A New Kid in Town
As Jeff and Wes were settling down at the kitchen table with a pile of paper, as Nick watched from the sidelines, Beats was still making his way home. He was later than usual that evening, having had one of his regular check up appointments with the optometrist after work. He did not like the fact that he had to go in every 6 months, but the necessity of doing so was plain; he needed to be able to see, and any change in his vision as a result of his glaucoma, however small, needed to be noticed and worked on as soon as possible.
That night however things had been different from early on in the appointment. The optometrist had not said anything, but as the examination had gone on, it had been obvious to Beats that she was not happy with what she was seeing. At the end, when his eyes had still been smarting from the repeated puffs of air that had been blown into them, and the bright lights that he had been asked to focus on, she had sat him down and told him the news that he had been expecting from her demeanour.
"There has been a further deterioration in your eyes this time, and it is marked compared to the last tests I'm afraid. The good news is that we are already treating your eyes, and had we not been aware of the situation by now, the news that I would be giving you would be much worse. The chances are, in fact, that by now you would have been struggling to see clearly at all, and reading would have been difficult. So, you need to carry on as you have been with the drops, and should you start to notice any issue whatsoever with your sight, however trivial it might seem, you need to get in touch with us at once. We can slow this deterioration down, but as you know, there is nothing that we can do to stop it."
Beats had reflected on her words, and then had asked the most important question. "In your opinion, how long do I have before we move into a more critical phase, given what you are seeing?"
The optometrist had sighed, then replied, "To be blunt, I can't say with any certainty. There is every reason to believed that if we carry on with the treatment, then you should have no major problems for decades. However, it is also the case that things could move rapidly without warning. It is unlikely, but it is even possible that you might wake up one morning and find that the sight in one, or indeed both of your eyes, has gone altogether. I just cannot predict what will take place…"
Those words had chilled him. He knew that the risk was infinitesimal; indeed, the optometrist had been at great pains to reassure him of that, concerned from the look of horror on his face that she had said too much, but the facts had hit hard. He had taken his time walking home, enjoying the sights and sounds of the metropolis, knowing that the former might one day be denied to him. He wondered how he would cope in such a busy place without the benefits of sight. If he did wake up one morning to find himself blind, how would he negotiate the crowded streets? His job would be gone too, his current role impossible for someone that could not see. In spite of that, he did not feel any urge to suggest to Elliott that they should move somewhere quieter and safer. This was home to his husband and son, and he would not drag them away from their lives. He would just have to learn how to cope, and the easiest place to begin that was at home. He began to plan for a time when he had the house to himself; how he would put on a blindfold, and learn to navigate around his own home without being able to see where he was going. If he could master that, could create a map of the house in his mind, then at least he would be able to live in his home without danger…
Beats tried to put the worst of his worries behind him as he walked up the street, noting the lights being on in Seth's place as he did so. He had the greatest of sympathies for the younger man, and in comparison to him, his own health worries were very small beer indeed. He might lose his sight, but at least he would still be alive, still carrying on. He knew of course that Elliott would ask him how his appointment had gone later, once Dante was in his bed. They had both agreed that he did not need to know just how bad his eyes were yet, and even with this new news, it was best that it continued to stay that way for now.
He carried on up the street, and then saw something that gave him a reason to pause. There was a familiar car parked in front of his home, and he realised on seeing the licence plate that it belonged to their friend in Children's Services at the city council. He had always expected that they would continue to check up on Dante's welfare from time to time after the adoption, but this was actually the first time that she had been to visit since Thanksgiving and the adoption hearing. As he pondered why she would be here now, a sudden horrible thought crossed his mind. What if Dante's biological father had shown up, and was demanding his son back? Even though they had now adopted the boy as their own, it might still be possible for the natural father to take the boy away from them with the backing of the family courts.
Beats suddenly quickened his steps, hoping that he was not about to walk into a home filled with devastation. He fumbled with his keys in first the street door lock, and then the inside door. As he stepped through the latter, he was relieved not to hear shouting and screaming, or worse, the sound of tears being shed. He hurried up the stairs anyway, and after setting his work satchel down on the hall table, he hung up his coat, and took a deep breath. Then he headed into the kitchen, the only room with a light on, a smile plastered on his face…
Half an hour later saw him sitting alone in the room with his husband and adopted son. All three of them were quietly digesting what had just been discussed. Beats had been put at his ease quickly by the lady from Children's Services, who had said that he need not worry as he stepped into the room, and that she had not come with bad news. He sat down, realising that despite the smile, his face must have given away his worst fears at once. Then she had explained the reason for her visit.
