The Barnstable Chronicles: Charlie Danner Finds His Way - 13. A Very Special Boy (Part Two)

So I was in a new and exciting routine for the Fall. Jacob was doing well as his internship was wrapping up. He was busting his ass to get his thesis done so he could graduate in December (and then marry me!). I was loving where our lives were heading.

Before we knew it, October was rolling around, and so was the wedding for Cam and Ian. Liz and Sarah made all the plans. The wedding was going to be on the beach at our house. The girls put up a large tent in the backyard for the reception, and I got my old friend from high school to deejay.

The guys asked me to do a couple of readings and asked Timmy to be the ring bearer. Oh, my God! That little boy looked adorable in his miniature tuxedo!

Speaking of tuxedos, Cam’s dad and I designed and built the tuxes for the guys. They were a beautiful burgundy color with black trim. The cool part was the pants stopped just below the knees, and they went barefooted. Jacob, with his little foot fetish, thought that was too cool.

A couple of weeks later, Jacob and I were lying in bed after another epic session of lovemaking. He was running his fingers through my hair and gave me that smile I’ve grown to learn he had something working in his mind.

“Baby, I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding and all.”

“Are you kidding? That’s what I think about 90% of the time!”

“I know, I know. But I had an idea and did a little research.”

“Oh! This must be really good if it made you do some research!”

“Shut up, goofball! I’m serious. So—I think we should start taking the state foster parent classes so that after we’re married, we can get on the list and see what happens.”

“Seriously? You really want to do this?”

“Of course I do. And I know you want to have a kid in this big house.”

“Wow! I think that’s amazing! What did you find out?”

“We have to take thirty hours of MAPP (Massachusetts Approach to Partnership in Parenting) classes. Each class is about three hours long, and they’re held twice a week. We could be ready to go in less than a month.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, once we do it, there’s probably no turning back.”

“I think we would be perfect parents. I would love to foster a kid with sexuality issues. Maybe even one on the spectrum. And I think we would be attractive to the DCF (Department of Children and Families) since they’d know we wouldn’t just be doing it for the monthly paycheck.”

“Wow! You have researched this. You even know all the acronyms!”

Jacob smacked me over the head with his pillow. Of course, that turned into a pillow fight, which turned into a wrestling match, which turned into another round of making love.

As we were recovering for the second time that evening, I looked into my boy’s eyes.

“Yes, let’s do it. Sign us up for the classes we need, and I’ll happily be by your side!”

So, the month of November was filled with classes and interviews as we prepared to become foster parents. The classes were mostly interesting, but some parts were kind of ridiculous. I mean, come on—most of what they were teaching was just common sense, but I can see how the state had to make sure they had covered their bases just in case there were problems or legal issues with some foster parents.

As far as Jacob and I were concerned, the more we learned, the more we interviewed, we both realized that we were going to be great—no, awesome foster parents!

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Jacob and I were putting up the dishes after a lovely dinner when the doorbell rang. We just looked at each other, wondering who it could be since neither of us was expecting anyone.

I went to the door, and two women with briefcases were standing on the porch. I hurried them in as it was rather cold out.

“Good evening. I’m Katie Kennedy with DCF, and this is Beth Hall, one of my associates.”

“Oh, please come in! Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“That would be lovely, Mr—"

“Danner. Charlie Danner.”

I took them into the kitchen and introduced them to Jacob, who proceeded to fire up the Keurig for coffees all around.

We all got settled with our coffee, and I just had to ask, “Welcome to our home, Ms. Kennedy—Ms. Hall. Is there a problem with our paperwork?”

“Oh, no! Everything is fine. This visit is a standard home assessment. As you know, when you foster a child, you will have several unannounced visits from your caseworker where he or she will take a look at the home, spend time with the child, and then have a talk with the foster parents. We make our initial house assessment unannounced so we can see how well our potential parents handle the unexpected.”

“Of course, that makes perfect sense. Charlie and I will be happy to help you out in any way we can, Ms. Kennedy.”

“Please, you can call me Katie.”

Katie pulled a folder out of her briefcase with our names on the outside. She began flipping through the pages, occasionally asking a question and taking notes. When she turned to the next page, she stopped and took a look at me and then Jacob.

“Gentlemen, it says here that you would prefer to foster a child with sexuality issues or one on the Autism spectrum. Why would you want to foster children in what are probably the two most challenging categories to place? Most of these kids end up in group homes because no one wants to take them in.”

