At some
point during the night, the twins had joined us in our bed – one on either side
of us. I awoke to find Josh running his
fingers through my hair. He giggled,
“Your hair is just like mine, Daddy.
Only it stands up all by itself!”
I smiled at
our son and responded, “Does it now?”
Josh nodded
his head, “Yes, it does.”
JJ’s head
popped up behind Rick’s head and I saw him playing with Rick’s hair, making it
stand straight up so it mirrored mine.
JJ grinned, “Now you look like twins!”
I laughed
and said, “I guess we look like you two!”
JJ nodded
and kissed Rick on the cheek. Rick’s
eyes opened and he turned his head to look at JJ.
He smiled and said, “Good morning, JJ.”
“Good
morning, Dad. Josh and I decided that
you and Daddy look just like us,” JJ said.
“We do?”
Rick asked in mock surprise making his eyes go as big as saucers.
JJ nodded
his head and replied very seriously, “Yes, Dad. You look just like me and Daddy looks just
like Josh.”
“How do you
know?” Rick asked grinning at JJ. “Who
told you we look alike?”
JJ giggled
as he replied, “Dad! You know we look
alike. You said so yourself. I heard you.”
Rick
laughed and said, “You are right, little buddy. I am glad you were paying attention when I
said it.”
Josh said,
“We know we look the same as you and Daddy because I have the same color hair
and eyes as Daddy and the same face shape.
JJ has the same color hair and eyes as you and he is taller than me just
like you are taller than Daddy.” Josh
put his head next to mine and said, “Look, you can see we look the same.”
Rick leaned
his head to one side and gave us an appraising look, “Yes, you do look the
same.”
I laughed
and said, “Rick, don’t you dare say anything else. I know what you are thinking!”
Rick kissed
me lightly on the lips, “How do you know what I am thinking?”
“I just
know that look,” I responded bringing my hand up to cup his cheek and I kissed
him back. “You were going to start
teasing me!”
Rick gave
me a wicked grin, “Guilty as charged!”
He pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear, “You do act like a
two-year old sometimes.” Before I could
react, he covered my mouth is his and gave me a passionate kiss.
JJ looked
over at Josh and said, “See our Dads love each other very much.”
Josh
replied, “I know. They kiss each other
all the time. Uncle Zach and Uncle Todd
kiss each other, too. They do it
because they are married.” Josh managed
to sound like a little professor delivering a lecture to his class.
I laughed,
“Okay, boys. Your Dad and I love each
other very much and yes, we are married to each other and so are Uncle Zach and
Uncle Todd. What is all of this about?”
JJ said,
“We decided last night that we want to grow up and get married to someone we
love just like you married Dad because he loves you. You know, just like in your wedding pictures
downstairs.”
“We want
you to grow and be happy, JJ. I am sure
you will find someone who loves us just as much as Dad loves me” I said.
Josh said,
“We also decided that we will have twin boys just like us.”
Rick said,
“I am sure you will have children just like yourselves if that is what you want.” Rick paused and then asked, “Are you boys
hungry?”
The twins
chorused, “Yes!”
Rick laughed,
“I thought so. Okay, help me up so we
can go downstairs and eat.”
The twins
complied quickly with Rick’s request.
They had him up in a flash and were rolling me out of bed as well! Everyone should have the experience of being
rolled out of bed by two very enthusiastic two-year old boys! We made our way down to the kitchen where we
had a nice breakfast before the twins abandoned us for more interesting
activities like morning cartoons!
Rick looked
at the clock and said, “We need to get showered and dressed for our appointment
with our lawyer.”
I nodded my
head, “Yes, we need to be about our business today.”
Rick pulled
me into his arms and said in a husky voice, “I need some assistance in the
shower. Do you know anyone who could
help me?” He nibbled on my ear as his
hands roamed over my body.
I moaned in
pleasure and managed to say, “I am certain we can find some poor chap to help
you out.”
We went
back upstairs to our en suite and enjoyed a long, hot shower together.
*** ***
Zach and
Todd came over with the boys and were waiting for us in the kitchen when we
came downstairs, again. This time we
were showered, shaved and dressed alike in khaki pants, dark blue golf shirts
and black penny loafers. We both hate
dress shoes with laces!
Zach
smiled, “You look great guys!”
“Thank you,
Zach,” Rick said. “We appreciate you
guys coming over to watch the boys for us.”
Todd
replied, “Cameron and Skye love being here with the twins. Don’t worry about us. Go take care of your business and we will
hold down the fort here at the house.”
I kissed
Todd on the lips and said, “We owe you a night out with Zach.”
Zach
smiled, “That would be great, Glenn.”
I turned
and kissed Zach as well, “Thank you for all you do for us, Zach.”
Rick said,
“We love you guys.”
Zach hugged
Rick and said, “We love you guys as well.
Now go and we will be here when you get back.”
Rick hugged
Todd and then took my hand and we walked out the door to the garage. Rick said, “Let’s take the corvette this
time.”
Rick pulled
off the car cover and folded it up and put it on top of the workbench at the
back of the garage. We climbed in and
Rick clicked the garage door opener before he started the engine. The engine roared to life and Rick looked
over at me with big grin on his face.
