MC: LaPonte (29 page)

"It won't take long; I'll
just change the sheets and comforter. I'll be at the Community
Center by the time you get back." He nods.

Alex asks to see the
Christmas tree. He signs 'we can't have one.' I want to cry. Who
doesn't have a tree? Danny takes him and Ally to see the tree,
Darren follows. They are making happy noises so I go look. Darren
runs up the stairs. Danny watches smiling. Alex pulls on Danny's
pocket. 'You like me and Ally?'

Danny smiles and bends to
him. He says and signs, “I like you a lot. You're very special and
we're glad you get to spend Christmas with us.” I go to them. “I'm
so excited to see what Santa brings you.” I smile. Alex looks at
Ally. 'Santa doesn't get us toys cause we're retarded.' Danny sucks
in a breath. Little Ben comes over and holds Alex's hand. 'People
always have something broke' just cause it's broke doesn't mean
it's no good, just different. Uncle Danny has a broke eye and
Darren has broke ears. We still love them and they help us be
strong. You can help us be strong for you.'

Alex looks at Danny, 'we
can be strong.' Danny hugs him. Ally throws herself at me. I hug
her tight. She lets me go, 'Santa will bring us toys here in your
house.' I laugh, I say and sign 'of course.' She puts her arms
around Alex and Danny. The kids come in and watch. Little Ben tells
them they never got presents from Santa before. They watch while
Darren comes down the stairs with two presents. He hands one to
Alex and one to Ally. They make noises jumping up and down.
Everyone is in here watching them. They ask Darren if they can open
them. He smiles and signs 'yes', then looks at Danny. 'They need
your strong dad. No one gave them strong before.' I have tears in
my eyes. Fuckin kids.

They tear through the
paper Alex jumps up and down yelling something I don't get. All the
adults are laughing. "What does he have?"

Jessie comes over to me,
"the present he got for Victor. Star Wars Legos." I am so freakin
proud of him. I sign 'thank you' to him then Darren. Ally holds up
a stuffed bear screeching something that makes everyone laugh. They
both run and hug Darren. Arron and Victor hug him too. Aaron signs
'it's just like the one I had, Ally needs it more.' Darren nods and
hugs him tight. Jessie tells Aaron he's using his strong
already.

Tiny says, "fuckin kids."
They all put their hands out laughing. Patches tells us the boys
have to get ready. He tells them to meet him at the sink so he can
get them clean. Once everyone's clean he tells them it's time to
start delivering. I bend to Ally, 'you can bring your bear with you
and leave it in the truck while you deliver.' She hugs me nodding.
These are very huggy kids. Danny lifts Alex up and has him put his
Legos up on a shelf so they stay safe. The boys help them with
coats, hats and gloves. Tiny got them all Santa hats. I laugh as
all the adults just watch. I start cleaning the kitchen. Danny
kisses me promising to see me at the party then piles out with
Patches.

"How are you going to
handle all these kids Kate?" Tracy asks. Something is happening
here her voice is odd. Steve and Tiny look at her.

"Just like we did. They
help handle each other. I think I'm just supposed to supervise and
love them." I tell her.

"Nothin wrong with that,
it's more than a lot gets." Steve says as he clears the trash off
the counter.

"Fuckin right there
Brother, too many kids don't get that much. Let's get the fuck out
of here before we need fuckin tampons." He says putting the chips
in the cabinet. Everyone laughs as they walk out. Tiny and his
friggin tampons.

"That was only forty five
minutes. Holy cow!" Nancy says with a smile. "It feels like
Christmas!"

We all laugh, "It does
doesn't it?" Jess says, I agree. Tracy is quiet.

“I need to get the sheets
changed for Ally, stay as long as you'd like." Nancy offers to help
if Jess will take Tracy to the Center. Smart girl our Nancy. Jess
nods at Nancy and gets Elizabeth bundled up. Nancy grabs Devan's
seat and follows me upstairs.

Walking in the room I
laugh, "This is how I'm able to do it. You were already
here."

She smiles. "Tiny called
me earlier; he told me about you being stuck with a dead guy and
freaked out workers."

