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Dylan - Walt Disney World 2015 - Part 15

 

As they drove, Aaron told Alicia his life story. She was horrified at what this little boy has been through over his short life. Some of the stories made her tear up, but she held it together for him because it was to be a day of fun and not sadness. When they drove through the iconic ‘Welcome to Walt Disney World' gate, he closed his eyes and she heard him silently say what sounded like a prayer, “I finally made it grandma, I wish you could be here. I’m at Disney World and I hope you are seeing me now from heaven.” She glanced over at him and a couple of tears ran down his cheeks.

 

Not wanting to embarrass him, Ali cheerfully announced, “Here we are Aaron, at the happiest place on earth,” and in the spirit of the moment, he gave a cheer while having the most wonderful smile on his face.

 

Alicia knew from his running commentary about his life, that the reason they came to the Orlando area in the first place was at the wish of his grandmother. She had saved money in a special bank account for the purpose of Aaron, his mom and grandma to make an epic trip to Disney. After his grandma’s death, his mom decided to fulfil her mother’s dream, but sadly her habit of hooking up with terrible and abusive boyfriends ended that dream as her latest lowlife man wiped out every nickel of their travel money, and their park tickets. He left them penniless, without a car at the motel where they are to this day trying to survive.

 

“Wow!” Aaron exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot of the Contemporary Resort. “I can’t believe I am going to stay in the Contemporary! Grandma used to show me videos and pictures of this hotel as she had dreamed of staying here since mom was little.”

 

Alicia went through the security gate without a hitch and quickly found a parking spot. They gathered his sad little bag of possessions and the bags from Target and headed to the entrance. Aaron was wide-eyed and in awe as they went from the front entrance to the elevators.

 

“We will have lots of time to explore later sweetie, we need to meet everyone else and head to breakfast,” she said as she inserted her room key into the special slot in the elevator for guests of the 14th floor.

 

As Mickey Mouse started to narrate the ride, Aaron laughed and was so happy and excited that Ali knew right there and then that she'd made the right decision to stick her nose into this boy’s life and bring him here today.

 

The doors opened and we headed to our suite and used the card to let ourselves in. As soon as we walked in, both boys came stampeding to the door to greet Aaron. Thankfully, Walt was able to get them in at least underwear and t-shirts.

 

"Hi Dylan, I’m Aaron from the motel. Remember me?” Aaron asked.

Dylan did not respond, but instead pulled him into a hug which had Ali’s eyes leaking for the second time this morning.

 

“Hi Aaron, I’m Randy and I’m Dylan’s Foster Brother,” Randy said and Aaron moved to hug him this time. “My brother’s name is Aaron too!”, Randy said.

 

“Is he here too?” Aaron asked.

 

“No, he and my sister are back home with my grandparents,” Randy replied.

 

I was just finishing up a call to my law partner back home when they came in. A few moments later I came around the corner holding two pairs of shorts and two pairs of socks. “Ok boys, here are the rest of your clothes, please get dressed, we have to leave in a couple of minutes,” I said.

 

Aaron got very shy and looked like he was scared.  He backed up toward Alicia and just stared at me.

“Hey buddy, I’m Walt!  I’m happy you joined us today. You ready to have some fun?”

 

Aaron looked even more scared and actually started to tear up. He turned to Alicia and buried his face into her body. Alicia just looked at me, we both shrugged, and she seemed as confused as I was.

 

“I thought you said I didn’t have to do those kinds of things today,” Aaron whispered to Alicia. Dylan and Randy looked confused as well. Everything was so happy and suddenly, without warning, Aaron looked genuinely upset. “Can you take me back to the motel now please,” he said to Alicia.

 

I felt that the two of them needed to talk so I announced – “Randy and Dylan, get your stuff on, we are heading down to Chef Mickey’s now. Aaron and your mom will join in a little bit.” Both boys quickly put their shorts, socks and runners on right there and we were on the move. 

 

“Hope to see you soon Aaron,” Randy said. “We are going to have a lot of fun today,” Dylan added. “Come on down when you guys are ready, we will hold your seats,” I said.  I kissed Ali on the way out the door and whispered “text me” and she responded with a nod. Aaron still had his head buried in her chest and would not even look at me; he was clearly terrified. I left the room and the door closed behind us leaving Alicia and Aaron alone in the room.

Aaron separated from Ali as soon as the door closed. He just looked at her with a miserable look on his face his cheeks streaked with tears.

 

“Sweetie, what happened. Why are you so upset?”

