Seth’s Perspective
Maureen greeted us in the lobby, it was always great to see her, but this visit was unsettling. Ali reached out to her with a smile and she held our little guy as she got down to business. “Okay, he’s here and waiting in one of the rooms down the hall. I’ll take Ali in and give him a little time alone, then he would like to meet you.”
“Can one of us go in with him?” Zach asked, we were both apprehensive about letting him out of our sight.
“No. He’s requested a little alone time and legally he has that right” Maureen answered, she saw the look of worry on our faces. “Don’t worry guys, he won’t be long, then you can join. I’ve met him and he seems like a nice man.” We talked a bit more before she walked down the corridor with our baby… and without us. I felt like she had ripped a vital organ out of my body and all I could do about it is sit down in the cold lobby and wait. Zach and I waited in silence for about thirty of the longest fucking minutes of my life, he never let go of my hand. FINALLY, Maureen came out to get us and walked us down the corridor to our baby (I swear that hallway was eight miles long). She opened the door to the little room, there was a casual seating area, some toys on the floor and a little table in the corner but all that blurred away when I saw Ali, he was sitting on the lap of his biological father.
As soon as he saw us, he crawled down and toddled over to us, reached out his arms and said, “Hi, Daddy.” I snatched him up and held onto him for dear life. I didn’t cry, but I sure as fuck wanted to.
The man stood and introduced himself. There was no denying it, this handsome man was Ali’s father. He looked like an older Ali! Same beautiful brown eyes, same skin tone, same smile. Take Ali, add a perfectly trimmed beard, a couple of decades of living, and a few feet in height and you’ve got the man standing in front of us. He was wearing a silk, burgundy sherwani with gold accents, even with his smaller, lean frame he was an intimidating figure. He rose from the sofa wand walked towards us with his hand extended, “Hello, I am Ali Banerjee and I would like to humbly thank you both for the care you have given Ali. He is a very happy child.”
“Zach Westin-Hall, it’s nice to meet you” my husband said with a smile and a firm handshake.
I followed suit, “Seth Westin-Hall” was all I could muster.
“May we sit?” Ali Sr. asked. We all sat down, Ali wanted down and went over to the corner to play with the blocks… his go to source of relaxation.
“I want to clarify something immediately. I understand you want to adopt Ali; I am pleased he has found a good family, and I have no intention of interfering” Ali Sr. said, we both breathed a sigh of relief. “I am sure you have many questions for me, as do I for you” he spoke very eloquently with a very strong Indian accent. “I was in the United States finishing my education at Cambridge when I met Ali’s mother, Caitlin. She was a young, beautiful, undergraduate student and I was very attracted to her” he reached into a leather bag and pulled out a picture of the two of them, they were a stunning couple.
“She’s very beautiful” I said, “you were a handsome couple.”
Ali Sr. smiled, nodded, and thanked me before continuing his story, “Shortly after we met, she became pregnant with Ali.” He paused for a moment to look Ali’s way; he was content on the floor stacking blocks and knocking them down. “I should never have gotten involved with her. I had no right. I had already agreed to an arranged marriage back home and to back out would not only bring shame to my family, but a… a stigma that we would not soon overcome. This wasn’t about me it was about family honor and in all honesty, I chose my wife Aditi from many women and I loved her too. I had created a very bad situation for all involved, especially Caitlin and Ali. I could never have a life with them, it was forbidden.”
“So, if you were at Cambridge, how did Caitlin and Ali end up here?” Zach asked.
“I finished my degree and had to go back to India before Ali was born, today was the first time I have seen him. I went back to India to marry Aditi as promised, and Caitlin moved here where she hoped to make a life for her and Ali. She had no family to speak of other than a stepmother she was not close to, so she decided to go where no one knew her, she was a nurse and received an offer from a local hospital. The offer included childcare so she felt she would be able to handle both a career and a child. I worried about her and Ali being alone, she had dealt with bouts of depression in the past and I feared being alone may trigger more issues” he said before pausing to take a deep breath. “I was secretly sending her money, and she would email me pictures of my son.” I was lost in his story until he said, ‘my son,’ that sent chills through my spine. Ali was OUR son. He continued, “although I loved Aditi, I harbored much guilt and longed to meet my son. When Caitlin passed, the state started its search for little Ali’s father. My father of my same name was contacted; he confronted me and I told him everything. He demanded that I relinquish all ties to little Ali and forget he ever existed. When my father demands, you do not disobey.”
