Watching Brad

[upyrkilt469]

Thanks, Neil, for another great read. Looking forward to the next chapter. H&K
Vic

 

[Just4fun2]

Great chapter Neil! "Watching Brad" is a part of my life. It's just like part of my family. I hope your feeling OK now?

Chris

 

[caddymac]

Way to hang in there David. But I did think he was going to get the boot! But at this point he still does not have a job.
Another great chapter!!

 

[Caedmun]

A superb cliff-hanger, Neil. I hope that Cam and Grant aren't talking about what I THINK they're talking about.

Thank-you, as always.

 

[gsdx]

WATCHING BRAD
Part 208​

"Daddy, what's happening?"

I didn't even have to be looking at them to know that it was Jeremy who had asked that question, and it surprised me - not that I had recognised his voice (I had been able to do that for quite some time now) but that it hadn't been Justin who asked the question as I would have expected. Jeremy still relied on his brother for so many things, but it was nice to see that he was finally taking some initiative on his own as he had been doing since Brad took his little hiatus from the family.

A lot of things had happened to the family during that time, the least of which had been my awakening and realisation that Brad loved me enough to leave me when he knew that I had left him no other choice. It had been a difficult and lonely time without Brad - as much for the rest of the family as for myself - but it had been necessary for all concerned. Justin, too, had come to his own realisation that, although Jeremy still depended upon him to be his ‘big brother' who would always watch out for him and take care of him, Jeremy also relied greatly upon his new Daddy Brad, perhaps even more so than he relied upon my eldest son.

It had been a most illuminating time for all of us.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder at him. "We're waiting for the men to finish talking, my Sonskyn," I told him.

"Are they mad at Uncle David?" Justin asked.

"No," I assured them with a gentle smile. "They're just talking."

I had to look down as I talked to them, even more so than usual. They were kneeling on the grass in front of Terry and Bernice, leaning forward with their hands as close to crossing the yellow and black ‘danger' tape as they could possibly get. My smile broadened as I watched Justin glance upward to make sure he was still on the ‘safe' side of the line.

With a slight jerk of my head, I motioned them forward. They reacted as if they had been kneeling on coiled springs. Like a shot, they were scrambling to their feet as they clambered beneath the tape and rushed to my side and took my hands in theirs. David made room for Jeremy to stand between us. Thankfully, David didn't puke on anybody.

We all stood in silence, watching and waiting. Our attention was on Grant and Cameron, but Justin and Jeremy were just as intent on watching the two young men shovelling dirt into the hole. Work fascinated them They could sit and watch someone doing it for hours.

Cam and Grant looked toward the excavation where Tony was busy laying concrete blocks for the basement foundation and Cam shook his head back and forth. Cam talked to Grant for a few minutes more as Grant nodded his head several times and then, with a final nod from both of them, they returned to stand in front of David.

"Okay," Cam said. "How do I know you won't scre. . . er. . ." (He quickly glanced at the boys standing at my side) ". . .‘take off' on me if I sponsor you?"

"You don't, do you? You just have my word for it that I won't."

"Which doesn't mean anything to me right now."

"Precisely," David announced. He sucked in a huge breath as if preparing himself for battle. Then he began to speak. "Look, Mr. Bennett. I'll be honest with you. This isn't going to be a permanent thing. You sponsoring me, I mean. My friend, Brad, Ted's husband, is planning on opening a landscaping business sometime in the future and I plan on working for him when he does. But that may not happen for a year or so and I need a job right now. If the business was operating, I know for a fact that Brad would sponsor me. One way I can stay in Canada now is to get a job, and to do that, I need to find a sponsor. I haven't been in Canada very long, Mr. Bennett, but I know this is where I want to live now. I've met someone who I love very much. Now, we could get married and I would become a Canadian citizen, but that's the lazy way, and that's not the way I work. Besides, Brook would never be sure of my motives for getting married. Was it for love or for wanting to stay in Canada. See what I mean? And, in case it makes any difference in your making a decision about sponsoring me, Brook is a man, and I have every intention of marrying him sometime in the future, but not until I prove to him that I can hold my own here and make my own way, and not until I'm a Canadian citizen. It's my dream but I have to do on my own, and that's why I'm standing here talking to you right now. You're the first step to making my dream come true. And if you have a problem hiring a homosexual, then I'll just look for someone who doesn't to sponsor me."

