#sh:johnny

Bringing the boys home meant a lot of last minute scrambling to get things in order. The first order of business was finding a place for the teenager, Brody, to sleep.

Luckily, Hollis and Mercedes were able to move into their new place sooner than anticipated, so we were able to convert Hollis’s old apartment into a new space for us.

Her old bedroom became a playroom, and her living room became Brody’s bedroom. We already had a nursery ready upstairs for the baby, who we named Lucas Solomon. 

The whole thing felt so surreal. Even though we knew we could get a call from the adoption agency at any moment, we didn’t expect that moment to come so soon. Or to be welcoming not one but two new members into our family.

When it came time to bring the boys home, Brody was a bit quiet. He seemed happy but a little shy. I remember how it felt to move in with complete strangers, so I understood where he was coming from. We arrived home and started showing Brody around.

While Paul was getting Lucas settled in, I showed Brody his bedroom. 

“I get my own bedroom?” He asked.

“Yeah, and your own bathroom, too,” I told him. 

“Wow.”

As Paul held Lucas, I noticed Chelsea watching him closely. I tried to work out what she might be feeling. If I had to guess, I’d say she felt betrayed. She didn’t say anything, though, just continued to keep a close eye on her new little brother. 

Rachel, on the other hand, was over the moon about meeting her new brothers. She talked Brody’s ear off on the way home, and continued to do so at home, although Brody was still being quiet.

We showed Brody around the rest of the house. The thing that caught his attention was our workout area. In fact, he decided to get a little workout in himself. I wanted to ask him about himself, to get to know this new person living in our house, but I didn’t want to push him too much.

We continued to check in with him throughout the evening–offering, but not forcing him, to join us in conversation. He seemed content to sit in our presence and just take everything in. It was our new normal that we were all getting used to. 

I ran into Hollis at the cafe, and we had a chance to catch up. She still lives close by, but we hadn’t had the chance to have a proper conversation in a while. It seemed like we were just shuffling the girls back and forth without taking the time to really talk.

“How is married life treating you?” I asked her.

“Oh, it’s great! Mercedes and I couldn’t be more happy. She’s been getting a lot of business at the pottery studio.”

“I know Rachel is excited about that! She was so thrilled when Mercedes put one of her vases up for sale in the shop.”

“She was! Especially when she found out someone bought it!”

“That’s our little artist!”

“How are the boys doing?” Hollis asks me.

“They’re doing well. Lucas is learning to roll onto his tummy. And he’s been babbling so much lately! He hasn’t been waking up as much at night. And Brody seems to be adjusting well. I think therapy has been going ok, and things at school have improved.”

“That’s good to hear. The girls really love their new brothers.” 

“Yeah, Chelsea is still a little jealous of Lucas, but we’re making progress. Rachel just adores them both.” 

“I know, she doesn’t stop talking about them!”

Hollis and I talk for a few minutes longer before she has to head off. I’m glad we got to catch up a bit. With everything that’s been going on, it’s hard to make time for friends. 

Hollis and I are enjoying an after dinner coffee at the cafe. Coffee at dinner time sounds wild, I know, but I usually stay up late anyway.

“So, I wanted to ask you something,” Hollis tells me as she’s waiting for her drink.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Would you want to walk me down the aisle?”

“I’d be honored!” I exclaim. “So, you’re not planning on inviting your parents?”

“No, I haven’t spoken to them in years,” Hollis says. “I don’t think they’d approve of me marrying a woman anyhow.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. I was in the same situation with my mom.”

“I remember.”

Hollis finally gets her coffee and we sit down.

“I can’t believe your wedding is almost here," I tell her.

“Well, that's because I haven’t been engaged for very long," Hollis laughs.

“True, but time is still going by fast.”

“This all seems surreal. After all of that planning, my big day will come, and then it’ll just be over.”

“It is pretty crazy. But you’ll be too busy enjoying your honeymoon to think about that too much.”

“It’s going to be nice getting away for a little while after going through all of this stress.”

“It will be. You know, I’m really happy for you.”

“I know. You’ve been a big help. I couldn’t have done it without you and Paul.”

“We’re happy to help.”

After Hollis’s wedding, I didn’t have anything to take my mind off of waiting to hear from the adoption agency. It turned out that wasn’t an issue for long. Paul got one home from work one day and told me he’d gotten a call from the adoption agency.

“Tell me it’s good news,” I say.

“It’s great news. There’s a newborn who’s in need of a home and they want us to take him.”

“Are you serious?” I’m over the moon. “We’re finally getting a baby?”

“Yes, I’m serious. This is real, we’re going to have a son!”

“I would say you have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words, but I think you do!”

“I definitely do. There is one other thing, though.”

My heart drops a bit. What else could there possibly be? 

“What is it?”

“Well, the baby has an older sibling. A much older sibling, a 16-year-old brother. He’s been in foster care for a while, and they asked if we’d be willing to take him, too.”

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I know. She said if we need some time to think it over, then we can.”

