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The living room was cozy, and it turned out the guest bedroom was a tiny office with a bed in it, which I suppose makes sense — you’d want to have as little square footage to keep warm as you could manage, which meant you’d have some double-use rooms.

“This room was originally just a loft, but we added some walls a few years ago, and the stairs to replace the original ladder,” he said. “It’s set up so when I sit and talk to the camera, there’s a nice view outside the window behind me, and this computer has the power needed to edit and combine videos. We’re a two-person show here, so if one of us can’t do it, it don’t get done. There’s a strip on the nightstand you can all plug your phones in, to charge them. There’s fresh sheets on the bed, and we have sheets to go on the living room sofa, too. I’m right sorryI don’t have a place for all three of you to sleep together, since I gather that’s what you’re used to.”

“It’s an unusual situation,” Will said, “there’s no need to apologize. I’m glad you’ve chosen to welcome your grandson’s significant others. Not everyone would.”

“We can’t get to know him without also getting to know the people important to him,” Ethel said. “We might make some mistakes with our language, and I’d like to apologize about that ahead of time. This is new to us, but we’re both capable of learning.”

And that was what was important, right? That they wanted to learn about us. Wanted to get t know their grandson.

And what a kick in the pants that was. I’ve never considered myself someone’sgrandsonbefore. These were my grandparents. Blood relatives, and it hit home at that moment because watching Ethel talk with her hands was a little like watching my own hands when they move while I talk.

* * * *

Micca

“We brought a brick with enough capacity to keep our three phones charged for five days,” I told them. “We didn’t know for sure how much extra power you might have. As for the poly thing, it’s new to me, too. I mean, my best friend since elementary school is gay, and I’ve been around him and his husband since Razor came over for their very first date, so that part isn’t new — but the whole poly-group thing is absolutely new to me. I’m amazed it’s working, but it is. I care deeply for both of them, and Isowant Davy to have a good experience on this trip. Family is important, and I can’t thank the two of you enough for accepting him and wanting to get to know him better.”

Ethel took a few steps forward and drew Davy into her arms. She met my gaze and told me, “Breaks my heart that he had to grow up with strangers. If we’d known, we’d have fought hard to get custody of him. He’s more yours than ours right now, and that’s our fault for not checking in occasionally to make sure we still weren’t wanted or needed.”

“No excuses,” Malcolm said. “We escaped to Alaska to get away from the world. No news, no politics, just us against a harsh wilderness. We’ve eventually rejoined the world through the internet, but I still try not to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. I cain’t fix it, so why should I worry over it?”

“But we shouldn’t have withdrawn from family who needed us,” Ethel said, still hugging Davy. “Our kids were all grown and standing on their own feet. We kept up with all but one through letters, and wrote off the one who didn’t want us in his life.”

Davy backed out of the hug. “Let’s start from now and stop looking back. Who knows who I’d be if ya’ll had brought me to Alaska and raised me off in the middle of nowhere? It’s stupid to try to figure it out because it didn’t happen. This is who I am, and this is what I have to work with. We brought some hostess gifts; I just have to figure out where we put them.”

“I’ll get them,” Will told him. “Why don’t you use the restroom?”

Davy looked to Malcolm, who said, “Beside the kitchen. We have one really short, heated wet wall with more insulation than anyone wants to hear about, but the toilet is a composting toilet. There’s instructions on the wall.”

“No, it’s okay. I can go outside. I watched the video about it,” and he left without looking back.

Davy was overwhelmed, and I was glad Will found a way to let him go somewhere and take a breath.

I’d watched the video about how they’d originally just had an outhouse, and the cabin had been ‘dry’ when they initially builtit, meaning no pipes and no running water, but they’d added a cistern and a single wet wall after about a decade of going without. The plumbing system gets drained in the winter, except for the cistern in the barn so they have water and don’t have to melt snow for drinking water. The house is still dry during the coldest months, but I guess it’s a big luxury to have running water at least part of the year.

Later, they’d added the composting toilet. Malcolm still mostly uses the outhouse, but he appreciates the ability to not have to go outside sometimes, especially when it’s raining. Ethel uses the toilet at night and the outhouse during the day unless the weather is really bad.

I decided to change the subject, not only because the old one had been too much emotion too fast, but because this home fascinated me.

This room had a short ceiling where the desk was, and you’d have to bend over to get to the desk chair, since the pitch of the roof made for a super-low ceiling at the edge of the room.

“The shorter ceilings up here mean less air to heat,” I said. “I’m impressed by the planning that’s gone into your home, and I doubt I’m seeing all of it.” I looked at the door coming into the single room over the living room portion of the structure, which had been closed but was now open. “I’m assuming the door is because heat rises, but with all this equipment in here, I figure you must have a way to let a little heat in, just not as much as would escape the main living area with the door open.”

“Exactly right,” Ethel said. “An air duct comes up from downstairs, and baffles are controlled by a thermostat in this room. Not really a problem this time of year, so don’t worry about keeping the door closed all the time. If you’re here in the winter, that’ll change, but most people prefer to come see us during the summer. Malcolm has a pot of stew simmering. Let’s head down and feed everyone.”

Chapter 30

Micca

Will handed me one of the gifts and he carried the others, and we headed down with our hosts.

It occurred to me that this couple wasn’t exactly traditional. Ethel was clearly the tech person, and she said Malcolm had the stew on simmering. I’d assumed the opposite, since Malcolm had handled most of the initial conversations with Davy, and since he’s primarily the one on their YouTube channel, but maybe Ethel just isn’t an outgoing personality, or only speaks when the conversation revolves around her specialties, which isn’t unusual with really smart technical types. Or, that’s been my experience.

Davy came in the backdoor, and Will offered him the first present, but Davy said, “I need to wash my hands first.”

He quickly washed his hands at the kitchen sink, dried them, and then accepted the gift from Will. Our boy had wanted us to do this part, but Will had said, “Your grandparents. You give the hostess gifts.”

We’d had to find things that didn’t take up a whole lot of room, that weren’t terribly heavy, and that weren’t just token gifts. We wanted to give them something they could actually use, and even more, be happy they had them.