Another Chance - Book Two

By Zarek Dragon

 

Two weeks went by quickly. Scott and Brandon had spent nearly every day together becoming closer friends. They would join Jim and his group for lunch, but totally seemed lost in their own little world. Classes were preparing the students for finals, with exception of the seniors who were already taking their finals so they can practice for graduation afterwards.

At home, Jakey sat on the bed with Marilyn while she read, and then he played with his toys, sometimes in her room, but when she wanted to sleep, he had no problem going to Zac's old room to play. Either place, he kept his ears open for Zayne. When the baby started to cry, he was quick to make sure that Vince was aware. And Vince was always quick to let Jakey know he was appreciated in helping.

It was Saturday, the ninth of May and the boys were working at the ranch, Jim looked at Joe, who had his shirt off and hanging from his back jean pocket. "Dude, have you looked in the mirror lately?"

Joe smiled, "I take it that you approve."

"Hell yeah, I do. More importantly, what does Buster think of it?" Jim smiled. Joe smiled so big that his face had to hurt but he didn't say a word. "OH, he likes it that much, eh?"

"I didn't say anything, and besides, that is personal," Joe retorted.

"I'm just happy for you and Buster," Jim grinned. "You really might want to cover it back up in an hour, Matt and Gina will be here and Matt might get jealous," Jim teased.

"Will Mom be riding again today or just dropping Jakey off?" Joe asked.

"That may depend on if she has other things to do and if Jakey asked her. Any word on when Jackson is planning my party?" Jim asked.

"Your birthday isn't until Monday and since we go to the dojo on Mondays, I don't think Jackson is planning one this year. He didn't have a surprise party for me," Joe reminded him.

"That's true, but I bet he has one for Zac, his next birthday will be his eighteenth," Jim conceded.

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't," Joe grinned.

Heather was pulling into the parking lot a half hour early. She was dressed in a knee-length navy blue skirt with a light blue blouse. As she got Jakey out, she carried him to the corral. "Is it alright if I drop Jake off early? Nick has a reservation at that new Italian restaurant for ten o'clock. He tried getting a little later but took what they had," Heather remarked.

"Not a problem, we were just getting the horses ready for grooming. Have fun, Mom," Jim responded.

"Thank you, I'll try," Heather smiled. Then she teased Joe a bit, "And Joe, you may want to put your shirt on, you might turn Matt gay."

"That'll be his problem, I'm already spoken for," Joe grinned.

"I'm worried that he'll break up Matt and Gina's marriage before they even get married," Jim stated.

"Or worse, what if Zac sees him and dumps you?" Heather quipped.

"Don't you have a reservation to get to?" Joe asked, then reaching to lift Jim's shirt he added, "Besides, have you seen Jim's abs?"

"Yes, I need to go, you boys have fun as well," Heather stated before kissing Jakey on the forehead.

"Bye Gwrandma." Jakey said.

"Your speech is getting better, Jakey. You actually used an r there, now you just need to drop the w sound," Jim said as he picked up Jakey and hugged him. Jim smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Gwrandma Marilyn and Gwrandpa Vince have been working wif me. Dey say dat I am a smart little boy," Jakey grinned.

"And you are, but don't grow up too fast, I want you to have fun being a boy for as long as you want," Jim said hugging Jakey some more.

Zac headed toward the corral as Heather pulled out of the lot. "Looking good, Joe," he smiled.

"Fine, I'll put my shirt back on," Joe stated.

"You don't have to on my account, I was just commenting that you look good. Buster should be very happy when he sees how good you look," Zac watched as Joe started to blush. "OH, I'm guessing that he does. Jakey, you're a little early."

"Gwrand… Gwrrand… Grandma has a date wif Nick," Jakey explained. Jim hugged Jakey for his effort and gave him another kiss.

"I take it that my mom and dad have been working with you on talking," Zac smiled.

"Uh huh, and dey said dat once I conquer de r, dey'll starting working on my t h sound," Jakey explained.

