by C. E. Wilson
“Ok, Mom. We’ll plan on that then. Love you.”
“Love you too, son.”
George looked up at Link. “Are your parents mean? I mean, are they going to hit me?”
“No, George. I told you before that no one is going to hit you ever again, and I meant it. My mom will probably hug and kiss you all over your face.”
George frowned. “I have never been kissed or hugged except for you and Alex. I wish you could adopt me too. I don’t want to go back to that house with my mom and dad. I get tired of getting hit all the time. They hit me even when they get into a fight, and I’m in my room and not doing anything wrong.”
“It won’t happen again, George. I promise you.”
Link dropped George off to his mom and went home.
Chapter 14
Alex pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Just as he was getting out of the car, another car pulled in behind his. He watched as the car parked, and Martha got out. “Hi, Martha. Have you come to check on George?”
“Not really. I came to talk to you and Link about him and to bring his things from his house. I told Link that it's not much and the clothes probably need going through. He must have only had one decent outfit. These Link said he could play in.”
Alex went over and got the garbage bag of things out of the car and carried it to the front door. “Link and I took him shopping and got him a whole new wardrobe, but I’m sure he can play in these and not ruin his new clothes.”
When they got in the door, Link called from the kitchen. “I’m in the kitchen, baby, making coffee. Martha called, and she’s coming over. I hope she isn’t going to take George. I’m getting pretty attached to him.”
Martha called out. “That’s good news, Link. I was hoping you would get attached to him.”
He stepped out of the kitchen with a blush on his cheeks. “Oh, Martha, I didn’t know you were here already. Come on in the kitchen, and I’ll pour all of us a cup of coffee.”
Martha went into the kitchen and sat down, putting her briefcase down on the floor beside her. Link came with three cups of coffee and put a cup in front of each of them. Alex sat down beside Link across from Martha. Link asked, “Are you here to tell us you're going to take George from us?”
“No, I’m here for a different reason.”
“Oh, you found out he sleeps on the couch, and you’re upset about that.”
“Of course, I’m not upset about that. I would rather he slept on the couch than in bed with either of you. If you let me speak, I’ll tell you why I’m here. I brought his things from the house. It’s not much, but it’s all he had. I’ll get the state to send you a check for his upkeep until I can get him settled somewhere. Today his parents finally figured out he hadn’t been home. In fact, they tried to tell me he was there, and she sent him off to school this morning.”
“A week and they didn’t even know he wasn’t there? What is their problem?” Link asked.”
“I honestly think they are on drugs besides the beer I found in their refrigerator. It was full of beer, and there were bottles of whiskey on the counter, but no food just an empty cereal box in one cupboard. I had both arrested and made as many charges against them that I could possibly make. They are both in jail right now. They’ll get prison time for sure. I had them sign their rights away for George, so as of ten this morning, he’s up for adoption. I wanted to see if you two want to adopt him?”
Link looked at Alex, and he nodded. “Yes, but we aren’t married just yet. Soon we’ll be, but not now is that going to impact the adoption?”
“Yes, and no. I can’t let you both adopt him as a married couple. I can let Link adopt him for now, and then when you get married, we can add Alex to the birth certificate.”
Alex nodded. “That sounds fine to me. I just want to make sure we don’t lose him. He’s a good kid. He just had a rough life. He can’t believe that we don’t beat on him.”
“I know he had had a horrible life. I have the papers drawn up. I don’t even have a foster home to put him in right now. They are all full. I don’t understand why these women have babies and then mistreat them like they do. It’s horrible the way they treat their children.”
“So, what do I have to do to adopt George?”
Martha picked up her briefcase and pulled out the papers. She pushed them in front of Link and said, “Sign all these papers when you see the x, and I will carry them to the judge in the morning.”
“That’s all I have to do?”
“Yes, your one of Sam’s boys now I heard, and his best friend is the judge for family court, so it’s not going to be a problem. He’ll be legally your son after tomorrow morning.”
Alex said, “I guess the next step after we get moved is for us to get married so that I can be one of his dads too.”
“When that happens, call me, and I’ll add your name to the birth certificate. His last name will have to be Maxwell, though. Is that going to be a problem?”
Alex said, “No, because my last name will be Maxwell as well. I had already decided to take Link’s last name. I’m not happy with mine.”
Martha nodded. She didn’t know what the problem was with his last name, but that was his choice, so whatever he wanted would be fine with her.
Link signed all the necessary papers and handed them back to her. She put them in the briefcase and got up to leave. “Thank you for taking George. I would tell you how the poor boy lived, but it’s over now, and he never has to live that way again. If he starts acting out, I would advise you to get him some counseling. The child lived through a lot, and it was horrible.”
“We’ll take good care of our son. He’ll never be hit again. I promise that. He’s been a good boy since we have had him. I wonder how he’ll take the news that we are now his new dads.”
Martha smiled and went out and got in her car to leave. Alex asked, “Where is George. He is your room or something?”