Jacob spoke first. “And that’s precisely why we want to help them. I was pretty sure I was gay when I was 10 or 11. But I had no role models—no one I could talk to or answer the millions of questions I had. I was scared and sometimes ashamed of who I was. Now, being a foster kid could suck. But being a gay foster kid has got to be really awful. If Charlie and I can be there as role models, a shoulder to lean on, and—I don’t know, just be able to answer some of the million questions that are certain to come up.”

“That’s beautiful, Jacob. I wish we had more potential parents who would draw on their own experiences to make life better for a kid who might feel lost and abandoned. Charlie?”

“Well, I guess I’ve had this knack for connecting with people, and it has really been a wonderful experience since I’ve been working with a theatre group for autistic kids. I’ve been able to connect quite closely with a couple of the kids. They both tell me that when I’m with them, the noise in their heads goes away.”

“The noise?”

“Yes. I wasn’t aware of this, but a large number of kids on the spectrum hear a constant noise. I understand that it’s a lot like when you get to a television channel with no signal. You see a lot of fuzziness on the screen and hear a lot of static noise. When these kids can connect with a person—which is an extraordinary thing—the noise goes away or greatly reduces, and the child can relax and let down some of the walls.”

“Wow! Charlie, you are an exceptional man. Both of you are. I can tell you we do see several gay teens throughout the year. As far as kids on the spectrum, I don’t believe we’ve seen any—at least in the seven years I’ve been with DCF.”

We finished our coffees and then took Katie and Beth on a tour of our home. They loved almost everything they saw and had just a few suggestions for child-proofing. All were an easy fix.

On the way out, Katie gave me her card and told us that she would be our contact should we have any questions. When Jacob closed the door behind them, we collapsed into each other’s arms and took a gigantic sigh of relief.

“Damn, Jacob. You were soooo Mr. cool-as-a-cumber with them! I hope you couldn’t see me shaking like a leaf!”

“Baby, you were pretty damned impressive, too. And believe me, I was scared shitless! I’m glad we were able to cover our nervousness up!”

As Christmas got closer, Liz and Sarah kept wanting to get together and make wedding plans. We decided to have the ceremony on the day after Christmas. Unfortunately, well, for them, we had decided that we just wanted a simple service in the living room. Mom and Dad would both be in town. Mom felt pretty sure that Gramma would be able to make the trip as well. Jacob’s dad was happy that we weren’t making a big fuss. He would be there with the woman he had been seeing for several months.

We had asked Cam and Ian to stand for us, which they totally agreed to. We invited Liz and Sarah to be there as well. Timmy really wanted to be our ring bearer since he “knew how to be a bear.” Noah wanted to sing a song for us, too. How could I say no? So, we had our wedding party planned out.

When we were trying to figure out who would perform the ceremony, we both agreed that we didn’t want a church minister since neither of us was religious at all. Boom! Sarah to the rescue! She was an “ordained minister” through one of those online sites. We both thought it was great to have a friend marry us!

Since we weren’t having a big wedding, we told Liz that we would agree to a combined New Year’s and wedding celebration party that they could plan. That excited the girls, and they just told us not to worry. They had everything under control and would only bother us with necessary questions.

Dad arrived home on the afternoon of the 23^rd. Mom and Gramma would be coming in on Christmas Eve. Since Gramma couldn’t safely go up and down the stairs, it was we all decided that she would stay in Mom and Dad’s master suite on the first floor. We gave Mom and Dad our room since the bed was larger and more comfortable. Jacob and I would just stay in one of the rooms across the hall—definitely the one farthest from Mom and Dad!

It was great seeing Gramma again. You would never know that she had suffered a stroke except for the fact it was a little more difficult for her to move around. She used a cane now and moved a bit slower. But her mind was sharp as a tack, and now, it seems that she just speaks her mind without a care about the consequences.

Perfect example—after we opened our gifts on Christmas Day, Gramma took Jacob into the kitchen for a heart-to-heart. Mom and I got up to join them, but she shooed us away, saying she was going to have a heart-to-heart with her future grandson-in-law. Jacob looked back at me as if he were a lamb being led to slaughter.

“Would you like a cup of coffee, Gramma?”

She decided that would be great, but she wanted decaf. Thank God for Keurig! He made her a decaf and made a regular one for himself. Then Gramma cut to the chase.

“Do ya love him, Jacob? Do ya love my Charlie Boy more than anything else in the world?”

“Oh, Gramma. You have no idea. Loving Charlie is the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I mean—he’s an amazing man. He surprises me every day with something that makes me love him even more than the day before.”

“That’s good. That’s good. Now. Are you good in bed? Do you make my Charlie Boy happy?”