Rick loves his little red, corvette!
“I am glad
we kept your corvette, Rick,” I said.
“I am too,
Glenn. She is a member of the family,”
Rick said as we backed out of the garage.
“Do you remember how we lost Peyton and Angie that time we went to the
beach?”
I replied,
“I do remember that and the look on Peyton’s face as we passed them. You were just lucky that cop didn’t nail you
instead of Peyton!”
Rick
laughed, “It served him right for dating my ex-girlfriend.”
“Speaking
of Peyton, we haven’t heard from your cousin, lately,” I said.
“Maybe he and Jonathan are really busy with school,” Rick said.
“That's probably true,” I said. “I think we
should have the boys draw some pictures for them and we can write letters to
send with the pictures. You know how the boys love Peyton and Jonathan."
Rick
reached over and squeezed my hand, “You are always looking out for others,
Glenn. It’s one of the things I love
about you.”
It took us
about 45 minutes to drive to our lawyer’s office. Rick parked the car and we walked
inside. The receptionist immediately
showed us into his office. As we
entered, Phillip Short stood to greet us.
He was just the opposite of his last name. He stood at 198 cm. (6’6”) with wide
shoulders and a slender waist. It was
obvious that he worked out. He had jet
black hair flecked with gray, hazel eyes and a crooked smile. His nose was crooked where it had been
broken at some point in his life. He
shook our hands and said, “Thank you for coming on such short notice.” His deep bass voice had a nice tone to it
that made you want to sit and listen to him talk.
Rick and I
sat down in the chairs in front of his desk as he returned to his place on the
opposite side. He opened a folder on
his desk and pulled out a sheaf of papers and passed it across the desk to
Rick. “The county is offering to settle
your civil suit. You will find the
details in that stack of paper. You
will want to take some time to read it and then I will answer any questions you
might have.”
Rick said,
“Is there a room where we can have some privacy?”
Phillip
said, “You can stay here while I use the office next door to make a few phone
calls. If you need me, just tap on the
door.” He stood and left the office.
We read
through their offer and when we were finished, I looked over at Rick and asked,
“What do you think?”
“I think we
should accept their offer with a few modifications,” Rick said. “I want some of Grandpa’s lawyers to look
this over and work with Phillip to draft up some language for our counter
proposal,” Rick said.
“I agree,”
I said. “Their offer is a good one but
it doesn’t do enough to protect us from having the same thing happen again.”
We
discussed our options and then called Grandpa.
We talked over what we were planning to do with him and he told us to go
ahead and contact his lawyers. We
tapped on the door to the office next door.
Phillip joined us and we went over what we had decided to do.
Phillip
smiled, “I thought that would be your reaction to their offer. I am glad you are looking at a counter
offer. I will reach out to your
Grandpa’s lawyers.”
We stood up
and Phillip walked us out to our car.
He said, “I will call you in a day or so.”
“Thank you
for working through this with us,” Rick said.
“Not a
problem, Rick. You are paying me very
handsomely to represent you. It is the
least I can do for you,” Phillip said with a smile.
As Rick
drove us home, I asked, “Do you think the county will go for it?”
Rick nodded
his head, “I think so. Our lawsuit
isn’t about the money. We want the
county to put in place appropriate safeguards so what happened to us won’t
happen to anyone else.”
I nodded my
head, “But I do want out names cleared.
Those falsified reports need to be pulled out of our files and
destroyed.” I looked over at Rick and
asked, “Do you think we should start the adoption process over again?”
“I don’t
know,” Rick responded. “It depends on
where we end up with this lawsuit and with the criminal charges against the
county employees involved with the falsified reports.”
“I think
Mrs. Reed has already made up her mind to move to New York,” I said.
Rick
nodded, “I think you are right about that.”
I thought
back to the conversation we had with her last week. She had already found a home to rent on Long
Island. She had asked us to move in
with her until the adoption process was complete.
“Do you
think we should move to New York with her?” I asked.
Rick said,
“I do. I can work remotely most of the
time now. I can travel down from New
York on the train when I need to be at the Pentagon.”
“The house
is in Hauppauge, New York. She said
it’s near some friends of hers who helped her find the place. Apparently, they know the owners and are
giving her a break on the rent,” I said.
“She sent me a link so I could see photos of the house.”
Hauppauge House
When we
arrived at home, I found the house on-line and printed off the photos of the
rental unit and showed them to Rick. He
said, “It looks like a nice house.”
“I looked
up the address to see where it is located.
It’s really close to the Long Island Expressway so it will be easy for
us to get around the island. Rick, I
think it will be good for us to move away from here after everything that has
happened,” I said.
Rick said,
“We need to talk to Zach and Todd about this.
I want to know what they think.”
We walked
into the family room where Zach and Todd were watching a DVD with the
boys. Rick asked, “Zach and Todd, may
we speak with you for a moment?”
Zach said,
“Sure.” He stood up and turned to help
his husband get up from off of the floor.
Cameron and Skye moved the floor pillows around to make themselves
comfortable after their Dads left. I
gave Cameron the thumbs up sign and said, “We will send them back right away.”
