Chapter 42 Marcus
Afew months later
“Oh my gosh! Your house is beautiful!”
I can’t help but chuckle as Sarah’s gasp fills the entire foyer as she and Ryan step into our new house.
“We got really lucky it came on the market when it did,” Jackson says as he shuts the door behind them. “We only just finished decorating a few weeks ago.”
Cassidy hugs her brother before looping her arm with Sarah. “Let me show you the nursery. It’s so cute!”
I smile as I watch Cassidy whisk her friend away to show her weeks’ worth of work. We painted the walls a pastel green color, filled the room with toys, clothes, a rocking chair, a crib, and other essentials, and baby-proofed everything we possibly could.
Before we know it, our little one will be here, so we’ve been kicking it into gear getting ready to be parents.
“I’m glad you guys are just ten minutes down the road. It beats being in a whole different town,” Ryan says as he admires the high ceiling in the foyer and the wooden flooring.
“It just made more sense to set up shop here close to family,” Tyler replies. “The schools are good here too.”
“I never thought I’d hear this one say something like that,” Ryan laughs as he pats Tyler on the back of the shoulder. “You guys are going to be dads soon.”
“It has been the best kind of chaos already,” Jackson replies, sharing a smile with the rest of us. “We’ve been taking her back and forth to the doctor for check-ups. Marcus found another studio to work at, I transferred to the city fire station here, and Tyler is opening up a new club downtown.”
Ryan whistles. “You’ve been busy.”
“Busier than ever before,” I say with a light laugh.
We’re all tired, but we’ve never been happier. We got a great two-story house in a nice neighborhood full of other families that’s close to where our best friends live, we have a baby on the way, and we’re all together under one roof.
It’s hard to beat that.
“Thanks for having us over for dinner,” Ryan tells us as we lead him to the dining room.
“It’s been too long since we last saw each other,” I say as I nudge him.
“It’s only been a month,” Jackson reminds me with a laugh.
“Still too long,” I reply with a wry smile before heading into the kitchen to check on dinner.
Pot roast with mashed potatoes, green beans, and dinner rolls. Wine for us. Sparkling water for Cassidy.
“And this is the kitchen,” Cassidy says as she leads Sarah into the room.
“I love the white quartz countertops with the dark appliances,” Sarah gasps as she wanders around the kitchen to admire everything.
“Is everything ready?” Cassidy asks me as she walks over to kiss me on the cheek.
“Ready to go,” I confirm, smiling at her. “I’ll start bringing everything to the table.”
“Love you,” Cassidy says before motioning for Sarah to follow her into the dining room.
Sarah shoots me a proud smile before leaving the room.
Just a few months ago, we were all so doom and gloom. We thought nothing was going to work out as it should, but here we are now. Our dreams have come true. Our family is bigger than before.
Life is so good, and it’s going to get even better in just a few months.
Once Jackson, Tyler, and I place all the dishes on the dining table, everyone takes a seat and starts making their plates, a warm feeling settling in the air.
A lot of us didn’t get to have this kind of environment growing up. We’re correcting the past by doing this. We’re going to make our own traditions.
“How’s married life?” Jackson asks Sarah and Ryan as they sit on the other side of the table.
“Kind of like engaged life with more benefits,” Ryan replies with a chuckle. “I’ve been working a little more lately.”
“Making up for all the money you spent on the wedding and honeymoon?” Tyler teases him.
“Saving up for the day we decide to start our own family,” Ryan says, making Cassidy gasp.
“Really?” she asks as she sits next to me, her eyes full of awe.
“We’re still taking time to enjoy a quiet, less hectic married life, but we definitely want kids sometime,” Sarah replies as she shares a warm look with her husband. “Seeing you guys so happy and excited for your baby to arrive made us do a lot of thinking and talking.”
“We won’t be too far behind you guys,” Ryan explains.
“Cheers to that,” I say as I lift up my glass of wine.
Everyone else does the same, Cassidy following suit with her glass of sparkling water.
“Any next steps for you guys?” Sarah asks as she raises her eyebrow at us.
Cassidy clears her throat and flashes her a warning look.
“Well, the baby will be here in a few months, and that’ll be a big next step,” Jackson replies with a light laugh.
“How long have you guys and Cassidy been together?” Sarah asks.
Cassidy’s eyes widen.
“Officially or…” Tyler trails off.
“Anyway,” Cassidy says in a louder voice. “How’s the food? I tried a new recipe with the pot roast.”
I lift my eyebrow at Jackson and Tyler, wondering if they’re thinking the same thing. They subtly smile and nod. We’ve been talking among ourselves about what Sarah is hinting at.
We don’t want Cassidy to just be our girlfriend forever, but our situation is a little more complicated than typical relationships with just two people in them.
“It’s really good,” Ryan says. “Now, you’re a better cook than I am.”
“You made really good grilled cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese,” Cassidy assures him.
“From a box,” Ryan replies.
Cassidy shrugs. “Still good.”
The conversation jumps from topic to topic, and Sarah lets go of trying to talk about future plans.
“Heard anything about Derek?” Jackson asks Ryan.
Ryan scoffs. “I heard he’s been through multiple relationships since the wedding. He tried calling me for weeks after I told him to get lost. I never should’ve been friends with him in the first place.”
“He was good at hiding who he truly was,” Cassidy replies before rubbing the top of my hand as it rests on the table. “I’m just glad I’m with the right guys now.”
I turn my hand over to hold hers, our eyes meeting. “You’re stuck with us now.”
Cassidy laughs. “I have no problem with that.”
