An Unlikely Love

Chapter 5

Benjamin's POV

"Want a drink?"

"I can't drink." I shook my head

"Really? How old are you?" Adriana asks

"I'm 25. Tomorrow Evie has an equestrian lesson and that's normally when I ride my horse."

"What does that have to do with drinking?"

"It's not safe to drink 24 hours prior to riding. It's an equestrian rule."

"You own a horse?" One of the quadruplets asked

"Yeah, I do." I nod

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"He's a boy his name is Erebus. He's a black Selle Français which is kinda rare."

"Do you ride him at competitions?"

"No at competitions there's a pool of horses and riders get randomly assigned to one."

"What if you and that horse don't click?"

"Part of being a good rider is being able to ride different ages, breeds, and sexes. They all have different temperaments and quirks. It's frustrating at times but still very rewarding."

"So you're a professional rider? When did you start your professional career." Xavier asked

"If you ask my dad he'll say 12."

"So young?"

"I jumped at the highest level for my age range. I continued competing at that level until I graduated high school. I rode for my school and even completed internationally a couple times. Even after having Evie I competed. It's been months since I've competed because I've been injured but I've recently recovered. I was considering retiring since I wanted to focus on Evie."

"You could go to the Olympics! Don't retire!"

"I qualified in the past but I didn't go."

"What?!"

"I took a hiatus for a year because of hate I received from other riders. My transition rocked the equestrian community. Not to say that everyone hated me. I got more support than hate. My return as a man was traumatic that I took time away from competing. That's when I got the offer and I declined. They understood and let me know they'd keep there eye out for my return." I explained

"You turned down the Olympics because some people were mean?" Charlotte asked condescendingly

"Falling off a horse is one of the scariest things and it can be life threatening. Those Transphobic individuals sabotaged the girth of my saddle. When I attempted to clear an obstacle that was 6 ft tall and 7.3 ft in distance my girth snapped sending me flying. My helmet broke in half from the impact. Those people are no longer permitted to compete and are in prison. It was really hard for me to get back on a horse. I was almost paralyzed from the fall."

"If it's so dangerous why is Evie doing it?" Kora asked

"Every sport comes with its dangers. My incident occurred because of someone's malice intentions. Evie listens to her teacher and they take all the necessary steps to ensure her safety."

"Stop being so rude to Benjamin. It's really unnecessary." Alessio told them

"She kept our granddaughter's away from us and I don't approve of her parenting."

"Those aren't his pronouns." Tyler told them

"It's gonna take time for us to adjust."

"It's not like you knew me prior to my transition. You met me today as a man it's not hard to get them right."

"Let's not cause a scene in front of the kids."

"Then leave bitch." Xander cursed

"It's my house. If she has a problem with me then she can go."

"My daddy is a man." Evie interrupted

"Look dad I got her to talk!"

"Good job Roman!" Xander told him

"You should teach her not to interrupt adults and discourage her obsession with tattoos. There's a list of things you're doing wrong."

"When she's older I'll explain tattoos but for now I'm letting her like things."

"Eve is really good at spelling and she taught us the sign alphabet! Now I no how to curse in another language!"

"Louise do we need to go on time out?" Tyler asked

"I'll go later!" She told her dad

"Evelyn can you spell some words for us?" Adriana asked

She shrugged

"Spell Roman!" Roman asked

"R-O-W-M-A-N"

"Where did the W come from?" I asked

"Row row row your boat is R-O-W. Man is M-A-N." She explained

"You're right Row is spelled that way but the Ro in Roman's name doesn't have a W." Emiko explained

"So R-O-M-A-N?" She asked

"Yes good job!" She high fived her

The kids went back to playing and I was happy that she was enjoying herself

Right now I'm sitting with the mom's talking

"Is she going to kindergarten soon?"

"Yeah this September she's gonna start going but I haven't enrolled her in a school yet. Since she doesn't like talking most schools are reluctant. Since she's gonna turn five during the school year they want to hold her back another year."

"That's so stupid and unfair to her. Being quiet doesn't mean you're dumb." Emiko argued

"Alessio looked into the school your kids are in but they reached out to her current school and agreed she could wait another year."

"Absolutely not. What time are you going to ride tomorrow?" Haruhi asked

"Around 4."

"Let us accompany you to the school. I promise she'll be a student by the time we leave."

"Should I bring Evie?" I asked

"Yes plus her documents."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank us you're family now. We all take care of our own."

•_•

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Mwah 🐴