One Christmas Eve by Nancy Johnny stood in the kitchen and took in a sight he had thought he'd never see, his wife and son. They were standing by the Christmas tree and Lena was pointing out ornaments to their son. He had to swallow hard to fight back the tears that threatened as she told him the story behind each of the decorations. He smiled remembering their first Christmas together, they had been dating for six months and Johnny had first introduced her to his family's tradition of going around the tree and telling the stories about the decorations. He'd inherited most of his family's ornaments after his aunt Rose had passed. His sisters hadn't wanted them. That had saddened him, that they didn't continue the Gage family tradition. But his smile returned as he watched his wife. He had surprised her that year; he'd pointed out each ornament and told her who bought it and why that was significant. Then he got to the end of them he pulled something out of his pocket. "I have a new decoration I would like to add. One that I hope would remind us of this special occasion. Remind us of our feelings for each other. To commemorate the starting of our own traditions and maybe our own family." He told her solemnly. She had a slightly puzzled look on her lovely face, her dark eyes glittering in the tree light. He revealed a small hanging ornament, double brass hearts, and one over laying the other. Their names and the year were engraved on the side he showed her. She smiled at him. She did like him a lot, even admitted to herself that she did love him. And wanted to get serious with him. This was a sweet gesture. She took the proffered heart, smiled at him then looked at the tree. "So where do you want to hang it?" She asked. Johnny then swallowed hard, "Well honey that depends?" "Oh, on what?" "Your answer." She lifted her chin. "My answer to what?" She was getting nervous, he normally wasn't his obtuse. He wet his lips then reached over and turned the ornament over. She was staring at the engraved question, and didn't see him pull a small box out of his pocket, nor notice as he sunk down to one knee. Engraved on the brass was "Will you marry me?" Johnny removed the ring from the dark velvet and held it on one finger. He watched her face, as her mouth opened in shock, then her free hand came up and covered it. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears then shifted to him. "I love you Salena Portier and would love to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you do me the honor of agreeing to become my wife?" He said softly. Lena stared at him so long he started to get nervous, then she bit her lip and nodded. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then she dropped down and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She whispered in his ear. "I love you too Johnny. Yes I will marry you." Then they held each other tight murmuring sweet nothings to each other. And then Lena moved a way a bit and looked at the hearts in her hand. "So can we hang this up now?" She asked. He chuckled. "Yeah we can, near the top," he told her. Then he stood and gave her a hand up and they placed the ornament on the tree together. "Now do you want his?" He asked holding up the engagement ring. She'd burst out laughing then hugged him again, she'd forgotten about the ring. She held out her hand to him. He slid it on her finger and it fit beautifully. He admired it, and then still holding her hand glanced into her eyes then kissed her finger. "Thank you my love." She admired the ring then pulled him in for a long slow deep kiss. XxX "And this one your daddy gave me last year when you were still inside mommy." Lena pointed out a small hand- carved horse. "See the date is carved into the horse's belly. Then he gave me the real thing. He gave me Spring. And she has been the best horse ever, she is a beautiful dapple gray Paso Fino mare, and next year she might just give us a beautiful foal for you to learn with." She kissed his head and with one final touch to the hanging wooden horse said to her son, "Just wait until you see what I got for your daddy this year." Johnny smiled; he did wonder what she'd gotten for him. Couldn't be the news that she was going to have another baby; they'd learned that together days ago. As he watched Lena repositioned her eleven-month-old son, and in doing so caught sight of her husband, leaning so casually in the doorway watching them. She beamed at him. He thought his heart would stop she just looked so beautiful to him. He'd been alone for so long that he'd forgotten how deep the love of family went. As much as he loved the DeSoto family it wasn't the same as having his own. Someone to share what had been other traditional things, like having a smoked ham for dinner on Christmas eve, digging into Christmas stockings on Christmas morning, and lazing around the whole day. In general, just being with the one you loved the most. He had thought for so long that he'd never have the chance to find the love of his life or have the opportunity to teach a child of his own what he'd learned from his parents. And now he had the family he'd wanted for so long thanks