The Village

Author's Note: I posted as soon as I could. 

Zach’s Perspective

We all rose when the Judge came back into the courtroom. He had sworn us all in, spoke with us for a while, then asked to meet with the kids privately (With Ms. Elkin there in a supervisory capacity. After their meeting she took the kids out of the courtroom). Dan told us to expect a couple of basic questions when he came back, something simple like ‘Do you wish to adopt these children?’ But that’s not what he said. Instead, he said, “I have met with the children and read your file and I have some concerns.”

‘You met with the children and you have concerns? Our children? The two sweetest, surprisingly well adjusted children who started out life in a living hell and have fallen into a world of love where they are thriving. Those children? You read our file and you have some concerns? You mean the file with the glowing recommendation from Ms. Elkin the social worker who saw these kids through shit no kid should ever have to see? The file with letters of praise from Freddy’s teacher and Principal, and Izzy’s daycare? The file with our profiles that outline our decent jobs and financial stability? The file with the pics of our beautiful home and our happy family vacations? The file with the letter from the children’s mother saying she wants us to raise her kids and the form relinquishing her parental rights? That file?’ I thought to myself. Which of those things in our file concerned him? I wondered… I was guessing it was the marriage license with the names of two men on it.

Then the judge came straight out and said it, “I believe that in order for children to flourish, they need both a male and female influence in the home. I am concerned that there is no female influence in the home.” It was clear we were going to have a fight on our hands. Riley and Eli were with us for moral support, I sent Riley out to watch the kids and relieve Ms. Elkin, we were going to need her help.

My blood boiled and I started to speak when Dan put a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder to stop me, then he responded calmly to the judge. “I respect your point of view your honor. However, as you know, in North Carolina sexual orientation or gender does not disqualify a couple from being adoptive parents and as you can see by their file the Westin-Halls more than exceed every requirement.” He paused briefly, then continued, “I would also like to note that the kids have been in the care of Zach and Seth Westin-Hall since January and are thriving as demonstrated in the letters from Frederico’s Principal and teacher, Isabella’s daycare, and Ms. Elkin their case worker. These two gentlemen have provided these two kids a loving home and more stability than they have ever experienced in their short lives.”

“And what about the influence of a mother?” The judge asked.

“What about it, your honor? With all due respect, the law does not require the influence of a mother and without a doubt we could dig up precedence, case after case and example after example of people who grew up without a mother and became strong, well-rounded, well-adjusted contributors to society” Dan stated with confidence. “As much as I respect your opinion, the law is clear.” The judge stared through Dan as if he didn’t exist.

Ms. Elkin had reentered the courtroom just in time to hear the judge ask, ‘what about the influence of a mother?’  She listened to Dan’s response then stood and spoke, “Your Honor may I speak?” she asked.

He nodded with a bit of annoyance and exhaled his response, “when have I ever been able to stop you, Maureen?” I looked over at Seth, neither of had ever heard her first name until that moment. And it was clear that the judge and Maureen Elkin had history.

Ms. Elkin continued, her voice was firm, and harder than usual. “Listen, Bernard” she said with a little disgust in her voice as she called the judge by his first name. “I have been with DSS for decades and have worked with a countless number of children in need and families willing to take them in. It gets harder every year to find good, solid foster families and adoptive parents who deserve the love of these trusting little souls.” She used her familiarity with the judge to rally on our behalf. “We both know that finding the right home for kids, especially as they get older is difficult, and we also know that not all wannabe’s will make good parents… in fact I have stood right here and told you that on more than one occasion.” She had the judge’s attention, he nodded in acknowledgement. “But here we have an exemplary opportunity; a married couple in their mid-twenties with good jobs, a beautiful home, an amazingly supportive family, and community around them. Seth was in a life threatening accident a few months back and his HUSBAND (she almost yelled the word to make sure the judge heard it) begged us to let the children stay in their home while Seth recovered. I was hesitant, but I watched closely as their family and community rallied around them and made sure Frederico and Isabella’s homelife remained stable, something their own mother failed to do. Zach’s mother came all the way from Wisconsin to help care for the two children she already considers HER grandchildren… you talk about the influence of a mother in the home? Get HER in here.” Ms. Elkin’s (Maureen’s) voice got louder, more determined, and dare I say more pissed as she told the story of our family and friends all pitching in. I don’t know if it was the smartest or most appropriate move given the judges reaction to us being gay, but I took hold of Seth’s hand as Maureen continued. “Neighbors and friends juggled schedules to make sure the kids got to and from school, were fed, and cared for when Zach was at the hospital with Seth.  There isn’t a single legal reason to turn them down.”  

