The Kids Grow Up - Trish Hanan (i want to read a book TXT) 📗

the entire party, tell the story, bring out all the old pictures and have your wedding the next day, that will be really special,” he said, excitement making his purple eyes gleam. “You boys up for that?” he asked and they both grinned.
“Sure that would be great, Dad,” Danny gushed. Then Harry laughed.
“Founder’s Day, wow, is it March already, wow, how time flies, say what year is it?” he asked and both men looked shocked.
“You don’t know what year it is, Harry?” Martin asked solemnly. Harry shrugged.
“I haven’t been on the computer in years, I’ve been busy with my art,” he explained. Danny shook his head.
“You Bohemian artists,” he teased. “It’s forty-three seventy-three, Dad, you’ve been on Mykonos for twenty years,” he informed him. Harry looked shocked.
“Twenty years, my God, has it been that long, I didn’t realize that,” he said and then shrugged. “What day is it today?” he asked and they shook their heads.
“It’s Saturday, no, its Sunday now, Dad,” Danny told him. Harry nodded.
“I’ve got the harvest to do and some packing, so I’ll be home Wednesday morning,” he said and they both nodded.
“Promise?” Danny asked solemnly. Harry looked surprised.
“Of course, I said I would, didn’t I?” he asked and Danny nodded. Then Harry noticed something. “What’s with all this Dad stuff, I thought you kids called me Harry,” he said. Danny grinned.
“Oh, we only did that because we knew it pissed you off,” he told him. “We decided that you’re our dad and we like calling you Dad.” Harry grinned.
“Good, because that Harry shit was really pissing me off,” he informed him and both men laughed. Then they hung up and Harry sighed. His youngest son getting married, wow, this was pretty exciting. And he had been on Mykonos twenty years, my how time had flown, it didn’t seem that long. He looked down at his ragged beard and thought to himself, there was no way he was going back to Eden looking like this. The beard his mother hated would have to go.
So Harry went into the bathroom and shaved his beard off and took off the mustache too. He never really cared for it and what was the use of trying to look like someone he wasn’t. If Jake didn’t want the old Harry, he certainly didn’t want a new Harry with a mustache. Then Harry went out and spent two days harvesting his crops and loading them into the passenger carrier. Then he packed all of the sculptures that he was giving to his kids and the lesbians and put them in vegetable bins and hidden in with the sheep sculptures he put in the one sculpture he couldn’t bare to part with.
It was one that he did of himself and Jake lying side-by-side, facing each other, their legs entwined. Their hands were held, one over their heads and one on Harry’s leg. Jake was looking down into Harry’s eyes, his gaze tender and Harry was looking up, all the love showing on his face, his mouth up for the kiss Jake was bending his head to give. It was the moment, just minutes after Danny had been conceived and Harry couldn’t be apart from it. He called it ‘The Lovers’ and it was a large piece and very heavy and he wrapped it in a quilt and put it on the bottom of the bin and hoped his curious children wouldn’t find it. Maybe they would just see the sheep ladies and stop there.
“Yeah, right, Harry,” he said to the dogs that jumped on him, excited about going somewhere.
He had left a message on the kid’s machines saying that he should be there by eight Wednesday morning and Harry made good time. He stopped briefly on the peninsula so that he and the animals could pee so that they wouldn’t have to rush into the house once they got there and landed in the field just out in the back of his yard. Eight tall, stunning creatures came rushing out of the house towards the ship as he set it down and he was amazed that these were his children. Why had he felt so alone when he had these wonderful, marvelous people to love him? Harry felt like a total idiot and tears came to his eyes. He put down the ramp and opened the door. The dogs barked and ran down the ramp and the cats followed. He climbed out of the seat, strangely shy and slowly followed them. Danny met him halfway and threw himself into his arms. Harry hugged him tight and the tears came back.
“Dad, I never thought you’d come home,” Danny sobbed and Harry knew he’d stayed away too long. He kissed his son.
“I’m sorry, Danny, really I am, I didn’t mean to stay away that long, please forgive me,” he whispered. Danny nodded. Then Martin walked up and handed his love a hankie and Danny wiped his eyes and blew his nose and Harry smiled and knew this man was the man for his son. He hugged him.
“Welcome to the family, Martin,” he told him and Martin hugged him back.
“Welcome home, Harry,” he said in his deep voice. Then Harry walked down the rest of the ramp and his two girls rushed into his arms.
“Daddy, welcome home,” Emma said and she burst into tears. Cassie sniffled too and Harry cried. Then all of his kids hugged him one by one and Harry got out his own hankie and Jackson sighed, thinking this wasn’t right, his dad should be here giving him his hankie like he always did. Then Harry got practical.
