Bittersweet Irish Cream Ch. 07

His logic was amusing but sound: "She's always in our business anyway, now she gets to hear all of it since our bedroom wall is also her bedroom wall."

Jackie Chris, who they called JC, their first adopted daughter, ran past them first, red hair flying, mouth going a mile a minute screaming, "I know which room is mine!"

Suzanne, their second adopted daughter from South Korea was right on her heels. "You mean our room! Dad said I could have the bed under the window. Papa, stop her!" she demanded as she ran by as well.

He shook his head. Two girls both at age six was a handful, but he enjoyed how close they were, closer than he and June. Irish twins they called themselves although neither of them were Irish. They adopted Jacqueline Christina as a newborn. Jack named her, and gave her the last name Frazier since Jack had such a close relationship with her birth mother. Su En, who they renamed Suzanne Elizabeth, was adopted at three years old, seven months before JC turned four.

Sue was as surprise: In the middle of AJ's adopting a six year old little girl from South Korea, Mai Lin, they found out that she had a younger sister, Su En. It would have taken them years to finish the process with Mai Lin (Now Marilyn) and start again with Su En so Jack had the great idea to start an international adoption process for Su En so the sisters could be adopted into the same family around the same time and remain close. They gave her the last name Starling so that the girls would have the same last name. They now talk weekly and alternate spending time between Rhode Island and California.

Jack walked into the empty living room. The downstairs furniture would not come until tomorrow, but the beds were in, so they could officially sleep there tonight. They definitely needed the space, as the 1000 square foot apartment was growing small for a family of six. They had been living that way for the last three years, but they were such a close knit family they didn't mind at all. But a three bedroom home with a finished basement was just what they needed, and at the right time.

Ethan came into the house holding almost 11 month old Jamison Nathaniel Frazier, the last of their growing family. He said, "EJ is refusing to leave the basement. I haven't told him the plan yet, mostly because I still think it sucks, but that's your kid so I figured you would want to." He handed Jamie to his other dad, gave a kiss and went upstairs to stop the girls from fighting.

Jack went back across the street with his youngest son to the Inn and went downstairs to the basement apartment to talk to his oldest son. EJ was sitting on the couch looking sullen. Jack put Jamie on the floor and sat next to him.

"What's up?"

EJ mumbled, "Nothing."

Jack said, "Okay." He waited.

EJ knew he wasn't going to go anywhere, they'll be sitting here until tomorrow unless he spoke. His Papa had the patience of a snail. "It's just that....why'd you have to get more kids? Why couldn't it just be you and me and Dad like it was? I want my life back. I want my room back. I want to stay here," he whined.

Jack let a few moments pass. Then he said, "When I was a kid, about four years old, my birth dad, not my Uncle Henry who adopted me but my first one, he said something to me I will never forget. When I complained about having a kid sister and things changing, he said of your aunt Junie, 'You don't have to like her, but you will love and protect her. Because she's part of the family now.' He also told me that family is more than blood, it's who you let into your life and your circle. 'But once they become family, it's family over everything.'

"I don't have any blood relation to any of you. And yet here I am, leading this family with your dad. We keep growing and changing because if we don't we just get stuck someplace and eventually realize we don't want to be there, but by then it's too late. Each one of us, you, me, your dad, JC, Susie, even Jamie, we were all stuck someplace at one point or another. And we would have been lost without one another. You brought me into this family. I bought JC and Sue in. Your dad bought Jamie in. And every time we gained another family member, we got better for it.

"Change is good. Letting go of the past and looking toward the future, it's a good thing, it's how it's supposed to be. We can't stop change from happening, but if we resist it, we stop growing. So you can choose to embrace the changes in your ever growing family, or you can stay stagnated, wither up and never grow. You're choice."

EJ rolled his eyes. "That's a lot of words for 'suck it up EJ, this is your family now, deal with it.' "

Jack smiled and kissed his son's head. "See, you got it. You're already growing up. And you'll be a whole teenager in four months."

EJ groaned again, "Right, a teenager stuck in a room with a one year old half brother. Because I know that's where you are going to stick him. All because my stupid mom couldn't take care of him."              

Trish showed up at the Inn nine months pregnant scared shitless about having to be a parent again. She gave birth, told the nurses to put the baby in Ethan's arms and left the hospital. She even put Ethan's name on the birth certificate, knowing full well that he wasn't the father, but so that the baby could go home with him, he figured out later. They haven't seen her since. Ethan could have given the baby to her parents, but decided she trusted him enough to leave her son with him and not with them, so he was going to raise him as his own.

Jack tread carefully, his mother was a sore spot for EJ. "So do you blame Jamie for being born the reason why we had to move?" He asked.

"No I blame Patrica for being a shitty mom. Again." Jack ignored his cursing, something Ethan would never do. Instead he said, "Then is it OK that Jamie is of our Starling-Frazier clan, free of blame for something he had no control over?"

EJ rolled his eyes again. "You're really loving these psychology classes you're taking aren't you, Dr. Phil?"

Jack laughed. When did this kid become so quick with the comebacks? Jack was finishing up his Masters Program at Providence and will soon begin his doctorate to become a full fledged psychologist. In the meantime, his web therapy business his brother in law Liam helped him set up is doing well and giving his therapeutic skills some much needed practice.

EJ said, "It's fine that he's here, better with us than with anyone else. And he is my brother so.... I just want to feel like my opinion matters too. That you listen to me like you listen to the others." Jack knew EJ relished being the big brother but sometimes felt lost in it all.             

Jack had to tell him. "Well your dad and I have been listening to you and we agreed that the basement apartment in the new house will be your bedroom. No strings attached."

EJ's eyes got wide. "Seriously!??" He exclaimed.

"Yes. You'll be a teen soon and you'll need your own space. And we trust you not to abuse the liberty we are giving you-"

Jack had more to say but EJ was strangling him with a hug. "Thank you thank you Papa! I promise I won't abuse it!"

Jack hugged him back. "Go see your room."

"Okay!" EJ said excitedly. He started for the door, but then turned around and said, "But seriously Pop, no more kids. You got me, the red head, the asian, and whatever race this one is," He said pointing at Jamie, whose racial mix up was still a mystery with his tanned skin, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. Jack is leaning toward Hispanic, Ethan says African American. They'll find out at some point.

EJ continued, "It's starting to look like the United Nations in here!" Then he ran up the stairs colliding with Ethan, yelling "Thanks Dad!" on his way across the street.

Ethan took a seat next to Jack and took his hand. After a few moments, Jack said, "Don't ask me what now."

Ethan laughed. "I know what's next. Art studio down here for me. Finishing up your Masters program, then a PhD for you. Raising four troublesome kids for the two of us."

"You forgot a lifetime of happiness." Jack said.

"I'm already living that part," said Ethan. They kissed, held hands and watched Jamie play with EJ's old blocks.

~~~~~~~

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I edited the epilogue to be consistent with future chapters. Although I put an epilogue here, the next couple of chapters is a continuation of their story that starts three months after Jack comes home, and I will continue to add a couple of chapters from time to time, because I love Jack and Ethan like they are old friends of mine. Their relationship continues to get tested over the years but their love is strong and their bond is unbreakable.

Thank you to all of you who took this ride with me and ends up loving them as much as I do.

--Eskay

PS: This story and all of the characters are copyrighted. All rights reserved. :)