go in herself to check on him. While Jamie was cooking the prawns on the barbecue one guest accidentally backed up into him. Initially perceiving this as an attack Cindy's usual friendly disposition suddenly vanished, she jumped to her feet, her lips pulled back baring her teeth, and she prepared to defend Jamie. Profuse apologies were given to Jamie immediately for the accidental collision whereupon Cindy relaxed but she stayed on her feet and watched the situation closely. None of the other guests had noticed Cindy's rapid change in demeanour but Pony who had wandered out to the deck a few minutes earlier noticed instantly and smiled. Pony had first met Cindy when he had been supervising the renovations being done to the house that Graham had bought. He had seen how Graham had worked long and hard to calm Cindy's fears from the abuse that she had suffered at the hands of her previous owners and now Cindy's reaction to the momentary collision combined with Jamie's earlier guardedness started Pony thinking.

It shortly became clear that Jamie had not missed noticing Cindy's reaction either. Jamie picked up two prawns off the barbecue that were finished cooking and blew on them carefully to help cool them down. He then went over to Cindy and knelt down next to her. Breaking off the tail section from each of the prawns Jamie fed them to her while speaking in a quiet voice that only she could hear. After getting a big hug Cindy gave Jamie a lick on the face and then laid back down again while Jamie went back to the barbecue to continue grilling the rest of the prawns. Once back in position Jamie took a quick look around at the guests on the deck to see if any of them had been watching and he noticed Pony smiling. Jamie returned the smile shyly and Pony nodded back in recognition of their shared knowledge of Cindy's protectiveness.

By late afternoon the sun was starting to disappear and it was getting cold outside. Frank had turned on the outside lights and lit a warm fire in the brazier that was in the middle of the deck to provide heat but most of the guests had already migrated back into the Tomlinson's house. Jamie had long since finished grilling the prawns to rave reviews from everyone at the party and had quietly accepted the praise with a very shy smile. While Jamie had been enjoying the party the strain of meeting so many new people in such a short period of time had finally taken its toll. Jamie had curled up by himself in a chair off to the side of the deck and was shivering even though the heat from the fire in the brazier was keeping him physically warm. Cindy who had been watching Jamie finally got up, went over, and nudged him several times with her head but after getting no response she realized that he needed help and went into the house to locate Jason. Finding Jason in the kitchen Cindy began pawing at him repeatedly until he followed her outside once he understood that she was trying to alert him to a problem.

Seeing Jamie curled up alone outside Jason quickly realized that he needed to have a break from the excitement of the party. He took Jamie's hand, pulled him to his feet, and led him into the house telling his mother on the way past the kitchen that Jamie needed a rest and to call them when it was time for dinner. With Cindy following close behind Jason immediately took Jamie upstairs to his bedroom. Jamie did not speak or react while Jason took him into the house and up the stairs but simply went along quietly wherever Jason guided him. Once inside the bedroom Jason sat Jamie down on the bed, took off his shoes for him, pulled the blankets to one side, and helped Jamie to lie down on the bed. Cindy who had been watching closely went up and sat next to the head of the bed and looked at Jamie carefully as he laid unmoving in the bed. Jason then turned off the lights, got into the bed next to Jamie, and pulled the blankets over them both. Putting his arms around Jamie to comfort him Jason gradually felt Jamie's body stop shivering and begin to relax. A few minutes later as the dark quiet atmosphere began to relieve Jamie's tension Jason felt him start to breathe more regularly. Finally less than five minutes after being put to bed Jamie was sound asleep. Seeing that Jamie was now safe and comfortable Cindy laid down on the floor next to the bed. Holding Jamie close Jason laid his head on the pillow next to Jamie's and joined him in a late afternoon nap.

Back downstairs Graham who had been looking for Jamie without success went into the kitchen and found Kathy putting a load of dishes into the dishwasher. Graham helped by collecting and rinsing the plates and then handing them to Kathy who put them into the bottom section of the dishwasher. Once it was full Kathy shook some soap into the soap dispenser and then closed the door and switched it on.

"Have you seen Jamie?" asked Graham while drying his hands off. "I've looked around the house a couple of times but can't spot him anywhere. Jason seems to have disappeared too."

"Jason took Jamie upstairs to his room for a rest," said Kathy. "He looked like he'd had a bit too much excitement from being around all the people at the party."

"I should have been keeping a better eye on him," said Graham now feeling guilty. "I didn't realize. Maybe I shouldn't have brought him."

"No, you did the right thing," said Kathy. "I've been watching out the window periodically and Jamie's been enjoying himself. It's just been a bit too much for him I think. This is probably the first time he's been in a situation like this and he's not used to it. Jason took him upstairs for a little nap to help him get refreshed. He'll be OK after he's had a rest. Also the crowd is starting to thin a bit and once we start serving dinner things will get a lot quieter when people start eating. Jamie will be fine, you'll see."

A couple of hours after Jason took Jamie upstairs to nap Frank went outside, opened the lid on the smoker one last time, used a knife to cut off a small portion, blew on it to cool it, and then popped it into his mouth. It was cooked to total perfection – tender, moist, and delicious. The periodic basting with sauce that Jamie had been doing throughout the afternoon had paid off handsomely. Frank cut off a second small piece to sample the meat again and could not remember a time when the brisket had turned out better. Lowering the lid on the smoker Frank went back into the house and got the steaks out of the refrigerator so he could start preparing them for grilling on the barbecue.

Frank had selected both strip loin and rib eye cuts when he had picked up the steaks at the butcher the previous day. After many years of barbequing he had found that they gave the best results over other types of steak. Frank prepared them by sprinkling salt and pepper on both sides of each piece of meat as well as giving them a small dash of olive oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill. After each steak was ready he added it to the growing stack on the platter next to him that he would use to take them outside.

"I think you'd better tell Graham to go and wake the boys up," said Frank. "It won't be much longer before these will need to go on the grill and then it'll be time to eat."

