Page 20 of Trevor

“You didn’t put the tree up?”Trevor explained to her his reason for not tackling the big job.“That’s so sweet of you.I love it.We’ll have our first of many Christmases this year, and I can’t wait.”

The two of them spent nearly three hours on just putting the tree together and into the corner where they wanted it shown off in.He knew that they’d bought a tall tree, but he’d not counted on it taking forever to put together.Getting out the few ornaments that they’d gotten, it was looking more and more festive as they hung them on the branches.

Henrie was making a list of things that they needed, too.There were plenty of lights to cover the tree, but they’d forgotten to get the little hangers for ornaments.They also needed an extension cord to plug in the train set that was going to be surrounding the tree when it was finished.

They also decided that they wanted a big wreath for the front door as well as a smaller tree for their dining room.Neither of them thought that it would get used overly much but they wanted the house to be festive as they could make it.Also, the kitchen.She wanted to decorate it as well since they took most of their meals in there.

By the time they were finished up, the hot tub had arrived.Putting it off from their bedroom seemed to be the smartest thing to do, and it would keep others from getting into it if they were gone.He’d never seen it himself, but he’d heard of people using their neighbor’s pool and hot tub while they were out of town and trashing things up.While he didn’t think that would happen with them, he was taking no chances.

After having a light lunch and then a big supper, both of them were ready to go back to bed.However they did have to get some of the presents wrapped up so that no one would see them if they just happened by.Trevor thought that the excitement of being able to surprise his family this year was the most fun.

Years before, he would just get his brothers whatever they told him they wanted.No more.He’d had the most fun picking out Jenson’s gift.They’d found a gavel and had his name put on it.It didn’t seem like much, but he knew that Jenson would get a kick out of it.And for Clay, they’d gotten him a miniature Land Rover because of all the work he’d been doing since taking over NASA.Things like that for each of them that while not costly, they were meaningful.

That night, they were able to get into the hot tub and relax.He thought for sure that Henrie was going to have to use a scoop to get him out of it.His body was nothing but limp muscles by the timethey were ready for bed.He was nearly asleep, standing up when he was in the bedroom and into the bed.

Chapter 8

In a short twelve years since he and Henrie had been married, so many things had changed.Holding his daughter in his arms after feeding her the bottle, he marveled at the fact that he was a father again.He and Henrie had four boys and this little girl.Lisa Marie Strong was going to be spoiled rotten if the way her brothers were falling all over themselves in caring for her.

Jenson was due home tonight with Jade and their brood.Jade had been nearly eight months pregnant when he decided to run for the presidency.When he’d come into a close second to winning, it made him work all the harder to win the seat the following years.Not only did Jenson win by a landslide, his second term was no different.

His brother had had the highest popularity vote of any president before him, including Brock Wisecarver, their former president and great friend of the family.Jade had had the first child born in the White House in decades, and the little man had grown up telling people that he was going to be president someday, too.Trevor believed him.

The party they were having for his parents had been planned for months, and the send-off on a cruise was going to be so good for them.At last count they had nearly twenty grandchildren with more on the way.Mom and Dad hated to leave when they had so much fun with them that they wouldn’t take a break unless they were out of town.His parents were so loving that he was sure that the kids would rather be with them than their own parents.

Lizzy had given birth to two sets of twins, all boys.She was going to be hard to get away from their little Lisa when she was away.Clay and her loved their boys very much, but they had so wanted a girl this time around.He’d bet anything that they’d have more children, at least until they decided that boys were all they’d get.

Clay still worked for NASA.He’d made so many changes to the program that he’d been voted best boss by his team four years in a row.People were clamoring to get into his department and even kids that he’d been around in their town were saying that they were going to work for Clay.There were women working for the firm now and hadn’t been before.It was quite a feather in his hat too for women voters for Jenson as well that his little brother was so good at hiring anyone that qualified rather than just making it anall-boysclub like it had been before.

It amazed him that Barkley and Carrie had gone on to have several children.Their oldest two, identical twin girls had been adopted by them about fifteen years ago.They’d grown up about as secure and healthy as any children had been when he considered how they’d started out in life.

