How It Happened

Chapter 22

Elliot

I hate time-out. I hate it, like… a million hates. I hate this chair… I hate this wall… I don't even know why I'm even in here this time. I didn't hit him that hard, and Christian started it anyway. He hit me first. Dad said I couldn't hit him back but it wasn't really a hit back 'cause he hit me like a hour ago and so it's a new hit, and it's his fault anyway 'cause he spilled my root beer!

I didn't mean it. He just made me so mad! And he was mad and he hit me, so now he knows how it feels… So how come I'm the one in this dumb chair in this dumb office? I hate this office. I don't know why Dad has a office. He can't even play in it, only work. This is a dumb office and a dumb chair. And this is a dumb wall. And this is a dumb time-out.

Dad isn't even in here and I'm still in this dumb chair… I wanna' get out and go to my room, but then Dad'll be real mad and prob'bly make me come back in this dumb time-out, or gimme' a spankin' 'cause of not doing what he said. I do not want a spanking! Not when Christian is here. Not even ever 'cause they hurt and I don't even want to think about that!

"Elliot!"

"I didn't do it! I was in time out!" Why is Dad yelling? Is he still mad? I hear Mom and Dad laughing. Why are they laughing?

"Come on out here, Buddy!" Am I still in trouble? Dad sounds good. Well, Dad said, so I'm outta' this chair anyway, but I'm a little nervous to go out there. Mom and Dad are hugging and laughing. Christian is just sitting in Dad's big chair. He's not doing that screamy thing he does anymore, but he looks confused. I'm confused why Mom and Dad are crying 'cause they're laughing.

I look at him again, and Christian looks at me. He's not mad. He's not even anything. He's just looking at me. Mom grabs me and hugs me and spins me. I laugh because, well, because it's funny! Dad is still talking on the phone to someone. She gives me kisses and hugs… It must have been some really good phone call!

When Mom puts me down I look back at Christian again. I'm really smiling now, but he's still not anything. I tell him to move over and I climb in the chair next to him. I know, I know… no touching. I don't get it, but I don't like it when someone takes a bite from my sandwich, so maybe it's like that. Only, bigger. I don't flap my arms and freak out when someone eats my sandwich. I just tell them 'Hey! Don't eat my sandwich!' But Christian doesn't use words, so maybe he wants to say "Hey! Don't touch me!' but he can't. That must be frusatrating.

We're both looking at Mom and Dad. They're still laughing and crying. Not sure how those two go together, but whatever. They can cry laugh as long as they want as long as I'm not in time-out anymore!

Grace

I can't believe what we just heard! Aaron signed the papers and it's official; Christian will be ours! I must have screamed right into Carrick's ear, but he was too busy laughing into mine that I'm sure he didn't care! We called Elliot to come into the living room with us, but we can't even say anything yet! We're just too excited! Carrick hangs up the phone but it rings almost immediately. I take it from is hand and answer.

"Hello, Grey family…"

"Grace! It's Helen Collier. We got some news a few minutes ago…"

"We just got it too! We're so excited Helen." Carrick is still smiling at me and then at the boys.

"Well, apparently this all went down about three o'clock this afternoon. We were told the paperwork has all been verified, Mr. Price has already petitioned the court to waive the rest of the waiting period. Just waiting to hear back from the judge on that one. But Grace, he's going to be yours, so if you and Carrick would like, you have the right to keep him for the night."

"He already petitioned the court? Did you say 'the night?'!? We can …" When he hears my comment, Carrick gets that look of excitement, joy and fear all rolled into one. I need to fill him in on Helen's idea but she's still giving me information.

"He's supposed to be back with you at nine tomorrow anyway. I can have Ben meet Carrick somewhere between us, so we can get you Christian's things. Save them both a bit of the drive."

"Oh Helen! That's wonderful. Yes! Yes please!" At this Carrick cuts in to ask what's so wonderful. I fill him in in whispers as I don't want to express too much to the boys yet without our explaining things. I know Carrick will want our telling them to be a joint effort and I know I want it to be a special occasion. He asks to speak with Ben, I'm sure to arrange the meeting spot. I go over to my two little boys.

I cannot express how badly I just want to wrap my arms around them both. I know I'm smiling ear to ear, and the tears on my face have to be of concern. Elliot looks happy but confused. Christian is stoic. Which is better than in the throes of a tantrum, I guess. That reminds me; "Elliot, Darling, would you please go up to your room and get Christian's blanket? I'm sure the rest of our evening will be much easier if he has it with him." I'm also sure that if he'd had it earlier, the tantrum would have been much less of an issue. I just didn't feel I could leave him to go up to get it.

