Watching Brad

[gsdx]

When are you going to write the chapter where Ted has to go away on business and drops Brad off at Uncle Sheeps for a few days?

I put him in Ryerson, for goodness sake! How much closer do you want me to get him to you!?

Wait. . . don't answer that.

 

[sheep]

I put him in Ryerson, for goodness sake! How much closer do you want me to get him to you!?

Wait. . . don't answer that.

I'll answer it anyway. Hows about 1 micrometer? And that will be just after Brad sees the doctor who confirms Brad is addicted to sex.

 

[harry113]

Oh wonderful ,Neil,
Please keep writing

 

[DeafFoxDemon]

wow,another good chapter!!! i love it!!, when will Ted ask Brad to marry him???

 

[sheep]

Hey!!!! Hold on there Sheep!!!! Ted has to come to Pennsylvania on business and his boss told him to bring Brad and Lindsey with. My nieces are going to show Lindsey around and I'm.......well.......I get both the men!!!!

No can do. Brad would miss too many classes. He stays with me. You get Ted.

 

[gsdx]

WATCHING BRAD
Part XXXVII​

Children's Aid moved faster than I had expected. Within two days, an appointment was set up for a home visit and introductory interview. Promptly at seven-fifteen, the doorbell rang.

"Doorbell!" Lindsay called from the livingroom. Just in case we didn't hear it.

"Well, this is it," I said as I arose from my chair at the kitchen table.

"I'll be with Lindsay," Brad said as he grabbed up our coffees and headed for the livingroom.

I opened the door to a pleasant-looking young woman.

"Mr. de ‘vil-YAY'?"

"de ‘VIL-ee-yurs'," I corrected. "Please, come in." I stepped back and let her pass.

"I'm sorry," she said, smiling through her embarrassment. "Is that French?"

"South African, actually," I said. "My Grandmother was British."

"Oh, how fascinating," she said. "Are you a Canadian citizen, yet?"

"I was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia."

"Sorry again, Mr. de. . . um. . ."

I smiled politely. "Why don't you just call me Ted?"

"Thank you, Ted," she said. "I can handle that one, but I'll practice the other one. I'm Nancy Stillman." She held out her hand and I shook it. "Please, call me Nancy." Then she handed me an identification card for me to keep.

"Please," I said, indicating the way to the livingroom. She followed me in. "Sweetheart," I said when I got there, "could you turn off your cartoons for awhile, please?"

"Okay, Daddy," she said and pushed a few buttons on the remote, turning off both the DVD player and the television.

"Nancy," I said, "this is my daughter, Lindsay."

"Hello," Nancy said, smiling.

"Hi," Lindsay replied.

"And this is my. . . ah. . . partner, Brad Hayes."

Brad stood up and offered his hand. "Pleased to meet you," he said.

"Very nice to meet you," she said, smiling and shaking his hand. "A nice, easy last name for me to pronounce."

Brad smiled at her. "Can I get you anything?" he asked. "Coffee? Tea?"

"Coffee would be wonderful, thank you," she replied. "Just a smidgen of milk, please."

Brad left to get her coffee and I indicated the chair at the end of the coffee table for Nancy. She sat as I took my place beside Lindsay. She crawled immediately into my lap."

Nancy set her briefcase on the coffee table and opened it up. "May I ask how long you and Mr. Hayes have been together?" She pulled a notepad and pen from it.

"Just over three months, actually."

"Is he the reason for your marriage ending?"

"No," I answered. "I was already divorced when I met Brad. I was still hetero then, too."

She smiled. "Late bloomer," she said.

I had to smile back. "Yes, I guess you could say that."

Brad returned with Nancy's coffee and set it on the coffee table in front of her, spinning it so the handle faced her.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome." He took his seat beside me.

Nancy picked up her coffee mug and took a noisy, cautious sip. "Ahh," she exclaimed. "Perfect."

"Well, Lindsay," Nancy said, "it looks like I caught you during one of your visits with your Father."

"No," Lindsay said, shaking her head. "I live here now."

Nancy looked questioningly at me. I said to Lindsay, "Sweetheart, why don't you go with Brad and get a bowl of ice cream, okay?"

"Can I put chocolate syrup on it?"

"Sure," I said. She crawled into Brad's lap. He picked her up and headed for the kitchen.

"She's certainly not afraid of him," Nancy said quietly.

"Far from it," I told her. "She adores him." Then I leaned toward her. She leaned toward me as well. My voice was little more than a hush. "I have sole custody of Lindsay. Her mother is in prison for abusing her. She's relinquished all parental rights to Lindsay."

Nancy's face was deeply concerned. "Oh, dear," she said. "How bad was the abuse?"

"She fractured Lindsay's arm just for looking at her make-up kit."

"Oh, the poor dear," she said. "She looks so happy now."

"She is," I told her. "I have all the court papers here. Should I get them?"

Nancy shook her head. "Not right now. Could you explain quickly about you and Mr. Hayes? You said you were straight before?"

"Yes. He lived next door with his parents. He helped me move in and we became friends. And then we just sort of fell in love with each other."

"And you had no homosexual urges before that?"

"None, and neither did Brad."

"Well," she said smiling. "You never know where you're going to find it, do you?"

"No, you don't." I smiled back.

"Thank you," Nancy said. "I'll talk to you in private about the court case. Is it okay to talk about you and Brad with your daughter here?"

"Yes. We're very open with our relationship with her. She understands it."

She nodded and sat back in her chair. I settled back into the sofa again. "Okay, Brad!" I called.

Nancy pulled a paper out of her briefcase. "I'm going to need to see your Social Insurance card, OHIP card, your birth certificate, and. . . your driver's license."

I pulled them out of my wallet and handed them to her. She glanced at my birth certificate and OHIP cards and handed them back to me, then wrote down my SIN and license numbers before handing them back as well. "Your address and phone number? And a number at work?"

I told them to her, including my cell number, as Brad and Lindsay returned. She set her sundae on the coffee table, knelt on the carpet, and dug right in. Brad had also added some chopped nuts and red maraschino cherries with a squirt of whipped cream on top.

Nancy finished writing, added some extra info in a few other spaces, then handed the paper to me. "If you could fill this out and fax it to me at the number at the top as soon as possible?"

"You'll have it tomorrow morning," I assured her.

We continued for awhile, filling out the proper waivers and information release forms and references before getting into the more casual info-gathering chat.

"Whose idea was it to adopt?" Nancy asked.

"Mine," Lindsay said, a dollop of ice cream dripping down her chin. I handed her a tissue. "I wanted a baby brother and Daddy said he would try to get one for me."

Nancy looked at me. "Surely that's not your only reason."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I hadn't really thought about it until Lindsay mentioned it. Her uncles are thinking of adopting and that's where she got the idea. That started me thinking and I liked the idea, so I decided I'd like to check into it."

She turned to Brad. "How do you feel about it?"

"Ted and I have talked about it a lot," he said. "It was a mutual decision."

"It was a three-way decision, actually," I said. "Lindsay had as much input into the decision as we did. It was a family decision which we all had to make."

