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Chapter 39

Friday May

Today at school it was funny watching Josh. He had a date tonight and he was completely wired. He was bouncing off the walls. It was so good to see him happy.

Timmy and I took our lunch and sat out in the commons area today. The weather was beautiful. It was 72 and sunny so we decided to eat out side for a change. It was a perfect spring day and for once we did not have to worry about freezing.

After lunch we headed back in and went to our classes. It was nice knowing that he was riding home with me.

When my uncle picked us up we headed upstairs and helped set up the meeting hall for the support group. Nancy the new director was already working on it as well as Chris who was her assistant.

When they saw us coming in they smiled and Chris said, “Please tell me you are here to help us setup.” She had her best puppy dog look and we laughed and I said, “Yeah we figured you could use a hand with getting ready.”

“Thanks you two it is appreciated.”

“What do you want us to do?”

Chris said, “Timmy why don’t you work on getting the chairs set up. Matt how about you helping me get the snacks set up."

We both nodded and got to work. It took about 20 minutes and we finished just in time to head upstairs to eat before the meeting.

As we were leaving they said in unison, “Thanks for the help.”

“Your welcome.”

When we went upstairs my uncle had dinner ready he had thawed some of our spaghetti sauce and fixed some fresh pasta. He had also prepared a tossed salad and had made balsamic vinegar dressing.

The youth support meeting went really well. Josh was there with Kevin. Our group from lunch had passed the word around that he was coming with a date. I was really proud of the guys; they really went out of their way to make sure that Josh knew that they were glad for him. I don’t think I had ever seen Josh blush or smile that much.

Timmy and I went to get some punch. As we were walking back towards the tables Josh and Kevin stopped us. Josh had a silly grin on his face and he said, “Thanks Guys that meant a lot to me. At first I did not know if I wanted to thank you or shoot you.”

Then he turned serious and said, “Seriously it felt really good to know that people cared and were glad for me.”

He stepped forward and gave both of us a hug. I looked up and smiled at Kevin and he mouthed thank you. I nodded and smiled back.

Josh gave me one more hug and said, “Well we have to head out were going to watch a movie before his parents come to pick him up.

With that they headed downstairs and I turned and gave Timmy a hug and said, “Thanks hon I think it really made Josh’s day.”

“Yeah I think it did.”

After the cleanup was finished we went upstairs and watched some TV till his dad arrived to pick him up. We were watching an old movie called “Maltese Falcon”. It was my weekend to pick and I like the older films. Timmy likes more modern movies with a lot of action. So to keep the peace we alternated weekends picking the movie.

I put in the movie and Timmy microwaved the popcorn and we settled in for the movie. It was my favorite thing to do, just snuggle in his arms and watch a movie.

I know I am a hopeless romantic but that’s what I really like doing. Fortunately for me Timmy likes it as much as I do.

After the movie was over we talked over our schedule for the week. He was going to be riding home with us on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

It was only a couple of minutes later that his father showed up to take him home.

He came up to us and said, “Timmy it’s time to head on out. But first I have to talk to your uncle Matt. I’ve been invited to have a cup of coffee so it will be about 10 minutes. That should give you two love birds a couple of minutes of privacy to say goodbye.”

Then he laughed at me because I blushed. I just shook my head at him and he headed into the kitchen to get his cup of coffee.

Sat May

Timmy is going to be staying over our place for several days! His dad was late coming to pick him up last night and when he did he asked my uncle if Timmy could stay at our place this week. Steve called out from the kitchen and said, “Timmy and Matt we need to talk with you both.”

When we got into the kitchen we sat down and then Steve said, “Listen guys I have to work some really long hours over the next week. I am not comfortable leaving Timmy alone for that long.”

Timmy looked like he was getting really mad so his dad said, “Look Timmy its not that I don’t trust you. But you have to remember that a lot of people were pissed off with the arrest of that Preacher. I do not want to take the chance right now. I love you too much to risk losing you. Too much has happened already this year. I don’t want some nutcase figuring out you are there by yourself and coming after you.”

When he said that Timmy looked down for a moment then said, “Ok dad. What are we going to do?”

Steve smiled and said, “I think I have a solution that we both can live with. In fact I think you will really like it.”

Timmy and I both were confused and Steve laughed and said, “Ok guys I won’t torture you any longer. Joe has agreed to let Timmy stay here for the week.

But listen both of you. I expect you to behave and not make things hard on Joe.”

He paused and waited till we both had agreed. Then he said, “Timmy and I are going home now. But I will drop him off in the morning. I will be trying get here for supper every night. But as crazy as this case is I am not sure I will make it every night.”

I could tell that Timmy was a little down that he would not be seeing much of his father. So when he was ready to go I gave him a hug and said, “I love you and will see you tomorrow. He smiled and said, “I love you.”

I was sorry that Timmy would not be able to see much of his dad for a while but it was nice that he could spend the time with me.

I had a team tennis match this morning. Timmy came to cheer us on. Neil and I played really well but we lost. They were just a better team. After the match coach came over and said, “Hey don’t be down you did well today. Not many teams would have gotten as many games off of them as you did. They are ranked in the top 20 in doubles statewide. In fact I don’t know what their coach was doing playing them at number 3.”

When he said that if felt better and said, “Thanks coach.”

He smiled and said, “I think that you two could take them next year if you both work hard this summer and continue to play.”

With that he walked off and I turned to Neil he was just as shocked as I was. Coach did not give out a lot of praise and he had gone out of his way to make sure we were not too down.

While I was at the tennis match my Uncle had a friend of his who was a contractor come and look at the roof and see if it was possible to put a deck on the roof. When we got home from the match he talked to us about it and we agreed to help him with it. It was going to be a lot of work but it will be nice when it is finished.

On Saturday a friend of my uncle who was an engineer come over to check out our roof. They were up on the roof for about 45 minutes and when they came down he told me, “Well it looks like we will be building a deck after all.”

I said, “Alright!”

He laughed and said, “I am glad your excited Matt but remember it will be a lot of work. I am going to try and get the materials delivered this week. They have a truck with a small crane that can lift them onto the roof. But we will be doing the work. I have a book on deck designs that we will use. I am thinking of a deck with an awning, barbecue area, benches, and some potted plants. There will also be an old-fashioned porch swing for us to use. It will probably be too hot in the daytime during the summer but in the evening it will be nice.

It will give us a place to just hang out and relax and to entertain.

It was going to be a lot of work and I was not looking forward to that so much. But it would be really neat when it was finished. Just the thought of Timmy and I being able to sit up there and hold hands and snuggle outside was enough to make me like the idea not matter how much work was involved.