to this beautiful loving woman. He held up the mugs of hot-spiced cider that he fixed up while he'd been in the kitchen. "Great, I'll join you on the couch in a few minutes, his highness here needs a change." She told him. "I can..." "No, you took care of him all day. I'll do it. But if you want to get him a bottle of water?" She suggested. "Sure. Meet you at the couch in a few." XxX Johnny took the mugs and the bottle for his son to the living room. He put them on the end table, then lowered most of the lights and put another piece of oak on the fire. Finally he let himself settle down on the couch. He'd gotten off shift at eight in the morning after an unfortunately busy night. After a quick stop in the house to say hello to his wife and son he'd gone to the barn and took care of the heavy chores he'd banned Lena from doing as soon as they had gotten the results from her pregnancy test. Then he'd come in and did some of the heavy cleaning and then took charge of their son so Lena finished some last minute baking. Looking at the tree he could see the reflection of firelight in the double heart ornament. He smiled. For so long he'd though he'd be single his whole life. But then almost three years ago that all changed. While in Physical therapy for re-injuring a leg he'd broken so long ago as a paramedic, he met Lena, Salena Portier. Lena wasn't his therapist, but Johnny being Johnny he made sure that he was introduced to her. He would be the first to admit that it was her looks that first attracted his attention, she was tall, with café au lait skin and a bright smile; dark brown almond shaped eyes, and long black hair. She could have been of any number of nationalities or mixes of nationalities. But in talking to her while one or the other were between appointments they got to know that each other. They were both single, both enjoyed their careers, Johnny had horses and she had a dog and two cats and they both enjoyed the outdoors. He had asked her to coffee after one particularly grueling session of therapy. He knew he'd need the caffeine to get through the rest of his day of cleaning the barn and grooming the horses. And had heard her sigh after cleaning up after her last patient. Their conversation started slow out of the confines of the PT department. Then Johnny asked her where she went to school, and she smiled, she told him she had gone to U.S.C. Berkeley for two years then joined the Peace Corps and went to Peru for two years. Then when she came back she went to UCLA for her certification in Physical Therapy. He asked her how she like Peru and she grinned and said she'd loved it and talked about the families she'd come to know and about the way the people lived and how the agrarian lifestyle had a lot of benefits. Then, too soon, it was time for her to go back to work. They stood and reached for their long empty cups. "Would you like to have dinner with me?" Johnny ventured and was rewarded with a smile. "Yes, I would." She told him looking up at the handsome Fire Captain. And it was simple as that to how their romance started. Johnny knew within a two dates that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and she confessed later it was a bit longer for her, it was at least a month before she had started thinking about him seriously. Then he thought about their backgrounds. It had taken them a few dates to feel comfortable enough with each other to tell each other their life stories. But when they did, they were amazed; they had very similar backgrounds, not in where they grew up but in circumstances. Neither was raised by their birth parents. They had both been born to single mothers. John had stayed with his longer than Lena had with hers, and he had memories of her and a blood relation had raised him. She'd been taken from her mother by the state and placed into foster care at six months, and adopted two months later by the Portier's, an older couple who had raised their three natural children and wanted to help another get a good start on their life's journey. They had died six years before Johnny had met Lena; her mother had passed first from cancer then her father six month later from a broken heart. It was these life-changing events that prompted her to look for more and to join the Peace Corps. Her adopted siblings all were older where not that close to her. She made her own life after returning to the country, just staying in touch with letters and cards, and calls on on the major holidays. The three of them, two brothers and a sister had their own lives before she even arrived and had made little time in their life for her. She was their parent's project. So she had essentially grown up as an only child, but she did have a wide circle of friends. Plus a couple of really close girlfriends. Johnny had his close circle of friends that had become his family in his thirty-five years. Roy and Joanne DeSoto, Chris and Jennifer were among them. Then his friends from the department, the guys from station 51, and his current station crew. He'd become their Captain three years before, after having spent three years as an engineer. He'd moved on from the paramedics after Roy had