"Eric … this might get a bit hard for me to tell you, so … so please forgive me if I stumble. I had wanted to tell you before, but … well, the time wasn't right and … I was also afraid of what you'd think of me, and then you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. But, after what happened at the courthouse the other day, I knew I had to tell you, so … well, so you'd understand if my name came out, or my face was seen on the TV once the trials begin."
After hearing those opening words, Eric's face became a jumble of questions and he looked at Robert as he began to stutter out, "T … T … trials a … as in mo … more than ONE?"
"Yes" answered Robert. "But before you ask any more questions, let me tell you my full story … after that you'll understand why there may be more than one trial."
"You see, when I turned ten my dad, my real dad that is, not Mr. Ken," started Robert.
"Yes, I knew you didn't mean Mr. Ken," spoke up Eric.
"Well, right after my birthday, my... my dad began to make sure I did my home work as soon as I got home because, he told me, he had a 'job' for me to do. I didn't know what job a ten year old could do but I loved my father and I wanted to please him so I did what he asked. A few months later, I learned my dad wanted me to accompany, that was the word my dad used … he wanted me to accompany some men when they went places. He told me that the men didn't have any kids of their own, and they wanted to be seen with one at the places they went.
"It was fun in the beginning. I got to go to lots and lots of places, both locally and far away. We usually went for the weekend beginning Friday night until late Sunday. Anyway, it was after I'd gone with some of the men a few times, that when we went to bed they began to have me sleep with them. At first, I asked my dad why they wanted me to do that and all he said was that I should do whatever the men wanted me to do and, if I had questions, I could talk to him later."
"Well, this one night, when we were laying in the big hotel bed the guys hand somehow came to rest on my ah … my … my …"
And hearing his best friend stumble for a word, Eric suggested, "Privates?"
"Yes, thanks Eric, I … I couldn't find the word I wanted to use. Well, that night I found the man had somehow placed his hand on my, ah … privates. It surprised me at first, but that was all it was, just a placed hand. The second night it happened again but that time his hand began to … this is embarrassing … to feel my privates through my pajamas. It didn't happen for long, that first time that night, but it happened again and again and for longer times. And, it just wasn't that one man who did it. Eventually, every man I spent the weekends with did it and … and more.
"I asked my dad about it after that first time, and all he did was to ask me if it hurt and that if it didn't, not to say anything and to just go along with whatever the men did or wanted to do. So, I listened to my father and I continued to accompany these guys to wherever they wanted to go and I let them … ah … touch me. As the trips went on, the touching got, ah … more and more. Before I knew it, they had their hands down inside my pajamas and before long I never wore them again when I was with them. I still did wear them at home because my mom was still there."
"The number of men I had to go with changed all the time. Some of the men I initially started going with … I never saw again. But, there was always new men who wanted my company and they all wanted to … to touch me and then they ah … they … had me touching them. I talked to my dad about that and all he said was that they hadn't hurt me and anyways, I was learning about things sooner than most other kids my age so 'to deal with it'."
"So, I dealt with it. But then something changed. As I went with these men, they began to treat me to special things and make me feel much better about being with them. Some of the men took me to zoos and regular parks while others took me to 3D movies. A few even took me to a ranch where we rode horses and sang around campfires. The strange thing at the ranches was there were other kids my age, or older there, who looked like they were in the same position as I was. I never did get to talk to any of them, though. The guys we were with never allowed us to mingle, or talk with one another."
"But, as the 'special' things began to happen, so did the touching increase. Oh, what I forgot to tell you was that we stopped wearing anything to bed. It was then that they began to have me do things to them. In the beginning, they did things to me and then they'd ask me to try doing it to them. The things they did to me always felt real good so … so, I did it to them too. Every guy liked to do things a bit differently than the others. Sometimes, we'd shower together and sometimes we'd be in the huge hotel bathtubs for hours playing … well, we were doing the things the guys liked me to do to them."
"Then, one weekend a new man took me for the weekend. He began, like most of the others, you know, treating me nice and buying me things but he did something … different. The second night, after the first night of touching and doing other things he wanted to 'try' something different, so he … he got out this slippery stuff with a funny name on it. All it had on the tube was the initials K and Y."
"Well, he had me lie on my stomach and that's when he used that K–Y stuff and put his finger into … ah, into … ah, this is so embarrassing Ms. Judy, he put … his fingers into … my … butt. Oh, it hurt and it hurt bad! His fingers were huge compared to my fingers and … and he continued to push and pull his finger in and out of my butt hole. I tried to get him to stop and when he couldn't fit another one of his fingers inside of me he did stop."
