Tuesday, November 26th, 2019, Late Afternoon

Baxter stood next to and slightly behind Elizabeth and in the back of his Pop and his Dad, who were at the front door. He was even more nervous than he’d been when they’d heard the doorbell. Elizabeth stepped back then pushed Baxter, so he was between Rob and Vincent.

Rob put his right arm across Baxter’s shoulders as Vincent opened the door. Baxter shook his head and grinned; what just happened seemed staged.

They stepped back as the Choi and Lee families were ushered inside, and the door was closed.

They said their hellos, which Baxter couldn’t follow.

Vincent put his hands on Baxter’s shoulders. “And this is our son, Baxter Choi,” Vincent said. “Baxter, let me introduce my family. This is my mother, Charlene Choi, and my father, Richard Choi. She hugged Baxter, and that made his nervousness fade away. “I’m so glad to meet you!” she said.

“I’m glad to meet you, too.” Richard Choi and Baxter shook hands. “We’ve heard so much about you, and I’m glad to finally be able to meet you. Charlene and I are your grandparents. You can call us grandma and grandpa if you’d like.”

“I’d like that… Grandpa,” Baxter said, fighting the tears that wanted to leak from his eyes.

“Baxter, this is my sister Donna and her husband, Steven Lee. And these are my nephews, Jason and Jordan Lee. Don’t ask me which is which.”

The twins rushed to Baxter and wrapped their arms around him in a hug. Baxter hugged them in return. The hug was released, and one twin said, “I’m Jason. I’m the older twin. Your red hair and freckles are way cool!” The other said, “I’m Jordan. I’m the handsomer twin!”

Baxter stared at Jordan, then at Jason. Like their mother and father, they were Chinese. The other thing he noticed was that they were dressed the same. “I don’t know about the handsomer part, but you’re both good looking. I’m glad to meet you. You’re the first identical twins I’ve ever met.”

“Really?” Jason said. “It’s cool that we’re your first!”

By then, they’d walked into the living room, and coats were being put in the closet. Donna walked up to Baxter and hugged him. “I’m your aunt Donna,” she said. This is your uncle Steve.” Steve hugged him, which Baxter thought was nice.

“Let’s all sit down in the living room and get acquainted,” Rob said. “First, would anyone like something to drink?”

The adults discussed their options. Elizabeth grabbed each twin’s arm and led them into the kitchen, followed by Baxter. “What do you want to drink?” she asked.

“A Coke, please,” Jordan said. Baxter pulled two Cokes out of the refrigerator. “Same for you, Jason?” Baxter asked.

Both of the twins stared at Baxter, and so did Elizabeth.

“What did you just say?” Jason asked.

Baxter tried to look confused, but he couldn’t suppress a grin. He pointed at Jason, “I asked you if you wanted a Coke, too.”

“You called him Jason,” Elizabeth said. “How did you know?”

“He just looks like a Jason. And he,” pointing to Jordan, “looks like a Jordan.”

Elizabeth glared at Baxter. “They are identical twins. They look exactly alike!”

“You can tell us apart?” Jordan asked.

Jason growled, “No! He was guessing,”

“Okay, I’ll close my eyes and put my hands over them, and turn around. You two move around, and when you tell me you’re ready I’ll turn around and look at you and tell you which is which. Then let’s do it again five more times. If I’m guessing, I should be wrong about half of the time. But you have to face me. I can’t tell you apart from the back.”

“Okay,” the twins said simultaneously.

Baxter wasn’t guessing; he picked the correct twin every time. It made no difference if they would or wouldn’t move relative to each other. The time they tried to lie about which was which, Baxter put his fists on his hips and stood glaring at Jason, who’d just said he was Jordan. “You shouldn’t lie, Jason.”

“How are you able to tell them apart?” Elizabeth asked.

“I really don’t know,” he replied. “As soon as we were introduced, I could tell.

“You want glasses for your Cokes?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“No, thanks.”

“Okay, here’s a glass for Jordan. There’s an ice dispenser in the refrigerator door.”

“Are you going to tell our folks?” Jordan asked.

