Winning the Lottery - 20. Chapter 20 - Dane and other family

Dane watched warily as Derrick walked to the back of the plane to make his phone call to Cass in private. It occurred to me that Dane always looked wary—as if the next moment might bring another unpleasant surprise. And most likely, in the little guy’s experience, that was true. From an adult perspective, rescuing Dane from a disadvantaged life, bringing him to a life of love and opportunity was a good thing. But to a child like Dane, who’d been moved from pillar to post virtually all his life, two strangers making promises to be his dads didn’t represent security, just another threat. No wonder Dane’s behavior was less than stellar. It was the only way he had of maintaining control of his world.

What could we do to earn Dane’s trust? To give him a sense of permanence, of security? How could we convince him that he had a place in our hearts and in our home and in our family?

Derrick interrupted my musings by returning with a huge smile on his face. “Dane,” he said. “I just talked to your new brother, Cass. He’s very excited about having a little brother and can hardly wait to meet you! And you have a new sister, too. Her name is Khala. Here, let me show you pictures of them.” He pulled out his phone, sat in the seat next to Dane and proceeded to show him several photos taken at Cass and Khala’s graduation which included Mom and Dad, Don and Marco, and several friends including the Foroughis, and Jordan, Kelly and Alfy.

Alfy’s photo captured Dane’s interest. It was like he thought of Alfy as a potential ally in an otherwise endless sea of adults.

That gave me an idea. I turned to Derrick and said, “Maybe our next phone call should be to Jordan and Kelly. Maybe they could bring Alfy out to meet us at the airport when we arrive at HNL?”

It was my turn to go to the back of the plane to make a phone call to our friends. When Kelly answered the phone I quickly explained what we’d been up to. He was surprised of course, but also delighted and supportive of what we’d done. He said he’d phone Jordan, who was at work, right away and fill him in. And, yes, he was pretty sure they could meet us on our arrival.

When I got back to my seat, I relayed my conversation with Kelly and told Dane that Alfy, the boy in the pictures, would be at the airport to meet us when our plane landed at our new home.

After that the flight attendants prepared a meal for us. A healthy, but very tasty, chicken salad for Derrick and me, and chicken tenders with some peas for Dane. He didn’t really like the peas, but there were just a few of them—just enough so that he got used to eating vegetables—and ate them reluctantly with the promise of ice cream for dessert. I wasn’t comfortable with the whole ‘bribe’ approach to food: eat your veggies or you won’t get dessert.... But isn’t that pretty universal? Don’t most parents resort to that at some point? I just wasn’t sure. That’s a question I’d be asking Jordan and Kelly.

After we’d eaten Dane became sleepy, hell, we were all nearly exhausted, so we retreated to the bed for a nap. (Pee and brush teeth first!) We did that sandwich thing again, with me in the middle, and we all conked out pretty quickly.

After napping for about an hour we decided to watch a movie. Dane chose The Lego Movie which was actually pretty fun for us adults to watch too.

Derrick and I took turns calling friends and family to tell them about Dane. Of course they were all taken by surprise, but no one had a negative thing to say about what we’d done. In fact, they were all wildly happy about the situation; all offered their congratulations and support. The only one I didn’t talk to was James, because it was night time in France; I’d call him a little later, once we’d arrived and hopefully catch him in the morning before he got to school.

Once the movie was finished Derrick and I took showers and changed into our ‘Hawaii’ clothes. Then we gave Dane a wash and dressed him in shorts and a t-shirt. The plane was air conditioned, but once the door opened we’d be stepping out into a warm humid evening.

Looking west out the plane’s windows we could see the beginnings of one of Oahu’s famed sunsets. It was a beautiful night to arrive home.

I was glad to see Kelly’s big truck as the plane coasted into its parking spot.

We waited until the door was open before we got up from out seats. Derrick exited first. Dane and I followed. As Dane and I reached the door, he recoiled as the warm, humid air hit him. Realizing the sudden change in temperature had startled him, I knelt down and said, “Can you feel the warm air, Dane? It’s nothing to worry about. In fact, most people love it. You’ll get used to it in a few minutes, and I think you’ll like it too. Shall we go down the steps? I think I see Alfy there waiting to meet you.”

Dane gave me that wary look, but at least it wasn’t a refusal, so I stood up and led him down the steps.