"I'll go up and let them know," said Kathy. "Graham is busy in the living room right now refilling coffee cups."

Kathy walked out of the kitchen, went up the stairs, stopped just outside Jason's bedroom, and gently tapped on the door. From inside the bedroom Kathy could hear the sound of paws on the floor and when she pushed the door open gently she saw Cindy on the other side of the door standing protectively between her and the boys who were fast asleep on the bed.

Kathy smiled as she looked at the boys in the bed together. The bedclothes had moved around as they had slept and Kathy could see Jamie's arm draped over Jason as their heads laid side by side together on the pillow. Although Kathy knew that Jamie had had a difficult life in the past, at this moment with his eyes closed and breathing softly, he now looked the picture of peaceful happy innocence.

"It will be dinner time soon," said Kathy very softly from the doorway.

Almost immediately Kathy saw Jason's eyelids flutter and Jamie twitch whereupon she chuckled. There were certain things guaranteed to always catch the attention of a growing boy and mentioning food was one of the most effective. Kathy also noticed that Cindy had not missed the topic of her wake-up call. Cindy looked up at Kathy licking her lips and then went up to the bed and started to lick Jamie on the face to help him wake up.

"Mom!" said Jason suddenly coming totally awake and realizing that she was watching Jamie and him laying next to each other on the bed. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing at all Jason," said Kathy with a gentle smile. "I just wanted to let you know that your father is going to be starting the steaks in a few minutes."

"Jamie was tired and needed to rest," said Jason attempting to explain. "He was worn out from seeing all the people at the party."

"Hi," said Jamie now fully awake and feeling self-conscious at being found in bed next to Jason. "I'm sorry I don't remember coming up here. I hope you're not angry."

"Everything is just fine Jamie," said Kathy softly. "Jason brought you up here so you could have a break from all the excitement. When you're both ready come downstairs, it's almost time for dinner."

Kathy closed the door to Jason's bedroom and headed back towards the kitchen. As she went down the stairs she had a big smile on her face. While it was too soon to know for certain, the way the two boys were snuggled up together it seemed to Kathy that Jason might have found more than just a new friend to go fishing and hiking with. Given what she had seen of Jamie's personality so far the prospect did not disappoint her at all.

A few minutes later a refreshed Jamie walked into the kitchen along with Jason. He was acting quite reserved and Kathy realized that he was feeling embarrassed at her having found him in bed with Jason. Knowing that quick action was called for Kathy picked up a small appetizer off a serving tray next to her and offered it to Jamie.

"You both looked so happy when you were sleeping upstairs", said Kathy quietly so only Jamie could hear. "I'm glad that you and Jason have become such good friends so quickly."

Kathy was pleased when she saw Jamie give a shy but now more confident smile in reply. Jamie then helped Kathy get out the plates and cutlery that would be needed shortly when dinner was served.

***

It was late in the evening when the last of the guests had left the Tomlinson's home. It had been the best party that anyone could remember in years and the compliments on the food had been flowing constantly. Jamie's attentive helpfulness had been noted by many of the guests despite his shyness. His quiet friendliness had caught the attention of several of the guests who, having heard vague comments to the effect that there were difficulties in his past, had discretely mentioned to Kathy to let them know if any help was needed.

For having just hosted a party the size and length of the Christmas Barbecue the house looked remarkably clean. Graham wandered through the house picking up the few remaining cups and other dishes and took them back into the kitchen. In the kitchen an efficient assembly line was in full operation with Kathy at the sink, Jamie and Jason unloading the dishwasher and putting cups, plates, and cutlery away, along with Frank wrapping up the leftover food so it could be put into the refrigerator.

Finally the few remaining dirty serving trays had been washed, the final load of pots and pans went into the dishwasher, and the last of the food had been put away. Everyone paused a moment to take a breath and then they all sat down on the chairs around the kitchen table. Cindy who had been sitting off to the side moved to lay down in front of the chair that Jamie was sitting in whereupon he began to slowly run a sock-covered foot along her side in a gentle massage-like motion.

"I think a round of applause is in order for everyone here," said Frank. "You all helped out incredibly today and I want to thank you for everything you did. But I think extra thanks needs to go to the newest member of our extended family, Jamie. I've never seen anyone work as hard as you did today."

"I just tried to help out a little bit," said Jamie embarrassed by the compliment.

"Oh you did more than just a little," added Graham. "I noticed and so did everybody else. You made a wonderful impression on everyone at the party. Everyone was talking about how great the meat was this year."

"I just did it the way you showed me," said Jamie clearly trying to diminish his role.

"You made it extra special this year by being here with us," said Kathy with a smile. "We hope that from now on you will always be able to come to our Christmas Barbecue."

"I think it's time for us to go to bed now," announced Jason standing up. "I'm tired out and so is Jamie."

"Sounds like a good idea," said Graham seeing Jamie looking towards him for permission. "I'm just going to finish this cup of tea and then I'm heading back to my place. You guys go ahead and I'll see you in the morning."

Jamie stood and then hesitated for a moment. Suddenly he came up to Graham and gave him a quick hug. Graham was taken by surprise as Jamie had never been this forward before but he put his arms around the boy and gently returned the hug.

"Thanks for letting me come with you today Graham," said Jamie. "It was really nice being allowed to see everything."

"I'm glad you were able to come too Jamie," replied Graham. "You made it extra nice for me just by being here."

"And thanks for all the wonderful things to eat," said Jamie turning towards Frank and Kathy. "I've never been to a party before and never saw so many different kinds of things out on the tables."

"I'm going to put you in charge of the meat next year," said Frank. "You did a wonderful job and it really helped me out a lot."

"You're part of the family now Jamie," said Kathy. "We want you to know that you're always welcome here. Just to visit, or come for breakfast, or stay over with Jason whenever you'd like."

