How Green Becomes Wood

"I came two and a half years after the war began, and that was an emergency too, although of a different kind, I am sure." Dark said, bringing the drinks into the dining room. He mentioned his past only to relate to the conversation, not to try to one-up them, and immediately after he said, "You are free to find a class to join, but parents are unwelcome in mine. I am sure there is an English or Math teacher more than willing to accommodate."

He would have gone back into the kitchen to bring dinner, but Daizi stood to help him, which went against his desire to make her do as little as possible yet was fully aligned with her desire to be a self-sufficient adult. As she went into the kitchen, she said, "If you are sneaky enough, you can follow along with the field trip to my work. It's normally in the Autumn, right before Fall Break, and therefore shortly before my break."
 
Mr. Hollis raised a brow, surprised by Dark's reply. "Parents aren't allowed? That doesn't exactly sound like the best policy, if you don't mind my saying. Why aren't they allowed? Isn't it better to let them sit in from time to time so they feel comfortable with you as a teacher?"

"Please, dear, most likely he's trying to avoid distractions for the children, and, to be honest, even if they had the time and could get off work, how many parents would take the time to sit in on a teacher's class?" Mrs. Hollis sighed morosely. "Besides, how much more fun would it be to help chaperone a field trip?"
 
"Because if I allow one parent to sit in, then I have to allow all parents to sit in, and it is extremely common for parents to be too controlling in their children's lives, so if they were allowed in the classroom, their child wouldn't have their space to figure out who they are without being underneath the heavy thumb. Additionally, I have some students who use a different name and pronouns with me than they do with their parents, so allowing parents within the classroom means, if there parents are there, I have to deadname them and misgender them, which they do not deserve, and if their parents are not there, but other parents are, it still puts them at risk of being outted. And there are so many other reasons why I am uncomfortable with it, besides the distraction," Dark explained, understanding why his policy was not to everybody's liking, "Under federal law, if a parent requests to observe, I am not allowed to say no, but it does require submitting a formal request, which thankfully very few parents are willing to go through the effort of doing, and very few are aware it is even an option. My classroom is a place of learning, and I find it easier for students to learn if they feel comfortable."

After setting the dinner down in the center of the table, Daizi took her seat once more, "Dark was actually planning to go back to school to earn a second Masters in Education Administration, but he deferred acceptance for a year, because there's too much going on to also add University. He really is passionate about the school and his students," She turned towards the teenagers at the end of the table, and smirking said, "but you mustn't let his care for you all get out, if students know he actually likes them, his reputation is ruined, and then it'll be nothing but work all the time."
 
Mr. Hollis opened his mouth as if to say something, but his wife touched his arm, and he stopped. It was a tiny, quick gesture, noticeable only to those who might be watching. "Administration is a terrible burden, I wouldn't suggest you do it," Mr. Hollis said with a little chuckle. "You end up knowing even more about the problem and having even less control over it."

"At least in our field. We've never actually been in any kind of education field," Mrs. Hollis said with a faint smile.

"True, true, it might be better in your field," Mr. Hollis nodded. "Anyway, we're talking about work again. What is that? It smells fantastic!"
 
"Every person I know in Administration wishes they were still a teacher," Dark agreed, "but I would rather try and then go back to teaching than never try at all. And having it in my background makes it easier for me to negotiate salaries and benefits, which is never a bad thing. I am not looking to make a career switch anytime soon, although I would like to be department head, there is a little bit more responsiblity and a higher salary, but I still get to teach."

Turning the conversation back to the food, Daizi said, "The salad is Tabbouleh, it's Iraqi, and the main course is Moroccan chicken tagine, which we have no real cultural relation to, we just like it. Dark made all of it, he's an excellent cook. We thought about making something more from your part of the world, but we decided it is easier for you to make those dishes for yourself than it is for us to assemble one. Alec and Xander will, I'm sure, gladly tell you how we've been slowly molding their diets."
 
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"That sounds absolutely delightful," Mrs. Hollis said in delight.

Xander could think of few things he'd like to do less than talk about his diet. As it was, he was about ready to stab his own eye out in boredom. The Hollis' kept saying they didn't want to talk work, but the conversation kept going to work! There were few things more boring than being a restless teen boy forced to sit and listen as the adults talked about their stressful lives and compare job issues. He tugged at his sleeve cuff under the table and considered making an excuse to go to the bathroom and maybe climb out the window. Daizi would flip if he did that, but if he had to keep listening to this, it might be worth it.

