Published: 21 Feb 2022
Drew
I didn’t wait for everyone to get buckled in, but as soon as we were moving, I heard Aaron telling our three boys to do so, as he was securing his own seatbelt. I heard Ben whimpering, scared for his buddy, but his brothers comforted him. We went down the road for about a mile, and at the next intersection, I hung a right, and we were just about a block from Joe’s house. I flipped my bright lights on, hoping to see Joe along the side of the road, but we didn’t see him until we were right in front of his house. We saw him all right, and his father. They were wrestling around on the ground, which just went to prove to me just how scared of his father Joe was. We began exiting our car just as we saw Joe’s father raise his hand up above his head, a knife held in his hand, and Joe was writhing under him as his father sat on his legs about to stab him.
We were racing across the front lawn, and I was prepared to tackle the man off the boy, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ben racing a tad faster than the rest of us, a baseball bat in his hands, and he knocked one out of the park. Our little slugger was just the right height to slam his bat into the side of Joe’s father’s shoulder, the right hand one, the right hand being the one the man held the knife in. Aaron had been on his phone calling the cops, and Tom had his cell out and was filming all this on his phone.
I fell on top of the stunned man, and Aaron removed the knife from the ground where it fell when Ben hit his mark. Ben had dropped his bat and was now wrapped around his buddy on the ground. Aaron had hung up his phone and told me the cops were on their way, even as I began to realize it was sirens ringing in my head as I kept Joe’s dad on the ground. Pretty soon, the yard was awash with police and an ambulance crew, whom we encouraged to attend to Joe first. One of the police relieved me of my burden, and I called Becca. Brian answered and told me she was in the shower, so I filled him in about what had happened this evening, and he asked for the exact address we were at, and once I gave him that, he told us to stay where we were and he would be right over, he wasn’t more than fifteen minutes away.
He arrived as the police were still taking our statements. The ambulance crew had taken off with Joe’s father, along with his police escort, no sirens, not speeding down the street, just moseying on to the nearest hospital to have the shoulder of the man, who just tried to murder his nine-year-old son, x-rayed. The police made sure Tom knew how to send them the film he had shot, and now they had some pretty convincing evidence against the father of Joe.
Brian told the police that he was filing to have the father’s parental rights removed in the morning, and he, too, got a copy of the film sent to his cell phone, and the cops even let us take a bunch of Joe’s things with us before the house was locked up. Ben had made sure that Joe met all his family before we left for home, and he seemed none the worse for wear, that is until we did our tuck-in routine when we finally got all the boys to bed about one-thirty in the morning. We told them they could sleep in because it was the weekend, but just knock on our door if they needed anything. All the boys got tucked in, and that included Joe, who thanked us for getting him away from his mean father.
We found out in the morning that Ben had gone to Joe’s bedroom sometime in the early morning and had crawled in with the upset Joe who had been having a nightmare about his father and that Joe calmed right down when Ben hugged him and snuggled in with him in bed. They slept good, we were told at breakfast.
Tom
Well, don’t that beat all!!! What a night we all had, but most of all for poor little Joe. His father had almost killed him, and we all saw what was happening on that lawn by their house, and DAMN, you should have seen Ben running up to them with his Little League bat. He smacked that man so hard the guy toppled over, and Drew was on him before the guy even had a chance to take a breath; and then Aaron got a hold of the knife, and he was immediately on his phone calling the police. Ben was down on the ground holding a freaked-out Joe, and Billy and I were trying to reload the video I had shot on my cell to see all the action again. Man, it was so unreal, but the proof it had been real was right in front of us all. And then the police showed up.
Man, they were good. They had an ambulance crew with them, and I heard Drew tell them to attend to the boy first, and Ben helped Joe stand so they could check him out. Then they moved over to Joe’s father, and they probed and checked out his shoulder and decided he needed x-rays. So, they bundled him off to their ambulance, but not before two policemen joined them. The other officers questioned all of us before recording each of our statements. That seemed to take a lot of time, and if it wasn’t for the other officers keeping us entertained, I think we all would have nodded off.
