WATCHING BRAD
Part 142
Brook had a magnificent body. I know. I saw most of it when he came into my room on Sunday morning and gently shook my shoulder to awaken me. Except for a pair of snow-white bikini briefs, he was otherwise naked. He was build much like Brad and just as smooth, but his tummy was rounder and his arms weren't quite as big. Neither was his crotch. Still. . .
"The twins are awake," he whispered softly so as not to wake up Brad.
"Oh, sorry," I said as I pushed back the covers and sat up. And then I remembered I was naked and grabbed my robe from the bottom of the bed and pulled it over me, With an embarrassed smile, I repeated, "Sorry. If I had a body like yours, I wouldn't mind flashing it."
"Seems to me you already have one." I glanced up at him. He was looking past me at Brad who was still sleeping. "Still," he added, "you're not too bad for a skinny white boy." His lips pulled up into a pleasant and bright smile.
"Yeah, right."
"Brad seems to approve."
"He has to," I joked. "He's marrying me. Look," I said as I stood up and tied up my bathrobe, "if you want to go back to sleep, you can use the twins' room, or there's another sofa downstairs. It's not very comfortable for sleeping, though."
"No," Brook replied. "I'm awake now. I was just wondering if you would mind if I took a quick shower."
"Of course not. I'll get you a towel."
Brook followed me to the bathroom and I pulled a clean towel and washcloth from the linen cabinet there. "It was kind of cute," Brook said. "One of them woke me up by knocking on my chest." He demonstrated by rapping his knuckles lightly on my own chest.
"That would be Justin. Jeremy shakes your shoulder."
"I don't know how you tell them apart by looking at them. It's like looking at the same little boy to me."
I shrugged my shoulders as if the answer was obvious. "They're as different as night and day to
me." And then I smiled at him. "I really have no problem telling them apart, even from a distance, but if you really want to know how, Justin has a tiny scar on his upper lip, right here." I pointed to my own lip to indicate the spot. I could see the look of dismay washing over Brook's face and I smiled again. "If it will make it easier for you, if you see Brad and I carrying them, Justin will be in my arms. Jeremy will be with Brad."
Brook looked decidedly relieved. "
That I'll be able to remember. Anyway, they woke me up and asked me if I was their new uncle. I didn't know what to say, so I told them they'd have to ask you."
"If you're up to it, I think they can use all the uncles they can get. One of these days I'll tell you about their background if you want to hear it. They haven't had much of a life."
"I'd like that," Brook said, nodding.
I left him to his shower then, closing the bathroom door behind me, and headed for the livingroom. The boys were on the floor in front of the patio doors playing with their new construction set. Their backs were to me and all they had on was their underwear.
"Hey!" I said and they twisted around to look at me. "Where are your housecoats?"
"In there," Jeremy said, pointing to their bedroom.
"What did I tell you about running around the house in your underwear?"
"Uncle Brook does," Justin reminded me.
Jeremy added, "And so do you and Brad." They were both right.
"Why can't we?" Justin asked.
Call me a softy, but I remembered when we'd recently stayed in the hotel in Toronto and they had been so excited to eat breakfast in their underwear that they had bragged about it to the bellboy who delivered the food. "Okay," I said to them and their faces broke out into happy grins. "But only when Lindsay isn't here, right?"
"Right!" they both said.
"Now, have you been to the bathroom?"
They nodded.
I stepped past them on my way into their bathroom. "I'll be right out then. I have to pee and then I want to check your feet and then I'll make your breakfast."
"Okay, Daddy," Justin said. "We'll be right here."
"Playing in our underwear," Jeremy proudly announced.
I was still smiling after I'd finished taking a leak and was washing my hands.
The twins' feet appeared to have survived yesterday's party. At least they didn't hurt as much as my arms did. Mind you, I would have carried
both of them all day if I had to, but I must admit to being relieved that I wouldn't have to carry them much today.
I put more antibiotic cream on Jeremy's heel and added another bandage and put one on Justin as well so he wouldn't be left out. I didn't think the antibiotics was necessary anymore, but I put it on more for the healing properties of the ointment. Before they went back to their toys, I got their orders for breakfast. I was hoping they would opt for an easy bowl of cereal, but, just my luck, they wanted Uncle Bill's bacon and cheese omelettes. I would need Brad for this one. My omelettes always turned out like scrambled eggs.
The shower was just turning off as I passed the bathroom door on my way to waking Brad. I went into our bedroom, knelt on the bed, and pressed my lips to Brad's. My sleeping beauty woke up.