“No, I dropped him off with my mom. Martha didn’t want him here while we talked. I think she didn’t want him to be here in case we didn’t adopt him. She didn’t want him to be disappointed. How could we not adopt him? I love him already.”
Alex grinned. “Yeah, I was a little worried when you showed up with him. Not that I didn’t want him. I was worried that we would get attached to him, and they would take him away from us. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. He’s adorable. We need to introduce him to the rest of the family.”
“Mom and Dad met him today. Oh, Mom wants us to come to dinner when we pick up George. She said dinner will be ready at six.”
“When are you going to tell George that he is now our son?”
“I thought when we went to Mom and Dad’s house, but if you want to wait until we get home, I’m fine with that too.”
“Let’s decide when we get there. I’m sure the minute you see him, you're going to want to tell him.”
Link chuckled. “Yeah, I probably will.”
They left and went to get George and have dinner with Link’s parents. They had just left the house when Alex’s phone rang. He looked at it and rolled his eyes. It was his dad, and he flashed the phone toward Link so he could see it was him. He answered the phone. “Hello, Dad. What can I do for you?”
“I need you to come home and do this job. That idiot I had about ran my company into the ground. So, pack your stuff and get on the road today. I want you here by Thursday.”
“I have a life here, Dad. I’m getting married soon, and we just adopted a son. Your grandson, but I’m sure you won’t accept him since my boyfriend is gay. I also have a lot of wealthy clients I’m working for. Sorry but I’m staying right where I am.”
“Alex, I am not playing with you. Get on the road. I need you here to get this mess straightened out.”
“Dad, you could have had me when I got out of school, but no, you wanted to give your girlfriend’s son the job. You need to straighten out your own mess. I’m not doing it.”
“Boy,
I paid for your college so you could do this for me, and now you're telling me that you won’t do it? You owe me, Alexander. I didn’t pay for that college for nothing. I would have let you go to that cooking school your mother wanted you to go to, but I knew you would do better with this company.”
“Well, I thought the same thing until I graduated, and you told me to go find a damn job. I found one and have my own company as a business manager, and I make an excellent living. I’m not going to leave it, and you can find some other idiot to ruin it for you.”
“If you don’t get here by Thursday, I will never speak to you again.”
“If that’s the way you want it, then fine by me. You were never around when I needed you, so do you want me to tell you where you can stick your company?”
His father started to say something more, and Alex just hung up on him. He had heard enough, and he wasn’t going to listen to any more of his father’s bull. Link looked over at him to see how upset he was, and Alex was smiling. “I’m so happy to get that off my chest. I thought about calling him and telling him about George, but he isn’t worth it. He has a grandma and a grandpa, so he doesn’t need the crap my dad will say.”
“No, from now on, he’ll only have happy times. I don’t want him to have one negative day. He deserves to be happy for a change.”
“Well, we are the dads to do just that. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when you tell him we are his new parents forever.”
“You're making me want to tell him as soon as we see him. I can’t wait to introduce him to the rest of the family now.”
When they got to Link’s parent’s house. They parked and got out of the truck. They went to the front door and found Link’s mom in the kitchen cooking dinner. Link looked around and didn’t see George anywhere. “Mom, where is George?”
“Oh, he’s out in the pool with your dad. He’s trying to teach George to swim. I had gotten Mike some clothes, and I got the wrong size, so I gave them to George, and they fit him perfectly. Mike is only seven, and I got the bigger size.”
“Well, it’s only fair if you get things for both your grandsons.”
“Well, of course, I would buy for…wait, what did you just say?”
“George is now your grandson. I signed the papers, and the caseworker is going to get the judge that married Cade to sign off on them in the morning. So, from then on, his name is George Maxwell.”
“He didn’t tell me that. We talked a lot, and he told me about the beatings he took, but he never once said anything about being adopted.”
“He doesn’t know yet. I was going to wait until we got him home, but I can’t wait to tell him. That’s why his caseworker wanted to talk to Alex and me.”
“I sure am proud he’s going to be our grandson. He’s a cute little boy. So sweet.”
“Well, he has gotten into trouble several times at school, but with what he went through, I can understand what caused it. He no longer has that to worry about, so I think we can start with a clean slate.”
“He has been an angel since he has been here. He even helped me with dinner a little. He poured water in the pot for me to make mashed potatoes. He was so excited. He said he never got to help his mom. She was always drunk when she cooked if she cooked. That poor baby said half the time he didn’t even get dinner. The only thing he had to eat all day was lunch at school.”
“We are going out to watch our son swim. Do you need any help in here, Mom?”
“No, son, dinner will be ready very soon. Go spend time with your new son.”
They went out back in time to watch George swim across the shallow end with Link’s dad right beside him.
Chapter 15
Link and Alex sat down in the lawn chairs next to the pool and watched as George swam back to the other side of the pool. Link’s dad stayed right beside him the whole way but didn’t touch him. Link puffed out his chest as he watched this little boy swim back and forth from side to side.
He got about halfway and saw Link and Alex sitting in the chairs, and he stopped suddenly. Mr. Maxwell didn’t know what happened. “George, are you all right?”
