AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Hi," he mouthed as he leaned down to accept a kiss on the cheek from someone else.
I just raised my glass toward him before he turned away, beckoned by another party guest.
"He'll figure it out," I said, and took another drink.
Twenty minutes later, the party was in full swing––people were dancing, enjoying the bar food and brisket, and Brandon was finally able to make his way over to where I stood chatting with Ray and Susan.
"Hi!" he greeted us, stooping down to embrace his foster mother and even slinging a casual arm around Ray's thin shoulders for a quick hug. Then he turned to me with a shy smile. "Hey."
"Hey," I replied, suddenly self-conscious. We made no move to connect, and Ray and Susan both glanced between us curiously.
"Kieran, ah, she said that you were the one who organized all of this."
I glanced around at the people, who were all clearly having a good time, and nodded, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah. I did. Happy Birthday."
"Thank you, Red. I love it."
I looked up to find Brandon's blue eyes filled with nothing but clear gratitude. I exhaled with relief.
"You've been going to so many parties with strangers lately," I said. "I thought you might enjoy one with just people you actually know. People who really love you."
For that I was rewarded with the crooked half-smile that I swore was only reserved for me––the one that meant I saw something others didn't. The one that meant he was mine, or so I hoped. My chest tingled in response.
Beside me, Ray cleared his throat, and the momentary spell was broken.
"Um, we've got a little something for you," he said, pulling out a file.
My eyes bugged when I realized what it was: the adoption papers I'd brought over last week. I hadn't expected them to give them to Brandon here. My chest suddenly felt like it was on ice. What if he didn't want this? What if he thought I'd overstepped?
With a curious glance at me, Brandon took the file from his foster father and started to page through it.
"What is this?" he asked. "Adoption papers?" His sharp eyes drifted over the places where the names had been entered into the document. "My adoption papers?"
"It's a little something," Susan spoke up. She was already dabbing at tears in her kind eyes. "Something we should have done a long time ago, Brandon. We should have done it when you––when you made the decision to stay with us for good."
I bit my lip as I watched Brandon read the document. His blond brows furrowed in slight confusion.
"But...it's not like I'm a kid," he said as his eyes darted over the legal jargon. "You could have done the same thing with a will, if that's what you wanted."
Ray cleared his throat again, pulling Brandon's attention.
"This isn't about when we're dead," said the gruff older man. "It's about while we're alive. And Bran––Brandon. Susan's right. We should have done it before. But we're doing it now because you should know the truth: that you are our son, and always have been. Sign it, don't sign it. But that's the truth."
We all three of us took a deep breath as Brandon finished reading, but when he looked up, his eyes were bright, shining stars. Susan choked back a sob. Brandon grinned.
"Where do I sign?" he asked, feeling in his empty shirt pocket for a pen.
"Here." I thrust a pen toward him, which he accepted with another curious smile my way.
But just before he brought his pen to the paper, his eyes caught my name on a few of the documents. He looked up.
"You did this?" he asked, his eyes full of wonder.
Again, I shrugged, suddenly bashful.
"She did," Susan jumped in. She reached across her husband to grab my hand and squeezed. "She did all of it. Came to us. We had lunch. Convinced us it was the right thing to do––and she was right, wasn't she, Ray?"
Ray just grumbled his agreement, but I barely noticed, lost as I was in the swirl of emotions on Brandon's face.