David always had a penchant for talking, sometimes more than he should, and I feared that he may have just done a bit too much of it that day. Cam stood there for a long while afterward, staring down into David's eyes as if he might find the truth in his words there. Finally, he spoke again.

"Your private life isn't any of my business, David," Cameron said. "Your ability to do the work is. And let's face it. No offense intended, but you're not a very big guy. Are you really able to. . . ?"

David's right fist flew up between them, his index finger extended and pointed at Cam's chin. It had the desired effect of stopping Cam's words in midstream. "Don't move," he said, and then he hurried away toward the two young men who were shovelling dirt near the other side of the property. Grant and Cam turned on their heels to watch him go.

"What's Uncle David doing, Daddy?" Justin asked almost in a whisper.

"I don't know, Justin," I told him, and I honestly didn't.

As David approached them, the two labourers stopped throwing dirt and stood there, waiting. The one on the left was about my stature and build - tall and thin, but much more muscular as evidenced by the tight-fitting T-shirt. The top of David's head barely reached his shoulder. The other man was a bit shorter than his coworker, but he was built more like Brad. As David talked to him, the tall one looked in our direction and started to laugh. "You're kidding, right?" I heard him ask, but David shook his head back and forth to show that he most certainly wasn't kidding.

The tall youth looked at his friend who merely shrugged one shoulder. They both nodded and slammed the blades of their spades into the dirt and, at David's direction, moved to stand side-by-side facing my friend. David crouched down slightly and bent himself at the waist, placing his head between the two gentlemen and his shoulders at their waists. I knew immediately what he intended to do.

David's arms moved between their legs and wrapped themselves tightly around one thigh each as the two workers bent themselves over David's back. With a mighty heave of his legs and a strained grunt of effort, David pressed himself upright, lifting each of the young men in a modified fireman's carry as they each wrapped an arm around David's back to keep themselves from sliding off his shoulders. Twice he shoved upward with his shoulder and bounced with his legs in order to shift the shorter and stockier young man slightly until he was satisfied with his position. Then, spinning slowly and carefully around, David walked back toward us carrying the two men.

David struggled with the weight as he crossed over the rugged ground between there and where we were standing. His steps were quick but sure and his eyes sought out every spot where he could safely place a foot. His brow was furrowed with the strain and his lips were pressed thin with the effort. All his concentration was on the task at hand. Finally he was once again standing in front of us - particularly in front of the man he was trying to impress the most.

David said nothing. He simply stood there staring up at Cam, his jaws clenched and his temples pulsated with the effort of carrying the weight of the two bodies on his shoulders. He sucked huge breaths of air through his dilating nostrils. His chest heaved with every breath. Sweat had beaded on his brow and began to roll down his cheeks and nose. Even as we watched, one drop gathered on the end of his small nose and hung there, shimmering with every quiver of David's straining body, until it finally dangled in midair before dropping to the earth at his feet. He bounced his knees and heaved his shoulders once more, shifting the taller young man slightly. It soon became apparent to me that he had no intention of setting them down until Cameron Bennett acknowledged his efforts.

Fortunately, it became apparent to Cam as well and he swiftly said, "You've proved your point."

With a nod of acknowledgement, David turned to his left and gently lowered the two young men to their feet on the ground. When they stood up again, the taller of the two was quick to extend his hand to David, who took it into a firm handshake. "Way to go, Man!" he said, a large grin splitting his face. "I really didn't think you could do it."

"Neither did I," said his friend, who also grinned and extended his hand in congratulations. When David took it, the young man smacked David on the shoulder with his free hand. "Good luck, Man."

David grunted his thanks and nodded. As the two youth returned to their work, he turned back to face Cameron Bennett. "I can handle it," he panted.