“Only if you want me to. If you want me to keep it a secret, I will. And Elizabeth will also keep it secret, too. Right, Elizabeth?”

“Yes. If you want your folks or anyone else to know Baxter can tell you apart, that’s totally up to you.”

“I agree,” Baxter said, “and I won’t let on that I know which of you is which.”

Steve Lee walked into the kitchen. “Come on, guys. Let’s go out to the car and bring in your suitcases and other stuff.”

“I’ll help,” Baxter said.

“Thanks,” Jason said. “Yes, thanks, Baxter,” Jordan added.

Baxter noticed that when one twin said something, the other continued the sentence as if they were one person. ‘Maybe that’s an identical twin thing,’ he thought. ‘Or maybe they can read each other’s mind.’

“I’ll be in your bedroom,” Elizabeth told them, and I’ll show you where you can put your things, and I’ll remind you how to use the electric blanket and the clock radio,

As they walked to the car, Baxter and Steve Lee were chatting about school. The twins were following them, strolling and speaking quietly to each other.

Each twin had a duffel bag and a smaller carry bag. There was a medium-size trash bag, and Steve took that. The twins took their duffel bags, and Baxter took the small carry bags, which were heavier than they looked.

They brought everything into the guest bedroom where Elizabeth was waiting. The one exception was the trash bag, which Steve had taken into the kitchen.

Steve walked to the door of the guest bedroom and stood watching the twins emptying their duffel bags on the bed.

Baxter was leaning against the wall next to the door. He saw his uncle Steve who smiled then motioned for Baxter to join him. “Could we talk for a bit?” he asked.

“Sure. My bedroom is right across the hall. Is that okay?”

Steve nodded, and they walked in; he asked, “Can we close the door?” Steve asked.

“Sure. A closed door means ‘private, don’t enter.’”

Steve chuckled. “This isn’t going to be that private. I just want to get to know you.”

They sat down. “Okay. What can I tell you?”

“How about school? You’re a freshman, right?”

“Yes. I’m interested in computers. I’m taking Geometry Honors, Digital Design 2, and Spanish 3. The rest are the required freshman classes. I’m thinking about going out for the freshman tennis team, that’s a spring sport. I need to decide if it’s going to take too much of my time. I’m focusing on getting good grades and qualifying for as many AP classes as I can take. And A grades on my finals in every class, too. I want to go to Cal and get a degree in Computer Science.”

“I hope you’re not offended when I ask this. Why were you in a foster home?”

“My dad was a soldier and was killed in Afghanistan when I was a baby. My mom was killed in a traffic accident in 2018 a week before my freshman year started. That was the worst day of my life. My only other relative in the USA was my grandmother, my dad’s mother, and she was in a care home. She had Alzheimer’s. I’d never met her before she died.

“My mom was born and raised in Canada, and her relatives live there. They couldn’t adopt me because to do it they’d have to get a lawyer and go to court in California. They couldn’t afford to do that. They signed an SNR — a Statement of Non-Responsibility — which means they have no responsibility for me and wouldn’t fight my adoption. Anyway, it would have been weird going to Canada and being adopted by my releatives there. That’s because I’d never met them.

“So, CPS moved me to Groveland. It’s for teen and tween boys only. It was okay. It took a long time for me to have anyone even wanting to talk to me about being fostered. Then Rob and Vincent asked to meet me. The reason, maybe, is that I checked a box that said I’m gay. If I hadn’t checked that box, it would have been a lie. I don’t lie.”

“What would you do if someone told you a secret about someone else, and you promised not to tell. Then a different person asked you about it.”

“That’s easy. My promise to the first person allows me to keep it private. In other words, to tell a lie about it if I have to. A secret trumps telling a lie.

“Anyway, Rob and Vincent saw that I’d marked that my sexuality was gay, they interviewed me, and decided to adopt me. At first, they were fostering me, but I was declared an orphan by CPS when my grandmother died a few weeks ago and my adoption was fast-tracked. That was because I didn’t have any other known relatives. So here I am. Rob and Vincent are fantastic. I love them, and I love Elizabeth. I know they love me, too.