The dads were great, and they kept praising Ben for acting so fast to help his friend, but poor Ben was so worried that he had done something wrong it took a while before he calmed down enough to talk to the policeman assigned to him, but that guy told Ben he thought Ben was a hero, saving his friend like that. I guess he just had to hear that from someone else other than his family, because we all had told him that, even Joe had, but it took someone else, some other authority figure, to tell him that before he could believe it himself.
Brian had shown up by then, and Becca had arrived with him; her hair was still wet, and her clothes were not exactly what we were used to seeing her in, but they both made sure to speak to each of us. When they were talking to me, Becca asked what I thought about having Joe stay with us for a while until everything settled down a bit, and I told her and Brian that I thought that was an awful idea, I thought he should be adopted so he could stay with us forever!! She laughed and told me that she’d work on that for me.
When we left with some of Joe’s clothes and belongings, Brian and Becca left for the police station to get some of the essential reports to accompany the video I had shot on my cell phone to present it all to a judge in the morning, to have Joe’s father’s parental rights removed. That would clear the way for Drew and Aaron to become Joe’s guardians, which is what we all wanted.
At 7:00 AM in the morning, I heard Drew’s cell phone ringing in their room and then a lot of excited talk between Drew and Aaron and then a bit of silence and then some more excited talk. A half-hour later, there was another call and more excited talk, then the faint sounds of the dads getting ready for the day. I got out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts, and went downstairs to see what was going on. They weren’t there yet, but I knew they would be, so I turned on their coffee maker thingy and sat and waited for them. When they came downstairs just a few minutes later, they were both surprised to see me sitting at the kitchen table, but after telling them I was all right, I asked why they were up so early and what was that phone call all about. They both chuckled and then told me about the call from Brian they got so early in the morning
It seems that Brian had left the police station last night without our printed-out statements. He wanted to include them with his file on Joe’s father to the court this morning, so he had stopped in at the station to pick up the copies of our statements, and while there, the policeman on duty told him about Joe’s father and the rough night he had in his jail cell. It turns out he never wanted the boy after his wife had died in childbirth, and he had only kept him so that his parents and hers did not think badly of him, and now that they were all gone, he couldn’t hold back the resentment he felt against Joe. The officer told Brian he bet that the man would gladly sign over his parental rights to Brian’s clients and eliminate the involvement of the DCFS altogether. Brian agreed and used his laptop to print out a standard form used to transfer guardianship, and he took that to a visiting room where he explained it all to Joe’s father, and the man signed it, the police officer acting as the witness.
Brian did explain to the man that this did nothing to absolve him from the attempted murder of his son, but it did provide a safe and caring family for his son’s future. Brian had called Drew on his way to court as Becca had an early slot in family court this morning, and she was to present their case to the court, removing Joe’s father and replacing him with my Dads’. Yes, Joe had many caring people to take care of him for a long time.
Drew
Well, it didn’t take long for Joe to fit right in with our family. Right after breakfast, the boys had him out in the barn, introducing him to the tenants out there, the four-legged ones, and to Bert and Tony, our college students who did the chores around the property. Bert told the boys to be back down at the barn for Joe’s first riding lesson about 2:00 PM, and the boys agreed to be there on time, if not before. Joe was shown all around the house well before lunch and shown where the dirty clothes and used towels went to be sure they made it to the laundry room. During the morning, we heard from Becca that the family court judge had granted the transfer of custody from Joe’s father to Aaron and me. She explained we could file for adoption just about any time now, but maybe we should wait until the trial of Joe’s father was over, and he was in prison for several years, we agreed.
Aaron and I had a ball watching Joe have his first riding lesson, with his new brothers helping Brian and Tony instruct him, in the use of the tack, and then in the actual riding. Joe was both pensive and exuberant during all this. We realized that he was getting a lot of personal attention, something he wasn’t used to, and he was totally into it. He gave thoughtful responses when either Tony or Bert asked what a particular piece of equipment was used for. He was delighted when the pony assigned to him kept trying to nuzzle him, sometimes even getting a big lick from the pony, which would make him giggle like crazy, which would set off the other kids, especially his buddy Ben. It was a pure joy to witness.
