There’s a pregnant silence that falls between us. All that’s heard is the crackling of the fire and the faint background activity around us at the campground. Moments tick by, so many questions in the air—all left unspoken. It grows heavy, becoming uncomfortable.
I break the silence first. “How are you both feeling about all this?” I ask the boys. “I know it’s a lot, and all three of us are open to whatever questions you might have about this. I’m sure you’ve both got plenty.”
“Um, like, how does this all work, I guess?” Cameron stammers, finally taking a seat across from us.
Caleb slips his hand out of Marcus’. Taking the lead, he replies, “Well, as you know, I met Lauren quite a few times over the past couple of years, whenever she would be assigned my interpreter for appointments. Things just started snowballing from there, you know? And like I told you before, I actually dated Marcus years ago, before I met Aaron. What I didn’t know was that they were, well, kind of married to each other.”
Brody’s head snaps around to look at me. “You and Dad aren’t married,” he notes.
I run my fingers through his hair. “I know, baby. Not on paper anyway, but you know Dad and I always joke around about being married. We’ve been together for so long, it’s just easier to call him my husband.”
Brody nods. “Yeah. You do call each other husband and wife a lot.”
Marcus grins."I don't need a fancy certificate to solidify how I feel…"
Caleb continues, “Marcus and I have decided to give us another shot as well. I know that this isn’t typical of most relationships, to have more than one at the same time, but my heart couldn’t choose, Cam. Just like it never chose to give up on your papa either. I’ve done some real soul-searching, and I felt it best to just stop trying to look at it like one love replaces another. It doesn’t and it can’t. Each of these relationships has a special place in my heart. All different, but all very worthy of trying to build upon, if that makes sense.”
“It does,” Cameron agrees, nodding.
“What else have you got for questions,” Marcus goes on. “Hit us with whatever ya got.” He pats his chest, like he’s ready to take them on.
“Do I have to call you Dad too?” Brody asks Caleb.
Caleb shakes his head. “You don’t have to call me anything you’re not comfortable with. I’m not trying to take his place.” He tilts his head at Marcus. “All I know is that I look forward to getting to know you better. Your mom and dad both love you tremendously, so I’ve heard a lot about how awesome you are by word of mouth, but—if you want, and whatever feels right for you, I’d welcome more opportunities to hang out with you.”
Brody beams, and that right there melts my heart.
“Are we, like, all moving in together or something?” Cameron asks next.
Caleb offers him a soft smile. “Not right now, no. This is all too new. Nothing like that has even been discussed yet, since we wanted to tell you and Brody first. I would anticipate spending more time together, though, at either of our places.”
Marcus nods, then turns to Caleb. “It’ll have to be mostly at the Ant Farm, however. No offense, but Double C Ranch is kind of tiny for all of us.”
“Ooh! Does that mean we can have some sleepovers with Pepper?!” Brody chirps.
“If I come over and spend the night, yeah,” Cameron replies.
Brody whips his head back to look at me. “Mom! We have that spare bedroom next to mine that we only use when Grumpa and Gran come up from Pennsylvania. Can that be Cameron’s room?!” The excitement in his eyes at the prospect of not being the only child in the house has my heart set to burst.
I chuckle nervously, hating the fact that I’m going to have to let him down gently. “Why don’t we cross that bridge when we get there, hun,” I tell him.
“So, you’re not—upset about this at all, Brody?” Marcus asks.
Brody shakes his head. “I think it’s cool. I like hanging out with Cameron.”
Cameron grins. “Yeah, we get along pretty well, I’d say.”
“Cam,” Caleb signs. “How about you? Is this okay with you? Be honest. If you want to wait until later to talk about it privately, that’s totally fine too.”
Cameron shrugs. “You already know I was cool with you and Lauren dating.”
“Yeah, but Marcus too?”
“I mean, yeah. I don’t know either of you terribly well,” he notes, his eyes flicking between Marcus and me. “But I’m sure that’ll be changing in the near future.” He turns his attention back to Caleb. “I just want to see you happy again, Dad. That means everything to me. As long as you’re happy with this, I have absolutely no complaints. Honest to God.”
Caleb narrows his eyes at him. “You’re atheist.”
“I’magnostic,” Cameron corrects him. “There’s a difference. One disbelieves, the other doesn’t know what to believe. Whatever, I’m not about to delve into religion right now. The truth is, I really am fine with it.”
