A Decision for Jarren - 30. Chapter 30

Liam was feeling all sorts of emotions. First and foremost, he was excited and happy. Secondly, he was scared and nervous. He knew in the back of his mind that there was nothing to be scared or nervous about, but he just couldn’t help himself. He had really enjoyed his first plane trip. It was so cool looking out the window and seeing the tops of the big fluffy clouds. They looked like big, soft cotton balls.

When he had finally caught sight of Jarren and Nash waiting for him, his heart had leaped into his throat. He still wondered how he had gotten so lucky. Liam sat in the backseat of the SUV and Nash had climbed into the back with him. Jarren was driving and John sat in the front passenger seat. Jarren had told him that they were going straight to Lex and Ian’s house and that he and Nash would spend the night there. Tomorrow they would take him to their house to check it out before bringing John back to the airport.

Liam felt a little apprehensive about staying with Lex and Ian. He really didn’t know them, but Jarren had assured him it would work out fine. He just hoped that this other kid, Keon, wasn’t a douchebag. Nash had told him that Keon had been burned pretty badly and was self conscious about his scars. Well, Liam thought to himself, missing legs could probably trump burn scars in most cases. Burns could be covered up, he couldn’t exactly hide the fact that he had no legs, especially when he couldn’t even wear fake legs because of his stupid ears. For the most part he was OK with what had happened, but still, there were days when he just wanted to scream and cry at the unfairness of it. He missed playing baseball. He missed running. He missed his Mom.

Liam knew that he shouldn’t feel sorry for himself, and he really was happy that it looked like he was going to have a forever home. He just wanted it right now. He had felt an instant connection to Jarren and Nash ever since the first day that Jarren had shown up at the farm. He thought it was stupid that the state made people who were willing to foster jump through so many hoops. Couldn’t they see that Jarren and Nash were awesome? Everybody else did.

Liam watched the scenery pass by. It wasn’t too much different than Georgia, maybe a little more hilly. The ride from the airport to the McCarson’s house took just under an hour and a half and the closer they got, the more nervous Liam became. They finally pulled into a driveway of a nice looking house that was built into a hill. Liam waited patiently as they unloaded the luggage and his wheelchair from the back.

Nash hopped over on his crutches and opened the door and asked “You OK there Liam? It’s alright to be nervous. Lex and Ian are great guys, and I think you’ll like Keon too. He’s pretty quiet so don’t corrupt him too much.”

“How do you know he won’t be the one corrupting me?” Liam asked jokingly.

“Because I don’t see any horns sprouting from his head like you have.” Nash teased right back.

Liam giggled. He knew he could be a smart ass, he just couldn’t help it. Jarren interrupted the bantering by arriving with Liam’s wheelchair. The SUV’s seat was up higher than what Liam was used to and he knew just by looking that his sliding board wasn’t going to bridge the distance between the two seats so he allowed Jarren to lift him out of the big vehicle and deposit him into his chair. Liam took a deep breath and blew it out in a soft huff, ‘here goes nothing’, he thought and started wheeling himself toward the walkway that went up a slight hill to the back of the house. When he reached the steeper incline Jarren took over and pushed him the rest of the way. There was a ramp that was covering the stairs that went right up onto the deck. Jarren told him that they had built it for him. It could be rolled up under the deck when not in use. Liam thought that was pretty cool. There was a funny looking dog standing on the deck, tail wagging furiously. Liam figured that it must be Halo, as Jarren had told him that Lex had a dog. She didn’t quite know what to make of Liam’s chair at first, but after a minute or two she realized it wasn’t out to hurt her she came over and gave Liam a sniff. He obligingly scratched her behind the ears, and she in turn licked his hand. Well at least the dog liked him, he thought.

Once they were on the deck, the slider opened and Liam saw Lex standing there with Ian behind him. They were both smiling and that was enough to ease his silly fears.

