Epilogue
The following summer
Win stood in the backyard, surveying the newly erected white tent. At first he’d laughed at having one, but with the heat of the sun, he was now happy he’d given in and gone along with whatever his mother and Elliot’s had planned. The two had become fast friends, and they often spoke during the week. Elliot and his mother had started a weekly catch-up call on Sunday nights, and Win could see how much simply sharing the mundane happenings in their lives meant to him. Having someone who cared about him was all Elliot had ever wanted.
Their mothers had just finished directing the laborers on how the tables for all the food were to be set up and were now enjoying a well-deserved rest. They’d been on the go since seven that morning, and it was all finally done. Their friends had begun to arrive, but Ed, Elliot’s father, smart man that he was, had the right idea and was seated on the deck, under an umbrella, with an iced tea. Ed struggled to speak after his surgery, but he and Elliot had found other ways to communicate, and they’d begun taking the steps toward building a father-son relationship. Words weren’t always necessary to say what was in the heart.
Forrest and Claudia were dropping the kids off with her parents before coming over. Claudia adored Elliot, and the four of them went out to dinner often; occasionally, Win and Elliot even babysat. Preparation for their own steps toward potential parenthood, Claudia had teased them, but Win wasn’t laughing. He could see that golden future rolling out in front of him now.
“How did you decide whose house to move into and whose to sell?” His father handed him a bottle of Stella, and they clinked the long necks.
“Cheers. It was easy for Elliot. As much as he and his family were tied to the place because of his sister, selling it was a necessity. Not only for Elliot to be able to move on, but for his parents as well.”
“Terrible thing about their daughter.”
“It was brutal on them all, but I’m glad they’re working it out. We had a good time visiting them in Arizona over the winter. Sedona is beautiful. You and Mom should take Frances up on the offer to visit.”
“We might at that.” His father took a long drink. “And you’re happy now. I can see that.”
“I am. Very much so.”
Win squinted, finding Elliot standing with his circle of friends, and couldn’t help smiling when Wolf rolled his eyes at Spencer’s chatter. In other words, the status quo for them. Personally, Win had to wonder if the two men protested too much when it came to their dislike for each other, but when he mentioned it to Elliot, he was laughed at and told he was crazy.
At that moment, Elliot looked up and met his eyes across the grassy expanse. The brilliant smile he gave Win left no doubt that what he planned was a perfect way to celebrate their moving in together as well as buying the little condo in Long Beach they’d stumbled on during one of their visits.
“He’s a wonderful man. Your mother and I are crazy about him.” His father’s voice caught, rough with emotion. “We’re so proud of you. Not only for the promotion to second grade, because I knew that would eventually happen, but how you managed to find the perfect person. You couldn’t ask for a better partner in life than Elliot.”
“Thanks. It was a hard road I don’t ever want to travel again. Can I ask you something? Were you ever, even if only for a second, disappointed that I’m gay?”
Frowning, his father set the bottle of beer on the railing. “If I would be disappointed in you, I’d first have to be disappointed in your mother and myself, since you’re our son and a product of us. But there’s no way in hell I could ever be disappointed in you, Win. You’re a man who runs fearlessly into danger. A man who gives freely of himself to anyone who asks. The best son a parent could ask for. I don’t care who you love, son. I only want you to be happy with the person you choose to spend your life with.”
“I think I have that covered now. I got lucky twice in a lifetime.”
Elliot gave Chess a hug, then walked toward him and his father. Win had to wonder where André, Chess’s boyfriend, was. The past several times they’d gotten together, Chess had made excuses for André’s absence, but Win, who’d learned to see past the face people put on for the public, could see the man wrestled with something inside.
“Hi. It looks amazing, doesn’t it?”
Win slipped an arm around Elliot’s waist. “When your mother and mine get together, I wouldn’t want to be in the way. They’re a force to be reckoned with. Setting up a housewarming is nothing for them. They belong in City Hall, negotiating deals.”
The three of them laughed, and Win finished his beer and tossed the bottle into the recycling bin. “Excuse us for a second, Dad? I have to talk to Elliot.”
His father gave him a mysterious smile. “I’ll go join Ed, who has the best idea of anyone. A chair in the shade sounds like my kind of plan.” He walked away, and Win tugged at Elliot.
“Come inside with me.”
They entered the coolness of the house, and as they walked through the rooms, Win surveyed everything with satisfaction. Several pieces of furniture from Elliot’s house had been integrated with his, and on a return trip to the wineries in Long Island, they’d done a little flea market and antiques shopping, where they’d purchased some art for the walls as well as knickknacks that made the house theirs instead of his.
He pointed to the sofa. “Let’s sit for a second.”
“Okay, but you realize the guests are all outside?”
Win kissed him. “That’s the point. Now sit.”
Clearly mystified, Elliot joined him on the sofa. “You feel okay? You’re all red in the face.”
“I’m perfectly fine. Do you remember that little store I wandered into in South Hampton when we went for a visit this spring? You were busy buying fudge, and I said I’d be back in a minute.”
A smile tipped Elliot’s lips up. “Oh, yeah. Your minute turned into an hour, and it took me forever, going into every store on that block, before I found you.”
