Chapter Text
Kevin and Alexander (AJ) McLean-Richardson were in the middle of yet another discussion, one that they had had many times before over the last two years. AJ wanted to expand their family through adoption and Kevin felt like they weren’t ready to do so. The couple had been together for nine years, and recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary. They had met in college, at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, and both now had steady jobs as a professor teaching history, and sous chef respectively. After they had graduated college, they settled in the Boston area, where Kevin had gotten a teaching position. Both men worked long hours, but had saved up most of their money, and could afford to take lighter schedules. Kevin had recently received tenure at the college he was employed at, Northeastern University, and had gotten a pay raise, while AJ had risen to sous chef, and could take at least three days off a week. The two men had also recently moved into a bigger home, one that had five bedrooms. AJ used all of this in his argument with Kevin. They had the money, the space, and the time to start the adoption process. Kevin was still hesitant. The thought of adoption brought back too many memories from his childhood, ones he would rather forget.
Kevin had been seven years old when his mother and father first told him that he might get to be a big brother. The little boy was so excited, and asked when the baby was coming. Ann told her son that a nice lady had to choose them to give her baby to. As the months went by, Ann and Jerald had been passed by several times, and finally a young girl had picked them to give her child to. The two of them had made plans to be there for the birth, and had decorated a nursery for the baby, who they learned was a girl. As the girl’s due date neared, Ann was beside herself with excitement. Kevin couldn’t wait to have a little sister. Ann and Jerald received a call in the middle of the night that the birth mother had gone to the hospital. They brought Kevin to his aunt’s house, and made their way to the next state, to be with the birth mother. Three days later, they came home empty-handed. The birth mother had decided to not place her daughter up for adoption. This happened three more times over the next five years, and Kevin watched the grief and turmoil on his parent’s faces each time. They had decided after the fourth time, they couldn’t take the heartache anymore, and no longer pursued adoption. Kevin had told himself that he would never be able to adopt from an expecting mother. He had never told AJ about that period of his childhood. Maybe now was the time to tell AJ why he was so hesitant. He brought himself out of his thoughts, and told AJ he had a story to tell him. AJ stopped what he was doing, and Kevin brought up that painful time in his life. Kevin watched AJ’s face as he realized what Kevin and his family had gone through.
AJ McLean-Richardson was currently feeling like that worst husband in the world. He had been bothering his husband about adopting a child, and didn’t know that he was forcing his husband to relieve one of the most painful parts of his childhood. He started apologizing to Kevin, who put his hand up and told him that he didn’t know, so there was nothing to forgive. He moved over to snuggle his husband, and curled up against his side, as Kevin started running his hand through AJ’s hair. AJ asked Kevin if he wanted to expand their family. The man in question admitted that he did, but he wanted to adopt a child that was already born, maybe one that had been in foster care for a while, or had special needs. AJ’s eyes widened, he had never thought about that. After thinking for a moment, he realized that they could go that route. AJ had been around special needs kids all his life, having grown up across the street from two severely autistic boys, and had volunteered in the special Olympics baseball league in his hometown every year during high school. He had seen everything from down syndrome, deafness, and cardiac issues to children with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy. Kevin watched his husband, and knew that they would be adopting children who may have issues, or had a rough start to life. The couple decided to shelve the conversation for the night, and settled down to watch a movie together.
A few weeks later, Kevin and AJ had spoken more about adopting, and had made some phone calls to various social workers and adoption agencies. They had settled on adopting a child with special needs, and were open to any and all needs. Gender or race did not matter to either man, they just wanted a child to love. After looking at all the options for agencies and social workers, they decided to go with a local agency that had had many successful adoptions, most of them for special needs children. The social worker they had met with, Leigh, was a kind and warm woman, who had reassured both men that they would be able to find the perfect child for them. Kevin and AJ were excited to start the process, but didn’t realize how much needed to be done, or how long it would take. Leigh told them that after they completed the initial paperwork, which was the biggest chunk, they could look at the profiles of children that were available to be adopted. Leigh passed a three-inch chunk of paperwork to the two men, and said that half was for each of them to fill out. The questions were numerous, and very invasive. Leigh also told them they had to go for medical check-ups and get background checks done. AJ and Kevin knew they would be making trips home to get answers from their parents for some of the questions. Leigh mentioned that there was no timetable for them to get the paperwork done, but things would go smoother if they got it done sooner rather than later. The two men promised to get it done as quickly as they could, and thanked Leigh for her time. The two men left the agency with smiles on their faces, and a new spring in their step.
That night, they began the paperwork, while making plans to visit their families in the next couple of days. Luckily for both men, their families were both located in the same state, New Jersey, only an hour apart. Kevin’s family lived in Monroe, New Jersey, while AJ’s family lived in Brick. They planned to leave Friday afternoon, after Kevin’s last class, and spend Friday night and most of Saturday with Kevin’s family. Late Saturday afternoon, they would drive to Brick, and spend the rest of the night and most of Sunday with AJ’s family, before making their way back home Sunday night, so Kevin could teach his 11AM Monday class, and AJ could get back to the restaurant for Monday afternoon. The two men packed their suitcases on Thursday night, and AJ went in for an early morning shift, while Kevin taught his two classes that he had on Fridays. AJ finished earlier than he thought, and met Kevin at NU, with their suitcases, so they could just leave straight from the college. They would be surprising their families with their intent to adopt, and to get their parents’ help with the paperwork, which Kevin had safely packed in his suitcase. Kevin was apprehensive about how his parents would react to the news that he and AJ were pursuing adoption. He hoped that they would take it well, and support his and AJ’s intent to adopt.
