The Ackles Live on Stage Part 4
It was a great concert and Jensen loved watching Jamie. He was glad that the DVD crew was filming so much. Jamie had a little boy’s voice. And yes, it was a very clean, steady voice but it was so high and cute. It was amazing for a kid so young to be able to carry a tune and enunciate while singing. Jensen was glad that they were filming it so that he would have the record. Some day Jamie’s voice would deepen and instead of singing songs about summer and feelings that Jensen had written he would sing songs about love that he’d written himself. While Jamie was still little Jensen would enjoy it.
Afterwards it was the normal bedtime ritual. They changed into PJs and Jensen tucked Jamie into bed and sat down as he handed Jamie his lion. “So, I have to talk to you about something important okay?” He sat down and wrapped an arm around Jamie as he nodded. “Annie is a really good lawyer. So even though they aren’t born yet Jared is already legally the babies’ dad. It’s all set up so that when they’re born they already have two dads.” Jamie nodded but said nothing. “Right now my will says that if anything happens to me you go and live with Annie. But the babies are Jared’s so they would stay with Jared. I can change my will, say that you stay with Jared if something were to happen to me. But the problem is Texas doesn’t like gay people very much. Even if my will says that you stay with Jared the courts might argue about it.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” said Jamie.
Pulling him closer Jensen said, “I don’t want it either, I want to stay with you forever. Would you want to stay with Jared?” Jamie nodded. “I can change my will and if something were to happen everyone, all the grownups, will stand up in court and say that you’re supposed to stay with him. Or Jared could adopt you. If he adopted you there would be no question. You don’t have to say yes, if you don’t want to. Jared won’t be mad. It’s just an idea.”
“Does Jared want to adopt me?” Jamie asked in a very small voice.
“Yeah, badly. But it’s up to you. He wants to be a permanent part of your life but he’s always going to be here even if you say no. He’s always going to be here for you whether or not you want him to adopt you.”
“So why isn’t he asking?” asked Jamie.
“I wanted to ask you alone so that if you want to say no he’s not here to accidentally give you puppydog eyes. He won’t be angry if you say no. He understands that maybe you don’t want another parent. You’re pretty big to be adopted. It’s totally fine if you want keep things the way they are.”
“Would it stop Mommy from being my mom?”
“No,” Jensen stroked his hair, “no. Mommy will never stop being your mom. Jared doesn’t want to replace her.”
“Would I have to call him Dad?”
“No, you can still call him Jared.”
“What will the babies call him?”
“They’ll probably call him Dad.”
Jamie was quiet and then said, “I don’t want to be left out.”
“You never will be. They’re your siblings. This is your family. I would never let you be left out. Calling him something else doesn’t mean being left out. I call my dad Dad, Josh calls him Daddy, Macky calls him Daddy O. No matter what you call Jared he will love you and he’ll always be family.”
“But Jared’s gonna be their dad for real.”
“Biologically he’s no more their dad than he is yours. He’s just getting in on the ground level. You’re not getting left out or replaced, this is your family. You will always be my baby. I promise. Jared wants to be your parent because he loves you. It’s not just about my will. He wants to be your parent always, not just in case something happens to me. Getting Jared as a parent doesn’t make Mommy not yours; you just get an extra.”
Jamie looked worried, “Will you stay with me tonight?”
“Sure.” Jamie’s bed wasn’t as big as his and he said, “Come on, let’s go sleep in my bed.” He led Jamie to the other bedroom and climbed under the covers, the dogs were already sleeping at the foot of the bed. “Y’know what’s cool? When you’re the big brother you’re always the coolest. Mack never thought much of me because Josh was so much older and therefore cooler. You’ll have all the cool, older friends. You’ll listen to cool music, you’ll have a car first, everything you say will always be witty.” Jensen clicked the lee cloth into place.
“So I have to be cool?” Jamie sounded slightly overwhelmed.
“No, just be yourself. It doesn’t matter what you do, they will think it’s awesome.” He stroked Jamie’s back, “You don’t need to make any decisions right now. But how do you feel right now?”
“I don’t have to call him Dad and he doesn’t replace Mommy. So what does it actually change?”
“Nothing really, it just makes it a little more permanent. I can’t marry him, Texas doesn’t allow it. We can’t have a civil partnership. So it’s not really about Jared adopting you it’s about you adopting him. It makes us all a family, before the babies even come.” Jamie leaned up and just looked at him. “What?”
“You’re being stupid.”
“What?” asked Jensen.
“You got me all nervous for nothing. You talked about dying and legal stuff and it sounded scary and like stuff was going to change. And now you’re saying it’s about being family?”
“Yeah.”
“I brought him to Bring a Parent to School Day. I go on date night with him when you’re sick or when you went to LA. It’s already done. Just sign the papers.”
“It’s not nice to call someone stupid.”
Jamie smiled, “You’re smart; I didn’t say you’re stupid. I said you’re being stupid.”
Jensen chuckled, “You’re siblings are never going to win a fight.”
“We should call Jared. His message said to call him back and he knows we’re talking about this.”
Jensen reached over the lee cloth and into the bedside drawer where he’d dropped his phone. He put it on speakerphone as Jared picked up, “Hey, Jen, how are you?”
“I’m good. You’re on speakerphone.” Jensen stretched out on the bed holding the phone between them. He told Jared about being on speakerphone right away because usually the next question out of his mouth would be, “What are you wearing?”
He heard the way Jared’s voice changed, “Oh, hi, Jamie. How are you, baby?”
“We had a really good show. You can adopt me, Jared, Daddy told me.”
“Are you sure, baby?” said Jared. “Because I won’t be upset if you don’t want to do it.”
“No, it’s cool. We can talk about it on Skype tomorrow with Annie.”
“Good plan.” There was a murmur and Jared says, “Chad says ‘hi, boys.’”
“‘Hi,’ back,” said Jensen.
“We’ve been swimming. Sophia had to go visit her mom so we figured we should be alone together. But we need to go to bed soon we both have to up around four. Chad looks like he might pass out right now.”
Jensen chuckled, “Okay, go put your best friend to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow on the Skype.”
“Love you both,” he said.
“Love you too, Jay,” said Jensen.
“Night, Jared,” said Jamie.
“Night, baby,” said Jared before he hung up.
Jensen turned off the light and asked, “You gonna be able to sleep?”
Jamie nodded and threw an arm around Jensen and his lion, “When do we have to wake up?”
