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All the parents and grandparents in the neighborhood decided to get together and plan something safe and fun for their children on Halloween night. They had one whole street shut down where various parents offered to have cool booths set up with different themes. Some were simple in the way they handed out candy while others would have games and other prizes. Bee helped as much as she could with planning and preparing the event but opted out of manning a booth because she wanted the ability to keep a close eye on Aaron and Andrew. They were eight, going on nine and although they’ve been with her for two years, she still worried about them and may watch over them a little closer than necessary. It won’t be too long until they start asking her to do stuff on their own but for now, she’ll stand by and watch them and wait for them to need her.
She had just gotten a soda from one of the parents giving them out when her eyes quickly found Andrew over at a booth with a vampire theme. She had a painful feeling that he was going to educate the person on the fact that vampire bats weren’t as terrifying as the media had portrayed them. Ever since he found a book on bats in the library a few months ago, they have been his current obsession. She’s surprised he didn’t want to go as one. Instead, he’s dressed as Han Solo which wasn’t his first choice from the Star Wars movies. For a reason Bee didn’t understand, he wanted to go as Chewbacca but she waited too long to get their costumes so they were sold out of the hairy character. Andrew was upset with her for days about it and was only soothed over with ice cream and a promise that she’d still buy the Chewbacca costume when they came back in stock and that he could wear it whenever and wherever he wanted for a week straight. It wasn’t a hard bargain, not when it came to seeing Andrew smile. A feat that had been hard to obtain for so long in those early months.
On the other side of the street, she found Aaron, dressed as Spiderman, standing next to a boy a year or two older than him who was dressed as Superman. Although Bee couldn’t hear their conversation, by the look of aghast on Aaron’s face, there was no doubt the boys were talking about what was better. DC or Marvel. When Aaron met her gaze, she was doomed as he grabbed the boy’s hand and dragged him over to her.
“Mom,” he said, stopping in front of her. The title was still new and every time she heard them call her it, her stomach erupted in butterflies. She knelt so that they were at eye level as she never was particularly fond of the idea of towering over them when talking. She found they were more open to being honest with her when she was on their level. “Kevin says Marvel is stupid. That a hero like Hawkeye is stupid. Can you tell him he’s wrong?”
Bee forced the smile down from her face, not wanting to encourage this behavior even accidentally. She adored Aaron and his matter-of-fact opinions but sometimes he had a hard time seeing that other people could and did have their own that may be different from his. A conversation they’ve had plenty of times before. Mostly when it came to him and Andrew. They may look alike but their personalities differ drastically most of the time. “Sweetie, it's okay for him to like other superheroes.”
“But he said Hawkeye was dumb,” Aaron pouted. It didn’t help that Hawkeye was in his top five favorite superheroes because, He has a bow-and-arrow mom!
“I understand. But he’s allowed to like and dislike certain heroes just like you are. If I recall correctly you’re not fond of the Green Arrow.”
Kevin looked down at Aaron in horror. “How do you not like the Green Arrow?”
“How do you not like Hawkeye?”
“Boys,” Bee said gently, getting both of their attention. “I think it’s safe to say that you, Aaron, like Hawkeye but not Green Arrow.” He nodded his answer. “And you, Kevin, like Green Arrow but not Hawkeye, correct?”
“Yes ma’am.”
She didn’t like being called ma’am and usually asked kids to just call her Bee but she let it slip this time in favor of getting to her point. “And do you know what both of them have in common?”
“They’re superheroes,” Kevin answered.
“And have a bow and arrow,” Aaron said, looking dismayed at the revelation.
“Exactly. So although you like one but not the other, it doesn’t mean either of you is wrong or right. You just have your preferences. And that’s okay. We don’t all have to like or dislike the same things. But, you can still be friends because you both love superheroes. It’s okay that it's not the same ones.”
“Batman’s still lame,” Aaron grumbled under his breath.
“Yeah,” Kevin agreed. “And bats aren’t really that cool.”
“Right? My brother said that they’re the only reason we have bananas or mangoes. But I think he’s lying,” Aaron replied, dragging Kevin away. Bee stood back up, smiling after the two boys. Once they settled down somewhere, she looked for Andrew. An uncomfortable panic crept in when she didn’t see him with her first sweep. He may be small but that blonde, almost white, hair stuck out like a sore thumb. She did another pass, her eyes catching his little boots sticking out from under an abandoned table. She moved closer to get a better view. He was sitting beside a kid dressed as a ghost so she couldn’t see his face, just that he was wearing a pair of obviously new orange sneakers with paw prints on the side.
“It’s not practical,” Andrew said, a note of exasperation in his voice. It seemed that this conversation had been going on for a while. “It’s not real.”
“Monsters are real,” the boy said.
“Yes but not here. Not on Halloween night. Everything is pretend.”
Bee smiled, her heart warming at that. It was something she had told the boys their first Halloween together when they were too scared to leave her side.
“What if he comes back?”
“Then I’ll protect you,” Andrew promised.
“You’re just a kid.”
