“Hey! What are you two doing here?” He asked and Declan eased around Atlas for a look as he reached to clasp a handsome Black man’s hand. The other man had a full beard and a deep, warm laugh as he pulled Atlas into an embrace. A beautiful Black woman with the kindest eyes smiled at Declan as the men hugged before Atlas went to kiss her cheek.
“I need new table linens for Thanksgiving and thought we’d get a head start on our Christmas shopping,” she said.
“You always have to do too much,” Atlas scolded while pulling Declan against his side. “Declan, this is Diane and Byron. Diane, Byron, this is Declan,” he said simply as he waved between them.
“It’s lovely to meet you. Atlas has told us so much!” The woman said, opening her arms to Declan. He laughed, surprised as he immediately went to her and was enveloped in a comforting vanilla-scented hug.
“Has he?” Declan shot Atlas a quick, confused glance while offering Byron his hand. Byron chuckled as he shook it.
“Just about everything,” he said and two valiant brain cells clicked and sparked as Declan made the connection.
“Anyone ever tell you that you two could be brothers?” Declan said shakily as he noted the striking resemblance. Atlas must have noticed that Declan was beginning to panic. His arm slid around Declan’s shoulders as he kissed his hair.
“Just breathe. You’re doing great and the worst part’s already over.”
“Are you sure?” Declan whispered, but Diane shushed him.
“You’re doing great, baby. Let’s see if our table is ready,” she said, giving Declan’s hand a tight squeeze. He nodded and followed her when they were led to a booth. Declan sat next to Diane and was immediately smothered in affection and a little bit of gentle teasing. It didn’t take long before he and Diane were best friends and Declan enjoyed his view while they ate. Atlas was easy to look at on his own, but two strapping, bearded Black men with deep, dark drowsy eyes and smooth grins? Declan didn’t stand a chance so he just stared and stammered whenever he was asked a question.
“Come to dinner on Saturday,” Diane ordered them when they parted in front of the diner.
“Yes, ma’am,” Declan and Atlas said at the same time, making her and Byron laugh.
“It was great to finally meet you, son,” Byron said, clapping Declan on the back as they hugged.
“Thank you,” Declan mouthed, his voice gone as he hugged Byron back. He hadn’t realized how badly he needed Atlas’s parents to approve and accept him. If he had, Declan would have had a full-blown anxiety attack, but Atlas’s parents were the loveliest people and had made him feel welcome. “I’m glad you surprised me,” he told them and was sad when Byron and Diane got in a cab and left for Bloomingdale’s.
“You did it!” Atlas cheered as he scooped Declan up and spun them. It was a little terrifying with a crowd rushing around them and there were whistles and claps.
“Did he say yes?” A woman yelled from somewhere behind Atlas.
“I haven’t asked him yet, he just met my parents,” Atlas called back without taking his eyes off of Declan.
“Stop it!” Declan hissed, but he was laughing as he hid his face in Atlas’s chest.
“Sorry. I can’t help myself. This weekend has been so incredible. Want to go to the Lakeshore dog park and see what that’s like?” Atlas asked.
Declan’s head popped up and his eyes were huge. “Dog park?”
“We should get the lay of the land and see what we’re getting into before we start looking at shelters,” Atlas mused. Declan nodded quickly in agreement.
“I’d love a bigger dog, but do you think we’ll have time to walk him enough?” He asked but he was already thinking of names.
“Don’t worry. Mom and Dad will be happy to babysit during the day and it’ll be good practice for human grandbabies.”
“Are you sure they won’t mind?”
“Mind? They’re both retired and they’re always in my business so they might as well be useful,” Atlas joked.
“I can’t believe…any of this!” Declan said as they walked.
“You’ve been incredible this weekend, but I knew you had it in you, Dec. You’re a lot braver than you give yourself credit for.”
“Nah,” Declan said with a wave, but Atlas caught his hand and halted him.
“You did all the hard work this weekend. You came up here and you’re the one who broke the deadlock. I was too scared to push you if you weren’t ready. And you saved us from that kid with the gun. I had my head in the clouds and then I panicked when he started waving it around.Ishould have been the one who was cool, but you handled it like a pro.”
“I grew up around guys like that and it wasn’t the first time I’ve had a gun waved in my face,” Declan said, shrugging it off.