“Liam! Come on in. It’s so good to finally have you here!” Lex said as he stood back to let Jarren push his chair over the threshold and into the house. They entered through the kitchen and Liam was impressed with how much room there was to maneuver. He looked around and as his eyes shifted left he caught sight of the most gorgeous boy he had ever seen. Liam’s eyes widened slightly as he took in Keon for the first time. Well, he assumed it was Keon, who else could it be? His look was so exotic and his bright green eyes stood out, even from all the way across the room. Keon, or whoever it was, stared back.

Lex was behind Liam’s chair and missed the look on Liam’s face. Jarren missed it as well, but both Ian and Nash had caught it and Nash raised one eyebrow slightly and saw the corner of Ian’s mouth quirk upward.

Lex spoke up again, “Keon, come on over. This is Liam. Liam, this is Keon.”

“Hey.” was all that Liam managed to utter.

“Hey.” was the response.

An awkward moment of silence was broken when Lex asked “Are you guys hungry? We’ve got stuff for sandwiches and salad. Keon, why don’t you show Liam his room and where the bathroom is so you guys can wash your hands while we get the stuff out for lunch?”

Keon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly before he said “Sure, come on, this way Liam. Your room is down here.”

Liam rolled across the kitchen and followed Keon down a hallway. Keon stopped in front of an open door and told him, “This is your room. The bathroom is directly across. My room is the door after the bathroom and Lex and Ian’s room is through that door down there.’ he told him as he pointed each room out.

Liam looked into the room that was designated as his. It was a decent size, he saw that there was enough space for his wheelchair to get around both sides of the bed. The bed itself was a platform bed, and he saw storage underneath. He thought that was pretty handy, it would be easy to access from his chair. There was also a long dresser with six drawers, three on each side. Again, he was glad that they made things easy for him. There was a closet with a sliding barn door and as Liam glanced in he saw that they had lowered the clothes bar for him in there as well. He only had two suitcases of stuff, and one big duffel bag that John had checked for him. There was more than enough storage for all of his things.

He turned around and saw Keon staring at him. “What?” he asked.

Keon smiled shyly and said, “Nothing, you just looked happy.”

Liam smiled back and told him honestly, “I feel happy,” and Liam realized he really meant it.

Back in the kitchen Ian brought Lex and Jarren up to speed on the looks that he and Nash saw as they pulled stuff out of the refrigerator for lunch. “Yup, Liam’s eyes lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve when he caught sight of Keon. Keon did a little staring of his own. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Keon never expressed an interest in either guys or girls to us, and we never really gave it any thought either. I mean, he’s only 13.”

“That’s about the age where a lot of guys start to figure things out. I know that’s what happened with me. I just didn’t admit it for a hell of a long time.” commented Jarren.

Nash threw in his two cents and suggested “I think we should just leave them both alone. If they want to bring it up so be it. All we can do is let them both know that they can talk to us about anything. I for one, would rather give them the right information regarding sex and relationships, be it with a guy or a girl, than to have them turning to the internet or their friends. It’s just going to be a matter of gaining their trust.”

John, who had been listening and watching all this time told them “In my experience, the best thing you can do is to tell the kids that you’re there for them and make sure you follow through. If they know that they can rely on you it makes it that much easier for them to trust you. Fostering with the intent on adopting has a huge trial and error period. You’re going to screw up. Just don’t let it dissuade you. Both of you couples have unique challenges. Scars don’t have to be visible in order to hurt.”

Lex and Nash both nodded their heads in agreement. They both knew how much damage emotional and mental scars could create.

“Nash and I have discussed this and we’re going to ask Liam if he would be willing to go to family therapy with us. Even if he doesn’t go we feel that we’d benefit from it.” Jarren admitted.

“It’s helped us out with Keon. He sees his therapist by himself and then Ian and I go in with him for some time as well. Keon also has a weekly phone session, seeing how his therapist is in Boston and we only go there once a week.” Lex said.

“Ask him if he knows anyone in this area he could recommend for us.” Nash said.

