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Dad. He’d used the singular. I knew he didn’t mean anything by it, but it stung that he’d excluded Samuel. But how could I be upset with him? In his eyes, life had moved on, and the reality was that he only had one dad left. One benefit of being a kid was that things were so much less complicated.
“Dads,” Gabe corrected him, his tone gentle but firm. I wasn’t surprised he’d picked up on my reaction. Gabe had always been sensitive to people’s emotions. “Both our dads are gay.”
Josiah turned his head sharply toward me. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Dad.”
I ruffled his hair. “I know, buddy. No harm done.”
“Who else has joined?” York asked, and bless him for that because he wouldn’t recognize any of the names anyway.
“Violet Frant,” Josiah said.
“Auden’s daughter,” I said. “Well, Auden and Keaton’s now. She’s fourteen.”
“We’re friends,” Gabe said. “She’s really nice.”
Josiah rattled off some more names. “So it’s only the eight of us now, but there will be more, I think.”
“Statistically, there should be more queer kids in our school,” Gabe said. “I hope they’ll have the courage to join.”
“It’s a great initiative,” York said. “I’m sure over time, more kids will feel safe to become a member.”
After dinner, the boys cleared away a big bowl of ice cream while we chatted. Their appetites shouldn’t surprise me anymore, but every now and then, I was still amazed at what they could pack away. “Okay, boys. Time to do the dishes, and then you can go upstairs to your rooms.”
York and I settled in the living room while my sons loaded the dishwasher and washed the pans by hand. Loading and unloading the dishwasher was one of their chores, and they also took care of the garbage, cleaned their rooms, and mowed the lawn. I could only do so much by myself, and I didn’t think it was bad for kids to take on some responsibility.
“They’re such great kids,” York said. Dressed in my black training pants and an old T-shirt, he pulled up his legs and made himself comfortable in the loveseat Samuel and I had shared countless times.
“Thank you. Things were rough for a while, but I think they’ve found their footing again.”
“Rough?”
I sighed. “Some nasty business with Byron, Keaton’s oldest son. He said some mean things to Gabe, but that’s all in the past now. Seems he’s turned a new corner and is slowly adapting to small-town life.”
“It’s not for everyone, living here. I’d go stir-crazy.”
“I can imagine that, if only because you’d never find a job here.”
York shrugged. “I work a lot from home, so that’s not the issue. It’s just that there’s not much to do here… How do you even hook up?”
Well, there was an easy segue. “Speaking of hooking up…”
His eyes lit up. “Oh, tell me more.”
York was straight, but he’d always been a staunch ally. “I asked Tomás to have sex.”
“Tomás Banner?” York’s eyes had almost comically widened to saucers.
“Do we know another Tomás?”
“Jesus Christ, Fir, how the hell did you come to that decision?”
“I ran into him at Brianna’s, and I figured he had the same challenge as me, trying to find someone local to hook up with. So I thought I’d make him an offer.”
York quirked an eyebrow. “You made him an offer he couldn’t refuse?” he said in a poor imitation of Marlon Brando’s accent.
I laughed. “I wish. He turned me down flat.”
“You’re kidding me.”
