Well, folks, we're here. The end of the line for this story. Thanks for staying so long. The author knows that there were times when some of you cried, and some of you laughed, and some of you got angry (Remember the poll: should davey have an affair?"). Thanks for participating, thanks for your emails, and thanks for keeping nifty afloat. And if you haven't , well, this is chapter 53. Think you can cough up 50 cents a chapter? Think about it. Now, as John Barth once wrote "ON WITH THE STORY"
Richard picked up his cell phone. He could tell it was davey from the number, but was there a certain urgency in the ring? "Davey. Nice to hear your voice. "
"RICHARD. RICHARD. THE SURROGATE IS IN LABOR. WE GOTTA GO . I'M COMING HOME RIGHT NOW. WHAT DO I DO ? RICHARD WHAT DO I DO?'
"Well, get in your car, and get home. Get off the phone, you're nervous enough. I haven't left for the restaurant yet, and I won't. I'll put some things together, and we'll go. As soon as you get here. Sam will drive, dear.
'THANK YOU SIR THANK YOU. OH SHIT, I'M GONNA BE A FATHER."
Richard got off the phone, looked at Carla and smiled. "You knew, didn't you?" She just smiled back. "I could hear his voice. I made something for when this happened. Hang on." Carla reached into a side drawer of a kitchen cabinet and pulled out two glassine envelopes, one somewhat larger than the other. "The big one is for Davey, the smaller one is for you." She smiled. "Put them in bottles of water. Make him drink as soon as he gets in the car, you drink yours as you need it. "You made a special calming potion, Carla?" "It's Valium" Richard laughed and Carla smiled. "We witches know when modern medicine has us licked. Maybe he'll sleep. It'll be better if he does.
"Thank you Carla. This is so appreciated." "It's going to be fine Richard. Just fine." He heard a door slam. How fast HAD davey driven. "ARE YOU GUYS READY? COME ON. COME ON. " Richard turned to Carla. He didn't have to speak "I'll let everyone know Richard. Don't worry. It'll be fine. I'll make sure there's something to warm up when you get home. "
"RICHARD! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHARD!" "Ok, ok. Geez, you'd think he were a top." He turned to Sam. "you ready? You're going to have two loony fags in the backseat." "Wouldn't be the first time, Sir." Carla covered her hand as she laughed.
'OH GOD. OH GOD. RICHARD, OH GEEZ. IT'S HAPPENING. IT'S HAPPENING" Richard got into the backseat, and Sam looked at davey "you're not fit to drive. Get in the back with your husband." Davey calmed down a little, and when they were in the backseat, Richard grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Davey, women have been doing this for thousands of years. They know what they're doing. Hell, look at us." "I know Sir, I know. It's just...." "You're dehydrated, darling. Here. Take some water." He handed davey the bottle. Carla had flavored it so that the valium was not noticeable. Davey, who never even wanted to take an aspirin, calmed down, and fell asleep with his head on Richard's shoulder. "Sleep handsome. Sleep. You get all you can now, because it's gonna be hard to do that soon."
"You ok back there, Sir? " Sam asked. Richard chuckled. "Well, as well as I can Sam. I'm about to be a stepfather. I'm not sure about that." "You're gonna be great Sir. And I will never think of you as a stepfather. A co-father maybe, but not a stepdad. EVER." Richard found himself tearing up at that. He took a small sip of the water, and relaxed back into the seat. When he was stressed, davey snored. He was cutting wood for a while. He woke up about ten minutes from the birthing clinic.
"Are we there? Are we there?" "You sound like a child davey. Just about. " Richard squeezed his hand again, and when davey reached for his phone, Richard took it. "Nope. No phones until there's a photo opp. " Sam started pulling into the parking lot. 'DAVEY. WAIT UNTIL HE STOPS BEFORE YOU JUMP OUT. " "Sorry Sir, sorry. I'm just... " "I know love, I know. Try to keep calm. Sam, will you come in with us?" "Sir, Carla already told me if I didn't, I was in deep trouble. Let's go." Sam could move pretty fast, and Richard had a wide step. Neither one could keep up with davey, who was blathering at the receptionist so fast, she couldn't make out the words. Richard put his hand on Davey's shoulder. "Excuse me Ma'am. Davey's a first time father, and we got a call that our surrogate is in labor. Davey Cannon." Now that she was talking to someone sane, the receptionist looked the file up, and smiled. "She's in recovery. The birthing nurse will be out in a minute."
Davey began to cry. "Recovery? That means.. That means..." "Yes , Mr. Cannon, it means you're a father." A tall, attractive woman who had seen a few things came out, in scrubs. "I'm Tammy, your surrogate's birth nurse. The babies have been washed and swaddled. If you'll come with me." Davey gulped and stood up. "Wait. " He pointed to Richard. "Can he come too? He's my husband" Tammy smiled. "Yes, I know, and yes, he can. So can your friend if you like. There's room. Just mask up please. And put on these smocks.
