by C. E. Wilson
“Dad, are you trying to convince yourself or me? I’ve seen the way you look at Justin. It’s the same way that I look at my girlfriend. Like I want to kiss her, but I would be too embarrassed to do it.”
“I’m not embarrassed to kiss Justin. He’s my boyfriend, so naturally, I kiss him.”
“Ok, we all live in the same house so, what’s the difference between being your boyfriend and your husband?”
“Well, we have separate rooms now, and if we got married, we would share a room.”
“That’s the reason you don’t want to marry Justin. You have to share a room with him. I don’t mind sharing my room with Jordan.”
“No, Steve, you don’t understand what all it involves. It’s not about sharing a room. It’s about marriage is supposed to last forever. Do I love Justin enough to be with him forever? That’s what I need to figure out.”
“All of us in the house know you love Justin. You just don’t want to admit it even to yourself. If he said it, then you aren’t believing him or not believing in yourself. You’re a good catch for Justin, and he’s a good catch for you. Just admit it, Dad.”
“If I knew for sure I wouldn’t be afraid to admit it. I think when Justin gets home, he and I should have a long talk about this. He just kind of sprung it on me without any hint that he loved me or wanted to marry me. How am I supposed to process that?”
“First, do you love him? If so, then the rest of it should be easy.”
“That’s the main question. Do I love him?”
“Answer it.”
“I like him really well, but I have never been in love, so how do I know if I love him.”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course, I do, Steve. I have loved you from the first time I saw you. I wanted to adopt you when you came here, and I didn’t think I could until I got married. Justin talked to the judge and told him he wanted to adopt Jordan, and I wanted you. The judge got the CPS lady to bring the papers by, and he signed them as soon as he got them back. That made me your father right then. She’ll be back tomorrow to have the papers for Justin to adopt Jordan. Now he wants Simon too.”
“Do him the same favor he did us and call Judge Stone and tell him to include the papers for Simon. He’ll be thrilled. He thinks the world of Justin and is hoping that Justin adopts him too.”
“That would make Justin happy if it was all done at once.”
Hunter picked up his phone and called the judge. “Judge Stone, this is Hunter. I need a favor. Justin passed his test and is on his way home. He was going to come and see you tomorrow, but I thought I would do the same for him that he did for me. He also wants to adopt Simon, and Simon is praying that he does. It’ll break Simon’s heart if he doesn’t and you know how much these boys have been through. I think if anything, they deserve to be a little happy, and this would make Simon very happy.”
“I’ll get Martha to bring the papers for Simon as well as Jordan. Do you want to adopt another one? If so, tell me now, and we’ll get that out of the way tomorrow too.”
“I wouldn’t mind having Carson. He and Steve are best friends, and I bet they would like to be brothers as well.”
“Ok, done deal. If you decide you want any more, then let me know. Since your raising them I don’t understand the adoption thing, but if you want it, you get it. Same thing with Justin. I guess since he had gotten his license, then I need to pay him more since he can get better pay elsewhere.”
“That’s up to you, Judge Stone, but Justin isn’t going anywhere. He said this is his dream job. He loves it here and wouldn’t think of leaving.”
“I think you and Justin both need a raise. How much I don’t know yet, but I’ll talk to Sam Willis, and we will figure it out for you. You’ll see it on your next check. That’s a promise.”
“Thank you, Judge.”
He hung up and looked at Steve. “What do you think about having Carson as a brother?”
“Yeah, that’ll be cool. Are you going to adopt him too?”
“Yes, he’ll be your brother tomorrow. Judge is sending the papers by with the CPS lady tomorrow for Carson, Jordan, and Simon. If Justin and I do get married, we’ll have a big family. Can you deal with that, son?”
Steve nodded and ran to tell Carson that Hunter was adopting him as well, and they would all be brothers. Hunter chuckled and shook his head.
