Carl's Story Part 17: Adulthood, almost

The boy with whom Carl had gone on the ill-fated trip with was still with him. They had lived in the housing shelter together and found jobs on the same day. They and another boy found a small house to rent.

I just don't think I can go through the story in any kind of detail.

They lived there. They lost their jobs and got evicted. One of them found another job and they moved into a smaller apartment.

Carl disappeared for a while and later told me he had been in Chico, CA. It was wonderful there and he was moving.

He moved to Chico. He rented a room from someone and after about six months called to say that they were moving and he needed to find his own apartment. He could do it and he knew he had not been in close contact with us, but he was much more responsible than he used to be. He was doing really well. He just could not get an apartment on his own. All he needed for us was to co-sign a lease.

We said no. The reason he could not get a lease was that he had left our state with a record of bounced checks and a defaulted cell phone contract. We explained that we simply could not afford to be liable for the rent on an apartment in Chico.

He said that he was not asking us to pay the rent. All we had to do was to sign a piece of paper.

We told him that if he thought that was all that he was asking us to do then we REALLY could not do it.

He was angry.

He called me later to tell me that he had only one alternative. There was a commune where he could go live. It was clear to me that this phone call was all about scaring me into signing. I was supposed to say that living in a commune was a terrible idea. It was supposed to upset me. Then he could tell met that if I did not want him living in a commune then all I needed to do was to sign the lease.

I told him that the commune sounded interesting, that it might be a very valuable experience for him.

And that was almost two years ago. He still lives there. It is not a commune though. It is a retreat center, a sanctuary for Radical Faeries. He is now an official caretaker. I think I left out of the story the information that Carl had always been interested in world religions. Though he talks about leaving the sanctuary and someday he might, he really does fit there. It has turned out not just to be a place to live, but a place where he potentially belongs.

Part 18

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Other posts about Carl:
Carl Called
Update on David and Carl
Carl's Mom
Quiet Afternoon
Carl's coming
Carl is here
Update on Visit
Thinking about Pi
More Pi
Bart and Clara
And now he is gone
Pi's gotcha day