The Start of Something Great
Part 3
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Our holidays were really special this year. Cal and I had the four boys for all of the two weeks of school vacation and with the indoor riding rink and the enclosed pool we always had something to do. Not that there weren't other things to do. We often skated on the pond, along with my brothers and their respective others, and Ray and Joe, and the ladies from next door. One Friday night we had a boys night out and we took all the guys to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield for an exhibition game and the boys all got to meet some well known players from the past, and a few from the present too.
It was a good night and it was fun too. The younger boys were in awe of the place and the older ones had a ball showing their nephews around. The next week we took the younger ones to the big museum at the quadrangle and treated them to lunch out at the food court at the mall in Holyoke. We then went home and they exercised their ponies, and themselves, in the riding pavilion.
The Thursday before the start of school Cal received a call from his favorite professor at the university. He asked if we were still interested in having Jay and Marco tested and Cal told him we certainly were. Dr. Harris asked him to have the boys at his office at 9AM on Friday and he and his assistant would administer the tests during the morning and early afternoon. They would evaluate the test results and have their recommendations for us at the end of the afternoon.
We told the boys about the tests, that these were probably not much different than the ones they had taken before, and we really wanted them to placed properly in their classes. I asked them how they felt about all this testing and they both told me that it was really challenging and they liked it. They said that at their old school they even helped tutor students in their own and higher classes. I told them that after their evaluations I would not tell them what to do, they'd have to tell me what they wanted to do. Cal spoke up and told them both we just wanted them to be happy, and to learn something during their school hours, but if they were not happy they would probably not learn as much as they were capable of learning. They both hugged us and told us they would do as good as they could, they wanted us to be proud of them.
Cal took them in the morning, I stayed with Jake and Sam for their riding lesson and swimming after lunch. At 2PM Joe took over watching the younger boys and Cal and I went to pick up Jay and Marco. The boys had had lunch with their testers and were ready to be picked up. The boys were having a heavy conversation with Dr. Harris's assistant when we arrived and Dr. Harris took us into his office and told us that so far the test results told him that the boys were both equally intelligent and most likely placed in the wrong class. He would fill us in on his conclusions from all the tests a little later. He asked if we had the pool covered and heated, if so he'd be glad to come out to our place about 4 or 4:30 that afternoon. Both Cal and I chuckled and I told him he'd be welcome. Cal told him to bring along his son if he wanted, we had boys at home from 5 and 6 up to the twins at 11 years of age. Dr. Harris chuckled and said he and his 8 year old, Paul, would be over.
We took Jay and Marco home and within the hour they had filled us in on the testing they had undergone. Cal was much more familiar with these than I was, so I really tried to keep up with the three of them. Jake and Sam both wanted to know how their brothers had done on their tests and Jay told them that they thought they did well, but that Dr. Harris was going to come and tell them how they did later that afternoon.
When the drive alarm went off about 4 the little ones ran to the door to see who was there. I was right behind them as hey opened the door and there was an adult stranger with a boy about their size standing on the other side. I greeted Dr. Harris and introduced my sons to him and he introduced his son Paul, who was just about to turn 8. Our boys shook the Harris's hands and then took Paul in and helped him out of his winter coat and hang it on a hook inside the hall closet while I hung up his father's overcoat on a hanger in the closet. Our guests got a tour of the first floor and then we invited them out to our pool house so they could change into their swim suits and we waited for them before taking them to the heated pool enclosure, attached to the pool house. Our other guys were there, either swimming or lounging or playing cards at one of the patio tables, as Ray and Joe were doing at the time.
Introductions were made all around and then our guests entered the warm water. Between the solar panels and the heated water it was really comfortable in the enclosure. Cal and I loved to float on the warm water and watch it snow outside.
Dr. Harris soon became Hal and he interacted with all the guys, looking at both Ray and Joe several times.(they told us later they had caught him checking Cak and I out a few times too.) We found out a bit more about Hal and Paul, more than the average student learned about their professors. He and his wife had met in high school and were friends all through college and married after they graduated. They went on to grad school and the winter after they had received their doctorates, Paul was born. By the new year she had confessed to Hal that she was seeing one of her students and she wanted a divorce. She didn't fight him for custody of Paul and she refused alimony. Hal later found out that the student she was having an affair with was a woman. Hal told us that was very opportune, because he didn't feel he had loved her either, he had been finding himself more and more attracted to men!
He told us he had a boyfriend who taught American Lit at Amherst College and that his boyfriend thought his favorite author was familiar with our area as many places mentioned in his books were from right here in Western Mass. We were at that time all sitting around the shallow end of the pool, on the lip of the pool as we all kept our eyes on the little ones in the pool. Jake, who had been showing Paul how well he could swim, looked up at me and asked if I was going to "owtagraf" again. I had been contemplating telling Hal just who I was when Cal nudged me and told me that we weren't hiding any more, and that more and more people were finding out about me, weather they knew where I lived or not, and he didn't think Hal was one to blab it all over the place. Everyone else was chuckling and Hal was wondering just what was so funny about what he had said. Cal and I nodded at each other and Cal turned to Hal and said, "Hal, I'd like to introduce you to my husband, Scott Roberts, or maybe you and your friend know him already as Robert Scott, autographs will b available when we all dry off". I reached over and shook Hal's hand as he sat there open mouthed. By then we were all chuckling and we told him that Cal and I and the boys were sometimes all away for a weekend at meet and greets and were often all on TV interviews together. Hal was just blown away and said he couldn't wait to tell his friend, if that was OK with us. We told him it was, we just didn't want the general public to know exactly where we lived.
