Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 21:49:05 +0000 From: David Lee <dlee169@hotmail.com> Subject: Second chance, Chapter 64 Second Chance, Chapter 64 Warning: This story is copyrighted by the author known as David Lee and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without explicit permission. This story contains descriptions of love and sexual fulfillment between people of the same gender. If possessing or reading this kind of material is illegal where you live, please leave this site at once. My previous stories may be quickly accessed by searching for my name under the "Stories by Prolific Net Authors" heading which is found under the "Information for Readers" spot to the "D's" since they've changed the way things are alphabetized. You may write to me at dlee169@hotmail.com. I'll do my best to answer promptly. Please put the title of this story in the "subject" line when you email. For the full disclaimer and additional info, please read the statement that precedes Chapter 1. As always, I thank my editors Tom and David for their proofing my work and giving me suggestions and lots of positive feedback. They're an integral part of this effort. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 64 It was a great experience for Rob to work with Blake on the publicity for his fundraising efforts on behalf of the mission. Mike gave Blake all the information that he had gone over with Rob, Sophia, and Tinker, and supplied contacts, but left it up to Blake to carry through since he had other, paying clients who needed his attention at the moment. Blake already knew a lot of it because he had taken an interest in Rob's project. Even before they had moved in together, they had shared their hopes and dreams. Now as partners, Blake had been kept up to date on the mission project through dinner conversations and "pillow talks". Blake set up an interview for Rob on the noonday news of one of the popular TV stations in the area. Blake and the reporter agreed that it would be a good plan to bring Sam Bradbury along as a human interest angle. Having a real-life example of the mission's success should touch the hearts, and hopefully wallets, of viewers. Blake thought it might also be a good move to take Robbie along to soften the hearts of perspective donors. Who could resist giving to a cause being promoted by a good-looking young father? If Robbie got fussy, Blake could always come in from the sidelines to discreetly remove him from the set while the camera was aimed elsewhere. The reporter, Tiffany Jones, didn't share his enthusiasm, but eventually gave in. The station agreed to set up the phone bank that they used for various fundraising organizations. They cautioned the guys not to get their hopes up about getting too much response since this was only a local drive and not one that would draw much attention. However, they felt the prospect of 10 or 12 calls would be better than nothing. ---------- Rob had to leave school at 11:00 in order to get prepped for the noon news spot. Blake carefully secured Robbie in his car seat before he picked up Sam Bradbury from his workplace. Then he drove to the high school to pick up Rob. Robbie was cutting a new tooth and was fussy, so Blake was having second thoughts about having him on camera. He had brought along toys, food, and a teething ring to keep the little boy occupied, but nothing seemed to be working until Rob got into the back seat with him. Then Robbie soon settled down. The station personnel all fawned over Robbie and his mood improved during the time Rob and Sam were in makeup. After the person in charge did a couple of lighting tests, the guys were escorted to the greenroom to await their spot. Tiffany Jones got to their segment after the local news. She introduced them and turned to Rob. "Mr. Larson-Brady, please tell the viewers the name of your organization and its purpose," she said. "It's called the William B. Lundy foundation and its main goal is to raise money to help get the homeless off the streets and into safe, decent housing." Rob replied. "Was Mr. Lundy a local philanthropist?" she asked innocently. "Actually, he was a street person who was known as Willy and he defended me against the man who eventually killed him under a bridge where we all found shelter at one time." Ms. Jones asked several more questions about their project and the dinner dance and auction that were being staged to help defray the costs. Rob and Sam were both articulate and to the point. Their succinct responses saved enough time to show a couple of clips of how street people survived in the inner city. The first was taken from the video that Josh and Eric had made when they documented Rob's plight nearly a year before. The bridge scene made Rob shudder involuntarily, but the viewers couldn't see his reaction of course. The second clip was a shot of the noon serving-line which had been taken a few weeks prior. Aaron, Sam, and Casey were visible for a few seconds. It was followed by a still picture of the Morrison Hotel that was slated to be renovated. At the end, Sam told how he'd been on the streets for several years and lived under that bridge until Rob's kindness had started him on a different path. There were tears streaming down his face and his voice nearly cracked, but he soldiered on. In the midst of Sam's tearful account, Robbie squirmed off his father's lap and crawled over to Sam. The cameraman followed the baby's actions as Sam picked him up to hold him close. "Gampa" he cooed. People all over the viewing area were blinking back tears and reaching for tissues. Then Ms. Jones gave the phone number (which also appeared on the bottom of the screen) for people to call to make donations or to get information about the tickets for the fundraising event. Calls began to come in immediately. Within seconds the switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. The