You might as well not have a name at “The Home”. Nobody called you by your given name, anyway. And if you ever got adopted, which was unlikely now that I am 17, but if I ever did, I would get a new last name anyway.
The last name on my record was Gahagan. Whoever the Gahagans were, I don’t consider myself one of them. I kind of remember that as a little kid, they told me “You’d better start behaving or we’ll send you to “The Home.” WelI here I am. Whoever the Gahagans were they decided I wasn’t worth keeping, so screw em. It’s better to be at “The Home” of low expectations which is run by a bunch of power-hungry a-holes, but at least I’m here with my friends.
Everyone has a nickname here. Mine is the Dancing Bear. I guess it is because I’m big and have a deep voice. Doggy says it is because I run on my toes when we play football. The dog, or doggy, is my friend. His nickname is simple and it comes from his given last name which is Beigel. My other friends are Stumpy, Snake, Tomato, Bull, the Pit, and Goony. There’s a good story behind each of these names. They are the only family I’ve ever known.
My friends and I are 17, almost 18 now. Short-timers. All of us. So there’s a lot of talk about what comes next. That’s what we’re all trying to figure out. You see guys out there walking alone and you know they are thinking about what the hell they are going to do now. Nobody wants to live in the Home forever, but what are we going to do without each other? What are we going to do out in the world that put us in the Home in the first place?
Each of us has to attend a “decision meeting”. It is our chance to tell the a-holes who run the home what we are going to do when we become free or abandoned souls. The meeting includes any family members around who might still be interested in what happens to us.
When I walk into the meeting the secretary gives me a name badge that reads: Steven Gahagan and I feel weird putting it on because nobody calls me that and I ain’t no Gahagan and that’s for sure. Then the Dean says, “Steven, there’s somebody here from your family who wants to talk to you.”
“I don’t have no family,” I say
“Steven,” says this man I’ve never seen before. “My name is John Mc Clellan. I’m an Uncle you’ve never met. I’m from Ireland. My sister was your mom. I know that probably doesn’t mean shite to you considering what has happened. Just wanted you to know that if you want help or a place to stay when you leave, just to figure things out, I’d welcome you into my home. You don’t know me. I don’t know you, but I know my sister did you wrong.”
“My friends call me “Bear,” I say.
“Not Steven?” says McClellan. “Bear it is. Ya, I can see it.”
“You can?” I am shocked by this.
“Ya, sure,” McClellan says.
“Well Steven,” says the Dean. “You’ve got a lot to think about.”
“Name’s not Steven,” I say.
“It’s the name on your tag,” the Dean says.
“Not for long,” I say
“Not for long” agrees the Dean.
I stand up to leave. McClellan says “We’ll talk more, Bear, if you want to.”
“Yeah,” I say. “OK.”
— DanielSouthGate
The last name on my record was Gahagan. Whoever the Gahagans were, I don’t consider myself one of them. I kind of remember that as a little kid, they told me “You’d better start behaving or we’ll send you to “The Home.” WelI here I am. Whoever the Gahagans were they decided I wasn’t worth keeping, so screw em. It’s better to be at “The Home” of low expectations which is run by a bunch of power-hungry a-holes, but at least I’m here with my friends.
Everyone has a nickname here. Mine is the Dancing Bear. I guess it is because I’m big and have a deep voice. Doggy says it is because I run on my toes when we play football. The dog, or doggy, is my friend. His nickname is simple and it comes from his given last name which is Beigel. My other friends are Stumpy, Snake, Tomato, Bull, the Pit, and Goony. There’s a good story behind each of these names. They are the only family I’ve ever known.
My friends and I are 17, almost 18 now. Short-timers. All of us. So there’s a lot of talk about what comes next. That’s what we’re all trying to figure out. You see guys out there walking alone and you know they are thinking about what the hell they are going to do now. Nobody wants to live in the Home forever, but what are we going to do without each other? What are we going to do out in the world that put us in the Home in the first place?
Each of us has to attend a “decision meeting”. It is our chance to tell the a-holes who run the home what we are going to do when we become free or abandoned souls. The meeting includes any family members around who might still be interested in what happens to us.
When I walk into the meeting the secretary gives me a name badge that reads: Steven Gahagan and I feel weird putting it on because nobody calls me that and I ain’t no Gahagan and that’s for sure. Then the Dean says, “Steven, there’s somebody here from your family who wants to talk to you.”
“I don’t have no family,” I say
“Steven,” says this man I’ve never seen before. “My name is John Mc Clellan. I’m an Uncle you’ve never met. I’m from Ireland. My sister was your mom. I know that probably doesn’t mean shite to you considering what has happened. Just wanted you to know that if you want help or a place to stay when you leave, just to figure things out, I’d welcome you into my home. You don’t know me. I don’t know you, but I know my sister did you wrong.”
“My friends call me “Bear,” I say.
“Not Steven?” says McClellan. “Bear it is. Ya, I can see it.”
“You can?” I am shocked by this.
“Ya, sure,” McClellan says.
“Well Steven,” says the Dean. “You’ve got a lot to think about.”
“Name’s not Steven,” I say.
“It’s the name on your tag,” the Dean says.
“Not for long,” I say
“Not for long” agrees the Dean.
I stand up to leave. McClellan says “We’ll talk more, Bear, if you want to.”
“Yeah,” I say. “OK.”
— DanielSouthGate
A nice ending for a very sad story. Well-written as always.
ReplyDeleteGreat story. Great writing
ReplyDeleteIs Bear gonna move to IRELAND? I hope so. And I hope his friends find someone who cares for them also. ---Macoff
ReplyDelete