Chapter Forty-One
Dusty
I went downstairs to Saoirse’s room to see if she was ready. Fiona had insisted that we go home to change before going to my moms’ for dinner.
Much of our new furniture had been delivered and there was stuff everywhere.
Saoirse’s door stood open. Her room smelled like paint. The walls were pale purple, the bedding she’d chosen yesterday, amethyst. It was just mattresses on a frame. There wasn’t much in her room, given most of her things hadn’t arrived from Boston yet.
She stood there in front of a full-length mirror applying lipstick.
I'd rarely seen her in anything but her black suit or nothing at all. The long blue dress was stunning. Fucking shit, I was lucky.
Wait. I looked up at the corner of the mirror. There was the little bouquet of dried lavender that I’d given her in Switzerland. Awww.
Saoirse didn’t turn around. “Is this all right? I wanted something nice, but still casual.”
I came up behind her. How sweet, Mi Cielo was nervous about meeting my moms.
Okay, I was nervous about everyone meeting my moms.
My arms wrapped around her as I kissed her on her cheek. Dark hair cascaded across her shoulders and she wore a little necklace with a heart on it and matching earrings.
“You look incredible.” I was just wearing some khaki pants and a button-down.
She turned around and looked at me. “Wow, you’re wearing a shirt. Is that how I get you to wear clothes?”
“My moms don’t care what I wear. You know, they're going to love you,” I assured.
“Would you be okay if they don’t?” Those blue eyes lasered into my soul.
Wow, that was a question I hadn’t truly considered.
I cupped her face with my hand. “I have six moms. All of them being happy about something at the same time isn’t always going to happen. While their approval would be nice, it’s not necessary. I love them very much, but you’re my family, too, and this family is important.”
My love and sincerity flowed through the bond.
She looked at me. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I blinked.
“For choosing me.” Her voice caught a little as she said that.
I had no idea what that meant. Of course, I chose her. I dated her. I mated her. I was going to continue to choose her and make this amazing relationship work.
But I had this feeling that wasn’t what she was talking about.
“You’re Mo Shíorghra. I will always choose you.” I knew I shared her with Fiona, and I was fine with that. Love was infinite. Finally, I broke off the hug. “We should get going. My brother, the chef, is making tacos. It’ll be good,” I assured.
There were footsteps.
“Are you ready? We should probably get going. Where the fuck are we gonna park? Maybe we should take the subway?” Carlos questioned.
I checked my phone. “They got us a space. Another one of my brothers is literally sitting in it to make sure no one parks there. But we should hurry.”
There were guest spaces in the building, but there weren’t very many.
“Oh, um, we kinda have our own dialect so if we slip into it, I apologize in advance,” I added.
“Hazard of Dusty’s moms speaking multiple languages,” Carlos added.
Hale nodded. “My translator mom wrote a paper on that. It happens sometimes in packs.”
I took Saoirse’s hand and we headed to the garage. Fiona wore a pretty green dress, and Hale had his hat and boots. Carlos had on an orange woven shirt and khakis.
“Oh, here.” Hale took something out of his pocket and handed it to Carlos. “Pre-emptive? I am guessing there will be lots of cheese?”
“Thank you.” Carlos kissed him and took it, getting into the car.
“Fiona, can I drive?” I asked.
She tossed me the fob. “Go for it.”
I drove Fiona’s pink car to the neighborhood I’d grown-up in. I was five when my parents died in the car accident and I woke up in the hospital to have a sad nurse tell me that they hadn’t made it.
Then Tia Ari and Zia Rina– my mom’s best friends–showed up. They hugged me tightly and told me that I was going to come home with them.
It was supposed to be temporary and then I’d go live with my mom’s sister, but that never happened.
Honestly, I liked being there. There was something comforting about all the people, all the chaos.
Eventually I stopped calling them aunties and all six of them became my moms. They’d also legally adopted me, though I’d kept my last name and they supported that.
Sure, sometimes it got to be a little much between my grief and the adjustment to not being an only child. But six moms meant there was nearly always someone around. All my siblings meant that there was someone to play with, someone to read a book to, someone to help me with my homework.
A house full of artists and creatives meant our dreams were always nourished, but there was also a degree of practicality built by their own experiences.
They also never sought to replace what I’d lost, just add to it. There’s no such thing as too much family, especially when you choose it yourself, they said. Love is infinite.
This area didn’t look anything like it had back when I was a scared little boy holding a stuffed rabbit and a backpack.
Our building was a warehouse converted into artist lofts.
Over the years the neighborhood had gentrified a lot and many of those loft buildings were now fancy, the artists selling and leaving for other places.