"And if one of you didn't agree?"

"Then you wouldn't be sitting here now," I told her.

Nancy nodded. "Good answer," she said. To Lindsay, she asked, "So, you want a little brother?"

"Yup."

"Lindsay?" I said, reminding her of her manners.

"Yes," Lindsay said, correcting herself.

"What about a little sister?" Nancy asked.

Lindsay's nose crinkled. "No," she said. "I want a brother. A sister would want to play with all my toys and wear all my clothes."

Nancy chuckled.

"What are our chances, Nancy?" I asked. "As a single father and gay couple, I mean."

"Well, there are plenty of children who need permanent homes with loving parents. We would need to find a child for whom you would be well-suited. Of course, it's more difficult finding children for a gay couple." She became pensive for a long moment, then asked, "May I speak with you privately, please?"

"Of course," I said as I stood up. "Brad, keep Lindsay here."

Brad nodded.

I took Nancy into the kitchen. Her voice was low and hushed. "As you know, it's the policy of CAS to find parents suitable to the children. Not the other way around."

I nodded.

"It's not possible to find gay children for gay couples unless they're in their teens."

My hands came up defensively. "Whoa," I said. "I'm not sure I'm ready for a teen-aged boy."

"No, no," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, I'm not doing this very well. What I'm trying to say is that we have to find suitable parents for the children, to give them some sort of familiarity with the new family. Something that they know and are comfortable with."

"I think I understand."

"Good," she said. "How would you feel about adopting more than one child?"

My eyes popped open in surprise. "How many more?" I asked hesitantly.

"Just one more." There was an odd look of wariness in her eyes, combined with a look of hope.

My eyes turned to the side for a few seconds, then back to Nancy's. "We'd have to talk about it and I'd have to do a lot of thinking."

Her hand rested gently on my arm. "Please, Ted, do that."

"You have some children in mind," I stated. "Boys or girls?"

"I can't say anything more," she said. "Please, just think about it and get back to me as soon as you can."

"Okay, I will."

We returned to the livingroom. Brad refreshed our coffees and Nancy stayed and chatted with us until she finished her coffee.

"It was wonderful meeting all of you," she said with a pleasant smile. "I hope to see you again soon."

With farewells completed, I showed her to the door. "Thank you," I said.

"You won't forget, will you?" she asked quietly.

"No," I assured her. "You'll have an answer soon."

I closed the door after Nancy left and returned to the livingroom. Brad was standing, waiting for me. I went right into his arms. "I think it's going to happen, Brad," I said.

He hugged me.

"Am I going to get a baby brother, Daddy?" Lindsay was sitting on the sofa now, her sundae finished long ago.

"I don't know, Sweetheart," I said honestly and separated myself from Brad, "but you might."

I sat down and she climbed into my lap. "I hope so," she said.

"So do I, Sweetheart."

Later, when Lindsay was in bed and asleep, Brad and I lay together in our bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I wanted to bounce this off you first before we talk to Lindsay about it."

"What?" Brad asked.

"When Nancy took me into the kitchen, she asked how I would feel about adopting two kids."

"Wow," Brad said. "Two. Boys or girls or one of each?"

"I don't know. She couldn't tell me anything," I said. "She wanted me to think about it first."

"We'd need at least one more bathroom. Where would we put them?"

"If it's two boys, in the study off the livingroom," I said. "It's supposed to be a bedroom anyway. The only thing we use in there is the computer. We could take out the closets and the closet in the foyer and extend into the study a bit to make a new bathroom. It wouldn't need to be very big. Just big enough for a toilet, sink, and small tub and shower combo. There would still be room in the study for two beds. I've been thinking of extending this bedroom room into the back yard to add an en suite, too. We can even cut into here a bit. This room is way too big for us anyway. It's mostly empty. That would give the kids their own bathrooms."

"Whoa, Ted," Brad said. "You're talking major renovations here."

"I know," I said. "I can handle it."

Brad turned his head to me. "You've already decided, haven't you?"

I looked at him. "Yes," I told him. "I just need you and Lindsay to agree."

"Are you sure you can do it? At least until I get out of school and start working?"

"I can do it, Brad."

He smiled his chipped-tooth smile. "Then I'm in."

Brad got plenty of hugs and kisses that night before we fell asleep.

Nancy Stillman had her answer the next morning when I faxed her the completed form she'd asked me to fill out. Two brothers for Lindsay would not be out of the question.

* * * * *

My birthday fell on a Wednesday that October. Since Thanksgiving, Lindsay had been sneaking around and whispering and calling people on the phone and helping Brad carry plastic bags full of stuff downstairs into the laundry room and doing her best to pretend that absolutely nothing was going on. I, of course, pretended nothing was going on, too.

The Sunday night before my birthday, as we lay in bed and Brad cuddled me in his arms, he whispered, "You have to be late getting home on Wednesday. Lindsay's going frantic because one of your guests can't be here before six."

"How late should I be?"

"Six-thirty should be good."

"Okay, I'll handle it in the morning."

"You should see her, Ted," he said. His smile was bright, even in the dim light from the digital clock beside our bed. "She's so excited."

"I am, too," I said, "but I'm a bit worried. How humiliated will I be?"

"It's nowhere near the Thwack-Thwack thing," he assured me with a stifled giggle. "It's going to be cute."

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

"No, Ted," he promised. "It's really cute. You'll like it."

"If I don't, my ass is off limits for a month."

"Better grease up then, Baby, ‘cuz Wednesday night, you're going to enjoy the present I give you when we get to bed."

I grinned at him and winked. "You've given me that gift before."

"I'll tie a blue ribbon around it."

* * * * *

The next morning, at breakfast, I told Lindsay I was going to be late getting home from work on Wednesday. "I have to put new snow tires on the car before winter," I told her.

Her pretty little face lit up and a huge smile split her lips. "Really, Daddy? That's too bad."

I wouldn't be putting new tires on the car, of course. The all-season radials were only a few months old, but Lindsay wouldn't know the difference. She rarely looks at car tires.

That afternoon, my telephone rang at work. "Good afternoon," I said. "Ted de Villiers speaking."

"Hello, Ted?" the voice said. "This is Nancy Stillman."

"Hi, Nancy."

"Would it be possible for you and Brad to come to CAS. . . say. . . Wednesday afternoon?" I listened carefully to her voice. I couldn't hear anything in it except an official tone.

"I can be there," I told her. "Brad has classes at Ryerson, but I'll see if he can get away. Would you like Lindsay there, too?"

"No," she replied. "But I need Mr. Hayes here. Could you be here at two?"

"We'll be there."

"Good," she said. "I'll make the appointment for you. See you Wednesday."

My heart began to race. This was much too fast. Why did she need Brad there? Why not Lindsay? This was a family thing. I didn't sleep well for the next two nights.

Brad took his classes on Wednesday morning and came directly to my office from the GO station. By two o'clock. We were walking through the front door of CAS. I announced my appointment with Nancy and the receptionist directed us to have a seat as she called Nancy on the telephone.