finally gone for his captaincy, he too could have made the big jump then, but he himself wanted to have more experience before going on to command a crew. Six months after their first date he asked Lena to marry him and three month later, in a meadow on his ranch, at high noon on the anniversary of their initial meeting, and the spring equinox, they wed in a civil ceremony. Their close friends and the horses and the dogs surrounded them. Twenty-one months later they had their son, John Andrew, born in the early morning hours after a half a day of light labor pains and six hours of hard labor. Delivered by Johnny at home with the assistance of a trained and register Nurse/Mid-wife and Dixie McCall, who had just stopped in to check up on them. The six pound, ten ounce, boy was 20 inches long and had a full head of hair and a full set of lungs, letting all in the house know of his arrival. Both of the parents had been in tears as they cuddled and bonded with their son, their creation, made out of their love and devotion to each other. Drew resembled his mother a lot; his hair was thick and as dark as hers was, his eyes a dark brown with an almost almond shape to them. They'd picked the name John Andrew to honor Johnny's dad and then called him Drew as a remembrance of Johnny's friend Drew Burke who was a LA County Police officer and was killed in the line of duty. He was a great baby, since he also took on his mother much more even disposition. But he did, even at less than a year have both his parents love for animals. All of his favorite toys where animals, all his favorite bedtime stories were animal stories, but he loved daddy's stories best. But now he was blinking back the tears as he watched his wife come down the stairs with Drew then as she moved around the tree. His son's dark eyes reflecting the bright lights of the tree, one little bare foot unknowingly resting against his mother's abdomen, it's very slight belly that wasn't even visible when she was dressed. They had yet to tell anyone that the next member would join their family in just seven months. They had wanted to wait two years between their kids, but fortuitous accidents happened and they were still thrilled by it. Then she smiled at him, her dark eyes glistening. He knew having her own family was as important to her as to him. Probably even more so for her, because he knew he had a few blood relatives around. But she had none that she knew of. He smiled back at her and knew his life was good. XxX Johnny held the baby in the crook of his left arm, using a couple of fingers to prop the bottle so his tired son could hold the bottle up in his own hands. He closed his eyes, ‘the story'. The story of the first Christmas he could remember, the start of his new life. is right arm was around his wife's back, his hand occasionally touching the barely perceptible bulge of their next child; she snuggled into his side her head against his chest, one hand on his thigh the other touching their son's foot. All three of them relaxed on the old, well-worn, leather couch. The fire was low, providing ambiance more than light or even heat, even though it was a fairly cool night for southern California. Finally the baby sighed, his bottle of water done. He was gently moved so that he was lying against something warm and fuzzy, his father's chamois shirt. The natural earthy smells told the young child he was safe and warm in this father's arms. Lena sighed too; so comfortable in the arms of her love, with their child snuggled beside her. She felt her husband's hand on her belly and smiled. She was thrilled to be able to bring another life into the world that they would love and cherish. She moved her left hand down and held it over Johnny's on her belly. Johnny tilted his head and kissed her head, content. "Tell me the story Johnny," he heard his wife ask. He knew the basic part so well, because it was his life, other parts had been added after talking to his Aunt Rose, the woman who had essentially raised him as his mom, but without the proper title. The other parts he'd pieced together from the letters, letters written by his mother and sent to her brother, the man he called dad, the man who raised him until his death when Johnny was thirteen. He had never seen the letters until after his Aunt had passed on ten years ago and he had cleaned out her safe deposit box. The letters were with other important papers and pictures. There were pictures of his mother, ones he had never seen, as her both as a child and a young adult, and in an unidentified envelope was a death certificate and a write up about his mother's death. And with that Johnny had lost the illusion he maintained that he could find her and ask her why she had left him or even ask her who his father was or could possibly be. She had died when he was ten years old. In February the Police in Sioux City, Iowa, had found her body in an alley, badly beaten, sexually assaulted and left for dead. She died hours later in a charity hospital. She had never regained consciousness. They found a letter addressed to Johnny Gage and tracked him down for an ID. His father had gone to claim her body and