“Annie’s appointment is at eleven. So ten fifty.” Jensen cuddled up close as Jamie set his watch’s alarm.
“I like how you make sure we have stuff to do but I also love sleeping late,” Jamie said as he rubbed his face against the pillow. Jensen fell asleep quickly and was woken not by Jamie’s alarm but by his cell phone.
“H’lo?” he asked.
“Jen, the appointment is in a half hour. How are you still asleep?” asked Jared’s bubbly morning voice.
“Jared, you know you’re the only morning person. I’m webcaming the appointment I was just planning on rolling out of bed.” He climbed over Jamie and the lee cloth and put on his glasses. He slipped into flip-flops and exited the bedroom. “Fine, I’m up.” He padded down the stairs in his PJ’s and said, “I’m gonna get some coffee.”
“Are you going to craft in your PJs?”
“One thing tours teach you is immodesty. The number of people who’ve seen me half naked backstage makes going to craft in PJs really not a big deal.” There was a coffee station. He poured himself a cup and added his milk, “Did you have fun with Chad last night?”
“Yeah, Sophia said no again so we swam and ate snacks and hung out.”
“Oh, poor Chad,” Jensen groaned as he took a sip of his coffee.
“Don’t make porn noises while I’m driving, Jen, it’s just not fair.”
“You’re driving?”
“I’m on hands free, don’t worry. I miss your porn noises.”
“You’ll be back soon then you can hear them in person but actually Jamie slept with me last night so you couldn’t have heard them anyway.”
“Is he okay?”
“I fucked up when I asked him if he wanted to be adopted. I started by talking about what would happen if I died.”
“Fuck, Jen. Seriously?”
“Yeah, he was freaking out. But then when we talked about the fact that it makes us legally a family he said I was being stupid and said it was cool. He pointed out that he brought you to school as his parent over a year ago. But I think me talking about dying put him in a bad place so we cuddled.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I know, my seven year old called me out on it.” Jamie wandered in with the dogs. “Oh, the baby and the dogs just came in, we’ll see you soon.”
“You have twenty minutes.”
Jensen rolled his eyes, “Chill, Jay.”
“Bye.”
Jensen got Jamie some eggs and they sat down as Jensen ate some toast and the dogs ate their bowls of kibble. Jamie’s alarm went off just as they were finishing up. A PA offered to take the dogs for a run which Jensen gladly accepted as they went back to the bus. They didn’t get dressed instead Jensen turned on the computer and opened the Skype. It was set to record.
It was only a couple of minutes before it flickered into life and Annie was waving and saying hello. Jared was next to her, grinning, and Annie said, “You smell of bread, it’s really nice.”
“Thanks,” said Jared, “I’ve been baking for today’s meals.”
The doctor smiled at them, a blonde bubbly little woman called Allison Mack. She’d been Tricia’s OB-GYN too. “So before we begin let’s talk, we’re using a 3D ultrasound. This gives us a better picture of the babies. Usually I wouldn’t use it but with twins it’s a good call. Using the 3D ultrasound will make it very clear, even at this stage, we’ll be able to see gender. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine,” said Jensen, “we really want to know. Don’t we, boys?”
“Yeah,” said Jared. “We don’t care we just want to know.”
“I want sisters,” said Jamie. It was the first time Jamie had expressed the desire. Jensen felt badly that Jamie had been feeling left out and that this was the first time he’d shared the thought.
“Why’s that?” asked Allison.
“Because when they get older they aren’t going to want to touch my good Transformers. Plus, Daddy said when you have little siblings they think your cool. But I don’t do anything that’s really boy-ish cool. I play instruments and Mary makes me paint her nails and I’m good at it. I think that will make me cooler to girls than boys.”
Jensen weighed the statement, “I think you’re probably right. But boys will think you’re cool because you’ll date way before them and have cool friends… They will want to touch your good Transformers.”
Allison was smiling, but then she was always smiling, “Okay, well, let’s see what we have going on at fifteen weeks and three days.” Annie laid back and pulled up her shirt. Allison grabbed a tube of gel and said, “This is going to be cold.”
Annie just grinned, “I can’t wait to see them.” Then the screen started up and Annie said it best, “Jesus Christ, they look like real babies, I mean, still kind of unformed but… Jesus.”
Allison was smiling, “Both your girls are looking healthy and good.”
“Girls?” said Jared beaming. “You’re getting sisters, Jamie!” Jensen gave Jamie a high five.
“As I said,” Allison smiled, “you can see the heartbeats and look, baby number one is sucking her thumb. They look very sweet all cuddled up like that. I am willing to say that they are definitely fraternal because of the separate amniotic sacs and placentas.”
“What does that mean?” asked Jamie.
“They aren’t identical,” said Annie.
They watched the ultrasound, just looking at the babies. They also talked about Jared adopting Jamie and Annie said that she would start on the paperwork that night. Finally Allison said, “I’m going to print out some pictures for you. We’re going to have another ultrasound in eight weeks. With the 3D we’ll be able to see fingernails and eyelids, everything. Your girls are healthy and developing exactly the way they should be.”
Jensen just beamed, “Awesome. Thank you, Annie, for doing everything: legal and physical.”
Annie was wiping the gel off her stomach and smiled, “Jared is taking me out to a fantastic lunch and he brought me the necklace you boys got me at that archeology place. It’s so pretty.”
“I picked it,” said Jamie.
“All silver and turquoise, very me. If I’d known carrying someone else’s twins meant meals and presents I would have done it way back.”
Jared said, “Seriously though, thank you.”
Annie smiled, “You’re welcome. You boys have a good tour; I’ll send Jared back to you soon. We’ll call Mom and Dad and Jared’s parents. Jen, call yours.”
“Yeah totally. Bye guys. Thanks, Allison.” Jensen stopped recording and turned off the Skype. “So, Jamie, you got the girls.”
Jamie smiled, “I think girls will think I’m cooler.”
“I think you’re really cool, Jamie. You’re an international musical sensation, you’re interested in cool thing like the Transformers and you’re funny.”
“Food allergies aren’t cool. Kids make fun of them. Boys make fun more than girls.”
Jensen sighed, kids were mean, there was no getting away from it. But even knowing that it was a universal thing didn’t make it easier. “Well kids can be mean, it’s sort of like testing the limits of normality: it tests where social boundaries are… They’re jerks. Mean kids can always find something to make fun of someone for. When I was a kid they made fun of my weight and my glasses. They made fun of Jason for having a little bit of a stutter and LeAnn for having psoriases. Kids are jerks, but look at us now. We’re all good as grownups.”
