Priorities - Book Two

*** ~~~ Henri ~~~ ***

It was nearly eleven in the morning and I was sitting in my office working on the books for the restaurant when my phone rang. Looking at the caller-id I was surprised to see it was from our lawyer...the one handling Roger's adoption.

"Hello, George. I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon." I greeted him.

"Henri, there's a problem." He replied, simply...to the point. His voice expressed concern. This in itself caused me to worry.

"What kind of problem?" I asked, not quite understanding.

"Henri, have you ever been arrested?" He asked. Simple and to the point, as is George's way of things.

That question seemed to come out of nowhere…"What do you mean, George?" I asked, but then I remembered, "Well, George, there was one time when I was very young. I was involved in a fight in a bar. But I was never charged with any crime. What does that matter?"

George sighed, audibly before saying, "Henri. On your application where it asked if you have ever been arrested...you answered, 'No'. If you'd said yes, there was a section to say whether you were ever charged and/or convicted. They're trying to say you lied on your application, Henri. It could disqualify you from being allowed to adopt Roger."

I was shocked. Distressed, I asked, "George, that was nearly 30 years ago...I was only around 20 years old. It's something I never think about, I simply forgot about it." After a long pause where nothing was said on either side, I, in a very resigned voice said, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Henri, I will do everything I can, as you know, Bobby asked me to take care of any eventuality. I'll get back to you as soon as I know anything." George said before rather abruptly ending the call.

I hung up the phone and stared into space for a few minutes. I had to try to think of what I could say to Marine, she's going to be devastated! She didn't even know of the event. It happened nearly a year before she and I even met. If something happens and we can't adopt Roger...

*** ~~~ Trevor ~~~ ***

Today was fun. This morning, Daddy came into my room to wake me up and did so by tickling me. I don't think I've ever really been tickled and it felt great. He was relentless and only stopped when I begged him to because if he didn't I would have peed in my bed. I had to think of a way to get back at him!

After a shower, I went down to breakfast. Dad was reading his paper, as usual, but didn't forget to stop reading long enough to give me a hug and a kiss on the forehead to go with 'Good morning'.

I sat down and Daddy brought me my 'Trevor Coffee', some freshly squeezed OJ, and a glass of milk. He prepared a normal American Breakfast consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs, and potatoes. On the side was a huge fluffy biscuit covered in rich sausage gravy. I swear he's trying to make me fat!

After breakfast, Dad took me to Grandpa's office. On the way he told me that Daddy wanted to prepare for our meeting tonight with the head of the board of Regents and needed some totally-quiet time in the house. He needed to organize his thoughts, or something.

Grandpa was in his office and gave me a bear hug when I arrived. His hugs feel really wonderful, but it does make it hard to breathe when he does it. He and Dad took me on a tour of the place and Grandpa introduced me to his 'management team'. Something about them didn't feel right to me, but I kept my mouth shut and my eyes open. There was something about the way they talked and acted. It made me think they were hiding something.

We spent the rest of the morning at King Enterprises then we went to lunch. But that was the most fun of all! They took me to a place called "Chuck-e-cheese". It's a pizza place but it was filled with all sorts of games. I was totally bug-eyed seeing all of the games. The place was relatively empty being a school day, but there was one boy…

He was cute, I had to admit; his looks reminded me of Roger so I was automatically attracted to him. He looked kind of sad though. After a minute of wondering if I should intrude in whatever he was sitting there thinking about, I went up to him and introduced myself. I offered my hand for him to shake but he shook his head in the negative.

"Dude, nobody our age shakes hands! Close your hand into a fist and bump it against mine!" He made a fist and held it out toward me. I followed suit and 'bumped' my fist against his. Even his voice was cute. It had a timbre of a boy whose voice is just starting to change...not quite a boy, but not quite a young man yet. I know what it's like because mine did that about six months ago.

"Cool! My name's Ricky." He replied. There was still a hint of sadness in his voice. Part of me wanted to ask him, but the other part of me felt it was too soon. We'd just met, after all.

