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DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction and fantasy. No part of it is based on true events, and any similarity to any person, living or dead, is coincidental. It contains descriptions of homosexual activities between consenting adults. If you are not over 18 years of age, or if you find this type of story offensive, or viewing this material is illegal where you are, then please DO NOT READ IT! If you choose to read it, then - I hope you enjoy it!
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When You Least Expect By Josh Blake
Chapter 20
Thanksgiving was never a big affair in my family. It would usually be me, my parents, and my aunt. Every talking head on TV was busy warning families to stay apart this year because of the pandemic. David Muir on ABC, with his sad, puppy dog eyes, pleaded with Americans to `just stay home' this year. I switched off the TV. It was just too depressing to listen to anymore. If any American hadn't received the message, they had to be hiding under a rock.
This would be my first Thanksgiving as a married man living with my husband. My mom also now lived at my house, an arrangement we made to help with childcare after our son, Jackson, arrived. Jackson would be a December baby. His mom, Kiersten, was scheduled to have her labor induced on December 15, unless little Jack had other ideas and decided to come earlier.
Our family decided to celebrate Thanksgiving at my house this year. It would be mom, Braden, and me, along with Braden's parents and Austin. We were all part of the same `bubble' for the most part, and since we saw each other frequently, decided having Thanksgiving together was no different than any other meal.
My mom always went into a full-blown cleaning frenzy before any holiday where she would host guests. Of course, this year was no different, despite the fact that she was now living with me. She had the house so clean I think you could have eaten off the floor!
Thanksgiving morning, I awoke to hear mom already in the kitchen. I glanced at the clock to see that it was 8:00 a.m. I got up quietly so as to not disturb Braden and made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth and make myself presentable. I managed to do all this without Braden waking up. That boy can sleep through almost anything.
"Wow, it already smells great in here!" I said, giving mom a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, dear. I just talked to Bonnie and she's already up and going over at her house. I told them to be here around noon, and we'll eat whenever everything is finished," mom said.
"I wish you'd let me help you," I said. "You know I can cook."
"I know you can, sweetie, but there's no need. Bonnie and I have it handled!"
"I'm just glad you two hit it off so well. You're going to be sharing a grandchild, so it's probably a good thing!"
"I just can't wait for him to be here!" mom said.
"I know, neither can we. It's going to be different having a baby around the house!"
"You know, Josh, you and Braden need to take time to bond with this baby after he's here. That's why most new moms take at least six weeks off to be with their babies."
"I know, mom, but unfortunately, there's no such thing as paternity leave. I can use my sick days, depending on when he's born. We can't be at the hospital, anyway. They'll let us know when he's here and make arrangements for us to pick him up. Then, I'll take days to be home through the Christmas holidays. That will keep me here until after the first of the year at least."
"That will be great, sweetie. You're going to be such a good dad!"
"Thanks, mom. If I can be half the parent to him that you have been to me, I'll be okay."
Mom and I hugged in the kitchen. My mom was a short woman. I remember the days when I used to snuggle into her bosom as she held me. Now her face was buried in my chest as I hugged her.
"Aww, I want in on that," Braden said from the doorway to the kitchen. He had just come out of the bedroom and still had his pajamas on.
"Well, come on then!" mom said, keeping one arm around me but opening the other for Braden. We stood in the kitchen in a group hug until mom broke the hug.
"You boys go watch TV or something. I have work to do in here! If you're hungry, I baked some cinnamon rolls. They are ready to come out of the oven now, I think."
"You made your cinnamon rolls? I love those. Mom always made them for breakfast on Thanksgiving when I lived at home, but I had forgotten about them!" I said, excitedly, to Braden.
"Yes, I made them. Just let me frost them and then they'll be ready."
Braden and I ate so many of the cinnamon rolls that I was afraid we'd be too full to eat Thanksgiving lunch! Braden agreed with me that they were phenomenal. I'm sure we'd be begging mom to make them again soon.