“Come on, let’s get Bessie out of there and all those chickens,” he declared and they went to work unloading and putting everything away like they always did after a trip. And, of course, they wanted to see what was in the bins he said that were his work and their presents. So these they wheeled into the house and opened up and gasped at the beauty and brilliance of his work.
“My God, Dad, these are magnificent, you’re really an artist,” Adam gushed as he held up the statue of himself as a baby. Everyone agreed Harry was a wonderful sculptor. Harry grinned.
“Well, I did have twenty years to perfect my talent,” he said and they all laughed. Then they pulled out the ones he wanted to put on his mantel and placed them there laughing when Sean did his impression of Max.
“Harry, you little fagola,” Sean sneered just like Max and they all laughed.
Then Emma spied the bin they hadn’t seen and they all rushed to it and pulled out the sheep ladies and laughed at them.
“Oh, man, Dad, grandmom’s going to kill you when she sees this,” Jackson exclaimed as he held up the one of Kate on the back of a sheep facing backwards holding onto its tail. All the kids laughed. Then Cassie noticed the quilt at the bottom of the bin.
“Hey, there’s one more in here,” she said and tried to lift it up. “It’s heavy, Adam, come and help,” she called for her twin who rolled his eyes but came forward as instructed. The two were thick as thieves and had always been, just as Emma and Jackson were as close as regular twins. Together they brought the quilt to the coffee table and unwrapped it. Everyone gasped at the uncovered statue.
“My God, Dad, that’s brilliant,” Ryan gushed. He put his arm around Harry’s shoulder. Harry smiled.
“It’s so beautiful, look at the expressions, what love,” Emma said softly.
“I call it ‘The Lovers” Harry told them and they all agreed it was the best name for it. Then Harry grinned and looked at his youngest child. “Actually, Danny, you’re in this statue,” he told him. They all looked surprised. Sean began peering into the cracks as if he was looking for a tiny Danny and they all laughed.
“This was the moment about five minutes after you were conceived, you were in my belly,” Harry said and they all smiled. Then Ryan laughed and they all looked at him.
“I’ve got to tell you, Dad, but you’ve got a fantastic ass, I mean, major fantastic,” he declared and they all laughed. Adam spun Harry around to check it out.
“Yep, he’s right, Dad, that’s a fine ass,” he said. Harry giggled.
“Perverts, I’m raising perverts,” he said and everyone laughed again.
“Danny’s got your ass, Harry,” Martin announced and Danny shook his head.
“Oh, God, Martin, you shouldn’t have said that,” he said as his four brothers pounced on him.
“He has, does he, let’s check this out,” Jackson shouted and they grabbed him and began taking his jeans off. Emma stood up.
“Hey, stop it, you’re going to break something,” she shouted and they stopped. Harry grinned and looked at Martin.
“Are you sure you want to be a part of this gang, they can be pretty rough,” he told him. Martin grinned and grabbed his love.
“I can handle this group, they’re all sissies,” he said and all the men laughed.
“Oh, we’ll get you for that, Martin, as soon as we get outside, you’re a dead man,” Sean declared and they all laughed. Then Harry looked at the clock.
“I’m starved, lets go out and get something to eat, who wants to buy an old man lunch?” he asked and they all stood up.
“Let’s get Chinese, I’m starved too,” Ryan exclaimed. Cassie snorted.
“You’re always hungry and it’s always Chinese, let’s let Dad pick,” she said and they al looked at Harry. He grinned.
“I haven’t had a decent pizza in twenty years,” he declared and they rushed out to the cars. Danny put Bo and Gertie in his yard with Chance and Checkers and Harry put the cats in his house with a big smelly fish. Then they drove to Pizza Hut.
“You’ve got to get a hair cut, Dad, this ponytail has got to come off,” Emma told him as they got out of the car. Cassie nodded and he put his arms around his two girls.
“After lunch, I promise,” he said and they kissed him.
“Harry, my God, how long has it been, so glad to see you,” Dwight Jackson greeted him warmly as the group walked into the Hut as it was nicknamed. They took a large table in the back and ordered five large pizzas and sodas. Harry had his first Dr. Pepper in twenty years and it tasted fantastic.
“Oh, man, I missed soda,” he declared and they all laughed. Adam slapped his arm.
“You could have come back anytime and had all the soda you wanted, old man,” he told him. Harry grinned.
“I was busy being a Bohemian artist, I had to purge something out of my system,” he informed them. Jackson nodded.
“Did you finally get it out?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“I think I did, the last few years on the island have been the most peaceful years of my life,” he told them. They all nodded.
“But you’re home for good now; you’re staying here, right?” Danny asked the worry in his eyes. Harry smiled and patted his arm.
“Yes, I’m home for good now, I won’t be going back to Mykonos,” he said firmly and the worry left his son’s eyes. Then