Composing a Family

by Sean Michael

  Daniel cackled softly. “Are you a cheap date, Tenor?”

  “Yeah, I really am.” Cheaper than anyone knew, really. He was essentially a virgin.

  “Well, don’t feel pressured. You don’t have to drive, and you’re home and safe.”

  “I am home and safe, which why I’ll totally have the dessert wine with my strawberry shortcake. I want the full experience.” He brought the dishes into the kitchen, Daniel following him with another bunch.

  “I’ll even make sure you get upstairs.” Daniel was a charming man when he let himself relax.

  “I’m going to hold you to that.” He began filling the dishwasher.

  Daniel went to a console near the wall, and suddenly the house was filled with music—not loud or disturbing, just full.

  “Oh, that’s nice.” He swayed gently to it as he grabbed the plate of shortcake. It would probably make more sense to portion it out in here at the counter.

  “It is. Thanks.” Daniel grabbed forks.

  He dished them each up a good-sized piece, placing them on the pretty dessert plates. He hadn’t done anything for the babies in the kitchen yet—that was going to have to be next on his list. They would need plastic dinnerware and utensils, sippy cups, child locks in place for all the cupboards and the fridge and stove… He stopped himself. He would make a list tomorrow. This evening they were all relaxing.

  They were being adults. Learning one another. He hoped they’d all be relaxed and comfortable with one another by the time the girls came.

  Maybe they’d even be friends. He hoped so. They had a lot of years together before his job was done. It would suck if they were like two ships that passed in the night. Some parents didn’t get close to their nannies at all, but Ten believed it was better for the kids if the nanny was more or less another member of the family.

  He grabbed the three plates of dessert and headed for the back door, figuring that Daniel would open it for him.

  Daniel got the door and they managed to get outside with everything more or less intact. It was a good thing they hadn’t needed extra wineglasses, though, or it would have been a disaster.

  He set the strawberry shortcake plates down where they’d each been sitting as Daniel opened the wine and filled their glasses.

  “Did you take lessons or something or do you just know your wines instinctively?” Ten was honestly curious. He knew very little about wine beyond some he liked, some he was less fond of.

  “I dated a sommelier in college. He taught me a lot.”

  “Oh, that’s a great story—far better than doing a class or something. Can I ask an impertinent question?” He didn’t wait for an answer, he just asked. “Was he a bit—or a lot—stuffy? Sommeliers always seem so hoity-toity.”

  “He wasn’t, really. He was passionate, though. He really cared about the wine, and well, I didn’t. He left me for a chef. They own a restaurant in Vancouver now.”

  “That’s kind of neat—not that he left you, but that he got together with a chef. It sounds like a good match.” Kind of like a conductor might be for Daniel. The thought niggled a little for some reason.

  “It wasn’t ugly. We just sort of drifted apart. We had our own first loves, huh?”

  Ten chuckled. “Yeah. I guess you’ll know you’re really in love when you find someone more important than the music.”

  “I’ll know I’m really in love when I find someone who understands I am music.”

  Ten shook his head. “No, that’s when you know said person is legitimately in love with you.”

  “You think? I think I’m about to have three daughters and I will no longer be a catch.”

  “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think your three daughters will make you even more of a catch than you already are.” Ten realized as soon as he’d said it that maybe he shouldn’t have—this was his boss, after all. But he had been honest and he hadn’t said anything nasty, so he was going to own it. Even if he shouldn’t be telling the boss he was a catch.

  “I doubt that, but what does it matter. I probably won’t want to have sex until they’re in school, right?”

  “Danny!” Matt looked at him, shocked.

  Ten chuckled. That was probably like thinking of your parents—or kids—having sex. Not something you really wanted to do. He didn’t have any relationship like that, though, with either of these men. So he could totally answer. “I bet if you wait that long, you’re going to be desperate for it.”

  “Either that or I’ll be a virgin again and I’ll forget how.”

  “Danny! Stop it! No sex talk at the table.”

  Ten had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. As it was, he wound up snorting, and that set him off, the chortles spilling from him. Daniel’s laughter followed right behind, the sound surprising and hearty and strong.

  He met Daniel’s eyes as they shared their amusement, and it was fun, enjoyable. Now there was what he’d been looking for. A connection. A way to bond.

  “I guess we know who won’t be doing the sex talk with the girls,” he noted when the laughter had faded away.

  “Like I know anything about girls and sex,” Matt harrumphed.

  “I’ll do it. I’m not scared. I want them to be able to come to me and talk.” That was the first time he’d seen Daniel not seem scared about the arrival of his triplets.

  “Excellent. I’m happy to help. I had to do the talk with four girls and a boy. In a lot of ways, though, it’s best to let them come to you—they’ll let you know when they’re ready. And yeah, them feeling able to come and see you to talk, that’s the goal.”

  “The period talk will be the hardest, I think, but Elle and Tishia will be there to help too.”

  “If needed. Schools have pretty decent sex education classes these days that cover things like periods, changing bodies, puberty.” Ten glanced over at Matt and had to bite the insides of his cheeks again. The man was going to have apoplexy if they carried on this topic of conversation for very much longer.