We walked
into the kitchen and sat down around the table. Rick said, “We want to get your opinions
about moving to New York.”
Both Zach
and Todd looked shocked. I said, “We
aren’t talking about a permanent move.
Let me explain.”
I outlined
what Mrs. Reed had proposed to us about moving to New York and living with her
and the children until the adoption process was finished.
Zach asked,
“Then you would move back here?”
“That would
be the plan, at least for now,” Rick said.
“We need to get away from here for a while after all that has happened.”
Todd nodded
his head in understanding. He looked
over at Zach, “Do you think we could join them in New York for a few months?”
Zach
smiled, “I knew you were going to ask me that question. Yes, I think it would be good for us to move
there, too. We can find someone to
house sit for us here. There are plenty
of military guys with families that would jump at a chance to rent our house
while they are stationed at Fort Belvoir for training.”
“Would we
live with Rick and Glenn or would we rent our own place?” Todd asked.
Zach said,
“Let’s see. It’s a six bedroom
home. Mrs. Reed will be in one
room. Two more rooms will be taken by
us and Rick and Glenn. We could put the
twins in one room with two sets of bunk beds leaving Kyle and David to share a
room and giving Ashley her own room. I
think it would be workable but we need to discuss it with Mrs. Reed. I am sure we could find a home nearby to
rent. That might be the better option. It would give us two homes instead of one.”
I said, “I
think we could go in with you on the rent so you can get a big enough place for
all of us to stay over like we do here.”
“I like
that idea better, Todd,” Zach said. “I
really like having our own space.”
We walked
into the study and I fired up the computer and started searching for rentals
near the house Mrs. Reed had found. I
found several and printed them out for Zach and Todd.
Zach said,
“We will check into these. I think
living on Long Island will be a nice change for us as well. I was thinking that Rick and I could share
an apartment downtown during the week and spend our weeks at home.”
“Or we
could buy a small plane that we all could learn to fly. That way you could fly down every morning
and return every night. The airport is
just a few miles from Hauppauge in Islip,” I said. I showed them MacArthur Airport on the
computer screen. “What do you think
about that?” I looked from Rick to Zach
and back to Rick.
Rick looked
at Zach and said, “I have always wanted to learn to fly. Are you up for it, Zach?”
Zach said,
“Sure, why not.” He smiled, “If I can
play hockey, I certainly can learn to fly an airplane. Todd, are you okay with me learning to fly?”
“Sure as
long as both Glenn and I get to learn how to fly so we can all pilot the
plane. One other thing, the plane has
to be big enough to carry the eight of us plus the Reeds. It would have to be able to carry 12 people
– two pilots and 10 passengers.”
“That makes
sense,” I said with a big grin. “I
can’t wait to tell Uncle Dave that we are going to buy an airplane!”
Rick
laughed, “You planned this all along, didn’t you Glenn?”
I gave him
an impish grin, “Yes and no. Yes, I
planned from the time Mrs. Reed told us where she was planning to live and
extended her invitation for us to live with her and no, because I didn’t have a
clue where she was going to move her family.”
I looked at
Zach and Todd and saw that they were getting excited about moving to Long
Island with us. I was happy they had
decided to join us in New York. I love
the Reeds but I would have been totally lost with Zach, Todd, Cameron and Skye. Rick noticed my expression and asked,
“What’s wrong, Glenn?”
“Nothing is
wrong, Babe. I am just so happy that
Zach and Todd are coming with us,” I replied.
“We need to call Grandpa and let him know what we are planning to do.”
Zach nodded
his head in agreement, “Yes, let’s call him right now.”
I picked up
the handset of the desk phone and dialed Grandpa’s number and then pushed the
button on the phone so switch the call to the speaker. We heard it ring one more time before
Grandma answered it, “Hello,”
“Hi
Grandma. Is Grandpa there,” I asked.
“Yes, he
is. I will put him on,” she said.
Grandpa
came on the line, “Hello boys.”
Rick said,
“Grandpa we have a couple things we wanted to talk to you about. Zach and Todd are here with us.” Rick outlined our plans to move to New York
and then the plans to buy a plane.
Grandpa
said, “I understand why you are moving to New York and I also understand why
Zach and Todd are moving with you.
However, I can’t see how the plane will save you time, let alone
money. Buying the plane is not the
problem. It’s the upkeep and the costs
of flying it.”
“Grandpa, I
was thinking it would make it possible for the guys to spend weekends at home
with us and still make it to work on Monday mornings,” I said.
“Okay,
where will you store the plane during the week?” Grandpa asked.
“We can
leave the plane at National Airport at Manassas Regional Airport during the
week,” I said. “I have the list of
costs here.” I pulled a piece of paper
out of the top drawer of the desk. “I
also have looked at several different planes.
That is what we wanted to talk to you about. If we buy a small plane, it will hold only
two people. If we buy a small jet, it
will hold from 12 to 18 people depending on which one we buy.”
Grandpa
said, “Have you thought of starting a charter flight service between Long
Island and Washington?”
“No, we
hadn’t thought that far ahead. We were
just discussing the possibilities of owning a plane,” Zach said.