Alec tried to listen politely, but he felt equally measures bored and anxious. Job talk was stressing him out thinking about his own eventual career as well as worrying about how stressful Dark's was, and this whole event was stressful enough! He hoped he'd dressed properly for the occasion. And the topics were rather boring as he couldn't quite follow them. Why?

Peter sat quietly, nodding along, watching the two couples but never saying a word. He was used to this type of gathering. In truth, he was listening to some music in his head, playing the tracks mentally, but he knew the cues when to nod and smile.
 
A little bit after they had actually begun eating, while Dark was chatting with the Hollis', Daizi leaned over towards the teenagers and said in a hushed voice, so as not to attract the attention of the other adults, "You are allowed to speak amongst yourselves, you know. At the really fancy dinner parties, the really snobby ones, people are specifically sat where conversations would be best, because you're only meant to speak to the people on either side of you. It isn't rude if you have conversations that don't include us. Nobody would fault you for it. Adults are horrifically boring." She didn't even particularly like small talk, although she was more comfortable with it than the twins were, because--god help her--some of the boring adult conversations she had actually grown to enjoy, but she still, at times, found herself dearly missing the kids table. It would be a great perk of having the baby--if at any time she found herself bored of a conversation, she could just make an excuse that the baby was hungry or needed changing, and she could slip away no-questions asked.

Smiling brightly to herself, Daizi gently caressed her middle. Nobody could accuse her of not being already entirely besotted with her little unborn baby, and she was only pulled back into the conversation when she heard Dark say, "It is rather strange to go from being only the two of us to being the guardians of two teenagers, we have been, in many ways, thrust into a whole other sphere of being."
 
The twins glanced at each other then at Peter. What was there to talk about? They'd gotten most of their talking out at school.

"Thought of any better names than Driftwood for your future band, Alec?" Peter grinned. That started a decent conversation.

"Oh, I know what you mean!" Mrs. Hollis chuckled. "Well, maybe not precisely. We came about having Peter in the usual way, but he wasn't actually planned. In truth, he is that point one percent you hear about when they say preventatives are ninety-nine point nine percent effective. We'd decided long ago that with our busy schedules and our dedication to our careers, it would be, at best, unfair to any child we might have. Not to mention we both had some baggage concerning our own parents - nothing too serious, but not exactly first dinner date material - so to say we were shocked is an understatement. But when I found out..." She glanced at Peter, and her face softened into a gentle smile. "I couldn't imagine it any other way. Well, we were currently living in a one-bedroom flat in Cambridge with absolutely no space for even a small dog, let alone a child, and working swing shifts. We were home so little that the kitchen floor had dust on it. We had quite a lot of changes to go through! But at least we had some warning involved. Peter told us that your fostering of the twins was a bit more sudden than a pregnancy."
 
Privately, both Daizi and Dark thought about how the Hollis' story with Peter echoed the story of their first pregnancy, if it had a happy ending. Beneath the table, he squeezed her hand, and she smiled up at him. But it certainly wasn't something they were going to bring up, so Dark said, taking a glance at the twins, "It was rather sudden. We had been trying to foster or adopt for a few years, to no results, and then one day I was walking to my car and found them huddled in the snow, and not wanting them to freeze to death, I brought them here. Then we were all snowed in for three weeks, and we decided it was the best option." He didn't give more details, because even though it sounded like the twins had told Peter about it, he didn't want to overshare and make them uncomfortable.

"You know how they say, 'when it rains it pours'?" Daizi asked, a sly smile spreading over her face, "Over 12 months, we're going--if everything goes well--from a family of two to a family of five."
 
"Oh, are you in a family way?" Mr. Hollis asked, brightening.

Mrs. Hollis chuckled. "Really, dear, you are so quaint sometimes." She looked at Daizi as Mr. Hollis smiled impishly and said, "Congratulations! That is truly wonderful news. I do wish you the best and hope you have a healthy and as un-dramatic of a pregnancy as possible."

"Indeed, congratulations!" Mr. Hollis grinned, reaching out to pat Dark's back.

"He don't like to be touched," Xander said suddenly, making both Hollis' pause.