“Yeah, but your stuff went away and LeAnn’s doesn’t stop her from doing stuff. My allergies are never going to be totally better.”
“No, but they’ll get better over time. We’ll see if we can find a couple more restaurants to go to. You’re siblings aren’t going to make fun of you.” He stroked Jamie’s hair. He didn’t like it when Jamie felt badly about himself and he wanted to cheer him up. “Guess where we’re playing our classical concert?” Jamie just looked at him and shrugged, “Carnegie Hall.”
Jamie lit up, “Seriously?”
Jensen nodded, “And we’re sold out. How many kids who make fun of you have sold out Carnegie Hall?”
“None.”
“Exactly. So if anyone makes fun of you next year just say, ‘What did you do this summer? Because I was playing a nationwide concert tour for over a hundred thousand people closing out in one of the most prestigious concert halls in the county.’ Then you take a breath, keep eye contact and repeat, ‘What did you do this summer?’ And once you’ve done that turn away without waiting to hear their response. Everyone has something they can be made fun of: they can make fun of your allergies and you can make fun of their not being awesome.”
Jamie smiled, “Carnegie Freaking Hall!”
“Carnegie Freaking Hall!” repeated Jensen. “Now, I need to call the grandparents. Should I put them on speakerphone or do you want to watch some TV or read a book?”
“Read a book, there’s nothing good on the Food Network at this time in the morning on weekdays. It’s stupid Claire Robinson pulling faces.” Jamie went upstairs.
Jensen called his parents and told them about the girls. Jamie came downstairs carrying a book and stretched out on the floor as Jensen chatted. He heard a knock at the door and said, “A PA took the dogs for a run I think he’s back. Gimme a second,” he opened the door and saw Bobby Singer looking worried with the dogs. “It’s important, actually, I have to go. Would you please let Mack and Josh know the news?” His parents agreed and he hung up. “Hi, is everything okay?” He waved the guy inside.
The dogs barreled in and went to lick Jamie as though it had been way more than an hour and a half. The guy looked at Jamie. Everyone on the tour had quickly learned not to condescend with Jamie, he was intelligent and he didn’t like to be spoken down to. Now the man said, “Jamie, may I please talk to your dad alone for a couple of minutes?”
“Sure,” Jamie left, going upstairs.
“What’s up?” asked Jensen as he crossed to the couches and motioned for the man to sit down.
“Hilary Duff may or may not be pregnant according to paparazzi. She went home to Dallas and the paparazzi have been hiding around OB-GYNs to try and get a picture.” He looked so worried and freaked out.
The laugh couldn’t be stopped and Jensen felt a little bit badly for laughing while the guy looked ill. Jensen shook his head, “Sorry. Let me guess: Jared and Annie were caught by TMZ going into Dr. Allison Mack’s office. Annie’s obviously pregnant which she wasn’t when we started touring. And you’re here to gently tell me that TMZ is shouting that Jared’s cheating on me with my sister-in-law.”
“E! Entertainment,” said the guy looking less like he was going to puke.
“She’s our surrogate mother. She’s pregnant with twins for Jared and me. She’s the aunt not the baby momma.”
The man breathed out, “Oh, thank God, I did not want to break this news to you.”
Jensen laughed, “Want a soda?”
“That would be great,” the man nodded, “A Coke if you have one.”
Jensen grabbed them both a Coke and called up the stairs, “Jamie, you can come down now.”
Jamie bounced down the stairs and said, “What was it? Can I know?”
“Apparently E! thinks Jared’s cheating on me with Annie.”
“That’s stupid. Jared’s gay and everyone knows Annie’s dating Jason. She’s been holding his hand at, like, huge parties. Everyone knows when you’re dating someone famous and Jason’s really famous. Is it because of them going to the baby doctor?” said Jamie. Jensen nodded and Jamie turned to Bobby. “We just did an ultrasound and I’m getting sisters!”
The man smiled as he drank his soda, “I am so happy for you guys. I was really worried about it. Now I just have to figure out a PR solution.”
“The film crew was taping us at dinner last night while Jared was saying goodbye. We talked a lot, in detail about the appointment. I’m sure they have footage, get it to E! and force them to run it. We can have this cleared up before the show tonight.” Jensen smiled but added, “Please do not tell anybody that they’re girls. We haven’t told everyone yet.”
The man nodded, “Absolutely. Sound check is at six forty-five and the show starts at seven.”
“Great,” said Jensen, “we’re having a quiet day to day, hence the fact that I’m not even dressed yet. We’ll be around if you need us.”
“I’ll let you know when I’ve sent the film to E!”
“Thanks,” said Jensen and showed the man out. Turning to Jamie he said, “Will it upset you if I watch the crappy fake news to see what they’re saying?”
“Won’t you be?” asked Jamie.
“Yeah, but I still want to know. It’s just lies. It doesn’t mean anything at all. We know the truth.”
“Annie’s a girl, it makes it even stupider. I mean, they could have at least picked a guy.”
Jensen nodded, “I know. Would it be okay if I watched it?”
“Yes,” said Jamie going back to the floor with the dogs.
As he turned on the TV Jensen sent Jared a text that said, “E! says you’re cheating on me with Annie… you bastard. Haha, don’t worry it’s all in hand, enjoy marathon cooking.” He switched the TV to E! the dogs barked at seeing Jared as Jensen sank down on the couch to watch. There was footage of Jared hugging Annie and kissing her on the cheek before opening the door for her they were laughing and standing close. There was nothing sexual about it. Jared texted him back, “Annie’s hot and all but she has a vagina and no stubble. And I’m pretty in love with you, your dick and your five o’clock shadow… I wish I was licking you, chin or dick, right now. Annie says ‘hi.’”
Some talking head, not Ryan Seacrest who was the only one Jensen knew by sight, was talking about how close Annie and Jared were. They had pictures of Annie going into JT’s by the kitchen door and pictures of her letting herself into their house. As he watched Jensen sent a mass email to all of their friends saying, “The babies are girls! E! thinks Annie and Jared are having an affair because they went to a gynecologist together (the least romantic date ever) but the camera’s got a really great angle and they look fantastic. Hope to see you all soon, Jensen and Jamie.”
