The Kids Grow Up by Trish Hanan (novel24 .TXT) 📖

Everyone laughed.
“You’re the man, Harry,” Roger high-fived him and they left the pumpkins for the birds and took their machines home. Harry’s winner sat at the Community Center for the entire year until in a place of honor until next year’s took its place. Everyone wanted their machine to take its place and began working on their designs.
For Halloween Harry dressed Jackson up as the Beast and Emma as Beauty and Fran gushed over their costumes. The Beast costume had been made from the hide of a greeny cow and was very scary. Jackson looked adorable in it. Emma was beautiful as Belle; the Beauty who fell in love with the Beast and turned him back into the Prince. Jake was going as a prince and Harry as a broom. Fran was the teapot; the whole family was in on the theme.
“Oh, my God, look at the little Beast, he’s so cute,” Linda gushed when she saw little Jackson. Everyone turned to look.
“Is that a greeny cow he’s wearing?” Carl asked and Harry grinned.
“Don’t worry, we just didn’t kill the cow for the costume, we butchered him in the spring and I saved the hide for now,” he informed them. Everyone sighed with relief. Jewel came in almost wearing a harem girl costume and all the men almost lost it. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Harry grinned when she ran to him and threw herself into his arms and kissed him right on the lips in front of everyone.
“Oh, Harry, you are such a cute little broom, you make me want to sweep,” she declared and everyone laughed. Jake rolled his eyes and pulled her gently from his husband.
“Look, I think DJ wants to dance,” he said and her eyes lit up.
“I love to dance,” she gushed and rushed off. Harry sighed with relief.
“Thanks; honey,” he said and they kissed. Carl laughed.
“The only man whose happy when a beautiful woman leaves him,” he teased and they all laughed. Harry shrugged.
“If it’s not Jake, then I’m simply not interested,” he declared and Jake beamed.
When Max announced the winner of the most original costume was Beauty and the Beast, Harry grinned and kissed his husband. Then he took his little beast on stage with him to accept the prize. Max handed it to him with a big grin.
“You’ve won this how many years now?” he teased. Harry grinned.
“Well, Max, this year I decided to sweep the floor with all of you,” he quipped and everyone groaned and laughed.
“Oh, get off the stage you hack,” DJ yelled and everyone laughed. Jackson giggled and clapped when everyone clapped. Dr. Jackson grinned.
“That’s my grandson,” he told Charles who rolled his eyes.
“I know that’s your grandson, you’ve told me a million times,” he snapped. Dr. Jackson just kept grinning.
Thanksgiving came and Jake went hunting again because Harry was pregnant again and couldn’t kill again because he was giving birth. Jake grinned and kissed him and took Jewel with him because she wanted to join in on the fun. She surprised everyone by being an expert shot. David surprised everyone by actually shooting a turkey in the head and killing it. He jumped up and down for joy and everyone cheered for him.
“Only took you seven years, Marshall, we’re proud of you,” Max gushed and Jan giggled. She had gotten fourteen birds that year. David made a face but took his bird home proudly to show his wife.
Jake got an amazing twenty birds, the best shooting and Jewel got sixteen so everyone brought home eight birds and of course Jake brought home ten for Harry to cook one for their table. He was doing two because their table was going to be so large this year. With the two combined families and Jewel there would be seven adults and fifteen children at the table. It would be the hugest one but the happiest. Harry was really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year and he and Fran cooked up a storm.
When Jake and Dr. Jackson carved the two turkeys everyone grinned and looked around the table with joy. The oldest kids were almost five and so cute it made your eyes hurt to look at them. Then there were four and three and two and one and nine months old. Harry looked around the table and giggled.
“I love this table and all the children, it’s such a happy table,” he remarked. Sissy laughed.
“It’s going to be a messy table once these children start eating,” she said and everyone laughed. Kate smiled as she helped serve food and cut up turkey for the little ones. Everyone had that detail before they could relax and enjoy their meal. Then Sissy and Dr. Jackson tasted Harry’s turkey and cornbread stuffing.
“Oh, my, Harry, this turkey is delicious and the stuffing is to die for,” Sissy exclaimed. Dr. Jackson’s eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned with pleasure. All the kids giggled.
“This is the best stuffing I ever tasted, I’ve got to have seconds,” he said and reached for the bowl. His son Monroe reached for the bowl at the same time. Dr. Jackson laughed and gave him some more too.
“What did you do to this bird to make it so moist and juicy?” Sissy asked and all the ladies laughed. Harry waved his fork at her.
“I would tell you, Sissy, but then I’d have to kill you,” he teased and everyone laughed again. Jake rolled his eyes.
