Chpt. 18 CPOV:

This week has been an utter nightmare…it started on Sunday with dinner at my parents where the plan was to announce that Ana, Taylor and I are in a relationship. Well that went to straight to hell and ended with first my Dad accusing Ana of trying to steal our company by sleeping with us and then he told us that if we had kids it would matter who the biological father of the child was. That was the end of our dinner, I stormed out and Elliot took off after me; we drove around for who the hell knows how long before I made him go back to the house to get Ana and Taylor so we could go home. I knew my parents wouldn't take our announcement lightly, but I definitely didn't expect the reaction we got.

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered the questions my dad first asked; hell I even looked into what our options were long term. With the connection the three of us have, I've known for awhile that this was far beyond just a fling. I can't picture a future without Ana and Taylor in it; anytime I think long term, they're there. Obviously the three of us can't legally marry each other, but we could have a commitment ceremony if we wanted to. We wouldn't need a piece of paper to prove our commitment to one another. As for kids, fuck yeah I had thought about that. Before Ana and Taylor, I never considered having kids but now I can see them in our future. I can see Ana's belly firm and round carrying our child; I can see her designing the ultimate nursery in our house and I can see Taylor and I throwing a football or building a treehouse or playing jump rope in a backyard. I can easily see it all and for the first time, I actually want it all.

I don't give a fuck which one of us is the child's biological father; it won't matter to me and I know it sure as hell won't matter to Taylor. I get that some people might not understand that but when your own biological family treats you like shit, you learn blood doesn't define who your family. You learn your family is who you make it. Growing up I knew that Elliot and I were adopted, just as I knew that Mia wasn't but I never gave it a second thought. It was just one of those things you were told that you never really considered again. I didn't think it had any bearing on how I was raised or how my parents treated me. I can't see how not knowing which one of us fathered the child would make a difference in our family; it wouldn't change how much I or Taylor loved the child. Hell chances were high we both would be there the moment conception occurred anyway.

I hadn't expected these questions to come out at my parent's house especially considering that wasn't something that the three of us had discussed. Hell we really hadn't discussed a future together beyond having Ana move into our apartment until that day. But when Ana and Taylor defended our relationship and talked about how our future would look when we had kids together, I knew in that moment that they felt the same way we did.

I haven't spoken to my dad since I stormed out of the house that day; I've ignored every one of his texts and sent all of his calls to voice mail. There's nothing he can say to me that will justify why he said what he did. He essentially told me and Elliot that it matters that Mia is his biological child and we are not. That's something I can never forgive and there's nothing he's going to be able to say to change that. My mom has called and texted but I can't bring myself to respond; I don't want to hear her make excuses for what he said or apologize for him. Elliot and I haven't talked about that day since he drove back to the house and handed the keys to Taylor. We've checked in more with each other this week, but we haven't talked specifically about that day and what was said. What the hell do you say after hearing that?

I have spoken to Mia nearly every day this week; she feels incredibly guilty about what happened even though I've told her multiple times that she has no reason to feel that way. She didn't make him say those things and I know that it's never mattered to her that Elliot and I were adopted and she wasn't. Just like it doesn't matter that Elliot's biological parents are different than mine; we're siblings, no matter who are parents are. Mia understands that but still feels bad about what was said that day. She asked a lot of questions but after we spent an hour on the phone the one day she told me that she was glad I was happy and that she didn't care who I was in love with. I promised her that we would hang out one of these weekends and she seemed much happier after I suggested that.

I'm ready for this week to be over; between the drama on Sunday, the constant phone calls from everyone and issues with permits getting delayed at work I'm done. The only positive thing about this week is that I've never felt closer to Ana and Taylor. It's as if what happened at my parent's house brought us closer, which I suppose makes sense since all finally admitted our feelings for one another. I've known for awhile that I loved Ana, just as I knew that Taylor loved Ana just as much as I did. The unknown was Ana; I knew she cared for both of us…hell she admitted she was falling for us, but I was…unsure if she felt the same way we did. Could she have fallen in love with both of us? Until that day I had my doubts; but all those doubts ended that day.

