Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
I’d avoided my mom for the sake of sanity. I wasn’t about to have a showdown in front of an audience. That could wait till tomorrow. I was suddenly very happy she and Dad were staying at a hotel. I was exhausted.
And kind of bummed that the day had gone sideways.
But…it wasn’t too late.
“How about now?” Aaron whispered, his back against the pantry door in the kitchen. “This might be perfect. We probably should have started small and…well, these are some of our most important people. At the very least, we have all our parents here. What do you think?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
His eyes were suspiciously watery. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” I kissed him, snickering with our lips joined as Lena approached.
“Hi, lovebirds. I have an early class tomorrow. Did you still want to make your announcement?”
Aaron grinned and draped a protective arm around Lena. “Yes. Let’s do it now.”
“Matthew, I’d like to speak to you, please,” my mother hissed.
“Um…sure.” I frowned, sharing a WTF glance with Aaron before following my mother into the adjoining living room. The bulk of our guests were in the great room or still on the deck, so this was a relatively quiet place to discuss whatever was bothering her. “What do you—”
“Who is that woman, and why are you letting her into your marriage?”
“My marriage?” I repeated. I scratched my head, unable to contain a snort of laughter. “Mom, are you joking?”
“I hardly think this is funny. You love Aaron and he loves you. Why would you invite someone in to ruin a good thing? And don’t tell me I’m imagining this. I saw the way you looked at her, and I was absolutely gutted for Aaron’s sake. Once upon a time, I would have given anything for you to meet a beautiful woman and forget about him. But you’re married and he’s—” My mother set a hand over her heart and blinked as if curbing an unseemly show of emotion. “So wonderful and so good for you.”
“He is,” I agreed softly. “Mom, there’s no one else. I love my husband.”
“Explain her. It wasn’t just you looking at her like she’s a beautiful goddess…it was Aaron too.” Mom shook her head, her eyes wandering to the great room. “He’s gay, so I don’t know how this works, and I don’t want to know.”
“Mom—”
“Are you in a throuple?”
My jaw hit the floor cartoon-style and stayed there.
“Throuple? Oh, wow. I…think I’m speechless.” And I wanted to scrub my brain now. “How do you even know that word?”
“I watch TV. I know things.” She bristled, fussing with the collar of her shirt awkwardly.
“Christ, Mom…”
“Is everything okay?” Aaron eyed us warily as he entered the room.
“Well…sure, but my mom thinks we’re in a throuple.” I snicker-snorted, unable to hold back a roar of laughter.
Yeah, I gave up. No offense to those in multiple partner relationships, but that was so not me or Aaron that it was hysterical. And that was where my mom had gone? I mean…wow.
Aaron wrinkled his nose. “A throuple? With who?”
“Lena.” More laughter. I doubled over and smacked my knees. “Oh, my God…that’s hilarious.”
I cackled like a loon, loud and boisterous, vaguely aware that on some level, this was release. After all the stress of the past few months…no, years—we were finally on the right track. And my mom somehow thought we’d spiraled into a whole other direction.
“It’s not that funny,” my mother sniffed primly.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Hold up. You thought our surrogate was our…lover?” Aaron asked incredulously.
“Your surrogate?” My mother perked up. “I thought you were adopting. Why didn’t you say so?”
We had an audience now…a big audience.
I straightened, hands on hips as I surveyed the curious onlookers. “We’re telling you now. Right, Aar?”
Aaron’s front teeth pierced his bottom lip as he inclined his chin. “Right.”
Here goes everything.
“Lena is our surrogate, and she’s pregnant with our baby.”
The room exploded with cheers of congratulations. There were heartfelt hugs and a million questions. Lena smiled like a champ and explained her role.
“I’m the oven,” she joked.
“No, you’re a miracle,” my mother gushed, wiping a tear from her cheek and grasping my hand. “When are you due? Will you find out what you’re having? Any chance of twins? Are you feeling well? You should sit. I know exercise is important, but is yoga okay for you?”
“Whoa…Mom, go easy on her. No smothering,” I chided, squeezing her hand gently.
Mom blinked through a new round of tears. “I knew something was up, but I didn’t dare hope it was this.”
“Throuple was the next logical explanation,” I deadpanned.
She smacked my arm playfully. “I’m sorry. I just…I can’t believe it. Oh, Matt, you’re going to be a daddy.”
The raw emotion and wonder in her voice was undeniable. My mom could be difficult and was famous for jumping to all the wrong conclusions. However, her heart was usually in the right place. Or perhaps a little off-center, but hey, I never doubted that she loved me. And in a way, she’d shared a slice of the burden and pain on our journey to fatherhood. She’d sympathized, she’d cried, she’d been angry and hurt on our behalf. And now…she was overcome with joy.