“Hello, sweetheart, hi, babe,” Marco whispered to greet us, leaning forward slightly to give us each an air kiss. “Trisha just took off.”
Trisha was Alex’s sister and Serena’s mom. She’d moved to Philadelphia when she learned she was pregnant, coming to stay with the brother who always had her back. At first, she hadn’t known what her plan was, and it never crossed our mind that the child she was carrying might be meant for our home. We’d figured we had a few more years to get things sorted out before we made real steps toward adopting.
And then one thing led to another, and one teary night, Trisha asked if we would parent her baby. The plan had always been that she’d move back to Salt Lake City when everything was said and done, but with Alex’s gentle encouragement, she’d eventually found a job and a house only an hour away from Philly and stuck around instead, another unexpected and very welcome addition to the growing family.
I held out my arms, and Marco gently handed off Serena. My heart melted as she softly stirred, her warm presence against my chest making me purr with satisfaction. I rocked her just slightly, back and forth, shaking my hips as we started a very slow loop around the living room.
“Our baby,” I sang softly. “Our love.”
I stepped over a couple of soft toys and a baby book, and Lou made a circle at my feet. All of the interesting and fun stuff that used to live close to the floor, like a collection of flower vases Marco adored and Demir’s weights, was now tucked up higher in preparation of Serena becoming more mobile.
What a lucky baby, I thought for the millionth time. Instead of growing up in a cold house, where everyone was judged and discarded, Serena would grow up in a house that overflowed with love and with people who knew how to grow together. I imagined if I had been a child and had role models like Demir and Marco to look up to, I’d have learned that men could be sweet and kind just as much as they could be fierce and strong. I’d have seen happiness and sadness and not been scared of any of it at all.
Serena stirred again and then began to wake. Demir appeared with a small bottle of milk, and I handed her off with a smile. Marco and I began to chat now that she was awake, and he told an involved story in which Serena made a series of expressions, each of which Marco perfectly recreated.
I laughed along, then gave Marco a quick swat on the ass before I jumped in the shower. I always felt like I needed to wash the ride off of me when I went out with Demir, and I lathered soap up and down myself as I stood under the hot sprays. My muscles were worn and tired, but I was still eager to get back to the gym the next morning, after having to take a few days off.
It was like I had found a whole new drive when Serena came into our lives. I had been so happy when it was just Marco, Demir, and me, I’d almost forgotten that more was possible. But now, it was like our joy had another purpose, beyond the love we already gave to each other.
I loved being a father, and I loved being a partner to those two men. I guess it was as simple as that.
I stepped out of the shower and toweled myself off before running a hand through my hair. I wanted to hurry into the studio for a couple of hours, considering the whole family would be tied up for the rest of the weekend, and I was entering into another busy season at work soon enough. I tugged on some clothes, then walked out to say goodbye to the guys and Serena.
“Home in two hours?” Marco asked. “Promise? Dinner is best served hot.”
“I set an alarm on my phone,” I said, kissing his cheek. “Bye, sweetheart.”
“Bye, sweetheart,” he answered.
“And you two,” I said, swooping in to kiss Demir and then down to Serena. “I’ll miss you!” I whispered to her.
“I’ll miss you, too,” Demir joked.
I gave him one more kiss on the cheek for good measure. “Love you! See you later!”
I stepped back outside, then paused by my car. I turned to look up at the sky and smiled.
“If you can see me now, Mom,” I said, “I’m glad you’ll see that I’m happy.”
MARCO
“Do you remember Mateo?” I asked Serena, holding her on my knee and bouncing her. “And Missy?”
Raul and Paolo’s twin preschoolers stared back at Serena, and an older woman I didn’t recognize with a tray full of hot dogs and potato chips walked by behind them. Serena blinked a few times, then burped up on her stomach.
“Ewww!” Mateo and Missy groaned in unison, then ran back to their parents, waiting at a bench nearby.
“You never get tired of that one, do you?” I joked to Serena while I cleaned her off.
Zach and Sasha wandered over. Sasha had a frisbee hanging from one hand and a light sweater with a blue pattern that brought out her eyes. Zach bounced down to pretend to tweak Serena’s nose, which for some reason always got a laugh out of her.
“So, I hear you play football,” Zach said, taking a seat next to me on the table.
“It’s been rumored,” I agreed. “You a scout?”
“Kind of,” Zach laughed. “More like the captain of a LGBT touch football league, looking for a couple players. There are lots of parents on our team, so it’s easy to coordinate on childcare and that sort of thing, if you’re interested.”
“Hmmm,” I said. “Notnotinterested. Want to tell me more?”