  “Sure, and they’ll have friends to help screw them up too, right?”

  “Yep.” He’d been the one all the kids and their friends had come to when he’d been with the Wilsons. He thought it was maybe because it was easier to talk to a grown-up who wasn’t their parents. “The key is to just be honest and make it seem as normal as possible.”

  “Well, it is. Normal, I mean.”

  “Oh, I know. But it always seems to get wrapped up in embarrassment and giggling and awkwardness.” He nodded toward Matt. He thought it might also be a generational thing.

  “Ah. Yes. Giggling. I love that about Brittany. She’s my goddaughter, you know?”

  Ten nodded, smiled. “Girls are great gigglers.”

  “She sure is. We’ll need to get a little bed for her for when she spends the night.”

  “No problem. We can set the last bedroom upstairs up as a guest bedroom for a little girl. How old is she again?”

  “Brittany is six. She’s going to be a first grader.”

  “That’s an exciting and scary time for a six-year-old. I can totally design a room for her that she’ll still like in a few years. Then when your girls are ready for their own rooms, we can redecorate.” He made a mental note to add designing the room to tomorrow’s list of things to do.

  “She spends the night maybe once a month. I just want her to know she’s still welcome.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. You’ve got great instincts, Daniel. You’re going to be just fine as a dad.”

  Daniel smiled at him, then clinked their glasses together. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.” Grinning, he took a mouthful of his wine. “How’s your shortcake?” They’d gotten distracted and hadn’t gotten around to eating their dessert yet.

  “It looks amazing. Thank you.”

  �
��You’re welcome. I hope it tastes as good as you’re expecting.” He’d hate to disappoint Daniel after he got this excited about the dessert.

  Daniel ate eagerly, devouring the sweet. He liked the way Daniel enjoyed his dessert even better than he liked the dessert itself. It was nice, having people to enjoy his food again.

  Matt chuckled, shook his head. “You do like that, don’t you?”

  Daniel didn’t bother to answer, but he did increase his happy eating noises, and Ten laughed softly, then focused on his own plate and started eating his dessert.

  It really was good. Really.

  They all chowed down, not saying anything else until their dessert was done. Ten even went so far as to wipe his finger across the bottom of his plate to collect the last bit of cream.

  “I love this. Thanks. What a treat.” Daniel leaned back, face up to the stars.

  It softened the already lovely features, and Ten found himself looking, admiring. Daniel was fine—classy and classic, yet somehow impish.

  He found himself still, smiling as he watched. Then he realized what he was doing and shook himself.

  “I guess I should clear up.” He stood and started doing just that.

  “You’re not the housekeeper. I’ll help.”

  He wasn’t the housekeeper, but he was the paid help, and he was spending his days doing fun things, renovating with unlimited funds. Planning, preparing for sure, but he was being well-paid for it. “Seriously. I’ll throw it in the dishwasher.”

  He’d actually be able to start a load with their dessert dishes. He hummed, making short work of the task.

  The music swelled and crashed around him, and it was beautiful.

  As the music faded, he turned to Daniel and smiled. “Was that one of yours?”

  “A cowrite. Me and Elle. It’s a love story.”

  “It was grand.” He leaned against the counter and smiled at Daniel.

  “Thank you. That means a lot.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re very talented. Like honestly, truly.”

  Daniel shrugged, smiled. “It’s what I do.”

  “Well, it’s pretty amazing. You’re pretty amazing.” And he was turning into a goofball.

  “Hush. Come on back outside. It’s nice.”

  “It is—a gorgeous evening. I like it when it turns out to be nice after a hot, muggy day or a rainy day or whatever. It kind of redeems the whole day.”

  “Yeah. I love being able to sit outside. I have a firepit and heaters for the autumn.”

  “Cool. We’ll double-check them before the kids come—make sure they’re safe.” There was just everything that needed to be looked at, checked out.

  “Well, I mean, they’re fire, but… I really like them. They’re custom made, and I sit out there a lot…”

  “I’m not saying you can’t have them. Just that we’ll have to check them out and possibly make a few adjustments.” Now he wished he hadn’t said anything—he hated to unrelax Daniel. It was his impression the man was often stressed out.

  “Oh cool. Cool. It’s just important to me.”

  “Having kids doesn’t mean having to give stuff up, just making sure you do it safely.” A light breeze blew, and he enjoyed every moment of it.

  “Mmm. Matt must’ve gone to bed.” Daniel picked up his glass and sipped.

  “I think we scared him away with our sex talk.” He chuckled again at the memory of that look on Matt’s face.

  “Yeah, he chooses to believe I’m a virgin.”

  “It’s funny, isn’t it? How old-fashioned that seems these days. But then, Matt does strike me as an old-fashioned kind of guy.”

  “Well, he’s my father, no matter that I don’t call him that. I guess that’s weird.” Daniel’s lips quirked. “Not that normal is the word of the day.”

  “Yeah, I think normal went out the window a while ago for the three of us. What happened to your parents?”

  “Drunk driver hit them. He was seventeen. It ruined his life. He spent ten years in prison. I remember when he got out. He’d been kicked in the head, and he was broken, brain-damaged.”

