A Decision for Jarren - 25. Chapter 25

Saturday was a fun filled day for the boys. Jarren and Nash took Liam to Stone Mountain, a local theme park attraction. Most of the areas were accessible to wheelchairs and they were able to enjoy almost everything with the all access pass. Liam loved the Summit Skyride. A cable car, just like the ones you see in pictures of Switzerland took them to the top of the mountain. The day was clear and they had amazing views of the Atlanta skyline. They were even able to see the Appalachian mountains off in the distance. When they got to the railroad that the park operated, Jarren was able to carry Liam on board and Nash managed to easily navigate the few steps up onto the train with his crutches.. His upper body strength had increased significantly since he had started with physical therapy.

They all got a kick out of the trained goats at the Farmyard. Jarren figured that they could sneak in some education while they were at it. They spent a good amount of time in the museum at Memorial Hall, and all of them learned something about Georgia’s history, in particular the early native inhabitants and there were some cool artifacts from the Civil War era to see as well.

By the time they left, stopped for dinner and got back to the house everyone was bone weary tired. The guys let Liam skip a shower and by the time he got into his bed he was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Jarren and Nash enjoyed a hot shower as well as a hot mutual hand job, Nash having to muffle Jarren’s moans with his own mouth, so they wouldn’t wake Liam up.

Sunday morning they woke to the sound of thunder. The sky was heavy with gunmetal gray clouds just waiting to rain down on anyone unfortunate enough to get caught outside. Jarren helped Liam take a shower. They would need to make sure they installed a shower chair or bench in the bathroom in his house. For now he made due with a plastic outdoor chair. Liam, having had his body poked and prodded by multiple doctors, nurses and therapists had no modesty whatsoever. Little scamp that he was, he jokingly told Jarren that he would skip beating off so Jarren wouldn’t get embarrassed. Jarren laughed at his unabashedness. He had no doubt that the kid probably beat off regularly. He could tell that Liam was hitting puberty by the sparse hairs that were sprouting under his arms and on his groin. His voice was still that of a kid, but Jarren figured it wouldn’t be much longer before the unexpected cracks and variations in tone would hit out of the blue. He just hoped to hell he and Nash could navigate the waters of having a kid going through puberty. He realized it was scary enough having a boy. There was no way in hell that he would ever be able to figure out how to raise a girl. That thought scared the shit out of him. He was consoled by the thought that Lex and Ian would be there to help, as well as his own parents.

When Liam was done washing and rinsing himself, Jarren only helping with his back, he shut off the water and Jarren handed him a towel to dry himself with. There was another towel laid out on his wheelchair and Jarren had to lift him off the chair that he had placed in the stall and plunk him down in the wheelchair. The shower stall was small and there wasn’t enough room for Liam to properly position himself to transfer safely with his sliding board. It was just another minor hurdle that the young man had to deal with, which he did with aplomb. Liam was more than capable of dressing himself, including the compression socks over his stumps, so Jarren set off for the kitchen to help Nash with breakfast.

After breakfast, they decided to stay in and Jarren ended up unpacking Nash’s old Xbox and hooking it up. Needless to say Liam kicked both of their asses in both Call of Duty and Halo Wars 2. Nash joked that he and Jarren were getting old, they were both smoked by a twelve year old. Liam did cut them a tiny bit of slack and appeased their sense of pride by saying that he had a lot of time to play while he had been recovering and had honed his skills accordingly. Nash snorted when he actually used the phrase ‘honed my skills accordingly’. The kid was twelve and talked like a fucking forty year old professor.

Late in the afternoon Jarren sliced up some potatoes and onions, seasoned them and threw them in the oven to bake while he prepared the rest of dinner. He took out a bagged salad mix and doctored it up, adding cucumbers, apple slices and he threw in the last of a package of sliced almonds. Nash had a packet of Shake & Bake for chicken in his cupboard, Jarren figured it would work for the boneless pork chops they had bought and no one would know the difference.

When everything was done, they sat at the table to have what both Jarren and Nash hoped was the first of many family dinners. Liam was a natural entertainer who had a penchant for knock knock jokes. Nash’s favorite was :

Liam: “Knock Knock”

Nash: “Who’s there?”

Liam: “Broken pencil.”

Nash: “Broken pencil who?”

Moment of silence.

Liam: “Never mind, there’s no point.”

Jarren and Nash had both cracked up at the frivolity of the joke. Liam had nailed the punchline in the way that he had deadpanned the delivery. Jarren thought that kid could go far as an actor.