had her cremated and the ashes spread without telling him. Knowing it would have only devastated the boy Johnny had been he had let him keep his youthful dreams, no matter how unrealistic, about his mother. "Babe?" Came his wife's soft voice, rousting him from his woolgathering. "Yeah," He took a sip of his cooled cider then began his narrative. XxX It was a cold, dark and snowy afternoon when she finally got to the end of her trek. There before them was the ranch house. There was a light visible through the blowing snow and she could smell the wood smoke of the kitchen range. She smiled sadly and lightly squeezed the thin shoulder of the child in front of her. She looked down at the bundled up light of her life as the dark eyes looked up at her, over the scarf she had wrapped tightly around the thin face and with her smile still in place she knelt down and pulled the knit cap lower on the forehead. "This is it baby," she looked to the distant house. "Your new home." The dark eyes looked to the small house. "I know it's small, but it's full of love. I know it is and they will love you just because you are you." She said earnestly, believing so deeply that her brother, who hadn't seen her in over five years, would accept her child, just because he was their blood. XxX She knocked on the door a second time. "Oh God Johnny where the hell are you?" she pleaded to the porch roof. She pounded again, but there was still no answer from within the house. She grabbed the doorknob and tried it, this far out she knew her brother seldom locked the door, and maybe they hadn't today. No luck, it was locked. She closed her eyes and willed the tears of frustration away. Then with a deep breath she bent down and looked in the dark eyes again. "Stay here for me will you baby, I'm going to go check the other door." The small bundled figure nodded solemnly. So she smiled at him and went down off the porch and trudged through the knee-deep snow to go around to the back of the house and the kitchen door. The tears threatened to spill over now; the kitchen door was locked securely too. Oh God! What was she going to do, she only had three hours to get back to the bus station to make her connection. In good weather it was just an hour's walk, but in this snow it had taken them close to two and a half hours. She figured she'd make it back in close to two, without having to worry about her baby. She couldn't leave him unprotected from the weather, the porches just kept the snow off but provided no protection from the cold. The carport, too, that was out of the question as it was too cold. Then a change in the direction of the blowing snow brought something her way, the aroma of the barn. She turned and looked at the long and low log barn. The barn. Her brother kept livestock. A couple of cows, a few horses and some goats were normally kept there. She made her way back to the front porch with some hope, but checked the windows on the way just in case, but they too were all locked. Her joy was standing on the porch in the same place as when she'd left. The serious eyes followed her. She swallowed hard, this was really for the best, she couldn't give the child the right kind of life, her brother could and had for his two kids, hell they were teenagers by now, and if he'd been lucky neither had turned out like she had. She held out her had, "Come on baby, the other door is locked too, but we can go to the barn, it will be nice and warm there." The small figure trundled down the stairs and then she turned to lead the way through the deep snow to her brother's barn. She glanced back often to make sure the small legs carried the child through the snow, she had a heavy backpack and was too tired to carry him further. The door to the barn was just slide bolted from the outside. So she easily slid the lock open and then pulled the door open. She guided the bundled child through the door, then followed, pulling the door shut. It was noticeably warmer in there; they couldn't even see their breath anymore. She glanced around, her brother had a full house in the barn tonight, but there was space near the tack room. She let the child roam as she bunched some hay and then found a couple of saddle blankets. They slept in worse smelling places, so she had no fears of her child sleeping on and under a horse blanket. She did take the time to bang them against the barn wall to get off some of the hair and some of the dust, but there wasn't too much considering. Her brother kept his horse well groomed, even in winter. Her brother loved and cared for his animals, almost as much as he loved his family. She paused and sniffled watching her child investigate the barn and look into the stalls through the slats of the door. She finished making the bed for her boy, and then wiped the tears from her eyes. Her baby would do well here. She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a few things, they didn't have much, but she was leaving the bulk of it here, she didn't know how long her brother would be. A couple of bottles of water, a box of raisins, an apple, and some trail mix. Next out of the bag was a change of underwear and clothes for