Normally, I woke up on the outside of the bed, my arms wrapped around either Dusty or Josiah. Both, if I could manage it. But I must have been more exhausted than I’d realized last night, because, somehow, they’d managed to squeeze me into the middle of their sandwich, both their legs and arms tangled so tightly around me, there was no way I was getting up without waking one or both of them. They both looked so fucking peaceful. I settled back into my pillow with a sigh. If I had to be trapped in bed, this was the way to do it.

But the peaceful moment didn’t last for long. All of a sudden, Josiah’s eyes popped open, and a moment later he flew out of bed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, scrambling out of Dusty’s hold, leaving him blinking in confusion, tangled up in the sheets.

“Gotta pee!” Josiah said desperately, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

I collapsed on the edge of the bed, my heart racing.

“You okay?” Dusty asked.

“He scared the crap out of me!”

“It’s his new morning routine. And my new morning wake-up call. Well, yours now, too.” Dusty stretched. “Come here. I’ve missed you.”

I crawled back under the covers to cuddle and kiss Dusty.

The sound of Josiah washing his hands signaled that he was nearly finished. I gave Dusty one last peck on the lips before I turned to motion Josiah to join us. “Come here. I was too tired to talk to our boy last night.”

Josiah rolled his eyes, but let me tug him into bed next to me and lean down to kiss his belly. “Good morning, baby boy! Your papa missed you. Yes he did. Have you been giving Dadzo a hard time? No more kicking his bladder.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not going to be Dadzo?” Josiah complained.

I grinned and kissed his belly again. “Until you decide on a name, you’re Dadzo.”

“Dusty...” Josiah complained.

Dusty shrugged. “It’s a terrible name, but Rich is right. Until you actually decide on a name, we need something to call you.”

Josiah groaned, but before he could respond again, there was a little knock on the door. “Uncle Rich? Is it time?”

I gave Josiah’s belly one last kiss. “Sorry, loves. I’ve got a date with a beautiful girl.”

“Bring me back a cinnamon roll!” Dusty said.

“Ooh, can I have one of those apple-cinnamon things? The giant ones. What are they called?”

“Fritters?”

“Yes! Bring me back a fritter! Please. Maybe two?”

I threw on some clothes. “Just a minute, Sam!” Quieter, “I have to get out of here before you guys give me a shopping list of pastries.”

They started shouting out other options and I closed the door on them. Sam was dressed and ready to go. “You ready for our date, sweetheart?”

She nodded primly, twisting her body back and forth so that her skirt swished.

Dusty and Sam had their art, and Josiah and Sam had so many “things” that were just theirs, it was hard to count, but weekend morning breakfast dates were ours. Dusty had suggested it shortly after the ultrasound. While on the phone with her one night, while I was away, she’d complained about how she didn’t get to spend time with me anymore, I was either away or working on baby stuff. It near broke my heart. I did my best to have one of the weekend mornings free every week. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but Sam didn’t fuss about the occasional miss because of work. The important thing seemed to be that she got some of my time, focused on her, and knew when to expect it.

“How was school this week?” I asked.

“I read a book!” Sam told me excitedly.

“A whole book?” I matched her enthusiasm. She’d already told me on the phone, but it didn’t hurt to reinforce the weight of her accomplishment.

Sam nodded. “I used the green-colored plastic thing that Mrs. Roberts got for me, and the words didn’t jump around anymore.”

“What was the book about?”

She proceeded to recount the story to me, and somewhere between the world’s oldest squire and the princess disguising herself as a boy, I got a little lost. They did defeat the dragon and save the day and make Sam happy, and that was all I cared about. After we’d finished our drinks, coffee for me and hot chocolate for her, I said, “Okay, little lady. What do you say we get the guys their treats and head home?”

“I don’t know if Josiah should have more sugar, Uncle Rich,” she said seriously. “He only needs two hundred calories more than normal every day. If he’s not careful, he’ll get fat.”

I sputtered. “Who told you that?”

“Uncle Dusty told Josiah.”

I took a moment to process through the likely chain of events. None of us were worried about Josiah eating too much—it had actually been a concern that he wasn’t eating enough, the baby squishing his stomach too much to eat large meals. But the guys might have to watch what kind of jokes they were making with Sam around. I wanted to talk to them before addressing the subject with Sam.

“Well, I’m sure a couple pastries on Saturday morning won’t hurt him, pet. Josiah is very healthy, and the doctor said she’s happy with his progress right now.” Before she could pester me with more questions, I started placing our to-go order.

The next step of our normal routine was a tiny children’s bookstore, a gem tucked away in a plaza. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but inside? It was a child’s dream. All of the shelves were low enough for children to reach, and every wall was painted with a story mural. There was a reading corner built to invoke the sense of reading under a tree on a sunny day, low-hanging tree branches and everything. Plus, pillows. It made me want to get giant outdoor cushions for us to sit on outside. If we had more of an outside at our house.