 

“He wanted to have fun with me and I thought I didn’t have to do sex stuff today. You said I didn’t.”

 

“That is not what Walt meant Aaron. He meant that you were going to have fun in the park today. Going on rides, seeing some shows and eating so much junk that you can barely move.”

 

He burst into serious tears now. Muddled in the crying he managed to say, “I am so sorry, I really messed up. I thought he was like all the other men that say that to me. It always means they want to do sex stuff.”

 

“I told you sweetie, we are not like that. We all want to get to know you for the great kid you are,” Alicia said. “Aaron, I am so sad that your life has been full of abuse, but we are not like that… I promise.  Let’s have fun today. You didn’t mess up, there is no harm done Walt can’t wait to get to know you.”

 

Aaron hugged Alicia and sobbed for a couple moments until she pushed him away from her body so she could get back on track.

 

Alicia’s phone rang, it was Walt, “Ali, the restaurant is backed up, we are going to poke around the stores for a bit while we wait for a table, maybe hit the arcade too. Is everything ok up there? Are you guys coming to join us.”

 

“Yes, Aaron and I had a good chat and everything is great. It was a silly misunderstanding. Can you call me when our table is ready, this will give Aaron some time to quickly shower and change into his new clothes,” Alicia said.

 

“Will do. See ya soon,” Walt replied. “Oh and tell Aaron I can’t wait to start over!”

 

“I already have, see you shortly,” Alicia said and disconnected the call.

 

“Ok, we have a bit of time, you go jump in the shower and I will take the tags off of all your new clothes.”

They walked to the boy’s room washroom and he asked Ali to start the shower for him. She was at the tub setting the temperature and Aaron just stripped right there. No modesty or hesitation at all, one second he was fully clothed and the next he was totally naked, absent mindedly playing with his penis waiting for her to announce the shower was ready.

 

“You waste no time, do you?  OK, water should be ok. Here is shampoo and a bar of soap. We have about a half hour for you to shower, dry and dress. Call me when you are dressed, I can help you dry your hair when you are done,” she said.

 

“Can you stay in here with me so we can talk? I don’t want to be alone,” Aaron said.

 

“Sure sweetie, I will grab your clothes and come right back,” Ali said and then went to gather the Target bags and her phone.

 

When she came back, Aaron was scrubbing his hair with his eyes squeezed shut. The smell of H20 shampoo filled the room. This gave Alicia a change to look the boy over and what she saw was a kid almost as beautiful as our Randy. He is a boy that could actually be described as pretty. Randy was adorable and a cute kind of beautiful, but Aaron had an almost feminine quality to his boy body. He has ridiculously long eye lashes for a boy and a perfectly proportioned nose that turned up a little at the end. His skin was blemish free and his tan from being in the Florida sun was made more obvious from his absolutely perfect and very white bubble bum and pelvic region. His hair really needed a once over at a barber, but he was model beautiful.

 

His legs, like the rest of his body were hairless and at that perfect stage, before puberty throws all the anatomical features into disarray. They were slender and delicate. As he turned around, she could see that he was skinny, not emaciated but not well nourished and had little muscular development. His chest was beautiful with two dime sized areola that had their tiny nubs poking out just a little bit.

 

His tummy was flat and firm and he had a cute little innie belly button. Moving further down, his v was prominent leading to the appendage that distinguished this gorgeous kid as a boy. His uncut penis was slightly elongated from the warmth of the shower but not erect. Ali guessed that he was between Randy and Dylan in penis size – definitely oversized for an 11-year-old. He had a very pronounced mound at the base of his penis and a small nipple of skin hanging from his uncut boyhood. His scrotum and testicles seemed to be in the process of dropping as they were not nestled up to his body, but starting to hang loose in his bag. 

 

“Alicia”, Aaron said.

 

She did not hear.

 

“Alicia”, he said a little louder.

 

Still she did not hear him.

 

Aaron opened the shower door and said loudly, “HELLO!” Alicia jumped embarrassed that she was staring at the boy’s crotch.

 

“Can you wash my back?” Aaron asked.

 

“Umm sure,” Alicia said. She grabbed a bar of soap and started to rub it over his back starting from the back of his neck down to just above his bum. She washed his sides and them rinsed him off and ran her hands over his back feeling the curves and contours of his young body.

 

“You missed my butt,” Aaron said.

 

“Pardon?” she asked.

 

“You stopped above my butt.”

 

“Aaron, you should clean your bottom, that is too personal for me to be washing,” Alicia said.

 

“Please. Your hands are soft and it feels good,” Aaron said. “Besides, I never clean there very well.”

