I wake up the next morning with my two favorite men. I’d forgotten how much I’d loved this feeling. We all get ready, making sure we all look good for the talk with my Dad. I’m going to go first by myself – I feel that is best – and then Whit and Zane will join me for any questions he may have. That’s like a best cast scenario. I wouldn’t be surprised if my Dad just stormed off, saying he never wanted to speak with me again.

When I told the boys about my plan this morning, there was excitement, but then they had the same somberness I was feeling. I’m not the only one risking something today. Whit and Zane work for my Dad. They’re supposed to take over from him and while I don’t think he’s going to fire them, it’s not going to make things easy at the firm. He could end up demoting them or a whole number of things. We all tried to stay cheery, but there were a lot of nerves in the guesthouse.

We’re all dressed and head over to the main house. When I open the door, I hear my Dad in the kitchen, so I have Whit and Zane wait around the corner. I step to where my Dad is and see him cooking up a storm. I don’t know what to say at the sight of him wearing one of my Mom’s old aprons, flipping pancakes. I haven’t seen him cook since before Mom died and the sight makes me so happy. But my heart sinks almost immediately because I have news that will almost definitely put a damper on his mood.

“Hi, Dad.” I give an anxious wave. He’s so happy, moving around the kitchen, cooking us breakfast.

“Good morning, tangerine! I thought I’d make us breakfast. Give you a little break from cooking for me every day,” he explains cheerfully.

I smile sheepishly and take a seat on a stool at the island. It seems my Dad is just about done with his big breakfast and he’s plating everything. He sets on in front of me, a pancake with a bacon smile and eyes made of strawberries. A whipped cream nose tops the whole thing off and I smile at all his effort. This is what my parents would make for me years ago. We’d watch all these movies where kids would get a breakfast like this and I complained about our pancakes never looked so cool. One day, I woke up and they had both made me exactly what I wanted. It became something my parents would always cook together for me. I don’t know what convinced my Dad to make this today, but it’s making me emotional.

My Dad cleans himself off, hangs up the apron, and comes to sit with me to eat breakfast. We’re across from one another, sitting at the counter on bar stools, and I take a few bites because I’m not ready to begin this conversation. My Dad starts a whole different conversation, though, giving me some time to gather my thoughts.

“They’re not quite the way your mother and I used to make, but they still bring back the memories.” He smiles bittersweetly and I bring my hand on the counter to hold his. We don’t often talk about my Mom. Her death was a bit sudden and I don’t think we’re quite over it yet. There’s still some grieving to be done and I think this breakfast was my Dad’s way of trying to move forward.

“Well, I think they are fantastic,” I squeeze his hand with mine. And I one hundred percent mean it. I’m digging into the breakfast, deciding that I’ll finish everything on my plate before I tell my Dad about Whit and Zane and the baby. That way he doesn’t accidentally choke to death on his food. That would be way too tragic.

We both finish and he’s about to start cleaning up when I stop him.

“Can you sit back down, Dad?” I ask him, “I have something I want to tell you.”

He can sense my hesitation and my Dad sits back down, his concern coming across in his face.

“What is it?” he asks, his voice stern and serious.

I take a deep breath and don’t immediately get into the truth. I begin at the very beginning, hoping by telling the story, it’ll all just become clear.

“When I started working at the firm, I – I met someone. Or two someone’s. We all got along really well, and I went on dates with both of them. Everything got so complicated because they both liked me, but I couldn’t decide who I liked more. It all came to a head and I ended up cutting things off with both of them, but I regretted that decision.”

My Dad holds his hand up to get me to stop talking. I take a pause to hear what he has to say.

“Say no more, Chloe. Do you want my advice? Is this what this is all about?” The concern he was carrying earlier is gone. He obviously doesn’t know what’s going on and I’m going to need to be less vague. If I want my Dad to hear me, I can’t beat around the bush. “I would say if you’re having trouble choosing between two men –”

“Dad, that’s not the problem,” I interrupt.

He stops talking and mouths an ‘oh,’ gesturing for me to continue.

“Anyway, I was talking about how I broke it off with both of them, but the next day, they approached me with a solution. Why don’t we all enter into a relationship together? The three of us.” I look at my Dad to see where he’s at and he’s confused now. He doesn’t interrupt like last time, maybe wanting to hear the whole story before making another wrong assumption. “So, that’s what the three of us did. I started seeing both of them. And what I mean by that is all three of us would go on dates together and be together because that’s what we were. We’re like a couple, but with three people.”

