Dedication: imurd3stiny because you're rad! Thank you , and keep your head up!
Chapter 17
There were many days in the skinny boy house that were completely unspectacular in every way. I mean, at some point, we seemed to fall into a routine. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't a bad thing. In some ways, those days were the dearest to my heart. The simplicity of it all gave me solace; there was a serenity in the mundane.
The monotony brought a clarity that made me stop to appreciate the extraordinary moments that slipped through the cracks. Winter had been fast approaching, yet on a unusually warm morning, one of those moments appeared.
Like any other day, we filed into the kitchen for lunch; however, this time, things were different. The ingredients were laid out in a sort of stations. Ruth danced between them, setting tools out. When she glanced up from her work, she noticed us and smiled instantaneously.
"Welcome, boys," she chimed. Her tone was much chipper than normal. "Sit at the table while I finish up in here."
"What's going on," Geoffrey asked as he pulled out a chair and sat. I sat down as well, and Steven followed shortly after.
Ruth finished what she was doing and stood at the head of the table. "This year is coming to a close. In just a few months, you will all be evaluated one last time to determine if you will be given our approval for discharged from the clinic."
Geoffrey sighed deeply. "What happens if we don't get your approval, huh?"
Ruth stood silently for a moment then smiled. "Well, without our approval, we have to recommend that you stay another year in our program, and if your parents would like to move you to another program, we offer that information to them as well," she fell silent for another moment, but added, "Though, to be honest with you boys, I don't hold a doubt in my mind that the three of you will reach our expectations."
"Come on, Ruth," Steven joked, "don't go getting all sentimental on us this late in the game. It's too late to try to convince us that you aren't a wicked witch."
"I agree," Geoffrey added. "You missed the mark to make us think you're actually capable of human emotion."
Ruth laughed loudly. "Just keep it a secret from your parents, ok? I can't have them thinking that I'm going easy on you all."
We all shared a laugh before Ruth spoke one more. "We're getting off track. I wanted today to be special for you boys, and I can't think of anything better than giving you information and hand-on experience for bettering your lives after your time here."
"We just got out of class, Ruth," I groaned. "My brain can't handle anymore information."
"Yeah, his head might explode," Geoffrey playfully mocked.
I stuck out my tongue at him.
"With all the head exploding aside," Ruth began, "I truly believe that you all will enjoy what I have planned for you." She went on, "I want each of you to at least have a basic knowledge of cooking and preparing food for yourselves."
"No offense, Ruth, but I do not cook," Geoffrey stated.
Ruth's smile grew. "Well, today, you do."
The stations were broken into three groups. We were each assigned a station and each station was a part of the meal. Geoffrey was assigned the baked chicken, Steven took charge over sauteing vegetables and making brown rice, and I was given the desert.
Each station had a list of step-by-step directions for us to follow. Geoffrey gasped suddenly. "I have to touch those hunks of dead flesh?" His eyes were wide with horror. "This is a joke, right?"
Ruth scurried over to him. "Yes, Geoffrey. I promise it is something that you can handle."
"Will someone please trade with me. This is not something I can handle." He crossed his arms across his chest and pouted.
As per usual, Steven came to the rescue. "I'll trade." Steven swapped places with Geoffrey. "You're such a drama king."
"You know it, buddy," Geoffrey happily skipped to his new station.
I turned my attention to my project. The ingredients were spread out neatly beside the instructions. There were three types of grapes, red, green, and black, a tub of sour cream, and white sugar.
"This won't be so bad," I said aloud. Cooking was something foreign to me; The only skills I had in the kitchen were using the microwave. I started following the instructions. The first step was to pull the grapes from their stems and separate any that were bad.
I assumed that by bad, they meant the gross grapes that were shriveled, wrinkly, or popped.
Once that was completed, I poured the good grapes into a colander and washed them in the sink. After they were drained, I went onto the next step. Taking a knife, I began the tedious task of chopping the grapes in half down the middle. The larger grapes had to be cut into thirds and sometimes fourths.
With the chopped grapes in a bowl, I added the entire container of sour cream and the sugar. Using a wooden spoon, I mixed everything together until everything was coated and mixed evenly.
The last step was to cover the bowl with clear cellophane and store in the fridge for at least half an hour. Satisfied with my work, I cleaned up my space, dropping the dirty dishes into the sink. I turned my attention to my friends and found them equally invested in what was in front of them.
Geoffrey chopped the rainbow of assorted vegetables intently. His concentration was evident on how he chewed at his bottom lip. Steven was working just as diligently as he cut up herbs to add to his chicken.
I sat back and marveled at how normal we looked. It was easy to forget about where we were and why we were here. I found myself grinning like an idiot as Steven placed the chicken into the oven, breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped his brow with the back of his hand.
