Finding Eddy

by Silas111

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. This story may contain scenes which involve sexual situations between young males. If this type of material is offensive to you, or it is not legal for you to be reading this type of material, please do not read any further. This story is copyright © 2007 by Silas111, all rights reserved. Please do not copy this story for distribution or post on any online server without the author's permission. Please send all your comments to: silas111@sympatico.ca.

I woke up earlier than normal so I decided to go for a walk this morning. It was a bright spring morning. The air was cool and clear. The birds were singing high up in the trees. I bought a coffee and decided to sit in the park. The sun was just coming up.

As I came up to my usual bench, I found a young boy curled up asleep on it. He could not have been anymore than 8 or 9. It was clear that he lived on the streets by his dirty pants, face, bare chest and feet. I've noticed him on the streets before but never knew where he slept.

I went back to the coffee shop and bought a sandwich, an apple and a bottle of juice. I came back to the bench and sat them beside the boy who was still asleep. I sat down on the bench next to his bare feet.

I watched the sun come up as I finished my coffee then watched the boy sleep. He looked so innocent and peaceful. I wondered how a young boy could end up living on the streets. He was not unique because there were hundreds of street children in the Mexican town I was in. It was a tourist town so people were more open to giving them hand outs; at least enough for food.

I decided to have a little fun. I took the stir stick from my coffee cup and ran it lightly along the boy's bare feet. His feet twitched but he didn't wake up at first. After a few strokes, he started to softly giggle in his sleep. After about 5 minutes he started to wake up. I continued to tickle his feet until he sat up laughing.

I looked at him with a warm smile on my face. He returned it with a smile of his own. I pointed to the things I bought at the coffee shop for him. At first he was very surprised. He looked at me. I simply nodded and then he knew they were meant for him. He gave me a big 'thank you' hug and then began to eat. As he ate, he stretched out on the bench and put his feet on my lap with a giggle. I ran the stir stick along his feet and he seemed to enjoy that.

The rest of the town started to wake up and come into the park so our morning play time was over. He finished his sandwich and juice then stuffed the apple in his pocket for later. He gave me another thank you hug and walked down the path.

I stood up and went about my morning errands. I bought some groceries and paid some bills. It was nice to live on "Mexican time" where you didn't have to rush around to get things done. People took the time to talk to you on the streets. I've made some wonderful friends in this town. Every day I find someone to talk with and get to know better.

I stopped in the park for lunch. I had an extra sandwich and juice in my pack just in case my little friend came back. Just as I was getting ready to leave, he came back down the path. I motioned for him to sit on the bench then took out the sandwich and juice to give to him. He stretched out and wanted me to tickle his feet again as he ate. After he ate, he gave me a 'thank you' hug and went on about his business and I went back to my house.

Later that evening, while sitting on my deck, I heard some whimpering coming from the other side of the house. As I entered the lane beside the house, I saw the same little boy from the park curled up in a ball crying. I leaned down and gently touch his shoulder. He immediately jumped with fear. When he saw it was me, he leaped into my arms and hugged me tightly. I picked him up and carried him to my deck. He did not let go of my neck even after I sat down on the deck chair. So, I just rubbed his bare back until he stopped crying.

It took about 15 minutes for him to calm down enough to let go of my neck. His little face had tear stain lines running down both his cheeks. His English was poor and my Spanish was not much better. He told me that his name was Edmond but people called him Eddy. It took a while but I found out some older street boys had tried to beat him up. He managed to run but they chased him until he ran into the lane beside my house. He told me that he secretly followed me after our lunch time meeting because he wanted to know where I lived.

I told him he was safe here and that he could stay as long as he wanted too. I stood up, took him by the hand and walked him into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and told him to pick some things to eat. I picked him up and sat him on the stool while I prepared the food. While the food was simmering on the stove, I asked him if he wanted to clean up. He looked confused. I walked him to the bathroom. I handed him the soap and turned on the shower then walked out. He came out with just a towel around his waist. I picked him up and sat him on the stool beside the counter. He ate everything on the plate and even had seconds when I offered it to him. He really enjoyed the ice cream for desert.

After he was full, we went into the living room to watch some TV. It didn't take him long to fall asleep beside me on the couch. I went into the bathroom to get his pants so I could at least wash them. To my surprise, he has cleaned up the bathroom after he finished showering. The pants were in really bad shape. I honestly did not think they would survive the wash cycle let alone the dryer.

I knew that there was a market down the street where people sold everything from food to clothes. I slipped out to see if I could find my little friend a new pair of pants. I found an elderly lady selling children's clothes so she was a big help with picking out the right sizes. I also bought him a couple of extra pants, shorts, shirts, underwear and a pair of shoes. She told me I could exchange anything that he didn't like or didn't fit.

Eddy was still asleep on the couch. I laid out all the new clothes on the coffee table in front of him. I gently picked up his feet and sat next to him. I began to lightly tickle his feet to gently wake him up like I did this morning on the park bench. He twitched and giggled in his sleep but eventually woke up. He was a bit confused as to where he was until he looked at me. I pointed to the coffee table. He was shocked at first. When I told them they were all for him, acted like a typical boy on Christmas day. He sat up and gave me a big hug. When he let go, there were tears in his eyes. He said they were happy tears not sad tears. I told him to pick up his new clothes and go into the bathroom to try them on. He was so happy; he gave me a complete modeling show. He even came out in just his new underwear at one point. He was so cute doing his modeling dance and twirls. He decided to leave on just a pair of shorts.

