A Decision for Jarren - 37. Chapter 37

The next few weeks seemed to fly by and to Jarren it seemed like there were never enough hours in the day. During the third week of October, Grant Markham called and wanted to schedule a conference call with both of them. The settlement negotiations were scheduled for the following week and Grant needed to go over some details with them regarding all three of their cases. Jarren and Nash were able to find a block of time when they were both free, which was a miracle itself. During the hour call, Grant summarized where they were at in the process. He had kept meticulous records of all hospital bills for each of them, he had calculated what Jarren and Nash’s lost wages amounted to, he had taken into consideration the lost amount of time Liam had from school and how long it had taken him to catch up. Little things that neither of them would have ever thought of, Grant had factored in to what he called his negotiation ammunition. He knew when and where all of their doctor and therapist appointments were and had calculated the mileage needed to get there and back, as well as consideration for the time away from work or school was involved.

One of the biggest items on the list was the cost of the renovations done to both Jarren and Nash’s house as well as Lex and Ian’s. Nash had made sure Grant had copies of every receipt for all of the materials that were purchased, and even though they had done all of the labor, every hour was factored in and given a monetary value as well. It certainly seemed like Grant knew what he was doing. Jarren just hoped that they could get everything settled soon. He knew that if they ended up going to trial then it would most likely drag out for years. At the end of the hour both he and Nash were optimistic that Grant was looking out for their best interests.

That weekend they sat down with Liam and explained what was happening. He was aware that some sort of monetary compensation would be coming his way, but he really hadn’t given much thought to it. They found out that the man who had run the red light and caused the accident was the owner of a pharmaceutical research company. He was extremely well-off, however, so far he hadn’t seemed very remorseful. Traces of narcotics and alcohol had been found in his system and both Jarren and Nash knew that it would work to their advantage when Grant was negotiating settlement.

A few days before Halloween, Grant called them with news. He had spent nearly an entire day in negotiations with the insurance companies without coming to an agreement. They had ended up meeting with a judge and the final outcome was an offer that he finally deemed acceptable pending their approval. Jarren had been offered a nice six figure settlement based on his injuries and pain and suffering. It was definitely more than he ever thought would be offered. Nash’s offer was in the mid seven figure range, again, more than what they thought or even dreamed of. They were fortunate that the other driver had excellent insurance coverage and there were witnesses who could verify that he was the one at fault.

The kicker was Liam’s offer. Grant had told them that the guy who caused the accident had finally come around when the judge explained to his lawyer that if he didn’t stop trying to block the negotiation efforts that he would add obstruction charges onto the vehicular manslaughter and other traffic violations he was currently facing. The guy was beyond rich and could well afford what Grant was asking for. In the end he finally capitulated and they came up with a very generous eight figure offer. In return, Liam would have to agree not to go after him for additional compensation further down the line. Jarren and Nash were blown away by the figure. It was more than enough for Liam to be set for the rest of his life as long as he didn’t squander it.

Jarren and Nash asked Grant when he needed their decision by. They wanted to explain everything to Liam and Jarren wanted to talk to his Dad as well. Bill was the most financially savvy man that Jarren knew and he valued his opinion. Grant gave them two days to discuss it.

Jarren and Nash asked Mom and Dad to come over for dinner that evening. They both left work early and luckily it wasn’t a day that Liam had therapy, so they could discuss things with him on the way home from school. His therapy had been scaled back to twice a week and by the end of the year, Karl told him once a week would be sufficient. He knew that it made for a long day for all of them when Liam had his sessions.

They stopped at the grocery store and bought some steaks to throw on the grill. Jarren cheated and bought a couple of boxes of cheesy scalloped potato mix. It only took 40 minutes to bake and he figured they could heat up a bag of frozen vegetables that they always kept on hand for nights when they didn’t feel like prepping and cooking fresh veggies. As soon as they got home, Nash put the steaks in a large pan with some marinade, while Jarren followed the directions on the boxes of potatoes while the oven warmed up.

