The diaper was specially made and one of his gifts, printed with all sorts of cute baby animals, and he loved it. When it was on, I helped him with his shorts and the T-shirt emblazoned withHappy New Year. White knee socks and sparkly sneakers, and he was ready to celebrate.
We left our backpack safely locked in the changing room and headed off through the club on our way to the little room. A quick stop at the conversation area found several of our friends, including Bridger and Hudson who we hadn’t seen since before Christmas and who wanted to hear all about how the Secret Santa exchange came out, so we stayed a little while telling the whole gang of daddies and littles the story. Everyone had their own tale, but we were the newest, and it felt great to have friends who understood us and were glad to share our happiness. Once we’d spilled all the details, everyone was ready to go to the little room, so we trooped over together. Through the main area, where various people were strapped into all sorts of apparatus, flames glowed at the fire station, purple wands sparked, and so many other things were going on. Each to their own.
Personally, I loved it when we got to the little room and all the boys and girls raced inside to see what Ms. Lily and her staff had prepared for them. I hung back with the other daddies and mommies to let them get settled a bit then followed. In here, the holiday decorations were basically the same as they had been throughout December, with one difference. There was a ball in here just for the littles. It meant, they could celebrate the new year without going out into the mob scene on the main floor, which a lot of them didn’t enjoy. It could get pretty intense out there on an ordinary night, but it was definitely a full house.
Gunnar disappeared into the crowd of littles, but a few minutes later, he circled back to me. “Daddy, will you come and play with me?”
I’d never heard more beautiful words. “Of course, my best boy. What would you like to do first?”
“Blocks.” Although they were the normal blocks, they were set up with a special gimmick tonight. Instead of the littles knocking them down on their own, they were assisted by an assortment of dinosaurs wearing tiny T-shirts. Cute, fierce, and there was a line. But we managed to get in the next group, and Gunnar had the very best time. He laughed so hard, he fell over with the tower before we moved onto the next game. We managed to cover most of the tables before winding up with Ms. Lily reading a New Year’s story as the clock wound down to midnight. Gunnar leaned back against me, eyelids heavy, nearly worn out, but when the countdown started, he was right up there with the rest, shouting the numbers as the ball was lowered to the floor and our first year together as a couple began.
Epilogue
Gunnar
After a week of rain, we were finally having a day of sun, which was perfect because Vaughn and I had planned on going to the opening day of the farmer’s market in the city square. It was one of my favorite places to go from spring through fall, and this would be the first time I got to share it with my daddy.
It was more of a craft market than a farmer’s market, despite the name, and seeing all the pieces artisans created always made my heart happy.
On the way, we stopped at my favorite coffee shop, and Daddy needed to visit the hardware store to get a part to fix a knob in the kitchen.
“Why don’t you stay in the car? I’ll be right out,” he said.
“Yeah, sounds good.” I didn’t mind going into the hardware store, but Hudson had been texting me about the seedlings, and I might as well finish that conversation and not have to worry about cutting him short to buy a screw or whatever it was that broke. I didn’t know because when Daddy said he would take care of it, I knew he would.
Hudson and I went back and forth about the seedlings and, soon enough, Vaughn was back. I let Hudson know I’d be on standby if there were any seedling emergencies and put my phone in the console.
Despite how early we arrived, the farmer’s market was already packed. We had to park two blocks away to get a spot. I wasn’t glad for those two extra blocks, though, because I got to hold Daddy’s hand for that extra time.
Things had been going great for us over the past few months. We saw each other every day and slept together multiple times a week. We hadn’t taken any big steps toward our future, butwe were on a nice, steady path, and I couldn’t envision a future without him. I didn’t need all the details set in stone like some people did.
“Looking for anything in particular today?” I asked when we stopped at the bulletin board that had a map of the vendors.
“Not really. Just to spend the day with you and get some of the spring rolls from the food truck. They’re the best in the city.”
They were famous after being featured on a food channel challenge show. The closer we got to lunchtime, the longer the line would be. It was worth every second of waiting.
“Sounds good to me.”
Halfway down the first aisle, we stopped at the cutest little booth filled with homemade stuffies. They were absolutely adorable, but with a little monster mix-in, unlike my Alvin, who is perfect in every single way.
The teddy bear I picked up was green with a scar on it, mimicking the old Frankenstein images from the days of old school movie magic. Not all were as obvious as that one, though. Some had scars, others scales, yet others vampire teeth, and some just had a tail. Each one was cuter than the next.
“Do you think Alvin needs a friend?” Daddy stood behind me, making sure not to block my view as I took them all in.
“He might…yes. I mean yes.”
“Alvin is a stuffie?” the craftsman asked.
“A teddy bear.”
“Well, if you would like some help, I have a suggestion.”
I didn’t need help, but I was very curious. “I’d love to hear your suggestions.”
They ducked down, and, when they stood up again, in their hand was an octopus with cat ears. “Teddy bears love hugs,” they explained, “and he can have four hugs at once with this guy as his buddy. Plus, what’s cuter than a cat?”
“The logic is valid.” Vaughn rested his hand on my shoulder. “What do you think? Is he a good friend for Alvin?”