"Thanks very much," said Jamie now starting to accept the comments a bit more easily. "I'd like that a lot."

Jason rescued Jamie from having to deal with any more compliments by taking his hand and leading him out of the kitchen. Cindy got up and followed the boys who then headed upstairs to Jason's bedroom. The day had been a long and tiring one for Jamie but at the same time it had given him another chance to observe Graham and the Tomlinson's in action. The contrast between what Jamie had grown up experiencing at home and what he was now seeing on the island could not have been more different. As the two boys got ready for bed Jamie once again wondered what it would be like if he could stay here far away from the city and his troubles.

The two boys got into bed and Jason snuggled up behind Jamie and put his arms around him.

"I'm really glad you're here with me tonight," said Jason.

"I'm glad too," said Jamie. "Being with all of you is almost like a dream. I keep wondering if I'm going to wake up somewhere else and none of this has actually happened."

"You're a dream for me," said Jason sleepily giving Jamie a final hug.

Jamie reached out and turned the light off next to the bed. The two boys snuggled close together and only a few minutes later both of them were fast asleep.

Chapter 12
Nightmare Run

Graham held the bag of ice against his temple as he picked up the telephone and dialed. This was getting to be too much of a habit Graham thought wearily as he listened to the telephone ringing. At least this time it did not feel like his teeth had been shaken loose like they had on other occasions while trying to calm some of Jamie's nightmares.

"Hello?" asked a voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi Frank," answered Graham. "How's it going with you?"

"We're just getting ready to make breakfast here," replied Frank. "You don't sound so good though. What's up?"

"Not so great," answered Graham. "It happened again last night."

"Another nightmare?" said Frank with concern.

"Yes," replied Graham. "I got a black eye this time too. He's also got Cindy a couple of times in the past without knowing it but she never gets mad at him because of it."

"You're both going to have to learn to duck faster," chuckled Frank sympathetically.

"I was really hoping it would start to settle down after a couple of weeks," said Graham, "I try to duck but for a little guy he sure packs quite a wallop. I can't take much more of this. I'm getting too old to be a punching bag."

"I know you've been hoping that things would improve with time," said Frank. "But I think you're going to have to do something about it before you end up getting badly hurt. You're not a youngster any more you know."

"You've got that right," replied Graham. "The weird part about it all is that he doesn't have any idea that he's even doing it."

"It'll be best for everyone to get some help for Jamie," said Frank. "Even if you don't want to get all mixed up with the legal issues yet you should talk to a psychologist or someone like that about what's happening. They might be able to give you some ideas that might help."

"Yes I'm going to have to," said Graham with resignation. "I'm going to make some phone calls today and see if I can't get something started now that the holidays are over to get this whole thing settled once and for all. That's why I called you actually. Do you suppose you could ask Jason to come over and take Jamie out somewhere and keep him busy for a few hours? I don't like to presume like this on Jason but I don't think it'd be a good idea for Jamie to overhear me talking on the phone about him. He might get the wrong idea about what I'm trying to do."

"I agree completely," replied Frank. "I don't think it'll be a problem, wait a minute while I talk to Jason."

"Thanks I'll wait," said Graham as he adjusted the bag of ice and looked out the window at the tops of the trees as they swayed gently in the morning breeze.

"I just checked with Jason," said Frank coming back on the line after a minute. "He's OK with it and he'll be over in just a few minutes. He'll bring Jamie back here for breakfast and then go off on a hike with him. Kathy's making waffles and you know how Jamie likes those."

"Oh that's great," said Graham. "You tell Jason I owe him one and thanks a lot for listening Frank. If I don't get this resolved soon I'm going to end up needing false teeth."

"I don't think a boxing career is what you want for Jamie," said Frank. "It will work out better all around this way Graham. I know you've been trying to do the best you can but I think getting some help now will be a lot better than waiting any longer."

"You're right," said Graham. "I was just trying to put off the inevitable for a bit I guess. Give Jamie more time to be settled before things had to happen. Anyway I'd better get going here. I think I can hear Jamie getting up. Say hello to Kathy for me."

Graham hung up the telephone and stared out the window. A few minutes later Cindy announced Jamie's impending arrival by coming into the kitchen and rubbing up against Graham's leg.

"Hi there girl," said Graham as he knelt and gave the large white dog a hug and petted her. "How are you this morning?"

"Good morning Graham," said Jamie cheerfully as he came into the room a minute later to find Cindy standing with her feet against Graham's chest giving him a quick face-washing kiss.

"Hi Jamie. How are you doing today?" said Graham as he stood back up.

"I'm feeling pretty good. What happened to you?" asked Jamie as he noticed the swelling and darkness forming around Graham's left eye and the bag of ice on the kitchen counter.

"I knelt down to pick up a fork I dropped and when I stood back up I forgot I had the cupboard door open and I smacked myself pretty hard," answered Graham in an attempt to cover up what had taken place the night before.

"You've got to be more careful," said a concerned Jamie. "That's been happening to you a lot lately."

"Hasn't it though," sighed Graham to himself but not quietly enough that Jamie's alert ears didn't pick it up.

While Graham took the dishes out of the dishwasher and put them away Jamie looked him over carefully and with concern. He knew Graham was older and close to retirement age and he wondered if perhaps something was wrong with him. While Jamie had not actually ever seen it happen Graham had been having a lot of accidents lately and always seemed to be getting bumps and bruises on his head. Jamie did not want to invade Graham's privacy by asking questions too directly but at the same time he felt like he wanted to help somehow. While Jamie was pondering what he should do or how he could possibly raise the subject he looked up just as a familiar smiling face appeared standing just outside the sliding glass door leading to the outside deck.

"Hello Jay!" called out Jamie while waving his hand. Jason slid the door open and stepped into the kitchen sliding it closed behind him.

"Hi there," said Jason as he came in and stood on a mat just inside the sliding door. Cindy came over to greet him and he patted her on the head and got a wet kiss in return.

