Published: 24 Feb 2022

From Previous Chapter:

Levi explained that the boy needed to try out different things as he grows, and that one day he’ll know what he wants to be when he grows up. But in the meantime, they should encourage him and support him in whatever he wants to do.

Miriam said she was still a bit skeptical, but agreed she’d keep an open mind. The two adults went back to their bedroom, got ready for bed and finally got into their comfortable refuge.

The Goldersons all slept well that night.

Mark woke with a big smile on his face. He continued to dream about the things him and his new foster ‘big brother’ would do together. He couldn’t wait until he finally got his foster ‘big brother’ and he hoped it would be soon.

Mark got ready for the day. He went down for breakfast and when he sat down at the table, he told his mom that Kieran was supposed to come over around 9 o’clock, and they were going to start doing their exercises together.

Mark also told his mom that until his dad’s book arrived, they would have to look at the web page to see what exercise they needed to do. Miriam told her son to print those pages that didn’t require the dumbbells and other weights. She told him that way they wouldn’t be traipsing through the house all the time.

Kieran arrived just about the time Mark finished his breakfast. The boy said good morning to Mrs. Golderson and then he and Mark went up to the bedroom to look at the web site that had the exercises for pitchers.

Mark showed Kieran the whole article, so that way he had an understanding of what they were about to do. Then, Mark went to those exercises they could easily do down in the garage and printed them out. Then, with pages in hand, the two boys went down to the garage.

The boys read the exercise pages together and then performed them. Mark found the concrete much harder than his carpeted floor up in his room, so he went looking for old rugs or towels they could use to soften their place on the garage floor.

The two boys performed their exercises until a little after 10 a.m. They decided to stop then as that was when the rest of their friends would be waiting over at the playground to get a game of baseball going.

“Sorry, we’re late,” began Mark, “we were doing those pitching exercises I found on the internet. Kieran’s dad told him that he needed to build up his arms, shoulders and legs, as well, and if we did them together it would give us someone to help push us on. … So … what are we going to do? Pick sides or do the round-robin?” finished Mark, by asked the question.

There were enough to have two teams with right field being out of bounds. The boys played as they always did. They rotated through the different positions, including pitcher. The team that had Mark felt they had the better team, as Mark was getting better every time he pitched and he would sometimes strike a batter out.

Of course, if Mark was on a side Kieran had to also be on that same team. Some of the boys felt that was cheating, because they worked together unlike the rest of them. But other boys argued that they needed to be the battery for whichever team they were on, so that they could get better as they got older.

Since the boys got a late start that day, instead of quitting at twelve noon they decided to go until 1 p.m. before heading off for lunch and then swimming. Mark told his friends that he had a game later, so he wouldn’t be swimming with them today.

Levi came home for lunch that day. He usually didn’t, but today he had decided to stop by the sports store and see if he could get a few of things his son needed to perform some of those exercises listed on the web page Mark had found to build up his pitcher’s arm, shoulder and legs.

It was while he and his wife, Miriam, were eating, that their phone rang. Miriam answered it thinking it was one of her friends. When she made a smart remark about the person calling during lunch, Miriam learned it was Children’s Protective Services calling them.

“Let me put this on the speaker,” Levi heard his wife say, before she hit the speaker button on the phone.

“Mr. and Mrs. Golderson?” asked the person on the other end of the phone.

“Yes, this is Miriam and my husband, Levi, is with me,” replied Miriam.

“Good. I am Judy Turner, the Director of Children’s Protective Services. Did I catch you at a bad time?” asked Judy Turner.

Miriam looked at Levi who answered that they were having lunch and they had the time to talk.

“Thank you. I understand that you are looking for … for an older boy to foster. An older boy who … who could act as an older brother for your son. Is that correct?” asked Ms. Judy.

“Yes, yes, we are interested in fostering a boy of about twelve or thirteen for our son, Mark. He’ll be ten next month and a boy of that age would be perfect for him,” replied Levi.

“Oh,” was all the Golderson’s heard.

The husband and wife looked at one another, and it was Miriam who asked how old the boy was she was interested in placing, and if she could tell them more about the boy.

“Well … Billy … he just turned fifteen … and he will be a sophomore in high school this fall. His step-dad … he was shot and killed during that shoot out with the Sheriff’s Deputies last year about this time.