Jordan, Kelly and Alfy had hugged Derrick and turned to watch Dane and me come down the steps. Observing Dane’s discomfort, their greeting to us was more muted, but nonetheless warm. They’d brought us beautiful leis which they placed around our necks. Introductions were made. Dane and Alfy observed each other suspiciously. Please God, I prayed, Let them become friends!

“This is for you,” said Alfy, as he held out a small box for Dane to take. It was a box of Legos. Perfect!

Dane took the box and studied it. He glanced up at me; I knew he was happy with the gift, but he didn’t quite know what to do. He was looking at me for guidance. Thank you, Jesus!

“Dane, can you say ‘thank you’ to Alfy?”

“Um...thank you...”

I gave Dane’s hand a little squeeze of approval.

It was decided that Derrick and I would take the boys in Derrick’s Bentayga, and Jordan and Kelly would follow in their truck. We got the car seats installed and headed off home.

It didn’t take long for the boys to start chattering about the Lego. Alfy seemed to be the expert, explaining to Dane what pieces needed to go where.

Kids being kids, Alfy commenced an interesting monologue, “My dad said you came from Canada. Where’s that? Is it warm there? You don’t look like a Haole. My dad says not to use that word. But that’s what we call people who aren’t from Hawaii. Have you been to a luau? They had one when my dads adopted me. It was fun. I drank so much juice that I puked. Have you every puked? Do you know what the Hawaiian word for dick is? It’s ule. I’ll teach you other words too.”

Derrick and I were cracking up as Alfy prattled on. It was a wonder Derrick could keep control of the car.

Our little convoy arrived at our house and we let Alfy, who had clearly become Dane’s mentor, take Dane in hand to give him a tour of our yard and house, with a stern warning that they were not to go onto the beach and to be careful around the pool because Dane didn’t know how to swim. Not that we were going to let them out of our sight for a second, but Dane seemed entranced by Alfy’s take charge attitude. It took Alfy all of thirty seconds to show Dane the yard then the kids dashed in the house and up the stairs, Alfy leading Dane by the hand. “Which bedroom is his?” yelled Alfy.

“The one in the back,” I shouted back. That was Cass’s room, now to be repurposed for his younger brother. I dashed up the stairs after them, thinking I should be there to explain that we’d redecorate the room into something Dane would like.

“She’s hot isn’t she?” I heard Alfy saying as the two of them gazed at one of Cass’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit posters. Alfy continued to talk a mile a minute. Looking at Dane I realized that the rigid posture that was normally there was gone. He looked relaxed. And the look of wariness on his face had disappeared; he now looked animated and happy. Alfy had accomplished in a few minutes what it might have taken Derrick and me weeks to do, if ever.

Kelly, Jordan and Alfy only stayed a few minutes. It was a school day for Alfy the next day and Kelly, of course, had an early shift at the radio station. As they were leaving Alfy beseeched his dad to bring him over the next day so he could teach Dane to swim.

Dane’s demeanor had undergone a transformation. Suddenly, like someone had clicked a switch, he seemed more relaxed, less wary, and was more talkative. Apparently, Alfy’s promise to come back and teach him how to swim had him excited.

We ‘waterproofed’ Dane’s bed by putting a large trash bag under the sheet and mattress cover. Then Derrick bathed Dane and dressed him in his PJ’s. I read to him until he fell asleep.

I gazed at his beautiful little face, so relaxed in sleep, and felt my heart expand with love. Any doubts or insecurities I had evaporated. He was my son! Derrick came in at that point and we both stood, arms around each other, and stared at our little boy.

We made love that night, very tenderly.

The sun was barely coloring the sky when Dane came in and woke us up the next morning. His PJ’s were dry! He crawled into bed with his two sleepy dads but wasn’t about to settle down. So down to the kitchen we went, where I proceeded to make a pot of coffee and pancakes.

We’d made a list (a rather long, daunting list) of all the things we had to do to help our son settle into his new home. It included tasks like: register Dane for school, hire nanny, pediatrician check up, dental check up, buy bedroom furniture, coordinate Dane’s security guys, get a dog...

We missed Lucy like crazy, but weren’t keen on just replacing her with another dog. But with a small child in the house, suddenly a dog seemed important. So that task moved up to number one on our priority list.

We phoned Dr. Nahua (Cass’s mentor, the vet with the animal shelter), explained we now had a six year told son, and asked if he had any suitable candidates for adoption.