 

Without debate or another word, Ali grabbed the soap and rubbed it over his bum and then worked her way inside his crack. He jumped a bit and giggled when the bar of soap went over his little hole. She put down the soap and then rinsed him off and spread his cheeks to get the soap out from his crack. She ran her fingers through the crack to make sure the soap was rinsed. Again, he jumped and giggled as her fingers touched his little hole.

 

When she was done, she give his bum a couple of caresses. Aaron made an “mmmmm” noise. She was in awe of that bottom. Like the rest of him, it was as if he was sculpted by the most talented artist … it protracted out from his back in a perfectly forming bubble just below two sacral dimples perfectly placed on his lower back.

 

She was intensely turned on, but was able to resist going further. She suddenly had the worry that Aaron would feel that she was doing “sex stuff” and be scared so she stopped caressing, gave his bum a loving pat to signal 'we are done here'. He was clearly not associating such a loving touch to what he has come to know as sex.

 

She leaned in, kissed his back between his shoulder and said, “All done buddy, time to get dressed and head out for breakfast with Mickey.”

 

Alicia was holding out a towel and helped to towel off his body. Aaron gave Alicia a smile and said, “That felt nice. Thank you.” She handed him the towel and showed him his clothes and abruptly left the bathroom.

 

A few moments later, Aaron emerged dressed and handed Alicia a towel and said, “You said you would help dry my hair.”  She took the towel and vigorously towel dried his hair. She went to our bathroom and came back with a brush and started to brush his hair. What emerged was a clean and gorgeous little kid, now with beautiful, and clean, mid length blonde hair framing his cute little face.

 

“You are a very handsome boy, Aaron. Girls are going to go crazy for you my friend!”, Alicia said.

 

“Oh, I don’t like girls, I like boys. I am gay,” Aaron said.

That matter of fact admission shocked her. She had not heard of an 11-year-old who self-identified so assuredly as gay. “Then I am sure the boys will go crazy for you too,” Alicia said. “Let’s go and meet the gang.”

 

As they left the room, Aaron grasped Alicia’s hand and held it as they walked to the elevator and until they arrived at Chef Mickey’s where she saw the rest of the group about to take their seats.

 

I was looking at them, nodded and smiled but had my phone to, my ear. “I was just on the phone to Adam back home, our table is ready,” I said. I looked down at Aaron and said, “Hey pal I am sorry if I scared you. My name is Walt,” and I shook his hand. Aaron then surprised me by wrapping his arms around me and hugged me tightly and said “I am sorry for being rude.”

 

“No apology necessary, let’s be friends… ok,” I said.

 

Alicia said, you were on the phone to Adam Bitov? That obnoxious real estate guy? Why?” Alicia asked.

 

“I’ll fill you in later,” I said and Alicia gave me that ‘You are up to something look.’

 

“Don’t you go buying any more houses no matter how good the deal is. We have enough to look after now,” Alicia said.

 

“It’s nothing like that, let’s eat,” I said.

 

We walked over to our table and took our seats. The Cast Member came by and took our drink order and told us to help ourselves to the buffet. We all went together and I took the time to make the rest of the introductions. “Aaron, I want you to meet our friends, this is Ryan, his dad Rob and my newest friend Tommy.” Handshakes and fist bumps were exchanged and everyone went to grab plates.

 

Tommy hung back and started to make small talk with Aaron. I had already filled him in on as much of the Aaron story as I knew and Tommy was going to fill in the blanks.  Aaron was smiling and eagerly chatting with Tommy like they were old pals. Tommy used his skills to get the information he needed to assess the situation.

 

Aaron filled his plate so high, there was no way he was going to finish all of it, but I said nothing as he had this look of pure joy on his face as he scooped food on his plate with Tommy describing what each offering was. As we were walking back, Pluto was walking by and made a dramatic show of being shocked by the pile of food Aaron had.

 

Aaron’s eyes flew open as wide as saucers as he watched Pluto.  He handed his plate to Tommy and ran in and hugged the cartoon dog and cried happy tears. Our whole party stood around and were moved, some of us to tears, seeing how happy this boy was. I took a picture of the two of them and we thanked Pluto and sat down at our table. The four boys were sitting together with 2 boys on each side of the four-place table. Aaron was the star of the table as the other three boys peppered him with questions about living in a motel, about being from Canada and trying to understand how he had never been to Disney when he only lived a couple miles away.