"Well, you're doing a good job, I'll kinda miss how you currently talk, but it'll make you sound as smart as you really are. You're probably already ahead of most of the children you'll be in kindergarten with," Zac smiled.

Jakey was watching Zac's mouth as Zac spoke. He tried to mimic how Zac placed his tongue as he said with, "Widf."

"That's close, but you'll get there soon enough," Zac said, taking Jakey from Jim's arms. "Wanna go with me to get Silver?"

"Uh huh." Jakey grinned. He just loves the feeling of being wanted by everyone in this family.

"You want to ride on Silver with me today?" Zac asked

Jakey just grinned real hard as Zac handed him the reins. "Now, he should be fine to walk with you, but if something spooks him and he starts to run, let go of the reins, okay?"

"Uh huh, but horsey Gold, I don't need to hold the reins," Jakey answered.

"I know, and Silver may walk with you without reins as well, but I don't know for sure," Zac explained.

Zac and Jakey got to the corral just as Matt and Gina pulled up. Looking at Jim, Matt said, "We're missing someone."

"Yeah, my mom has a date," Jim declared.

"Are you sure?  If I'm not mistaken, someone has a birthday in a couple of days," Matt grinned.

"That's true, but to my knowledge, there isn't any party planned this year," Jim stated, studying everyone to see if there was a surprise party planned.

"No, nothing planned for today, but I think we're having a family thing when Jim, Joe and Chris get home for their training class on Monday," Zac stated.

"I know that Jackson has been invited, you're welcome to come as well," Jim offered.

After Jim got on Gold, he was expecting someone to hand Jakey to him, but instead, Zac pulled Jakey up to ride on Silver. "Hey!" Jim said with a smile.

"I wride horsey Silver widf dis daddy," Jakey stated. "But I will wride widf you on way back, K?"

"I'm glad you want to be with him, too. I'll miss my riding buddy, but I know you're in good hands," Jim smiled. "Just know that you never have to choose between us, you can love us the same and we both will love you just as much."

"Thank you Daddy, I love you both" Jakey said, not even realizing that he spoke it correctly.

"Did you hear that?" Jim caught it. He had a tear run down his cheek.

Zac looked at Jakey and gave him a slight hug, "You did it, Buddy. You said the t h sound in thank and both correctly."

"I did?" Jakey questioned.

"Yes, you did. I'm so proud of you," Zac stated.

"Yeah, Bud, you make us both so proud," Jim added. Jakey was grinning from ear to ear.

"You are so cool, Bud. Suppose I can steal you and your dads away after we go riding and take the three of you out to eat?" Matt asked.

"Stealing is wrong," Jakey averred.

"Yes it is, but in this sense, I'm not really stealing, it's just a phrase meaning I want to take you and your dads," Matt admitted.

"Then why didn't you say that?" Jakey asked. He smiled knowingly that he was getting his words pronounced better.

"You keep that up and Cousin Austin might get jealous. He was still having trouble with his t h sounds, too," Jim laughed. "He'll be here for Mom and Nick's wedding."

"So, can I steal, er…, I mean take you guys out to eat?" Matt asked.

"I don't know, you have to ask my daddies," Jakey grinned.

"Sure, once we get the horsey put away, we can take a lunch break," Jim agreed.

"You're welcome to join us, Chris and Joe. We're going to Cassie's," Matt offered.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Joe grinned.

"Or, would y'all like to check out that new restaurant with the renaissance flair?" Matt suggested.

"You mean Ye Olde Taverne?" Jim asked.

"Cassie's has a dance floor, but they have a live show with jousting knights, even realistic sword fights," Matt explained.

"Cassie's have been around for almost a hundred years, their food is really good, but I wouldn't mind checking out the Tavern," Zac admitted.

"I hear that they offer you a chance to dress up as you dine. You can be a knight, wizard, rogue or whatever other class from the medieval era," Joe announced.