I squeeze her hand before glancing at Ryan, seeing a small smile on his face. The awkwardness between him and us died out pretty quickly, especially when he saw how happy we are together.
I’m sure it’s hard for him to be against anything that makes his sister so joyful and peaceful.
Finally, she has actually started relaxing. She has been scaling her work back a little to lower her stress levels and prepare for the baby to arrive. Whenever she’s ready, she can dive back into full time work.
There are four of us around to take care of the baby, and we’re going to do everything that we can to make sure everyone is rested enough and has enough time to do what they need to do. We’ll have to be a team.
But I don’t see that being a problem in the slightest.
Dinner ends up lasting a few hours because we keep finding things to talk about. We can all look back on the destination wedding with smiles and laughter, even if that was one of the most stressful weeks of our lives. We’ve all grown since then.
With our lives changing so much, we have to.
“It was good seeing you,” I tell Ryan as we walk him and Sarah to the front door.
Ryan embraces me. “You too. We’ll catch a game at O’Brian’s sometime.”
“Sounds good,” I say, glad that we’re close enough to actually hang out again. The distance we used to have between us sucked.
“Keep me in the loop,” Sarah tells Cassidy as they hug.
“I will. Don’t hold your breath. Got it?” Cassidy says.
Sarah laughs. “Guess we’ll see, right?”
Cassidy playfully rolls her eyes at her before hugging her brother. “Love you.”
“Love you,” Ryan replies. “Glad to see you’re doing well.”
“I’m perfect,” she promises him.
“I know,” he murmurs before releasing her to say goodbye to Jackson and Tyler.
I wrap my arm around Cassidy’s shoulders, coaxing her close. “Have a good time at dinner?”
“Of course,” she says. “We’ll have to do this again soon. I like when we’re all together.”
“Sounds like our kids might be able to grow up together too,” I point out, making her face glow with joy. I know that made her happy hearing that they’ll have kids soon too.
They’ll be able to go to school together, trick or treat together, and be best friends. Watching them grow up as we all get older will be the greatest privilege. I don’t fear getting older.
I fear being alone and surrounded by regret for all the things that I didn’t do.
“Bye!” Sarah calls out to us as she walks out onto our front porch.
We wave goodbye, watching them head to their car parked behind ours.
When their red taillights disappear in the darkness, we head back inside and lock the door behind us.
“We should probably clean up, right?” Cassidy sighs, not sounding all that enthusiastic.
“Maybe later,” Jackson replies as he takes her hand, pulling her close. He leans down and presses a soft kiss against her lips. “There’s something we want to talk to you about.”
Concern immediately fills her face.
“It’s not a bad thing,” I tell her right off the bat before her mind can wander too far.
“What is it?” she asks.
Tyler takes her other hand, and we lead her to the main bedroom. We all have our own space, but we set aside one bedroom and put a king sized bed inside for when we all want to be together.
We all take a seat on the large mattress, the white sheets rippling under our bodies as we face each other.
“Sarah wasn’t being very subtle at dinner,” I comment.
Her face reddens. “She was just playing around.”
“Well, we’re not,” Jackson replies before reaching over to open the nightstand drawer. He pulls out a black ring box and sets it on his thigh, not opening it just yet.
Cassidy’s jaw drops. “Is that…”
“We love you, Cass,” I tell her. “We’ve been wanting to show you that we want to spend the rest of our lives with you, but things are a little more complicated given our situation. We’ve been trying to figure out the details on our own, but we think it’s best for all of us to talk about it.”
Cassidy nods as she listens.
“We want to marry you,” Tyler says, and her eyes quickly start to glisten. “But you can only legally get married to one of us.”
“And we want a legal marriage,” Jackson adds. “In case emergencies happen and to have more security when our child comes. They’ll need a name for the birth certificate.”
“I don’t care to do a paternity test,” I remind them. “A name should go down, and it should probably be the same name as the person you marry.”
“You’re not making me choose, right?” Cassidy asks with a worried look on her face.
The three of us chuckle.
“No, we’re not doing that because we knew you’d react like that,” Jackson replies. “We made a decision, but we want to talk to you about it and hear how you feel.”
Cassidy breathes in and nods.
“We decided that I’ll be the one to marry you,” I tell her as I take her hand. “If that’s okay with you.”
She swallows hard as she smiles. “Why wouldn’t it be? I love you. I love all of you.”
“Marcus has been in love with you the longest, and out of the three of us, he cherishes the notion of marriage the most,” Jackson explains to her. “In a non-legal way, you’ll be just as married to Tyler and me.”
Cassidy leans forward and kisses both Jackson and Tyler. “And you’re both okay with this?”
“We are,” Tyler confirms. “We think this is the best move for our family.”
Jackson nods in agreement before handing the ring box to me.
Cassidy’s breath hitches as I turn toward her. The moment I open the box to show her the engagement ring the three of us chose for her, a gasp breaks from her.
“It’s perfect,” she whispers.
I carefully take it out of the ring box and slip it onto her ring finger.
Cassidy holds her hand up for everyone to see, her eyes shining. “I love it!”
Surprised laughter bursts out of me as she throws her arms around my neck. I hug her back as she sits on my lap, my heart aching with how damn happy I am.
She draws back to meet my eyes, and I know she’s waiting for me to ask.
“Will you marry us?” I ask her.
“Yes!” she says before leaning up to crash her lips against mine.
I smile into the kiss, my fingers pushing into her hair.
For so long now, I’ve wanted to be someone’s husband. Someone’s father. I didn’t expect all of these dreams to come true, but I also didn’t expect the girl I’ve loved for so long to love me back.
Reality is a little more magical than it seems.