The three men "scrubbed in," and went into the viewing room. "OH. OH. LOOK AT THEM RICHARD. LOOK AT THEM SAM. THEY'RE, THEY'RE, WELL. OH..." And davey fainted into Richard's arms. "Happens a lot with first timers," Tammy announced. Give him 90 seconds. Oh, yeah, twins. Give him two minutes." That's about what it took. "Oh, they're just so gorgeous. Can I? Can we?" Tammy shook her head yes. "Just give me a minute.
She came back with two little rolls, wrapped up in pink cotton, sleeping. One seemed to have a golden, flaxen kind of hair, and one was dark, and curly, like davey. She put each infant in one of davey's arms. "Now, this is how you hold them, Mr. Cannon." She adjusted his arms until she was satisfied. She smiled. "THERE. Now, if there were ever an opportunity for a photo.." Richard smiled and stepped back. He snapped about thirty pictures at different angles. So did Sam. Davey smiled. "Your turn Pop." Richard looked at him. "HUH? ME?"' "Yeah, you," Tammy snapped back. "He's not doing this alone. " She put the babies in Richard's arms, and he felt a great sense of calm. Then davey got to work. He took his pictures.
"Ok guys, now one more set. Each of you with one in your arms. I'll take em" Tammy grabbed both phones. "I wish I could have you in each other's arms. That'll have to wait."
"Sam?" Ganged up on like that, Sam had no choice but to pose with his surrogate god daughters."
"So who's who, davey?" Tammy asked. Everyone could see his smile through the mask. This little one.." He held up the infant with blondish hair. "My mom had blond hair. This is Melissa." And of course, the one with curly hair, world, meet Juliette. Melissa and Juliette Cannon Harris, meet the world. " He began to cry.
Tammy went over to Richard. "This happens. All the time." She slipped him a card. "I consult. Let me know if you need me." She smiled. "And I'll call you when I want my free meal in your restaurant." Richard laughed. "I was actually going to send a catered lunch tomorrow." "All well and good. I still want my free meal." "Tammy, I love you," he whispered. "No, you love your husband. You respect me, and that's fine with me. Let's go finish the paperwork so you guys can get on the road. "
In about an hour, they were travelling back home. Richard and Sam lugged out the first 200 diapers and tossed them in the trunk . Cotton. Carla had insisted on it. She wasn't polluting the environment with disposables. Formula. Tons of formula. Literature. Extra swaddling. Davey sat down in the car. Sam insisted he buckle in, and he didn't take his eyes off the girls, the whole ride home.
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When they got home, it was as if the restaurant were having another soft opening. There was Travis and Cal. Mike and Paul. Gradisca . Jason and Sarah with their baby Kyle. Lawanda and Coach, and Tyler. "Hmmm. Wonder if Tammy has a daughter," Richard thought. Everyone they held dear, was there, as they brought in the family's newest members.
That's then the photo taking REALLY started. Davey with both girls. Davey with Melissa. Davey with Juliette. Same with Richard. And Carla. And Sam. And the girls next to each other, sleeping, on the baby blanket Gradisca had finished. The activity finally woke the girls, and the crying started.
"They're hungry boys. One second." Carla came out with two bottles. They girls got to work hungrily. And Carla laughed. "Ok, so we're going to have a diaper changing lesson. I'll tell you what. This first one: you're both tired. Gradisca and I will take care of it. Next one, you watch. Then you're on your own." She looked at Paul and Mike. "You're watching too. We're ALL in this together."
Richard hugged Davey. "Yes, yes we are. ALL of us. Together."
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And so folks, our story ends there, sort of. Let's telegraph forward a few months, and then five years. You're curious. You know you are.
The restaurant had its official opening three weeks later. Carol reviewed it the next day, writing things like "Pure Northern Italian. If you want the best Southern, visit Gradisca. If you want the best Northern, visit Serenissima." The publicity filled both restaurants for weeks.
Davey had his school job, and Carla and Richard started at the restaurant later: first Carla, and then Richard. So, there was a hand off of watching the girls: Carla took the early morning, then Richard, until davey came home, and then davey was the proud father. If anyone needed a break, Mike or Paul would come over. Gradisca was there, constantly. She had brought the girls two charms, to ward off "the evil eye." She had to be convinced that bracelets, rather than necklaces, were better at this time.
The girls began to develop personalities. Melissa was aggressive, demanding, and laughed loud. Juliette was much more quiet and introspective. "Is she..." davey asked Carla once. "I think so. Time will tell davey, time will tell."
Mike was having a great deal of trouble getting the foundation off the ground. He needed governmental help, but he ran into a wall whenever he tried to speak to their Congressman. "I know you wanted to do this on your own, Mike, but let's go and see him together. I think I know what to do." Richard called and said that "Mr. Harris, the owner of.... " giving his restaurants, present and future, and calling himself a local LGBT activist, and potential donor," got Congressman Burke's attention. When they had the meeting, and he and Mike ran into some skepticism and negativity, Richard sighed. "Congressman Burke, my mother always told me if you wanted something done right, do it yourself. I guess she was right. Now, I was prepared to leave few campaign donation checks from each member of my family, each for 2000. I think the sum was 20,0000. But I guess I'll use that to run my campaign." Mike saw Congressman Burke's eyes widen. "See, I've always wondered what it would be like to run for office. Let's see: older gay man, father and stepfather, successful businessman, interviewed by the paper before, name recongnition. Got a few things checked off." He put his hand on Mike's shoulder.