Replies were fast in coming but Jensen switched from his email to his music program he was writing a new song. He’d been working on it for a few days. Without sound he wrote down the notes in his head as he watched them rehash old-old news about how he’d been outed, about Tricia and him getting married, about her dying and Jensen disappearing. He hoped Hilary Duff was grateful that they were taking the heat off of her. Jensen let the droning wash over him as he wrote.
Muting it he said, “Jamie? Listen to this for me?”
Jamie sat up and nodded Jensen hit the play button and sang along with the song all about change and growing up and confidence. As it was written it was too high for Jensen so he dropped the key for him to sing it but Jamie saw what was happening and said, “Is this for me?”
“Yeah, your next CD. If you want it?”
“Yeah, I want it. Can I sing it? Fix the key?” Jensen reset the key, put the song back to the beginning and handed the laptop to Jamie. Jamie sang, watching the screen once it was finished he said, “I love it.”
“The nice thing about this is, you can drop the key when your voice breaks.”
“What happened when your voice broke?”
“I changed very, very slowly so it was okay, no cracks. Sometimes it comes all at once and then you crack for a while. Your Uncle Josh cracked for months.” Instead of laughing Jamie looked scared. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I won’t be able to sing for months,” said Jamie. “I won’t be able to do this.”
“This is just a summer thing, baby. It might happen during the school year. Or we could just record an album then. When you do an album you can do as many takes as you like until you get one without a crack. There’re lots of tricks.”
“Yeah?”
Jensen nodded, “That is years off, don’t worry about it yet.”
“Can I try out your software? I won’t break it.”
“Sure,” Jensen handed over the computer and watched the TV, though it was muted. They were showing old footage, him and Tricia at a club doing shots. Jensen remembered the night. Tricia was leaning against him obviously tipsy. She wasn’t twenty-one in the footage, but they were taking a night off from touring together one summer. He smiled looking at her. “You’re mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world, y’know that?” Jamie looked between the screen and Jensen and nodded. “And you look so much like her.”
“Everyone says I look like you.”
“No, you have my eyes, and nose, and mouth and some day you’ll have my jaw. But you have Mommy’s round face, and her cheeks, her ears, and dark, straight fine hair and her eyebrows and none of my freckles.”
“Do you think the girls will look like Mommy?” asked Jamie.
“Probably, we’ll see.”
Jamie hit the play button and the sound that came out wasn’t at all like music. “I don’t get how this program works.” Jamie handed the computer over to him as someone knocked.
“Yeah,” Jensen called.
Bobby came in and said, “It will be on at the very beginning of the next news cycle.”
“Thanks,” said Jensen, “that’s great.” Looking at his watch he said, “About ten minutes then.”
“Do you guys need anything?” asked Bobby, he still looked like he was waiting for Jensen to lose it.
“We’re good,” said Jensen. “We’re just chilling. We’ve had so much excitement recently. We just need a day with TV and vegging out. Sadly, this sort of TV wasn’t what I was thinking of. But whatever, you need a day to stay in PJs every once in a while especially when you’re on tour. We’ll bathe, I’ll shave and put in my contacts, we’ll eat some dinner and go on stage. Today is not a big day.” Bobby took his cue to leave and Jensen turned on the sound as Jamie started to gently wrestle with the dogs.
The talking head was now talking about Jared and how maybe he wasn’t all that gay. Jensen felt himself rolling his eyes. And then it was Ryan Seacrest saying, “We have news this hour including a recorded statement from Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.” He looked irritated, “So once we watch that and get this - which has to be a misunderstanding - out of the way we’ll get on to some news.” Someone asked him a question, the person wasn’t miked but Ryan Seacrest replied, “Jared was closeted, he came out to cook for Jamie Ackles. He was a minor league celebrity and it totally upended his life and upset the ratings of his show. That’s not a stunt or a phase; it’s damaged his brand. And he’s having an affair not only with a woman but with his boyfriend’s sister in-law? Please. Adrianne Palicki is also very publicly dating Jason Manns. It’s ridiculous.” He sighed, “Let’s watch this.”
Jensen really liked Ryan Seacrest in that moment. Jamie lifted his head to watch them on screen. “I miss Jared,” he said.
“Me too, baby,” said Jensen. “We’ll see him tomorrow.” He watched them talking about why Jared was going home, about Annie being a surrogate for twins, about the fact that Jensen and Jared were the parents, about the fact that they were going to Skype the appointment and Jamie asking Jared to kiss Annie for him. It ended with Jared saying goodbye and kissing Jamie’s cheek and kissing Jensen deeply.
Then it cut to Ryan Seacrest who said, “There you go. Moving right along from that non-story, Lindsay Lohan has broken the terms of her probation.” Jensen turned off the TV.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over.” To Jamie he said, “How are you, baby?”
“Good. Can we please watch something fun now? Despicable Me?”
“Sure, you know I love that movie.”
“That’s because you like to pretend you’re Gru.”
“I want a freeze ray. I like him; I think he’s got the right idea.”
“That’s just because you can be really grouchy.” Jensen laughed and moved to the TV to put in the DVD. “Plus sometimes you can be mean when people irritate you. Like when you kicked Jared out when you first met him.”
“I kicked Jared out because I was annoyed and scared.”
“Why were you scared?” asked Jamie as the previews started.
“Because I liked him and that really scared me because I didn’t want to get hurt by dating. I hadn’t dated anyone since Mommy died and I was scared.”
“Thankfully he’s tinishous,” said Jamie with a smile.
“Great word, but it’s said tenacious.” Jamie repeated it a few times as Jensen clicked through the DVD menus to actually start the movie.
“Daddy?” asked Jamie sounding thoughtful.
“Yes, baby?”
“Why do Chris and Steve pretend that they aren’t dating?”
Jensen sighed, “Y’know, I love it when you ask me questions because it makes me feel so smart that I can answer them. But that’s a hard one… most of their fans like them because they’re handsome. And those fans have crushes on them. It’s harder to be a heartthrob when you’re gay. Fans like to pretend that if they met you, you would fall in love with them. When they know you’re gay they can’t pretend that. Chris and Steve don’t have any kids, and they don’t mind keeping it a secret. They like being heartthrobs and it’s not important to them that people know the truth.”
“Do you wish people didn’t know you’re gay?”
“I didn’t want them to know when I was seventeen; I wasn’t ready for them to know. But now? I have you and I have Jared and I would never want you to have to keep a secret and I wouldn’t want to teach you to hide who you are. So, no, I don’t care that they know I’m gay even though sometimes people are mean but I do understand why Chris and Steve keep it a secret.” Then, as Gru was introduced, Jensen started to sing along with the song.
