The Preacher's Kid: College and Beyond - 19. So Much is New--and Perfect

EDDIE

So, Alex is in town. Mom took her to the doctor today, and when they got home, Mom sent an invite for another Zoom family meeting. I have to admit if there’s one good thing to come out of this whole pandemic thing, it would be how everyone has learned to make all this technology work to keep families together.

At 4:00, we were all on the computer. Mom started things off.

“Hello, boys, Hi Clay. Well—we’re back, and Alex has been put into Haley’s old room.”

Dad asked how she was doing, and Mom told us she was scared, overwhelmed, and ashamed.

“Matthew, she thinks you hate her now. I just thought you should be aware.”

“I don’t hate Alex. I don’t hate anyone. I can hate what she did, but I won’t hate her.”

“That’s exactly what I told her.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“What did the doctor say?”

“Well, I’m glad everyone is sitting. We certainly received some surprising news.”

“Is everything alright? Is the baby okay?”

“Yes, Matthew. The babies are just fine.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear—wait a minute. You said ‘babies,’ didn’t you?”

“Wait—what?” Dad, like me, didn’t catch what Mom had slipped into the conversation.”

“That’s right, boys. It’s twins.”

There was silence for what seemed an eternity. Matty broke the silence with, “Twins? Are they sure?”

“Yes, dear. I saw it for myself on the ultrasound. There were two very distinct heartbeats.”

“Well, at least we know now instead of later. Matty and I just get to buy two of everything now. I know, I know—it’s more than just buying stuff. There’s a lot both of us need to learn. I’m going to look up some classes that we might be able to take.”

“I think that’s an excellent start, Eddie. Clay? Do you have any thoughts?”

“Heh, I’m still stuck on the twins thing. But seriously, sometimes God blesses us with more than we expect. It seems we’ve been doubly blessed.”

“Well, as shocking as this news is, it doesn’t change anything. We will do whatever it takes to make sure these babies are born healthy.”

“Now, there’s some other information I feel I should share.”

“More news, dear?”

“No, not news so much. On the way home from the doctor, I asked Alex what her parents thought about her coming to Charlotte to deliver the babies. Her eyes teared up a bit, and she didn’t say anything for several minutes. When she finally started to talk, I have to say my heart broke for the child.

“Her parents did not want her to come to Charlotte. Her mother was still insisting that she terminate the pregnancy. Her father got more than a little upset when he found out that two men would raise his grandchild. Alex told them that this was the solution that would make everyone happy. She felt that she would be making her mother happy by giving up the baby—or babies—and not having them as a part of her life. Her father would be satisfied because she was going to have the babies.

“Alex said that in the long run, she was happy. She has decided that she will take the surrogacy money, move to New York, and begin taking classes there.”

“Hey—she’s smart. All through school, she was the one who came up with the solutions to everybody’s problems. I say, good for her—she’s making plans.”

“Matthew, of course, I haven’t spoken with the attornies about this new turn of events, but do you think you might want to increase her compensation since she will be delivering two babies? There’s also a good chance that this pregnancy will be a bit more difficult than it would have been with a single baby.”

“You guys know me too well. I’ve been thinking about that since Mom gave us the news. I don’t know—raise it to 150 grand?”

I thought that sounded more than fair and told everyone. Mom and Dad agreed that the new amount seemed reasonable, and Dad said he would let the attornies know.

We ended the Zoom call, and Matty looked at me with fear in his eyes. I smiled at him and took his hands in mine.

“Twins, Matty—we’re going to have twins!”

“Doesn’t that terrify you?”

“Not any more than one baby. And if we weren't going to have Mom helping us, I’d be terrified right along with you. But we’re not just going to have Mom helping us. You know Connor and Donald will help, too.”

“Yeah, I know you’re right. This news just came out of left field. Totally wasn’t expecting to hear we were gonna have twins!”

I asked Matty if he had spoken with his football coach yet. He said he hadn’t yet because he wanted to know as much information as possible before calling. He promised to do that in the morning.

We cooked up some hamburgers on the grill and watched some Netflix before going to bed. Matty made love to me, and we fell asleep with smiles on our faces.

The next morning, I was reading a book on my Kindle, and Matty made his call to his coach.

 

 

MATTY

“Good morning, Coach. It’s Matty Jordan.”

“Matthew! How are you holding up with the quarantine business?”

‘We’re doing well, sir. You?”

“We just take everything day by day and make the best out of what we have.”

“Sounds like a plan, sir.”