"Let's go son. We need to go and check that space for the campaign office." Congressman Burke reddened. "Uh, wait Mr. Harris, wait. I think we may be able to accommodate each other."
As Richard and Mike left, Mike turned to his father. "you know, davey said you're a great top, and now, I guess I saw it. " Richard howled. "I have news for you, son. That was easier than convincing davey to be my boyfriend, my fiance' and my husband." "I couldn't have done that. Thank you Dad." "No, you couldn't have done it NOW. You'll learn. I've got 20 years of experience on you. It'll happen."
A few weeks later, Mike gave his first interview, and the foundation was off and running.
Paul settled into his job with Calvin's company, and loved it. In addition to learning more about demolition, he began to apprentice to Carl for repairing things. It turned out that Paul had an affinity for electrical work. And he began to look at programs to get an electrician's license.
And so it was with our little family after a few months. Let's peek in after another five years.
With the restaurant a big hit, Carla began to pull back. She designed recipes, developed the menus, and cooked one night in three. Philip had taken over most of the executive chef work, with the agreement that once a week, he would get to serve a French menu. When she was home, Carla watched over the little girls. And indeed, it began to seem that Juliette "had the gift," as they say in wicca circles. Carla just let her explore: she was too young to "train" in any way yet, and Carla needed to see where her powers were. That would come with time.
Melissa? Oh, what a handful! The family still spoke about the 3rd year birthday party. Sarah had given her a little ballerina costume. Melissa looked at it and screamed. 'I WANTED A KARATE SUIT." Yes, she was learning karate. She startled Carla at least once a day with one of her "HA YAHs" which carried across the house. Richard couldn't remember when he first knew he was gay, but he had a feeling: there was a baby dyke in the house.
When Sam saw that Paul was studying electronics, he decided to go back to school himself. Now, after both he and Paul had finished, and had gotten licensed, they had started their own company. They did all the electrical work for Serenissima, and Gradisca, free of charge, and the business was picking up. Paul went out on jobs most of the time, but Sam was always available for the emergency weekend jobs that came up .
Gradisca? Well, what could one say of Gradisca? No one knew how old she was, and she never seemed to change. When she learned about Carla's white magic, she came by and began to show her what she had learned in Italy. The two of them devloped a friendship and you could find them, on the porch, crocheting, speaking in Italian. Gradisca always wanted a daughter again, and it seemed that she had one.
Jason and Sarah's son Kyle kept his carrot top hair, and became the "boy to date" at school, much to their delight and embarrassment. One Valentine's Day , when Jason opened Kyle's backpack, he found 32 cards.
He sighed. "Time for the talk," and he prepped himself.
Travis and Cal settled into married bliss. Part of their marriage "contract," as Travis put it, was a "play day," one day a week. They used it. Instead of being called "that slut," Travis' nickname became "That MARRIED slut." He loved it. Cal put on a bright face, and said that he was always delighted with what Travis learned on his "day off."
Sadly, Chet and Roger had to leave town. Roger did not get tenure, and they took a job in the Northwest. They try to chat via skype or zoom with davey once a week.
Mike's foundation took off. After the interview, and a profile in the Sunday paper, he was deluged with phone calls, emails, letters, and soon, he was running a staff of six volunteers. It seemed that while he had some idea of the problem in POLAND, the problem was all over Eastern Europe. Mike's language skills only went so far, and soon, he had volunteers doing translation in all of the Cyrillic languages.
And of davey and Richard? Well, the best for last. First, as Coach Jackson began to withdraw as he got closer to retirement, davey was offered the head coach position. He thought about it, and declined. It wouldn't give him enough time to "run with the kids," as he put it. BUT... he became the school's first LGBT liaison, and spent 2-3 hours a day, talking to kids, or researching internships, and other options for them. Richard loved the new restaurant. Whether it was Philip or Carla who was cooking, he was there. He was there when Tammy came in the first time, with her daughter. Coincidentally, it was a day that Tyler was visiting, and came over to help. Need we say more?
And then, after that fifth birthday, Richard came home one day and said to davey "summer vacation is three weeks away, start packing. Venice here we come." They had the honeymoon they never had. And on the next to last day of their trip, as they walked across Palazzo San Marco, holding hands, Richard stopped, and stared into davey's eyes. "If you had to do it again, would you, davey?" "I'd do it faster. I made you wait too long." Richard smiled and got down on his knee. He held out a box with a ruby ring in it. "Marry me again, davey. A big one. With all the trimmings." Davey began to cry, and used the expression he used a lot: "You thought you had to ask? " In a fit of inspiration, their wedding was on Halloween.
And so there we are folks. No, no sex in this one, sorry for those of you who miss it. And we're going to let our family go off to their lives now. Of course, any of you who wish to take a story line and run with it, please feel free. Thank you for sticking with us this long. Stay safe everyone. Be happy. Love too much.