Since Dion and Trey were home for the summer, they started doing a little renovating of their own. They began by moving Joshie out of the small bedroom he had been using and put him in another, larger room. The room they moved him into was just on the other side of their own bedroom, but they did this because they wanted to use the small bedroom for the new baby when it arrived. This way, they’d have a son on either side of the room they currently shared.
Dion and Trey also retrieved Joshie’s old crib and baby furniture out of storage and they dug through Joshie’s old baby clothes and got them ready for the new baby to use. They also started stocking up on baby supplies, such as newborn diapers, A & D cream, baby wipes, baby lotion and other items they knew they were going to need. When I asked them if they weren’t jumping the gun, because I feared if something went wrong they’d be stuck with all of these items, they ended my doubts.
“If something happens and we don’t get this baby,” Dion explained, “we still want to try to have another one. Besides, Danny and Brandon will eventually want to have a baby too, so they can use this stuff, if we don’t use it before then.”
I guess that made sense, at least for our unusual family, so I let the subject drop. I was just glad to see they were so excited about the baby’s arrival and trying to get ahead of the curve, since the baby would be arriving after they had returned to work in the fall.
Along this same vein, Dion and Trey asked to speak to Jake and me one evening. Of course, we agreed, although we had no idea what they wanted to discuss. We were in the family room when they approached us.
“We need to talk to you,” Dion began. “Actually, we want to ask Pop something.”
Jake looked puzzled and surprised.
“Okay, what’s up?” he asked, in return.
“Trey and I have been discussing what we want to name the baby,” Dion began. “At first, we thought about naming him after you, but then we thought there are too many ‘J’ names in the family already. I mean, just here at the house we have Josh, Jake, Jesse and Joshie. On top of that, there’s also Jordan and Jay, so we dropped that idea.”
I’m sorry to say this, but Jake looked crushed. It was as if he had just been built up and then suddenly had the rug pulled out from under him. It also made us wonder why they’d asked to speak to us in the first place, if this wasn’t their reason.
“I think we’ve decided on a name, but we wanted to get your approval first,” Dion continued, which confused us even more. “We want to name the baby Wyatt Jacob Currie. Would that be all right with you?”
Immediately, Jake was beaming and I was thrilled for him as well. I thought this was a wonderful gesture on Dion and Trey’s part,
“Of course, it is,” Jake quickly concurred. “Not only is it all right, but I’m pleased and honored that you would gave the baby my name as his middle name. I like the name Wyatt too. I think it will be perfect for him.”
Once they left us, Dion and Trey went out to tell Danny and Brandon about their decision as well. That pair was also quick to agree that adding another ‘J’ name would have added to the confusion in the house, but then they followed that up by stating they liked the name Dion and Trey had chosen instead. Dion and Trey also thanked Danny again for setting this up for them and explained that Joshie was overjoyed when they told him that he’d soon be having a little brother.
By the middle of June, the work on Brandon’s office was nearly completed, so he began planning the move into his new place. First, he told his current employer that he would be opening his own practice right after the Fourth of July and then he contacted temp agencies and asked them to send over the names of candidates he could interview for the dental hygienist and receptionist positions.
Brandon also contacted the orthodontist that was going to share the practice with him and gave him an update on the current situation. The orthodontist was ecstatic that work was nearly completed and eager to set out on his own as well, but he admitted that he wouldn’t be able to leave his current job for another month. Brandon told him he understood and looked forward to him arriving and setting up shop. Brandon also agreed to advertise his expected arrival, as a way of drumming up some interest in his business.
Since Brandon’s new practice and office was right off the main entrance of the health center, the other work could go on without affecting his patients, as they entered and exited the building. Danny’s future office suite was also nearly finished and would be in the medical suite located closest to Brandon’s dental practice.
The medical suite across the corridor from Danny’s future office was also nearly finished, so Danny called his obstetrician friend to advise him of this fact. His OBGYN practice would be moving in there and Danny wanted to let him know he could start setting up shop in the next couple of days. The snack bar was also nearly to the point where it could be opened, but Danny needed to find an operator to run it, before the snack bar would begin serving the employees and patients.
At this point, Danny and Brandon told the contractor they wanted the medical suites finished first. Once they were done, the laboratory would be completed next, followed by the installation of the elevators. Once that was done, the contractor could start work on the operating and recovery rooms, along with the employee lounge, which were to be located on the second floor of the addition.
