Manny Needs a Nanny - 20. Everything Comes Together

When Manny got home, he found Bass to talk about the visit to the lawyer's office.

"So, what did the lawyer say?"

"A lot, but the key point was that if I start the adoption process, he'd be able to release a small advance. He indicated, it would cover the prosthesis and a chunk of the hospital bill."

"But he didn't say how much it would be."

"Well, he did after I filled out the adoption application."

"You're shitting me? You really started?"

"I did. Why is it a surprise? I’ve already come to love him. I told him the night he had his nightmare, he told me the same thing. I want this. I’d do it even without the money."

"Rocky's going to freak. Wait, do you plan on telling him right away?"

"I think, I should hold off. If I get at least a preliminary approval, that might be okay. But if I say something now and don't get approved… Well, you can guess what will happen."

"Shit. How are we going to keep that secret for however many months it'll take?"

"Brewster says, it could take as little as thirty to forty-five days for an uncontested adoption. There's nobody to chase down to give up any rights. Maybe only a couple weeks before we hear something."

"Wait, you said, he told you how much you'll get after you started the process. So?"

"It doesn’t matter, and I won't see it until the state at least accepts the application, but he figures, if the investments stay stable, approximately thirty-seven thousand dollars."

"That's one hell of a small advance."

"True. Even if it's as much as a quarter of the total, I'd be getting—which probably wouldn't be considered a small advance—that's like one hundred and forty-eight K. That’s probably a third of what I’d get selling the house. I asked Brewster to look into getting a realtor for me."

"Well, no counting chickens before they hatch. We don't want to jinx it and find a rotten egg."

"No. Definitely not."

The rotten egg made its appearance the following Monday with a call from Brewster James.

Monday

"Hello?"

"Hello, Manny. Brewster James."

"Hi Brewster, what's up?"

"Bad news, I'm sorry to say."

"Oh, no. Go ahead, I can take it."

"The application was rejected."

"Damn. Did they say why?"

"While the idea of hired support helped, the question arose of what would happen if for some reason that support disappeared?"

"I suppose, telling them, they'll never get fired wouldn't work."

"No, I'm sure, it wouldn't."

"Fuck. In the meantime, let’s get rolling on selling my house. But is there anything we can do? Even leaving any money considerations out?"

"It has nothing to do with the money. And yes there is, but I'm not sure, you want to hear it."

"Good. I’d do this even if I didn’t get a penny. If it’s anything other than giving up, I will do it for Rocky’s sake."

"No, it's not giving up, but it isn't a solution that can be completed in a very short term. If you were legally married, there would be a green light."

"Married? Fuck. I don't want to marry a woman, even for this purpose."

"You missed one point. You don't necessarily have to be married to a woman. They said, in your case, because there's no direct relationship between you and Rocky's parents, two parents would be required."

"I see. So, we couldn't even say, their decision was prejudiced by me being gay."

"Correct."

"Okay. Let me do some thinking and I'll call you back. I'm not giving up yet."

"And I wouldn't expect you to, but this is a pretty high hurdle."

"I hear ya. I'll be in touch."

"Goodbye, Manny. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts."

Manny chortled, "Yeah, me too. Bye."

Manny needed a quiet place to think, somewhere he wouldn't be bothered. He headed for his bedroom, closed and locked the door. Twenty minutes later, he headed for the study. Once there, he messaged Bass to meet him there.

"Hey, Manny. What's up?"

"Close and lock the door, please."

"Um. Okay. Did I do something?"

"Oh, no. It's just that this is a for your ears only topic."

"Whew. I knew, I wasn't spying on you again, but I also couldn't think of anything else."

"Nothing like that. Go ahead, sit down. Do you want a shot of something?"

"You found Boris' stash?"

"It wasn't very well hidden."

"No, that's true. I don't need one."

Manny pulled out one of the bottles of bourbon Boris had in the bottom drawer of his desk.

"You will. Believe me."

"Pappy Van Winkle? Holy fuck, this is big. Don't pour it yet, though."

"I wasn't planning to. At least not until after I say what I need to say. Let me get through it before you ask any questions."

"Lips sealed, I'm listening."

"Brewster said, they rejected the adoption application. But there's something I could do to reverse that decision."

Manny took the cap off the bottle.

"The only way, I could think of, to make it work, concerns you."

Manny brought out two shot glasses.

"I'd be approved if I was married."

Manny poured, Bass reached for a glass and downed its contents. Manny drank his, then took out the bottle of Woodford Reserve and poured two more shots. After they both drank that, Manny capped Pappy, but left the Woodford open, so Bass could pour more if he wanted to.

"Manny. Wow. I don't know what to say."

"Well, not saying an immediate ‘no’ is promising."

"Yeah, I guess. But geez, we've only known each other for like two months. I mean, I like you, but…"

"I love Rocky. I'm willing to do almost anything to make it work. I'll go on gay-matches dot com if I have to."

"That would be a huge mistake with you possibly coming into a boatload of money. I need some time to think. I mean, I love Rocky too. I've known him since he was a baby."

