by Max Vos
“Oh? Sounds intriguing.” J.J. and Andrea had gotten close over the past year, finding they had a lot of things in common, one being a love of cooking.
“I want to offer you something.”
“Well, if you’re willing to give up that submersion blender, I’m all for it.”
Andrea elbowed him in the ribs. “Not over my cold, dead body.”
“Never hurts to try,” J.J. said, laughing.
“No, this is serious.”
J.J. stilled instantly. “Are you sick? The baby?”
“No, no… nothing like that.”
“Then what? You’re scaring me, Andrea.”
“Luke and I have talked about this, so he knows. I would like to offer to be a surrogate for you and Adam when you’re ready.”
J.J. sat there with his mouth hanging open. He shook his head, not knowing what to say.
“What did I miss?” Maggie asked sitting down next to J.J. “J.J.? What’s wrong?”
J.J. turned to look at her, his mouth still open.
Maggie stared. “Andrea, what is going on here?”
Andrea leaned across J.J.’s lap and said softly, “I just offered to be a surrogate for him and Adam when they were ready to have children.”
“Oh, Andrea, that is wonderful.” Maggie clasped her hands together. “Who’s going to be the father, hun?” Maggie addressed J.J.
“Um… well…” J.J. swallowed. “Adam and I just discussed this the other day. I told him I wanted him to be the biological father. Insisted on it, actually.”
“You wouldn’t want a child of your own?” Andrea asked softly.
“Actually I’ve never thought about it all that much. The main reason I am saying it needs to be Adam’s is that I have no idea about any of my family. I don’t know if there is some genetic defect or anything. Not something I’d feel comfortable with trying to find out, either.”
Both Maggie and Andrea fell silent. J.J. looked from one woman to the other, easily reading their faces. “Oh, please. Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”
“You know we are your family now and love you so much,” Maggie said, hugging him close.
“You know how I feel.” Andrea leaned in and joined in the hug, until the baby started kicking.
“Here. Hold her.” Andrea slipped the baby into J.J.’s arms. “I gotta pee.”
J.J. pondered the squirming child, a puzzled look on his face. He glanced up at Maggie. “I’m not ready for this.”
“Honey, most people aren’t when they have their first child. I was so scared. I just knew I was going to kill the poor thing.” Maggie chuckled as she smoothed her apron down. “As you can see, Luke is very much alive and kicking.”
“But, I don’t know anything—”
“And neither did I.” Maggie reached over and stroked her only granddaughter’s cheek. “But you have me and Andrea around, so you’ll have plenty of help.”
“At any rate, we will have to wait. I want to get through school first.”
“That’s very wise, hun. When will you be done exactly?”
“If all goes well, this June.” J.J. smiled. “I’m almost done with my thesis and I’m months ahead of schedule. My professor is very pleased with my progress.”
“Whew, that was close. Nothing like having a baby to make your bladder seem the size of a pea.” Andrea sat back down. When J.J. tried to give her the baby back she held up her hands like he was trying to rob her. “Please, hold her for a bit. I just need a break. Oh, and she’s probably ready to be burped.”
J.J. looked at her, sure his eyebrows were almost raised to his hair line. “Do what?”
“Here, dear,” Maggie said, reaching for a towel in the baby bag. She tossed it over J.J.’s shoulder. “Now just raise her up to where her head is resting on your shoulder, then pat her on the back gently. She’ll do the rest.”
“Why the towel?” J.J. asked as he did as he was told.
“Just in case she has a little extra to give back.” Maggie sat back and watched. “I’m thinking you’re a natural at this, hun.”
“Oh, I don’t know about all that now…” J.J. looked at the tiny baby girl who had just let out a loud belch and a little spittle.
“That’s a good girl,” Maggie cooed. “Now just wipe her mouth with the towel.”
J.J. did as instructed, then readjusted her to where she was appeared to be looking up at him, legs kicking.
“I think she likes you,” Andrea said, smiling. “Thank God, another choice babysitter.”
