Chapter 10: The Family
The house is done, Bandit has a boyfriend who the girls know could never replace their mother, and all the Heelers are looking forward to getting started again in a new home. It's been one hell of a month.
The exterior of the new home is virtually identical to its predecessor, as mandated by the historical district, but the interior has a few tweaks. Bandit worked with Brett to try and change things in little ways, hoping that if the home was familiar but not exactly the same it would help keep any of them from being too stuck in the past. The main level is essentially the same, only with the revision of the kitchen layout and movement of the dining room back a bit. It's the upper floor where there are the most changes.
To begin with the bedrooms are all across from each other immediately next to the stairs. The master suite and the girls' rooms are both next to the landing, less than a thirty second walk from the front door (as Bandit had been very sure to specify). The girls had semi-separate rooms. Both "room" had its own door and three solid walls, the middle wall however was a movable partition that could be opened or closed as they desired. This way the girls could still be relatively close, but as they aged they could have their own privacy. The back of the house was now where the office resided, along with a new bedroom. During the renovation and restructuring Brett had freed up enough room to add a fourth bedroom next to the master, meaning that when they had company Bandit would no longer have to shuffle sleeping arrangements. However, as soon as the girls saw the room they had their own ideas.
"Oh! This bedroom's for the boys, right?" Bluey asked as she pushed open the door, carrying a box of her things from the apartment.
"It has to be! It even has two beds!" Bingo pointed out.
"Girls…" Bandit warned, "Hold on, okay. Brett and I have only been together a month. There's no guarantee at all that anything will come as a result of it."
"No. You two are getting married and we're getting brothers." Bluey retorted, placing her box in her bedroom.
"Is that so?"
"Yup."
"You and Mr. Brett are in love. True fairytale love. You have to marry each other." Bingo added.
Bandit sighed, deciding to not belabor the argument as he placed a few boxes of his own in the office.
***BCH***
It was the next weekend when Bandit had decided to invite over the family to get a chance to see the new house and come together like they used to. Bandit had the grill started and threw on some sausages as he heard the bell ring.
"Bluey, can you check the door? It's probably one of your uncles or your nana." He called from the back deck.
"I'll see!" She shouted. After a pause she yelled back. "It's Uncle Stripe and Aunt Trixie with Muffin and Socks!"
"Let 'em in!" Bandit yelled as he grabbed a beer from the cooler and shook it. This time I'm not going to be the only one sprayed in the face. He quickly placed it on the counter and turned back to the grill.
"Hey Bandit! Good to see ya, the new place looks amazing." Stripe commented, giving his brother a brief hug.
"Yeah, Brett did great work." Bandit smiled reaching for the beer he'd placed on the counter.
"Ah, don't mind if I do." Stripe smirked as he grabbed the can and popped it open. A moment later a burst of fizz and beer smacked his muzzle causing him to sputter.
Bandit chuckled, "That'll teach you to stop stealing my grog, mate."
Stripe scowled, wiping a paw across his face before taking a sip of the remaining liquid contents of his beverage.
Trixie just rolled her eyes before carefully sitting down on the bench beside the picnic table. Bandit could tell she was starting to show, I wonder when they'll go public with the news?
"Feeling okay Trix?" He asked.
"Oh, I'm fine." She smiled, quickly glancing at Stripe. He smiled happily at her and turned back to his brother. A moment later the four girls ran past screaming as part of some game.
Muffin was first, "As the princess I get to be the first to go in the castle." She gestured to the playset that Brett had installed in the back corner of the yard.
"Of course your highness." Bluey and Bingo curtseyed.
"O curse." Socks mimicked her older cousins.
"But be careful Muffin, the evil queen has set up traps along the way." Bluey stage whispered, gesturing to some of the toys the girls had left on the lawn.
"Yes, the evil queen, not two little girls who were told to tidy up before the party today." Bandit said, looking at his daughters.
"Dad, we'll clean them up in a bit. We need them to be traps for Muffin to escape from!" Bingo whispered loudly.
Bandit rolled his eyes good naturedly as the girls ran off into the yard.
"It's nice to see them like this." Trixie said, resting her hand on her stomach, "With everything, I'm glad to see they can still be kids."
Bandit nodded, "It's been rough, but it's been…" He mentally counted, "ten months at this point. Thank God for Ted, he's really been a help for all of us."
Before the conversation could continue the bell rang again. "Stripe, watch the barbie for me, would ya? I gotta get the door." He gestured to the sausages. "And don't turn 'em, they aren't ready yet."
Stripe nodded as Bandit left to get the front door.
"Frisky, Rad! Good to see you!" Bandit hugged them both. A moment later another head poked from behind the two. "Mum! Didn't see you back there. Did Rad pick you up?"
"Yes, your brother and Frisky got me on their way here." She paused a moment, glancing at Rad's truck. "I wasn't sure we were all going to make it in one piece."
"Hey, we're all here, right?" Rad shrugged defensively.
"Rad, I'm driving on the way home. I love you, but I still don't know how you got your license." Frisky patted her husband's shoulder.
Bandit smirked, "Now that's a good story…"
***BCH***
It was about half an hour later when there was a final ring at the front door. Bandit had just taken the sausages off the grill when he heard it go off. Alright, now or never. "I'll get it." He said. The other adults mostly waved to signify they heard but were carrying on their current conversation. He walked through the house before opening the door.
"Hey." Brett smiled, Bradley strapped to his chest in a baby carrier.
"Hey." Bandit smiled, pecking his boyfriend on the lips.