I look around, they got
everything a little girl might need, even a little plastic vanity
set with a brush and hair ties set on top. "Thank you. I have the
absolute best friends." I go to the closet to get the purple sheets
and blankets and see dresses and sweaters hung up. "My friggin
friends are the best." I tell no one.

"Ben tried to get Tracy to
take the kids; he thought this would be too much for you. She
didn't think she could do it so he asked that everyone give a
little more time to help. Tiny said you didn't even hesitate, you
agreed as soon as he asked." She says pulling the sheets off the
bed and folding them.

"I couldn't have if Danny
didn't agree. We both lived in care, that's no place for kids to be
raised, certainly not special needs kids." I say wondering if
that's what's going on with Tracy. "Should I say something to
Tracy? Not everyone is a little crazy like us and willing to take
more kids." I get the sheets on and take the folded ones to the
closet.

"I'm not sure that's the
only thing going on. If it were me, I would just leave it alone."
She says helping me get the comforter on.

"I'll leave it alone." I
tell her as I'm opening drawers looking for pj's for my little
miss. I find a pair of feety princess pj's. "These are so freakin
cute." I smile at her putting them on the bed. "I need to get the
boys set up before I leave." I say picking Devan up and carrying
him to the boys’ room. I crack up walking in. Little Ben's old bed
is in the room pj's already set on it. "Looks like Patches set them
up already. He usually does if he's here at dinner
time."

"Prospects brought the bed
in while we got Ally's stuff put up." Nancy tells me.

"I guess I'm done here.
You guys are the best. Let's go party!"

She laughs taking Devan
downstairs. I grab a bottle and check his bag as she gets him
changed. We bundle my boy up and walk out to the garage. Two police
cars pull up. I look at Nancy. "They have Christmas presents for
Ally and Alex. I'm just going to show them where to drop them if
you can get little man in for me." She agrees, I show them and ask
them to lock up when they're done.

"Finally." I sigh as we're
on our way.

The seniors are so freakin
cute. I can see why Jess loves being around them. They have no
filter and never make excuses. We sit laughing while we wait on the
kids. Anita has Elizabeth and Jess has Devan. I thank Jess for
helping get things set up for me. She waves me away. "I just made
phone calls. Everyone pitched in to get it done." She smiles.
"Merry Christmas Kate. You used to dream about a house full of
kids. Looks like Santa came early."

"I freakin love you guys."
I tell them with tears in my eyes.

The kids show at seven. A
barely controlled chaos ensues. Santa's helper, played by Ben,
makes it at eight handing each kid two presents. The guys on
delivery show as the first gifts are handed out. They watch with
smiles as the kids go wild and the seniors keep everyone
entertained. Jake and Zack fit right in helping put stuff together
and opening difficult packaging. I snag Patches thanking him for
helping with the kids. He hugs me telling me I'm the best mom he's
ever had. Of course I cry. Danny holds me making me laugh with
stories of the kids delivering. I love my family. It looks like
most of the MC showed up to help tonight. I'm so proud of everyone.
Everyone helps with clean up and we have the kids bundled up by
nine. I hug Jake and Zack wishing them a Merry Christmas and a good
time at the Club.

Before I can climb in the
truck Ben stands in front of me and Danny. "You're very special
people taking on more special needs kids. Thank you for what you're
doing here."

Danny answers for both of
us. "We couldn't do it if it weren't for you and the Brotherhood.
Thanks for doing your part so were able to take them." Ben hugs
Danny then me. "Merry Christmas Brother." Danny slaps his back. We
finally head home with Patches following. The kids are loud and
happy all the way home. Jess is right this is exactly what I used
to wish for.