“It’s Frau Ida’s secret recipe, Mom, Harry soaks the turkey in sugar and whiskey for two days before he cooks it,” he informed her and she looked surprised.
“I don’t remember that recipe in the cookbook,” she said and Harry’s moms laughed.
“That little sneak didn’t put all the recipes in the cookbook, Sissy, he kept some out just for himself, he’s like that, sneaky,” Kate told her with a big grin. Sissy giggled while Harry looked all innocent. He kissed his daughter.
“Do you hear all that slander against your daddy, Emma, don’t you believe a word, darling, they’re just jealous,” he told her and she giggled.
After dinner everyone cleaned up and went home and relaxed. Harry lied the kids down for a nap and stretched out on the couch with Bo and they snuggled. Jake played video games, sitting on the floor with Gertie by his side and Fran visited with her four grandchildren at the kid’s house. The three of them had been married in a unique ceremony by Reverend Phillip who said why not, love was love and they were on a new planet and they could make new rules.
Christmas came and Harry was once again big as a walrus and couldn’t see his feet which made him giggle. Jackson and Emma loved to pat his belly and say baby and laughed when the belly wiggled which it did often, Adam was a frisky little baby. Jake rubbed cocoa butter on him every night so he wouldn’t get stretch marks and this made Harry as horny as ever. He attacked Jake at every possible moment which caused much amusement in the house and much amusement in their friends.
“I love Christmas,” Kate gushed as all the kids opened their presents under the huge community tree. Barb hugged her and they kissed. Max was having such a good time he didn’t make a face this year. His son Paul was almost three and racing his little bike around and having a good time banging into his dad who laughed every time.
“Oh, so cute, they’re little cloth dolls,” Kathleen gushed as the twins opened their presents from Harry and Jake. They had gotten all the little ones pink and blue gingham dolls called, ‘My First Dolls’ that were made of cloth and had little bells in their heads. They were very precious. All the girls got weepy of course.
“You know I don’t remember seeing these on the shelf at the store,” April remarked. Harry grinned.
“That’s because they weren’t on the shelf, I pulled them for a surprise, you can do that when you own the store,” he told them smugly and they all laughed.
“You’re a sneaky little devil,” DJ remarked and hugged him. He was holding Emma who loved her Uncle DJ. She was adorable in a red velvet dress with a bow in her blonde curls. Gloria looked across the room at her and smiled.
“Emma looks precious today doesn’t she?” she asked her husband who hadn’t noticed. He liked date nights better when all these brats were in the next room. All this screaming and shouting got on his nerves. He looked across the room and spied his daughter and shrugged.
“She looks okay, probably has a shitty diaper, they always do at that age,” he commented and that made her frown.
“Eew, you’re probably right,” she said, glad that the brat was in someone else’s house and not theirs.
Two days later they had a party for the babies for their birthday and Fran and Harry baked two cakes, a boy one and a girl one. Jackson got a cowboy cake and Emma got a princess cake and both were very precious. Harry, who had woken with a back ached prayed that Adam would at least wait until the party was over before he made his appearance.
Everyone arrived, even granddad George and grandmom Shelley and their family and the party was going great and they had just served cake when Harry leaned over to put ice cream on his sister Tracy’s plate when a great pain rushed over him and he doubled over and gasped. He dropped the scooper and almost hit the floor. Luckily Jake saw his face contort and reached for him. When he straightened up, the front of his shirt was wet.
“I think Adam is coming, honey,” Harry said and everyone went into action. And since everyone was there, they just got into their cars and rushed to the hospital. Jewel who had never seen a live birth came along to witness it for herself.
“This is so exciting, a man giving birth, I can’t wait until February when all the ladies give birth,” she gushed. Harry grinned and rubbed his belly.
When they got to the hospital everyone swung into action and soon he was on the table and Fiona smiled and put a urinal within reach for afterwards. Harry sighed with relief remembering the embarrassment of peeing himself and she patted his hand.
“This one really wants out Harry, I can see his head,” Dr. George remarked and they all looked to see the top of the baby’s head pushing against the little belly button hold. Harry laughed.
“My back’s been aching all day, I guess he’s been telling me he wants out all that time,” he informed them. Jake looked worried.
“Why didn’t you say something babe, we could have had the party in a couple of days, the twins wouldn’t have known the difference,” he chided him. Harry sighed.
“I didn’t think it would happen so fast, honey; I thought it would wait until later,” he said. Then a contractor came and he wanted to push. His face went red and he began to breathe fast. His mother held his hand.
“Remember your breathing Henry, that’s not the way to do it,” she said