Braden and I settled in the den to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. It was strange not seeing crowds of people lined up on the street to watch it this year.
As the morning progressed, more and more delicious smells emanated from the kitchen. I'd try to go in and sneak bites of things, but mom would just run me out of the kitchen.
The rest of the family arrived around 11:30. Mark, Bonnie, and Austin all came in carrying food.
"I think we have enough food to feed the entire neighborhood," Bonnie announced, looking over the spread on the dining table.
"Well, I always tend to overdo it," mom said. "And it looks like you do the same!"
Bonnie and mom disappeared back into the kitchen. Austin and Mark joined Braden and me in the den.
"Little brother! I haven't seen you very much lately. What have you been up to?" Braden asked.
"You know I've been visiting colleges," Austin said. "I just got back from visiting one in Mississippi."
"Mississippi? Seriously?" Braden said.
"Yeah, I know, but it's a really good school. And they have a great baseball team. They're one of the schools that will probably offer me a scholarship," Austin said.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"It's Cottonwood State University. It's in a little town called Cottonwood. It's smaller than Bentonville, if you can believe it," Austin said. "But everyone there is super nice. And like I said, I could get a baseball scholarship."
"If you can get a scholarship and it's a good school, it very well could be worth it. I'll text my baseball coach and ask him if he knows anything about it," I said.
"Thanks, Josh. It's definitely on my list along with some others. Benton is still on my list, too, but I kind of want to get away from home. I don't have to make any decisions right now, especially since I still have another year of high school."
"Does Hunter know you're looking at schools out of state?" Braden asked. Even though they were apparently not dating any longer, Austin and Hunter were still very close friends, and likely friends with benefits.
"Yeah, I told him. He said he supports whatever I want to do," Austin said
"You still care about him, don't you?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess in a way I do. But I don't want to be tied down at my age. I want to take time and figure out what I want. Hunter is great, but I still kind of think I might like girls, too."
"You're young," I said. "You have plenty of time to figure out what it is your heart wants. But when your heart tells you what it wants, be sure you listen. I'm sure glad I listened to mine," I said. I leaned over and kissed Braden on the lips.
"Dinner is ready!" mom yelled from the dining room.
"Wait for it..." I said.
"And wash your hands before you come in here!" she yelled.
"I knew that was coming!" I laughed. Mom always announced that before a meal. Not that it was a bad thing. It's just what she did.
With everyone's hands washed, we all made our way to the table that looked like our moms and prepared a feast for a king. There was turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, and homemade yeast rolls.
"Would anyone mind if I said a prayer before we eat?" Mom asked. Although none of us were overly religious, it seemed appropriate, and no one disagreed. "Father God, I come to you today asking for your blessing for all who are seated at this table. We didn't know each other a year ago, but now we are a family, and for that we are thankful. Thank you for putting Josh and Braden together. You knew what they needed in their lives, and you have blessed their marriage. We also ask that you bless sweet little Jackson who will be with us next month. Bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to your service, Amen."
"That was great, Mrs. Patterson," Braden said.
"Will you stop calling me that," Mom laughed. "Just call me Mom. Or Patti. Whichever you like better."
"What should I call you," Austin asked. "I can't call you mom."
"You'll call her Mrs. Patterson, that's what," Bonnie said.
"Nonsense," Mom said. "He can call me mom. Or whatever you want to call me. What do you want to call me?"
Bonnie gave Austin a look. No one expected him to say anything disrespectful. He was just being a teenager.
"What about Momma P?" Austin asked. We all laughed.
"Well, I suppose Momma P would be just fine," mom said.
"Now that we've settled that, let's eat! I'm starving!" I said.
For the next hour or so, we gorged ourselves on the great food and enjoyed each other's conversation. Mom got to know Mark and Austin a little better. By the time the meal was over, she had declared Austin was her favorite because he complimented her cooking so much.
We had one of my favorites, pecan pie, for dessert.