"He didn't have his blanket, Mom." I look at him questioningly. "Yeah, just his coat and hat and mittens. That's all he had." It can't be that simple, could it? Could all this tonight be because he left his blanket at the Collier's? I motion to Carrick to let me talk to Helen again when he's done with Ben.

"Hey, Mom? You and Dad sound real good, but you're crying. What's goin' on?" I tell my son that his father and I got some good news and we will let him know all the details very soon. But Carrick hands the phone to me. I take it back into the kitchen to be out of earshot of the boys.

"Helen? It's Grace again. Would you do us a huge favor?... Will you be sure Christian's blanket is in with his things? Apparently he left it there, and he's been beside himself tonight. He's been hitting and he's already had a couple temper tantrums that could be categorized as 'doozies."

Helen is very quiet on the other end. "Helen?... Helen are you there?"

"Oh,… yes Grace. I'm here."

"Is everything alright?"

"Well, as it is… I haven't seen that blanket for several days…. Come to think of it, I haven't seen it since Monday, and all his issues here started on Tuesday… I'm sure it has to be here. He hasn't been anywhere but the grocery store with me Monday afternoon, and I know he had it when we got home. He was holding it when we read to him that night…."

That has to be it. He must have lost it in the house somewhere and is obviously feeling anxious, or at least uncomfortable, without it. "I have to ask, how did you get though the nightmares? Without the blanket they must have been horrendous."

"Well, it hasn't been easy. But when I go in the room, I don't turn the light on so it's quite dark. I've tried to reach for it, but couldn't find it. He usually grabs my fingers so hard I can't get too far away. I've been singing to him though, like you told me, which seems to help." The piano worked too, so maybe music is something soothing for him. I'll keep that in mind. "I'll find it and be sure to give it to Ben tonight. I have a suspicion where it might be. Or at least who may know where it 'got lost' too." We say our good-byes and Carrick is getting his coat. I give him another hug and a kiss. I haven't felt this light or relieved since the morning we signed the adoption papers, and actually, this is even so much better than that!

"I love you, Grace. And I love our family." Carrick picks me up in a big hug before he heads out the door. I turn back to my two beautiful children! I love these boys!

Carrick

For a week that was taking forever, this past hour has actually flown by; thank god. I met up with Ben, we chatted a bit, I got Christian's things, including the blanket, and I'm about to pull in the driveway. Hopefully he'll be a little easier for the rest of the night now.

I wonder if Grace got the root beer cleaned up yet, or if she's still so excited she's completely forgotten about it. I really shouldn't even be thinking about that… In the grand scheme of things, it's of no real consequence. So we hire someone to clean the carpet, big deal. I'm sure it's not the last time our two little boys will make a mess. Damn if that doesn't bring a smile to my face; our two little boys…

I hope she hasn't told them anything yet. I want to be there when that happens. I want that to be something pretty special. Maybe we should go out to a special dinner at the club. Or maybe some place like Chuck E. Cheese; something more 'little boy' centered…

As I head in the house, I hear them in the living room plinking around on the piano. Grace plays beautifully, but Elliot never took too much interest in it. I can tell when he's playing around on it though; it comes across like a bag of bricks dropping on the keys. This doesn't sound like Elliot, but it's sure not Grace… Is that Christian? Grace would be in her element if she had a son who wanted to play the piano.

I quietly sneak in to listen and watch. Sure enough, Elliot is sitting on the bench next to Grace, but it's Christian who's playing. I guess 'playing' is a bit of a stretch, but he seems completely enthralled with pressing different keys and getting different sounds. I see him tense up when he hits something sharp or flat or… whatever the black keys are. I feel my eyes get a bit watery as I watch them all together. "Hey there. Hope I'm not interrupting anything," I say quietly.

"Hi Dad!" Elliot spins on the bench and runs up to hug me. "You were gone a long time. Did you get ice cream? Mom said when you get back we'd get something special."

"Hold on there, young man," Grace responds as she gets up to give me a kiss. "I said, there would 'be' something special; not that you would 'get' anything…"

"Does that mean no ice cream?" Elliot's whiney voice is offset by his adorable deer-eyed pleading look. However, for some reason, with everything so positive about this evening, my 'Dad' brain kicks in.

"Um, two little boys I know ended up in 'time-out' tonight. That behavior is not rewarded with ice cream, and you know it." Man, even I'm thinking I'm being a hard ass.

