“Okay.” His nose scrunches.
“You remember I told you how babies were made,” Vivien says, taking his hand in hers.
“Mommies and daddies kiss and hug, and they make the baby grow in mommy’s tummy.”
I cough to disguise my chuckle. I know he’s only five, and it’s the best way of explaining it, but it’s fucking funny. Imagine how much the world would be overrun with babies if all it took was some kissing and hugging?
Viv nods. “And you remember how we told you Dillon and I were friends in Dublin?”
“Yup. I know all this.” He shakes his head like we’re wasting his time, and I ruffle his hair. This little kid slays me in the best ways.
“Your mommy wasn’t married to your daddy then. They were just friends while Mommy was my girlfriend.”
His brow creases, and he looks confused as his gaze bounces between us.
“Dillon was my boyfriend, and we only found out recently that it was Dillon who put the baby in my tummy.”
Easton looks downright confused, and I don’t blame him. This is virtually impossible to explain to a five-year-old. I try a different angle. “Reeve was the best daddy, right, buddy?”
“The best in the whole wide world.” He stretches his arms out to prove his point, hitting both of us in the stomach.
“And he’s still your daddy now even though he’s in heaven,” Vivien says, taking over when she sees I’m sweating bullets. “Reeve will always be your daddy, Easton.” She takes his hands again. “But he didn’t put you in my tummy. Dillon did.” His brow creases, and the most heartbreaking, vulnerable look appears on his face. “Dillon is your daddy too, Easton.”
He looks so lost when he looks up at me, and I tighten my arm around him, moving in closer the same time Vivien does. “You’re my daddy?” he whispers, his eyes filling up, and my heart is rupturing behind my rib cage.
Tears pool in my eyes, and I don’t try to hold them back like I usually would. “Yes, buddy. I’m your daddy, and I love you very, very much.”
“You are really lucky,” Vivien adds, rubbing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. “You have two amazing daddies. Daddy Reeve is watching over you from heaven, and Daddy Dillon is here to always look after you.”
Tears spill down his cheeks, and he leans into Vivien, sobbing against her chest. “I miss my daddy,” he says, in between sobs, and pain has a vise grip on my heart. Vivien warned me not to expect too much, and I know he’s confused, but I can’t help how I feel. Rejection has always been hard for me, and though I know that’s not what Easton is doing, the feelings are the same.
Until I snap out of it.
I’m being a selfish prick.
The instant the thought lands in my mind, I wipe my eyes and focus on my son.
This isn’t about me.
It’s about him.
“It’s okay to miss him,” Viv says, reaching out to cup my face as our son clings to her. “I miss him too, but Daddy Reeve would want us to be happy, and Daddy Dillon makes us happy, right?”
Easton lifts his head, turning to look at me. Seeing his tearstained blotchy face kills me. He sniffles, staring at me, and it feels like my heart is about to disintegrate. “Uncle Dillon,” he says.
“Yeah, buddy.” My voice is hoarse, emotion clogging my words as well as my thoughts.
“Do I call you Daddy Dillon now?”
Viv sobs, holding on to me and Easton.
Tears prick the backs of my eyes, and I can scarcely speak over the messy ball of emotion in my throat. “You can call me whatever you want, East.”
He thinks about it for a second, and then his hand reaches out, and he curls his fingers around mine. “Daddy Dillon?” The trusting expression on his face knocks me for six, and I nod because I can’t actually form words. This is the culmination of every fantasy I have had since I discovered he was mine. “Can we play on the slides now?”
* * *
Easton took it way better than any of us expected, and I’m delighted. There are still moments where I catch him looking a little lost, and I know he’s still grappling to understand it all, but he seems to have accepted he has two daddies. I even heard him bragging to one of his little mates when I collected him from school on his last day before his Christmas break.