guys and Robbie were led to the call-center to see the extent of the response. There weren't enough workers to keep up with the demand, so Rob, Blake, and Sam each took a phone to help field the calls. They hadn't been given the script that the volunteers had, but they knew the dates and where to purchase tickets. While the meteorologist was giving the noon weather wrap-up, a camera crew was frantically setting up their equipment in the call center. Tiffany hurried in to do the sign-off bit from that location. "I want to say thanks to all you viewers who are opening your hearts and wallets for this great local cause! I am delighted by your response. I'll be doing a follow-up on this story in the next few weeks. Don't forget to join us at 6:00 for the evening news." Once the broadcast was over, Tiffany came over to shake everyone's hand. "Mr. Larson-Brady, please forgive my reticence, no my bitchiness, when we discussed having Rob's son on the show. I've never had very good luck with children on a live broadcast and I had no idea how delightful he'd be. When he started to climb into Mr. Bradbury's lap in that very emotional moment, I almost lost it. And I'm a seasoned reporter!" "Thanks Ms. Jones." Blake replied. "Please call me Tiffany." "Okay, Tiffany. I want you to know that Robbie is my son as well." Blake said as he held up his wedding band for her to see. "Oh my God! You're married to Rob! I assumed you were cousins. But, you seem so, uh..." "Normal?" "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." "It's fine; we're used to it. Robbie is Rob's biological son and is mine by love and adoption. Yes, we were legally married in Iowa recently. We often pass for straight when people don't know the details." "That's so cool!" Tiffany enthused. "I'd love to do a story on you as a same-sex couple. It might change some minds – especially after this tremendous response to Rob's foundation. Do you think it would be possible?" "Look at my husband's response and you tell me." Rob was nodding and smiling enthusiastically. ---------- By the time things slowed down in the call center, there wasn't any reason for Rob to go back to classes as the school day would be over by the time he got there. He would have to get his assignments from Eric and Josh so that he wouldn't fall behind. Rob treated them all to a late lunch at Olive Garden. It was a way to unwind from the excitement and Sam enjoyed the change from his usual fare at the mission. Blake stopped by "Cox and Bradbury" to check in with Mike before he took Sam back to the mission. Mike hugged all of them, starting with his father, and congratulated them on their TV debut. "I've called the station and gotten permission for you to use today's footage in any way you want for advertising purposes. They would like some credit, but will allow you to edit it as you wish. Blake, your idea of having your son on there was brilliant! The noon news producer is as excited as Tiffany Jones about the response they've gotten. He also hopes you'll allow them to make a documentary about same-sex couples. He thinks it would lead to constructive discussions about the subject. His motives aren't completely altruistic because he's sure it would boost their ratings. This could prove to be good for our firm too. I'm so pleased Mr. Cox discovered you!" Needless to say, Robbie was fast asleep before his daddies finally got home. He woke up by dinner time and appeared to feel fine. His new tooth had broken through sometime during the day and it evidently wasn't as irritating as it had been. ---------- The noon news spot was the central topic of the dinner conversation at the Larson-Brady home. Scott had set up their machine to automatically record the entire broadcast lest he should be distracted by a phone call from a client about the time the interview started. That evening, the guys did something that they never did during dinner – have the TV on while eating. It was Ben's first chance to see it because he had been in a meeting and couldn't watch it live. Eric and Josh had seen it because Eric had asked Dr. Parsons if it would be possible to switch on the sets in the cafeteria. The general noise level of the lunch room had made it impossible to hear. However, all the guys at the table had seen Rob and the video clips. Some others noticed Sam, Aaron, and Casey. Among those was Dr. Parsons who had remained to watch that part of the news program. He had come over to the table when a commercial came on to congratulate the three youths on their public service. "You should have seen the smiles," Josh told the family. "Casey was positively glowing. It was a high for him to get recognition for a good deed, especially since his brother Jake had the opposite kind of reputation in school. Dr. Parsons called all three of them by name when he talked to them. He must have an incredible memory." "It can't hurt the school's reputation either when they have a senior like you, Rob, who's heading a major fund drive on the local level." Scott said. "It makes Ben and me very proud that you allowed us to be your guardians and chose to take our names." Rob had to swallow a lump before talking. "I'll never be able to express in words how grateful I am for what this whole family has done for me. If I can pay back in some small way by helping others, it will make me feel good too." "Where is Dr. Phil when you need him?" Josh asked lightening the mood. "This is getting pretty heavy!" Everyone laughed. Scott shut off the TV and the guys continued eating. As they were clearing the table Eric said he and Josh had a question about their apartment. "Is it okay if we buy a futon and a few things to dress up our place? We want something comfortable to sit on that could be used to sleep on if someone came for an overnight stay." "I don't think it requires our permission one way or other," Ben