Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2018 18:47:49 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Aiden II Chapter 20

Welcome back. Sometimes being ten and eating lunch with adults can be
overwhelming, and sometimes it can be a great part of growing up.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive and keep the free stories flowing.

CHAPTER 20
FATHERHOOD

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25

After Judge Newman finished reading Aiden's letter Aiden was squeezing
Horace and George Bednarzyk's hand with equal fervor. Aiden tried to shrink
behind the bench in front of him when he saw his father turn around to look
at him. Before entering the courtroom, Aiden had seen Horace as a source of
strength, but as his father stared at him with a glare that he had seen
before, he suddenly felt like the seven-year-old boy who was cringing when
his father ordered him to pull down his pants and undies so he could feel
his father's belt on his bare bottom.

Aiden was surprised when George tugged on his hand and gestured for him to
stand up. Aiden didn't hesitate to rise from his seat and allow George to
lead him out of the courtroom. He guided Aiden to one of the attorney
conference rooms and sat next to Aiden at the wooden table.  Natalie saw
the two go by and noticed the upset look on the face of the boy.

"Did I do something wrong?" Aiden asked.

"You did absolutely nothing wrong," George replied. "You were a brave boy
who did everything right."

Aiden held Horace in his arms, the stuffed donkey's smile bringing back the
sense of calmness that Aiden had always received from his stuffed
animal. "I got scared," Aiden whispered.

"I could tell," George said gently. "That's why I thought it would be a
good idea to leave." George was now of the opinion that allowing Aiden to
sit in on the hearing had been a bad idea.

"That's how he looked at me when he used his belt on my butt when I was
little."

"Hitting you was wrong in every way imaginable."

Aiden nodded. "My daddy said I should put that in the letter. Do you think
it was okay there?"

"I think it was perfect." George didn't intend to do it, but he ended up
ruffling Aiden's hair, thinking he looked more like Aiden when he had an
unkempt look about him. It was one more reason why Aiden thought he was
going to have to say something to people who kept messing up his hair; it
was messy enough without getting everyone's help.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in," George said
thinking it was the bailiff with news about Judge Newman's
decision. Instead it was Judge Moyer with a kindly look on his face. He
pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Aiden.

"You were wonderful in there," he told the young boy.

"I didn't do anything," Aiden protested.

"Yes, you did. You had the courage to write and send that letter, and
believe me, it had a huge influence on Judge Newman. You were attentive and
well-behaved and you didn't look away when your father tried to stare you
down. You're a brave boy."

"I was scared," Aiden confessed again.

"I know."

Aiden looked down at Horace, feeling badly about having momentarily lost
faith in his stuffed donkey. He looked at Horace's smile. It was still the
smile that always gave him comfort even after his father put the belt to
him. It was still the smile that told him he had no reason to be afraid or
to feel like a little boy. He was in the room with three friends: two
important adults and a very wise donkey.

"I'm glad I brought Horace with me. Horace and Mr. Bednarzyk and you and my
dads all helped me today." Judge Moyer smiled and asked Aiden, George
Bednarzyk, and Horace to accompany him to his chambers.

During the proceedings, Paul Moyer had taken a seat in the entry to his
chambers so he could listen to what was said. After George led Aiden from
the courtroom, Keegan Miller had turned and faced the Judge
Newman. "Judge...," he started but Valerie Newman held up a hand and gave
him a glare that carried much more weight than his own glare had.

"Mr. Miller, you will address the court in the proper way at the proper
time. I have been given the impression from Aiden Miller's letter that you
beat your young son. Is that true?"

Keegan looked over to his lawyer who indicated he should answer the
question. "No, Judge...er..., Your Honor. I spanked him a couple of times
when he misbehaved, but I swear I never beat him."

"I understand that your spankings involved using your belt on his bare
buttocks."

"The boy is lying if he said that."

The judge shot Keegan another glare, making him physically cringe. Valerie
Newman was not a person to be trifled with and was without question not a
woman to lie to. "You may have your say after I finish.

"Mr. Miller, the decision regarding your parental rights as handed down by
Judge Moyer remains in effect. The no-contact order remains in effect. You
are not currently competent to handle any kind of visitation rights with
Aiden Miller." Keegan started to open his mouth, but shut it when his
lawyer nudged him with his elbow.

"Here is what you will need to do if you wish to have the no-contact order
rescinded and visitation rights awarded to you. You will enter a drug and
alcohol rehabilitation program." Keegan was about to argue that he didn't
need rehab, but once again an elbow jabbed him in the ribs. "You will take
an anger management class. You will show yourself to be gainfully
employed. You will see the clerk to make an appointment to return to this
court in the month of September to prove you have met these requirements
and we will proceed from there. Please do not waste this court's time
again. You may now make any comments you may have, Mr. Miller."

As directed by his attorney, Keegan stood to address the judge. "Your
Honor, I don't see why I need to go to alcohol treatment. Yes, I like to
drink, but I am not an alcoholic and I promise to stop drinking as of
today." Judge Newman's look indicated she was not impressed. "Also, I am
going to ask for more than just limited visitation. I'm going to ask for
what I wanted to ask for today if I'd been given the chance, and that is
complete custody of my son. My brother and his so-called husband are not
competent fathers and you know that. I mean you had to see that boy sitting
in court holding onto a teddy bear. He is ten years old. What ten-year-old
carries a teddy bear with him? My brother is raising the boy to be a sissy
instead of a real boy. They are trying to make him..."

Judge Newman banged her gavel. "Mr. Miller, you are wasting my time and the
time of this court. Your comments are out of order. The fact that you can't
even call the young man who is your son by his name shows you are not ready
to be a father. You have no right to say anything about how a boy you beat
with a belt and abandoned and who is now a straight-A student and an active
athlete is being raised.