Cam looked down at him for a long while again, then nodded and, for the first time that afternoon, he smiled briefly. "Yes," he said. "I'm sure you can. And now I believe you when you say you're both determined and stubborn. That took guts."

"I want this job, Mr. Bennett," David said, still struggling to compose himself and recover from his little demonstration. "I did what I felt I had to do to get it."

"Do you always get what you want?"

"No, Sir, I don't. But if I don't, it's not from the lack of trying."

Again, David held Cam's gaze, showing him that he didn't feel intimidated by the much larger man. I, on the other hand, knew that David was doing everything he could not to puke all over him.

Finally, after an interminably long silence, Cam nodded his head. "Tell you what, David. You get the sponsorship applications or whatever you need from the government and fill them out and drop them off at the office."

David stood there, silent, unmoving, and holding his breath, but the floodgates of his emotions were opened and all of his feelings flooded into his eyes in great waves.

"I can't make any promises," Cameron Bennett continued, "but when you get the papers to me, I promise I'll look them over and take a look at your application, too. No promises, though."

David swallowed hard and audibly. His voice came out in something of a croak. "Would you excuse me a moment, please?" A moment later, David was hurrying toward his car which was parked on the street at the curb. As he walked, he reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a ring of keys which tinkled and jingled. He quickly found the key he needed and stuck it into the lock at the back of the car and opened the trunk. He reached into the trunk and pulled out a white envelop before slamming the trunk lid shut. I was surprised that he didn't break into an excited run as he came back to us, carrying the envelope securely in one hand, but he managed to limit his pace to a very fast and rather exuberant walk. It was all I could do not to start chuckling at his ill-disguised excitement.

When he was standing in front of his prospective boss once more, he held out the envelope to Cam Bennett, who stared at it for a few moments. I could see it from where I stood and I could see that it was addressed to the Government of Canada, Department of Immigration, in Ottawa. I could also see David's address in Toronto in the upper left-hand corner.

Cam opened the envelope and pulled out a small stack of official-looking papers with the Government of Canada logo printed along the top. Cam scanned the front page and glanced at the second page, and then the next and the next until he reached the last page of the sponsorship application form.

"It's already got my name and the company's name," he said. "How long have you had this filled out?"

"Since I found out I needed a sponsor so I could stay and work in Canada and had the papers sent to me," David replied. "I filled out what I could until I found out from Grant that you were going to be the contractor a few weeks later. I filled in the rest of the information where I could and handed in my résumé to your office."

"And you've been here every day since?"

"Yes, Sir."

Cameron smiled and raised his eyebrows, almost in disbelief, as he returned the papers to the envelope and tucked it under his arm. "Well," he said, somewhat taken aback by David's initiative. "Okay, then. I'll take a look at this and your résumé as soon as I get some free time and try to give you my decision by next weekend. Until then, I don't want to hear about you doing anything around here that could be construed as ‘labour'. Got me?"

"Yes, Sir," David said, "I do." His face now beamed and his eyes now twinkled with excitement despite his efforts to maintain his calm and serious appearance. He managed a relieved grin. "Trust me," he added with a bit of a chuckle in his voice. "I won't."

* * * * *

Late Friday afternoon, when I pulled into the driveway at home, I was surprised to see Terry's car still parked there. My first thought was that I had forgot her paycheque, but I clearly remembered writing it and giving it to her that morning as I always did on Friday morning. David was still there, too, of course, as he always was. I waved at him and he waved back.

I found Terry inside the Winnebago, sitting opposite Brad at the dining table and sipping a cup of black current tea. Brad was drinking coffee and immediately stood up to prepare one for me. The three kids greeted me happily as they always did, giving me my share of hugs and kisses before going back to watching their cartoons on the overhead television screen.

I paused on my way to the table long enough to give Brad a kiss before sliding across the bench seat opposite Terry. The enormous grin on her pretty face and the glint in her eyes told me that there was something more to her presence than a forgotten paycheque.

"Hi," I said. "What's up?"