“Here is an
idea for your consideration. I propose
that all four of you become trained jet pilots. You should also consider training Jeff and a
couple of others who work for you. They
could run the charter service during the week and take weekends off when you
fly home to Long Island,” Grandpa said.
We looked
at each other and then Rick said, “Let us talk it over and we will get back to
you.”
Grandpa
said, “You might also consider purchasing more than one plane as well.”
Todd said,
“You have given us a lot to think about, Grandpa.”
“Good. I have done my job. Talk to you boys later,” Grandpa said.
“Bye,
Grandpa,” we chorused.
After the
call ended, Rick said, “Wow! I think
it’s a great idea. What do you guys
think?”
Zach
smiled, “I like the idea but I won’t be able to spend a lot of time flying
planes. My schedule is pretty booked
between hockey practice and our games.”
“Zach is
right about that,” Todd said.
I knew Zach
and Todd were right. “I’m sorry,
guys. I thought it would be a great
idea.”
Rick put
his hand on my shoulder, “It’s okay, Glenn.”
Todd said,
“We still have our sailing boats, guys.
We need to decide how we are getting them to Long Island.”
Zach said,
“That’s easy – sail them.”
I looked
over at Zach and grinned, “I think we should do just that.”
*** ***
We spent
the next few days making arrangements for our move. Rick and I helped Mrs. Reed get things
packed up for the movers. Rick and Kyle
went into Kyle’s room to pack thing up while I helped David in his room.
Kyle said,
“I am glad you are going to live with us, Dad.
It will be like that time we lived with you after Mom and Dad died.”
Rick said,
“Yes, it will be a lot like that except this time your Grandma will be living
with us.”
“Grandma
told us that you are going to adopt us when we get to New York,” Kyle said.
“That is
why we are going to live with you in New York, Kyle,” Rick said. “Your birthday is coming up in a few
weeks. What do you want for your
birthday?”
Kyle
thought for a moment, “I want you and Daddy to become my real Dads. I love Grandma but I want you and Daddy to
be with us forever.”
Rick
blinked back the tears that suddenly found themselves clouding his vision. He cleared his throat and said, “Daddy and I
love you very much Kyle.”
Kyle threw
himself into Rick’s arms and hugged him tightly. Rick noticed how physically solid Kyle had
become. He stood at about 5’ (156 cm.)
now but his shoulders had broadened and he was quite stocky. Kyle pulled back and Rick looked into his
hazel eyes and said, “Kyle, you seemed to have grown quite a bit in the last
few weeks.”
Kyle
smiled, “Grandma says that I am about to shoot up because my hands and feet are
getting so big. I want to be as tall as
you Dad.”
Rick said,
“We will have to wait and see if that turns out to be the case. I will love you no matter how tall you get
to be.”
“I know,
Dad, but I want to play basketball and I will need to be tall like you,” Kyle
said.
Rick
smiled, “I think you might think about playing football, Kyle. Right now, you seem to have more of the body
type for blocking and tackling.”
Kyle looked
at Rick in surprise, “Do you really think so?”
Rick
nodded, “Yes, I do. If you want, we can
start throwing the football around a bit and I can start to teach you some
plays.”
Kyle’s face
lit up with enthusiasm, “I would really like that.” Then his face fell, “But what will I tell
Daddy when I tell him I am going to play football?”
Rick
thought for a moment, “Let me tell him, Kyle.
I know he wants you to play soccer but I think it’s time you tried out
other sports, Kyle. Don’t worry about
Daddy, okay?”
Kyle nodded
his head, “Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re
welcome, Kyle. Did you remember to put
some clothes for the trip to New York in your suitcase?”
“Yes, I put
in several pairs of pants, t-shirts, socks and underwear,” Kyle said opening
his suitcase for Rick.
Rick nodded
his head in approval, “Good. I am glad
you listened to your grandmother’s instructions.”
They
finished packing the boxes in Kyle’s bedroom.
*** ***
Meanwhile, I helped David pack his
things. “David, did you put your
clothes in your suitcase?” I asked.
David
looked at me and didn’t answer. I knew
he heard me but I also knew he hadn’t processed what I said. David is autistic and doesn’t handle change
very well. This move was going to be
very difficult for him. I wondered what
we could do to ease the transition. We
had talked to Mrs. Reed about it but none of us had an easy way to grapple with
the situation. Keeping many of David’s
things with him while we travelled and then making sure they made into his new
room would help – we hoped. I repeated
my question.
David’s
eyes finally focused on me and David answered my question, “Yes, I packed my
clothes, Daddy.”
I walked
over to where his suitcase sat on the floor.
I opened it and checked it contents.
Everything was neat and orderly.
He had labeled each stack of clothing and packaged them by tying string
around them. The level of organization
in the suitcase reflected how David’s mind worked – very methodical and organized.
I
remembered the initial meetings we had with his social worker and with the
school psychologist. They had gone over
with us all of the details of David’s autistic behaviors and how we should
respond to him. It had been a very
revelatory meeting for us. Neither of
us had experience with autistic people in our lives. Those first few months with David had proven
we could provide a warm and loving environment for him. He had thrived despite losing his parents in
a car crash. When we met with the
school, they expressed their amazement at the changes in David. The school psychologist asked us what we
were doing and we responded that we weren’t doing anything special other than
showing him love and understanding.