I notice Christian hasn't moved from the piano. He hasn't even turned around. He's still plinking away. It doesn't look like he's even noticed Elliot and Grace aren't there anymore. "But, I will add, Mommy got something special for dessert tonight and I think it's perfectly acceptable if we have that. Wait," I turn to Grace. "Did we even finish dinner?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Darling, but the boys and I finished while we cleaned up the root beer mess. I put what was left of your half of the pizza in the oven to stay warm for you. Would you like…"

"Can we finish the movie now, Mom? Dad's home?" Elliot cuts in and is pulling on Grace's sweater, but Christian still hasn't even turned around. Is he even hearing the commotion from the rest of us in the room, or is he focused so internally, that he isn't even with us right now? I worry about him.

"Christian?" I call to him softly, but no response, just more piano. "Christian…? I have something you might be interested in here…" As I pull the blanket out of the small overnight case, I watch him. I want to see the moment he notices what I have for him. "Elliot would like us to move on to dessert. Would you like some dessert?" Still nothing. I take the several steps over to the piano myself and stand next to him so I'm in his peripheral vision. I see his head turn slightly, so I know he knows I'm here. He actually stops playing and looks up at me with caution. "You may continue to play if you want. I just thought you might like this," and I hold out the blanket to him.

Immediately I see a completely different child. His eyes grow wide and he grunts happily as he reaches to grab the blanket from me. There's actually a small smile for the first time this evening, as he hugs it tightly to his chest. I notice how much brighter his gray eyes look when there's some happiness behind them. In fact, he looks like he wants to hug me too; well, almost anyway. I do get a small squeal that rings with relief and appreciation. "You're welcome. Mrs. Collier said to tell you she's sorry she didn't notice it was gone before. Feel a little better now?" I get an adamant nod and his copper hair flops around. He probably needs a haircut, but I think cutting it short would take all the personality out of moments like this.

"Can we have the dessert now? What is it anyway? Can we finish the movie or what? And what's the special thing?" Elliot's bubbly and adamant voice brings me back to the whole situation.

"Yes, we can have dessert. I don't' know what it is, but we can eat it as we watch the rest of the movie. The special thing? Well…" I look over at Grace. She gives me a questioning look. "That will come in just a little bit." I head over to my wife and older son but am taken off guard when I turn around and Christian is right behind me. My heart just about breaks when he reaches for my hand.

Grace

What a whirlwind of an evening!The hitting, the tantrums, the phone call, the piano… Then Carrick bringing home the blanket and watching Christian take his hand… He's held it before, but this is the first time it was initiated by him and not Carrick.

Such a wonderful surprise that Christian is fascinated with the piano… With his long fingers, I definitely see lessons in his future. I want Elliot to play some kind of instrument as well, but I can't even imagine what that would be. He isn't the 'sit and study music notes' kind of child, but I truly value music education, so we'll have to find something for him.

Cleaning up the root beer could have been a challenge as I wanted Christian to take responsibility and help me. But as it turned out, Elliot helped first, not even questioning the task at hand. That made Christian want to help as well, which was a welcome surprise. We'll probably need to get the carpet cleaned, but at least there isn't a brown puddle anymore.

We've all moved back into the family room to finish the movie Elliot chose. I brought out the small bags of caramel corn for dessert, which were a big hit. I did let Elliot also have another small glass of root beer. It's caffeine free so he should be OK at bed time, except maybe for the sugar… I guess we'll see. I did not give another to Christian, reminding him that he finished his already and Elliot didn't get to. He looked a little down and I could see him hug that blanket tighter, but I didn't get any fussing. That blanket makes all the difference in the world. He is now sitting next to Carrick, still, and actually watching the movie, although I can see his eyes getting heavy.

As the movie ends, Carrick gets up and takes the last of the plates and glasses into the kitchen. I follow him as I think we need to have a quick chat about what exactly the 'special thing' is tonight…

"Carrick? Should we tell the boys tonight? I want to, but maybe it should be a special occasion…?"

"I want to, too Gracie, but I agree. It should be special. And really? Shouldn't we talk to Elliot without Christian, just so he's prepared? We've never let him in on the adoption plan. What if he doesn't have the reaction we're hoping for? We don't want Christian forever remembering his big brother wasn't happy about him moving in…"

"I can't imagine Elliot being upset about it, but I can go along with that plan. So we find a special way to tell them? Oh! How about next weekend? Halloween is on a Saturday, how about we invite the family over for a small party and make the announcement then? That gives us time to tell Elliot, and then he can be in on the announcement too."

