Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2018 00:42:49 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Aiden II  Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10
THE MILLER FAMILY (Part 2)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21

<Keegan>

Aiden had a busy day planned. He knew that not only would the day be busy,
but it would also be a ton of fun. First he had a soccer game at ten. After
the game he'd ride to Gordy's house with Gordy and his parents where he and
his friend would shower and put on their regular clothes. Then Gordy's
parents would drive them to Meadow Park for Nolan Moyer's birthday
party. At the end of the party one of his dads would pick up Aiden and
Gordy and bring them home to Mayfield.

The big negative in the plan was the weather. It was raining steadily when
Aiden woke up at quarter after seven. It was so wet out that his dad
skipped his morning jog.

Aiden peed and, without getting dressed, headed downstairs. Phil was in the
reading room sitting in Aiden's favorite chair reading the morning
paper. "Good morning, dad," Aiden said. He knew he couldn't give his dad a
regular hug because he was naked, but he could give him a mini-hug by
standing behind the recliner and wrapping his arms around his neck. Aiden
gave Phil a peck on his cheek and then rubbed his own cheek against his
dad's cheek. He loved the rough feel of his dad's beard against his own
smooth cheek.

Aiden smelled breakfast cooking and wandered into the kitchen. "Good
morning, daddy. What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes and bacon—carbs for extra soccer energy."

"Yum. I'm making breakfast tomorrow," the ten-year-old announced. "French
Toast ala Aiden."

"Your specialty; I'll be looking forward to it."

"I'm not going to shower," Aiden said with a touch of ten-year-old
defiance. "The game is going to be mud ball and I'll be showering at
Gordy's house anyway."

"Well, either way, get your naked ass upstairs and put something on for
breakfast."

"Daddy, I got to eat breakfast naked on my birthday weekend and nothing bad
happened. Why can't I just eat naked every morning?"

"It's a matter of proper decorum. Now at least get some underpants on."

"Whatever proper decorum means. Sometimes I hate having a daddy who is a
teacher and uses big words."

"I love you, too, son...now go."

Aiden went upstairs to his room. He didn't bother putting underpants on. He
decided to make this a morning where he would just wear socks, a long
t-shirt, and nothing else. His dads never figured out that he usually
didn't wear underpants under his long t-shirt.

When Aiden came back down, he started right in on setting the table without
having to be told, which pleased Larry. Larry also noted what Aiden was
wearing. He and Phil had decided that if Aiden was going to be half-naked
during a meal, they preferred his wearing a t-shirt with no underpants
underneath them to wearing underpants with no t-shirt. As a result, they
feigned ignorance regarding their son being commando while eating meals.

Phil joined Larry and Aiden for breakfast. The major topic of discussion
was the rain. Aiden had played soccer on a wet field before, but the field
would probably go from being just wet to being a mud bath. What surprised
Aiden was his dads laughing about playing soccer in the mud when they were
kids.

"You really played mud ball?" Aiden asked.

"We sure did," Phil answered. "The showers were as much fun as playing in
the mud."

"My mom loved complaining about the mud," Larry laughed. "There was mud
covering our uniforms, in our shoes, mud in our hair, mud all over us, mud
on the kitchen floor, mud in the car—not only my mom, but all moms hated
muddy soccer games."

While Larry and Phil went to their bedroom to shower and dress, Aiden
cleared the breakfast dishes off of the kitchen table and loaded the
dishwasher. Phil had taken care of cleaning Larry's cooking mess.

Speaking of messes, the soccer game was truly a mess. The grass field had
sturdy turf, but that didn't stop pockets of mud from forming. Parents
stood along the sidelines and in the bleachers under their umbrellas. All
of them swore the boys had an instinct for finding the muddiest spots on
the field.

Aiden's team ended up winning 5-2 against Clark Pass. They had one more
game the next Saturday and their season would be over. The win clinched
first place for them. They would be playing Kentburg for a chance at an
undefeated season. Because of the rain and mud and condition of the boys'
kits there was no after-game treat. Aiden and Gordy would have skipped the
treat anyway, since they had a party to go to.

Gordy's father laid out towels on the backseat of the car and covered the
carpet with plastic. Aiden and Gordy had changed their shoes before getting
into the car, but they were still dripping mud.

When they got to Gordy's house, Flo Lansing, Gordy's mother, herded the two
boys around the house to the backdoor. They shed their wet, muddy uniforms
in the mud room as well as their undergarments. Gordy wrapped a towel
around his naked waist and Aiden followed suit. He didn't care if Gordy's
mom and dad saw him naked, but it was Gordy's house, so he did what his
friend did. Aiden didn't understand Gordy's reluctance to have his mom see
him naked, but then he didn't have a mom of his own—he might have felt
the same way if he did. He remembered he rarely let his mom see him naked
before she died, but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

The two friends showered together, but it was a chaste shower. The only
touching was washing each other's backs and butts. Aiden washed inside of
Gordy's crack and was pleased when his friend returned the favor, but the
shower was not something anyone would consider to be sexual.

"I'm glad Nolan said I could bring a friend to the party," Aiden said as
the boys dried themselves.

"Me, too. And I'm glad you asked me to be the one to go. Nolan is really
nice and I bet all of his friends are, too."

"He said there would be some girls there."

"Girls can be cool, like your girlfriend Kaylie."

Aiden shot his friend a look and then relaxed when Gordy laughed as they
walked into his bedroom.