“His mom … she was arrested after the Sheriff’s Department served a search warrant on the home and found numerous illegal drugs and weapons. Billy … he wasn’t arrested. His mom … she told the authorities that Billy wasn’t involved in the drug dealing, and that it was only she and his step-dad who were involved.

“Billy … he’s been in a few foster homes. But today … his present foster dad has … well, he called and … well, he asked me to find a new foster home for the teenager by the end of the day,” offered Judy Turner.

Hearing that shocked Levi and Miriam. They knew they needed to know more.

“Can we ask why… why the foster dad would want Billy to be gone so … so quickly?” asked Miriam.

Ms. Judy hesitated for a few moments before answering, but she knew the new foster parents would learn everything eventually, so she told them. “Well … the man … he found … he found drugs hidden in the boy’s room. … The man … he … when Billy came to him back, at the end of March, … he told him specifically about not having illegal drugs in his home.

“The man knew of Billy’s history, especially about his step-dad and mom’s dealing in illegal drugs, but decided to foster him anyway. After the two had a good discussion and understanding, the man and Billy … they shook hands and Billy became the man’s foster son.

“Up until today … there was never any suspicion that the boy had hidden drugs in his room, or even used them. Of course, the man never had a drug dog go through the house, so he doesn’t know how long those drugs were there and who put them there.

“But … since the drugs were found in Billy’s room the man … he decided he can’t be vocally against illegal drugs, in his community, and then still allow the teen, who had illegal drugs found in his room, stay in his home along with his sons and other foster sons,” continued Ms. Judy.

Levi had listened to the conversation and became curious, so he asked, “What kind of drugs did, ahh, did the man find? And …and how did he find them?”

Ms. Judy took a deep breath and answered, “The drug found, and identified by a Sheriff’s Drug dog was … marijuana. As how he found it … he … he received an anonymous phone call that … that told him where to look,” replied Judy Turner.

“Ahh … how much did the man find? And … how many sons and foster sons did this man and wife have that they took in the teen?” further asked Levi.

“What I understand is that they found a small bag of marijuana. As for how many boys were in the home, Billy was the fourth foster son besides two adopted boys,” replied Ms. Judy.

The more Levi and Miriam heard they more intrigued they were of this teenager. Yes, they wanted a twelve or thirteen-year-old foster boy for their only son, Mark. They looked to one another to see if the other was OK with taking this much older teen in as their son’s foster ‘big brother’.

“Ms. Turner … how … how much time do we have? How soon do we need to decide?” asked Miriam.

“We want to talk to our son, Mark, you know, about Billy, before we make any decision. We told him … we told him we would call him and talk to him about any boy we were offered to foster, before we made our decision,” added Levi Golderson.

“Well … how much time do you think you need?” asked Judy Turner.

“Well … he’s over at the playground with his friends. It will take him about ten to twelve minutes, I figure, for him to get back here. Then, we’d need a few minutes to tell him what you told us and then we, as a family, need to talk about it and then decide. Would asking for an hour be too much?” finished Levi.

Judy took a deep breath before answering the Golderson’s. “I had hoped to have a decision sooner than that. That’s because if you don’t accept him I will … I will need to call other families and go through the same information I have with you. Could … do you think you could call me back in about thirty or maybe forty minutes?” pressed Ms. Judy.

Miriam nodded to Levi who told the Director they would call Mark as soon as they hung up, and they would try to call her back within that thirty to forty-minute timeframe. Ms. Judy said she’d hold them to that and then hung up.

Miriam took a deep breath and then called her son’s cell phone. Mark heard the phone ringing, but he was pitching at the time, and he didn’t want to stop to answer it. The other boys heard it and teased him that it could be his parents calling to tell him they have a ‘big brother’ for him.

Mark laughed at what the boys were saying. But since they kept teasing him, Mark stopped pitching and went to his cell phone and answered it. The boys watched Mark as he answered the cell phone and then proceeded to listen and not talk.

“They got me a ‘big brother’,” yelled Mark. “Well, I have to go home so we can talk about him. I have to hurry home. We have to decide in the next thirty minutes.”

