Primary Target - 15. Chapter 15

I spent a couple of days in the hospital but was ordered to have bed rest for almost two weeks with badly bruised ribs. I was told that if I was hit any harder, the ribs could have cracked and punctured a lung – one of the bruised ribs shifted enough to apply undue pressure to my lung as I helped my sons – why it started to hurt to talk and breathe.

Alice and Jared flew back the day I went home, apologizing that they weren’t there when I needed them. I told them it wasn’t their fault and at least a little good came from it. Bates was in prison, awaiting charges for aggravated assault, battery, and probably a few others I hope the DA could pin to him. The weeks on bed rest were actually kind of hard on me. I was so used to being on the go with the boys from sunup to sundown that just relaxing in bed felt like a crime, especially when I watched Alice do all the things I should be doing. I was very happy when she would let them visit for a while, provided they weren’t too rambunctious for me and would exacerbate my pain. Usually they’d just play with each other on the bed with me while I worked on school work or read a book.

It was also good to see the gang again – Mason brought them with him from school one day. And I was pleasantly shocked that Eric and Kat were officially dating and have doubled with Ben and Jess a few times – another shocker. I joked about reminding them all about supposedly being too good of friends to date and all of them more or less changed their minds and we all laughed. The boys teased Josh about needing someone so they could triple or even go quads if Mason and I decided to go, when he said that he was married to his two loves, soccer and Warcraft, for the time being. We all laughed at him but didn’t press the issue to hurt his feelings.

Eventually, I was back on my feet and Alice was telling me one late November day that I had earned enough credits to graduate high school in December, just before Christmas. Mason was so happy for me and we have a lovely evening while Dad watched the kids. We made love no less than three times, each time better than the one before it and we fell asleep in each other’s arms, totally at peace as tranquility settled in after our hour-long sexcapade.

Now the only three things looming before me were Bates’s eventual trial, the twins’ third birthday, and Mason’s graduation. I told Alice I wanted to walk with them if I was allowed, but I guess I wasn’t since I wasn’t technically a part of that school anymore. I shrugged and went with Plan B. I filled out my FAFSA forms and applied to the River Valley Community College not too far from home for next fall, allowing me to stay at home and still run off to start my core classes. With Alice teaching me, math didn’t seem all that hard anymore and in fact I found I actually liked it once I understood how to do it. So I was thinking of majoring in either Business or Accounting and minoring in the other.

As I was hoping I could finally put Bates behind me and not have to testify against him, the speaker to the apartment crackled to life. “Son, could you bring the boys down with you? I want to talk to you.”

I walked over and activated my end of the intercom. “Sure, we’ll be down in a second.” I stepped away and walked over to where the boys were playing together. They had all their stuffed toys lined up to play some kind of war game or something. As I got closer Scott had his charge plow into several of the animals, making a big explosion-like sound and I laughed, enjoying his antics. “Get him, Scotty! Get him! Get him!” Ryan chanted. Ryan had his character come in and attempted to save Scott’s as Scott’s must’ve been hurt in the attack.

“Boys,” I said, having my fill of watching them. Four eyes looked at me. “Grandpa wants to talk to us. So, let’s go see him.”

“But Daddy,” Scott said. “Ry was about to save me from the monsters!”

“He can save you later. C’mon we don’t want to keep Grandpa waiting.” I held out my hands as I knelt down. Scott pouted a bit as Ryan dropped his toy and ran to me. Slowly, Scott joined us and I picked them both up. “You two are getting really big, you know that?”

Both of them giggled, Scott already in a better mood. “You say that a lot, Daddy,” Scott said. “We’ll be big like you, right?”

“You will, but not for a while yet,” I smiled at my boys before kissing each of their foreheads. I started down the stairs. “Right now, I’m happy with you two just the way you are.” I almost bumped into Mason. “Oh babe! When did you get in?”