Sunny and Bethany, at only a few months old had been abused by their grandparents in the most unusual way.It turned out that Michael Cartwright had been their father too, having an affair with Mick’s wife.It was a sorted tale and one that no one talked about anymore.Sunny was doing well in her academics and Bethany wanted to be a child psychologist.

Carrie, Barkley’s wife was the sister to the children’s mother.She nor the other family had had anything to do with their sister Matty for a long time.It was horrible the way that Matty treated them all.And now she was dead along with her mother-in-law.

Barton’s family didn’t grow like the others.After having their one and only child, they devoted all their time to helping families get on the right track with children with special needs.Not just children with needs as in being handicapped, but children that were brilliant beyond anything that people had seen and helping them adjust like their own son had done.Sherm was brilliant, beyond any scope that anyone had ever seen yet he was bullied at schools where he was a teenager and all the kids in his classes in college were older and meaner.It had worked out well for all of them and the best part was, Sherm had gone on to helping others too.He’d become a doctor at a very young age and the entirefamily was very proud of him.Their little girl, Hanna, worshipped her brother and hung out with him wherever he was.It was a great family dynamic.

Barton worked with children as well.Getting over phobias like Sherm had had when he’d been younger.He still feared water, a large expanse of it, and sometimes had to work through his fear when playing in the pool, thanks mainly to do with Lorie, Toria’s sister, being the bitch that she’d been.

Then there was Lavender.Lavender had been staying with Jenson and his wife for a few days when it was found out that her guardian, ninety-year-old LeAnn, had passed away.They took her in to make sure that she was given a good home but she’d turned out to be a murderer and a sadist.It made him shiver every time he thought about her and her methods of killing people.

Maverick was the happiest he thought of all his brothers.He had a wonderful wife in Gracie and they also had the most children.It was funny that his older brother had had the set of twins that were a girl and a boy.He wondered too if there was ever a child in the little town that went to bed hungry with the two of them looking after them.

They ran soup kitchens right out of their home.Would supply money for college aged kids that were struggling with both working and trying to study.They would do this under the cover of just helping out when in fact it saved a great many family and children from having to drop out of college in order to pay for things such as books or just meeting the electric bill payment before having their power turned off.He loved all his brothers but he was especially close to Maverick and his wife Gracie.They were so modest that it made him love them even more.

He and Henrie had a good life as well.They were living in their home with all their kids surrounding them.From their first Christmas it had been trying to outdo the one before.Not with gifts, no, the family got enough gifts from them but with décor.Their house was the one to go and see at all holidays but they specially loved Christmas.Even Halloween was a big to do and people from miles away would come by and see what they had put up every year.

“Dad?”He turned to look at his son, asking him if everything was all right.“Yeah, sure.I have a problem at school.Well, it’s not my problem but one of the guys I have in my class.I think that he’s living alone in his apartment.”

“What makes you think that?”He told him some of the things that he’d been asking him about.“Just because he didn’t know how to use a washer doesn’t make him alone in the world.You know how because your mother and I wanted to make sure you could care for yourself if you were every left alone.”

“Yeah, but you never leave any of us alone.”He asked if he could hold his sister.After setting him up with her, he didn’t move far away just in case he got tried of her.Not that he could see that happening but he didn’t want to take any chances.“Lisa is beautiful, don’t you think, Dad?”

“I do.Now, tell me what you’re thinking about your friend.”He asked him not to get mad at him.“Never.You’ve been helping him out, I understand that but what is it that you think I’m going to be mad at you about?”

“I’ve been giving him my lunch.You have that thing set up at school so that I can buy my lunch when I want to so I’ve been using that.The teachers won’t let him set up the account on account of him being so far behind in his payments from last year.Now his little sister is going to school, which I didn’t know until yesterday and they neither one can eat there.I wonder if he’s got anything at home to feed them.”Trevor asked his son if he knew that he was alone or was he guessing.“I know it.A week ago I walked home so that I could go by his house.When I got there, there wasn’t any cars in the driveway nor was anyone mowing their lawn.It’s really big now, the grass I mean.”

“All good observations and no, I’m not mad at you for making it so that your friend can eat.I bet he also saves some of his food you give him to take to his sister.”His son nodded.“All right, what is it that you want to do?I know you don’t want to embarrass them so you tell me what you’ve worked out in getting you some answers.”

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