#tmbtp:part2chapter4

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.1 Welcome Home, Boys

Bringing the boys home meant a lot of last minute scrambling to get things in order. The first order of business was finding a place for the teenager, Brody, to sleep.

Luckily, Hollis and Mercedes were able to move into their new place sooner than anticipated, so we were able to convert Hollis’s old apartment into a new space for us.

Her old bedroom became a playroom, and her living room became Brody’s bedroom. We already had a nursery ready upstairs for the baby, who we named Lucas Solomon. 

The whole thing felt so surreal. Even though we knew we could get a call from the adoption agency at any moment, we didn’t expect that moment to come so soon. Or to be welcoming not one but two new members into our family.

When it came time to bring the boys home, Brody was a bit quiet. He seemed happy but a little shy. I remember how it felt to move in with complete strangers, so I understood where he was coming from. We arrived home and started showing Brody around.

While Paul was getting Lucas settled in, I showed Brody his bedroom. 

“I get my own bedroom?” He asked.

“Yeah, and your own bathroom, too,” I told him. 

“Wow.”

As Paul held Lucas, I noticed Chelsea watching him closely. I tried to work out what she might be feeling. If I had to guess, I’d say she felt betrayed. She didn’t say anything, though, just continued to keep a close eye on her new little brother. 

Rachel, on the other hand, was over the moon about meeting her new brothers. She talked Brody’s ear off on the way home, and continued to do so at home, although Brody was still being quiet.

We showed Brody around the rest of the house. The thing that caught his attention was our workout area. In fact, he decided to get a little workout in himself. I wanted to ask him about himself, to get to know this new person living in our house, but I didn’t want to push him too much.

We continued to check in with him throughout the evening–offering, but not forcing him, to join us in conversation. He seemed content to sit in our presence and just take everything in. It was our new normal that we were all getting used to. 

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.20: Catching Up

I ran into Hollis at the cafe, and we had a chance to catch up. She still lives close by, but we hadn’t had the chance to have a proper conversation in a while. It seemed like we were just shuffling the girls back and forth without taking the time to really talk.

“How is married life treating you?” I asked her.

“Oh, it’s great! Mercedes and I couldn’t be more happy. She’s been getting a lot of business at the pottery studio.”

“I know Rachel is excited about that! She was so thrilled when Mercedes put one of her vases up for sale in the shop.”

“She was! Especially when she found out someone bought it!”

“That’s our little artist!”

“How are the boys doing?” Hollis asks me.

“They’re doing well. Lucas is learning to roll onto his tummy. And he’s been babbling so much lately! He hasn’t been waking up as much at night. And Brody seems to be adjusting well. I think therapy has been going ok, and things at school have improved.”

“That’s good to hear. The girls really love their new brothers.” 

“Yeah, Chelsea is still a little jealous of Lucas, but we’re making progress. Rachel just adores them both.” 

“I know, she doesn’t stop talking about them!”

Hollis and I talk for a few minutes longer before she has to head off. I’m glad we got to catch up a bit. With everything that’s been going on, it’s hard to make time for friends. 

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.13: Brush With a Bully

Brody’s perspective

It was time for school and Brody realized when he got there that he’d forgotten to study for his exam. He did the best he could, but he couldn't remember half of what was covered on the exam. 

To make matters worse, after class a boy named Tom came up to him and insulted his clothes for no reason. Brody couldn’t remember having seen this kid before. He tried not to let it get to him, but it put him in a sour mood for the rest of the day.

When he got home, he looked around for his parents. He found Paul in the baby’s room, having just put his brother in the crib for a nap. He wasn’t sure if he should bring up what happened at school, but Paul could tell something was wrong. Brody decided to be honest, and Paul gave him some good advice about how to deal with people who are rude. Brody thanked Paul for the good advice. 

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.8: Pretending

Brody’s perspective

Brody didn’t understand why his parents were making him see a therapist. Did they think something was wrong with him? Maybe there was.

Family therapy was a bit awkward. He already didn’t know what to say to his new parents, and having a stranger there didn’t help. His individual therapy didn’t go much better.

The therapist, Albert, kept asking how he felt about things, but Brody didn’t know how he felt. He tried not to think too much about anything that was going on. He told Albert a little bit about school, which seemed to appease him. When he was at school, he didn’t have to think about how weird things were at home. He didn’t tell the therapist that, though.

Johnny and Paul still seemed okay, but he didn’t trust them yet. He was getting along with his sisters, but being around them made him miss his biological brothers and sisters who were still at his old foster home. His foster parents wanted to keep them, but not him. He wondered if he would ever see them again.

