Rowan
Author’s note:
I don’t know about you, but I could use a break after how intense that last chapter was. How about some nice, relaxing, familial strife?
“That’s about all the time we have left for today. What is one thing you want to take from this session?” Emma asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emma nodding enthusiastically in her video box. “It sounds like you made phenomenal progress last weekend and are taking a great step in introducing them to your family today.”
Rowan glanced at the clock for probably the hundredth time. He had left work early so he could do his second therapy session at home and pick Milo up from work with enough time to beat the weekend traffic out of the city.
“And I think you’re as prepared as you can be to see Ruben there,” Emma prompted.
Rowan’s hawk hopped around, fluttering his wings and clacking his beak.
Rowan wasn’t the only one who was anxious about today.
His hawk hated fighting with Ruben. Anytime they would argue as kids, his hawk would be out of sorts for hours, if not days, afterward.
The past week spent avoiding Ruben’s texts hadn’t helped the matter, but Rowan simply couldn’t bring himself to respond.
“I know I’m going to have to speak with him,” Rowan said, attempting to smooth down the logo but only succeeding in pulling it up more.
He ran his pointer finger over the rough edge, hating the feeling only slightly more than he hated the prospect of this upcoming conversation.
“I still don’t really know what to say, but I guess I’ll figure it out in the moment. ”
The sound of a pen scratching across paper made the back of Rowan’s head prickle.
“I know it feels daunting,” Emma said, “but this won’t be your only chance to talk to him. If things don’t go the way you’d like this weekend, we can regroup next week, and you can try again.”
Intuitively, he knew that she was right.
There was probably no way to get through the weekend without having at least a brief chat, but it didn’t have to be the end all, be all conversation.
He could focus on Milo, and Ruben could focus on Ray, and they could talk when he got back from his recruiting trip or after the next one… or maybe the one after that.
What was another year or five or ten?
Rowan’s hawk shrieked, and Rowan remembered the devastation in Milo’s voice when they’d said: “She’s gone.” He bet Milo would give anything to have just one more talk with Anabelle, even if it was hard.
Rowan had spent so much time alone in his teens and early twenties.
At the time, he would have given anything to talk to his brother, but texts often went unanswered for days, and when Ruben would try to call back, Rowan was often asleep or at work.
Then he’d moved back and things had been good, if a little… Ah, yes. There it was again.
“I’m just so tired of this distance between me and everyone else,” Rowan said, and Emma’s pen scratched even faster. “You’re right. It doesn’t have to all be solved today, but maybe I can start.”
Rowan knew it wasn’t possible to win at therapy, but the way Emma smiled at him felt close enough.
“Troy, in all of his infinite wisdom, should be there as well, right? And of course, Milo will be by your side. You have a support network. You just need to give them the chance to show up for you.”
Emma had been very impressed with Troy’s “distant” observation, even if in the days since, Troy had sworn he was merely channeling Raina. Either way, he’d been nothing but supportive leading up to this weekend, going so far as to offer to come up before his original Saturday arrival time.
“It’s fine,” Rowan had told him. “If anything, it will hopefully mean that by the time you get there, things will be all settled. You need to be at the fundraiser on Friday night, let me handle this on my own.”
Troy had let it drop and Rowan conveniently didn’t mention this to Emma as he confirmed his next appointment for the following Thursday.
He didn’t need to bother Troy, but he would try to take to heart what both he and Emma had said about Milo.
They really were in his corner, and he was excited to introduce them to everyone.
Apparently, Milo was excited, too. They didn’t bounce in their seat like they had on the way to pick strawberries, but they did rock back and forth while singing wonderfully out of key to the radio.
Although their outfit was still muted, there were at least two patterns, and their blouse and shoes were navy blue, not black.
With a little coaxing from Ethel, Milo had agreed to go visit Anabelle’s grave for the first time since the funeral.
They had pushed back against going next week, wanting to give Ray lots of time with Ruben before he left, but in two weeks, they would all four make the journey across town.
Ethel had said the grave site was beautiful this time of year, with all the flowers sprouting along the hillside overlooking the city.