“Well...maybe...,” equivocated Dr. Nahua. “We’ve got a young Border Collie bitch (spayed) that just came in. Border Collies aren’t necessarily good family dogs. Well, they can be, but they require a lot of exercise. And you have to be firm with them; they’re extremely intelligent and trainable, but without proper training they can become, well...bossy. But with your large yard, and if you took her running with you, and let her exercise on the beach, she could be a very good pet. Very loyal. I have to be honest and tell you that Patsy’s owners had problems with her. They had her in a small townhome and left her alone all day while they worked. Patsy pretty much destroyed their furniture...because she was bored...”

Derrick cut to the chase. “So you think Patsy would make a good family pet for us...in spite of the potential negatives?”

“Yes,” replied Dr. Nahua. “I think she’d be a wonderful addition to your family. Really, your situation is almost perfect for her. She’s just over a year old, house trained, and knows several commands. So she’d out of the worst of the puppy phase. You could come meet her and go from there....”

Dane had been attentively listening to our conversation with Dr. Nahua. He definitely had a hopeful look on his face. We agreed to come over that morning and look at Patsy. But first we did a quick Google search of Border Collies to see what they were like. Everything we read confirmed what Dr. Nahua had told us about their temperament, intelligence and behavior.

At the shelter, Dr. Nahua fetched Patsy and brought her out to the waiting room. She wasn’t the black and white dog we’d expected. Instead, she was white and blue with one pale blue eye and one pale brown eye. Dr. Nahua explained that she was a Blue Merle Border Collie, and it wasn’t unusual for them to have different colored eyes. Patsy sat obediently at Dr. Nahua’s command and we approached for introductions, holding our hands out so she could sniff them, as we’d explained to Dane on the way over. When she sniffed Dane’s hand her tail thumped the floor with excitement. I swear to God, that dog had a smile on her face.

Dr. Nahua patiently explained to Dane how to pet Patsy gently, then allowed him to give Patsy a gentle hug. Patsy sat obediently and patiently soaking up the little boy’s affection, her hindquarters wriggling in excitement and her tail beating a tattoo on the floor.

Done! Within minutes we were loaded up with dog supplies and Patsy was sitting contentedly in her crate in the back of Derrick’s SUV. Dane was craning his neck to watch her.

On the way home I noticed a new For Sale sign on the beachfront property a few doors down from us. I mentioned it to Derrick, and he asked me what I thought. “Hmm...let’s think about it...” I said.

Once we got home we made sure all the gates were closed, then let Patsy out to explore her new surroundings. Dane was given the responsibility of giving her a tour.

“Patsy, heal!” Dane commanded as he’d been taught. Patsy immediately fell in beside him, looking up at his face expectantly. Off they went with Dane repeating what Alfy had told him the night before. “This is where my gramma and grampa live, but they’re not here right now. I’ll meet them later. This is the swimming pool. Be careful, you can dr...um...sink, if you don’t know how to swim. Afy’s going to teach me to swim. This is the gate to the beach. NEVER go onto the beach by yourself! C’mon, I’ll show you my room. Our room. Dad! Can Patsy sleep in my room?”

“Dane, before you go inside, maybe we should let Patsy wander a bit around the yard. Maybe she has to do her business, pee or poop.” Derrick suggested. “Just point to the yard and tell her to go and explore.”

Patsy trotted off happily on Dane’s command to ‘go explore.’ She sniffed here and there, obviously picking up on Lucy’s scents. She sniffed then squatted to pee in several places. Then she circled and took a big dump. “Praise her, Dane, tell her she’s a good dog,” I said.

I used one of the doggie poop bags to clean it up, showing Dane how to do it. I expected him to be grossed out by the procedure, but he didn’t seem particularly repulsed; he just observed attentively.

“Why don’t we take Patsy for a quick walk on the beach,” Derrick suggested. “Then we’ll come back and have some lunch.” So we clipped on a lead and went through the gate to the beach. It was Dane’s first time on an ocean beach, and Derrick explained, quite clearly, I thought, about the ocean. He showed Dane how to look for shells in the sand and explained that once we could fully trust Patsy not to run off we’d let her loose on the beach to run and exercise. “Maybe she’ll learn to chase a Frisbee,” added Derrick. Patsy was well lead trained and didn’t give Dane a bit of trouble as we walked along.