"Gross!" Baxter and Bentley said at the same time.
Bandit rolled his eyes. "Why don't you boys go out to the yard? The girls are out there along with their cousins Muffin and Socks."
"Alright, see ya later!" Baxter shouted as he started to run through the house. Bentley grabbed his brother by the arm.
"Bax, slow… We're inside." He reminded.
"Right, got it."
Brett smiled as his older son lead his middle boy out onto the deck. The adults glanced a moment before continuing their conversations, figuring they were some kids from the neighborhood lured in by the smell of cooking sausages.
"You ready for this?" Bandit asked, looking at Brett.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Brett responded, a nervous grin appearing briefly on his face.
Bandit massaged Brett's shoulders a moment before giving him another peck, making sure to turn his head so that they were looking each other in the eyes. "Hey, we already met your family at your sister's last week and it went great. We can do this." Brett nodded as he held Bandit's hand with his right arm and adjusted Bradley's diaper bag with his left. The two walked out to the deck together, their hands remaining intertwined. Bandit cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Within a moment five pairs of eyes were on him, the kids shouting something about dinosaur princesses in the background.
"Um… I kind of had an ulterior motive when I decided to ask you all over." He glanced at Brett, "This is Brett Hanley, he was the contractor who helped me rebuild the house, and my life." Bandit paused, exhaling nervously as he bounced on the balls of his paws for a moment, "And he's also my boyfriend."
It was silent a moment before Stripe pulled a five dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to Rad.
"Seriously, you had a bet?" Bandit sighed, knowing his brothers.
"Well, granted, it has been almost 30 years. I figured I'd never collect on it." Rad responded, pocketing the money.
"Wait, you've thought I was bi since I was 12?"
"To be fair you were a bit odd around some of the other boys in your year at school…" Chris remarked.
Bandit face-palmed, Well, this is going fucking fantastically.
"Wait! If he's bi I want my money back!" Stripe tried to grab it back from Rad.
"The deal was that he dates a guy, it has nothing to do with if he's gay or not." Rad retorted.
"Oh, come on!" Bandit shouted.
"Boys, that's enough." Chris said, stepping between the three brothers who were now shoving each other lightly.
Brett glanced at Trixie and Frisky who similarly were watching three grown men in their late thirties and forties squabble about five dollars while their mother tried to separate them.
"So, does this happen often?" He asked nodding at the shoving match.
"Way more often than you'd expect. You get used to it after a while." Frisky responded. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Frisky, by the way." Brett shook her hand.
"Trixie." The grey heeler likewise shook hands with Brett. She glanced at his carrier, smiling at the tot inside and briefly waving as he glanced up for a moment before nodding back off to sleep. "And I take it the two other boys are yours too?"
"Yeah, Bentley's the one trying to climb the tree and Baxter's an Australovenator." He paused making sure Bentley wasn't getting too high, "It's his favorite dinosaur this week."
"Ah." Trixie nodded, knowing well how children tended to cycle through current favorites. "Muffin's my oldest; she's the one running in circles screaming about pony police. Socks is our current youngest." Trixie pointed to Socks, "She just started being fully anthropomorphic about a year ago, so she's still learning the ropes on everything. Doctor says by the time she's 3 she'll be as much of a terror as her sister."
"I get it. Baxter went through that, but Bentley and Bradley both were like it from the get-go." Brett paused, thinking back, "I think he was fully mobile and active around 3, so that sounds right."
Frisky watched the kids running around, before turning to Trixie, "I heard you said current youngest… Does that mean what I think it means?"
Trixie blushed, "It may…"
"Well, then I think we both have some news to share." Frisky smiled before turning to the arguing brothers. "Boys!"
"What?!" All three responded, Chris exhaled, glad she could stop trying to separate the three.
"While you three have been arguing your wives," She paused before amending, "and Brett, have been having a rational conversation. We have a few announcements to make. Let's round up the kids."
Three minutes later the kids had been corralled and the entire extended Heeler family was seated on the back deck. "Okay, let's do this again, without the arguing about 5 dollars." Frisky chided Stripe and Rad.
"Fine." Both huffed.
"Thank you." Chris responded, happy that she didn't have to manage her three adult sons at the moment.
"Bandit, go." Frisky directed.
"Um, okay." Bandit stood up and motioned Brett to do the same. "Everyone, this is Brett, he's my boyfriend."
Muffin pouted a moment before she shouted, "No fair! Why do Bluey and Bingo get two dads? I want another dad!"
"Muffy, you have your mom and me." Stripe pointed out.
"Yeah, but two dads mean you get way better games…" She pouted.
At that all the adults started laughing. Muffin continued her sour mood for a moment before being appeased with a hug from her own father. After a minute it was Trixie's turn.
She nervously rubbed her paws together as she leaned against her husband. "Well, Stripe and I have an announcement of our own as well."
"Wait, we're doing it now?" He asked.
"Yes, we're doing it now." She nodded.
"Alright, just checking." Stripe replied.
"I'm pregnant!" Trixie grinned.
"Congratulations!" Chris hugged her daughter-in law and son.
"And this time it's a boy!" Stripe added.
"Well, I guess we better make our announcement as well." Rad said, turning to Frisky.
"I'm also pregnant!" Frisky tapped her paws against her legs as her tail nervously wagged.
Chris turned and hugged Frisky and Rad.
"Wait, we're getting TWO new cousins?!" Bingo shouted.
"This is the best party ever!" Bluey cheered.