“Maureen, you know darn well that we look at more than just the legalities, ‘the best interests of the child’standard guides our decisions. They need a mother’s influence.”

“If that’s true, Bernard then grant the damn petition” Maureen said sternly. “The last time these kids had a mother in the home Izzy got injured while she was being used as a human shield by the boyfriend of her motherly influence!” She had held eye contact with the judge the entire time, now she slammed her fist on the table and said, “Bernie, you are dead wrong on this one. Don’t let your personal bias rob these kids of the best damn thing that has ever happened to them. Even with my decades worth of experience I would not be able to find them a home as perfect as this one.” Then she looked over at the court reporter and said, “Clarice, you better not have missed a word of that, I want to be on the record.”

“Got it” Clarice replied looking up over her glasses. Dan looked over at me and Seth with a ‘what the fuck just happened?’ grin on his face.

“I say this as a friend Bernie, if you can’t see through your bias, maybe you should recuse yourself from the case.” Ms. Elkin said with conviction.

Dan didn’t miss a beat, “I can file a formal request, if necessary, your honor.” The judge sighed, called a quick recess, and went into his chambers.

“What the hell just happened here?” Seth asked looking at Dan and Ms. Elkin.

“Southern bigotry. That’s what” Ms. Elkin said. “It’s alive and well.”

“You were Amazing, Maureen” Dan said with an appreciative smile.

“Well, you would’ve said it if you could’ve gotten away with it” she responded. “I’ve known Bernard forever, and as much as I love him, he’s old fashioned and frankly… he can be a bigot when he wants to be.” She sighed and said, “I just hope it worked.” We talked amongst ourselves about next steps if our petition was denied. We would appeal the decision and Dan would file a complaint against the judge with the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission. As we were talking, Riley came back in with the kids who were excited as hell that they got to eat potato chips out of a machine.

“The Bailiff told me to bring the kids back in. What happened?” Riley asked.

Eli who had been standing there in silence taking it all in responded, “The judge is a homophobe, and Ms. Elkin kicks ass.” Just as he said it, the judge reentered and we all rose.

“Will the family please approach the bench” commanded the judge. The four of us stepped forward. The judge looked at me and Seth and asked, “Do you wish to adopt these two children, Isabella and Frederico?”

“We absolutely do” Seth said without hesitation, and I repeated the words.

“How about you Frederico? We talked about what adoption means in my chambers earlier. Do you want Seth and Zach to be your parents?” The judged asked Freddy.

“Yeah. I do” he said with a smile, he seemed to understand what was happening.

“And Isabella, do you want Seth and Zach to be your parents?” he asked Izzy. 

You know, I usually assume she’s in her own world and oblivious to what’s going on around her, hell she’s only two and a half, but that day she understood. “Yeah, Daddy Sach and Daddy Zeff” she said to the judge with a smile.

Freddy laughed out loud and repeated, “Daddy Sach and Daddy Zeff.” Even the A-hole of a judge had to smile. 

“Okay then” the judge said, giving us a half smile, “I hereby sign the decree of adoption for Frederico Westin-Hall” He said as he signed the first document, then added “and this one for Isabella Westin-Hall” then he looked up and said, “Okay, it’s official” he said and then without ceremony left the room.

Yup. That’s who we were now. Daddy Sach, Daddy Zeff (and yes, those names stuck), Fredrico, and Isabella Westin-Hall. We left the courtroom and went to lunch with our family and Ms. Elkin (Dan had to head back to the office and couldn’t join us). We could not thank Maureen enough for her support.

“Listen guys,” Maureen said. “Remember when I brought the kids back to your house the second time after Izzy had hit her head?” we nodded. “Izzy asked Seth to kiss her bump and he did, even though she stunk to high heaven. Then he asked if she was hungry and she said something about Mickey Mouse. I had no clue what she was saying, but you guys did.” We both smiled at her story because we remembered that moment. “Seth kissed her bump and made her Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes. That was the moment I knew they belonged with you. They felt safe with you, you understood them… you were a family.” She took a deep breath then added, “Bernie’s lucky I didn’t kick his ass and mop the floor with it today.” We laughed, and that was the end of that discussion. “Hey Seth, I meant to ask you. Have you made any progress with Asher?”

Seth piped up, “yeah hasn’t he told you?”

Maureen let out a scoff, “Asher? Have you met him?! Sometimes getting information from him is like pulling teeth.” She wasn’t wrong,’ I thought. Then she said, “Well, that is until he decides he wants to tell you, then he won’t shut up.” Again, she was spot on and we both laughed about Asher’s unique quirks.