My Dad isn’t getting any less confused, but he’s starting to get agitated. He’s breathing a lot heavier and he eyes look a little crazy. I’m afraid to tell him who I’m seeing, but if I don’t then the lie will just continue. So, instead of going for a slow burn, I rip the bandage off.

 I blurt out, “Ever since you left, I’ve been seeing Whit and Zane and the three of us want to get married or not really married because that’s not technically legal, but we all want to be together like live together and be a romantic unit together and I couldn’t hide from you anymore and I’m so sorry, Dad. I wish this could have been easier to tell you, but it’s not and I’m sorry.”

I apologized twice, but I feel like it was called for. I feel like I should apologize way more, but I don’t want to overdo it. My Dad is nodding, his brow furrowed as he digests everything I just told him. I wait for him to say something, anything, but he just keeps nodding like he can’t comprehend anything I’ve told him.

He stops nodding and looks at me and says, “So, Zane and Whit?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, nodding.

His face gets really red and it looks like he might just have a heart attack. I get off of my stool and go to his side, worried I might have just killed my Dad with all this information.

I put my hand on his shoulder and ask, “Do you have a heart condition?” I’m so worried we’ll have to go to the hospital, but my Dad moves his shoulder from my hand and I back off, sensing his anger.

“No. I don’t have a heart condition. What I do have I a daughter who is trying to break my heart.” His voice is harsh, and he glares into my eyes.

I look at the floor ashamed, twisting my fingers nervously. I have no idea how to respond to that, so I don’t.

My Dad continues, “Did they make you do this? Whit and Zane. Is this some kind of sick joke or game that you kids are playing?”

A direct question is a little easier, so I answer, “No, Dad. They didn’t make me do anything. Everything I did with them was consensual and I want to be with them. They make me happy.”

He doesn’t seem be listening to me. I see Whit and Zane peek out from behind the corner and I shake my head, not ready for them to talk to my father. They go back to being unseen and I wait to hear what my Dad has to say next.

“I fucking trusted them. They were supposed to take care of you. Not – not – ugh! I’m going to talk to them. This is unacceptable. They can’t work at the firm anymore. After such a breach of trust!” My Dad has gotten out of his seat and is pacing around angrily.

I’m getting more and more nervous. I knew he would probably be angry, but I didn’t expect him to be so furious. He is literally enraged. So angry, he isn’t really thinking straight. I can’t let all of this happen. With the way things are going I’m going to have to choose between my Dad and What & Zane. I know what choice I’d make if I had to, but I’d rather not.

“Dad, stop.”

He doesn’t hear me because he’s still talking about all the things he’s going to do to Whit and Zane. I’m upset that they’re hearing all these things from him. I’m getting upset now and while I’m not going to yell at my father, but I’m not going to quietly take this.

“Dad, stop!” I say loudly.

He finally hears me and stops moving and stops talking. Some of his anger is dulled, but he is still obviously upset.

“I’m sorry, tangerine. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m just so mad at Whit and Zane. I guess they aren’t who they thought I were.” My Dad has come over to me to comfortingly place his hands on my upper arms. He’s treating me like a child who can’t make their own decisions. But I can and I have. And I can’t let him talk about Whit and Zane the way he is. They’ve done nothing wrong and don’t deserve all this hate.

“That’s not true, Dad.” I put my hand on his arm and hope he really listens to me. “Whit and Zane – they did take care of me. And they took care of the firm. You can’t let them go just because you’re mad at them, especially if it’s undeserved. I’m a grown woman and I can make my own decisions. I know it’s a little unorthodox, but it’s what we all want.”

I feel a little hope when my Dad’s face goes from the pure anger from before to something more thoughtful, but it’s all dashed when he says, “You can’t possibly understand what’s going on. Your young and something about the shininess of the relationship is tricking you into thinking that it’s real. I promise, in time, you’ll get over all of this and it will be a blip in the past. You know what, you don’t have to come into work for a while until I take care of everything on that end. You won’t have to talk or even see either of them ever again.”

I pull myself out of my Dad’s hold, my anger no longer able to hide itself. I don’t understand why he isn’t listening to me. He’s never been like this before. We’ve always had a relationship where he treated me with respect by listening to me, maybe I didn’t tell him everything, but when I did, he would take it all into consideration. I’m blindsided by all this focused rage.