"If you don't mind my saying, you look a little sad, Ricky." I guess my sensitive side won out over my practical side.

He looked at me like he was measuring me up before saying in barely over a whisper, "Yeah, Dad brought me here to try to cheer me up...I know this place is really for younger kids, but I kind of like it. Anyway, Mom's in the hospital down the street and she needs an operation. Dad brought me here to tell me that the insurance company denied her the surgery. That means she'll probably die within a few days." Tears were leaking down his face.

I couldn't hold back. I wrapped him in my arms and allowed him to cry on my shoulder. After a few minutes, he broke our embrace, wiped his face with his sleeve and said, "Some first impression. I meet someone who seems cool, and I make a fool out of myself by crying. Really grown up for a thirteen year old, huh."

I looked him directly in the eye so he could see I was telling him the truth as I said, "Ricky, there's nothing bad with crying. My Daddy told me that showing emotions proves a person is real, not fake. You actually made a really good first impression to me. Come over here and meet my Dad and Grandpa." I led him to the table that Dad and Grandpa were at and introduced him to them. I then briefly explained what was happening with his mother.

After a few minutes, he turned to me and asked, "Where's your mom?"

Like it was nothing out of the ordinary, I said to him, "I don't have a mom. I was adopted by my Dad and his husband. I call them Dad and Daddy."

At first I wasn't sure what his expression meant. But his words told me my worries were unfounded. He turned to me, then to Dad, then back to me. His expression turned to a huge smile. "Wow, that's totally awesome! You mean you live with a gay couple? Doesn't that kind of weird you out a little?"

I simply said, "Ricky, it doesn't weird me out at all. See, I'm gay too."

He looked at me with a deadpan expression. After a moment of this he lowered his eyes before saying in barely a whisper, "I'm not really sure, but...I think I am gay too."

We talked about how he knew he was gay for a few minutes when a man approached our table and said to Ricky, "Everything okay, son? Who are these people?"

Dad stood up and offered his hand to the man, introducing himself, me, and Grandpa. The man's eyes kind of bugged out when he heard our names.

"I hope my son isn't bothering your lunch." He said, a bit more formally than I would have expected.

"Not at all, my son brought him over to meet us. He said your son made a wonderful impression on him. He seems like a wonderful boy, Mr…" Dad paused a moment realizing the man hadn't told him his name.

"Where are my manners, I'm so sorry. My name is Thomas French. Please call me, Tom." He replied.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding on a family matter, but Trevor noticed that Ricky was looking a bit down and they got to talking. Can you tell me about what's going on with his mother?" Dad asked.

"She has cancer. There's a new surgery that could save her life, but it's still listed as 'experimental' and the insurance company won't pay for it. It's very expensive, and I couldn't even consider being able to pay for it. Other methods aren't available to her for one reason or another. I'm afraid that without the surgery she won't survive more than a few more days." His voice was strained and he was obviously trying to hold back his emotions. There was no way he was anything but sincere, I could tell.

Grandpa didn't say a word during Tom's explanation. After a moment of silence, he asked Tom, "Tom, what's your wife's name?"

"Melissa, Mr. King." He replied simply.

Grandpa looked like he was deep in thought. "Tom, she's in the hospital down the street? Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." He replied.

Grandpa asked if we could excuse him for a moment, then stood and walked a few feet away, dialing his phone. He was speaking in hushed tones for a few moments then turned back to us and resumed his seat...he was still on the phone.

"Hi Ed, it's Nathan King...yes, it's been far too long. Hey, I'd like you to look into something for me. Can you tell me anything about the surgery that was going to be performed on one of your patients? Her name is Melissa French. I'm sitting here with her husband."

He listened for a moment before telling Tom that he needed to authorize the release of that kind of information. He handed the phone to Tom who, when he found out who he was talking to, got a bit bug-eyed. He said, "Yes, I authorize you to discuss my wife's situation with Mr. King...Yes, the family codeword is 'Mercury Rising'. Thank you, Sir."