"That's fair. But fuck the money, I know, this came out of the blue at you. But I'm not giving up, and this is the only solution I could think of. I'd like it to be you. I know, we could grow to love each other."

"Okay. Give me a few days and I'll let you know."

"Thanks. That's all I can ask right now."

Bass poured himself another shot, drank it, and stood up to leave. Manny heard a whispered, "Wow." as Bass left the room. Manny stayed in the study for nearly a half hour, staring at the open door. He finally put the bottles away and got up to leave. It was lunchtime and Manny was starving.

Wednesday

After spending much of the past forty-eight hours in his room, Bass finally came to a decision. He first sent a message to Patrick. Then, this time it was he who went to the study and messaged Manny.

"Hey Bass. What's up?"

"I've made a decision."

"Well, neither the cheap nor expensive bourbons are out, so there's nothing to give away which way you're leaning. Hit me with it."

"I messaged Patrick. He's completely confounded as to why, but he'll be driving us to the outlets in Commerce."

"I'm confounded too. What's there?"

"Zales Jewelry outlet. We need to buy rings."

"Oh, my God! Yes. Oh, Bass! Thank you, thank you! I will do everything under the sun to make this work. Holy shit! You’re sure? You’re doing this because you want to? I don’t want to force you to do anything.”

"Yes, I want to. I know it helps you control some of the money. If you think I want a piece of that, I’ll sign a prenuptial agreement. After the jewelry store, we'll stop at a store and get a couple bottles of champagne to celebrate. And sparkling grape juice for Rocky, because he'll wonder what we're celebrating, and we should tell him."

"Oh, God. Fuck the money. I could sell my house and have everything I need. This is about Rocky. Rocky and me. Let me call Brewster before we go and tell him a wedding is coming and resubmit the adoption papers. Wait, when?"

"Yesterday? As soon as we can. We need to get Rocky's future solidified as soon as possible."

"Awesome. Stay here."

“Hello, James and associates, attorneys at law, this is Barbara, how can we help you?”

“Hello Barbara, this is Manny Talbot. I’d like to speak with Brewster for just a minute if he's available.”

"He's in Pendergrass today, but I can see if he's available… His schedule is open right now. Let me call. Please hold."

"Thanks."

A minute later, "Hello, Manny. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing at the moment, Brewster. Putting you on speaker; I want to give you a heads-up and maybe you can speak with the adoption board, or whatever it's called. I'm getting married."

"Whoa. That was fast. Rent-a-groom?"

"Hehe. No. I've been with someone for a couple months now. I explained the situation to him, he gave it some thought, and we just agreed to get married."

"Well, then let me be the first to say: Congratulations! Is he there with you now?"

"He is. Sebastian Blank, meet Brewster James."

"Hello, Brewster."

"Hi, Sebastian. I'm guessing, Manny is a very happy man right now."

"That he is. He’d be dancing if he wasn’t sitting in a chair.

"Well, congratulations to you too. I'll resubmit the application with a marital status of ‘engaged’ as soon as you guys can give me a date. From what I've been told, that should let it proceed to a successful end."

"We'll let you know that as soon as we do. Manny and I both agree, it should happen as soon as possible. You may be able to use ‘married’ as the status instead."

"Excellent, Sebastian. Just let me know."

"We will. Bye." "Bye Brewster."

"So long and good luck."

Bass made Patrick take a vow of secrecy, since he'd be driving them to the outlets and would know what was up. Patrick congratulated them multiple times on the trip and told them he knew of a shop to buy the champagne not too far from the outlets. He'll go and get the two bottles and sparkling grape juice while they were ring shopping.

When they got back, Manny sneaked into the kitchen and hid the champagne in one of the refrigerators, hoping Sandy wouldn't see them when she went to prepare dinner. As they all gathered for dinner, Manny and Bass took out the champagne and sparkling grape juice and six wine glasses. Everyone else was curious and started asking questions.

Manny tried to quell their curiosity. "You'll get your answers in a minute.”

Bass poured the drinks and stood next to Manny.

"Go ahead, Manny."

"Okay. Well, we won't make you wait any longer. This is actually two celebrations. First, Bass and I are going to get married."

A chorus of 'wow,' 'congratulations,' was heard, plus one 'really?'—that last from Rocky.

"Really, Rocky. That decision was made because we're going to have a child."

Confused looks from everyone.

"My being married is the last hurdle to clear in the plan to adopt… you, Rocky!"

"No fucking way. Oh, sorry. Really? You're going to adopt me, Manny. And Bass, I guess?"

"Yes, Rocky. In the short time since I've known you, I've come to love you and want to make sure, you're taken care of forever. Being your foster dad is nice, but I know, this is better."

Rocky jumped up and hugged Manny, then Bass, then pulled the two of them together, "I love you guys, too. Oh, my God. I can't believe this!"

Rocky was crying by this time, but they were happy tears.

Later, Manny and Bass looked into the marriage license process. The good news was, they could complete the application on-line, then go to the court within thirty days.

“This website says, we need two witnesses, Bass.”

