Before And After the Divorce - 14. Law, Finances, Real Estate, and More Bonding

Friday

I got a call from Lacy's lawyer. It was time to discuss the will. She set up an appointment for that evening after finding out I was going back to work Monday. Dad went home for the weekend, but was coming back on Monday, so I'd be unable to leave Dominic with him for the meeting. She said it wouldn't be a problem bringing Dominic along. Since I'd scanned through the will myself, I pretty much knew what was going to happen, but I'd be able to ask her questions about how some of the transfer of assets would be handled. Apparently my understanding was a little off, for a good reason.

We got to the meeting and Lydia Deems, Lacy's lawyer, read through the will and translated the major points. I missed the fact that although she left everything to Dominic, there were some exceptions. Also, Lydia indicated that the version I had seen wasn't the latest, but there were minimal differences. Needless to say, that worried me a little. The bank accounts were left to Dominic with me as custodial owner, so no problem there. It will just take going to the bank with a copy of my and Dominic's social security cards, the will and a death certificate for them to formally transfer the funds. The only major difference was the condo. It wasn't mentioned in the version I saw, but she left that to me. I was somewhat surprised, but I suppose she knew leaving in in the 'all my assets' category might be difficult. Lydia would help me with the transfer of ownership on that. She even had all the paperwork ready to take care of it then and there. I was amazed at how efficient she was. She indicated the car would be donated to Kars4Kids, which was fine with me, I didn't need two vehicles. Apparently Lacy had paid it off after the money came from her company's sale. And just to be sure, even though the latest custody agreement still applied, she indicated Dominic should stay with me. Surprises, yes, but only pleasant ones.

The apartment lease was still in both of our names, we'd never gotten around to changing that, so I'll just need to go to the management company, again, with a copy of the death certificate, to have her name removed. All the items needing the will would end up being possible starting a week later. Mr. Hitch called the following Friday, indicating he'd received them and I could come pick them up any time. But something a lot more interesting happened in the meantime.

Monday

When I picked Dominic up from daycare, I indicated that my father would be moving into the area soon and that most days, my father would be at my place after school. They indicated that providing a day or two's notice before I'd need to have Dominic go to daycare would be required. Hopefully there wouldn't be any emergencies, so I agreed to the condition. Dad came along, and they made a copy of his ID, to ensure they didn't release Dominic into a stranger's care. Good thinking.

I got a call later from a teacher at Dominic's school. At first I thought he'd gotten into trouble. But then the man indicated that he was a sixth grade teacher at the school who ran an after-school program for a small handful of children that were more advanced than their current grade. He wanted Dominic to join the program. He'd spoken with Dominic's teacher and she agreed that Dominic would be a good candidate. Mrs. Patrick, Dominic's teacher, felt Dominic was reading at a fifth-grade level, if not a little higher. His understanding of anything they covered was quicker than the rest of her students. And like Dominic told Dr. Aslers, she noticed that he was quickly bored with the topics, but when asked about them, he clearly understood them. Mr. Trevon, the sixth-grade teacher, was amenable to meeting with Dominic and I the next evening, after I got out of work. Having access to Dominic's records, he indicated that he only lived about two miles away from the apartment and would be willing to meet there. This was obviously very convenient for Dominic and me. I offerred to order pizza and he gladly accepted.

Tuesday

I'd given Lacy's apartment key to dad so he could come and go as necessary, primarily so he was there when Dominic got home from school. Working remotely, he only needed to take a short break and bring his laptop to my place. I bought him an additional monitor, keyboard, etc., duplicating his current setup. Knowing the other teacher was coming, he made sure Dominic finished his homework before I got home from work. I'd ordered the pizzas when I left work so they'd arrive on time for Mr. Trevon's visit.

The doorbell rang at exactly six o'clock. The pizza delivery was perfectly timed, as both Mr. Trevon and the delivery man were standing outside the door. I took the pizzas and invited in Mr. Trevon. We sat at the dining room table and made introductions.

"Mr. Trevon, I'm Dylan. This is my father, Salvatore, you can call him Sal, and I suppose you've already met Dominic."

"I have, and I'm Jackson, please. Nice to meet you both."

"Same here. I hope you're OK with either cheese or sausage pizza."

"Both are fine. No dietary limitations here. I'm a meat and potatoes guy with an iron stomach. I can eat pretty much anything."

"Even pencils?"

We laughed at Dominic's attempt at humor.

"Well, no, Dominic. Any kind of food. But that was funny. I might have to try eating a pencil. Who knows, maybe I'll like them."

With the ice broken, Jackson went over what he tried to accomplish with the children in his program. For the most part, he taught them things that would be covered in their following year of school, with the idea that they could possibly skip a grade. One of the determining factors for including Dominic, aside from his intelligence, was the fact that he seemed more mature than other children his age, and thus would be able to handle the competition from slightly older students. Dominic liked that he was deemed more mature than his fellow students. I obviously had to agree, and Dr. Aslers indicated the same thing last week. Since all his program students weren't all currently in the same grade, he gave them each individual attention, so there were never more than five students in his program at any time. If agreed, he would spend roughly three hours with Dominic on Thursday afternoons. Either I or my father could pick him up at the school at 5:45. After going over the pros and cons, we all agreed to let Dominic take part. Dominic was happy because he knew he'd be learning more difficult things and wouldn't be as bored.

"And you do this voluntarily, Jackson?" my father asked.

"Yes, Sal. This is my third year doing this at Brumfeld Elementary, and nine of the previous ten childern have successfully transitioned into a grade higher than expected. The tenth could have, but her parents didn't feel comfortable, so I'm continuing to work with her this year with the hope that they'll change their minds at some point. I feel that gifted children should be given every chance to excel. Who knows? There may be a Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or maybe even a Stephen Hawking among them."

