Chapter 13
“Are you sure you're okay?” Cormag asked, as Lachlan lowered himself back into his seat.
He felt dazed, disorientated and ecstatically happy, so he wasn't sure how to answer that question honestly. All he could do was nod. He never thought this day would come. He'd spent such a long time convinced that being with Cormag meant that children would never be in their future. That it wasn't yet medically possible for both of them to be a father to their child, though he'd heard of one or two couples who had managed it.
Now, they would be parents to a child who needed them desperately.
“Here, drink this.” Konnor thrust a glass into his hand, while Grayson sat beside him looking anxious.
Lachlan obeyed, by taking a sip. An action he was glad he'd taken since it proved to be vodka and not water as he'd thought. He took a second sip and tried to tell his body that he was okay; he was better than okay!
“How long have you been waiting?” his best friend asked, his voice quiet but unable to mask the hurt.
Taking one last sip, he placed the glass on the table and turned to Konnor. “I was going to tell you, whether we were approved or not. If we hadn't been, I'd have needed you more than ever,” he promised, reaching out to grasp his hand. “But I couldn't say it, until I knew. I was too scared. We might be married and in good jobs, but my career is unpredictable financially and we're gay men. There was a lot going against us,” he admitted, though the social worker who had investigated them had been lovely.
A single mother of two foster kids, she'd known how badly they needed more foster parents and adoptions to take care of the kids in the system. She'd helped them make sure they did everything by the book, filled out the forms properly and taken the right precautions in every possible way. She'd been a Godsend.
“His name is Nicholas,” Lachlan said, sharing that information with his best friend now that he could. “He's the most adorable little boy. He's French, or his parents were, and we promised to keep that up and teach him to be bilingual. He's got the most beautiful blue eyes!” He could gush all day about the sweet boy, but he doubted Konnor wanted to hear it. He'd meet Nicholas soon enough. “We've been visiting him for about three months, just a few hours at a time and we were allowed a few day trips, to the museum and to the park, with him. He's only eight months old, but he's so beautiful, Konnor,” he confessed, wishing he could be with Nicholas now, to hold him and tell him all about his future.
How loved he would be, how cared for and protected. That he'd have anything his heart desired, but that he and Cormag would make sure he didn't become greedy or spoiled; he'd be a smart, proper little boy, with good manners and a healthy intellectual appetite. He didn't doubt it at all, because any time he got to read to Nicholas, he always pointed to the next book on the shelf, asking for more.
Leaving him had broken Lachlan's heart more times than he could count.
But Cormag was always there to remind him that it was for a reason. That it was for Nicholas' best interested and that they might get to take him home one day, for good. And, if they didn't, it wasn't the end of the world or their dreams. They could try again with another child. Someone just as deserving and just as in need.
Konnor smiled and gripped his hand tight. “I can see how happy you are about this,” he said, while the room was just beginning to quiet after their announcement. “I'm so happyfor you, Lachlan. I know you've always wanted a family. How much your parents will be there to support you and celebrate this. It's a real dream come true,” he claimed, with just enough sadness that Lachlan sighed.
Without asking why, he hugged his best friend and held him tight. “It will happen for you, too. When you're both ready,” he promised. The ragged breath released against his ear didn't sound reassured, but he'd keep chipping away at Konnor's insecurities until he believed it.
Right now, he and Grayson were in no state to have a child. Not with Konnor's therapy, their lack of a secure job and just engaged. They weren't in any way likely to be approved by an adoption or foster agency, because they hadn't grown roots yet. Not like he and Cormag had. But that was okay, because it would happen. When it was meant to.
“I hope so,” he whispered in reply.
It was the first time Konnor had admitted to wanting a family, so Lachlan was pleased to hear him vocalising that dream. Now, all they had to do was work towards making it a reality. The same way Lachlan and Cormag had spent the last year and a half working to make their dreams a reality.
Their day was finally here. Konnor's would get his too, eventually.
