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

have to gain a hundred pounds to have a babe and I’m never getting that fat,” Violet declared and looked at her mother who had gained about thirty pounds with her last baby and still hadn’t taken it off. Milo insisted that was just more hot woman to love. Sarah flushed at her daughter’s look of contempt and pulled her blouse over her ample breasts. Amy shook her head.
“I’m not having any until I get married and that’s not going to be for a long time. I’m not in love with any of the boys. Maybe one of the other boys will grow up and I’ll fall in love with one of them,” she said and Violet kicked her under the table. Amy kicked her back. Their brother Ben looked at her.
“I saw you kissing Tammy the other day,” he said loudly and Amy glared at him. Reverend Milo laughed and patted his hand.
“I’m sure that was just a friendly kiss, Son,” he told him. Ben who was nine nodded. Kendra, who was seven giggled.
“It sure was friendly, she kissed her right on the lips,” she told them and Violet giggled. Sarah looked appalled. Amy shrugged.
“You know all the older kids are bi, that’s no secret,” she said defensively. Reverend Milo nodded.
“What’s bi?” Ben asked. Sarah put more potatoes on his plate.
“We don’t talk about that at the table, honey, eat your dinner,” she told him and frowned at the older girls who nodded and wanted to be somewhere else. Little Jamaun who was five played with his food and ate with his fingers.
The next day Harry invited Sarek and his family over and showed them the metal objects and from their smiles when they saw them he knew that they had had similar pots and containers on their home world Minos.
“I take it then that these containers are familiar,” Harry said as he held up a coffee pot. Myla nodded and picked up one of the small metal containers.
“Yes, this metal is called glyph and mined in the mountains on Minos and very common, it can be hot or cold depending on what you put into it and stays that way for hours,” she informed him. Harry grinned.
“We’re hoping that we can find some of this glyph on this planet and make a lot of these containers for everyone. What I took off of the Galactican ship isn’t enough to share with anyone and if they find out about them everyone’s going to piss and moan,” he said and Myla laughed.
“They do have a habit of that don’t they,” she teased and Jake shook his head.
“Those people from Farm One are the worst of the lot; they contribute nothing and expect the most. I bet if we do find some ore to make into containers that none of those lazy men show up for mining duty and they all would expect containers and pots,” he said and Sarek nodded.
“I would bet you, my friend, however I like my money,” he joked and they all laughed.
Harry put all the containers back on the shelf and left them for later, he looked up how to make and pour molds to make metal containers on the computer and found that one of his factories was a foundry which was very handy. Jake smiled when he told him about it and declared him a genius which made all the kids giggle.
Christmas came and the whole community got together for the big party in the main room with the big tree that everyone helped decorate. Gloria and David looked across the room at Emma who was adorable in her little red dress with her sister Cassie in pink and wanted to walk across the room and snatch her up. At least Gloria did, David had no desire for children, ever, he had lived with them for thirteen years and knew that at five they might look adorable from across the room but living with them was another story.
“I’m going to go over and say hello to our daughter,” Gloria said with determination. David shrugged and watched her walk over, he couldn’t care less. Harry saw Gloria walking across the room and rolled his eyes.
“Watch out, honey, evil witch at two o’clock,” he warned. Jake glanced up and gave a soft laugh.
“What the hell does she want?” he muttered. All of the boys were happy tearing open presents from their granddad and the girls were sitting on the floor opening their presents. Gloria smiled at them so Harry smiled back.
“Merry Christmas, Gloria, you look lovely today,” he told her and she preened.
“When are you going to lift that stupid ban and let me back into Macys?” she asked in lieu of a greeting. Harry shrugged.
“I’ll lift my ban as soon as you lift yours,” he told her and she looked surprised.
“Is that all you’re waiting for?” she asked and he nodded. She made a rude noise.
“Christ, if I’d had known that I would have lifted that stupid ban years ago, I thought you hated me,” she sniped. Harry grinned.
“Now why on Earth would I hate you, Gloria?” he teased and she laughed.
“Fine, that silly ban is lifted, now can I shop at Macys again?” she asked and he nodded. She squealed and hugged him. All the kids laughed. Gloria looked down at Emma and smiled at her.
“Hello, Emma; how are you today?” she asked sweetly. Emma giggled.
“Hello, I’m fine, Daddy, please put this together for me,” she asked. Harry knelt down and looked at her present; it was a doll that talked so he had to put the crystal in the back of it. He opened the back and put the crystal in and she pulled the string.