"The city is suffering from a shortage of foster carers again, and it is the new policy that in such circumstances, we approach everyone that has been a foster carer in the past to ask if they would be willing to return to the program. I know that you expressed the opinion that once you had completed the adoption of Dante you would cease to be available, and given the experience that you had with the adoption board, I do not blame you for that. However, the situation is critical, and I have another boy on my books that desperately needs a new home, and more particularly, the kind of support that the two of you are well placed to provide. The fact is that he is a lot like Dante was before he came here, just not quite so far down the road. He identifies as gay, but in this instance both parents are deceased, and his aunt, who has been caring for him, is no longer in a position to do so for health reasons. The young man's name is Ty, and he is 11 years of age…"
"Eleven, and he is certain that he is gay?" interrupted Elliott. "That does seem a little too young to be sure…"
"Oh, I agree, but it is better that he is placed with someone that understands the issues, which is why my thoughts turned instantly to the two of you. So, here is what I am going to do. I am going to leave his file here with you, and you can let me know what you think. Don't be afraid to say no, because given how the department treated you, I could well understand why you would not wish to work with us again. All I will say is this; you would really be changing another boy's life in the way you changed Dante's if you said yes…"
They ate dinner after she left them with that shrewd bit of emotional blackmail, then after the table was cleared, they returned to it as a family to look at the file. They spread the contents out, and all took a look at the photo of the young Afro-Caribbean boy that they were being asked to consider welcoming into their home. "Well, his academic scores seem good, and he has no reported issues behaviour wise. His parents were killed in an auto accident when he was four. His aunt immediately stepped up as his primary carer, but she has been diagnosed with a long term illness, and can not cope any longer," said Elliott. "Reading between the lines, I believe that she will not recover, and there will not be a chance of him being able to return to her care again."
Beats nodded, then replied, "The situation for him is awful, I agree, but what we have to put to the fore here is our own little family. Can we give him the care that he needs? Do we think that we have the space for another person to live with us, quite possibly long term? Let's face it, none of us would want to see him being moved from place to place forever. He does not deserve that, he needs stability after everything else he has been through."
"He needs a lucky break, just like I did," said Dante quietly. "Do you know, I wouldn't actually mind having a kid brother, if that is what you are concerned about. I know that it is up to you two to make the final decision, but in my opinion, I think that we should let him come and stay. That way, he can hopefully be as lucky as I was, and get a good start in life…"
Beats and Elliott smiled at each other as they heard their adopted son's words, spoken without even a hint of sarcasm. He had always been a selfless young man, even in his darkest moments, but they could nonetheless have understood if his response to the idea of them fostering again had been no. "I think that the best thing that we can do about this is sleep on it," said Beats. "This is too big a decision to make on the spur of the moment, and we all need to consider every factor at work here carefully. For a start, Elliott, will we be able to give him the care that he deserves, given that we both work full-time. We can't just rely on Dante to fill in the gaps, much as I am certain that he would, because he is at a crucial stage in his own education and life."
"I guess that much is true," replied the young man in question. "I have a lot of homework to do these days, and that is going to increase. Then I might also be off to college…"
"No might there!" said his two adopted fathers at the same time, which made him laugh out loud.
"In fact, we insist that you go to whichever college Lachlan goes to," said Elliott, making the teenager blush. "I agree with what you said, Nate. No decision one way or the other tonight; we can reopen this discussion tomorrow."
With the subject temporarily sidelined, they all turned their attention to clearing the table, tidying the kitchen and washing up. That done, Dante excused himself to his bedroom to finish up his homework, whilst his two dads headed to the sofa to sit and snuggle up together for a while. As soon as they were there, however, Elliott was left surprised when Beats said that they had another matter to discuss that night. His face fell as he his husband repeated verbatim what the optometrist had said to him earlier that evening, as he weighed up what that would mean for their future. Then he saw the woebegone expression on his face, and he knew what he had to say.