"I've got a date tonight," she admitted cheerfully. If Terry had made any attempt to conceal her excitement, she failed dismally.

"Oh, really?" I said, my cheerfulness matching her own. "Anyone I know?"

"Tom," she replied, and then, as if to be sure that I knew which Tom she was talking about, she added, "Tom Kent. The twins' teacher."

"Ah," I smiled back at her. "Him. Finally got up the courage to ask him out, did you?"

"No!" she exclaimed happily. "He asked me! Can you imagine? Today. When I went to pick up Justin and Jeremy at noon. He just came right up to me and asked if I wanted to go out for dinner and drinks with him tonight."

Brad had joined us by then, setting a mug of steaming coffee in front of me and taking his place beside me. "She wants us to go, too," he said.

I sat back in surprise and looked at Brad. "What!??"

"Oh, I don't mean for you to have dinner with us," Terry was quick to say. "I only want you to maybe go to the restaurant. You know, for a drink and maybe just sit there in case I need help or something."

"But Tom knows us, Terry," I told her. "He'd probably invite us to join you."

"That's my point," Terry continued. "At least with the two of you there, too, I'll have something to talk to him about."

I apologised later, but I had to laugh at that moment. "You're joking, right?"

Terry expression changed quickly and drastically. She now looked at us with a fallen and saddened face, rather surprised and disheartened by my reaction.

"She's serious, Pops," Brad said quietly and he put his hand on my forearm and squeezed it lightly.

My attitude quickly changed and I reached out my hand momentarily to place it over Terry's hand in apology. "I'm sorry, Terry," I said. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"That's okay," she returned rather weakly, but I could still see she had been hurt by my reaction.

"Surely you really don't want us intruding on your date," I told her.

"But he's a teacher," she said. "I'm just a nanny. What else will we have to talk about besides his classes and the twins?"

"You never seem to have problems finding things to talk about with us."

"Well, that's different, isn't it? We're not dating."

I smiled at that one. "No, we're not," I said. "But trust me, Terry. You really don't want us there." And then I thought there might be other motives for her request. "Wait. You're not worried about that gaydar thing, are you? You're not concerned for your safety or anything, are you?"

"No," she was swift to reply, "I'm sure he likes women, but he's so handsome and. . ." She stopped there, but I suspected by the twinkle in her eye that she was about to say ‘sexy'. Instead, she finished by saying, ". . . nice. So why would someone like him want to go to dinner with someone like me?"

"Maybe because he likes you?" Brad offered.

"But why? Look at me. I'm nothing special."

I couldn't hold it back any longer and I burst out laughing. "I'm nothing special, Terry. Compared to me, you're Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman all rolled into one."

"No, I'm not," she answered shyly, dropping her chin to her chest and blushing up a storm.

I reached out once more and placed my hand over hers again, leaving it there this time. I put my most sympathetic smile on my face as I said to her, "Look, Terry. You're one of the kindest, most gentle, most likeable people I know, and you're also very pretty. Tom invited you out for dinner because you're obviously special enough to him. I'm sure, and Brad will back me up here, when Tom looks at you, he finds you just as beautiful and. . . ‘nice'. . . as we do. He asked you out for dinner because he wanted to. Out of all the single mothers and all the nannies who took their children and charges to school last week, he chose you to ask out for a date. No-one else. You. Just relax and have a good time, okay? You'll do just fine."

And, before any of us could speak another word, the door flew open and David bounded in uninvited, stopping at the top of the entryway steps and gripping the doorknob in a grip which threatened to rip the device right out of the door. This time, he truly did look like he was going to puke.

To Be Continued​

 

[sheep]

Oh no! Another cliff hanger.

 

[Kyanimal]

Bravo! Encore!, Maestro!!

I want MORE, Sir! ... Please??



Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[upyrkilt469]

that was great Neil, as Kyanimal said Bravo!, etc. I second that motion. H&K
Vic

 

[Trent0n1]

Oh boyo...I'm enjoying this! Thanks heaps Neil.

