How Green Becomes Wood

Dark nodded slightly, looking politely at Sally, "I hate the pretenses required in that. It really is not my scene... Although when you describe it that way, it sounds rather like flirting. But then again, I am tall, foreign, and mysterious, so I am sort of exempt from the rules of that game, too." He chuckled grimly, remembering the time someone he was dating described him to their friends as 'kinda a poor Batman with an accent.' He looked at Alec, then, "I think it is just a sign of respect, and one insecure people can use to assert dominance."
 
Both Sally and Jack chuckled at Dark's description of a handshake, and Sally said, "Only fools and children play that ridiculous domination game, and sadly, there are far too many fools who try. The sign of respect is closer. In certain circles, a handshake is as good as a signed contract, perhaps even better. It is a promise that the verbal agreement will be upheld. Sadly, it is not as sure as it once was, again thanks to fools, but in the circles some of us move in where we make use of the dreaded small talk, to go back on a handshake is to find yourself ostracized."

"Curiously," Jack put in, "a lot of people in the trades put nearly the same level of importance on the handshake, though plenty of them will also ask for your signature on the dotted line. It harkens back to an age before contracts, really."

"Huh. That's fascinating," Alec said with wide eyes.
 
"Daizi signed our marriage license with a vague scribble. She is unable to write her name. Ivy's birth certificate has a similar scribble. So does their foster contract." He smiled softly, looking down at his almost-empty glass. There was something about those pieces of paper that mattered to him. Unbreakable decisions they made together. "I help her find the line." He exhaled, taking a fairly regular moment to simply reflect on the feelings he had for her, "We do shake hands in Iraq, I just do not really think about it beyond 'it is just what you do.' She, Daizi, would be better to ask about it, being an anthropologist. I only know it is bad to have a limp handshake, which has never been a problem for me, but Miss McGann, the music teacher, since she is a smaller woman, says handshakes make her nervous, because some people mistake her gentleness for weakness, which I find to be a problem which applies to much more than greetings."
 
"Oh, that is so sweet," Sally crooned, smiling at Dark's sharing of Daizi's scribbles. "And truly a shame for Miss McGann."

Xander nudged Peter and whispered something to him. Then he indicated to Alec. Alec looked at him curiously then nodded. The three slipped away from the table and stole away upstairs to the twin's room, leaving the adults to keep themselves entertained.

Once the three had left, Sally asked, "Have you considered framing their foster contract? Or Ivy's birth certificate?"
 
"No, not really. We keep them locked in the file cabinet, it just seems safer. And simpler, the Birth Certificate is used for so many things, if we framed it, it would be a hassle... Mine was destroyed in the war, and it is sinple enough to say even if it is less special to keep it in a folder, life is much simpler with easy access to it. The foster contract is not a pretty certificate, it is a three page document that is also signed by the case worker and includes general provisions of fostering like how much the monthly stipend will be and what it is to be used for and legal information like that." He tipped back in his chair to make sure the teenagers had fully gone upstairs and weren't in the process of coming back down or intense eavesdropping, and then seeing they weren't, added, "If we officially adopted them, maybe we would frame that, since it would be needed less frequently."
 
"Sally is all about momentum albums and framing special documents," Jack told Dark.

"Copies of the special documents," Sally corrected. "It's best not to have originals of some hanging around in frames, especially ones you might need to access. What's wrong with momentum albums?"

Jack smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Nothing at all... until you try to create an album for ever new year."

"Alright, perhaps I do get a little carried away," Sally admitted guiltily.

Jack nodded to Dark. "Do you think you'll ever adopt those two as your own?" he asked. "Would you want to?"

"Of course, they want to," Sally said gently. "It's just a very complicated situation, isn't it?"
 
"We want to," Dark confirmed openly, "and have wanted to for awhile. We already think of them as ours. But, adopting them means getting their biological father to sign away his rights, and I think he probably would, because it means he would be off the hook for the child support he owes. But I do not know if it is what the twins would want, especially since Xander especially has said before he does not wish to let him forget he ever had children, that he ever had them. It is something we need to discuss with them, but it never quite seems like the right time. Cooger suggested we bring it up on their one year anniversary here, but it seems sort of like proposing on Christmas."

He sighed heavily and again leaned back to check the stairs, "And they have both been having a tough time, so our concern is if we bring it up now, they will either think they are being given an ultimatum--Let us adopt you or we are kicking you out--or they will think we are only offering because we feel guilty over having our 'real' child. So we are essentially stuck until we can help them work through what they are going through, and we are certainly trying to do so." His eyebrows vaguely wiggled, which was as good as a heavy frown.
 
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"Oof," Jack winced. "That's not an easy basket you've been handed. No good answers there, are there?"

"At the risk of betraying confidence," Sally said slowly, choosing her words with care, "Peter did mention to me that something seemed to change especially with Alec not long before little Ivy was born. Exactly what changed, I am not certain, but it seems that he went from casually speaking of Daizi and you to seeming to deliberately avoid the topic. He doesn't seem to be the type to face conflict well, so I can only imagine something happened that you may not even be aware of, and he is choosing not to comminicate."

"Hmm, choosing not to communicate when there's an issue. That doesn't sound familiar at all," Jack said, a twinkle in his eye as he smiled at his wife.

Sally gently slapped his shoulder. "I have gotten much better, I would say!" She was smiling, clearly not taking offense at his words.
 
