Page 61 of For the Love of the Lawyer

Mickey pulled back and smiled. "It was, and they're very happy to be married, but Jonny, it doesn't have to be that way for everybody. I know I'm not gonna walk away from you, but I don't have anything to bring to a marriage between us. I got no money, and hell, even my name ain't worth nothin'. All I can offer you is my heart and devotion.”

Jon swallowed hard because of the lump in his throat at the honesty in Mickey's voice. "You give me love and support, Mick. You and me? We don't need the paper, but you're the person Iwant to spend the rest of my life with, and I hope we get to keep those kids in our home and our hearts.” Jon meant every word.

That was as much of a promise as either man seemed to need. The next hurdle was living so far away from each other, but Jon had the idea to speak to his father the next weekend when he took the kids to meet his parents. Audrey hadn't shown up at the wedding as he thought she would, but things with Megan seemed to be going well without anyone's help but Mickey's.

One thing was apparent: taking Megan away from Terry seemed like it might hurt both children more than was necessary. There was no need to rush things, or so Jon hoped. He had the pieces of his life he wanted. He just needed to figure out how to put them all together.

"Well, it's good to see you've come back to town. Nice tan, by the way.” Jon’s tone belied his frustration with Audrey when she showed up at the door of his condo, unannounced. Terrence and Megan were in the living room when the doorbell rang on Saturday morning a week after the wedding weekend, and Jon wasn't happy to see his best friend standing in front of him with a suntan and a bright, stress-free smile.

"I got your messages, Jonny, but I was at a wellness spa in Palmilla. It came up last minute, and I talked to Daddy about it. Thank you for covering my docket, but it really did me a lot of good.” Audrey pushed by him and headed toward the kitchen.

Jon was so pissed at her, he was ready to bite nails in two, but the situation reminded him he had received a blessing with those kids, and if Audrey had been around, he'd have never had the chance to get to know Megan. He wanted to keep Meganand Terry, but he was sure he'd need Audrey's help to make it happen.

"Glad to hear it. Come meet my foster kids," he said dryly as he led her into the living room where the two kids were lying on the floor watching a documentary about different types of monkeys.

Once she saw them, Audrey grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the foyer. "Where in hell did you get two foster kids?" Audrey didn’t move her eyes from the kids as she stood in the hallway.

"Well, I got Terry because he was living in a shitty group home and at the time of his hearing, he was incarcerated at Stonebridge. I just couldn't send him back there, Audrey. The boy needs someone to give a shit about him and turns out I was the guy who fit the bill.

“Little Megan was supposed to be placed in the care of a nice family who turned out to be hedging their bets in the event their adoption of a deaf boy didn't go through. When they got word things were solid with the boy, they no longer wanted that precious little girl.

"I simply couldn't send her back into the system. You were my first choice for her, Audrey, but when you were gone and left no contact information, I had to improvise.” Jon was preaching, so pissed at her but unable to pinpoint a good reason why.

She gave him a sly smirk which totally unnerved him, but he was going to fight it. "No, you don't get a…" he protested.

"Jonny, you don't really need me to take over that sweet girl's care. The look on your face is enough to tell me you've got everything under control, just like everything you’ve ever taken on in your life, my dear one.

"I'm still trying to decide whether I really want to be a mother, you know. Lyla wanted it, but she didn't stick around, did she? Myself? I need to give it some thought before I make the leap. I'll help you with the kids, but you're the best person to be theirguardian. What does Mickey say?" The two of them settled at the kitchen table with cups of coffee.

"We need to leave in an hour to meet him in Dillwyn for the weekend. Mom and Dad are anxious to meet the kids, and Mick and I need to figure out how we can be settled together in one place. I need him with me, Audrey.” Jon’s voice was low so the kids didn’t hear him. They needed to be settled and stable. He needed Mickey to make that happen.

"Can I meet them before you go?" The smile on her face gave Jon comfort. She seemed to believe he was strong enough to be a father to those kids for as long as he was allowed to have them, and that made him feel more confident in his limited parenting skills. He took her hand to lead her into the living room.

"Meggie, Terrence, this is my old best friend, Audrey. Aud, these are my new best friends.” Jon was surprised that Terrence seemed to warm to her in short order, but Megan sidled over to him and wrapped her little arm around his leg, seeming very uneasy about the appearance of the woman standing next to Jon. It almost seemed as if she was staking her territory.

"It's okay, Meggie. She's friendly.”

"So, she's not gonna make Mickey not come here anymore? She's not your girlfriend?"

Audrey laughed. "Sweetie, I don't think dynamite would keep Mickey from being here, and no, Jonny's my best friend, not my boyfriend. Now, how about we go get your things together so you can get on the road to meet Ham and Ally? You'll love them."

An hour later, Audrey was hugging all of them goodbye, having won over the hearts of Terrence and Megan while she quickly earned the title of Auntie Audrey. They waved to her as Jon pulled out of the parking lot and got on the road for Dillwyn.

The ride was lively as Terry and Megan played word games. The teen boy had asked Jon to help him look up things on the internet regarding children with Down's. They'd found someexercises to assist and reinforce the things Meggie was learning at the day camp she was attending in Richmond while Terrence attended a sports camp in the same neighborhood.

"That's really great, Terry. We're going to take her to a special school for kids like her when you start school, but these games can help her in the meantime. Good job." Terry’s eyes shined at Jon’s praise. He was quite proud to see the young man was interested in anything that didn't involve spray paint.

Since then, Terrence had been working with Megan, encouraging drawing and storytelling in the evenings while Jon cooked dinner. The kids had begun making graphic-novel-type fairy tales with Megan providing the stories as Terrence drew the pictures she described. Jon encouraged it because he could see they were bonding, and it was good for them. Their welfare was Jon’s only concern.

"So, let me tell you about Ally and Ham. Ham's my dad. He's black, and Ally's my mom, she's white. Some people don't like to see people of different races together any more than they like to see me and Mickey together, but in our family, we're pioneers. We do what we want, not what's expected. We don't listen to the ugly things other people say about us because we all love and care for each other.

"Now, my mom's going to want to smother you with attention, but she has horses you can ride, so if you'll just indulge her for a bit, it'll pay off, and Mick will be there.” Jon was relieved Mickey had agreed to come out. He’d missed the man fiercely.

"Will she like us? She won't be mad you brought us, will she?" Megan’s voice was a whisper. Jon glanced in the rearview mirror to see her hands clutching a stuffed horse Mickey had sent to her, just like a multitude of things he’d sent to Terrence. There were art supplies and books, along with video games and a gaming system. When Jon called to protest, Mickey giggled.

"Gimme a break, darlin’. I don't get to be there every day, so I'm the good cop. You're there and you gotta instill discipline, so you're the bad cop. Once we figure out how we can all be together in one place, I'll take over the role of the bad guy every once in a while, but give me this one, okay?"

Of course, Jon couldn't disappoint the man he loved, so he'd acquiesced. Love made him strong and weak in equal measure.

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