Dinner out tonight? –A

I'm in – T

Me too –C

Let's meet at Rizzo's around 6? I'm coming from a meeting with a client so I'll meet you both there? –A

I can do 6 –C

Me too –T

Great, see you both then. Love you both –A

Love you –C

Love you too –T

That simple text exchange makes me smile. We typically text a few times during the day; sometimes it's just me and Ana and other times it's the three of us depending on what's going on. The rest of the day is busy as usual; we have several projects going on at once so I end up spending most of the day in the truck driving between sites checking on the progress of each project. It's unreal how successful our small business has become; we were able to pay back our investment loan from our trust funds within the first year. Calls come in every day with new business opportunities as our reputation grows from word of mouth; initially we thought we would focus on home building however as a new company we took what jobs came along and ended up with several commercial projects. Over the last year our projects have been surprisingly equally split between home and commercial customers.

Ana is doing an amazing job with us; although Taylor and I obviously biased since we're in love with her, Elliot fully agreed and recently cut back the use of the other agency and asked Ana to pick up some of our home customers. Her portfolio was heavy on the commercial side, but she had a strong internship with a home interior designer. She explained that it was just by luck that she ended up focusing on commercial design as that's the field she was offered her first job in. She's dove in to the new venture with just as much passion as she has for the commercial side of our business. Our customers have been thrilled with her designs and she has a knack for even pleasing our most difficult customers.

I'm walking into the restaurant when Taylor pulls into the parking lot so I wait for him before we both head in. Ana texted us a few minutes ago letting us know that she has a table already and is waiting for us. I'm so wrapped us in the conversation with Taylor about a project he's working on that I don't notice the person sitting with Ana at the table even after we both great her with a kiss.

"Christian, Taylor," I turn surprised to find my mom there.

"What are you doing here?" it comes out far more harsh than I meant it and based on the wince in her eyes she felt it.

"Sit down," Ana stands offering me her seat.

I look at her questioningly, wondering what the hell she's doing and why the fuck my mother is here after I've been purposely avoiding her all week. She doesn't say anything but gestures for me to take the seat she was just sitting in. She pulls out the seat next to me and looks expectantly at Taylor, who follows without saying a word looking just as confused as I am.

"I'll meet you both back at the apartment," she kisses me before turning and kissing Taylor.

"Wait-" I say.

"You're leaving?" Taylor asks.

"The three of you need to talk," she squeezes my arm and Taylor's hand. "Your mom loves you, both of you. Listen to her, please."

I sit there and watch as Ana walks out of the restaurant leaving the three of us sitting in silence at the table. How the fuck this went from a quiet dinner with the woman we love to reliving the conversation Sunday with my mother I have no fucking idea. None of us say anything; the waitress come to take our order, Taylor and I both order a beer with our meals while my mother requests a glass of wine with hers.

"I owe you both an apology," my mom says. Taylor and I both look at her questioningly; if she even tries to defend my father and what he said I swear I'll walk out of here right now despite what Ana wants. "Hearing that the three of you are….involved came as a complete shock to us all. I'm sorry for my reaction, it was uncalled for and I could have handled it much differently. I didn't understand…well I still don't but Ana made me realize I don't have to understand everything to be happy for you both."

"Ana?" I ask.

"Ana called me the other day and asked me to meet her lunch," she says surprising both myself and Taylor. Ana never mentioned having lunch or even talking with my mom this week. "I was so caught up in the…shock of your news that I failed to see how happy the three of you are together. Ana helped me realize that."

"She did?" Taylor asks.

"She did," Mom takes my hand in hers and takes Taylor's in her other hand. "What I didn't see until later was that when you were all at the house, that you both were happier than I've seen you in years. Taylor, you've been a part of our family now for more than 6 years and I don't think I've ever seen you smile as much as you did on Sunday afternoon. Christian, you laughed I swear for the first time in years that day. It wasn't just that day though, I noticed something different in your voice when we've talked on the phone over the couple of months Christian. You were happy, something I haven't seen in a long time. If Ana makes you both that happy, than I have no right to question what you three…have."

"She makes us happy Mom," I assure her.

"She's made me happier than I've been in…forever," Taylor agrees.

"The look in both of your eyes, the look you had when you came back from over there is finally starting to disappear," she points out. "What I should have said on Sunday but was too shocked to say, was that I'm happy for the three of you. I'm happy that you've found someone to chase those demons away."

"Thank you Grace," Taylor says quietly.

"I know you were shocked by our announcement and we expected that," I add. "We knew that you would have questions seeing that this is….different. But we had hoped that you, all of you, would see that what we have works for us."

"I didn't see that," she admits. "I didn't…and still don't, understand everything, but after talking with Ana I realized it doesn't matter. I don't need to understand why this works for the three of you, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you both are happy."

"We are, Mom," I assure her.

