“What’s up, Dad?”
The “Dad emotions” warred in my chest, because part of me wanted to shield them from any worry and was demanding I make things better immediately. The rest of me knew I just needed to tell them and deal with the fallout, big or small, after that.
“You guys have noticed that Oak has been hanging out a lot with us, right? Well, part of that is because he likes us and wants to spend time with us. But the other part is….” Okay, there were the nerves. I took a deep breath. “The other part is because Oak is my boyfriend.”
Utter and complete silence. Which I didn’t think I’d ever heard from my kids before. But it only lasted a few seconds.
Tris’ face scrunched up. “Does that mean you kiss him and stuff?”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, just because of the disgust on his face. He still thought kissing was gross. “Yeah, we kiss and stuff. We like each other, and we talk about our days and hang out. We go to places together and hold hands. Just like Uncle Charlie and Uncle Teague. Or Aunt Nic and Auntie Dana.”
Marlie was twirling her hair, so I pinned my gaze on her and waited for her to speak. “Like you used to do with Mommy.”
Oh hell. She hadn’t pulled out the mommy in a long time. Too old for that. Cait was Mom all of the time now, so to hear that word in my baby girl’s voice was a little heartbreaking.
“Yeah, Mom and I used to do that. Before we realized we were better as friends.” I purposefully used the phrasing Cait and I had used when we explained to the kids that we were getting a divorce. But I had to make one thing clear, guessing where her mind was going. “But it’s different with Oak. Not better or worse, just different. We like each other in a different way.”
“Cause he’s a boy?” Tris asked.
“No, not because he’s a boy. Because he’s Oak. Because of who he is on the inside. We have a different kind of connection.”
Tris nodded like that made all sorts of sense. Then ruined it a moment later when he asked, “What’s different?”
Damn. Kid was too intuitive for his own good. I had to think a second, running through about a hundred different scenarios in my head. It was hard to be age appropriate and still give them enough detail. I finally decided on saying, “That’s for me and Oak to know, because that’s private to our relationship. It’s not anything you need to worry about. The important part for you guys to know is that we care about each other very much and that we’re dating. Oak will be around a lot, and you might see us kiss or hug. What do you think about that?”
“I like it. Dad, can I have dessert?”
I chuckled at Tristan and shooed him off. “Aunt Regan left cupcakes, and you can have one. Only one, you got it?”
“Got it!” Tris jumped down and raced toward the counter and the box of goodies. I turned to Marlie.
“Whatcha thinking, baby girl?”
Marlie shrugged. “I like Oak. He’s nice and he helps us. I guess it’s okay if you kiss him and stuff.”
I smiled at her. But there was one kid left, and she’d been incredibly quiet this whole time. “Harper?”
She hopped up and wouldn’t look at me. “You do you, Dad. May I be excused? I have some homework.”
Without waiting for me to answer, she crossed into the kitchen to drop her plate in the sink and then speed walked away and up the stairs. I blew out a breath. That was the first time, to my knowledge, that she’d ever lied to me. I knew her homework was done, because she was a stickler for doing it immediately. Dammit.
“Marlie, you can have a cupcake too, if you want one. And then will you put a movie on for you and Tris? I need to talk to your sister.”
Marlie nodded, twirling her hair, but she didn’t look too upset. “Okay.”
“Thanks.” I kissed the top of her head then left the room, heading straight up to Harper’s.
She hadn’t shut the door, which was somewhat of a surprise. I knocked on the frame, not wanting to barge in. Harper had her back to me, sitting at her desk, and didn’t acknowledge my knock.
“Harper Charlotte?”
She let out a disgusted noise, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I was sure she rolled her eyes. “What?”
Given the situation, I let the attitude slide. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t wanna talk,” she grumbled, all her ire clear in her tone.
“Fair enough. How about you just listen?” I took her silence as assent, and though I desperately wanted to go in there, I respected her space and leaned against the jamb instead. “It’s clear you’re upset. And whatever you’re feeling is your right to feel. I’m not gonna try to tell you what you should think orfeel. But I gotta say, I’m surprised. I didn’t think you’d have a problem with me dating a man.”