"Oh, sorry about that," Mr. Hollis said hastily, withdrawing his hand. He didn't seem to take offense and asked, "Is it polite to ask when it's due and if you know boy or girl yet?"
 
Daizi ducked her head and held up one hand. Again, beneath the table, she and Dark squeezed each other's hands. They had been here before. She spoke quietly, almost meekly, and implored them, "Please, don't congratulation us until the baby has been born," she dropped her hand and settled it on her middle. Speaking again, once more in her strong, melodious voice, her whole face lit up, "I'm due, or, we're due, November 23rd. We don't know the baby's sex yet: I think it's a girl, Dark hopes it's a girl, Xander hopes it's a boy, and Alec claims to have no opinion. I think, if pressed, he would probably say he also hopes it's a girl, because he knows it's what we want," She swiveled and smiled at Alec quickly, before turning back to the group. The movement hurt, and she moved her hand lower, closer to her pelvis, to where the pain came from. It was nothing serious, just another annoying symptom. But, she had lied. There was another reason why she questioned if Alec truly had no preference, but she was not going to voice it there, especially not knowing if it was true, "I haven't felt her move yet, either, but my doctor says it'll be any day, now. They're a very active baby, I'm told, and in exceptional health... And I also hope for a lack of drama, at least from now on. We had to tell the twins earlier than planned because I was so unwell, they thought I was dying. And fair enough, I felt like I was."

After the initial congratulations, when Mr. Hollis went to slap him on his back, Dark had tensed in preparation, and when Xander interjected, he gave his kid a grateful nod and took a sip of his drink while his wife spoke. Then, setting his glass down, he smiled at her in his private way, utterly enchanted. When Daizi shifted painfully, he also moved his hand to the spot to help make it better, and they leaned in a bit closer to each other, and would have moved closer still, but they had company, and company they hardly knew, so wordlessly they agreed it would be inappropriate to kiss, so they shifted away again, "Hopefully, we will find out the sex in the next couple of weeks," Dark said, "we have no desire to wait until the birth to learn, and even less of a desire to throw a big complicated event around revealing it."
 
Mrs. Hollis looked at Daizi curiously, and understanding flickered in her eyes. She knew no details, nor would she ever ask, but she understood the basic reason why Daizi did not wish to be congratulated. It was in the tiny lines of worry on her face, the slight shift of discomfort, and the hint of anxiety. It was not something Mrs. Hollis had ever personally experienced, but she had been the bystander as someone else had. She knew enough. She smiled at Daizi and touched her hand very briefly. "Then I hope the best for you," she said softly. "I do hope you'll keep me posted, if you are comfortable with it."

"I never did understand the big to-do around gender reveals and other such nonsense. People should be happy to so much as hear the name the parents picked out," Mr. Hollis said dryly. "First birthdays, too, where they put on such a big production and say it's about the kid. There's no harm in it, of course, but at least be honest and admit that it's really for the parents. But I've been told I'm an opinionated stick in the mud, so take that with a few grains of salt."
 
"Thank you," Daizi replied, smiling at Mrs. Hollis, "I will. Or Dark will. We're both so excited, and hopeful." She really appreciated no more questions were asked about why she didn't adore being congratulated, because she knew some people could be extremely pushy about it.

"The name we are keeping secret, although we have not fully decided on it," Dark said, "although I suspect we will certainly make a big deal out of the first birthday, but we know perfectly well it is for us. The baby will not remember it, but it still feels monumental." If he was honest, he could not even fully envision a first birthday party. He had come to be able to envision the baby being born, alive and healthy, but he had never really given time to imagining beyond that.

"Picking names is impossible with Dark having been a teacher for so long, it is a blessing the Arab community is small, so he has not encountered most names we like. So often he has cringed when someone we know has had a baby, or even adopted a new pet, and named it something he associates with a terrible student," She laughed.
 
"Oh, I can only imagine the trouble with that!" Mrs. Hollis giggled. "It'd be worse than if you worked in, say, law enforcement or maybe psychiatry. We had a hard enough time picking out a name, and we only had coworkers to think of, and a below-average number of those, as well. I don't think I could ever settle on a name if I had to think about thousands of students on top of it!"

"And I still think we should have gone with Leslie," Mr. Hollis said playfully. "It was a perfectly good boy's name until girls started using it. The same with Arial. The pool of masculine names is shrinking."