"Both of you did a fantastic job on all of this food," Mark commented to mom and to Bonnie. Everyone agreed.
After dinner, we loaded everything that would fit in the dishwasher and moved to the den to watch a movie. While we were watching the movie, my phone alerted me to a FaceTime call from Kiersten.
"Hey, Kiersten. We just finished having dinner. Is everything okay?" I asked.
"Yes, everything is fine. We just finished dinner as well. We all just wanted to say hello and Happy Thanksgiving!" She panned the phone around to show the entire family. Everyone waved and said hello. Then she moved the phone down to her pregnant belly.
"Someone else wants to say hello, too! He's going to be here very soon, I believe!" she said.
"Oh, you think so?" I asked.
"Yeah, I know they gave me until the 15th, but I just think it's going to be sooner than that. He's kicking a lot lately. I think he's ready to get out."
"We're ready for him to be here!" Braden said, looking over my shoulder.
We talked a few more minutes about how her last appointment at the doctor had gone. Everything was going well, and she was on track to deliver a healthy baby. We introduced her to my mom, since they hadn't had a chance to actually meet at the wedding. She was excited that mom would be living with us and helping with the baby. We said our goodbyes and ended the call with the promise that they would let us know when anything changed.
Mark, Bonnie, and Austin went home after the movie ended. Braden and I unloaded the dishwasher and loaded it a second time. Mom fought us on it, but we persuaded her that since she cooked, the least we could do was to clean up. Mom went to her room around 8:00, and Braden and I stayed on the couch in the den snuggled under a blanket. As is typical for Alabama in November, the weather had turned sharply colder and it started to rain. Braden and I went to bed around 10:00.
Braden thought it was fun to tickle me on my sides. He knew I was ticklish, and it excited him to no end. Of course, he had to be punished for his torturous activities. I pinned him down and started tickling him the same way. He laughed loudly. I decided I was done tickling him. There was another part of him that I wanted.
I moved down the bed and quickly snatched off his underwear. He hadn't trimmed his pubes in a couple weeks, and he had a pretty big bush, which I loved. I grabbed his hard cock, stroking it a few times and pulling back his foreskin. I went down on him, taking his entire cock in my mouth.
"Oh yeah, suck it!" Braden said, loudly.
"Shhh! Mom will hear you!" I said.
"So what? She knows we have sex," Braden said. "We are married."
"I know, but still. I don't like to think about her hearing us," I said.
"Okay, I'll be quieter, I promise. Just get your mouth back on my cock!" I did just that. While I was sucking him, I rubbed his lips with my finger. He opened his mouth, taking my finger inside and sucking on it. I pulled the wet finger out of his mouth and moved it under his balls to his hairy crack. He took the hint and pulled his legs up with his feet flat on the bed, giving me access to his hole. I placed my moistened finger at his hole and pushed it inside. He moaned at the intrusion into his anus. I quickly found his prostate and began massaging it as I continued to suck. I could feel his prostate throbbing as I sucked. I continued finger fucking him and sucking him until I felt my finger being constricted. He didn't even warn me before filling my mouth up with his cum. All he could do was moan. I let his cock go soft in my mouth, then slowly pulled my finger out of his rectum.
"God damn! I love how you can make me cum like that. I forget how good that feels!" Braden said, still breathing heavily after his orgasm. "Do you want to fuck me?" he asked.
"Actually, I already came." I said with a grin.
"How did you already cum?"
"Well, I was jerking myself off with my left hand while I was fingering your ass and sucking your cock. I came in my underwear," I said. Braden started laughing.
"I'm glad you got off and that I'm so sexy that you couldn't wait!" he said.
I got up to change my underwear, then came back to bed. It was chilly in the house, so we snuggled up together under the blanket. Pretty soon, we were both asleep.
The next few days gave us a restful break. Braden finished up his classwork for the semester. He was spared from having to take any final exams because of the pandemic. We were able to get some work done in the house as well. We moved the office out of the extra bedroom and into the den. There was still plenty of room to watch TV and relax, but the room would have to do double duty for the foreseeable future.