At about 5 Joe checked on the roast he had cooking and told us we had about an hour before dinner. We asked if Hal and Paul could join us and Hal said they were expected to pick up Bob, his friend, for dinner about that time, and we convinced him to go pick him up and bring him here, but he couldn't tell Bob about Scott until he got here. He agreed, and then Cal and I took Hal in the pool house and we had our meeting about the twins.
As Hal had hinted that afternoon, both boys were very intelligent and they were very evenly matched. Although he thought they should be in college courses, he also thought they should experience a senior year in high school. For that reason he thought they should finish off their current year of high school, maybe adding or substituting some of their classes for college prep ones . Then next year do their senior year in high school and take the accelerated program, mostly college level classes. Then they would enter college as sophomores. He would co-ordinate their class schedule with the high school guidance councilor. We thanked him, and his team, for all their efforts and we agreed to tell the boys about our discussion, because as I told Hal, we were not going to push them into anything, it would have to be their choice. After our little confab Hal left to pick up his friend Bob. He left Paul here with us, as Paul was having so much fun with Sam and Jake it would have been a shame to disrupt them for a 15 minute car ride. When Hal returned the 3 boys were waiting at the front door, the driveway alarm had sounded and they knew who was expected.
Bob was a nice looking, late 20's guy. He and Hal whispered to each other as they walked up the walk from the parking pad. They looked good together, and little Paul and Bob seemed to get along together very well. When t he couple were divested of their winter coats Hal performed the introductions, starting with the boys with his son. He then introduced Cal," probably his brightest student, and Cal's husband, Scott Roberts, also known as Robert Scott". This last part was said as Bob and I were shaking hands. I felt his grip tighten slightly and then go slack, as his knees started to give way. I thought he was going down in a heap, but Hal and Cal (totally unintended) had gripped his upper arm and prevented his going down(totally intended).
Bob regained his composure right away and apologized profusely. I told him not to worry about that, it was nice to know I could still make someone other than my husband weak in the knees. I'm very glad that brought a chuckle from all the men.
After that we took Hal and Bob on a short tour of the house and let him peek out at the pool where his guys had spent a portion of their afternoon. We all sat and ate the great roast Joe had prepared and as was his custom Ray joined us all for dinner. It was a great meal and everyone got along great. We sat around for about a half hour after, enjoying a cup of coffee after desert. The youngsters had all taken off for the TV in the family room. The subject of Jay and Marco came up and we asked those two to come sit with us for a minute or two. They bounded over to us and listened as Cal and I told them about their test results and how we wanted to deal with this information, and why. They considered our proposals and they agreed that they really did want to do a senior year in high school and if they could earn college credit while doing so, so much the better, they were not in any hurry, they were having the time of their lives living here with us. Both Cal and I assured them that even when the went to college they would be living with us, at least until they were old enough to live in the dorms, if they wanted to.
After our talk I went to my office and grabbed a copy of my latest book and signed it for Bob. While there I saw a fax had come in and I quickly scanned it. The last movie made from one of my books had been nominated for a SAG award(screen actors guild) for best picture made from a published book. The fax was from my agent(Jean) telling me he was authorized to tell me that Bryan(my publisher) was going to spring for a 4 day trip to the awards for my spouse and myself and our children. The awards were to be presented near the end of January and some how we had missed the nominations announcement which had occurred as we were celebrating the adoption of Marco and Jay, I guess you know where our priorities lay.
I took the fax and the book down and presented Bob the book and the fax to Cal. Cal scanned the fax and jumped up and grabbed me in a big hug. Everyone saw this, the boys in the family room and Hal and Bob who had been reading the inscription I had penned in his new book. Our boys jumped up and ran to us, asking what was going on and Cal handed Jay and Marco the fax and I tried to tell Sam and Jake just what had us so pleased. I told them we were going on a family trip late in January to Hollywood, where one of Daddy's movies might get an award, maybe. I think they understood what was saying, but those two had been on trips with us before, so it really wasn't anything new for them, but the twins were beyond happy, I think for me, and for them getting to go to Hollywood for an award show. Hal and Bob congratulated me and wished us luck. I told them that win or loose, it would be a great trip for the family.
I made a call to Jean the moment after our guests had departed, about an hour later. We had had a really nice time visiting with them and I think Bob's little bout of hero worshiping was over and hopefully he just saw me as a good neighbor, so to speak. Jean asked why he hadn't heard from us after the nomination and we (speaker phone) told him of our additions to the family and our being busy with life, not being glued to the TV. He laughed and said he would probably go with us on Bryan's plane to the ceremony, as he and Bryan had already discussed this possibility. We were to fly on his corporate jet and he said that as far as he knew only their personal assistants were going with them, and now there would be the eight of them going, not the six they had originally thought of. He suggested I let Bryan know of the increase in our family numbers, if for no other reason, so extra meals on the plane could be assured. I told him I'd make sure to do that in the morning. He then said he'd have some interviews set up out in California for us, but did I want to do any before we left for the other coast? He explained that he always had requests, but I had asked not to be booked for anything during the holidays. I told him Cal and I would check our calendars and get back to him very soon. I also told him that having a family to watch over hadn't seemed to diminish the creative juices, and I had another almost finished manuscript to submit to Btyan very shortly. Jean laughed and begged me to get it in real soon, as he could get a real bidding war going on before the awards show, for the movie rights. Cal laughed and told Jean that he'd make sure I had it submitted before the coming weekend was over, because after that I'd be in writer mode since school would be back in session for every one else in the family.