It was just after noon when the boys got ready to leave for Nolan's
party. Flo kissed Gordy on the cheek at the front door.

"Mom, don't. Aiden is looking," Gordy squawked.

"And why is that a problem?" Flo asked.

"Because, you're my mom."

"Aiden, do you have a problem with me kissing Gordon on the cheek?"

"Not if you kiss me, too." Aiden liked having Flo do mom things for him,
like a kiss on the cheek, or combing his hair instead of ruffling it, or
simply giving him a motherly hug. As much as he loved his dads, he missed
the kind of touch his mother had given him when she was alive. Flo gave
Aiden a big smile, followed by a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, will you look at that Gordon. I gave Aiden a big kiss on his cheek
and he didn't melt."

"That's because you're not his mom."

"But, I am your honorary mom, right Aiden?"

"Yep, but we'd better go so we won't be late." Aiden was getting
uncomfortable with the byplay between Gordy and his mom and decided it was
time to change the subject.

Gordy's dad, who watched the entire affair from the front foyer shook his
head. Boys, he thought, sometimes you can't live with them and you
certainly don't want to live without them.

The boys hopped into the backseat of the car and Aaron Lansing backed out
of the driveway. The drive to Meadow Park would take about thirty minutes
from Mayfield. Leaving now would get them to the party right on time.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Keegan sat sulking in the passenger seat of Natalie's car. Even though
everybody was working to make sure he couldn't find his son, he knew he was
smarter than they were. He now knew exactly where the boy was and he was on
the verge of meeting him.

 He was upset with Natalie for not wanting to leave the night before so
they could stay at a motel and not have to get up at some god awful hour of
the morning. He was upset with Natalie for just not letting him drive her
car down to Mayfield on his own. So what if he didn't have a valid driver's
license. He was upset with Natalie for not letting him drink last night. He
had needed some booze to help calm him down. The only good thing about the
night was being able to fuck her twice without her teenage nephew Drake
being around. And to top it all off, Keegan wanted a cigarette in the worst
way, but Natalie wouldn't let him smoke in her car.

"Lighten up, Keegan," Natalie said for at least the tenth time since they'd
left Seattle. "You're the brat's dad, and that gives you parental
rights. This will be a piece of cake."

"That's not what the cunt in the judicial records department said when I
asked if she could look up where my son was. First thing she said was the
records are sealed and if the boy's in a foster home or adopted, I'd need
to be his biological father to get any information, which I just happen to
be as if it made any difference."

"Tell me something you haven't told me before."

"Why are you being such a bitch about this?"

"Because you won't shut up about what happened. There's nothing you can do
about what's happened."

"You sound like a fucking 12-Step meeting." Keegan took a deep breath and
stared out of the windshield as the wipers flipped back and forth doing
their thing. He paid no attention to the westbound car zipping by with two
ten-year-olds sitting in the back seat.

"I mean, how can there be no Allen Miller? Answer me that! My son didn't
just disappear off the face of the Earth."

"Keegan, the lady couldn't give you information."

"I'm his father, damn it, and I can prove it. I even showed her the
documents from when I had the paternity test. And she says there is no such
boy—which was a fucking lie." Then he thought of something he hadn't
said to Natalie before. "Hell, you know what's really weird?"

"What?"

"He's got the same first name as my dad—his grandpa. Now how the fuck
did that happen? I don't remember ever telling the kid's mom my dad's
name."

Natalie took a deep breath. She probably should have given in to letting
Keegan borrow her car, but since he didn't have a valid license or
insurance it wasn't worth the risk. She was wondering more and more if the
relationship between them was worth keeping up. She swore that sometimes he
seemed more interested in her thirteen-year-old nephew Drake than he was in
her. Not that the two of them had done more than make out and kiss on the
couch when they were drunk, but even that was too much as far as she was
concerned. On the other hand, she often looked at her nephew in a sexual
way as well.

The GPS gave a set of instructions. "We turn left here at the light,"
Natalie said. "Try not to make an ass out of yourself."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?"

"You know what you're like. Look, they might not even have the boy, and if
they do you'll need to be on their good side to see him."

"Bullshit. He's mine. I see him. I get him."

Natalie turned left at the light and was soon driving over Mayfield
Dam. "Where are you going to keep him? It sure as hell won't be at my
place. I got enough problems with my nephew hanging around all the time."

"I just need to find an apartment that isn't too picky about my credit
rating, you know that. I mean I got me an almost full-time job, thank you
very much, so I should be able to get a place to live somewhere."

Natalie said nothing as the GPS announced they had arrived at their
destination. She knew Keegan wasn't completely in touch with reality when
it came to his son, but, outside of not wanting the boy living in her
apartment, she tried to back him. She was reasonably certain the boy didn't
live with Keegan's younger brother. After all, why would two gay partners
want to deal with raising a kid, even if they were married themselves. She
was also reasonably certain that Keegan had forfeited his parental rights,
and even if the boy was at this house, he would walk away with nothing
except for bad feelings.

"Shit, this is a hell of a place they have," Keegan said with envy. "It's a
fucking mansion on a lake. There must be a lot of money in teaching and
government work." He opened the car door. "Let's go see if the homos are
home."

Natalie got out of the car, dreading the upcoming showdown.

"Get it," Keegan laughed nervously. "Homos at home." They walked up the
steps to the stoop at the front door. Keegan rang the doorbell and waited
for a response. He was taking pleasure over surprising his little brother
and his fag husband. He'd surprised his dad, his brother Troy, and now the
surprise was on Phil.

