Hart to Heart, page 3
“Ew,” he said, grimacing again. “That’s gross. I’d rather eat a bug.” Then he hopped off the stool and headed to the family room, probably to play some video games while we got ready to leave.
“There’s never a right answer,” Addison said as she walked around me, her coffee mug in hand as she headed back to the bedroom. “There’s just the simplest answer that you can come up with. If it doesn’t work, you can always fall back on the old, ‘Because I said so.’” She flashed a quick smile at me over her shoulder before disappearing down the hall.
Thirty minutes later, Jax had whooped me in Minecraft—which I couldn’t figure out since it just looked like we were playing Legos on TV—when Addison was finally ready to go get pancakes. It had become our little tradition. Every time there was a special occasion, whether it be the first day of school, straight A’s on a report card, or the end of the football season, we went out for pancakes. With it being Adoption Day, it just seemed right.
After stuffing ourselves, we jumped back in my truck and headed to Downtown Dallas to the courthouse. I wasn’t quite sure how many cases were on the docket, or even how many of those were adoptions. But I didn’t care. I’d wait all day if I had to.
Once we finally made it through security, gave a few autographs and took a few pictures, we finally made it up to Courtroom Seven. My mom, Rick, Mick, and Adam were all waiting for us there.
“Are you ready to officially be a dad?” my mom asked as she hugged me tight.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “It depends on if you’re ready to be a grandma.”
“You know I love that little boy with all my heart,” she said, glancing at Jaxon adoringly as he told Adam all about how he destroyed my building with a creeper or something this morning.
“Me too, Ma,” I agreed before turning to Mick. “How are you feeling about all this today, Mick?” I asked, shaking his hand and patting him on the shoulder.
“Well,” he said, “I’m not gonna say it’s not bittersweet. But I’ve really been thinking about it, and frankly, I think Austin would give his blessing right now if he could. You’ve been a wonderful role model to Jax. I don’t think either one of us could have picked a better man to be in his life.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Mick. I really appreciate that.”
“Don’t start me crying yet, you two,” Addison said, wrapping an arm around my waist and dabbing the corner of her eye with her fingertip. “You know I’m going to be a blubbering mess soon enough.”
We sat around talking for a few minutes before my attorney, Dawson Staggs, showed up and told us we were on the one o’clock docket. Along with fifteen other cases. It was apparently standard procedure to schedule everyone at once, and you just sat around until your case was called. To our surprise, we went second.
As we all filed into the courtroom and stood before the judge’s bench, we could hear some gasps as we were recognized. But honestly, I didn’t care. With the exception of my wedding day, this was the best day of my life, and a few additional pictures on Facebook weren’t going to ruin it for any of us.
“Mr. Hart,” the judge said. “I see you are here to adopt the young man in front of me. That would be Jaxon Mitchell Bryant. Is that correct?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, my heart thundering in my chest.
“Do you care to introduce the people you brought with you?” she asked sternly. She was probably in her late sixties with short, fluffy white hair. She was very businesslike, and I appreciated that she was making some last-minute observations before just handing Jaxon over to anyone.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered. “This is my mother, Yvette Johnson, and her husband Rick,” I said, gesturing behind me to my left. “And this is Jaxon’s paternal grandfather, Mitchell Bryant, and my manager and friend, Adam Roberts,” I said, gesturing behind me to my right.
“It’s very unusual to have a paternal grandfather in the courtroom when the child in question is being adopted by a father,” she said with surprise. “And you’re supportive of this adoption, Mr. Bryant?” she asked Mick.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Jaxon deserves to have a real dad in his life. And since Austin can’t be here, Jason has proven time and time again that he’s the next best thing.”
She nodded. “And how do you feel about it, young man?” she asked Jaxon directly. He thought for a minute.
“My dad will always be my dad, ma’am,” he said politely. “But I’m really lucky that I’m gonna get to have two dads. My teacher said some kids don’t even have one.”
