The Good Stuff, Conclusion
By: James Finn
Tags: Fiction, Transgender, Adolescence, LGBTQ, Gay

Jason steps out of the elevator and strides toward the nursing station, vibrating with anger. He’s the boy’s father for Christ’s sake. No way is he going to allow a bunch of women to keep him away from his son. This is going to stop, and it’s going to stop now. Martha’s downstairs, practically incoherent with grief.

Don’t these people understand how our son trying to kill himself has torn us up? We need to be with our boy!

He spots a familiar face walking toward the desk from the opposite direction. He can’t place her for a second, then…

“Jessica, right? Aren’t you Travis’s mom?”

Is she here to see Caleb? Why else could she be here? This is a rural hospital a long way from home.

Jessica’s hand flies up to her mouth. She doesn’t mean to make the gesture. It happens so fast she can’t stop it. She’s been steeling herself for this, but she’s not ready. She paints a smile on her face. “Oh. Um, Jeff, Right? Caleb’s dad?”

“Jason, actually, but yeah.”

“Right. Sorry! Um. How’s your son? We came to see him, but I guess he’s saying no visitors. And now I can’t find Travis. Kids!”

She hears jumpy nerves in her hesitant laughter

Inside, she’s boiling. This is the man who threw her boy against a wall, sent them all to the ER in the middle of the night. Pulled his own kid out of school. Forced him into some illegal gay conversion school run by religious nut jobs.

She thinks he looks pretty normal, pretty friendly, pretty ordinary in his stylish business casual. He’s handsome. Young. Friendly, open face. He doesn’t look like a monster.

She’s pretty sure she knows where Travis is. She should have know he wouldn’t give up. He’d practically dragged her all the way here from Anaheim.

“Listen,” she says more calmly than she feels as they turn toward the nurse’s station at the same time, “I have a feeling Travis snuck into Caleb’s room. Or tried to. Can we be civil about this? They’re best friends. They need to see each other.”

Jason feels wounded. The way she’s looking at him. Like she thinks he’s dangerous. Like she’s only talking to him because she has to. Like she’d rather be doing anything else.

“Hey. I just wanna make sure my kid’s OK, OK? If he wants to see Travis, I’m not trying to stop him. Look, I mean I know… I dunno. It’s hard to explain.”

What he wants to say is, I’m not who you think I am. I’m just a dad!

Instead, he turns to the nurse clacking away at a terminal behind the desk.

“Caleb in 311? My son? Is he OK? We need to try to see him again.”

“Looks like!” The nurse’s bright smile is startling. “He’s got a roomful right now. He must be OK to see people for a while. Just don’t tire him too much, huh? He’s out of danger, but his body needs to heal. It’s going to take some time.”

“Gotcha,” he replies, her cheeriness calming him.

“Jessica?” He makes his voice low and soothing. “Come on, let’s go see if Travis found him.”

It only takes a few seconds to walk around the corner.

He hears his son before they even reach the door. His kid’s voice is loud and raw. “Cause they’re my mom and dad and … and … and …”

Jason’s heart breaks a little to hear Caleb’s ragged pain.

Two more steps and they’re there. Jessica exclaims, “Oh, there he is!”

Jason walks in to find Caleb with his head buried in Travis’s shoulder, squeezing him. Hard. “Son,” he says softly. It’s your dad. I’m here.”

Caleb jerks like he’s been slapped. Gasps. Jumps off the bed. He spots Travis’s mom for the first time in months. She covers the few feet from the door to her son in three strides, pushing past Marlene, planting herself between the boys and the man.

Caleb can’t believe his dad walked in unannounced again. Just like that time when all the bad stuff started. His heart starts to pump so much he thinks he can hear it. His stomach starts to jump and twist again too. It just won’t quit. Why can’t people leave him alone?

He snaps at Travis.

“Damn it! I told the nurse you couldn’t come. Now see? Look!”

He points at his dad, who’s standing quietly. Non threateningly.

He notices that Travis’s mom and Amanda the social worker are both between him and danger, but he can’t relax. He can’t slow his breathing down. He can’t make his stomach behave. He’s so sick!

He dives for his bed, snatches the bedpan and pukes, mostly hitting his target.

