Epilogue Vivian
EPILOGUE: VIVIAN
F ourteen Months Later
With an ear-piercing squeal, Griffin bolted away from me and then made a beeline for the ice. Thankfully, I didn’t have to break into a run to catch him. Bennett and Grayson rushed forward. “Whoa, Little Man, not yet,” Grayson chided.
When he scooped him up, Griffin kicked his feet in protest. “It’s not time yet,” Grayson reasoned.
“Dada!” he protested before pointing his tiny finger at the ice.
“He’ll be there in just a minute,” Bennett replied.
Griffin’s mouth turned into a pout. The expression was pure Grayson. Everything else from his auburn hair to his green eyes was all me. It was a good thing we hadn’t been waiting to see his features to determine his paternity because we would’ve been out of luck.
It seemed like just yesterday we were bringing Griffin home, and now a year and a half of his life had gone by. In that time, he’d taken his first steps, cut his first teeth, and said his first word, which was Dada. I reasoned that since he had three men constantly saying the word to him, it made sense he said it first.
Today we were in Charleston for a family skate day. During Theo’s first season, we’d gotten lots of looks and whispers from the WAGS. But after a few months, they’d grown to embrace our unique situation. I considered some of them dear friends who had helped to ease Carlee’s loss in my day-to-day life.
It was about six months into our long-distance relationship with Theo that we decided enough was enough. Much to my parents’ dismay, we’d put Theo’s townhouse(thankfully it was in his name, so his parents hadn’t been able to take it back) and my house up for sale, and made the move to Charleston.
I tried reasoning with Mom and Dad that Theo’s contract was only for two years, and we wouldn’t be gone forever.Since they were retired, they made lots of trips to Charleston. Carlee would come with them sometimes. She was becoming the best auntie in the world for Griffin.
It wasn’t just my parents who visited us in Charleston. Grayson’s parents and Bennett's mom and sisters were frequent visitors. Surprisingly enough, Theo’s dad had shown up to several Swarm games. There hadn’t been a true reconciliation, but they had asked to meet Griffin. Of course, when they realized he wasn’t Theo’s biological son, they lost interest.
Moving to Charleston had also helped with the stares, whispers, and rude names that continued to plague us. I hoped when it was time to come back, everything would have died down. At the same time, I reasoned that we would always get attention for our relationship. Polyamory wasn’t the norm. In the end, I had tough enough skin not to care, but I didn’t want anyone’s bigotry to hurt Griffin.
Just before Griffin was about to go full-on tantrum mode in Grayson’s arms, Theo appeared before us with a pint-sized hockey stick and a tiny puck.
“Dada!” he shrieked, kicking his legs.
Theo’s face lit up. “Hey, Little Man, you ready to skate?”
Just as the guys promised, Griffin got fitted for teeny skates after he learned to walk. Today wasn’t his first time on the ice. Bennett and Grayson often took him to the rink.
Grayson handed Griffin over to Theo. “Let’s get your skates on, okay?”
After sitting Griffin on the edge of the ice, Bennett handed Theo the skates.
As he eased Griffin’s foot inside, Theo glanced up at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Fabulous.”
He cocked his head at me. “What have I said about lying to me, Vivian?”
A shiver ran through me at his words and tone. “You win. I’m exhausted and nauseous.”
Sometime around Griffin’s first birthday, the guys started peppering me with questions about when we were going to have another baby. I thought they were insane. Life had just started to slow down a bit after our move, my new job was amazing, and Bennett and Grayson were easing into their new jobs in Charleston. Not to mention they were only twenty-four.
Why on earth would I want to add another kid to the mix? Not to mention, why would they?
But just like they’d been able to sweet talk me into threesomes and foursomes and anal and DVP, my resistance was slowly but surely broken down.
Around bout three months ago, we actively started trying to get pregnant. Since each of the guys wanted to be a bio dad, that meant flipping a coin between Bennett and Theo to see who would be the next father.
When it landed on Theo, he shook his head. “Nah, it needs to be Bennie’s.” With a wink, he added, “But the next one is mine.“
So, Grayson and Theo suited up while Bennett bare-backed. Once again, young, championship sperm worked their magic. To make sure we hadn’t had another condom failure, we’d had a paternity test. Not only did they confirm that Bennett was the father, but they also told us the gender.
It was a girl.
I couldn’t imagine a better girl dad than Bennett. And not to let Theo feel left out, I promised when our daughter was a year old, we’d try for his baby. Since I was almost thirty-two, my peak fertility time was coming to a close.
Once Griffin’s skates were on, he tried getting up repeatedly, but he just kept falling over. “Hold on, buddy,” Theo said before he eased him onto his feet. “Hold Daddy T’s hands, okay?”
As I gazed at him, I couldn’t help shaking my head. He furrowed his brows at me. “What is it?”
“I never imagined you having this much patience when we first met.”
He grinned. “I don’t with anyone but him and you guys.”
“Lucky us,” I mused.
He winked at me as he began pulling Griffin along the ice. Even though they weren’t Swarm team members, Bennett and Grayson couldn’t resist being on the ice again. After getting on their skates, they met up with Theo and Griffin.
As I watched the four men of my life having the time of their lives, I smiled. “Lucky us,” I repeated.
And a more truer statement had never been spoken.