“Just a second ago. I was actually coming to see if the three of you were on your way down.” Mason turned to the boys after we exchanged a few kisses. “Can I carry one of you to help Daddy out?”

“Me! You can carry me!” Ryan said as he slipped into Mason’s open arms. He hugged him. “I love you Pop.”

“Aw, and I love you too, son. Let’s go see what Grandpa wants, okay?” Mason said as he got Ryan to look at him again. Scott smiled over at Ryan and Mason before he looked up at me. He grabbed my cheeks in between his hands.

“Love you too, Daddy,” Scott said as he hugged me.

“And I love you too, Scotty,” I said smiling over at the other two.

After our little love-fest on the stairs, the four of us arrived in the living room where Alice, Dad Richie, and Jared sat. “Hey Jared,” Mason said. “Haven’t seen you in a bit. You’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, working at the Wegman’s is a pain sometimes, but it helps put gas in the car Mom got me,” he said. Mace and I took the empty loveseat. We sat the boys down on the floor where they ran over to first Jared to say hi and then to Richie who smothered our boys with hugs and kisses, always happy to see his nephews.

The two ran back to us. “Daddy, Uncle Richie got me all wet,” Ryan complained.

I laughed. “Uncle Richie just loves you both to death and that’s how he shows it. Here,” I made a show of rubbing my hand over his face to dry it a bit more. “Better?”

“Yeah! Thanks!”

“Okay, you boys sit down and behave. Maybe when we’re done we’ll do something fun. But it depends on what’s said, so it may not happen. Okay?” Mason asked our boys.

“Yeah, Pop,” Ryan said. “We’ll be good. Promise!” Little Scott bobbed his head up and down.

“Okay there are a few things that need to be said,” Dad said. “First order of business involves us all in a way. Mostly me and Alice.” My eyes got a bit bigger. It wasn’t a secret that both Dad and Alice were starting to fall for one another. There were definite signs of love between them when just the two of them started spiriting themselves away for a dinner. It occasionally was just a once a month thing, but slowly increased over time to at least once a week. Jared and I were both okay with it and in fact elated for our single parents. Jared, Mason, and I talked a few times while the boys were asleep about our parents. Jared and I were very hopeful that they were falling in love, but we also didn’t want to risk damaging the friendship they had by forcing it upon them. So we just agreed to watch and wait to see what developed. “We’re getting married in four weeks in the gazebo where Xander and Mason got married.”

“YES!” both Jared and I shouted happily. “We knew it!” Jared and I looked at one another and laughed at the silliness our best friend displayed.

“So… that's a yes, right?” Dad deadpanned, causing everyone save the twins to burst into laughter, the latter following suit since they heard the big people laughing.

“Hmm… what gives you that impression?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Jared struggled to keep a straight face as he did the same thing I did.

“I don’t know,” Alice said with a bright smile. “But anyway, we’re really happy you two are okay with this.”

“You two are fine,” Jared said. “In fact, both Xan and I have been talking, wondering when it was going to happen. I couldn’t ask for a better person to make you happy Mom. Both of you have had some serious dramas when the other party passed unexpectedly.”

“Yeah,” I added. “I know you could never replace my real Mom or my Dad able to replace Tom, you both sure do come close.” I leaned down and looked at the boys – they seemed confused. “Guess what? You’re going to have a new grandma in a couple of weeks!”

“Who?” Ryan asked.

“Alice here will be your new grandma.”

“She’s already grandma, silly!” Scott said. I looked up and saw smiles from the grandparents.

“Well, only because that’s what you two have called her,” Mason said. “She really wasn’t your grandma, but she will be now anyway. Understand?”

Both of their faces scrunched up in thought. “I don’t get it,” Ryan said.

“Here’s how it is, sons,” I said, sliding to the floor to be at their level. “You see, Grandpa and Alice here are very happy around each other. So much so that they’re getting married. Do you know what marriage is?”