All too soon it was time to take Liam back to the group home. He was quiet in the truck as they drove to the house. Jarren and Nash were rather morose themselves. The two weeks that they had to spend apart from Liam were going to seem long and they all knew it. Jarren just hoped that they could stay busy enough to make the time go faster.

Liam held it together pretty well. He hated that he wouldn’t see Jarren and Nash for two whole weeks, but he was happy that he was going to be a part of their family. He figured that the two weeks would give him time to get used to the idea of having a big family. Jarren had explained that he would be gaining new grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, not to mention Lex and Ian would consider him family too and in all likelihood their families would take him under their wings. He was only a little concerned when Nash whispered something to Jarren and Jarren had shaken his head rapidly. The only word that he had been able to catch was ‘Cassie’. He wondered who she was and why they didn’t want to tell him about her. Maybe she was crazy and lived in a mental hospital or was massively deformed like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Oh well, he’ll find out eventually.

He was still pensive as he watched the truck drive away after getting huge hugs from both of his soon to be dads. He liked that thought and he wanted it to be true more than anything else. It had been him and his Mom his whole life. He had loved his Mom, but she hadn’t been the most attentive parent. It wasn’t like he was neglected or anything. His Mom had loved him, but she worked a lot so they didn’t get to spend much time together. Up until a few months before the accident their neighbor, a stay at home mom, had looked after him while his own Mom worked. She had a full time job during the week and on the weekends she did housekeeping and shopping for a few different seniors who were homebound or just sat with them while their normal caregivers got a little break. Liam knew from an early age that they were scraping by. His Mom just never really got a chance to know him because she had to work so hard to provide for him. He was well aware that she had sacrificed a lot for him. He had been able to do some fun things like play baseball and soccer because his Mom had worked hard to pay for them, not wanting him to miss out on the things other kids his age were able to do. The downside was that she rarely got to see him play. All too often a teammate’s parent would give him a ride to games and practices.

They also had moved several times in his young life when annual rent increases had forced his Mom to find less expensive housing. He was a pro at changing schools. She had tried to keep the moves limited to summer months whenever possible so that if he did have to change, it wasn’t in the middle of a school year. Liam could make friends easily enough, but yet he never had a ‘best friend’. No matter what, it seemed like he was always on the fringes of the social cliques that were so prevalent in school. He was hoping that things will change once he could go to a school for more than a year or two.

The past few years had been rough. They had to move twice, both times when rent was increased at the end of their lease. Each move necessitated relocation to a less desirable area, which was what Mom could afford. He had overheard her talking with Natalie, the mom who lived next door. She told Natalie that she had asked for a raise, but she was already at the top of the scale for what her employers were able to offer. His mom had been an office manager for some kind of company that handled investments or something. Liam never really paid attention. She really couldn’t look for another position because she already knew that no one would pay more for a similar position and she didn’t have the money or time to go back to school. It had been hard enough getting an associate’s degree in business. Liam’s mom had gotten pregnant at the end of her senior year of high school. She never told him who his biological father was. He had snuck a look at his birth certificate when he saw it partially sticking out from a folder that John had left on his desk in his office. He didn’t mean to snoop, but John had asked him to wait in his office a few days ago and that was when he told him that Jarren and Nash were going to take him for the weekend. He had been alone for a few minutes while he waited for John to come in. He opened the folder and took a quick peek.The place for father’s name on his birth certificate just said ‘unknown’.

Liam didn’t know what to think. Several scenarios had spun through his head, but Mom was gone and he would never know. Mom had been an only child and had been a ‘late in life’ baby. Her own mother had been 43 when she was born and her dad had been over 50. His grandfather had died before he was born and Liam only had vague memories of his grandmother, as she had died when he was four.

“Are you alright Liam?” John inquired. “Do you want to talk about it?”

John was a pretty good guy. He was in charge of the group home and while he didn’t rule with an iron fist, he didn’t take any shit from the kids either. He was firm with his decisions, but fair. He was always willing to hear the kids out and there was no subject they couldn’t broach with him. He made sure all the kids were well aware that there were house rules for a reason and if they weren’t followed there were consequences. Liam’s favorite had been when one of the older kids, Joey, had snuck out to meet his girlfriend after curfew and was caught trying to get back in. He had all privileges taken away for a week, no phone, no computer, no driving lessons, no TV, no video games. The funniest part was that after he had been caught, John had surreptitiously placed a small piece of tape along Joey’s door jamb after lights out every night without telling him. John would get up before everyone else and check the tape. If it was still in place then John knew Joey had stayed put, if had been broken then John would call him out on it. That only happened once and when Joey’s privileges were taken away for an additional week, he got the picture and promised not to sneak out anymore, and as far as Liam knew, he hadn’t tried it again.