He smiled up at me when I leaned back to look into his lovely green eyes. "I like waking up like this," he said.
"Waking you up like that ain't so bad, either. But I need your help, Tiger. Can you make omelettes like at Bill's yesterday? That's what the twins want for breakfast."
"Can't you make an omelette?"
"Of course I can," I lied.
"Scrambled eggs, eh?" His chipped-tooth grin brightened the room.
I nodded and smiled helplessly. "I can cook the bacon," I suggested, "and grate the cheese."
Brad slid out of bed and into my arms, pressing himself against me. "Mmmm," he moaned as he kissed me. "You taste better than any omelette."
"I haven't even brushed my teeth yet."
"Morning breath is better when both of us have it," Brad explained cheerfully. "They cancel each other out." He kissed me again to prove it. He was right.
* * * * *
We were eating breakfast when Nathan and Barry appeared. Brad and I were still in our bathrobes, the twins were sitting in our laps, still wearing their underwear and sharing our omelettes, and Brook hadn't gone as far as getting dressed yet and sat at the table with a bath towel tied around his waist.
"What's going on here?" Nathan commented with undisguised amusement. "Casual Sunday or what? I feel so over-dressed." Like Barry, he wore shorts and a T-shirt, but both of them were bare-footed.
"We're eating in comfort for a change," I told them.
"Oooo! Bacon and cheese omelettes!" Nathan exclaimed excitedly. "Is there enough for two more?"
"Bacon is cooked and cheese is grated," Brad explained. "Eggs are in the fridge."
As Nathan headed to the coffee pot, Barry sat down beside Brook. "Where's that store you work at again?" he asked.
"On Yonge Street, just across from the Eaton's Centre."
"What's the name?"
Brook told him.
"We'll have to drop in next time we're in Toronto," Nathan said as he set a mug of coffee on the table in front of his partner. "Are you there on the weekends?"
"Not usually," Brook replied. "I work four to eleven, Monday to Friday unless someone needs the weekend off, then we swap shifts."
"I'll drop in one night after work next week, then," Nathan promised. "We need new shoes for the wedding."
Brook looked at Barry. "Shouldn't you be there to try them on?"
Barry smiled and shook his head. "If they fit Nathan, they'll fit me, too. Besides, I hate shopping for clothes. Nathan does it all for me and I try it on at home. We don't usually have to exchange anything. He knows me pretty well."
"Daddy buys our clothes," Justin inserted.
Brook smiled at him. "And I bet he enjoys every minute of it." He glanced at me to see my head shaking back and forth.
Fortunately, we were rescued by Nathan. "So, what's on the agenda today?"
"Being lazy," I told him. "And teaching the twins how to swim."
Justin spun around in my lap, his face lighting up and his lips forming that wonderfully delightful smile of excitement. Jeremy had the same look mirrored on his own face as he looked up at Brad.
I tell you. I'll never grow tired of seeing that expression.
* * * * *
"Do you know it?" I asked as we sat at the kitchen table.
"Oh, yes," Brook replied. "I know it."
"Do you think it would be okay for walking down the aisle?" Brad asked.
"I can't think of anything better."
Nathan puttered about the kitchen, cleaning up after our breakfast and making another pot of coffee for us. I was getting back into my old coffee habits, but I still wasn't drinking as much as I used to. Barry was in the livingroom, crawling around on the floor and playing cop for the twins and their construction crew.
Brad and I were still dressed in our robes and Brook was still wrapped in his towel. Nathan was still fully-clothed, but Barry had stripped off his T-shirt and left it laying over the back of the chair he'd sat in. The twins, of course, were still enjoying being allowed to run around in their underwear. Not that they really ran around. They still did a lot of tip-toeing.
"We didn't think the Bridal March would be very appropriate," I said.
"I think I agree," Brook told us.
"It was really Brad's idea. He said it would be a good song for walking down the aisle."
"Good choice, Brad," Brook said with a nod.
"Thanks."
Brook looked at the piece of paper in front of him. "Peter shouldn't have a problem with any of these songs." He drained his coffee mug, then asked, "What are you doing for music at the reception?"
"We thought of a DJ," Brad explained, "but we decided to just go with a CD player. It's cheaper."
Brook leaned forward, his arms resting on the table and nodded. "Peter had a really good Karaoke set-up. I should be able to get it for you."
"I suck at Karaoke," I said.
