Friday, November 22nd, 2019, At Home

When Baxter got home from school Elizabeth wasn’t there. Usually she got home before he did; that was the advantage of riding the bus. He dropped his backpack in his room and changed clothes to something more comfortable. Then he went to the kitchen to get a snack.

There was a note pinned to the bulletin board. It read,

I’m taking Elizabeth to the doctor’s office
to get her flu shot. We’ll be home by 4:00.

   Pop

That made him wonder when the records from the court would arrive. Maybe today? As one of her chores, Elizabeth would bring in the mail when she got home from school. Pop would have picked her up at Walnut Creek Intermediate School to go directly to the doctor’s office.

So it was Baxter’s turn to collect the mail. He walked outside to the end of the driveway and unlocked the mailbox, using the key on his keychain. There was a pickup notice from the post office:

A registered package addressed to Robert M. Choi or Vincent R. Choi will be available to be picked up during hours the office is open and any time after three p.m. on Friday, November 21st, at the Walnut Creek main post office on Broadway. It requires a signature by an addressee.

That must be the court documents. He was excited, so he grinned.

If he’d known, he could have ridden his bike from school and picked it up. He thought for a moment. No, that wouldn’t have worked; the notice said it requires a signature by an addressee, and he wasn’t an addressee. So, either his dad or his pop would have to pick it up. Maybe Pop could do it on his way home from the doctor’s office.

After he returned inside with the mail, he sent a text to his Pop about the registered package. He got a return text saying, ‘OK will do’ which made it easy, though he’d have to wait until they got home to find out what it was about.

He went through the rest of the mail. There was an envelope for Elizabeth from Walnut Creek Intermediate School. There was also an envelope for Baxter Hansen from a high school credit union that had been forwarded from Groveland’s address to his new address.

That confused him because there was no reason for him to get something like that. He opened the envelope. It offered him, as a student at Las Lomas High School, a savings account at this credit union he'd never heard of. He checked their address. It was in Richmond, Virginia. He didn’t need a new account at a credit union, especially one in Virginia all the way across the country. He also wondered how they got his former name and his Groveland address. He’d talk to his dad and pop about that. But after they talked about the registered package and the boyfriend subject.

He sorted the rest of the mail into five stacks. One for his dad, one for his pop, one with both names, and one for Elizabeth. Magazines were stacked separately, in alphabetical order by title; there were three. The rest of the mail went into a stack that Baxter referred to as ‘junk’ because most of it would end up in the recycle bin — but he never made the final decision about what was junk.

He went to the refrigerator to see what he could have for a snack. There were apples, but he wanted something hot. He checked the freezer and found a package of chicken burritos. They were small, so he took one and followed the directions for heating it. He took it on a plate to his bedroom to get a start on his homework.

He took his laptop out of his backpack and opened it to review his homework assignments.

About a half-hour later he heard Elizabeth talking to Pop, so he got up and went to the kitchen.

“Hi, Pop. Hi, Elizabeth.”

“Hi, Baxter,” Elizabeth said. “I’m protected! I got my flu shot. Didn’t hurt.” She pointed to a colorfully striped bandage. “They put this on it. I’m gonna go change into something more comfortable. See you in a few.” She left the kitchen.

Vincent handed Baxter a large manila envelope. “This was the registered package. I think it has your documents since it’s from the Family Court Division of the Contra County Superior Court. You want to open it?”

Baxter was grinning. “Sure!”

There was a letter opener in the kitchen desk drawer. He used it and pulled the contents onto the kitchen table, one at a time, naming each document.

“There are two birth certificates. This one has my new name, Baxter Hansen Choi. It has Jean Bethany Hansen as my birth mother and Alan Carter Hansen as my birth father. I was born in Walnut Creek, California, at John Muir Hospital. It has the signature of the doctor. It looks like… I guess… Walter M. Deering, M.D. Real sloppy handwriting. It has the date and time of my birth, 5/5/2005 at 3:05 p.m.” Baxter stared at the date and time. “Look at all the fives! Too bad it wasn’t at 5:05 p.m.” He grinned, then said, ‘five five two oh oh five at three oh five.’ That’s sort of like a poem, or maybe a rhyme.” He repeated it twice, then laughed. “It has an embossed county seal in the lower-left corner.