  “That’s awful. All of it.”

  “Yeah. I mean, I don’t remember them. I do remember him, and that sucks.”

  “You mentioned being really young when it happened.”

  “Four. Matt was always there. Always.”

  “You were lucky to have him.” The man definitely was Daniel’s father for all intents and purposes.

  “Yeah. I don’t know anyone but him.” Daniel smiled over, the expression so tentative. “He’s a good father.”

  “Then you’ve had a good role model and you’ll be a good father, too. You’ve got this. And you’ve got help. You’re not in this alone. Not by a long shot.”

  “I know. I mean, I was going to hire a nanny regardless, but three? Three little girls at the same time? It makes me want to throw up, but I couldn’t… how could I not take them?”

  “Hey, Daniel.” He reached out and took Daniel’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “They’re yours—of course you took them. And sure there’s three all at the same time, but I’ve raised more than one kid at a time and trust me that the most important thing you can do is love them and do your best. Everything will shake out in the end, and the less frazzled you let it make you, the better.” Ten tried very hard to stay as calm as possible—kids knew when you weren’t.

  “I get that way. Stressed. I can’t help it.” Daniel didn’t pull away. So neither did he, he just continued to hold the man’s hand, offering comfort.

  “What helps you de-stress? I mean in the moment, not something you go and do to relax, but something you can do when you’re in the middle of the stressful situation?”

  “I put my headphones on and close my eyes.”

  “Okay, we’re going to have to find something else.” That totally wouldn’t work where kids were involved. No checking out when they needed you. “Something quick and easy that won’t take you away from whatever you’re doing at the time.”

  Daniel leaned back again. “I don’t understand. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, if the kids are fussing and you’re getting stressed, you can’t put on your earphones and close your eyes. You’re going to have to come up with something like, say I say ‘breathe’ and you stop for a moment, take a deep breath and then go on, feeling calmer. That’s just an off-the-top-of-my-head example, but I figure if you have coping mechanisms already in place when the girls come, it’ll make things easier.”

  “Yeah. I’ll research it and see what to do.”

  “You’re going to research de-stressing techniques? Cool. If you need to practice any of them, let me know.”

  “Okay. Sure.” Daniel gave him an uncomfortable look. “What was your other family like? You can have them visit here if you want. I can stay in the music room.”

  “I’m not going to chase you into your music room in your own house. You could totally meet them.” He shook his head. Daniel had very little contact with anyone not in his inner circle, did he? “As what they were like—well they were fairly typical. Two parents who both worked, five bright, happy kids. I was treated as one of the family and I’ve been out to have lunch with a few of the kids a couple of times. I think they might find it weird to come visit my new family, though. And God knows they’re all so damn busy.”

  “Ah. Yes. I guess that would be weird. When I turned eighteen, Matt married his lover, and they were together until John passed away.”

  “I’m glad he has you—the kids are going to benefit from having a grandfather, and he’s going to stay young having them in his life.”

  “Yeah. I hope so. I feel bad that he didn’t feel like he could marry John before I grew up.”

  “Maybe he thought you needed his focus because you didn’t have anyone else.”

  “M
aybe. He never made me feel like a burden, even though I know I was.”

  “Kids aren’t burdens, Daniel. Responsibilities, yes. Burdens, no.”

  “Even for you? Even if it’s your job?”

  “Even for me. I love my job. Your girls are going to be a joy, I promise.” He couldn’t imagine doing this job if that wasn’t true.

  “I hope so. I hope I’ve done things right.”

  “You’ve got the money to afford taking care of them, their needs, their schooling, etc. You’ve hired a nanny. You’re doing everything right. The only question is, do you want them?” Ten asked, knowing the answer was absolutely yes.

  “They’re my children. I want them home as soon as they’re cooked.”

  “Then you’re doing it right, Daniel.”

  “Thank you. I… This is the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Ten nodded—he had no doubt it was. “It’s also the best thing you’ve ever done.”

  “I sure hope so. It’s weird to not really be a part of the pregnancy. I go to the appointments, but… it’s not like we’re friends.”

  “Just a transaction, yeah? I’d love to come with you to the next appointment, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t see why not. I’ll make sure Marsha’s cool with it, but I don’t have a problem with it.”

  “That’d be really cool.” He hadn’t been invited along to any of the Wilsons’ kids scans. Not that he’d expected it or anything, but it was cool having this chance. “Do you have names picked?”

  “Melody, Harmony, and Kyrie.”

  “Oh, those are lovely names and so perfect for you.”

  Daniel beamed at him, obviously pleased.

  “So, I’m guessing that you knew from when you were pretty young that you wanted to do something with music?”

  “I was a band geek. I knew. I mean, I really knew.”

  “That’s great. Not everyone figures it out that early. Hell, one of my kids still doesn’t know and has changed majors four times in two years.” He shook his head. Anita needed to take a gap year or something. Step away from the stress of having to decide what she wanted to do with her life.

  “Yeah. I knew. Me and Elle, we never faltered. We went to conservatory together, and we played and we learned to write.”