The Taft Family’s Before and After - 9. After the Dust Settled

After Abel pleaded guilty to a life sentence with parole eligibility after thirty-three years, things settled down for the Nelson/Taft family. The kids finished their school year and Brendan planned a family vacation. Once he heard the bitch and her bastard husband never went away for a vacation, Brendan decided he'd splurge. He arranged with his manager to take off from the second to the thirteenth of June. School ending on May twenty-sixth allowed for an earlier trip. Much later, and central Florida would just be too damn hot to really have a good time.

He let Skylar Lewis know their plans so he could come along. He asked Jack Markson if they could bring Andrew along, but Jack decided he could use a vacation as well, so he mirrored Brendan's vacation time. Similarly, he asked Evelyn Harper if Lanny could accompany them for Steven to have a friend along. Her husband wouldn't be able to get off work, so she declined having the whole family go, but allowed Lanny to accompany them. Finally, Nick now considered one of the friends that was invited over for his eighth birthday the previous October, his best friend. So, Lewis Turner was invited too. Lewis was an only child, like Andrew, and his mother, Sarah, was also a single parent, but with a sister nearby. Something that will soon become apparent it was very beneficial. Brendan offered to cover the cost for everybody, but only Mrs. Turner took him up on it, indicating she could pay for some of it. The rest thought they would pay their own way, aside from the lodgings. Brendan found a five-bedroom house through VRBO. Jill agreed to bunk with Sarah Turner since finding a six-bedroom house was proving to be a bit difficult. The bedroom alignment worked out well, having a king, queen, and three pairs of single beds. Brendan and Skylar got the king; Brendan was paying for the house, after all. Nick and Lewis shared the queen. The rest split up as expected in the singles; Jill/Sarah, Steven/Lanny, and Jack/Andrew were the solo sleepers.

While the plans were being ironed out, it was discovered that Nick's friend Lewis's mother was the flight attendant friend that Jack had mentioned previously. That kind of threw the sleeping arrangements a curve, but Jack and Sarah were kind enough to bypass sleeping together. At least at first.

June arrived and rather than have a caravan driving eight hours to Orlando/Kissimmee, Brendan rented three rooms at the Hampton Inn in Tifton, Georgia, which was about four hours away. He was able to rent a Kia Carnival EX MPV, which most of the folks would ride in. Jack felt more comfortable driving his own car, so he, Andrew, Sarah, and Jill drove separately. The VRBO reservation covered from the second through the fourteenth, so one night in a hotel on either end was planned. They'd drive back north to Tifton on Saturday and complete the return trip on Sunday.

Brendan and the kids packed up the MPV on Saturday the thirty-first, since it would be hectic enough just gathering everyone up to leave on Sunday. Being an eight-passenger vehicle with plenty of cargo space, it appealed to Brendan. He wouldn't feel like he was driving a bus, like the fifteen-passenger van that was his only other choice. Skylar spent the night Saturday, so that was one less stop they needed to make.

Sunday morning arrived and they hit the road. Brendan picked up Lanny first and had to wait for Evelyn to give her son too long a list of dos and don'ts for him to remember. Next it was off to the Turner's, Sarah and Lewis were ready when they arrived. Finally, a run past the Markson's house to let Sarah and Jill change vehicles, and they were off. They missed their goal of a ten o'clock departure by almost a half hour, but it was vacation, nobody cared.

They stopped after about two and a half hours for lunch. Brendan had packed a cooler with enough food to satisfy the traveling army since he knew rest stops with food choices were rare along the route. They commandeered three picnic tables in the shade and had themselves a nice, leisurely lunch. The kids all had a chance to burn off some energy running around on the grass. Then it was back on the road until they hit the motel. They gathered in Brendan's room after checking in to discuss dinner plans. Jill had noticed a Golden Corral just before getting off the highway. A buffet appealed to everyone. They decided to go a little early, so they would be able to get a few tables close together. Five-thirty rolled around and once again; they were in Brendan's MPV for the two-minute ride to the restaurant. Lewis sat on his mother's lap for the two-minute drive, while Nick on Jill's. Everybody enjoyed dinner, then returned to their rooms to relax. Needless to say, Jill spent the evening with Andrew, Nick went to the Turner's room, and Lanny came to Brendan's. At bedtime, Steven and Lanny retired to Jack and Andrew's room. Nick and Lewis stayed with Brendan and Skylar, and the two females had their own, less crowded room.