The door opened and Phil stood in front of him, wearing a blue t-shirt that
read "Mayfield Baseball" and a pair of loudly colored lounge pants that
looked like an explosion in a paint factory.

Much to Keegan's disappointment, Phil didn't go ballistic at seeing
him. "Hello, Keegan. I wondered if you were eventually going to show up."

"Hello yourself, little brother. You must have thought I had a reason for
showing up."

"Come on in." He ushered his brother and his female friend into the house,
saving his answer for later.

"I'm Natalie," the almost beautiful young lady said. Phil thought that if
she lost a little weight she would go up a notch or two on his female
rating scale. Just because he was gay didn't mean that Phil didn't
appreciate beauty in a woman. Phil held out his hand and she took it with a
surprisingly firm handshake.

"I would have introduced you," Keegan protested as they walked into the
conference room. Keegan looked at the picture window view of the lake, at
the covered swimming pool, the expanse of green lawn, the dock, and all the
other accoutrements of a prosperous life.

"Have a seat," Phil said, pointing to the couch. Natalie and Keegan sat
next to each other and Phil sat on the love seat.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Keegan asked.

"He's my husband," Phil replied matter-of-factly. "He made a run to the
Burger Barn for some lunch. If I'd known you were coming, I would have had
him bring something for you. It still might not be too late."

"Yeah, I'm hungry. How about a couple of cheeseburgers?"

"I'm not hungry," Natalie told him.

"If you don't want it, I'll eat it."

Phil called Larry and caught him just as he was leaving the Barn. Larry
turned around and went back to the counter to order two more
cheeseburgers. The Burger Barn was as much a small-town gathering place as
it was a hamburger restaurant and didn't have a drive-thru.

"You need a boat for that dock out there," Keegan said.

"We've got one. It's in storage for the winter."

"I should have fucking known. You got any beer?" Keegan asked. "Not that I
don't know the answer."

"Then you know the answer is no, I don't."

Keegan was getting irritated with the way his brother was staying calm and
collected. "You and Troy, the goodie goodie brothers. You head off to AA
before you even have any experience drinking. Fuck, if anybody should be
going to AA it's me, and I don't need it."

Phil wanted to cry out, "Bullshit," in the worst way, but he kept his mouth
shut. "I drank alcoholically from the start; at least when I drank, I
did. So did Troy. So did you."

"Only, I'm no alcoholic. I just like to drink." He squeezed Natalie's
thigh. "Right babe?"

"Whatever you say, Keegan," she replied. "Nobody drinks like you."

"Fuck, I remember the time you were like twelve or thirteen or whatever, I
forget, and I talked you into getting wasted with me. You ended up puking
your guts out in the hall—you couldn't even make it to the fucking
toilet. Good thing you were naked, cuz you were a mess." Keegan laughed and
went on, "Then you end up pissing your bed, which wouldn't have been so bad
except I was sleeping with you. Damn, mom was pissed off that night.

"You should've taken up drinking with me and dad—he would've taught you
how to drink. I hate his ass, but he did teach me some worthwhile shit."

Phil ignored his brother's diatribe. "Do you want a lemonade?"

"When the burgers get here." Keegan then flipped subjects with the same
skill as his son. "I think you said something about you knowing why I came
here."

"Well, you stopped to see dad. You stopped to see Troy. The next stop was
to see me. I was just surprised you hadn't shown up earlier."

"They told you why I stopped to see them, right?"

"It was about you having a son and wanting to find him."

"Right. His name is Allen, the same name as dad. He's like seven or eight."

Phil calmly looked at his brother, his face expressionless. His brother was
a hard-core alcoholic, no matter what he wanted to believe. He had been an
alcoholic drinker before he was a teenager, getting drunk with their dad or
with his buddies or just by himself.  It was a shame in so many ways. He
and Troy agreed that Keegan was the smartest of the three of them. Troy was
an attorney, one of the top lawyers in the King County Prosecutor's
office. He, Phil, had a Master's Degree in civil engineering and headed the
County Road Department for Lewis County. Keegan could have been so much
more than either of them.

For a long time, Phil resented his father for what he had done to
Keegan. Now, he could forgive his father, who had been as helpless around
alcohol as Keegan was.

"You're awfully quiet," Keegan said.

"I'm thinking. Why do you want to see a son you've largely ignored?"

"I don't want to see him; I want to raise him. I want to make him mine."

Phil was stalling until Larry got home, but he realized he was going to
have to move the conversation to the tough part by himself. He wished Larry
had already left The Barn when he called him. If he had, he'd be home by
now.

"You don't just make a kid yours. It's not like you own him," Phil said.

"Like you would know. When did you raise a kid?" Keegan looked around the
room. "I know the answer to that, too, I figured it all out on the way
here, didn't I babe?" Natalie gave a slight nod. "I mean a blind man could
tell a kid uses this room. I don't think you and your boyfriend play most
of those games with each other. And then there's the books and pictures and
other shit."

Before Phil could answer, they heard the garage door open. Within a minute
Larry entered carrying a box loaded with hamburger bags. "Lunch time," he
announced. "And hi, Keegan, long time no see."

"Hey." Keegan didn't bother to get up to shake hands. "This is my
girlfriend, Natalie."

Larry walked over to shake her hand. "My pleasure, Natalie." He turned to
shake Keegan's hand, but his gesture was ignored.