"Who are they?" Dominic asked.

"Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft. Steve Jobs was the co-founder of Apple. I'm sure you've heard of both those companies."

"Yep. Mom's company was bought by Microsoft. She got a lot of money from that. And the Hawk guy?"

"Stephen Hawking was a physicist and probably one of the smartest men to have ever lived. He was also disabled but didn't let that stop him."

"You said was. Are those guys dead?"

"Yes, they are Dominic. You're probably a little young yet, but someday, have your father rent or buy 'The Theory of Everything.' It's Mr. Hawking's biography."

"You seem pretty impressed by him," I observed.

"Yes, Dylan. He's the main reason I became a teacher. I felt if I could help find smart enough people and nurture them, perhaps the world will last longer. We, as a people, are using its natural resources way too fast for future generations to be able to survive."

"Very admirable."

"Thank you Sal. But I don't do it for my ego. Like I said, it's just my little way of hopefully contributing to the future of the human race."

"Still. Too many people are selfish and don't care about the future of mankind. The 'me first' generation."

"Very true, Sal. If over the course of my teaching career, I can improve the potential of fifty or so children... Well, it's not much, but who knows, like I implied, maybe one of them will have a greater impact."

I liked this man. He had good ideas and I felt he would be good for Dominic. Even though he was disfigured to some extent, I felt an odd attraction to him. I was soon to find out he felt the same.

"Well, thank you for letting Dominic join the program. I think he's going to be one of my best success stories. And thanks for dinner. That wasn't my intention when requesting to meet here. But it was very much appreciated."

"You're welcome. But thank you for reaching out and including Dominic in the program. I'm sure it will be good for him."

"As am I, Dylan. If I could have a moment alone with you, perhaps out in the lobby?"

"Of course."

We step out of the apartment.

"I hope you don't find this too forward of me, but when I first approached Dominic about the program, he made a comment about you being gay. If you're not attached, I'd like to maybe see you again, in a more personal setting. You're a very attractive man, and I'd understand if you wouldn't want to, due to my, disfigurment."

"That doesn't bother me. To tell the truth, I felt attracted to you more and more as we were talking. But would it be appropriate, you being Dominic's teacher and all?"

"I don't see a problem. Mrs. Patrick has the responsibility for his grades. I'm like, extra credit. But if you feel there would be a conflict, I'd understand."

"No, not at all. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a problem for you. Yes. I'd like to see you again, in a different setting."

"Wonderful. Perhaps we can get together sometime this weekend?"

"That would work."

Shit, I'd follow him home right now if he asked. We traded phone numbers and agreed to meet Saturday evening at Applebee's. Where the rest of the evening went, we'd take it from there. I knew I wasn't going to jump in bed with him right away, but for now, just the companionship of another man would be very welcome. I walked back inside. Dominic had gone to his room to read. Dad surprised me.

"So, when is the date?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that bullshit son, I saw how much you liked him. And how much he liked you."

"Damn, am I that transparent?"

"Well, I have known you for, gee, your whole life. Well?"

"Saturday. We're meeding at Applebee's."

"Very nice. What time would you like me here?"

"Six? We're meeting at six-thirty, trying to get ahead of the crowd."

"I'll be here. I'll head to the condo now. I'll see you tomorrow when you get home from work."

"OK. Thanks for everything, dad. You being around is going to make everything so much easier."

"Glad to do it. I love Dominic and love being with him. Not to mention loving spending more time with you. Goodnight."

"Night dad."

He hasn't formally moved into the condo yet, but we have moved a number of things in from the house. His bedroom set, office furniture, and his kitchen table and a couple place-settings. The house won't be formally sold for a few weeks yet, so we still have some time to get the rest of his things moved.

Thursday

I stop at the school on my way home from work. Jackson and Dominic were just walking out the front door when I pulled up and got out of my truck.

"Nice truck."

"Thanks. It's a few years old, but it's helpful having it. Carrying tools, wood, etc. for the job."

"You keep it in good shape, it looks almost new."

"Thanks. You wouldn't say that if you were looking at the bed. So how did your first extra class go, Dominic?"

"Really good. We mostly talked about what I'd be learning, but we spent some time on math. The improper fractions were a little confusing at first, but Mr. Trevon explains things really good."

"Ahem."

"Sorry, he explains things really well. We also spent some time on English."

"Sounds like you'll soon be smarter than me."

"I don't think so dad. You know a lot of things that I don't."

"Anyway, thanks for teaching him, Jackson."

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow in the hallways, Dominic, and I'll see you Dylan, on Saturday."

"Looking forward to it. Goodnight."

"Bye Mr. Trevon."

"Goodbye."

After we got into the truck, the obvious question arose.

"Why are you going to see him on Saturday?"

"We're going out to dinner together."

"Like a date?"

"Yes."

"Cool. He's nice. I bet you'll like sexing with him."

"Well, um, we're not going to be doing that. We want to get to know each other better, and have someone to hang out with."

"Oh. Is it because of his face?"

"No. I don't mind that. Most people don't start having sex until they've known each other for a while."

He looked a little confused about that.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just something mom said. I guess it was the tumor talking."

"What did she say?"

"That you were probably, um, f'ing half the guys in town."

"That was definitely the tumor talking. I'm definitely not like that. I need to know and love someone before we have sex."

Usually. Zach was an exception, although I did like him a lot.

"Oh. OK. What's for dinner?"

Next up - "The Date, A Group Outing, And New Problems"