“Yeah, exactly.” Dev smiled, then sighed when a cloud moved and the sun hit him straight in the face.
“Missing the California sun?”
“No, not really. It’s really nice in here, but I like Colorado much better. Seasons and all.”
“True.”
After they’d floated a while, Dev swam a few laps and then realized he was thirsty.
“I think it’s like half an hour or more until dinner, so I’m going to go get us some drinks and be right back,” he said, moving to the ladder to pull himself up.
Seth made a groaning sound behind him.
“What?”
“I forgot you were wearing those eyesores….”
“Oh fuck off, love,” Dev said, chuckling as he walked to the mudroom, where he could get to the kitchen without trailing water all over the family room and dining room.
He got to the hallway connecting various utility spaces and the garage, when voices murmured in the kitchen. Dev snuck up to the door that was open just a bit, enough for him to lean to the wall beside it and listen in.
“It’s not just about the age, Leaf, you’ve got to understand that,” Mom said over the sounds of chopping.
“Oh, I do. It’s not like Seth and I haven’t thought about this long and hard, as much as Dev has, I assume.”
“Do either of you have experience of polyamory?”
“No, not personal experience. I… in my childhood, I don’t know if Dev has told you about any of it, but the way I was raised, there were poly relationships. Monogamy wasn’t something I saw much at all. I think of love and sex differently, although with Seth, for the last decade, we’ve been completely monogamous.”
“Until Dev came along.” Mom’s tone was thoughtful.
“Yeah. We didn’t expect anything like this to happen. I guess if I’d felt differently about it all, more… I don’t know—if I’d thought monogamy was the only way, then there might’ve been trouble. But there never was, not between the three of us.” The way Leaf said the last bit was telling, and Dev bit his lip and tried not to laugh.
“Oh, my other son,” Mom said, snorting. “For a smart young man, Angel can be a bit of a prude. He takes things so very personally, when they’re not about him in the least. I suppose he’ll fall in love eventually and that will fix things for him.”
Dev could almost feel the “I would hope so” Leaf was holding in, and the sudden giggle and chuckle told them that his mother had caught Leaf’s expression, whatever it had been. Dev smiled.
“I think you’re doing your best. You and Seth have enough life experience to know what you’re doing to the capacityanyof us ever know when it comes to love.”
“So, we have your blessing?” Leaf hazarded, voice cautiously playful.
“Youhave my blessing. I still want to talk to Seth too. And I expect my husband is wanting to give you the shovel talk as well.”
“Oh goodie,” Leaf grunted.
Dev walked quietly a few steps back, then closed the utility room door louder than needed and let his bare feet slap on the tiles.
“Hey, how’s it going here?” he asked and kissed his mother’s cheek as he passed her.
“We should be ready for six thirty, as I planned. Even before that, but this stuff will keep, so it should be fine.”
“Cool. I’m going to take drinks for us to the back and swim a bit more. I’ve missed the pool,” he confessed, and his mother smiled.
“You should go swimming in Colorado. I bet there are indoor pools you could use. It’s good exercise, and one you’ve always liked.”
“Yeah, we might have to look into that,” Dev agreed and took the water bottles to Leaf. He tilted his head for a kiss, and Leaf granted him a chaste, mother-in-the-same-room approved one. “Alrighty, have fun cooking!” He grinned at Leaf at the understanding in his gaze. He knew Dev had heard everything. Leaf shook his head fondly and went back to chopping carrots.
GETTING Ahug from his dad was awesome. It reminded Dev how much he missed his parents when in Colorado. Phone and video calls just weren’t the same as being physically in the same space.