The next morning I called Bryan and told him of the new additions to our family, and to tell him I had a new book to send him. He congratulated me on our additions and told me he couldn't wait to meet them. I told him he'd have to wait until our trip, since we just didn't have time until then to get away. He told me we'd fly out on the Thursday before the awards night, his jet would pick up me and my family at our local airport, I'd probably have some interviews that late afternoon or evening, Friday could be our Family day, Saturday would be the awards day, from late afternoon on,(he'd add two more seats to our table at the awards)and Sunday, in the early afternoon, we'd fly home. He said they'd drop us off at our local air port on the their way back to New York City. I thanked him for doing this for us and he told me it was he that should be thanking me for coming to him with my first manuscript. We left it at that and I sent the newest manuscript to him and Jean both.
The boys and Cal and I went skating on the pond after breakfast and Joe joined us. Joe had packed a thermos or two of hot chocolate and we had a great time out on the ice. That was New Years Eve day. We spent most of the afternoon riding our horses and ponies in the riding rink and the evening meal was festive as we had Frank and Sally and Gladys with us. Ray and Joe had other plans for the night, so it was just family for our little celebration. During dinner Jake told his older relatives daddy was getting rewarded at the end of a long plane ride, and Cal and I filled them in on the award nomination and our 4 day trip to LA LA Land. They were very pleased and we ended up playing games with the boys most of the evening. The older folks refused our offer to spend the nigh and Frank escorted the aunts home before midnight. We gathered the boys together in the family room and we all watched the new year in on the TV in there, well the twins and Cal did, the rest of us had nodded off until just before the ball dropped in Times Square and Cal gently woke us up to see that and then we all cleaned up and went to bed, where the twins had their own version of a ball drop, and Cal and I had ours in our own room.
The next few weeks were interesting to say the least. The first day back at school saw me dropping Sam and Jake off at their pre school. They were so eager to see their friends and to compare their holidays with theirs. I took Jay and Mario to the local high school where they were expected. The guidance councilor greeted us warmly and shared that she had received a call and some faxes from Dr. Harris at the university and she agreed with his(and our)proposals. The twins would finish out their sophomore year with a few accelerated classes thrown in. The next school year they would be incoming seniors with a full load of accelerated classes, which earned them college credit. She shook hands with both of them, telling them she had never had one sophomore student already accepted to the university, let alone two.
I was a little lost that first day the boys were back at school. I kept thinking I should be doing something, I suppose I could have started on the new book I had in mind, but I really wanted to know how the boys were all doing. During lunch Ray and Joe told me that they were going to start taking the foster parent classes as they wanted to be ready when they both graduated at the end of this new semester. They told me Harry and Dean had also applied, but they had another year of classes to go before they would graduate from the university and grad school after that. They were going to wait for their chance until after they had their masters degrees and jobs in hand.
We waited for about an hour and then we hit the gym. We had only used the equipment in the pool house sporadically in the past month, but playing with the boys and horseback riding and swimming had kept us from getting out of shape. We swam for a while after, and then I rinsed off and dressed warmly and went to pick up my buddies.
Sam and Jake were full of tales about their friends holidays, and they told me they had given their teacher my note about them being excused the last week of the month. Jake told me she had asked where they were going this time and Jake said he told her he had to go to Hollywood to be on TV again. I was going to say something, but what the heck, he was going, and he'd more than likely be on TV again, so I let it go.
We swung over to the high school and we spotted the twins right away. They were with a group of guys wearing Letterman coats and I was afraid there was going to be a confrontation, until I saw all the guys dapping their fists as the twins prepared to grab their backpacks and come over to the car. They were full of their day and couldn't wait to unload. The guys were the swim team and during gym class the coach had taken the class to the pool and after seeing them swim in a few races had asked them to join the team. They had out swam most of the current team members and totally impressed not only the coach, but the whole team. I asked if they had received a team practice schedule and a swim meet schedule and they replied they had and they'd give me a copy when we got home. I told them that was great, but I didn't want them overextending themselves so we'd see how things went as we went along. I reminded them we would be gone the last week of the month and they said they had already told the coach that.
We drove over to the big mall in Holyoke and we suit shopped for all 4 boys. Cal and I were each taking two, our wedding suits and another each. We wanted the boys dressed up nice for the awards night and that meant nice suits. They seemed to all be on the same wavelength and they wanted black suits and white shirts and they wanted the same colored tie. I told them they'd look like the FBI or a singing group and they replied that they wanted to look like brothers. I kept my mouth shut and helped them find what they wanted. The suits were going to be ready at the end of the week, each needed minor alterations, so we took the ties and shirts and went to find dress shoes, black of course, and socks , black with a little bit of the color of their ties. As we were leaving I spotted a display of sunglasses and we each got a pair and one for Cal, after all we were going to sunny California. I was so tempted to grab a handful of hats and then the boys could be the Blues Brothers, but I resisted.