Scott brightened. “That’s what you and Pop did! We helped, remember?”

“That’s right Scott. You see, when you really love someone that’s not a part of your family, you get married so you make them a part of the family by law.”

“I think I get it now,” Ryan said.

“You’ll understand it better as you get older. But all you really need to know that it’s definitely okay to call Alice Grandma or Grandma Alice now. Just like you call Grandpa that or Grandpa Dirk.” Both boys nodded at me and quietly started talking amongst each other as I slipped up back next to my husband. He kissed me a few times as I held his hand.

“That was perfect, babe,” Mason said smiling at me. “You know how to always explain things to the boys.”

“It comes with the territory.” I cleared my throat. “Sorry, Dad. You had other things to say?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “A couple of other things then you guys can run along. Actually, Jared and Richie, that’s all we had for you really. You don’t have to stay for this next bit if you don’t want to. We just have good news to share with the lovebirds over there.”

“What’s up Dad?” Richie asked. Jared looked on, eager.

“What do you know about our neighbors next door in the Victorian?”

Mason and I looked a bit confused at the sudden change in topic matter. As far as I know, that house has been empty for nearly a year now, so we didn’t have neighbors living in that house. I wasn’t sure how to respond; neither did Mason. Even Richie and Jared knew something was up at the question; both looked a bit hesitant. “What do you mean, Dad? You know no one’s lived there for almost a year. But the sign’s said sold on it like a month after it went up.” I turned to Mason. “Have you seen our new neighbors at all, now that I think about it? I’ve only seen lots of construction taking place over there.”

Before Mason could answer me, Dad cut in. “I know who they are. Maybe if I describe them you’ll know them?” I nodded, thinking that was a fair assessment. “Well it’s a couple – a young couple – dealing with a family already. They have two almost three year-olds. Real good people – hearts of gold.”

“That’s good,” Mason said, still a bit unsure of what he was in fact saying. “Sounds like we could introduce our boys to them and see if they can make friends.” Something wasn’t adding up here – for me at least. By Dad’s definition, young could mean in their twenties, but something was inkling me to not believe that and he meant someone younger than that even.

“What kind of couple?” I asked Dad. He smiled broadly, figuring my question was a hint to something. Something he was about to reveal.

“Oh, nothing too earth-shattering. Just a nice, young, gay couple. That’s all.” I felt that inkling in me grow by leaps. It begged to tell me the answer to the riddle, but I couldn’t quite understand it. So, I decided to put the pieces back out in front of me. First, he said a young, gay couple that has two kids the same age as the twins. He also said that they’re really nice and good people. I mentally laughed – I mean, it almost sounds like… he’s…

I froze.

No. It’s just not logical. At all.

“Dad…” I asked very hesitantly. “Would… we be that couple?” I was taking a leap and also not wanting to build up any false hope. If he did it though, I’ll kill him! He’s already spent way too much on me, Mace, and the boys! When’s he going to draw the line? After he buys a plot of land on the Moon to go with our own space station?

“You can move in whenever you two are ready.” That’s all he said as he flung two keys in our direction. I snatched them out of the air to the claps from my sons. “I got all the construction done – the house was a mess and I got it for dirt cheap. There are only a few things that need to be done to it to make it totally livable.”

“And that would be…?” I asked.

“I didn’t have the walls painted or anything, but I have an interior decorator on hold waiting for your input. I didn’t want to paint the house only for you guys to have to repaint it.”

“Makes sense,” Mason said, seemingly in shock. “Dad… if I can ask… How can you be spending so much money on us? Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s awesome you bought me and Xan a house. But… are you like rich or something? First a car, then this on top of all the little things in addition all the things you get for Conner, Richie, and Jared. I just don’t want to bankrupt you or worse.”