Monday brought their arrival at the vacation home. After checking in online, they gathered up everything from the vehicles, brought them inside, and unpacked. After a little time to relax, Skylar volunteered to stay with the children so Brendan, Jack, and Sarah could hit the nearest supermarket to stock up for the next almost two weeks. After getting a laundry list of requests from the kids, that was. None of the adults thought it would have been a good idea to go shopping with half a dozen kids between eight and sixteen.

Jill and Andrew wanted to spend some time together in Andrew's room. This had been cleared before the trip, under the condition that the door would remain open. Jill had argued that, saying they had no intent on having sex, but eventually lost the argument. The door remained open. That didn't prevent them from plotting to swap somewhere along the line so both they and their assigned roommates could switch sleep assignments.

When the shoppers returned, everyone pitched in to bring in the thirty or so bags of groceries. Those little plastic bags never held too much. Jill and Sarah refused any help putting things away, both feeling that the boys would store things scattered so randomly around the kitchen, nothing could be found. Their perspective on ‘The boys’ included the men, of course. The men, at least, agreed they were probably right.

The VRBO had a television in every bedroom and in two sitting rooms. All were equipped a fire stick, but no cable hook-up. The bedroom TV's each had a gaming console and a fair selection of corresponding games. When they weren't at the theme parks, the kids wouldn't be bored.

After dinner, the ten-some gathered in one of the sitting rooms, younger children scattered on the floor, to discuss plans for the next twelve days. The house had a heated pool, so it was agreed they would take a few one-day breaks from parks to relax at the house; day one being the first. Brendan thought ahead and brought his laptop and an HDMI cable, hooking it up to the largest TV in the house to go through all their choices. It was quickly discovered that they would need roughly seven weeks to spend a day at everything. Heavy duty filtering would be needed. Everyone would choose one park, and they would be voted upon to determine where they visited.

The Magic Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon Water Park were unanimous choices. Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Volcano Bay, and Fun Spot America all received a majority of votes. SeaWorld Orlando got five votes. Epcot, Legoland Theme Park and Legoland Water Park each got a smattering of votes, which was not unexpected, as they were the last choices added. In the case of Epcot, only the adults voted for it. The two Wizarding World of Harry Potter Parks received enough votes together to make the final cut. Since Hogsmeade was located inside Universal Islands of Adventure, it was already covered. Diagon Alley also tagged along, residing in Universal Studios Florida. Brendan would simply purchase two-day passes at the Harry Potter parent parks. SeaWorld was agreed upon as well. In the end, Epcot, Legoland Theme Park, and Legoland Water Park fell off the list. That came out to nine park days, and three pool days. Everyone agreed that was more than enough to satisfy them. After the kids went to bed, Jack and Sarah indicated they couldn't afford to visit all those parks and would have to skip a few. Brendan told them to cover what they could at the beginning of the week, and he would take care of the rest. But he had other plans.

Nobody else knew it, but when Brendan had visited Abel in prison and agreed with him about giving Brendan power of attorney over his assets, there was plenty left over to easily cover the entire Disney/Universal costs. It took a little manipulation out of the current accounts, but he'd expected that and took care of it before they left home. Six thousand of the roughly one hundred and sixty thousand that had been placed in each child's college account was transferred to his checking account. His bank was notified that there would be numerous large charges in the Orlando area. He ensured he was first in line and paid for Jack, Sarah, and their kids before they had a chance to argue. That worked at the first park, after that, Brendan confided in each of them that he had sufficient funds to not make a significant dent in his bankroll to cover all their visits. They reluctantly agreed to accept the tickets but insisted on each paying for some meals at the parks. Brendan capitulated, knowing it wasn't a battle worth fighting.