Once back at the house, and giving in to the inevitable, we set up Patsy’s bed in Dane’s room. After a small lunch, Dane looked sleepy so we suggested a nap. We first got Patsy into her bed and told Dane to give the ‘down and stay’ commands, which Patsy complied with easily. Derrick then explained to Dane that it was forbidden for Patsy to climb on the bed and sleep with him. Certain boundaries had to be maintained after all.

Once we were assured that Dane and his canine friend were asleep, in their respective beds, I brought up the subject of the house for sale down the street.

“Derrick, honey, I think we should buy that house.”

“Were you thinking of a place for Cass?”

“Well, no,” I replied. “You know that Cass and Khala want to get some acreage so they can raise Golden Retrievers—at least that’s what they’d mentioned. It might be a good place for Don and Marco, but I think they want property on the North Shore, closer to the surfing beaches. Actually, I was thinking about Jordan and Kelly....”

“Jordan and Kelly...that’s a great Idea, Gabe. Would we buy it and let them live there? Or were you thinking of buying it for them to own.”

“The latter,” I replied. “Only problem is you know how proud they are. It was like pulling teeth to get them to accept the Bentley...”

“Yeah. That’s true. How about if we give them a choice? They can either accept it graciously, or we’ll sent MacKenzie Deacon over to have a chat with them.”

I burst out laughing. “Good plan. Nobody can resist Mom’s persuasion.”

I hurried down the road to get the agent’s phone number and called immediately. “Full $8 million asking price,” I told her. “Over that if we need to bid up. I want a yes answer within the hour.”

The agent came through. Subject to signing the paperwork the property would be ours. The agent emailed us the offer paperwork, which we quickly signed and faxed back. Then we phoned our banker and instructed him to wire a $1 million deposit to the broker’s escrow account.

Kelly was bringing Alfy over later that afternoon so Alfy could give Dane a swimming lesson. We’d break the news to him then.

“Kelly...” I began. “Remember how Jordan saved my life with his skill and quick thinking?”

“Yes?...” he replied.

“And remember our little party where we all kind bonded? And now we’re like family?”

“Gabe, what the hell are you trying to tell me. Spit it out, man!”

“Okay. Did you notice the For Sale sign on the house down the street?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

“Well, we bought that place for you and Jordan.”

“NO FUCKING WAY! Nope! Not gonna happen!”

Derrick spoke up. “Now if you have a legitimate reason for not wanting to accept our gift, we’ll listen. But if it’s just your big, hairy, Hawaiian balls talking, then stuff it. You’re family. Family does for family. So at least talk to Jordan about it...”

Derrick’s little speech hadn’t mollified Kelly in the least. He was breathing heavily and his fists were clenched. He’s a lot bigger than we are, and I was beginning to fear for our safety...Well, not really. Kelly’s bark is a lot worse than his bite.

After giving us a good death stare—which he could tell didn’t intimidate us in the least—he took a deep, calming breath. “All right,” he growled. “I’ll talk to Jordan. But if he says no, it’s no!”

“Don’t make us take extreme measures,” I said.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“We’ll send Mom over to talk to you...”

“Awe, Gabe, that’s not fair!”

“Kelly, you can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” I said laughing.

Meanwhile, multitasking, we were keeping a careful eye on the boys as Alfy had coaxed Dane into the shallow end of the pool. Alfy could swim like a fish, so there was no worry there, and Dane, with the fearlessness of a six year old, was taking well to Alfy’s coaching. Patsy was anxiously pacing the perimeter of the pool, whining a little, clearly ready to rescue her new master, if needed.

Alfy was demonstrating how to crouch down and dunk his head. Dane followed suit and came up sputtering and wiping water from his eyes. Alfy exclaimed, “You did it, Dane! You did it!”

Dane sneezed, then turned to us and gave us a radiant smile. We all chorused our hearty approval of Dane’s bravery and accomplishment. Alfy, a natural-born teacher, and wise beyond his years, said, “That’s enough for today, Dane. Let’s go inside. I know where Dr. Gabe hides the cookies!”

Derrick and I turned to Kelly, put our hands on our hips and gave him our best glares. Our unspoken question being: how can you be so cruel as to not allow these children to live near each other?

“All right. Stop already! I’ll talk to Jordan. Okay? Satisfied?”

We both smirked at him. I thought, Having a real family, even if it’s a chosen family, is one hell of a nice feeling.

I went over, reached up and hugged the big man. “We love you, Kelly. You’re a brother to us. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he huffed, “And I love you guys too.”