him and the last thing was a worn hand-made piece meal teddy bear she'd sewn up when she was in the last month of her unplanned pregnancy with him. Not much to show for just over four years of life. One toy and one change of clothes, which they only got at the last shelter, they'd stayed at in Minnesota. She told herself again that she was doing the right thing. But if the was so why was her heart breaking. "Mommy?" She turned and smiled at him, her eyes wet with tears. A small hand reached toward her, "Why are you crying Mommy?" "'Cause I'm silly baby, are you warmer now?" "Yes Mommy." "Good, how about we take off your coat, mittens and scarf and then you can lay down and take a nap. Okay?" The dark eyes looked to the bed she had patted. "Okay." The small hands pulled off the mittens and she took care of the hat, smiling at how the static made the dark hair stray outward. She smoothed it sniffling as she did so, her beautiful baby, her son, and the best thing to come out of her sad pathetic life. She unwrapped the scarf and again attempted to smooth the wild hair. She ran her fingers through the thick hair and sighed, it had been so much longer, but she'd had to cut it for the first time in his life a few months back because neighborhood boys were teasing him. It had been so long, like his father's. She then sighed, well the man she suspected was his father. A good and kind man with gentle hands and a good soul. They'd only been together a couple of times before their paths diverged. She to a one-night stand with different soul in her devil may care lifestyle and him to another town with the rodeo. She was pretty sure it was him who fathered this beautiful boy child on her he had his coloring and good heart. Unfortunately she never knew his full name, she just knew him as Roderick. So she had to put father unknown on the birth certificate. She eased his coat off and then folded it and laid it to the side of the bed, laying his hat and scarf down too. He laid the mittens down and then turned to look at her. "Mommy?" "Yes little man?" "Are you going to take a nap too?" "No baby, I can't." She swallowed hard. "Remember when I said I was bringing you to a good home?" He nodded, his eyes locked on her blue ones. "Well it will be better for you if I'm not here honey." "No mommy, I want to be with you." He pleaded, his dark eyes tearing up, and one sad tear escaped to run down his cheek. She choked back a sob; "I'm sorry baby." "Mommy?" "I'm so sorry baby," she sobbed as she pulled him close and held him tight to her. "But I can't stay. Your Uncle Johnny will give you a good life. He will. He'll love and so will Rose and I'm sure you'll get your very own bed. You'll get a real home, a real family and get to play with the animals here and they'll teach you to read, and...and to..." she trailed off and then hugged him tighter and kissed his head, taking one last sniff of his scent to remember him by. Then with another sob she pushed him out to arms length. "Now you have to be a brave boy." She wiped his tears, then her own. "No more tears. This is how it has to be little man." She told him sternly. He nodded solemnly, but he was unable to stop the tears though. He lifted his hand and used it and his shirtsleeve to scrub his face clean. "Now you need to lay down and go to sleep little man. And when you wake up it will be time to start your new life." "But you'll be gone Mommy." He said as he allowed her to settle him onto the makeshift bed. She laid the other saddle blanket over him and tucked it in around his sides as best she could. She then smiled sadly at him. "Yeah I will tiger, but you'll have a daddy and a home." She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Want you Mommy," he said in a tired voice, it had been a long walk for the little boy. "I know baby, but I can't, but I will stay until you fall asleep." She told him, knowing it wouldn't take him long to drop off. "You were such a good little man these last three days honey. I'm proud of you." She told him running her hand through his hair. "Be brave my little man," she murmured. "You'll grow up to be tall and strong like your dad," she continued. And the little boy reluctantly fell asleep to the sound of his mother's voice as he had so often in his short life. She waited a bit longer, smiling as his little arm came up to cover his eyes, then gave him another kiss and left him there, in the barn. She latched the door behind her and she disappeared into the snowy afternoon. XxX When the boy woke up he didn't remember where he was. It was dark and smelled funny. He sat up and looked around, he was on a blanket on some hay, and then he found his bear. He picked it up and cuddled it. Bear was always there for him in the night, even when mommy was with her friends, Bear was there for him. He got up and wandered around the barn, he could see well enough to avoid crashing into stall walls. He looked though the stall door to see the occupants. He only went to two stalls before finding the one he'd been looking for. He tried to undo the latch with one hand, but couldn't, so he tucked bear into his shirt then climbed up the rails door and