Epilogue
End of September
Rhys read over the messages again as Mel drove toward the address Brendan had given him.
Not Simon
Jake’s having a party this weekend. He’d really like it if you could come.
Rhys
Since we lost the playoffs, we’ve got all the time in the world now.
Well, until we fly to Venezuela for the holidays. But, we aren’t leaving until November
Are you sure he’ll want all three of us there
Not Simon
He told me to give you the address. Trust me, he wants you there
He was nervous. He could admit that. They’d come close to winning the AAA National Championship. The biggest game of his career. So far.
He hadn’t been this nervous.
Of course they hadn’t won that game. They’d made a few too many mistakes they hadn’t been able to come back from.
He hoped this wasn’t another mistake. “Maybe we should turn around and go home.”
Alfie reached up through the seats and clasped his shoulder. “It is going to be okay,” he said. “He wants to see you.”
“I barely even remember him. The last time he saw me, I was sobbing like a baby. Even though I was thirteen.”
“You had just lost the one adult whom you’d been able to count on,” Mel said.
“A man Jake always loved, it turns out. I’m sure he understood how you felt, even if he couldn’t express that at the time.
” They squeezed his knee then put their hands back on the steering wheel. “The turn’s right up here, correct?”
“Yeah.” Rhys licked his lips. “According to the directions Brendan sent.” He supposed it was a little late to turn back. At least he had the two of them with him if this went to shit.
He drummed his fingers on the side of the door as Mel took the final turn and they pulled into a long driveway.
The ranch-style house was a lot more lived-in than what Rhys had been expecting.
Though he didn’t know exactly what he’d been expecting.
There was an orange plastic slide in the yard, and two tricycles over on their sides.
Mel parked the car, but Rhys didn’t move. “We can wait until you’re ready.”
It felt like they’d been doing a lot of that. Rhys had continued speaking to Brady’s psychiatrist friend. The other shrink also helped him start to put together some systems to manage the ADHD. No medication, though.
Things were finally coming together for all of them. In one more month, they’d be flying down to Venezuela to spend a couple months with Alfie’s family. He would finally meet the rest of them.
That’s what should be making him nervous. Not seeing a man he hadn’t had contact with in half his life.
He saw something from the corner of his eye. A small head of blond curls bounced up to the window again. He lowered the window and leaned through it. “Hi. Hi,” the little boy said. “Who you?”
“My name’s Rhys.”
The kid shook his head hard. “Dat my name.”
A man came up and knelt beside the kid. “Two people can have the same name, Reese.”
“Papa. He have my name.”
“Yes, I know.” Jake sent a soft smile toward Rhys. “It’s good to see you, Rhys. I hope you and your partners plan to come inside.”
Rhys unbuckled and stepped out of the car. “You said that so easily.”
Jake continued to smile at him. “Bren said you were worried. There’s no reason to be. You will always be welcome here.”
The boy took Rhys’s hand. “This my house. Dat my papa. Papa love me. Papa love you. I love you.”
Rhys felt like his throat closed up. Jake laughed softly. “If only everyone saw things as clearly. Simon used to. He knew the person you could grow into. He would have been proud of whom you’ve become.”
“I’m a mess,” Rhys said. “I was just diagnosed with ADHD, and I’m still figuring that out. I fall apart any time we go to Ohio. I don’t even know why either of them love me, let alone both of them.”
“Run inside and find your daddy,” Jake told the kid before turning to Rhys.
“I don’t have a lot to say about the first two.
Although after the funeral, I couldn’t wait to leave.
I needed space from that place to figure out who I could be without Simon in my life.
As for the last thing, you have always been incredibly loveable.
It’s not your fault the families who had a chance to love you refused to do that.
I’d say if they both love you, it’s because they’re smart. And lucky to have you.”
Mel came up and put their arm around Rhys’s waist. “That’s what we’ve been trying to tell, and show, him.”
“He always was quick to pick things up. At least when given a chance to learn. He’ll figure it out.” Jake chuckled. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my husband and both of my sons. I think all three of them are currently leaving nose prints on the door. Such goofballs. Damn, I love them.”
“We love you,” Alfie murmured in Rhys’s ear, his arm going around Rhys, so all three of them were holding on to each other.
Jake looked back. “Simon would be happy to see this. You’ve always been family, Rhys. Come on in and join us.”
Family had always seemed like an alien concept to him. Sometimes he still had trouble wrapping his mind around it.
As he walked through the door, he thought he could let himself believe he could have this.
He was finally happy. No one would take it away. Not as long as he had the two loves of his life beside him.
That was a winning play in his book.