A few minutes later, Nancy came into the reception room. We stood up to greet her. "Nice to see you again," she said as she shook our hands. "Please, follow me." She took us to her office and indicated chairs for us. We sat.

Nancy sorted through some folders on her desk and pulled one of them out and opened it. "Mr. Hayes," she said to Brad, "would you be willing to let us look into your personal information? Like your medical reports, criminal records, and such?"

"Of course," he said. "May I ask why? I won't be adopting anyone."

"Well, CAS would like to consider you a couple and your information would certainly help."

"Sure, okay," Brad said. "What do I have to do?"

By two-forty, Nancy had all the information she needed and Brad had signed all the necessary papers. Nancy looked at her watch. "There's someone I'd like you both to see," she said. "Would you come with me?"

She took us down a hall, through a door, and down another short hall. She stopped in front of a door with an electronic lock, slid a magnetic card attached to her wrist through the slot, and opened the door. We entered and she followed us in.

The room was dark. A pair of large windows faced into a room filled with toys and desks and such. A young woman sat in a chair, watching two little tousle-haired boys playing quietly together on the floor. One of them looked right up at the window, and he looked right at me.

I waved instinctively. "He can't see you," Nancy said. "It's a one-way mirror."

But I knew better. The boy was looking right at me. My hand found Brad's hand and I squeezed it. The boy went back to playing with his car. They were both blond, and both wore identical jeans and sneakers. Even their socks were the same colour. The only difference in them was their shirts. They were both white, but one had light-blue stripes and the other had red stripes. The boys were twins, and they were identical.

"The boy in blue is named Justin," Nancy said. He was the boy who had looked at me. "The boy in red is Jeremy. They're four years old."

I was speechless. I don't think I could have talked, even if I had anything to say.

"Their father was killed about a year and a half ago. He was a single father like yourself, Ted, and he was gay as well. The boys have been in a number of foster homes since then. You may have read about the case, or heard it on the news. The father's lover murdered him and abandoned the boys. He left them alone for almost two days with their father lying dead on the floor before the police found them."

"I remember that," Brad said. I felt him shudder. I did, too, but I still couldn't say anything.

"The twins are inseparable and they're very wary of people," Nancy added. "They don't interact well with adults. Especially females. That's one of the reasons it's been so difficult to find a home for them. It's difficult to find someone willing to adopt both of them. That's why I asked you if you would consider adopting two children."

"What. . ." My voice cracked. I cleared my throat and I tried again. "What's the other reason?"

Nancy hesitated a moment before responding. "Neither of them has spoken a single word since we found them."

I watched Justin as he played with the car. It was one of those transformer cars that turns into a robot. I watched as he opened it and closed it all back up again. He opened it once more before setting it aside and picking up another toy.

"Can I meet them?" I asked.

"If you wish," Nancy said. "I can have them brought to my office."

"Can I meet them in there? Alone?"

"I suppose so," she said. "It's just the viewing room, but I suppose you could. Debbie will have to stay in there with you, though."

"Okay," I said. "That's fine."

"I'll go with you," Brad said.

"No," I told him. My eyes never left the window. "Wait here."

Nancy picked up a phone on the wall and pushed a button. A buzz came over the speaker. The woman in the room stood and picked up the phone behind her. "It's Nancy. Ted de Villiers is coming in to meet them."

Debbie turned to the mirror and nodded, then hung up the phone, as did Nancy.

"First door to the left," Nancy said. "Just knock and Debbie will let you in."

I squeezed Brad's hand again, then released it and walked out the door. I moved down the hall to the next door and knocked. It opened almost immediately. I held a finger to my lips in a ‘shushing' motion. Debbie nodded and stepped aside.

The boys looked up at me as I entered. They stopped playing. Debbie closed the door and sat down again. I knelt on the floor in front of the toys. I picked up a car and examined it, set it down and looked at another toy. Setting it aside as well, I picked up the transformer car. I'd watched Justin do it. I began working at putting it back into its car shape.

I started twisting the arms and folding them into themselves I knew they made the front wheels and sides of the car, but I couldn't get them in place. I tinkered and turned and twisted. And then two little hands came toward me, grasped the arm, turned it, and tucked it easily into place.

I looked up at the boy with the blue shirt. "Thank you, Justin," I said gently, and I smiled at him.

I put the other arm into position as I had been shown. I did the same with the legs, trying to make them into the back wheels of the car. Again, Justin's hands came out and showed me how. "Thank you," I said again. A tiny smile curled Justin's lips.

I turned my attention to the head now. I knew where it went, but I knelt there, pushing with my fingers and turning the car over and over in my hand. "Jeremy," I said as I looked up. "What do I do with the head?"

Jeremy reached out and tucked the head neatly and easily into place. The car was complete. "Thank you, Jeremy."

Jeremy looked at Justin and then back at me. I smiled and his lips curled up in the same way Justin's had done. Their faces were identical except for a tiny scar above Justin's upper lip. I took careful note of that scar. "My name is Ted. Thank you for letting me play with your car."

I stood up and left the room, heading back to rejoin Brad and Nancy. I went immediately to Brad and hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. Nancy was getting the full treatment and I didn't care. This was us, and I wouldn't put up false fronts for her benefit. I had just had one of the best moments in my life and I wanted to share it with him. Brad held me just as tightly, and I started to cry.

To Be Continued​

 

[sheep]

ok sheep......I'll take ted...........but how about this......I'll move to canada and you, me, ted, brad and NEIL live together???

Neil, what a beautiful chapter. You owe me another box of kleenex.

gayemtinpa, I think it's gonna be a bit crowded at the De Villiers-Hayes household. Don't quit your day job in PA yet.

 

[harry113]

Beautiful, Neil
Thank you

 

[Kyanimal]

I'm buying stock in Kimberly-Clarke!!

Awesome, Neil!!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[ronboy]

Neil, it just keeps getting better! BRAVO!

 

[PhoenixRising]

Ron is right, Neil. This last chapter was excellent. Keep up the good work!

 

[Craiger]

Neil,

That was one of the most heart warming chapters I have read. You are truly gifted and I applaud your writing talents. Each day I look forward to a new chapter. Thank you!

Craiger

 

[HaydenLogan]

Read the last 3 chapters WOW!!!
Thwack-thwack thing is hillarious!
Brad playing the piano and the hot stuff after.... *sighs*
Amazing!! Please continue!!

 

[gsdx]

WATCHING BRAD
Part XXXVIII​

"Are you okay, Ted?" Brad asked finally.

I stepped back and wiped at my eyes and cheeks. "I'm okay," I said. "They smiled at me, Brad. Did you see? They smiled at me."

"I saw it," Brad said softly as he smoothed my hair with a tender stroke of his hand.

"I've only seen something like this once before," Nancy said, "and then it was only Justin. How did you know to do that with the toy?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "Experience. Maybe blind luck. I thought if I pretended I couldn't do it, they would show me how."

"Too bad that doesn't for Nintendo," Brad joked. "You still can't make Mario fly."

"Please be serious, Brad," I told him.

He sobered up quickly. "Sorry."

I turned to Nancy. "There has to be more to it," I said. "These kids are adorable. Why haven't they been adopted yet?"