The two men soon found themselves on the road home. They hadn’t seen their families for about six months, and hadn’t told them they were coming. Three hours later, Kevin and AJ pulled into Kevin’s family home, and saw that Kevin’s parents were both home. They knocked on the door and waited. Ann opened the door, and was elated to see her son and son-in-law standing there. She beckoned them in, giving them hugs as they entered the home, and called for Jerald. Jerald came from the back of the house, and soon engulfed both Kevin and AJ in a large hug. The four engaged in small talk, before Ann asked Kevin what they were doing home. Kevin told his parents that he had an announcement to make. Both Ann and Jerald turned their attention to their only son and his husband, and listened as Kevin told them that he and AJ had started the adoption process for a child. Ann’s breath caught in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes, as the emotions of twenty years earlier surfaced again. She looked at Jerald, and saw the same reaction in his face. She looked at her son and shook her head. Ann told Kevin that she couldn’t agree with this, she couldn’t watch her son go through the same heartache she did. Kevin tried to tell her that they weren’t adopting a newborn, but the past had jaded Ann too much. She couldn’t accept that an adoption could work out, and that AJ and Kevin could have a child in the end. Kevin asked his father what he thought, and Jerald stated that he agreed with Ann. Kevin stood up and told his parents that while he understood their point of view, the fact that they wouldn’t even try to support their son, left a bitter taste in his mouth. He told them that when they were ready to listen, he would explain everything, but until then, he didn’t want to be around them. He now knew that he would have to complete the rest of his side of the paperwork himself.
Kevin and AJ soon found themselves on the road again to AJ’s home a day earlier than expected. They arrived an hour later, and it seemed that only Denise, AJ’s mother was home. They again knocked on the door, and Denise answered and immediately pulled her son into a hug. She ushered both of them into the home, hugging Kevin along the way, and AJ’s sister, Mel, ran down the stairs to hug her big brother. AJ was surprised to see his sister home. Mel was a senior at Georgian Court University, majoring in Education. She commuted to her classes every day, and also worked as a barista at the local Starbucks. He asked his mother when his father, Robert, would be home. Denise told him that he should be home any minute now. Five minutes later, Robert walked in his home to see his son and son-in-law standing around the kitchen catching up with his wife and daughter. He put his finger to his lips, and snuck up on AJ, and caught him by surprise with a hug. AJ turned in his father’s arms, and gave him an affectionate hug. Robert moved onto Kevin, and gave him a firm handshake. He quickly hugged and kissed Mel, and Denise before turning back to Kevin and AJ. He asked what they were doing home. AJ looked at his parents and told them that he and Kevin had an announcement. He took Kevin’s hand and announced that he and Kevin had started the adoption process. Denise broke out into a huge smile and ran around the kitchen island to hug her son and son-in-law. Mel was in shock, and quickly came out of her stupor, to congratulate her brothers. Robert smiled and nodded his head, feeling very happy. The celebration lasted a few minutes, before the questions began. Kevin and AJ answered them patiently, and soon Denise asked Kevin how his parents reacted. Kevin got a dark look on his face, and AJ shook his head at his parents. They got the message, and left that alone. AJ asked his parents if they could help him with his side of the paperwork, since there were questions, he didn’t have the answers to. Denise and Robert were more than happy to help, and Kevin grabbed the paperwork. While the three of them were working on AJ’s side, Kevin was struggling to answer his side of the paperwork. He answered the questions the best he could, but knew he would have to leave some blank, and hoped it would be okay. After an hour, they stopped for the night and had a family movie night, with Mel opting to stay home and spend time with her big brother and his husband.
The weekend passed quickly, AJ soon has his side of the paperwork completed, and the couple said goodbye to Robert, Denise, and Mel, and made their way back to Massachusetts. Kevin hadn’t heard from his parents, and honestly didn’t expect to. They soon got back to their normal routine, and made appointments with their doctor for general check-ups, in which they both got clean bills of health. Both had also passed their background checks, and all that was needed was for Kevin to finish his side of the paperwork. He worked on it each night, and by Friday, it was finally complete. AJ called Leigh and made an appointment for Monday to hand in their paperwork, and take their first look at the children available for adoption. They knew they were in for an adventure, and were ready to take on parenthood, knowing they had each other, and AJ’s family in their corner. Thinking about his parents saddened Kevin, but he was sticking to his guns about his decision to not approach his parents until they came to him ready to listen to what he had to say. It disappointed him that they would potentially not be there for their grandchild, but that was the result of their decision, and nothing he could control. Sunday night came, and both men were itching for the time to go by quickly. They decided to just have a board game night with some trashy tv, and went to bed early, anticipating the next day with nervousness, and full of hope.