Jacob almost choked on his coffee but played it cool. “Well, Gramma, that’s probably one of the last things I expected you to ask. But if you must know—"

“I must, or I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Okay—since you must know. I don’t want to be crude or anything—"

“If you need to be crude, be crude. Just be honest. I’m 81 years old, and I promise you can’t say a thing I haven’t heard or said in my years.”

Jacob leaned into Gramma’s ear and lowered his voice. “I’m fucking incredible in bed. I take Charlie to places he’s never even fantasized about until I came along.”

He had hoped to shock Gramma, but she continued without missing a beat. “Nice to know. You sound just like my late Arthur.” She leaned into Jacob’s ear. “He was fucking amazing in bed, too.”

Jacob smiled and loved that he and Gramma now had this little secret connection.

“We Danners need husbands who are amazing in bed. That makes us rise to the occasion and become amazing ourselves.” She leaned back to Jacob.

“How’s Charlie in bed? Does he make you happy?”

“Oh my God, Gramma. He is the perfect lover. I have never been happier or more satisfied—or more complete than I have been with Charlie.”

“Good to know. I approve. You can marry my grandson tomorrow with my full support.”

“Thank you, Gramma. That means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

Gramma then yelled out and called me into the kitchen. I walked in and stood between Jacob and Gramma.

“Everything good in here?”

“We’re cool, baby.”

“Gramma?”

“Yes, Charlie Boy. We’re cool. Now, would you be a sweetheart and grab my purse from my room?”

“Sure, Gramma.” I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

When I returned, she told me to sit across the table from her, next to Jacob.

“Charlie Boy, you got yourself a fine young man here. He reminds me of your Grampa Arthur in more ways than you’ll ever know!”

She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. She smiled at me and then looked over to my beautiful Jacob.

“Now, Jacob. You may not know this, but my Charlie boy does. My dear Arthur took very good care of me when he passed away, and I’m a very wealthy woman. Because of that, I’ve been lucky enough to do this for all of my grandkids—as a wedding gift.”

Jacob took my hand on the top of the table as Gramma continued.

“I have set up a trust fund for the two of you that will generate a minimum of $250,000.00 every year. Beginning in January, you boys will get $10,000.00 every month. If you figure out a way to have kids, then you will have access to the full quarter million every year.”

“Gramma, that’s too much! Jacob and I are just fine. We don’t—"

“Oh hush, Charlie Boy! Every one of your cousins said the exact same thing. I do this because I can. I do this because God knows there are enough things to worry about in a marriage, especially when children come into your lives. I do this because I can make sure that one thing the two of you will never have to worry about is money. But most important of all, I do this because I love my grandkids more than life itself.”

I started to get tears in my eyes (of course) and looked at Gramma. “I don’t know what to say, other than thank you, and I promise Jacob and I will take good care of the trust for you. We won’t be wasteful or frivolous.”

“I know you won’t, Charlie Boy. Just make each other happy, never go to bed with a disagreement hanging in the air, and make sure you ravage each other’s bodies as often as humanly possible! That’s all, boys. I need a nap.”

Actually, we all needed naps after Mom’s wonderful Christmas turkey dinner. We woke up an hour or so later, enjoyed leftovers, and then settled in for a Christmas movie marathon.

Mom got to choose the first movie and picked A Christmas Story. I got to pick the second one and chose one of my favorite gay movies, The Perfect Wedding. I thought that was especially appropriate as I would have my perfect wedding tomorrow—and it all took place around Christmas! Jacob blew it and picked The Devil Wears Prada—definitely not a Christmas movie, but we all enjoyed the Hell out of it nonetheless.

We all went to bed. Well, the parents went to bed. Jacob and I went up to the third floor and shared a joint. Then we went to bed!

It was when I felt Jacob’s cock slide into me when I realized that we had moved so far beyond the act of sex. I felt complete—whole. We have this amazing connection in everything that we do.

Jacob gave a final, gentle push and was buried to the hilt. I wrapped my legs around his waist. He leaned into me and kissed me deeply.

“More than life, my beautiful boy. I love you more than life itself.”

“Oh, Jay—make love to me! You complete me, baby!”

And make love, we did! There was nothing rushed. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I would gently squeeze his cock as he would slowly pull away. I could even feel the veins of his cock as they moved in and out of my ass.

Jacob held me tight, and we just looked into each other’s eyes. Words weren’t needed. We could see the love and passion in each other’s looks. We would share gentle but passion-filled kisses. Our tongues would connect and dance with each other in yet another expression of our love.

When Jacob came inside me, it was beautiful. He looked at me and smiled through the whole orgasm. It took all my will and strength not to cum with him, but I had other plans.