Next door, however, was a pet store, which was bad enough. They always featured several animals in their windows that were currently available for adoption. It was hard enough to fight Sam’s pleas to go look when that was the only temptation. Today, my luck had run out. They were having an adoption fair.

The entire corner of the parking lot between the pet store and the bookstore was full of temporary fences and animals waiting for adoption. And not just your puppies, not just your kittens, no. They had bunnies. And ducks. And a fucking tortoise.

Before we reached the fair, I knelt down and made Sam look me in the eye. “Okay, Sam. This is going to be hard. You know just as well as I do that these animals need adopting. But remember, these are the animals most likely to be adopted. Especially the young ones. They will find a home, it just can’t be our home. Do you understand that?”

Sam nodded reluctantly, hanging her head as we walked past the yips and barks and meows. It was even pulling at my heartstrings, but I think that had more to do with the combo of Sam’s reaction and the sounds. I’d never had a problem walking past an adoption fair before.

Of course, it was right as I was thinking this that a bright young lady with a painted black nose and whiskers on her cheeks jumped out in front of us and asked if we wanted to hold the little fur ball in her hands. I started to protest, and she dumped it in my hands. I felt a little upset at her. Was this really how they found adoptive homes? The worst adoptive parents were reluctant ones. They were just asking for this puppy to be dumped back at a shelter in the next year.

As if reading my thoughts, she said, “Sorry, don’t mean to put you on the spot, but my sister had to call off volunteering today because she’s sick, and I need a couple extra hands to love on these guys, and you looked like you could use some cheering up.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell the vibrant young woman that the reason we were looking mopey was determination to not get pulled into the puppies.

“Can I at least pet them?” Sam asked. I sighed. It would be absolutely heartless of me to say no now.

“Just for fifteen minutes.”

Sam nodded eagerly, and the young lady led us over to a tumble of puppies. Sam had a blast trying to pet them all. I kinda did, too. Their little tongues were so tiny, tickling my fingers as they tried to share their excitement. But when time was up, I stood.

“Ready, Sammy?”

Reluctantly, she bid the puppies goodbye, but she left without fussing.

“Thank you so much for stopping by to love on the little guys,” the young woman said. “I know it feels a little wrong to just play and not take one, but it really does help socialize them for when they do find their homes.”

“I liked playing with the puppies,” Sammy said with a bright smile.

“You’re very good at it.”

My earlier opinion of the woman’s tactics mollified, Sam and I waved goodbye and headed into the bookshop. Too bouncy to stay still and look at pictures today, we picked up a couple books to buy, waved goodbye to the adoption fair once more, and headed home.

“Siah! Dusty! We got you food!”

I braced myself, waiting for her to tell Josiah he shouldn’t eat sugar, but she’d apparently taken my words earlier to heart. Thank goodness. The last thing I wanted Josiah worrying about was his eating habits. Even if he gained a little extra, as long as it didn’t harm him or the baby, where was the harm in that?

“Well, Sammy girl, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Dusty asked, having demolished his cinnamon roll in no time flat.

“Cartoons!” she declared. Even though Josiah didn’t let her watch cable willy-nilly, he did let her watch an hour of cartoons every Saturday. With guidance.

“Great!” Dusty swung her up in his arms. “Mind if I watch them with you?”

She squirmed for him to put her down. “Of course not, Duddy.”

We all froze, thinking she had said Daddy at first. “What was that you called Dusty, sweetheart?” I asked lightly, not wanting her to feel she’d done anything wrong.

“Duddy,” she said. “I know he doesn’t like it when I call him Uncle, but Josiah doesn’t like it when I call him Dusty. And you guys are kinda my daddies now, so... Duddy.”

Dusty’s eyes were brimming in tears, while I was feeling a little less pure emotion: jealousy. “Do I get a name, sweetheart?”

She regarded me very seriously. “I haven’t decided yet. Is it okay to call you Uncle Rich until I decide?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Now go watch your cartoons.”

She tripped off with Dusty following along behind her like a puppy dog.

Josiah came to give me a hug. “You realize she still loves you, right?”

I nodded. “Is it that obvious I’m jealous?”

Josiah pulled back with a smile. “Only a little. And only to someone who has gotten to know you pretty well. Don’t worry, if she says she’s still thinking of what she wants to call you, she is thinking hard on it.” He nuzzled my nose with his. “Thanks for all the time you’re investing in her. It means a lot to me.”

I started to shrug off his thanks, but he grabbed my chin, an unusually aggressive move for him.

“I mean it. She was my world long before you two came along. Your acceptance... beyond that, your love? It helps me to know I’ve made the right decisions.”

My arms tightened around Josiah, pulling him tightly to me until he rested his head on my chest. “Any time you feel doubts, little one, you let me know. We are blessed to have you both.”