Larry disregarded the slight and announced the burgers were going to the
kitchen. He took a pitcher of lemonade out of the refrigerator and placed
the burgers and fries on plates. Lunch was served.

"I guess we're brothers-in-law now," Keegan said. "Not that I believe in
gay marriage or shit like that."

"It's been around for a while," Phil pointed out.

"Whatever. Let's get back to what we were talking about, since you two have
a way of changing the subject."

The four sat at the kitchen table and started eating.

"And the subject was what?" Larry asked, although he already knew.

"The subject is the fact that you're keeping Al prisoner here."

"Who is Al?" Larry asked with feigned innocence.

"Allen, my son, you idiots. Named after my father and his grandfather."

"Interesting, seeing as our father's first name is Albert."

"Fuck, so maybe he wasn't named after him. What difference does it make? Al
is Al and is my son. My seven-year-old son who is probably eight by
now. But, I know he's here. I know he's living with you. And I know I'm
going to be taking him."

Larry glanced at Phil and took a bite of his hamburger. Phil understood the
glance and said nothing. "Keegan, it's like this," Larry said, working to
sound like the educator he was without becoming too pedantic. "The boy's
name is not Allen, it is Aiden. And he is not eight, he is a growing
ten-year-old boy in the fifth grade." Larry could see a little bit of
Keegan's confidence drop as he digested what he had just been told.

"Troy told me his name was Allen, and how was I supposed to know his age?"
Keegan retorted.  "His mother only let me live with them for a few months,
and that was off and on. Now, let's get back on the topic. Where is the boy
and when do I get to take him home?"

"Let's establish first that THIS is Aiden's home. Which means..."

"Which doesn't mean shit..."

"Keegan, just shut up and listen for once in your life," Phil said
strongly.

Before Keegan could retaliate, Larry went on. "Keegan, Aiden is our son. We
legally adopted him."

"Wait just a fucking minute..."

"Keegan, shut up!" Phil snarled.

"What I'm going to do is tell you the facts as they stand right now. After
I finish you can have your turn to talk." Keegan sputtered but said
nothing.

"First, Aiden isn't here. He is at a friend's birthday party.

"Secondly, I know you know Aiden's mother is dead. Phil and I rescued him
from a foster home and took him in as foster parents. We both quickly
learned to love the boy."

"I'll bet you did," Keegan muttered. Phil stood up and placed his face
right in Keegan's. Keegan could see the fire in his younger brother's
eyes. "Okay, okay, I'll shut up."

"Aiden wanted to live with us permanently. We set the wheels in motion to
adopt him. Legal notice was posted for you to contact the court in the
matter of the adoption of your son." Phil and Larry both watched Keegan
seethe. They also noted that Natalie was doing nothing to comfort him.

"The final result was that Aiden became our legal son and you forfeited
your parental rights."

Keegan finally spoke up. "I lose my rights just because I don't read the
fucking newspaper?"

Larry ignored him and went on. "You can get limited rights back. To do so,
you will need to see the judge and convince him of your competence. You
need to show that you are gainfully employed and that you are clean and
sober."

"That is bullshit." Once again Phil was in his face. Keegan knew that Phil
wouldn't hesitate to clean his clock and was perfectly capable of doing
so. He shut up yet again.

"There is one more factor."

"Like I need to get castrated first or what?"

"You can see Aiden only with his consent."

"Huh?" Keegan looked over at his still glowering brother. "You want to
explain that to me, bro? I'm tired of listening to you, asshole," he
snarled at Larry. "I'd rather hear it from my blood brother."

"What he's saying, Keegan, is that you can see Aiden only if he allows
it. But before even that can happen, you have to fulfill the requirements
of the parental rights clause as Larry explained it."

"So, he's at a birthday party, right?" Phil nodded. "That means he's gonna
come home after it's over, probably after dinner or something like
that. Permission or no permission, I'm going to be right here to meet
them. There is nothing the two of you can do about it."

Natalie finally spoke up. "I think the best thing for us to do is
leave. Your brother and his husband have been more than fair to you,
Keegan. You know what to do to see your son, now you just need to do it."

"I don't want to see him; I want to have him. I want him to live with me. I
mean if two queers can adopt a little boy, then his father should be able
to have him, like right away. I'll go to court all right—I'll go there
to rescue his ass from the two of you."

"It's going to be hard for you to hang around if I get a no-contact
order. I doubt you want to do more jail time than you already have in your
life," Phil said.

Keegan let out a humorless laugh. "You guys are pathetic. There is no way
you get a court order in a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon."

"Maybe not normally," Phil told his brother, "but it just so happens that
the father of the boy having the birthday today is a County Superior Court
judge. I think I can get one in however long it takes to make a phone
call."

"Come on, Keegan, let's go," Natalie implored as she tugged on his arm.

"Okay, okay, I'm not stupid. I'll go. But I ain't done with those two. I
will be seeing you in court. But, before I go, I have a question I bet you
can't answer. How the fuck am I supposed to get my son to want to see me if
I'm not allowed to see him?"

"Get sober. Get employed. Go to court and talk to the judge. Larry and I
are willing to go from there. Remember, though, that no matter what, the
final decision is Aiden's."

"Yeah, after you two brainwash him. I got a job and I am as clean and sober
as I need to be."