Lex nodded and their conversation ceased as they heard the boys approaching the kitchen. Liam looked better than he did when they first got there. Jarren knew he had been nervous and he seemed to have loosened up quite a bit.

The next several minutes were occupied by everyone trying to make a sandwich or a salad for themselves. One end of the counter had soft rolls and several kinds of lunch meats and cheeses laid out. The other end of the counter had a large bowl of salad. In the middle were the condiments and salad dressings. There was a lot of jostling and good natured ribbing with comments like, ‘Get the hell out of my way’, ‘Hey! I needed that cheese’, and ‘Get your paws off the roast beef’, tossed back and forth until at last everyone had a sandwich or salad or both in front of them.

Liam and Keon sat next to each other and ate quietly. John brought Jarren and Nash up to speed on how Liam had done in school. They were both pleased to find out that he made mostly A’s, with a lone B- in math. Jarren couldn’t blame him, math had been his least favorite subject in school too.

Once lunch was over and everything put away Keon and Liam went outside to play with Halo. She loved fetching sticks, although getting her to drop them was a challenge. Jarren watched through the slider as Keon would chase down the short legged dog and wrestle the stick from her and then give it to Liam so he could throw it across the yard. Sometimes Keon would have to use the old bait and switch trick and throw a second stick that he found so that Halo would drop the one she had and chase the new one.

Jarren knew the dog would tire out quickly considering how warm it was today. He was glad to see Liam settling in. He took a seat next to Nash at the table and listened as the other guys discussed the situation.

“Hey you,” Nash said as Jarren rejoined them. “I was just telling the guys here that I think we might need to consider getting another vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with my right foot, so as long as we don’t get a stick, I don’t see why I can’t be cleared to drive again.”

Jarren realized that he was right. His truck was great for hauling stuff around, but there wasn’t any back seat, although the front seat was a bench with three seatbelts. “I think you’re right. We’ll have to talk to Grant. You have the insurance check from your truck, but it’s in the escrow account. I guess we could get a loan until the funds are freed up. What are your thoughts?”

“I was thinking along the same lines. I’ll call Grant on Monday and see what he advises us to do. I don’t have any problem taking out a loan, as long as it gets paid off quickly. I’d rather not drain my savings right now, although I could if it comes down to it.” Nash said.

“What type of vehicle do you want to look at?” Lex asked them.

Nash thought for a moment and replied “Probably an SUV, but not as big as what you have. Liam needs to be able to get in and out easily. I want something with a really good safety rating too. I think we realize now, more than ever, how important that is.”

Ian chimed in and offered “I’ve heard that the Subaru Forester is a really good vehicle, you might want to take a look at that. You could probably get a nice used one for less than $25K. They have one of the best safety ratings and they hold their value really well too. Hondas are supposed to be great too.”

Jarren looked at Nash and said “I guess we have some car shopping to do this week. I wonder if Liam would want to go with us and help choose?”

“Choose what?” Liam asked as Keon pushed his chair over the threshold. Halo was right behind them, tongue hanging down, panting, as she walked over to her water bowl and drank like dying man in the desert. She flopped down on her side on the cool tile. The boys had thoroughly tuckered her out.

“Nash wants to go shopping for a vehicle to replace his truck. We’re thinking SUV and want to know if you want to help us decide.” Jarren told him as the boys made their way over to the table.

“That sounds cool. Can Keon come?” Liam asked.

“Sure,” replied Nash.

Both boys had huge grins and Keon told Liam “Come on, I’ve got an XBox in my room. Wanna play?”

“Lead the way so I can kick your ass, my friend” was Liam’s challenge.

John chided “Language Liam, language.”

None of them missed the eye roll as Liam spun his chair around and wheeled off down the hall with Keon leading the way.

“Smart ass kid.” John muttered.

“And we wouldn’t have it any other way.’ remarked Jarren, and Nash nodded.

“So what’s on the agenda for this afternoon?” Jarren asked.