For the next two weeks we all knuckled down and tried to get as ahead in our studies and work as we could so that missing a week at the end of the month wouldn't affect us detrimentally. The twins seemed to fit right in with their teammates. They found out about the twin's age and about their accelerated classes and they spent some of their practice time tutoring some of the guys on their team. The coach loved it. The team was gelling and the twins were the reason, and if everything worked out he'd have the twins for another year to coach.
Cal was doing great and he would be practice teaching after we returned from our trip. He was going to pursue his masters degree and had already started some of the process and hopefully be completed with the requirements at the ed of the summer. He took the boys to pick up their altered suits and he picked us up matching ties for us when he did. While he did that I was doing a couple of Skype interviews prior to the awards. A studio rep contacted me and asked if there was anything our family really wanted to do while out there, they wanted to do something for us. I explained we had a 5 year old, a 6 year old, and two 11 year olds. I thought Disney was in our future. She laughed and told me it certainly would. She assured me she could arrange for an afternoon there with guides and VIP passes that would get us on or in many of the attractions without having to wait in lines. The guides would enable us to split up the two different age groups and they could help with that, getting us around the park, and helping us with shopping and eating. She said they'd make it as comfortable for us as they could. My wife and I would have as much fun as the boys would. I thanked her and told her we were two dads, no wife. She told me she hadn't known and I told her that was OK, we had come out on national TV with our first son last Fall. She congratulated us and then said she'd set everything up for the Friday afternoon before the awards day, Saturday. We had agreed that we would take the boys out of school for a few days for this trip. We took them to school the Wednesday before the trip, but picked them up just after their lunch periods. The Monday and Tuesday after the trip we had excused them so that any jet lag would be gone, and hopefully they would be much calmer by then.
We used the internet to show them what previous award nights were like at the SAG awards. We felt that if they knew in advance what to expect they would be more relaxed and comfortable with everything going on around them, we even showed them screen shots of some of the celebrities that would be there that night. Joe told us much later that Jay and Marco had come to him just before we left and told him they had believed him when he had told them about my celebrity as a famous author, but this trip was beyond anything they had expected. Joe told then that we loved them, everyone here loved them and all they had to do was take their cue from us and everything would be fine. They were our sons and we'd never put them in danger, but if they were at all uncomfortable they only had to tell one or both of us and we'd take care of the situation. Joe told them that in a few years Jake and Sam might not even remember this trip, but for the twins it was the chance of a lifetime, so they should enjoy themselves and try to stick close to their dads, they had never done a trip like this before either and they might need their help too.
We met the private jet at our local airport on Thursday morning, early. It was about 7AM when we took off for Los Angeles with Jean and Bryan. Each man had brought an assistant so our group still outnumbered them. We had a great flight. The boys went from one side to the other to look out windows and when that got old the plane's DVD player came into use. They could watch some of their favorite discs and even play some video games. We adults used the small conference room and we discussed a lot of the business generated by my books and the new one about to go to print, for publication around Easter. Jean told us that the current offer for the movie rights stood at 4.2 million and after getting a nod from Cal I told him to accept it, as long as all the other parts of this contract matched the previous one, meaning a percentage of the profits, and the film follows the book as closely as possible. By this time one of Jake's friends, the flight attendants, came to the room and asked us to come out for a few moments, we had to see this.
Out in the main compartment the boys were all snuggled in to each other on the cabin's floor, all in front of the big monitor, with their disc still running, but the boys had all fallen asleep. Everyone had their cell phones out and were snapping away. After a few minutes we carefully moved them into reclined seats, secured in with seat belts and much safer should we experience turbulence. They slept for a good hour and we then had breakfast served to us in our seats. We were by then two hours into our almost 6 and a half hour flight. After breakfast we took the boys into the conference room and let the adults left in the main cabin take a short snooze. There was a video set up in the room, but the boys, instead, insisted Cal and I take turns reading to them. Even Jay and Marco. They all seemed to like that and Jay had said that he couldn't remember their birth parents ever reading to them.
We were about half way through the Hardy Boys set and looking for another to start on. After an hour or so we took a break and we were served beverages by the flight attendants The boys elected to play a video game or two and we all relaxed for a while.
About noon time(our time) we were all served a small luncheon in the main cabin. About an hour later we were asked to prepare for landing.
We were met a the airport be a stretch limo and the boys went crazy over that. Their little chests puffed out and they strutted like peacocks behind the liveried driver who held the door open for them as they entered the vehicle. I thought we three adults would be relegated to the jump seats, but apparently the novelty of riding backwards appealed to them and we got the sofa sized plush back seat. After the porter had loaded our luggage our driver proceeded to take us to our hotel, right down the street from the Shrine Auditorium, the venue for the SAG awards on Saturday. The driver, Fred, had told us the studio was picking up the tab for him to be at our disposal for the length of our stay and he had given all us adults a card with his phone numbers on it and he told us to call anytime we needed him. He would be taking my family to Disney the next day and driving us back to the hotel and also he would be picking us up for the drive down the street on Saturday. He explained that many of the studios had a schedule, where they had certain people associated with a production nominated, arrive in a stream so everyone in a studio's group was received on the red carpet one after another and the names of all in the limo were released to the waiting press. Apparently we were to be in one of the first groups dropped off, meaning we were to be sitting close to the stage, and also some of the first to be interviewed on the red carpet. He asked if we were going out that afternoon as a group and I told him that no, my interviews that afternoon were scheduled to take place in the hotel. He dropped us off and a bellhop came out to gather all our luggage. Fred told us to just call his cell if we needed him and we all assured him we would. I saw Cal slip him a hundred as he shook his hand and Cal kissed my cheek, thanking me for remembering to put some bills in his pockets to be able to do just that. I had asked him to do the tipping only because this way those that served us in any way were likely to get tipped, especially if I had been recognized and got pulled into a conversation by a fan.