 

I was watching the dynamic amongst the boys and they seemed to be paired off by age. Randy and Aaron were connecting and Dylan and Ryan were enjoying each other’s company. They even left and came back with plate refills in those pairings. It is wonderful how kids can just make friends so easy, we adults should watch and learn.

The four of us adults were seated together and talked about Aaron. Alicia told Tommy everything she knew and then asked what he thought.

 

“We have a lot of single moms living in motels along 192. Most of them come here to find work, many gravitating to the large number of tourist jobs that are available to young women with little or no education. Unfortunately, they can’t make ends meet on minimum wage and end up with either too many jobs to properly supervise their kids or they get involved in drugs and prostitution. I think Aaron is in a very bad situation and what you have said about him potentially being involved in some of that prostitution has me very worried,” Tommy said.

 

“What can you do. What can we do?” Alicia asked.

 

“Not much yet. I am going to send an email to the office with all the information I have and ask my colleagues to check police and school records. They will get back to me later today or tomorrow morning.  For now, he is safe since he is staying with you until tomorrow morning, when we can figure out next steps,” Tommy said.

 

“For right now, let’s show the boys a good time and go have some fun,” Rob said to a round of nods.

 

“When you guys head out, I am going to the hospital to check on Dylan’s mother,” Alicia said. She then had a sudden realization, “Oh nuts. I have not worked with Randy on his sides for tomorrow’s audition."

 

“Dylan and I did, while you were gone. He has it down perfectly. This character was written for him,” I reported.

“Dylan had a lot of fun learning how to be a good reader. Here, I recorded one of the reads on my phone.” All four of us watched and Rob was the first to comment, “He is amazing, a natural!”

 

“What about the script if he goes to the chemistry read after?”, I asked. 

 

“His agent said he only needed to be familiar with it, not off book,” Alicia said.

 

“Great, then I think a couple more read throughs after dinner and again in the morning, and he will be perfect,” I said.

 

“Hey, can you send me a copy of that video Walt. I want to be able to say ‘I knew him when’ after he becomes a big star,” Rob asked. I knew exactly why he wanted it, Randy was dressed only in his tight little briefs as he did the read through and Rob wanted it as jerk off material.  I said, “Sure, Rob,” with no real plan to send it to him.

I stood up and said in a team captain voice, “OK team what park are we going to today?” All four parks and 1 of the water parks were yelled out. Tommy said Bush Gardens in an attempt to be funny.

 

“We are going to need to vote, all in favor of Bush gardens…” nobody put their hand up and everyone boo’d.

 

“Hollywood Studios,” two votes.

 

“Epcot,” two votes.

 

“Animal Kingdom,” one vote.

 

“Magic Kingdom,” three votes including mine.

 

“Magic Kingdom it is!” and everyone seemed fine and excited with the final choice.

 

“Ok, everyone. I am heading off to the hospital now. I will meet you in Magic Kingdom as soon as I am back,” Alicia said.

 

Dylan had an off expression on his face and he turned white. He rushed over to Alicia and hugged her. “Can I go too?” I haven’t seen her since before she got so sick. I was listening and nodded to Alicia, “Sure you can. We will join everyone soon. The hospital is only a few minutes away,” Alicia said.

 

Dylan said his good bye's and got hugs from everyone, including Rob who allowed his hands to roam too far south and embraced him too long. Only I noticed and Dylan did not seem to clue in, but the tent in Rob pants and his wink to me let me know right away what was on his mind. That man is an odd duck and he is way too obvious about his interests. It’s one thing to lust after little boys, it is another to put that on public display.

 

I paid the bill and we all headed out, six of us to the monorail and two to the parking lot. I was very concerned about how Dylan was going to handle this, but I knew he was in great hands with Alicia but the look on his face as Alicia announced her plans was haunting me.

 

***

 

Dylan was very quiet as we walked to the car. I reached out and took his hand and he seemed happy for the support. We got in the car and I started to make some small talk. “Hey Dylan, since I am your foster mom, we should get to know each other a bit. Let’s take turns asking each other questions as we drive. You start.”

 

“OK,” Dylan responded sounding less than enthusiastic. “What is your job?”

 

“Good question. I am mostly a full-time mom right now, but before that I was a tv news anchor at a local TV station. I still do special assignments on a part-time basis so I can be at home with my kids. OK, my turn. What grade are you in and what is your favorite subject?” Alicia asked.

 

“That’s two questions, but it’s ok since they are kind of alike. I am in grade seven and my favorite subject is drama. Oh, and I will give you another free one, I am a straight-A student.” Dylan said with a big smile. “Ok, my turn. Do you have a lot of money and a big house?”