By this time, Robert had tears falling down his face, but he wasn't the only one. Ms. Judy had gotten out some tissues and was dabbing her eyes and wiping her nose. Mr. Ken also had tears sliding down his cheeks and he was heard to sniffle a time or two, trying to clear up his nose. Eric, on the other hand, was seeing his best friend in a totally new light.
Eric felt really bad for his buddy because he was telling his story and his mom was there hearing ALL of the details. He didn't know if he could have ever shared any of that with anyone, let alone with a woman present. It was then that it dawned on him how it was that Robert knew how to do some of the things they had done together.
"Robert … 'son' … you don't need to torture yourself in telling us your story. I think we all gather where this is going and I think Ms. Judy and I can fathom what is coming next," said Ken Thomas as he tried to express to Robert that he didn't need to continue.
"But … but 'dad' … you … you and Ms. Judy may know, but Eric doesn't an ….and if I don't tell him everything he … he will always wonder what I kept from him. I don't want to do that, 'dad'. I want Eric to be my friend, now and forever, and I need to finish telling him why I am now living with you, and then what happened at the courthouse, that got that judge arrested," responded Robert.
"Are you sure, Robert?" asked Ms. Judy.
"Yes, ma'am, I'm sure," quickly answered the preteen. "I'm almost done, anyways."
Robert took a swig from his now warm soda and looked to Eric to see if his friend wanted him to continue. Getting a positive nod from Eric, Robert continued his story.
"That man, when he couldn't get his fat fingers inside my butt hole, he … he made me suck his … his … penis. He made me play with it first to … make it hard and then he made … he made me put it into my mouth and he told me what he wanted me to do and how to do it. A few times I… I scraped my teeth on his … his penis and he smacked me. He then told me to do IT right, like I knew what I was doing, and then he grabbed my head and then forced his... his thing into my mouth. He did that harder and harder and even forced it down my throat that I couldn't breathe sometimes. Then … then when he finished, he made me swallow what came out of his … his penis.
"I … I talked to my real dad about what the guy did and all my dad did was tell me to 'buck it up' and to 'deal with it' as he was getting paid mighty good, and that I needed to 'grow up' and enjoy what was being taught to me. I never saw that man again, but more and more of the guys I went with, began to use their fingers on me and also made me suck them."
"Then, one time, a man … after he used his fingers … he put his … penis … into my butt. Oh, did it hurt; I thought he had split me in two. Then, all of a sudden, something ... something happened inside of me. I don't know what it was, and I never asked, but it began to feel good. The man did it a couple of times that weekend and each time it felt good inside of me. But, after that weekend my butt was sore all week and when I told my dad what the guy had done he told me that I wouldn't have to go with anyone that coming weekend. I thought that maybe it was over, but the following weekend it continued."
"Eric, those guys … they all used me for sex. They all eventually had me suck them and they also put their penis inside of me. This went on from the time I was ten and a half until about the time I was almost twelve. I was maybe eleven and nine or ten months old when they arrested my dad and charged him with aiding to the delinquency of a minor; selling a child into sex; and aiding and abetting sexual abuse on a child. I was allowed to remain with my mom but, a few months, later they arrested her, too."
"You see … she was charged with something like being an accessory before and after the crime of those men sexually abusing me. They said she enjoyed the money from dad selling me into sex; and for not reporting the crime she had to know was happening under her roof. I think they've added a few more charges to both my father and mother, although my mother still claims she didn't know what her husband was doing. But she did enjoy the windfall of money and never asked where it came from. Sometimes, I'd come home from a weekend with one of the men, and I'd have a few hundred dollar bills he'd given me, as his way of thanking me. I'd then give it to her to put in my bank account. She had to know that something wasn't right."
"You're probably wondering why I didn't say something earlier. Well, I did … to my 'real' dad … but he always told me that nothing was wrong and that the money I was earning would go towards my college education. And, well you may hate me after I tell you this … I came to enjoy the many places we went and the money I was given even though some of the sex things they did hurt, initially, but after a while I actually came to enjoy some of the things we did together and they always … ah … they made me feel good, too."
"I know … I know … I ultimately got caught up in my dad's scheme and the money I made sort of made up for what I did. I hope, though, you'll believe me that it wasn't until I began to talk to some doctors … that I came to realize that I really didn't understand the ramifications of what I was made to do, or how it could affect me throughout the rest of my life. Eric … this is the fourth Foster Home I've been put in. At the first one, the man found out that I had been used for sex and after a few weeks he made me do the same things to him. I made up some story and complained to my Foster Care Worker and she believed me and moved me."
"The second home I got placed in … the people were very religious. At first, I didn't mind all the church stuff. We went to church twice on Sunday and then on Wednesday night. Most of the time at church, I was placed with kids my age. All we did was study the Bible and then we had games we'd play before it was time to go home. But as time moved on, these people wanted me to convert to their religion and when I resisted they began to treat me differently."