“Yes sir, I just noticed Link and Alex and thought they wanted to go home.”
They got out of the pool, and Mr. Maxwell wrapped a towel around George, and he ran to see Link and Alex. Link asked, “Did you want to swim more George? Grandma won’t have dinner ready for a few more minutes.”
George stared at him for a few minutes and then shook his head. “No, I’m getting a little tired. It was so much fun. What did Miss Martha want to talk to you about? They’re not going to send me back there, are they?”
“No, you are going to live with us from now on. We adopted you today. Alex and I are your new Dads. We’re going to be family from now on.”
George narrowed his eyes at Link and Alex. “You’re not just saying that and playing a trick on me, are you?”
“No, son, I’m not. You’re now our son or will be in the morning when the judge signs the papers. Tomorrow your name will be George Maxwell.”
“That man there said he was George Maxwell too.”
Link smiled. “Yes, George, that’s my dad, and his name is the same as yours. What’s your middle name?”
“Allen. My mom said something about a man named George, and his wife was named Allen, and that is what his name should have been, but I don’t know what she was talking about.”
“Tomorrow, your new name is George Allen Maxwell. Do you like that name?”
George shrugged his shoulders. Link got up and took him inside and got his new clothes from his mom and took him up to his room and dried him off, and got him dressed in the new clothes. They went back downstairs, and Mom had dinner on the table, so they all sat down and filled their plates. Link made sure that he gave George all the foods he liked and then gave him a glass of milk to drink with it.
Little George didn’t say much the rest of the meal. He didn’t eat all his food either. Link looked across the table at him, and he was just pushing his food around his plate. That surprised Link because usually, George had a good appetite. He asked, “George, are you feeling all right?”
George shrugged his shoulders but didn’t answer him. Link got up and walked around the table to George to feel his head to see if he had a fever. When he put his hand toward George, he covered up his head and flinched. Link pulled his hand back and got on his knees and wrapped his arms around George. “What’s wrong, baby?”
George pulled away from Link and had tears running down his cheeks. Link’s heart was breaking. “Please, George, tell me what’s wrong?”
“You’re my dad now, and that means you’ll beat me. I don’t want dads just so they can beat me again. I just wanted friends, not dads.”
Link pulled him off his chair and wrapped him in his arms. “George, not all dads beat their children. I would never hit you or allow anyone else to hit you. You’re my son and your Alex’s son, and he’ll never hit you either. We love you, George, and that means we’ll take care of you and never be mean to you.”
“What if I get into trouble? You’ll beat me then, won’t you?”
“No, son. We’ll never beat you for any reason. If you do something to get into trouble, we’re going to talk about it and figure out why you got into trouble. The most that will happen is we’ll take one of your favorite toys away from you for a week or something like that. Never ever hit you for any reason. Please believe me when I tell you that.”
George stared at Link for a while and smiled. “You mean that, don’t you?”
Link got a solemn look on his face so George would know he was telling the truth. “Absolutely, son. Your other dad and I’ll never touch you except for hugs and kisses.”
George threw his arms around Link’s neck and hugged him tightly. “I love you, Link. I mean, Dad.”
“I love you too, buddy. Now eat the good food Grandma made you, and we’ll stop on the way home and get ice cream to celebrate that you’re now our
son.”
Link’s father George said, “Oh remind me before you leave, I need to see you in my home office. I have something for you.”
“Ok, Grandpa, we’ll come to your office on the way out. We need to go pretty soon so we can get George and ice cream and then he has school in the morning. Can’t have our little man out too late.”
Big George nodded and smiled at Little George.
When they were finished eating, Link and Alex helped clean the table up, and then Link went into his father’s office, where he was sitting behind his desk. He nodded toward a chair for Link to sit down. Link hoped it didn’t take long. He wanted to get George home and get a bath so he could go to bed.
Big George pulled a folder out of his briefcase and handed Link a paper. “Sign the bottom of this paper, and then we can get this finished up really quickly. Link trusted his father, so he didn’t read the paper, just signed it, and dated the paper next to his signature. George took the paperback and handed Link a check. He looked down at it and gasped. It was for a million and a half dollars made out to him from the school superintendent. He glanced at his dad, and he was smiling. “Now, you are all set. The paper I had you sign, I’ll make you a copy of it and make a copy for in your file here at home. That way, you’ll always have the proof that you can’t be fired by anyone but the city manager.”
“Dad, I don’t know what to say. Are you sure you don’t want me to pay a fee?”
“No, just take whatever I would have charged a client and put it in a college fund for my grandson. I want to make sure he goes to college and has all he needs while he’s there just like I did for you and Cade.”
“Oh yes, he’s going to college. He’s much too bright for him not to go. Alex and I are getting married soon. I just have to figure out where. I would love to get married at Sam’s, but I would hate to ask him since he’s buying us a house. Oh, don’t forget we are moving to the house this weekend. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“We’ll be there for you. Did Clayton say everything was in order for the deed?”