"Yes, and poor Peter would have had to spend his entire life explaining his name to people," Mrs. Hollis said patiently. "Children have a hard enough time already just going through life. Why should we make it harder?"
 
"If you grow to not like your name, you can always just change it," Dark said, being a man born and raised in Iraq to Iraqi parents with an English surname, "but it is certainly easier to keep the one you were given, if that remains a possibility."

"What is really difficult for us is picking a name the people she meets here will find pronounceable while still connecting her to her heritage, because we can't forget it and give her an English name, because even though most of my family speaks English, we still want to pick a name that will be easy for them to pronounce, and even though there are plenty of strictly English names we like, we could never just separate her like that," Daizi explained, "And then we're both going to hyphenate our surnames, for legal purposes. For practical, everyday use, we're keeping our names exactly as they are."
 
"That certainly is a bit of a tangle of complications we didn't have to deal with," Mr. Hollis chuckled.

"I am certain, whatever name you choose, it will be the absolute perfect one for her," Mrs. Hollis smiled. "She'll grow into it, whatever it is. Or he, I suppose."

"We should open a pool!" Mr. Hollis grinned. "Who says boy and who says girl?"

Mrs. Hollis rolled her eyes. "That is as tacky as a gender reveal!"

"Maybe, but it is vastly more fun," Mr. Hollis said, saluting her with his drink.
 
"As long as it doesn't involve making guesses based on my body, I don't mind a poll," Daizi replied, "although I'm mostly certain I already know. But," she dropped her voice so the teens at the end of the table wouldn't overhear, "to be honest, Xander isn't the most comfortable with hearing about it all." She really loved getting to discuss her pregnancy and the baby, but she didn't want to do it at the expense of one of her fosters. She didn't know if he was paying attention, but just in case she wanted to be understanding.

Dark reached over and gently rubbed her back, not because she needed it, "We already know he thinks it is a boy, so I am sure it would be alright amongst just us four."
 
Thankfully, Xander was not paying attention as Peter had gotten him into a discussion about old bands and comparing who was better than whom.

"Oh. Does he have a problem with the baby?" Mrs. Hollis asked worriedly. "Not that I mean to pry, but my sister took in a loft of fosters. I am afraid I was already busy with my career by then to have much of a hand in their lives, but I do know it can be quite chaotic and filled with insecurities. Apparently, a lot of fosters feel threatened by new family members."

Mr. Hollis gave his wife an amused look. "Not that you are prying."

Mrs. Hollis sniffed at him. "It is an important subject, and I am trying to show my concern and support."
 
"No, it's okay. They used to have a bit of a problem, Xander less so than his brother, but they seem to have mostly adjusted to it. It was so soon after we took them in, which I think made it really difficult. They had really only just settled in when I conceived, and then suddenly I had all of these appointments, and I became so ill. They had really only been here for a little over three months, so they were a bit concerned about what their place here would be. It was really tough, but now we have found a new peace." Daizi explained, after finishing the last few bites of her dinner. Since she heard the twins chatting, she didn't mind sharing.

Dark watched her while she spoke, and then added, "On Mother's Day, Alec gave her a beautiful clay rainbow he had made, to show he was excited for us, and we put it in the nursery. Or, what will become the nursery, right now the rainbow is the only baby related item in there. It is still a bit early to really begin to decorate."
 
Mrs. Hollis smiled and touched a hand to her chest. "That is really sweet," she said. "I am so happy they have found peace with the new baby. Biological children can sometimes have issues with a new member, so I can only imagine the turmoil a new foster might feel about it. It seems you are handling things very well with them. It is a pleasure to see such well-mannered boys."

"Spunky, too," Mr. Hollis grinned, nodding at Xander. He scooped up the last bite and let out a sigh. "Mr. Dark, I don't know what kind of magic you have, but that was utterly delicious! Far better than anything I've had in a restaurant, and I've had to eat at a fair few restaurants. Mostly for business purposes. Honestly, I could see you charging a fair few pennies for that meal, and no one would feel slighted at all!"

"Are you still sore about that Italian place Mr. Leeds took you too?" Mrs. Hollis asked.

Mr. Hollis frowned. "The fellow was supposed to be wining and dining me for that contract, but with the quality of food at that place, I would have rather eaten at one of those American fast food places. Burger World or similar."
 
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