"They made me stay with them in church and at home they limited the amount of food I could eat. It was when I still resisted their attempts to convert me to their religion, they made me wear only underwear whenever I was inside their house. They too found out why I was in Foster Care and tried to use that against me to convert. When I complained to my Foster Care Worker, she verified that I had lost a lot of weight and that I had no friends, so she moved me."
"The third foster home I went to already had three boys – two teens and one boy about my age. At first we got along great. The older boys treated us like we were their 'real' brothers and it was fun having someone older around to hang with. At school, I did well in my studies and I had lots of friends there too. Then … one night the … the teens asked us younger boys if we wanted to play a game."
"Well, the game they taught us became a 'sex' game and we eventually had to touch them then suck them and eventually they ah … ah forced themselves into me. They never did the butt thing to the other boy but eventually the man found about it and he then made me do the same for him. Well, I complained again and your mom brought me to Mr. Ken and asked him to foster me.
"I know, now … what my dad made me do was wrong but … well, so was all the stuff all those other foster people did to me. Well, all except 'dad', ah, Mr. Ken, here. I couldn't have been sent to a better place, anywhere here in Texas. Mr. Ken treated me like I was actually someone. And, right from the start he even cared enough about me and how I might feel and how the kids around me might treat me that he decided to call me Robert. I think I already explained that to you."
"So, there you have it, Eric. I know it was a lot to take in, and to think about. In the end, I was what some people might call a 'slut' boy, since I did all those things for money. Yea, I should have told someone other than my dad. I should have run away or did one of a thousand other things. I didn't know until later that what I was doing was 'bad' but by then I thought it was too late."
"One thing I did learn over this is … is that Hind Sight is always 20/20; meaning, if I had the chance to change what happened to me, I sure would! So, there, I hope that now … now that you know why I am staying here with Mr. Ken you will … and, I sure hope you will … you'll still be my friend."
The three person audience just sat there astonished at the story they just heard. It was as if each one was waiting for another act to follow. Ultimately, since he had been asked directly, Eric stood up, wiped his eyes, then walked over to his best friend and pulled him up into a big hug.
"Robert," began Eric, as he continued to hug his friend, "thank you for being so open and honest with me and for telling … for telling me about all the things you had to endure." Then, pulling a bit back from their hug, Eric looked into Robert's eyes and stated for all to hear, "I will ALWAYS be your friend, Robert. There is nothing you did or were made to do that could make me abandon you."
"Now, there is something I want you to know about me," began Eric.
"No, no … you don't have to tell me anything about you Eric. There is nothing you could have done that could ever approach the evil that I was a part of," argued Robert.
"No, I want to tell you this. I want you to know why I love being over here and why Collin and Ryan are so important to me." Then, looking to his mom he said, "Mom, I would have told him eventually, and I think this is as good a time as any."
After getting a nod from his mom, Eric said to Robert, "Robert … the reason you NEVER hear me speak about my dad is … is because he killed my mom … in front of me. Mom Judy … I'm adopted … she adopted me."
"We both have had some bad times in our young lives but we're survivors and us survivors need to stick together, to be there for one another. Robert, I will never abandon you, ever! And, with that said, Eric hugged Robert some more.
As the two pre-teens pulled out of their hug, Eric continued with his explanation. "Robert, the reason I love being a part of Three Finger Cove is because it … it has given me a place of happiness … away from the horror of what I saw and know. As for Collin and Ryan, they became the big brothers I never had. They treated me as if I WAS their 'little brother'."
"They would talk to me about things and they never put me down. Yes, they teased me and tickled me but you know what? I came back for more because I knew they would never hurt me on purpose. We each loved one another as 'brothers' and we would do whatever was necessary to protect each other."
"This is the BEST place for you to be, Robert. I think you already know that, but believe me … it will get even better. The trips, the swimming, the barbecues, the people you will meet and the parties, but especially the Holiday Parties are the BEST ever! You just wait and see," crooned Eric.
"Yes, I heard about the Holiday parties when I first came here. If your mom had known before them that I needed to be moved, I would have gotten the chance to have met you and Collin and Ryan. But, I have had the opportunity to travel. As you know, 'dad' and I went to Houston last weekend, and I had a blast. You've already been where we went but it was just the two of us and I think we got to know one another a lot better. And we both were involved with one swim party here and I hope as the winter goes along we'll have a few more."
"And, last of all, Thank You, Eric … for believing in me and wanting to still be my Best friend. I will NEVER forget this day," announced Robert, as he now hugged Eric.
The entire time the two boys spoke to and hugged one another, it was as if the two adults were never there. They did stand back and observe the boys interacting, as they tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, so as not to upset the 'bonding' they felt was happening before them.