“Actually, we’ve made huge progress” Seth said with pride. “Brody’s agency hired him… fulltime with benefits and said he’s working our great. Apparently, the home office loves him because his work is buttoned up and meticulous. He’s working his class schedule around his job, he’s moving into an apartment in Harrington House at the end of the month and we agreed to let him stay until he finishes school, and Daddy James is working on setting him up with a car.”

Maureen’s jaw dropped, “Seth, you’re a miracle worker” she said with an excitement in her voice I hadn’t heard from her before. “All he needs is a chance.”

“Well, he’s got one” Seth said. “Brody took him on and will mentor him… it’s such a good fit.” Maureen was elated and you could see the relief in her face. She worried about every kid in her care… even when they were out of her care (she was like an older, female Seth). We finished lunch and then parted ways. Seth whispered in Maureen’s ear “Thank you for our family” and the two hugged. While the kids ran to the car with Uncle Eli and Aunt Riley, we told Maureen about our big Disney vacation.

“We leave with the James family at 2AM on a surprise road trip to Disney world to celebrate the three adoptions… We have you to thanks for those” I said.

“Oh my god. And you haven’t told them?” She asked. We shook our heads ‘non.’ She laughed Maureen. “Those kids will be over the moon… and Izzy will give the Disney Princesses a run for their money” we all laughed at that thought. We had a great lunch with the woman who brought our family together. The woman who took the spotlight in the courtroom to save the day. The woman whose first name we never even knew until that day. Even though our day in court got a little rocky, it ended perfectly… The Westin-Halls were officially a family of four.

That night, both kids passed out early and were snoring like buzzsaws while Seth and I packed and got ready for our road trip. I was sneaking around upstairs packing our suitcases while Seth busied himself downstairs doing a last minute load of laundry, packing the cooler with snacks and drinks, and writing a list of god only knows what for Eli and Riley who were staying at the house with Petunia. I brought the suitcases downstairs and put them by the front door. Max and Brody were coming by at 2AM to pick us up. The trip was just under nine hours without stops for food, gas, stretching, etc. so if we were on the road by 2:30AM and let the kids sleep in the van, we’d be at the hotel a little after noon. We could lounge by the pool and have a day of relaxation before we hit the parks the next day. We hadn’t told any of the kids about the trip and were going to surprise them in the van after they all woke up.

I got down to the kitchen to find my husband on the phone with Gina wearing only his jockey’s. “Oh my god, are you serious?” He laughed into the phone.

“What?” I asked walking up behind him and putting my arms around his tight body.

“You’re on speaker phone” he said to Gina, “you tell him.”

“Hi Zachy,” Gina said. “I made an appointment for Sunday night at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in The Magic Kingdom for Maggie and Izzy… my treat.”

“What the hell is Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique?!” I asked.

“They do princess makeovers… the girls need to be three years old, so I lied and said they were. They can pass” Gina said, “Which one of you are coming with me?”

“ME!” I shouted in a whisper so I didn’t wake the kids. 

Seth looked at me and laughed, “Are you frigging serious?” He scoffed. “You want to spend time in Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique?”

“Watching my baby girl and her best friend get turned into Princesses?! Hell, yeah, I do!” I answered excitedly, really meaning it. Izzy would fucking LOVE it and I wanted to share it with her… hell, I wanted to share everything with those kids. “How much does that shit cost? You don’t have to treat.” 

“Listen, you guys showered me with gifts when Maggie was born, and then again for DJ, then you have two kids, and Max and Brody have Theo and we didn’t really get to do anything… I want to do this with Izzy to welcome her, and then I want to figure out something fun to do with Theo and Freddy while we’re there.” Gina said, she was speaking from the heart. “I feel like we haven’t welcomed them all properly.”

“Why in the hell do you think we’re taking this trip?” Seth asked her. “We’ll do it up right in Florida. Promise.” 

After we hung up on Gina, I turned Seth around so we were face to face and his back was against the kitchen island then I just yanked down his jockeys, dropped to my knees, looked up at him and said, “we’re spending the next few nights in a hotel room with our kids… so let’s get the poison out of the building before we hit the road.” Then I started licking his soft cock, that didn’t last long because that fucker got hard fast! “Jump up there” I said with a breathy voice directing him to get on the island countertop. He jumped up, sat his bare ass on the cold cement, spread his legs, and I went down on him. His hefty slab of man meat slid down my wanting throat in one gulp. Fuck, I loved the way his cockhead felt hitting the back of my throat and I couldn’t get enough. I took him deeper and deeper until my nose was buried in his bush. I was bobbing up and down on him while I stood and he sat on the cold, hard countertop. My hand grabbed his shaft and followed the movements of my mouth, my spit had him lubed up making him writhe and beg as I put all I had into an amazing prevacation blowjob. 