“Now I have a lot of relatives and I never really had any before, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.

“That’s my story.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“That’s a very personal question.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

Baxter raised his hand and interrupted. “I’ll answer your question, which I usually keep private. Yes, I have a boyfriend. We were roommates at Groveland, and Mike’s going to be adopted by a family that lives here in Walnut Creek. We weren’t boyfriends at Groveland, but we liked each other a lot and were best friends. His folks and my folks know we’re boyfriends now, and so does Elizabeth, and they’re all okay with it.

“Why did you ask that? Is my being gay a problem?”

“No! Not at all. Let me tell you the story. Vincent and Rob went to the same high school, Northgate. It’s just that Vincent had problems when he was in high school and was outed.”

“I didn’t know that. How was he outed? Is it okay for you to tell me that?”

“Yes, it’s okay. Vincent wrote a story as an assignment in his creative writing class. The teacher was impressed and asked him to read it to the class. It was about a gay kid who was trying to hide his sexuality at school. A few students in his class started calling him gay and homo and queer. Some bullies overheard it and hassled him, and it eventually turned into a fight. Several of Vincent’s friends went to help him and they did a job on the bullies.

“This was in the late 1990s when being gay wasn’t accepted like it is today. Everyone who was in the fight — except for the bullies — were given after-school detention for two weeks. Vincent’s father issued a formal complaint. When he met with the principal, about twenty of Vincent’s friends, including Rob and me, showed up at the meeting. We’d all witnessed what happened. After hearing what we had to say, the principal ended the detentions and had that removed from their records. We heard that he’d called the bullies into his office and said they’d have detention or suspension if he heard them doing any more bullying on campus. They also rewrote the student handbook to include a statement about bullying and what disciplinary actions could be taken.”

“Wow, that’s great. At Las Lomas High, which is where I go, bullying isn’t tolerated. And being gay and out isn’t a problem, either. It’s in our student handbook, too.

“Uncle Steve, you lived in Walnut Creek and went to Northgate High. But you live in Pasadena now. Is that because of your job?”

“Yes. I got a job doing software development for JPL. That’s the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It’s in Altadena, which is near Pasadena.”

“What kind of software do you write?”

“Command and control for testing new jet engines. It’s mostly written in C and C++.”

“That sounds interesting. Where did you go to college, and what degree do you have?”

“I got my bachelor’s degree in computer science at UCLA and my Master’s and Ph.D. at Cal Tech.”

“Wow! That’s impressive! I’m making sure that I’ll get all A’s at Las Lomas so I can get into AP computer, math, and science classes. That’s why I’m reluctant to go out for tennis.”

“Going out for a team sport, even if it’s at the freshman level, will show universities that you’re well-rounded. They look for candidates who have experienced many things in high school.”

“I hear that from my counselor at school, too. He’s focused on kids like me who are into STEM classes. He thinks my going out for freshman tennis is a good idea.”

“Baxter, if you wait until your sophomore year, going out for tennis could take more of your time than when you’re a freshman. There’ll be more mandatory practices and home and away matches that will compete with your time for studying, and your free time will be reduced. But, it has to be your decision. Talk about it with Vincent and Rob, and with your counselor and the freshman tennis coach.”

Baxter laughed. “It’s the freshman tennis coach who’s bugging me about going out for the team. When I was at Groveland, we couldn’t go out for team sports. Now I don’t have that excuse. So, he keeps trying to talk me into it. I think it would be fun. But my classes are more important.

“You asked me a personal question. Can I ask you that kind of question?” Baxter asked.

“I suppose an about-face is okay,” Steve replied.

“Is it okay if you had a gay relative?” Of course, Baxter was referring to himself.

“Yes, it’s okay. It doesn’t make any difference to me if someone is gay or straight.”

“What if one of your twins surprised you, telling you that he was gay?”

Steve shook his head and paused for about ten seconds. “Sorry, that’s not possible,” he finally said.

Baxter squinted. “Why not?”

“Because they’re both gay.”