“So, to what do I owe the honor of you calling me this morning?”

“Well, sir. I don’t really care to go into much detail, but there has been an unexpected turn of events.”

“Go on, son.”

“Well, I’ll just say it right out—I’m expecting twins at the end of the year. I’m gonna be a dad—twice.”

“Oh! I’d be lying if I wasn’t surprised to be hearing this from you, Matty. What are you going to be doing about this?”

“First, Eddie and I are getting married toward the end of July. We have no idea how that’s going to look with everything going on, but it’s going to happen. The babies’ mother is staying with Eddie’s family here in Charlotte. She’s getting the best medical care I can get for her, and as soon as we can get home, we’re going to start making changes at the house to get ready for the babies.”

“It sounds like you might have some difficulty making it back to Boone for whatever kind of season we end up having.”

“Yes, sir. You already know my commitment to my family. It’s even more so since the family now involves children that are mine. I have to think about my future—and the future of my family. I’m going to transfer to school here in Charlotte and give up football. I love the game, I loved playing under you, but I love my family more. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Matty. We’re going to miss you terribly, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you what the next season is going to look like. There are so many things up in the air right now. I admire your commitment to your family, to Eddie, and your children. If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to call me. You’re one of the good ones, Matty Jordan. And those twins are going to be so damned lucky to have you as their father.”

“Dammit, Coach! You’re gonna make me cry now.”

“It’s okay, son. I’m brimming over with tears myself. You make me proud. You always have. I’m going to let you go now. I expect an invite to this wedding of yours—if that’s going to be a possibility!”

“Yes, sir. And thank you for being so awesome. I’ll never forget you, sir.”

I ended the call and joined Eddie on the sofa. “He was so cool about everything! He even wants to come to our wedding if it’s possible.”

“We’re doing the right thing, Matty. Everything just seems to be falling into place.”

“Yeah, thanks for being there with me. You make it all perfect, Eddie Hamilton.”

EDDIE

We were finally able to go back to the house the first week in July. That gave us just three weeks to plan our wedding while getting the nursery ready for the babies. We still didn’t know the genders, but that would happen at Alex’s next ultrasound.

It was nice seeing Connor and Donald again. They were both surprised and super excited about the babies. Donald thought we would make them move out of the house, but Matty and I decided that they could definitely stay if they were willing to help out. Connor was most excited about the idea of being “Uncle Connor.”

He also told us that he would teach sign language to the kids. It turns out kids can learn to communicate with sign language before they learn to speak. We both loved that idea.

Mom came over to the house the first afternoon we were back. I felt like a little kid again when I hugged her. It felt so damned good to be in my mama’s arms again! I may or may not have cried a little bit when she told me how much she loved me.

We talked about where we were going to put the nursery. Matty and I had the master bedroom on the first floor. Connor and Donal had Matty’s old bedroom upstairs. We decided to move the boys into the rec room downstairs. That left the two bedrooms upstairs.

I told Mom we would probably put the cribs in the master bedroom with us at first. She said there was no need to do that, what with all the high-tech cameras and monitors that were available. We decided on the bedroom that was directly above our room. When the kids got older, there were two bedrooms available should they want their own rooms.

Mom asked if we wanted to come over for dinner. It would be the first dinner with the entire family in almost three months. As much as we wanted to make Mom happy, there was one problem—Alex. I wasn’t sure I wanted to have my first family dinner with a girl I completely didn’t trust.

Matty told Mom how he felt about it, and I wasn’t surprised that he felt the same way I did. Mom was disappointed, but she said she understood. She hugged us and went back to the house.

Matty took me in his arms and said, “Dammit. It kills me to disappoint Mom like that. Especially with everything she’s doing.”

“Yeah, but I think she understands.”

“I’m sure she does, but you saw how disappointed she looked.”

“Yeah, should we?”

“Look, I don’t know that we’re going to be able to avoid Alex until the babies are born. We can easily limit our contact. We might as well get over ourselves and make Mom happy.”

“Okay. I’ll text her.”

I sent a text to Mom and told her we would come to dinner. I also apologized for disappointing her. She was thrilled and told us dinner would be ready at 6:00. She also said Connor and Donald were more than welcome and thought it would help make things easier for us to deal with Alex.

At six, the four of us went over to the house and walked in the back door. There were a ton of hugs all around. I was surprised when I saw Nathan. He had grown a few inches, and the last bits of baby fat had completely disappeared. He was growing into a damned good-looking boy! His voice was even a bit lower than before.

