Alan parked his car at the downtown riverside park in Coldbrook Bend. It was early in the morning. The birds were waking up, and the sun was beginning to rise above the trees on the opposite bank of the Mississippi. Alan noticed a pickup truck parked three spaces away. Otherwise, the lot was empty. He didn’t see anyone else as he climbed out of his car. He held a fast-food breakfast sandwich gripped in his hand and took a bite before walking in the direction of the river bank.

Beyond the picnic table shelters, the ground abruptly sloped downward maybe ten feet, and then it evened out as it approached the edge of the water. A “beach” of pebbles worn smooth by the constant rising and receding of the river water stretched in either direction up and down the bank. Alan didn’t think he would ever tire of looking at the Mississippi. He had seen many rivers around the world, but very few were so broad.

After he scrambled down the sloped bank, Alan spotted a familiar figure. The rounded, broad shoulders and red hair glowing in the morning sun were a dead giveaway. When he was about ten steps away, Alan called, “Dak!”

Startled, Dak turned around and then smiled. “Alan! What are you doing out here so early? The sun is barely out of bed. Most of the world is still asleep. Even the birds are groggy.”

“I could ask you the same thing. I guess I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I thought to see the river flow might bring me a little peace.”

“I guess great minds think alike,” said Dak. He squatted down and picked up a stone to skip it across the surface of the water.

As the stone bounced along, Alan said, “Hey, that’s pretty good! Where did you learn to do that?”

“Brody taught me how.” Dak shook his head. “Now he wants me to be a dad. I guess you already know that.”

“I think it’s exciting. Have you decided whether it will be a surrogate or adoption?”

“We think adoption makes the most sense, but damn, look at me. Do I look like a dad?”

Dak turned to face Alan. His arms were at his side as their eyes locked. Alan thought any child would be proud to walk at Dak’s side. He was handsome, and kindness spilled out of him in an uncontrollable flow. “I think you look like a great dad. He or she will want to show off their dad to all the other little kids. They’ll be the envy of all of Coldbrook Bend.”

Dak blushed. “Well, they’ll have another dad, too.”

Alan nodded. “Both of you will be great. I think it’s a fantastic idea. We need a lot more men like you raising kids in the world.”

Dak shook his head. “Man, I don’t know. It makes me a little nervous being responsible for a little life like that. I don’t have a good example to follow. Frankly, most of the men in my family suck. They did nothing but screw themselves and others up.”

“What about Brody’s mom? You both said everybody loved her, and she would be happy the two of you are together.”

Dak nodded. “Yeah, Brody’s mom was a gem. She accepted me without any questions, and you see how good Brody turned out. Every time he’s great to those people that work for him, she’s sitting there on his shoulder.”

Alan smiled. With a slight blush coloring his cheeks, he asked, “Do you need an uncle in town?”

“Maybe, and maybe we need an excellent babysitter, too.”

“I think I know one. He’s got a big empty house that could use the pitter patter of little feet. Boomer would love a little one around.”

Dak rubbed his left forearm with his right hand. “Man, for some reason I just got goosebumps. Maybe this would work. Maybe it’s not such a wild idea. Do you think they would leave the kid alone in school? I mean, I don’t think many kids around here have two dads.”

“I think it’s all changing so fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other kids in the class with two dads or two moms by the time yours hits school. It’s a new world.”

Dak skipped another stone across the water. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s amazing, really. Stuff changes so quickly. I’m not happy with all of the changes, but most of the time I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Alan nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t want to turn back.”

Turning and looking up to Alan again, Dak said, “So you didn’t tell me what you’re doing down here. It would make sense if you were wearing sweats and out for a jog before breakfast, but you look dressed for work.”

“Do you promise you won’t think I’m stupid?”

Dak laughed out loud. “If you’re a guy, you’re gonna be stupid sometimes, Alan. It’s in the genes. It happens.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Anyway, it’s about Diego. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, so I finally got out of bed. I took Boomer for a walk with it still dark out, and it didn’t help at all. When I brought him back, he stared at me for almost five minutes with those big eyes. He looked confused. Finally, he just turned around and decided to curl up in his basket in the living room and go back to sleep.”

Dak started to laugh. He stopped himself and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you. I was laughing at the dog. Brody is trying to convince me that we should get one. He says a kid needs a pet, but I don’t know. It’s a lot to take care of. Both a kid and a dog. It’s a lot. Am I crazy for thinking it’s a lot.”

Alan smirked. “A lot of people do it. Dogs are great. They love you regardless of what you do.”

Dak laughed, and he asked, “So did you look Diego in the eye?”

Alan’s brow furrowed. “How do you know about that?”

“I live with Brody, remember? Couples tell each other everything. That’s just the way it is. Brody gives me a blow by blow description of his day. A lot of it I don’t need, like Lacey asking him about a new color of lipstick.”

“Seriously?”

Dak nodded. “Yep. That’s just Brody. He’ll talk about anything. He asked me one day whether I agreed with him that keeping hose fittings in the garden section instead of plumbing made the most sense. Anyway, he told me about the looking in Diego’s eyes thing, and I guess he’s right. It did happen with us.”

“Do you have any regrets?”

“Hell, no. I should have kissed Brody at least ten years ago, but I guess it was good we weren’t together when I was on the river. That would have been tough.”

“It’s not really about looking into Diego’s eyes, but I am falling for him. The only thing is we’re already receiving flak about being a couple. It looks like there are some anti-Latino bigots out there in these small towns.”

Dak reached up and put a hand on Alan’s shoulder. “Aww, damn. Really? What happened?”

“You saw what happened in the restaurant. Lewis is still dogging me. He’s tied me to Diego, too. He must be spying or something.”

“That little shit? Someone needs to take him for a long walk on a short pier into the river. It would serve him right.”

“Was he that bad with you?”

“I didn’t figure it out at first, but Brody has helped me on that. He was emotionally abusive. I felt like shit when I was dating him. I thought it was all me, but now I know better.” Dak raised an eyebrow. “Is that it? Just Lewis?”

“Diego’s getting trash thrown his way, too. We don’t know for sure where it’s coming from. I suspect it has some connection to Lewis, too. It’s all pathetic.”

Dak shook his head. “Yeah, but don’t let it get in your way. If Diego’s the man, you should keep after him.” Dak slapped Alan on the shoulder. “Be a man. Don’t let the little shits get you down.”

“I’ve never run into anything like this,” said Alan. “I’ve only dated white guys before. Is this what it’s like?”

With a shrug, Dak said, “I can’t help you there. I had a short ‘thing’ with a black guy on the boat, but it didn’t continue once we hit the shore. He had two more weeks on the boat, and I never heard from him or saw him again.”

Both men stood in silence watching the river flow slowly southward. Dak pointed and said, “See the woodpecker in the tree over there? I heard him just before you came, and I couldn’t find him at first.”

“You’d think they would get a terrible headache. I know I would.”

“So, is Diego the one?”

Alan was silent, and Dak stared at the woodpecker giving Alan time to think. He picked up one more stone, but he held on while he waited for a reply.

Alan shook his head. “There are so many other issues. There’s the conflict of interest at work, and he’s so emotional about everything...”

Dak cut him off. “Is he the one?” Dak skipped the stone while he waited for the next answer.

“I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Then you better go after him,” said Dak. “I don’t know if I believe there’s only one guy out there for you, but I don’t think there are that many. I won’t tell you how many guys I went through that were wrong, sometimes hellishly wrong, and the right one was standing beside me all the time. Don’t miss the boat, Alan. It’s tied up at the dock waiting for you.”