Milo had apparently been the one to pick the location because of the colorful flowers.
“Okay, so Raina has shoulder-length hair and is probably going to be splattered with paint, and Riley’s hair is down to the middle of her back.
Your alpha ma is taller than your omega mom, and I’ve met Ruben, Ray, and Troy,” Milo recited, their rocking reaching frenetic levels as Rowan turned into the familiar driveway.
“I’m sure they’re going to introduce themselves, baby. There won’t be a quiz.”
Milo nodded, even as their fingers clenched in their flowy white pants. “Right, but you also said things can get chaotic, so I just want to make sure I have my bases covered.”
Rowan shifted the car into park, and since his hand was already there, he gently nudged Milo’s knee with his pinky. “I think you’re more than covered.”
“Okay,” Milo said. Their hands clenched until their knuckles turned white, then they let out a loud breath and released their pants. “Okay, we’ve totally got this. No problem. Probably won’t even be hard.”
They threw open the door but somehow forgot to take off their seatbelt and ended up half falling out of the car.
Rowan’s hawk drew a wing over his face so he didn’t have to watch.
“I’m okay!” Milo called, managing to unhook themself and tumble to the ground.
Thankfully, no one was hanging around the front of the house. In fact, all the blinds were drawn in the front sitting room, which probably meant they were out back.
Maybe they could get settled in without having to do the awkward stuck-in-the-doorway-and-crammed-into-the-front-hall introductions.
Rowan had never brought home a significant other before, but a few members of the chess team had come over, and Raina had brought home a boyfriend or two over the years.
She and Troy had actually met up with their moms in the city between their second and third dates, sparing him the full meet-the-family shebang until after they were already mated.
He was a little surprised Ruben hadn’t opted for that as well. Milo had said it was probably Ray’s idea. Rowan just hoped he was ready for the full Rangecroft family treatment.
Once Milo managed to pick themself up off the ground with lots of grunts, a few curses, and a lot of promising that they were “totally and absolutely fine!”, they gathered up their bags and headed inside.
Rowan and Milo had been assigned to his and Ruben’s childhood room for the weekend.
The old bunk beds had been replaced with two full-sized beds on opposite sides of the room.
No matter how much it stung, the room assignment made sense.
His moms would never ask him to share a bed with someone they thought was just a friend, and a relatively new friend at that.
Ruben and Ray had been given the actual guest room, with the ornate queen bed and plush pillows.
Riley and Raina would be in their old room tonight, and Raina would join Troy in the study tomorrow, making good use of the Murphy bed Rowan had loved to play with as a kid.
“Oh my gods, it’s so cute,” Milo exclaimed, spinning in a circle in the middle of Rowan’s old room. “Did you use to have boy band pictures all over the walls? Or maybe girl bands?”
“Both, as well as some shirtless football players and busty cheerleaders,” Riley said, stepping into the room only far enough to rest her shoulder against the doorframe.
She gave her usual chin raise to Rowan, and he gave it back. “Milo, I’d like you to meet my second oldest sister, Riley.”
Milo looked between the two of them, stars practically visible in their shimmering gray eyes.
“It’s so great to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you, and your place is beautiful–I mean, your apartment building, which I have obviously only ever seen from the outside because I’m not a creepy stalker, even if this sounds exactly like something a creepy stalker would say,” Milo said, their voice rising steadily until their final few words were little more than a breathy shrill.
Riley raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow.
“I pointed out your building from my apartment,” Rowan said, and Riley’s eyebrow dropped back down.
“I see,” Riley said, but her tone was light. “I would say you and Rowan are welcome to drop by and say hi, but I’m rarely there.”
Milo managed what could roughly be called a smile and ducked their head. Rowan’s hawk let out a cry, and he walked over to Milo’s side, pressing their shoulders together until Milo lifted their head, their smile a little more genuine this time.
“I just wanted to tell you that Raina’s here. She’s out back, and Ruben called mom to say he’s around the corner,” Riley said, with a signature older-sister eyeroll. “Like we need time to roll out the red carpet.”
“Sorry to say, I think I left mine at home,” Rowan said.