Dark sighed heavily, getting up to refill his glass, just so he had something to focus on, "That is our problem. We can tell there is something bothering him, but when we try to ask, he shuts us out. When we try to prove to him through our actions we are there for him, he does not respond. We keep trying, but we cannot even meet him halfway if he will not even step out onto the road." He shrugged, coming to rejoin them, "We have him in therapy. I want to call his therapist to express we are concerned, but I cannot figure out the ethics of it. The only results online are about what therapists are required to disclose, but that is not the question I am asking."
 
"You can always ask," Sally assured him. "Especially if it is expressing a new concern that you are seeing at home. If the therapist cannot share anything, they won't, but if they can ease your fears, they will try."

"What's the worst that can happen? You'll get a disapproving look for being worried?" Jack suggested with a slight smile.
 
"My concern is more about him finding out and it causing trouble because he believes we do not trust him. If we are having some problem between us, I do not want to make it worse." He took a sip, expressionless as always, "but I probably will just have to take that risk before it gets too late." He fell quiet for a little while, thinking, and then nearly laughed, "It was probably good my status in this country when I was their age was a complicated mess of NGOs, charity, and case workers, because I cannot imagine what I would have put foster parents through. Even with this new concern, they are both still far better than I ever was."
 
"I can certainly imagine," Sally chuckled.

Jack tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I was a bit of a rabble-rouser myself, and I had access to far more money than any sane person should ever allow a teenager to have without accountability. I wonder wich of us managed to raise more hell?"

"Oh no," Sally jumped in, "you are absolutely not sharing old stories. Our current teenagers might hear and get the wrong idea that we approve of such tomfoolery."

"Fair enough," Jack admitted. "I laugh now at my stupid teen self mostly because I'm amazed I survived. I did some pretty stupid stuff, and that was in Australia! America is far more forgiving than Australia is when it comes to stupid people."
 
"I think we raised different kinds of hell," Dark said calmly, memories of fights and petty theft and holes in walls and windows flashing through his mind. He guessed Jack's brand was more fun, "I think it is pretty amazing I survived, too. I was fortunate enough to find a few people who were willing to stick by me despite the stress I caused. And I am sure that is why Daizi copes so well, she has been well trained."
 
"I was a proper lady who did no such thing as raising Cain," Sally said with a prim smile. "I was always very well-behaved! Except for when I decided that some of the other debutants were my enemies." She sighed and shook her head. "Girls can be so cruel. At least we all made it to adulthood." She paused. "Perhaps I should write them a letter."

"Have you had the time to work on anything new in your shed?" Jack asked Dark. "I see you added on a second shed."
 
Daizi came back into the room, carrying Ivy and still slightly adjusting her shirt, "I think I was one of those girls who was reflexively mean but thought I was being irreverent and clever, but really I just was being defensive."

"You were not as bad as you think. I would say you were more distant and strange than a bully," Dark told her, standing to help her find an open chair, "The second shed is for Xander. He has really gotten into leather working. But I have not really made anything since Ivy was born, or really much before then. I spent so much time on the crib and cradle I needed a break, and anyway by the time they were finished we started focusing on finishing up the nursery, which took up too much time."
 
"Xander is into leather working? How interesting," Sally said, tipping her head. "What sort of leather products does he make? Saddles? Purses?"

"Would you ever consider doing a commission?" Jack asked Dark. "My parents' anniversary is coming up in about six months, which sounds like plenty of time, but they are an absolute nightmare to shop for. And then if you don't get them a gift, they pout like children."
 
"Oh, all sorts. He made Dark his bracelet, and he's made wallets, and has been selling Steam Punk designs online. He's sold a few, it's very impressive," Daizi said, talking with the same excitement she had when discussing the little things Ivy did, "He spends so much time in there, he's really become passionate about it. I think one day he should learn to make leather armor, but he's still technically just starting out so he might not be ready yet. He and Alec both are so into their hobbies, it's wonderful. When they first moved in with us, you know, they didn't even know what they might like to do, because they never thought they'd be able to pursue anything."

Dark pushed his hair back, and after a few minutes thinking said, "I suppose it would depend on what. It is not something I am prone to do, there is sort of an issue of doing it for one person opening the door to another, and then it is a slippery slope."
 
"Oh, that sounds truly marvelous!" Sally smiled. "Steampunk is still a rather big thing back in England, but I'm afraid I never really got into it myself. I can certainly see the appeal, though. Good for him! That is quite ambitious."

"I totally understand, and I respect you holding your boundaries," Jack nodded to Dark.

Sally touched Daizi's arm. "How about a couple of games? Perhaps a drink and desert, and then we should be out of your hair so you can get some rest."
 
"Thank you," Dark replied, genuinely relieved. It was his art, and it wasn't something he enjoyed simply passing around.

"What kind of games?" Daizi asked, adjusting how she was holding Ivy, who was momentarily milk-drunk, very much at ease, and holding tightly onto her mother's finger.
 
"I brought a couple where you are supposed to guess the word in your partner's hand," Sally told her. "I am afraid it does not come in Braile, but since we are an odd number, we can assign you a card reader. I also brought Janga, and a trivia game."

"All quite calm and quiet games," Jack said with a twinkle in his eye.

Sally ignored him. "Unless you had a game you already owned you would rather play."
 
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