Age 12-
“Hi, Alexander! I’m Martha and this is George! We adopted you and we really want you to be at home with us so please tell us if there’s anything we can do!” Martha said cheerfully.
George smiled at the boy and tried to take his bag.
The twelve year old flinches and holds his belongings closer.
“Let me take you to your room, hm?” George says warmly.
Alexander nods carefully.
The second George is downstairs, Martha slaps her forehead in frustration.
“‘We adopted you!’ Of course he knew that, why else would he be at our house?” Martha hisses, beating herself up some more.
George grabs her hand before she can cause herself to bruise. “It’s ok. He just needs to adjust and so do we. It’ll be fine.”
Age 13-
“Thanks, mom, dad,” Alexander says.
George, Martha, and Alexander all freeze.
“Oh my god, I’m so sor-” Alexander starts but is interrupted when Martha grabs the boy in the tightest hug he had ever been in.
Martha was crying and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a while,” George says, also joining the hug.
“I have to tell you something,” Alexander finally says.
“What?” Martha questions.
“I think I might be bisexual,” Alexander said in a quiet voice after a moment of hesitation.
His voice is so small.
But George just shrugs it off. “Oh, we knew.”
Alexander gawks at him. “You did?”
“You have it written all over your face, darling,” Martha cooed, pinching his cheeks.
Alexander would never admit it, but he did tear up a bit at the blatant acceptance.
Age 14-
“No! Dad, I’m being bullied!” Alexander shrieks, tearing through the kitchen.
He ends up slipping and skidding into the door to the office.
John peeks out from the doorway and cackles as he sees how Alexander has fallen.
Lafayette was wheezing but helped Alexander up.
Hercules was looking to the ceiling, desperately trying not to laugh.
“No running with socks,” George comments from the side.
“Gee, thanks, I didn’t notice,” Alexander says dryly.
“Who wants pie!” Martha yells from the kitchen.
“Pity pies, Alexander,” John says.
Alexander elbows his side.
“Nice alliteration,” Hercules notes.
“Non, do not bring that fille démoniaque’s lessons close to something as holy as pie,” Lafayette threatens.
“Not our fault you can’t English,” Alexander grumbles.
Alexander had a huge bruise on his side for a week.
George and Martha never laughed so hard before.
Age 15 -
“I call bull! That’s my estate!” Peggy shrieks.
“Pay your taxes, Mulligan!” George yells.
“That’s my piece, Maria,” Martha chides.
“BETRAYAL! ANGELICA, YOU MONSTER!” Alexander screams.
“Cheater! Eliza, the saint, is a cheater!” John cries.
“I WIN!” Aaron finally screams.
The house is silent.
“Damn it, it’s always the quiet ones,” Peggy grumbles.
“Stupid monopoly. I never win,” Eliza pouts.
George just scowls. “How the hell does the president of the United States fail to buy the White House?”
Martha pats his arm condescendingly. “Better luck in four years.”
Age 16-
“Alexander, what happened?” Martha says, rushing to meet him in the office.
Alexander’s nose wrinkles. “Mom, I’m fine.”
“Your dad’s the president!” Charles Lee yells.
Seabury scoffs. “Doesn’t change the fact that he’s a no good immigrant that should go back to the shit hole he was raised in.”
Alexander scowls.
The principal clears his throat. “Mr. President, Alexander attacked these kids unprovoked and-”
“Oh no,” George interrupts, eyes aflame but voice steady. “I know what happened. I’ll be sure to mention this school’s teaching ethic to my dear journalists when they ask how my son is doing.”
The principal pales. “Sir, that’s not necessary and-”
“Oh, but it is,” Martha replies cooly. “Let’s go Alexander.”
Alexander flips everyone in the office out before trailing behind his adoptive parents.
“How much trouble am I in?” Alexander asks.
George pretends to look mad. “You’ll only be getting one slice of pie for dessert.”
Alexander gasps in fake pain. “You wouldn’t!”
Martha smiles at their antics but her eyes were serious. “Alexander, what they said was wrong, but you shouldn’t hit people when they call you names.”
Alexander purses his lips. “It wasn’t about me. They called my mom a whore.”
George's grip tightens on the wheel.
Martha’s eyes softened. “I’m sure Rachel Black Faucette was a wonderful woman.”
Alexander blinks in surprise. “Oh….her. For some reason, when he said mom, I thought of you and I just lost it.”
Martha’s smile is positively blinding.
Age 17-
“Alexander’s got a crush!” Eliza sing songs.
“Shut up!” Alexander yells.
“Alex and Thomas, sitting in a tree,” John sings.
“G - A - G - G - I - N - G,” Angelica says, making a face.
“You can’t say that, you’re dating Aaron!” Peggy accuses.
“You’re dating Maria,” Angelica shoots back defensively.
Peggy squawks in indignation.
“Hush!” Lafayette yells.
“Ok, Mr. I’m-Polyamorous-and-dating-John-and-Hercules,” Maria snorts.
“Maria throwin’ shade!” Hercules teases.
“SHUT UP! The most important part is Alexander has a crush,” Aaron said seriously.