"Yes, you can rent clothing of the era for a small price to cover cleaning, or buy it and they have a locker room in which to change. Does everyone want to go there?" Matt asked. "Since Monday is your birthday, Jim, if you want to go there, we will. And, you will have the right to dress regal."

"No, I think you and Gina should be regal, Zac can dress as your knight, Joe would look good as a wizard. I want to be a rogue," Jim stated.

"What about me, Daddy?" Jakey asked.

"You can either be a little rogue or a page, depending on what they may have in your size," Jim answered.

"I wanna be a wizard," Jakey said.

"You will make a cute wizard," Gina spoke.

They actually cut their ride short as everyone was getting excited about going. When they told Jackson where they were headed, Matt invited him as well. "Since, you don't have a party planned, we're celebrating Jim's birthday," Matt told him. "Grab Ryan and Colt, as well."

As everyone got into vehicles, Matt started calling people that he knew Jim knew. "Hey Dust Man, grab your wench and head to Ye Olde Taverne. We're going to celebrate Jim's birthday. Yes, I know it's on Monday, but since no one planned a party, I'm throwing one. Everything is on me, so pick out a costume that you like when you get there. It'll be yours to keep." He called up Heather and Nick and then Buster. Matt wanted to make this a special day.

When they walked in, the hostess greeted Matt as though he had been there a few times. Jim was a little surprised. Matt told her how many they were expecting and she led them to the costumes they could purchase. "And who is the birthday boy?" she asked.

"That would be Jim," Matt stated and pointed him out.

"Will you be the king for the day?" she inquired.

"No, I think Matt should be the king. He's paying for all of this. I want to be a rogue," Jim declared.

"And will Miss Gina be the queen?" the hostess asked.

"I take it that you and Gina have been here a few times," Jim commented.

"Well, we usually come after we go riding ever since they've opened," Matt confessed. "I do have my own locker established."

"Look Jake, they have a purple mage outfit in your size," Chris announced.

"I wanna be a wizard," Jakey stated.

"A mage and a wizard are the same thing, for the most part," Joe informed Jakey.

"Cool," Jakey responded.

After everyone arrived, there were fifteen people in the party altogether. Vince and Marilyn were appreciative of being invited but decided they should stay home with the new baby. Matt insisted that Nick be the king for the day since he was the oldest male there. He agreed and Matt stuck with his knightly garb. Heather dressed as the queen.

As they dined, the hostess walked over to the table with two guys dressed as men-at-arms. "Is everyone done eating?" she asked and everyone said that they were. Then looking at Nick, she said, "Your Majesty, I understandeth that someone here is guilty of having a birthday coming up. Dost thou desire for me to place the culprit in the stocks?"

Nick got a big grin on his face, "Indeed." The two men-at-arms walked over and stood on either side of Jim. Jim didn't resist or anything, and got up. He walked over to the stocks and the hostess placed him in it.

"Ladies, knights of the realm and subjects of his royal highness, this boy hath been found guilty of having a birthday coming up. As punishment, wouldst thou all joineth us in singing happy birthday to him and then the king will administer the birthday spankings, mightest grant another party member to do so, or he mightest pardon the lad and free him."

Zac looked at Jim, "For the record, we are NOT coming here for MY birthday."

After the singing was finished, the hostess handed a paddle to Nick who in turn handed it to Zac. "Your Majesty, if it pleaseth thee, I wouldst like to pass it on to the youngest addition here," Zac grinned and looked at Jakey.

"Then by all means, and someone get a camera. This should be cute," Nick laughed.

Zac handed the paddle to Jakey. "What do I do?" Jakey asked.

"Take this paddle and spank your daddy for his birthday. He'll be seventeen on Monday," Zac informed him.

"Me don't like spankings," Jakey stated flatly dropping the paddle.

"This is just for fun, they're birthday spankings, not in trouble spankings," Jim said, letting Jakey know that it would be alright. "It'll be okay, Jakey."

"No, I no wanna spank," Jakey refused.

"Someone, let me out," Jim barked. The hostess jumped by his sudden tone change and let Jim out. Jim knelt down to look Jakey in the face. "Are you alright?"

