xVerity: The joys ofparenting.
LoveHarley: Hey, @Gwynning, with all the Matthew drama going on recently, I forgot to ask… what happened with your barely legal date? Did you guys have a good time? Are you seeing himagain?
Laurence winced. He took a moment to think about what he wanted to say, then wrote as concise a reply as hecould.
Gwynning: we had a good time, but I don’t think I can see him anymore. Matthew needs my attention. I’d thought that I could divide it between him and a lover, but in light of what’s happening, I don’t think that’s a good ideaanymore.
For a moment, no one typed. The conversation went dead. Then, just as Laurence had convinced himself that he’d made the discussion irreparably awkward, KnotMyProblem started typing. His message appeared a few secondslater.
KnotMyProblem: Okay, so since I’m the resident dick, I’m going to ask the question that everyone else is too polite to ask… how the fuck did you come to thatconclusion?
Gwynning: If I hadn’t been distracted by my love life, I would have seen that something was going on with Matthew, and I could have prevented this fromhappening.
TeenDad2: Oh,Gwynn…
KnotMyProblem: Alright, so, full disclosure: I don’t have a teenage son, but… really, Gwynn? Matthew is two months pregnant,right?
Gwynning:Yes.
KnotMyProblem: So that means that he was screwing his boyfriend behind your back even before your barely legal dream boy came into the picture. You only met him, what, two weeksago?
Laurence frowned. He looked up from his phone and toward the doors leading to the private offices to check for Matthew, but Matthew was nowhere to be seen. He looked down at his phoneagain.
KnotMyProblem: That means that whether you’d met your sweet little omega or not, Matthew still would have gotten pregnant. He was already knocked up when Mr. Barely Legal told you to drop to your knees and slobber all over his knob. It wasn’t the fact that you decided you wanted your personal life back that made him pregnant… he madehimselfpregnant. Like it or not, your little boy has grown up into a young man, and the older he gets, the more he’s going to rebel as he tries to find independence. He’s getting ready to fly the coop, and even though this was a seriously botched attempt, if it hadn’t happened, I guarantee that you would have seen more rebellion as time went on. Being a helicopter dad isn’t going to fixthat.
Gwynning: I don’thelicopter
KnotMyProblem: Maybe not, but what you’re doing is still pretty unhealthy. I know that it’s hard to balance having a social life while raising a kid… hell, it’s why xVerity made this group, and why we all found our way to it over the last few years. But it’s important for you to show Matthew that you can be a dad and still have a life. If he decides to keep the baby, he’s going to be looking for role models to base his behavior from, and the first person he’s going to look to isyou.
TeenDad2: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think Knot has apoint.
TeenDad2: We’re dads, yeah, but we’re also people, you know? Individuals. I think it’s important that Matthew knows he can still have fun. You don’t want his pregnancy to feel like a prison sentence, do you? It might make him resent the baby. Having a kid is scary, and stressful, and daunting, but I mean, I love my baby. I wouldn’t give him up for the world. I wouldn’t want Matthew to feel jaded about the experience, youknow?
Laurence wasn’t sure what to say. He read over what KnotMyProblem and TeenDad2 had said several times, then rested his head against the back of his chair and stared at the ceiling. Was he hurting Matthew by being too present in his life? For almost all of Matthew’s childhood, Laurence had been his only parental figure. He’d believed that unwavering support was more important than anything else for Matthew’s development—that if he took time for himself, he was letting Matthew down by abandoning him, just like Ann had done. But now, he wasn’t sosure.
LoveHarley: I definitely see where you’re coming from, Gwynn. You’ve done your best so far and you raised a good kid for it. No one is perfect. But time changes everything, and maybe it’s time for you to change your approach, you know? Like switching to solids, or ditching the crib for a bed. Just… the grown-up version. Matthew’s going from a boy to a man, and he’s taking the express route. Are you along for theride?
Gwynning: If he keeps the baby, then I’m going back to being a dad with aninfant.
KnotMyProblem: Bzzt. Wrong. You’re going to be agrandpawith an infant. I mean, I’d encourage you not to get Matthew his own apartment and tell him that he’s on his own or anything, but the baby isnotyour full responsibility. If you want to go out and have fun some nights, it’s Matthew’s job to make sure that he looks after his own kid. TD did it, and his kid seems to be turning out justfine.
TeenDad2: ugh :( don’t remind me. My kiddo has been on and off sick lately and it’s killing me slowly. I don’t feel like I’m doingfine.
xVerity: TD, you’re doingwonderfully.
Gwynning: Thanks, youguys.
Thanks was easier than arguing. Laurence wasn’t sure if he agreed with what his friends had to say, but the way his heart throbbed made him want to believe it. If he could see Alex again? If he could make things right betweenthem?
Laurence’s mind told him that it was wrong to want to pursue something with Alex—that they were from two entirely different generations, and that they were too dissimilar to be a good match. But the way Alex made him feel when they were together shot that notion to pieces, then set those pieces onfire.
He could be a good dad while pursuing a relationship. He didn’t need to give up on Alex for Matthew’ssake.
KnotMyProblem: I really hope it helps, Gwynn. You’re a good guy, and you deserve to be happy, too. I know the whole martyr thing is your bag, but… you don’t have to keep sacrificing your happiness. Let TD pick up the slack for you. He seems happy enough depriving himself of a sociallife.
TeenDad2: Hey! I resent that! You know what’s going on with me, and my martyrdom isvalid.
KnotMyProblem: Yeah, yeah. True love, and all that. We’ve heard thestory.
