“Put. The phone. Down,” Xander growled. “If you text Julian one more time, I think he’s going to do you bodily harm.”
“I wasn’t texting Julian,” I argued.
“He’ll know if you text Logan or the kids,” he warned. It was probably true, but I had no other option. Unlike my sister, Julian had declared that nobody would send me hourly updates on how the kitten was faring. Despite the strides that had been made in technology in the past decade, Tommy and I couldn’t find any phones that dogs could use. There weren’t even any Kickstarter campaigns.
Xander, Chance, Dani, and I were having a slumber party while Tommy and Greg went on their fishing trip. The two younger Moore brothers volunteered to gather the teens and all our pets for a sleepover of their own. They all assured me it would be fine and Frankie and Izzy would have fun, but that didn’t stop me from worrying.
“What if there’s a feline-canine standoff going on? What if–”
“Julian’s taken care of Izzy for weeks and Logan raised two kittens himself,” Chance reminded me. I restrained myself from pointing out that raising two demon-cats was not a mark in his new husband’s favor. “And you know our pets formed some sort of peace treaty when Logan’s cats took Izzy under their wing. It’s one night. Here — eat another Dream Bar and stop worrying.”
He handed me one of Logan’s culinary masterpieces and I took a large bite to prevent any further arguments from passing my lips. It also gave me plenty of time to respond when Xander asked, “So what’s going on with you and Tommy? You guys were acting a little weird last weekend.”
“Weirder than usual,” Chance amended, as though their relationships were normal. “What did you do?”
“Everything’s fine,” I squeaked. Yeah, that was credible. I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “We’re doing fine. I just get insecure sometimes.”
“Tommy was the one sending off insecure vibes,” Dani said around a mouthful of Dream Bar (she was always at her most ladylike when spending time with the three of us). I had nothing to say to that, mostly because it was true, so I waited until Dani swallowed and suggested, “Maybe you being insecure is making him feel insecure.”
I winced. “Well, we did have dinner at his parents’ a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t ideal, but I’m pretty sure I made up for any faux pas. But you know how that can be.”
“Have you guys talked?” Xander asked.
“Why is everyone saying we have to talk?”
It was rhetorical, but Chance answered anyway. “Those are the rules of the game, Trip. Even when I don’t want to talk, I always do now. It makes Logan happy and it’s a lot less exhausting than not-talking.”
“Okay, fine. So what should we be talking about?” My friends sighed, because they could hear that my question was neither sarcastic nor rhetorical. I wasn’t sure how to start a conversation about a topic I’d avoided so assiduously. This week, I’d spoken with my therapist about talking. She suggested bringing the topic up without any segue, looking into each other’s eyes, and being an open book. Needless to say, that advice wasn’t very helpful, and I hadn’t tried it yet.
“You can always give Tommy a blank check and let him ask you anything he wants,” Xander suggested. He and Julian had a disturbingly healthy relationship from the moment they became friends and roommates. It wasn’t a terrible idea, but it was terrifying. Although I had offered to answer any and all questions the morning after the wedding, I had absolutely no desire to prompt Tommy to ask whatever uncomfortable questions sprang to mind. My horror must have shown on my face, because Xander chided, “Don’t look at me like that. If you want to spend the rest of your lives together, you have to be able to talk to each other about anything.”
“Ugggggggggh!” I groaned, frustrated. “I really don’t want to have that conversation.”
“You mean, the kind that involves talking out loud using words?” Dani asked.
“Exactly.”
“He’s a lost cause,” Chance muttered, shaking his head.
Xander looked equally disappointed in me, but got distracted by a text. “Julian says hi,” he told us, just as my phone and Chance’s chimed.
Mine was sent from one of Chance’s brothers, a picture of Izzy flying through the air from one dog’s back to another’s, claws extended. Logan’s cats conspired in the background and I suspected they would soon attempt to emulate my little girl’s bad habit of riding people and dogs. The kitten could get away with it because she was tiny and adorable, but the Siameses’ most likely target would be Xander’s boxer, considering Cassius was large enough to carry a full-grown feline and the poor creature was sufficiently frightened of the hellcats to allow it.
I looked up from my phone to share the picture, to find my two best friends staring at me in much the same way as Logan’s Siamese had eyed the dogs in the photo.
“Hey Trip, can you and Tommy come by for dinner Monday night? Julian has something he needs to talk to you guys about.” Despite Xander’s disturbingly intense grin, I had no tangible reason to decline the invitation. Plus, my friend was a great cook and we could do a load or two of laundry while we were there.
“Sure,” I told him, and Chance cackled evilly. “What? Do you know what he’s talking about?”
“Logan and I cannot do it so you are the only ones left to ask,” Chance said in a weird monotone, as if he didn’t speak English and had memorized the sentence phonetically. Was it reasonable to be miffed that Tommy and I hadn’t been asked first? And why were they being so weird? Oh god…
“It’s no big deal,” Xander assured me. “You can always say no.”
“You want us to adopt two teenagers too?” I asked. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities. Several years ago, Xander had opened an LGBT youth center nearby and he was still very involved in its day-to-day workings. And both of my friends had taken on a pair of homeless LGBT teens soon after starting their relationships. “We already have our hands full with the kitten. Why don’t you ask Greg and Dani? They’re already married. Ooo! Or Tommy’s parents. They seem to love kids!”
“Nooooo,” Xander replied giving me a look as if I had grown a second head. “I mean, if you two are ready and want to adopt, you can. It’s a long expensive process but you’d make two kids really happy. But that’s not what he’s going to ask.”
“Let’s play Disc Jam before the pizza gets here!” Chance interjected before I could make any further inquiries, and Xander seconded the motion. I agreed to play too. I wasn’t big on video games that weren’t puzzle-ish, but Disc Jam was fast-paced and surprisingly addictive. In addition, this was a perfect way to end our uncomfortable discussion about having uncomfortable discussions. Although I was curious and slightly apprehensive about whatever favor Xander’s husband would request, Monday would come soon enough.