The only weird thing was that there was no Alex. I asked Mom where she was and was told that she wasn’t comfortable being at the first family dinner and decided to eat upstairs in her room. Funny—no complaints were heard, and Alex wasn’t talked about the rest of the night.

A few days later, Matty and I were working on our vows when we got a text from Mom. We’re having boys—twin boys! Mom made a joke about being overwhelmed with maleness in her life. Matty told her that someday down the road, we would try to have a girl for her. She stopped that thought right away and told us to just worry about our boys. Thank you, Mom!

We went back to our vows. A little later, Dad called and said that we wouldn’t be able to have more than twenty people at the wedding. Matty and I had already talked about it and decided there was no way we could deal with the pressure of figuring out who not to invite to the wedding. We told Dad that we just wanted our family there. We would stream the service so all of our friends could be there—albeit virtually.

It was July 12th—we had two weeks before the wedding. Nate said he would set up the streaming for us since we had so much to do. I had already asked Nate to be my best man. I almost cried when Matty asked Donald. Imagine—the dude who tried to kill me back in high school was going to be standing with us at our wedding! It’s funny how the world can change and end up perfect, huh?

A week later, Nate told us to make a list of our friends on Facebook so he could invite them to the Facebook Livestream of our wedding. He then asked for a separate list of people we wanted to be there who were not on Facebook so he could send them a link.

Thank God for Nate! He took care of everything for us. We had invited nearly 200 people to our virtual wedding. I hope at least some of them show up!

“Hey baby, you need a break from this wedding stuff?”

“Matty! It’s like you can read my mind!”

“How about a little road trip. I found this place called Cozy Kids up in Concord. They have some cool baby furniture.”

“That sounds nice! I mean, the room is painted and totally empty. Let’s fill it up!”

“Cool! Should we ask Mom to join us?”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea. She’d never let us live it down if we picked something that could be dangerous.”

I texted Mom and asked her if she was bored. She lol’d me back and asked what was up. When I told her what we were going to do, she got real excited and said she would be right over. I told her to bring a mask. The store was open, but they required masks and social distancing. I guess it’s a new world, huh?

It took a little over half an hour to make it to Concord. The store looked like they had a good selection.

We were greeted by Lily, who offered to show us whatever we needed. Mom kinda took charge, which was a good thing since we had no idea what we were doing!

“It’s nice to meet you, Lily. My boys are expecting twins in December and need to furnish their nursery.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful! Congratulations! Do you have anything in particular on your list?”

“One of the things I noticed on the website was called a convertible crib. Can you tell me what that means?” Good question, Matty!

“Oh, yes! Our convertible cribs can transform into a toddler bed when the baby outgrows the crib and then into a full-sized bed when they’re ready for that.”

“I like that idea. Can we start with those?”

Wow! Who knew baby furniture could be beautiful? All three of us fell in love with a natural wood crib. The fact that it had matching dressers and nightstands kinda sealed the deal for us. Mom said we needed a changing table, and we found one that matched the set pretty close.

Lily said they could deliver everything in two days. When she asked if we would like for them to assemble the furniture, all three of us said yes at the same time. That made Lily chuckle, and Mom explained that we were getting married next week.

“That’s wonderful! Congratulations again!”

“Thanks,” both of us replied.

“Boys, before we go, I would like to contribute a few things to the nursery.”

“Mom, you don’t have to do that.”

“Are you kidding? These boys are my first grandchildren! I want to do this more than anything!”

Mom picked out a couple of cute lamps, a clothes hamper, and a couple of these starry night pictures to hang over the cribs. Everything was perfect, and I was starting to get emotional.

“Matty, can we leave? I’m about to lose my shit here.”

Matty smiled at me, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t have tears in his eyes as well. We followed Lily to her desk and paid for everything. We packed Mom’s stuff into the back of the SUV, and we were on our way back to Charlotte.

Two days later, we had a beautiful nursery set up for the boys. The only thing left to do was set up the monitors and cameras. Nate insisted on helping with that, and we decided we could easily do that after the wedding.

And then it was finally our wedding day! The wedding was slated to begin at 1:00. Matty and I rented white tuxes. The jackets were kind of a modern version of tails, but Mom corrected me and said they were called morning coats, and they’ve been around for generations.

We all got to the church at 12:30, and Dad’s sound guy had everything set up. He hooked Dad, Matty, Mom, and me with mics and tested them. Everything was good.

We sat around and waited to begin. I was surprised at how chill everyone was.

“Three minutes, guys! You should get in your places.”