By and large, the park visits went well. There was one issue when Steven escorted Nick and Lewis to the rest room at the Magic Kingdom. They got turned around on the way back to meet up with the rest. They wandered around for about ten minutes before Steven gave up and called Brendan. Crisis averted. After that, a designated meeting spot was determined before anybody split off for any reason.

About midway through the trip, Saturday the seventh, Jill and Andrew finally broke Jack and Brendan down, and were allowed to sleep in the same room. Jack didn't need a whole lot of arm twisting, although he did find making love with Sarah a bit tricky in the single bed. But love finds a way. Brendan only agreed on the condition that the door remain open a crack, and he would randomly check that they were both in their own beds after lights out. Jill and Andrew did some making out and snuck in a little heavy petting after Brendan appeared for his inspections. Only hands were used in these interactions, but neither Jill nor Andrew had any desire to go further yet anyway. Well, Andrew may have had the desire, but he respected Jill's wishes.

After returning home, everyone thanked Brendan for coordinating the trip and paying for nearly everything. The kids all had a blast and made a ton of memories to last a lifetime. Hopefully, some of the bad memories inflicted by their parents were pushed out to make room for the new ones for the Tafts.

Good memories would continue. Brendan took the kids to places around town, rented movies that they wanted to see, and lots more. He spoiled them to some extent, but he made sure they understood there were limits. Since all their real grandparents were dead, they obtained honorary grandparents when Brendan invited the Duncans, who they had bought the house from, to come meet the kids. After obtaining the children's ages, the Duncans arrived bearing gifts. Nothing too elaborate, as the old saying goes, it was the thought that counted. Brendan, Skylar, and the kids were invited to the Duncans for all the holidays. They had only moved to Helen, less than an hour away, so neither family had a long drive to make visits.

After a couple years, Brendan applied to adopt the children; he'd asked them a few months earlier if they would be willing, and they all said yes. Steven asked him if he would get a medal made for Nick, for Jill and him to give to Nick on that day. Brendan agreed. Afterwards, every time one of them would ask about being adopted, Brendan said he hadn't gotten around to it. Two months before the second anniversary of Nick appearing at his door, he completed the application, still indicating to the children he hadn't followed up yet. They were obviously anxious about it, at least one of them asked weekly. When the approval came through, he negotiated the hearing to occur on Friday, August twenty-first. He made sure the Duncans were aware and available. Skylar would attend as an additional resource from Child Services, along with Stephanie Lawson, who had been their caseworker since day one, except for a short period Skylar filled in when Stephanie took some time off to attend to some family issues.

The big day came, Brendan told the kids they were going to see the Duncans and it was an anniversary, so they should dress nicely. It didn't take them long to realize they weren't going to the Duncan's house.

Jill queried, "Don't you usually go another way to their house?"

"Yes, but today is different."

When they pulled into the courthouse parking lot at twelve-forty-five, fifteen minutes before the scheduled time for the hearing, they started to get suspicious.

"We're not visiting the Duncans, are we U.B.?"

"We are, Steven, they're meeting us here."

"Why at the courthouse?"

"Patience, master Steven. The answer will be revealed shortly."

Jill started smiling; at seventeen, she was a little more mature and thought she figured it out.

Nick, at nine, wondered, "Why are you so happy, Jill?"

Jill parroted Brendan's previous answer, only changing the name.

After going through the metal detector, they headed to the courtroom where the hearing was to be held. Brendan cautioned the kids they must be quiet, no loud voices. The admonition apparently fell on deaf ears. At a couple minutes after one o'clock, the bailiff announced the Judge.

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

“Who is representing the petitioner?”

“Brewster James, Your Honor.”

“Is the petitioner present?”

“He is, Your Honor.”

“Are the minor children, Gillian Eve, Steven Adam, and Nicholas Adam Taft present?”

“They are, Your Honor.”

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

Steven and Nick whooped when they heard the word adoption. The Judge smiled. He didn't mind the interruption in the least.

“Yes, Your Honor. Right here.”

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

“Everything seems to be in order. Will the petitioner Brendan Travis Nelson please stand?”

Brendan stood and answered all the following questions affirmatively.

“Please answer each question yes, or no.

Are you prepared to rear and educate these children as your own?