When Mrs.
Reed left the nursing home and was ready to take the children to live with her
in their new home, David cried and wouldn’t speak to her. We finally sat him down with us and asked
him what was going on. I still remember
the look on his face and his words:
“Dad and
Daddy, I want to stay with you. You
love me. Grandma doesn’t understand me
and doesn’t love me like you do. I
won’t live with her,” David said.
Rick said,
“David, we are going to live just down the street from you. You can come visit us every day if you
want. It’s just that your grandmother
is your legal guardian and you need to live with her along with Kyle and Ashley.”
David
looked at us and then burst into tears.
I put my arm around his shoulders and he clung to me as if his very life
depended on it. “David, we love you and
we aren’t going away. We promise you
that we will still be part of your life.”
He stopped
crying and looked up at me and asked, “Do you promise to let me stay overnight
with you and Dad as often as I want?”
I looked
over at Rick. Rick responded, “We
promise to let you stay with us whenever your Grandma says it’s okay. But you have to promise to listen to her and
do as she asks.”
David
nodded his head and said, “Okay.”
I was
brought back to the present when David said, “I have already packed everything
and I labeled every box with a list of its contents and wrote it down on this
list.”
He showed
me a list. I took it from him and read
over it. I looked up at him and said,
“Very well done, David. Thank you for
being so organized.”
David sat
down next to me on the floor of his bedroom.
He put his arms around me and hugged me. “I am so glad you are going to live with us,
again. Grandma is just as excited as we
are that you are coming to New York with us.”
“Dad and I
are excited as well and so are the twins,” I replied.
David said,
“I can’t wait to play with them in our new house. Grandma says that I get to help babysit
them.”
I smiled,
“That’s correct but only if you want to do it.”
David
replied, “I want to because they love me.
They don’t make fun of me or think I am different. They like the same things I like. I want to be with them.”
I said,
“Since we are done in your room, let’s go see if we can help Ashley with her
room.”
We walked
down the hall to Ashley’s room. Mrs.
Reed was helping Ashley pack boxes when we entered the bedroom. Mrs. Reed looked up at us and said, “Good,
someone to help me tape up these boxes.”
She handed
me the packing tape. I began taping up
the boxes while David walked over to where Ashley was putting her stuffed
animals in an empty box. She looked up
at David and asked, “Do you want to help me?”
David
nodded his head and began helping Ashley.
He pulled a notebook out of his pocket and made notes on it about what
was going inside the box. By the time
we finished packing Ashley’s room, Rick and Kyle walked in and announced that
Kyle’s room was done.
Mrs. Reed
smiled and said, “Let’s move on to the kitchen and front room.”
We spent
the rest of the day packing and managed to finish before dinnertime. Mrs. Reed locked up the house and followed
us over to our house where they were going to spend the night. The movers were schedule to arrive in the
morning and Mrs. Reed would drive with the children to Long Island.
*** ***
The next
morning, we were up with the sun. We
had breakfast and then we met the movers at the Reeds home. Within a few hours, everything was packed up
and the movers were gone.
Mrs. Reed
turned to us and let out a deep sigh.
She said, “I am glad that is done.”
She smiled weakly and said, “We had best be moving out.”
Rick looked
at her with concern, “Are you sure you are up to driving to New York.”
“Yes, I
am. I’m stronger than you think,” she
said. “Let’s go.”
We climbed
into our cars and caravanned north.
Zach and Todd didn’t come with us this time. The initial excitement of moving had worn
off and they weren’t sure this was the direction they needed to go as a
family. As we drove up Interstate 95, I
thought back to the conversation we had with them last evening after everyone
was in bed asleep.
*** ***
Todd said,
“Zach and I are rethinking our decision to move to Long Island.”
“I thought
about that after we talked about Zach’s schedule that things might not work out
for you to come with us,” I said.
Zach looked
very sad, “We want you to go with you but I can’t live without Todd. Moving to New York would separate us even
more than we are now.”
“We
understand,” Rick said. “We want you to
be happy and won’t ask you to do anything that will endanger that.”
Todd had
tears in his eyes, “You don’t know how hard it is for us to say “no” to you.”
I stood up
and walked around the table and put my arms around Todd. “It’s okay.
We will be back after the adoption goes through.”
Todd nodded
his head, “We know you will be back but it gets pretty lonely with Zach on the
road with his team. It has been so wonderful
these past two years.”
Rick said,
“We have changed our minds about renting out the house. We plan split our time between New York and
here. It doesn’t make sense for me to
rent an apartment when we have a perfectly good house for me to live in right
here.”
Todd’s face
brightened and he smiled, “Hurrah! I
was hoping you guys would change your minds about renting out your place!”
Todd stood
up and hugged me and kissed me. He then
walked over to Rick and hugged and kissed him as well. Zach pulled all of us into a group hug. When he released us I pulled him to me and
kissed him on the lips and said, “I love you Zach.”