He handed the phone back to Grandpa who, after letting the other man know he was back, listened for a few minutes. Tom was looking on with awe. Grandpa had asked what the cost of the procedure was, how likely it was to succeed, and a bunch of other stuff I had no idea what he was talking about.

After a few more minutes of back and forth between Grandpa and the man on the phone, Grandpa simply said, "Ed, get it done...yes...the cost of the surgery will be taken care of. Thanks Ed, I owe you a dinner." Grandpa then ended the call.

Tom's eyes were huge. "Mr. King, I can't thank you enough. I...I...I just don't know what to say!" He had tears in his eyes. Ricky was clinging to me as he cried his tears of happiness.

"Your Grandpa must be really rich!" He said as his tears subsided.

"Money isn't everything, Ricky. But, yeah, we're kind of rich. But what good is money if you can't do something good with it. So, I have an idea, let me put some of my own money to good use while the adults talk, let's go play some games...my treat!"

Ricky's face told me he liked my idea. As we went over to the games area, Ricky held my hand. It was a sweet gesture, but I felt weird about it...like I was cheating on Roger. I'll have to talk to Daddy about this when I can.

We played video games, skee-ball, and even an old-fashioned pinball machine. Ricky and I had a blast. Eventually, it was time to leave. Ricky gave me a hug as we were about to leave and I told him we'd see him again, and wished his mother a fast recovery. Then we left.

On the way back to the office to drop off Grandpa, I said, "Grandpa, what you did for Ricky's mom...thanks."

"Trevor, I overheard what you said to Ricky after my phone call, you are absolutely right. All I did was put half a million of my dollars that weren't doing anything else to good use, just as you did with your money for Ricky. You spent maybe $40 playing games with him, but you bought him something priceless. You, indirectly, saved his mother's life."

I was puzzled. I didn't do anything for his mother…"Grandpa, I didn't do anything for Mrs. French."

"Trevor, without you being the caring and sensitive person you are you would never have gone up to Ricky. If you hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to determine he could trust you and tell you about his Mother. You wouldn't have introduced your new friend to us, and his father would never have come to our table asking who his son was talking to. This in turn would never have allowed us to discuss Melissa's surgery. Had we not done that I never would have called Ed, the hospital administrator, and arranged for the surgery that could save her life...so...you, through your actions saved her life."

I was speechless.

Dad spoke up…"Six degrees, Dad. It worked out that way again." He was smiling.

I was puzzled and asked Dad, "What do you mean six degrees, Dad?"

"There's a theory that between any two events you can find six different points that separate them. So, in this case six things happened, starting with you meeting Ricky, that led to us arranging for the surgery that could save her life. Trevor, you've shown a level of compassion few on this earth possess. You've shown you can stand up for yourself. You've shown me that the man you will become will be a man I can be proud of. You already know that the man you are is someone I am already proud of." He then wrapped me in the tightest hug he'd ever given me. Thank god Grandpa was driving!

We dropped Grandpa off at his office and headed home. I thought as we drove the rest of the way in silence…'My Dad is proud of me!' Can anything be better in the world than that?

*** ~~~ George Miller ~~~ ***

The office I'm in is far more spartan than my own. Looking around I saw diplomas on the wall. Diplomas from some very prestigious law schools. The woman I am facing, Andrea Wallace, is the lead attorney for the state child advocate's office. She has a reputation of being brutal in courtroom situations. I wondered why she went into public service instead of becoming a private attorney, she could have written her own ticket at any firm in the country.

"Yes, I am aware of the situation. But, what you are failing to realize is that this happened in another country, nearly thirty years ago when the man was still quite young. It simply slipped his mind." I said to the woman sitting across from me behind her desk.

She appeared unmoved, so I continued, "He was never convicted of anything, matter of fact he was never even charged. He's had absolutely no involvement with the police since, save for his donations to the policeman's ball. He is a respected businessman."