“Let’s have four. We’ll let Rocky stay home tomorrow and we’ll all go.”

“Really? Tomorrow?”

Ass smiled, “Why not?

“Why not, indeed.”

Thursday

They all piled into the Lexus and headed to the probate court in Gainesville. Manny and Bass decided they’d throw a party for all their friends in around two weeks. Bass wanted to invite his parents who would be coming from Alabama.

They had all the necessary paperwork, got the license printed, and after a short wait, had a simple civil ceremony. Then the license was signed. They got a couple copies made and submitted the signed license back to the court. The marriage certificate would come in the mail. The extra copies were so they could bring one to Brewster James and have one for themselves.

Thursday, September twenty-sixth, 2024, Manny and Bass were married. They wouldn’t be able to get the smiles from their, and Rocky’s faces without explosives.

All six of them went for a ride to Hoschton to leave a copy of the marriage license with Brewster James. They got lucky and he was in that office that day.

Manny made introductions, then Brewster arranged to get the adoption application re-submitted. He said, hopefully, they’ll get a fast response and could schedule a date in superior court.

Thursday night presented one problem that Manny and Bass discussed once they got into bed.

“Manny, would it bother you if we didn’t consummate the marriage right away? I’m not really sure, I’m ready to do that yet.”

“I understand, Bass. I feel the same way. We’ll do tonight what we’ve done before and take that step when we’re both ready.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

Manny and Bass had oral sex that night. Twice.

Over the course of the next month and a half, Manny and Bass were busy with the process of adoption. Once all the steps were completed, their court date was scheduled for Tuesday, November twelfth.

“Superior court of Hall County, Georgia is now in session. The Honorable Judge Amos Canton presiding.”

“Who is representing the petitioners?”

“Brewster James, Your Honor.”

“Are the petitioners both present?”

“They are, Your Honor.”

“Is the minor child, Rockland Boris Tanner, present?”

“He is, Your Honor.”

“Do you have the final order of adoption, Mr. James?”

“Yes, Your Honor. Right here.”

Brewster handed the order to the bailiff and the judge reviewed it.

“Everything seems to be in order. Will the petitioner Truman David Talbot-Blank please stand?”

Manny stood.

“Will Sebastian Carlton Talbot-Blank please stand.”

Bass stood.

“Please answer each question ‘yes’, or ‘no’”.

“Are you legally married to each other?”

Manny and Bass answered ‘yes’.

“Are you prepared to rear and educate the child as your own?”

Manny and Bass once again answered ‘yes’.

“Do you understand that, once adopted, this child will have all the same inheritance rights as any child born to you?”

Another yes.

“Do you believe, it would be in the child’s best interest for you to adopt the child?”

Yes, again.

“Thank you both. Will Rockland Boris Tanner also stand?”

Rocky stood between Manny and Bass.

“What is your full name?”

“Rockland Boris Tanner, Your Honor.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirteen, Your Honor.”

“You may discontinue using ‘Your Honor’ in each answer. How long have you lived with Truman Talbot-Blank?”

“Approximately three- and one-half months.”

“How long have you lived with Sebastian Talbot-Blank?”

“Nearly my entire life.”

“Do you agree to these two men adopting you and becoming your legal parents?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want your name to be changed?”

“Yes.”

“To what?”

“Rockland Boris Talbot hyphen Blank.”

“It is so ordered by this court that henceforth you will be named Rockland Boris Talbot hyphen Blank. Truman David Talbot-Blank and Sebastian Carlton Talbot-Blank shall be your legal parents. The final documentation will be mailed to the address on record. This court is now adjourned. Congratulations gentlemen.”

Epilogue

Brewster James remained trustee for the bulk of Rocky’s one hundred- and twenty-million-dollar trust until Rocky turned twenty-one. Minus the five percent that went directly to Manny.

Manny sold his house in Braselton for another three hundred and ninety thousand dollars.

Saturday November sixteenth, Manny and Bass hosted a combination wedding reception-adoption celebration. The house staff were all there with guests. All of Manny’s friends from Charlie’s and their families were there. Bass’ parents came in from Alabama. Finally, six of Rocky’s friends and their families were able to make it. Kenny Baxter, Bobby Panner, Paul Bangor, Steve Kilger, and Mark Peeters were no surprises. Bruce Wilmer was a surprise, but shortly after the cafeteria fight aftermath, he joined the others at the lunch table formerly known as the fwuit table and became a good friend.

Neither of the other two boys Bruce molested ever came forward. Bart Packer's parents, like Jack Wilmer, were happy just to have the medical bills covered. Bart hadn't ever been an angel either.

In mid-January, Manny received his prosthesis. One year later, when he was very comfortable with his prosthetic arm, he took his name off the transplant list.

Rocky Talbot-Blank became a happy young man who controlled a tidy sum of two hundred million when he took over the trust at age twenty-one. He married his high school sweetheart two weeks after taking over that trust. He and his wife had two sons and a daughter.

Manny and Bass did fall in love and remain married to this day. They eventually consummated their marriage the night of the celebration. Twice.

The End