"There's nothing more, Mr. de Villiers," she said. She'd been practicing my name. "We've tried to integrate them into heterosexual families, but they can't seem to adapt. They tolerate females, but only because they must. Their strongest interactions are with males. It's always the man they turn to. The first few foster homes we put them in were disasters until we caught on. We made the horrible mistake of putting them in separate homes. The only reason they're still with the family we've placed them in now is because the father works from home and looks after them all day. But it's getting very difficult for him and it's beginning to interfere with his work. He wants us to find a new home for them as quickly as possible and we're running out of options."

I turned back to the window. The twins were still playing quietly as they sat there cross-legged. I stepped closer to the window and looked at them. Brad stepped up beside me and took my hand again.

We stood there, looking in silence. And then Justin looked up at me again. He stared right at me, and I met his gaze. His lips curled up into that tiny smile again. I knew he could see me, even though I knew he shouldn't be able to.

I squeezed Brad's hand. "They need me, Brad," I said.

"He knows you're here," Nancy said in amazement. Debbie was scanning the mirrors, obviously wondering what Justin was looking at. "It's impossible, but he knows." She went to the phone again. Debbie got up to answer it. "Debbie, go over by Justin and see if you can see us. Don't hang up."

Debbie set the receiver over the phone box, stepped behind Justin, squatted down, and followed his gaze. I waved at her when she was looking at me. She didn't wave. She was shaking her head ‘no'. But Justin did. He raised his hand slightly and wiggled his fingers up and down. Jeremy looked up at me then and did the same.

"Gee-sus, Murphy, Ted," Brad whispered beside me.

"They need me," I said, more to myself than to anyone else.

* * * * *

"What are you going to do until six-thirty?" Brad asked.

"I don't know," I said as I drove along. "Go somewhere and think."

"Do you want me to come along?"

"Lindsay's waiting for you, isn't she?"

"Not until five," Brad said as he glanced at his watch. "I still have some time."

I flipped the turn indicator down and made a quick left-hand turn. A few minutes later, we were parking at a near-by Tim Horton's. Brad followed me inside. I ordered our coffees and two apple fritters. I didn't feel like Bavarian cream today. We found a table near the window.

"Justin could see me, Brad," I told him. I took a bite out of one of the fritters.

"I know. So could the other one." When I remained silent, Brad added, "Kinda spooky, eh?"

"What am I going to do? This is going too fast."

Brad put his hand on mine and I looked up into his beautiful green eyes. "You'll do what you always do, Ted," he said. "You'll do what's best for everyone."

I chuckled then. "Wonder what Lindsay will say about having two brothers for the price of one?"

"Guess you'll find out when you tell her."

We chatted about the boys and the renovations and I drew a rudimentary floor plan on a napkin whilst munching our fritters and waiting for the time I could take Brad home.

I was driving him home when he suggested, "What if we did the renovations ourselves? Dad could help. He'd done home construction before."

"Can he install a bathroom?"

"No, but he can help with most of the work. You'd have to hire a plumber to install and hook up everything, and an electrician to wire it all, but Dad knows all about framing and drywalling and even tiling. He did our basement. I can paint it after it's done. You could save a fortune."

I looked at Brad. He looked at me and saw the smirk on my face.

"What?" he asked as I looked back at the road.

"My Dad's a plumber."

"You've got to be kidding me?"

I shook my head. "Nope. He runs the office now, but he's still licensed."

"You're going to do it, aren't you? Even if you don't get the kids?"

I nodded my head. "Yup."

"And you wonder why I love you."

* * * * *

I dropped Brad a block away from home. He walked the rest of the way. With an hour and a half to kill before I could go home, I headed for a local bathroom furnishings store to check prices and such. I told the salesman what I needed and the approximate size of bathroom I had to work with. He helped me pick out a bathroom set to fit it. I was going to paint the walls, but he recommended, with the two boys, it would be wise to tile at least one-third the way up the wall and all the way to the ceiling around the bathtub and shower. A tiled floor would be best as well.

By the time I went home for the party, I'd bought the tub and shower fittings, toilet, pedestal sink, and floor and wall tiles, plus everything else I would need to kit out the bathroom properly. It would all be delivered Saturday morning. I'd get the rest when I knew what to get.

My heart was racing as I pulled into the driveway. Mostly from the excitement of my party, but some for the twins as well. I closed and locked my car door, then walked as casually as I could to the front door. I opened it, stepped inside, and closed the door behind me.

"Lindsay! Brad!" I shouted. "I'm home! What's for dinner?"

I walked into the living room.

"Surprise!!"

My birthday party was a ten-year-old girl's dream come true. The livingroom was full of balloons. Dozens upon dozens of them. Hanging from the ceiling, dangling from the furniture, stuck to the windows, framing the fireplace, floating around the floor. There were blue balloons and red ones, green, yellow, and purple. And all of them had ‘Happy Birthday Daddy' printed on them in large, inflated, black letters. Crepe paper streamers hung everywhere. Pink and blue. Cardboard cut-outs of birthday clowns hung on the walls and balanced on the tables. A large, shiny banner with the words ‘Happy Birthday' in multi-coloured letters hung over the patio doors. Gifts were piled on the coffee table and the kitchen table sat in front of the fireplace. More balloons and streamers ringed the edges and legs. Refreshments and paper cups topped it.

All my friends were there. John and Bernice, of course, and Cali and Mags and Tyler. Warren and Bill had driven in from Toronto. Terry was there, and so was Al, my lawyer. A few of Lindsay's friends from the neighbourhood were there, too, along with their parents. I only knew one of them. JW was there, of course, along with a few of my workmates that Lindsay knew. And, of course, there was Brad.

Everyone wore sparkly birthday hats and all of them had what Mom and Dad call ‘blow ticklers'. I don't even know what we call them here. They're the paper things that are all curled up and inflate and roll out and whistle when you blow into them. They had noise makers, too.

I could only stand there, staringing at everything. I was, indeed, surprised. Lindsay ran up to me and I grabbed her into my arms and squished her with the biggest love hug I could give her. "Thank you, Sweetheart," I said as I showered her with kisses. "I love you so much."

Brad joined us, placing a golden crown on my head and wrapping both Lindsay and myself in his strong arms. He kissed me politely on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Ted," he said.

I fought back the tears, but I didn't put up much of a fight. They won.

There were no clowns making balloon animals, or clowns doing magic tricks. The only clowns were stuck to the walls. I didn't mind one little bit. It was still the best birthday party I'd ever had. We played a few games, including Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Musical Chairs, all arranged and conducted by my daughter. I felt like a little boy again. Lindsay even helped me open the gifts, just to hurry me up so she could get to the fun parts again.

As soon as all the gifts were opened and congratulations and best wishes were passed around, Lindsay announced that food was available in the kitchen. There were, of course, plenty of jam and peanut butter sandwiches, but someone - probably Bernice - had somehow talked Lindsay into making some deli meat and some egg salad sandwiches as well. There were trays full of home-baked cookies and various tarts and squares. And there was lots and lots of Kool-Aid in various fruity flavours. There was plenty for everyone, and everyone ate plenty.