Keegan finally stood up, went into the multi-purpose room, grabbed his
jacket, and headed for the door, lighting a cigarette as he went. "Like I
said, I ain't done with you guys. I am getting my boy. End of story."

Natalie followed Keegan to the front door then turned around to face Larry
and Phil. "I'm sorry about this guys, I really am."

"It's not your fault. I hope you realize he is a sick man."

"I finally think I get it."

Keegan popped back in. "Come on. We don't want to be here when my son gets
back or you'll be visiting me in whatever hellhole their county jail is."

After watching the car drive off, Phil and Larry went to the back of the
house and sat on the loveseat. "Well that was a lot of fun," Larry said.

"Keegan isn't one of those guys who knows how to push people's buttons, he
simply pushes buttons at random to see what the reactions will be," Phil
lamented. "In spite of everything, I loved him when we were kids. I still
do, but the Keegan I knew back then appears to be unreachable."

"He doesn't present much to like," Larry said.

"I wonder what Natalie sees in him? She seemed like a nice lady."

Larry nodded. "I don't know. Maybe he's good in bed. She seemed to be
getting quite put out by him as he carried on with his rants."

"I remember when you and Keegan truly made love to each other back in high
school. For a while there was an obvious bond between the two of you."

"That bond faded away long ago," Phil said sadly. "But, yeah, that was one
amazing session in bed together."

"Now what?" Larry asked.

"Now, we tell Aiden."

"As much as I don't want to tell Aiden anything, I'm afraid you're right. I
think we should talk to Judge Moyer, too. At least tell him about Keegan's
appearance and belligerent attitude."

Phil nodded. "I was going to pick up Aiden, but I think we should go
together." Larry agreed. "Now, let's clean up the kitchen."

As Phil cleared the kitchen table he found a business card under the plate
that Natalie had used. "Look at this, Larry. Natalie left something
behind." He looked over the card. "She's an administrative assistant, aka
secretary, for McCall Trucking."

"Small world," Larry said. McCall trucking was headquartered in Centralia
and had a maintenance facility in Mayville, but dispatched trucks out of
Seattle. They also had a warehouse there. Seth McCall, who was Nick and
Noah's father, was the owner of McCall Trucking. Neither Larry nor Phil
knew that Keegan was working in the warehouse.

"Well, we have her work place and number for whatever reason," Phil
said. He flipped the card and grinned. "We also have Keegan's cell phone
number and address. Interesting. I'm liking this gal more and more."

When the time came to pick up Aiden and Gordy, Phil and Larry took Larry's
Honda. They hoped that Aiden had had a good time at the party, since they
would be bringing a dark cloud into his life later.

<Aiden>

Aiden did have a good time at the party. The party consisted of Nolan, the
birthday boy, and seven of his best friends (five boys and two girls),
along with Aiden and Gordy. The rainfall kept the group indoors, but there
were plenty of indoor games to be played.

Aiden was overjoyed to have been invited considering that he and Nolan
lived far apart and weren't yet the kind of really close friends that
pubescent boys loved to have. Gordy was a much closer friend than Nolan,
yet Nolan held an exotic fascination for Aiden that Gordy didn't. Gordy was
much more erotic, seeing as Aiden and Gordy were messing around sexually
more and more, but Nolan had an air of glamorous mystery about him, maybe
because he lived in a different town.

Whatever the reason for the feeling, Nolan was different—exotic, rather
than erotic. Not that Aiden didn't get a sexual charge a couple of times
during the party when Nolan touched him. Aiden was confused about his
feelings for Nolan, but he didn't fight them. He wished he could see Nolan
more often so he could get to know him better and maybe figure things out.

The party didn't have any of the eroticism that Aiden's parties generated,
but it didn't matter. Aiden's best friend, Gordy, was there and his mystery
friend, Nolan, was there. On top of that, Nolan's buddies were all nice
kids and Aiden and Gordy were quickly and readily accepted by
everybody. Even the two girls were nice. They were both tomboyish like
Kaylie, a trait Aiden liked in a girl.

After the food disappeared and the candles were blown out and Nolan had
read his birthday cards, the partiers started to disperse. Aiden called his
dads for a ride. He and Gordy played pool with Nolan and his friend Brad,
an African-American boy whose parents were from Kenya. Aiden hadn't played
much pool, so Nolan played teacher, giving Aiden a couple of thrills when
he leaned across him to help with his technique. Aiden picked things up
quickly and the four boys had a fun game going when Larry and Phil
arrived. Nolan also showed him the model railroad layout he and his dad had
in the basement, but he didn't operate any trains.

Aiden was surprised to see both of his dads come to pick him up. They told
him and Gordy to keep playing, that they needed to talk to Nolan's
father. Larry and Phil followed Judge Paul Moyer into his wood-paneled
office. The judge's wife brought them some coffee and birthday cake.

"I'm surprised you have any cake left over," Larry said.

"Gina baked a secret cake and hid it for later use. With ten and
eleven-year-old boys you can count on every edible thing in sight
disappearing at a party," Paul told him.

"So, Nolan is eleven now?"

"Yep. A mid-October birthday makes him one of the oldest boys in his
class."

"And an early September birthday makes Aiden one of the youngest in his
class. He and Nolan are almost a year apart in age," Larry observed. "At
that age the grade at school means as much or more than chronological age
when it comes to peer bonding."

With the preliminaries over, Larry and Phil updated Judge Moyer on Keegan's
visit. Paul Moyer was the family court judge for Lewis County. He had made
Phil and Larry's adoption of Aiden final and legal.

