Forty-Two
“Babe, have you seen my blue tie?”
“The little mermaid one that Lily bought for your birthday?”
“It’s right here on the back of the door,” Trent said.
Aleksy walked into the bathroom where Trent was shaving.
Aleksy pulled the door away from the wall and grabbed the tie off the back of it. As he stood in front of the mirror and looped it over his head, Trent glanced at him in the mirror. “Nervous?” he said.
Aleksy snorted, “Ya think? I know we’ve all gone to dinner and the park and on dates together, but this is her school, her friends, her teachers, other parents. These are the people who are going to judge her the most. I’m scared shitless, Trent. If this is too much, if this doesn’t work out….” he trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence.
He and Trent had moved in together almost immediately after they left the safehouse. Liam had taken Lily home to their place, despite her pleas for them to all stay together. He wanted her to get settled back into a normal routine, something the two of them hadn’t had for years. But, the four of them got together whenever possible, with Aleksy and Trent coming over for dinner at least three nights a week. They would help Lily out with her school work while Liam cooked. Then they would each read her a bedtime story before tucking her into bed.
There were times that Liam would joke that the sole reason she was okay with this was because of the added stories she got to hear at bedtime.
Ever the adorable girl, Lily scoffed right back that Liam was being silly. She was okay with it because, “it makes you happy, Daddy. You deserve to be happy.”
“So, do you, baby girl. So, do you.”
Some nights the three of them tried to cram into Liam’s queen bed to sleep and have some together time.
But they all knew that if this was truly going to work then they had to find a place big enough for all of them that was in the same area as Lily’s school, so they didn’t have to disrupt her life any more than having three daddies would disrupt it.
With Lily’s school play tonight, this was going to be one of the final trials they had to get through before they could decide to move forward as the thruple they all wanted to be.
“They are coming, right, Daddy?” Lily hollered at Liam for about the one hundredth time.
“Yes, baby girl. They’re coming.”
“And you’re all going to sit together in the front row?”
“Yes, baby girl. You and I are going really early so we can grab three front row seats for us.”
“You’ll be on the stage, doing the play, remember?”
He knelt to straighten the blue dress she was wearing, “Do you remember your lines?”
She rolled her eyes, “Daddy, I’m a processional, remember?”
He smiled, “Yes, baby, I know you’re a professional.”
“Then you know I won’t forget my lines. There’s only three, you know.”
He stood back up to his feet and held his hand out to her, “You ready to go?”
“Almost,” she said then she ran down the hall to her room.
When she came back out, Liam’s heart stuttered in his chest. She was carrying the Celtic trinity knot necklace that Trent had given her to symbolize their relationship.
She held it up to him, “Can you put this on me?”
“Of course, but can you wear it with your costume?”
She nodded her head, “Yep. I asked Ms. Ginny. She said I should wear whatever I wanted to wear for my daddies.”
Liam’s eyes went wide, “She did? You mean you’ve told her about us?”
“Of course I have, silly. I’ve told Ms. Ginny and all my friends how lucky I am because I have three daddies now. Why wouldn’t I?”
That was an excellent question.
Liam needed to remember that a lot of his worry was from his perspective, not hers.
“You’re right, baby girl. Why wouldn’t you? Let’s get you into the car, okay?”
He locked the deadbolt behind him and they headed to the attached carport.
Once he parked by the theater at the school, he shook off his nerves as they walked inside.
As he hoped, they were one of the first people to arrive, so he saved three seats in the front row by laying his jacket across them.
“Lily! So happy to see you. Are you ready to get into your costume?” her teacher said.
“I was born ready, Ms. Ginny.”
Liam and Ginny had to hold back their laughs.
“I’m glad to hear that. Why don’t we let your daddy to go back out to his seat to wait for your other guests to arrive, okay?” she said as she smiled up at Liam and winked.
Liam laughed nervously as he slid his hand through his hair, “I gotta say, it’s kind of weirding me out how okay you are with this.”
She stood up and shrugged a shoulder, “This school is made up of all kinds of children and parents; gay, straight, bi, pan, ace, black, white, brown, interracial - who am I, who are any of us to judge what we’re not used to?”
“I’m glad you see it that way. I’m just worried how the other parents will feel, though. I don’t want Lily to pay the price for how we live our lives.”
“Did you choose to fall in love with two men? Did the three of you force your feelings for each other or did it just come naturally, did it just feel like you fit?”
“None of us were forced to love our spouses. We fell in love because, well, just because. Just because your story involves three instead of two doesn’t mean the love you feel for each other isn’t just as real as ours.”
“Thanks. I, thanks, I just really appreciate that. I’m going to head back out there,” he said as he gestured over his shoulder.
“Yep. Curtain goes up in thirty minutes. Lily and I can take it from here, can’t we, Lily?”
She crossed her arms over her chest as she nodded, “We got this, Daddy.”
Liam had to quickly turn away before Lily saw any unshed tears. Because they were definitely there. For a moment he marveled at how he could’ve raised such a well-adjusted child. But then he remembered that it was Luke’s DNA running through her veins.
Luke. The strongest, gentlest, most accepting man he’d ever known. If Luke were able to give his blessing to Liam’s new relationship, Liam knew without a doubt that he would do it. That’s the kind of man he was. And that’s the kind of daughter she was. Strong, gentle, respectful and kind.
He walked down the steps that led down from the stage and glanced around until he saw two sets of nervous, unsure eyes staring back at him from the back of the room. He waved them to the front, “Hi. I’ve saved us seats,” he said as they stepped closer.
Before they could sit down though, he stopped them. They both frowned in confusion as he wrapped his arms around their waists. “I love you both, so much,” he said. And then, despite the crowd of people, despite watchful eyes, despite the fear that he felt deep inside, Liam pressed his lips first to Trent’s and then to Aleksy’s. And then he sat down between them with both of their hands firmly clasped to his.
Trent smiled over at Aleksy as they got comfortable and then his heart filled with more hope than he ever thought possible when Liam whispered, “It’s gonna be okay, guys. It’s gonna be okay.”