Page 83 of Black and White, Twice the Might

“Wow, thank you, John. You're the type of father I wish we had had. As for the boys, I’m sure they would love to,” I say, touched.

“You really are,” Sly agrees. “My father was, or is, a complete psycho, same as my mother. I wished for parents like you as well.”

John gives us a beaming smile, pulling us both into a massive hug. “Thank you. This is so exciting. I now have four grandsons when I never thought I’d have any.”

“Four?” I ask, just as Sly asks, “Why not?”

“With Ernest being gay and never showing any interest in having children, we thought we’d never be grandparents, something we both wanted. We never put pressure on Ernest, you understand. He had to live his own life. But then he met Adhan, who already had Alfred. We got our dream of a grandson. Well, we did once Ernest pointed that fact out to us. And as Al is married to Justice, we got two grandsons. Now with Xander and Enoch, we have four.”

“I’m very happy for you, John,” I say truthfully.

Jodie and the boys walk over to join us.

“Is everything alright?” Xander asks, looking from me and Sly to John.

“It is,” Sly replies.

“Xander, Enoch, John and Jodie want to ask you something,” I tell them.

“What’s that?” Enoch asks, looking between them.

Jodie takes John’s hand. “We wondered what you thought about calling us Grammie and Grandpops,” she says, giving them a gentle smile.

I don’t think the boys’ smiles could get any wider.

“For real?” Xander asks them.

“For real,” John replies.

“Thank you, we’d love to,” Enoch says, practically throwing himself into John’s arms, while Xander hugs the stuffing out of Jodie.

“So, I think that’s a yes from my brothers.”

“Good, we are so happy,” Jodie adds.

After that, we finish the walk and buy drinks and burgers. Thank goodness this is Halloween. It will be weeks of healthy food to make up for all the junk we’ve eaten lately.

John and Jodie leave us after eating the burgers, and we take the boys back to the B&B for sleep. All four of us are excited as this weekend is moving weekend.

CHAPTER 32

We’re all up early Saturday morning. The boys are chomping at the bit to move into our house.

There is excited chatter over our breakfast table. The boys try to rush their breakfast, but Sly makes them slow down.

“The house isn’t going anywhere,” he assures them. “The earliest we can move in is tomorrow, so eat slowly.”

“Your brothers are excited,” Janice says, walking by our table and stopping.

“Not just them. We’re all excited to have somewhere permanent to live. We should be all moved in by tomorrow evening,” I reply.

“It will be a shame not to see you all in the mornings, but I’m glad you’re moving to our town.”

“Us too, Janice,” Sly replies.

Janice pats his shoulder and carries on her way to the next table.

“Is it weird I have excited butterflies in my stomach?” Xander asks.