Trent

 

[harry113]

Ooooh! Neil, thank you !
Great chapter. Has David got his answer? What is the decision ??
Look forward to the next chapter
Harry

 

[gsdx]

Ooooh! Neil, thank you !
Great chapter. Has David got his answer? What is the decision ??
Look forward to the next chapter
Harry

Good question, Harry. I came online just now to post: "Sorry, but no update is available".

I tried. I really tried. But I sort of knew yesterday that it wasn't going to happen.

This has been a weird chapter to write. I know where it's going, but, in three different attempts and two complete rewrites, I couldn't seem to get it there.

Ironically, I have it at a point where it would make for a short chapter (4 pages instead of the usual 7), but it would also make another cliffhanger which wouldn't answer your question, and that's not where I wanted this chapter to end, though.

What to do? What to do? Do I withhold the chapter until it's complete and I'm happy with it or do I post what I have and leave you dangling again?

Your Decision! If you want the short, cliffhanger chapter without resolving the last cliffhanger, I'll proof what I have and post it later today. If you want to wait, I'll finish writing the chapter as I anticipated and post it next week.

Please tell me what you would like to do. Your fates are in your own hands.

 

[sheep]

It is the writers decision. That's what I decided.

 

[consult28]

Neil, This is your story. Get it the way you want it or you will never be happy with it. We readers can find some other stories to read in the mean time.
Iwould like to thank you for all your work keeping me in reading material all these months.
consult28

 

[gsdx]

Sorry for the delay. I decided to go with the shorter version. I'm pretty-much content with its direction, but I was afraid I might change my mind and start another rewrite. So, here it is.

I hope you enjoy.
Neil

WATCHING BRAD
Part 209​

Terry had gone home to prepare herself for her first date with Tom Kent, the kindergarten school teacher. Lindsay remained inside ‘Winnie' with my laptop, ostensibly to do some Internet research on Dinosaur Valley at Drumheller in Alberta, the dinosaur capital of the world. It was my guess, however, that she was either messaging with Daniel or was writing him an Email.

Justin and Jeremy were sitting cross-legged on the grass beside their Daddy Brad, discovering another new and fun thing to do with bubble wrap. Brad was showing them that, by taking a rectangle of bubble wrap with the small bubbles on it and rolling it into a tube, the twins could hold opposite ends of it and twist it as if wringing out a washcloth and they would get the rapid-fire popping without having to pedal their bikes all over the yard. It gave them just as much enjoyment and generated the same happy squeals of laughter.

David and I stood on the construction side of the yellow and black plastic warning tape. We were talking to Grant although David seemed to be more intent upon watching the street to our left, especially at the sound of every approaching vehicle. Each time one drew near, he held his breath until the vehicle came into view, at which time he invariably let it out again in an anxious and agitated sigh.

Waiting was a bitch.

"It's going as well as can be expected, Ted," Grant was saying cheerfully. "I mean, a lot has already been accomplished with the crew I've had to work with, even if it's just the foundation. Still, if we had waited until Cam could move in his entire crew, we wouldn't even have that poured yet. Things will pick up in a few weeks. Cam wraps up his other job soon and we can get more guys in here. There should even be a few more bodies next week."

"It just seems to be going so slowly," I said as I glanced toward the concrete frame, "and we're into September already".

"Can't really do much until we get the crawlspace filled in and packed down. Like I said before, that will start happening next week. Just have to make sure we're ready for when the trucks start rolling in." Grant must have seen the skepticism in my face. He quickly added with an encouraging smile, "Trust me, Ted. Things will start moving along soon. It's all going as planned."

Behind us, another series of loud, popping ‘snap' sound hailed the sacrifice of yet another lot of plastic bubbles as they sacrificed themselves for the amusement of two little five-year-old boys.

Grant giggled in his unexpected, high-pitched giggle at their laughter as he glanced in their direction and said, "Damn. They're so cute." The next moment, he and I were having a serious discussion about the benefits and cost of spray foam insulation versus the more common fibreglass or recycled denim jeans bat insulation when I felt David grasp my forearm tightly in his gripping fingers. "He's here, Ted," he whispered harshly and urgently. "He's here!"