Jamie laughed, “I bet the people at the Oscars thought you were joking when you said you liked this song.”
“It’s my theme tune, baby.”
~~~
CONTINUE
Afterwards it was the normal bedtime ritual. They changed into PJs and Jensen tucked Jamie into bed and sat down as he handed Jamie his lion. “So, I have to talk to you about something important okay?” He sat down and wrapped an arm around Jamie as he nodded. “Annie is a really good lawyer. So even though they aren’t born yet Jared is already legally the babies’ dad. It’s all set up so that when they’re born they already have two dads.” Jamie nodded but said nothing. “Right now my will says that if anything happens to me you go and live with Annie. But the babies are Jared’s so they would stay with Jared. I can change my will, say that you stay with Jared if something were to happen to me. But the problem is Texas doesn’t like gay people very much. Even if my will says that you stay with Jared the courts might argue about it.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” said Jamie.
Pulling him closer Jensen said, “I don’t want it either, I want to stay with you forever. Would you want to stay with Jared?” Jamie nodded. “I can change my will and if something were to happen everyone, all the grownups, will stand up in court and say that you’re supposed to stay with him. Or Jared could adopt you. If he adopted you there would be no question. You don’t have to say yes, if you don’t want to. Jared won’t be mad. It’s just an idea.”
“Does Jared want to adopt me?” Jamie asked in a very small voice.
“Yeah, badly. But it’s up to you. He wants to be a permanent part of your life but he’s always going to be here even if you say no. He’s always going to be here for you whether or not you want him to adopt you.”
“So why isn’t he asking?” asked Jamie.
“I wanted to ask you alone so that if you want to say no he’s not here to accidentally give you puppydog eyes. He won’t be angry if you say no. He understands that maybe you don’t want another parent. You’re pretty big to be adopted. It’s totally fine if you want keep things the way they are.”
“Would it stop Mommy from being my mom?”
“No,” Jensen stroked his hair, “no. Mommy will never stop being your mom. Jared doesn’t want to replace her.”
“Would I have to call him Dad?”
“No, you can still call him Jared.”
“What will the babies call him?”
“They’ll probably call him Dad.”
Jamie was quiet and then said, “I don’t want to be left out.”
“You never will be. They’re your siblings. This is your family. I would never let you be left out. Calling him something else doesn’t mean being left out. I call my dad Dad, Josh calls him Daddy, Macky calls him Daddy O. No matter what you call Jared he will love you and he’ll always be family.”
“But Jared’s gonna be their dad for real.”
“Biologically he’s no more their dad than he is yours. He’s just getting in on the ground level. You’re not getting left out or replaced, this is your family. You will always be my baby. I promise. Jared wants to be your parent because he loves you. It’s not just about my will. He wants to be your parent always, not just in case something happens to me. Getting Jared as a parent doesn’t make Mommy not yours; you just get an extra.”
Jamie looked worried, “Will you stay with me tonight?”
“Sure.” Jamie’s bed wasn’t as big as his and he said, “Come on, let’s go sleep in my bed.” He led Jamie to the other bedroom and climbed under the covers, the dogs were already sleeping at the foot of the bed. “Y’know what’s cool? When you’re the big brother you’re always the coolest. Mack never thought much of me because Josh was so much older and therefore cooler. You’ll have all the cool, older friends. You’ll listen to cool music, you’ll have a car first, everything you say will always be witty.” Jensen clicked the lee cloth into place.
“So I have to be cool?” Jamie sounded slightly overwhelmed.
“No, just be yourself. It doesn’t matter what you do, they will think it’s awesome.” He stroked Jamie’s back, “You don’t need to make any decisions right now. But how do you feel right now?”
“I don’t have to call him Dad and he doesn’t replace Mommy. So what does it actually change?”
“Nothing really, it just makes it a little more permanent. I can’t marry him, Texas doesn’t allow it. We can’t have a civil partnership. So it’s not really about Jared adopting you it’s about you adopting him. It makes us all a family, before the babies even come.” Jamie leaned up and just looked at him. “What?”
“You’re being stupid.”
“What?” asked Jensen.
“You got me all nervous for nothing. You talked about dying and legal stuff and it sounded scary and like stuff was going to change. And now you’re saying it’s about being family?”
“Yeah.”
“I brought him to Bring a Parent to School Day. I go on date night with him when you’re sick or when you went to LA. It’s already done. Just sign the papers.”
“It’s not nice to call someone stupid.”
Jamie smiled, “You’re smart; I didn’t say you’re stupid. I said you’re being stupid.”
Jensen chuckled, “You’re siblings are never going to win a fight.”
“We should call Jared. His message said to call him back and he knows we’re talking about this.”
Jensen reached over the lee cloth and into the bedside drawer where he’d dropped his phone. He put it on speakerphone as Jared picked up, “Hey, Jen, how are you?”
“I’m good. You’re on speakerphone.” Jensen stretched out on the bed holding the phone between them. He told Jared about being on speakerphone right away because usually the next question out of his mouth would be, “What are you wearing?”
He heard the way Jared’s voice changed, “Oh, hi, Jamie. How are you, baby?”
“We had a really good show. You can adopt me, Jared, Daddy told me.”
“Are you sure, baby?” said Jared. “Because I won’t be upset if you don’t want to do it.”
“No, it’s cool. We can talk about it on Skype tomorrow with Annie.”
“Good plan.” There was a murmur and Jared says, “Chad says ‘hi, boys.’”
“‘Hi,’ back,” said Jensen.
“We’ve been swimming. Sophia had to go visit her mom so we figured we should be alone together. But we need to go to bed soon we both have to up around four. Chad looks like he might pass out right now.”
Jensen chuckled, “Okay, go put your best friend to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow on the Skype.”
“Love you both,” he said.
“Love you too, Jay,” said Jensen.
“Night, Jared,” said Jamie.
“Night, baby,” said Jared before he hung up.
Jensen turned off the light and asked, “You gonna be able to sleep?”
Jamie nodded and threw an arm around Jensen and his lion, “When do we have to wake up?”
“Annie’s appointment is at eleven. So ten fifty.” Jensen cuddled up close as Jamie set his watch’s alarm.
“I like how you make sure we have stuff to do but I also love sleeping late,” Jamie said as he rubbed his face against the pillow. Jensen fell asleep quickly and was woken not by Jamie’s alarm but by his cell phone.