Ben asked if we could all go for a ride on one of the trails, and since it was a nice day out, not too hot and not too breezy, we all saddled up and spent about two hours just riding and talking and showing Joe some of the property. He seemed to take it all in OK, but back at the barn, while we were all grooming our rides, he got quiet, and as he was currying the pony, and watching the other boys doing their ponies, he started to tear up, no amount of nuzzling from his pony had an effect. Aaron nudged me, and I stopped currying my horse and knelt down and held Joe, asking what was wrong.
He sniffled and told me that he was going to be really sad when he had to go home. Ben piped up and said that he didn’t have to go back, that he was going to stay with us forever, “Right Dads?” And I nodded, a few tears on my own cheeks, and I croaked out that as of today, he was our kid and he was staying right here with all of us, he was Aaron’s and my new son, and a new brother for Tom, Billy, and his best friend in the whole world, Ben. He was ours now and forever, and someday in the future, maybe a month or two, we would all adopt him, and then he’d even have our last names, just like all of us.
He asked if his father would be mad at him for staying here. Tom said that he most likely would be madder at Ben for quite some time, so just sit back and enjoy, because we weren’t letting him go anywhere, except to school, and maybe to church, and maybe out to dinner with us on Friday nights, and perhaps a pony ride after school…We were all laughing by the time he ran down, including little Joe. He did ask Aaron and me if it was really true that he could live with us forever now, and we both hugged him, telling him yes, it was true, he would be our son, just like the other boys here. He was grinning for the rest of the day.
Yes, he went to the local MCC church with us on Sunday and saw several classmates there. After one of the hymns, he told me that he thought he had heard that before, but he wasn’t sure, but he liked it anyway. On Monday, when we all rode to school, he was surprised when Aaron and I took him to the office to have his contact information updated. The clerk in the office congratulated Joe on his new status as one of our sons, and she changed his address and phone number to ours. He was a proud little guy, and Ben was waiting for him right outside the door so the two of them could walk to their classroom together.
When the boys came upstairs to Aaron’s classroom when school was out that day, Ben, and Joe had to tell them all about their first day as “brothers” in their class. The way they related their day had the group of them all laughing. When I finished with the lesson plan I had been working on, and walked into the room, they were all laughing. Ben and Joe were just sitting there staring at them, unaware just how funny they had been, explaining how they became brothers because Ben had hit Joe’s father with a baseball bat and the ambulance guys had taken him away.
Everyone adjusted well to the insertion of Joe into our family, but to hear Ben and Joe, it was the best thing to happen to them in their whole lives. The only time I heard them having a spat was when they were doing homework, and one wanted to start with math, and the other wanted to start with an English reading assignment. I asked why each of them couldn’t start with the one they wanted, and then they could compare each other’s assignments when both subjects were covered by the both of them. They thought that was a neat idea, and they moved to different seats at the table to do their own assignments. Nothing else came up between the two of them. They rode together; once Bert and Tony assured us that Joe had caught up to Ben’s riding skills, he was a quick and eager learner where the ponies were concerned. Still, his teacher also assured us that Joe, in the short month he had been with us, was much more interactive in class and was almost at Ben’s level, and Ben was the best student she had had in over three years.
We made it through Thanksgiving; Joe told us he had never had a hot piece of turkey before, he and his father had only had cold turkey sandwiches for their “holiday” meal before he came to live with us. We found out that his father’s trial was coming up; it would start on the 3rd of December. Along with several child abuse charges, he was being charged with the attempted murder of his own son. Our long Thanksgiving weekend was filled with other firsts for Joe, he got to eat out at an authentic restaurant for the first time, he had Veal Parmesan for the first time, and since it was so nice out on Saturday, we took the boys out for a canoe ride at the Quabbin. We had to use two canoes, since our family had grown. He got to see a lot of wildlife, and he loved having his brothers point out this animal, or that bird to him as Aaron and I paddled them around a couple of the islands in the reservoir.
Very soon, the trial began, and we had to give statements to the defense attorney and meet with someone from the District Attorney’s office to go over the statements we had given the police. We were not the first witnesses to testify, but Joe was the second, then me, and then the others, with Ben being the last of our group that had been on the scene that night to be questioned by the defense and cross-examined by the prosecuting lawyer. The clincher for the whole trial was produced during Tom’s testimony; like when the video he had shot on his cell phone was played on a big screen monitor so the entire courtroom could view it.
