thirty six
Michael moved the baked mac and cheese around his plate, looking up at his family in between their small talk. Calum kept eyeing him, knowing Michael was trying to find the right time to mention that his ex was gonna be in their house in one week.
"Michael, didn't you have something to tell them?" Cal butted in, giving his husband his best mom-look.
"I mean, I guess," he said putting down his fork.
"Are you dying?" Joey asked, sipping at his water.
"Joey," Calum held out his name, unimpressed with his joke.
Michael fidgeted in his seat, biting at his lower lip. "So, long before I met your dad, I dated this guy named Luke and he's coming here next week and I agreed that we'd all go out to dinner with them or something."
"I'm pretty sure Juli knows Luke's husband," Calum said, "You listen to The 1975, right? Didn't you try to get tickets last year."
Juli's eyebrows raised. "Wait, whoa. Your ex is married to Matty. He's the Luke? Matt talks about him all the time!" She put down her fork, looking up at Michael, "Are we meeting Matty? Oh, my God, Michael please say yes."
He nodded, a smile on his face, "Yeah, and their son, Nolan."
Juli gripped the edge of their dinner table, "I'm gonna pass out."
Joey rolled his eyes, unimpressed with his excited sister. "How long did you date Luke? He must be something special if you're still in touch eighty years later."
"First of all, I'm not that old. Second of all, he and I were actually engaged," Michael looked over at Cal. Calum wanted Michael to tell the kids everything, but Mike was better off biting his tongue.
"What happened?" Joey asked his step-father, leaning on the table to move closer to him.
Michael cracked his neck and took a deep breath. "Do you want a long story?"
Juli and Joey both nodded quickly, always in for some gossip. June hopped off her chair, moving over to Calum's lap and getting comfortable.
"You can't yell at me until the end, okay? You've gotta promise."
Juli held out her pinky finger, promising.
"So, I was Luke's mathematics teacher when he was in high school. We got together behind everyone's back and it was very, very wrong. Okay? Don't do that, do not do that. It could have all ended much worse than it did.
"Luke and I were more than in love, I felt although we were together constantly. He ended up falling pregnant a few months before his high school graduation. We were both pretty freaked out, but we made it work. We did some more stupid things, but it was fine.
"We were supposed to have a little girl, we never named her. We just called her It," Michael was looking down at his hands, not wanting to look up at his family. He could feel his throat getting tighter as he heard each sentence coming out of his mouth. This was the last step he needed in his recovery of Luke. "But, It wasn't born. She was a stillborn, she never took her first breath."
Calum moved his hand over, placing it on Mike's. He could see the pain the older man was mentally in and he completely regretted making him tell the kids the story.
"We pretended to be in love a little longer, but it didn't work out. I couldn't be the strength he needed."
"How did he find strength in a heroin addict?" Juli asked, a laugh leaving her lips.
Her father glared at her, upset she was taking it so light.
Mike shooed Cal off, letting him know it was fine. "You'd be surprised at that boy Matty. He's something special, and I am happy for them," he sighed.
"You knew him?" The eldest asked, her dark eyes fascinated.
"He stayed in my house for a solid week," he responded, "I had to go back to work and Matty and Luke's friend Ashton kept Luke company. I never really thought Luke tolerated Matty yet alone felt something for him. I guess they fell in love in my bedsheets," he said with a pained laugh, "It's whatever."
"That's so punk rock," Joey said, "All of that."
"Don't do any of it," Mike warned them, "Don't do anything I did. Don't date your teachers, don't get knocked up or don't knock someone else up, just don't date anyone, ever."
Calum looked at Michael's profile, admiring the beauty he is. "Exactly. No dating, ever."
"No babies, either, I can't handle that," Mike said, bringing a palm up to his forehead.
Michael never got to raise a baby. He has June, but she was already five by the time they met. A little bit of him still hurts when he thinks of their unborn child. She would have been twelve, she would have been around Joey's age.
He can't imagine still being together with Luke, though. That's how he knew they weren't meant to be. He couldn't imagine explaining to their kids their story, that Luke was Michael's student. He didn't realize how wrong it all was until it was over.
He looked up, feeling the sad persona he brought. "On a serious note, it's fine. I met your dad and all of you. I have the family I've always dreamt of," he wiped at his eyes, "I'm not supposed to be crying."
Joey and Juli awed, laughing when they realized they did it at the same time. "We love you, Mikey," the eldest Hood said, "You're our dad now, even if you don't want to be."
Michael smiled, tears still pouring from his eyes. "And you guys are my children, I'm gonna feed you shitty food and forget you at the grocery store. I fuckin' love you guys."
The Hood-Clifford family had a group hug, most tackling Michael until he stopped crying. Everything was as close to perfect as it was ever going to get.
Thoughts as the story is finishing up?
Do you think Muke could have made it work with It?
