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Now he was shouting again. And I kind of started to understand this. Fear. So much fear. Fear of change. Fear of things not being the same anymore. Maybe even fear that he was losing me.

For the record, he wasn’t. Never.

“Would I ever do anything to hurt you?” I asked softly.

“No,” he answered. Good. Conviction. I liked it.

“You have your family. And I have you, and that is enough, Reuben. More than enough. But I have Dylan now, and this might be the biggest mistake of my life, or perhaps not, and it’s all new and fragile and strange and beautiful, and I’m not going to force you to have a relationship with him. I’m not even going to make you talk to him if you don’t want to. But he’s special. He makes me happy. And right now, it’s something in my life that is going really well. I hope it will stay that way.”

“Dad. You’re nuts.”

“Maybe?” At least he was doing that thing he did, trying not to smile. He was angry at me. I really didn’t blame him.

“I’m not calling him Daddy, if that’s what you think,” he huffed out, a small glimmer at the corner of his eye.

“Who you calling Daddy, my man?” Gray waltzed back in, talking in some put-on American accent.

“Dad’s new squeeze. Not doing that.”

“Do you call him Daddy, Stewart?”

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

“No. I don’t. He’s called Dylan.”

“And when are we meeting Dylan?” Gray asked.

Reuben let out a deep sigh.

“Can we talk about something else?” I suggested. “Like, what are you doing home early and why didn’t you tell me?”

“Kids wanted to surprise you. You sounded down, and well…” That was the son I knew and loved. All that warmth. Compassion. Kindness. “But actually, we rang you like fifteen times this morning, to get you to come pick us up at the airport. We had to get an Uber, and the driver got all crazy and took pictures of us in the back. You know what it’s like. You promised to pick us up.”

My son wasn’t a child anymore, but sometimes, he made me wonder.

“Also,” Gray picked up, walking back over to the table. “We had a leak on set, and the whole production has ground to a halt while they rebuild the damaged parts, and yeah. We thought we’d come home for a bit. Find some normality.”

“Turns out there is zero normality here,” Reuben whined. “And where are the cats?”

“Somewhere?” I offered weakly. “I do feed them. They’re usually lounging in the front room, and I cleaned out the litter box yesterday. They are around.”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been keeping up. And I’ve been doing some driving and helping Dylan.”

“The lawyer next door.”

“Yes.”

“What do you know about the law, Dad?”

“Nothing. But I’m really good at making tea.”

At least they laughed.

“I’m okay,” I said softly. “I’m happy. Can’t I at least have that?”

“You’re okay,” Gray said, planting a cup of tea in my hand as if I’d asked for one when I hadn’t. But we were family, and this was what family did.