"From what you've told me, I have grounds to issue a no-contact order. With
the information left behind by his friend, Natalie, it will be easy to have
it served," the judge told them. "Phil, if you could stop by my office on
Monday for a brown bag lunch with me, you and I can take care of all the
legal niceties."

Phil nodded. "You know, I really wish I didn't have to do this to my
brother."

"I understand," Judge Moyer replied. "But, Keegan knows what he needs to
do. For now, this is the best way to handle it."

As the boys played pool, the fact that Nolan had just turned eleven did
play a bit on Aiden's mind. As their parents had mentioned about their
birthdays, he realized that he and Nolan would always be in the same grade
and he would always be almost a year younger than Nolan. He wondered why
that even mattered since they didn't even live in the same town and weren't
even the very best of friends. But, somehow it did matter. His thoughts
were interrupted when Nolan brought Aiden out of his reverie by tapping his
shoulder and reminding him that it was his turn.

The game had to come to an end since Larry and Phil were ready to take
Aiden and Gordy home. Aiden and Nolan exchanged their secret handshake and
somehow avoided giving each other the hug they each so badly wanted to
give.

On the way home, Aiden and Gordy chatted happily about the party while
Larry and Phil gladly listened. They asked Aiden if he was hungry. Aiden
said he ate a lot at the party and a sandwich or something for dinner would
be fine with him.

"Why did both of you come to pick me up?" Aiden asked after they dropped
off Gordy. "I thought just dad was coming."

"Because we love you," Phil said. On Paul's advice he and Larry elected to
wait until the next day to talk about the appearance of his birth
father. They didn't want to spoil the good mood the party had put him in.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Aiden woke up Sunday morning prepared to fix French Toast and sausage. He
went downstairs in his favorite morning wear, namely nothing. He did put on
an apron and the chef's hat Phil had given him as a birthday joke
gift. Aiden didn't think it was a joke at all, he loved wearing it when he
cooked—it kept his hair out of the way for one thing.

Larry and Phil came out from their bedroom after Aiden knocked on their
door and told them he was starting breakfast. Both of them were wearing
t-shirts and lounge pants. Larry wore dark gray pants with a cross-hatch of
narrow red lines. Phil's were fluorescent yellow with a thick red stripe
just under the hem of the pants. The colors were almost hot enough for
Aiden to cook his French Toast on.

Larry and Phil did the table setting honors as Aiden carefully cooked his
French Toast on the griddle. The sausage links were frying in a frying pan
on the stove. The dads enjoyed the look of concentration on their son's
face, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he worked to time everything
to be ready simultaneously.

Aiden was becoming quite proficient at cooking breakfast. Larry and Phil
knew the time was coming to widen his cooking skills. While the dads wanted
to take credit for inspiring Aiden's interest in cooking, they knew that
Marty's love of cooking was probably a bigger factor in Aiden's desire to
learn culinary skills.

As they sat down to eat, Aiden removed his apron and sat naked at the
table. "Cook's privilege," he said before his dads could object. Larry and
Phil decided not to deflate Aiden's pride at cooking his first full meal on
his own and said nothing. Aiden chalked up a minor victory in his mind in
the breakfast-wear battle.

After eating the hearty, well-cooked meal, Aiden cleaned the grill, the
frying pan, and the stove, while Larry and Phil took care of the rest of
the after breakfast cleaning. Another reason Larry and Phil didn't argue
with Aiden's choice of breakfast wear was the discussion they knew they
would be having with their son all too soon. A boy's day, especially one
that started out with the happiness of this one, should only have so many
dark clouds roll into it if it could be helped.

Aiden showered, put on a pair of white briefs and an Amtrak Cascades
t-shirt, grabbed his school backpack and went downstairs. He set up shop at
the desk in the study room, which the multi-purpose room was suddenly
converted into, and went to work on his homework. He had less than an
hour's worth and was finished well over an hour before the Seahawk game
would be ready to start.

"When are you going to take me to a Seahawks game?" Aiden asked as he put
away his books and papers.

"I think we may want to look into doing that next fall," Phil conceded. The
Seahawks were sold out for the season unless one wanted to purchase
expensive tickets that were up for resale. Getting six seats together was
highly unlikely at that point, anyway.

"Could we go with Chase and Logan?" Aiden's eagerness was obvious.

"I don't see why not. We'd have to order tickets early so we can all sit
together."

"That's going to be so awesome. When do they start selling tickets?"

"I have no idea, but your daddy and I will look into it after this season
ends. We'll keep you up to date."

"You better, because I'm going to make sure you do everything you're
supposed to."

"I have no doubt you will," Phil chuckled, "no doubt at all."

Larry entered the room, which was about to convert from the study room to
the conference room. He sat on the couch and asked Aiden to sit next to
him. When Phil sat on the other side of Aiden, the boy grew concerned. He
could sense that whatever was about to happen was going to be something
very serious.

"What's up? Does this have to do with you guys talking to Nolan's dad
yesterday?"

Phil and Larry were both impressed by Aiden's question. It was obvious that
not much got by him.

Larry draped his right arm around Aiden's thin shoulders. "Yes, it does."

"Is there something wrong with my adoption?" Aiden asked in a moment of
panic.

Larry squeezed the boy tightly against him. "Nope, your adoption is iron
clad. But, it is related to your adoption."