Lindsay sat me down on the sofa and told me to stay there. She and Bernice disappeared into the kitchen. I could hear her excited giggles through the doorway. Soon, she stuck her head around the corner and whispered loudly, "Okay, Brad!"

Brad went to the piano, sat down, and punched a few chords, introducing a very familiar song. Everyone began singing ‘Happy Birthday' as Brad played and Bernice carried in my birthday cake, setting it on the coffee table in front of me. Lindsay followed, carrying a stack of small paper plates and a bag full of plastic forks. She was singing louder than everyone.

I'm sorry, but I had to laugh. My cake was the pinkest, prettiest car I had ever seen in my life! Bernice had made it, I'm sure, but Lindsay had decorated it. The frosting was bright passion pink and all the trim and windows and wheels and things were pale blue. There were red and blue and yellow candy flowers with green leaves stuck everywhere. Seventeen birthday candles were stuck into the hood and sixteen more were stuck into the trunk. Thirty-three in all. Elvis had his Pink Cadillac. I had my Pink Whatzit. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Lindsay's friends left soon after the cake was served, but the others remained. Even JW.

"You have an amazing family, Ted," he said to me. "Your daughter is delightful. I came just to be polite, but I have to tell you, I haven't had this much fun since my kids were kids."

"I'm a pretty lucky guy."

"I don't know how you do it," JW added. "It can't be easy taking care of this family on your own, and now I hear rumours that you're adopting?"

"I'm hoping to," I said with a smile.

"Well," he said as he put his arm over my shoulder and pulled me to his side, "there's one more gift for me to give you." He pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to me. "Go ahead," he said. "Open it."

I did. A cheque for five thousand dollars was inside.

"The board approved the extra bonus. You were supposed to get it at Christmas, but I got the invitation for your party and decided to give it to you now."

I looked at JW. My eyes filled with tears. "Do you know you just bought a new bathroom for my family?" I said.

JW grinned at me. "If you're going to get this emotional over a toilet, maybe I shouldn't tell you about the raise you're getting when you become Programming Manager in November."

I was stunned yet again.

"You're a good man, Ted," JW said seriously. "Even with the time you take off, you do more work than anyone else. You deserve it. I can't think of anyone more deserving of the job. Will you accept?"

"Yes," I said, but my voice was all cracked and broken.

He smiled then. "Now you can take off the time you need without bugging me all the time."

"Thank you, JW," I said.

"My pleasure," he said, then left me to mingle with the crowd again.

I found Brad quickly and pulled him into my arms.

* * * * *

Brad and his father were in the study. Warren and Bill were talking to me.

"Twins!" Warren said as he put his hand on my arm. "Mon dieu! How will you manage, Teddy?"

"I have to, Warren," I told him. "If you saw them, you'd know why."

"But twins, Teddy!" he repeated. "Two boys!"

"Warren, they waved at me and they smiled," I said.

"You don't adopt twins just because they smile and wave at you!"

Bill put his hand gently on Warren's arm. "Warren," he said quietly. Then, to me, he said, "There's more to it than a smile and a wave, isn't there? A lot more."

I quickly filled them in on the twins' background.

"Maybe they see something of their father in you," Bill offered. "It definitely sounds like a connection to me."

"Twins," Warren repeated quietly. "I'd be terrified."

"It's not so scary when you already know how to be a father," I told him.

"How does Brad feel about it?" Bill asked. "And Lindsay?"

"Lindsay doesn't know about the twins yet, so keep it hushed around her. Brad's all for it. He's good with kids."

"It's going to cost you a fortune, Teddy," Warren said, still concerned.

"I can handle it," I said. "Especially with the new promotion."

Warren looked deeply into my eyes then. "You look so happy, Teddy," he said. He hugged me, pulling me close to him. "I'm so glad I lived to see this. I've waited too long to see it."

"We're all glad you lived to see this, Warren."

The party began to break up around nine o'clock. Cali and Mags took Tyler home to bed. JW headed home, followed by my workmates. Warren and Bill helped Bernice and Terry clean up as I got Lindsay into her bath and into bed.

Terry left soon afterward with the promise that she and Lindsay would clean up the decorations in the morning. Warren and Bill left as well, but not before they gave Lindsay a goodnight kiss and tucked her in. It had been a long time since they'd been able to do that and they weren't about to miss that opportunity.

Bernice made coffee while Brad and John moved the table and chairs back into the kitchen. Soon, the four of us were sitting around the table, sipping coffee and munching cookies and squares and jam and peanut butter sandwiches.

"The reno shouldn't be a problem, Ted," John said. "Only the inside wall of the stairwell is supporting as far as I can see."

"Does that mean I could open the wall in the living room?" I asked. "I've always thought that it would look better with an open staircase and railing."

"I believe you could," he said. "It would certainly open it up and make it brighter, especially on the stairs. It wouldn't interfere with the bathroom. Do you want the door off the entryway or off the bedroom?"

"It's a family bathroom. It should come off the entryway," I said. "Is there any way to move the bedroom door from back there near the patio doors to beside the basement door?"

"Not a good idea," John said. "Get a sleepy kid going to the toilet at three in the morning and coming out and opening the wrong door?"

"I hadn't thought of that."

"What if we did it the other way around?" Brad said. "Move the bathroom to the back of the house off the livingroom and turn the bedroom lengthwise so it enters off the entryway? We could put a door between the bathroom and the bedroom even. Could we do that, Dad?"

"You can do it any way you want," he said. "Do you have that napkin with the drawing you did?"

I had given it to Brad. He pulled it out of his pants pocket and flattened it on the table.

"Get me a pencil, Bradley."

Brad did. John did some scratching out of walls and drawing in new ones. "That works," he said as he turned the napkin around for me to see properly. "There's enough room now for a walk-in closet in the corner behind the bathroom. You can put another window in the side of the house later on if you want. This set-up would leave only one in the bedroom and two in the bathroom."

"What about the plumbing?" Brad asked.

"You can put a bathroom almost anywhere," I told him. "A plumber will work from it."

Brad nodded.

"How long would it take?" I asked John.

"Depends on if you do it on the up-and-up or hide it from the city."

"It's got to be legal," I told him.

"You can't do a thing, then, for a few weeks," John explained. "You need architectural plans and city permits for everything."

"Tell me what I need and where to get it," I said. "I'll get on it tomorrow."

"Paper, Son," John said.

"Can we do this ourselves or do I need a contractor?"

"Unless we need support changes, we can do it. Bradley knows how to swing a hammer," John said as Brad handed him a sheet of paper and sat down again. "Do you?"

I snickered. "I've built a few bird houses in my time."

"Good enough," John said. "We can do it. It will be a lot of work, though."

"Whatever I need to do."

"You know I'm in," Brad agreed.

Bernice had been quiet until this moment. "You're doing all this and you don't even know if you're going to get the boys?"