"Aw, come on, Pops," Brad said excitedly. "It could be
fun!"
"And humiliating."
"What are weddings for if not for humiliation?" Brook asked with a smirk and a wink.
"I'm not singing!" I confirmed. "You can do what you want, but I'm not singing."
Brad turned away, but I could hear him mutter under his breath, "We'll see about that."
* * * * *
Brad got the phone call just after ten o'clock. It was Chuck, the guy who was repairing Brad's truck. It was ready for pick-up any time we wanted to drop by to get it. As I got the twins dressed for the outing, Brad scrambled around to get dressed and to make sure he had everything he needed - ownership, license plates, stickers, insurance cards, registration, and so on. I swear, he was like a little boy at Christmas time, running around and grinning and as excited as all get-out. It made me happy to see him like this. He'd always been so grown up, but now he was a kid again, off to take his first ride on his first bicycle.
The twins and I found him in the bedroom, poring over the items strewn about the bed to make certain yet again that he had everything. One glance at the bed showed me that he did. He'd started to get dressed but got only as far as pulling on a crisp, clean pair of underwear and he jumped up off the bed to wrap me in his arms for the second time that morning.
"My own car, Ted," he said giddily as he hugged me tightly. "I have my own car!"
"Can we ride in it?" Jeremy asked anxiously.
"Sure," Brad told him as he broke away from me to grab Jeremy and Justin into his arms to give them a hug as well. "Come on," he announced as he headed for the door. "Let's go get it!"
"Brad."
He stopped and turned toward me. "Yeah?" he said, his happy, chipped-tooth smile flashing in the room.
I nodded toward his things on the bed.
He looked. "Oh, yeah. Could you grab them for me?"
He turned toward the door once again.
"Brad!"
"What!?"
"Pants!"
He looked down at himself, then grinned at me in embarrassment. The twins giggled heartily in his arms. "Oh, right." He dropped the twins on the bed and started pulling on the rest of his clothes.
* * * * *
While Brook came with us, Nathan and Barry went home to get their swimsuits and to buy dinner for us tonight. Nathan promised us a first-class barbeque. As we approached Maple Grove, I asked Brad for directions to Chuck's place.
"I don't know," he told me. "I forgot to ask."
"Got the phone number then?"
Brad shook his head. "Sorry."
So, I drove to my parents' place to pick up Dad.
"I'm surprised he remembered his pants," Brook said from behind us.
"He didn't," I told him, and Brook laughed.
Mom foolishly asked the twins if they wanted to stay with her and Lindsay for awhile. One of these days she will learn to save her breath. There's no way the twins would stay
anywhere with
anyone if there was even the remotest possibility of them going somewhere with me and Brad. I didn't mind, though. They were good in the car and sat silently for the most part, looking out the windows and pointing things out to each other and talking and giggling amongst themselves. I think they'd go anywhere with us - even to the top of Mount Everest - as long as we carried them when their legs got tired.
Chuck was waiting for us when we arrived at his workshop beside his house. Dad had phoned him to tell him we were on our way. As Brook was unbuckling the twins and handing them out to us - he screwed up and handed Jeremy to me, but Jeremy was quick to show him the errors of his ways - Dad went to talk to Chuck. When we were all ready and waiting, chuck motioned us to the side and rolled up the garage door with a push of a remote control button. As the door opened, the sound of a starting engine sounded from the garage and Brad's truck soon appeared, being driven by a young fellow with hair as black and curly as mine.
The twins gasped, and so did Brad. "Oh, Ted! Look at it!"
"Is this your truck, Brad?" Jeremy asked him.
"Yes, it is, Jeremy," Brad replied, but his eyes didn't stray from the vehicle.
Brad's truck was clean and shiny and the engine whispered to us as it rolled out in front of us and stopped. Chuck jerked his thumb toward the windshield and said, "Ol' Derrick ‘ere gave ‘er a wash an' a shine fer ya. Poked out all the dings an' dents an' painted an' buffed ‘er up right proper, too. Took a bit o' steam to get some o' that crud off ‘er, though. She's all greased an' oiled an' ready fer a trip ‘cross Canader if'n that's were ya wants to be goin'."
I doubt if Brad heard a single word he said. He was too busy staring at his new ‘baby' and muttering ‘Gee-sus Murphy' over and over again. It certainly didn't look like the same truck he'd bought a week earlier. With all the dirt gone, the cobalt blue glistened in the daylight.