Aiden used the pause rule and took a deep breath. He felt Phil massage his
neck as Larry held him. Whatever was going on, he felt safe and loved and
knew his dads would never let anything bad happen to him.

"We had a surprise visitor while you were at the party," Larry said. He and
Phil had agreed that Larry would do most of the talking. They had learned
that Aiden focused better on what was being said if the two of them didn't
talk back and forth. "Your father came by."

"He's not my father," Aiden protested. "You're my fathers."

"We're your dads. We earned that title by being the ones raising you and
nurturing you. But, like it or not, he's your father."

"He's not taking me away from you is he?" Aiden forgot the pause rule as
well as his dads' assurances that he was their legally adopted son.

"No, he's not. But I have to tell you that he wants to, that he thinks you
belong to him." He gave Aiden an extra squeeze. "I know this will be hard
to listen to, but you need to listen carefully so we're all on the same
page."

Aiden took Larry's right hand in his left and squeezed it. He then squeezed
Phil's left hand with his right. "I think he can only see me if I want him
to, right?"

"Very good. That is totally correct. Plus, he has to satisfy Judge Moyer to
even have the right to ask to see you. But, I think your father has a bit
of stubborn streak when it comes to having what he thinks he should have."

"Do I have his stubborn streak?" Aiden asked, knowing that kids inherited
things from their parents.

Phil couldn't help but chuckle. "You have your moments, son."

"We saw Judge Moyer when we came to pick you up to tell him what had
happened," Larry continued. "On Monday he is going to issue a no-contact
order. That means your father can't contact you in any way. He won't even
be able to get close to you, at least not until he does the things Judge
Moyer tells him he must do and the judge says contact is okay."

"But even then, I have to say it's okay first, right?"

"Exactly."

"But what if he tries to see me?" Aiden asked. "What do I do, because the
judge says he's not supposed to see me or get close to me, and I sure know
I don't want to see the asswaffle."

"Aiden, like him or not, he is your father, and you need to respect that."

"Hey, I could have called him a piece of shit or a pecker head and I
didn't. I mean he never respected me when he was living with my mom." Aiden
was becoming both agitated and panicky. "He drank and smoked pot and had
weird friends, and tried to make me get drunk and I was only seven and
eight and he beat my ass a couple of times. So, that makes him at least a
pecke rhead, but I was being nice and called him an asswaffle."

Larry looked over at Phil, who nodded. It was going to take time to work on
his Seattle street language. They had a more immediate one to resolve
first.

"Here is what you should do if he contacts you," Larry instructed. "You get
out your phone and tell him you're calling the police and you're calling
us. You call the police first. The Mayfield police will be informed of the
no-contact order. And if he makes any kind of move, you run and get your
ass away from there—run and don't stop."

"Even if Nolan's dad says it's okay for him to see me, I don't want to ever
see him. Ever and forever," Aiden stated emphatically. "I hate him." He put
his arms around his two dads. They were too short to wrap around their
waists, but he wanted them to feel his love. "I love you dad and daddy. I
know you'll keep me safe and I am happy you're my dads even if you aren't
my fathers."

"We love you, son. We're sorry to have to sit down with bad news, but it's
something we can work our way through," Larry said. "Your dad and I have
your back. Judge Moyer has your back. Your Uncle Troy has your
back. Everybody has your back." Aiden nodded and wiped away a few tears.

The conference broke up and soon the conference room morphed into the game
room as the Scrabble board came out. That was another thing Aiden was
learning from his dads. You dealt with whatever was put in front of you,
and then life goes on.

Phil and Larry knew Aiden had returned to a semblance of normal when he
removed his t-shirt and underpants after they picked their tiles for the
first game. "I think better when I don't have clothes on," Aiden informed
them seriously.

That night in his bedroom Aiden got on his knees and said he was grateful
to have dads who loved him and had his back. He then picked up Horace and
went downstairs. He knocked on his dad's bedroom door.

"Come in gentlemen," Larry said, referring to Aiden and Horace.

For only the second time since he had turned ten, Aiden slept between his
dads, whose presence warded off any bad dreams and helped Horace keep the
monsters in his closet at bay. Horace perched on Larry's dresser, the
stuffed donkey's ever present grin saying it was about time Aiden brought
him downstairs. Horace understood that they all worked together to keep the
boy safe and loved.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26

<Al Miller>

Aiden was reclining in Phil's favorite recliner, which was, in reality,
Aiden's favorite recliner. He let his dad call it his favorite recliner,
but Aiden knew the real story even if Phil didn't. Aiden allowed Phil to
use it to help him feel like he was in charge of it, which in turn helped
keep his self-image up.

Aiden knew all about self-image, since Mrs. Riley, his fifth grade teacher,
liked talking about it. Like his daddy, Larry, Aiden knew that Mrs. Riley
felt that having a good self-image came from enjoying success and that
success came from hard work not from just having a good self-image. But,
Phil had worked hard to earn the money to buy the chair, so it was
important to give Phil the false impression that the recliner was really
his.

The phone rang, which startled Aiden, who was deep in "Lieutenant
Hornblower," a Horatio Hornblower sea story. It was the second book in the
series. Even though the vocabulary was a bit difficult at times, Aiden was
a sophisticated enough reader to enjoy the C.S. Forrester novel. He had
both a print dictionary and Dictionary.com on his phone at his side to look
up new words.

"I got it!" Aiden yelled. Larry was upstairs in his office doing school
work and Phil was at a meeting of the Mayfield Baseball Club.