“Liam?” John’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. Liam realized he was still parked in the doorway where he had watched Jarren’s truck drive away.

“Is this really going to happen?’’ he asked John in a soft voice.

John crouched down so that he way eye level and assured “Yes, Liam. This is really going to happen. I’m emailing all of your records to the court system up there and all of your school records will be sent up once you’re registered for the fall with your new school. It’s OK to be nervous. This is a big change for you. But Liam, never forget, this is a good change. I’ve seen the application that Lex and Ian had to submit and they are excited to be able to foster you until Jarren and Nash can be approved. As for those two, well let’s just say you couldn’t ask for two better people to take you in. I think you’re going to be very happy.”

Liam finally smiled and replied “Yeah, and I get to ride in a plane!”

John laughed and agreed, “And you get to ride in a plane.”

Liam wheeled himself down to his room which was one of two bedrooms on the ground floor. The group home had once been part of an old cotton mill. Most of the factory part of the mill had been torn down and replaced with individual houses in a large cul de sac set around a central park area. The group home was in what had once been an office annex that had been converted by the non-profit organization that operated the home. It was three stories and the first floor housed the living room, kitchen, a game/rec room with a half bath, John’s office and Liam’s bedroom which had its own full bathroom. John had his own small studio apartment that connected into the rec room. The second floor was the girl’s floor and had four bedrooms and two shared bathrooms. The third floor was set up the same, only was for the boys. There was no direct access from the boy’s floor to the girl’s floor as separate staircases led to each floor. The girl’s staircase was in the back of the kitchen. The boy’s staircase was next to the door to John’s studio. There was a shared fire escape as well, but it was alarmed should any of the kids try to use it. Smart man, was John, setting it up that way. John had been running the group home for over twenty years. Over the years there were always a few kids here and there who thought the rules didn’t apply to them, but John was more than capable of dealing with them.

Liam pulled out the tablet that he had gotten for Christmas. He had access to the local library online and was currently reading a new adventure series that had come out. He loved getting lost in a book. When he was reading he would let himself become the main character in his mind and that was a place where he still had two legs.

Liam had taken the accident in stride. He didn’t really remember much of it. His Mom had finally had a whole day off and they were going out to eat for his birthday, even though it was still several days away. Liam remembered waking up in the hospital and being told his Mom was dead and he didn’t have legs below the knees anymore. They were more tactful, but that’s what it had boiled down to.

Liam had cried plenty of tears, both for his Mom and for his legs. When he was finally taken off the high doses of painkillers and could think without feeling like his brain was all foggy, they had sent a doctor in to talk with him. Dr. Alan turned out to be a psychiatrist who worked with kids who were dealing with traumatic events in their lives. He had really helped Liam come to terms with what had happened. He had also been a huge comfort when Liam was told he was being placed in a group home. That had made him really nervous, not knowing what to expect. Liam had gone to school with kids who were both fostered and who had experienced group homes. Truthfully some of the stories scared him. Dr. Alan was quick to reassure him that the home he was assigned to was run by someone who actually cared about the kids and that had made a huge difference.

John had been introduced to him while he was still in the hospital and he had stopped in to check on Liam every day until his discharge. By the time he had been ready, Liam was already comfortable with John. He found out that for the most part the other kids were decent enough, although there wasn’t anyone his own age. They were either three or four years older or younger. The youngest was five and the oldest was seventeen. Altogether there were fourteen kids including himself. All of the upstairs rooms could be arranged to accommodate up to three kids sharing, but John tried to keep it to two per room whenever he could. Less conflicts that way. John was the only adult who lived there permanently. Other staff came in at various times during the day to help with meals and getting all of the kids to the various schools and activities they needed to go to. The state required a certain ratio of adults to kids and that was always fluctuating as kids came and went. Liam was the only one currently in middle school so John had been the one who normally drove him there and picked him up. It gave them some extra bonding time.

Liam had always been pretty laid back. He had learned early on that it was easier that way. His mom had told him that he had been a pretty easy baby. There was really no sense in getting upset or pitching a fit over something that couldn’t be changed anyway. That being said, he was also known to have quite a temper when he did get riled up. There wasn’t really much that bothered him but he had been known to step in on a few occasions when he had seen someone being treated unfairly or bullied. He had even gotten his ass kicked a couple of times for standing up to call out a couple of kids bigger than him who had been picking on and bullying other kids smaller than them.