“Hello, I’m Chatty Cathy,” the doll announced and both girls giggled. Cassie handed him her doll and he put the crystal in that one. Gloria tapped her heel on the floor.
“Emma, do you know who I am, darling?” she asked. Emma glanced up at her.
“Yes I do, you’re the woman who gave birth to me, Daddy can I show Stephie my doll?” she asked and Harry nodded. The two girls ran off to show their friends their dolls. Gloria looked startled.
“That’s it, that’s what you’ve told her about me, that I’m the woman who gave birth to her, that’s rude,” she snapped. Harry looked at her.
“What did you want us to tell her?” he asked her gently. She shook her head.
“That I’m her mother, that’s who I am,” Gloria snapped. Harry shook his head.
“Emma doesn’t need a mother, Gloria, she has two fathers so she doesn’t need a mother and she has a Fran, four grandmoms and two granddads so I think that’s enough for one little girl, don’t you?” he asked softly. Gloria sighed.
“I guess, but she’s so darned cute, why can’t David and I have her for part of the time, you know, like a shared custody thing,” she suggested and Harry shook his head.
“No way, she’s our daughter and we’re not sharing and I’m pretty sure if you ask David if he wants half custody he’ll say no, he never even sees his kids with Edna. He’s never even seen Vickie except at Church and he never visits Davy or Susie, I’m not sharing my daughter with an ass like him,” he told her. She stomped her foot.
“You are so mean, Harry, I’m telling my daddy,” she whined and walked off. Jake shook his head.
“She’s going to tell her daddy on you, how old is that girl?” he teased and they both laughed. Harry knelt down and looked at Danny’s present, a little barn with animals.
“Oh, look, Danny, there’s a pig; what does a pig say?” he asked and Danny giggled.
“Oink,” he said and everyone laughed. Harry kissed his sweet little face.
“That’s right, darling, oink says the pig,” he said.
At the next town meeting Max asked Harry and Jake both be present and the men knew it had to have something to do with David and Gloria so they held hands when Gloria stood up and announced that she and David had discussed the matter and decided that they had changed their minds about the whole adoption and wanted their baby girl back. Everyone was shocked and appalled and looked at the two men and wondered what they were going to do. Dr. George sighed, this was exactly the reason he and Shelley hadn’t adopted her, they had been afraid that Gloria would one day change her mind and demand her back and it would tear their hearts apart to have to give her back. Harry stood up and took out the adoption papers out of his pocket and looked them over carefully.
“You know, Gloria, I’ve been reading these adoption papers that you and David signed of your own free will, both of you over eighteen and legal adults and you know, it’s really funny, but nowhere on this paper does it say that you have five years to change your mind and get your daughter back,” he informed her. “In fact, there isn’t even the usual one year waiting period on this document; it gave me and Jake full custody of Emma Rose the very second that both couples signed the document.” David stood up.
“My wife was under duress when she signed that, she had just had surgery and wasn’t thinking clearly,” he stated. Harry shook his head.
“No, I had healed her and she was fully one hundred percent recovered and both Dr. George and Fiona can testify to that,” he said. David flushed and sat down. Gloria wiped tears from her eyes and some of the women felt sorry for her.
“I can’t believe, Harry, that you would deny a mother her precious child,” she said tearfully. A few people, especially some of the women looked sad and glared at Harry and Jake accusingly. Harry shook his head.
“You belong on stage with that act, Gloria, is the same precious child that you referred to as an ‘it’ as in, “you take ‘it’ and feed ‘it’ I want to take a shower and get pretty for my husband, David will be here any minute, you’re the nurse and that’s your job to feed ‘it’”, is that the same precious child that you’re referring to?” he asked. Fiona stood up.
“That’s exactly what she said too, she called Emma an ‘it’ and refused to even feed or hold her after she was born, all she wanted to do was hand her over to Jake and Harry. As soon as they signed the adoption papers her and David rushed out of the hospital as fast as they could,” she told everyone and they were all shocked. Gloria shrugged.
“So I didn’t want a baby, she’s not a baby anymore, she’s five and adorable and has fantastic manners and I want her now, she’s my child and I deserve to have her,” she said. Kate stood up.
“Gloria is right, Henry, no matter how much it’s going to hurt, you have to return her to her biological parents,” she told him. Harry shook his head.
“I told Gloria and David five years ago that the adoption was final, that if they changed their minds, five, ten or fifteen years down the road that they were shit out