Six Years Later

“No, it’s my doll!” Emma snatched the Wonder Woman figurine from the little boy’s hand.

“But, but, I want it! Mine!” The little boy was struggling to find the right words to express how badly he wanted the doll. Emma was not budging. She got up from the floor and stomped over to her corner of the room. She opened up a white chest that sat at the foot of a twin-sized bed, a light pink princess canopy hanging over the top of it. Emma reached into the chest and rummaged around. The boy was getting closer and closer to crying, his eyes watering at the sight of the doll. He pushed up from the floor and walked to Emma, trying to stomp on the way but not quite understanding how to.

“Mine!” he repeated as he tried to grab the doll back. Emma had the grip of an arm wrestler, though. She snatched Wonder Woman back and pulled something out of the chest all without tumbling over. In her hands, Emma held another Wonder Woman doll. This one was a little older, but still just as cool. “Here, Jude, play with this one.”

Jude’s eyes lit up. He still looked at the other doll with some suspicion—maybe the one his sister was keeping was more fun after all—but he grabbed the one Emma offered and gave her a hug, too. Their dads always said that the most important part of a gift was the thank you.

Just then, another boy ran into the room wearing an adorable pair of overalls with a green dinosaur T-shirt underneath. “Hey, guys, come on downstairs, we’re going to eat soon.” It was Billy, Dean and Noah’s son. A rambunctious Australian Shepherd came running up behind Billy, nipping at his heels.

“Andy, no! No!” The dog took Billy’s protests as a sign to keep going. The dog kept nipping at Billy as he ran out of the room and down the stairs. He took a sharp left and ran right into his father.

“Dad!” he said, “Get Andy off me.”

Dean waved the blue-eyed pup away, giving him a stern “no” when Andy wouldn’t stop herding. The sharp and sudden “no” seemed to snap Andy out of his doggy urges. Another dog entered the room, drawing Andy’s attention. It was Bear, Caleb and Red’s spunky little Yorkshire Terrier. The two dogs ran off toward the kitchen, barking and nipping at each other. “Emma and Jude coming?” Dean asked, just as the pair started down the stairs.

“On our way!” Emma shouted excitedly, a Wonder Woman doll in her hand.

Dean squeezed his son’s shoulder and walked with him through the living room and out through the sliding glass doors, with Emma and Jude close behind. They were at Nick’s house, getting ready for a Thanksgiving meal. It had become a tradition a couple of years back for all the boys to get together with their families and host a big Thanksgiving Day feast. Nick and Dean had grown close working together, and Noah immediately clicked with Nick and Shepard from the second they started their first double date. There had been plenty of others since. They had also bonded from the days Noah would invite Shepard and Nick to come work out at his gym. He would host a private class for the four of them whenever they could get their schedules aligned, and he always kicked their asses, leaving them sweaty messes by the end of it.

“Hey, babe,” Dean said, coming up behind Noah. He was having an animated conversation with Caleb. They were standing near a long table set up underneath a couple of tall palm trees. Dean chimed in with, “The food smells great.”

“I was so worried I messed the stuffing up,” Caleb said. He was looking good, wearing a gray cardigan over a white shirt, sporting a longer hairstyle than usual. “Red was gone all morning filming that new movie he’s in, and he forgot to leave me with his ‘super secret’ recipe. Thankfully, Google is only a phone away. So, it’s not the stuffing passed on from Red’s great uncle or whatever, but it’s still good. Had five-stars out of twenty-four reviews. I also had a great assistant.” Caleb looked to his daughter, who was sitting at the table already, playing with an iPad. “Right, Lily? Didn’t the stuffing turn out great?”

“I don’t know about all that,” she said, with a comedic inflection reserved for seasoned stand-ups, not six-year-old girls. But she was a sharp one.

Red walked back from the cooler, holding two bottles of ice cold beers. His beard was grown out thick for a role he was playing. He was also asked to put on a little bit more muscle, so he was stretching the sleeves of his polo. He handed one of the open beers to Caleb and stood by his side, cracking a smile. “I think your’s actually came out better.”