"Uh huh, but spankings hurt, they not fun," Jakey demanded.

"Yeah, when you do something wrong, spankings do hurt," Jim agreed. "Do you trust me?"

"Uh huh," Jakey admitted.

"Can I show you how I would give you a birthday spanking so that you can see it's just for fun and not a punishment?" Jim asked.

"If you want," Jakey looked like he was about to cry.

"It's up to you, you're not in trouble and this is just for fun, but if you don't want it, I won't do it," Jim told him.

"Can I have a hug?" Jakey asked.

"Always, I love giving you a hug. Have you been given a lot of spankings? Is that why you don't want to do them for my birthday?" Jim asked as he wrapped his arms around Jakey.

"I sorry," Jakey sniffled.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you didn't do anything wrong," Jim said kissing Jakey on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Jakey. I didn't know that anyone had spanked you so much that you wouldn't think it was fun giving birthday spankings," Zac offered as he knelt down beside Jim. "How about kisses and hugs? You want to give your daddy seventeen kisses and hugs instead of spankings?"

"I love kisses and hugs but I don't know how to count," Jakey explained.

Everyone chuckled, "It's alright, we'll count for you," Zac grinned. Jakey started giving Jim hugs and kisses and everyone at their table started counting. After his seventeenth, Zac reminded him to give one to grow on. Jakey gave Jim the biggest hug and hardest kiss that he could. After he was done, everyone who could see what happened stood up and applauded.

The hostess apologized for any trauma she may have caused to Jakey but Jim dismissed it, telling her that there was no way she could have known since their own family didn't. "Regardless, I'm giving this bill a discount for it," she insisted.

"That will be appreciated, but he'll be fine," Jim told her while he was still cradling Jakey against him.

"Can we go home now?" Jakey asked.

"If you want to, but don't you want to watch the show? They're getting ready to joust." Jim told him.

"What's a joust?" Jakey asked.

"It's a game that knights used to play on horseback as a test to see who was better at it," Jim explained.

"Can we watch it?" Jakey asked.

"Sure, but be ready, while it may look like one is getting hurt, they are only acting," Jim smiled.

"Like on TV?" Jakey asked.

"Just like on TV," Jim grinned.

As Jakey watched, he was getting into it. When two guys fought with swords, Jakey looked at Jim, "They look more wreal on TV. You can see that they not wreally stabbing the other."

"Yeah, but on TV, they use tricks to make it look real," Jim explained.

After everything was done, Matt looked at everyone, "Other than the one incident, did everyone have fun and enjoy themselves?"

"We sure did," Everyone agreed. Jakey walked up to Matt, "I know you not wreally my uncle, but Daddy Zac says that you like a brother, can I call you Uncle Matt?"

Matt started tearing up at this. He knelt down so he could look Jakey in the eye, "I would like that very much. Your dads mean the world to me and so do you." Jakey threw his arms around Matt and hugged him. Matt returned the hug. "When Gina and I have children, I hope they are just like you."

"You trying to steal my boy from me?" Jim kidded.

"I would like to, but no, can I at least carry him to the lockers?"

"If Jakey doesn't mind. You will make a great dad when you and Gina have children," Jim grinned.

"And I wouldn't have any problem with you watching them whenever Gina and I want to go out. At least I would know they are safe with you and Zac. You're already a great dad and technically, you don't have to be yet."

"Yes I do, regardless of what anyone says, Jakey belongs with me. Our hearts intertwined from that very first moment. As far as I am concerned, he is my son now," Jim explained.

"And it shows. I hope that I can be half the dad that you are, you really care about this little man," Matt grinned.

"I not a man, I just a boy," Jakey corrected. Matt and Jim laughed.

In the locker room, Jim just grabbed his clothes. "I think I'm just going to wear this home. Anyone for a game of DnD when we get home?"

"DnD?" Nick looked puzzled.

"It stands for Dungeons and Dragons, Dad" Chris informed him.