"If you want a hint of what fatherhood is like, come back to this court in
nine months with a totally different agenda than the one you have now."

Keegan whispered something to Dave Brown, his lawyer, who stood up. "Your
honor, my client wishes to know if his son, Aiden Miller, will have any say
in September regarding your ruling?"

"He will not, Mr. Brown. That decision will be entirely up to the court,
although he will be able to give us input as will Mr. Phillip Miller and
Mr. Lawrence Sanders, his adoptive fathers. What Aiden Miller will
maintain, however, is his right to refuse any kind of visit with his father
even if the court grants his father limited rights." She looked down over
the top of her glasses at Keegan. "Mr. Miller, if you attempt to have any
kind of contact with your son between now and your next hearing, my ruling
will become permanent. Is that fully understood?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Keegan said meekly.

"Oh, and Mr. Miller, for your information, Aiden was not sitting in court
with a teddy bear.  What you saw in this courtroom is a donkey—not a
bear." The judge gave a visibly shaken Keegan a sly smile and then banged
her gavel. "This court stands adjourned." She stood, left the bench, and
went into the entry to Judge Moyer's chambers. Judge Newman met with Judge
Moyer, Mary Polk, Aiden's attorney, Aiden, Horace, and Dave Brown, Keegan's
attorney.

Judge Moyer closed the door to his chambers. Judge Newman then patiently
explained to Aiden what her ruling entailed. "If you ever see your father
approaching or trying to make contact, let somebody know right way," she
instructed after finishing her explanation.

"My dads told me to call the police," Aiden told her.

"Sound advice." The judge smiled at Aiden and became the third person
involved in the hearing to compliment him. "You a very fine young man. I
think your presence showed your father that you are serious about this
matter, even if he didn't act impressed."

Keegan's lawyer, Dave Brown, didn't think the boy belonged in the courtroom
and he knew his father didn't either. But he was not about to start a
pissing match with the judge while the boy was in the room. Having Aiden
present was a good move by Judge Newman, but he was determined to find a
way to have the boy's presence in court work in favor of his client.

"Who is your furry friend?" the judge asked. Unlike Keegan, she didn't
think the stuffed animal undermined Aiden's manliness at all. Her
eleven-year-old grandson still had his teddy bear. Obviously Aiden's
stuffed animal was a donkey, though, and not a bear, even if Aiden's father
couldn't tell the difference, but the idea was the same.

"His name is Horace and I've had him ever since I was little," Aiden
replied. "He is very special."

"I can tell." She turned to the others in the room. "I think the time has
arrived for my lunch. I have a trial in my own courtroom starting at
one-thirty. Jury selection time."

Aiden went to Parker's Steak House for lunch with George Bednarzyk and Paul
Moyer. Mary Polk had an appointment with a client and couldn't join
them. They were met at the restaurant by Phil. Aiden was disappointed that
Peter wasn't working that day.

The talk was about Judge Newman's decision, which went exactly the way the
adults expected it to go. Aiden had heard it all, so he concentrated on his
cheeseburger and fries. But when the talk turned to fatherhood, he
listened. While he hadn't heard Judge Newman's lecture to his father
regarding fatherhood, he was told in brief by Paul that Keegan had to show
his ability and willingness to work at being a good father in order to have
any kind of chance of seeing Aiden.

Aiden ended his lunchtime silence and broke into the conversation. "He has
to be a good dad, like I said in my letter." Aiden was not shy about
talking to adults when he felt he had something to say.

Paul nodded in agreement and then said, "The way I see it, being a dad, or
a daddy, or whatever you wish to call it, is one of the requirements of
fatherhood, but so is being a father. Your dads are more than dads,
Aiden. They are fathers. They care for you, they teach you, they nurture
you, they love you unconditionally in countless ways. I could see that at
your adoption hearing. Their willingness to be everything a father has to
be made my decision to approve of your adoption an easy one."

Aiden wondered what Phil thought of that, since he was Aiden's dad, just
like Larry was his daddy. Before he could ask, his dad answered the
question in his mind. "Our day is called Father's Day and not Dad's
Day. Being a father is all-encompassing." Aiden made a mental note to find
out what all-encompassing meant, even though he had a pretty good idea.

"Being a dad is very important," George agreed, "but it's a part of being a
father."

"Being a dad is the human part of the equation—it makes us more human
for our kids," Phil said, "or kid, in our case. Fatherhood is the hard
work."

"But, don't you have to, like, um...make the kid to be a father?" Aiden
asked.

Phil ruffled his son's hair. Aiden promised himself once again he had to
figure out a way to end the hair ruffling, even though he enjoyed the
attention. "Here's how I see it, son. Making the kid, or in your case, the
boy, is not in any way work. That is obvious to all of us. Your daddy and I
didn't procreate to `make' you. The work for us, the responsibility of us
as fathers, is to make you into a good man. That is what fatherhood means
to us."

Aiden leaned against his dad, his father. "I love you. Even if you're not
my father you're still my dad and daddy Larry is my daddy." He looked over
at George. "I know I got a little scared today when my...my father looked
mean at me, but I'm glad you guys all let me go to watch today." George
nodded as he acknowledged to himself that he had been wrong yet
again—Aiden did belong in the courtroom. Including him in the
proceedings had been the correct decision.

"Sammy and Jeffrey and Nolan and me are all lucky we have good fathers who
know all about fatherhood, even when we get in trouble," Aiden went on. "I
bet Mr. Bednarzyk and Judge Moyer never hit their kids with a belt and I
know my dads never will." He looked down at his plate. "Now I gotta finish
my fries."

Next: Marching Towards Spring