“Does anyone else know about Ali?” Zach asked.
“Aditi and my mother now know of Ali. Once my father learned of him, I decided it was best to tell them both. My true hope was that they would all tell me that my fears were unfounded, and embrace Ali so he could come live with us and have a wonderful life, but that was not meant to be. They knew little Ali would not be welcomed in my homeland, he would have a horrible life as an outcast, ‘haraamee bachcha,’ which translates from Hindi as ‘bastard child,’ and that is not a life I would wish for anyone, especially my own flesh.”
“So, what brings you here?” Maureen asked (to be honest, I forgot she was even in the room).
“I had to return to Cambridge for a lecture, I could not leave the United States without seeing my son. I must credit my mother and my wife for encouraged this visit. They both felt I needed to see the boy” Ali responded. “Now, you know much about me and Ali’s mother. Tell me of you?” He wanted to know everything, jobs, homelife, family, Ali’s world. He told us that he had met many gay people during his time in the states and he didn’t have a problem with it, his only concern was that Ali was safe and loved. “I had dreamed of Ali being raised in a more traditional environment, but it is also tradition that keeps me and my son apart, so who am I to judge?” He stated with sadness. After about a billion pictures and videos of Ali with his brother, his sister, his family, and friends, Ali Sr. seemed satisfied that Ali was indeed safe and loved. As we neared our time together, he took a large, thick envelope from his case. “This is a letter I have written to my son which explains all that I have shared with you today. It contains pictures of me and his mother, I have left it unsealed so that you may review it if you so choose, you are his parents and have a right to know what it is you are sharing.” He was very respectful of our role. “I hope you will choose to share this with him if he ever asks about his parents. I want him to have a wonderful life, but I do not want him to suffer because he thinks he was not loved or wanted. It was just not meant to be” His words were sincere, heartfelt, and delivered with tears in his eyes. He was as heartbroken as Zach and I were elated.
“He will have a wonderful life and be loved by many. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, on that you have our word” Zach said what I couldn’t as he looked him in the eyes and shook his hand sealing the promise. I could tell his words brought Ali comfort. Then Zach added, “I hope you know that it is our honor to be able to include Ali as part of our family.”
“May I take some pictures of Ali?” He asked. We obliged, we took a few of the two of them together, Then he asked for one of me and Zach with Ali, and Maureen took one of the four of us. “I will look at these in times when I wonder if I made the right decision and be reminded that Ali has a family that loves him.” After that, Zach brought out the paperwork, Ms. Elkin got the Notary to come into the room, and he relinquished his parental rights. We were free to move forward with Ali’s adoption; this hell was almost over. We were seconds from being done with the meeting I had dreaded when…
Zach asked, “when do you leave town, Ali?”
“I am staying at a hotel near the airport tonight, I have an early flight tomorrow morning” he replied.
“Would you like to join our family for dinner tonight? It will be an opportunity for you to meet Ali’s brother and sister and see his home” Zach offered as daggers shot from my eyes. What the actual FUCK was he thinking?! “It won’t be anything fancy… Seth put Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti in the crockpot this morning, the kids love it. We’d be honored if you would join us.” Ali Sr. smiled and graciously accepted as I seethed. Before we said goodbye, Zach gave him our address and told him to come by around 5:30, we ate early because of the kids.
We walked out to the Atlas and buckled Ali in the back, I shut the door, and before Zach could walk to the Jetta, I said in a hushed shout, “What the fuck was that! We were done with him. At the home stretch, and you give him our home address and invite him to dinner, what the fuck were you thinking?!” I was pissed and yelling in a whisper.
“I was thinking that the guy was just forced to give up his fucking son and offering him a chance to eat some chicken, cheese, and pasta from our crockpot with a bunch of snotnosed kids was the least we could do to thank him for giving us our son” Zach shouted right back, he was as pissed at me as I was at him. “I’m going to get Freddy; I’ll fucking see you at home” Zach said as he stormed off and got into his car. I headed over to Gina’s to get Izzy and was fuming the whole way there, the dialogue in my head was toxic. He didn’t even fucking ask me; he just invited the guy to our home with our kids! He. Didn’t. Even. Fucking. Consult. ME! I was enraged, but then I glanced at Ali in the mirror. He was just sitting there listening to the music and looking out the window with his tiny little hand on the glass. He was so damn cute, so damn perfect, and he was going to be ours. Zach was right, Ali was worth a little chicken, cheese, pasta, and family time. His father was giving us a great gift. By the time I got to Gina and Dylan’s place the toxic voices in my head had been soothed for the most part. I got Ali out of the car and we went inside to collect Izzy.
