“Okay.”
“And when everyone has gone back, later. We’ll come back here, and we’ll have a cup of tea and watch something on TV. Relax.”
“Slippers,” I said. It always made Dad Fox laugh.
“Slippers, and no getting out of it, Noah. Bailey and I bought you slippers, and you have to wear them.”
“They’re scary.”
Of course they were. They had claws and plastic teeth bits, and I’d chosen them. I knew Dad liked them; he was just teasing us.
“Okay,” I said. “And then we’re going on holiday.”
“Yes. Grandma and Granddad and you and me and Fox.”
“All of us. And it’s your honeymoon.”
“Yes, because we won’t leave you behind, and it’s mid-term break and Grandma and Granddad want to come. We’ll have a beach and two little houses, and we can all stay there together and we’ll be right in the water. Remember? There’ll be a slide from the terrace straight into the sea. And we’re going on a plane.”
“Crazy.” It was. Just the thought of it made me nervous.
“It will be great, Bay. Because we’ll all be together, and you’ll have a lot of fun. The food will be great, and Granddad is taking you to play golf and it will be hot.”
“Sun cream.”
“Slippers. No burning your feet.”
“Because then you can’t walk.”
“Nope.”
“And you can ask for food and snacks whenever you want.”
“Okay.”
“And it’s a honeymoon. And it’s what you do after you get married.”
“Yup. It’s a proper honeymoon. You’ll love it. Promise.”
“Bay, you’re really good at being our kid, you know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” I did. I was okay at it. Still learning, but I was good. “And you two dad good.”
“We do, don’t we?”
Then he took my hand. And my dads…they were right. We were quite good at this. All of us. Family. It was just as great as I thought it would be.
Fox
Had I had concerns? Of course I had, but then in the end, as always, my instincts had been right. I’d known, from the very first day. The first look. That glance from across the room.
A crowded restaurant where the music was too loud, and he’d just looked at me, and all I’d seen had been…
I couldn’t even put it into words. Just that the man who had looked at me had been mine. And that was something I’d never even told Noah, because it sounded crazy, but I’d known. He was mine. Always would be.
I’d known, when he’d taken me inside and tried to soothe my burns. I’d known when he’d let me rest in his bed. And I knew today when I’d said I do, because I did. I did love him, and I would have always said it. I did. Hewas mine, and now he was my husband and whatever got thrown in my way? He’d be there. I would too. And now we were dads too.
Well, fuck-a-duck. I didn’t say that bit out loud. Instead, I just smiled, standing here cutting a cake. A big over-the-top cake to feed a hundred boys and a bunch of teachers and Noah’s people who were now…our people.
