“At least I’m not going to be his teacher anymore,” Ty said wryly. “I think I was starting to develop multiple personalities.”
Ollie poked into the pan once more. “Well, call up the hungry one, because these are crispy.”
He plated the sandwiches, turned off the burner, and then hooked his foot around the leg of the bar stool next to Ty’s to pull it out. When he sat, he made sure their knees bumped. He knew Ty wasn’t done panicking about Theo.
Sure enough, Ty only made it as far as dipping one corner of his sandwich into his ketchup puddle before he asked, “So we’re telling him, right?”
“Yeah, of course. Wait, were you worried I wanted to keep it a secret?”
Ty flushed. “I mean you didn’t exactly say, you know? And I know it’s complicated, especially because he just lost his mom, so I’d get it. But also, I… I don’t think I can be chill about you, so he’s gonna notice.”
I don’t think I can be chill about you.Ollie didn’t think Ty had ever been chill about anything in his life, but the words still made him feel like he’d stepped out of a frozen wasteland into a grassy sunlit meadow. “Ty, I kissed you in front of my mom. There’s no chill here.”
The flush deepened. “That was an accident.”
Ollie bumped their knees together. “Do I have to do it again?” Normally PDAs weren’t his thing, but needs must.
“Oh God, please tell me you don’t have a kink about that.”
Ollie dropped his sandwich onto the plate. “Ty!Gross.”
“Just checking.” The joke had relaxed him, though. The tension in his body had melted and he was leaning into Ollie like he needed help staying upright. Ollie had to lean back, or they’d risk toppling the bar stool. “That still leaves the question of what we’re telling him and when and how.”
“It’s not awethis time, I don’t think.” Ty had done a lot of emotional heavy lifting with Theo as it was. Ollie would never forget that, and he would never be able to repay the kindness Ty had shown his kid. But that was the thing—Ty would never expect repayment or even see hisactions as anything beyond common human decency, and would likely say he enjoyed spending time with Theo and having difficult emotional talks and—
Ollie needed to stop that train of thought before he melted into a puddle.
Before Ty could feel excluded, he went on. “You do so much for him, and when he’s not being a scared eight-year-old, he knows that. I love the bond you have. But you’ve only known him a couple weeks. Hell,I’veonly been his real parent for less than a year. I owe it to him to tell him one-on-one and give him a safe space to have big emotions about it.”
When he finished, Ty was leaning on his elbow, totally ignoring his perfect grilled cheese to gaze at Ollie like he was made of newborn puppies. “What?”
“You’re just a really good dad and I’m into it. Not in a sexy way.”
Ollie gave a self-deprecating snort, even as his ears heated at the praise. He picked up his sandwich again. “I’m making shit up as I go.”
“You’re letting Theo lead. I don’t mean to tell you how to parent. I mean you let his reactions inform your decisions about what he needs.”
“Why do you know so much about parenting?” Ollie deflected.
“I don’t,” Ty protested. “I know a little. We had a slow shift a couple months ago and someone left out a book about child-led parenting. I was curious.”
Of course he was. Even though he had no kids of his own, no partner, no nieces or nephews. Part of Ollie wondered if he’d picked it up thinking maybe the book would tell him why his father had treated him so poorly, though he might have done that without consciously realizing it. “Okay, well, as much as I like to think I’m paying attention, I probably need to take the lead on this one. Even if I’m not sure exactly where to start.”
“We could do some research,” Ty suggested. Then, his cheeks bright red, “You could, I mean. There have to be resources out there for how to talk to your kid about dating someone when they’ve recently lost a parent. Maybe his therapist?”
Ollie’s heart did some kind of fancy dance move in his chest. It must’ve shown on his face, because Ty asked, “What?”
“I’m just—I’m not sure whether to be angry at the whole fucking world or if I should shake someone’s hand.” He couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with his own. “How have you been single until now? Why has no one married you?”
Ty flushed a furious red to the very tips of his ears and ducked his head, but he couldn’t hide the way the words affected him.
Ollie was probably getting ahead of himself, though. “Don’t answer that, it was rhetorical. I’ll count it as one of my blessings.”
“Ollie!”
Okay, now he was almost purple. Obviously he needed some exposure therapy to get better at taking compliments, because Ollie had plans. Someone so sweet and thoughtful and kind should know how much better he made everyone else’s lives simply by being in them. “Ty,” Ollie replied. He touched their shoulders together, gently this time. “I mean it. I could have gotten through the past two months without you, but not like this. Not—I’ve been happy. Barring a few speedbumps, Theo’s been happy. And we have you to thank.”Please get used to hearing that.
He didn’t think Ty could flush any deeper without causing himself permanent damage, so he stopped there. Baby steps, or something like it.