“How’d it go?” Gina asked before I even got all the way in the door.
“Fine, he signed the papers” I said, then I rolled my eyes, “but Zach freaking pissed me off, he invited the guy to dinner.”
“What?!” Gina said loudly, then more quietly asked, “Who? Ali’s Father?” I nodded. Then I told her the whole sordid story and shared the pictures we had taken.
“Damn, he’s hot” Gina said in a breathy tone. “God, can you imagine having to give up your child? He must be devastated.” She was the second person in the last hour that had to remind me that this celebratory moment for our family, was also a great loss for Ali’s father. A loss that those he loved would not allow him to speak of. The more Gina and I talked, the more I realized that Zach was right to invite him for dinner, and I was wrong to get pissed (although in my defense he could’ve asked me… okay fine, so maybe I didn’t let it go completely). Suddenly I realized the time.
“Crap, I need to get home, make the house acceptable, and throw a salad together for dinner before he gets there” I’m sure it was obvious I was freaking out over our dinner guest.
Gina put a hand on my shoulder, “Seth, unless this guy is blind, deaf, and dumb, he already sees that Ali is loved. Let him spend a few more moments with the son that he can’t be with. Give him this memory of dinner with his son and his new family.” I sighed, dammit she and Zach were right… and I hated it.
“Thanks for putting it in perspective” I said with a hug, then yelled “Izzy, Ali, get your stuff, let’s go home for dinner” the kids rallied, we got into the Atlas and home we zoomed singing I the whole way. When we got there, Zach was already there with Freddy and they were cleaning up the place, putting the toys away, etc. I got the kids out of the SUV and went right to work in the kitchen, I didn’t even say hello to Zach (Yeah, I understood why he invited Ali Sr., but I was still a little pissed that he didn’t consult me).
I cooked, Zach and the kids cleaned, and we had our little home ready to welcome our guest with a little time to spare. I was setting the table when Zach came up behind me, put his arms around my waist and whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first, but I’m not sorry I invited him” then he kissed my neck and I kinda forgave him, but not completely. It was right about then that the doorbell rang. We all went to the door to greet Ali Sr.
“Thank you for inviting me to your home. You have a beautiful piece of land here” he said offering Zach the bottle of wine he had brought.
“Thank you. Please come in” Zach said. The three kids (and Petunia) had gathered to see who was at the door.
“Who dat?” Izzy asked as Ali walked up to his biological father and raised his arms. He removed his coat and picked up his son.
“This is Mr. Banerjee, he’s a friend of Ms. Elkin’s who’s in town on business. He’s going to eat with us tonight” Zach said.
“Hi. I Izzy, dat my bruddo Freddy” she said pointing to Freddy, then pointed to Ali and said, “and dat my bruddo aLLLee.” Her smile was gigantic as she called Ali her brother for the first time (at least in front of me).
Ali Sr. smiled at her, “I am happy to meet you all miss Izzy. Thank you for the introductions.”
“You welcome” Izzy said with a proud smile, she had done her duty as hostess. Dinner was ready so we all went into the dining room and sat down at the fancy table. It was awkward at first, but then the kids… well, acted like they always do. Freddy talked about his day, Izzy babbled about everything, and little Ali JUST took it all in as he ate. Just a typical family dinner at the Westin-Hall house. At one point Freddy looked across the table and giggled, “Mr. Banerjee looks like an old Ali.” But that as much as he put together before going back to his cheesy chicken.
After dinner Ali Sr. stayed and talked for a while, nothing deep, all pretty small-talk-ish things. When it was the kids bedtime, Zach a sked if he’d like to tuck Ali in. “No. No. I have overstayed my welcome and I must be going” was his response. I think his trip to America to see his son brought some closure to the situation, maybe eased his mind about giving up his son. But at the same time, I’m sure it brought with it some remorse, and other strong emotions. When we got to the door he said goodbye to Freddy, Izzy gave him a hug, and he lifted Ali and looked him in the eyes. He gave his son a final goodbye hug and whispered something in his ear before handing him to me. “I thank you all for a night I will remember for a lifetime. You are good people and I wish nothing but happiness upon you home.”
“Thank you for this wonderful gift” I responded.