I looked toward my left in time to see Cameron Bennett's truck pull to a stop at the side of the street. As we watched him climb out of his truck and approach us, carrying the large, white envelope David had given him a few days earlier under his arm, I glanced back over my shoulder toward Brad to get his attention. He left a small stack of bubble wrap rectangles with the twins and joined me at my side.

For a short eternity, there was only the sounds of nature and the city around us to be heard, interrupted at semi-regular intervals by abrupt bursts of popping plastic bubbles and the delighted laughter of our sons.

Cam drew nearer and I'm sure David was holding is breath. He drew to a standstill between Grant and David. "Grant?" he acknowledged with a nod of greeting. "Gentlemen?" he nodded and said to me and Brad. And then, "David? Thanks for waiting for me. Appreciate it"

"No probs Mr. Bennett," David said as he looked up at the taller man, finally letting out his breath and offering his hand to Cameron for a polite, if apprehensive, handshake.

The contractor took the offered hand in his own and shook it firmly twice before releasing it. He reached for the envelope and held it firmly and closely in front of him with both hands. "Well," he said, "I guess we should get to it, eh? I'm going to be very honest with you, David. When I met you the other day, I didn't quite know what to make of you. All I knew about you was what my secretary had told me - that you were a short little American looking for a Canadian sponsor. When she told me what she could about you, I discounted you immediately without even looking at your résumé, not because you were short or American, but because you were looking for a sponsor. That word stuck in my craw and I couldn't get beyond it. I simply wasn't interested in sponsoring you or anyone else. You see, a contractor friend of mine from Hamilton got tangled up with a sponsorship a few years ago and it all went sour. The guy was stealing tools and skimming any supplies he could get his hands on, apparently to sell so he could buy drugs. My friend lost thousands of dollars in that deal and I wasn't interested in getting tangled up in the same sort of mess."

"Pardon me, Mr. Bennett," David interrupted, "but you shouldn't judge me by what that other guy did."

"No, I shouldn't," Cam returned, "but I think you can see where it might give me pause."

David didn't respond except to nod a single, almost unnoticed dip of his head, but I could see his jaw tightening slightly and his temple throb several times. Still, he held Cam Bennett's eyes, refusing to be intimidated by the larger man.

"Anyway, I had your résumé filed away and forgot about it until my secretary told me that you kept checking back with her. I told her to tell you not to bother coming back, but apparently you either didn't get the message or you didn't pay attention to it."

That was the first time I'd heart that little tidbit of news.

"She told me, Sir," David said, "but you don't get a job you want by handing in a résumé and sitting at home watching soap operas and talk shows all day long waiting for the phone to ring. I wanted you to know that I was willing to work as hard to get that job as I would after I got it."

"There," Cam said quickly yet calmly. "That's another thing I noticed. You said the other day that you're stubborn and determined, but sometimes it comes across as being a bit arrogant and cocky."

David drew himself up to his full stature and pushed out his chest as if in challenge. "Well, Mr. Bennett, when you're as short as I am, you have to work twice as hard to stand out from the bigger guys. It's easy to overlook someone like me. If that comes across as arrogant and cocky, then I'm sorry. To me, it's nothing more than survival."

This most certainly wasn't going the way any of us had thought it would go. I decided to step in to try to calm some frazzled nerves before things completely got out of hand. Before I could do so, though, David tossed me a swift, dangerous warning glance that froze any words I might have said in my throat. He made it very clear to me that it was his battle to fight and I obligingly kept my mouth shut.

"Yes," Cam said with a small smile and raised eyebrows. His head dipped slightly as his right hand lifted to the side of his head, his index finger scratching lightly at his dark brown hair. "Well, you certainly stood out when you carried Matt and Keith over your shoulders. That took guts. It was the stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do, but it took guts." He paused a moment as he lowered his hand and grasped the envelope in his fingers again. David's eyes followed them. "But, back to the matter at hand, eh?"

