Page 49 of Drag Me Up

“Please don’t tell her, Uncle Robert,” the pup pleads. “I never got on the plane. I knew she wouldn’t come here since you live here. Please don’t make me go back.”

Bob pulls Toby into a forceful hug and weeps onto his shoulder. We all seem to realize those two need a moment, so we head back into the crowd to explore some more before more acts come onto the stage.

After a quick lap around some of the vendor booths with Matt, I pull him back into the crowd in front of the stage to watch the last few acts, sporting fresh face paint and some shiny new pins to make my vest even more fabulous. The world around us completely disappears as we cuddle in the swarm of people. That is, until a very panicked Shiloh comes flying into my arms.

“Shy? Kitten? What happened? What’s wrong?”

He’s trembling in my arms, but no words are coming. I glance back at Matt to see he is on his phone. Holding Shiloh tightly, I sigh in relief when the music cuts out to signal the changing of the acts.

“…He just came running up to us… No, I don’t see him anywhere… Hold on, lemme ask.”

Matt crouches in front of me and gently rubs Shiloh’s arm to get his attention. It takes a bit, but he finally moves his face out of my chest to look at my love. Matt asks a few yes or no questions to see if we can figure out what is going on.

Were you with Toby before you ran over tous? Yes

Is Toby hurt? No

Did Toby do something to upset you? No

Does Toby know you ran off? Shrug

Did someone touch you? No

“Hey, Kitten, look up at me for a second,” I say after the yes and no game has me thinking of something. Shiloh has relaxed a little bit while we were standing here, so he meets my gaze with only a slight hesitation.

“Did you seeHim?”

Shiloh nods quickly and buries his head back into my chest just as his knees give out. I can feel the vibrations of his screams against my bare chest, but no one can hear his pain over the music. Holding on as tightly as I can, I glance at Matt and the others who are making their way through the crowd to reach us. Making eye contact with Eli, I see the moment he realizes what happened.

“He’s out?” Eli mouths, not asking out loud. I just nod and watch as everyone’s faces distort with varying levels of rage. Toby goes from horrified to pissed in a matter of seconds, and it’s only the fact that Eli is literally holding his leash that keeps him from running off to hunt the bitch down.

“I think it might be time to get the kitten home,” Spencer says as the stage is cleared for the final act of the night.

“But Daddy!” Lucky whines, “I wanna watch RealXMan! He’s the whole reason I even agreed to people today!”

I chuckle at the adorable little throwing his version of a tantrum in the middle of the crowd. Even though it’sjust a bit of foot stomping and pouting, the Lucky we all met last year would never even dream of making even this much of a scene in public, especially while wearing a diaper and a onesie, even if his shorts cover that up.

Glancing down, I see our kitten peek out at our friends with a shy smile. Giving him a little shake, I ask, “Do you want to watch the last show or head out now? It’s up to you. The others won’t even have to leave. I drove myself so we can bump out in the Mini if you wanna go home to your cave in the basement.”

I watch as Shiloh rebuilds himself before our eyes. He has come so very far from the terrified boy that showed up on our doorstep a few years ago. Toby, the loyal pup, reaches out and the two of them hold onto each other’s hands as if a hurricane is going to appear just to rip them away from each other.

“Let’s stay,” Shiloh says with only a slight waver in his voice. “I’m not going to miss a live performance by RealXMan, especially after Toby has been spamming the group chat with all of his Instagram reels. I want to see him perform Rainbow Fam in person, with my own rainbow family.”

As the performance starts, I am in awe of how quickly my life has turned around. Snapping a picture of RealXMan’s opening outfit, I text it to Clarence as an idea for his wedding dress.

Fr3n3my:

For the last time, I’m not wearing a dress! But yes, that is adorable and Cleo might have inspiration for a future act now.

Putting my phone away, I manage to let all of the stress and pain fall back to the background to just enjoy the show. Surrounded by my chosen family and the love of my life, I know that all of my tomorrows are brighter than I could have ever imagined.