“Yeah, but my mom can protect you too. She protected me and Aaron.”
Her smile faded then. Although the boys were young when they finally came to her, there were still things they experienced in previous homes that left lasting side effects. She could only hope that after two years, she had proved that they were safe. And hearing it from Andrew, especially, caused tears to well up in her eyes. Her heart seemed to break even more knowing that this ghost boy had most likely experienced something awful too.
“Wymack said I was safe but I still feel so scared,” the boy was saying, his voice thick with emotion. He was probably close to tears under his ghost sheet.
“I can ask my mom to talk to him. Make sure he knows that she’ll take you away if you ever feel unsafe.”
“Your mom doesn’t even know me.”
“No, but she didn’t know Aaron or me when she took us in.”
“You’re adopted?” The boy asked, sounding amazed.
“Yeah.”
“Me-me too.”
“What happened?” Andrew asked, his voice soft like it did when Aaron had a nightmare and he tried to calm his brother.
“My dad was a bad man so they took him away.”
“And your mom?”
“Not as bad but not good either so I couldn't stay with her.”
It was quiet between the two for a moment and then Andrew said, “Our birth mom didn’t want us. And the people we lived with afterward weren’t good either. But Bee loves us. I think Wymack probably loves you too.”
“Kevin said the same thing. He said we’re brothers now and that meant that Wymack was my dad too and dad’s loved and protected their kids.”
“He’s right. Moms and dads are supposed to love us and keep us safe. The ones who don’t aren’t our true parents. We don’t have to be related to them by blood. We just have to love them just like they love us.”
“I’m still so scared though.”
“It’s okay to be scared,” Andrew said. “Sometimes I have nightmares that Aaron and I were separated or that mom never wanted us. But mom told us that those were negative emotions and thoughts and it was okay to have them. But we had to remind ourselves that they weren’t true. And if we couldn’t remind ourselves then we could ask her to remind us.”
Bee wiped at her eyes, trying not to completely lose it when there were so many kids and adults around. How would she explain that her kid just made her so damn happy and she was so proud of him that it brought her to tears?
“I don’t want to go by myself,” the boy whispered.
“I’ll go with you.”
Bee watched as Andrew crawled out from under the table first, then held out his hand. The ghost boy took it and the two walked over to one of the booths that was decked out in fake spiders of all sizes. The ghost boy hid behind Andrew as they walked up to the person manning it. Andrew pulled him forward by their entwined hands and nudged his shoulder. The boy held out his bucket and let the man dressed as a spider put a handful of candy inside. Andrew held out his own bucket. Once they both had candy, the ghost boy pulled Andrew away quickly. Andrew caught sight of her and smiled brightly as he tugged the boy over. “Mom!” He said excitedly. “I made a new friend.”
“I see that,” she said, kneeling again. They were still holding hands so the ghost boy had to set his bucket of candy so he could pull the sheet up atop his head. He had stunning blue eyes and when he smiled shyly up at her, she noticed a few of his teeth missing or growing back in. “And what is your name?”
“Nath-Neil,” he said, stumbling over it. “I want to go by Neil.”
“Neil,” Bee said. “That’s a wonderful name.”
“It is?”
“Of course! Did you pick it out?”
His cheeks bloomed red and he looked down at his shoes nervously. “Yeah, it’s different from my dad’s - my old dad.” He amended at the end.
“That’s good,” she smiled at him, hoping they couldn’t tell how sad she felt at hearing their conversation and the implications it had.
“Do you want to go to the bat booth with me?” Andrew asked the boy.
“Bats are kind of scary though,” Neil answered.
“I promise they’re not. Did you know we wouldn’t have mangoes or bananas or avocados if it weren’t for bats?”
“Really? I love mangoes though.”
“Yeah, they help pollinate over 300 species of fruits," Andrew replied as he pulled Neil over to the bat booth. She stood back up, smiling and shaking her head.
“I see your boys are making friends with mine,” said a man to her left. She looked over to see a gentleman with tribal flame tattoos on his arms and a woman with blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail was next to him. “I’m David Wymack, Kevin and Neil’s dad and this is my wife Abby.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Betsey Dobson but to Aaron and Andrew either Mom or Bee.”
“I can’t believe Andrew was able to get Neil out from under the table,” Abby said. “As soon as he saw that spider booth he started crying and hid. We tried to coax him out but it seemed to make it worse so we decided to let him be. I was worried we’d have to push him out when we left.” Abby looked so sad saying it as her eyes found Neil. He and Andrew were sitting on a bench, feet swinging as they talked adamantly about something that made both of their eyes shine and smiles bright.
“Does he have arachnophobia?”
“More than likely. We don’t know all the details but his birth father didn’t help matters.”
Bee wasn’t sure she wanted to know any more than that. “I overheard them talking. How long have you had Neil?”
“A month,” Wymack answered. “We thought he’d have fun tonight but he got scared of the booths. We were able to coax him into at least trying but then he saw the spiders and that was the end of it.”