“The other birth certificate has my new name and Robert Michael Choi and Vincent Richard Choi as my parents. It doesn’t say birth father or birth mother. Everything else is the same, including where and when I was born. The doctor’s name is printed instead of signed, and it is Walter M. Deering, M.D. Neither birth certificate says ‘adopted’ anywhere on it, either. It has an embossed county seal in the lower-left corner.

“Here are my finalized adoption papers, including one with a embossed county seal at the lower-left corner. It says ‘Finalized Adoption of Baxter Hansen Choi by Robert Alan Choi and Vincent Richard Choi’ at the top.” He looked up at his pop who grabbed him in a hug. “Now, it’s real!” Baxter said, returning the hug.

“Next is the name change document. It has one of those embossed county seals at the lower-left corner, too. I’m glad they used my new name on my new birth certificates and the adoption papers.”

Vincent nodded, “I’m sure that was what the court ordered. I’m also sure they wouldn’t mess up something that important. It would have been reviewed by the court clerk and maybe even the judge to make sure everything was correct.”

Baxter continued going through the papers. “There are some other things. Here’s a summary of the proceedings. It looks like it’s what the judge said. And here’s a ‘Congratulations on your Adoption’ greeting card from Judge George York, and it looks like he signed it himself. That was really nice of him.”

“I agree,” Vincent said.

“Well, that’s it. Now, on Monday, you and I can have my name changed on my school records.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Vincent said. “Remember, the Thanksgiving holiday starts on Monday, the same as Elizabeth’s. You have the week off and the schools are closed.”

“Rats! I forgot about that,” Baxter mumbled.

“I’m trying to think how late the administration office at Las Lomas High School stays open. I think it’s five o’clock. Baxter, do you have the school’s phone number handy?” Vincent asked.

“Yeah. It’s on the back of my student ID card.” He was still wearing his lanyard. He pulled it out of his T-shirt and looked on the back. “The time’s printed on the back. It’s open from seven in the morning until five-thirty, Monday thru Friday except on school holidays. Can we go now and make the changes?”

“Sure, let’s do it. You bring the documents. I’ll get my wallet and keys and let Elizabeth know we’re leaving and why.”

“Maybe she’ll want to come along.”

“That’s okay if she wants to.”

Elizabeth did want to go along. ‘Anything to avoid starting my homework,’ she thought.

It took less than fifteen minutes to drive to the school, park, and walk to the attendance office. Mrs. Gimble, the head of admissions and registration, was sitting behind the counter. She stood and smiled when she saw them enter. “Hello, Baxter,” she said. “What can I do for you today?”

“Hello, Mrs. Gimble. I’ve been adopted, and we’re here to change my name and other information on my records. This is one of my two fathers, Vincent Choi. His spouse is Robert Choi. We have all the documents from the court you’ll need to make the change, and so you can make copies for your files, too.”

“That’s wonderful, Baxter. I’m so happy for you.” Then she looked at Vincent. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Choi. I’m so glad Baxter has been adopted. As you know already, he is an outstanding student.” Baxter blushed at the compliment.

Then she looked at Elizabeth, smiled, and asked, “Do you also want to register to attend Las Lomas High School?”

Elizabeth giggled. “Not yet. I’m in the eighth grade at WCI. I’ll be going to Las Lomas in the fall. Baxter is my new brother. He’s the best brother in the world!”

Baxter blushed at Elizabeth’s compliment. He knew when he blushed because his ears got hot and turned red. And some kids and adults would notice and comment or joke about it. He thought about it. ‘Why do I always blush when people compliment me? I guess it’s because it embarrasses me. But blushing makes me a lot more embarrassed. I wish I knew how to stop being embarrassed and blushing.’

“Let’s go into my office, and we’ll update Baxter’s registration,” Mrs. Gimble said.

It took about a half-hour to finish the school and school district paperwork and for Baxter and Vincent to sign everything. Several forms had to be signed or counter-signed by Rob; Mrs. Gimble printed them.

“Vincent, since you’re a teacher here, you can return these forms that Robert Choi has to sign, and give them to me when school resumes on December second.”

