A few minutes later, as the rest of them chatted happily, Tommy returned with wrapped presents for Adrian and Leonard. They hadn’t expected gifts from anyone and both men gave each other quizzical looks.
“Tommy, you didn’t need to do this,” said Adrian, accepting his gift and smiling anyway.
“It’s not much,” said Tommy, look uncharacteristically nervous and excited. “I hope you like them. Sonia at school helped me find the material and we made them during our free periods. I based the sizes on ones you already have in your wardrobe.”
“You made these yourself?” asked Toni as Leonard unwrapped his long-sleeved, button-down shirt. Although the material was white cotton, the whole garment had tiny characters all over, small leaves of a tea plant in green. Even the collar and cuffs had been carefully planned, with a green and white paisley design to complement the pattern.
Adrian unwrapped his shirt, which was a burgundy colour and had small coffee beans all over. His also had a similar design of paisley on the collar and cuffs, but this time in dark brown and wine red.
“Tommy!” said Adrian, standing up and putting the shirt on. “I bloody love it.”
Leonard thought he looked damn good in it, too, worn over the top of his black T-shirt. Leonard had to remove his short-sleeved shirt first, revealing his naked upper torso, which put a grin on Adrian’s face, but he managed to slip into the shirt easily. After buttoning up, he went over and stood next to Adrian, the two of them posing for Toni’s phone camera.
“Absolutely love them, Tommy. You are a true talent.”
“You’re fam,” said Tommy, clearly pleased with himself, his cheeks reddened, and, Leonard suspected, not just from the champagne. “And I wanted to do something nice. Suits you two. Coffee and tea. You know one of the teachers at school refers to you both as Mr Lemonade.”
“Huh?” said Jack. “I don’t get it. Why lemonade?”
“My bad,” said Tommy. “I keep talking about my two guardians, Len and Ade. They must have misheard.”
Adrian laughed along with them all, then pecked Leonard on the lips and was about to go and sit back down, but Leonard pulled his arm back and whispered in his ear. Adrian smiled and nodded.
“We have something, too. For all of us, actually. So I need Tommy up here with us.”
While Adrian waited for Tommy, Leonard went over to the sideboard where he had left his work case. He pulled out the large brown envelope he had collected that day.
“I had to pop in to see my solicitor today. Usual work stuff. But she’s been in touch with the foster care authorities and looking into the possibility of us actually adopting you, Tommy. But only if you want to. We can submit the forms now, but we need to wait another six months until you’ve been with us for two years. The long and the short of it is, both Adrian and I would like to make you officially and legally a part of the family. I know your real father is still out there, so you may need to take some time to think—”
“Yes. No. I don’t need—” The words faded into a high-pitched sob, and before Leonard had a chance to finish, Tommy buried his head in Adrian’s chest, his arms around him, his shoulders shaking along with the snuffles coming from him. Leonard placed a hand in the middle of Tommy’s back and rubbed circles. Tommy’s reaction drew the same tearful response from Toni and Jack.
“I hate you both,” said Tommy eventually, pouting and snatching a tissue from the box on the table. “Neither of you know how much time and effort goes into putting on mascara. Now I look like an extra fromTwilight.”
“So you’re okay with the idea?” asked Leonard after they had sat back down on the sofa. But something in Tommy had softened, and he couldn’t help the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
“Of course I’m okay with the idea,” said Tommy, with the ‘duh’ expression he loved to lavish on his guardians. “Will I have to keep my family name?”
“That’s your choice.”
“Can I have yours, Len? It’s so much easier to pronounce.”
“Of course you can, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s wait until everything’s agreed before we make those kinds of decisions. This will mean you having to keep up your school grades, Tommy. If the social workers see any drop in your grades, they might take that as a sign that we’re not practicing responsible parenting.”
“I know, I know,” said Tommy, looking flustered even though Leonard had been half-joking. “I’m doing my best. But you might have to ask Grandma if she can help me with biology again. Without her help, I’d never have made it through the half-term exam.”
Grandma. Leonard had asked his mother to look through Tommy’s science schoolwork, and they’d had several two-hour sessions over video chat during the holidays. He’d managed a respectable B+ in the exam, which he was ecstatic about, but his mother had phoned Leonard after one lesson and asked him if he’d instructed Tommy to call her Grandma. He hadn’t—nobody forced Tommy to do anything—but much to Leonard’s surprise, she loved the endearment.
“Why don’t you text her? You can also tell our news.”
* * * *
In bed that night, he let Adrian read over the terms of the adoption. Leonard could tell he only skimmed most of the pages because he trusted Leonard’s solicitor, Helen. She had probably deferred the paperwork to someone she knew who had more relevant experience. But if Helen trusted them, then so did Leonard.
“We’re going to have a son,” said Adrian.
“We already do,” said Leonard. “But it’ll be official. And I’m going to give him Bryn Bach for his twenty-first. That way it stays in the family. Don’t say anything to him yet, though. We’ll let it be a surprise.”
“While I think that’s a wonderful idea, you might not want to keep this particular present a surprise.”