over, into the occupied stall. XxX John Gage noticed the tracks as he drove by the front of the house. He glanced at his wife, she nodded to him, and she saw them too. He pulled into the snow-covered driveway and around to the back of the house. They'd been gone just overnight to Rose's cousins for Christmas Eve festivities. They hadn't planned on staying the night but the weather had played a part in their staying. But came dawn with the end of the snow he knew he had to get home to the livestock and to get the presents for their girls, who had opted to sleep in with their cousins rather than go with their parent to their house. He was now very glad that the girls had stayed away, and that they'd locked the house the night before. He stopped the truck under the carport and then reached behind the seat for his rifle. Rose touched his arm. "Be careful," she said quietly. He nodded then opened the door to the truck. He closed it quietly then went and checked the tracks. He knew there wasn't much he could do since the tracks did not look too fresh, the snow having partially filled them in. But he did follow them around the house, he saw how they went to each window then to the back porch, then he saw the trail going to the barn. He'd check that after he checked the house. He sighed; this far out this shouldn't be a problem. He unlocked the door and cautiously searched the house. No snow on the floor, no wet spots. Good so it looked like they didn't get it. He breathed a sigh of relief. He flicked a few more lights, checked the wood stove and put in a couple pieces of maple to coax the embers back to life. Then went out to get Rose, no need for her to sit out in the cold. XxX He stared down at the small bundle snuggled up to the foal. He looked up at the mare that just blew at him, probably as puzzled as he was over the surprise he'd found in the barn. He'd found the makeshift bed first, it was empty, he glanced at the stuff piled next to the saddle blankets mystified, nothing looked even remotely big enough to be a bum or wanderer, unless it was a little person hiding there. One of his mare's wuffling noises was what drew him to her stall to behold the sight of a small human body curled up with her surprise out of season colt. The mare lifted her head to him then put her head back down and her warm breath ruffled the dark hair on the child's head. Johnny stared down and then said quietly, "Well I'll be damned." "Johnny?" Rose's voice called from the door. He turned and looked at her, she was just peaking around the edge, and he could just see the barrels of the double '00' shotgun. He smiled. Rose was an even better shot than him, if anything bad had happened to him whomever had done it would have a gut full of birdshot to deal with. He waved her into the barn. She closed the door behind her and made her way to her husband's side. She looked down and the shotgun dropped downward and the safety was clicked on. "Oh my goodness." she breathed. XxX The little boy shifted in his sleep and then froze; he wasn't in the barn. He wasn't with the little pony anymore. He was warm all over and he sniffed, he could smell butterscotch. He opened his eyes and slowly moved his head to look around. A living room, with a couple of chairs, a low table, a wood stove and he was sleeping against something, being held tight. He swallowed and looked up into a pair of blue eyes. Like his mommy's but older, he had yellow hair, but he looked mean, he had lines by his eyes, and even now in the cold weather he still had a tan. "Hello sleepy head," he said smiling, his voice deep, but sounded friendly. A man, was this his uncle? He wondered. He didn't look so mean now that he'd smiled. Then someone else came in. "Did you call me Johnny?" The woman asked. Both heads turned to look at her, the blond one with a smile, the dark haired one in fright, his eyes wide as he looked at her. He stared at her; the woman was stocky, not thin like his mommy, but not round like one of their neighbor women had been. This woman had long black hair, hanging loose, and she was dressed in a long, bright red skirt with a bright print shirt. She saw him looking at her and smiled, her dark eyes shining. "Hello there little man," she said then went to sit on a chair opposite them, not encroaching on his personal space. She could read the fear in his eyes, see the unshed tears there. The boy was scared to death. They had had time to go through what had been left with the youngster. Needless to say John Andrew Gage had been shocked to find himself in the guardianship of his previously unknown nephew, one John Roderick Gage, who had turned four in August. A little boy who looked so much like his daughters had at that age was amazing. "Are you hungry?" The man asked the boy. The boy shook his head. He was but he didn't want them to think he would eat too much, he could smell bacon and other good aroma's coming from another part of the house. "That's too bad, because I am and I know your Aunt Rose there has just finished cooking up a real big Christmas morning breakfast for us. I'm sure there are stacks of pancakes, and maple syrup, and sausages, and eggs and