With that said, Mark got on his bike and pedaled home as fast as he could. All the way home all he could think about was he was finally going to get the ‘big brother’ he always wanted.

The boy’s parents were waiting for their son at the front door. The boy put his bike down on the front lawn, something he was forbidden to do, and rushed to them.

“When do I get him?” breathlessly asked Mark.

“Come inside and let’s talk about him,” quickly replied Levi.

The three Golderson’s sat at the kitchen table. It was then Levi began telling Mark about what they knew about a teenager named Billy.

Mark listened intently and when he learned the boy was fifteen, he was disappointed. He knew his parents wanted a boy of about twelve or thirteen, and here they were telling him about a teenager who was fifteen, and would be a sophomore in high school in the fall.

“Why did you call me if you knew the boy was so much older than what you wanted?” pointedly asked Mark.

“Well, honey,” began Miriam, “we told you that we’d call you, and that we’d talk to you about any boy we were asked to foster. Well … the Director herself … she called us, and she asked us to take on Billy. So … here we are.”

“Son,” began Levi, “we know how much you wanted a ‘big brother’ and this is the first time they’ve called us about a boy. Yes … he is much older than what we thought we wanted, but … if you remember the one conversation, we all had … you said … you didn’t care if he was the age of Dana and Briggs.”

“But … is he someone … is he someone you want to deal with? Yes, I want a ‘big brother’ and I know we’ll get along great. But … it is you guys who are going to be responsible. So … even if I do say yes … it is you two who have to make the big decision,” reasoned Mark.

“So … what do you say?” directly asked Miriam.

Mark looked back and forth to his parents to see if there was something he wasn’t hearing. He then asked them, again, if they were going to be OK with having a fifteen-year-old foster son in the house.

Levi and Miriam looked at one another, and they both said, “Yes!”

Mark yelled at the top of his lungs upon hearing his parents were going to be OK with taking in a fifteen-year-old foster son. The boy went over to both of them and not only hugged them, but he also kissed them for deciding to get him his foster ‘big brother’.

“Now what do we do?” asked the hyper boy.

“We need to call Ms. Turner back,” said Levi.

Miriam dialed the number and it rang a few times before it was answered. The person who answered the phone was Ms. Judy’s secretary. She asked what the call was about and when Miriam explained that they were returning Ms. Turner’s call of about thirty minutes ago, with their decision about a boy named Billy.

The secretary asked them to wait a few moments while she forwarded the call to the Director. The secretary then put the call on HOLD

About thirty seconds later, the Director of Children’s Protective Services eagerly picked up her phone hoping the Golderson’s went going to tell her they would accept Billy.

“So … may I ask what your decision is?” anxiously asked the Director.

Since the call was on speaker in the Golderson’s kitchen, it was Mark who yelled, “We’ll take him! When can he be here?”

“Well, thank you very much for accepting Billy. I think you will be very happy with the boy. I still have to go over to the home and pick him up. He is probably packing his things, right now, if I know the foster dad as well as I do. I don’t know exactly when I can pick him up, but I am thinking about 2 o’clock would be when I’ll stop by the house. And then … ahhh … it is about forty-five minutes to an hour’s drive, depending on traffic, over to your area.

“Let’s say I get there after three and … I’ll call you if there are any changes. Will that work for you?” asked Judy Turner.

“I hope you can be here about that time,” began Miriam. “I will start teaching tonight at 5:30 for three hours, and I will do that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next five weeks. I teach English over at the junior college,” advised Miriam.

“OK. Then let’s shoot for three o’clock, and I’ll call you if there is any change,” replied Ms. Judy.

“Will my mom’s teaching keep you from bringing my ‘big brother’?” asked Mark.

“No, Mark, it won’t. Where Billy currently lives, the man has business interests all over the country and is gone at times. That has never stopped me from asking him to foster other boys. As a matter of fact, two of his sons … they were foster boys before he adopted them,” revealed Judy Turner.

“Would he have adopted Billy?” quickly asked Mark.

“Mark … that is a question I … I just can’t answer. Billy being fifteen … and with his mom being in prison, and with no one knowing where his biological dad’s is … well, it would make it difficult for the foster dad to adopt him. But … to be honest with you … I think the foster dad … I think he would have made an attempt at some time,” honestly replied Judy Turner.