Baxter had read stories set in England. Now he finally knew what one word that he’d read really meant, and felt like to experience. It was gobsmacked. Now he was gobsmacked!

Baxter paused for a few seconds, then he realized how he should respond. “You just outed them, but I’ll keep it private, Uncle Steve. Coming from Groveland, I learned to keep private things private.”

“Thank you,” Steve said. “If you hear it from the twins, or anyone else, please continue to keep it private.”

“You mean if one of them tells me?”

Steve nodded.

“I would continue to keep it private.”

“Now, we’d better join the others. I know Donna and your grandparents and the twins will want to get together with you.”

“Okay. Thanks for talking with me. I like learning what people do and where they went to college and what courses they took and the degrees they received. And what their lives are like, too.”

“Baxter, you’re welcome. And thanks for being willing to have this conversation with me. I’m impressed. You don’t act or speak like a typical fourteen-year-old. You didn’t hesitate at all. I’m glad you’re my nephew.”

“I’m glad you’re my uncle, too.”

They left and joined everyone else. They all had moved into the family room.

“Welcome back, Baxter,” Vincent said. “Just joking. We noticed that you and Steve were having a serious discussion.”

“We were talking about college and computer science degrees. He told me that he has a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science from Cal Tech! From Cal Tech! That’s amazing. That’s like the best university for advanced technology in the country.

“We also talked about whether it a good idea for me to go out for the freshman tennis team or not. He gave me some ideas about that, too.”

Vincent’s mother changed the subject. “So, tell us about yourself, Baxter. How did you meet Vincent and Rob?”

After about half an hour, his interrogation was winding down and finally finished.

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019, Early Evening

Richard Choi, Grandpa Choi, announced, “Our dinner reservation is at six-thirty. So we should get ready to leave by six o’clock. We’ll need two cars, enough to hold six adults and four kids.”

“Fortunately, both Vincent and Steve have SUVs, so that won’t be a problem,” Rob said.

“Okay, where are we going?” Vincent asked.

“A Burmese restaurant in Walnut Creek. The name is Burma 2. It’s on North Main Street.” Grandpa Choi said. “A friend of mine was in Walnut Creek recently, and he ate there and loved it. So, I thought we’d try it.”

“Well, you said it would be a surprise, and it certainly is,” Vincent said. We didn’t know there was a Burmese restaurant in Walnut Creek.”

“Sounds interesting,” Rob said. “There are a lot of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian restaurants, so something different is welcome.”

Rob rode with Steve Lee and his family to guide them to the parking structure and how to walk from there to the restaurant; Vincent drove the rest of the family.

Everyone enjoyed their first experience eating Burmese food. Elizabeth said it was like a mix of Chinese and Indian. She and Baxter, and Jason and Jordan, sat across from each other. That allowed them to talk about their schools, what classes they liked the best, movies and music, and other things of interest to young teens.

The twins wanted to take STEM classes. Elizabeth asked what STEM was, and they explained it means someone specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math classes.

Baxter talked about playing tennis and how excited he was when Rob and Vincent told him they had a tennis court and a swimming pool. He told them he was thinking about going out for the tennis team but worried it might eat up his time for studying and his free time, too.

The twins said they were interested in going out for the Pasadena High swim team, but they had the same concerns as Baxter.

Elizabeth talked about wanting to be a writer, and she wanted to go to the University of Iowa because it had the highest-rated writing program in the USA.

The twins kept watching Baxter to see if he’d use his ability to recognize them and call either of them by their correct name — but he didn’t. ‘Cool!’ they thought simultaneously. He mostly pointed or used ‘you two’ or ‘you guys’ or ‘the twins’ or both their first names together when asking them a question or referring to them in a conversation.

Because Elizabeth and the twins had known each other, most of the twin’s questions were directed at Baxter; he’d noticed that, and he included her in topics he knew she’d like. She saw what he was doing, and she realized, again, how much she and her brother understood and loved each other.

Baxter thought about telling the twins about Mike’s idea to do things with the cousins. But he hadn’t brought the list of suggestions, so he decided to wait until they got home.