“We can’t possibly know what they’ve gone through before they came to us,” Bee said empathetically, hoping they didn’t feel too guilty about not knowing how Neil was going to react. “All we can do is help make the rest of their life as enjoyable as possible.”
“You adopted yours too?" Abby asked.
“Yeah, a couple of years ago. I can promise you that it gets easier. It just takes time and lots of patience.” Bee found Aaron and Kevin at a booth with superheroes, her smile brightening. “Listen, why don’t we exchange numbers and plan a playdate for the boys? Once Aaron and Andrew like someone, they won’t let them go. And if you have any questions or concerns along the way with Neil, I could help.”
“That would be great,” Wymack said, relief washing over his face. They talked a little more but mostly watched their boys. After a while Neil wandered over, Andrew trailing just a few feet behind, holding their candy buckets. He stood in front of Wymack and Abby, his head down and hands fiddling in front of him.
“I’m sorry for saying mean things to you,” he said.
“Oh sweetheart,” Abby said as she lowered herself down, dragging Wymack with her. “We’re not mad about that. We were just worried and wanted to help.”
Neil looked over at Andrew who nodded his head encouragingly. Bee wondered what all they had talked about under that table.
“I didn’t know what was wrong… Andrew helped me though. I don’t really like Halloween. It's always been scary and I didn’t want to go to the booths alone but Kevin didn’t want to go to the same ones I did. And I didn’t want to ask you because you said you wanted us to have fun by ourselves. I thought that meant I couldn’t ask you to come with me. And then I saw the spiders-” He cut himself off, wiping viciously at his eyes as he started to cry again. “I really don’t like spiders,” he said in a whisper.
“Neil,” Wymack said, his voice way softer than it had been when talking with Bee. “We assumed you wanted a little freedom. That’s on us. But if you’re ever scared or don’t want to do anything by yourself, always come ask us. We’ll go anywhere with you. We promise. We just wanted you to have a good night. You deserve it, kid.”
Neil finally looked up, his cheeks stained with tears and his blue eyes so much brighter than before. “I really want to stay with you,” he whispered.
“Then you’ll stay with us,” Abby promised.
“Can I hug you?”
Abby and Wymack exchanged surprised glances but nodded fervently. “Yes of course.” Neil walked over to Abby first, wrapping his small arms around her neck. She hugged him gently, as if afraid any tighter and she’d scare him away. It reminded Bee so much of the first hug she got from the twins. Neil went to Wymack next. He held on a little tighter and whispered something in Wymack’s ear that had the man closing his eyes and holding just a bit tighter. When they broke away, Neil took Andrew’s hand and the two walked off towards Kevin and Aaron. Wymack and Abby stood back up then looked at Bee and wrapped her in a quick hug. It was surprising but Bee hugged them back, understanding fully what emotions they were experiencing.
“Your boy is a miracle worker,” Abby said as they broke away.
“Not at all. Neil just needed a little push from someone who has been where he is. I think this means that we’re going to be stuck with each other for life. I’ve never seen Andrew cling to someone so tightly.”
Wymack laughed. “I wouldn’t be opposed.”
It turned out that they lived on the same street, just a few houses away from each other. Bee was not surprised when the next morning she opened her front door to Wymack, Abby, Neil, and Kevin standing on her porch. The kids had bright smiles and their candy buckets in hand as they asked if they could play with Andrew and Aaron. She stepped aside and let the family in, calling for her own boys and telling them they had guests. They came down the stairs, sleep rumbled and bleary-eyed but as soon as they saw Neil and Kevin they woke up. Aaron rushed down the stairs and Andrew was about to follow but one look at Neil and he ran back up them. “I’ll be right back!” He yelled.
The parents all exchanged confused glances. Kevin and Aaron already moved to the living room as Neil stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited. Andrew came running out of his room and down the stairs, something tucked to his side. He stopped in front of Neil and held out his stuffed animal named Moosie who was not a moose but a bear. But that didn’t matter to six-year-old Andrew when she got it for him. His nightmares were worse than Aaron's and she had read that stuffed animals were great for kids. He never slept without it, even now. “This is Moosie. I told you that if you have him, you won’t be scared,” Andrew said.
“You don’t want him anymore?” Neil asked hesitantly.
Andrew shrugged. “You need him more than me.” He pushed Moosie into Neil’s chest then let go. Neil barely caught it in time and held it close to him, his eyes looking at Andrew as if he just hung the moon. Without another word, they went to the living room and joined the other two. Bee wasn’t sure how many more times Andrew was going to surprise her. But one thing was for sure, she needed coffee before she even processed what just happened. “Coffee?” She asked the two adults.
“Yes, please,” Abby replied.
They all sat at the dining table with their coffees as they watched the kids arguing over what morning cartoons they should watch before they combined their candy loot and went through what to trade or throw away altogether. For the first time since Andrew and Aaron came to live with her, she felt confident in the way she was raising them. It was time for her to stop hovering so much and let them grow into the capable and loving people she knew they were going to become.