We were pretty sure the verdict would be guilty, but we were not prepared for the one that was handed down by the jury; 30 years in prison, without a chance for parole until after 25 years were served, and he was to sign over his home, which was owned outright by him, to Joe, with his guardians to be in the sole conservatorship of this legacy, to either rent it out or to sell it. Still, all proceeds were to be turned over to Joe once he reached adulthood, or used for his further education after finishing high school.
We were not expecting that long a sentence, but as Becca and Brian explained, there were the charges of child endangerment, child abuse, in addition to the attempted murder charge. The court provided all the necessary documents by the end of the week, and Becca called to tell us that, as well as to give us the now established adoption hearing date, December 12th, at noon. When I remarked what an odd time that was, she explained that she and Brian thought they were trying to hear as many cases before the holidays ahead. If that meant squeezing in an extra case during their usual lunch break, they were willing to do that for families before the holidays.
We were pleased, to say the least. When Aaron and I were talking about it as we prepared our dinner that night, we realized that we would be a real family before Christmas this year, and it made us very happy, not only for our boys, with them getting a new brother, and us getting a new son, but for Joe. He was finally getting a family that not only wanted him, but that loved him. Now, if only he could remember to put down the toilet seat in his bathroom! I cannot tell you how many times we heard his squeals in the middle of the night when he had to use the toilet. We heard him hit the water in the bowl because after he tinkled into the bowl before going to bed, he didn’t take the time to put the seat back down in case he needed it to take a dump during the night, but we loved him nonetheless. I knew just what to get him for his adoption present, well, one of them at least!!
Tom
We all had new suits. Ben, Billy and I had grown some, living good like we have been ever since moving in with the dads, so even our adoption suits didn’t fit well anymore, so when the dads said that Joe could wear his new suit, the one he got for his father’s trial, it was decided they would take him shopping for a new dress shirt and a new tie; well we thought we should get new suits to wear because we had to wear our church clothes to court for Joe’s father’s trial. The dads agreed, and we all got new stuff for Joe’s adoption; the dads told us all that after the adoption was over, we were all getting a family picture taken, and we’d use that for our Holiday greeting cards this year.
The judge and Joe had a pretty long talk before they came back into the hearing room; we were all meeting in. The judge asked the dads if Joe had been having any sort of therapy, and Becca jumped right in there and told the judge that Joe and Ben together had been seeing someone since the day after the big incident. She had a letter to the court from that councilor that she then handed to him. Mr. Judge then read it and said to Ben and Joe that they were doing a great job with their therapist, “But how about being brothers? Did they both feel ready for that?” He got a resounding yes from both of them, and he then banged his hammer on the table, and he said it was done; Joe was brother to all us guys, and Aaron and Drew’s adopted son from that day forward.
We guys were all clapping and thanking Mr. Judge, and the dads were hugging all of us and Becca and Brian. Once all the paperwork was sent out from the judge’s office, we left the courthouse, and Drew drove us guys to the photography shop, where we had to comb our hair and make sure we were all neat and tucked in and ready to have our pictures taken. The guy taking the photos was funny and kept making us laugh, the dads included. He showed us on his computer screen a bunch of the pictures he had taken, and even then, we were laughing at some of the funnier ones. Aaron and Drew chose a bunch of them, and arranged to have one of the more serious ones made into the Christmas cards they wanted. Then they told each of us to pick out the one we each liked the best, and they had those printed out for us to each have a copy of our favorites. They also asked for the one they chose for the Christmas card to be blown up to an enormous size so they could frame it and hang it in the entry vestibule, for everyone who comes in the front door to see.
The time spent at the photographer’s place was just enough time for Tony and Bret and Becca and Brian to set up the adoption party for our return. Joe and Ben shared a classroom, and with their teacher and some of the other parents, their whole class was invited to an after-school pony ride session, extra ponys hired just for the day. There was a caterer company there preparing a big cookout for all of us, and as soon as we had changed out of our suits, we were riding along with Joe and Ben’s class. Some of the adults were on horseback, and since everyone seemed to be doing well, we took them on a trail ride. It was so cool; Billy and I were treated like the teachers in school as the kids kept asking questions, and we tried to answer them. It was a lot of fun for everyone, and Joe had a ball.