He took his hands in his own, then said softly, "You do of course know that I will still love you every bit as much, whether you can see or not. If the worst does happen, then we will adapt to the new way of living. I mean, I have always liked dogs, so if you need a seeing-eye dog, then that's okay by me. And now I get it - that is the reason why you are not jumping at the idea of fostering Ty. You are worried that you would not be much of a foster father to him if you can't see…"
"Yes, and then there is Dante. He doesn't know anything about my condition, and we now know just how bad it could become. We should have told him about it a long time ago."
"Yes, in retrospect, we probably should have said something, but I doubt it would have had any effect on the way that he feels towards both of us if we had said something when we first met him. So, honestly, if it wasn't for your problem with your eyes, would you be up for fostering again?"
"Yes, because that kid needs us!"
"Then we should agree to foster him, because a very small risk of you suddenly going blind is not something that should prevent us from giving a vulnerable young boy the stable home life that he needs."
Beats sighed, then smiled. "I guess you are right, the risk is very small. However, I want to tell Dante the truth about my eyesight now that I know. He deserves to know the full extent of my problems.
Elliott nodded, knowing that their son was more than mature enough to comprehend all of the issues. Then a though struck him. "And what do we do if Dante wants to know how you discovered that you had eye problems in the first place…?"
"I think that it is best that we tell him the whole, unvarnished truth. He is old enough to understand. Actually, given that everyone else around us knows, it is a miracle that someone hasn't accidentally let slip the story anyway…"
Elliott was off work the next day, and so the discussion was resumed at the breakfast table. As it turned out, all three of them were still in favour of letting Ty join their little family, and so they agreed that Elliott should call up and say yes, subject to them having a meeting with the boy himself, at a time when they would all be present, so that he could meet them as a family, and decide if he wanted to come and live with them. Then it was time for Beats and Dante to head out; the latter was left a little apprehensive though when the former stated that he wanted to have a serious chat with him that night, and that he should be around when he arrived home from work…
Dante had of course agreed, but on his return from school he was shocked to discover that Beats was already at home, having taken some time owed. He was still working away on his laptop even so, but on seeing his son home, he stopped, and asked him to join himself and Elliott in the living room after he had changed out of his school clothes. He took a seat, and then, to his surprise, Elliott began to speak first. He said that he called up Children's Services, and that Ty would be coming to visit them on Saturday afternoon. Dante nodded, having no plans then anyway, as Lachlan would be at a function at the synagogue. Then Beats spoke; he began by saying that he had to come clean with him on something he should have said a long time ago, and if Dante was honest, those words caused him to freeze up just a little…
He listened in silence to the story his two fathers then proceeded to tell him; all about the day that Elliott's father had come to his then home, determined to kill him, and had not bargained on there being two young men to fight. He had started to tear up when they told him about how they had ended up in hospital, how Beats had been left out cold, and then when he had woken up… That of course lead on to the glaucoma, and what it could potentially mean for him in the future; and that included the worst case scenario… "We should have said something to you about all of this much sooner, but I have always hoped that the worst, if it ever came, would be decades away. Now I am not so certain that it will be…"
"It doesn't change a thing," said Dante firmly. "You will still be my dad, and I will be there if the time does come to help you in any way that I can. The saddest thing about all of this is that it just proves the biggest injustice in the world is true all over again; that the worst things always happen to the good guys…" He blinked back his tears, then hugged Beats, a gesture that was immediately returned…
After they had hugged, Beats spoke. "Sometimes it does seem to be that way in life I'm afraid. However, there are other people that are a lot worse off than I am, and for that we have to be grateful. The chances of me ever becoming completely blind are very small, and if it does happen, then I will handle it. These kind of things are the ones that we mere mortals have no control over. All we can do is accept them, and deal with them, as Seth has done, and as Jeff did too when he once had the whole weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders. I have a husband and a son that care for me, not to mention loving family and friends, and between all of you, I can get through anything that comes my way."
