“It’s no problem, baby, you know if you ever need anything you call me, I don’t care what time of the day it is. And don’t forget that you can call that prude of a father of yours too.” She lets out a huff of a laugh and I smile.
“Alright, Grandma, I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
The phone goes dead and I stand, running my hands down my pants. I move in the direction of the kids’ rooms and when I peep in on Lilly, she’s still asleep. I move to Tanner’s room and find him lying on his bed reading a comic. He doesn’t have much in the way of entertainment since his tablet has been taken and he’s not allowed to watch TV until his punishment is lifted, so I’m not too surprised by the comic.
He brings it down from his face to look at me and sits up as I push the door closed.
“Hey, I need to talk to you for a second.”
He nods. “Okay.”
I bite my lip slightly as I sit down next to him and try to decide how to approach this conversation. “How do you feel about Chase, Nathan, and Emmet?” Being blunt may be the best approach.
He lays his comic book down and his shoulder brushes against mine. “I like them. Chase is always giving me and Lilly candy and he throws the ball around with me anytime I ask. Nathan’s cooking is a lot better than yours,” he places a hand over his mouth, looking up at me with wide eyes before a giggle escapes as I scowl at him. “Sorry, Aunt Ivy, it’s true. But Nathan also always asks about school and if I need help with my homework like my dad used to.” He shifts uncomfortably before sighing. “Emmet lets me play with Charlie and his phone and he’s really funny.”
I nod at that. “And do you… feel safe with them?”
He looks up at me, his brows furrowed slightly. “Yes ma’am. Why? Did something happen?”
I shake my head, feeling a little pang in my heart that at such a young age, his automatic response is to think something is wrong. “No, bud, everything’s okay.” I place an arm around his shoulder and pull him in closer to my side. “I just wanted to check with you, because I want to make sure that it’s okay with you that they’re a part of our lives.”
“Oh.” I feel his head nod against my side. “Yeah, I like them and I think it’s really cool that they come around.”
“And when I’m not around, are you still okay with them? Like when Chase and Emmet took you and Lilly to the park?”
“Yes ma’am. Chase pushed me on the swings and Emmet played in the sand with Lilly.” I smile, unsurprised that Emmet had no problem sitting in the playground with Lilly, getting dirty in the sand.
“Good.” I run a hand through my hair before pulling away and turning so that I can look directly at Tanner. His brown eyes are soft and they remind me so much of his mother in a way that I haven’t seen in a while that it makes me get choked up slightly. “Umm, I… I’m dating all three of them, and I just wanted to let you know.” Despite them always being around, I’ve never had a direct conversation with Tanner about what’s going on and I have a feeling that he thinks they’re just around all the time because we’re friends.
He rolls his eyes, unimpressed. “I already know that, Aunt Ivy.”
I’m taken back at that. “What? How?”
He lets out a laugh and looks up at me with amused eyes. “Aunt Ivy, I’ve seen you kiss all of them and I heard you and Ms. Jamille talking once.”
My lips part slightly. Fuck, I don’t even want to know what he heard me and Jamille talking about. “Oh. And… are you okay with that? Me dating them?”
“Yeah,” he nods. His big brown eyes look up at me with hope. “Because when you get married, I’ll have extra parents, just like with you.”
My heart skips a beat at that for so many reasons. Tanner has never said anything about seeing me as his parent, if anything, it’s been the opposite with him feeling I’m replacing his mom, and forming a bit of resentment. So, the words hit me in a place that makes my eyes start to burn a little, but I hold the tears back. I place a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, bud,” I say softly. I wipe at my eyes when a tear tries to escape and force out a chuckle, trying to lighten the moment. “And hold your horses, with the marriage thing, right now.” I don’t break it to him that polygamy is not legal here and tying the knot with multiple people doesn’t happen. “We’re just dating, okay?”
He tilts his head to the side. “So they’re just your boyfriends?”
And there is that word, the one I’ve insisted we don’t apply to our relationship but as I look at Tanner, I can’t quite think of a reason why not to. Maybe in the beginning initially, there was a little fear on my end about the stipulations that labels would bring, but not so much anymore.
I nod. “Yeah, they’re my boyfriends.”