“OK. Let me get the paperwork ready and then head over to the home to collect Billy. I’ll call you when I leave that house. That way you can anticipate our arrival. Are there any other questions for me?” finished Ms. Judy.

“Will we have to buy him clothes right away?” asked Miriam.

“No, I don’t think you will. His present foster dad had bought him a whole new wardrobe, what, three months ago, after he arrived, and he just bought him more before taking him on a trip. You will receive a stipend to buy him clothes, but you may want to wait until he’s ready to go to school before you get him new clothes,” replied Ms. Judy.

“Can I tell my friends about getting my foster ‘big brother’?” quickly asked Mark.

“That would be up to your parents, Mark, but they’ll eventually know about him. But it is still up to your mom and dad,” responded the Director.

There were no more questions. Levi told Ms. Turner that they could ask her more when she gets there. The man told the Director that they would wait for her phone call, but in the meantime, he needed to get back to the bank.

The boy’s parents told him he could go and tell all of his friends. But they also told him he wasn’t’ supposed to tell them about his involvement with drugs. At least not just yet.

But before Mark left the house, he asked them about his baseball game tonight. Levi told his son that he and Billy would be there to watch, since his mom would be at the college teaching. Mark thanked them and then hurried over to Reese’s pool to tell them.

“Guys, guys … I’m getting my foster ‘big brother’” screamed Mark, as he ran into the Oxtter’s backyard.

“How old is he and when will he be here? And when can we all meet him?” quickly asked Spencer, Corey’s fourteen-year-old brother.

“He’s fifteen,” started Mark, but was stopped in mid-sentence by his friends wanting to know what happened to him getting a twelve or thirteen-year-old foster ‘big brother’.

“Let me explain,” called out Mark. “They have to move Billy because his current foster dad asked them to. That’s all I know,”

“So, when will he be here?” asked Kieran.

“The Director of CPS herself … she was the one who called my mom and dad and she will be here around three o’clock with my foster ‘big brother’. His name is Billy. But she said she would call if the time changes for any reason. So, I guess we’ll just have to wait until she gets here,” answered Mark.

“Why did your parents accept to take a fifteen-year-old?” asked fifteen-year-old Drew. “I’m not complaining, mind you. It will be nice having someone my age I can hang with.”

“Yes, but he is MY ‘big brother’,” Mark reminded the teenager. “And he gets to do things with me, first.”

“When can we meet him?” asked Taylor, Tanner’s fourteen-year-old brother.

“Well … he has to get settled first. And, we’ll probably talk with him to get to know him better. He’ll have to put his clothes away. Then, I have a game tonight and my dad said he and Billy would be there. So, if I had to guess I’d say … I’d say tomorrow when I show him around the neighborhood,” responded Mark.

“Clothes? How much clothes could he have?” asked sixteen-year-old Briggs.

“I don’t know, but from what the Director Lady said, his other foster dad had just bought him a full wardrobe back at the end of March when he moved in there, and more just before they went on a trip. So, I guess he probably has lots of clothes,” offered Mark.

“Wait. He was moved back in March and … and now he’s being moved again. What kind of problem child is this Billy character?” asked thirteen-year-old Glenn.

“I can’t tell you why he’s being moved. He’ll probably tell you when he meets you and gets to know you. All I can say is the lady … she told us that when the foster parents want the foster kid gone, she has to move them. And, she called us to see if we’d take him,” explained Mark.

“I can’t wait to meet him,” began Spencer. “I bet he has a lot of stories to tell us, and I also bet they won’t be boring at all.” Now laughed the teenager.

Some of the boys asked if they could come over later to meet him. Mark told them that his ‘big brother’ would be at the game and then afterwards, he wasn’t sure what they would be doing, but would probably go out to dinner since he wouldn’t have eaten. The boy then offered that his dad might just drive him around to show him the highlights of where he was now living.

Mark asked his friends not to stop by this afternoon or tonight. He told them he would try to bring his new foster ‘big brother’ to the park at ten, but he wasn’t guaranteeing them anything because his parents might have other plans for his new ‘big brother’.