“H’lo?” he asked.
“Jen, the appointment is in a half hour. How are you still asleep?” asked Jared’s bubbly morning voice.
“Jared, you know you’re the only morning person. I’m webcaming the appointment I was just planning on rolling out of bed.” He climbed over Jamie and the lee cloth and put on his glasses. He slipped into flip-flops and exited the bedroom. “Fine, I’m up.” He padded down the stairs in his PJ’s and said, “I’m gonna get some coffee.”
“Are you going to craft in your PJs?”
“One thing tours teach you is immodesty. The number of people who’ve seen me half naked backstage makes going to craft in PJs really not a big deal.” There was a coffee station. He poured himself a cup and added his milk, “Did you have fun with Chad last night?”
“Yeah, Sophia said no again so we swam and ate snacks and hung out.”
“Oh, poor Chad,” Jensen groaned as he took a sip of his coffee.
“Don’t make porn noises while I’m driving, Jen, it’s just not fair.”
“You’re driving?”
“I’m on hands free, don’t worry. I miss your porn noises.”
“You’ll be back soon then you can hear them in person but actually Jamie slept with me last night so you couldn’t have heard them anyway.”
“Is he okay?”
“I fucked up when I asked him if he wanted to be adopted. I started by talking about what would happen if I died.”
“Fuck, Jen. Seriously?”
“Yeah, he was freaking out. But then when we talked about the fact that it makes us legally a family he said I was being stupid and said it was cool. He pointed out that he brought you to school as his parent over a year ago. But I think me talking about dying put him in a bad place so we cuddled.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I know, my seven year old called me out on it.” Jamie wandered in with the dogs. “Oh, the baby and the dogs just came in, we’ll see you soon.”
“You have twenty minutes.”
Jensen rolled his eyes, “Chill, Jay.”
“Bye.”
Jensen got Jamie some eggs and they sat down as Jensen ate some toast and the dogs ate their bowls of kibble. Jamie’s alarm went off just as they were finishing up. A PA offered to take the dogs for a run which Jensen gladly accepted as they went back to the bus. They didn’t get dressed instead Jensen turned on the computer and opened the Skype. It was set to record.
It was only a couple of minutes before it flickered into life and Annie was waving and saying hello. Jared was next to her, grinning, and Annie said, “You smell of bread, it’s really nice.”
“Thanks,” said Jared, “I’ve been baking for today’s meals.”
The doctor smiled at them, a blonde bubbly little woman called Allison Mack. She’d been Tricia’s OB-GYN too. “So before we begin let’s talk, we’re using a 3D ultrasound. This gives us a better picture of the babies. Usually I wouldn’t use it but with twins it’s a good call. Using the 3D ultrasound will make it very clear, even at this stage, we’ll be able to see gender. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine,” said Jensen, “we really want to know. Don’t we, boys?”
“Yeah,” said Jared. “We don’t care we just want to know.”
“I want sisters,” said Jamie. It was the first time Jamie had expressed the desire. Jensen felt badly that Jamie had been feeling left out and that this was the first time he’d shared the thought.
“Why’s that?” asked Allison.
“Because when they get older they aren’t going to want to touch my good Transformers. Plus, Daddy said when you have little siblings they think your cool. But I don’t do anything that’s really boy-ish cool. I play instruments and Mary makes me paint her nails and I’m good at it. I think that will make me cooler to girls than boys.”
Jensen weighed the statement, “I think you’re probably right. But boys will think you’re cool because you’ll date way before them and have cool friends… They will want to touch your good Transformers.”
Allison was smiling, but then she was always smiling, “Okay, well, let’s see what we have going on at fifteen weeks and three days.” Annie laid back and pulled up her shirt. Allison grabbed a tube of gel and said, “This is going to be cold.”
Annie just grinned, “I can’t wait to see them.” Then the screen started up and Annie said it best, “Jesus Christ, they look like real babies, I mean, still kind of unformed but… Jesus.”
Allison was smiling, “Both your girls are looking healthy and good.”
“Girls?” said Jared beaming. “You’re getting sisters, Jamie!” Jensen gave Jamie a high five.
“As I said,” Allison smiled, “you can see the heartbeats and look, baby number one is sucking her thumb. They look very sweet all cuddled up like that. I am willing to say that they are definitely fraternal because of the separate amniotic sacs and placentas.”
“What does that mean?” asked Jamie.
“They aren’t identical,” said Annie.
They watched the ultrasound, just looking at the babies. They also talked about Jared adopting Jamie and Annie said that she would start on the paperwork that night. Finally Allison said, “I’m going to print out some pictures for you. We’re going to have another ultrasound in eight weeks. With the 3D we’ll be able to see fingernails and eyelids, everything. Your girls are healthy and developing exactly the way they should be.”
Jensen just beamed, “Awesome. Thank you, Annie, for doing everything: legal and physical.”
Annie was wiping the gel off her stomach and smiled, “Jared is taking me out to a fantastic lunch and he brought me the necklace you boys got me at that archeology place. It’s so pretty.”
“I picked it,” said Jamie.
“All silver and turquoise, very me. If I’d known carrying someone else’s twins meant meals and presents I would have done it way back.”
Jared said, “Seriously though, thank you.”
Annie smiled, “You’re welcome. You boys have a good tour; I’ll send Jared back to you soon. We’ll call Mom and Dad and Jared’s parents. Jen, call yours.”
“Yeah totally. Bye guys. Thanks, Allison.” Jensen stopped recording and turned off the Skype. “So, Jamie, you got the girls.”
Jamie smiled, “I think girls will think I’m cooler.”
“I think you’re really cool, Jamie. You’re an international musical sensation, you’re interested in cool thing like the Transformers and you’re funny.”
“Food allergies aren’t cool. Kids make fun of them. Boys make fun more than girls.”
Jensen sighed, kids were mean, there was no getting away from it. But even knowing that it was a universal thing didn’t make it easier. “Well kids can be mean, it’s sort of like testing the limits of normality: it tests where social boundaries are… They’re jerks. Mean kids can always find something to make fun of someone for. When I was a kid they made fun of my weight and my glasses. They made fun of Jason for having a little bit of a stutter and LeAnn for having psoriases. Kids are jerks, but look at us now. We’re all good as grownups.”
“Yeah, but your stuff went away and LeAnn’s doesn’t stop her from doing stuff. My allergies are never going to be totally better.”