Patches helps Danny get
the boys washed and ready for bed. I show Ally to her room and help
her get ready. We all meet downstairs and sit in the living room
telling each other our favorite part of the day. Darren tells us
about the little girl that got a bike; he was so proud of Victor
because he helped her on it and made sure she didn't fall. Aaron
liked riding with Patches singing Christmas songs. Victor liked
Darren giving presents to Ally and Alex. Ally liked me helping her
get ready for bed. Alex liked feeling special enough to get
presents and helping give them. Danny liked how proud he was of all
the kids because they were so good, never complaining and did
special little things for everyone they delivered to. Patches likes
right now, everyone showing how much they love each other. My
favorite was Patches telling me I was the best mom. Right as I say
it I'm tackled by everyone agreeing with him. Danny and Patches
pull the kids off while laughing, both kissing my cheek and
agreeing too.

Patches reads The Night
Before Christmas while I feed a hungry Devan. All but Darren are
asleep by the time he finishes. Darren asks if his mom can see him.
Patches signs 'yes, I bet she is smiling at how strong you got and
what a good big brother you are.' Darren hugs him then me. I tell
him I love him and I'm so proud of him for knowing to give the
presents to Ally and Alex sharing his strong with them. He worries
that he doesn't have presents for his brothers. I sign and say,
"You already gave them their presents. Didn't you see them thank
you for giving the Legos and Bear to Ally and Alex?" He signs
'yes.'

"Sometimes the best
presents you can give someone is lifting someone else up. It
doesn't have to be a thing that they get. The feelings last way
longer. You gave your brothers the memory that no one else could."
Patches signs and says.

Danny tells Patches that's
one of the best lessons he could ever teach the boys and he's proud
of him. Darren smiles big. Patches laughs and signs, ‘see. That
felt good didn't it.' Darren jumps on him making a laughing noise.
Danny carries Aaron up, Patches gets Victor. Darren sits with me
telling me his day was wicked cool. Danny and Patches come down for
Ally and Alex. Danny tells Darren to wait because they have
something important to do. He sits by me waiting. I lean over and
kiss his head thanking him for being a great kid. Patches comes
down with a baby monitor. He tells me it's from the boys’ room.
Danny has one too from Ally's room; I smile because it's purple.
Darren goes with Danny for milk and cookies. Patches goes to the
spare room, really his room when he stays over, to wrap a couple of
gifts.

Once Darren is in bed
Danny sits by me, "what a fuckin day this turned out to be. It had
horror, anxiety, anticipation, joy, grief, happiness and so much
love that everything else paled in comparison." I giggle. "I can't
fuckin wait for tomorrow."

I crack up. "Me either." I
kiss his lips thanking him for making it easy.

"I'm so proud of you
willing to take the twins. I think Ben called around before asking
us." I nod and tell him I heard. "You didn't even have to think
about it. I love you baby. I love that you're not afraid to share
me or the kids. This was an awesome first Christmas and it hasn't
even hit yet." I smile at my man.

"I wouldn't have taken the
twins if I saw you didn't want to. So thank you. I think if someone
needs it and we have the room, we should help. So many people make
sure we don't fall or fail. There's no reason not to take them.
This is the best Christmas I've ever had. I would usually be alone
or at Jess'. Thank you." I give him a sweet kiss.

Patches clears his throat.
I feel Danny smile before he pulls away. Patches looks embarrassed.
"Husbands and wives, moms and dads, women and men all kiss Patches.
We decided you're going to be part of our family, you can see
normal. Kissing and showing love is a normal part of relationships,
nothing to be embarrassed about."

Patches lifts his chin
making me smile. I get up to put Devan in his playpen/bassinet
thingy. "You ready to put the stuff under the tree?" I ask
them.

"Fuck yeah, do we have a
system or is it a free for all?" Danny asks Patches.

"I'll put them together by
name. We have stuff as extra if someone comes up short." He tells
us. I nod and head into the laundry room smiling because he would
die if it weren’t organized. When I open the door stuff falls like
an avalanche. Patches comes running when I squeal. Danny comes
around the corner with a bag and cracks up holding his face. The
cops filled the whole friggin laundry room. It's like opening a
closet door on a cartoon, balls are bouncing and everything slides
forward around my feet.

"Dear Lord! You think they
went a little over board? How the hell are they going to get all
this stuff home?" I ask the still laughing men.

"I'll drive it up for
them." Patches says through fits of laughing.