Chapter 16
Justin got home earlier than he thought he would. He parked his truck in the garage and went into the house. He walked in, and he was hit in the legs very quickly. He looked down, and Jordan was holding on to his legs. He knelt down and gave him a hug that wasn’t very tight. He didn’t want to hurt his back. He whispered into Jordan’s ear. “Climb on my back, and I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”
Jordan giggled and climbed on Justin’s back. Justin got him by the back of his knees and held him on. “Do you know where Hunter is?”
“Yes, he’s in the kitchen. He was going to cook tonight so that you would have a good meal. That’s what he said. I think all the meals are good.”
“I think so too, Jordan. Let’s go see what he’s cooking tonight.”
They dropped off Justin’s bag on the staircase and then went to the kitchen. When they walked in, Hunter turned and looked at them and smiled. “Jordan, are you ridding piggyback again?”
Jordan frowned. “Yes, Hunter, is it all right, or am I doing something wrong?”
“You can ride piggyback anytime you want to Jordan. You aren’t doing anything wrong at all.”
“Good cause I like riding piggyback. It’s fun. Do you want to take a turn, Hunter? Justin will give you a ride too.”
Hunter laughed. “I don’t think Justin could carry me Jordan. I’m almost as tall as him. That’s for kids, not adults.”
Hunter walked over and kissed Justin. He looked over Justin’s shoulder. “That’s for adults, not for kids.”
Jordan giggled. “I don’t want to kiss you. I would kiss Justin on the cheek, but not on the mouth. That’s nasty to kiss people on the mouth.”
Justin smiled at Hunter. “Jordan said you were cooking tonight so I would have a good meal. Jordan and I think all the meals here are good. Don’t we Jordan?”
“Yes. Justin, can you be my dad? I don’t have a dad now, and I need one.”
“Yes, Jordan, I’ll be your dad tomorrow when I sign the papers. Then you’ll be my son forever.”
“Steve said when you marry Hunter, we’ll be brothers. Is that true? Are you going to marry Hunter? Can two men really get married?”
“Whoa, Jordan. That’s a lot of questions, and the answer to all of them is yes.”
Hunter looked at Justin and raised a brow but didn’t say anything. Steve said, “Come on, Jordan, and play me a game on your new X-Box. Let our dads talk about getting married.”
Justin turned around, and Hunter got Jordan down. Justin asked Hunter, “His new X-Box? Where did he get that?”
“Mrs. Willis. I told you she had to have spent thousands of dollars on him. He even got a tv to play the game on. If it’s in a toy store, I promise you he got it. I don’t even know where to put everything.”
“I’ll help you tomorrow when I get back from the Judge’s office.”
“You don’t need to go there. I took care of everything. Martha will bring the papers for both your boys and my other one. Oh, by the way, I adopted Carson as well. The judge said if we were going to adopt anymore to tell him now.”
“I think two each is plenty. Have you wrapped your head around what I said?”
“Yeah, Steve helped me to see what I need to do. I need to admit to you and to myself that I love you too. I just thought it was too early for us to say it, I guess.”
Justin walked over and wrapped his arms around Hunter and kissed him with all the passion he had for Hunter. He hoped that Hunter could see that he was in love with him, and it is never too early to say what you feel. “So, babe, what are you making for dinner?”
&nb
sp; “I didn’t know for sure what you liked, so I made lasagna. I think everybody likes that.”
Justin shook his head. “I don’t like lasagna. I think it is horrible.”
Hunter’s face fell, and Justin started laughing. “I’m joking, babe. Lasagna is my all-time favorite food. I love it.”
Hunter took the dishtowel off his shoulder and smacked Justin on the arm with it. “That was not funny, Justin. I have worked all day making this for you. Why would you say something like that?”
“I was teasing you, babe. Don’t get mad. The look on your face was priceless.”
“Don’t do it again.” Hunter turned to the oven, trying to hide his smile. After he thought about it, it was kind of funny. He would never let Justin know that, though.
“Babe, do you know where Simon is?”
“He’s either in the den or in his room. Last I saw him he was heading for his room.”
