Chapter 9: Peter

Granddad closes his office door then sits behind his desk and looks at us. After a few minutes, he clears his throat, "Alright, then. I'll start. This afternoon, I gotta call from Coach Dutton sayin' he's puttin' Alex on uh medical suspension 'less-n I provide a written, notarized letter explainin' his alleged injury." He pauses, "Yo' turn."

I look at Alex; he's looking hopefully at me. He's had that same unnerving puppy dog look since we woke up this morning. It scares the hell outta me. I look back at Granddad but he's expecting something from me too. I try to think of how I can tell him what's going on without telling him what's really going on. Then, I remember why I picked him in the first place - my cousin Hanna let it slip once that Grandma Rachael gave Granddad a pair of handcuffs for Christmas the year they got married. I'm just kind of hoping that he'll understand something this weird.

"Let's try another tack, boys." Granddad gestures to Alex, "Let's see this 'alleged' injury."

Alex squirms in his seat then winces, "Uh-"

Honestly, I don't know how his even capable of sitting down. He wouldn't let me see the damage this morning but he has got to be black and blue. I keep reminding myself that it's what he said he wanted but it was still wrong. "See, it's -" Alex and I look at each other again.

"Alright, now boys, enough. I am presumin' ya'll came ta me 'cause you don't trust ya own folks an' I appreciate that but ya'll gonna have ta tell me somethin' if-n you want mah help."

"You can't tell my Dad." Alex blurts out.

"He's yor father, Alex, an' my nephew. If-n yo' Daddy needs ta know, Ima tell 'em." Then Granddad gets an odd look and leans forward, "Or were you two hopin' this would fall under client-attorney privilege?"

Actually, I hadn't thought of that - which is pretty stupid, given the number of lawyers in my family. "Uh, yeah, we sorta hoped..."

"Ya'll ain't clients. You mah grandsons, nephews, whatever." He leans back, "Now, if-n you plannin' on becomin' clients, you gonna have ta tell me everythin'. You familiar with the term 'full disclosure'?" I nod. "Good, 'cause that's what I expect. An' you gonna have to pay my retainer fee. An' mind you, I ain't agreein' ta take on this matter yet. You gonna have ta tell me what's goin' on an' if I think yor parents need ta hear it, that's the end of it. Ya'll hear me?"

"Yes, sir." Alex and I both mutter.

"Say again?"

"Yes, sir." we repeat more clearly.

"Fine, now ya'll wanna show me this here injury or is this little meetin' through?"

Alex looks at me again. It's like he's waiting for my permission. It's freakin' scary. I shrug and he nods. Then he stands up. He looks at Granddad then he turns around and starts undoing his belt. I watch Granddad; at first, he looks confused then disturbed. I look back at Alex just in time to see his shorts come down. For a moment, I'm not sure what I'm seeing. Then I realize that sitting through school all day has further bruised what was already a swollen mass of welts and scrapes. "Heaven forgive me." I whisper as Granddad says "Good Lord." He looks at me and his look darkens further.

"Is it my understanding that you were aware of this - this - pull yo' pants up son, I seen enough. Peter McElroy, am I correct in the knowledge that you were aware of this?"

"Yes sir." I was wrong; I should have taken Alex to a doctor as soon as I realized his head wasn't right. As soon as I pulled him out. When we left the school.

"I see." Granddad has the same 'court voice' that Dad has, "Alex McElroy, no games, now, who did this?" Alex hesitates and looks at the floor. "Look at me, son, you are not in any trouble here, but I need to know who did this to you."

Alex looks my Grandfather in the eye and says, "I did, sir."

"Excuse me?"

"I did it, sir." he repeats.

"Peter, do you confirm this affirmation?"

"No sir," time to come clean, Alex needs help. "I did it. I didn't know it was so bad and Alex was so upset that I just figured I'd do what he wanted an' everything would be over an' no one would know..." it all just spills out and I can hear Alex telling Granddad that he asked me to do it and that it's not fair to blame me.

Finally, Granddad stands up and the two of us fall silent. He moves toward the door. Standing behind us, Granddad, all but whispers, "Peter, did you feel any amount of sexual gratification during this event?"

"No sir. I felt scared while I was doin' it an' sick ever since."