Jean and Bryan got us all squared away at the front desk and we were all taken to the top floor in a glass elevator based in the atrium lobby. Bryan and Jean were sharing a small suite on one side of the hall and Cal and I and the boys were shown into a huge penthouse suite with three bedrooms and four baths. The sliders to the balcony patios all had key locks on them and the keys were on hooks quite high up on the door frames. This suite was childproofed, what a relief as we noted we were about 30 stories up.
My first interview was scheduled for 3:30 so I had time to shower and freshen up. I put on one of my meet and greet suits and asked if anyone wanted to watch Daddy get interviewed for the cable news network. Jay and Marco did so Cal decided to take Sam and Jake to the shopping arcade and see what they could find for souvenirs. Jay and Marco went to their bathroom and freshened up and I went to their suitcases and got them both fresh polos to change into. I took one of the key cards and told everyone I was going to get Jean from across the hall. I gave Cal a smooch and told the twins I'd meet them in the hall. When Jean and I turned from his door the twins were standing there, anxiety plastered all over their faces, they each grabbed a hand and we walked to the elevator behind Jean. The boys grips got tighter as the doors to the elevator opened and you could see right through the glass walls to the other side. I asked if they were afraid of heights and I felt their grips tighten more. I turned them to face the doors of the elevator and told them to close their eyes. They seemed to relax some and I was left to wonder how they had been able to fly in the plane and not seem at all affected, and then I realized we were in a big plane, not a small elevator, and hey could move around the plane and they had only looked out the windows when we were close enough to the ground to actually see it.
Jean used his cell and confirmed where we were to go. We went to a meeting room off the main lobby and there we found the crew from the network, putting the finishes on the small set they had created, with two arm chairs facing each other on am oriental rug and a small table between the two chairs. There were more ordinary chairs along a side wall, out of camera range and there Jean and the boys sat. I was lightly powdered and directed to one of the chairs and fitted with a mike on the lapel of my suit jacket. The woman conducting the interview entered from an adjoining room, all made up to the nines and a smile plastered on her face. I stood and she introduced herself and I responded and we took our seats. I had seen several of her interviews over the years and was not a big fan. She could be very abrupt and downright rude to interviewees at times. She often talked over people and I thought that very obnoxious. With a cue from her director she started the interview with introducing me as Scott Robert, the infamous gay writer who was trying to change the country's view on homosexuality. I tried to get a word in, but she kept talking over me. The crew person behind her, out of sight from the cameras, motioned for me to let her go on.
Then I was paying more attention to her as she asked why I was here at the wonderful SAG awards that certainly represented a wholesome view of a more normal lifestyle than I certainly had, what with my queer friend telling everyone we were married and us filling our secluded house with young boys, and how much did we pay for the boys and just what did we do to them in our isolated cabin in the hills. This was all done with a smile plastered on her face . I took a sobering breath and noticed that Jean and the twins were almost out of their seats, daggers shooting out of their eyes towards her.
I held my hand up to stop them and turned to her, saying," My marriage to Cal is perfectly legal in all states in this country and is based on love, love for each other, a sentiment it was obvious she was a stranger to. The boys we have adopted came to us from dire circumstances and with the blessings of the state Department of Children's services and the family courts of our state's judicial system. It is quite obvious you have no idea of what I write and why I'm to be present at the awards ceremony, to which my entire family was invited, but let me tell you why. My books seek to inform people of the torment and abuse gay youngsters are subjected to by evil, narrow minded, bigoted people like you. The movies portray these issues very well in a sensitive and caring manor, unlike how I've been treated here today by you, you just might end up being the villein in my next book, that is if I can make people believe there really is such a bigoted excuse for a human being in real life."
I was grasping for the lapel mike as she sat there sputtering, her makeup caked in the corners of her mouth and he face now looking like it had been drawn on leather with clown makeup on a trowel. As I stood from my chair the crew started clapping and I realized two things. One was that all the lights had been turned on her, which over lighted her, giving her the demented clown appearance, and Two, that it was her crew that was giving me the standing ovation. My boys came running to me and wrapped their arms around my waist, fighting back tears as they said they were so proud of me. Jean was on his phone demanding that the bitch be fired or she and the network would be facing the biggest defamation lawsuit they had ever seen, and he had it all recorded for a jury to view. As he was saying this he was waving around a disc one of the crew had handed him. He told the network boss that he could expect to see the interview played during the SAG awards broadcast the next night, live and nationwide. We got out of there, the director for the crew tanking us and telling Jean he'd see him for dinner later.
As we went down our hall Jean told me he had dated the director when he lived out here years ago and recently they had reconnected and were planning to live together in New York. The crew had been trying to get the network to drop the bitch for eons now and now they had on disc what a screwed up mess she really was. The disc they had given Jean was their backup disc and also they had sort of set her up for this by letting her drink before the interview and riling her up a bit. They hadn't said anything to me, but Jean assured me that had I not handled the situation as well as I had they would have either destroyed the discs or claimed the recordings hadn't come out good enough to use by anybody. I have to admit that I was a bit peeved, but something like this was bound to happen some day, I'm just surprised she had tried something while some of our children were in the room, right there. She was not only a bigot, but she was a looney tune also.