Mark watched the time and when it was around three o’clock, he got on his bike and pedaled back to his home. As soon as he entered the house, he asked his mom if the lady had called. Miriam told her son that they were on their way and would probably be there in ten to fifteen minutes. The boy knew he now had to wait until the Director arrived with Billy.

Mark went up to the front bedroom to watch for the lady with Billy to drive into the driveway. When he saw a car pull into the driveway, he ran down the stairs to tell his mom and dad that they were there.

The Golderson’s went to the front door and opened it. Ms. Judy brought Billy over to them to introduce him to his new foster family.

“Billy … I want you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Golderson and their son, Mark. This is Levi and this is his wife Miriam,” was how the Director introduced the teenager to his new foster parents and their son.

“Welcome Billy, or do you prefer Bill, or some other name?” started out Levi.

“Thank you, sir, and Billy will be OK. At my last foster house … all the adults called me Bill, while my ‘brothers’ and all my friends … they called me Billy,” replied Bill Dirketson.

“You had brothers there and they only sent you away?” asked a surprised Mark.

“Oh, no, I didn’t have any real, you know, biological brothers. All the boys at the house, they … we called one another ‘brother’. It was easier than trying to explain who we all were,” clarified Billy.

“Why don’t we all go inside and talk some more,” suggested Miriam.

Billy asked if he should bring in his suitcases, or wait until Ms. Judy was ready to go. Levi told the teen he’d help him bring in what he had and then later Mark could show him to his bedroom.

Billy smiled at hearing that. His new foster family were cordial and they seemed to be trying to make him welcome in their home. The teen accepted the man’s offer to help him with his bags. Mark went with them to see if there was anything he could help with.

They placed Billy’s three bags in the entrance foyer and then he, Levi and Mark joined Miriam and Ms. Judy in the kitchen to talk.

Ms. Judy explained the Rules of foster care for Billy so he and the foster family were familiar with them. After she finished, Billy mentioned that nothing had changed since he was with Mr. Ken. Judy Turner then passed over the paperwork to the Golderson’s, so they had legal responsibility for their new foster son.

The foster parents made small talk with Billy in order to get familiar with the teenager and he with them. They asked him about his likes and dislikes and if he had any medical problems they needed to know about.

Billy told them he enjoyed skateboarding, riding WaveRunners, swimming and traveling. The teen told them he didn’t have any medical problems, but he had been seeing a Child Psychologist and a dentist.

Hearing the teen had been seeing a Child Psychologist they had to ask him what that was all about. They were now concerned that they took on a troubled teen, and he would cause problems over time.

When they learned that Billy’s previous foster dad had him seeing the doctor, so he could talk about what his mom and step-dad had done and why he was in the CPS system, they felt relieved.

Billy told his new foster parents that Mr. Ken made sure he could talk to someone about all his troubles and that it was good to get lots of things off his chest knowing that the doctor wouldn’t tell anyone what they talked about, unless he said it was OK, or he said he was going to hurt someone or himself.

Billy then explained he was presently going to a dentist and he thought he was finished with all his appointments. He did say he probably still needed to go back for a follow up as his wisdom teeth still weren’t in.

Mark liked that his new ‘big brother’ liked to swim and ride a skateboard. He wanted to know, though, if he like playing baseball. So, Mark asked Billy what he thought about the game and if he ever played.

Billy said he never played organized baseball, but that he did play some pick-up ball when he was younger. Mark was a bit disappointed and Billy saw that in the youngster’s face. So, Billy asked him why he wanted to know. Mark told him how he and his friends, and their older brothers, played at the park and that he was trying to learn to pitch and had hoped he would help him with that.

Billy said that he didn’t know how good a ball player he’d be, but if they didn’t mind him making errors, and still wanted him to play, he’d be OK with that. Billy then told Mark that he recently went to Ranger’s stadium up in Dallas/Fort Worth and watched a game there and loved it. The teen then said he’d love to help his new little ‘brother’ learn to pitch. Mark immediately got a great big smile on his face after hearing that news.

The five people in the kitchen talked for about an hour, before Ms. Judy said she needed to get home to her own son and fix dinner. Billy kiddingly said that Eric could surprise her and have hamburgers and hot dogs ready when she got there.

Ms. Judy laughed, but then reminded the teenager that the boys didn’t leave The Cove until six o’clock and she had to stop by there and collect her son first, so they could then have dinner.