I put my hand on Jaxon’s shoulder and squeezed as I heard Addison start crying next to me. In half a second, my mother was handing her a tissue.
“You look like you’re in agreement with all of this, Mrs. Hart,” the judge said. Addison just nodded, not able to get any words out, and I pulled her closer to me.
“Your home study looks good. Your background checks are clean. And it’s clear you have the support of all sides of the family. Is there anything you’d like to add, Mr. Staggs?”
“Just that I’ve worked with a lot of adoptive parents over the years, and Mr. Hart is one of the most committed I’ve ever seen,” my attorney replied. “There is no doubt in my mind that he will do his best to take care of this little boy, no matter what comes their way.”
“Duly noted,” she said. “Well then, since everything is in order, I hereby order that Jason Allen Hart is now legally the father of Jaxon Mitchell Bryant, in all that fatherhood entails. I further order that the child’s name be legally changed to Jaxon Bryant Hart and will be changed on his social security card and birth certificate. Jason Hart’s name will also be added to the birth certificate as the father of the child. Any objections?”
The courtroom remained quiet.
“Then it is so ordered,” she said, slamming the gavel down on her desk.
And just like that, I became a father.
When we walked into the backyard just an hour later, the party was already in full swing. You would think after spending a couple of weeks with each other for the wedding, we’d all be sick of each other. But there was nothing the Bryants and Harts loved more than a good family celebration.
Vanessa had outdone herself with decorating the back yard, and Deuce was already in full-on grill mode, complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, and brisket. It just wasn’t a Texas barbecue without the brisket.
But maybe my favorite part was the twin cakes sitting side by side. They were homemade cakes and nothing fancy. What made them perfect was that Vanessa had carefully written “Welcome to the family, Jaxon” on one, and “Welcome to the family, Jason” on the other.
She nailed it. There was no separation between our families anymore. Not that there had been before. But now it was legal. And that meant the world to me.
“Hey! How’d it go?” Deuce called out over his shoulder as he cooked.
“It was great!” Jaxon said before taking off after Emma to the playscape to the left of the yard.
Deuce chuckled. “Does that kid ever calm down?”
“Never,” I admitted, taking two beers out of the fridge and handing him one. “It went well, though. Didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I guess the hard parts were all done before the actual hearing.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine them bringing a kid into the courtroom, only to say, ‘Sorry, it ain’t happening today,’” he said. “Did the judge approve the name stuff?”
“Yep,” I said, taking a swig of my beer. “She didn’t even ask about it. Just signed the paperwork and moved along.”
“I’m really impressed you suggested using Bryant as his middle name,” he said while flipping the burgers. “With the way that fucker cheated on Addison without even caring about her feelings, I’m not sure I would have had the stomach to honor him in any way.”
“I really thought about it,” I said. “But when it comes down to it, nothing about the adoption was about Addison. It was all about Jaxon. And even if I wanna kick Austin’s ass for hurting Addison the way he did, I have a lot of respect for how he was as a father.”
“You’re a good man, Hart. Not a lot of people would see it that way.” He looked around the back yard like he was searching for something. “Where’s Adam, anyway?”
“Probably writing up the press release as we speak,” I said, taking a swig of my beer.
“You sure he’s not still avoiding Samantha?”
I chuckled. “From what I understand, he finally laid it on the line and she took it really well.” I shrugged. “Go figure. He’ll be here soon. You know he wouldn’t miss beer, brisket, and cake for anything.”
We spent the afternoon relaxing on the patio, just hanging out and being a family. At one point, the kids decided to swim, which meant Deuce had to get in with baby Trace. Which meant I had to get in with Deuce. It was one thing to toss Jaxon around the pool, but when you added Emma to the mix, I got a pretty serious workout in.
“Jason,” Jaxon said a while later, swimming up to me. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Come here, buddy,” I said, pulling him through the water to the steps. “What’s not feeling well?”
“My stomach hurts,” he said as I felt his forehead.