“No, but they’ll get better over time. We’ll see if we can find a couple more restaurants to go to. You’re siblings aren’t going to make fun of you.” He stroked Jamie’s hair. He didn’t like it when Jamie felt badly about himself and he wanted to cheer him up. “Guess where we’re playing our classical concert?” Jamie just looked at him and shrugged, “Carnegie Hall.”
Jamie lit up, “Seriously?”
Jensen nodded, “And we’re sold out. How many kids who make fun of you have sold out Carnegie Hall?”
“None.”
“Exactly. So if anyone makes fun of you next year just say, ‘What did you do this summer? Because I was playing a nationwide concert tour for over a hundred thousand people closing out in one of the most prestigious concert halls in the county.’ Then you take a breath, keep eye contact and repeat, ‘What did you do this summer?’ And once you’ve done that turn away without waiting to hear their response. Everyone has something they can be made fun of: they can make fun of your allergies and you can make fun of their not being awesome.”
Jamie smiled, “Carnegie Freaking Hall!”
“Carnegie Freaking Hall!” repeated Jensen. “Now, I need to call the grandparents. Should I put them on speakerphone or do you want to watch some TV or read a book?”
“Read a book, there’s nothing good on the Food Network at this time in the morning on weekdays. It’s stupid Claire Robinson pulling faces.” Jamie went upstairs.
Jensen called his parents and told them about the girls. Jamie came downstairs carrying a book and stretched out on the floor as Jensen chatted. He heard a knock at the door and said, “A PA took the dogs for a run I think he’s back. Gimme a second,” he opened the door and saw Bobby Singer looking worried with the dogs. “It’s important, actually, I have to go. Would you please let Mack and Josh know the news?” His parents agreed and he hung up. “Hi, is everything okay?” He waved the guy inside.
The dogs barreled in and went to lick Jamie as though it had been way more than an hour and a half. The guy looked at Jamie. Everyone on the tour had quickly learned not to condescend with Jamie, he was intelligent and he didn’t like to be spoken down to. Now the man said, “Jamie, may I please talk to your dad alone for a couple of minutes?”
“Sure,” Jamie left, going upstairs.
“What’s up?” asked Jensen as he crossed to the couches and motioned for the man to sit down.
“Hilary Duff may or may not be pregnant according to paparazzi. She went home to Dallas and the paparazzi have been hiding around OB-GYNs to try and get a picture.” He looked so worried and freaked out.
The laugh couldn’t be stopped and Jensen felt a little bit badly for laughing while the guy looked ill. Jensen shook his head, “Sorry. Let me guess: Jared and Annie were caught by TMZ going into Dr. Allison Mack’s office. Annie’s obviously pregnant which she wasn’t when we started touring. And you’re here to gently tell me that TMZ is shouting that Jared’s cheating on me with my sister-in-law.”
“E! Entertainment,” said the guy looking less like he was going to puke.
“She’s our surrogate mother. She’s pregnant with twins for Jared and me. She’s the aunt not the baby momma.”
The man breathed out, “Oh, thank God, I did not want to break this news to you.”
Jensen laughed, “Want a soda?”
“That would be great,” the man nodded, “A Coke if you have one.”
Jensen grabbed them both a Coke and called up the stairs, “Jamie, you can come down now.”
Jamie bounced down the stairs and said, “What was it? Can I know?”
“Apparently E! thinks Jared’s cheating on me with Annie.”
“That’s stupid. Jared’s gay and everyone knows Annie’s dating Jason. She’s been holding his hand at, like, huge parties. Everyone knows when you’re dating someone famous and Jason’s really famous. Is it because of them going to the baby doctor?” said Jamie. Jensen nodded and Jamie turned to Bobby. “We just did an ultrasound and I’m getting sisters!”
The man smiled as he drank his soda, “I am so happy for you guys. I was really worried about it. Now I just have to figure out a PR solution.”
“The film crew was taping us at dinner last night while Jared was saying goodbye. We talked a lot, in detail about the appointment. I’m sure they have footage, get it to E! and force them to run it. We can have this cleared up before the show tonight.” Jensen smiled but added, “Please do not tell anybody that they’re girls. We haven’t told everyone yet.”
The man nodded, “Absolutely. Sound check is at six forty-five and the show starts at seven.”
“Great,” said Jensen, “we’re having a quiet day to day, hence the fact that I’m not even dressed yet. We’ll be around if you need us.”
“I’ll let you know when I’ve sent the film to E!”
“Thanks,” said Jensen and showed the man out. Turning to Jamie he said, “Will it upset you if I watch the crappy fake news to see what they’re saying?”
“Won’t you be?” asked Jamie.
“Yeah, but I still want to know. It’s just lies. It doesn’t mean anything at all. We know the truth.”
“Annie’s a girl, it makes it even stupider. I mean, they could have at least picked a guy.”
Jensen nodded, “I know. Would it be okay if I watched it?”
“Yes,” said Jamie going back to the floor with the dogs.
As he turned on the TV Jensen sent Jared a text that said, “E! says you’re cheating on me with Annie… you bastard. Haha, don’t worry it’s all in hand, enjoy marathon cooking.” He switched the TV to E! the dogs barked at seeing Jared as Jensen sank down on the couch to watch. There was footage of Jared hugging Annie and kissing her on the cheek before opening the door for her they were laughing and standing close. There was nothing sexual about it. Jared texted him back, “Annie’s hot and all but she has a vagina and no stubble. And I’m pretty in love with you, your dick and your five o’clock shadow… I wish I was licking you, chin or dick, right now. Annie says ‘hi.’”
Some talking head, not Ryan Seacrest who was the only one Jensen knew by sight, was talking about how close Annie and Jared were. They had pictures of Annie going into JT’s by the kitchen door and pictures of her letting herself into their house. As he watched Jensen sent a mass email to all of their friends saying, “The babies are girls! E! thinks Annie and Jared are having an affair because they went to a gynecologist together (the least romantic date ever) but the camera’s got a really great angle and they look fantastic. Hope to see you all soon, Jensen and Jamie.”
Replies were fast in coming but Jensen switched from his email to his music program he was writing a new song. He’d been working on it for a few days. Without sound he wrote down the notes in his head as he watched them rehash old-old news about how he’d been outed, about Tricia and him getting married, about her dying and Jensen disappearing. He hoped Hilary Duff was grateful that they were taking the heat off of her. Jensen let the droning wash over him as he wrote.