My moms stayed because it was home. Not to mention we had an awful lot of room for New York City for not being rich.
I pulled into the underground parking lot.
My brother, Dante, sat in the parking space in a camping chair.
When I’d first arrived and my siblings had been told I was staying with them for a while, Dante nodded solemnly and said, “Dusty’s our brother now.
Don’t be sad. I put dinosaur sheets on your bed.
” Taking my hand, he showed me the room which I shared with him.
And never looked back. I was his brother. End of discussion.
I rolled down the window. “Is this space free?”
“Mmmm, I don’t know. Some guy offered me $100 for it.” Dante grinned at me, his curly hair in his brown eyes.
“Please? I’ll let you meet my pack first,” I fake-pleaded.
He pretended to think for a moment. “Okay.”
Folding up the chair, he left the space so I could pull in. I got out and opened the door for Saoirse.
“Nice ride, did you pick the color out yourself?” Dante smirked.
Hale helped Fiona out of the car.
“I wanted dark pink, but this is all the dealer had in stock, and I didn’t have time for special order,” Fiona replied.
Dante blinked. “The fact that your dealership had this color in stock says a whole lot.”
I never actually thought about that. But they must know their area. I could see omega moms wanting pink SUVs to drive their kids around in.
Dante turned to Carlos. “Hey, man, I figured you’d end up having a pack together. I’d ask for those introductions, but I know our moms are dying to meet everyone.” He nodded to Hale. “Hey, Cowboy, not sure where you came from.”
“He raced Manhattan After Midnight,” Carlos bragged.
We got my moms’ favorite flowers out of the car. I took Saoirse’s hand and squeezed it.
“Did you win? I watched that,” Dante replied as we all entered the elevator.
“I got third, which was great considering I stole my sister’s car. She did forgive me for that, but she said now that I’ve got my own pack I should probably be responsible and, you know, not take people’s shit without asking,” Hale said.
Dante sucked in a breath. “You raced your sister’s car that you didn’t ask to use? And you’re still breathing? You are so fucking lucky.”
“I really am.” Hale nodded as we got out of the elevator.
Our loft was on the top floor, and we got to use the roof. The place had been built out bit by a bit by the moms, though it was all mostly in place by the time I arrived.
As we opened the door we were immediately accosted by one of my nephews.
“Dusty, how was twister land? Is it really made of cheese?” Little Andre wrapped his arms around my leg.
“There was an awful lot of cheese.” I ruffled his hair.
“Oh, there was,” Carlos nodded.
He looked over at Carlos. “Are you my Tio Lalo now?”
Carlos crouched down. “I am.”
“What’s even better, Andre, is that we brought you a Tia Saoirse, a Tia Fiona, and a Tio Hale,” I told him, giving Saoirse’s hand another squeeze. She seemed a little uneasy, but there were a lot of people watching us.
“You’re all so pretty,” Andre breathed.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you,” Saoirse replied.
His eyes went wide. “You even sound pretty.”
I leaned in conspiratorially. “She does.”
“Very pretty indeed. Come, meet everyone.” Mamma gestured for everyone to follow. Her hair was short and curly, though her black hair was starting to grey a little. She was my Italian mom.
The big kitchen opened into the living room and dining room. Everything was bright and welcoming. Delicious smells made my mouth water. Marcos was in the kitchen with Amà, one of his packmates, Mami, and Abuelita.
“Dusty’s here with his pack,” Mamma bellowed as we entered the kitchen. “Get everyone drinks.”
“We’re so happy you’re here.” Amá flashed her warm and welcoming smile, the one that always put you at ease. Her long, dark hair was up in a clip. Oh, she wore her nice earrings? Wow.
“Here, I brought flowers.” I handed them to Amá.
“Gracias. Oh, my boy is all grown up.” She hugged me tight.
“Dusty, Mijo.” Abuelita gave me a hug. She was a tiny, but fierce beta. I wasn’t actually sure who’s mom she was. She was just Abuelita and had always lived here.
“This is my grandma, we call her Abuelita,” I introduced, and launched right into introductions of everyone, which included my moms, Marcos and his pack, my sister and her family, and my other siblings.
“So nice to meet you all.” Hale tipped his hat.
Abuelita gave Hale an appreciative look.
I gave the short version about who was with who and what everyone did.
“Saoirse, so nice to meet you. I didn’t know Dusty was seeing anyone. How did you meet?” Mother replied. She was head of the pack, and I had her in my phone as La Jefa, because she was the boss.
Shit. I didn’t prepare for this.