Nick walked out then, holding a large bowl of fruit salad. He had been running around trying to be a good host for most of the day, so he hadn’t really taken a moment to appreciate how beautiful the day really was. Especially at that time, when the sun was beginning to set. He looked to all his friends, his family. They were chatting and laughing in his backyard. His kids were already sitting at their table, playing rock paper scissor from the looks of it. Inside, his husband was pouring drinks, getting everything ready for the dinner.

His heart swelled with love. Nick walked the fruit salad over to the table and turned to go back inside so he could help Shepard.

“Need any help in there?” Caleb offered.

“We’re ok, thank you” Nick called back, disappearing into his house.

Although house may not have been the proper term. More like mansion. Ever since Shepard graduated medical school and paid off his debts, they were able to save enough between them to upgrade their living situation. It didn’t hurt that Nick had gotten a raise at the hospital around the same time as Shepard graduating. Nick went from a comfortable two-bedroom home tucked inside the hills to a seven-bedroom house perched on top of the hills. But that wasn’t really what made his life so insanely special.

No, he had three other reasons why he woke up and went to sleep with a smile every day. Two of those reasons were outside right now, fighting over a superhero doll. One of those reasons was inside with him, just across the kitchen, looking dreamy in his light blue button-up shirt and fitted jeans. He had gotten a haircut a few days ago, giving him that crisp clean look that drove Nick wild. He went over and gave Shepard a playfully slap on his butt. He jumped up slightly, almost pouring the champagne onto the counter but managing to keep it in the glass.

“You scared me,” Shepard said. Nick stood behind him and wrapped his arms around his man. He kissed Shepard’s neck, causing Shepard to tilt his head, exposing more of himself, asking for more kisses without saying a word. They had gotten so good at that, communicating without speaking. Nick could read Shepard’s body like one of his favorite books, knowing exactly what each word meant, each movement. Nick leaned into Shepard’s body. He smelled good. Like cinnamon and berries. Nick held Shepard a little tighter.

“Everything looking good out there?”

“All we need is the turkey.”

“The gobble-gobble machine as Jude likes to call it.”

“Ah yes, the gobble-gobble machine.” Nick laughed into Shepard’s neck. He sucked at the sensitive skin before pulling back. He couldn’t get carried away, which was easy to do when he had Shepard’s ass pressed against his crotch. The thought alone had Nick’s dick twitch in his khakis.

“You guys need any help in here?” said a voice that coincidentally sounded just like Shepard. Nick turned and saw Crow smiling at them from the arched entryway. He had learned the subtle ways to tell him apart from Shepard, who could have filled in for Crow on one of his world tours and no one would have been able to tell the difference.

Well, except that Shepard couldn’t sing his way out of a brown paper bag.

But that was only one difference between the twins, and that was in skill and not appearance. Nick learned that if he looked closely, he could tell them apart in how they walked and how they spoke. Crow put an emphasis on the ends of sentences, Shepard tended to speak with an emphasis for the beginnings. Their mouths also moved in slightly different ways when they spoke. The biggest tell was a tiny birthmark on the inside of Shepard’s ear, which Crow lacked. It was hard to spot, but if there was ever any Parent Trap thing going on for some reason, the birthmark would be the definitive difference.

Other than that, they were identical twins through and through.

Well, there was also another obvious difference: Nick was madly in love with only one of them.

Shepard Kensworth. The man of his dreams and the perfect man to help raise Emma and Jude.

* * *

Shepard couldn’t remember a time when he ever felt happier. Everything in life had clicked right into place. From landing an excellent job as a pediatrician at an incredible practice, to his relationship with Nick, which had been nothing but bliss for years. And then there was Emma, whom he loved as though she were his own daughter from the day she was born. And last, but certainly not least, the newest addition to their family; Jude Kensworth White. He was three now, always reminding Shepard of just how fast time was flying by. He knew that he’d be blinking one moment and the next they’d be headed off to college.

Jude came to them through a surrogate. They had mixed both of their samples together and so they weren’t entirely sure which of them was the biological father, but that never mattered anyway. The love he had for both his kids was enough to reach the moon and back.

