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

him. So all the kids did the same and Jake kissed them all.
They drove home and told Fran the happy news and called all their friends who were equally happy for them.
“You’ve got super sperm, Jake,” DJ quipped and everyone laughed as they gathered at their house for a barbecue. All the kids ran safely around the secure back yard watched by Gertie and Bo who kept an eye on them. Jake grinned proudly as he turned hamburgers and steaks over.
“Didn’t I tell all you fools I was only going to make sons,” he bragged and they all laughed. Steve patted him on the back.
“Well don’t get too cocky there, old man, you’ve still got one to go,” he teased and Jake grinned.
“Oh, that one we’re going to name Daniel,” he informed them. Kathleen smiled.
“Oh, I love that name, if you have a girl and I have a boy, can we have it?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“Sorry, but we’re going to be using it, Jake’s only giving me sons,” he told her. She shook her head.
“I’m going to remind you, you said that if it turns out to be a little girl,” she teased. Then she frowned. “Who invited those two?” she muttered. Harry looked around and saw Susie and Violet strolling in the yard like they owned it. He shrugged.
“We sent the email out and invited everyone, so I guess they assumed they could come, it’s okay, they’re part of Farm Four too and it would be rude to exclude them,” he said. Kathleen rolled her eyes. They watched Violet make a bee line for Jake.
“Congratulations, Jake, I hear you’re going to be a daddy again,” Violet said sweetly. Jake grinned down at her and Susie.
“Yep, it’s another boy,” he bragged. She opened her eyes really wide.
“That’s wonderful, but don’t you like girls?” she cooed and put her hand on his arm. He grinned and moved to flip the burgers. Then he looked around.
“Food’s ready everyone, come and get it,” he shouted and everyone shoved her aside to get to the burgers and steaks. She made a face.
“Hey, I’m standing here, don’t push,” she snapped at Billy who shrugged.
“So get a plate and get in line, this is the food line, not the standing in the way line,” he informed her so she had to move aside. Jake got burgers for his kids and steaks for him and Harry and brought them over to the table and sat down. They cut them up and served the kids and Steve and Kathleen and their kids were at that table and Synta and Joon and Charlie and April were at the next and they all talked back and forth and laughed. DJ and Grace and Hans and Nyla were on the other side and the three tables with kids were the noisiest and the messiest but no one cared, they were all having fun.
Violet had to sit across the yard but she had a good view of Jake and Harry who seemed to pay a lot of attention to those stupid brats like the other parents. They were always wiping mouths and handing the kids cups or forks or cleaning up something. What a stupid way to spend your time. Billy noticed her staring and nudged his brother and soon everyone was staring at Violet staring at Jake and Harry. Susie noticed and tried to get her attention but she shrugged her off so she just grinned and ignored her. Violet finally noticed them all staring at her and rubbed her face.
“What, do I have something on my face?” she asked. They all laughed.
“So which one do you have a crush on now, Jake or Harry?” Billy teased and she flushed with angry and embarrassment.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she snapped. Mike laughed.
“Violet, we’re been staring at you for five minutes now and all you’ve been doing is staring at Harry and Jake,” he told her. She glared at him.
“I was looking at the kids, they’re very cute,” she informed them primly. They all laughed.
“You hate kids and we know it, face it, Violet, you’re secret’s out, you’ve got still got a crush on old Harry,” Bobby teased and she got angry.
“I do not like Harry, he’s a fag and I don’t like fags,” she snapped. They all got silent.
“That’s a pretty rude thing to say considering you’re at his house, eating his food and celebrating the birth of his next child. I think you should apologize or get the hell out of here,” Mike told her, his brown eyes looking fierce. Violet flushed and she stood up.
“I’m leaving, come on, Susie,” she ordered and the other girl got up.
“Sorry, guys, I’m sure she didn’t mean it, you didn’t mean it, did you, Violet?” she pleaded with her to take it back but the other girl just stomped out of the yard. Kathleen watched her go and felt some relief. She knew Harry trusted Jake but she didn’t trust Violet Emery as far as she could throw her and the less time she spent around them the better.
Harvest time came and all of the pumpkins got some kind of rot and rotten on the vine on all the farms. They had no clue as to what caused it but they burned them and treated the soil so there was no pumpkin chunking contest that year. That put a damper on the harvest celebration but they picked tons of apples for juice and everyone’s cranberry bogs produced cranberries for the first time so everyone had plenty of cranberry juice to mix with the apple. Harry juiced some of his junpars and mixed that with the apple and it tasted great so everyone else did too.