The dads showed us the Christmas cards when they were delivered the next week, along with the other purchases they had made. Now we each had a group family picture for our rooms. Each was in a 9×12 frame we could either stand up on our bureau or hang on a wall; mine I put on the nightstand beside my bed. I wanted it to be the last thing I saw at night, and the first thing I saw in the morning.
Well, Joe had a great day at school the next day. He and the dads went to the office to record his name change, and Ben waited for them to finish, and then they went to their classroom, where he got a standing ovation from their classmates, and their teacher. He got to tell everyone how his adoption hearing went, and then the whole class talked about the party after. It was great for him to relive that with those who had been there for him, for the party.
If Joe was happy before, he was a happier kid now. He was finally convinced he was with us forever now, and even the therapist that he and Ben saw told the dads that he didn’t think he needed to see them anymore as Christmas approached. He thought both of them were dealing with everything very well now, and the boys being a part of our family had really helped them.
A week later, we began the Christmas and New year holidays. The weather was your typical New England weather, it was cold during the daytime, from 32 degrees to 45, and at night time, it would more than likely be below 32, in other words, freezing. The lucky thing about that was that there was hardly any accumulated snow on the ground. Oh sure, we had snow showers at least a couple of times a week, but it hardly amounted to anything once the daytime temperatures rose to above freezing. So we did get to exercise the ponies daily, our dads joining us most afternoons, and if they couldn’t, for one reason or another, then Tony, and or, Bert, rode with us.
We all did really well in our first semester tests, and the grades were sent to our parents the week before Christmas. Our dads were thrilled we had all done so well, and they told us so, and showed us so by taking us all out to dinner the night before our holiday vacation started, and it wasn’t even on a Friday night!!! The next day they took us shopping for Christmas presents. Dad Aaron took Billy and me, and Dad Drew took Ben and Joe. Each group went to a different mall, and we were each given what we thought was a lot of money ($50.00) to spend on our brothers and our dads.
Of course, once we began to shop, we realized that we really didn’t know how much stuff cost, so we were told by our dad that if we could explain to him why that would be a good present for the intended receiver, then we could have more money to spend. Aaron didn’t hover with us, but he did stay just a few steps away, and he did help us when we needed it. Both Joe and Ben loved building things with their Leggo sets, but some of the new kits were just over what we could spend. Aaron suggested we get several add-on sets that contained some of the new features. Thus, they could use sets they already had, and “soup up” their buildings with the newer add-on sets. The add-on sets were more in our price range, and we even had a little leftover for a few other things for the younger boys.
Billy and I had already ordered new saddles for Drew and Aaron. Tony had mentioned that the college stables were selling excess equipment before the holidays, and with our saved allowances, we were able to get two adult saddles and even have their names engraved on them; Ben and Joe were each pitching in some of their saved allowances so the typically expensive saddles were got at an excellent price that we four could afford, with Tony and Bert’s discount.
We saw some Western-style belts at a kiosk in the mall, and Aaron gave us enough extra so we could get Tony and Bert each one for our Christmas present for them. As he handed us the extra money, he looked at us and told us he wished he had thought of the belts as a gift for them, but we saw them first. He seemed so sad about it that we told him we would put;” From the Whole Family” on the gift card; after all, they were contributing money towards the purchase of them! He told us not to do that though, he and Drew had already got them a nice present, but he told us that our gift was something they each could use every day, and he was proud of us for even thinking of getting Tony and Bert presents.
That night the younger boys seemed to be teasing Billy and me a bit, I think they thought they found us something we would really like for our Christmas presents, but though they teased us, we couldn’t think of what they had bought us.
Well, the dads did go out shopping a few times more, but they always asked if we had everything we needed from the stores and by their second shopping expedition, we boys were all set. It did seem strange though; they never brought in anything other than what they had picked up for dinner, which wouldn’t have taken them 3 hours to pick up.
Billy and I felt really grown up when they asked us to watch Ben and Joe while they were out. It was also strange that on the few occasions they were out shopping on their own, Bert or Tony would come up to the house and ask the four of us kids if we’d help with some chore they had to do. Of course, we all loved spending time with our unofficial Uncles, we even got to help them string the Christmas lights out on the front porch, and then hang small wreaths on the porch posts and a big one on the front door. I never had the chance to help decorate such a big area for Christmas before and it really did feel good to be doing it with my brothers and “Uncles”.