“I don’t need to think it over,” I tell him. “If the kid needs a home, then I can’t turn him away.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that.”

“So, how do you feel about it?” I ask.

“I’m with you. We have the space in our house and our hearts, so why not?”

“So it’s official, then. We’re getting two sons.”

“We are!” Paul kisses me on the cheek.

I can’t believe we’re expanding our family with 2 more people. We’d better get started on preparing for our boys.

Brody’s perspective

Brody’s parents tell him that they want to talk to him. He starts to wonder if he’s in trouble, but they assure him that he isn’t. They just want to talk to him about something important. 

After they get a couple of sentences in, Brody has the realization that this is a sex talk. He starts to protest. After all, he isn’t even dating anyone. Nadia might not even be interested in him. His parents insist that it’s better to talk about these kinds of things before they need to than to wait. 

It’s embarrassing, but they explain the basics and even go into more detail. Brody can’t believe they’re actually saying what they’re saying, but on the inside, he has to admit that he’s learning a lot. 

They ask if he has any questions, but he’s too shy to ask any of them. They let him know that he can come to them any time with any questions he has, even if he has to write them down instead of saying them out loud. That sounds like a good idea to him.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the year I turned 14–the last year I spent at my mom’s house and the beginning of my new life with my dads.

It was the year that everything changed for me, but it would take a while before I’d realize just how impactful that time of my life was.

My therapist suggested I do some journaling about this time period since it’s been weighing on my mind.

When we were 13, my twin Chantal and I were living with my mom and her then husband, Jimmy. 

Our younger sister, Trinity, was also in the house. My older sister, Destiny, had moved out of the family home long ago, leaving me without the protection of a stable adult in the house. Not that I could blame her for getting out of there as soon as she could.

I still hadn’t learned the true identity of my father, and I assumed by that point that he wanted nothing to do with me. 

Jimmy had a strong dislike for my Chantal and me, and he had it out for me in particular. The details are too depressing to get into, but let’s just say he took his anger out on me both physically and emotionally. I was too scared to tell my mother the truth, having been told over and over that she wouldn’t believe me. 

As bad as things were at that time, they would only get worse and worse as the year continued.

I’m feeling a little better about things with Paul now that we’ve talked about it in depth. One thing has still been lingering on my mind, and that is Chelsea. She still hasn’t been on board with having a sibling, so I decide to talk to her about it.

“So, are you still not wanting a sibling?” I ask her.

“No way!” She replies. 

“Well, unfortunately that’s not something you get a say in,” I tell her.

“Why?”

“Because, it’s up to the parents to decide how many kids they have. But I want you to know that I do care about how you feel.”

“Okay.”

“Why don’t you want a sibling?”

“Because I want to keep being the baby.”

“Well, you know you’re getting to be a big girl. We might need your help if we have a baby.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we need someone to make the baby laugh, and I can’t think of anyone who could do that better than you.”

“I like to make people laugh,” she says.

“I know! I bet a baby would love to have a big sister like you! And if we adopt an older kid, you’ll have another big sibling to help you with things.”

“Like reading me stories?”

“Exactly! So can you see how having another sibling might not be a bad thing?”

“Maybe it won’t be too bad,” she admits. “As long as they’re not stinky.”

“Hmm, I don’t think we could find a kid stinkier than you,” I joke.

“I’m not stinky, you are!” She laughs. I’m glad she seems to be coming around to the idea of having another kid in the house, but I know that doesn't mean she's accepting a new sibling whole-heartedly.

I’m meeting with Lexie at the cafe. Even though we work together, it’s still nice to have some time outside of work to hang out and chat. I tell her about my plans to go back to school.

“That’s awesome! I think that’s a really great idea.”

“You think so? I’m just so worried about balancing everything.”

“You’ve got this! You can handle anything that life throws at you.”

“That’s the thing, I feel like I can’t. After all, I dropped out after…”

“I broke your heart?”

“That and seeing Jimmy. It was all too much to deal with. Sorry, I know this is awkward.”

“Not at all. I was there, remember? You were so young then. You’ve grown a lot since then.”

“That’s true. I just hope I’ve grown enough to really focus on school this time.”

“I think you have the drive. It seems like this is really important to you.”

“It is. I’ve always thought about going back, but the timing was never right. Hell, it still isn’t.” 

“I don’t think it ever will be. There will always be other obligations when you have a family. But you have a supportive husband and a job that has your back.”

“I do, and it means the world to me. I just don’t want to be a failure.”

“Even if it doesn’t work out, you won’t be. Look at what you’ve accomplished without a degree. You have a lot to be proud of!”

“I guess that’s a good way to think about it. Thanks, Lexie! It means a lot to have your support.”

“Any time. Besides, you might be my boss one day. I have to get on your good side.”

We chat a little more about work before we head our separate ways. It feels good to have this discussion with Lexie. I think she’s always felt a little guilty about what happened when we broke up, even after all these years.