“Whoa, wait a minute.” J.J. felt panicky. “I’m not ready for that!”
“Oh, you will be.” Andrea laughed. “Besides, you’ll want the favor returned someday.”
J.J. happened to glance up to see his husband standing in the doorway, smiling. He felt warmth flood through him from the look on Adam’s face.
Adam walked into the room and knelt down close to J.J.’s knees, looking at his niece, then up to J.J. “Aww, babe, you’re a natural.”
“Funny, I just said the same thing,” Maggie said. She looked at her son. “You know, I remember when you were that tiny. You were such a good baby.”
Adam kissed his mother’s cheek. “Still am.”
“Pfft, don’t get me started on that note.” Maggie gently slapped her youngest son on the top of the head. “Stubborn like a mule.”
* * * * *
It was early afternoon before Adam and J.J. left Maggie’s house. J.J. had a talk with Thad, making sure he was going to be comfortable staying with Maggie. Thad assured J.J. that he was grateful and more than happy to be living in the Sutton household. He and Maggie had hit it off, which didn’t surprise J.J. one bit. Everyone loved Maggie.
On the way home, J.J. noticed Adam was quiet. Too quiet.
“Okay, what’s wrong?” he finally asked.
“We need to figure out how to get Thad’s belongings.” Adam glanced over at J.J., then back at the road. “I don’t know if you noticed or not, but he only had one change of clothes and no school books at all. Everything he had was in that small backpack.”
“I did notice.” J.J. looked out the window. “I’m still amazed by some people.”
Adam reached over and took J.J.’s hand. “Can’t think about that now, babe. We need to focus on getting him set up and ready to go back to school.”
“I have no idea of what to do on that one.”
“When we get home, I’ll call Matt. Maybe he’ll have some ideas.”
J.J. looked at Adam. “Matt’s a fireman. What would he know about something like this?”
“Yeah, but Matt is friends with a couple of cops.”
“Ahhh, I see.” J.J. shook his head. “You never cease to amaze me sometimes. Another reason why I love you. Always keep surprising me.”
Adam kissed J.J.’s hand. “Love you, too. Can’t let you get too settled, now can I? Gotta have some mystery in life.”
“You’re a mess.”
“Yeah, but I’m your mess.” Adam chuckled. “And here we are,” he said as he pulled into the drive way.
He put the truck in the garage and opened the door, while looking over at J.J. who had also opened his door. “Last one in the house in a ninny!”
Adam sprinted towards the house, leaving J.J. behind, who never having a chance of winning.
J.J. walked into the back door to see Adam dancing around like he’d just scored a touchdown. “You’re such a big kid, ya know.”
“But you love me.” Adam grabbed J.J. and planted a sloppy wet kiss on his lips.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Here, give me your coat.” Adam took off J.J.’s knit cap and waited until he got his coat off.
“How about a hot toddy?” J.J. asked as Adam took his coat.
Adam looked close at J.J. “You not feeling well, babe?”
“Oh, I feel fine… I think.” J.J. went to the stove to start some water heating. “There’s something I think we need to talk about
.”
“Uh-oh, this doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s nothing bad. Just something… well, we need to talk.”
“All right.”
J.J. made the tea with lemon, honey and brandy, and sat two mugs on the breakfast bar.
“So, what’s up? This sounds serious.” Adam wrapped his hands around the warm cup.”
J.J. took a deep breath. “Well, Andrea offered to be a surrogate if we decided to have a baby.”
Adam spewed tea across the room. After wiping his mouth he said, “What? When did this happen?”
“While you, Luke, and Thad were cleaning the kitchen.”
“Oh, wow.” Adam sat there stunned. “That’s just… amazing.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“She and Luke talked about it, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, she said they’d talked and that he’s onboard with it,” J.J. said as he wiped up the counter. Then he grinned. “You get to mop the floor.”
“You should have made sure I didn’t have a mouth full of anything when you dropped that little bomb.”
“You’re still mopping the floor,” J.J. said with a smirk as he sat back down.