answered. "You're a married couple. You need to see what fits in with your budget and what works for you. Personally, I don't think of futons as being terribly comfortable for sitting or sleeping, but I'm an old guy as you kids so often remind me!" "Thanks Dad," Josh snickered. "I'll go get your cane for you if you can remember where you left it." That remark earned him a playful swat on the butt as one might expect. ---------- You would have thought it was the social event of the year. Wade and Roger's house was filled with family and friends whose main goal seemed to be entertaining Ethan. The crowd included relatives: Grandma Greta, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dwayne with their son, Aidan, Uncle DJ and Aunt Ellen with their younger children Emma and EJ. Before the rest of their company had arrived, the children had gone up to the third floor to play with Ethan's trains. EJ and Emma were about the same age as Ethan, so they had lots of fun together. Because Aidan was much younger, Ethan saw him as a nuisance. Ethan didn't like anyone messing up his trains unless they knew what they were doing. EJ was quite careful, but Aidan's hands were smaller and he didn't have the dexterity to place the cars on the tracks carefully. That caused a major train wreck and made Ethan rather unhappy. Emma felt sorry for Aidan, so she acted like a big sister taking him into another room to play with other toys. The adults captured some of those events on their video cameras. Dane and Colt arrived just before the party was to begin. It was a long drive for them and they wouldn't be able to stay much past breakfast the next morning, but felt they should be there for the celebration. They needed to be back to Ames by Sunday night and figured they wouldn't be missed that much since Ethan had children his own age to play with. Right on schedule, the Larson-Brady tribe showed up with one more little guy to add to the mix. When Emma met Robbie, she went from being a big sister to being a little mother. It was amusing to watch. She drew Aidan in too and soon it was like a miniature family. She insisted on sitting right beside Robbie when it was time to eat and wanted to feed him. Robbie, however, preferred using the two-handed method to stuff his own mouth. Food and beverages were plentiful and everyone had a great time. There was even a cake with three candles to mark the years Ethan had formally been their son. Ethan received toys and money from his guests. Everyone knew he loved getting money to put in his piggy bank. Later in the evening, after the children we asleep, the younger guys visited in the backyard until it got to chilly (and they moved into the den) and the over-thirty crowd sat in the living room. Scott commented on what a pleasant boy Ethan was and how lucky he was to be in a loving family. That got his proud fathers talking. "He has come a long way since we got him." Roger said. "At first he was very insecure and didn't want us out of his sight for a minute, but he didn't want to be touched either. The poor little tyke hid food under his bed because he seemed afraid that he might not get any again. He'd been neglected and ignored by his mother and she eventually abandoned him. It was so sad. But by the third visit from the social worker, he had changed rather dramatically. It began to happen after we had a severe thunderstorm that nearly shook the house with its fury. We went to check on him and he was hiding in the closet crying. He didn't want to come out, but he was afraid to be by himself. Wade got us pillows and blankets and we lay on the floor of the closet with him between us for the rest of the night. It was rather uncomfortable sleeping on the floor, but worth it in the long run. Ethan ended up letting us be very close to him for the first time. The next time we had a disturbance that awakened him, he came and crawled in our bed. After that he started to cuddle up next to us on a regular basis." "His habits also changed," Wade said. "Suddenly he quit wetting the bed at night. He took interest in the things we were trying to teach him. He just blossomed! He's quite intelligent. In September of that year, the department of human services felt that Ethan was so well adjusted with us that we could adopt him. It became formal the next month. So, this has become an important date in our lives. With his January birthday so close to Christmas, we wanted to have something to celebrate at another time of the year." "Wow, that's a great story!" Ben exclaimed. "I wonder if Josh and Eric will do something like that." "We can hook them up with the right people someday if they do," Roger said. "Here Scott made a simple observation about our son and we've gone into his whole life history and bragged about him. Sorry about that." "Not at all," Ben smiled. "We're very proud of our sons and we can certainly understand how you feel about Ethan." Ethan wasn't the only topic of conversation. Scott and Ben enjoyed getting to know Dwayne and Sharon as well as DJ and Ellen. They had common interests and never lacked for something to visit about. That applied to Greta too despite being a generation older. She was like everyone's mom. At 9:00, Rob said that he needed to get home and put Robbie in a proper bed before he awakened and thought he was just having a nap. The rest agreed it was time to go. The young guys all hugged because they had become close to Dane and Colt. The adults shook hands and promised to meet again. Ethan's party had been a great success. ---------- Author's notes: Good news! Same-sex marriage is now legal in DC. The first license was issued today, but can't be used until next week. A victory either way. Thanks to all who emailed since last posting: Rad, John McD, Erik H, Patrick C, Jim We, Rutabaga, Bertrand, Tom A, Jim C, Paul R, Roger L, Tom A, Rad, Mark H, Paul L, and Carroll.