Ali Banerjee left our home that night knowing his son was in good hands and surrounded by love… something his culture would not allow him to provide for his tiny clone. It was a bittersweet visit. But it was over now, and we could move forward with Ali’s adoption.
That night in bed Zach and I lay face-to-face and whispered our way through to the end of our earlier fight. “I didn’t think you’d mind. It was clear that the man was lonely and hurting. He didn’t have anyone who understood what he was going through.”
I felt kind of embarrassed, Zach had acknowledged Ali Sr.’s humanity and I had ignored it. “It just felt weird giving him our address, I mean up until then things were kind of legal, and transactional, now he knows where we live.”
“He’s a man of means, Seth” Zach said. “If he wanted to find Ali, he’d find Ali and he’d find our house. Instead, he signed away his parental rights.” I knew he was right, but I was overprotective of my family and it just bothered me that the man now knew where we lived. Zach understood my point of view and I understood his, he ALWAYS put the family first, this wasn’t any different. I decided to trust Zach and let it go, so I kissed him. “Does that mean you forgive me?” He asked. I just kissed him again in response and reached over to fondle him. He kissed me back and returned my touch. “So, is this gonna be makeup sex?”
“Only if you’re on the bottom” I answered.
Zach laughed, “not happenin’”
“Well, then I guess you’re not that sorry, are you?” I asked playfully as I reached a little lower and pushed my finger against his hole, then tapped a few times.
Zach Snickered, “are you trying to guilt me into bottoming?”
“Little old me? I’d never do that.” I said batting my eyelashes and pushing my finger harder against his hole. He rolled on top of me and we made out, kissing and groping each other. Zach was settling into the top position when I flipped the script as so to speak. With one swift move I had him on his back with me on top.
He snickered again, “Look at you all fired up.”
“Right or wrong” I said, “You should have talked to me about it first. Right? I asked him as my hips pinned his to the bed, and my hands held his shoulders down.
“Yes. I should have asked you first” he laughed.
“We’re a team and we make decisions together. Right?” I asked still pinning him to the mattress with all my might.
“Yes. We’re a team and make decisions together” he repeated laughing and trying to squirm out of my grip. I was struggling to hold him down, let’s face it, Zach was way stronger than me. I squelched the squirming with a hot kiss as my pelvis ground against his making our flaccid members dance. The intimacy and playfulness of our struggle was making us both hard, I subtly moved my hand from his shoulder to the drawer of the nightstand to grab the lube. Zach held his free hand out, I squirted the cold gel, he reach between us and slathered it on my hardening tool. Up and down, he stroked making me harder, and readying me to deliver my forgiveness.
I moved myself and my rod of forgiveness into position and pushed. Zach pushed out his sphincter, opening himself up to accept me as I slid deeper and deeper into him. Damn, he was so tight, as he contracted around me basically jacking me off with his hole. FUCK! Yeah, I said ‘FUCK!’ it felt so amazing and it was clear Zach was loving it too, he yelped and moaned as his fingernails dug into the flesh of my ass trying to pull me in deeper. Strictly Top. My. Ass. Zachary Nathan Westin Hall may have played the roll of the all American jock top, but put my dick up his as and he euphorically wails for more.
“Fuck me, Seth. Harder” he yelled mindlessly. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head as he enjoyed my incessant pounding. My blows were hard, strong, and powerful as I delivered a fuck to remember. Zach pulled his nails out of my ass cheeks and wrapped his arms around my lower back. “Oh fuck. I’m cumming, and I’m not even touching it” he said into my ear with a hushed voice, just a second or two later I felt he warm seed exploded between us then squish amid out gyrations. I kept fucking in and out of him, loving every damn stroke of it until I erupted in an amazing climax that shot deep into my husband. I fell onto his back in a breathless heap.
“So, is all forgiven?” Zach whispered in my ear.
“Always. Just don’t frigging do it again.” We kissed, then moved around so he was spooning me, and we started to fall asleep in our own filth.
I was almost passed out when Zach whispered, “But you know I was right.” I reached back playfully slapped his ass and shortly after that, I fell asleep. I slept as soundly as one of the Harrington-James twins knowing that Ali’s adoption was going to be fast-tracked.
The next morning, we were back to our routine. We were all sitting at the counter eating breakfast when Freddy asked, “how many more days ‘til ‘acation in Feeenix?”
“Only four more day until A’cation!” Zach said with excitement and all three kids cheered. With all the craziness in our world, we were all looking forward to getting away.
To be continued…