“I’ll bring them to you at about seven-thirty that morning.”

“Now the last thing we have to do is change your student ID card, Baxter. Can I assume you’re okay with your picture that we have on file?”

“Sure. Do you want my current ID card?”

“Yes, please. After I generate your new card and you okay it, I’ll shred the old one.”

He pulled out his lanyard, unclipped his ID card, and handed it to her. “I have a question. Will I be listed as adopted on my school records?”

“No. California state law tightly restricts what we can record and tell about fostered and adopted minors. Of course, you can tell teachers and the administration staff yourself. And, if you want, you can tell other students that you’ve been adopted. If you don’t, they’re going to wonder about the name change. Kids who tell others that they had been adopted find that everyone, teachers, staff, and other kids, are supportive and happy for them.”

Mrs. Gimble continued, “Also, name changes are more common than you’d think. It’s much more likely because of a divorce or a marriage than because of an adoption.”

“That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought about that,” Vincent said.

“Yes, a divorce is a particularly sad time for the kids who are involved. On the other hand, an adoption is a very happy time for the kids.” She brought up Baxter’s file on her computer.

“I see that Baxter has all of his required immunizations.”

“Is a flu shot required? I already got my flu shot just before school started.”

“The flu vaccine isn’t required, though we strongly recommend it.”

She made copies of the documents required by the school and the school district, filled in the information on Baxter’s school records online, and printed his new Las Lomas High School student ID card. She handed it to him. “Does it look okay?” she asked.

“Yes. It looks fine. Actually, even better than my old ID card.”

“It looks better?” she asked. “In what way?”

“Because my name on it is Baxter Hansen Choi.” He was smiling.

Mrs. Gimble saw that Baxter looked happy, and she smiled, too.

When Rob got home, Baxter reviewed the documents for him as he had with Vincent. Rob signed or initialed the forms and gave them to Vincent.

They decided on pizza for dinner. That started as Elizabeth’s suggestion. Instead of having it delivered, or picking it up, Rob and Vincent decided that they’d go to Pizza Antica and have it there. Elizabeth said that was a great idea because then they could have strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Baxter hadn’t been to Pizza Antica. He was surprised when he looked at the menu. The pizzas had what he would call unusual toppings. You could also design your own pizza by having or adding other toppings like calabrese sausage, pancetta, shaved broccoli, and arugula. They got three kinds. They had thin crusts, and the toppings were delicious. Baxter said this was the best pizza he’d ever had. The strawberry shortcake was even better.

When they were finished with their desserts, Baxter announced, “Any time you want to come to Pizza Antica, I’ll be ready!”

When they got home, Baxter decided it would be a good time to talk about Mike and him becoming boyfriends.

Friday, November 22nd, 2019, Evening

They were sitting in the family room when Elizabeth said, “Goodnight,” and went to her room to get ready for bed.

“I have something I’d like to talk about with both of you,” Baxter said. “It’s personal, so I want us to go somewhere private. Like, maybe your bedroom? And close the door?”

“Okay. Our bedroom is good.”

Rob closed the door after entering their bedroom, and Rob and Vincent sat down on the couch. Baxter sat opposite them on one of the desk chairs.

“Okay. As I said, this is personal. When I was at Groveland, I had several roommates. Mike moved in when we were both thirteen. I got along with all of my roommates, but Mike was the only one that I’d say was a true friend. It was fantastic that we were both selected to be adopted at the same time.

“We’re getting together more at school, and more away from school, once we were fostered. We can do things we never were able to do at Groveland. Like when Mike came over to go swimming. I’d like to have him come over so we can play tennis, too. And he’d like me to go to his house to shoot baskets and have his dad give me some tips to improve how I play basketball. All of this means we’re becoming much closer friends than when we were at Groveland.”

“Close enough to become boyfriends?” Rob asked. That almost knocked Baxter out of his seat. “Uh… boyfriends?”

“Come on, Baxter,” Vincent said. “Rob and I have a lot of experience with being gay and being boyfriends and having gay friends. We watched you and Mike during dinner the other night. How you were looking at each other and pretending you weren’t looking at each other.”

That made Baxter laugh. “We thought you and the Stewarts didn’t have a clue.”