It was late so I told him he could sleep in the spare bedroom if he wanted too. He took off his shorts and said he wanted to sleep in his underwear. I tucked him into bed. After I got undressed and into my bed, I heard the door open. It was dark but I could tell it was Eddy sneaking in. He was carrying a pillow and blanket. He lay down on the floor beside my bed. I leaned over, touched his shoulder and asked him what was wrong. He said he was scared in the spare bedroom. I told him he could sleep in my bed if he wanted. He got up and climbed into bed. I moved to the other side of the bed to give him 'his own space.' He giggled and followed me across the bed. He said he felt safe when I hugged him. We moved to the center of the bed and I held him close so he could fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up with a breakfast tray beside me on the bed. Eddy woke up before me and prepared a simple breakfast of sliced fruits and juice for the two of us. He was sitting on the bed holding the tray, waiting for me to wake up. He placed the tray on my lap then sat between my legs on the opposite side of the tray.

After breakfast, he took the tray back into the kitchen. He ran back and jumped on the bed. He gave me a big hug. He began poking me in the belly. I think he wanted me to tickle him. We wrestled around on the bed until he was exhausted from laughing so much.

I left him panting on the bed while I went for a shower. When I came back into the bedroom, I found the bed neatly made but no sign of Eddy. I found him watching cartoons in the living room. He was just wearing his new shorts.

I sat beside him and ask him what he planned to do today. He asked if he could hang around me or stay in the house if I had to go some place he couldn't follow me to. I had mixed feelings about his requests. I liked having him around but how would the locals feel about me letting a street boy stay with me. I needed to find out. I told him that I trusted him not to steal anything from my house if I left him alone. I told him to lock the doors when I left and if he decided to leave. He agreed not to steal from me and keep the doors locked. He also said he would be there when I came back.

I went to talk with a local priest that ran the town's orphanage first. I've talked with him many times while on my walks around town. He did not see any problem with me helping Eddy. He asked me if I would consider adopting him. I had not thought that far ahead. He told me that since I had a permanent residence in Mexico there was a possibility that adoption was an option if I decided to go that route. The adoption would involve government social workers visiting my home and interviewing me and Eddy for an undetermined period of time. If the interview visits and background checks went well, there would be no problem with the adoption.

I asked each of my friends I met on the streets what they thought about me helping Eddy and got the same warm reply that I heard from the priest. They all encouraged me to help Eddy. I did not realize people thought that fondly of me.

I stopped at the local market to pick up some extra groceries on the way back.

I did not mention anything about adoption to Eddy when I came back to the house. I found him asleep on the couch. I gently woke him up the same way by tickling his feet. I found out that he was faking being asleep. He hoped I would tickle his feet to wake him up. He admitted he like being tickled and the feelings it gave him inside. I playfully grabbed him and put him on my lap. I gave him a good tickling for faking being a sleep. He really enjoyed the attention I was giving him.

I asked him if he wanted to go for a swim. I lived on the beach so it was great to be able to simply walk outside and jump in the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the afternoon playing in the water and on the beach. At one point, I even buried him in the sand and tickled his feet. We both enjoyed a great afternoon together.

We both headed back inside to make dinner together. That evening, I started to ask him how he would feel about staying with me for a while. He really wanted to but was not sure if I wanted him to stay. I told him that I enjoyed his company and would like him to stay. He hugged me and said he really wanted to stay.

We settled down and watched a movie on TV. When he fell asleep, I gentle picked him up and carried him into the spare bedroom. A couple of hours later, I headed for my bed. I was surprised to find Eddy sound asleep in my bed. I decided not to wake him and tell him to go to back to the other bedroom. I figured he had such a rough life up to this point that he needed to feel safe and secure. If that meant sleeping next to me for a little while, I don't mind.

After the first week, I could not imagine my life without Eddy in it. I decided to tell the priest at the orphanage to start the procedure for me to adopt Eddy. We agreed not to get Eddy's hopes up until we were sure that the adoption would go through. The government social worker agreed not to let Eddy know that she was there to evaluate us as part of the adoption process. She simply told Eddy that it was a government procedure to check up on his well being since I was not related to him and to make sure he enjoyed living with me. It was not a lie as much as it was simply not telling the whole truth.

The next several weeks were great. Eddy stayed with me and helped around the house. We taught each other our native languages. He was faster at learning English than I was at learning Spanish but we both had fun teaching each other.

Since it was summer, we didn't have to worry about Eddy attending school. I did check out the schooling situation on a couple errands in town. If the adoption went through, Eddy would have no problem attending school in the fall.

The adoption was finalized the last week of August. I decided to have a surprise party for Eddy to tell him he was my son and I was his father. Some of my local friends helped me plan the party. We told Eddy it was an "End of Summer" type of party.

Eddy was having a great time co-hosting the party with me. After the dinner, I brought out a gift wrapped box and placed it in from of him. He was totally surprised and shocked. When he opened it, he saw a certificate that I had printed up saying that he was my son and I was his father. He was confused at first until I told him that I had adopted him legally with the help of the priest and social worker. When I told him he was my son and I was his father, he broke down and cried on my shoulder. He said he was so happy. Everyone slipped out to their cars to get the gifts they were hiding for Eddy. After he was done crying, his face just beamed with happiness and joy. Eddy thanked everyone for making it the happiest day of his life.

After everyone left at the end of the night, Eddy came up to me on the couch. He wrapped his arms around my neck and said "I Love You, Papa." That's when my tears of joy started flowing. I looked into his eyes and told him that I loved him with all my heart.

Editor's Notes:

Wait a second I have to wipe my eyes. Okay, that is a very nice short story, see it's a story and it's short. Powerful but short. I hope we get to visit with Eddy and his Papa again at least enough to see how they are doing. Hint, Hint. I think I know a story that just might let that happen. Job well done, Silas111. Well back to editing your not so short story.

Str8mayb