“Son,” Dad said looked squarely into Mason’s eyes. “Don’t worry about the money. When Lindsay passed away, she had a life insurance policy that I invested in several places. That’s now coming back to me in spades. That’s in addition to my military pension for my years of service to the country. So right now, I have plenty of money and I’ve been more than happy at using some of it to help you two get along a bit better in life. We all know that a certain event helped to get you two to where you are today.” Dad’s eyes fell briefly to the boys before they came back up to mine. I didn’t like the fact he reminded me of how my two little bundles of joy came into the world – I hated putting both events together, even if it’s the truth.

“Dad…” I said. “I-I just don’t know what to say, except thank you.” Mason slipped an arm around my shoulder before he gently leaned his head against mine.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Ryan asked, his smile fading.

“Nothing son,” I said to him with a smile. “Nothing at all.”

Mason and I spent the next few months working with the interior decorator to get the house in order before we moved in. Jared and Richie helped us pack up the non-essentials and moved them over into the attic just so there’d be less to move later. But it was kind of fun picking the colors for the rooms along with flooring, furniture, and accessories. It was like putting together a very color-compatible puzzle.

Mace and I stood in the doorway of the house, ready to enter it. Our interior decorator said it was all done and was ready to show us all the work she put into the place. Dad wanted us to pick the stuff out, but he thought it’d be a better surprise to keep the final product a mystery. We both agreed.

“Can we go in yet, Daddy?” Scott said as he tugged on my pant leg. “I’m cold.”

“M-Me too,” Ryan said.

“Just another second or so, boys,” I said wistfully. “We’re waiting for the decorator to give us our keys.” I saw a nice Mercedes pull up into the driveway we shared with Dad. A very attractive and well-groomed black woman stepped out of the car. Cynthia almost jogged as her high heels would allow.

“So sorry I’m late,” she said with her lilting voice. “Traffic from the office was a bear for some reason.” She knelt down and got eye level with Scott and Ryan, who turned to see the lady. “How are you two doing today? Ready to see your new house?”

“I’m cold,” Scott said again. “Ry is too.”

“Well, as soon as I give the keys to your fathers, we can go inside where it’s warm. How does that sound?”

“Great!” Ryan beamed. He looked up at me. “C’mon Daddy and Pop… get the keys!” I helped Cynthia back to her feet and felt a key fall into that hand.

“Better not keep those two out here any longer… it is pretty cold for late March,” she said with a smile. “I’ll show you around and we can change anything you don’t like. But given you picked everything out, I think you’ll be satisfied with the layout.”

I slid the key into the lock and turned, opening the door. A nicely decorated small foyer greeted us, accessible from two different halls. Cynthia headed towards the left and down another hall and entered the kitchen. I looked down one of the halls, seeing the walls adorned with several frames. I think I saw the picture I took of the boys from their second birthday hanging on the walls. Remembering their icing-covered faces made me smile.

“As you can see, we made sure to get those stainless steel appliances you requested. And made sure the freezer was on the bottom. New stove, dishwasher… granite countertops along the perimeter as well on the breakfast bar overlooking the small dining room.” I took in the colors – a forest green stripe running along the wall chopping the light gray walls in half horizontally. Various dark shades of green and gray found their marks dotted around the spaces. The cabinetry in the kitchen, stained dark ebony, stood out amongst the gleam offered by the stainless steel.

“I love it,” I breathed. “Cynthia you do good work…”

“It’s really awesome,” Mace said to our decorator as he looked about. He wrapped an arm around my waist as I glanced at the boys – they looked bored.

“How about we show the boys their new room?” I said as they looked up at me, smiling as they heard about their room.

“Yeah! Can we?” Ryan piped up as he turned to Cynthia. Scott looked equally eager.

“I think that can get worked out,” the lady smiled. “Right around the corner to your left. First door about halfway down the hall.”

“C’mon boys, let’s go see your room!” I took after them as they bolted down in the general direction. They actually ran past the door Cynthia said and I had to shout, “Hey silly boys! You passed your room!” They came to as sudden a stop able by two almost three year-olds could manage before turning around and coming back to me.

