Page 30 of Second Chance At Love

“Nope, it’s downstairs in the rec room. The living room was too small,” advised Piaget as she swept past them with a tray full of fruits and vegetables, heading down the stairs.

“We had better listen to my beautiful wife,” decided Max.

“Always a wise decision,” nodded Everett.

“This is ridiculous,” dryly mentioned Henry as they headed for the stairs, still carrying him on the chair.

“This is us supporting you,” cheerily said Max.

“You could support a little more on your corner,” grunted Ben.

“Do you know if everyone is here yet?” wondered Everett.

“Everyone is here,” came Kitty’s voice above them as she followed them down the stairs. “Well, everyone who could come.”

“This is mildly embarrassing,” sighed Henry.

“Kind of makes up for the time you signed us up for the school play,” observed Everett.

“Or for volunteering all of us for the prom committee,” mentioned Max.

“Committing all of us to choir and band,” nodded Everett. “Noah is not musical.”

“He did okay in home economics though,” Henry said with a slow grin. “I recall he sewed a very nice apron. Got an A plus.”

“You did what?” puffed Ben as they made it down the steps. Being the youngest Ramesly meant he hadn’t always been included in certain events because of the age difference.

“Henry signed all of us up for whatever he could. All the time. Suddenly at random we would be obligated to organize something, stuck in a sport we hated, doing environmental cleanup days, or baking brownies for fundraisers. Henry once put all of us down for student council. I think five of us got in,” grinned Max.

“Debate club, chess club, the yearbook committee, student newspaper, the list went on. Whatever was available for signing someone up, I put down Ramesly names,” smiled Henry in remembrance. “You guys gave me a lot of flak for it but I think it broadened all your horizons.”

“Jakes still makes a mean brownie,” grinned Everett.

“You can have one of them, if you want,” generously offered Jake as he walked by with a plate with assorted foods on it.

Everett, Max, and Ben put the chair down, stepping back so Henry could see everyone in the room. All of his cousins were there along with their significant others. Henry looked at Michael, Jake, Noah, and Dillion with a bit of shock.

“I thought all of you were on house arrest. Shouldn’t you be at home? Did you get some sort of exemption for the day?” he wondered with a small amount of alarm. “Please tell me you got an exemption and we aren’t going to have the FBI show up because you four skipped out on your ankle monitors.”

Everyone looked at each other a little guiltily. It was Noah who came forward. “There has been a development. Why don’t we get you comfortable before we go into the details.”

Henry allowed them to direct him onto a recliner which was far more comfortable. Once he had his oxygen line straightened out, he looked at Noah for an explanation. “I doubt the FBI dropped the charges, so tell me what really happened.”

There were extra chairs for the entire group. Henry noted that out of the original cousins, the only ones who weren’t there were Nate and Gerrit for obvious reasons. The spouses and girlfriends were also present. Max sat on the arm of Henry’s recliner.

“We were told this morning that someone had pled guilty to all their charges, plus a few other ones on the condition that Michael, Jake, Dillion, and I were exonerated,” stated Noah. “The FBI was willing to let things drop as Uncle Robert was convicted, and Uncle Oliver plus Gerrit have put in their pleas.”

“What do you mean Gerrit put in his plea? He wasn’t scheduled to do that for another few weeks,” frowned Henry. Someone handed him a plate of assorted food which he took absently as he waited for an answer.

“Gerrit made the plea which had the rest of us cleared. He’s chosen to plead guilty to the charges against him. Apparently he told his lawyers to plead guilty to anything the FBI wanted as long as the rest of us were no longer considered suspects,” added Jake. “He basically sacrificed himself for the rest of us.”

“What did he all plead guilty to?” questioned Henry, wondering what the full consequences of what his brother had done.Just what was the deal? How long would he be in prison for?

“We aren’t fully certain. He instructed his lawyers not to talk to any of us or our lawyers. Gerrit refuses to see any of us,” quietly replied Dillon.

What had Gerrit done?Henry cast his mind over the last conversation he had with his brother, wondering if that had an impact on his actions. He tried to get up from his chair but Max easily put pressure on his shoulder, making him sit. “I need to go see him. I need to fix this if I can.”

“Gerrit won’t see you,” a sympathetic Dillon said. “I asked the lawyers if he would talk to any of us and I was instructed that he will not talk to any Ramesly. Whatever charges he pled to, it must be big for the FBI to let us go.”