Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Robbie
Somehow, Trey is even smaller than Lahna was. Probably. Maybe. It’s possible I’ve forgotten, and the little dude is only four months old, but here Brandon and I are again, with a teeny human on our hands.
I’ll be real, I didn’t think it was possible to love another bub the way I loved Lahna, but Trey is a heart-stealing thief because I’d already kill for him.
There’s this deep thing inside me that knows my family is complete now. Would more kids be cool? Of course. I wouldn’t be opposed to a football team, but I know more kids means less time with Brando, and that isn’t something I’m willing to sacrifice either.
My cargo pants are rolled up to my knees, Trey is strapped to my front, and Lahna is knee-deep in the water beside me. She’s tucked her dress into her underwear to make sure it doesn’t get wet, and I watch as she unzips her bedazzled fanny pack.
“Whatcha doing?”
“Me catch froggies,” she says, pulling out a net.
I’m confident there aren’t any frogs in this stream, but I’ll let her have her dream. I hold one of her little hands as she creeps along, peering into the water.
“Fishies!”
I laugh as she almost slips over in her hurry to try and catch one, but they’re way too fast for her. “Ooh, maybe next time.”
“Found something?” Ryan calls from up ahead.
He’s here with his three boys, and Paul’s further downstream with his daughter.
We’re all stay-at-home dads, and we’ve formed a little friendship group with two other dads who are currently at work.
We grab drinks on weekends when the game is on, organize birthday parties, make playdates, and help each other out with any house maintenance that pops up.
Brando likes to tease that I’m recreating my frat days, but he’s the one who encouraged me to make more friends in town, and I’m glad he did.
I’m the kind of guy who needs to be social, and even with my brother and his boyfriend here, I need people I can be around constantly.
At first, I’d been wary of being a queer dude in a small town, but the guys have been great. None of them have been fuckwits about it, and other than a few questions initially, the fact I have a husband comes up about as much as them having wives.
“The Warriors are playing this weekend,” Ryan says. “Will you be around?”
“Yeah, Killer Brew?”
“Sounds good.” He turns to Paul. “You coming?”
“I’ll try. Nattie’s going through a stage, and I hate leaving when she’s crying for me. Think Brandon can make this one?”
It has been a while since we’ve cashed in on a sleepover with the grandparents. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Daddy!” Lahna shouts, and I glance over toward where she’s pointing.
“Speak of the devil.”
Brandon kicks his shoes off and wades into the creek with us. “What are we looking for?”
“Lahna wants a pet frog.”
He pulls a face over the top of her head. It perfectly reflects my thoughts about another pet. Between the chickens, the goat, and the goldfish, Lahna has her hands full looking after animals, but that’s how I spent my childhood, and I think I turned out okay.
“A pet frog?”
Ryan chuckles. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty confident it’s too cold out for them today.”
“Right.” Brandon looks me over. “What the fuck are you wearing?”
I glance down at my rolled-up cargo pants, my puffer vest, and Trey kicking around in the carrier. “Uh, clothes?”
He reaches up to tug on my beanie, then looks down at Lahna’s army jacket.
“It’s wonderful to me that I can never tell whether you’ve dressed Lahna or she’s dressed herself.”
Lahna starts kicking the water and squealing happily.
“And what’s wrong with what she’s wearing?” I thought she looked cute.
“Nothing.” Then he mutters, “But she might need to spend more time with Uncle Bailey in the future.”
I almost push him into the stream.
“Don’t wish for that too quickly,” Paul says, glancing Nattie’s way. She’s wearing a Disney princess dress and left her sparkly heels on the grass.
Brandon laughs. “You’re right. An orange army jacket and purple dress are a much better option.”
“Exactly,” I say, and it takes me a second to realize he’s being sarcastic.
Oh well. Lahna is heading for Greek life when she’s older, and she can worry about what’s fashionable then.
And I’ll hold on to all her baby photos to show her and her friends.
That’s the one thing I can’t wait for: my kids to be older so I can embarrass them.
But until then, I’m happy to wait. To soak in every second of their time while they still want me around to do that.
Brandon helps us search for frogs for another hour, and then we all meet up at the boardwalk to demolish burgers and fries.
He teases us some more about our dad gang, and we tease him about his pretty designs, then we head home, give the kids dinner, and relax.
A usual day out in the best life I could be living.