Bill and Maggie showed up shortly after the potatoes went in the oven. Maggie took over dinner preparations with Liam helping her. The three guys sat in the living room and told Bill about the settlement offers. Maggie listened in as well, and they had already discussed the offers with Liam. Bill absorbed the information and asked a few well thought out questions regarding the possible future medical needs of Liam and Nash. Once all of the bases were covered he told them that he thought the offers were more than fair and they should consider accepting them. He also advised them to find a good financial planner to manage such a large sum for them. Because Liam was a minor, Bill was sure that the judge would insist on some sort of trust being set up for him. Jarren and Nash agreed. Jarren knew that Lex and Ian used a financial planner and said he would ask Lex for a referral.

Nash said he would call Grant the following day and let him know that they would accept all three offers. They were all relieved that they would be able to move forward and not have to deal with anything going to trial, and they were grateful that their futures would be financially secure. Especially for Liam, he was going to have a hard enough road ahead of him in life, not having legs. He didn’t need to be worried about finances on top of it. He could concentrate on school, and if college was in his future plans, then he would be able to rest easy, knowing that his education would be taken care of.

Jarren took the marinated steaks out to the grill that had been fired up and soon enough the smoky aroma of cooking cow assaulted their noses, causing their mouths to water. Dinner conversation was light and easy now that the hard conversation was out of the way. Maggie had brought a cheesecake with her for dessert and the five of them managed to devour almost all of it. One leftover piece was put into the fridge for whoever was lucky enough to call dibs on it later on.

They all thanked his Mom for helping with dinner and Jarren and Nash thanked Bill for his sage advice. They were able to sleep peacefully that night, knowing that one more issue that had been hovering over them had been taken care of.

Halloween was sort of a non-event for them. Liam said he was too old for trick or treating and so they ended up going over to Lex and Ian’s house where they set up some chairs on the driveway to hand out treats. Mazen brought over a small portable wood burning fire pit which helped ward off the cold air. Halloween in New England usually meant that kids needed to make sure their costumes were big enough to fit a jacket underneath. Jarren could remember trick or treating in close to freezing temperature a few times. This year it was cold, but not freezing. There had been showers earlier in the day, but they had cleared out by the time most kids were out of school. Once the sun went down the temperature quickly dipped into the low 50’s. Lex had simmered a batch of mulled apple cider and the adults spiked theirs with a little bit of Cassie’s Fireball to help keep them warm. Liam and Keon dressed up to hand out candy while the adults socialized. They had bought animal pajama onesies, so Liam was a purple pig and Keon was an orange cow with red spots. They looked hysterical.They even dressed up Halo as a sheep. The poor dog was wearing an old t-shirt of Liam’s that they had glued cotton balls all over, which she shed randomly throughout the evening. There were a lot of kids in the neighborhood and by the time it wound down they had given out several large bags of candy. The temperature had dropped into the upper 40’s when they finally headed home.

Before they knew it the holidays were upon them. Thanksgiving day was spent amidst the normal chaos of the Dalton clan. Everyone was thankful that they didn’t have school or work the following day as it was difficult to recover from their turkey comas. Maggie and the girls had cooked six big turkeys between the three of them, plus all the traditional side dishes to go along with them. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Lex and Ian had a “Get Rid of Leftovers” dinner. Jarren and Nash didn’t have any of their own leftovers so they raided Maggie’s refrigerator and she foisted off two turkey pot pies on them to take over. Maggie had enough leftover turkey and fixings to not only provide sandwiches the day after, but also two more pot pies that Jarren knew his Dad and Robbie would plow through in no time. She always went way above and beyond when it came to food, especially Thanksgiving. It was the one holiday where she pulled out all the stops.

Liam was busy in school as things wound down before their Christmas break. He had a big project due for his Biology class and most nights he was holed up in his room working on it. He ended up turning in a 20 page report on the migratory patterns of humpback whales on time, and felt confident that he had done a good job.

The last day of school was December 20th and both Liam and Keon were excited for the break. Instead of exchanging presents they had all decided that both families would go up to Vermont to go snowmobiling for a few days. One of Jarren’s uncles had a cabin up way up north near Burlington and Lex and Ian had bought new snowmobiles the previous Christmas. Jarren had his own sled and Mazen was letting Nash use his as he and Cassie were flying out to Seattle a few days after Christmas to see Rita and spend the New Year there.