Matty squeezed my hand. He leaned into me, and our foreheads touched. “Are you ready, babe?”

“Soooo ready! I love you!”

“Love you more!”

“Impossible!”

We walked up to the front of the church and took our places. Nate stood next to me, Donald next to Matty, and Dad faced us in the center.

“Thirty seconds!”

We still wanted some music to start things off, but we didn’t want to make people listen to a song. Nate put together a photo montage of Matty and me growing up, and we set it to Rufus Wainright’s “Across the Universe.”

Mom found a ton of pics for the montage. It was a trip reliving all those special times. The funny thing is that you could see how much we loved each other—even as kids. When the video ended, Dad started things off.

“As you can see, Matty and Eddie literally grew up together. They were inseparable. They shared their successes, their love of sports, their love of theatre, and as you could see from the photos, they always shared a special love for each other.

“That love only grew as they grew themselves. It was no surprise when the boys came into my office to tell me that they were indeed in love with each other and fully intended to share their lives. Today is the day they proclaim their devotion to the world and become united in the name of God.

“We would all like to welcome the friends and family who have joined us with the live stream of this beautiful event. While we all wish everyone could be with us in person, we understand that these are different times, and for the first time in my life, I can say thank God for Facebook!

“Our covenantal life with God is expressed in relationships of commitment and faithfulness, including those of same-sex couples. It is this church’s joy to celebrate this relationship as a sign of God’s love, to pray for God’s grace to support this couple in their life together, and to join with them in our shared witness to the gospel in the world.

“The decision to enter into marriage is a vocation marked by these characteristics: fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God.

“Eddie and Matty, thank you for inviting us to witness your commitment to each other in holy union. You honor us with your trust and friendship. May your love grow sure and strong and steadfast in the days and years of your shared life together. As you enter this profound relationship, be aware that you risk great happiness as well as sorrow. Remember, a relationship is a crucible for becoming your real selves. But remember, you do not possess one another, and each of you will need solitude as well as togetherness.

“Albert Camus has said: “Don’t walk before me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

“Matthew David Jordan, do you take this man to be your husband? Do you promise to care for him, honor him, respect him, share with him the good times, stand beside him in the challenging times, and share your life with him for as long as you both live?”

“I do, with all my heart.”

“Clayton Edward Hamilton the Third, do you take this man to be your husband? Do you promise to care for him, honor him, respect him, share with him the good times, stand beside him in the challenging times, and share your life with him for as long as you both live?”

“I do, with all my heart.”

“Gentlemen, please face each other and join hands.”

“Matthew?”

“Whoever would have thought that this day would ever come? Who would have thought that those two boys who grew up together would be able to find in each other the kind of love most people can only dream of? Who would have thought that we would marry and raise children together? Well, to be perfectly honest, I’ve thought of this very day and everything it means for most of my life. Eddie Hamilton, you are the love of my life—you always have been. You have made me a better man just by being in my life. We’ve been through a lot in our years together, but I can tell you that even the most challenging times were easier to get through because you were there with me. And I know that our kids will be the luckiest kids on the planet because they will also have you in their lives. I love you with all my heart, Eddie Hamilton. I always have—and I always will.”

Dammit! I swore I wasn’t going to cry! I looked at Dad, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t have a tear falling down his face. Okay, Eddie—get your shit together! It’s your turn!

“Eddie?”

“I will never forget the day you told me you were in love with me and always had been. I knew right then and there that you were the bravest boy I have ever known. You opened your heart to me while having no idea how I would react. But then again, as I think about it, how could you not know? I’ve shared everything with you—my deepest, darkest secrets—my craziest hopes, and my wildest dreams. I have loved Matty Jordan my entire life. The day you told me how you felt was the second happiest day of my life. The happiest? Today. This is the day I dreamt about when I was in middle school. This is the day I’ve looked forward to since you proposed to me. This is the day I will cherish for the rest of my life. This is the day I can’t wait to tell our children about. Every day, I love you more than the day before. With you, I have found there is no limit to the amount of love I can feel. My love for you will continue to grow each and every day of my life.

I looked into Matty’s eyes. He had tears right along with everyone else. We both leaned forward, touched our foreheads, and squeezed our hands. The peaceful feeling I had was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced. Dad gave us our moment before he continued.

The next thing was Mom’s turn. She wanted to do a reading.

“The Art of Marriage, by Wilferd Arlen Petersen.

"A good marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things –-
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once each day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right partner –-
It is being the right partner."