When Jacob pulled out of me, I turned him onto his side in front of me. I lifted his leg and lined my cock up to his hole—then began to ease into him. I wanted him to feel the same thing I just had.

“Oh, Charlie! That’s amazing, baby!”

When I bottomed out, Jacob turned and kissed me. While we were kissing, I began moving in and out with short pumps. Nice, slow, and deliberate. I could feel my cock rub up against Jay’s prostrate the entire time I was inside him. It didn’t take long at all for me to reach the point of no return, and I made sure to keep pumping in and out as I released shot after shot of my love deep inside my boy.

As I was getting close to the end of my orgasm, I felt Jacob tense up as he had a hands-free nut all over the bed and beyond.

We settled into a spoon with me wrapped around my fiance. I was still hard and inside my boy as he let out a big sigh.

“Charlie boy, that was amazing. How can making love with you keep getting better and better?”

“I know. I was thinking the same thing, baby.”

“What scares me is wondering if I’ll be able to survive anything much better than this!”

“Well, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

“At least we’re keeping our word to Gramma. I love how you ravage my body!”

“And tomorrow, we make it official. I’m going to become Jacob Anderson’s husband!”

“Maybe we need to mess around a little bit more before that happens. I hear he can be a jealous and possessive jerk.”

“Silly boy! I’m the one who says shit like that!”

“I love us, Charlie Boy!”

“Me too, Jay. But we should probably try to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long-as-fuck day tomorrow.”

We shifted with Jacob on his back and my head resting on his chest. About thirty seconds into his running fingers through my hair had me fast asleep with the most satisfied smile on my face.

December 26. The day finally arrived! We woke up to the best alarm clock ever created. Bacon! We hopped out of bed, took a piss, and threw on some pants and a tee. We got down to the kitchen, and Mom was cooking up a storm—Belgium waffles, sausage, bacon, coffee, juice. Damn!

“Boys, you need to eat a nice big breakfast. With a 1:00 wedding, you probably won’t have a chance to eat until after the service, and then that’s going to just be finger foods.”

“Thanks, Mom. You are a lifesaver!”

“Thanks, Mom. I can call you that now, yes?”

Mom turned from her work and smiled at Jacob. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

“Jacob, my dear boy. Nothing could make me happier. I never suggested it because I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to—”

“Mom, don’t worry about it. Just because I lost my mother—It changes nothing about how wonderful you have been to me—to us—I would call you ‘Mom’ regardless.”

Jacob got up and wrapped my mother in a loving hug. Fuck! I love him even more now!

We finished breakfast and headed upstairs for a nice, hot shower. I was ready for some more sex, but Jacob turned me down! What the fuck!?! He told me the next time he made love to me was going to be as my husband.

Liz and Sarah arrived a little after 10:30 and began moving things around in the living room to make things work for a wedding service. They then moved into the kitchen and began preparing the finger food for after the service.

At noon, Mom sent us up to our room to get dressed. Before we went upstairs, we took our rings off and gave them to Liz. We had decided that we wanted to use the rings we got when we became engaged since they had so much meaning for us. Liz took them and tied them to the pillow that Timmy would be holding.

We got up to the bedroom, and I reached into the top drawer of the dresser. I pulled out a box and handed it to Jacob.

“I wanted to make sure we had that ‘something new’ thing for our wedding. Jacob, I don’t know what to say a lot of the time. But I can tell you that I’m so much better as a man with you by my side. I love you more with every day that comes around, baby.”

I handed him the box from James Avery Jewelry. When he opened it, he got the biggest smile. Inside, he found a pair of solid, sterling silver bracelets with “Us—Forever. December 26,” engraved on the inside.

We then pulled our suits out and helped each other dress. It’s funny, here I am—Charlie Danner, designer and tailor—and I didn’t build anything special for the wedding. Jacob insisted on wearing the suit I had designed and built for him several months earlier (the “something old?”), and I went with the flow and chose one of the suits I had made for myself. Jacob’s was a super-deep royal blue fabric that looked almost black from a distance. Up close, there would be flashes of that gorgeous blue tone as the fabric moved in the light. Mine was a nice, dark-grey pin-striped suit.

We looked pretty fucking hot if you ask me! There was a knock on the door just as we were adjusting our ties. Cam and Ian came in to let us know they were there and to congratulate us.

Ian put his arms around our shoulders. “Guys, you may think that nothing is really going to change once you’re married. But let me tell you this. No matter how close and committed you are to each other, once you’re married, you can multiply that times ten. It’s an amazing thing, and it couldn’t be happening to two better guys.”

Cam came up and stood in front of us. “We love you guys.”

