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    CLJobe
  • CLJobe
  • Author
  • 09/19/2020
  • 1,233 Words
  • 2,184 Views
  • 25 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Clarion - 26. Chapter 26

Time seemed to go fast, I still went to New York each month, I did my Christmas shopping while I was there. Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and we were invited to Mary and Brian’s for dinner. I baked several blackberry pies to take with us. Dinner was excellent and the company was stimulating. I met a lot of Mary and Brian’s friends, as well as some of their relatives. Jeff was home and we had a long chat about school. For me it was a great evening.

With Christmas right around the corner, I reminded Cody that he had a larger crew to go and get the tree. I think this was the first time the boys actually had to go into the woods to get a tree. They were familiar with the woods from berry and nut picking, but they never went tree picking.

I flew to New York for the Board meeting as usual. I knew Cody would have the tree trimmed by the time I got home. Brad told me our belligerent London Company had declared bankruptcy last week and wanted us to try and bail them out. But there was nothing we could do, we told them what would happen and they didn’t listen.

“Alan, this letter came for you from Ambrose.” I opened the letter and there was only one word, ‘thanks’. The letter was perplexing until I remember our conversation when I was in London.

“I wonder what happened and who was pushing so hard to buy back the stock. If I didn’t know better it looked like a scheme to run the price up so someone could unload their stock for a huge profit.”

“It’s funny you said that, just one week before filing for bankruptcy, two members of the Board were arrested for price fixing. They had a huge number of shares that they tried to sell on the market, only the market realized something was going on and halted all activity on their stock. So guess who was caught holding the bag, a lot of shares worth nothing.”

“Serves them right, that was a good company making a decent profit. Too bad some people get greedy. I feel sorry for those employees that didn’t know what was going on.”

“There were a few employees that sold their stock back in June, but that was too far back to indicate any fraud. Did you have any stock?”

“Yes, but I sold back in June as well. I knew what was going to happen if they didn’t listen, so I sold. If someone would ask me, I would’ve told them to sell.”

Robert made the Board aware of the loss of a profitable client in London due to stupidity. I just laughed because a lot of people made money, except the master minds behind the scheme.

 

I was glad to get home, I knew the tree would be trimmed and there would be a small tree in the great room. This year I would like a small family Christmas. I bought stockings for all of us to hang on the fireplace. The kids and I bake cookies, while Cody went and did his shopping. It was fun and I think they ate them as we baked them. I had some Christmas tins I picked up in Clarion, so the kids were packing them with cookies. We had one for Andy’s parents, Nancy Jean’s parents, the boy’s teachers and some business associates in New York.

I booked a one week cruise to start on the 27th. We wouldn’t be going to New York this year. But a cruise would be nice. When I told the kids they were excited and wanted to know where we would be going. I wouldn’t tell them as I wanted it to be a surprise. I had to include Andy and Rich, they were our traveling companions. This year I had also included Jeff and Nancy Jean, as well as Mary and Brian. It was my Christmas gift to them.

Cody and I got a Christmas gift as well, thanks to Miss Brown. The judge overruled Child Services and approved our adoption of James and Nels. The papers showed Cody as the adopting parent, so the kids could choose a new name, James became James Alan Aaron and Nels became Nelson Alan Aaron. I was proud and Cody was like a Cock on the Wall. He strutted all the way home from the court house.

When school resumed, Cody took the boys in the truck and had their school records corrected. Andy took it upon himself to make sure their friends knew that they were officially the sons of Cody Aaron. When the boys got home, they were bubbling over telling us about Andy telling their friends about the adoption. They had a smiles on their faces as I sat a snack in front of them. Cody was acting the proper role of a proud father.