With the Dads, we had put up a real tree a few weeks before Christmas, and we strung woven boughs of Pine branches on the railing for the staircase and on all the fireplace mantles in the house. On the mantle in the family room we got to hang all the stockings that Aaron had bought, one each for all of us. All of us were excited about Christmas, but the preparations were just a whole lot of fun for the four of us, and something that none of us except Billy had ever experienced before. He was really good about explaining things to the rest of us and the dads told us we all had done a fantastic job of bringing Christmas into their house, I don’t think they meant just the decorations either.
On Christmas Eve we all went to the services at the MCC church. The dads were sitting together, holding hands, and Billy and I were on one side of them, and Joe and Ben were on the other side of them. During the sermon, all about the events in the manger on the first Christmas Eve, Dad Aaron got a little emotional and outside, after the service, as we were about to get in the car, Aaron and Drew each hugged each of us boys and they both told us we were the best presents they had ever gotten. I cannot tell you how proud they made us feel.
Drew
Aaron and I thought that our Holidays went really well, for everyone. It was hysterical to see Tom and Billy open their presents from their brothers. The youngsters had bought them kites as Christmas presents!! Here it was the middle of Winter, and the kids thought their brothers needed kites!! They each got two, a triangular one and a double box kite. They looked a bit confused, but put on big smiles and hugged their younger brothers, thanking them profusely. We loved the saddles from all the boys, but Tony let slip at dinner that they were really from Billy and Tom. We thanked him for his helping hand, as we knew that our older boys had no way of purchasing the saddles on their own.
As well as their new western belts, Bert and Tony received their final semester paid for by Aaron and me. Our two youngest sons finally had their own computers for their rooms, as well as plenty of clothes, games, books, and new bikes, all just as their older brothers got. Joe got a new toilet seat from Santa; you know those ones that gently close all by themselves! Aaron and I didn’t skimp on our presents to each other, we had both chipped in and furnished our finished basement as a much better-equipped gym and we even had a new steam room and a much bigger shower fitted out down there.
Our family holidays were a great time for all of us.
So was the last semester of school that year, for our sons, for Aaron and my classrooms, and for Tony and Bret, who had completed all their class requirements and they both graduated that Spring. We had offered them full time employment managing our property, maintaining our home, taking care of the barn and it’s occupants, leasing out our fields, and maintaining our miles of fencing. They accepted and we had installed a modular home on two acres just before the leased out fields began. The house was situated so they had a wonderful view of the mountain range across the river, about twenty miles away. We figured that they would eventually want to start their own family. We gave them an increase in their budget for spending on the farm, enough that if they needed extra help during harvest time, or during planting season, they would have funds available to do this without having to get permission from us. Yes, our lives were settling into a very comfortable routine, after two years of trials and tribulations we were all safe and in a very happy family setting. The boys were all safe and happy and Aaron and I were in a very loving relationship that had led us to a very good marriage and a happy future together and with our sons.
Tom
Billy and I were showering the other night, and I admit that we had done so together a few times already. I really liked washing him, and he told me that he enjoyed washing me, making me really clean before we had to go to bed, which we sometimes shared, having sleep overs in each other’s beds. That particular night Billy started laughing as he was washing me down there (you know where!) and I asked what was so funny, was it because he was making me hard? He said no, it was because he felt some hairs down there. And then he was washing my pits and he said he found hairs there as well! He was making me feel so good as he was washing me that I had to kiss him, so as we kissed I told him I wasn’t the only one with new hair, he had some on his upper lip!
We were pretty excited as we hadn’t expected those hairs to start for another year or so, so we put on our robes and went downstairs to talk to the dads about it. We walked up to them as they were cuddled together on the family room couch and excitedly told them we had hairs in new places. Aaron asked if we both had them, and we showed them to them by opening up our robes, and Drew groaned, saying they would have to have “the talk” with us. He then turned to Aaron and told him that just as things were finally settling down now they had “the big P” (puberty) to deal with!
THE END ???
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