Since some of the smaller offices were easy to complete, they were also nearly done, so Danny and Brandon would start contacting the individuals who had inquired about opening a psychological and speech therapy practice at the center. Many of those moving into their offices first felt they might only be at the center part-time to start, at least until they had a chance to build up their patient list.
This means that by the time August rolls around, Danny and Brandon will finally have some rental income coming in. This will help them out in meeting their financial obligations while the rest of the center is being completed. I felt things were coming together very nicely, so maybe this wouldn’t be such a gamble after all. It looked as if Danny, Brandon and Kevin would not only soon be their own bosses, but Danny and Brandon will also be landlords and collecting some rent.
The weekend before Elliot’s birthday, Dustin and Katie were getting married. This particular wedding would be taking place locally, so we won’t have to travel this time. It is also being held in the church we normally attend and officiated over by the same minister who had conducted the commitment ceremonies for our gay couples. I was glad that he would be the one performing the wedding service.
Dustin had asked Pat to be his best man, since they had grown quite close over the years. I think he might have been tempted to ask Kevin instead, but felt Kevin might not be able to handle doing this for him. I think Dustin was fearful that it might dredge up memories from when they were temporarily a couple and force him to deal with those feelings, on top of performing the duties of the best man. Anyway, I plan on watching Kevin that day, to make certain it isn’t bothering him, but I’m sure he’ll be happy for his former lover.
Jake and I also offered to do the same thing for him that we had done for Duck. We’d spend the same amount of money on his wedding, but it would be split up a little differently. Since Katie’s family was a little better off than Jennifer’s parents, we offered to split the cost of the reception with them, but we were also chipping in a substantial amount toward their honeymoon trip. They had opted to go to Bermuda.
The wedding was nice and our minister was happy to unite another of our couples, but this time in marriage. Katie also looked beautiful in her wedding gown, which was a lovely white floor-length design, but without a long train. She had chosen to have her matron of honor wear a dark pink gown, while her bridesmaids were dressed in a lighter shade of pink. The entire female bridal party carried bouquets and looked lovely.
Dustin, Pat and the ushers all wore tuxes with a flower in their lapels. The entire wedding party looked as if they had just stepped out of a bridal magazine photo shoot. I was positive their wedding album would contain some great photographs and give them something to cherish for the rest of their lives.
The reception also went very well and Pat offered a wonderful toast to the happy couple. During his little speech, he also dredged up a few memories that I think Dustin would rather have had him leave out. Regardless, the toast was well received and gave us a chance to chuckle about some of the things Pat had mentioned.
The couple left directly from the reception and drove to the airport in Philadelphia. Their flight to Bermuda was scheduled to leave very early in the morning and they didn’t want to risk not being there on time. After making sure that they had their passports with them, we wished them well and made Dustin promise to drive carefully, before we sent them on their way. That’s two weddings down and one to go.
As June was coming to a close, I received another surprise when I got a call from Ted Beckham. If you remember, Ted’s Aunt Jane had introduced him to our family shortly after she took care of one of my sons in the hospital. Ted was gay and his father wouldn’t accept him at the time, so she brought him to us, so he could see that there was nothing wrong with being gay. Over time, Ted and his father were able to mend their tattered relationship, so now they are close once again.
The reason Ted called was to ask if he and his partner could come visit for a week. He had mentioned it when I’d talked to him previously. He’d said he wanted to do this so his partner could meet the family, so his request didn’t come as a total surprise. Therefore, I told him we’d be thrilled to have them. That’s when he told me they’d like to come for the Fourth and stay until the following weekend. I agreed that would be fine and assured him I was certain that everyone would love to see him again and meet his partner.
Before Ted and his partner arrived for their visit though, we had a birthday to plan and celebrate. Elliot’s birthday was June 29th, and his father’s wanted to make his birthday as special as he had made theirs. Even though Elliot’s birthday fell on a Wednesday, they still wanted to celebrate it on that evening. Danny had even taken off work an hour early, so he and Brandon would arrive home about the same time. When they did, they found Elliot right away.
“Happy Birthday, Son!” they both shouted in unison. “We need you and Jesse to get dressed quickly, in your good clothes, because we’re taking you out to dinner. Our reservation is in an hour.”