Zach
smiled, “I love you, Glenn.”
“Let’s get
your suitcases packed so you will be already to go in the morning,” Todd said.
“We plan to
stay with the Reeds until we have to return to St. Catharines,” Rick said. “After we get things settle there, we will
return home for a few weeks before going back to New York.”
Zach nodded
his head, “So you will be working remotely then?”
“Yes, that
is the plan,” Rick said.
We walked
into our bedroom and I pulled out our suitcases. Zach sat on the bed and watched as I got out
the clothes we planned to take with us.
Todd pulled out our matching white Speedo swimsuits and held them
up. “I think they should model these for
us.”
I laughed,
“Okay, but only after everything has been packed.”
We finished
up and then we stripped down and pulled on the swimsuits. We posed for them as Todd took photos. Then we started to make out while they
watched. Rick said, “I think we need to
invite them to join us.” He looked over
at Zach and Todd who were obviously turned on by our display of affection.
Zach
laughed and said, “I thought you would never ask!”
They
stripped down and moved over so we could join them on the bed. Todd looked over at me and said, “I have
dreamed about us doing this for some time.”
Rick smiled
and said, “We have to have some rules first.
We only fuck our husbands but everything else is okay.”
Zach nodded
his head, “We are all in agreement since we have been in a monogamous
relationship from the beginning. We
don’t want that to change now. It’s
just that watching you two fuck makes us so horny.”
Rick said,
“It’s the same with us, Zach.” The rest
of the evening was absolutely fantastic!
*** ***
Rick looked
over at me and said, “A penny for your thoughts.”
I grinned,
“I was just thinking about last night”
“I thought
that might be the case,” Rick said.
“How did
you know that?” I asked.
Rick
reached over and grabbed my package, “This is how I know.”
I laughed,
“You have to admit it was pretty good.”
He released
me and said, “It was very hot!”
Josh asked,
“What was hot, Dad?”
Rick
grinned and looked into the rearview mirror at his son, “Your Daddy is hot,
Josh.”
Josh asked,
“Why doesn’t he open the window if he is hot?”
I laughed
and replied, “I will do that.” I rolled
down the window and let the wind rush past me.
JJ
complained, “Daddy, the wind is blowing too hard back here.”
“Alright, I
will close the window,” I said.
We made
good time and soon arrived at the Hauppauge House. The boys christened it the Hauppauge House
to distinguish it from the River House.
We pulled into the driveway and piled out of the car. Mrs. Reed opened the door and let us
in. The boys went running from room to
room exploring the new house. Kyle,
David and Ashley followed in their wake.
They seemed excited to be in a new place but not quite as exuberant as
the twins.
Mrs. Reed
said, “We need to drive over to the school and register the children for
school. I think classes start on
Monday.”
I asked,
“Do you want us to come with you?”
“No, but
will you stay here and direct the movers when they arrive,” she said.
“Sure. We will make sure things make it into the
right rooms,” Rick said.
We unloaded
her car first. She called her friends
who arrived just as we finished taking everything inside. She introduced us to them. “Rick and Glenn, this is Michael and Trish
Gansel.”
Michael
looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies. He was tall with pure white hair. He wore hearing aids and he talked too
loudly. He shouted, “Glad to meet you
fellows.”
Trish said,
“I’m sorry. Michael can’t hear very
well and he thinks shouting makes you hear him better.”
“That’s
quite alright,” Rick said.
Trish
turned to Mrs. Reed and said, “Maude, let’s get your grandchildren in the
car. The school isn’t far from here.”
Trish soon
had everyone in their car and they left for the school leaving us to deal with
the movers who showed up about an hour later.
We helped
the movers unload the truck and they were gone before Mrs. Reed returned. Rick and I had arranged the furniture in
most of the rooms and were constructing the beds. We were in Kyle’s room when Kyle walked into
the room.
Kyle smiled
and said, “I am going to like going to school here.”
“How do
David and Ashley feel about their schools?” Rick asked.
David and
Ashley chorused, “We like it.”
They all
stood and watched as we put the box springs and mattress on the bed frame. “Your bed is all ready for you, Kyle,” Rick
said.
Kyle hugged
Rick and said, “Thank you, Dad.”
I looked at
David and Ashley, “We made your beds for you.
Now you need to unbox your things and put them away.”
They each
hugged me and said, “Thank you.”
The twins
came in with Mrs. Reed. JJ said, “Mrs.
Reed brought us some doughnuts and milk!”
She
laughed, “They seem to have a nose for treats!”
I smiled,
“I know they do.”
Josh said,
“Mrs. Reed says we have to ask you if we can have a doughnut.”
Rick smiled
and said, “You both may have a doughnut.”
JJ shouted,
“Yeah!”
They tore
back down the hallway followed by Kyle, David and Ashley. Mrs. Reed said, “Thank you so much for
getting things set up for us.”
“You’re
welcome,” Rick said. Mrs. Reed left us
to finish making Kyle’s bed.
As we
finished, I looked over at Rick and asked, “Are we doing the right thing,
Rick? I mean I know we love the
children but are we the right parents for them?”