 

Wow. That was beautiful! Next, we did the ring thing, and I didn’t think I was going to be able to stop grinning. Matty had his dad’s wedding ring cut down to fit my finger. I had a ring made for Matty that was close to the same ring he had given me.

“Matty and Eddie—and all of you gathered here today, may the love in your hearts give you joy. May the greatness of life bring you peace. And may your days be good and your lives be long upon the earth. So be it. Matthew. Eddie. You may now seal your holy union with a kiss.”

 

And then I kissed my husband! And boy, did he kiss me! We stopped kissing when Dad started to laugh.

“To everyone in this place, and to everyone joining us virtually, I am thrilled to present Eddie and Matty Hamilton!”

Matty insisted that he take our family name. He said that his life truly began when he became a part of our family.

The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” started playing as Mom, Dad, Nate, my husband (yay!), and I stood facing the camera. We all waved, and Matty thanked everyone for watching. And then it was over. I was married to the boy I loved more than anything in the world. My family was thrilled. But what blew me away was when the sound guy told us that over 300 people watched the ceremony.

We had a huge family hug, and then Dad invited us to dinner at our favorite restaurant. We went to The Fig Tree—that was the restaurant Matty took me to last summer the night after our first camp session. Dad called the owners and arranged for a private dinner since they hadn’t yet opened to the public.

Dinner was magnificent. Donald and Connor even had a great time after they got over themselves. Donald wanted to go home and not intrude on our family time. Connor kept saying it was too much. Silly boys!

Neither of us wanted to go anywhere for a honeymoon. Hell, as far as I was concerned, the past three years with Matty have totally been a honeymoon! We did drive out to the lake house for a couple of days and made love pretty much the entire time we weren’t eating or sleeping!

Although it was nearly five months later, December 13^th came around faster than I ever thought it would. At 4:23 in the morning, Clayton Edward Hamilton IV entered the world. At 4:35, Brandon Gregory Hamilton joined his twin brother.

Mom and Dad were as surprised as I was that I wanted to name our first twin to carry on the family tradition. Matty picked Brandon’s name because he thought it sounded good with Clayton. He had thought about using his dad’s name for Brandon’s middle name but decided he wouldn’t burden his son with the name George. So he used his dad’s middle name—Gregory.

Alex? As far as we knew, she moved to New York and began to live her dream. We never heard from her again. Despite the circumstances surrounding the birth of our boys, I will always be grateful to her for helping us start our family.

The first few months were crazy. The boys were eating machines! Connor, Donald, Matty, and I alternated nights for their feedings. That helped us all stay focused on our school work, and none of our grades suffered—even though it sometimes felt like all we did was warm up formula and change diapers

Every morning, Mom would come over and watch the boys. After a few months, we began to take the boys over to her house, and she would watch them while she did her stuff.

By the time Clayton and Brandon were three, Matty had taken on the theatre teacher position at our old high school. He even became the quarterback coach for the football team. He was in heaven! I entered Seminary and began my final journey toward becoming a minister.

My ordination came when the twins were five. Haley and her husband were there with their daughter, Elizabeth. The boys adored their new cousin and promised her they would take care of her.

The only disappointment was that Nate wasn’t there. He and G graduated high school and decided to take a month-long hiking trip through Europe. Those boys were stupid crazy in love with each other—kinda like Matty and I were at their age. Oh yeah, we still are stupid crazy in love with each other!

Connor and Donald moved on and moved out after they graduated. While they ended their relationship most amicably, it still hurt Conner. Fortunately, he met a wonderful man once he started teaching at the North Carolina School for the Deaf. It looks like I’m going to be performing a wedding ceremony soon!

Donald moved back to Utah and joined the ranch staff, where he was sent after the trial. We’re still in touch, and he’s happy as a clam.

When the guys moved out of the house, Matty and I asked the boys if they would like their own room. They wouldn’t hear of it! Brandon told us that he and his brother had that bond that only identical twins could have, but they still wanted to move into the larger bedroom in the basement.

That left two empty bedrooms upstairs. What were we to do? Well, the good Lord took charge and brought Amanda Jane Hamilton into our lives. We were able to take her in after her mother passed away unexpectedly. She was two years old when we adopted her. Brandon and Clayton adore her, and she returns the adoration in buckets.

Sometimes I still marvel at how my life turned out. Here I was, Eddie Hamilton—the high school baseball star—married to the most amazing man on the planet. We had three children and careers we were passionate about. And we were a family—a family filled with love and respect. We were a family that I cherished more than anything in the world.