“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Ma pulls me into a hug, and I release a shaky breath, wiping the tears from my eyes. “This changes nothing. They would’ve been my grandkids regardless.”
“I expect to see ye and those boys around more,” Da says.
“Aye.”
——————
It takes a few days for the excitement of our double proposal to wear off with the boys. When we told them that we were going to get married, they were excited but not surprised. Micah already thought we were together, but he gave me the longest hug. Levi had a bunch of questionsincluding what room I was going to stay in, could it be their bedroom, where would all my clothes go because Mama’s closet was full, and if I fart in my sleep. Lucky and I both agreed that the proposal news was a big enough change that we didn’t want to overwhelm them with too much at once and tell them that I was also their father.
That changed quickly when Micah had a nightmare and came running into Lucky’s bedroom looking for me in the middle of the night. It was the one night I spent at my apartment since I needed to do laundry and grab clothes ahead of my shift the next day. Lucky told me he was crying so hard from the dream that he started to say “dad” at one point but caught himself. It nearly broke me that I wasn’t there for him, and we both agreed that we didn’t want to wait any longer to tell the boys. And I physically couldn’t bear spending one more night away from my family.
My family. My sons. My soon-to-be wife.
So, I packed up as much of my shite as I could, recruited the rookies to help with the rest, and I’ve been here ever since.
“Levi, Micah, can you come down here?” Lucky yells.
Seconds later the patter of little feet races down the stairs. Levi beelines for the couch, hopping over the back of it as he flops onto his side. Micah walks over calmly and sits next to him.
“There’s something we want to talk to you about,” Lucky starts.
“Levi did it!” Micah says, assuming they’re in trouble. I can’t help but chuckle.
“No, I didn’t,” Levi whines.
“It’s not about that.” I look down at them as their big eyes stare up at me expectantly. “Your mom and I?—”
“Is this about kissing?” Micah interrupts.
Lucky lets out an exasperated sigh next to me. “It’s not about kissing.”
“Well, Iwillbe kissing my wife,” I say, winking at her.
“Eww, kissing,” Levi says.
“That’s gross,” Micah says.
“Not the point, lads.”
“What Mike and I are trying to say is?—”
“When are you getting married?” Micah interrupts again.
“Why are you getting married?” Levi asks.
“Because we love each other,” Lucky and I say in unison. We smile at each other as a chorus of “ewws” erupt from the boys.
“Are you going to be our dad now?” Levi asks.
This is it. Tears well in my eyes, and I blink rapidly to clear them.
“It turns out that I already am your dad.”
Micah gets really still, his mouth slightly parted as he blinks up at me. I hold my breath waiting for his reaction. He jumps up off the couch and runs over to me, plastering himself to my leg in the tightest hug his cast will allow. I can feel the small hiccupping breaths causing tremors in his body, and I bend down to pick him up, pulling him against my chest as he rests his head against my shoulder. My palm covers his back as I rub soothingly up and down.
“I love you, Mikachu,” I say against his cheek as I plant a gentle kiss there.
“I wanted you to be my dad,” Micah says through small sobs.