The rest nod solemnly as Alexander turns three different shades of red.
“So, who is this Thomas?” Martha asks, genuinely curious.
Alexander buries his face in a couch pillow.
Suddenly it clicks for George.
“YOU LIKE THOMAS JEFFERSON!?”
Age 18-
“Do all of you really have to go to New York?” Martha asks from the Virginian airport.
Alexander smiles and hugs her and George. “Yeah. We’ll visit often, promise.”
Peggy nods. “I’m gonna miss your pies, Mrs. Washington.”
“I’m gonna miss Monopoly,” Hercules says before running away so George couldn’t yell at him.
“Movie nights are where it’s at, y’all,” John says.
“I have to agree with John,” Aaron says, nodding.
Angelica shrugged. “I preferred going to that Starbucks on the corner of third.”
Maria snorts. “The workers know our schedule and orders so well, I’m forgetting what I order. I just pay and wait for it to come.”
Eliza laughs. “Remember the argument we had about immigrants?”
Peggy cackles. “Lafayette was called ‘Lafayeet’ for a week for jumping off the counter yelling ‘Vive la Révolution!”
George chuckles. “He broke his wrist on the ceiling.”
“If you guys are done verbally assaulting me, let’s go,” Lafayette calls.
Everyone laughs.
Age 22-
“All of them in the government. Just like you,” Martha said in awe.
George nods, not able to believe the news either.
But there, on the stage, stood all those kids that Martha and George watched grow up.
And now they were helping their country grow.
And George and Martha couldn’t be prouder.
Age 24 -
“You look amazing, Alexander,” Martha said, tears welling up,
Alexander flushes and Eliza fixes his tie again. “Really?”
George nods. “Really, really. Thomas is lucky to marry you.”
“Damn straight he is,” Angelica says.
“It took long enough for them to admit their feelings though,” James complains.
“Shouldn’t you be helping Thomas?” Peggy asks.
“Nah, we’re waiting on Alexander,” James says.
“But no pressure,” Maria remarks sarcastically, rushing to finish Alexander's hair.
“There, done,” Eliza praises.
George holds his arm out. “Shall we?”
Alexander laughs, hooking his arm through George’s. “We shall.”
Martha had never cried more than when she saw George leading Alexander down the aisle to Thomas.
Age 26-
“Guys, could me and Thomas have your attention?” Alexander says one day at Thanksgiving.
“Depends, how much are you paying?” Peggy asks.
Maria elbows her.
“You have it,” James promises.
“We have decided that we will be adopting a little boy named Philip. He’s 3 years old and he lost his parents in a car accident,” Thomas explains.
Martha and George gaped as everyone congratulated the married couple.
“We’re gonna be grandparents,” Martha squealed, hugging the two men close.
Thomas laughs and Alexander struggles to breath in the tight grip of his mother.
“I can’t breathe,” Alexander wheezes.
“I can,” Thomas says.
Martha lets them go.
“That’s because she can’t reach your ribs to crush them,” Alexander grumbled, hugging George.
“Ah, sorry, I forgot that you were tiny,” Thomas teases.
The whole table laughs as Alexander huffs in irritation.
Alexander stopped complaining when Thomas kissed the pout off his lips.
Age 27-
“Grandma, Grandpa,” Philip shrieked, tackling his grandparents.
A tired looking Thomas and Alexander follow the excited boy.
“You two look terrible,” Martha notes with concern.
“Thanks,” Alexander says dryly.
Thomas lets out a wry smile. “Work had been rather stressful and John Adams really doesn’t know when to shut his trap.”
George gives them an apologetic look.
He knew all about shitty politicians.
“Well, enjoy your vacation to France. We’ll take care of Philip for you. But where is Mary?” George says kindly, wondering about the whereabouts of his other grandchild.
“Thank you,” Thomas said gratefully. “Mary wanted to spend time with Grandpa Peter and Grandma Jane.”
Alexander winces. “She wouldn’t stop screaming about it.”
“Daddy, go!” Philip yells, pushing Thomas towards the car.
He then comes back and tugs on Alexander’s hand. “Bye bye, papa!”
“See you in a week!” Martha called.
“BYE!” Philip screams.
George chuckles an picks up the little boy and waves Thomas and Alexander goodbye.
That night, Martha sat leaning on George’s shoulder, holding a picture of all the kids when they were 18.
Alexander was on Thomas’s shoulders, hanging rainbow streamers everywhere at the Pride Parade.
He couldn't reach the higher places so he bullied Thomas into carrying him on his shoulders.
Peggy was screeching about crocs on elephants behind Maria, who was waving around a lesbian flag.
Eliza was cackling as Angelica got hit with a hose held by John.
Aaron and James were engaged in a very intense food fight of popcorn.
Aaron had gotten most in his shirt but James managed to catch most in his mouth.
Lafayette was flaunting his gay flag cape as Hercules was throwing rainbow confetti everywhere.
Martha and George had been watching with fond smiles and taking videos and pictures.
They had decided to frame this one though.
And they couldn’t wait to have one with all of the children of the people in this picture.