 

“We have more money than most. I was well paid as a news anchor and Walt is a great lawyer so we are very comfortable. And yes, we have a big house. Too big I think sometimes. We have six bedrooms, a home theatre, a pool, a playground with a professionally built treehouse and we back on to the woods. OK, my turn. Do you have a girlfriend back home?”

 

“No! My turn. Are you and Walt going to get a divorce.”

 

“Wow, that is quite a question. Can I ask why you are asking?”

 

“You walked into the room last night when Randy, Walt and I were doing sexy stuff. You looked mad and I know how illegal it is for adults to do that stuff with kids. I assumed you two would divorce and maybe tell the police about Walt.”

 

“No, we are not getting a divorce now or ever. We love each other very much. About last night, I wasn’t mad. I was concerned and wanted to make sure that what you were all doing was agreed on by all of you. When I found out it was, I was ok with it.  I know it is illegal, but as long as everyone is happy, having fun, safe and consenting; I am not sure it is anyone else’s business. You might remember that I masturbated you to help put you to sleep last night. My secret, that you are only the third person that knows now, is that I am a boy lover too. I liked rubbing your penis a lot. Walt did not know until last night either. I haven’t had fun with a boy since my brothers were young and what you guys were doing was really exciting for me,” I said to a stunned Dylan. “It’s your turn now,” I said.

 

“Umm, ah, hmmm. I am still really surprised at what you just told me. Ok, ummm.  Have you ever had sex with Randy or your other kids?” Dylan asked.

 

“No, I haven’t … well, except I masturbated Randy last night. So other than last night, no. Also, that was the first AND last time I will do that. I am afraid of hurting my relationship with my kids if I were to do stuff with them. I am already worried about what Randy thinks.”

 

I don’t know why I was confiding this information to this boy. I was taking a big risk, but it felt like the right thing to do at the moment. Walt is going to freak out, but I trust this boy and I know it will be ok.

 

“I think Randy will be ok. Every boy wants their cock rubbed, touched and sucked and they don’t really care by who. He was probably really happy that his mom did it for him,” Dylan said.

 

“Ok, I’m next,” I said. “When your mother went into the hospital, you were asked if you have any living relatives and Walt says you said only an elderly aunt in a home in California. He told me that when he met your mom she said her parents gave her the trip to Disney as a wedding gift. Are your grandparents alive?”

 

Dylan got very sad, but I knew this was going to come up if we end up as long term guardians, so I thought I would clear this up right away.

 

“No, she lied to Alexi for me. He wanted to go somewhere else for their honeymoon, but mom told him that they had put money aside for a trip to Disney before they died and that she could only use it for Disney. They died in a car accident last winter before we could all go. It was me that was desperate to come here, I have been planning this trip my whole life. It sucks that my step father hated me, ran off on my mom and now she might die, all because I had to come here,” he said and got teary as he said it.

 

“Honey, none of that is your fault. From what Walt told me, Alexi was not a nice man anyway and your mother getting sick would have happened anywhere you were at that time. I am sorry all of this has happened to you, it is so unfair but remember that no matter what, you have us and we will be there for you no matter what. OK, it’s your turn.”

 

“I don’t want to ask any more questions,” Dylan said.

 

The timing was good as we were pulling into the parking lot at Celebration Hospital. Dylan appeared to be very tense and uneasy as he saw the building come into view. I parked the car and turned to Dylan. “I just want to tell you that what you will see may upset you. There are lots of machines in her room and she will not be able to speak to you. But, you should talk to her because people in comas can often hear and it helps them to hear people they love.”

 

“I am scared Aunt Ali, maybe I should wait here,” Dylan said.

 

“I have an idea, let’s go in and if you get too scared, you can wait outside her room,” I offered.

 

He seemed ok with that idea as he started to get out of the car.  As he came over to my side, I gave him a hug, took his hand and we went into the front entrance together. I could feel his body trembling through his hand and I thought to myself that this is a very brave kid.

 

***

 

The six of us got off of the monorail and we went to get Aaron’s ticket. We all had annual passes, so I decided to get one for Aaron too so he could come back as often as possible after today. He was ecstatic and stared at the card as we walked to the security gate almost walking into the cast member.

 

“I have an annual pass!” he exclaimed to the young lady at the scanner.

 

“That is so great young man! Welcome to the Magic Kingdom,” she scanned the pass and he placed his finger on the scanner. “Have a magical day young man!” I love how wonderful the Cast are at Disney, that young lady’s excitement for Aaron just added to his happiness and pride in being a passholder.