Ian looked at Lex before speaking, “If you guys don’t mind, I’d like to invite Mazen and Cassie over for a barbeque. It’s Lex and Cassie’s birthday tomorrow and my parents are having dinner at their house. You guys are invited too, if you want to come. Cassie can’t go because she has to be in Boston tomorrow night, she has a meeting early on Monday with some people who have made a pretty big contribution to the Inkwell Foundation. They didn’t realize it was a holiday here in the U.S. when they requested a meeting and they are flying back to Japan. Their flight leaves at one-thirty in the afternoon, so it has to be an early meeting. So Cassie wanted to celebrate their birthday with him tonight. She promised to behave, and I’ve hidden her stash of Fireball.”

Jarren snorted and replied “Cassie behave? I’ll believe it when I see it. But yeah, go ahead and tell them it’s OK, Liam has to be exposed to the miscreant at some point. Better to get it over with now. ”

Lex laughed “I promise to keep her in line. We have a birthday pact and she’ll honor it.”

Ian looked at him and said “What kind of pact? That actually sounds like something to be worried about.”

“Don’t be worried, she’ll behave. I thinks she’s really looking forward to meeting Liam, so between me and Mazen, she’ll tow the line.” Lex assured them.

“Should I be worried about meeting Cassie?” Nash teased.

Jarren leaned over and kissed him saying “Nope, I’ll protect you.”

Now it was Ian’s turn to snort as he laughed “Good luck with that!”

Jarren addressed the other point Lex brought up. “We’ll have to take a raincheck on dinner with your parents. If my mom ever found out that Kathy met Liam first, man, no one would ever find my body!”

“Oooh, yeah, you are so right on that count. I understand and I know my Mom will too.” said Lex as he shot a text off to Cassie. It wasn’t long before he got a reply. “Damn, that was quick. They’ll be here as soon as they’re done at the store. Cassie was craving crab dip and made a batch this morning, but forgot the bread to go with it. ”

It was about an hour later when Halo’s head shot up off of the floor where she had been napping on the cool tiles, and her tail thumped rapidly. She quickly scrambled to her feet and trotted out to the enclosed porch to look out the big windows.

The guys had been sitting around, shooting the shit, and listening out for the occasional curse that drifted down the hall from Keon’s room when one of them got killed by the other in whatever game they were ensconced in. Conversation had ceased when Halo made a beeline for the porch. That dog loved the attention that Cassie always doted on her.

They heard the doors of Cassie’s car close and a minute later she came breezing in through the door, Mazen right behind her. They both carried grocery bags and Cassie put hers on the counter, turned around scanned the room. She then made a beeline for Nash.

Nash had stood up when Cassie was putting her stuff on the counter, so he had a quick chance to assess the girl that he had comforted all those years ago. He had to admit to himself that she had grown into a beautiful woman. She walked over to him confidently, with a serious look on her face.

Cassie stopped in front of him and looked up and locked her eyes onto his. They were the same blue that he remembered, but without the anguish that he had seen before. They just stared at each other for a long minute, in absolute silence. Cassie made the first move and Nash suddenly found himself wrapped up one of her famous boa constrictor hugs. He, in turn wrapped his arms around her and held on almost as tight. Nash looked over the top of her head and saw Lex smiling approvingly.

Nash pulled back and smiled down at the petite blonde and said “Hello, Cassie. It’s really good to see you again.”

Cassie blinked a couple of times, as if to clear her vision and replied, “I’m really glad you’re here Nash. Now where’s this kid I keep hearing about. I need to see for myself how corruptible he is.” That last remark she directed at Jarren as she stepped over to give him a quick kiss on his cheek.

“I don’t know Cass, he might surprise you. He’s already pretty corrupted, right John?” Jarren commented, and then made the introductions. “Cassie, this is John, he’s the director of the home Liam was in. John, this is Cassie, Mazen’s fiancee, Lex’s best friend, and thorn in our side to the rest of us. Don’t believe a word that she says.”