“You’re feeling kind of warm, too. You wanna come sit out with me for a while?”
“Yeah,” he said with a sleepy look on his face. “Can I sit on your lap?”
I smiled. This is the part of being a parent I was gonna love. “Sure, buddy. Let’s get toweled off.”
We made our way over to the patio again, wrapped ourselves up, and settled into one of the overstuffed outdoor chairs.
“Hey babe,” I said, interrupting Addison’s conversation with Samantha and Lindsay about some latest celebrity gossip. In all actuality, I was giving Addison an out from a conversation she probably wasn’t enjoying, and I knew it. “Do we have any children’s Tylenol or anything?”
She stood up and walked over with concern in her eyes. “Why? What’s wrong?” she asked, eyeing Jaxon, who had already fallen asleep in my arms.
“He seems warm to me and says his stomach is hurting.”
“Hmm,” she said, feeling his forehead. “Yvette, you took him to the doctor while we were gone, right?”
“I sure did,” my mom said as she sat down next to me, hovering over Jaxon, too. “They figured it was probably a virus. Told me to make sure he was drinking enough and getting lots of rest until he felt better.”
“He’s probably just having a hard time kicking it,” I said as Addison went inside for a thermometer and some medicine. “We’ll just make another appointment for tomorrow.”
“Better make it for later in the day,” Deuce said as he sat down across the table from me, his plate piled high with food. “It’s almost July. Six am workouts start tomorrow morning, Jay. You’ve been lazy long enough. Or maybe you haven’t been lazy,” he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down and grinning like an idiot.
“Really, dude?” I reprimanded. “You’re gonna say shit like that in front of my mother?” He just laughed.
“Oh, Jason,” Mom jumped in. “I’ve been around Michael long enough to never be shocked by the things he says.”
“See?” he said, giving me a pointed look. “Your mother loves me and my sense of humor.”
I just rolled my eyes at him as she continued. “Besides, I expect the both of you to be making the most of your sex lives while you’re young. The more testosterone you have in your youth, the faster it wears off when you’re older, and you’ll be headed to your monthly doctor’s appointment for your prescription of Viagra. And everyone knows how much testosterone football players have.”
Deuce started choking on his brisket. “Is that true?” he said in between bites with his eyes wide. “Is there any way to stop that?”
“Look it up if you don’t believe me,” she said with a smile.
“Vanessa!” he bellowed as he leapt up from his chair. “Where’s my phone? I need to Google some shit!”
I looked over at my mom who was trying to hide a smile. “Is any of that even true, Ma?”
“Heck if I know,” she said with a gleam in her eye. “But at least it got him off the topic of your sex life. I know you’re married and all, but there are some things a mother doesn’t need to hear about.”
I roared with laughter as I watched Deuce have an animated discussion with his wife, and Vanessa rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of it all.
Yeah. Legal ties or not, this family was solid as a rock. Weird conversations and all.
“Did you know there is something called the ‘pee-pee teepee’?” Deuce asked while spotting me on my squats a couple days later. We were in the middle of one of our pre-pre-season workouts. Deuce and I had been doing these for the last five-plus years. You didn’t maintain your status as the best on the field by getting lazy once you got the contract.
After we had moved into our new neighborhood, we had convinced Deuce and Vanessa to do the same. Vanessa had been wanting out of their condo so that Trace could have a backyard to play in and close friends around, so it worked out great. It meant driving just a couple minutes every morning to the neighborhood gym instead of all the way down to the stadium.
It also meant Addison fell into the habit of going to the gym again too, which had been a goal of hers. Jaxon was up by seven every day anyway, so an eight AM boot camp class was doable for her.
She had met a nice group of women that she enjoyed hanging out with, and they had a good time. I’ll admit, when I first met her twenty-five-year-old trainer, Seth, I made sure he knew she was taken. But he turned out to be a nice kid, and he really knew his stuff. He’d even given me some advice on how to adjust my own form a couple times when I was feeling too much pressure in my back.
