I’m just pulling the cake out of the oven when Cam arrives home after drama club. Lauren arrives right after, having just put in another day at her new job—which she is pumped about, by the way. I love that she is finally getting a chance to feel a little at peace by doing the work she does now. She feels like she’s helping those who are hurting in silence by offering them hope that someone they’re working with has been through what they have.
Brody pops out of his room, nose high in the air. Pepper follows suit, his little nose also sniffing out the prospect of some tasty treat. “Is that cake?” he asks me. “Who’s that for?”
I smile, setting it out to cool. Then, I sign, “It is cake, your nose does not deceive you. And it’s for your dad.”
Brody’s brows knit. “It’s not his birthday…”
I chuckle. “And this isn’t birthday cake,” I note, pulling out a few tubs of wildly colored frosting from my shopping bag. “Do you want to help me frost it after supper? That way the cake has had time to cool?”
“Yeah!” Brody cheers.
“What’s it for then?” Lauren asks me, wrapping her arm around my waist and pecking me on my cheek. “All of our Christmas goodies have already been made…”
“I figured Marcus deserved a little congratulatory treat for coming out today.” I beam.
Lauren leans over and spies the several dishes with leftover bits of rainbow colored batter in them, soaking in the sink. She giggles. “Oh my god, Caleb. Is this aPridecake? Is that even a thing?!”
I pop a shoulder. “If it wasn’t a thing before, it is now. It's something that Gannett joked about once, and the idea stuck with me, I guess.”
She smiles at me. “He’s going to love it. WhereisMarco, anyway?”
“I made up some lame excuse about forgetting something at the grocery store when we were there earlier and sent him back out for it so I could surprise him when he got back.”
She leans in and whispers in my ear, “I hope it was lube, because we’re nearly out.”
I blink. “No. You might want to text him quickly and let him know to grab that too.”
She grabs her phone and sits down at the island, multitasking by slipping out of her heels at the same time. “So, fill me in. How did Marcus come out? Who did he tell? Did he just admit to you two, or me as well?”
I tap the counter, noting that she is still looking at her phone. She glances up at me. “Oh, sorry,” she says sheepishly.
“He told Gannett at work today. He told him we’re a throuple.”
Lauren bites the inside of her cheek nervously. “And how did he take it?”
“Really well, actually. Took him a minute to wrap his head around it, but—”
Lauren snorts. “Only a minute? Come on, this is Gannett we’re talking about…”
I smirk. “He’s not as stupid as everyone seems to think he is, Lauren. Sometimes, I think it’s all just an act so he can avoid getting out of more serious conversations or something…”
Her head wobbles. “Fair, I guess. I really only have his ex-wife’s side of things when it comes to him. Like it or not, Sarah’s a bit biased.”
“He’s changing lately. Really making strides to show up for his girls. Trying to stay sober. I gotta hand it to him, he’s putting in the work.”
“That’s good. That’s awesome, really,” she muses.
“Oh,” I tell her. “I have a meeting set up with the lawyer after New Year’s, so we can start discussing everything about how we’re going to navigate getting custody of Aaron back. I know you’re still the rookie at your job, and that you once told me you couldn’t be my personal interpreter, but do you think—”
Lauren holds her hand up. “Say no more. I’ll be there. You give me the date, and I’ll put in for the time off. Whatever you need.”
“You’re such a softie, you know that?”
“You tell anyone, and I'll poison your drinking water.”
I wince.
She cackles. “That’s what I thought…” She sighs, looking around the Ant Farm and how it appears that a Christmas-themed novelty shop threw up in here. “Now, can we enjoy a brief moment of silence together before all the chaos that comes with tomorrow?”