Adam became very still, staring at the steam rising from between his hands. “So what do you think?”
“Like I told you, Andrea, and your mother, I want to wait until I’ve at least finished school.” J.J. paused. “I’m not so sure I’m cut out for children, Adam. This scares me.”
“Aww, babe, kids aren’t that hard.” Adam hugged J.J.’s shoulders. “All they need is feeding, clothing, a roof over their head, and a whole lotta love.”
J.J. shrugged Adam’s arm off. “Yeah, that’s just it. What if I can’t handle that? What if I turn out like my mother, or worse, my father?”
“What if the world ends tomorrow?” Adam responded gently. “Babe, you’re one of the most loving people I know. You love your students. You love my family. Hell, you even called Ma Mom today. Don’t think that didn’t go unnoticed, either.”
“I don’t know the first thing about babies, Adam? I wouldn’t know how to… well, anything.”
“J.J., calm down.” Adam turned to face him. “No one knows about babies until they have one. People can tell you, help you, teach you, but until you have one, you just don’t really get it.”
“That’s exactly what your mother said.” J.J. shook his head. “I just don’t know. How do you know all this anyway?”
“Ma said the same thing to Luke and Andrea when they brought Andrew home.” Adam laughed. “You should have seen Luke. He was scared to death to even pick the poor kid up.”
“Andrea was nervous?”
“Andrea was worse. She cried all the time for the first week.”
“She did?” J.J. was shocked.
“Yeah, if it hadn’t been for Ma, I doubt they would have survived. They were nervous wrecks. It was really funny, looking back on it.”
“That’s hard to believe. Andrea is a great mother.”
“Yeah, she is, but she didn’t start that way.” Adam got serious again. “J.J., trust me. You’ll make a great father. I know you.”
“I’m glad you have that much faith in me, ’cause I sure don’t.”
“Babe, I think that is what will make you the best. If you weren’t nervous, I’d have doubts.”
“You don’t seem nervous,” J.J. said flatly.
“Oh hell, I’m nervous alright. I know what kind of work it takes to care for a baby. But I know it can be done.”
J.J. turned to face Adam. “Don’t you think it would be weird to have your brother’s wife carrying your child?”
Adam thought for a second. “Yeah, kinda, but damn, they do have good looking kids.”
J.J. couldn’t help but laugh. “You are such a goof.”
“Of course, mine will be better looking than Luke’s. That just goes without saying.”
J.J. was cracking up so hard, he had tears running down his face. “Conceited much? The two of you look so much alike, it’d be hard to tell you apart on a dark street.”
“Yeah, but turn the lights on and I’m the better looking one.”
“Oh my god, I’m about to pee my pants.” J.J. got up and rushed to the bathroom.
* * * * *
“Mrs. Margaret Sutton, I now proclaim you the legal guardian of Thad James St. George.” The judge looked at Thad. “Young man, you are very lucky. I’ve known this woman for over thirty years, and I couldn’t have picked a better person to grant custody to.”
Thad grinned. “Thank you, Sir.”
Adam and Luke both hugged their mother and then Thad. “Welcome to the family,” Adam said as he patted Thad on the back—gently.
The four made their way home, all in a good mood, Adam driving the old family station wagon
“So, Ma, you going to be all ready to move next week?” Adam asked.
“Oh, I’ll be ready.” She turned to look at Adam. “Bigger question is, will the house be ready. I’m not moving if that bathroom isn’t done.”
“Yes, Ma,” Luke answered. “Matt’s over there right now, putting the last of the grout in. You’re gonna love it.”
“And you have Thad’s room painted?”
“Yes, Ma.” Adam said, shaking his head while grinning. “Everything is painted. The kitchen is done, and the master bath will be done tonight.” Adam reached across the seat and patted his mother’s hand. “It’s going to completely finished, Ma. I promise.”
“Okay, then.” Maggie Sutton smiled. She knew that the boys had been working day and night to get it done before spring break was over. She’d not seen it since they’d ripped the kitchen and bathrooms out. She trusted them. Honestly, she trusted J.J. more, and he’d taken charge of the design aspects of everything. Only thing she heard about how things were progressing was from Andrea, who said it was wonderful.