So yeah. It was working out for us here.
“It’s like an upside-down cup, like the ones you get at a water cooler? You put it over his giant baby penis when you change his diaper, so he doesn’t squirt you in the face,” Deuce said as he helped me get the bar on the rack and change the weight out. “Problem is, he’s old enough now that he keeps yanking the damn thing off of himself when he knows he has to go. And he thinks it’s funny.”
“Are you sure he isn’t aiming for you on purpose because you keep telling everyone how big his manhood is?” I asked as Deuce settled himself under the bar and raised it up so he could get in position for his round of squats.
“Hey, he takes after me,” Deuce said as he started to squat down. “He needs to be proud of what God gave him. Someday, he’s gonna make some woman very happy.”
I just rolled my eyes as I counted his reps.
“Hey guys,” Addison said, walking up with her phone in her hands.
“Hey baby.” I gave her a quick peck just before grabbing the bar and helping Deuce re-rack it. “What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be in boot camp?”
Her eyes furrowed as she answered. “I just got a weird call from the pediatrician’s office. Are you guys almost done for the day?”
I looked at Deuce, who nodded. “Yeah. We just finished up our last set. We just need to run a few miles on the treadmill and then we’re done. Why? Did the doctor say something?”
“I didn’t actually talk to the doctor. I talked to a scheduler of some sort. Dr. Laabs wants us to come in to discuss Jaxon’s test results.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I wiped my face and neck with a towel. “Is something wrong?”
She sat down and began chewing on her lip. “I don’t know. They’ve never done anything like this before. I asked if the doctor was going to see Jaxon and she said it wasn’t necessary to bring him in. This is making me a little nervous, Jason.”
I sat down next to her, put my arm around her, and squeezed her shoulder, careful not to get her all sweaty. “I’m sure it’s fine, babe. She probably just doesn’t want us to drag him into the office and be bored so she can tell us he’s allergic to ragweed or something.”
“Maybe,” she said, but she didn’t look convinced. “I just have a weird feeling. Do you think your mom could watch him when we go? The appointment is at ten.”
“Why don’t I just take him home with me?” Deuce offered as he took a swig of his water. “I’m sure Vanessa wouldn’t mind having someone entertain Trace for a couple hours so she can take a breather.”
“If you think she wouldn’t mind, that would be great, Deuce, thanks,” Addison said, still looking worried.
“Look, babe,” I said. “Why don’t you head to boot camp and work off some nervous energy while we get these miles knocked out, and I’ll meet you outside the locker rooms at nine forty-five. The office is just around the corner, right?” She nodded. “We’ll head in there, talk to the doc, and when nothing is wrong, we’ll go out to lunch.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “That sounds good. You’re right. I’m probably making this into a bigger deal than it is.”
I smiled and kissed her temple. “Good. Now go work on that fine ass of yours and I’ll see you soon,” I said, smacking her rear as she stood up.
She winked at me over her shoulder as she walked away.
“You think everything’s okay?” Deuce asked as we made our way over to the treadmills.
“Oh yeah,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt. “I’m sure this kind of thing happens all the time.”
The truth was, I was scared to death. As we started our five-mile run, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t just wrong, but that nothing would ever be the same.
Two hours later, Addison and I were sitting in Dr. Laabs’s office, waiting for her to come talk to us. We tried making small talk, but we were both kind of lost in our own thoughts. I kept reminding myself that this was no big deal. This kind of thing happened all the time. But that nagging feeling just wouldn’t go away.
After what seemed like hours, the door finally opened and the doctor walked in.
“Hi, Addison! Nice to see you again,” she said cheerfully. Dr. Laabs was a petite blonde woman, probably in her early thirties. She was wearing plain blue scrubs and a lab coat. She seemed like the kind of person Addison would be friends with if they didn’t have the whole doctor/patient thing going. “You must be Jason,” she said, extending her hand my direction. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Jaxon has talked a lot about you,” she said as I shook her hand.