It was obvious he was on the edge as he pushed my head down and bucked his hips up. “I’m gonna cum, Zach.” I used all the strength I had to break through his grip and pull away.

Choking and sputtering from the fucking Seth had just given my throat, I coughed out “the fuck you are. Come down here.” Seth obediently obeyed and jumped off the cement countertop and stood facing me, we kissed… hard, then I pushed him to his knees. He instinctively swallowed my already hard manhood. His hot mouth felt amazing and his eyes sparkled as he looked hp at me locking his eyes to mine as, he knew every inch of me and how to work me perfectly, it took him mere seconds to get me exactly where I wanted to be… on the edge, just nanoseconds from the point of no return. I yanked him up and bent him over the nearest barstool.

“You want this ass don’t you, daddy” Seth said with a grin. Daddy, he called me daddy. I laughed, but IWAS a daddy now. So was he. We officially had a family… together, and that just excited the hell out of me. I looked around the kitchen for something to lube myself up with and saw a bottle of olive oil sitting on the counter. I grabbed for it and dribbled some down Seth’s perfect fucking ass crack, I wiped it up and down his crevice with my hard cock. His hole glistened in the darkness, damn it was so hot. I couldn’t help myself; I lined up my cock and pushed it in, the heat of his hole enveloped me as I pushed in deeper not stopping until my balls smacked his ass. I pulled out and pushed back in hard until I heard my balls slap against Seth’s smooth ass again and heard him cry out in pleasure, “Hell yes, that’s it, Fuck me daddy!” There it was again “daddy.” That word put a fucking smile on my face. Daddy.

I chuckled to myself as I drove it home and shot my load up Seth’s ass. I accentuated the moment with a huge slap to his as and asked, “Whose your daddy?”

“Daddy Sach” Seth joked as he jacked his own perfect cock and shot his load into the air. We took a minute to breathe, then kissed passionately. “Holy shit” Seth said, “We’re officially daddies!” We stood in the kitchen of our family home covered in sweat, cum and oil, and just held each other. “I’m so excited for this trip, the kids are gonna frigging flip out” Seth said with a smile, our lips just inches from each other.

“I couldn’t do this with anyone but you” I responded. We kissed tenderly, cleaned up our mess, took a shower, and got into bed. We only got a few hours of sleep before the alarm went off. We both got up, being as quiet as we could while we got dressed and moved all the luggage out to the drive. Right on time, the BroMax minivan pulled up to the house. Brody and Max popped the hatch, got out and helped us load our gear into the back. I could see Theo strapped into his booster seat in the third row, passed out. When everything was packed, we went into the house to grab our most precious cargo. Seth grabbed Izzy and carried her limp body like a sack of potatoes and took her down to the minivan.

I went to get Freddy; I picked him up from his bed and carried him. He woke up for just a second and said, “Are we moving? Was mommy bad again?” Then his head dropped on my shoulder and he fell back asleep... My heart broke. That’s what my son worried about when he slept. That’s what he dreamed about. Being ripped from his home… that was all he had known in his short lifetime. Until now.

“Never again, buddy, this is your forever home” I whispered and kissed his head as he fell back asleep on my shoulder. I took him down to the minivan and strapped him into the booster next to Freddy in the third row. Seth already had Izzy strapped into her seat in the second row. All three kids were passed out and clueless that they had been whisked away from their beds for an adventure of a lifetime.

We hit the road with Brody behind the wheel taking the first shift, and me in the passenger seat keeping him company. Max had travel mugs full of coffee for me and Seth and handed one to each of us before he and Seth squeezed into the second row next to Izzy’s car seat. By the time we got to the freeway everyone was asleep except me and Brody who talked quietly in the front seat. I told him all about our day in court, the bigoted judge, and how Ms. Elkin came to our rescue.

“Maureen?” Brody chuckled in response. “She don’t’ look like a Maureen, she looks like a Ms. Elkin… whatever the hell her name is, yer damn lucky she was there. We built a pretty good life here, but it aint no secret that that shit is still out there.” We talked about the times we had experienced bigotry, we talked about the shit some of the villagers had been through. Brody was right… that shit was still out there. 

I turned and looked back at the Izzy, Freddy, and Theo. Then I looked at Seth sleeping with his head resting on Max’s shoulder. Then I looked over at Brody and said. “We’re stronger than the bigots and the family we’ve built is awesome.”

Brody smile, “It sure as hail is, brother.” And we drove south towards The Magic Kingdom to give our three kids some new dreams to fill their sleep. 

 

To be continued…