"I'm in, I'll see if Chey wants to join us. If not, I can take her home," Dusty stated.

"I'll check with Gina," Matt added.

 "I think Ryan and I are just going back to the ranch. Colt, you're welcome to join them if you like. When you're done, if you need a ride, just give us a call," Jackson said.

"I'll give him a ride if he would like to play," Matt offered.

"No, I think I need to study for the final on Monday," Colt replied.

"Can I play?" Jakey asked.

"You might be a little young, but we'll help you, or you can help me play my character," Jim offered.

"I wanna play a character," Jakey said.

"You are a character," Chris teased.

"Can I be Harwrey Potter?" Jakey asked.

"What if you created your own name and play a mage?" Jim asked. Then looking on his phone under draconic names, Jim found one, "What about Hewa, it's dragon speak for mage?"

"I like that," Jakey said, "I'll be Hewa the Mage."

"Sounds almost like you're trying to say hero," Zac chuckled.

"Kinda, but he's getting better with his r's. He's been consistent on the t h sound since he first tried watching your mouth as you said them," Jim commented.

"True, but I was talking about you. Hewa sounds like whoever is saying it is trying to say hero. As for Jakey, he is the most awesome boy ever," Zac explained.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Jim said nodding his head.

When they got to the house, they filled the driveways and some vehicles were parked on the street. Heather looked at everyone, "We have Cokes, lemonade, orange juice and water in the fridge. If anyone wants a snack, we have Cool Ranch Doritos, Chili Cheese Fritos, Scoops and potato chips. I made a fresh batch of that taco dip that Jim likes. I'm going to check on Vince, Marilyn and the baby."

"And if anyone wants iced tea, I can make a batch of that, it'll just take about twenty minutes to brew," Jim offered as everyone was heading for the house. "Gina, you play DnD?"

"Sometimes, but I just want to watch today, maybe help Jakey play," Gina offered.

"You can help me play," Jakey said looking up at Gina.

"That would be awesome," Jim responded.

"Can I help Jake play, too?" Cheyenne asked.

"You can fill out his character sheet and keep track with it. I'll help Jake figure out what he wants to do, let him know which die or dice to roll and he can roll them," Gina suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Jim stated.

"Sounds like a plan," Jakey mimicked. Everyone laughed.

"OK, everyone set up, Dusty, are you being the DM again?" Jim asked. "And who wants what to drink?"

"I'll get the drinks so you can set up as well. I don't want to play, but I'll watch until Heather comes back. What would everyone like to drink?" Nick offered.

"I have some metallic mugs in the cupboard, I bought them for when I played DnD in Montana. They're not steins, but they make me think of something that would be used in a simple tavern during medieval times," Jim explained.

Everyone told Nick what they wanted to drink. He found the mugs that Jim was talking about, filled them with the various drinks and placed them on a platter. Carrying them out, Jim kidded him saying that he'd make a good serving wench. Everyone chuckled, including Nick.

As they were playing, Matt spoke up, "If you're wanting me to be your best man, I need to know the date. Gina and I are getting married on thirtieth of this month and will be returning possibly on the thirteenth of next."

"That'll give you a week to rest up, Jim and I have set our date for the twentieth of June. Jackson said that we are not allowed to show up at the ranch that entire week. He wants us to be surprised when we see how he decorates," Zac announced.

 "Yeah, I made a comment about riding Gold and he said that IF I want to ride Gold, I have to make arrangements through Joe or Chris, that's going to be a hard week," Jim chuckled. "I don't know why we can't be there at least for the first part of the week."

"Heather and Marilyn said that the invitations will be going out on Monday," Chris stated.

"And I get to be a ring bear," Jakey giggled.

Heather had stayed over talking with Marilyn and Vince for hours. She was surprised at how well Vince handled taking care of the baby and Marilyn, especially with this being his first baby. She told them what they missed at the restaurant and caught them up on everything else. She was enjoying the visit so much that she didn't realize that it was getting late until it was almost nine.