Ethan popped up behind Crow. He was looking good, sporting a silver-fox look that really worked for him. “Jude is about to flip a table over if he doesn’t get a piece of the gobble-gobble machine soon.”

Shepard laughed at that. He leaned into Nick, who was standing by his side. “We’ll be right out. Tell Jude to be patient. All good gobbles come to those who wait.”

“Ah, yes, that famous saying,” Crow said. “I think I saw someone with a tramp stamp that said that once, actually.”

This had the entire room laughing. Crow and his husband took their leave when the laughing subsided. Shepard turned to Nick, unable to keep his lips off the man when people weren’t around. When the kiss was over, he looked deep into his husband’s eyes. “I love you, Nick. So, so much.”

“I love you, too,” Nick said, putting every ounce of meaning he had behind those words. Shepard felt it deep down in his heart. It was a warmth that spread through him, cradling every fiber of his being, and covering him like a plush blanket.

“Let’s go out there with the turkey before our kids start a riot.”

“I say we’re about three minutes out from that happening.”

Shepard slapped Nick’s butt and got to work, moving the turkey onto a beautiful serving plate he had gotten last Thanksgiving. It had a beautiful hand painted edge around it, showing a motif of different Thanksgiving symbols. Nick grabbed the electric knife and walked out to the backyard next to Shepard, offering a hand in case the heavy turkey suddenly tipped one way or the other. Shepard had a good hold on it. They made it all the way to the table, where everyone had already taken their seats. Well, the adults had. The children were sitting at a small table just next to them, with adorable tiny chairs and plates and utensils. Jude was looking at the turkey with wide eyes, a string of saliva ready to fall from his open mouth. Emma and Lily showed more restraint, sitting with their hands on the table, waiting for their servings. Billy was already chowing down on a piece of bread. He never cared much for the turkey.

“All right guys, the star is here.”

“He does that every year,” Noah said to Dean in a stage whisper, “Why does he say that?”

“Because look at her,” Shepard said, referring to the turkey, smiling, “She’s stunning. She’s elegant. She’s dripping in class and tasty juices. She’s a star.”

“Great,” Noah said, “Now I feel like I’m eating Mariah Carey.”

The entire table busted out in laughter. Shepard sat down, catching his breath. Nick took his seat next to him. They were at the head of the table. Across from Shepard, there was a very special guest. Someone new to their Thanksgiving dinner, and someone who Shepard was very glad to see.

“Nick, say a few words and then let’s dig in,” Shepard said. He remembered he was put on the spot last year and joked about doing it to Nick the next, and so he followed through. Nick looked at him with a smile that said “why I aughta”. He got up from his seat and the tables quieted down.

“Alright, so,” Nick started. “It’s been a great year and I couldn’t be more thankful that I get to spend this Thanksgiving surrounded by the people I love so dearly. I’m thankful for this meal all of us helped in putting together. I’m thankful for my incredible husband, Shepard. You’re the light of my life and continue to be. And of course, I’m thankful for all those little green beans sitting at that table over there.” Nick took a breath. “And someone else is here who I’m very thankful to have back in my life.” He looked down, to the seat across from Shepard. Where Nick’s father sat. “Dad,” he said, “I’m so glad you’re back in my life. We have some catching up to do, and I’m thankful Emma and Jude are going to get to know their grandfather.”

Shepard felt a cry catch in his throat. He held it back. This was a time for happiness and celebration. Nick’s dad had reached out to him a few months back and told him he had made a huge mistake and wanted to reconnect. He said he was still a religious man, but that no religion should be allowed to come between a father and son the way he allowed it to.

Shepard looked around the table. He was surrounded by the people he called family. It was one of the best feelings in the world. He was thankful for that. Thankful that he could experience what true happiness felt like.

When Nick sat back down, Shepard reached over the table and held his husband’s hand.

He didn’t think he could fall deeper in love, but he found a way.

Every day, he just fell deeper and deeper.

It meant he had found his one. The love of his life. And that was all he could have ever asked for.