Ian, Lex and Mazen all tried hard, but really couldn’t hold back their laughter. Cassie just glared at them. Nash looked on in amusement as well. John returned her greeting, and wisely ignored Jarren’s comments.

Ian called down the hallway to Keon and Liam and the boys appeared after a couple of minutes, having to get in one last shot at killing the other on the Xbox. Keon had apparently already given Liam the lowdown on Cassie. Liam wheeled his chair down the hall, and Nash thought that if someone could actually strut in a wheelchair, Liam was strutting.

Liam stopped his chair right in front of Cassie and the two of them eyed each other. Jarren could detect just a hint of amusement in Cassie’s eyes. She was loving this. Liam was the one who spoke up first and announced “So, you’re the one who I’ve heard so much about.”

Cassie took the bait and replied “Depends on what you’ve heard.”

Liam answered with total honesty “I’ve heard that you’re a hot ticket, you’re brash, you’re like a pit bull on a piece of raw meat when you set your mind to something, you have no filter, you can be brutally honest, you love Fireball and Rumchata, whatever the hell that is, you’re really smart, and I can see for myself that you’re pretty, and you’re like a mama bear protecting her cubs when it comes to those in your inner circle.” He paused and then added, “Oh, and you’re dangerous with power tools.”

All of the guys had to give Cassie credit. She kept a straight face throughout Liam’s entire list of her traits, good and bad. They watched as she bent over slightly to get down to Liam’s eye level.

Cassie looked Liam straight in the eye and declare, “You’re absolutely right. I’m all those things and then some. I’m sure you’ll find out as we go. I like you kid, I think we’re going to get along just fine. Can I have a hug?”

Liam nodded and Cassie put her arms around the boy. All of the guys realized as she stood up looking like the cat that got the canary, that she just gained an important ally. They were screwed and she knew it. So did Liam, if the smirk he shot at Jarren and Nash was any indication.

John was the first one to start laughing he snickered as he told them “Y’all are going to have to watch your backs now.”

The rest of the guys gave in to the laughter that they had been holding on to as well.

Ian took the initiative to change the subject and said “Why don’t we all go outside, there’s beer, soda and water in the cooler. Lex, why don’t you grab some cheese out of the fridge and Cassie, where’s that crab dip you said you were bringing?”

The tactic worked and soon everyone was settled outside in the enclosed portion of the deck. Cassie had made an amazing crab dip and it was best served warm so they all dug in, spreading the creamy, cheesy, crabby, gooey goodness on slices of French bread that Mazen had dumped into a wicker basket. Lex had sliced cheese and crackers and Ian opened a couple of bottles of wine as well for those who didn’t want beer. Steaks and chicken were marinating and there was also a couple of dozen ears of corn that Ian and Lex had wrapped in foil earlier in the day, ready to go on the grill.

At one point Cassie was standing off to the side by herself, just watching all the guys interact with a smile on her face. Nash came up and stood next to her and commented “So that’s your inner circle huh?”

Cassie brought her gaze around and looked into Nash’s blue eyes and gave him a contemplative look before she answered him and said, “Nash, you’ve been a part of my inner circle since I was fourteen years old, you just didn’t know it. Thank you, by the way. What you did for me back then, it meant the world to me. You were the only thing that kept me grounded that day. I felt like I was going to be sucked into this huge, dark void and you kept me from doing that.” She stood on her tiptoes and pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek.

Nash kissed her back on her forehead and confessed, “I like you Cassie. I don’t care what anyone else says, you’re OK.”

Cassie giggled and quipped, “I’ll remind you that you said that someday, trust me!”

Nash chuckled and he hopped over to Jarren and plunked himself on his lap, kissing him thoroughly. Jarren kissed him back just as passionately, which turned into a mini-makeout session, and the next thing they knew they were spluttering as ice cold water from the coolers had been thrown over their heads.

Liam and Cassie were each holding a big plastic cup and laughing.