Walking into her house, everyone was still around the table, playing. Nick looked over at her and got up. He walked towards her, placed his arms around her and kissed her. "Did you have a nice visit?" he asked.

"Vince surprises me. I would swear that he's been a father before, but then maybe being in the military and having young men, some fresh out of high school under him helped," Heather explained.

"I know with Chris, I was a nervous wreck. Here I was, a new father who just lost his wife and I didn't know the first thing about changing a diaper, feeding him, or anything. I always considered myself lucky, though. I had many ladies that I worked with who took turns coming over to show me what to do," Nick reflected.

"Jim slept most of the time as a baby and he hardly ever cried," Heather added. Heather could hear Jakey yawning, "I think it's time for someone to get a bath and go to bed."

"Yeah, I think it's time that we wrap up for the night. If everyone wants to come again next Saturday, we can do this again.

Monday was Jim's seventeenth birthday. "Just a reminder, you don't need to pick Jake up today. I'll be home early and then he's going to help me decorate for your birthday?" Heather informed him.

"But he looks so cute trying to mimic the moves we are practicing," Jim complained.

"He's cute all the time, can't you let me have him this one afternoon?" Heather debated.

"Fine, but I will miss my little mimicker," Jim conceded with a chuckle.

In school, everyone who knew him wished Jim a happy birthday. The day seemed longer than usual and Jim was starting to get tired of hearing it. When school finally let out, Jim looked at Joe and Chris as they were getting into Jim's car, "If I hear one more 'happy birthday', I might scream. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've heard it today."

"Happy birthday," Joe chuckled. "And we share all the same classes now, other than gym, so I was there for most of them. Besides, there will be students at the dojo who haven't seen you yet."

"Yeah, happy birthday, Jim" Chris added and grinned.

"You sure you were adopted? I mean, if you would have made the same comment I did, I would have said 'happy birthday' too," said Jim as he lowered his head and started to laugh.

"A, I am probably just as ornery as you in that manner, and b, I have lived with you long enough to have picked it up even if I weren't," Joe explained.

"That is true."

Jim pulled into the dojo parking lot and noticed more cars than usual. Dusty pulled in beside him. "You didn't drop Cheyenne off?" Jim asked.

"Since we're going to your house when we leave here, we thought it would be silly. Besides, she decided that she wants to watch. I've been trying to talk her into joining ever since her attack, maybe watching how much fun we have will convince her," Dusty grinned.

Jim, Dusty, Joe and Chris went into the locker room to change. Cheyenne went to let Sensei know that Jim was here. Jim didn't even notice the decorations or happy birthday banner that were hanging. As Jim was changing, Chris, Joe and Dusty kept talking to him, causing him to take longer to change. As they finished changing, they told Jim that they would see him when he was done.

Jim was the last one out of the locker room and as he came out, everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!!!" causing Jim to jump.

Jakey ran up to Jim, "Do you like the decorations? Grandma and me put them up."

"Yes I do; how did you reach so high?" Jim kidded.

"Grandma held me up and Sensei helped, too" Jakey explained.

Jackson brought out a cake and Matt started singing the birthday song. After that was sung, Zac looked at Jim and the music for New Kids on the Block's birthday song started. "Happy birthday to you, this is your day. On this day for you, I'm gonna love you in every way. This is your day, your day, so happy birthday to you, to you, to you…" Zac sang. No one said anything until Zac completed the song.

"So you all knew about this?" Jim asked.

"I confess, Saturday's impromptu party was originally planned as a distraction," Matt admitted.

"So was everyone in on the distraction?" Jim questioned.

"Original plan was you, Zac, Gina, Jake and I going out, but then I just started inviting and calling everyone and how could they say no?" Matt replied.

Jim watched Joe whisper something into Jakey's ear and the little boy walked over. "Happy birthday, Daddy," Jakey grinned. Jim chuckled and looked in Joe's direction. Joe shrugged his shoulders, trying to act innocent.

"And it is a happy one, too. I have you in my life and that makes me very happy. Did you have any cake yet?" Jim asked.