Levi and Miriam were surprised that Billy and the Director knew one another that well that they could tease each other about something as simple as hot dogs and hamburgers. That familiarity was more than they would have thought. They individually made a mental note to talk to Billy about that later.

The Golderson’s walked Ms. Judy to her vehicle and wished her a safe drive back to her son. After she left, Miriam told her ‘men’ that because she had to be at the college by 5 p.m. they would have a simple dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers.

Billy smiled at hearing that, as he missed out on having his lunch of burned hamburgers and hot dogs at the Pavilion. He asked her if there was anything he could do to help. He told her that he and his ‘brothers’, and their friends, often cook them on the big grill every day and he was comfortable in doing that.

That surprised both Miriam and Levi. They were learning more and more about their new foster teen the further they talked to him. Miriam told the teen he needed to get himself settled in his room, and that Mark was anxious to show him where it was and to help him get settled. She told the boys to be back in twenty minutes.

Mark helped Billy with his bags. He took the carry-on bag while Billy took the two bigger and much heavier suitcases. Billy was surprised at the size of his bedroom. Again, he’d have the bedroom to himself and this time he had a queen-sized bed to sleep on. He sat on it to try it out and liked that it felt firm.

Mark was anxious to help his new ‘big brother’ get his bags unpacked. He wanted to see what kind of clothes he had, so he would know if he would stand out if he didn’t have nice clothes to wear.

When Billy began to hang his clothes in the closet, Mark was surprised to see that his new ‘big brother’ had good looking clothes that the older boys wouldn’t make fun of him about them because they weren’t cool looking.

The twenty minutes went by fast. They heard Miriam yell up the stairs for the boys to come downstairs. She also told Mark to change in to his baseball uniform, as well.

Billy asked his new younger ‘brother’ why he had to do that. Mark told him he had a baseball game at six and he and his dad would be there to watch him. That surprised Billy. The teen figured they would make him stay at home and tell them all about himself and why he was moved from his last foster home.

Dinner was indeed simple. Miriam had hot dogs and hamburgers for the family for dinner, along with chips, pickles and a cold drink. Billy thanked her for doing that for him and that he’d help with the dishes, if need be.

Miriam told Billy not to bother with them that she’d just put them in the dishwasher. Billy said he could do that as he and is ‘brothers’ always put their dirty dishes in there so Momma Maria didn’t get upset at them.

“Who is Momma Maria?” asked Mark.

“Oh … she was the lady Mr. Ken had come in and fix all of our meals for us. She worked only on weekdays, but she was there from breakfast through dinner. She worked from the time Mr. Ken built his house. Boy, did she ever make some awesome Mexican meals,” replied Billy.

“Mark, you better get a move on or you’ll be late for batting practice before your game,” offered Levi, as Miriam had already left to head to the college to prep her classroom for the first night of class.

Mark told his dad and Billy he expected to see them in the stands for his game. He then grabbed his glove, jumped on his bike and pedaled to the Little League field so he could get ready for his game at six o’clock.

Billy asked Levi what he should call him and his wife. Levi was surprised at the question and turned the question around back to Billy and asked him what he called his previous foster dad and his wife.

“Oh … Mr. Ken … he wasn’t married. He had an Estate Manager and Master and I called them Mr. Chris and Mr. Wayne. We all called Momma Maria either Momma or Momma Maria,” explained Billy.

“So, the foster dad you just came from, he … you’re telling me he … he wasn’t married? This is a story my wife and I are going to want to hear. I guess … I guess there are a lot of questions we’ll both have for you, after we get you settled.

“I’m not going to push you to tell me all about yourself, at least, not just yet. I know my wife … she would be mad if I did that right now, and then you had to answer her questions later, which you may have already answered for me. So, if it is alright with you, we’ll just wait until later tonight to talk, or tomorrow,” offered Levi Golderson.

Billy smiled at how Mr. Levi was trying not to be overbearing, but was attempting to make him feel comfortable with them. While Billy was mulling that through his mind, he heard the man tell him to use the restroom and that they would head over to the ball field in about ten minutes.

Before long, Levi and Billy were up in the stands watching and waiting for Mark’s game to start.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net

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