"To be honest, I don't know that any of us fully understand why this works for us so well," Taylor says and I nod in agreement. Fuck if I know why this works so well between us, I just know it does. I also know that this would never work with anyone else; this works because of who we are and what we have together. "But we've realized just as you did, that it doesn't matter the reason it works as long as it does. We're happy together, Ana makes us both happy."

"She told me how you three met, that you both chased off a guy who wasn't taking the hint that she wasn't interested in dancing with him," she says. "I'm proud of you both for helping her the way you did; it must have been fate that you were all there in some small town across the country to meet that night."

"It was," I agree.

"And then to be at the same wedding two years later, on the other side of the country," Taylor points out.

The waitress brings our food by and we all quietly begin eating our dinner. I shake my head at just how crazy this week has been; coming here for dinner and seeing my mom at the table with Ana was completely unexpected. My mom apologizing and recognizing just how happy both Taylor and I am with Ana, also completely unexpected. Her saying that fate brought us together…now that was about as far from expected as you could have gotten.

"I'm not going to apologize for what your father said," Mom says as we finish our dinner. "He had no excuse for saying what he did to any of you. I know he feels terrible for what he said, but that's for him to tell you. One day I hope you will give him the chance to do that-"

"I don't know," I interrupt. "He was clear with how he felt about us, I don't see that changing."

"That's your decision," she surprises me by saying. "I'm not going to push any of you into doing what something you don't want to. For what it's worth, I don't think he was implying that you would love a child any less because the child wasn't biologically yours. You know that we both love you and Elliot just as much as we love Mia. The fact that the two of you entered our lives differently, never factored into us loving you."

"I'm not sure that's how he feels," I grimace.

"I think, again I'm not defending him or making excuses," she reminds me. "I think he was worried that you would constantly worry which one of you fathered the child and that not knowing whose child it was would matter not that you would love the child any less because he or she was or wasn't yours."

"Even if I'm not the child's biological parent, that child would be mine," Taylor argues.

"When you look at me and Elliot do you see traits from you and Dad in us?" I ask.

"Of course," she looks at me confused. "You have your father's sense of numbers and business; Elliot is more relaxed and tends to go with the flow more like I do than your father does."

"Yet neither of us are your biological children," I point out. "You don't concern yourself with who our biological parents are, so why would he think this is something that we would think about with our child?"

"I think it's different because the person who could be the child's biological father would be there every day," she says. "Maybe I'm not explaining well enough."

"I get what you're saying Grace," Taylor replies. "You're saying that we would wonder based on looks who the child's father was. If the child had more reddish hair, we would assume the child was Christians. If he or she had brown eyes instead of grey or blue, we would assume the child was mine. But, I think to what Christian is saying we would also see different traits that the three of us have. He or she might do something the way I do it or the way Christian does it, or fall in love with something that one of us enjoys. That won't be because the child is biologically mine or Christian's, it will be because the three of us are raising him or her together."

"He of all people, should understand that family isn't about who you're related to by blood," I point out. "Sometimes family is who you decide, who you choose to have in your life. If we have a child, he or she will be lucky enough to have three parents who love them."

"You're absolutely right, dear," she says with tears in her eyes. "He should understand that and I think deep down he does. It's not an excuse, but sometimes the lawyer in him keeps everything black and white and he has a hard time seeing the grey."

"The questions about marriage and stuff I get, that's the legal side of things that he questions," I agree. "But accusing Ana of only being with us because she wants to steal our company and then going on to say that we would love a child less because they weren't ours biologically, that I will never understand. That was ignorance speaking and I expected better of him."

"So did I son," she surprises me by agreeing.

"You're okay with this then?" I ask.

"Like I said, I don't understand it and I can't pretend to. I don't understand why one of you can't date Ana and the other find someone else," she puts her hand up when I intend to speak up. "But, it doesn't matter. I get you don't choose who you fall in love with and that you two didn't go out intending to fall in love with the same woman. All that matters is you're both happy, so yes as long as you're happy I'm okay with it."

"Thank you Grace," Taylor smiles. "That means a lot to us."

"Just don't rush things," she warns. "Marriage is hard enough with two people, I can't even begin to think about how much harder it will be with three of you. Take your time, get to know one another-"

"How long did you and dad date before you were married?" I cut her off.

"Two months," she admits quietly. "But-"

"Things aren't that different because there are three of us," I argue. "We waited two years to find Ana again, we're not about to let her go. Things might be more challenging, but we're going to make it work."

"I know you will," she nods.

"I know you want what's best…" Taylor says.

"Trust us to know what that is," I add.

"I do," she smiles.