"No, I told Grandma that I wanted to eat it with you," Jakey answered.

Jim carried Jakey to the cake. Heather was cutting the cake and looked up, "I see you have him, are you ready for your cake now?"

"Uh huh, and ice cream," Jakey grinned.

"He really wanted to wait and eat his cake with me?" Jim asked.

"That's what he said and then he headed for you until Joe stopped him," Heather declared.

"Wow, I feel so flattered," Jim stated as he wiped the corner of his eye.

"He really loves you," Heather pointed out.

"I know, and I really love him. I don't know what I did to deserve people like him, Zac and you in my life," Jim told his mom.

"We are just as lucky to have you in ours, lucky or blessed," Heather smiled.

Jim spotted Vince and Marilyn coming in the door with Vince carrying Zayne and Marilyn holding his arm as she walked. He set his cake down beside Jakey and went to meet them. "I'll be right back, Buddy," he informed Jakey.

"Marilyn, you didn't have to come if you're still not feeling up to it; and is it safe for little Zayne to be out already?" Jim voiced his concerns.

"If nothing else, he'll start strengthening his immune system a little early. Women used to work in fields right up to having their baby and going back to work as soon as the baby was born, with the baby beside them. With all of our technology and modern medicine, we've gotten weak in comparison," Marilyn explained.

"In that case, would you like to hold my arm to free your husband's up to take care of Zayne better?" he offered. Marilyn held onto Jim's arm instead of Vince's and Vince mouthed a thank you to Jim. He led them to the table where Jakey was sitting.

"You're not eating your cake, Jake?" Vince asked.

"I wanted to eat it with Daddy, so I waited for him to return," Jakey explained.

"Your ice cream is melting," Jim stated.

"That's okay, it'll melt in my mouth anyway," Jakey responded.

"You are so smart," Marilyn complimented as she sat down.

"Does Zayne want any cake?" Jakey asked.

"No, he's too young to eat cake, but thank you for asking," Vince informed Jakey.

"Would you and Grandma Marilyn like some cake?" asked the boy.

"I'll go grab them some," Jim responded, "but you can help me if you want." Jakey got up and grabbed Jim's hand. "You like helping them, don't you?"

"Uh huh, and they're helping me learn before I start school," Jakey responded.

"Have I told you yet today how much I love you?" Jim smiled.

"Yes, and you told Daddy Zac, too," Jakey answered.

"I wish you could stay five forever, but then I also can't wait until you are a little older. I want to teach you everything I can about horses," Jim mussed Jakey's hair.

"Here for more cake?" Heather asked as Jim and Jakey got to the table.

"We want some for my other grandma and grandpa," Jakey replied.

"He offered to get some for Marilyn and Vince so they could stay seated with the baby," Jim said.

"You, young man, should be President when you get old enough. The way you try to help everyone, I bet you'd get elected," Heather giggled.

"When he's old enough to be President, you'll be seventy-three years old," Jim chuckled.

"Did you have to remind me of that? I'll be ancient," Heather grimaced.

"But you'll still be very pretty," Nick said, surprising her.

As the time was nearing for the dojo to close, the party wrapped up. Nobody complained that they didn't learn any martial arts this time for they all had a good time helping Jim celebrate his birthday.

As the week wore on, Zac felt confident about his exams. While he knew that he didn't ace everyone, he was sure that he at least passed all of them. Jim was a little anxious as he, Joe and Dusty were being prepped for theirs. Jakey sat on Jim's lap as he asked Dusty and Joe questions that might be on their finals.

Everyone was anxious that Monday. Seniors who passed their finals were practicing for graduation until lunch and the rest of the students were taking finals. The only classes that they had were their finals for that day. For Jim and Joe, that meant all of their tests were finished before lunch each day and they had study hall after lunch.

Monday was Calculus class, both Jim and Dusty were positive that they aced that one. Joe was confident that he passed, but not sure how good he actually did.