No one wanted dessert except the twins. They’d passed by two ice cream shops and one bakery that specialized in cupcakes as they walked from the parking garage to the restaurant. Grandma Choi decided they could have cupcakes; she felt it was too cold outside for ice cream. She went in and bought two dozen assorted cupcakes. Baxter offered to carry them to the car.

When they got home, Grandma Choi decided that everyone should wait for a while to digest their meals before having cupcakes.

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019, Late Evening

“We’re going to see what’s on TV,” Jason said.

Baxter suggested, “We can watch on the TV in my bedroom if you want. I have a sofa that seats two and two office chairs. Or you can take off your shoes and sit on my bed.”

They agreed. Elizabeth seemed a little uncomfortable when Jordan closed Baxter’s door. “This’ll be quieter because we won’t hear all of their talking,” he said. “And they won’t hear all the noise from whatever movie we’re watching.”

“What do you want to watch?” she asked.

“Maybe an action movie? You had Netflix when we were here the last time. Baxter, do you have Netflix on your TV?”

“Uh-huh.” He used the remote to scan what was available to stream.

“Oh, look! There’s Moonlight. Jordan and I really want to see it.” Jason continued, “It won an academy award for best film a couple years ago, I think.”

“I definitely want to see it, too,” Elizabeth said. “The cast is mostly black.”

“Okay, sold!” Baxter clicked on the title, but then paused it. “Do you want your cupcakes now?” he asked. “If so, we can get them and something to drink. I’ll have a glass of milk.” The beverage choice was unanimous.

Baxter went into the family room. “We’re going to get our cupcakes and milk and watch a movie in my room. My door will be closed, but that’s so the sound from the movie won’t bother you. So if you want to come in to see what we’re watching, you can. It’s Moonlight.”

The cupcakes were excellent. Baxter had his favorite, a chocolate cupcake with a thick coating of dark chocolate frosting on top.

Moonlight was a gay coming-out story that held the teen’s attention for the entire movie — except for one bathroom break about half-way through. They all liked it, especially since it had a mostly black cast and a gay theme — though no one said that out loud.

After the movie finished, Steve came in. “Hey, guys. Your mom and I and your grandma and grandpa are leaving to go to the hotel. We’ll see you around eight-thirty in the morning. We’re going to have brunch here with your uncles and cousins. Don’t spend the entire night playing video games. Get to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. Come and say goodnight.”

After they all went to the family room to say their goodbyes, Baxter remembered he wanted to talk with the twins about Mike’s plan to do something with the cousins.

He went back to his bedroom, sat down at his computer and updated then printed four copies of the options. The twins and Elizabeth returned to his bedroom and sat on the side of his bed.

“My boyfriend, Mike Stewart, suggested that our cousins and his cousins should get together and do something on either the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. Or, maybe even both days. There’d be nine of us, and we’ll all be here both days.”

He handed each of them a copy of the list. “Here are some suggestions about things we could do. I checked the weather forecast on my phone, and it’s going to be pleasant. Not too cool and not too hot both days.

“What we thought we’d do is get all of the cousins, ours and Mike’s, here on the morning before Thanksgiving and decide what to do.

“Elizabeth, have you thought of anything else to put on the list?”

“We could play tennis and use our trampoline. It might be too cool for swimming. I haven’t thought of anything else. I’ll sleep on it tonight.”

“We could shoot baskets,” Jordan suggested. “Or play tennis,” Jason said.

“Those are good ideas. That way, there could be three activities in our backyard going on at the same time. I’ll add those to the list and print copies for everyone in the morning.”

“Shouldn’t we turn on the pool heater early?” Elizabeth asked.

“I suppose so. We’d have to ask Dad or Pop and get their okay. So that would give us four activities in our backyard. That would probably take care of one day.”

“What are these places to go hiking?” Jason and Jordan looked up when they’d finished reading the list.

Baxter replied, “The Iron Horse Trail is an old railway right of way. If you walk the entire length of the trail, it’s about twenty-six miles, and it’s mostly flat. That’s fifty-two miles round trip. People walk and run on it, ride their bikes, and even skateboard. But we could walk a shorter distance. For example, we could walk from here to downtown Walnut Creek, then wander around to look at the stores. We could go to the library, too.” He looked at the twins who frowned. He could almost hear them thinking, ‘The library? He’s gotta be kidding!’

