Our Boys

The Tour

"The stairs over here lead up to the four bedrooms, three baths, and an attic above that," JJ continued. "Those doors along the wall near the stairs lead to a closet, the den, and the study. I think Josh and Ethan are in the study. They should be in there now. Ethan has dyslexia and has to spend a lot of time practicing his reading, even in the summer, if he wants to stay on top of his studies, and Josh missed a lot of school as a little boy so he's a bit behind." JJ explained as they walked over to a closed, heavy wooden door next to the massive log staircase. JJ knocked once, then opened the door with his free hand. "Josh? Ethan? You in here?"

"Yeah Papa," two soft voices answered from across the room. "Just reading some comics," Ethan continued. "We finished practicing a little while ago and decided to take advantage of the quiet before Harry comes charging in."

The two twelve year olds stood up from a long, dark red, leather couch positioned in front of a small fireplace, tossing their comics down on a nearby coffee table. The room was decorated nicely with a large double-sided oak desk, which accommodated two PC's, one on each side of the desk, with matching black lamps. Shelves of books lined the walls, interspaced by two bay windows with padded benches positioned beneath each. Leather and oak chairs were at both sides of the desk, and oversized brown leather chairs sat either side of the red couch.

The taller boy in the room, Josh, had dark brown, almost black hair, fairly short, brushed back off his face and hazel eyes. He gazed over at his father and the small boy nestled in one of his arms. He hadn't seen a kid that small since he was still in foster care.

Behind him, Ethan smiled slightly at the youngster. Ethan was quite small for his age, a little overweight, with chestnut brown hair, cut short and pale blue eyes. He and Josh had met in foster care in a group home at a young age and quickly became inseparable. Their story of meeting their fathers was a long and complex tale and not one for first introductions to tiny children.

"Hey," they both greeted the new arrival with a nod. "I'm Josh, the third, well, fourth youngest now, in this place."

"And I'm Ethan, the newly third youngest, but only by a few months."

Dark brown eyes stared back at them, well, a dark brown eye, they noticed. The other eye was blackened and almost swollen shut. Josh inwardly winced at the familiar signs. He'd gotten a lot of those himself and more before coming here.

"I'm just giving the kid here a little tour of our home," JJ told them.

A little puppy came scampering in the door behind him, sliding to a halt at JJ's feet, craning its head upwards.

Josh smirked. "Who's the little critter?"

JJ and the boy glanced downward, the sight causing the adult to laugh. "Well, that thing there would be the little un's puppy, Molly. She's a purebred spaniel. Your dad's tacking up a list of rules about her onto the bulletin board. The little guy made them up for us."

"Hyper thing, isn't she?" Ethan questioned as the puppy danced at their feet, begging for attention.

"Rach says she'll calm down when she gets older. Apparently, they're just really hyper when they're puppies. Oh, and they're chewers, so you might want to keep any prized possessions in your room, with the door shut," JJ advised, giving a warning nod to the boys comics and thinking of all the things the boys had cluttered about in the great room.

"We'll make sure everything gets put away," Josh promised, sticking his comic into his back pocket. "Mind if we join you on your tour?"

Father and sons turned to their visitor who studied the two for a moment, then shyly shook his head.

"That mean we can come?" Josh asked softly.

The little boy looked bashful, then nodded his head yes. The four walked out of the study, Molly prancing along behind them.

Ethan opened the next-door and led the way in to the combination den and entertainment room.

"This is where everyone sits on Saturday mornings, rainy days, and during the winter." JJ swept his free arm out, showing off the large room, which had a fireplace exactly opposite to the one in the study. They shared a chimney.

The den/entertainment room was large, with a giant, flat screen TV, and massive speakers for the iPod dock at one end. A comfortable-looking, overstuffed green sofa was positioned in front of the TV, with two oversized chairs at right angles to each side of it. Immediately in front of the entrance, sat a beautiful pool table and a rack of pool cues hung on the wall near the door. The far wall had a large bay of windows, with heavy curtains, which, when closed, could create the perfect movie theater environment. To the left of the fireplace was a mini bar area, with a fridge and cupboards filled with snacks and drinks. Alcoholic beverages were in a highest locked cupboard on the adjacent wall. To the right of the fireplace, was a wall of shelves, filled with board games, cards, puzzles, and other quiet time activities. In front of the fireplace was a large, round poker table, which accommodated the whole family for board games as well as the occasional impromptu poker game.

This room saw almost constant activity. It was only due to their new arrival that one or more of the boys weren't there at that moment.

Josh could tell the boy was a bit taken aback by the room. He'd had the same reaction when Simon had shown it to him the first time. It took ages for Josh to accept that his new parents really meant it when they said he could come in here any time he wanted and use whatever he wished, as long as he never touched the liquor. He'd been reluctant at first, but Tobi had taken him under his wing and brought him here to play games often in those first couple weeks. He'd also dragged Josh and Ethan to the cozy room every Saturday to watch cartoons while they ate cereal on the couches. JJ would often stumble in around nine a.m. on those mornings, collapse on the couch next to them, and steal bites of cereal. Simon was always up by six, though, already working on new ideas for the summer camp, or collaborating with other YouTubers who still lived nocturnally, but sometimes he would join the group as well. Josh had latched onto Simon's caring nature, and taken pleasure in JJ's over-the-top exuberance.

Molly was eagerly exploring the whole room. There were so many new sights and smells. No one really noticed her until she got a big whiff of the ashes in the fireplace and began sneezing repeatedly. The noise had caused everyone to jump, then JJ, Josh and Ethan to laugh once they realised what she'd done.

Ethan scooped up the puppy and scratched her head. "That is just one of the reasons you shouldn't be playing around there," he scolded the dog gently.

"I think the fact she'd need a bath every hour would be a bigger reason," Simon's voice sounded from the doorway. "White dogs and soot and ash do not mix," he told them, walking into the room and firmly closing the glass doors of the hearth.

Brown eyes blinked tiredly at the blond.

Simon's face softened. "I think you better hurry with your tour or you're going to lose your audience."

JJ looked down and, upon seeing his sleepy little charge, had to agree.

"Rach is setting out the papers we're going to need to sign, and she told me he's going to need some pain meds in..." Simon glanced at the clock on the mantle, "fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes," JJ repeated. "Got it."

Simon shook his head, lightly ruffling the black mop of hair, and then went back out to join Rachel so she could tell him some of the necessary care instructions.

JJ turned to the twelve year olds. "I guess we'd better get this tour going again."

The two smiled back softly, then lead the way out of the den and up the staircase, JJ following close behind. Molly determinedly hopped up after them, stair by stair.