Christmas Day was spent at Bailey’s house this year. The Dalton kids had started rotating Christmas dinner between them several years earlier. This was to give Maggie a break. As the family expanded it got to be quite a production to host a holiday dinner and the kids all thought it was fair for them to take turns with Christmas and let Maggie continue to go overboard for Thanksgiving. Everyone helped out anyway, whether it was bringing a side dish or dessert or chipping in for the cost of the main course. This year Bailey did a surf and turf. She roasted three huge beef tenderloins and made four dozen crab cakes as well. Not one single person left the table hungry. Liam and Nash were both impressed with the amazing spread.

Liam didn’t have to worry about a shortage of Christmas presents either. All of his aunts and uncles spoiled him with gift cards and clothes. Even though they were going away for their family trip, Jarren and Nash had splurged on a new wardrobe for Liam. He had gone through a growth spurt and needed a size or two bigger for shirts and another inch for his waist. Karl had measured his 'wingspan', which was the length from fingertip to fingertip. In humans it closely correlated with one's height. It was how Karl determined the proper length for his prosthetic legs. His wingspan had increased by two inches since the summer. The new clothes would come in handy for school. Bill and Maggie had went all out as well. They were both impressed with the way that Liam had taken to his band class at school. The school provided the instruments and allowed the kids to take them home to practice. Liam had finally settled on the French horn. He had started out on the trumpet, but discovered that the horn created a much richer sound, and wasn’t quite as high pitched. Bill and Maggie bought him a horn of his own and he was thrilled. Now he wouldn’t have to lug a big case back and forth with him, he could keep his at home to practice and only need to bring it to performances.

The day after Christmas they packed Lex’s SUV with everything that they would need, hitched up the trailer hauling the snowmobiles, and early the next morning were on their way. Lex cut over to the New York border and went up route 22. It took them nearly four hours, but after stopping at a local grocery store for some staples and then unpacking they were able to explore a few trails near the cabin for a couple of hours before the early winter darkness descended on them.

The next morning they hauled the snowmobiles over to Mt. Mansfield State Forest and had a great time riding the trails. Liam and Keon traded off riding with one of the adults and both of them got to drive on some of the easier trails, with someone behind them guiding them. It was definitely one activity that Liam had no problem participating in. They had left his prosthetic legs in the cabin and Jarren, Nash and Keon all took turns giving him piggy back rides whenever it was needed, which wasn’t too often as they spent most of the day on the sleds. Liam spotted a bald eagle high in the sky above them when they stopped for a quick snack. They also saw a lot of deer tracks in the freshly fallen snow.

They managed to spend four days having fun not only snowmobiling, they also went sledding and on one occasion had an epic snowball fight. It had snowed Sunday night and they woke up to eight inches of fresh packed powder just begging to be turned into snow forts and ammunition. As soon as the driveway and walks had been shovelled, it was an all out war. Keon had built a snow bunker for him and Liam while the others were busy shovelling. He carried Liam over and together they had stockpiled a massive stack of snowballs which they proceeded to bombard their dads with. Jarren, Nash, Lex and Ian managed to dodge a lot of them and even fire back a few of their own. The kids had cheated and started firing right before they had finished shovelling. In the end the four guys banded together and hurled shovels full of snow into the bunker until the squeals of laughter turned into shouts of surrender. They called it a draw seeing how Liam wasn’t able to outrun or outflank any his attackers.

The driveway needed to be shovelled again and they made Keon help. Nash carried Liam inside, helped him peel off the layers of winter clothing and told him to start on a big batch of hot chocolate so it would be ready when the rest of the crew came in from the cold. Nash stoked the embers and added wood so there would also be a roaring fire. They spent the rest of the day playing board games and drinking a couple of gallons of hot chocolate, which the older guys spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream and/or Kahlua.

New Year’s Eve was upon them before they knew it and they left the lodge by late morning, wanting to get back home at a reasonable time and before it got dark, which at this time of year was around 4:30 in the afternoon. Jarren and Nash invited Lex and his crew to spend the night and they readily accepted. They needed to pick up Halo from Casey who had dog sat while they were gone. Lex said that he and Ian would pick up Chinese food on their way over. Keon came with Jarren and Nash when they stopped at Lex and Ian’s to get their Honda. He and Liam chattered the whole ride back to the house.

As soon as they were in the door Nash turned up the heat to warm up the house. Jarren went right back out, wanting to stock up on some snacks and drinks for later on. Nash unpacked their bags and started laundry going. He also built a nice roaring fire in the living room fireplace.