He caught me looking at him and he offered me a wink. "You want some help, Geoffrey?" Steven asked as he came over to us.
Geoffrey pouted. "Please. I'm never going to get all of these chopped."
I took a step closer and had to cover my mouth to stifle the laugh that begged to cross my lips. Leave it to Geoffrey to cut everything into unnecessary perfect, tiny squares.
"No kidding," Steven added as he too began to chop the yellow squash. "Is that why it's taking so long?"
Geoffrey nodded and his pout deepened. "There are so many, and these pieces are so small!"
"I don't think you're supposed to cut them like that," Steven added, also trying to keep from laughing. "You want them to be a little bigger and longer. See?" He motioned to his work. The pieces of squash were cut into thin wedges as opposed to squares.
Geoffrey glanced between his work and Stephens before throwing his hands into the air. "You're my savior, Steven!" He wrapped his arms around Steven. "I'm not even being dramatic; I was seriously stressing myself out."
It was so easy to take those moments for granted, but for once, I stopped and simply took everything in. The company of my brothers gave me comfort like I never felt before. I couldn't help but tear up as we all laughed.
How could something as simple as preparing a meal bring me so much joy? How could something so small mean so much?
I knew, while I stood in my housemate's company that this would be a moment I would hang onto forever.
Surprisingly enough, the meal was delicious. Though, I'm sure it only tasted better because we all put so much time and effort into it. We all cleared our plates, and my desert was even a hit.
The grapes were sweet, and the sauce was just tangy enough to compliment the natural sweetness of the fruit; it was delicious.
I even went back for another helping.
I think we all learned to appreciate the normal days, and as time neared for our final evaluation, I did my best to enjoy every moment.
The year continued to skip by, and before we knew it winter came in full force, leaving a white blanket over everything. Riding on winter's coattails, the day for our individual final evaluations were upon us. A sort of static charged the air as we each waited in Steven's room for Terry to call our names. The three of us were unusually quiet, and I figured that had to be because even though Ruth said we were all on the right track, there was still a possibility that we wouldn't reach their goals.
Geoffrey chewed on his thumb nail while he stared blankly at a magazine propped on his lap. He hadn't flipped to a new page in at least five minutes, and his eyes seemed distant, lost in his own thoughts. Steven sat on the floor under the window with a book in his hand. The rich warm morning light shone around him like a halo, yet despite the glow, worry darkened the area under his eyes.
I also couldn't contain the edge of unease climbing up my spine as I sat on the floor beside Geoffrey. I kept telling myself that all my hard work would pay off; I kept telling myself that everything would be fine.
God, I wanted out of this house so badly! It wasn't as if I were tired of my friends; I just wanted to prove to myself that I had grown, but I would never know if I didn't get out of this place.
"I can't stand this a moment longer," Geoffrey shouted suddenly. "Everyone, get up. We are going to march downstairs and demand that we know our results." Geoffrey's tone was authoritative. "They can't just keep us locked up in here; the tension is making it hard to breathe."
Steven pushed himself to his feet. "I'm sure it wont be much longer."
"Much longer my butt," Geoffrey spat. "If you all won't come with me, I'll go alone." He stepped into his chunky black leather boots. "They don't scare me."
I extended a hand to the model. "Help me up, and I'll go with you."
A smile grew on his lips. "I can do that." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
"You gonna come too?" I asked Steven as I slipped into my shoes.
Steven sighed dramatically. "I might as well, huh? Plus, if I didn't, you guys would probably get lost."
"I love that you have so much faith in us," I joked, poking him in his stomach.
"Hands off the goods," he added as he jerked away from my touch.
Geoffrey crooked an arm around Steven's shoulders. "Come on kiddies. Let's find out if we're free."
I hooked my arm with Geoffrey's. "Let's do it."
The three of us made our way out of the room and immediately ran into Terry; however, before he could speak, Geoffrey interrupted. "Don't even start, guard-man. We're going downstairs and demanding that we know our results, so don't you even try to stop us."
Terry chucked and stepped aside with his hands in the air. "You got it. I'll let them know you're on your way." He said something indistinguishable into his radio and aimed another one thousand watt smile our way. "They're expecting you all."
"Rightly so," Geoffrey chimed, leading us to the top of the stairs.
On our way down, I glanced behind me at the guard. He still smiled and followed a few steps behind us. The light in his eyes hinted at the fact that he knew something we were unaware of.
We took the last step on the stairs and turned, making our way into Dawn's office, but before we could open the door, they swung open revealing Ruth. She stepped aside, ushering us inside. "Please, come in. All of you."