Jean went into his shared suite and got Bryan and they joined the twins and I in our suite. They were each on their cells as soon as we walked in and I took the boys over to a sofa and I had one on each side as we sat and snuggled into each other. We talked about what had happened and I answered all their questions as best I could. They asked me how I had the nerve to stand up to her, and I told them that I knew Cal and I were not bad people, that we loved each other and no one else(the love, love, not the kind of love for a family member). I told the boys that my stories were based on all kinds of abuse and cruelty performed on boys and young men, even girls and women, that are different from others, or are just perceived to be different and that there is always a way to overcome this abuse, neglect, cruelty, either on your own or with the help of trained professionals. The trick is to be smarter in your subject, whether it is history, math, the way some churches perceive homosexuality, or the bias against the mentally disabled or the people who are slow, or black, or yellow. It doesn't matter, we're all human, some say God made us, that should be enough to be accepted by everybody, every where. I told them they were two smart cookies, two of the smartest people I know and I respect their intelligence and I love them as my sons, and I always will. Their sniffling stopped and they now had very pleased looks on their faces. Doing this had calmed not only them down, but I was much more collected myself.
Now I really tuned in to both Jean and Bryan's conversations. Bryan had the president of the network on the line and he was giving it to him with both barrels. Jean was on the phone with the director of SAG and was pleading with him for 5 minutes on their telecast. The host this year was a late night talk host and Jean said he wasn't waiting any longer, he was calling the host and giving him the exclusive, which he did. I heard him say," Yes, his husband and their 4 boys" and the rest was muffled. Bryan finished first and Jean was making another call. Bryan came over to me and said "She's toast, how does a million dollars sound to you". I told him I'd accept that, as long as we didn't have to give back the disc. He then turned to Jay and Marco and asked them what they were going to buy with their millions. I asked Bryan what he was doing and he told me she had disparaged everyone in our family and his deal was for a million for each one of us. I told him three million was a lot of money and he replied, "so isn't 6 million, she wronged everyone of your kids and your husband." Just then Cal returned to the suite with Jake and Sam. Bryan continued, pointing at each of us, saying as he did so,"so you get a million, and you get a million, and you get a million, and you get a million, and you get a million, and you get a million." I was stunned and Cal was looking at us as if we had grown horns on our heads. Bryan was laughing and told us that if we didn't sue the owner of the network was willing to compensate us to the tune of 6 million dollars. I told him that sounded alright and then I took the disc and told Cal to take it in our bedroom, and I'd come watch it with him. I did and you could see the outrage building in him as we sat side by side on the rooms sofa. When it was over He asked what happened after, and I told him about Bryan's call to the network owner and that's why he was doing an Oprah impersonation out there, we were all getting a million dollar settlement, no restrictions. I told him Jean was trying to get it played on the late night talk show, probably tonight. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight and I returned it, telling him I loved him, and he returned the sentiment. We held the hug, drawing strength from each other, and were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Jean, bouncing on the balls of his feet(I told you as you age everything sags) saying we had about an hour and a half to get ready, Fred was coming with the limo to take us to the taping for the late night talk show, he was personally going over to their studio now to drop off the disc and wait until they had a workable copy to show tonight. Cal couldn't believe he and I were going on that show as guests, and Jean said it wasn't just us, he wanted to talk to the boys as well, he was clearing the whole first half hour just for our family!
We urged the boys to hurry and take showers, we were going out and watch a TV show get made, they were to wear their new suits and we'd help them with their ties and shoes. They scrambled to do as asked as Bryan called for some sandwiches to be sent up and Cal and I took probably the most chaste shower together we ever had. Jean had left to drop off the disc and Bryan stayed to help us get ready. He grabbed a sandwich as he left to freshen himself up across the hall and by the time Fred called and told us he was downstairs waiting for us, we all had eaten something and everyone's shoes and ties were tied correctly and everyone had combed their hair. We all looked darn good, if I do say so myself.
Bryan met us in the hall and we all got wolf whistles from Fred as he ushered us into the limo. When we got to the studio where the show was taped Jean was there with a production assistant who ushered us to the make up department and as we were getting powdered the host came in and introduced himself to each of us. He spoke a little to each of us and then said he'd see us all in a little bit. I heard the twins saying they had seen him in commercials for his show and they asked if I knew him. I told them I thought they'd want to see a TV show being made and Jean arranged for us to see this one made, from the stage. The twins and Sam thought that was great and little Jake came up to me and asked if this was a sneaky way to do a meet and great and I told him I just didn't want his brothers getting nervous about being on TV, but he was and old pro and we were going out there and talk to the host for a while and then we'd probably get Fred to take us to a nice place for dinner. That was OK with Jake and I told him to take care of his brothers out there. He told me he would.