 

We all went through the gates and I suggested we take the iconic photo of Aaron in front of the giant floral Mickey in front of the train station so he can remember his first trip to the Magic Kingdom. The Photopass photographer lined up the perfect photo, I told Aaron to go and tap his annual pass so the photo would be connected to his account. I took a couple photos on my phone too and sent one to Alicia. He looked so happy to be at Disney, his glee actually made me teary but I did not let him or anyone else see, I am to manly for that. Well, maybe not so much, but I still hid it.

 

We veered right and entered the park ending up in front of Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. Aaron, Randy and Ryan made a bee-line to see Mickey mouse who was greeting guests under the flag pole. While the boys lined up to see MM, the adults talked strategy for the day.

 

Rob started out, “I will take everyone’s pass and go and collect Fast Passes right now. I suggest that we get them for Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and 7 Dwarves Mine Train.” Tommy and I both agreed and handed over our passes and he went and grabbed the boy’s cards as well and was off at a fast clip on his errand. We agreed that we would head to Jungle Cruise when the boys were done with Mickey and meet him there.

 

Tommy and I stood aside from the boys and had a chance to talk privately now that everyone else was occupied.

“I just got a reply to my email about Aaron,” Tommy said. “He and his mother are known to the agency and have been researched extensively. There is no information on any sexual abuse. Frankly, she is on her last chance and she is on the verge of losing custody of the boy. Leaving him alone in the motel today is enough for us to put him in care before we even start to investigate sexual abuse.”

 

“I know Ali is very disturbed by what she saw at the motel and what the two of them discussed on the drive to the hotel. She can fill you in as soon as she gets back from the hospital,” I said. “I sense Ali is starting to feel attached to the boy and I already have the feeling that this is not going to be a simple overnight visit.”

 

“Listen Walt, we need to talk about Dylan. I had a call from the hospital before I got over here and they are concerned that his mother might be brain dead. They are going to be doing an MRI today to fully understand what is happening,” Tommy said. “I emailed and let them know that Alicia and Dylan were coming over and they won’t say anything in front of Dylan unless you and I are present. It looks like you and Alicia are going to have to make a decision about how you want to proceed very soon.”

 

“She and I can discuss this tonight but I have an idea that might make the entire situation easier. I don’t want to say too much until I figure it out and see if Alicia is on side,” I said.

 

“Hmm, intriguing,” Tommy said. Changing the subject, he asked “Is everything going ok with Dylan?”

 

“He’s great and Ali and Randy love him like he is already a member of the family! I am worried that he is in a state of denial over his mother’s condition and that he is going to crash badly if it goes the way we are expecting.”

 

“Yea, I sensed that too. I guess the distraction of being here and having so many people to have fun with is helping. But, we will all need to support him as it is not going to be easy. We have access to grief counselling from the agency and I think that will be a big help,” Tommy said.

 

“Hey look, the boys are next in line to see Mickey, let’s go get some pictures,” I said.

 

Aaron was up first and he went right to Mickey, put his arms out and they hugged. I noticed that Aaron was crying.

I stepped over the line to go and help, but Mickey put his hand up as if to say it was ok. I was close enough to hear what Aaron was saying. He was telling Mickey that coming to Disney was supposed to a family treat from his grandma, but she died. He told him about his father being arrested, the man who stole their money and their tickets and about living in the motel. The cast handler was taking it all in as well and made a few notes.

 

Aaron was not letting go of Mickey and was sobbing while the costumed character held him and stroked his back. It was an unbelievable sight, seeing the time and attention that this cast member was taking, nobody tried to rush the boy. Even the kids and parents in line were patient and looked sympathetic.

 

Randy was crying too and moved forward to hug Aaron from behind. It was becoming quite the scene. The cast handler whispered something to Mickey and the mouse nodded his huge head. The cast member approached me and asked if I was the father. I responded that I was his guardian.

 

“Do you mind coming to City Hall with Mickey and I?” the cast member asked. “We want to do something special for your boy.”

 

“Ok, but I am with four other people,” I said.

 

“Bring everyone, we are going to make some magic today,” she said, winked and smiled at me.

 

The cast handler stood at the front of the line and made an announcement, “Mickey will be taking a short break and will be back in 5 minutes.”

 

Mickey stood back up and pulled Aaron with him and that dislodged Randy’s hug. “Will you boys walk with Mickey back to Town Hall please,” the cast member said and Mickey made a wide ‘follow me’ gesture with his arm and put his hands out for both Aaron and Randy to grasp. Tommy followed not knowing what was going on and I went and got Ryan out of line and brought him too.