Actually, nothing really changed. Cody still had a big smile on his face. I don’t think he ever thought he would be a father and now he had two sons. Of course, the next time Ralph came to the diner, guess who was telling him all about the boys. Ralph knew that we were fostering the boys and now he knew about the adoption. “Cody, I can’t tell you how glad I am about the adoption. I always knew you liked kids by the way you acted with my kids when you visited. Now you’ll have the chance to help two young boys grow into manhood. But, the road isn’t always smooth, there’ll be rocks and barriers that you’ll need to overcome. Raising kids in today’s world isn’t easy. Too many distractions and not always the best.”

“That’s true, Ralph, I think living in a small town has its advantages over a city. The distractions are less. When you have time, bring the family and stay with us for a few days. Get a feeling for country living including some good fishing.”

 

The school year was moving fast, soon it was the Easter break. We stayed home and attended the sunrise service in Cook Forest, stopped at the lodge for breakfast and then headed home. In the afternoon Mary and Brian came over with Easter baskets for the boys. Andy stopped by a little later and we had a basket for him. There was a small gift in the basket and a little light on the candy. Jeff and Nancy Jean came over later in the evening, they had chocolate eggs for the boys. I had a small basket for them with a gift as well.

After the Easter recess, the tempo at school picked up for the boys as well as Cody. After this year, Cody had one more year before he would receive his diploma. It was amusing to see the boys and Cody studying in the evening. Whenever the boys had a problem or couldn’t understand something, Cody would take the time to explain or show them how to approach the problem. There was a potential danger in having a home tutor. If they didn’t understand something or miss something in class, Cody was there to help them. I was afraid they would not pay attention in class. I didn’t want the boys to ignore their teachers.

Copyright © 2020 CLJobe; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

  • Popular Comment
jaysalmn
  • Popular Comment

I don't get why both of their names weren't put on the adoption papers? Alan goes through all the work to get the adoption to happen, but Cody gets all the glory of being their ONLY adoptive parent?? I loved this story, but seems like Cody is getting a lot more out of this relationship than Alan is getting in return.

Edited by jaysalmn
  • Like 6
  • Popular Comment
CLJobe
  • Popular Comment
36 minutes ago, jaysalmn said:

I don't get why both of their names weren't put on the adoption papers? Alan goes through all the work to get the adoption to happen, but Cody gets all the glory of being their ONLY adoptive parent?? I loved this story, but seems like Cody is getting a lot more out of this relationship than Alan is getting in return.

Alan is quite a bit older and  older people tend to be more compassionate toward their significant other. Alan knows what Cody wants and he's ready to give it to him, age plays an important part in Alan's thinking process. To have children with a hyphenated last name always results in questions. The boys have Alan as their middle name. Alan is happy and so is Cody, the boys are extremely happy.

  • Like 7
weinerdog
1 hour ago, CLJobe said:

Alan is quite a bit older and  older people tend to be more compassionate toward their significant other. Alan knows what Cody wants and he's ready to give it to him, age plays an important part in Alan's thinking process. To have children with a hyphenated last name always results in questions. The boys have Alan as their middle name. Alan is happy and so is Cody, the boys are extremely happy.

Alan is every bit as important to the kids as Cody what if they have a honest disagreement about something to do with the kids future Alan would have no rights.Will we ever find out what happen to the bio-parents?

Edited by weinerdog
  • Like 2
  • Love 2
CLJobe
17 minutes ago, weinerdog said:

Alan is every bit as important to the kids as Cody what if they have a honest disagreement about something to do with the kids future Alan would have no rights.Will we ever find out what happen to the bio-parents?

I spoke to Alan about you comment, he said it was easier for Cody because of the age factor. The boys are old enough to have a voice, so if something happened to break up Alan and Cody, I'm sure the boys would be in the middle of it. In a few years, James will be old enough to make his own decisions, where James go, so go Nels

  • Like 4
jaysalmn
2 hours ago, CLJobe said:

Alan is quite a bit older and  older people tend to be more compassionate toward their significant other. Alan knows what Cody wants and he's ready to give it to him, age plays an important part in Alan's thinking process. To have children with a hyphenated last name always results in questions. The boys have Alan as their middle name. Alan is happy and so is Cody, the boys are extremely happy.