John answered for me as he continued writing. "He's showing CAS that he's getting ready for them. Anyone willing to renovate their home to accommodate them is serious about adopting them." He handed me the paper. "Blue printers are a dime a dozen, Ted," he said. "They can get the house plans from the city. Just show the architect all the changes you want to make and the measurements and bathroom layout and he'll do it all up legal for you and tell you if it can be done. Then you take the new plans to the city and apply for the permits. If any changes are needed, they'll do them for you before your permits are issued. You'll have to arrange the inspectors yourself. Demo first, then framing, wiring, heating, and plumbing. Once the inspectors clear it, you can start drywalling and putting the bathroom together. The plumber will have to come back to do that. After that, it's just a matter of decorating."

"Thanks, John," I said.

"I still keep up with all the codes," John said. "Sort of a hobby. And I watch Mike Holmes every week. It will be a lot of work, but we can do it."

"I have a suggestion," Bernice said. We all looked at her. "I notice you've drawn two beds in the bedroom. If you get the twins, I think you should consider a single, larger bed. Chances are, they're going to sleep together anyway. And, knowing what I you've told us about them, I'm thinking you wouldn't get them into two separate beds no matter how hard you tried."

"I wasn't sure CAS would approve," I told her.

"If they know twins as well as I do, they know those boys are going to be glued together," she said confidently. "Where one is, the other one's going to be there, too."

I looked down at my coffee mug. It had to happen. I was going to make it happen. Those boys would become my sons and my Dad's dreams would come true - twice over.

* * * * *

It had been one helluva birthday, and one I don't think I will ever forget.

Brad gave me his special birthday gift that night after everyone was gone and we had gone to bed. I still don't know where he found the blue ribbon to tie around it, but I had the best time unwrapping it.

To Be Continued​

 

[Kyanimal]

Neil ...

I keep thinking I should be able to come up with a different word than the one I've been using so often! Stupendous? Fantastic? Incredible? Amazing? Fabulous? Nah! ... I'm sticking with ...

AWESOME!!!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[mushka]

woot! When do I get to open my blue ribbon present?

 

[gsdx]

In and earlier chapter, I mentioned that Brad's birthday is 2 months after Ted's, which would put it in December. You'll have to wait to find out which day.

 

[harry113]

As Ky says "awesome".
Very tender writing about the twins ..... can Ted & Brad help them after all they have been through in their young lives.
Neil, you have a love and knowledge of children that shines through this chapter
Peace & Love
Harry

 

[gsdx]

Neil, you have a love and knowledge of children that shines through this chapter
Peace & Love
Harry

Shhhhh. I'll let you in on a little secret. I studied Child Psychology in university.

 

[gsdx]

WATCHING BRAD
Part XXXIX​

By Friday afternoon, I had an architect working on my plans. He'd get the original plans from the city (for an additional fee which I was more than happy to pay) and make the changes. Saturday, I took Brad and Lindsay out for lunch and then we went car shopping. I knew my car wouldn't be big enough for myself, Brad, Lindsay, and two boys in car seats.

I found three that I liked. All seven-seaters, and we test-drove them all. Since I was going to be the one driving it, though, the choice was more or less my decision. The one I liked most was a nice silver colour with a grey interior and black trim. . . and six thousand dollars cheaper. The two captain's chairs behind the front seats and the bench seat in back all folded down neatly to make plenty of cargo space. The seat cushions were upholstered and the van had air conditioning, a CD and DVD player, and a drop-down DVD screen behind the front seats.

By the time we went home for supper, the paperwork was filled out. Pending credit approval, the silver minivan was mine. There was no doubt about my credit. The van was mine.

As we ate supper, deliciously cooked by chef Brad, he asked me, "What if all this turns south?"

"Then I just drive back north and start all over again." I looked into his green eyes. "It won't turn south, Brad," I said. "It's going to happen. I can feel it."

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"If you adopt them, will they call you ‘Daddy', too?"

Okay, I thought. This is something I hadn't considered. "I don't know, Sweetheart, but I'll be their father. I suppose they will."

"What about Brad? Will they call him Daddy, too?"

"That will be up to them," I said.

"Will you love them more than you love me?"

Okay, this one I had been expecting. "Never, Sweetheart," I assured her. "I'll always love you just a little bit more than anyone else."

"Just like Brad?"

I nodded. "Just like Brad."

She dropped out of her chair and climbed up into my lap so she could give me a huge, warm hug. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Sweetheart," I told her. "More than anyone else in the world."

"Even Brad?"

I smiled at her and nodded. "Even Brad."

She smiled at me and stuck her tongue out at Brad. Of course, Brad stuck his out at Lindsay.

* * * * *

The weather was rather chilly at nights by that time of the year, but it was pretty warm in the hot tub that night. I sat there beside Brad, watching him masturbate, my fingers and thumbs playing with his nipples as he did.

His hand appeared and disappeared as he stroked to the flared rim of his cockhead and back down the shaft to the base. His left hand was underwater. Brad was moaning softly, his head tilted back slightly and his eyes closed, his mind totally on the feelings he was creating for himself.

My hand left his chest and moved down into the water. I nudged his fingers away from his balls and replaced them with my own. Brad stiffened and moaned even louder. "So good, Ted," he groaned. "That feels so good."

My lips found his chest and my teeth nipped gently at his nipple. Brad's chest heaved out against it. I kept my lips there, sucking at the tiny, solid nub and tickling it with the tip of my tongue. I kept it there as Brad's stroking increased in speed - his chest expanded and contracted with increased urgency.

My fingers played with his balls, bouncing them, tickling them, and scratching them lightly. Brad's body jerked and twitched, his moans interrupted by short grunts and gasping breaths. His hand splashed in the water as he stroked. He was cumming.

Brad came all over himself and myself as well. I felt his cum splashing against me and I could see it splattering against his chest. When he finished, I cleaned him up as he came down from his orgasmic high. Brad cleaned me up afterward.

* * * * *

Sunday afternoon, we drove into Whitby to do some shopping at Toys "R" Us. Brad had one cart and I told him to think like a four-year-old boy. Lindsay had another cart and I went with her as she picked out toys and games and things. I picked up three of the new Gameboy hand-held systems and set Lindsay loose picking out games for it. She got as far as the first one she picked out. Something about Disney's princesses. As she studied the package, I grabbed up an assortment and tossed them into the cart.

Together, we picked out books, building toys, a pile of arty and crafty things, an easel, and a small drawing table with chairs the we would have to assemble. And that's just the stuff I can remember. I also found a small, foam sofa big enough for three kids which would pull out into a mattress. A colourful futon for kids. I would have to make another trip for that one. Oh. And a big, plastic toy box.

We found Brad, who was still picking out things. His cart was almost full as well.

"I think that's enough," I said with a grin.

Brad's chipped-tooth smile was broad and brilliant. His green eyes sparkled. "Even if we don't get the kids," he said, "I'm going to have a ball with this stuff!"

It was a tight squeeze, but we got everything into the car in two trips. By the time we went to bed that night, half the downstairs den had been turned into a play room.