So he had mourned the loss of his Mom and his legs and moved on, not letting himself dwell on it. The only thing that he got somewhat depressed over was the fact that he couldn’t be fitted for prosthetics yet. The accident had somehow caused the tiny bones in both of his ears to shift. When the bones shifted it affected the way that the fluid in his ear moved and that was what caused his balance issues. The ear doctor had explained that the hope was eventually the bones would settle back into place. He also explained that there was a chance that it might not, but if that were the case, then Liam would have to hope that his body adjusted to the new pattern of fluid moving around his ears. Often he felt like he had been out on a boat all day and still had that rocking-like motion you get when you step back on shore. It was getting better slowly, but being twelve he was impatient. He hated being told that he had to wait.

Liam turned his attention back to his tablet and read several chapters of his book before seeing that it would be lights out in half an hour. He put the tablet away and went through his bedtime routine. It took him a little longer than it used to, but he at least was able to do everything by himself. John still insisted that he keep the door unlocked when he took a shower, but at least now he had privacy, which he figured he needed. A few months before the accident is when he realized that his dick had a purpose other than peeing. Being hospitalized put that on hold for a while, but now he had fallen into the habit of beating off regularly, just like practically every other kid his age. Showers were the best time to engage in that particular activity as it made clean up easy. He was also at that age when he occasionally woke up with wet underwear. John had told him not to be embarrassed and if it necessitated clean sheets before the normal Saturday changing, just let him know and he would take care of it.

Liam hoped that Jarren and Nash would be approachable the way that John was. He had a feeling they were, but still, there was always that little voice of self-doubt that sometimes whispered in his head. There were a lot of changes coming his way and he really hoped that he could be part of Jarren and Nash’s family. He wouldn’t say it out loud, yet, but he loved both of those guys and wanted more than anything for them to be his dads.

He wanted friends, and maybe a horse. Or a dog, really any kind of pet would do. But more than anything else he wanted a family. A family he could love and who would return the love no questions asked.

He was a little nervous about staying with Lex and Ian. He had only met them once, and that was brief. Lex had seemed to see right through him and that was a little disconcerting to him. Ian was pretty chill and he thought that the tattoo that he had done on Lex’s back was fucking awesome. Maybe when he was older Ian would design something for him. Nash mentioned that they had just started to foster another boy around his age. He really hoped the kid wasn’t a douche. That would suck. He didn’t think that either Lex or Ian would take in a douchey kid, but who knows? Anything was possible, like maybe he was a decent kid and he and Liam could be friends.

Liam’s head continued to spin long after John came in to say goodnight and turned off the lights. He knew that he would be a sorry, tired camper in the morning and he had school, but at least they were winding down. He had a few end of semester tests this week, but he had always been good in school and knew he wouldn’t have any problem. It was way past his bedtime when his eyes finally drooped closed and he drifted off, dreaming of new places and people.

When Jarren and Nash got back to the bungalow, they too, were pretty tired and it didn’t take long for them to get ready for bed. Jarren was snuggled up to Nash and even though they were tired, neither one of them were sleepy.

Jarren hummed contentedly before asking Nash “Do you really think we’re ready for this?”

Nash smiled and shook his head, “Nope. I think we’re far from ready. But guess what? We’re going to figure it out. We have your friends and family to help. Liam’s a great kid, but he’s going to have some not great moments, and when he does, we’re going to have to wing it. Isn’t that what all new parents do?”

Jarren nodded. “Yeah, you’re right, but most new parents get a newborn, not a little smartass who can talk back.”

Nash laughed. “Yup, and man, can that kid talk!”

Jarren giggled and then after a moment, grew serious again. “What do we do if we fuck it up bad?”

Nash pulled Jarren in closer to him, kissed his temple and replied, “We fix it. That’s what we do. Jarren, we’re gonna mess up, Liam’s going to mess up. Hell, all three of us will probably mess up at the same time. No matter what, though, we’ll figure out a way to make it right, and if we can’t make it right, then we learn from whatever mistakes were made and move forward. I don’t think we need to worry too much. Liam is pretty level headed and I’m pretty sure we can handle whatever he throws at us.”

Thank you, Nash.” said Jarren.

“For what?” Nash asked.

“For slaying my dragon of doubt. I’ve been worried, and now I’m not. Well, not as much.” Jarren admitted.

“Does that make me your knight in shining armor?” Nash teased.

“Probably.” Jarren snickered.

Nash leaned in and kissed Jarren, deeply and with every ounce of love he had to give. Pulling back, he settled in more comfortably and told Jarren, “I love you, now get some sleep.”

Jarren answered, “I love you too,” before yawning and closing his eyes. He flipped over so that his back was spooned into Nash’s front, and wrapped Nash’s arm around him, content and happy.