 

As they walked to Town Hall, I quickly Facetime’d to Alicia and told her what was happening and then turned the camera around to show Mickey and the boys. “I will call you back with more details soon. You guys need to get back as soon as possible!” I said and ended the call.

 

***

 

Dylan had been in his mother’s room for 15 minutes now by himself. He held her hand and was talking all about what he had been doing, about his friends and about Walt, Randy and I.

 

Walt just Facetime called me and they seemed to be having an especially good time, Mickey Mouse was taking Aaron and Randy somewhere and Walt was super exited, told me to hurry and hung up.

 

Before the call, it had taken a while to get Dylan to go into the room, but once he realized that it just looked like his mom was sleeping, he was less concerned.  I suspect they cleared out some of the equipment and tidied her up for Dylan, but once he started talking, he didn’t stop. I had told him that coma patients reported hearing their loved ones when they recovered, so I told him to tell her everything.

 

As he became more comfortable the social worker, Mrs. Shultz, dropped by and asked me to come out to the hall to talk.

 

“Mrs. Furman, I am afraid I have some bad news. The doctors believe that Mrs. Petrov has ceased brain activity – sometimes called brain death,” she said.

 

I gasped and put my hand over my mouth in shock and she continued.

 

“They cannot be conclusive until they conduct an MRI to check for any signs of brain activity, but it is highly unlikely that there is any and if there is, she would be at a point of her being severely brain damaged if she were to survive the sepsis. I think you need to prepare yourself for the worst. I have spoken to her son’s state social worker and he is aware and will provide supports from his department,” she said.

 

“It is our advice that we not tell the child until we know for sure and do it at a time when we can have a grief team here and are ready to support the boy, you and your husband,” she continued.

 

I looked in the room and by the smile on Dylan’s face, I could tell that he was telling her something funny. It was heartbreaking as his entire world was about to change forever and he has no idea.

“Dylan can spend as much time as he wants, the MRI team is not ready for a few hours yet so there is no hurry,” she said.

 

Just then, Dylan appeared and asked me to come in and pray with him. “I will leave you alone now, let me know if you need anything from me, I am on call 24-7 for you,” Mrs. Schultz said.

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Shultz,” I said and walked into the room and stood at the bedside with Dylan.

He bowed his head and held his hands together in a traditional Christian Prayer pose that he likely learned in Sunday school.

 

“Jesus, it’s me Dylan again. My foster mother Alicia is with me and we are praying to ask you to take care of my mother. I know she is not going to live, I can feel it. If she is already with you, please tell her how much I love her and miss her. You need to let her know that Walt and Alicia are going to be my new dad and mom and that they are going to take really good care of me. Let her know that I will never forget her and thank her for being my best friend. She will be a good friend to you too as long as you don’t let her talk too long,” Dylan prayed out loud.

 

He continued, but this time through tears, “I wish you could have let mommy stay with me longer, but I know that you have a plan for her and me and that everything will be ok. I really wanted to spend time with her at Disney World because we planned this trip since I was a little kid. Hopefully what some people say is true and she can see me and watch me as I do all the things we planned to do together. Jesus, please watch over me and my new family. They are good people and they love me already. I am really sad that Mommy is going to die, or maybe she already has died, but I am so glad that you made it happen that I met Walt, and then Alicia and Randy.”

 

I jumped in as well, “Dear Lord, if it is your will, please heal Teresa so she can come back to her son. If that is not possible, please clear away any challenges and bureaucracy to allow Dylan to quickly become my new son, so I can continue the work of Teresa to raise him up to as fine a man as he is a child today. We ask this in your father’s name, Amen,” I finished the prayer, turned to Dylan and hugged him tightly and allowed him to cry… he needed it.

 

“Aunt Ali, I know she is gone. I overheard the nurses when we came in, one was telling the other that mom is braindead. I sensed it this morning too. I can’t explain it, but as you were about to leave the hotel, I felt like she said good-bye to me. I know it sounds stupid, but it makes me feel a little better knowing she was able to speak to me and maybe it is true and her spirit will always be with me and watch over me,” Dylan said through tears.

 

“Dylan, I think you are a very wise little boy and I don’t think it sounds stupid at all. But don’t give up on your mom yet, they still have tests to do and a miracle can happen,” I said, knowing it to be a lie.

 

“Let’s go and do what your mom had planned and get back to Disney. The doctors are going to call with updates,” I said.