maybe even some of her special honey butter to go on her fresh baked bread. And I know it will be more than either of us could eat. So think you could do us a favor and manage to find room for some, so I'm not eatin' leftovers for the next week?" The boy couldn't help it, his tongue darted out and wet his lips, he wanted to eat. It had been a long time since he had eaten real, hot food. And since the man said he'd be helping him out, and that they had a lot he figured he could eat so he nodded at him. Johnny grinned, "Good boy." he said then moved so he could put the boy down on his own socked-feet. XxX Johnny sighed and Lena squeezed his hand. He was quiet, thinking, remembering that morning. He remembered it quite well, how welcome and accepted he had felt. To this day he still loved the aroma of a clean barn and the type of warmth you got from a wood stove, they reminded him of his first home. "So then what happened?" Lena asked. She'd heard the story once just once before and it had been an extremely emotional telling. It had been exactly a year ago. Johnny had told it to her in while laying next to her his head near her very pregnant self. He'd been in tears telling it to her. She'd decided she'd been better off never having known her birth mother. XxX "I was introduced to Aunt Rose's family later that day, and even though I wasn't expected I went back to their house with more clothes and presents than I had ever had in my life. It wasn't until late that night that I learned that my uncle's name was John too. I had been so confused all day when people called out Johnny, I didn't like the name, and my name was John. I didn't realize it was him they were talking too. It took me a bit to understand that we had the same name. But I didn't like being called Johnny so they called me John since my uncle was Johnny. Uncle Johnny. They told me that it was a few weeks before I really talked to them. I just watched everything wide eyed and would nod or shake my head. I'd never been on a farm before; everything was so new to me. I think I was in shock. By summer I was calling Uncle Johnny Dad, but I couldn't call my Aunt Rose Mom and, bless her loving heart, she understood and even helped me understand it. I had had a mom, even if she wasn't much of one. But Rose did the job; she was my mom in every way but name and was happy with my calling her Aunt Rose. Later I tried to call her mom but it never felt right, she'd smile at me and give me a kiss and not say a word. Then in the fall their daughters went off to college, they were a year apart but wanted to go together, so the both left the house at the same time. So then it was just me with them. Their daughters came home for Christmas, then they stayed away at school even over the summer, they both had good paying jobs, so they stayed and saved their money for the next year of school. They did have scholarships, but any bit they could earn to ease their parent's financial burden they did. They all loved and accepted me like the son and the brother they never had." XxX "When I was thirteen my dad died suddenly from a heart attack. Aunt Rose and I stayed with the farm for two years. We could have make it work for us if she had let me quit school and just get my GED, lots of the kids did that so they could work for the family ranches and farms. But Aunt Rose refused; she said I wasn't getting stuck in this life to die before my time of alcoholism or depression like many of her relatives. I was going to finish High School and go onto college. So she called a cousin who lived in California. She encouraged Rose to move away from the farm and to start a new life for me where I would have more opportunity. So when I was fifteen we moved from the backwoods of Montana to East LA. Talk about culture shock." "We did good the two of us, Aunt Rose got a job as a secretary for a construction company. I went to school, ran track wrote for the school paper, and had a night job at a local grocery store. Then in my senior year I was the Editor for the paper, I still ran track and was a good student. I even had a small scholarship lined up at a junior college, but then Aunt Rose had a stroke. Not a bad one, but college was out of the question after that. I had no idea what I wanted to be. I figured I'd go to one of the small local papers see if I could work there and maybe do night school. Then one night on my home from the grocery store a roadblock stopped me. There was a big fire, so I parked the truck and went to watch it. I was fascinated and the next day I did some research and got hooked. I took the physical and got the books to study for the entrance exam and after I passed it I was accepted into the next class into the fire academy." XxX She smiled and looked up at him, "And here you are." "And here I am. In the best place I have ever been in my life." He said quietly, looking down at her, his eye bright. "I love you so much Salina Gage. Thank you for marrying me and giving me a family again." He then leaned forward just a bit, careful to not disturb his slumbering son to kiss his wife tenderly on her lips. She smiled at him. "I love you too Johnny Gage." E!E!E!E |