“Just goes to show you, Rob said. “Experience is important. That’s one of the things you gain by going to school. Experience with other kids — your friends and acquaintances, and adults — your teachers and parents. Everyone watches you, and you watch everyone — or mostly everyone — too. As time goes by, you gain more experience.”

Vincent continued, “We’ve been gaining experience for a long time. And because we’re gay, and have been since we were pre-teens, we recognized how you two were relating to each other while trying to hide it from us. And the Stewarts recognized it, too.”

Rob picked up the conversation just like it had been scripted, “And the Stewarts and Vincent and I saw what that meant. My guess is, you weren’t playing video games or watching TV when you had the sleepover the other night. Right?”

“Right,” Baxter replied, rather sheepishly.

“You’ve had the sex-ed class at Las Lomas?”

“Yes. But it didn’t say much about gay sex.”

“So, you’re sexually active?”

“That seems to be overstating it by quite a bit, but yes. Only with Mike, and only the other night when we were having the sleepover. One time. I never did anything before then. Especially not at Groveland. We would’ve been razzed about it if the other guys found out and given new roommates if we’d been caught by the staff.”

Rob continued asking Baxter questions. “So, the other night with Mike was the first time you ever had sex with another boy?”

“Yes.”

“How about with a girl?”

Baxter shook his head. “No. Never. Not interested.”

“Well,” Vincent said, “I think we need to schedule a conversation with you and Mike about gay sex and safe sex and monogamous sex.”

Baxter squinted at Vincent. “You mean ‘The Talk’ like I’ve read about in stories?”

“No. A talk implies that it’s one-way. We don’t want to do that. We want to have a conversation, where both sides, Rob and I on one side and you and Mike on the other, and talk openly about gay sex. We don’t want to make it embarrassing. But some things might be, and when it is for you or Mike or both of you, we want to discuss why you were embarrassed. Maybe if talking about sex is too embarrassing, then maybe you’re too young to be having sex.

“There won’t be much about straight sex, either. We’ll assume that’s been adequately covered in your sex-ed classes.”

“Do you agree with how we plan to have these conversations?” Rob asked.

“Yes. I can see how this is important. We can learn a lot more from you two than from the generic sex-ed class that was focused on straight sex and only mentioned gay sex in passing. One of the guys said he supports gay guys because it meant he had less competition for the cute girls. Then one of the girls disagreed, and said what it meant was she had more competition for the cute guys.” He chuckled.

“I have a question. Can we do this conversation as a series instead of just one time with no follow-up?”

“Absolutely. That’s how we’re planning to structure them.”

“There’s one part that’s missing from what we just talked about,” Vincent said. “Tom Stewart needs to be part of these conversations, and Cathy Stewart needs to know what we’re doing. That means you have to talk to Mike and tell him what our plans are for you two and that both of you agree with what we’re planning to do. Then Mike has to talk to his dad and get his permission. And we want Tom Stewart to participate — and perhaps Cathy Stewart, too — in the conversations.”

Baxter closed his eyes. “Okay, I’ll have to talk to Mike. I hope his dad agrees. Does this fall apart if his dad doesn’t agree?”

Rob shook his head. “No. Instead, it will be you and us, Baxter. We still need to have the conversations with you.”

“How long will each of these conversations be?”

Rob thought for a moment. “I’d say a half-hour, with an option to take more time if that’s agreeable with everyone.”

Baxter nodded. “So, when do you want to have the first conversation?”

“I think we’ll need to have an initial conversation with you and Mike at the beginning of the Christmas break, maybe the first Saturday. During that conversation, we’ll set some boundaries, like what should be discussed or off-limits and why. We should decide how often and when we can get together. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes. And I think it’ll be okay with Mike, too.”

“Following the conversation we’ll have that Saturday, we’re going to be too involved with our families and putting up the Christmas decorations and whatever else we’ll be doing that week. Including where we’ll be going for dinner on Christmas day. Maybe its too much to try squeezing in this kind of conversation then. I’d expect the same for Mike and his family. Do you know what they’re doing for Christmas?”