I was getting more and more on board with the idea that we should move to a larger house closer to work. Braden was unaware, but I had actually contacted a real estate agent to discuss the possibility of selling the house. I was shocked that I had so much equity built up in the house. We could likely afford a much larger house than I thought we could.
The next week sent me back to work. The students were excited knowing that only three weeks of school stood between them and the end of the school year. I had almost daily conversations with groups of students, including my favorites, Sabrina, Sam, Lucas, and Trey. I'm guessing that Lucas and Trey were still an item, but they didn't let on to their friends. I figured they'd come out if and when they were ready. They were apparently being more careful, because I hadn't heard of any incidents of them being caught together in closets.
The first full week of December brought an even greater sense of the impending break. Students were getting antsy, as were teachers. Hell, even I was ready for a break. I was making my rounds on one of the hallways on Wednesday of that week when my phone rang. I glanced at my watch to see who was calling. It was Ginger, Kiersten's mother. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket to answer.
"Hey, Ginger," I said. "How is everything?"
"Josh, it's time. Kiersten is in labor. Her water broke a little while ago and we're on our way to the hospital."
"Oh my God, are you sure?" I asked
"I'm positive. Just breathe, sweetie. We're almost there. Here, take my hand. No, don't push yet. Josh, I have to go, but you should probably head up this way. It won't be long, I don't think."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
I immediately paged Devin to my office to tell him what was going on and that I was leaving. He and I ran through the plan for the rest of the week very quickly as I was gathering my things and getting ready to go out the door. As I walked to my car, I called David. Of course, he told me to drive safe and said that he'd stop by the school to check on everything when he was out that way. The next call was to Braden.
"Hey baby," Braden said as he answered the phone. "Did someone miss me and need to hear my voice?"
"Well, yes, but that's not why I'm calling. Ginger called. Kiersten is going into labor. Pack us both a bag and tell mom what's going on. We are going to Huntsville!"
"Oh my God! Is this really happening? I wasn't expecting it yet!"
"What's wrong?" I heard mom ask in the background.
"The baby is coming now!" Braden said.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Mom exclaimed. "I want to come, too!"
"Tell her of course she's coming," I said. "And call your folks, too. We won't all be able to go in the hospital, but we can get a hotel room nearby so we're right there."
"She's already gone into her room to pack," Braden said. "She's as excited as we are. Okay. I'll call my folks and then pack us a bag. How long until you're here?"
"Probably 45 minutes or so. I'm driving steady but trying not to get pulled over."
"Drive safe and we'll be ready when you get here," Braden said.
I arrived to find Mom and Braden packed and ready to go. They were standing at the door. After a quick restroom visit, we were in my truck and headed out. It would take right at two hours to get there. Mark and Bonnie were coming up later in the day.
Ginger texted updates to Braden as I was driving. Kiersten was admitted and was being monitored. While she was indeed in labor, she was not yet at the point of the baby being born. The hospital allowed Ginger to stay with her but would not allow anyone else to be there. We would get to see the baby when it was time to turn custody over to us.
We made it to Huntsville and checked into a hotel close to the hospital. We got a room for Braden and me and a room for my mom.
We had just settled into the room when Ginger FaceTime called me. "It's time," she said. "They are letting me FaceTime so you can see him when he's born. I'm going to put the phone right here and then I have to go to her."
Braden, Mom, and I sat on the bed in our hotel room and watched the scene unfold. Of course, the phone was placed so that we couldn't see anything other than the surroundings of the room and Kiersten in the bed. The doctor was in position and was telling her to push. I'll spare the details, but after a few minutes, we heard a baby crying as he was finally out in the world. The nurses took him and cleaned him up, then handed him to Kiersten. Ginger picked up the phone and brought it over to the bed where Kiersten was holding him.
"Meet your son," Ginger said. "Welcome to the world, Jackson Elliot Patterson!"