Justin kissed Hunter on the cheek and went hunting Simon and see how his back was doing. He wasn’t in the den, so Justin started up the stairs to check his room. On his way, he picked up his bag and would drop it off in his room. He left the bag inside his door and went to Simon’s room. He knocked on the door, and Simon opened it.
Simon grinned at Justin. “I’m so glad your home. I missed you, Justin.”
Justin had a stern look on his face that made Simon lose his grin. “Is there something wrong, Justin?”
“I’m going to let you get away with that for today, but tomorrow things are going to change.”
“What did I do?”
“You called me Justin.”
“That’s what you told me to call you. Do you want me to call you Mr. Redmond or something?”
“Well, at this moment, it is Dr. Redmond, but as of tomorrow, it will be Dad.”
Simon stared at him for a few moments. “W-What?”
“Tomorrow I’ll be your father so you can call me Dad. I’m adopting you and Jordan tomorrow, so you’ll also have a little brother. Your sixteen, and you have a right to say if you want me to adopt you or not. So, do you want me to adopt you as much as I want to adopt you?”
Simon stumbled backward and sat on his bed. Justin could see the tears in his eyes. “I have been praying that you would adopt me, but I didn’t know if you would. I would love to have you as a father. Steve told me you were going to adopt Jordan, so I didn’t think I would be adopted.”
Justin hugged him. “I have to adopt you. We have matching tats. You know, like father and son tattoos. I already love you Simon and wanted to have you for a son the first time I met you. I just didn’t know if you wanted me to adopt you, and Hunter told me that you did, so the lady is bringing the papers over tomorrow for me to sign and then take to the judge.”
“Then I’ll be your son? Can I call you Dad starting today? I haven’t had a good dad before. I know you’ll be a good dad to me and Jordan. He’s a cute kid and has a good personality. I’m glad he’ll be my little brother. Does he know it yet?”
“He knows I’m adopting him, but I wanted to talk to you before I told him that you were going to be his brother. If you didn’t want this, then he wouldn’t get hurt by not having a big brother.”
“You can tell him now. I’m so happy, Dad. It feels good to call you that.”
“How about you go tell Jordan that tomorrow he’ll be your little brother? I think that should come from you.”
“Forget tomorrow, Dad. He’s my little brother today. I’ll be happy to tell him that. Will you come with me to tell him?”
“Sure, I’ll be happy to. I think he’s in his room. He and Steve are playing that game thing Mrs. Willis got him. Does he share with all of you about the things he got?”
“Yes, he shares with anyone that wants to use something. I used his laptop earlier to do some homework. I had to research some things on the internet, and he told me to use it.”
“She got him a laptop?”
“Yes, and a tablet he can use when he isn’t home.”
“Wow, I didn’t see that coming. I know Hunter said she got him a bunch of things, but this is too much. Does he know how to get on the internet with them?”
“Hunter hooked it up for him to our DSL, so it stays on the internet all the time. He might have to use it for schoolwork is what Hunter said. He did put on some parental controls so he could only go to G rated sites.”
“I should have known that Hunter would make sure they are safe for him. I’ll have to call her and tell her he has enough. Hunter said she was going on another shopping trip for him next week.”
“Have you been to his room?”
“Not yet. I need to go change his bandages after he gets his shower tonight, and I’ll see it then.”
“You might want to go look at it now, Dad. If you fit in his room. He has boxes stacked everywhere with all kinds of stuff in them.”
“He doesn’t use all that stuff?”
“He doesn’t have enough time in a day to use all of it. He’ll be lucky to use it all by the time he’s my age.”
“Then tomorrow we’ll go through it, and what is too old for him you can have. There is no sense in him having it sit in his room. Steve and Carson can probably use some of it. Do you know how old Carson is? I don’t remember at the moment.”
“He’s thirteen, and Steve is twelve. They are both good kids. I just like Steve better than Carson. Carson sometimes has a smart mouth and gets violent when he doesn’t get his way.”