"Mr. Miller. We have rules and policies. One rule simply states that applications for adoption are denied if any, I repeat any falsehoods are uncovered during the background check." She said smugly.

"Ms. Wallace, is there any way of this adoption proceeding?"

"You could take it to family court. Request that this event be stricken." She said in a way that said it would be an easy day in court...but will it be an easy day for me, or for her.

*** ~~~ Trevor ~~~ ***

Ok, I'll be honest. The conversation, while it's impressive hearing my Daddy talk like he is, was really boring. Dad had to tell me twice already to stop fidgeting in my seat and to stop constantly looking at my phone.

"I can see no reason not to move forward. When can you begin?" Mr. Whittaker asked Daddy.

"I can see no reason not to start tomorrow. Provided we can get Trevor enrolled and in classes. Bobby has several business meetings tomorrow and either Trevor would need to be in school or I would need to be home with him." Daddy replied.

"Does this mean that both Roger and I will be going to the academy?" I asked, just making sure.

Mr. Whittaker addressed me directly. "Trevor, I wish to apologize for the way you were treated by the former Headmaster. Based on his academic record alone, Roger is welcome to become a student at Wrigley Academy."

I thanked him, and we all shook his hand before he left. As we sat, Henri and Marine approached with a bottle of champagne. "Are we celebrating?" Henri asked.

Just as Henri started pouring, my phone rang. I looked at the screen and my face broke into a huge grin. I heard Dad say, "It must be Roger." I put the phone on the table and turned on the speaker. I said, "Hi Babe. I'm here at Uncle Henri's restaurant. We're all here. Dad, Daddy, Uncle Henri and Aunt Marine."

"Hi Everybody! It's so cool being able to talk to you all at once! I can't wait until I come home!"

Roger's words, while music of the highest caliber to me, seemed to sound bad to Henri. Something was wrong. I decided not to say anything about it while I had Roger on the phone, but I'm certain Dad caught his expression at least.

"Hey Roger, I'm starting school tomorrow. Daddy's the new Headmaster, and guess what! When you come home you're going to go to school there too!" I tried to keep my tone upbeat, but Henri's reaction was really starting to bother me.

After allowing Henri and Marine to talk to Roger, I picked up my phone, turned it off speaker and asked Uncle Henri if I could go to his office to talk to Roger in private. After receiving permission, I went to the back.

I told Roger all about Ricky and his mom. But I had to tell him all of it. "Roger, I hope you're not mad at me, but Ricky really reminds me of you in a lot of ways. I couldn't help but be really attracted to him."

Roger's voice was 'different'. I couldn't put my finger on it, but then he said, "I am not mad, Trevor. I don't own you."

"Roger, I love you. I don't want him. I was just telling you how he made me feel. He held my hand and I felt wrong allowing it."

Roger's voice went back to its normal tone as he said, "I know, and I love you too, Trevor. I guess I was just jealous. Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive, Roger." I was a little embarrassed when I said, "Roger, I gotta tell you, hearing your voice...I'm sorta…hard."

Roger giggled before saying, "I am too...wanna...you know?"

As I returned from the office, feeling much relieved I must say, Dad was just finishing his conversation with Henri. He didn't look happy. Daddy looked at me and I could tell he was suppressing his laughter. He whispered in my ear, "I assume you and Roger had fun on the phone, but you should check to make sure your zipper is up next time."

I think my face blushed several shades of red as I, sneakily as I could, pulled my zipper up. We said goodnight to Henri and Marine. As we were leaving, Dad said to Henri, "It'll work out, Henri. Come hell or high water, I'll work it out."

When we got home, Dad told me to get my things together for school tomorrow. I think he needed to talk to Daddy. However, I looked at him and said, "Dad, please don't think I'm trying to be disrespectful, but...is there a problem I should know about?"

Dad looked at Daddy then back to me. "Yes, I'm afraid there might be. There was a problem with Henri's background check. They are trying to disqualify them as adoptive parents."

 [To Be Continued]