Elliot looked surprised, for a couple of reasons. First, he didn’t expect them to make a big deal out of his birthday. Besides that, he thought they’d wait until the weekend to do anything, rather than doing it on a weeknight. Even though he was still slightly confused, he raced off to shower and change, with Jesse right behind him. They came downstairs about a half hour later and the rest of us were waiting for them. Fortunately, I had told each of the others about our plans the previous evening, so they had a head start on getting ready.
On the way to the restaurant, we made a little detour first. I think Elliot was surprised when we pulled up in front of Hayden’s house. Luckily, Hayden must have been watching for our arrival, because he came rushing out to join us, just as soon as we pulled up. You see, I had called his parents the night before and told them about our plans and asked if they’d agree to allow Hayden to go with us. They said that would be fine and promised to tell him when he got home from school the following afternoon. Now, he was racing out to the Suburban and hopped in, almost before I had come to a complete stop.
“You knew about this?” Elliot asked, as Hayden buckled up.
Unfortunately, this almost sounded as if it were meant as an accusation, rather than a question. I was hoping that Hayden didn’t over-react to Elliot’s tone.
“Not until I got home, after we finished playing tennis today,” Hayden confirmed. “That’s when my mother told me that your family had called and asked if I could go with you.”
That seemed to placate Elliot’s curiosity without ruffling his feathers, so he settled in for the rest of the ride there. When we got to the restaurant, we were led back to the private dining room and when we walked in, Hayden looked surprised.
“Damn. What’s this?” he wondered aloud. “I didn’t even know they had this room.”
Danny tried to play it down and nonchalantly told him that we often used it for private family events, like special birthdays, and Hayden merely nodded.
“It’s really nice,” he mumbled. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place as nice as this.”
Once we were all seated, Hayden was told to order whatever he wanted. At first he seemed reticent to do this, but after Elliot whispered something to him, he began to look at the menu again. Once we’d all ordered, he had another question for us.
“Do you guys celebrate all your birthdays here?” Hayden wanted to know.
“No, we usually have a cookout on the weekend whenever we have one, but because this is Elliot’s first birthday with us, we wanted to make this one special,” Brandon told him. “We’ll have a cookout for him this Saturday too, so the extended family can join us and you’re welcome to come to that as well, if you’d like.”
“Yeah, that would be great, because I didn’t bring a present for Elliot tonight,” Hayden admitted. “If I come to the cookout too, I can bring one then. I wish I had known about this beforehand.”
“You don’t need to get me a present,” Elliot informed him. “Just the fact that you came up to me that first day at school, when I was kinda scared and alone, that was present enough. Now, you’ve become my best friend ever, so you don’t need to give me anything else.”
“Come on. I’m still going to get you something,” Hayden insisted.
“No, you really don’t have to. Really,” Elliot countered, adamantly.
“Nice try, but I’m still going to do it, no matter what you say,” Hayden stated, equally defiant.
Nothing more was said about it at that point, but I was certain Elliot was going to say something to Hayden about it later, either tonight or tomorrow.
After our meal was delivered, we chatted while we ate. I noticed that Hayden kept glancing around the room the entire time, so he could watch how we were interacting with each other.
“My parents celebrate my birthday too,” I heard him tell Elliot, “but not like this. It’s usually just the three of us and we also go out to eat, but we don’t go to anyplace this fancy. I can’t believe they’re going to throw you another party on Saturday too. Damn, that’s awesome and you are really lucky.”
Although I overheard what he’d said, I didn’t comment about it. I don’t know if any of the others might have heard what he’d said as well, but no one mentioned it if they did. I’ll be interested to hear what Elliot might have to say about it later, when we’re at home.
As soon as we were done eating and the tables were cleared, the waiter brought in the birthday cake. It read, ‘Happy 15th Birthday Son’ and had the appropriate number of candles on it. Once Danny lit them, we sang to Elliot and he blew out the candles. Then Brandon handed Elliot a flat package, similar to the ones Elliot had presented to Danny and him on their birthdays.
“Well, open it,” Danny urged, when Elliot froze and just stared at the wrapping paper.
Elliot’s hands were trembling as he tore off the paper and opened the box. Then he pulled out a piece of paper that his fathers had placed inside. He unfolded it and read it quietly. Then his eyes welled up and he turned to hug his fathers.
“What is it?” Hayden demanded. “What did they give you?”
Obviously, Hayden couldn’t think of anything that would make Elliot act this way and was curious as to what the paper contained. As soon as Elliot had calmed down enough to release his fathers, he turned to face Hayden. He just stood there momentarily and didn’t say a word, but then he finally spoke.