On Tuesday, the boys had their Spanish exam. Jim thought he may have missed one question but was still holding an A. Joe felt more comfortable with this test than he was with Calculus. During lunch, they were speaking in Spanish and those around them were giving them a funny look.

On Wednesday, their final exam was to write an essay. The essay was to be a minimum of a two hundred words explaining what they thought about the Supreme Court's current topic at the time, gay marriage. They had to write their view as to whether they were for it or against it and find facts to support their beliefs. And the conclusion of the essay was to give their opinion on how they believed the decision would turn out. They were permitted to use computers to fact check and write their essays. All work had to be properly cited using the Chicago Sixteenth Edition Style of Citation. "And just so you know, I don't care whether you are for or against. That is your business. You can be for it but decide to write a paper against it for all I care, or vice versa. I will be checking for proper citation, proper usage of grammar and correct spelling. I have seen some of you use words like 'prolly' in place of 'probably'. If you do on this essay, that's fifty points off automatically. You have three hours to write these essays beginning now," the teacher instructed.

Jim had trouble finding information to support his beliefs but he kept at it, not backing down. When the three hours were up, he turned in his paper, barely meeting the criteria. "I hope I don't offend anyone, but I had a heck of a time finding anything to support gay marriage that wasn't just someone's opinion," Dusty stated. "I mean, I have no qualms about anyone getting married, if I did, I wouldn't be your best man."

"I know what you mean. I wrote against also for the same reason," Joe explained.

"It wasn't easy and I did quote people's opinions in my paper, but I believe the main purpose of the essay was to see how we cited, not whether it was fact or opinion. Even with that, it seems most people are against gay marriage. I just hope that I had enough content," Jim explained.

Thursday's exam was in Science. They were given an hour for a multiple-choice exam and then two hours to do a task in the lab. The test was worth half their final exam with the lab being the other half. Three stations were set up and the students were allowed to choose the station they wanted until that station had a third of the class. Jim and Joe were able to work together and Cheyenne was with them. Their station was the first to fill up. Since science was one of the areas that Joe excelled at, he led the group. This was one of the classes that Joe challenged Jim in. Jim was happy letting Joe shine with him assisting.

Friday's class was History. After they finished that class, they ate lunch and then school was history for the summer.

Saturday came and it was time for the high school graduating class of 2015 commencement ceremony. Principal Duncan took the stage and welcomed everyone who was in attendance, "We have a lot going on tonight. Our Valedictorian, Matt McCrery will be speaking, then we'll be discussing some of the things that went on this year, and finally, we'll be giving out diplomas to our graduates. First, to start the night, we have a musical group named R5 singing a new song called All Night and an older song namedPass Me By. Some of you may have seen one of them recently on Dancing with the Stars. My opinion, he should have won."

R5 sang their songs and then Matt stepped forward. "This is both a happy day and a sad day. Many friends we have made, and for some, this may be the last day that we see them. Some will go off to college, some may join the military, and some will stick around. We all have dreams of some sort, some of us will fulfill them, some will attempt and come short and others won't even try. Remember dreams can change so if you change yours, that doesn't mean you failed. I dreamt of being a doctor and I still have that dream somewhat, but the love of my life got me interested in horses, so now I want to become a vet. I think that we all can agree that Mr. Duncan and the teachers here did the best they can to prepare us for what's ahead. Now it is up to each and every one of us to use what we were taught and make our school and our families proud. It's time for us to be proud of ourselves and accomplish great things."

As Matt took his seat with the rest of his class, Mr. Duncan started discussing the year's events. Finally, the diplomas were being passed out to each student, called in alphabetical order. When Zac's name was called out, Jakey shouted out as loud as he could, "THAT'S MY PAPA!!!" Jim laughed and asked Jakey if he was proud of his papa graduating. Jakey just grinned from ear to ear.

I hope you enjoy the story and that it draws you in, wanting more. If you have any suggestions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email me.  Thoughts and suggestions are always welcomed and may or may not be implemented. Concerns will be considered and addressed as much as possible.

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