Page 47 of Fanboy in the Falls (Devon Falls #3)

One Week After the Devon Falls Leaf Festival

Tom opens the door, and Colin shoves me inside. —Gabe Gomez

“Can I wear my Superman costume?”

Lou tips up on his toes as we look together through the outfits in his closet. His new closet, in his new room. The one at the end of the hall in the house Colin renovated, the one he insists I stop calling “Colin’s house.”

“It’s your house too,” he keeps saying. “Yours and Lou’s. Our house, little one.”

I smile as Lou pokes at the blue and red stretchy materials. “I’m not sure, kiddo. Let’s ask Malachai, okay?” I type a quick message into my phone.

Gabe

Lou wants to wear his Superman costume to your wedding. Yay or nay?

I wasn’t sure whether or not Malachai would be answering texts on his wedding day, so I’m surprised when he answers in about five seconds.

Malachai

Sure, of course. I’ve always wanted to be married in front of a superhero.

“It’s a go,” I tell Lou, and he squeals excitedly.

“Yes!” He pumps a fist in the air. “And then I want to wear my new Snow White dress for the party after the wedding!”

And of course he wants costume changes. Because that’s my little brother: bringing the swagger to every event. And now in any damn outfit he feels like wearing.

He and I haven’t talked much about Dave.

I told him he was going to live with me from now on, and he was thrilled.

But then I told him his Dad would only be able to visit with us from now on—Mario said that Dave’s charges of child neglect make it unlikely that he’ll ever get full custody of Lou back even if he does want to be in Lou’s life again—and Lou frowned in that sad, thoughtful way he sometimes does.

“Well,” he said. “Daddy’s been sad. I hope the next time I see him that he’s as happy as I am.”

I hugged him hard and tried not to cry as I hoped for the exact same thing. And then I immediately signed both of us up for family therapy with someone that Mario recommended. I don’t know yet if my insurance will cover it, but Colin said not to worry about that.

I wonder if I’ll ever get used to having him and Tom standing behind me. I’ve been on my own for a long time now, I guess, just me and Lou, and standing up with other people doesn’t come naturally. But maybe that’s something to talk about with the therapist.

I help Lou into his outfit and spend another minute fighting with the bow tie Tom bought for me that still seems like some kind of bad practical joke.

I finally give up and head down the stairs with Lou at my feet, convinced that this tie is some kind of ploy to lure me into a closet so Tom can have his way with me.

Which I wouldn’t mind, except that Lou’s right behind me and we’re going to be late for the wedding.

“Can you help me?” I call out as I walk into the kitchen.

“I think this tie is trying to strangle me, and I—”

“Hi, little fox,” Tom says as I stop talking the moment I see who’s standing next to him. “My mothers are here! They’re so excited to meet you. And yes, I’ll help you with the tie.”

I can do hard things. I whisper the words to myself, and I do my best not to hyperventilate. Both of Tom’s mothers have kind eyes, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from Malachai… and yet I’m frozen in place, all words sinking from my body. Nasty, cruel thoughts run through my head.

What if they don’t like me? What if they tell Tom he’s too good for me, or that he and Colin should be together without me? What if they don’t like Lou? What if they—

“Oh, we’re so excited to meet you!” One of them, a tall, large woman with pale skin who looks so much like Tom and Sam, rushes up to shake my hand. “I’m Francis, but the boys call me Mother. You can call me that too, if you like. Can I hug you?”

“Don’t scare him, love.” The other woman, who’s equally tall with dark skin and long, cornrowed hair, joins her next to me. “I’m Evelyn, also known as Mom. And handshakes are perfectly fine if you’re not a hugger.”

“Or no touching at all,” Francis—Mother?—adds.

“But I want a hug!” Lou darts between us, now carrying a video game controller in one hand and a giant stuffed bunny in the other. I have no idea where either came from. “Who are you?” he asks.

They both beam with delight as they lean down so he can wrap each one of them up in a hug. “We’re Tom’s mothers,” Francis says. “And we’d love to be your—” she looks up at me, and it’s clear she’s asking my permission.

I nod, hard and fast. As quickly as I can.

“Your family,” Evelyn finishes.

“Yay!” Lou leans against her neck. “Then come play videogames with me!” He disappears down the hallway, and I choke back a laugh.

“It’s Colin’s fault,” I manage to choke out. “He made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast today. Those always give Lou extra energy.”

“Hey, now,” says Colin. “The only thing we had in the fridge was milk, eggs, and maple syrup. What else was I supposed to make?”