“It’s a certificate that says my dads want to legally adopt me whenever I want,” Elliot told him, “provided I’m willing.”
I think the rest of us choked up a little at that point, once we heard what Elliot had said. Danny had only told me they planned to do something special, but he never divulged what it was going to be.
“If you’re willing? Why wouldn’t you want them to do that for you?” Hayden wondered, aloud.
“We just weren’t certain he was ready to take that step yet,” Brandon explained. “It’s only been eight months since he lost his father and we didn’t want to push him, if he wasn’t ready yet. We can do this anytime and there’s no time limit on our offer.”
“And we’re telling you, upfront, that you don’t have to change you last name either, unless it’s what you want to do,” Danny added. “You can either keep your father’s surname or use that as your middle name, if you decide you want to use the Currie name. The choice is absolutely yours and it won’t change the fact that we want to adopt you.”
I think this was too much information and Elliot’s mind was on overload. When I noticed his current reaction, I decided to bail him out.
“I’m sure your fathers aren’t expecting you to answer them about this tonight, Elliot,” I clarified, in case he was confused. “You can think about it and let them know, whenever you decide what you want to do.”
“That’s right, honey,” Brandon assured him.
I wondered if anyone else had picked up on the fact that Brandon had just called Elliot ‘honey.’ If they did, none of them said anything about it.
“As we said,” Danny added next, “we can do this whenever you’re ready.”
Now that this had been cleared up, Elliot hugged both of his fathers again, thanked them for the gift and told them he’d let them know soon. I think the rest of us were all thrilled for him, especially Hayden.
“I’m happy for you. What a cool birthday gift,” Hayden whispered to him. “Not every foster home is as nice as this one and they wouldn’t offer to adopt you either. I think most of them are just doing it for the money.”
Elliot’s face suddenly contorted in a questioning grimace. Something was obviously troubling him.
“You get money for me being here?” Elliot asked his fathers, in disbelief.
“We do, but we don’t spend any of it. We chose to put it directly into an account for you to use later,” Danny verified, “just like my dad did for my brothers and me. We don’t touch that money at all.”
“But you don’t have to do that. I’ve got more th…” Elliot started, before I cut him off, by placing a finger across my lips.
I know Elliot trusts Hayden, but I felt it would be best if we kept his inheritance in the family for the time being. Elliot saw what I’d done and lost his train of thought, so Hayden spoke again.
“Damn! That’s even more awesome!” Hayden exclaimed, although I’m not sure he meant for the rest of us to hear his comment.
Once the party was over, we dropped Hayden off at his house and then the rest of us went home. Jesse went upstairs with Elliot tonight, because he could see Elliot’s head was spinning and he thought he might need company. As soon as they were alone in Elliot’s room, Elliot turned to him and spoke.
“Did they do all of that for you too?” Elliot asked him.
“Yes, but Papa Josh is my dad, so he’s the one who did that for me,” Jesse confirmed. “They put that money in with whatever other money we got from our families, plus I think he threw some other money in there too.”
“Wow. I didn’t know that,” Elliot stated. “And he offered to adopt you too?”
“He did and I decided to change my last name to Currie when he did that,” Jesse confirmed. “I can use the money he put in my account for college, to start a business or to just get a head start in life. Danny used his money to pay for his education and then used the rest of it to put toward the health center. I’m sure it made things easier for him and that’s what he wants to do for you too.”
“I didn’t expect them to do this,” Elliot admitted. “I figured they might want to get me a special present, after what I did for them, and I spent hours trying to think what they might get me. I thought of tons of things, but I never expected them to do this. I was just blown away.”
“Yes, I’m sure you were,” Jesse agreed, “and it looks like Hayden was surprised by it too.”
Elliot nodded in agreement.
“What do you think you’re going to do?” Jesse wanted to know.
“I don’t know exactly, but I’ll tell you one thing. This is the happiest I’ve been since I came here,” Elliot answered.
Jesse stayed in with Elliot and cuddled with him that night, so he’d feel safe or maybe just to help him relax. Elliot’s body was trembling slightly, but Jesse guessed it was due to the euphoria he was feeling about his present, not from fear or worry. Jesse just thought he should stay in there with him, to help keep Elliot calm. It must have worked, because Elliot was his normal self again in the morning, although he may have been walking more on air, than on the ground.