* * * * *

Monday morning, the last day of October, I called the dealership and learned that the minivan was mine. I got the tags at noon and, by mid-afternoon, had my proof of insurance faxed to me. After dinner and Lindsay's Hallowe'en Trick or Treating foray, the three of us headed out to pick it up. Of course, Lindsay wanted to ride with me in the new van. Brad had to drive the old clunker home. (Not that it was old or clunky, mind you. It just wasn't new and silver.)

As Lindsay played Nintendo, Brad and I began emptying the study. The computer was moved into our bedroom and all the books were packed into boxes. Over the next few evenings, the book shelves and all the furniture were moved into the basement den. The closets were emptied and the stuff moved to the storage room beside my downstairs office. New pad locks were put on the doors where kids should not be going.

It was happening.

The best news, though, came Tuesday afternoon when I received an invitation to the foster home to meet the boys again in their foster home on Thursday evening. I was to come alone.

Nancy and I arrived at the scheduled time on Thursday and our doorbell announcement was answered by a young woman. She invited us politely inside, but my gaze was drawn immediately to the boys standing behind her. They were wearing the same blue and red shirts they had worn the day I had met them the first time. A young man stood behind them.

"Excuse me," I said to the young woman, even before introductions were made. I stepped forward to the twins and knelt down on one knee. A sincere smile was on my lips. To the boy in the red shirt, I said, "Hello, Justin." His eyes opened wide in surprise. To the other, I said, "Hi, Jeremy." He was as surprised as his brother. My smile turned into a grin. "You thought you could fool me by changing shirts, didn't you?"

Justin's finger moved to his mouth, pulling on his lower lip. His blue eyes twinkled and a smile broke out on his face. He nodded his head. I looked at Jeremy. He was smiling, too.

"You can't fool me," I said. I took a chance and mussed their hair. They didn't recoil. Their smiles grew bigger. That was a good sign.

I stood up and held out my hand to the young man. "Hello," I said. "Ted de Villiers."

He shook my hand. "David," he said. "This is my wife, Trish."

I shook her hand as well. "Pleased to meet you."

Her smile was genuine. "I'm surprised you could tell them apart. David still has trouble sometimes."

"It's no problem when. . ." I didn't finish my sentence. I felt a small hand slip into mine and I turned to my left. Justin was holding it and Jeremy was moving to take hold of my other hand. Together, they led me out of the foyer and into a tidy, well-appointed livingroom.

As I passed David, he looked from the twins to my eyes. His face was full of surprise. "Wow," he said. He followed us, as did Trish and Nancy.

I was led to the sofa where I sat down. Justin climbed up on my right side, Jeremy on my left. Their hands curled around my arms. Wheel of Fortune was playing on the television. "They watch it every night," David said as he sat in a settee. "But they never do that."

Nancy sat in a matching chair. Trish remained standing for the moment. "Can I get you a coffee or tea?" she asked.

"Coffee, please," I said. "Double-double?"

She nodded and asked Nancy what she could get for her.

David was talking to me again. "What kind of magic dust did you sprinkle on them?" he asked. "I've never seen them do anything like this before."

"No magic," I said. "Kismet, maybe, but I prefer to think of it as serendipity."

I looked at Nancy. She was watching the boys, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. She looked up at me then. "Would it be possible for them to visit your home and meet the others?"

"Sure," I said. "Anytime."

"How about the weekend?"

"That's fine with me," I answered.

"Sunday afternoon would be best for us," David said.

"We'll be there all day," I said.

"One o'clock?" Nancy suggested, and we all agreed.

Trish returned with four coffee mugs and two glasses of milk, setting the tray on the coffee table and handing them out before taking a seat beside her husband. She looked at the boys as they sat beside me drinking their milk. "If I were British, I think I'd be gobsmacked, and I'm not even sure what it means. I heard it on Debbie Travis once and I love that word."

"Speechless," I explained. "Amazed."

Trish nodded her head. "Then I'm gobsmacked."

"I am, too," Nancy said.

I wasn't.

* * * * *

"They're mine, Brad," I told him when I got home, my face full of smiles.

"They told you already?"

"No," I said. "I can feel it. They're mine." I hugged him and he kissed me. "They're coming for a visit on Sunday afternoon. I think Nancy is really pushing this one." I glanced around. "Where's Lindsay?"

"In the tub," Brad said. "You're going to have to talk to her, Ted."

"About what?"

"She was asking me tonight why you're buying all this stuff for the twins. I think she might be getting a little jealous."

I looked into Brad's lovely green eyes. There was more to it than he was telling me. Lindsay was not the jealous type.

"Okay," I said. "Out with it."

Brad looked away from me. "She asked me if you still loved me and I said ‘yes'. Then she said that you might not have enough love for her if the twins came to live here with us." He looked at me again.

"I was expecting this," I said. "I'll handle it tonight when I put her to bed, but it won't be settled with her until she sees it for herself."

Brad nodded is understanding. "Are you sure you can afford to do this?"

I put my finger to his lips. "Don't say a word about quitting college. You're not doing that, remember? And yes, I can afford it."

"As long as you're sure you're not moving too fast."

"Brad, they held my hands tonight. Both of them. And they smiled real smiles. It's not me I'm worried about. I'm afraid I won't be able to move fast enough for them."

"I hope you're right, Ted."

"You're not thinking of backing out, are you?"

"No, of course not," he replied. His eyes told me he wasn't lying. "I told you I was in. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into."

"Wait until Sunday afternoon, Brad. You'll see for yourself. They need me."

* * * * *

Lindsay was already tucked into bed and I had already kissed her forehead. I sat on the side of her bed, smoothing out her hair with tender strokes of my fingers.

"Sweetheart," I said, "do you remember when Brad came to live with us?"

She nodded her head.

"Did I love you any less than I always did?"

"No," she said.

"Did you take any of the love you have for me and give it to Brad?"

"No."

"That's because people never run out of love, Sweetheart. There's enough love inside us to give to everyone without taking any away from someone else. And the more you love someone, the more love you have to give. It grows bigger every day. If the twins move in here with us, I'll love them, too, but I won't have to take any love away from you to give to them. Just like you didn't take any away from me so you could give it to Brad."

"But there's two of them," she said. "Won't you have to love them twice as much as me?"

I smiled my best smile. "No, I won't, Sweetheart," I said. "I'll love everybody the same, but there will always be a little bit more for my Sweetheart." I kissed her forehead once more. "Do you understand?"

"I think so," she said. "As long as you don't stop loving me."

"That will never, ever happen, Sweetheart," I said. "I promise my best promise."

Lindsay sat up and wrapped her arms around me, burying her cheek into my chest. My arms enfolded her and I held her tight as I kissed her hair.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Sweetheart," I said. "Now and forever."

* * * * *

Friday night, I took everyone, including Cali, Mags, and Tyler, out to the movies. At Cali's request, we stopped at Dairy Queen for soft ice cream. Poor Lindsay was almost frozen by the time I got her home and into a warm bath. Nights were getting rather chilly, and there were snow flurries in the forecast for early next week. Time to dig the winter clothes out of the basement.

For the first time that year, I turned up the thermostat. Even I enjoyed the blast of warmth coming out of the air vents.