They decided to show the taped "interview" dome earlier with the cable news reporter. I didn't want the kids to see that, and frankly neither did Cal or I. We all walked out with the boys between us. They were surprised by all the applauding but Jake whispered to them to just wave at the people. We had a nice chat with the host and he touched on the topics of tolerance, my books, how long we had been married and when we started adopting. He asked each of the boys how they liked their new home with us and the twins answered as one, doing that twin speak and when he asked Jake, Jake proudly stated," I started it all, I was the first one to live with Dad and Daddy". He told the host," I been on TV before, in Chigo(Chicago), with Dad and Daddy, but that was a long time ago, before we had dopted Sam. Then for Christmas Dad and Daddy got us Jay and Mario for big brothers. My very own Judge helped them. Daddy said we were going to watch a show get made, can we go now? Do you want to go with us"? Our host said maybe next time, he had something to do later.
As we were preparing to leave the studio the host came up to Cal and I as we were getting cleaned up and thanked us for coming and he took the time to thank each of the boys too. He shook hands with each of them and told me he hoped to see me the next night at the awards show. He was very gracious and we felt great after. I had been handed a disc by a production assistant and it was labled as our family's interview. We were met backstage by Jean and he had already called Fred to bring the limo back to pick us all up. Jake said he was hungry, and his brothers echoed his statement. Cal agreed with them so when we met up with Fred I asked if he could find us somewhere to eat. He said he knew just the place and he took us to a family style Italian restaurant just a few blocks away. We had a great meal and the wait staff dotted on the boys, making a fuss over them when they learned they had just been on TV(well, not really, they had been at a TV show taping).
After our great meal Fred drove us to the hotel, as the boys were drooping by then and their long day was catching up with them, and us. Fred thanked us for asking him to join us and the great meal and we told him we'd see him late in the morning. We quickly got the boys up to their beds and then, after wishing Jean sweet dreams, Cal and I crashed ourselves.
The next morning, while we ate a room service breakfast in our suite we showed the boys their interview from last night. They had a great time laughing at themselves on TV. When we went down to meet Fred for our ride to Anaheim, where Disneyland is, he had a studio rep with him. She(Sarah) had been told to make things go smoothly and she would co-ordinate with the parks guides and make sure we were well taken care of.
As we approached the park you could see the towers from the castle and portions of the mono rail, and the tip of Space Mountain. The boys were getting excited and they were really excited when Fred dropped us all off and Sarah went to a booth and signed us all in. Two guides appeared and after introductions all around we were led to a VIP entrance gate and provided with plastic ID bracelets that identified us as VIP guests, and part of our group. We then started our magical afternoon. We took the mono rail just to get an overview of the park and to basically get oriented as to where we were and where we wanted to be. The guides were great and made sure we got to visit as many attractions as possible. With Sarah's help both Cal and I were enjoying ourselves too. She would often go on rides with the boys and she seemed to be enjoying herself also. We took frequent snack breaks and rests so no one was overly tired or stressed out. The two guides were a lot of fun and occasionally someone would approach to ask for autographs or to talk with us. The guides and Sarah were real good at buffering us from a lot of that, but sometimes someone just wanted to say Hi and take a selfie and we had some fun with those.
I don't think the boys really realized just how special we were being treated until we were approaching one of the popular rides and there was a huge line of people waiting to be let on. Our guides escorted us to a hidden doorway and we found ourselves at the font of the line. The boys, bless their hearts, insisted they didn't want to cut in front of all those people waiting and refused to go on the ride. Cal and I were so proud of them. We told the guides thank you, but no more cutting in.
It was a fun time. Cal and I took hundreds of pictures and film of the boys having the time of their lives. I did notice that they had as much fun on the rides they got to go on after a short wait as they did on the ones with a long wait. We spent some time finding the right souvenirs for us and gifts for our friends back home. We even found some hard to find older Disney films on DVD and we bought a boxed set for the pre school where we knew they'd be appreciated.
We capped of our visit with a nice dinner which we shared with Sarah and our two guides. The boys were very appreciative of their help and asked if they could tip them. I told them to check with their dad, as he always carried the tip money and I saw cal give each of the boys a fifty to give our two guides. Sarah was not to be left out, we presented her with a lovely necklace with the boys names engraved on the back.
Fred and Sarah dropped us off at our hotel about 9 that evening. We had gotten to see the nightly parade and the boys were really ready for bed when we got back to our temporary home. Cal spent a few minutes packing away our purchases and joined me in bed, where we gave each other a ride that the boys were much too young to go on.
The next day we spent relaxing around the hotel. We made use of the gym in the morning and the pool right after. We had plenty of sun screen lotion and we made sure none of us or the kids got burnt. They were having so much fun we decided to have lunch by the pool so we sat at an umbrellaed table and ordered from a waiter who had supplied us with bottled water every now and the through out the morning. After lunch we went back to our room. We encouraged the boys to get some rest as it was going to be a busy night for them and then Cal and I checked their suits and shirts for wrinkles and decided that they were fine for tonight.
We had all had our showers and had dressed in our good suits when Bryan and Jean joined us for the ride to the Shrine Auditorium. Fred called and asked if he could pick us up about 15 minutes early and we told him we were all good to go. We realized why the early pick up when Fred explained that the order of drop offs had been adjusted, and we were now moved up to spot 7 due to our appearance on the talk show last night. I asked what he was talking about and he asked if I hadn't seen today's paper and when I told him none of us had he passed back a copy of it. There on the front page was a picture of last nights host shaking our hands and the headline was" Is This The Kind of Family You Could Live Next To?"I scanned the article and realized the paper was extremely supportive of us and they blasted the cable network and their former reporter after providing a partial written excerpt from her supposed interview. I passed the paper to Cal who perused it and handed it off to Bryan and Jean. Fred told us that several other papers had also had similar reports and he then said how happy he was to have been given the honor to drive us around. I thanked him for his sentiments and told him our group were pleased to have him with us as well. He had to go around several blocks to get us aligned in the right spot for our slow crawl to the red carpet. Cal and I told the boys to stick to our sides and to be very polite to every one, best behavior from everyone was expected. They told us they understood and by the time our door was opened everyone was ready for flashing lights and microphones.