The four of us enjoyed a group hug when there was a knock at the door. It was Liz. “I know it’s early, but the boys are here, and they really want to see Charlie. If everyone’s dressed, why don’t you come on down?”

And so we did. Timmy’s face lit up when he saw us.

“Hi, Charlie. Hi, Jacob.”

Noah was standing behind Timmy. Jacob made sure he was included in the greetings.

“Hi, Noah. You look so handsome in your suit.”

“I’m singing a song today.”

“I know. I can’t wait to hear it, too!”

I knelt and took both boys in my arms for a gentle hug. “I’m so glad both of my friends came to be in my wedding. That’s so special to Jacob and me. And Noah, you look really sharp in that suit! Good job!”

“Mommy got it. It makes me look grown-up.”

“Yes it does. But you are always going to be Noah, no matter how grown-up you look.”

“Yeah.”

End of conversation. The boys went back to their moms and sat in their laps.

I have a question. Is it horrible to listen to your man’s vows and pop major wood? Oh yeah, it totally happened to me. I couldn’t help it! The words Jacob used were so close to the beautiful things he would say to me in bed. Fuck me! I wanted to throw down my pants and offer him my ass right there in the living room! Well, of course I didn’t, although Gramma would have loved the shit out of it, I’m sure!

The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. Noah sang “Tomorrow” from Annie. I know it’s not what one would typically hear at a wedding, but the message of hope and optimism was perfect if you think about it. Timmy was a star with the pillow holding our rings and did an excellent job bringing them to Sarah.

After mingling with everyone during the reception, Jacob and I left for two nights at The Lamb and Lion Inn (thanks, Mom!). It was perfect. The room had a wonderful oversized bed, a beautiful fireplace, and was loaded with fresh roses.

My husband and I (sounds good, yes?) made love twice in front of a roaring fire, followed by nasty pure-for-the-fun-of-it sex on the bed, and ended the night with some amazing shower sex.

After our lovemaking in front of the fire, we were starved. We called for pizza. It didn’t take as long as we had expected for the pizza to arrive, and we had to scramble to pull on our Andrew Christians. Jacob answered the door in just his underwear, and the cute-as-fuck pizza boy threw some major wood when he took in the sight. I mean, really now—who could blame him?

It was a wonderful two nights filled with love, passion, and a little bit of nastiness! Who could ask for more—especially with the hottest husband on the cape?!?

We got home just after lunch on the 28^th. Dad was on his way to the airport to return to Denver for the huge project that he’s been working on since early October. Mom, Gramma, Jacob, and I were sitting in the family room when the landline rang in the kitchen. What the fuck? Nobody calls landlines anymore!

Mom answered the phone with a cheerful “Anderson-Danner residence!” The cheerful look on her face became serious almost immediately, and she then called for me to pick up the phone.

“Hello? This is Charlie.”

“Charlie, Katie Kennedy here. I’m so sorry to bother you so soon after your wedding, but we have an emergency temporary placement, and quite honestly, you are the only one who could handle this situation.”

“Okay—what’s happened?”

“We have a young boy here who found his mother’s body in bed this morning. Of course, he tried to wake her up, to no avail. Fortunately, he was taught to call 9-1-1 when he needed help, and there was no adult around to help him. Unfortunately, he was also taught never to let a stranger into the house, so the police had to force open the door to let the EMT in. I’m afraid that thoroughly traumatized the boy.

“The mother had passed away in her sleep—with with no evidence of a father or another adult in the household. The police called us to take care of the boy. He is completely shut off to the outside, and our staff psychologist is almost positive that the boy is on the Autism spectrum.”

“Oh, the poor boy. He must be terrified!”

“Could you and Jacob come into the office? We want you to see the boy and hopefully take him in temporarily until we can find another relative.”

“Of course! We’ll be there within thirty minutes.”

Jacob and I got into his Acura and made our way to the DCF office in Hyannis. When we pulled into the parking lot, Katie was waiting for us at the door. She took us into her office, and we sat in the chairs in front of her desk.

“Are we even allowed to take this boy in? I didn’t think we had been approved yet.”

“Gentlemen, this is a situation where I was able to spend the last three hours calling in favors and pulling every string I could find to get your paperwork approved. You are now fully qualified foster parents for the State of Massachusetts.”

I asked Katie where the boy was, and she told us he was down the hall with Beth and Dr. Rhodes, the staff psychologist. She stood and led us down the hall and into a dark room.

“This is our observation room. I thought it would be better to get a good look at the boy before—”

I looked out the one-way glass, and my heart dropped to my stomach.

“Oh, dear God! It’s Noah! Oh, God!”