“No. I never thought to ask him, or tell him what we’re doing. You know, our finals are coming up two weeks after the Thanksgiving break, and we’ll be doing a lot of studying for them. Then we’re off two weeks over Christmas and New Year’s, that’s our winter break. Maybe we could do our conversations during the week after New Year’s Day instead of before Christmas?”

“That’s a possibility. We’ll have to check our schedules to see if we can fit it in.”

Saturday, November 23nd, 2019, Morning

Baxter decided to phone Mike and tell him what he planned to do at Groveland today. Maybe Mike had clothes he wanted to donate, too. He went to his bedroom and placed the call.

Mike answered the phone. “Hi, Baxter. What’s up?” He laughed like it was a joke. Baxter took a few seconds to catch on.

“Hello? Baxter? You still there?”

“I hope you didn’t think that was funny!” He replied in a stern-sounding voice, but after a couple seconds, he couldn’t keep from laughing.

“What are you laughing about?”

“You, you dufus! That was funny. The only reason I caught on is that you laughed. What’s up, indeed!”

He told Mike he was giving a talk about adoption at Groveland this morning. “And I’m bringing my old clothes that are too small. They invited me to have lunch. I was wondering if you’d like to come too, and you can talk about being fostered now and when you’ll be adopted. If so, we can pick you up, and you can come with me and have lunch there. If you have any clothes to donate, you can bring them. If you want to come, I’ll call Mrs. Mayhew and let her know.”

“I have some clothes that  don’t fit now. My mom washed them, and they’re in a large plastic bag. I’ll ask if it’s okay to go with you and if I can bring them. When would you pick me up?”

“Around ten-fifteen. I told Mrs. Mayhew I’d arrive at ten-thirty. We’d be finished with lunch at one, and that’s when my pop’s going to pick us up. He’ll drive you home unless it’s okay for you to come to my house for a while. We could play tennis if you’d like. Unfortunately, it’s too cold to use the pool today. It’s only going to be in the high 50s, low 60s today.”

“Okay. That’s too much for me ask about and keep you on hold, so I’ll check with my mom and dad then call you back.”

“Works for me.”

Baxter went back to the kitchen and got his pop’s approval to add Mike to the visit to Groveland and if it was okay for him to come over to play tennis, if his folks agreed. “It might be too cold to play tennis,” Vincent said. “Playing video games might be an alternative. Or watching TV. There are a lot of college football games on today.”

“Okay. Thanks, those are both good ideas.”

Baxter heard his ringtone. “It’s Mike,” he told his pop, and answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

“Hi, Mike. My pop is on the call, too.”

“Hi, Mr. Choi. We’re good to go on everything. I’ll be ready to be picked up at ten-fifteen. My dad said we should rethink playing tennis. He said the high today will only be 61 degrees. Maybe we can do something else?”

Baxter chuckled. “What your dad said is what my pop said, and he suggested a couple other things we could do, like watch football on TV. That’s fine with me. What time do you have to be home?”

“It’s sort of whenever. I suggested that maybe I could stay overnight because my folks are going to a wedding in Napa today and won’t be home until after ten p.m. Would staying over be okay? If not, that’s fine, too. I can be home whenever, and there are leftovers I can have for dinner.”

“Pop, is it okay for Mike to spend the night? I suppose we’d have to feed him, too.” That made Vincent laugh.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Mike,” Vincent said, can you put your dad on the call?”

“Okay. I’ll put it on the speaker. Hold on… Dad, is it okay if I stay overnight with Baxter? His pop is on the phone, and can tell you that it’s okay with him.”

“Hi, Tom. How are you?” Vincent asked.

“Good. We’ll be leaving at noon for the wedding. It’s at the Gloria Ferrer Winery. It’s indoors in what the invitation calls a wine cave. We went online, and It looks impressive and very expensive.”

“Based on the weather, you’re probably glad the venue is indoors. It’s okay if Mike stays overnight with Baxter, and we’ll make sure he’s well fed. We know how much teenage boys eat, so we’re always prepared.” He laughed, and so did Tom.

“Next time we’ll make sure Mike asks Baxter to stay overnight with us. Turnabout is always fair play.”

“We’ll bring him home on Sunday. Is there a time we should aim for?”

“I’d say around four o’clock. Is that convenient for you?”

“Yes, that’s good.”