Jake and Sam held our right hands and we each had a twin on our left hands. We followed Bryan and Jean as we walked down the red carpet and before we had gone five steps there were interviewers in front of us. As they asked Bryan and Jean questions a few were trying to get to Cal and I. I did notice what looked like security moving in closer to us. There were about six of them and one came up right behind Cal and I and told us the studio had asked them to keep an eye on us for the night. We both thanked him and then one interviewer I knew slightly from a morning news show appeared in front of me. I told her how great she looked and joked that she didn't dress as glamorous as this in the morning. She said that the last time we talked my family wasn't this big. We chatted about the movie nominated and how I thought the finished product compared to the book I had authored. I told her I respected what the studio had done with the book and how much I admired the way they stuck to the story and the work of the actors involved was fantastic. We had to move forward after that and we thanked her for talking with us. There were about 6 more times we were stopped and everyone was very kind to us. Cal was blushing as one interviewer asked what his home life was like being married to me. He didn't falter a bit as he responded, "It's every dream come true, every day." One asked Jake and Sam what they liked most about their daddy and they both said that they liked that I was there to ride and swim with them and then someone else asked the twins how they liked living with us. They looked at each other and then did their twin thing, one starting a sentence, the other finishing it. They told her that they liked feeling safe and loved every day and that living with us made them feel special themselves. All four boys got big hugs from us.
I was surprised when we were shown to our table. It was a long rectangle and was very close to the stage. There was seating for about 14 and place cards at each place setting. Our group was seated facing the stage with the boys between Cal and I, with Jean at one end and Bryan at the other. The other side had seating for the president of the studio, the director, and the three stars of the film and the script writer.
Once the others were shown to our table introductions were made all around the table and it was the first time I saw the twins star struck. The three young men had played a pivotal part in the story on film. One was quite young looking, although he proudly told the rest of us he was now 16, he had played the main character as a very young teen, coming to grips with his orientation, the next young man played the same character as a high school student having to admit to himself he was homosexual and having to endure the bullying and abuse from family, friends, and school "professionals", the third young man, obviously older than the other two had played the character as a college student and young adult finding his way to a successful life after finally graduating. They looked enough alike to be brothers but their talents were also evenly matched, they had all done a magnificent job in portraying my character. I had been introduced as Scott Roberts, but after a few moments of light conversation with the script writer the three young men realized I was Robert Scott, author of the original book.
The conversations picked up at that point. The young men had tons of questions for me and for Cal and the boys as they realized they were my family. The other gentlemen at our table were finding common ground as well, we were a well oiled cohesive group by the time our meal was over and the lights dimmed and the theme music began. We all applauded when the host appeared on stage and Jake and Sam waved hello to him as he walked in front of us as he walked the front of the stage during his opening statements. He saw the boys and stood in front of us and told his audience that he had some friends in the audience. The cameras moved in on our table and he said hi to each of the boys and told everyone that they had met last night when he had them on his show. He said they had come with their parents and they all had a nice visit, then he said hello to Cal and asked where he was hiding his husband. Cal chuckled as I was bent over tying one of the boy's shoe. Cal pointed to me and our host pointed me out as the author Robert Scott and the writer of the book Attitude Adjustment, and sitting with us were the stars of the movie with the same name. He introduces the young men to a great round of applause. He then moved on to a few other tables. They always start off with the background awards first and move on to the actors and then best movie or show. The screenwriter's category was the first at our table. Out of all the nominees his work was selected a the best. During his acceptance speech he praised the work he was given to work with and it's author, me. He also thanked the studio for having the guts to again take on the taboo subject and provide truth to the saying,"It Gets Better". The rest of the show was pretty standard, the boys got to see several stars they could recognize and several they didn't. When it came time to announce "Best Actor" there was absolute silence at our table since all three young men had been nominated in this category. It was the first time 3 actors from the same movie had been nominated(I think, don't yell at me if I'm wrong, I'm making this up as I go along!)and they were up against some very talented older actors. The envelope was opened and there was a gasp from the presenter, all three had tied for the honor! They ran around the table and hugged each one of us quickly and shook the hands of the other gentlemen at our table. They each made a hurried acceptance speech but each one thanked Robert Scott and his family for their support. Wow, talk about gracious under pressure. As you can imagine, when Best Director was announced it was for the movie "Attitude Adjustment" and so was Best Movie. When the president of the studio went up on stage to receive the award he motioned for our whole table of people to go up with him. He of course thanked the SAG for voting for the picture and then he personally thanked the director, the screenwriter, the actors, and me and my family for producing such a moving and uplifting tale that hopefully saved lives, and inspired others. After the show ended there were numerous groupings for photos and we were getting a bit weary by this time. We had been invited to several "after parties" but we used the boys as and excuse to have Fred drive us back to the hotel, after all, we had to fly home to the farm in the early afternoon.