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“What’s this?” Saint asks, but there’s a strange gleam in his eyes, like he knows. I’m clueless as I poke at the shape under the paper. “You already gave me a present, bud.”
Owen shrugs and scuffs his toe against the carpet, not quite looking at either of us. “Yeah, well, this one is special.”
“Who should go first?” Saint asks.
“Pop.” Owen says.
Meg reaches up from her spot on the floor amongst the discarded wads of paper and squeezes her brother’s hand. They’re so damn sweet together. I’m not sure why she thinks he needs the support, but I carefully peel the wrappings from a rainbow striped, felted parrot ornament. The bird is wearing an eye patch and a pirate hat at a jaunty angle. It’s as cheery and colorful as the kid offering it to me.
I glance between the flag and my kiddo. “Yeah? Is this to upgrade your pirate flag?”
He nods, ducking his head bashfully. “I ordered it from Miss Tina at the market. So…” He shrugs and gestures at the rainbow ornament, then shoots up some jazz hands. “Surprise? I’m pretty sure I’m gay.”
“Cool, thanks for letting me know. I love you, kiddo.” I stand and pull him into a hug, not surprised in the least. It’s still beyond gratifying to hear him say the words. For him to know himself and be comfortable sharing with me, I must be doing something right with this parenting thing. Instead of barraging him with questions that he might not want to answer—especially in front of Meg and Saint—I bite my lip. “No matter what.”
“I know, Pop. That’s why I told you.” Owen sighs, rolls his shoulders and turns to face Saint. “Did Pop tell you about the ornaments?”
“That they’re a coming out tradition for your family?” Saint asks, gesturing toward the tree.
I’m pretty sure I know what’s in Saint’s present now. And I can’t help tensing at the message the kids are sending with that gift. They’re inviting him into my favorite of our traditions. One that I hope lets them know they are safe, loved, and accepted all year round. For every part of themselves that they chose to share with me and for all the parts they aren’t ready to share yet. They are inviting him into our family every bit as much as I did by agreeing to have our Christmas with him tonight. And they got that gift for him before Saint and I even made things official.
“Yeah. Sort of. They mean that you’re family for keeps.” Owen sums it up perfectly. “So, since you know, you can open that one now. It was my idea, because of what we talked about in your kick-ass car, but Meg agreed that we should give it to you. Mikey’s mom helped me to paint it before their party on Friday.”
Saint hesitates, and I hope the reality of my kids seeing him as family doesn’t scare him away. It did at Eliza’s party not two days ago. But we discussed his reservations, and he said he’s okay with this. Fuck, I hope this doesn’t make it too real and scare him away. His eyes are wide and bright as he gives me a beseeching look over the present. My heart is pounding so hard it seems like it might burst right out of my chest if he reacts poorly to my kids’ gesture.
“Go on, open it,” I say, trying to keep things light, even as my heart is in my throat waiting for his reaction to this emotional escalation. We discussed that I won’t ask for more than he has to give, but is this too much for him?
“One of us,” Meg chants slowly.
“One of us!” Owen takes up the words. The two of them repeat it three more times before Saint chuckles as he slits open the tape. He withdraws an aro flag ornament that makes my breath catch in my throat.
“Guess this makes me officially one of you?” He holds it up with a grin that makes all the laugh lines I love around his eyes crinkle. Fuck, I love him.
“Come on, let’s put both of these on the tree and make it officially official. Shall we, Owen?” Saint gestures.
I hand Owen the rainbow parrot so the two of them can hang their ornaments next to the ones that are already there. The array of pride flags, handprints, and every other important moment memorialized amongst the lights. Meg grins at me as we watch Owen and Saint adjust the placement of the final two ornaments and then turn to face us just as the kitchen timer trills.
“Perfect timing.” Saint grins. “Who’s ready to eat?”
“I’m starving!” Owen turns toward the kitchen.
“I could eat. Dinner smells pretty good,” Meg agrees, following her brother into Saint’s kitchen.
Saint hangs back to wrap an arm around me and steal a kiss next to the tree. “So, guess they’re keeping me?”
“Yes. We’re all keeping you.” I loop my arms around Saint’s neck and indulge in one more lingering Christmas kiss.
He makes my knees weak. I cling to the man I’ve been falling in love with more every Thursday for years until the kids call for us to feed them. The very ordinariness of that feels miraculous, and I am going to enjoy every ordinary second the four of us have together.
We sit around Saint’s table together after helping him set it with the food he prepared. It could be awkward, but Owen breaks the tension by singing about the potatoes. That gets Saint laughing and singing along as we all fix our plates. Meg rolls her eyes at their antics, but she can’t quite hide her smile.
Saint’s eyes meet mine as he sings into his spoon. He rocks out with Owen like he’s not new to the whole ‘nurturing young minds’ gig, and I swear my heart might just explode at how sweet he is with my kids. Watching them together, I’m certain this is going to work.
As we’re eating, Owen asks if he can have a ride in Saint’s car later. Which somehow segues into Meg grilling Saint about his job and what he actually does all day. And before my eyes, my kids are getting to know the other most important person in my life. It makes me so damn grateful and proud of them. They could have let Trevor derail the rest of our day, instead we enjoy a delicious meal.
After the food and a quick video chat with Marcus for our families to wish each other a merry Christmas, Owen demands to watch Rudolph for his annual sing-along. Saint volunteers to help him gather snacks while Meg goes to see what Saint has for streaming services. She gets the show cued up.
Saint and Owen’s snack expedition turns up two tins of cookies, what little Saint still has of Gran’s fudge that I gave him, and a bag of popcorn. Saint texts Carl an invite for him and Nick to join us after their visit with Nick’s mom. We don’t wait for them to start the movie though.