Dante nodded, but then his face paled. "Wait, does this mean that Ty can't come and live here with us? I mean, if the city knew that you could possibly go blind at any time…"
"The city already know that I have glaucoma, and that is all that they need to know. It is not as if I am lying to them, it's just that we aren't telling them just how bad it could be. There is nothing wrong with the occasional omission in the right circumstances. In any case, the worst is a long way off, and by then, the two of you will be giving me grandkids anyway…" Elliott and Dante both looked at each other as Beats stopped speaking and their faces were both showing surprise. The fact that he imagined that Ty would be around to deliver him grandchildren was a revelation to Elliott, and not an unpleasant one; it showed that he had a long term commitment to their possible new foster son. As for Dante, he was wondering just how Beats knew that he and Lachlan had been discussing the idea of having children hypothetically, and both of them had come down broadly in favour…
On Saturday morning, the little house occupied by the Harper-Gilberts was cleaned from top to bottom by the three residents, and an unexpected helper in the form of Lachlan. Dante had been given permission to tell him the truth if he asked to come and pay a visit that morning; to everyone's surprise, when he had done just that, he had asked if there was anything that he could do to help them get the house ready. At first, Beats and Elliott had initially reacted with a no. However, then he had told them something that they were not aware of. After last year, when his parents had registered as potential foster parents just in case Dante needed a new home, his folks had decided after the court case was settled to carry on with the process, and it transpired that now they were at the stage were they were awaiting a phone call themselves.
"I wasn't too sure if I liked the idea at first," Lachlan had admitted frankly. "I am quite used to being an only child, and idea of having to share my space and my parents with someone else was a little off putting. Then I heard myself, and I suddenly thought just how selfish I sounded. I realised that there was every danger of my becoming the spoilt brat rich kid stereotype, and so I had a rethink. Now I cannot wait to have a younger brother or sister, so that I can do all the good things that big brothers do."
"They do say that behaving like that when you are a sibling is good training for becoming a decent parent," said Elliott, making Lachlan blush. "I guess that you could come over and help Dante set up the spare bedroom, so that Ty would be able to see what kind of space he could call his own…"
"It's just a shame really that you have other plans, or you could have stayed around to meet him," added Beats. "You are here so much of the time already that we see you as our second son…"
"Okay, so you guys have just turned into creepy parents!" exclaimed Dante, as Lachlan blushed again. "However, you do kind of have a point. I guess that Lachlan is unofficial family already - maybe we should get engaged and make it more official…" That had been answered by a unified "NO!" from both Beats and Elliott, and the two boys had laughed, having no intention of taking that step yet.
At the appointed time that afternoon, the front doorbell went, and Beats headed down to answer it, as Elliott looked around frantically for anything that was sitting out of place. On the sofa, Dante sat trying to look cool, and wishing that Lachlan was beside him for support. As he opened the door, he saw that Ty was standing close by the side of the lady from Children's Services, looking a little scared of his new surroundings. "Hello again, Mr Harper-Gilbert, it was so good of you to agree to this visit today," she began.
"Please, I think you can call me Beats by now, and it was no problem at all. We decided as a family that we had no issue with growing the size of our little tribe by one, and Ty here is more than welcome to join us, if he decides that he wants to."
"Your name is Beats? That is a strange name…" came a quiet voice.
The former beatboxer knelt down to Ty's level, and replied, "Well actually, between us, my real first name is Nathaniel, but I was a beatboxer in glee club, and so I was nicknamed Beats, and well, it's stuck."
"My real name is Tyrrell, but I prefer to be called Ty, so I completely understand why you would let it," came his reply with a grin.
"Likewise. So, shall we head upstairs, so that you can meet my husband and our adopted son Dante? We would have had his boyfriend Lachlan here as well, I think, had he not had a family commitment; he is almost a part of the family too…"
Ty nodded, smiling now, and Beats ushered them both in, shutting the doors behind them. They were waiting at the top of the stairs, and he then showed them into the living room, and introduced Ty to Elliott. Then, before he could say another word, Ty looked at Dante, and said, "I know you. You used to live in the next building to my aunt in the Bronx. She used to babysit you when your mom was in a bad way. My aunt's name is Rita…"
Dante looked startled at Ty's words for a moment, then he smiled, and replied, "I do remember her; she was always so full of life, and the time I spent with her was so wonderful compared to the chaos at home. Then one day she stopped having me, and I only saw her sometimes from the window with a younger kid, of whom I was so jealous. Of course, that was you…"
"My aunt always said that she wished she could have kept you coming over as well, to be a big brother to me, but I think that she wasn't very well even then, not that she said anything to anyone. I only found out by accident 6 months ago that she has cancer, and that she is dying…"
"Well maybe she is going to get her wish, and I am going to be a big brother to you; that's if you decide that you want to stay in the madhouse with us," said Dante with a grin. "Why don't I show you around the place, and tell you what these two are like as dads in private?"
