Assa made sure his father’s foot was comfortable before he stood. “If you’re going to be rude, then I’m leaving,” he said. “I’ll check in with the nurse on my way out.”
“Wait, wait…sit down, boy. I’m fine with you being here.”
That was as close to an apology as Assa would get. He sat down in the visitor’s chair and they watched a few episodes of an old sci-fi show. As the TV droned, Assa noticed several residents grimace as they passed by the door.
Oh, well. Assa couldn’t worry about Papa’s lack of friends. He was doing what he could to be a dutiful son, or at least the big-hearted person Daddy had been so proud of.
He contemplated telling Papa about the meeting he and Wes had scheduled for that afternoon, then thought better of it. There was no way his father would have a positive reaction to learning that he might become a grandfather. And Assa couldn’thandle negativity. Not when the decision to adopt was still so fresh.
Also, he rarely mentioned Wes in Papa’s presence. Wes had zero tolerance for Jeral’s barbs, and their conversations often devolved into shouting matches.
Despite that, Assa questioned whether his alpha parent was a total lost cause. Deep down, he hoped he might get an apology someday. But if that day never came, he was still at peace with his choice to stay in contact.
His difficulty lay in getting Wes to accept it. And to recognize the small notes of progress when they happened. Such as this afternoon. Ten years ago, when Assa was thirteen, he and his father could never have peacefully watched TV together.
Stealing glances at his father’s profile, noting the sullen look on his face as he stared at the screen, Assa thought about why he’d been so hesitant to start a family. He was terrified of his child feeling the way he had. Never good enough. Even though Assa wouldn’t yell at his son or call him names, he wondered if he would be capable of making him feel cared for and special.
Assa had to believe he could do it. His father’s mistreatment shouldn’t condemn him to having a smaller life than he wanted. He had Wes now, and a good job as a lab tech on campus. He might not be a perfect parent, but he would do everything in his power to put his child first, so his son never felt like a disappointment.
He meant what he said to Wes the other night. Assa finally trusted their situation. And he had a lot of love to give.
That was part of the reason they engaged in non-monogamy, because sharing love never diminished it. It only made it bigger.
But their lifestyle was still considered unusual, so Assa and Wes planned to tread carefully. They certainly would not be listingpolyamorouson their adoption applications. And oncethey had a baby, they would stop inviting others into their bed if it interfered with their ability to be good parents.
Still, the need to do so wasn’t a given. While uncommon, there were some high-profile examples of polyamory being not only tolerated but accepted.
In Bellwether Province, the famous omega rights attorney Teal McGinn was known to be in a five-man polycule. Last year, after he won the right for omegas to own heat services in a High Court tribunal, Teal was nearly killed by deranged pro-alpha groups. His partner condemned those actions, and the ensuing attention revealed that the couple was intimately involved with three other men. They rarely discussed it publicly, but their polycule was raising five children and counting.
Assa hoped he and Wes would be able to have a familyandmaintain the sex life they enjoyed, but he was prepared to give up the second to have the first.
“So where is that lunatic you married?” his father grouched.
“He’s not a lunatic. He’s a college professor.”
“He’s a menace, is what he is. Always telling me how to speak to my own son. Not to mention other people. I was hoping since he wasn’t with you this time, maybe you left the bastard.”
“Alright, Papa. That’s enough. If you bad-mouth Wes again, I’m out of here. And you know full well that the reason he’s not here is because the last time he came, you two almost got into a fistfight.”
“He stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong!”
“He told you to stop insulting the nurse who was trying to take a blood sample.”
“That nurse was incompetent! Kept stabbing me over and over for no reason.”
“He was just doing his job, no thanks to you. You wouldn’t hold still, and then you called him a moron. Wes was right to tell you to be quiet and stop being a baby.”
“He embarrassed me is what he did. All bossy and shit. It’s bad enough I’ve had to deal with you my whole life, now I’ve got two betas trying to make me look stupid.”
“And that’s my cue,” Assa said, rising from the chair.
“Sit down!”
“No. I don’t think I will.” Assa put his coat over his arm, giving his father a two-fingered wave as he moved toward the doorway. “It really is a shame you don’t see how amazing your son-in-law is.”
“Pfft.”
“I’ll be back in a week or two.”