"Good morning Jason. You're up early today," said Graham providing Jason with an opening.

"I came over to invite you both for waffles and sausages. Mom has them cooking up right now," replied Jason.

Graham saw Jason looking him over carefully and replied, "I've got a bit of a headache this morning and need to rest. Why don't you go Jamie and I can come another time."

"Are you sure you don't want to come too?" said Jamie with obvious disappointment.

"Don't worry about me," replied Graham. "I'll take an aspirin and be fine in an hour or two. You guys go and have fun. Afterwards you can go hiking or something. I'll have lunch ready for you when you get back."

"Alright if you're certain," said Jamie. "Can Cindy come with us?"

"Of course she can. We can't break up the Three Musketeers now can we?" chuckled Graham.

"You're sure you'll be OK if I go?" asked Jamie still worried.

"Yes I'll be just fine, you'll see. Everything is going to be great," replied Graham.

"Alright," said Jamie not entirely convinced. Cindy following along as he went out of the kitchen to his room upstairs to get changed for the trip to Jason's house.

"He sure got you good this time," remarked Jason quietly once Jamie had left the room.

"Yes, I've been putting things off hoping the nightmares would decrease if he had some calm and quiet surroundings for a while but it looks like I'm going to have to take action sooner than I wanted to. I can't keep waiting and have this continuing to happen," said Graham.

"And you're not getting any better at ducking either," said Jason with a wry grin.

"I'm getting too old to be a sparing partner," said Graham.

"He still has no idea he's doing it?" asked Jason. "He was fast asleep when he got me the night of the Christmas Barbecue."

"Not a clue," replied Graham. "He's totally asleep but the nightmares seem to just take complete control of him. Cindy's gotten hit a couple of times too but it just seems to make her cling to him even more. She follows him around like glue everywhere he goes."

Graham and Jason stopped talking as they heard Jamie and Cindy coming back down the stairs. Graham busied himself getting some orange juice out of the refrigerator and offered a glass to each of the boys who promptly finished it off.

"We'd better get going Jamie," said Jason. "Breakfast is going to get cold and we don't want dad to eat all of the sausages on us."

"You think you'll be as big as your dad one day?" asked Jamie while doing up his coat.

"Probably eventually," replied Jason. "But not for a while. I'm still growing."

"You guys have a good time and I'll see you later then," said Graham as the boys and Cindy went out the sliding door and closed it behind them.

Watching them run off along the path over to Jason's house through the kitchen window Graham smiled as he put a couple of aspirins in his mouth and swallowed some water. The headache should go before too long but the bruise around his eye was going to take a bit longer.

After having a quick breakfast of a muffin and some tea Graham walked into his study and sat down heavily. He had been trying to put off having to take decisive action with regards to Jamie but the nightmares Graham had hoped would decrease seemed as bad as ever. It was time to do something about them although Graham knew that this was almost certain to make things much worse in the short term. However it was the longer term that mattered the most and Jamie could not be allowed to suffer like this any longer. When he had first stopped on the walkway leading to the subway to help Jamie all he had in mind was giving a distressed youngster a meal. Now Graham was contemplating something on a vastly larger scale. How would it turn out? Would he even be allowed to keep Jamie? Everything was against it – he was older, single, and contemplating retirement. The only thing that he could offer to bolster his side of the argument was the environment here on the island, but was that enough to tip the scales in his and Jamie's favour?

Graham pulled his address book from his desk drawer and began to thumb through it looking for his friend Scott's work number. Graham picked up the telephone and dialed.

"Hello, this is Scott Eldrich. How can I help you?" came a voice over the telephone.

"Hi there Scott. It's Graham calling," replied Graham.

"Graham! Long time no see. What's this I hear about you taking an extended vacation?" asked Scott. "Rumour around the office is that the boss was pretty annoyed when your request came in."

"I've got bigger problems to worry about than Alex getting upset with me," said Graham. "In fact he might even end up being more annoyed with me very soon depending on what happens in the next few days."

"What do you mean?" asked Scott. "Is something wrong over there?"

"Yes and no. I've gotten myself mixed up with a problem that's rather complicated and I think I need some legal advice. You see I picked up a young boy from off the street and he's been living at my place over the Christmas holidays and…" began Graham.

"You picked up a boy off the street?" asked a totally bewildered Scott. "What do you mean?"

"It's difficult to explain. Maybe I should start at the beginning," said Graham.

"I've always found that helps," said Scott with a laugh. "I've never been good at picking up the story when I walk in on the middle of a movie."

"A few weeks ago I was walking out of the office to a meeting to finish that last project I was working on. I was heading over the walkway to the subway station and there was this boy sitting there begging for money. We've all seen teenagers all over the place trying to bum a quarter off of people but this little guy was so young. He was dirty, banged up pretty good, and obviously not one of those bored middle-class teenagers squeezing people for change thinking it's an entertaining way to spend the day.

"So I stopped. I don't know why I stopped, but I stopped. You know me I never look twice at panhandlers hanging about on the street but he looked so vulnerable. Anyway I took him into the mall and bought him something to eat, sat with him for a bit, and then had to leave for my meeting. You should have seen the way he attacked the breakfast I bought him. I mean it was just a fast-food breakfast, but the way he went at it I don't think he'd eaten in days. There was something about this little guy that got to me and I just couldn't walk off and forget about it. Anyway he was there again when I got back later in the afternoon and after I got off work I took him home to that little cave I use in the city, let him wash, took him out again for some dinner, got him some new pants and a couple of shirts, and then let him sleep there that night.