Baxter explained. “There’s a sculpture inside the entrance of the library that looks like a huge, really tall stack of books. But if you look at it through a camera, even the one on your cellphone, you see something different. It’s an optical illusion. It’s very cool.”

“What are these other places that are listed as real hikes?” Jason asked.

“Old Borges Ranch is an old ranch house, and they have a barn with goats and sheep. I think there are chickens, too. There are places to go hiking there, and most of them are easy trails. I don’t know if the animals would be there this weekend, though.

“Black Diamond Mines Regional Recreation Area has longer hikes, and some have steep sections,” Elizabeth said.“There’s nothing heavy-duty like mountain climbing, though. These real hikes mean we’d get dusty because the trails are dirt. The Iron Horse Trail is paved, so it’s more for walking or running. It passes in back of Las Lomas High School and along the side of Walnut Creek Intermediate School. Those are the high school where Baxter goes and the middle school where I go.”

“I use the Iron Horse Trail to ride my bike to and from Las Lomas High,” Baxter said.

“We know all of these people on your list, except the three listed under Mike. Who are they?” Jason asked.

“Mike is my best friend and boyfriend. Luke and Laura are his cousins; they are twins. I haven’t met them yet. They live in Burbank.

“So, are you two okay with getting up and meeting the rest of the cousins sometime the morning of the day before Thanksgiving?”

“Sure,” all three replied.

“What time?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’ll call Mike right now and ask him.”

Baxter placed the call and turned on his cellphone’s speaker.

“Hey, Baxter. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“Well, here I am. We’re wondering what time we can meet tomorrow morning.”

“We figured it out. How’s ten a.m. sound?”

“Sounds good, and we’ll meet here?”

“Yup. We talked to my uncle Greg, and Luke and Laura will come to your place with me. My dad will drive us. Why don’t you ask your dad or pop for an okay, and I’ll hang on.”

“Okay. I’ll bring my phone with me.”

He went to the family room. “Dad, can we talk about tomorrow morning?”

“Sure. Let’s do it in the kitchen.”

When they got there, Baxter explained. “Okay. Mike’s dad will bring him and his two cousins here at ten a.m. We can meet with them and our cousins to plan what we’ll do on Friday or Saturday or both. Is that okay?”

“Yes. My brother Landon and his family called and told me they arrived about an hour ago. They’re coming here for brunch at eight-thirty tomorrow morning. Chuck and Grant will be with them. I’ll phone them and let them know about the ten o’clock cousins meeting.”

“Great, thanks.”

Baxter heard Mike through the speaker. “I heard that and so did my dad. He’ll drop us off at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. See you then.” Rob raised a thumb-up and nodded his approval.

“Okay. See you tomorrow morning. Bye.”

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019, Bedtime

Baxter returned to his bedroom. “Brunch will be here at eight-thirty. We’ll be meeting all of our cousins and Mike’s cousins here at ten a.m.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and actually doing something after sitting on my butt in the car for five and a half hours today,” Jason said.

“I agree,” Jordan added. “Especially the sore butt part. That third row in dad’s SUV feels like it’s made of concrete!”

Elizabeth yawned and said, “I’m looking forward to meeting everyone. And getting to bed now. I’m tired! I’ll see you guys at eight-thirty.”

Baxter yawned, too, “Okay. Good night, Elizabeth. See you in the morning.”

“Night, Baxter. Night, Jason and Jordan. See all of you por la mañana.”

She hugged the three boys and left. The twins stood staring at Baxter. Jordan closed Baxter’s door.

Baxter wondered why Jordan had closed his bedroom door. “What was that for?” he asked, pointing at the door.

“So, you have a boyfriend? And we’ll meet him in the morning?” Jason asked.

“Yes, and yes.”

“So, you’re really gay?” Jordan asked.

“Yes. I’ve never kept it a secret. Do you guys have a problem with that?”