“Open! Open!” Scott said, poking my leg.

“Say ‘please’.” I smirked down at them.

“Please!” they both chorused. I laughed as I turned the knob and they pushed by me. I saw the two beds pushed next to each other as requested. One of the side guards was up, the other wasn’t. I thought it’d be a good idea to get these beds and just take the guards off down the road as they get older. And we could separate the beds when sleeping together wasn’t acceptable to them anymore. The two full beds together made a really big not quite king, but larger than a queen bed. Soccer balls painted onto the walls jumped out at me when I started looking at them.

“Daddy, I need potty…” Ryan whined. He started squirming.

“Let’s see if we can find your bathroom, okay?” I said. “Scotty, how about you? You need to go potty?”

“No…” He said it slowly, but then his face scrunched up. “Yeah, I need potty too.” I took their hands and headed for the door I assumed to be the bathroom. I opened it – it was their closet.

“Whoops, wrong door.” I closed it and opened the other one. This time I got it right. The boys little training potties sat next to the real deal. I helped them lower their pants and both boys sat down and did their business. I heard the door open again.

“Everything okay, babe?” Mace asked.

“Yeah, the boys needed to go to the bathroom.” After cleaning them up and getting them back into their training pants and other duds, I turned to them. “I’m very proud of you both for telling me you had to potty! Good job, boys!” I kissed the tops of their heads and they giggled. “Now let’s get you up to the sinks to wash your hands.” Cynthia entered the room. “The plumbing’s all set up, right?”

“Should be up and running last I checked,” she said. I helped Scott onto the stool in front of their sinks while Mace helped Ryan. Quickly, we each helped a son wash their hands before I washed my own. We all dried our hands and took our leave of the boys’ bathroom. Before we did, I admired their shower stall alongside the Jacuzzi style tub. I knew the boys won’t be babies forever, so I thought it was wise to think ahead as much as we could. Mace was actually a bit surprised at me, but agreed. He thought I’d be too sentimental about the boys being young.

“Boys, can you both behave if we check the rest of the house if you stay here and play in your new room?” I asked them. Both of them nodded. “Okay, we’ll be back in… ten to fifteen minutes. You aren’t to leave this room unless it’s an emergency, okay?”

“Kay, Daddy,” Scott said with a smile. “C’mon Ry, let’s find our toys!” Scott grabbed his brother’s hand as the two of them started exploring their room.

The rest of the tour was uneventful – everything in the house was fantastic. We thanked Cynthia for showing us around and again for being such an awesome decorator. No sooner I showed her out and the door shut, Ryan came running towards me bawling his eyes out.

“D-D-Daddy!” he cried as he grabbed my leg.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” I said a bit worried.

“Sc-Sc-Scotty p-pushed me d-down!” he sniffled as I picked him up. “A-And I-I didn’t d-d-do anything t-to him!”

“Scott Tyler!” I shouted towards their room as I also approached it. “You get your little butt out here right now!” I watched as the door slowly opened and a meek little boy stood before me. “Did you push your brother down?” He didn’t say anything – he just nodded slowly. “Why? What reason did you come up with to hurt your brother? Hmm?”

He finally looked up at me and I was taken aback by the tears streaming from his face. He could be trying for the sympathy route to lessen his punishment – he’s done it before. “D-Daddy, I-I didn’t mean to! I promise! Ry-Ry, I-I’m sorry!” He too started to bawl. I knelt down and pulled him into a hug. I decided he was being sincere.

“Alright,” I said a lot calmer. “What happened?”

“W-We were playing Sp-Space R-Rangers and I-I got too excited a-and p-pushed Ry-Ry into a w-wall.”

“Ryan, is he telling the truth?” I felt a little head nod. “Okay, then it sounds like an accident. Ryan, I don’t think Scotty meant to push you that hard, but he did. Scotty, you have to remember to tone it down – you’re a bit bigger than your brother, a bit stronger too. You have to be more careful. You know your brother gets upset pretty easily, right?”