Rick walked
around the bed and pulled me into his arms and put his hand under my chin and
looked deeply into my eyes. “Babe, the
children love you and me very much. You
can see it in their eyes and in their actions.
I know that you love them as much as I do.”
I nodded my
head and said, “It’s not that I don’t love them because I do. I am just thinking about the challenges that
lie ahead of them. I want to be there
for them and to be able to give them the counsel and advise they need at the
right times. How will we know what to
do and when?”
“I think we
will know because we have learned to keep our communication lines open. Just like earlier today. Kyle came to me and talked about his desire
to play football,” Rick said. “As long
as we keep communicating between ourselves and each of them, I think we will
know when we need to do something or when we just need to listen.”
“I am glad
he talked to you, Rick. Kyle and I had
talked about it earlier and I am afraid I let own personal bias against
football guide my actions instead of what was best for Kyle. I will have to apologize to him now for not
listening to him. He tried to convince
me that football was better for him than soccer,” I said.
Rick
smiled, “I know how much you hate football, Glenn, and I am not surprised that
you tried to discourage Kyle from going out for the football team.”
“It’s not
that I hate it, Rick. I’m just worried
that Kyle will get seriously hurt,” I said.
“That’s why
they wear all those pads and a helmet, Babe!” Rick declared.
“I know but
he still can get hurt pretty badly,” I insisted.
Rick said,
“Yes, he can still be hurt but you have to acknowledge Kyle’s logic in joining
the football team. Remember what Kyle
told you? First, it will give him the
opportunity to work out and tone up his body.
He said his number one goal was to get physically fit and joining the
football team would help him accomplish that goal. Second, the football team will give him a
ready-made support network at his new school.
You know he’s right about needing to make new friends and to become
integrated at his new school.”
“I know all
of those things and yes, they are good things but it still doesn’t stop me from
worrying about any injuries Kyle might have because of playing football,” I
said.
“Why don’t
we wait and see how things go? I have
told Kyle that his grades come first.
If the grades drop below a B average, Kyle knows that he will be off the
football team. He also knows if he gets
injured that he will be off the team as well.
I have warned him to follow the coach’s instructions and not to do anything
extremely stupid,” Rick said. “Are we
good?”
“I guess,”
I said with resignation. I could see
that Rick supported Kyle’s desire to play football and that nothing I said was
going to change his mind. I guess I
shouldn’t be surprised at Rick’s position given that he played football himself
in high school.
Rick kissed
me and said, “Everything will be alright, Glenn. Stop worrying about it.”
I nodded my
head and sighed, “Okay, I’ll try.”
Rick smiled
and kissed me, again.
We left
Kyle’s room and made our way to the kitchen to see if any of the doughnuts had
survived!
We entered
the kitchen and found Kyle talking to Mrs. Reed. “Grandma, I want to play football. Please sign the permission forms. Please!”
Mrs. Reed
looked up from the forms and asked, “Has Kyle talked to you two about playing
football?”
We nodded
our heads and I looked over at Rick and said, “The ball is in your court,
sweetheart.”
We sat down
next to Kyle and Rick said, “Yes, Kyle has talked to us about playing
football.” Kyle looked at Rick with a
hopeful expression on his face. “We
have discussed the positives and negatives of playing football.”
Kyle said,
“I have written up a contract between me and you, Grandma, laying out the
rules.” He handed her a piece of
paper.
At the top
of the sheet, Kyle had written, “Football,” followed by a list of goals. Mrs. Reed read the out loud, “Goal number
one, get physically fit by exercising and lifting weights as directed by the
coach. Goal number two, develop
friendships and become part of the social scene at school.”
At this
last, Mrs. Reed glanced up at Kyle. “I
am not sure that the social scene the football team will provide you is the one
I want you to be in, Kyle. There seems
to be a lot of sex, drugs, and thrill-seeking that goes on among members of
football teams.”
Rick spoke
up to defend Kyle, “Kyle and I have talked about the dangers of becoming
intoxicated with the jock culture that comes with being on the football
squad. I think that Kyle can handle
being on the team and still keep his head focused on what is important.”
Kyle said,
“Grandma, read the terms of the contract.”
Mrs. Reed
read them, “I will be removed from the team if I don’t abide the following
conditions: One – all grades must be
A’s and B’s. A “C” grade will
constitute cause for removal from the team.
Two – involvement with drugs, alcohol, partying, or any other
inappropriate activities will constitute cause for removal from the team. Three – Injury of any kind will also
constitute removal from the team.”
Rick said,
“I think the last one should be contingent upon the severity of the
injury. If it is a minor one such as
broken finger, Kyle should be allowed to continue to play football. If it is a head injury or a broken leg, then
he will be off the team.”
Kyle looked
over at Rick with gratitude. “I wrote
it down the way you told me to do, Dad.
Thank you for making it a little more flexible.”
Mrs. Reed
looked at the bottom of the paper and saw four signature lines with names under
them. She said, “This agreement will be
between you, me, and your Dads. Is that
correct, Kyle?”
Kyle said,
“Yes, Grandma.”
Mrs. Reed
asked, “Who gets the final say regarding injuries?”