There's a fine line between being compassionate and being taken advantage of, and I think their toes are on it. Cody seems more like a gold digger than an equal. He was very quick to give up everything when he saw what Alan had to offer. As far as the adoption, I think having a legal say in what happens to the boys just in case is WAY more important than whether or not they have a hyphenated name. That's kind of a ridiculous argument. So what if Cody is younger? What would happen if something happened to Cody, and Alan has no legal rights to the boys?? Of course Cody and the boys are happy, Cody is their legal father now and Alan is an ATM.

  • Like 1
  • Wow 3
Anton_Cloche

It does seem a little one-sided in how courts, whether judges are elected or appointed, decide on issues such as adoption and custody, often depending on particular views.

Gays fought long and hard to get right to marry, foster and adopt children all primarily within the last few decades. In many cases one parent adopts the child/ren and the other may  obtain custody if so named by the adoptive parent.  The other option is surrogacy where one is the biological parent and their (married) partner adopts. 

These and other hard fought legal rights can be taken away, putting children like Jamie and Nels at risk. Hope Cody assigns guardianship of the boys to Alan, without whom this family would not exist. :heart: MJG

  • Like 4
Christopher
53 minutes ago, jaysalmn said:

There's a fine line between being compassionate and being taken advantage of, and I think their toes are on it. Cody seems more like a gold digger than an equal. He was very quick to give up everything when he saw what Alan had to offer. As far as the adoption, I think having a legal say in what happens to the boys just in case is WAY more important than whether or not they have a hyphenated name. That's kind of a ridiculous argument. So what if Cody is younger? What would happen if something happened to Cody, and Alan has no legal rights to the boys?? Of course Cody and the boys are happy, Cody is their legal father now and Alan is an ATM.

Wow, while I wondered why the adoption was only in Cody's name, I think it was pretty clear that the judge overruled Child Protective services just to award Cody legal custody, I can't imagine what would've transpired had both their names been on the adoption papers as a gay couple - a damn coup probably. Would one rather the boys have a loving home with two loving parents or two names on a piece of paper than can, and probably will, be amended in the near future to include shared custody / guardianship? Thinking from a big picture approach and immediate outcomes, I easily accept the former. Let's be totally honest, just looking at the state America is in right now socially, discrimination against ALL persons of a minority is alive and well. A hyphenated name IS a big deal when dealing with ruthless students as well as some insensitive teachers. I think CLJ clearly indicated a teacher had already explained what being a foster child meant resulting in Nels and James being treated as somewhat second class by their peers. I make this observation in retrospect of how they shared with their peers they are now Cody's sons. From that, I gather there was some discrimination suffered by the boys from their peers. In regards to Cody being a gold digger ... OMG and WOW! I recall the story clearly indicating that it's what Alan wanted and he was trying to figure out how he could get Cody to leave his working job so they could be together. It's not like Cody is just sitting around the house doing nothing, he is very much an equal participant and provider in the relationship with a full-time job of father and student. I would agree with CLJ that in an age different relationship, the older tends to be more nurturing and compassionate wanting the younger to have the opportunity to succeed and achieve without as many struggles. The younger either takes the opportunity, as Cody has, and excels or, like others, abuses the support and ends up destroying a potentially beautiful relationship. 

Edited by Chris L
  • Like 4
CLJobe
2 hours ago, Anton_Cloche said:

It does seem a little one-sided in how courts, whether judges are elected or appointed, decide on issues such as adoption and custody, often depending on particular views.

Gays fought long and hard to get right to marry, foster and adopt children all primarily within the last few decades. In many cases one parent adopts the child/ren and the other may  obtain custody if so named by the adoptive parent.  The other option is surrogacy where one is the biological parent and their (married) partner adopts. 

These and other hard fought legal rights can be taken away, putting children like Jamie and Nels at risk. Hope Cody assigns guardianship of the boys to Alan, without whom this family would not exist. :heart: MJG

Thank you. 