I was crying. Braden was crying. Mom was crying. We didn't have words to say at that moment.
"Look how beautiful he is," Mom said, breaking the silence. "He looks just like Josh when he was a baby." That got a laugh out of everyone.
"The doctor says that he can go home on Friday," Ginger said. "Unfortunately, they won't let anyone else in, but I'll send you pictures and FaceTime you as often as we can."
"That sounds great. I just can't wait to see him in person," I said.
"Oh, one more question. Do you want him to be circumcised?" Ginger asked. "It's up to you."
Braden and I had already discussed this. While I was circumcised at birth, Braden was not. He never had any issues and was happy that he was not circumcised.
"No, we aren't going to do that," I said. "We're going to leave him the way God made him."
"Good call," Ginger said. "We didn't circumcise our son either. It's barbaric, if you ask me."
Over the next two days, Ginger sent us pictures and FaceTime calls so we could see Jackson in the hospital. The entire family enjoyed gathering in the hotel room and joining in on the calls. Finally, Friday arrived. It was time to take our little man home!
Since the adoption was completely voluntary, we had an attorney draw up the paperwork prior to the birth. All the necessary documents had been signed, and all legal fees had been paid. We were just waiting on a judge to order a formal adoption decree, which would happen sometime after the new year. Our attorney assured us that the documents we had would suffice for guardianship for the time being.
With the infant seat we had purchased installed in the truck, we left the hotel and headed to the hospital. Kiersten was being discharged, and we would meet outside to take custody of Jackson. We waited patiently near the exit until finally, the doors opened, and Kiersten was wheeled out with Jackson in her arms.
Ginger greeted us as she walked out the door behind Kiersten. Kiersten was holding the baby and looking down at him with a saddened expression.
"She's having some trouble saying goodbye," Ginger said. "But she knows this is for the best and that Jackson is going to a great home where he'll be loved." I looked over at Braden and sighed. We had been afraid of something like this happening. The last thing we wanted was for Kiersten to insist on keeping the baby.
"Kiersten, I understand what you are feeling," I said. "You will always be Jackson's mother. While Braden and I are going to be the best parents we can be, he'll always know who you are, and you will always have a place in his life. And one day, he's going to be so thankful to know that you put his best interests to heart when you made this incredibly difficult decision."
With tears running down her cheeks, Kiersten looked up at me. "Are you sure he won't hate me? I'm just giving him away like he's something I don't want anymore. Look how beautiful he is. He's perfect," she cried, stroking his cheek with her finger.
"Yes, he is perfect," Braden said, standing next to me. "And I'm pretty sure that he will understand why you're doing this. I know it's not easy, but it's giving him the best life you can."
"Promise I can see him?" she asked.
"We promise," I said. "You're going to be as big of a part of his life as you want to be. A child can't have too much love in their life."
Kiersten simply kissed Jackson's cheek, then handed him to Braden. "I believe you," she said. "I know you'll take good care of him."
"We sure will," I said, smiling as I looked at Braden holding our son. I took my finger and put it in his tiny hand. He immediately squeezed it with his tiny fist. I wanted to cry with happiness at that moment.
Jackson started to whimper a little. He opened his eyes and looked up at Braden and me. His eyes were a stunning blue, I'm guessing a gift from his birth father.
"Let's get him in the truck where it's warm," I said. "It's a little cold out here for a baby."
With Bonnie's help, we got him strapped into the car seat. We said our goodbyes to Ginger and Kiersten, then started our way home. Mom rode up front with me on the way home, while Braden rode in the back with Jackson. We were finally a family, and it felt so right.
The next chapter in this series will be published soon!
Your feedback is always appreciated! Send it to whenyouleastexpect2020@gmail.com. Let me know if you want to be added to my mailing list to be informed when new chapters are published.
A note about this chapter: Remember, this is a work of fiction. I know very little about adoption laws, which vary by state. Always consult an attorney, preferably one familiar with LGBTQ rights, if you are considering adoption.