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“Yeah. He is.” I didn’t remember who I told what to, but I wasn’t hiding any of it from any of them.

“And he’s good to you?” Abbott asked.

“The best. He takes care of me, but he also lets me be self-sufficient, never smothering me. And I know some boys like that, but I like it this way. And he’s as busy as I am, or maybe more so, but he always makes time for me.”

I got up and ran and grabbed my phone, scrolling through our messages until I reached the ones from when I had gone on my road trip and he watched Dog. “See? I was away, and he knew I’d miss my furry one. Isn’t this the cutest?”

“Sounds like you’re pretty head over heels.” Abbott shoulder bumped me.

“Yeah. I guess I am.”

The conversation we had when I asked him why he hadn’t had a little before, kept flitting through my head. He said he hadn’t met me yet, and that was cheesy, but also sounded true.

I ate far too many gummy bears shaped like frogs as my friends babbled on and on about their daddies, the way I had about mine, and they were all so happy. They’d all found their home. Their forever person.

“How did you know your daddy was the daddy for you and not just the daddy for now?” It was something that had been itching at me. I really liked Galan. More than liked him. That wasn’t in question. It was more if that were enough to build a life upon.

Rowan asked, “Are you asking us if Galan is good enough?”

“No. No. Not at all. I mean, of course, he’s wonderful. It’s just that being wonderful and wanting to be together and knowing it’s time to build a life, something forever, is different.” Or that was the direction of understanding I was leaning into. Why was this so confusing?

Rowan started. “You know, just because someone is your forever doesn’t mean they’re going to never make mistakes or you’re not gonna have rough days. But it means having them by your side during those rough days is better than walking them alone.”

Brock saw it a different way. “It’s about finding someone you can completely be yourself with and never feeling like you need to hide parts of who you are.”

And that resonated with me because I had that with Galan pretty much from near the beginning, and that had been a pleasant realization.

Abbott was the pragmatic one in this. “When you wake up one morning and realize they’re already intertwined with your life, and you can’t imagine wanting things to change back to the way they were…that’s your answer.”

The more I listened to them and their responses to me and each other and really thought about what they said, the more I saw that I’d had the answer all along. For some reason, I thought there would be some big moment, like the movies. But this was life, and life happened in the quiet in-between times.

Galan made me happy. He was part of my life. I didn’t feel like I needed to hide any part of me when I was around him. I wanted him on my side even on the bad days, or maybe especially on the bad days. He was my forever. All that was left was finding out if I was his.

The conversation ended when Dog decided it was time to go out. The nice thing about having my pajamas on was I could throw a pair of boots and a light jacket on and go for a walk, and people wouldn’t think twice. A lot of people in the neighborhood walked their dogs in their jams or bathrobes. The guy across the street often wore his boxers. No one really cared.

When Dog and I came back in, we put on another movie, this time full-length, and watched it till we all fell asleep.

They left the next morning. Blankets were everywhere, and so were toys and remnants of sticker paper. I told them to leave everything so we didn’t have to get ready too soon. To me, cleaning up after they left in exchange for getting an extra hour to play with my friends was worth it.

We all promised to do it again soon, and I thanked them for listening. And when each gave me my goodbye hug, each one of them gave me a word of encouragement. Rowan told me to go with my gut. Brock told me I already knew the answer. Abbott told me to be brave.

All that was left was to have the conversation with Daddy.

As I cleaned up, I practiced the conversation with Galan in my head over and over again. We were going to see each other the next day for dinner, but I couldn’t wait. After he sent me a text with a picture of a cool bug he saw on his front step, I decided just to go on over and hope he wasn’t on his way out when he sent it.

“Hey. What brings you here? Was it the best sleepover ever?”

“It was good, but I missed you, Daddy.” I hugged him close.

“And I missed you, my sweet little boy.”

“But, Daddy, it’s more than that.” I stepped back and looked up at him. “Can you be my forever daddy?”

It was best to just say it, and when I did, he cupped my cheeks and gave me the biggest smile.

“I want nothing more, my sweet boy. Nothing more.”

Chapter Seventeen