“I am. More of dating all of them at once, I guess, then dating them all individually? We’re kind of a group.”
“We are what a modern relationship looks like, Dad. We’re not a couple, we’re a pentuple.”
“That sounds like witchcraft.” To her credit, Ms. Miller appeared to be making more sense of it all and reacting in a calm way. “Anyway, boys, does that mean you are all into each other?” Ms. Miller asked.
The old man started to rub his temples.
“No!” snapped back Sam and Ryan simultaneously. “We’re all just dating Gracey. We’re not bi.”
“And... and...” Mr. Baker threw his hands up. “All four of you accept this? With her dating three other guys?”
Each of us nodded earnestly and without hesitation.
“Doesn’t that seem strange? Have you thought maybe you all deserve one girl to yourselves?”
“No,” my little brother said. “It’s not like that. We all adore Grace. But we also respect one another. We were already friends, so that’s a good start.”
“Dad, times are changing, and if Gracey likes four dudes, we’re modern guys who can accept that and find a way to make it work. There’s no need for a drama storm and pain,” Ryan said, taking his turn in standing up to his father. “It’s how we feel. It’s how we decided we want to handle our relationship. We’re all adults, Dad. You more than anyone have taught us not to judge and be rude to people for wanting to do things a little differently.”
He continued to almost furiously rub his temples as he coped with all of this.
“Wait.” Ms. Miller raised her hand as if it were her turn to be in class. “How does this work if you all want to get married? How does it work if you get pregnant? Who’s the father? I’m just... confused on how this just functions.”
“Mom, don’t worry about it. How it works is up to us.” Grace smiled her mother’s way. “I trust these guys. They trust me. That’s always what you told me a relationship was about, right?”
“Yes, well, I thought the trust would only really ever be between two people.”
“It can work with more. Is it more complicated? Yes. But it can work if the people involved are willing to work for it.”
The five of us looked to one another and gave knowing nods.
“Will things change?” Grace smiled warmly. “Maybe. Who knows? But we can’t live in fear of tomorrow to destroy today’s happiness. For now, they are my men. My lovers. For now, they are family.”
“All right, fine, fine.” Mr. Baker said, slamming his fist down. “I’m really curious about how you can all be fine with this, but if you are, you are. It’s not my place to decide who you can and can’t love, boys.”
“Personally, I’m just a bit impressed on how you managed to rope so many boys around your finger at once, Grace,” her mother added. “That many lovers really wouldn’t be for me, but I’m touched. I must have raised quite the girl to attract so much attention.”
“My compliments to the chef,” I gestured toward her, “for a job well done in raising such a fine woman.”
She laughed and blushed at my words. Despite how unorthodox our relationship was, she was still potentially my mother-in-law, and I would prefer that she liked her daughter’s husband.
“Also, I’m pregnant,” Grace added, just sort of matter-of-factly, like it wasn’t that big of a deal.
The parents again went completely silent and the sound of birdsong became more pronounced.
Until Ms. Miller managed to speak up, “You’re what now?”
“I’m pregnant. About a month along, I believe.”
The parents looked at each other for a long time in a stunned silence.
“Shouldn’t you have announced it with more... I dunno, fanfare?”
Grace shrugged. “Sorry, Mom. I didn’t know where to add it to the discussion. It’s a lot of information to pass along.”
“Who’s the father, then?” Mr. Baker said. “You know the birds and bees enough that all four of you can’t be the father at once, right?”
“Dad, really,” Sam took his turn to spar with his confused father. “You know, being a father is more than just genetics. We’ve all talked it through. We’re all taking responsibility, regardless of who may or may not be the actual man responsible.”
“Four dads?” he said, still very confused at the concept of one girl and four guys judging my his frown.
Ms. Miller actually seemed surprisingly calm about the news. “Did you plan this? Grace, you are so young for such a big commitment.”
Grace shook her head. “No. A baby wasn’t planned and we weren’t careless. It’s just one of those things.” She bit her lip. We knew this was hard for her to tell her mom and something she dreaded doing.
“The baby is an unexpected blessing, Ms. Miller. We didn’t plan it but God has blessed our family with this gift. We’ve talked about it and we’re all excited about it.”