Muting it he said, “Jamie? Listen to this for me?”
Jamie sat up and nodded Jensen hit the play button and sang along with the song all about change and growing up and confidence. As it was written it was too high for Jensen so he dropped the key for him to sing it but Jamie saw what was happening and said, “Is this for me?”
“Yeah, your next CD. If you want it?”
“Yeah, I want it. Can I sing it? Fix the key?” Jensen reset the key, put the song back to the beginning and handed the laptop to Jamie. Jamie sang, watching the screen once it was finished he said, “I love it.”
“The nice thing about this is, you can drop the key when your voice breaks.”
“What happened when your voice broke?”
“I changed very, very slowly so it was okay, no cracks. Sometimes it comes all at once and then you crack for a while. Your Uncle Josh cracked for months.” Instead of laughing Jamie looked scared. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I won’t be able to sing for months,” said Jamie. “I won’t be able to do this.”
“This is just a summer thing, baby. It might happen during the school year. Or we could just record an album then. When you do an album you can do as many takes as you like until you get one without a crack. There’re lots of tricks.”
“Yeah?”
Jensen nodded, “That is years off, don’t worry about it yet.”
“Can I try out your software? I won’t break it.”
“Sure,” Jensen handed over the computer and watched the TV, though it was muted. They were showing old footage, him and Tricia at a club doing shots. Jensen remembered the night. Tricia was leaning against him obviously tipsy. She wasn’t twenty-one in the footage, but they were taking a night off from touring together one summer. He smiled looking at her. “You’re mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world, y’know that?” Jamie looked between the screen and Jensen and nodded. “And you look so much like her.”
“Everyone says I look like you.”
“No, you have my eyes, and nose, and mouth and some day you’ll have my jaw. But you have Mommy’s round face, and her cheeks, her ears, and dark, straight fine hair and her eyebrows and none of my freckles.”
“Do you think the girls will look like Mommy?” asked Jamie.
“Probably, we’ll see.”
Jamie hit the play button and the sound that came out wasn’t at all like music. “I don’t get how this program works.” Jamie handed the computer over to him as someone knocked.
“Yeah,” Jensen called.
Bobby came in and said, “It will be on at the very beginning of the next news cycle.”
“Thanks,” said Jensen, “that’s great.” Looking at his watch he said, “About ten minutes then.”
“Do you guys need anything?” asked Bobby, he still looked like he was waiting for Jensen to lose it.
“We’re good,” said Jensen. “We’re just chilling. We’ve had so much excitement recently. We just need a day with TV and vegging out. Sadly, this sort of TV wasn’t what I was thinking of. But whatever, you need a day to stay in PJs every once in a while especially when you’re on tour. We’ll bathe, I’ll shave and put in my contacts, we’ll eat some dinner and go on stage. Today is not a big day.” Bobby took his cue to leave and Jensen turned on the sound as Jamie started to gently wrestle with the dogs.
The talking head was now talking about Jared and how maybe he wasn’t all that gay. Jensen felt himself rolling his eyes. And then it was Ryan Seacrest saying, “We have news this hour including a recorded statement from Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.” He looked irritated, “So once we watch that and get this - which has to be a misunderstanding - out of the way we’ll get on to some news.” Someone asked him a question, the person wasn’t miked but Ryan Seacrest replied, “Jared was closeted, he came out to cook for Jamie Ackles. He was a minor league celebrity and it totally upended his life and upset the ratings of his show. That’s not a stunt or a phase; it’s damaged his brand. And he’s having an affair not only with a woman but with his boyfriend’s sister in-law? Please. Adrianne Palicki is also very publicly dating Jason Manns. It’s ridiculous.” He sighed, “Let’s watch this.”
Jensen really liked Ryan Seacrest in that moment. Jamie lifted his head to watch them on screen. “I miss Jared,” he said.
“Me too, baby,” said Jensen. “We’ll see him tomorrow.” He watched them talking about why Jared was going home, about Annie being a surrogate for twins, about the fact that Jensen and Jared were the parents, about the fact that they were going to Skype the appointment and Jamie asking Jared to kiss Annie for him. It ended with Jared saying goodbye and kissing Jamie’s cheek and kissing Jensen deeply.
Then it cut to Ryan Seacrest who said, “There you go. Moving right along from that non-story, Lindsay Lohan has broken the terms of her probation.” Jensen turned off the TV.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over.” To Jamie he said, “How are you, baby?”
“Good. Can we please watch something fun now? Despicable Me?”
“Sure, you know I love that movie.”
“That’s because you like to pretend you’re Gru.”
“I want a freeze ray. I like him; I think he’s got the right idea.”
“That’s just because you can be really grouchy.” Jensen laughed and moved to the TV to put in the DVD. “Plus sometimes you can be mean when people irritate you. Like when you kicked Jared out when you first met him.”
“I kicked Jared out because I was annoyed and scared.”
“Why were you scared?” asked Jamie as the previews started.
“Because I liked him and that really scared me because I didn’t want to get hurt by dating. I hadn’t dated anyone since Mommy died and I was scared.”
“Thankfully he’s tinishous,” said Jamie with a smile.
“Great word, but it’s said tenacious.” Jamie repeated it a few times as Jensen clicked through the DVD menus to actually start the movie.
“Daddy?” asked Jamie sounding thoughtful.
“Yes, baby?”
“Why do Chris and Steve pretend that they aren’t dating?”
Jensen sighed, “Y’know, I love it when you ask me questions because it makes me feel so smart that I can answer them. But that’s a hard one… most of their fans like them because they’re handsome. And those fans have crushes on them. It’s harder to be a heartthrob when you’re gay. Fans like to pretend that if they met you, you would fall in love with them. When they know you’re gay they can’t pretend that. Chris and Steve don’t have any kids, and they don’t mind keeping it a secret. They like being heartthrobs and it’s not important to them that people know the truth.”
“Do you wish people didn’t know you’re gay?”
“I didn’t want them to know when I was seventeen; I wasn’t ready for them to know. But now? I have you and I have Jared and I would never want you to have to keep a secret and I wouldn’t want to teach you to hide who you are. So, no, I don’t care that they know I’m gay even though sometimes people are mean but I do understand why Chris and Steve keep it a secret.” Then, as Gru was introduced, Jensen started to sing along with the song.
Jamie laughed, “I bet the people at the Oscars thought you were joking when you said you liked this song.”
“It’s my theme tune, baby.”
~~~
CONTINUE