"That is actually a very good idea," Elliott said with a smile, glad that there was a tie between the two boys. "Whilst you are away, we can sort out some snacks and have all the boring adult talk…"
Dante got up from the sofa, and Ty followed him, uncertainly at first. They headed up the stairs, no doubt to the spare room, which would be the young boy's space if he chose to stay. Elliott and Beats looked at each other, both wondering exactly what was going to be said. It was highly likely that they would talk about family, and then move on to school, and the neighbourhood, which was after all in complete contrast to the Bronx. Eventually Elliott got up, and headed to the kitchen, followed by his husband and their other visitor. She smiled as she saw that there was already a plate of assorted sandwiches, chips, and a selection of cookies and cake set out; that there was a selection of juices and sodas set out, and in the fridge was plenty of milk, in case that was what Ty wished for. To her, it all said home…
It was a while until Dante and Ty returned, both a little red rimmed around the eye, which made the adults realise that the family talk had taken place. They settled at the table together, and they ate. The shy young boy that Beats had met at the door now seemed much more comfortable, talking away happily, accepting the food offered with politeness. He told them all about his favourite pastimes, and how he was doing at school. He waxed lyrical about football; when Beats casually mentioned that he was a friend of Dave Karofsky, Ty's eyes widened, and he immediately soared in stature in the young man's eyes. In the end, Ty left with a wide smile, and a decision to make…
Once they had left, there was silence at first, as they started to tidy up the table. In the end, Dante cracked first, and burst out laughing at the attempt at nonchalance on the face's of his adopted fathers. "So I am guessing that you want to know what the two of us talked about upstairs? I told him all about me for a start; how I ended up getting mixed in with a bad crowd, and how coming here to live with the two of you saved me; I then told him that you had even married each other at a moment's notice just so you could adopt me and allow me to stay with you. Turns out that his Aunt Rita heard all about that, and told him about it, but until then he had no idea that it was the two of you; that impressed him no end."
"Then he asked how I had managed to fit in here, in Manhattan, after being raised in the Bronx. Well, I told him that it was hard at first, but then I realised that the schools are better; I told him that for a smart kid like him, he would relish the more challenging work. I told him how nice all of you are in this street; how there are no homophobes or racists; that we all just get on with each other…"
Dante sighed, then said, "Then he told me about his aunt. Truth is, she is dying, and it is a struggle. There is a place for her at a hospice if she wants it, but whilst he is still with her, she won't go, and that is hard on her. He is worried about leaving her alone, because she is all the family he has; I said that if he did came here, and he wanted to go see her…"
"…then we would take him, no question," interjected Elliott.
"That's exactly what I told him; that you guys know just how important family is. Then he told me that he was worried that you would get bored of him, and that he would have to move on. He wants to go somewhere he can settle down. I told him that as long as he didn't get in trouble, or create problems, then you guys would never ask him to go. That as long as he stuck by your rules, he would have a place here for life. By the way, he loved the bedroom; turns out he is sleeping on a couch just now. There is only one bedroom in the flat in the Bronx, and it was his. He insisted that his aunt have it when she got sicker…"
"Do you know, I hate that we live in a country where that sort of thing still happens," sighed Beats. "Don't get me wrong; under Kennedy, things have improved. From what our friend at Children's Services was telling us, she is not having to find the money to pay for her treatment, and the place in the hospice will be free too I guess. Well, I have to ask; now that we have met him, are we all still in favour of letting him stay?"
"If anything, I am more sure now," replied Elliott.
"His aunt was so kind to me as a kid; the least I can do to repay her kindness is be there for her nephew when he needs a brother. He deserves to get the luck and chances that I have," responded Dante.
"Well, Elliott and I did kind of say that we were only too happy to have him here as they left, so I guess the decision is up to him," said Beats. "It can't be an easy choice to make at his age, to move away from all that he knows to a very different part of the city. It's a complete new start in a new world, and if he has a lot of friends at school he won't see often, then it will be even harder."
"Reading between the lines, I don't think he has many; I think he keeps himself to himself," said Dante. "I grew up around there, remember. The kids won't have changed, and if they know that he identifies as gay…"
At that point Elliott's phone began to ring, and they all jumped. He answered it quickly, but gave no clue as to who was on the other end. He turned away from his husband and son, and then finished the call. He turned round, grinning from ear to ear, and announced, "They hadn't even passed Harlem when he told her. We are about to become a family of four. Ty wants to join us as soon as possible, for his own sake and more importantly, his aunts…"