"When the weekend arrived I brought him over here to the island with me since it was either that or back onto a frozen street corner for him. He's been living here with me now for a few weeks. From the few things that he's told me it's pretty clear that he's been badly abused. At home of course which is why he ran away in the first place, but also on the streets now since he has no other way to survive. He's even hinted pretty strongly at me more times than I can count and a couple of times he's even come right out and suggested something point blank. I'm pretty sure that he thinks he owes me for letting him stay here. So I'm being very careful to be totally dense and not notice the hints and suggestions, and naturally I'm turning down the direct offers as gently as I can.

"Scott if you could just see the poor little guy. He's so sweet, gentle, and polite. At the same time in the middle of the night he has the worst nightmares I've ever seen. I've tried to comfort him to calm him down when it happens but more than once I've been decked by him without his even realizing it. In fact I've got nice black eye warming up right now as we speak from another nightmare last night. I was hoping the bad dreams would settle down and fade with some quiet time away from everything but they haven't. It's as bad as it ever was.

"I've been reluctant to question him very much. I don't want him to think he's on trial or something, but it's pretty obvious to me what the source of most of the nightmares is especially after hearing some of the stuff that he's shouted out in the middle of them. Sure it's not proof from a legal point of view but it's enough for me. His father raped him over and over, beat him, and a lot of other stuff I'd rather not get into or think about, not to mention the fact that his mother helped out. Finally of course he ran way and took to the streets. So you know what that means he's had to do in order to survive.

"But I can't delay it any longer and I need to know what to do. What can I do? What am I allowed to do? What will the system do to him? I mean he's grown on me incredibly fast in a very short period of time. I'd love to have him stay here but I can just imagine the looks on the faces of the Child Welfare caseworkers. Single older man thinking about retiring wants to have a young boy come and stay with him – I can just hear the laughter already and see the rolling eyes and leering looks."

Scott paused for a moment before replying heavily, "You certainly don't pick easy problems do you?"

Graham replied, "It just kills me to know what's happened to him. He's such a good kid. How can people do things like that to a boy? I mean this guy that's his father, he just doesn't deserve a nice kid like this but he's got one and he's hurt him so horribly and treated him like dirt. And the nightmares – it's getting too much for me to handle. I mean I'm not getting any younger and he's throwing all his strength into it when he thrashes around and fights in his sleep. I've been telling him that I've smacked myself into the cupboards and things like that to explain the bruises. I think he's starting to believe I'm turning into a senile old man who's losing his marbles and needs to be watched so I won't keep hurting myself."

"You always were a bit touched you know," joked Scott.

"I probably am but this is serious stuff Scott and I want to help him if I can," replied Graham. "I just don't know what I can do or if they would even let me."

"I know you do and I know what you're like. You're not going to take 'no' for an answer on this and I don't blame you because I wouldn't either," began Scott. "I can help a bit but this isn't my specialty as you know. I'm more the contract law type, helping companies figure out new ways to double-cross each other and get away with it. To find out how this sort of thing works you need someone who really knows his stuff and has a long list of contacts in all the right places. On top of that however what you also need is someone on your side who works for the Ministry of Social Services in the Department of Child Welfare. This is all way outside of what I normally do. I'll have to make some phone calls and try and find out who would be the best person to give you a hand. I can sketch out the details for them to see if it's something they can help with and if they'd be interested and then get them to call you. Are you going to be home for the next few hours?"

"I don't care about the cost, I've got a little bit of money stashed away for emergencies and I think this genuinely qualifies," said Graham. "I'll be here for the rest of day so you can call back any time. I sent Jamie off with Jason next door to get him out of earshot while I talked to you on the phone. That's his name by the way, Jamie."

"Alright, give me your number there. I've only got the one for your place in town," said Scott.

"Thanks a lot Scott," said Graham. "He's really worth it you know. One look into that hopeful face of his and I just go to pieces."

"Graham you're the world's biggest marshmallow and you always have been," said Scott. "But that's what we like about you. Don't you worry, we'll figure out something for you and that boy of yours. I won't let you down. Once I find out who the best people are for something like this I'll call you back and let you know their names so you can expect their calls. One way or another we'll figure out how to make this work for you and Jamie."

"Thanks a bunch Scott," said Graham. "Next time I'm in the city the drinks are on me."

"I'll hold you to that," laughed Scott as he hung up.

Graham put the telephone down and looked out the window. The die was now cast. Hopefully it would work out the way he wanted it to.

***

Jamie and Jason emerged from the forest alongside the stream that they had visited a couple of times before. Ever since their first fishing trip out together Jamie and Jason had gone hiking all over the island, often taking a packed lunch with them and disappearing for the entire day. Cindy as always stuck close to Jamie wherever he went never letting him out of her sight. Cindy had become Jamie's constant and faithful companion and much more than a close friendship between the two boys had also grown and developed. While Jamie's nightmares might still be taking control of him during the night, in the daytime Jamie was beginning to make progress in reasserting his own personality and had begun to feel comfortable with his new friends on Valdez Island.

Jason and Cindy had hiked up to the top of Whalebone Hill on the east side of Valdez Island together many times before, but for Jamie it was a totally new experience. He found himself getting winded from the climb as he followed Jason and Cindy up through the rocks, trees and brush that dotted the slope. Although his strength was improving now that he was eating regularly, Jamie still did not have the same level of stamina that Jason or Cindy had. As they went up the hill every few feet Cindy protectively turned her head back to check on Jamie's progress and if he appeared to be slowing down she waited until he caught up before continuing. Eventually at a level spot approximately two-thirds of the way up Cindy barked once and then Jason called a halt to the ascent. They all sat down and looked out from the hill over the sea towards the mainland.

"That's a hard climb," said Jamie breathing heavily. "I'm not used to doing something like that."

"You'll get stronger the more we go out," said Jason taking a couple of granola bars out of his day pack and giving one of them to Jamie. "When Mr. M. first came over to the island and rescued Cindy she couldn't do a climb like this either but you can see she's in really good shape now."

Cindy woofed her agreement and then nudged Jason with her head. Jason understanding Cindy's meaning reached back into his day pack, took out a large dog biscuit, and gave it to her. Cindy then settled down on the ground with the biscuit between her paws and joined the boys in a well-earned snack.

