Safe As Houses - Epilogue
EPILOGUE
As time passed, and they learned how to do things like change diapers and mix baby formula and move in that rocking kind of way that parents walked to soothe their cranky babies, and weeks or months seemed to go by in a strange and sped-up way. Wesley figured out all the ways to make their daughter laugh, and Will put his years of being bossy into practice in an entirely new fashion. They watched their daughter grow and learn and recognized which parts of her were like each of her parents, surprisingly accepting help from their friends anytime it was needed. And then the day came when, just for a little while, they had to let her go.
Wes sighed, gathered his patience, and looked down again at Roxanne.
“I know how much you love the raincoat, baby, but it’s not raining today. It’s hot outside and you’re going to be uncomfortable. As soon as you get home, you can put it back on, I promise.”
She eyed him suspiciously, as she so often did even at the tender age of three, probably thanks to the example set by her Da. She wanted to show off her Mulan raincoat.
“But my new friends aren’t going to see it. I want them to see it.”
“I promise you, sweetheart, the first day it rains, you can wear it and everyone will see it. All right?”
Another suspicious look. “Pinky swear, Daddy?”
No hesitation there. “Pinky swear”, Wes responded, locking his pinky with his daughter’s, a familiar gesture.
Will poked his head into the room. “She’s going to be late, Wes, what are you doing? She hasn’t even had breakfast yet and we’ve got less than an hour to get her to that sodding preschool…”
“I’m excited about sodding preschool, Da!”
“Don’t say sodding, Roxanne. It’s…it’s a word for grownups. You’ll get in trouble if you say it at school.” Neither of the fathers were fans of nicknames, and anyone trying to call her Roxy had been quickly corrected.
The inevitable pouting ensued as Wes reassured his baby girl that her Da wasn’t upset with her, he was just trying to make sure she didn’t get in trouble at her new preschool.
Who’d have ever thought that Wesley would be the indulgent parent and Will would be the strict one? That’s how it had turned out, though, and everything seemed to be working just fine. Neither of them wanted to send her to preschool, to be honest, but socializing with other children her age was the right thing for her, so they’d found a secular program at a local public school and enrolled her. Since it was, after all, Los Angeles, they’d barely gotten a second glance as “Roxanne’s two daddies” and she was all set up to start her adventure with water tables and play kitchens and story time and sharing and making friends.
Will hated standing at their front door and watching them leave, but had no desire to become a pile of dust in exchange for escorting their daughter to her first day away from him. He kissed her on the forehead and told her he’d have her favorite ice cream waiting when she got home, which she could have if she’d eaten all of her lunch, and retreated to the living room, absently holding the ratty purple blanket she slept with. The same one Fred and Gunn had given them as a gift before Roxanne had even been born.
Roxanne wasn’t nearly as apprehensive as her parents were. She wasted no time at the door to her classroom, waving off her Daddy’s hug and kiss with a strong determination to go off and do her own thing, shaking her long light brown locks and making a beeline for the shelf of books on the far end of the room and the other little girl who was studying which books might be exciting. After a few words with the teacher, Wes gave his daughter a final good-bye and walked down the hallway and outside to his car. He still had his bike, but Roxanne wasn’t old enough to take a ride on it, even just around the block, though she saw this as a grave injustice.
Wes made his way home, fell into the arms of his husband (they’d exchanged rings and vows in front of their friends a year ago, so screw the law, they were married) and held on tight.
“She’s going to be fine, you know? It’s only a couple of hours.”
“Of course, darling. But I’m not going to be fine until she’s home.”
“Oh, I doubt that”, replied Will, as he guided Wes back to bed. “You’ll be all right.”
~end~