Amanda’s at his side instantly, holding his head, stroking his hair, murmuring low and soft.

She pushes a tissue into his hand. “It’s OK, buddy. Relax. You’re safe. Everything is OK. Easy now. I got this.”

It’s funny how he notices her tattoos, that’s what he thinks. Here he is in a hospital bed, all sick, people watching him puke, scared to death of his dad hitting him again, and all he can see right now are Amanda’s crazy tats, cause her wrists are poking out of her long sleeves as she wipes his forehead and whispers into his ear.

He sniffs in hard, tasting vomit that he doesn’t want running out of his nose. “Are those snakes?” he asks her. “What kind?” She’s so close he notices for the first time that he can’t tell if her eyes are brown or green. They’re all mixed. Why is he seeing all this detail?

“Rattlesnakes,” she whispers. “Emily comes from Mexico. She’s half Mayan. For her, rattlesnakes represent the hidden strength of the lonely, and the fearless spirit of the underdog. These are her gifts to me.”

She pulls her sleeve up a little so he can see better. “You like my beauties?”

Caleb breathes out a soft response. “Their scales are so bright. So many colors. Wow.”

“Yeah. Snakes are special, man. Feared, misunderstood, lonely, and beautiful. They can be dangerous too, huh? And you should see them protect their babies, Caleb. You should just see them.”

She stands.

“I got this,” she soothes at Caleb again, while looking at each person in the room in turn.

“OK, people. Let’s talk about what’s going to happen now.”

She wasn’t planning to do this yet, but events have forced themselves. Cusp has arrived. “I only stopped by just now to let Marlene here see Caleb. They’re both traumatized and I thought it was important for them.”

Caleb interrupts her. “Are you going home, Matt … um, I mean Marlene? Are your parents waiting for you? How come they didn’t come get you?”

Amanda watches pain flit around the slight girl’s face. The poor thing starts to stutter. Amanda rescues her.

“No, Caleb. Her parents sent her to live with her grandmother a year ago when she told them she’s really a girl. They said they couldn’t handle her. Then her grandma sent her to that school.”

“Grandma made me go to church. Brother John’s church! I knew him before the school. He told grandma he could fix me.”

“Anyway,” Amanda continues. “At least until the police investigation is over, CPS doesn’t think the grandmother’s home is a safe or appropriate environment. I’m taking Marlene to a group home for LGBTQ youth. We’ve got people there who can help her recover from the abuse she suffered at that place. She’ll be safe.”

Travis asks the question Amanda thinks is obvious. “What are the police doing? What are they investigating?”

“Conversion therapy is banned in California. It’s not legal.” Amanda announces this to the room.

Jessica speaks up. “You’re with Child Protective Services, then? You’re looking after Marlene? What about Caleb?”

Ah, thinks Amanda. Now we’re down to it.

“I’m Amanda Singer, social worker. Both Marlene and Caleb are assigned to me.” She eyes Jason, the father, looking for a reaction, some realization. She doesn’t see anything.

It’s Travis who speaks up. “And the cops? Those people they arrested? They’re gonna put them in jail?”

“Unfortunately, probably not. Conversion therapy isn’t a criminal offense. Running a school like that violates state law, yeah, but it’s a civil violation. The most the State is probably able to do is close down the school and levy some fines. Fines that probably won’t get paid.”

Jessica asks the obvious. “So, what did they arrest them for?”

“Well, when our friend Caleb here told the police about what the people in that school did to him, a couple of the detectives got pretty pissed off. They imagined their own kids being treated that way. We called a friendly district attorney, and he’s going after the director and the so-called doctor on ordinary assault and child abuse charges.”

She turns and focuses on the boy in the bed. “You did good, Caleb. You helped us save some kids.”

She watches doubt and conflict darken his face like clouds racing across a full moon. He doesn’t speak.

“But that’s wonderful,” Jessica adds. “They won’t be able to open up anywhere else.”

“Don’t count on it. The DA doubts his case will stick. It’s complicated legally. We need a law that makes this stuff a crime, period. There shouldn’t be any legal question that doing physical harm to children will land you in jail.”

“Now, wait a minute.”

Here it comes. Amanda’s been expecting this. Jason is speaking.