"You can really see a long way out from up here," said Jamie as he munched on the granola bar and looked out over the water in the direction of the city.

"The view is even better a bit further up," said Jason. "Sometimes if the air is clear and you have a pair of binoculars you can even see the big cargo ships going in and out of the harbour back in the city."

"It looks really brown over there right now," said Jamie observing the thick haze in the distance hanging over the city like a storm cloud. "I guess I was breathing that in all the time when I was there."

"I'm afraid so," said Jason sadly. "It gets worse every year too as the city gets bigger and there are more and more cars being driven around. If people could see what it looks like from this point of view they might realize how they're destroying the air that they need to breath."

The two boys and Cindy sat and finished their snack while looking out at some seagulls that were flying along the shoreline down at the base of the hill. Jason got a bottle of water out of his day pack and took a drink from it and then offered it to Jamie. Jamie poured some of the water into the palm of his hand and then held it up for Cindy who promptly lapped it up. Jamie did this repeatedly and only after Cindy had her fill did Jamie take a drink out of the bottle himself.

"Do you want to go up any higher?" asked Jason. "Sometimes if you're lucky you can spot Dave flying over to the city."

"Sure," replied Jamie jumping up with a smile. "I'm rested now and ready to go again."

While they continued hiking up the side of the hill Jason could tell that Jamie did not have his mind fully on what they were doing. Jason had learnt to spot the signs early on. Jamie tended to get a blank look on his face like he was gazing off into empty space and not seeing anything. It worried Jason at first but gradually he realized that this was because of what Jamie had been through. Jason had told his father and Graham about it and agreed with them that lots of quiet time fishing, going on hikes, and generally being out in the fresh air was probably the best thing for Jamie. Time to think, peace and quiet, and away from the city and what had happened to Jamie there.

Jason had also talked to Pony about Jamie after introducing them to each other at the Christmas Barbecue. Afterwards Pony told Jason a story about an old man that had gone to fight in the Great War many years ago before Pony had been born. Before he left for the war the man had had a family, had been happy, and loved to laugh. However after he returned he would just sit, often for hours at a time, looking off into the distance like Jamie sometimes did. When Pony was a small boy he had often seen the old man just sitting and looking out towards the ocean and had asked his father why the man did that. Pony's father told him that this was because he had seen too many evil things in the war and that the man had lost part of his spirit. Ever since then his father said, the man had been looking to try and find it again.

"Jay, do you think that maybe there is something wrong with Graham?" Jamie said finally.

"What do you mean?" asked Jason not understanding.

"I've been noticing that he seems to be getting banged up a lot lately. Like maybe he's getting old and he's falling down a lot because there's something wrong with him," replied Jamie. "I've never seen it actually happen but he didn't look very good this morning."

"He's getting older but I don't think there's anything wrong with Mr. M.," said Jason carefully.

"He gets these really bad bruises on his head sometimes," continued Jamie. "I asked him and he always says he bumped into the cupboard or something like that but I don't think that's what it is."

"I'm sure if something was wrong with him he'd tell you," Jason temporized.

Despite knowing full well what was causing Graham's injuries Jason did not feel that it was his place to reveal the full explanation behind them. He knew that Graham was trying to help Jamie and that he had been hoping that the calm of the island lifestyle would help Jamie's nightmares to decrease. He also knew that Graham was concerned how Jamie would react if he found out that he was the cause of the bruises. After seeing Graham's appearance this morning however Jason realized that things had not improved much if at all since Jamie had come over to the island.

***

Graham leaned back in his chair in the study and listened to the music coming from the stereo. He tried to let the music flow through him and wash away his worries but it was not working very well today. It was an older disc that Graham had playing, one of his favourites when he needed to think. The guitar strains coming from the speakers reminded him of the cries of whales in the deep ocean. It was plaintive and yet profound all at the same time. Graham closed his eyes and although he felt uneasy about what lay ahead he simultaneously knew that what he was doing was what Jamie needed. Perhaps if everything worked out right it might even be what he needed too. The telephone rang. Graham sat up, focused on the study once again, and picked it up.

"Mr. Graham Martin?" asked a woman's voice.

"Yes this is Graham Martin," replied Graham guardedly.

"Hello, my name is Madeline Thompson or just Matty for short," came the friendly voice over the telephone. "I'm with the Department of Child Welfare and I just finished talking with Scott Eldrich and he asked me to give you a call."

"Thank you for calling," said Graham. "Scott said that he'd try to find someone to help me out."

"Yes, that's why I called," said Matty. "I understand you've gotten yourself mixed up into a bit of a situation."

"You see I was going along the walkway near where I work and… that is to say I…" stuttered Graham unsure of how to explain the circumstances of how he had first met Jamie.

"Don't worry, Scott explained everything," interrupted Matty. "You have nothing to worry about in fact I should be thanking you. Would the Jamie we're talking about be about twelve years old, kind of scruffy but cleans up nicely, dark hair, amazing blue eyes…"

"You know about him?" asked Graham with surprise.

"Yes I do," sighed Matty. "Back in the spring I was about to look into his file when it was taken away from me and given to another caseworker. I didn't get a chance to investigate but my initial impressions were that something was definitely wrong."

"He's been hurt," offered Graham carefully.

"You mean he's been abused," corrected Matty.

"Yes I do mean abused," confirmed Graham. "And very seriously I might add."

"That's what I had suspected," responded Matty. "I was going to investigate the case because it looked suspicious to me but then I didn't get a chance and it was taken off my hands. The caseworker it was given to didn't investigate and so there was no proof of anything being amiss. Without proof our hands are tied and so I couldn't do anything."

"What do you mean you have no proof?" exclaimed Graham. "He has nightmares almost every night! Last night I got a black eye trying to calm him down. That wasn't the first, second, or even third time that's happened. I've got the bruises to prove it!"