Chinese food has been a long standing New Year’s Eve tradition for Jarren almost as long as he could remember. Lex and Ian did not disappoint them. They had gotten a huge assortment of dishes and appetizers. Nash had never seen so much Chinese food outside of a buffet before. They all ate well and even Halo managed to finagle a few bites. Ian made sure the dog only got a few tidbits, he didn’t want her getting sick later on. Once everyone had eaten their fill, the leftovers were put away and they collectively decided to watch movies until midnight rolled around. Neither Keon nor Liam had ever seen the Deadpool movies and while they were rated R, the adults knew that both kids would get a kick out of them, especially Liam. His sarcasm and Deadpool’s were on the same wavelength. Halfway into the second movie, they paused it so they could watch the ball drop in Times Square. At the stroke of midnight they all toasted the New Year and hugs and kisses were exchanged all around. Lex had brought a couple of bottles of champagne and they let Liam and Keon each have a small amount in their own flute. Once the New Year was rung in, they finished watching the movie and then headed off to their respective rooms.

January heralded the start of several changes for their little family. Grant called them not long after the New Year to let them know that the court had finally gotten all of the signatures and sign offs from the insurance companies and banks so that their settlement payments could be processed. Jarren and Nash had met with Lex’s financial advisor and he helped them set up several investments accounts. One of the first things Jarren did was make sure that an electronic payment was set up to repay Dalton Development for the money that had been fronted for the renovations, then they paid off the loan on the Honda. Nash also insisted on paying off the rest of the mortgage on the house from his settlement funds before he would allow Jarren to put his name on the title as well. Once their debts were cleared they both felt better. Liam’s trust was also set up with Jarren and Nash as executors. The only request that Liam made was to ask if the money from his mom's life insurance payout could be donated to the Inkwell Foundation. He got his wish, further cementing his relationship with Lex, Ian and Cassie.

Liam had done well on his science project and his teacher wanted him to submit it for a statewide contest sponsored by the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Jarren and Nash were proud of him and happily gave their permission.

By the second week of January, everyone, including the kids, was sick of the snow. The lone exception was Halo, no matter how deep the drifts got, she loved plowing through them. She hopped through snow like a rabbit with her short legs. There was a huge storm that came through and gave the kids two snow days which saw Liam going over to spend the days with Keon. The two best friends usually spent most weekends at one house or the other.

Another big change to come their way was a direct result of their first family therapy appointment after school was back in session during the first week of January. They had been seeing a family therapist twice a month since the summer. Liam, for the most part had settled in to a pretty good routine. He had been working hard with Kurt to improve his walking skills and had come a long way. His biggest frustration was trying to manage getting things while balancing on crutches. It was mostly his books and things that he needed for school. He often found that carrying a backpack required him to distribute his weight differently and then when he went to walk without the pack, he had difficulty adjusting so he found himself on the floor than once and needed help getting up. He was still relying on his wheelchair more than he wanted to. Their therapist suggested a service dog. He gave them information for a local agency that trained service animals and Dr. Corten was happy to write a referral for the animal.

They met with Amy from Helping Paws Partnership. Amy spent the better part of an hour with them both asking and answering questions. She did a thorough assessment of what Liam needed. She explained how the dogs were socialized and trained. All of the dogs were carefully screened and vetted for specific tasks. Amy told them that during training they often discovered that a particular dog might not be a good match to be trained for a blind owner, but was better suited for alerting it’s owner of an impending medical condition such as an epileptic seizure, or a drastic change in blood sugar in a diabetic. There was no way to tell just by looking at a puppy, or a young dog, where its specialty would lie. In many cases they would discover that the dog wasn’t suited for any type of service training and would be best off as a family pet.

Liam asked her how long it took to train a dog and she explained that puppies were fostered out to approved homes until they were about a year old. Foster families were tasked with socializing the dogs and teaching them basic training commands like sit, down and stay. All foster applicants had to agree to take their dog to approved obedience training during their time with the animal. At the end of the year, the dog would be assessed and those that showed an aptitude for service work were taken back to the training center for specialized training, which could take anywhere from six to eighteen months.