Brody was too scared to talk to the therapist about all of this. Talking about it would make it seem real, and he wanted to pretend that it was all a dream.

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.17: Collect Yourself

When Brody got to school the day after his parents talked to Mr. Langerak, he felt a bit embarrassed.

He hoped none of his friends knew that his parents talked to his teacher. He had to collect himself in the bathroom before he headed to class.

Once he got to class, he felt better knowing Tom wouldn’t be there. He was still a little worried about what Tom would do when he came back, but his parents assured him that it would be taken care of.

At lunch, he got a seat next to Nadia. She seemed in good spirits. Brody wished he could read her better. If only there was a thought bubble over her head that would tell him what she thought of him. The thought of getting rejected was too much for him.

When he got home, he made sure to do his homework. His parents talked to him about taking his work more seriously. They weren’t mad that his grades were slipping, just concerned. Brody didn’t want to let them down. 

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.6: ThrifTea Friends

Brody’s perspective

Brody felt very grateful that his new parents let him hang out with his friends at ThrifTea. His former foster parents always treated him like he was up to no good, which wasn’t fair. He wondered what he did to make them think that way.

When he got to ThrifTea, Nadia greeted him and showed him a stupid meme on her phone. Then he got to meet some more of his new classmates.

There was Avery, a soft-spoken girl who seemed more comfortable with the boys.

Then there were Kiely and Carmelo. Kiely was Nadia’s best friend and they were attached at the hip. Carmelo seemed pretty cool.

Malik and Toru were also hanging out that night. They were all being nice to him, but he clammed up a bit when they started asking questions. He wasn’t ready to tell everyone that he’d just been adopted and was getting used to a whole new family. 

Brody decided to distract everyone from prying more into his personal life by going up to the microphone and telling some jokes. He got a few laughs, but people were more interested in mingling than watching him perform. He knew he would have to open up eventually if he wanted to make some genuine friendships, but the thought was scary.

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.3: Time for Therapy

Paul and I were both on paternity leave, which made adjusting to our bigger family a lot easier. It was nice having us both home as we took care of a newborn.

“I can’t believe this is real life,” I told Paul as I cradled Lucas in my arms.

“I know.” Paul smiled. “I’m glad it is, though.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I replied. “I wonder how Brody is doing at school.”

“I don’t know. I hope he’s adjusting well.”

“I’ve heard good things about the school, so maybe it won’t be too bad.”

“Yeah.” Paul sighs. “It’s just so hard to tell with him. He’s been so quiet.”

“I know. I want to ask him so many things, but I don’t want to bombard him with questions.”

“When do you think we should broach the subject of therapy with him?”

“Probably soon,” I say. “I don’t want to throw too much at him at once, but I think therapy will be good for us all.”

“I think addressing it as something that will be good for us all as a unit is the best approach.”

“I agree. I don’t want it to come off like we think he’s a problem.” 

“Definitely not. Hopefully, he’ll start feeling more comfortable here as time goes on.”

“I’m sure he will, as long as we continue to reach out but also give him space. That really helped me when I moved in with my dads.”

“I’m glad you have some insight on how he might be feeling. I think that’s going to be a big help in navigating this.”

“I hope so.”

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next

[honeyjars-sims]

2.4.14: Protective Dads

I was finishing up a snack in the kitchen when Paul approached me in the kitchen. He was holding a grumpy looking Chelsea. She’d been in a bad mood all morning, but it wasn't Chelsea Paul wanted to talk to me about.

“Did Brody tell you about the kid at school?” He asked.

“No, what kid?”

“Apparently some kid at school has been mean to him.”

“Oh, God. What kind of stuff is he doing?”

“The usual stuff bullies do. Insulting his looks and things like that.”

“That’s just great. I wonder where the teachers are when this is happening?”

“Apparently the kid has done it in front of one of the teachers, but he the teacher didn’t say anything.”

I was livid. “Are you serious? What kind of teacher just ignores that behavior?”

“My thoughts exactly! I figure we can talk to Pablo about it,” Paul replied, referring to Brody’s teacher Mr. Langerak. 

“Good idea. At least we have someone at that school that can keep an eye on things, since apparently some teachers don’t want to do their jobs.”

“Let’s just try not to make too big of a deal about it. We don’t want to make the situation worse by embarrassing Brody on top of everything else.”

“True. Although I have a few choice words for the teacher who ignored the bully.”

“I’m sure you do. Just keep them between us for now.”  

Previous | Beginning of Story | Beginning of Chapter | Next