"It's a lousy story," began Matty. "I pulled the file on Jamie just before I called you. He's had two different caseworkers so far and I'm familiar with both of them. Neither of them cares anymore about the kids they handle and I can tell from the notes in the file that they just took the word of the parents and ignored everything else to the contrary. It's easier that way and then they didn't have to dig hard to prove something was going on. It's the old story of too many files, not enough caseworkers, not enough time, not enough funding, and the kids are the ones that fall through the cracks and end up suffering as a result. He's written up here as being difficult to manage and that he's being returned to his parents who need to apply more structure and discipline. Sounds like the father gave them a story about being too permissive and that he'd have to crack down on him."

"Too permissive?" said an incredulous Graham. "You should see the whip marks on his back for crying out loud! Can't they use what the children tell them as evidence?"

"They often won't tell us anything," said Matty sadly. "Sometimes despite everything that has happened to them kids often feel they still have to be loyal to their parents which can make finding out what's happened difficult. In other cases they've been terrorized into being quiet, often by threats against their siblings or a pet for example. Or as in this case what Jamie did say obviously wasn't listened to because the caseworker just wanted to close the books on the matter. Some of the more devious parents actually take advantage of the overworked situation by deliberately coming in late in the day when they know the caseworkers are tired and then offer up a convincing story that'll make it easy to wrap up the case quickly. Not to mention the fact that the system is stacked in favour of the parents and not the children which is what also happened here. Of course even if a complaint is sworn out, followed up on, and then action taken where the children often end up isn't exactly paradise most of the time."

"You mean that Jamie hasn't got any chance at a decent life then?" sighed Graham.

"No, I just want to be honest with you and let you know the facts and what you and Jamie will be up against if you want to pursue this," said Matty. "But he's got two big things in his favour this time."

"And what are those?" asked Graham with a sense of hopelessness.

"You and me," Matty replied with conviction.

"How is that going to help?" said Graham. "You have to follow the system and I don't even know if I'm up to looking after a youngster. Even if I am I'm not exactly what the brochures would consider as the ideal candidate in any case."

"Jamie's been staying with you now for a few weeks now," began Matty. "During that time he's come to know what you're like and that could help a lot because it would help make him feel secure enough to tell us the details of what's been going on. Next, Scott's told me the kind of person you are and assuming that bears up under some checking we might be able to get Jamie assigned to you as a foster child – if you were willing of course. Or it could just be temporary until we found him another home. Finally, there's me. I'm interested in what's best for the children. Not their parents, and not anyone else – just the children. I'll do whatever it takes to get them somewhere safe. Jamie's not had me for a caseworker before. If he had it never would have gone on this long."

"What would happen if I said to go ahead?" asked Graham.

"First you'd have to give me a lot of personal information about yourself and your background," said Matty. "Then I'd have to get a description of where you live, where you work, financial information, and personal references. In other words basically everything about you, including where you got your laundry done last week and what you had for breakfast this morning. There are personal onsite interviews that need to be done and periodic inspections. It sounds invasive and it is but the idea is to protect the children."

"But that's just the easy part," continued Matty. "Jamie has to come in and give us a statement of complaint that we can use. And I can tell you right now that that's actually going to be the hardest part. Most youngsters clam up tight when we try to talk to them either because they're afraid or because, as in Jamie's case, of a previous bad experience with the department. I'm hoping that if we can approve you ahead of time and if he knows that he would be able to stay with you, at least for a while, then he might be willing to talk. Without something from Jamie though he'll be returned to his parents and we both know what that means."

"If it comes to that I won't let you have him," said Graham with defiance. "Let me talk with Jamie and then depending on how that goes we can decide how to proceed. In the meantime Scott's finding me a lawyer that's experienced in this kind of thing to help me out and I'll start getting you the information you need so you can begin your investigation of me."

"That's a good start," said Matty. "Just remember that things can't stay the way they are right now. I know you're a decent fellow Graham and mean the best for Jamie but you could get into a big heap of trouble if this came out the wrong way. With him being a minor, and despite what's been going on at home, his parents remain Jamie's legal guardians unless and until it can be proven in court that they have been unfit parents. So until that can be done things have to be done completely by the book in order to protect everyone. Also keep in mind lawyer's aren't magic wizards, all they can do is ensure that no one cheats and that everything is done according to the book."

"Yes I know," replied Graham with resignation. "I was just hoping that Jamie might be able to have some time to settle down a bit and relax before anything like this had to be done."

"It's a wonderful thing you're trying to do Graham and more than anyone has ever done for him before, but Jamie needs professional help in addition to love and caring," said Matty. "You may not know it but the government has funding programs to help pay for that sort of thing and even offers a monthly subsidy for people who'll take on a child like Jamie. But before we can do anything for him we've got to do something about his parents. To do that we have to be able to legally prove what's been happening as that's the only way their guardianship can be suspended. Of course they'd also get locked up but that'd just be the icing on the cake. What matters most is getting Jamie into a healthy home environment."

"I'm not doing this to get any money for helping Jamie," replied Graham. "But you're right the situation does have to be resolved permanently. I just don't have to like it and I know that Jamie won't either. He's out right now on a hike with the boy from the place next to mine but I'll talk to him when he gets back home."

"OK," said Matty. "Give me a call after you've spoken with him and then we'll set up a date and time so you can come in and I can meet with both you and Jamie. Then we can get things moving on the official level. That can take a bit of doing but once everything is in motion and in the right direction then it will be a lot better for everyone."

"Thanks very much Matty," said Graham. "I really appreciate your help on this and I'll be talking with you again soon."

"Once I can get everything started off on an official basis I'll make sure this comes out right," replied Matty. "I'll talk to you later."