Evelyn leans across the counter to kiss his cheek. “It’s so good to see you, baby,” she says. “So good to finally see you both again… together.”

“Finally,” Francis murmurs, and Evelyn pokes her in the side.

Colin nods and tilts his head up slightly. “Well, yeah. It took us a little while. We just needed a little help.” He winks at me, and every cell in my body feels like it might be contracting in embarrassment.

“Who, me?” I ask. “I mean, I didn’t—”

“Yes, you,” Tom interrupts gently. “Mom and Mother, Colin and I can’t wait for you to get to know Gabe. I’m afraid you already know Colin a little too well.”

“Please don’t tell the story about the time I tried to water your begonias by peeing all over them,” Colin mutters.

“I think you just told it yourself, babe,” Tom says. “Anyway, meet my other boyfriend. The talented and kind Gabriel Gomez. Oh, and that was Lou you just hugged.”

Francis beams as she reaches out a hand to me again. “Welcome to the family, Gabe.”

I swallow down the lump that won’t quite leave my throat as I look back and forth between her and Evelyn. “Actually,” I finally say. “If you’re still giving them out, I’d really love a hug.”

The wedding itself is small and quiet, just the way Malachai wanted it. He and Sam say their vows under a giant wooden arch covered in maple leaves next to the lake behind the winery—the one that separates the winery from our new house.

“I promise you’ll always come first in my world,” Sam tells Malachai.

“I promise to never let you forget that you deserve to be happy,” Malachai responds.

Then Amelia, who’s officiating, pronounces them husband and husband, and the small crowd claps excitedly as Sam takes Malachai’s face in his hands and the two of them kiss long and hard.

“I don’t know if I want to kiss when I get married,” Lou says from where he’s perched on Colin’s hip, head leaning into Colin’s shoulder.

“That’s okay,” Colin tells him. “You never have to kiss anyone you don’t want to, Lou.”

“And if you ever do want to kiss anyone,” Tom says, “that’s okay too, as long as you have their permission.”

Lou nods, and I blink up against the mostly sunny sky glittering over the lake’s waters. My mind wanders to visions of the kind of wedding Tom and Colin and I would have, if we ever got married. Would we get married at the winery too?

It definitely feels strange to even think about the three of us having a wedding.

We’ve been together for like five minutes, after all.

But then again, we’ve already moved in together, and I didn’t even think twice when Colin asked me if I wanted to.

Dave’s house had never felt like home to me, even with Lou there.

Colin’s house felt like home from the first time I stepped inside of it.

Nope, not Colin’s house, I remind myself. Our house.

The wedding moves over to the event space, where basically all of Devon Falls has assembled. “Hey,” I say to Benson as we eat pigs in a blanket off of fancy paper plates together by the bar. “You never wore the leaf costume at the festival!”

“I shamelessly used your little brother as an excuse,” Benson says as he hands me a napkin. “I told Amelia I was too busy with him to do it.”

“Shameless,” I agree. But… I’ve seen that costume. It’s basically twelve pounds of cloth with slits for eyeholes. “Also understandable,” I add.

“They’ll try to get me into it next year.

” He shakes his head. “But maybe I’ll have a different excuse.

” He looks over at Jack, who’s dancing around the floor with Lou.

My brother forgot about wanting to change for the reception, so he’s still in the Superman costume.

“Turns out we both really liked having a kid around the house,” he adds softly.

My mind drifts back to that day Dave drove away from me, back to the cold worry that filled my body as I was taken to my first foster home. I wish I’d had a Benson and a Jack in my life back then. “Any kid would be so lucky to end up being in your house,” I tell Benson. He almost blushes, I think.

“Gabe?” Bethany peeks her head up from under the bar. “I know you’re not working today, hon, but we’re out of cocktail napkins. There are more in the storage closet near the bathrooms. Could you grab some?”

“Sure. Keep an eye on Lou for me?” I ask Benson. He nods and heads over toward Lou and Jack, and I make my way across the room toward the back area, where two bathrooms sit next to the large storage closet. Colin and Tom and I rehung the door of that closet, I remember.

A hand finds its way up the back of my suit jacket just as I open the door of the closet. “Hiding from us?” Tom whispers in my ear.

I turn to see him on one side and Colin on the other. “Nope, just getting napkins. Where have you two been?” Last I saw they were dancing together with Jack’s parents and Tom’s parents.

Colin rolls his eyes. “Just reminding the world what a terrible dancer I am.” He shrugs. “Then we saw you coming over here, and we missed you.”