Once the dog had undergone some specialized training and its strong points were identified, it was then set on the right path towards working with a human. Amy explained that if the dog showed aptitude for being a ‘seeing eye dog’, it would be matched with a blind human for further training. She said that it was important that the dog and human ‘click’, because without a strong connection the pairing would most likely fail.

Liam asked how long she thought it would be before he might be paired with a dog. Amy smiled at him and told him that he might be in luck. They had a dog in their center that had been paired with a quadriplegic, but unfortunately, not long after he started training with the dog, the gentleman had suffered some medical complications and currently was no longer eligible for a service animal. There was an application process that had to be followed and Jarren and Nash would need to complete some paperwork and there would have to be a home inspection as well. Once that was done the application process could move forward.

Liam, being the inquisitive kid that he was wanted to know if he could see the dog. Amy laughed and said that she had figured he was going to ask. After excusing herself for a few minutes she came back with a beautiful female German Shepherd on a leash.

Liam’s face lit up as the dog came over to him and set her muzzle on his knee. “What’s her name?” Liam asked.

Amy answered “Liam meet Katie.” Katie thumped her tail at the sound of her name. She gently picked up one paw and placed it on Liam’s thigh.

Liam giggled, patted her paw and said “It’s nice to meet you girl!” He then spent the next fifteen minutes lavishing attention on the dog while Amy explained to Jarren and Nash the next steps in the process. She had an application that she brought with her and Nash, having somewhat better handwriting filled it out while Liam was busy with Katie. It was apparent to all of them that the canine got along just fine with the boy.

Jarren helped fill in some of the information on the application when Nash asked a few questions that he didn’t know the answer to. Once the papers were completely filled out Amy took copies of their driver’s licenses for the background check. They knew the drill, having gone through it before with Maddie.

“How long does this process usually take to get approved?” Jarren asked Amy.

She replied, “Barring any complications usually 5-10 days. I can schedule your home visit any time, we don’t have to wait for the background check to do that. We’ll also need to speak with the principal at Liam’s school. I think we dealt with him a few years ago when we placed a dog with a student who had a seizure disorder. If he’s still the person I’m thinking it is, then we shouldn’t have any problem. The biggest issue that crops up is when we have a student needing a service dog, and another student with a severe allergy. It’s like putting a puzzle together, trying to make sure all the pieces go in the right place.

Nash had a question for Amy. “What training has Katie had that will directly benefit Liam and what additional training do you think she might need?”

Amy nodded and smiled, replying, “Katie is trained to get things that her human can’t get for themselves. She can open and close doors and cabinets. I think with Liam we can teach her to carry his books and school supplies for him. There are custom made backpacks for dogs that we will teach her to get used to. I’m assuming that the ultimate goal for Liam is to be completely independent walking?” Nash nodded and Amy continued, “Because Katie is a large dog and Liam is still not fully grown, she can be taught to help him if he falls. She can be trained to have Liam use her as something sturdy to leverage himself to get up from the ground by himself. Katie will be another tool available to Liam to allow him to be independent.”

Nash and Jarren never realized how helpful a service animal could be and they hoped that Katie would be approved to join their family. Amy set an appointment with them to do the home inspection the next day, hopefully after that was done Liam would be able to start working with Katie right after the application was approved.

The home inspection went well and a week later Amy called to congratulate Liam. He could start working with Katie immediately and she quickly settled into their family. She was a really smart dog and got along with just about everyone. Helping Paws was sending a trainer to work with Liam and Katie everyday for the first couple of weeks. The trainer’s name was Marcella, but she liked to be called Marci. Marci spent a few hours each day with the new pair. She helped Liam learn the proper ways to instruct Katie to do what he needed. Marci would go to school with them to help Katie to learn how to navigate in that environment. It was explained to all of Liam’s classmates that Katie was a working dog and not a pet while she was at school. She had been taught that when her harness was on, she was on the clock, so to speak.

It was sometimes hard for Liam to separate how he treated Katie in her working environment as opposed to when her harness came off and she became his companion. During the first week Marci told him it was a work in progress and he was doing great.

Jarren and Nash loved that Liam was doing so well, they were looking forward to getting the adoption to go through in a few weeks. As they were trying to get settled into a new routine that included a dog, Ryan called them toward the end of the month to let them know there was a snag in the adoption progress and they needed to come to Boston.

Nash looked at Jarren and said “That doesn’t sound good.”