"I like it. Are we going to tell Christian before or during the party?" I tell him I need to think that one through a bit. Then Carrick asks "So what's the something special if we're not making that announcement until next week?"

"Well,….. Elliot! Christian! Come into the kitchen please," I call across my house. The two boys come in both looking a bit unsure. "We need to get to the special thing. You two ready?" Both boys nod quietly. I can see they're both getting tired. I quickly note the time; Oh my! It's after Elliot's weekend bedtime! I better make this quick….

"OK you two. We know Christian comes and visits with us… We know he's supposed to come again tomorrow morning…. But…. Daddy brought some clues so you can figure out the special thing. Show them Daddy." Carrick looks confused and a little frustrated at my throwing the ball back in his court. "In the case you brought in Daddy… What clues are in the case so the boys can guess?..." OK, now he gets it.

"Let's go see!" We all head out to the hallway and watch as Carrick pulls items out one by one. "I have Christian's toothbrush…" Christian is back to being stoic, or maybe he's just tired. Elliot is unimpressed. "I have Christian's clothes for tomorrow…." Again, no reaction from Christian, but Elliot is now looking very upset. I'm sure he thinks we're tricked him out of something. "And finally, I have Christian's pajamas. Can you guess the special thing?"

Elliot is not happy. I chuckle to myself because his frustrated face is so adorable. I watch as his frustration turns to understanding… He cocks his head to the side a bit, his eyes get a bit squinty, then really big. He turns to Christian, "You won't have to brush your teeth tonight and you get to sleep in your clothes, 'cause your p'jamas will be here! Oh lucky!" Seriously? That's what he got from this? "But I thought the special thing was for both of us? Can I skip brushing my teeth too?" He really is very excited about that prospect, but really?

"Um…. no Buddy," Carrick starts again. "Let's look at the clues again… toothbrush, pajamas, clothes for tomorrow..." Elliot is still not getting this. He's got to be getting tired; it's not that hard. "Why would all of Christian's night-time things be here? Unless he's going to…?"

"Is Christian spending the night this time?!" Those big eyes are almost bulging out of his head at that idea. Finally.

"Yes, Darling. That's the surprise! Christian gets to spend the night with us tonight." Wow. But at least it's definitely a good surprise. Elliot is about jumping up and down.

"Oh man! So cool!" He turns to Christian again. "You can sleep in my room and we can stay up all night and play…"

"Whao there Buddy," Carrick cuts in. "No one's staying up all night, and it's already past your bedtime and yes you are brushing your teeth. Both of you."

"And," I cut in before this goes to the next logical step. "I think it would be best if Christian slept in the guest room. I think you two will keep each other awake, no matter what we say." Actually, I'm mostly afraid of Christian's nightmares waking Elliot. He's never experienced one of those and I'm not sure I'm ready for it to happen the first time he stays with us.

We get the boys ready for bed, tooth brushing included, read them a story then tuck them in. Carrick stays with Elliot while I get Christian settled in. He's a little nervous, which is to be expected since he's never stayed overnight before. I'm a bit worried as this room is all the way down the hall from our room. I hope if he needs me tonight, I'll hear him before he wakes Elliot… "Are you comfortable, Darling?" I get a small nod. "You look very tired. Ready to sleep?" I don't get the nod I'm expecting. I get that same scared look I saw those nights in the hospital. "It will be better tonight. You have your blanket back." He hugs it closer. "And if you need me, I'll be right down the hall… I can come in and be here with you, OK?" Again I get a small but nervous nod. "Good night Darling," and this time, I do bend down and kiss the top of his head. I'm going to be his Mommy after all. The tears start up again.

Carrick is at the door when I turn around to leave. "Just wanted to say good night to Christian." He sits down on the bed and leans over to kiss his head as well. "We're so happy you're going to be with us, Little Man." I'm sure he's not just referring to tonight. "We'll see you in the morning, OK?" Christian nods and looks over to me again. I nod too and blow a kiss.

Carrick and I walk down to our room hand in hand, but don't say anything. This moment has no words. As we head in our own room, Carrick pulls me into his arms again. We kiss, embrace, kiss some more… We wipe the tears off each other's cheeks. "They're both here Gracie," Carrick whispers to me. "Both of our little boys are here, with us…"

"Is it real, Carry? Will I wake up and this night has been a dream?"

"If you wake up and it's a dream, Baby, do me a favor, please? Just let me sleep."