 

Dylan crawled up on the bed, hugged and kissed his mother. He jumped back down and said “I’m ready, let’s go.”

While I felt happy that Dylan was coping ok, I was concerned that he was not fully dealing with his emotions. If it were me, I would be a quivering mess, but this boy seems to be ok. For now.

 

I texted Walt and told him we were leaving now and that I would call him when we arrived at the hotel to find out where to meet up in the park.  As we walked down the hall, Dylan reached for my hand and held it as we walked to the car.

 

***

 

As we arrived inside City Hall, there was a cheerful cast member waiting for us. I guess Mickey’s handler radioed in or maybe Mickey himself has a headset inside that big head, I wasn’t sure, but somehow, they knew Mickey was coming.

 

“Hi, I am Amanda and who are you two cuties,” the cheerful cast member said while looking down at Aaron and Randy.

 

“I am Aaron and this is my friend Randy. And those are my other friends, Walt, Tommy and Ryan.”

 

“Nice to meet you all,” she cheerfully said. Can you folks have a seat for a couple minutes, I have to talk to Mickey and his assistant. Mickey held his arms out to Aaron who jumped into them and said, “Bye Mickey, I’ll see you real soon,” which caused Mickey to do a silent laugh. He high-fived Randy and Ryan and disappeared behind a door. As he disappeared, we saw another Mickey appear through the window with a different assistant heading back to the waiting line-up.

 

Amanda came out with Michele, our Mickey’s assistant, and stood before us. “Mickey has asked us to make this day extra magical for Aaron and his friends,” Amanda said. She looked at Aaron and continued, Mickey told us your story Aaron and he has asked us to give you VIP access for your day at the Magic Kingdom. You will get to the front of the line at every ride you want to go to, we can show you some backstage secrets and your food will be on Mickey!”

Michele added, “I am going to be your VIP guide today along with Ricky, who will be joining us in a few moments. How does all this sound?”

 

“That is fantastic!!”, Aaron squealed.

 

The rest of the gang were high-fiving and all looked like they had just won the lottery. I spoke up and said, can we wait for my wife and another boy, they are on the way back from Celebration Hospital. Oh yeah, and Rob. He is out getting Fast Passes,” I said.

 

“Sure, you have us for the day, so waiting is no problem,” Michelle said. “Here are your VIP tags, and three extras for the others. I am going to leave you with Michelle now, I hope you have a magical day,” said Amanda.

I texted Rob and told him to come to City Hall immediately.  He replied, “Copy that,” pilot speak for I heard you and agree.

 

Just then a teenager, who looked like he was 14, appeared from behind the door.  He looked kind of disheveled and sweaty, but he walked up to Aaron and stuck his hand out and said, hi I’m Ricky. Aaron shook his hand and introduced everyone again.

 

“Hey Ricky, we are going to wait for the rest of Aaron’s party to arrive,” Michelle said. “No problem. Do you guys want some cold drinks? I sure need one.” Everyone nodded and Rickey led us out to the vending cart and we all picked a drink. Ricky handed the vendor a card, he processed the order and handed it back. “How about some popcorn?” The boys all said yes, so we took a few steps over to the popcorn cart and got three boxes and Ricky again handed over the card and the vender scanned it and gave it back.

 

As I stood observing and thinking back on the last few minutes, I realized that Rickey was our Mickey! I put two and two together after he knew to talk to Aaron when he came out from the back room. How awesome is that!

 

Aaron spoke to Ricky. I hear they have a barber shop here. Can we go so I can get my hair cut. I want to look good for my mom when I show her my new clothes too. Ricky looked at me, and I nodded.

 

“Sure pal, it’s just a couple steps away,” Rickey said. “Michele, can you meet us at the barber shop when the rest of our guests arrive and we will come back here if we are done first.

 

“Sound great Rickey. Have fun Aaron!” Michelle said.

 

Aaron and Rickey walked off hand in hand.

 

Just then, my phone rang. It was Alicia, “Hello honey, you are going to lose your mind when you hear what happened.”

 

Alicia cut me off, “Tell me when I get there. We are at the hotel, Dylan is in the washroom and we will head there when he is done. Walt, he knows about his mother! He somehow figured out she is not going to recover.”

“Tommy filled me in. So nobody told him, he just figured it out. I have got to go, he is walking back. Where are you?” Alicia asked.

 

“Meet us at City Hall, we are here now,” I responded.

 

“You guys sure didn’t make it very far.” She said.

 

“It is what I have been trying to tell you,” I said.

 

“Save it until we get there,” and she hung up.

 

- to be continued -

 

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