Kyle looked
at me and asked, “Can we make it a group decision?”
I returned Kyle’s
gaze and said, “You know that any injury is unacceptable to me.”
“I know
Daddy,” Kyle replied. He looked down at
the table and his shoulders slumped.
Mrs. Reed
said, “I think that the three of us will consult with each other before a decision
is made regarding injuries. However,
once our decision is made, you must abide by it, Kyle. I will not tolerate arguments of any
kind. Do I make myself clear, young
man?”
Kyle smiled
and said, “I understand, Grandma.”
“I want you
to sign your agreement first. Then the
three of us will sign it before I will agree to sign the permission forms,”
Mrs. Reed said.
The
agreement was signed and the forms completed.
Mrs. Reed handed them to Kyle who hugged his Grandma. “Thanks, Grandma.”
We stood up
from the table. Kyle put down the
paperwork and hugged Rick, “Thank you, Dad.”
Then he
hugged me, “I promise I won’t get hurt, Daddy.
You’ll see.”
I kissed
him on the cheek and said, “You had better not get hurt.” I smiled and gave him another hug.
Kyle
gathered up his paperwork. The smile on
his face said it all. He was a very
happy boy! As Kyle left the kitchen, I
turned to Rick and said, “I think we made the right choice this time.”
Rick nodded
his head, “Yes, I think we did. Don’t
you agree, Mrs. Reed?”
“Yes, I
think we did the right thing,” Mrs. Reed replied. “We met the football coach earlier today
when we registered Kyle for 9th grade. Coach Kelly seems like a really good
guy. He connected right away with
Kyle. I think Kyle will be just fine at
his new school. David and Ashley are
registered at Hauppauge Middle School in 6th and 7th
grades. I think they will adjust pretty
quickly to their new school as well.
Ashley was very pleased to find out that 6th grade is at the
middle school and not at the elementary school like it is in Fairfax County.”
We heard
the doorbell ring. I looked over at
Rick and said, “I bet that’s our bedroom furniture.”
Rick nodded
his head in agreement. “They said they
would deliver between 12 noon and 6 PM today.”
We walked
out into the foyer and Rick answered the door.
There were two guys standing there.
They both wore uniforms from the furniture store where we had purchased
the bedroom furniture for us and for the twins. The younger one looked like he was stoned
out of his mind. He had dark hair and a
sallow complexion. He just didn’t look
healthy at all! The older one was a
balding man with blond hair and a mustache.
His watery blue eyes gave Rick an appraising look and said, “We are here
to deliver your furniture, Mr. Lernier.”
Rick said,
“Good. Let me show you where I want it
placed.” The men followed Rick upstairs
to the bedrooms. “I want the twin beds
in here,” he said indicating the twins’ bedroom. “The rest goes in here.”
The
delivery men left the house and quickly unloaded four dressers – two for Rick
and I and two for the twins. Then they
unloaded the bunk beds and king-sized bed for me and Rick. Rick and I helped them move the furniture
upstairs. Ricked signed the delivery
documents and the men left.
The twins
came into their room as we were assembling their beds. JJ said, “I like our new beds, Dad.”
“You helped
us pick them out so I am glad you are happy with what you chose,” Rick said.
Josh asked,
“May we have them arranged like we have them at home?”
“Sure
Josh,” I said. We finished putting the
beds together and moved the furniture around so it was in the same
configuration as what we had at our other house. The twins helped arrange their clothes in
their dressers and to make their beds.
When we
finished, JJ and Josh both gave us a hug.
JJ said, “Thank you for putting our room together for us.”
“You’re
welcome,” Rick said.
We left the
boys in their room and tackled ours. It
wasn’t long before we had the bed put together and made. We made short work of putting our clothes
away and then I locked our door and pulled Rick to me.
Rick kissed
me and asked, “What do you have in mind, Mr. Lernier?”
I grinned,
“I think we need a shower, Mr. Lernier.”
Rick nodded
his head in agreement, “I think that a shower is a great idea.” He led me to the en suite and we quickly
stripped down and stepped into the cascading water. Of course, we enjoyed ourselves very much!
*** ***
Later that
evening, I looked into Rick’s eyes as he held me in his arms. “I am glad we have a few days to get the
children acclimated to their new surroundings before school starts.”
“I think we
should do some exploring tomorrow to help ourselves and the children get
acquainted with our new home,” Rick said.
“I was looking at some of the tourist information on-line and I think we
should go to Port Jefferson and take the ferry across to Connecticut.”
“I think we
can do that after we get our adoption paperwork started,” I said. “I think Mrs. Reed has already set up an
appointment to meet with Suffolk County social services.”
Rick said,
“I hope this time we don’t run into the same issues we did with Fairfax
County.”
“We will
have to wait and see,” I said.
Rick pulled
me closer to him and kissed me, effectively cutting off any further
conversation. When we surfaced for air,
Rick looked into my eyes and said, “I love you.”
I replied,
“I love you, too.”
Rick
grinned, “I intend to show you just how much I love you.”
I laughed
and replied, “Okay. How much to you
love me?”
Rick
answered my question in a very physical way!
He left no doubts in my mind that he loves me very much!
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