As they pulled into the driveway, she saw that J.J and Andrea’s car was parked out front. “What are they doing here?”
“They came over to throw a little party for you and Thad,” Luke answered.
“They better not have messed up anything. I just about have the kitchen all packed.” Maggie had the door open as was out of the car as soon as it came to a stop.
Luke and Adam just laughed.
“Hope they don’t make her mad,” Thad said seriously.
“Ma can’t be mad at J.J. She might get a little miffed at Andrea, but that won’t last long either.” Adam said as he closed his door. “Besides, I know J.J. had most everything made at our place, and had a sack of stuff like paper plates.”
“Whew, good to know.” Thad smiled. “Only time I saw her mad was New Year’s day… with that spoon.”
Adam busted out laughing. “Yeah, it was fun to see my big brother turn into a mouse.”
“Wasn’t no mouse,” Luke sulked, blushing as he was reminded of being spanked in front of his own kids.
“Come on, I’m hungry,” Adam said as he held Thad close to his side. The young man stood no taller than his chest, so didn’t have much choice but to go along.
When the brothers and Thad walked in, it felt like a party. There was music playing, balloons all over the place, and the dining room table had been set up like a kids party.
“Wow, this is some set up,” Luke declared when he walked in. His three sons came barreling towards him, all wearing crowns on their heads, clearly excited about the party.
“Daddy, does this mean that Thad is our new uncle?” Trevor asked.
“Sure it does, sport,” Adam answered, picking up the little boy and tossing him in the air.
“Cool!” Andrew exclaimed. “Come on, Uncle Thad. This is your party, you get to sit on the throne!”
Luke and Adam looked at each other and then followed the children into the dining room. Indeed, there was a chair decorated up like a throne and they had already put Thad on it with a paper crown on his head. He was laughing as they were bowing to him like he was a king.
&nb
sp; “Hear ye, hear ye, I know proclaim this day to be Prince Thad St. George day!” J.J. bellowed out after banging on the bottom of a large stock pot. “Gather ‘round for ye ole’ feast!”
Maggie and Andrea came out with platters of roasted meats and vegetables. The room filled instantly with the aroma, making Adam and Luke both moan.
“Oh, does that ever smell good.” Luke sat down, tucking a bright blue paper napkin into his shirt collar.
“Sure does.” Adam followed suit, not noticing that his was bright pink.
“Uncle, Adam. You’re silly. You’re sitting in a girl’s chair. Can’t you tell?” Luke’s youngest son stated matter-of-factly.
“Oh… okay. You tell me where to sit then.”
“Blue is for boys. Pink is for girls, don’t you know that?”
After everyone had been seated, Maggie held her hands out to either side to join hands for a prayer.
“Uh… Ma, is there someone else coming?” Adam asked, indicating with his head to the set place next to J.J. where a blue plate sat.
Maggie frowned a moment then looked at J.J. “Did you miscount, hun?”
J.J.’s face went bright red.
“No, he didn’t miscount, and neither did I,” Andrea stated smiling. “I’m pregnant.”
“What?” Adam stood straight up, knocking his chair over behind him. “I thought it took a couple of times for it to take?”
“Guess not, with you Sutton men.” Andrea giggled.
Luke looked from his wife to his brother. “Just so you know, when she wants ice cream in the middle of the night, you’re the one I’m calling to go get it.”
Adam looked at his brother. “You got it! Woo-Hoo!” he hollered, jumping up and down, then grabbed J.J. and hugged him tight. “We’re gonna be daddies!”
Maggie took Thad’s hand in hers. “Sure is a happy day. Today, we welcome two new members to the family.”
* * * * *
Adam walked into the room just as J.J. stuck a brightly colored balloon decal on the wall, adding to the cluster already there. “Looks great, babe.”
“Thanks,” J.J. said as he leaned back into Adam’s arms.