Shattered Lives Read Online Free PDF Page B

Thankfully, the three boys were almost the same height, though George was more narrow and lankier.
    Jeremy had also wondered and worried how the boy was coping.  He couldn’t fathom the loss, the loneliness, the emptiness, and the confusion the boy must be feeling.  Only knowing George for a day, Jeremy and the twins had asked the boy to live with them.  They hoped he would, but George hadn’t given them a clue as to what he was thinking.
    The toilet down the hall flushed.  Water ran in the sink, and a moment later, a shadow appeared in the doorway. At first, nothing was said.
    Then in a whisper, George said, “Mr. Jeremy?”
    “Good morning, George.  Come in.”
    George stood at the foot of the bed, hugging his bare chest.
    “You’re making me cold, Kiddo.  Get yourself warm,” Jeremy whispered in a laugh.
    George sat down on the edge of the bed, still hugging himself.
    “What’s on your mind?”
    George didn’t answer.  He merely lowered his head, his shiny, shoulder length, black hair obscuring his face.  Jeremy could see the knots of the boy’s spine as George hunched over.  He could even count his ribs.  He waited patiently.
    “I don’t know what to do,” George finally said.
    Jeremy got up out of bed and sat next to him on the end of the bed.
    “What are your options?”
    George looked up, and Jeremy saw tears.
    “Move back home to Arizona or live here,” George said quietly.
    “What are the advantages of moving back to Arizona?”
    George lowered his head and was silent for a time, and then said, “I’d be back among my people, in my land.  I’d be with my cousin.”
    “Any other advantages?”
    His friend, Rebecca, and her brother, Charles, flashed through his mind, but in the end George shrugged and then shook his head.
    “What are the disadvantages?”
    Without much hesitation, George said, “I don’t have a family anymore.  I have nothing.”  He began to weep.
    “Hey, Kiddo,” Jeremy said, slipping his arm around the boy’s shoulders.
    It broke his heart to see the boy like this, any kid like this.  He kissed the side of his head.
    “If you live here, what are the advantages?”
    George shrugged, wiped his eyes with his hands, and then wiped his hands on the sheet beneath him.
    “Randy and Billy and you.  Mr. Jon and Miss Bert next door.”
    “And?”
    George shrugged and said, “What?”
    “You’d have a home.  You’d have a family.  You’d have people who care about you and want you.”
    George wept, and Jeremy gave his shoulder a squeeze and kissed the side of his head again.
    “The Navajo believe in balance.”
    “I know . . . I mean, I don’t know a lot about Navajo customs or beliefs, but I’ve been doing some research,” Jeremy said softly.
    “I think I’m upsetting the balance between Randy and Billy.”
    “Huh . . .” Jeremy said.  He hadn’t noticed any rift between the boys, so he asked, “How’s that?”
    “Randy and Billy are best friends.  They’re different, but the same.  They had their own bedroom, but now I’m there.”
    “I thought it was Billy’s idea to move the double bed into their room and move the single bed into the spare room,” Jeremy said.
    “It’s their room.  I feel like I don’t belong,” he answered and wept some more.
    “But again, it was Billy’s idea to move the bed into the room and to sleep with you.  I think Randy agreed to it, didn’t he?” George nodded. “Why else do you think you’re disturbing their balance?” Jeremy asked.
    “They don’t get to spend as much time with each other.  You don’t get to spend as much time with them.”  He shrugged and said again, “I’m upsetting the balance.”
    “The boys will always be together, George.  Billy walked away from his adoptive mother to be with Randy, and Randy ran away from home to find Billy.  I don’t think anyone will come between the two boys . . . ever.”  He paused to let that sink in and then said, “I play tennis with