“Is James with his family today?” Aspen asked, after Leon bought them another round of drinks.
“Yeah, and it’s a bit too early for the whole holiday with the family thing.”
“I feel you. Noah’s visiting his family, and even though I offered, I’m pretty glad he didn’t take me up on it. I think thisyear is going to be chaotic, and that’s coming from someone with ADHD who could probably give the Energizer Bunny a run for its money.”
Aspen expected Leon to brush off the comment or even agree with Aspen that thereclearlywas no way they’d be able to keep up withanything, but instead, he leaned forward in his seat. “When did you get diagnosed?”
Aspen wasn’t embarrassed or shy about their new diagnosis, but it also wasn’t something they would usually discuss with a virtual stranger. They glanced at the time at the bottom of the sports game blaring above the bar and was shocked to see it had been over two hours since they first started talking.
That meant Leon wasn’t really a stranger anymore, right? Aspen put their elbow on the bar, settled their chin on their hand, and decided to hell with it. Why not.
They ended up discussing Aspen’s ADHD, which led to Leon admitting he suspected he might have it as well. Somehow, this led to him haltingly opening up about his relationship with James. This, of course, opened the door for Aspen to dump all of their thoughts and feelings about Noah on the poor man, and they ended up closing out the bar together. As they stood outside on the sidewalk, they exchanged numbers and agreed to hang out again the next day.
The butterfly in Aspen’s chest fluttered happily for the next three days as they spent Christmas day with Leon, the following day with Rachel, and the last day before Noah returned with Blair. Apparently, several of the roommates had left the place a bit of a mess before heading out of town to be with their family, friends, partners, et cetera, and Blair had finally had enough. She promised to treat Aspen to whatever dinner they wanted if they helped her deep-clean the apartment.
“You know, I never thought I’d say this, but you’re really starting to compete with me for queer found family size,” Blair said as she chucked an empty shampoo bottle into the trash can.
“Am I? I have Noah, Rachel, you–”
“Dani, everyone at the salon, all the random friends you’ve made at the Rainbow Bean, and now Leon, James, and Charlie.”
Aspen scrunched up their face as they attempted to scrub away a very stubborn bit of pink mold on the shower floor. “I’ve said four words to James… Okay, no, probably more than that, but you know what I mean. I’ve only texted with Charlie, and Dani is my sibling—that’s not found family.”
Blair yanked back the shower curtain and scowled down at them. “First of all, if you have Leon, you have James. Trust me, I know how gay monogasty couples work. Same goes for Charlie, because I’m pretty sure Charlie is another one of Noah’s forever friends, and by the transitive property of queerness, that means he’s your forever friend too, without even having to meet you.”
“Sweet. Gay. Jesus,” Aspen said, lowering their forehead to the side of the tub.
“Second, your sibling chose to stay by your side after your ass crack of a family abandoned you. That's a found family if I’ve ever seen it.”
“But I didn’t find–”
“Chosen family, then,” Blair said, as she turned away from them and began fighting to close the overstuffed trash bag. “She’s choosing you. Just like you chose Noah all those years ago, and continue to choose him every day. It’s also how you chose Rachel and the rest of us.”
Aspen sat up and looked over at her, in her paint-splattered overalls and black sports bra. “I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of it like that. It sort of seems like all the amazing people in my life just sort of find their way to me, and if I’m lucky enough, I get to keep them.”
Blair let out a huff as she finally managed to knot the trash bag ties together. “Meeting them might have been by accident, but you’re actively choosing to invest in the relationships–and trust me, you investa lot. There’s nothing accidental about the relationships and family you’re building for yourself, hon. That’s what makes it so beautiful.”
She stood up and walked over to ruffle her questionably clean hand through their hair before she headed downstairs to throw out the trash.
Aspen thought about choice and investment the rest of the week between Christmas and New Year's. They thought about it while having welcome-home sex with Noah the first time and then again the next evening when Rachel came over to welcome him home as well. When they rang in the new year with Rachel, Blair, and Noah, they were more aware than they usually would have been that the resolution they chose, eating more protein, would allow them to go on more fun foodie dates with Rachel and their other friends, as well as cook more with Noah.
As they began crafting the final guest list for the fundraiser, they thought about what Blair had said once more. Everyone she had listed as part of their chosen family got an invite. Each person was like another ring on a tree, building their life bigger and sturdier than ever before. Being with Noah, even if only as a trial, had allowed them to broaden and grow their life in ways they’d never thought possible. He encouraged every one of their endeavors, welcomed every new friend, and always wanted what was best for them.
For the first time since getting married, they had full control over their life, not beholden to parents who didn’t understand them or to a spouse who wanted to fit them into a neat box. They got to choose who they wanted to be, what they wanted to do, and the people they were going to spend the rest of their life with.
Chapter 10
Aspen
“Does everyone understand their marching orders?” Aspen asked, scanning the group of people gathered out front of the animal shelter. Their eyes caught and held on Charlie for a moment before quickly skittering away, taking in all their other friends and a few volunteers who nodded eagerly.
“Alright, then let's make this the best fundraiser ever!” they said, punching their hand in the air and kicking their back foot off the ground in one of the campiest poses they had ever struck in their life.
It wasn’t their fault that they were so flustered.
Thankfully, everyone else seemed to have their faculties about them, and they scattered to the various tables, stations, and posts that needed to be set up.
Noah walked up to them and smiled warmly, which went a small way to easing their nerves, but that was shot straight to hell when Charlie–all broad-shouldered, with tousled hair, and worn jeans that fit like sin–walked over to them as well.