“I’m sure we can get him to stop doing those things. I just need some intense sessions with him.”
“Let’s go tell Jordan I’m his big brother. I hope he’s happy about it. I sure want him to be happy.”
Justin and Simon walked down the hall to Jordan’s room. Justin knocked, and Steve opened the door and stepped back so they could come in. Justin looked around the room and was shocked at all the stuff in this room. It was a relatively large bedroom, just like all the other bedrooms, but there was no empty floor space. Most of the stuff was stacked almost as tall as Justin was. He was a little over six feet.
Simon said, “Jordan, can you pause your game and come talk to us for a minute.”
“Sure, Simon.” He laid down the controller and ran over to Simon and Justin. He smiled at Simon, so he squatted down so he would be face to face with Jordan.
“Tomorrow, Justin is adopting you and me. He’ll be our Dad, and you’ll be my little brother. What do you think about that?”
“Is Hunter going to adopt you so you will be Steve’s brother?”
“No, Justin is adopting you and me, and that will make us brothers. Then if Justin and Hunter get married, Steve and Carson will be our brothers’ too.”
Jordan frowned. “Carson doesn’t like me. He said I’m a stupid kid. I like you, Simon and I like Steve, he’s my best friend, but Carson doesn’t play nice with me.”
Justin felt so bad for Jordan, and he decided that Hunter and he was going to have to have a long talk with Carson about how he treats people.
Chapter 17
Simon looked up at Justin. “Dad, I don’t want to start trouble or anything, but if Carson says something ugly to Jordan, he’s going to wish he hadn’t. I’m his big brother, and I need to protect him. I don’t want trouble with Hunter, but he needs to teach Carson how to treat people.”
Steve sat there, listening to Simon. “You know he’s going to be my brother Simon. I don’t want you to hit him.”
“I’m not going to hit anyone, Steve. I’m going to go to Hunter with it. I know he doesn’t know anything about this because he wouldn’t let him talk to Jordan like that. Hunter is a good man and he would make some changes to this.”
Steve nodded. He didn’t like the way Carson treated Jordan either, so he was all for letting Hunter handle it. Justin said, “I’ll talk to Hunter in a few minutes. Jordan, you know you don’t need all this stuff. How about we share it with Simon and Steve? There is so much here that you’ll be my age before you get the chance to pl
ay with it all.”
“Ok, Dad. Can I at least keep the tv and X-Box?”
“Yes, of course, You don’t need to give it all away just what is too old for you to play with.”
“Simon can have the laptop since he’s the only one to use it. I wanted to keep the tablet if that’s ok. I don’t really know how to use the laptop, so I don’t mind giving him that. Can I think about the rest of the stuff?”
“Yes, we’ll go through everything tomorrow and see what you want to keep and what you want to share. Now, if you give Simon the laptop and you need to look something up for school, then I’m sure that Simon will let you use it, and either Hunter or I will help you look on the internet. Or you can ask Simon to help you. I’m sure he would be willing to help you.”
Simon said, “How about this? It’s still your laptop, but I’ll use it for school, and when you need to find something, I’ll help you and teach you to use your laptop, so you will be better equipped to use it when you’re older.”
Jordan ran and grabbed up the laptop and charger and brought it to Simon. “I’m going to like having you as my big brother.”
“I already like having you as my little brother. Anytime you need me, just say the word, and I’m there for you.”
Jordan hugged Simon’s neck and then went back to his game with Steve.
Justin and Simon walked out of the room, and Justin headed downstairs while Simon walked to his room.
Justin walked into the kitchen and walked up behind Hunter and wrapped his arms around Hunter’s waist. “Babe, we need to talk about a problem in the house. I don’t want to make you angry, but it seems that Carson has been calling Jordan ugly names. I know that isn’t much, but with his history, I worry that it might escalate into something we don’t want to happen.”
“Well, I’m not going to hit him, but what besides that do you suggest?”
“I think he needs some intense therapy. It’s going to either break him or make him, and I promise you, I’ll try for the latter.”