“Oh my god! I’ve been trying to calmly explain myself to you, but you’re not listening to me. You can’t keep me away from them. I’m going to be with them and if you don’t like it, it’s your problem.”

“Chloe! That is not –”

“No!” I interrupt. “I love them! I know what I want. I’ve known what I want for a while now. I don’t want to work at the law offices. I want… I want to be a wife and mother, just like Mom, and I want that life with Whit and Zane. And it’s coming sooner than you think because I’m…”

I take a deep breath because I’m scared to say what I have to say next. My Dad is obviously unhappy with my choice of men, so this pregnancy is not going to make things easier. But I have to get it all out now. No more hiding.

“I’m pregnant.”

Some of the fight that was in my Dad leaves his body. His shoulders deflate and his looks at me with so much disappointment, I know there’s nothing I can do anymore. At least today. I think my Dad might say something else, but he shakes his head and then storms out of the kitchen. I don’t know where he goes, but thankfully it’s in the opposite direction of where Whit and Zane are hiding. I’m so devastated, I have to take a seat and lean against the counter. I wasn’t expecting everything to be hunky dory, but the conversation went way worse than expected.

While I’m crying on the counter, Whit and Zane come around the counter and rub my shoulders. I keep crying, unable to stop. It’s not just the conversation that has made me sad. It’s so much more. I think about how my Dad made breakfast for me this morning and what that means. He’s obviously trying to move forward, and this will probably set him back and there’s nothing I can do for him because he’s obviously not going to talk to me. For how long – I don’t know. It could be hours, it could be years. Either way, the current climate doesn’t allow for me to talk with him.

I take a deep breath and calm down, my tears subsiding a little. I look at Whit and Zane and they’re obviously concerned. I know they heard the whole thing. I can’t imagine what they are thinking. The both look up to my father and the things he said about them – it was just mean. But they don’t seem angry or upset with him.

“I’m sorry you guys had to hear all of that. I didn’t expect… that!” I chuckle a little, but it’s more melancholy than anything.

Whit and Zane sit on the stools next to me. Zane is still rubbing my back, moving his hand in small circles. Whit wipes away any tears I missed.

"Are you okay?” Zane's eyes search mine as he waits for a response to his question.

I sniffle a few times nodding. My answer isn't the complete truth because I'm still processing everything my Dad said and did. It was a lot. I'll probably be having a few sad days over the next couple weeks, but, at least, I have Zane and Whit to get through it.

"Do you think Jack will be okay?” Whit is looking in the direction my Dad stormed off.

I want to confidently tell both of them that my Dad will be able to take care of himself despite all of this, but I can't because I really have no idea. The two of us have relied on each other for so long. This is going to be a real test of how well we can do apart.

"I honestly don't know how he's going to be. I just hope that it all works out,” I whisper, whipping away more tears.

Whit nods, accepting my answer. I know I can't expect my Dad to forget all his anger at the drop of a hat - I do hope he doesn't hold on to it for too long. For all our sakes.

"On a lighter note, since you seem intent on marrying us,” Whit jokes.

"How I remember it is you two came to my house and almost demand that I marry you.” There's some embellishment, but I think history will be on my side in terms of how their proposal will be remembered.

"I say we agree to disagree and leave it at that, but I do digress. What I was going to say is we should have a marriage ceremony.”

I'm surprised by this, partially because given our unconventional partnership, I hadn't thought about how exactly we'd all tie the knot, but I'm mainly caught off-guard because how can we all get married? When I was talking to my Dad, I was under the impression that it would be illegal - and I'm pretty sure it still is now.

"Now, I know exactly what you're thinking and yes, it's technically illegal for all of us to get married,” Whit continues. “But we can have a small private ceremony and we’ll only invite people we’re close to. It’ll be nice, I think.”

I like the idea and Zane seems on board. I was getting reserved to the idea of not having a wedding. And it would have been fine as long as I got to be with Whit and Zane, but this is exciting.

“So, I can get a dress and you guys can put on fancy suit and we can go through all the typical wedding stuff, just on a smaller scale.” I’m thinking about all the planning I’ll get to do and its actually kind of nice that it won’t be a whole big thing. A small, simple wedding is just my style. The only thing that I’m antsy about is whether or not my Dad is going to show up. I really hope he does.