Chapter 21
Linden
“How are classes, Athan?”
“Atlas, if you grab those rolls one more time…”
“Mama, you know I can’t stand asparagus.”
“You eat all that I put on your plate.”
“Anyone want some wine?”
“Why did you get a ‘C’ in calculus?”
It was chaos as soon as we sat down at the table in the formal dining room.
The entire family talked over each other, yet they still managed to carry on a conversation.
And I loved it. It was noisy and full of love.
Atlas’s parents were completely involved in their children’s lives.
It was so different compared to how Hugh and I were brought up.
Dinner was usually a formal affair, and we ate in near silence.
I glanced at Hugh and chuckled. He smiled back, shaking his head. I already loved Atlas’s family, and I think my cousin did, too.
Without being asked what I wanted, Elena piled my plate with rice pilaf, some sort of meatballs, asparagus, a lasagna-looking thing, two rolls, and stuffed grape leaves. God, I wasn’t sure I could finish it all. I eyed Atlas, who shrugged and mouthed, ‘Eat it.’
Hugh leaned in close to me. “This is a lot of food.”
“Eat up. This is for Atlas.”
When his mom sat down and served herself, all eyes landed on us. Elena shooed us to start. I guess we were to take the first bites?
I stabbed a meatball with my fork, dipped it in Tzatziki sauce, and took a bite. The cucumber and yogurt paired really well with the savory meat.
“Delicious,” I said.
“Oh, this is so good,” Hugh agreed.
Elena beamed at us, and everyone dug in to eat.
“Any big construction projects your company is working on?” Christos asked.
“Yes, we recently acquired PrimaryMed. They’re constructing a hospital in Reston,” Hugh replied.
“Oh, that’s exciting. I wish I were on a job like that. It would pay really well.”
“What is your current construction project?” I asked him.
“Not nearly as exciting as a hospital. But we’ve recently started on a new shopping center in Bethesda.”
I raised my wineglass in the air, and Hugh followed suit before everyone else raised their glasses in response. “May we never run out of projects.”
“Here, here,” Christos said, a huge smile gracing his face.
Atlas’s brothers kept side-eyeing us, and I worried it was only a matter of time before the parents noticed or finally said something about our relationship. No one was ready for that news yet. Fortunately, they kept their mouths shut as Atlas said they would.
The meal was long, loud, and my stomach felt like it was going to fucking pop. Just as I finally cleared my plate, Elena served me some more food. God, I was going to die.
“Save room for dessert,” she said.
I swore a squeak escaped me. “Dessert?”
Atlas burst out laughing, prompting a gentle smack to his head from his mother, which, in turn, made me laugh. Fuck, I felt like I was a kid again, but only in the best way.
Elena and all three of her sons cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen as she got dessert ready and made coffee.
Christos wiped his mouth with his napkin before resting his elbows on the table and forking his fingers together, eyeing Hugh and me. “Thank you for eating all that food. I know it’s a lot, but my wife wanted to impress you.”
“It was our pleasure. Your wife is an amazing cook,” Hugh said.
I rubbed my protruding belly. “Indeed, but I’m about to pop.”
Christos chuckled. “She likes to keep us fed. It’s her love language. Elena overdoes it sometimes, and we all try to offer help with cooking, but she runs a tight ship in the kitchen and kicks us out.”
“Elena sounds like a good woman.”
“I am,” she said with twinkling eyes and a small smile when she came back into the dining room, carrying a cake, which she set in the center of the table. Following behind her was Atlas, holding dessert plates and fresh forks.
Just looking at the slice of cake placed in front of me made me want to cry, but I dug my fork into it and took a large bite. It tasted citrusy and very sweet.
“I see no rings. Are you two married?” Elena asked us.
Atlas’s jaw dropped. “Mama!”
“What? I am just curious about our guests, is all.”
“Well, I’m gay,” I said.
She dismissed me. “Tsh, as if that makes a difference. Men can marry men these days. I’ve been trying to find Atlas a husband, but he fights me every step of the way.”
Hugh took a small bite of the cake, probably feeling the same pain I was, but he wore it better. “I’m not married either. I just haven’t found the right person. My father gets on me about marriage and family as well.”
Elena nodded as she took a sip of her coffee. “Family is everything. When you have no one, you will always have family. It needs to grow, thrive, and be protected at all costs.”
“Mama,” Atlas said again, more gently. “Not everyone wants marriage and kids.”
“I suppose, but I don’t understand it.”
“Maybe one day,” I said with a smile to appease her.
“I bet Atlas would love to have a lot of husbands,” Athan teased and winked.
‘Shut up,’ Atlas mouthed back.
His parents must not have heard since they were engrossed in their own conversation.
After dessert, I wanted to curl up into a fetal position and cry, but Atlas didn’t let us rest or cry. He dragged us upstairs to show us his childhood bedroom.
It was a small space, but filled to the brim with stuff, from books to décor to photographs, and furniture. There were stuffed toys on the bed and a rainbow pillow. The vanity dresser had a jewelry box sitting in the middle. And the walls had several pieces of art.
Did Atlas paint those?
I knew he was a painter, but he’d never shown us his work before, and I stupidly didn’t ask when I should have. If we were trying for something long-term, we should know all aspects of each other’s lives.
I stood in front of one painting. It was mostly white, but in the center was a watercolor of two men kissing. The colors were bright and vibrant, and the two men were emotive. You could feel what they were painted to express. It was beautiful and touching.
“Did you paint these, Atlas?”
“Yep. My mom hung them up here. She likes them more than I do. I’ve always wanted to be a painter, but I just don’t think I’m good enough. I haven’t found my… I don’t know, my style, I suppose. Everything I do seems like an experiment, you know? Nothing seems to stick.”
