Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
As he began to drift off, I stroked his wispy blond hair and whispered, “I love you, angel baby. Happy birthday.” His eyelids grew heavy, and he fell asleep soon after.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him sleep. He really did look like the most perfect little cherub. Then I picked up the baby monitor and flipped the on-switch as I turned toward the door.
Lucky was leaning against the doorframe, and he said, “Hi there.”
“Hi yourself.”
“I wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything.”
I closed the distance between us and said, “Just this,” as I wrapped my arms around him.
He gave me a big hug and kissed my forehead. Then he took my hand and said, “Come on, let’s get you something to eat,” before leading me downstairs to the kitchen. I was so hungry that I wolfed down the plate of food he’d set aside for me and washed it down with a big piece of birthday cake.
Once I finished eating, we returned to the living room so I could open my gifts. I selected the big bag from Yolanda and JoJo first, which had an embellished portrait of Santa Claus on it. It contained exactly what JoJo had described, and she grinned at me and yelled, “Surprise!”
“This is wonderful, and I like the festive gift bag,” I told them.
JoJo raised her wine glass in a toast and said, “Reduce, reuse, recycle.”
Next up was a card from Kel and Eliot. “We found it in the Castro,” Kel explained. “Because really, where else are you going to get a card for daddies?”
There was a photo of a sexy silver fox on it with the caption, “Hi, Daddy!” Inside was a gift card to a local coffee house, and they’d written: You need this more than anyone we know. Hugs, roomie.
The three remaining boxes were from Lark and Dylan. My brother rushed over and piled them on my lap. Then he sat beside me on the floor and bounced excitedly while I opened them.
The first box contained a stylish black athletic jacket and pants, and Lark said, “That’s actually what people run in, or so I’m told. God knows I have no desire to get out there and sweat and dash about, but you seem to like it. Save Yo-Jo’s sweats for cozy evenings at home.”
I grinned at his “celebrity” mash up name for our friends and said, “Thank you. These are now the nicest things I own.”
Dylan said, “There’s also a gift card in there somewhere for new running shoes. Yours are falling apart and need to be burned. That’s something you really need to try on, so we’ll take you to the shoe store whenever you’re ready, and you can pick out what you want.”
I tried to stop my voice from shaking with emotion as I said, “You already spent way too much on me, and there are still two boxes to open.”
“The other two are just small stuff,” Lark told me.
I unwrapped the next box and found it was totally stuffed with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, in every size they came in. “I hope you still like those,” Lark said. “They used to be your favorite. You’d get so excited whenever someone gave you one on Halloween.”
It was even harder to keep my voice steady as I whispered, “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Of course I do.”
“You loved them too, but you always gave me yours,” I said. “Trick-or-treating was the only time all year we got candy, which was your favorite thing on earth.” I took a king-size pack out of the box and handed it to Lark as I told him, “You were such a good big brother.”
“Don’t you do it.” His dark eyes shone with tears, and he shook his head. “Don’t you make me cry in front of Hal and Lucky. They don’t know I’m a total sap.”
“It’s your own fault for being this thoughtful,” I said with a smile.
I might have been able to hold it together, if it wasn’t for the last gift. Lark had painted a wooden frame with stars and rainbows. It held a picture of Owen and me, surrounded by Lark and Dylan, and Yolanda and JoJo, and Kel and Eliot. JoJo’s photographer friend had snapped it the month before, when she was taking engagement photos of the fiancées in the backyard.
At the top of the frame, glittery letters spelled out the word family.
As tears stung my eyes, I grabbed my brother in a hug and whispered, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Logan.”
It took us a minute or two to get our emotions in check. After we finally let go of each other, I looked around the room at my housemates and said, “I want to thank you not just for today, but for opening your home and your hearts to Owen and me. Given the way I grew up, the idea of family always carried a lot of pain and mixed emotions. But you’ve shown me what a family is supposed to be, in the best and most beautiful sense of the word. I’m so glad all of you are a part of my life, and I’m incredibly grateful that my son gets to grow up surrounded by this much love, kindness, and acceptance.”