“Y-Yeah,” the aggressor sighed sadly. I sat Ryan down and the two looked at one another. Ryan seemed uneasy being around Scott and Scott looked really guilty. Scott shook his little head and grabbed Ryan up in a hug. “Ry-Ry… I’m sorry!” Reluctantly, Ryan returned the hug.

“There, that’s all better, now isn’t it?” I smiled a bit as the two looked up at me. “Alright,” I said as I looked at my watch. “Time to get ready for bed. Let’s go get your bath started.”

The boys slowly returned to normal as they splashed around in their new tub. Some of their bath toys were still packed away or over at their Grandpa’s house, so they had to make do with a few scant toys for the night. Once they were clean, I dried them off and got them settled into their new beds.

“Daddy, what are these bars for?” Ryan asked as he climbed in and grabbed the one side rail that was raised.

“That’s there for both of you to make sure you don’t fall out of the beds in the middle of the night. It’d hurt if you hit the floor like that, right?” He nodded. “When you both get a bit older, Pop and I will take them off. But for now, we think it’s time for you boys to get a taste of being big boys and sleep in real beds – not your cribs anymore. How does that sound?”

Both of them smiled since I mentioned being big boys – I said the same thing when they started potty training. I maneuvered them around the covers and got them under and tucked both boys in for the night. After reading them a story and raising the other railing, I spirited myself away back to our new bedroom. I saw my Mason sitting in bed, his economics book in hand. Since he still had school, I decided to take care of the boys for the night, even if they complained a bit that how I did the bath wasn’t how Pop did it. I took off my shirt and pants before sliding up next to him. I reached an arm around his waist, that action finally stopping his studying.

“You’re a bad distraction,” he laughed a bit as he lowered the text. He turned my face towards his and lovingly kissed me. “But I love it when you distract me.”

“I’m glad,” I said as I nuzzled my head into his chest. “So how do you like the new place?”

“I think it’s awesome,” he said as he brought his book back up, but placed his free arm around my body, hugging me to him. “I think we’re going to have a great many years in this house.”

“I think so too,” I said a bit sleepily. “We’ll get to see Ryan and Scott both grow up into great young men for a while before they’re spirited off to college on Dad’s tuition money he set aside for them. Before that, we’ll get to see them date, fall in and out of love, teach them to drive, watch them get their first jobs.” I turned so I could see Mace’s face but kept my head on his torso. “I really hope they grow up and love each other like how you and Richie love each other.”

“Or like you and Conner. And Jared,” Mace paused in reading to smile down at me. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “That’s something else that’s good about Dad and Alice getting married.”

“How’s that?”

“Means Jared unobtainable. For both of us,” he smirked.

“Jerk,” I laughed as I lightly elbowed him in the gut. “He’s always been unobtainable. More so recently than in the past.”

“What do you mean?”

“These,” I said as I grabbed his left hand with my left, showing off both of our wedding bands. “They make us Jared-proof.”

Mason tossed his book aside and grabbed my head. He leaned in and kissed me passionately this time and I saw the fire in his eyes as he released me from the kiss. I felt weak, spaghetti-like when he stared soulfully into my eyes.

An hour later, both of us just cuddled naked under the sheets having just finished a nice little romp in bed. “Babe, you’re incredible,” Mason slightly panted. “You just keep getting better.”

“You’re no slouch either, babe,” I said as I left a series of feather kisses across his chest. Again, my head used my husband as a pillow as I hugged him closer to me. “I think we’ll be happy here, don’t you think?”

“Definitely,” Mason said as he buried his nose into my hair. “There are going to be plenty of memories left here in the years to come. Some bad, but most of them will be good. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Yeah, definitely,” I sighed as sleep claimed me. Tomorrow and beyond waiting in the wings for the Jacobs family.