He held the envelope tightly in his right hand and opened his left, tapping the edge of the envelope onto his left palm. I could hear the papers sliding around inside. David's eyes rose from the envelope the recapture Cameron Bennett's gaze.

We were interrupted then by Justin's voice. "Daddy, can we come over there?"

I motioned them forward and picked up Justin as Brad snatched Jeremy up in his arms. "You have to be very quiet, okay?"

They nodded and our attention returned to Cameron Bennett, who didn't seem to have been the least bit disturbed or annoyed by the interruption.

"Grant told me when I was here last," he continued, "that I should give your sponsorship request some honest consideration. He had nothing but good things to say about you, David, and I value Grant's judgement. I promised that I would think it over. Before I went home that afternoon, I picked up your résumé from the office so I could go through it along with your application, and I read through them that evening after supper. I have one question I'd like to ask first. Did you quit your job in Albany to come back to Canada to be with. . . what was is name?"

"Brook, Sir," David replied honestly and quickly. "And the answer is ‘no'. I didn't even decide to come back to Canada until after I quit."

"So, why did you quit?"

"Personal reasons, Mr. Bennett. All I will say about it is that my coworkers made it almost impossible for me to continue working there after they heard about my visit here and the friends I'd made."

"And dangerous," Grant added almost as an insignificant mumble. Apparently David had shared his little adventure about being attacked on the job site and sent to hospital.

Mr. Bennett looked at David for a few long moments before glancing at Grant, who merely responded to the unasked question with a slight shrug of his shoulders and a helpless shake of his head. Cam's attention returned to David. "Right." And then, after a time of silent thinking, it seemed to hit him as he put two and two together. In his best ‘Edith Bunker' moment of self-revelation, his eyes opened wider and he gasped, "Oh, right! You mean because they found out that you're. . .?"

"Yes, Sir," David answered. "I couldn't work there anymore, so I quit. After that, there wasn't really anything to keep me there anymore, and I wasn't happy there, so I decided to come back to Canada. I had made some great new friends here and my niece and her family, the only real family I have left, lives here now, too. And Brook is here. This is where I want to live."

"So, why the sponsorship? Why didn't you just apply for a work visa when it probably would have been easier than trying to find someone to sponsor you?"

"Because a work visa can take months to be processed and I would have to wait for it back in the States. A sponsorship can be approved in just a few weeks and I can start work immediately. And I can stay here while I wait."

"And yet you've spent all your time cleaning up here and dropping in at my office every other day when you could have been out drumming up a sponsor somewhere else. Even when you were told you were wasting your time."

David paused only a moment before saying, "Was I, Mr. Bennett? If I had really been wasting my time, I doubt if you'd be standing here talking to me right now and holding my application in your hands."

Cam looked down at the white envelope. "Yes," he said almost to himself. "The application," he continued as he grasped the envelope in the fingers of his left hand and smoothed the unsealed flap with the thumb and index finger of his other hand. "Look, David, I'm really sorry, but I. . ."

David almost sounded defeated when he interrupted Cameron Bennett in mid sentence. His gaze was now locked on fingers moving across the top edge of the white government envelope. "There's no need to apologise, Mr. Bennett. I understand. I gambled on a throw of the dice and they came up snake eyes."

To Be Continued​

 

[Autolycus]

Another excellent chapter!

 

[upyrkilt469]

Looks like maybe David isn't doing too well. Maybe things will change for him. Good read, Neil. Thanks. H&K Vic

 

[harry113]

Oh Dear. is this the brush-off ? Poor David.
Hey Neil, Thank you, well written .... you do love keeping us on our toes!!
I hope this is resolved in the next chapter
Harry

 

[grof142007]

I totally saw right thru that David just jump the gun or i could be competly wrong(which im not)

 

[Trent0n1]

Thanks Neil....for yet another outstanding and enjoyable chapter!

Trent

 

[caddymac]

Another great TWO chapters. I know, I was behind but not now.
Oh no, this is not looking very good for David. Unless this guy is one of those who likes to keep you in suspense til the end.
Thank you Neil, great job.