  • Like 3
CLJobe
1 hour ago, Chris L said:

Wow, while I wondered why the adoption was only in Cody's name, I think it was pretty clear that the judge overruled Child Protective services just to award Cody legal custody, I can't imagine what would've transpired had both their names been on the adoption papers as a gay couple - a damn coup probably. Would one rather the boys have a loving home with two loving parents or two names on a piece of paper than can, and probably will, be amended in the near future to include shared custody / guardianship? Thinking from a big picture approach and immediate outcomes, I easily accept the former. Let's be totally honest, just looking at the state America is in right now socially, discrimination against ALL persons of a minority is alive and well. A hyphenated name IS a big deal when dealing with ruthless students as well as some insensitive teachers. I think CLJ clearly indicated a teacher had already explained what being a foster child meant resulting in Nels and James being treated as somewhat second class by their peers. I make this observation in retrospect of how they shared with their peers they are now Cody's sons. From that, I gather there was some discrimination suffered by the boys from their peers. In regards to Cody being a gold digger ... OMG and WOW! I recall the story clearly indicating that it's what Alan wanted and he was trying to figure out how he could get Cody to leave his working job so they could be together. It's not like Cody is just sitting around the house doing nothing, he is very much an equal participant and provider in the relationship with a full-time job of father and student. I would agree with CLJ that in an age different relationship, the older tends to be more nurturing and compassionate wanting the younger to have the opportunity to succeed and achieve without as many struggles. The younger either takes the opportunity, as Cody has, and excels or, like others, abuses the support and ends up destroying a potentially beautiful relationship. 

To the moat, defend the castle at all costs.  Thanks. I appreciate you comments.

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Buz

Initially my comment was going to be a simple, 'This Chapter is brought to you by the hard 'k' sound - cruise and kids'. Ya know, they went on a trip and adopted the kids.

However, in regards to Alan being used, etc...I can see where that thought may come from. But I think that:

1. Alan actively loves Cody. He actively loves the Kids. He actively loves his Friends. And I believe they all actively love him back. I truly do.

2. If you have as much money as Alan does, why would you not willingly spend it on the people you love whilst doing things that you love to do? What is wrong with providing the people you love with shared experiences that they will have for the rest of their lives? What else is he going to spend it on? Multiple houses, multiple high end cars, jewelry, a yacht, a plane, etc.

3. What do you think Alan would say if Cody was to go to Alan because he was worried about how he was being perceived? That as the non-financially stable one he was worried that he was not contributing equally to their relationship? I know what I would say, after I slapped him upside his head for being an idiot.

Lastly, like every other Commentator, this is just my opinion or comment. Which we are all entitled to simply by the fact that this site gives us the where-with-all to be able to lodge said comments.

On to the next chapter...

  • Like 2
CLJobe
1 hour ago, Buz said:

Initially my comment was going to be a simple, 'This Chapter is brought to you by the hard 'k' sound - cruise and kids'. Ya know, they went on a trip and adopted the kids.

However, in regards to Alan being used, etc...I can see where that thought may come from. But I think that:

1. Alan actively loves Cody. He actively loves the Kids. He actively loves his Friends. And I believe they all actively love him back. I truly do.

2. If you have as much money as Alan does, why would you not willingly spend it on the people you love whilst doing things that you love to do? What is wrong with providing the people you love with shared experiences that they will have for the rest of their lives? What else is he going to spend it on? Multiple houses, multiple high end cars, jewelry, a yacht, a plane, etc.

3. What do you think Alan would say if Cody was to go to Alan because he was worried about how he was being perceived? That as the non-financially stable one he was worried that he was not contributing equally to their relationship? I know what I would say, after I slapped him upside his head for being an idiot.

Lastly, like every other Commentator, this is just my opinion or comment. Which we are all entitled to simply by the fact that this site gives us the where-with-all to be able to lodge said comments.

On to the next chapter...

Well said

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