Baxter called Mrs. Mayhew and asked if it would be okay if Mike Stewart — formerly Mike Miller — talked to the boys about being fostered and was waiting for his adoption to be finalized. As he expected, she said that it was a good idea because Mike’s was a different situation than Baxter’s.

Baxter was pleased now that it was settled.

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019, Later That Morning

They picked Mike up at ten-fifteen and went to Groveland. The first thing they did was give Mrs. Mayhew the clothes they’d brought. Baxter pointed to the large plastic bag. “These are from Mike, and this box is from me. They are all washed and folded.”

“Thank you, both of you. We can always use good second-hand clothes.” She looked in the bag, then in the box. “These look brand-new. They are very welcome, and the boys they will fit will be very happy to have them.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Mayhew,” Mike said, and Baxter added a ‘you’re welcome’ as well.

They spent fifteen minutes talking to the boys whom they’d known, then they gave their talks. Baxter went first since Mike hadn’t had time to prepare what he would say. He followed Baxter’s lead, talking about fostering and adoption from his point of view.

There were a lot of questions for both of them from the boys and from Mrs. Mayhew. They were asked if they still went to Las Lomas High, and they both said yes. They both focused on the positive things that happened and the families that had picked them. Baxter talked about being at Groveland so long, and why that had been. He was gay and checked the ‘gay’ sexuality box on a form when he entered the foster care system. His new family was interested in him because he’d checked that box. It took fifteen months with no one interested in talking to him, but it had turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to him. He also talked about being adopted, and now he was officially Baxter Hansen Choi.

Mike talked about how he entered the foster care system as a baby. His foster parents, the Millers, had been killed when a plane crashed in the Indian ocean. Their daughter, his foster sister, became his foster mother and wanted to adopt him. Before that could be finalized, she was transferred to a really good job in Japan she wanted, so he was returned to the foster care system and was at Groveland for almost a year. Now he was being fostered by a young couple who couldn’t have babies. He described how great it was having parents, and the process they were going through to adopt him. Then he said something that surprised the boys and surprised Baxter even more.

“Like Baxter, I’m gay. But there were no forms for me to fill out because I was a baby when I went into the foster care system. I was a foster kid for a long time, with different foster parents, until the Millers fostered me. So no one knew I was gay. And I didn’t tell anyone, not even Baxter.”

One kid, a younger-looking boy, asked a question and wanted both Baxter and Mike to answer it. “Are you okay with being gay?”

Baxter replied, “To answer your question, yes, I like being gay. I knew that I was gay when I was twelve years old. It’s all I know because it’s the way I am. It’s how I ended up with two fathers and they know about being gay because they are gay and are married. They understand me. Really understand me.

“Mike? Your turn.”

“Like Baxter, I’m happy being gay because that’s what I am. I never talked about being gay. I never told anyone that I’m gay. I could have at Groveland, but I didn’t want to. There was no reason to. I wasn’t looking for a hookup. My foster parents, the Stewarts, are in the process of adopting me. They know that I’m gay, and they are okay with it.”

Baxter realized that Rob and Vincent’s plan to have a conversation with him and Mike about gay sex would work. He suppressed a grin because another guy was asking a question, and Mrs. Mayhew interrupted, saying that his question was improper and too personal.

Another boy asked, “Do either of you have a boyfriend?” Neither Baxter nor Mike recognized him.

Baxter answered. “Not yet. I would like to have a boyfriend, though.”

“Same for me,” Mike added.

The boy grinned. “Sounds like you two should get to know each other better. Or maybe you already know each other better.”

“That’s impertinent, Charlie,” Mrs. Mayhew said to the kid.

Even though they didn’t know what the other was thinking, both Baxter and Mike were thinking that the kid’s comment was pertinent and perceptive.

There were more questions which were less pointed and more about what it was like at Groveland when they were there, what the process of being adopted was like, and what the differences were between being fostered and being adopted. They answered them until they heard the bell for lunch. The boys all stood and let Mrs. Mayhew, Baxter, and Mike lead them to the dining room. They were having tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with ice cream for dessert.

As they walked to the dining room, it reminded both Baxter and Mike of when they were residents of Groveland. It was an okay time, but better as a memory. That was something they kept to themselves.