And the day he had been dreading for so long finally came in October. He was giving the kids cottage cheese and mangoes which they loved when Jake who was supposed to be away from the house racing the mini cars with guys when he came home unexpectedly because he had forgotten his racing gloves. He took one look at the green cottage cheese and made that face.
“Oh, man, Harry, don’t feed my children ca-ca,” he exclaimed. Adam and Emma laughed as usual but Jackson took one look at his bowl and pushed it away.
“No ca-ca,” he declared. Harry glared at Jake who laughed.
“That’s right, Son, don’t eat that ca-ca,” he reinforced it. Harry sighed.
“Jackson, that’s not ca-ca, that’s cottage cheese, Jake, tell him its cottage cheese, honey, before I have to kill you,” he said and Jake laughed. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a bowl with white cottage cheese and dumped some in a bowl and transferred the fruit and placed it in front of his son who looked at it suspiciously.
“Now that’s cottage cheese, Son, go ahead and try it,” he told him. Harry sighed as Jackson took a bite and grinned and took another. Adam watched him and then looked at his bowl and then went back to eating. Harry grinned and kissed him.
“Get out of my kitchen, Jake Talbert, before I reach for a knife,” he warned him. Jake laughed and ran for the door.
“Don’t you be feeding my children that ca-ca,” he teased him. Harry laughed and picked up the bowl Jackson had refused and began eating it.
“This is cottage cheese,” he told them and they all giggled. After that Jackson refused to eat any green dairy products just like his dad. Harry was pissed at Jake who just grinned and said his son was just like him.
“But he has to drink green milk for his powers, Jake,” Harry told him. Jake shrugged.
“He can drink it when he’s older,” he reasoned. Harry sighed and left it alone. When the other kids started levitating and healing stuff, he knew Jackson would want to do all that too and he would come back to green milk.
Halloween came and Harry dressed all of his kids as beautiful tropical fish from Memphis. He got them out of a book and used silky fabric and wires and they were so cute. He, Jake and Fran were tropical fish too and the whole family was bright and colorful and stood out in the crowd at the center. Everyone gushed over their costumes and of course they won the original costume award again but no one was jealous, Harry deserved it for his creativity.
Thanksgiving came and David Marshall almost ruined it by going out hunting by himself before the others went and scaring away all the turkeys. He got one but they had to go further and find another group to shoot theirs. No one knew where he got the rifle because Max refused to lend him one after he almost killed him the year before. But they found some and Jake got his twenty and brought home nine for Harry who cooked two for their dinner. It was their eighth Thanksgiving on the planet and everyone thought they should plan a special celebration for March ninth, fourteen forty-two; fifty-eight when they would have been on the planet for ten years. Harry thought this was a splendid idea and starting writing a speech, because after all, he was the first one awake and he had to be the one to tell the story of how they got here.
“This is the best turkey and stuffing I’ve ever tasted, Harry, you’ve done it again this year,” Dr. Jackson gushed as he stuffed his face. Jake laughed as he watched his dad eat. Everyone grinned. Kate laughed.
“One of these days, young man, you’re going to have to share this recipe,” she declared and all the women nodded. Harry grinned.
“A man’s got to have some secrets, I’ll share with my kids,” he promised as he wiped Cassie’s mouth and handed her a cup to take a drink. She blew bubbles so he took it away, she must not have been thirsty or she would have drunk instead of doing that. Jake grinned.
“This is fun, I really love all of us sitting down eating together like this,” he said and Sissy smiled and wiped one of the twin’s mouths.
“Nothing is more important than family,” she gushed and Abby rolled her eyes. Jake smiled at her. He knew she’d rather be anywhere but here, but he really like these family affairs and being surrounded by all these children. He winked at his two brothers who giggled.
“Monroe, Dwight, why don’t I take you roller staking tomorrow,” Jake said and they both nodded. He turned to the other side. “Tracey, Travis, I’ll pick you up too,” he offered and they grinned.
“That’s nice of you, Jake,” Kate said, hoping that he’d take the next two but he didn’t offer so she didn’t say anything. Harry grinned knowing what she was thinking but four kids were all Jake could handle on his own and he knew his limitations. Eight would have been too many.
The next day while Jake took the four older kids skating Harry played with his kids in the yard. They were raking leaves with little rakes and he was doing work while they were having fun and the dogs were running around and it was fun. Ryan was inside with Fran and it