The three of us exchanged glances before separating and stepping into the office. Inside, Dawn was standing next to her office, and like Terry, she had a smile plastered on her vibrantly colored lips. "Sit. Please," she commanded.
We did as we were told. "This is weird," Geoffrey mumbled quietly from his seat.
I agreed but kept my mouth shut; however, my mind didn't have long to wait before Ruth began speaking.
"I'm well aware that you boys would like to know where you stand on your evaluations." She was practically gleaming as she spoke. "The original plan was to give each of you your evaluations separately, but we decided that wasn't necessary."
"Why is that?" Steven asked.
Ruth gestured to Dawn, and on command, she pulled a few sheets of paper from her desk and began handing them out. At first glance, I didn't know what the paper was, but after a moment of staring dumbly, I felt my heart climb into my chest.
They were our grades!
More importantly, I not only passed all my classes, but I also managed to pass with all A's! I couldn't believe what I was looking at. All the sleepless nights and math homework really paid off!
"I passed everything!" Geoffrey exclaimed.
"Me too," Steven chimed in happily.
"Me three!" I found myself grinning.
Ruth stepped before us. "You three have all managed to improve your grades, and I can safely say that each one of you will be able to jump right into school when you are discharged."
"So, I won't have to be held back?" I asked shyly.
She nodded. "Each of you will be able to continue school where you left off."
"That's all fine and dandy," Geoffrey began, "but you said something about being discharged?"
Ruth clasped a hand over her mouth and chuckled. "Oops. Yes, Dawn and I reviewed each of your progress through our program, and as long as you all continue the path you are currently following, each one of you will be discharged."
The joy that rose through my body vibrated through my extremities.
I did it.
I really did it.
No. We did it.
"You're kidding," Steven gasped.
"It's the truth," Dawn added. "We've never seen such improvements from a group before, and we couldn't be more thrilled. Congratulations!" Tears began to collect in the corners of her eyes.
"Holy hell," Geoffrey added. "I can't believe it."
"You better get to believing," I exclaimed as I stood from my chair. "We really did it, guys!"
Without hesitation or thought, the three of us piled into a group hug, and for the longest moment, we just existed in the happiness. During the hug, I noticed Terry standing just outside the doors. Even he had tears in his eyes.
Ruth cleared her throat. "I do have something I would like to add."
I wiped my own tears as we sat back in our seats.
"I have never been so proud of a group; you all have made such improvements that I know without a doubt you three will only continue to grow once you are outside of these doors." Her voice strained suddenly, yet she continued to speak. "I opened this clinic fifteen years ago after my own son lost his battle with anorexia."
A silence fell over the room as she spoke, and I could feel the other boys disbelief and surprise at Ruth's words. Their surprise was my own. All this time, I saw Ruth as a monster, an evil woman bent on forcing food down our throats, but I was finally seeing her as the person she really was.
She cared deeply and unyieldingly; she cared like someone who experienced loss.
That was something all of us could relate to.
"I never thought I would move on past his death, but opening this clinic gave me a purpose in life." Tears flowed freely from her pale eyes. "I found my purpose in the eyes of every child that crossed this threshold, and I want to thank each one of you for touching my heart and continuing to give me a reason to wake up in the morning."
Her words touched my heart, and I found myself nearly sobbing. Everything was almost too good to be true, yet here I was. I couldn't deny the truth any longer.
I was going to be ok.
I was going to live.
Pushing myself from my chair, I wrapped my arms around Ruth. "Thank you, Ruth. We wouldn't be here without you."
Geoffrey stood next, wrapping his arms around Ruth as well. "I won't tell anyone that you're actually nice, ok?"
Ruth laughed, wrapping her arms around us. "That's a deal."
Steven threw his arms around the bunch of us. "I don't think I'll ever be able to repay any of you."
"All you have to do is live your lives; that is payment enough for me."
I could do that.
There were only a few weeks left until our discharge date, and we enjoyed each day to the fullest. We played, we gossiped, we cried, and we even talked about Rich and how he had to be proud of us for making it out of this place.
On the second to last day, we promised to do something for Rich. It didn't feel right that he wouldn't be included in our happiness. It didn't take long to figure out what we would do.
The night was calling us.
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I feel like the universe didn't want me to post this chapter. First laptop issues, then internet issues, then laptop issues again. It's been a ride for sure. I'M JUST HAPPY IT'S FINALLY UP!
The Skinny Boy Tales is coming to an end, and I'm thrilled at the response you have all given me. Your support has been a defining factor in my life, and I thank you deeply for that.
I'm seriously thinking about trying out self publishing. I was leaning towards ebook form. Would that be something you would all be interested in?
As always, please leave a comment down below and vote the chapter up!