By this time, Derrick was standing silently beside us, smiling with pride as he watched Brad's reaction to his handiwork.
"Got yerself a fine machine there, boy," Chuck continued, if only to hear himself talking. "She's got spunk, too. Take ya anywhere ya needs to go. Carry whatever needs carryin'. Don't trust ‘er to anyone else but me an' she'll be with ya for years to come. D'ja bring the plates?"
"Yes, he did," I replied for Brad. He still wasn't listening.
"I'll put them on," the young man offered. He was short and slim, and the left side of his face bore the scars of a serious burn, as did his left arm and hand, but he was polite and congenial and I liked him immediately.
I took the plastic bag out of Brad's hand and held it out to Derrick. "Plates and stickers are in here." He took the bag from me and set about attaching the plates to Brad's new truck.
Chuck continued nattering away until Derrick was finished, then managed to capture Brad's attention and told him to get in and take her for a ride. Brad's handsome young face beamed with excitement and pride.
"Can I go, too, Brad?" Jeremy asked hopefully.
"We need a car seat for you, Sport," Brad replied, and his excitement turned to sudden sadness, mirroring the face of the little boy he held in his arms.
"A problem quickly remedied," I said. "Brook? Could you hold Justin, please?"
Justin went easily to his new uncle and I went to the van and began removing Jeremy's car seat. Within minutes, it was securely installed in Brad's new truck.
"Do you want to go with them?" I asked Justin, but he shook his head and reached out for me. I took him into my arms and he settled comfortably there as we watched Brad put Jeremy into his car seat and buckled him in.
As Brad carefully closed the door and circled the truck to the other side, I handed the plastic bag with Brad's papers to Jeremy through the open window. He took it from me, then turned his head to me, puckered his lips, and waited for his goodbye kiss, which I was more than eager to give him. I stepped back as Brad slid the key into the ignition and turned it. The motor sprang instantly to life and, with incredibly large grins on their faces, Jeremy waved at us as Brad tooted the horn and drove his truck slowly and carefully out of the driveway and down the street.
Justin surprised and shocked me. He watched the truck until he couldn't see it anymore, and then he stared at the spot where it had disappeared for a very long time. When he didn't see the truck returning, he wrapped his arms around my neck, put his cheek softly against my shoulder, and asked in a weak, frightened voice, "Daddy, is my brother coming back?"
It hit me then. That moment was probably only the second time in their lives they'd been apart from each other. I remembered Nancy - or was it Ron Sparks? - telling me about the twins being separated and put into different foster homes and what a disaster that had been. It was then that I realized their biggest fear - being taken away from each other.
I hugged Justin close to me and nuzzled my face into his hair. "He's coming back, Baby," I soothed him. "I promise he'll be right back." I held him, choking back the tears, and cuddled him until his head lifted abruptly from my shoulder and I heard a soft, anxious ‘oh', and I knew Jeremy had returned.
Together, we watched as the truck pulled into the driveway once more. Brad was still grinning proudly and Jeremy was laughing and clapping his hands together. Justin quickly joined him, but I think it was more from relief at seeing his brother's return than excitement.
Brad was enormously pleased with his new truck. When he'd unbuckled Jeremy from his safety seat and rejoined us, he said, "It runs like a charm. Thank you, Chuck. And you, too. . . um. . ."
I didn't think he'd heard the young man's name. "Derrick," I said.
"Yeah. Thank you, Derrick."
"Our pleasure, boy," Chuck said to him as he held out his hand for shaking. "If she give ya any problems, bring ‘er in to me. I'll fix ‘er up right proper."
"Thank you."
"Here's your bill," Chuck told him as he held out a piece of paper to him.
* * * * *
Jeremy rode with Brad again, following us to Dad's place so we could drop him off. Justin was a bit anxious, but nothing like he'd been back at the garage. We stayed for a cup of tea for us and pop for the kids, but had to get going before long. Barry and Nathan would be waiting for us.
Justin rode alone in the van as we drove home, leaning to one side so he could look between the front seats at the truck in front of us. Brook sat in the passenger seat beside me where Brad always sat. Ahead of us, Brad lead the way home in his new, cobalt-blue truck with a happy and proud Jeremy riding in the safety seat beside him.
My boys - all three of them - were growing up.
To Be Continued
Granted I've just returned from my 5th 12hr. work day, but now I'm even more exhausted! But, Wonderfully so!! Quite the day in Story Land!! 
Is Ted aware of all this??? 