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

Do you believe it would be in the children’s best interest for you to adopt the children?

Thank you. Will Gillian, Steven, and Nicholas also stand?”

They did as requested, standing next to Brendan. The Judge asked each child in turn.

“Miss Taft, what is your full name?”

“Gillian Eve Taft, Your Honor.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen, Your Honor.”

“You may discontinue using your honor in each answer. How long have you lived with Brendan Travis Nelson?”

“A few days less than two years.”

“Do you agree to this man adopting you and becoming your legal parent?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want your name to be changed?”

Jill was caught off-guard, she didn't expect that, “Yes.”

“To what?”

“Jill Yvette Nelson.”

“It is so ordered by this court that henceforth you will be named Jill Yvette Nelson. Brendan Travis Nelson shall henceforth be your legal parent.”

The same questions were asked of Steven and Nick. Both followed Jill's lead and requested their name be Nelson, modifying their middle names to be Brendan. Nick's response to the time period was, "Exactly two years." He didn't forget what day it was.

"The final documentation will be mailed to the address on record. This court is now adjourned. Congratulations to you all.”

The children hopped up and down, ecstatic. Skylar, Stephanie, and the Duncan's applauded quietly. Walking out of the courthouse, Jill made a comment.

"You lied to us, U..., um, Da..., no... Newdad. You kept telling us you never started the process."

"Newdad, I like that. I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew you all would accept it, so I hid it from you. Am I forgiven?"

They all yelled, "Yes!"

Brendan treated the group to an early dinner at Red Lobster. After they ordered, Brendan took a small box out of his pocket and handed it to Steven.

"I believe you asked for this."

Steven looked at him questioningly, then opened the box, "Yesssss!"

He showed it to Jill, and together they handed it to Nick.

"The Bravest Boy Ever. This is awesome. Thank you."

Jill and Steven told him how welcome he was. Afterwards, Nick had difficulty eating through his smiles and giggles.

A little less than two years after that, there was another celebration. This time there were a lot more attendees. Brendan had asked Skylar to marry him, and Skylar accepted. They strayed slightly from the norm, though. Jill was maid of honor, and Steven and Nick were co-best men. All their friends were there, enjoying the party. Steven, still only seventeen at the time, gave the toast with non-alcoholic champagne. Nick gladly deferred; he was still only eleven years old.

"First, I want to wish both Brendan and Skylar many years of happiness together. When I first met Newdad, I didn't know who he was, nor did I know what to make of him. Then I realized that no matter what, he had to be better than our so-called parents. That turned out to be a massive understatement, right from the time I stuttered my first words to him. I'd gotten a lot of grief from the individuals who raised me for the first thirteen years of my life, about that and a lot more. Newdad, still Uncle Brendan at the time, never said a negative thing about it. He helped me realize when I started to make progress with my speech. Our so-called parents being out of the picture was a trigger to that improvement, along with his love.

"Then Mr. Lewis came into our lives. At first, he was a substitute caseworker with Child Services. When Ms. Lawson returned, thank you for that Ms. Lawson, by the way, Mr. Lewis no longer had to sneak around to be with our uncle. He became a fixture in our lives as well. His experience in Child Services guided him well, becoming almost a second father to us. Today, he becomes Newpop. Newpop, welcome to the family."

Everyone cheered and raised their glasses. Jill and her honorary grandmother, Pam Duncan, traded off dances with the grooms. Steven and Nick did as well, although theirs were a little bit shorter. James Duncan took his turn on the dance floor with the grooms as well, although he did show a little discomfort at first. His generation wasn't one to accept that situation easily, but he ended up being quite alright with it. By the end of the reception, all of the women and about half of the men had shared a dance with the newlyweds. Those that didn't dance smiled. There were no negative comments voiced about men dancing together. Brendan and Skylar had vetted their guest list well.

About two years after the wedding, Jill and Steven were both away at college, twenty-one and nineteen respectively. They politely declined Skylar's offer of adoption. However, Nick agreed, still being a minor at thirteen. They all once again headed to the courthouse for the ceremony.

Life went on well for the Nelsons. As they say in fairy tales, they all lived happily ever after.

The End