As a coach in the summer baseball program Phil attended meetings whenever
he could. While he had been on the board of directors, his term had run out
and he was now strictly a spectator. The Club was started as the Go to
State Club by a group of middle school baseball players led by Eric
Simmons. Except for the recreation teams operated by the Mayfield Park
Department, all of the baseball teams in Mayfield, but one, were under the
auspices of the Mayfield Baseball Club. Almost all of the officers of the
Club and a majority of the board were students as had been the case since
the Club was founded.

Aiden saw on caller ID that the caller was Grandpa Albert. He picked up the
phone. Since he was naked, he was happy that it wasn't like Skype with
video capabilities.

"Hi, Grandpa Albert."

"Oh my, I seem to have the right number since one of my three favorite
grandsons answered the phone," Al Miller said.

"You only have three grandsons," Aiden reminded him.

"Which is why I have three favorites."

"But, I'm the only one who lives here."

"Which proves I called the right number."

"Grandpa, you're silly."

"All young boys should have silly grandpas," Al laughed. "I'd like to talk
to one of your dads if I could."

"Are you really coming for Thanksgiving?"

"I am, which is what I want to talk to them about."

"Dad went to a baseball meeting, but daddy is here. I'll get him." Aiden
put the phone on hold and stepped into the foyer. "Daddy, Grandpa Albert is
on the phone."

"Thanks. I've got it." Larry picked up the extension. "Hi, pop," he said to
his father-in-law.

"Hi, son." Larry and Al had developed an easy-going relationship over the
years. It had taken hard work since they truly didn't like each other when
Larry was a boy. But being members of AA had taught them both a lot over
the years, and they were able to forgive each other for their character
defects. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I thought I'd give you the final itinerary for our Thanksgiving trip. Tony
and I will be flying into Portland Wednesday afternoon. We'll pick up our
rental car and should be at your place well before dinner." Tony was Al's
husband.

"You're still staying with us, right?" The guest room was already made up
for their company.

"That's the plan, and we appreciate it." Al paused a second and then
switched topics. "Have you heard any more from Keegan?" Phil had told Al
about Keegan's visit and its ramifications.

"Nope. Troy says Keegan does everything in his own time and when he does do
anything it's usually in `bull in the china shop' fashion."

"Just hope he doesn't show up for Thanksgiving."

"That no-contact order will have a police car here in an instant. It really
does pay to be a celebrity in a small town. The police department is quite
aware of the situation with Keegan."

"I feel responsible for the mess he's become."

"Pop, he's had a big chunk of his lifetime to straighten out. Keegan's been
handed the tools and has ignored them. You have nothing to do with those
decisions."

"But, still..."

"Enough beating yourself up. We're all looking forward to seeing you."

"Aiden certainly sounds grown up on the phone, and I'm not talking about
his high-pitched little boy voice, I'm talking about his overall
demeanor. You and Phil have done a great job with the boy."

"Thanks, we appreciate it. Aiden has grown to love you over the phone and
is really excited about your visit."

"Has Phil talked to his mom about Keegan?" Al and Phil's mother were
divorced when Phil was a boy.

"You know what she's like." She always says: "We all need to do a better
job of understanding Keegan. The judge had no authority to forfeit Keegan's
parental rights. And Aiden is a ten-year-old boy who should have no say
about whether or not his father can see him."

"For better or for worse, she was never one to stare reality in the eye,
which sounds a lot like Keegan."

"Who all is going to be at the big dinner?"

"As it stands now, it will be you and Tony, Troy and his family, my
parents, Sue's parents, and our good friends the Bednarzyks and their two
sons, along with the three of us."

"That totals seventeen people—quite the crowd."

"Lois Bednarzyk is baking a turkey along with Phil. We have a big house.
It's going to be a great Thanksgiving."

"Thanks again—we're both looking forward to it. Now, let me say goodbye
to my grandson."

Larry switched back to the phone in the multi-purpose, reading room. Aiden
picked it up.

"I'll be seeing you in a month, kid," Al said.

"I can't wait, grandpa. This is going to be the greatest Thanksgiving
ever."

"You be good, you hear?"

"I'm always good, except when I'm not," the boy giggled. "Bye bye, Grandpa
Albert."

"See you soon, son."

Aiden hung up the phone. He had just finished a chapter of his book. His
little cock was getting the feelings that sometimes went through him—the
feelings where touching himself didn't just feel good, but was something he
almost had to do. He looked down at his erect two and three-quarters inches
and then he looked over at the recliner. A naughty little plan began to
form in his mind.

He figured he could hear his daddy come down the stairs. He knew he'd hear
his dad come home from his meeting. He ducked into the little half-bathroom
and grabbed a towel to cover himself with just in case he couldn't get
finished in time.

Then he sat back in his recliner and commenced to masturbate with images of
Nolan and Mason dancing through his mind. He used to wonder why he was
always fantasizing about boys, but now he didn't care. A different boy or
boys popped into his head whenever he jerked off, and he took the fantasy
boys and made up a sexy story along the way.

He didn't have any lotion downstairs, so he spit on his hand and worked to
satisfy his urges. He could have gone up to his bedroom and jerked off, but
doing it in the multi-purpose room always had a special naughty feel. He
had no doubt he'd have his orgasm in no time—long before anybody
discovered him naked on the leather recliner with his hand racing along his
bare cock.

Next: Lenny and Lance