“Look, I didn’t know all the things they were going to do at that school. I wouldn’t have approved of some of it. Maybe most of it. But come on, people have a right to their beliefs.

“This is therapy. It’s recognized medicine. You can’t treat people like criminals just because they’re following their consciences. The people at that school are following their religion. They believe being gay is wrong. They have that right.”

Amanda hears Jessica gasp. Almost a sob. “Are you serious, man? Like people have a right to throw kids against walls? Huh? That’s just religion too, I suppose? Give me a break!”

“Hey, I’m so, so sorry about that. It was just a reaction. Blind rage or something. I wasn’t thinking. I saw my son. My son! He was kissing a boy. And not just kissing. They were … My God, I can’t even talk about it, OK? It’s too much, what they were doing. I saw red. I didn’t mean to do what I did and I’d never do it again.”

Amanda gives him a long, cool look. “I think you need to reserve that apology for your son. After you refine it a little. Kids kiss each other sometimes. It’s part of growing up. They don’t usually expect to get beat up for it.”

“I didn’t beat him up! I wouldn’t!”

“Look at your son, man! Go ahead. Take a long look. What do you think he weighs? 110 pounds? 120? Soaking wet? You think he can defend himself against your, what? 210? 220? You’re a grown man!”

“I’m sorry. Really! I know. You’re right. I was just … just not thinking. It was a total shock.

“I don’t approve of boys liking boys. I won’t apologize for that. You can call me old fashioned if you like, but I’m his dad. I have the right to decide our family’s values. I was wrong to get physical. I admit that. I didn’t do it on purpose. But it’ll never happen again.”

Amanda watches the man warily as he approaches the bed, approaches his son. His voice grows warm and soft. “Caleb, you have to believe me, please. I was wrong. I promise nothing like that is ever going to happen again.”

“Dad, please. I don’t … I don’t want … I don’t know what I’m supposed to think!”

Time to stop this, Amanda decides. Caleb isn’t ready.

“You don’t need to know what to think, Caleb.” She slips up a sleeve and lets him see her snakes, just briefly. “Right now you just need to be safe and taken care of. You’ve got all the time in the world for thinking.

“Right now I need to see your mom and dad downstairs. I’ve got a bunch of paperwork for them. Then I need to get Marlene to the group home in time for dinner. They’re getting your rooms ready now. You and her can talk tomorrow after the doctors say you’re good to go. OK?”

“Wait! I’m going to the same place as Marlene?”

“Of course you are. You think I’d break you two up? You guys need friends.”

Caleb looks happy for about two seconds, then his dad’s voice breaks the mood.

“Wait a minute, here! Who decided Caleb isn’t coming home with us? This is ridiculous.”

“You decided. When you slapped him around and gave him a black eye. It’s cool you apologized. Maybe I even believe you don’t mean to do it again. But I can’t take that risk. Caleb can’t take it. We need some cool-down time. And some family counseling.”

“Who’s we? I’m taking my kid home! He needs his mom and dad.”

“We? We is me, and the cops who took Caleb’s story, and the DA who hasn’t thrown you in jail yet for assault. From what I hear, he’d be interested in talking to Travis too.”

Jason stares, open mouthed, for a few beats. Then he sinks into a chair. “You can’t do this. We’re a family. This is my son, the son I love with all my heart! You can’t take him from me. You can’t! His mom won’t be able to take it. She’s losing it already.”

“Jason, we need to talk about this downstairs.” She looks pointedly at the boy. “Your wife will be fine. Caleb wasn’t due back home for weeks yet anyway, at least. Now he’s going to have some time to think.

“He’s going to have time to think without people giving him toxic drugs and hooking electrodes up to his genitals. Listen up, man. You’re wrong about what you think about gay people. Your values are wrong, and I’m not afraid to say so. Your son is a lovely boy. He’s good, just the way he is.”

She watches Caleb’s eyes dart fearfully back and forth between her and his father.

“But that’s not why we’re removing him from the home temporarily. This is routine. We don’t trust his physical safety right now. We’re not letting him go back until we do. He’s going to that group home tomorrow when he’s discharged. He is. You need to wrap your mind around that, because it isn’t going to change.”

She looks at Caleb one more time, smiling.

“I got this.”