Lindsay spent most of Saturday with her Grandma, baking chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Brad and I had the fun of digging out the winter clothes from the basement and sorting out the storage room. It was a jumbled mess now. Anything to keep my mind away from the next afternoon's meeting with the twins.

Lindsay brought home a Tupperware container full of cookies and we spent the night listening to Brad as he played the piano. Lindsay sat in my lap the whole time as she played her Gameboy Disney Princess game.

Brad and I sat in the indoor tub that night after Lindsay went to bed. I was a bundle of nerves. Even Brad noticed.

"We don't need a Jacuzzi," he said facetiously. "You're doing a pretty good job of shaking up this tub all by yourself." He sat facing me, his foot between my legs and his toes tickling my nuts. My toes were doing the same thing to his.

I had a hardon, but it was just a wavy mirage under the water. Brad's hardon stood tall and proud out of the water, a breaching whale frozen in time. My foot came out of the water and pressed against it. Brad's hips pushed back.

"Oooo," he said with a grin. "Kinky."

Brad's grin soon disappeared, though, as my foot began to move up and down his shaft. I could feel Brad's cock expanding beneath it.

"Gee-sus, Murphy, Ted," he gasped, and his hips pressed harder against me. His own foot found my cock and duplicated my movements. I could feel what he was feeling. It was new and it was exciting and it made me forget all my anxieties about tomorrow.

Our moans were loud in the confined, tiled room. I had accidently discovered a new way to have sex and we both enjoyed it immensely. Ten minutes later, I could feel the tell-tale signs of impending climax in Brad's cock and he stirred me toward my own. With nothing but our feet, be brought each other to orgasm - mine shooting like mini torpedoes into the water and Brad's blasting off like missiles onto his chest and face.

"That was just too cool," he said with an enormous, satisfied grin on his face.

Our feet stayed in place until it was all over and our cocks had softened once more. Only then did we clean ourselves up and go to bed.

Brad fell asleep quickly. I didn't. It was many hours later before I stopped thinking about the future and began dreaming about it instead.

* * * * *

"Is the coffee ready?" I asked anxiously. "What about the pop? Did you bring up those bottles from the basement? Where are the cookies?"

Brad grabbed me in his arms. "Gee-sus, Murphy, Ted," he said. "Relax, will ya? You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

"Oh, God, Brad. What if they don't like it here? What if Nancy doesn't think it's a good place for them to be? What if David and Trish. . ."

Brad stopped me short with a kiss. "You know that's not going to happen, Ted."

I melted into his green eyes and chipped-tooth smile and lost myself there for a long time. He looked so beautiful standing there. Not a hair was out of place and his aftershave filled my nostrils. I could still smell him as well, though. I knew his scent well, and no amount of perfumery could hide it from me. His white T-shirt hugged his chest, and his jeans, though loose, were still snug enough to remind me how much of him there was tucked behind the zipper. "I love you so much, Bradley Hayes," I said finally.

"And I love you more, Ted de Villiers." He kissed me again. "Now pull yourself together. You're doing this as much for us as you are for them. We all need you now."

I took a deep, calming breath.

"The coffee's ready," he continued. "The pop is in the fridge and the cookies are on the coffee table. All the glasses and mugs are ready and Lindsay is getting changed. Stop worrying and start being Ted again, eh?"

My smile was weak at best, but it was a smile nonetheless. I took another calming breath.

"Now, go see to Lindsay," he added. "I'll finish getting everything ready here."

I kissed Brad again and hugged him. His body pressing against mine calmed me even more. He could do so many things with a simple hug.

I left him in the kitchen and went to Lindsay's room. I knocked lightly and asked, "Are you ready yet, Sweetheart?"

"I can't decide, Daddy," she called back. "Can you help me?"

I entered, pushing the door closed behind me. Three dresses were spread out on Lindsay's bed - a light blue dress with pale pink flowers, a green and red plaid, and a yellow dress with white trim. I picked up the yellow one. "I like this one," I said.

"So do I," she said, smiling and holding her arms over her head. I placed it over her head and let it drop into place around her. "Do I have to wear shoes, Daddy?"

"Not if you don't want to," I told her as I knelt down on one knee, "but I think you should put on some socks."

She looked down at her feet. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I forgot."

"You look so pretty, Sweetheart," I told her as I gave her a fatherly hug and kiss on the cheek.

"You look pretty, too, Daddy," she said. "And you smell good, too."

I smiled. "Thank you, Sweetheart. I love you, you know."

She smiled back. "I know, Daddy. I love you, too." She gave me another hug before I stood up again.

"Now, get your socks on," I told her. "You can watch cartoons until they get here, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy. I'll be good. I promise."

"I know you will, Sweetheart. Thank you."

* * * * *

The minutes took hours to tick by. We sat in the livingroom, waiting. Brad held my hand and Lindsay sat in my lap, watching her cartoons. My future was hanging in the balance. These next few hours would determine it, and it was taking forever to get there.

I jumped when the doorbell rang. Brad chuckled lightly, but squeezed my hand reassuringly. Lindsay said, "Doorbell, Daddy."

I pulled my hand away from Brad's, set Lindsay on the floor, and stood up. Brad reached for the remote. "Just turn the TV down," I said. "Leave the cartoons on."

He did so. I walked to the door with Brad and Lindsay following close behind. The doorbell rang again. I took a deep breath again and opened the door. David was standing there, his hands on the twins' shoulders as they stood before him. They were looking up at me. Trish and Nancy stood just behind David and to either side.

Justin and Jeremy looked hesitant and frightened at first, but those expressions quickly disappeared when the saw me standing there. The heat from the house flowed past me into the chilly afternoon air, and it took all my fears and anxieties with it.

"Please," I said, opening the door wide. "Come in."

Nancy was last to enter and I closed the door behind her. I moved to the front of the group and glanced up at Brad. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Lindsay stood in front of him, her eyes locked on the boys.

David knelt down and began taking off Justin's coat and mitts. The coats were identical except that Justin's had blue piping and Jeremy's had green. Trish stood back with Nancy as they removed their own coats. I knelt down and started undressing Jeremy. "Hi, Jeremy," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back. "Hi, Justin." He smiled at me, too.

I heard Nancy whisper to Trish, "How does he know?" Trish didn't reply.

Brad stepped forward to take the coats as I held them up. Beneath the coats, the boys wore identical clothes. Brad hung the coats in the closet as David and I removed the boys' boots. He took the ladies' coats as well.

I set the boots aside and stood up. David stood up and stepped aside to take off his jacket. Brad was standing behind Lindsay once more. I put my hands on the twins' shoulders, guiding them gently toward my daughter.

When we stopped, the boys fell back against my legs. "Lindsay? Brad? This is Justin," I said, the fingers of my left hand tapping Justin's shoulder, "and this is Jeremy."

"Hi," said Brad, his friendly, chipped-tooth smile shining in the entryway.

"Hi," Lindsay said quietly, somewhat unsure.

"Justin? Jeremy? This is my daughter, Lindsay, and my friend, Brad."

A horrifying silence filled the house.

To Be Continued​