“No, don’t apologize. I’d wondered about something like that over the years, since I’m the only member of our family with blue eyes. Plus, Mike, Dante, and Vincent look so damn much alike, and I just don’t match.” He was trying to act casual about it, but there was no question this news had rattled him.
I asked, “Do you think you’ll take a DNA test?”
He shrugged. “Maybe at some point, just to satisfy my curiosity. Really though, whether or not Paulie Dombruso was my biological father doesn’t change a thing. I’m a Dombruso, and I love my family with all my heart.
“But I don’t want that bombshell to overshadow this moment, because holy shit, I have a new brother!” It surprised me when his eyes began to fill with tears, and he grabbed me in a hug. “I’m so fucking sorry it took this long for you to be welcomed to the family. That’s not right. Our parents should have told us about you.”
I was touched by that outpouring of emotion, and as I embraced him I said, “It’s all in the past. What matters is that we’re here now, and I’m really grateful for it.”
22
Jack
It was overwhelming to find myself with all of Adriano’s new brothers and their husbands, so I could only imagine how he felt. Also, my god was there a lot of gay in that family!
As he and Gianni hugged it out, I snuck a glance at the very famous pop star in our midst. That was just surreal. I’d never met a famous person before, and I was actually a huge Zan Tillane fan. But for both my sake and Adriano’s—because I didn’t want him to seem dorky by association—I tried to play it cool.
One of the husbands, a super cool guy dressed all in black named Yoshi, asked me if I’d like a drink, then handed me a gin and tonic when I nodded. I thanked him before slamming it back in one go, and he grinned and refilled my glass. “This must be a lot to take in,” he said, as he took a seat beside me on the couch.
“It is. Everyone’s incredibly welcoming, though. It’s kind of surprising, actually. It must have been weird for them to suddenly learn they had a new family member, but they seem to be taking it in stride.”
“That’s probably Nana’s influence. She’s all about bringing people into the family. Her specialty is gay men who don’t really have anyone else. She already has a huge biological family, but that’s a fraction of the bigger family she’s created back home in San Francisco,” he said with a grin.
A few moments later, Adriano sat down beside me and took my hand. That felt good. It was as if I provided a sense of security to him when things felt overwhelming. I smiled at him and handed him my drink, which he tossed back like I had.
Dante and Charlie snuggled up together on the other side of the coffee table, and Dante said, “Just so you know, I invited Romy to join us this evening, but he said he had plans. I didn’t want him to think we were trying to exclude him or anything.”
I doubted Romy had plans, since he was a total homebody. He probably just found all these Dombrusos a bit intimidating, which I certainly understood. I wished he’d give them a chance though, because these were kind people, and the way they’d welcomed Adriano (and me) to the family was truly remarkable.
Not that they’d just taken our word about who we were without question. Dante was a shrewd, intelligent man, and I had absolutely no doubt he’d looked into both of us by now. He certainly had the resources and capability to make sure we weren’t a couple of con artists, trying to get away with something. Good thing I didn’t have an arrest record, not that that would necessarily have been a deal breaker. This family clearly hadn’t made its money through legal means, and being a thief probably wasn’t all that off-putting to them.
Even so, when Yoshi asked me what I did for a living, I hesitated before saying, “I’m currently between jobs.” That was literally true—I wasn’t robbing anyone at the moment. But in a bigger sense, I was also at a crossroads. I turned to look at Adriano just as he turned to look at me. Now that we were together, I couldn’t imagine going back to robbing men who picked me up in bars—not that sex was involved, but still. It just didn’t fit with who I was now.
I really wanted to explain all of that to Adriano, but this wasn’t the time or place. Instead, I searched his eyes while he gently ran his knuckles along my cheekbone. We both sort of forgot about everyone else for a few moments, until Trevor said, “Aw, new love. I remember those days.”
To which Charlie replied, “You’re currently sitting on your husband’s lap, Trev, and you two were making out like a pair of horny teenagers earlier. Don’t make it sound like you’re some sad old married couple whose sex life has gone the way of the flip phone.”
“Good point,” Trevor said with a grin, before planting a big kiss on his husband. It was amazing to see the way Vincent, who was usually so quiet and reserved, lit up around the man he loved.
* * *
We were all on our third round of drinks when the hotel room door flew open and Nana exclaimed, “There all of you are!”
She and her husband breezed into the room. Nana was wearing a hot pink sequined dress—which was when I realized she’d actually chosen the limo to match her outfit—along with a headband featuring two pink dicks on springs. Ollie was wearing a tasteful tweed three-piece suit and a headband that matched Nana’s, because why not? Her huge, black handbag was slung over Nana’s skinny arm, and both she and Ollie were carrying three-foot-tall margaritas in novelty glasses, which for some reason were shaped like very long cocks with a pair of balls at the base.
As soon as Nana spotted Adriano and me, she smiled and rushed over. Then she kissed both of us on our cheeks and said, “Look at you two, all dressed up and so handsome! I did good on that suit, didn’t I, Jackie?”
I nodded and said, “You sure did, Nana. Thank you again.” Adriano looked devastatingly handsome in his black pinstriped bespoke number, while I was wearing a plum-colored suit that Nana had bought for me on her shopping spree. I’d paired it with a black shirt and black loafers, and all of it was a surprisingly good fit. It was also the least “she works hard for the money” thing Nana had selected for me.
Dante asked his grandmother, “Where’d you get those drinks?”
“We crashed a bachelorette party downstairs,” she explained. “They were such a cute group of girls.”
Ollie said, “I think Stana might have convinced the bride to ditch the groom for her maid of honor.” They both looked quite pleased with that idea.
“She’s better off without him. But look at these cute party favors they gave us!” Both she and Ollie vigorously nodded their heads, which made the pink plastic dick antennae flop around wildly, and which also made Dante sigh. Then she asked, “Why are you all holed up in a hotel room? Don’t you know what’s downstairs? Vegas!”
“We’re pregaming,” Yoshi told her, as he raised his glass.