Graham hung up the telephone and breathed a heavy sigh. He had set the wheels in motion now he had to hope that they would roll the way he wanted them to. Graham walked out of his study and into the kitchen and began to assemble lunch. Jamie would be back soon and Graham knew that he would be hungry when he returned. Just as he finished putting the sandwiches together Graham looked up and saw Jamie and Cindy just outside the sliding glass door getting ready to come into the kitchen.

"We're back," said Jamie as he and Cindy came through the door into the kitchen.

"Did you have a good time with Jason?" asked Graham.

"We went and climbed up to the top of the hill overlooking Salish Bay," said Jamie. "We could see for miles from up there. I could even see Dave flying over towards the mainland in his plane doing his morning run."

"It's a beautiful view from up there," said Graham. "After I came over to the island Jason took me up there once during the summer to have a look but it was a hard climb for an old guy like me. Are you hungry after your hike?"

"I sure am," said Jamie happily no longer being afraid of admitting when he was hungry. "My clothes got a bit wet while I was out so I'll just go up to my room, change, clean up, and be back in a minute."

Graham put the oversized sandwiches that he had made onto a couple of plates, put some chips beside them, and took them into the living room and put them down on the coffee table. He then went back into the kitchen and poured two glasses of orange juice and took them into the living room as well.

A few minutes later Jamie came down from upstairs. He had changed into a sleeveless tank top and some knee-length shorts. As he sat down in an armchair on the opposite side of the coffee table Graham could not help noticing that regular meals were beginning to have a positive effect. Jamie was starting to fill out and no longer looked undernourished. Once Jamie was settled in the chair Cindy as usual laid down at his feet and snuggled up close against him.

"I made us some lunch while you were out with Jason," said Graham handing Jamie one of the sandwich plates. "I thought we could eat these in here today and talk at the same time."

Graham chewed on his sandwich for a minute while watching Jamie doing the same as he tried to think of the right words to say. Graham had been putting off this moment unsure of how to broach the subject but he knew that the time had finally come and he could not delay the issue any longer.

Finally Graham began, "Jamie, we need to talk a little bit about you and me and… us."

Jamie stopped eating, slid himself to the edge of the sofa, and said carefully, "What did I do wrong?"

"No, you've not done anything wrong," replied Graham hastily. "You've been absolutely wonderful and I love having you here. I think we're getting along incredibly well and I'm very happy that you and Jason and Cindy are such good friends now too. So please don't worry, you haven't done anything – I think you're great."

"It's because you're sick isn't it?" said Jamie still feeling apprehensive and trying to think ahead.

"Sick? What makes you think I'm sick?" asked a puzzled Graham.

"You've been getting hurt a lot lately," said Jamie slowly. "I mean… I couldn't help noticing."

"Yes, in a way it does have something to do with that," said Graham. "But it's not that I'm sick. The explanation is a little bit more complicated than that."

Graham looked out the window at the trees for a moment before continuing, "Jamie, I know that things were very bad for you at home and that's why you ran away."

"Yes," said Jamie cautiously.

"And… sometimes you have some bad memories about those times," continued Graham.

"Yes, sometimes," agreed Jamie.

"And sometimes the bad memories make it hard for you to sleep," added Graham.

"A bit…" said Jamie now starting to feel even more uncomfortable.

"Even though you've been here away from everything and safe for a little while sometimes your sleep still isn't that good," continued Graham.

"I have some bad dreams sometimes," admitted Jamie cautiously.

"I was thinking that perhaps I could talk to someone and try to get you some help for that," suggested Graham.

"How can you do that?" said Jamie. "I'm a throwaway street kid. No one is going to want to help me."

"I'd like to help you if I can," replied Graham. "If you'll let me, that is. I also want to get some other people involved to help you too if you'll allow me."

"It won't work anyway," said Jamie angrily. "They'll just send me back home like the other times and then it'll start all over again. I won't let them do that to me again."

"But what if there was a way to convince them about what had been happening so they'd take action this time and then it couldn't happen ever again?" asked Graham.

"I tried to tell them once but no one listened and it didn't do any good. It always means going back there and I'd rather be dead," said Jamie with finality. "I probably will be dead if he catches me again."

"Jamie I know you've had more bad breaks than anyone deserves in a lifetime but what would you say to staying here with me if it could be arranged?" asked Graham.

"But they wouldn't let me even if you did ask. You know they always say that children should stay with their parents," said Jamie repeating the long-standing government policy regarding troubled families. "I know they'll send me back. You know they'll send me back. Why can't we just leave things like they are now and not tell anyone?"

"That's the problem actually," said Graham with difficulty. "Things can't keep going the way they have been. You know how you have nightmares and you know these bruises that I've been getting lately?"

"Yes," said Jamie swallowing hard and now fearing the worst.

"When you get the really bad dreams did you know that you pack quite a punch?" said Graham with a wry grin.

"I did that to you?" exclaimed Jamie with panic written all over his face.

"Yes," replied Graham gently. "Whenever you have a bad nightmare Cindy comes and finds me. Then I come up to your bedroom and try to calm you down. Sometimes though it doesn't always work out too well for me as you can see. That's why I think we need to find someone to help you. I'm not very good at dodging fists unfortunately."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Honest!" exclaimed a completely terrified Jamie as he leapt to his feet and began running for the back door the plate with his half-eaten sandwich falling to the floor.

"Jamie! Stop! Don't run! I'm not mad, I'm not going to hurt you!" shouted Graham but it was too late. Despite not having a coat on or even shoes, and paying no heed to the freezing cold weather outside, Jamie ran down the hallway to the back of the house, flung open the door, and in only a moment had sprinted across the grass and quickly passed from sight running into the trees.

Graham tried to catch Jamie as he ran from the living room but the terrified youngster was too fast for him. When Graham got to the open door at the back of the house he called out to Jamie but to no avail. Finally Graham turned to Cindy who was standing next to him looking up and said, "Go after him Cindy. Go find Jamie!"

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