Hugh stood next to me to inspect the painting. “This is stunning, Atlas. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I looked back at Atlas, who shrugged and picked up his jewelry box. He opened the lid, and long fingers sorted through the items inside before pulling out a pair of vintage earrings with black-and-white gemstones. I doubted they were expensive. He dropped them into his jeans’ pocket.
“I forgot I had these.”
Feeling ill, I sat and lay back on Atlas’s bed. It was a bit lumpy, but I was spoiled with my expensive memory foam mattress.
“I think I’m going to die.”
Atlas giggled and climbed into bed. He hovered and leaned down to kiss me, then he fell in next to me. I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close.
“I’ve been dying to kiss you both all night,” he said.
The three of us couldn’t fit into Atlas’s tiny bed, but instead of just kissing him, Hugh dropped his body on top of ours.
“Oof!” I complained, but honestly, he felt right being on Atlas and me. “I’m full, man!”
Hugh laughed. “Suck it up, buttercup. I’m full, too.”
I had to admit that I liked this playful side of Hugh. It was something I hadn’t seen in years.
As much as I wanted to ruffle his hair in response, I kept my hands to myself. Meanwhile, Atlas wrapped his arms around Hugh’s neck and pulled him down tighter over us.
“Oof,” I whined again.
“Snuggling my darlings in my childhood bed is kind of naughty. If my family weren’t home, I’d suggest we corrupt it.”
When Atlas’s bed suddenly creaked loudly under our weight, we all scrambled off.
“Okay, my bed nixed the corruption idea,” Atlas said, giggling.
“Damn, and here I was about to lock the bedroom door.” Another joke from Hugh. Yeah, I really liked that. He deserved to have someone who loosened him up and made him happy. It just showed how special Atlas was.
Hugh wrapped his arms around Atlas from behind and kissed his neck. “You’re going to have to make a painting for me. I’ll hang it over the fireplace.”
“Oh, I’m not that good. You don’t want that, not for something so visible.”
“What are you talking about? Because I want some art, too,” I said.
He eyed us both, back and forth, debating whether to argue with us or give in.
“Well, you can see what I’ve done back at my apartment. These are old. I painted them back in high school.”
I stood next to Atlas and wrapped my arm around his shoulder while Hugh still held him. “If they’re that good from when you were a teen, I bet your art is even more amazing now.”
Atlas’s face pinked as he gnawed on his bottom lip. “If you say so. You can decide for yourself when you see them. But don’t placate me and shit.”
“We wouldn’t do that, sweetheart,” Hugh said.
“We’d better head downstairs. Mom will have a lot of food for us to take home. Just warning you.”
“As long as I don’t have to cook,” I chuckled.
Before we headed down to say goodbye to his family, Atlas placed his hands on Hugh’s face and pulled him into a kiss. Then it was my turn. “Sorry, I needed that,” he said.
I loved that after our talk, Atlas had grown bolder with what he wanted from us.
I fingered his curls away from his forehead and kissed it. “You have a special family, sweet stuff. No wonder you’re special, too.” And he was. Hugh and I had quickly grown attached to him.
“Thanks. They’re a pain, but I love them.”
By the time we made it downstairs, Elena had a pile of Tupperware bagged up for us to take home. “I have enough food here to choke a horse. You all take dinner home. Eat it. Don’t waste it!”
“No, ma’am. We’ll eat it all,” I said.
“Good boy.”
We shook everyone’s hands, and Hugh and I grabbed several bags of leftovers, while they hugged and kissed Atlas.
The men headed back to the living room after all the goodbyes, but his mother walked us out.
After we got all the food loaded up in the car, Elena pulled Atlas into another hug and kissed both his cheeks before looking at Hugh and me.
“You be good to my boy, you here?”
“Mama!” Atlas cried out. No doubt he complained like that often when he was growing up.
Hugh and I laughed and promised we’d be good to him.
“And you be the good son I know you are. Work hard and make sure you help these good men stay organized.”
Atlas rolled his eyes as soon as he turned his back on her and climbed into the backseat of the car. “Bye, Mama.”
“Bye, boys! Drive safely.”
We all waved back once more, and Hugh drove off.
“She’ll watch us until she can’t see the car anymore,” Atlas explained.
“That’s so sweet,” I said.
“She’s overbearing, but it’s all out of love.”
Hugh glanced in the review mirror before his eyes landed on the road. “Well, that went rather well, I think.”
“It did,” Atlas agreed. “It went really well, but I knew they’d like you.”
“But will they still like us if they learn about our relationship?”
“It’s hard to say. They’re pretty accepting as far as parents go, but they’re also fairly traditional. But I hope so. I want my parents to like you and not care that we’re starting something special here.”
I reached behind me and took his hand in mine. “I think this will grow into something special and unique.”
Atlas beamed at me and played with my fingers. “I hope so. Thanks for saying that.”
“Have you had any word about Ryder?” Hugh asked.
Atlas frowned and nodded. “Yeah, he’s been grieving, apparently. He lost his twin sister. She was killed. Crazy. I can’t even imagine. He’ll be headed back to Nebraska for a while as he recovers. I’m going to miss him.”
“Jesus, that’s got to be hard,” I said.
“Yeah, and he blames himself, which is why he’s even worse off, but he hasn’t explained the story to me, and I didn’t push him. If he wants me to know, he’ll tell me. I just hope he finds some peace. He’s so sweet, you know?”
I brought his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles, keeping this newfound jealousy at bay. I wanted to ask how sweet Ryder was and if he’d had any interest in his roommate. Atlas was with us, and it’d be pretty shitty of me to say something while he was worried about his friend.
This was definitely something new. I didn’t even get jealous when Hugh was with someone else; I was only periodically disappointed, but I had different expectations with Atlas. He belonged to us and no one else.