He pats my shoulder and for a moment, I think I'm going to burst into tears.

"Alex, what about you; where you sexually effected by these proceedings?"

"Yes." he whispers. It was barely audible.

"Did you, no, when did you achieve orgasm, during or after the event?"

"After." he sounds like he is crying.

"I am presuming that you have been in no small amount of pain all day today. Have you been sexually affected by that condition?"

He hesitates this time but finally answers yes again.

"I am presuming that you boys were sexually active prior to yesterday. Were you having a relationship?"

"No!" we both near shout.

"Keep yo' voices down. We are havin' a discussion to ascertain the facts relevant to this matter. You were not engaged in mutual sexual behavior. Fine. Were your relations prior to this incident primarily hetero- or homo-sexual in nature?"

"This isn't a gay thing, Granddad." I gasp "I was supposed to punish him not - not that."

"You did what I asked, dude, chill."

"I am not gonna chill! Stop saying that!"

"Quiet. Both uh you, chill." From Granddad, it actually sounds silly but we stop bickering. "Now, I have one last question. Alex, have you ever taken pleasure from pain - either your own or someone else's prior to this incident?"

"Yes."

"Which? Yours, theirs or both?"

"Mostly mine." He shrugs "Kinda both but mostly mine."

"Thank you, gentlemen. Just a moment." He opens the door, "Ms Sullivan, I need yo' assistance, please." A moment later, I hear Grandma Rachael's voice. Granddad gives her some instructions that I don't follow and Alex and I exchange a couple guilty looks. A few minutes later, Granddad closes the door, sits down at his desk and turns on his computer. "Just be patient, boys, this will take a few minutes." He types briefly then reads, "I have viewed the alleged injury sustained by Mr. Alex McElroy and determined it to be largely superficial and self inflicted." He glances at us, and then continues, "Mr. McElroy informs me that he is not at risk for further such injuries and that the incident leading to the original event will not be repeated." He turns to us again, "Does that sound satisfactory?"

Alex's lip is actually trembling, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." He seems to want to say more but glances at me and stops himself.

Granddad taps the keyboard a few more times then turns to us fully. "Now, do either of you have any idea uh where you headed?"

It's kinda an odd question and I'm not sure what he's asking but I don't get to ponder it because Granddad's phone buzzes and Grandma Rachael says, "Coach Dutton, line one, JD."

"Thank you, Ms Sullivan. Just a moment, boys. Carl? I hope this isn't too late." He and the Coach talk for a couple minutes. Granddad promises to send the letter but never tells him what happened. I start to believe that this is almost over. When he hangs up the phone, there's a knock at the door. He shouts come in, and Grandma Rachael enters with several papers. She arranges them on his desk. He reviews them and then signs or initials in various places. He takes two pages and turns them toward us. "Gentlemen, then is a standard retainer agreement for this matter - which we will refer to as the Event. This is an outline of the services I will provide; most notably, that I will speak on your behalf to anyone and everyone having questions regarding this. This means that you will not speak of this incident to anyone including your parents and everyone who has questions should be directed to me for answers. Clear?"

We agree and he moves on through the agreement. On page three, is his fee schedule. The retainer is $200; his one-hour consultation fee is $150. He charges us both. "Now, you don't have to pay it all today. A few dollars here an' there, maybe a few chores around the house, an' the like. I want you boys to understand that I am legitimately your legal council an' anything you tell me in this room, stays in this room. Not even Ms. Sullivan will know less she's in the room to hear it. Now, if-n ya'll agree ta everything, sign here an' here on both copies."

It's kind of awkward. My Dad's a lawyer too. He's gonna be pissed off about this. And while it's not that I don't trust Grandma Rachael, but she spends a lot of time with Mom an' Aunt Stacy. Granddad must be reading my doubts across my face.

"I'll wager you got two problems. The first is Charles. If you ever need a lawyer, son, I'm glad you feel comfortable comin' ta me, but this agreement is for this matter only. Yo' Daddy don't ever need ta know it exists - providen' ya'll don't do anythin' else foolish 'til it's resolved." He leans back, "The other is my secretary. Notice I did not say 'my wife'. Ms Sullivan been my legal assistant for ten years, now, gentlemen. She is the very sole uh discretion when it comes to such matters."