Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” Beau replied, causing my grin. My man of many words.
“What prompted the baby decision? How did Dash get his way six times?” she asked.
“Honestly,” I started, but Beau surprisingly interrupted me.
“This guy,” Beau said, nodding his head toward me. “Can be persuasive.”
“So it was his idea?” Zoe asked, tickled by the exchange.
“I’ve always wanted a large family,” I explained. “There are ten years difference between me and my next oldest sibling. I grew up as virtually an only child. Being gay never squashed my feelings of wanting a large family. Beau just needed a little convincing.”
“My life’s goal was far simpler. I wanted to be fishin’ every day,” Beau said with a slight laugh. “What neither of us planned on was three babies at the same time. No matter how we prepared, when Liv, Mia, and Ava came home, we were vastly outnumbered.”
“Before the girls arrived, we’d been preparing for a baby by taking endless parenting classes and reading all the books. We were in the process of building this house when we found out about the triplets, and the entire home just expanded to make more room,” Dash said.
“It was a lot durin’ their first couple of years,” I added. “But they were a breeze compared to the boys. Those little guys are a handful.”
“What would be your best tip to anyone who found themselves in the same position?” she asked.
Beau took this question like a pro. “I feel like communication is the key. And we’ve never lost the deep sense of gratitude for what we’ve been given. Dash and I remain on the same page, always. And we have loads of help. We cherish our world. Agree?”
“Absolutely. Cherish is exactly the right word,” I said. I loved my family endlessly. Having a partner who was exactly on the same page as me, living our lives together… It was everything.
“You own a local fishing charter company?” she asked.
“With a lifelong friend of mine,” Beau nodded, cocking his head toward the Lee’s home. “Scott Lee.”
“And, Dash, you have a local legal practice in town?”
I nodded too. “Correct. Sea Springs has been good to us. We’re happy here. It’s a good community of people. Of course, we’ve run into some belligerence, but only on a small scale.”
“And your father in-law is Wesley Carter.” Zoe went into full-on fangirl mode with her giant size-of-Texas grin and breathlessness creeping into her tone. “Wow. I bet birthdays and holidays bring the best gifts.”
“Carter’s a good man. My mentor and parental figure. He’s married to Beau’s mom, and I take credit for their meeting.”
Beau finally let the eye roll go, glaring pointedly at me.
“Here we go again,” Beau said as if it was the most boring and inaccurate story ever told.
“I do take credit,” I said, brushing him off. “He came to see us. Your mom was there. Seems a reasonable enough claim. We wouldn’t have been in Chicago if it weren’t for me. But more importantly, our children are crazy about them.”
“I understand this is a delicate subject. How do your parents fit inside this world you’ve created,” she asked, looking at me. I’d never spoken of those people with more than what I’d said earlier. Did I want to change that now?
It seemed like I did. “Early on, they didn’t approve of Beau. He didn’t fit the mold they lived within. At the same time, I learned that my sexual orientation came with a strong disapproval. We’ve severed ties.”
I could see the questions on the tip of her tongue, but we had previously discussed not mentioning them. She didn’t push for more. With a decisive nod, she shut her notebook in the same quick efficient way she had done everything so far and got to her feet. “We can follow you for the additional video of Dash’s law firm. We’ll leave from there to make the flight home.”
The dawning of understanding that slid across Beau’s brow as we got to our feet, didn’t have to include that cocked brow of accusation pointed at me. All right, Beau. Yes, I had to shell out some advertising money to make this all happen for us. And yes, I’d kept that tidbit of information from my mister. This was a good source of passive marketing, yes. But another motivation was for my mother and father to see how well I was doing, and what a lovely, beautiful family they were missing out on.
I clutched Beau’s fingers before he tried to talk his way out of the next few hours. “Come on, babe. The kids are occupied. We’ll have a downtown date night when we’re through.”
I turned on the charm until the cameras stopped rolling. All said and done, I felt sure I was made for the screen.
After that endless, drag-on day, Beau was giving me the silent treatment, but not because he was angry. He was just completely wiped out from the long, boring interview experience we’d shared. The couple of hours of primary interview ended with a late lunch at a longtime favorite café a few doors down from my office with Ms. Pebbly and her cameraman. From there, it appeared every resident in the city had decided on an early dinner at the café. From the booth we sat in, several of my clients and work colleagues came over to be interviewed. Most had also worked with Beau, singing his praises about friendly community development.