Page 29 of Everywhere You Look

“Mine too!”

The twins beam up at Dean with bright purple goo splotched at the corners of their mouths like he hung the moon for them, not just spread some peanut butter on white bread with a compostable knife.

“I know it is, mis pollitas. That’s why I told your Uncle Lukey that it was so important that we have PB&J’s today. Because today is a special day, and special days call for special sandwiches.”

“Is today special because Mr. Warren paid us five-hundred dollars since he said ‘fuck’?” Mel asks, and I have to cough to cover up my laugh.

“Mellie! You can’t say that word. You promised Uncle Lukey, and Mr. Warren will make us give the money back,” Lemmie chastises her sister, saving me the trouble of reminding them not to curse.

It’s a good thing I’ve got that lofty wedding check from Adler in my wallet. I’m going to need it ifWarren is getting the girls accustomed to such a high going-rate.

“That’s part of why today is so special, but there’s another reason, too.”

Dean looks over at me from across the blue and white checkered blanket we laid out here on the grassy hill overlooking Steiner Street, Ollie babbling happily between his legs while gumming an applesauce pouch. This side of town is much warmer than downtown at city hall, and the unseasonable lack of wind is making for a perfect picnicking afternoon.

I take a bite of my turkey and havarti on sourdough, licking a drop of pesto off the corner of my mouth as I chew. Then I set it down and wipe my hands on my pants just to buy myself a little time before discussing Dean’s and my morning activities with the girls.

“Do you remember a few weeks ago when you asked Dean if he was going to stay with us forever?” I ask. Lem and Mel each tap their chins with their pointer fingers, pursing their lips while they think. The way they manage to be completely in sync sometimes blows my mind.

“We remember,” they say in unison. I should look into little kid’s synchronized swimming classes. Dean and I might have a couple gold medalists on our hands.

“It got me thinking. You and your baby sister love Dean, right? And Dean loves you,” I pause, waiting for their nod of acknowledgment before continuing.

“Well, I love Dean, too, and he loves me, and we decided that we wanted to show the world how much we all love each other and become a big family.”

A part of me was scared that saying the words out loud would make them feel cheap, but it doesn’t. It’s not a lie. I love Dean, and I know Dean loves me. Just because it’s not a romantic kind of love doesn’t make it any less true.

“We already are a family,” Mellie says matter-of-factly.

“You’re right, Mel. We are a family, and we always will be. But we have so much love in our hearts that we get to be an extra special family. This morning, Dean and I got married.” I reach over and take Dean’s hand in mine and squeeze it lightly. He squeezes me back, one, two, three times.

“What does married mean?” Lemmie asks. I open my mouth to answer, then close it. I guess I should have expected this question. It’s not like the girls have never met any married couples before, but I don’t think it’s something Gigi would have ever explained to them. She wasn’t married, she never introduced the women she dated to her daughters.And if Mellie and Lemmie didn’t know to ask, it makes sense that the topic would have never come up.

“It means,” Dean says, jumping in and saving my ass from having to formulate an articulate response. “That your Uncle Lukey and I love you girls and each other so much that we made a promise that we would stay together forever, and we can’t ever break that promise.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks as I take in the magnitude of the day. Somehow, Dean’s watered-down version of our actions make the whole thing feel so much bigger and important. But I can’t stop the nagging fear in my gut that says that my parents and their lawyers might force us to break that promise.

I shove that fear to the side when Dean starts fiddling in the diaper bag and pulls out a small red and gold shopping bag I hadn’t noticed. He must have slid it in there last night before dropping the kids off next door.

“It also means that we all get to wear something special, too. Something that tells the whole world that me, Uncle Lukey and you three pollitas all belong together. Can you hold out your wrists for me?”

Lem and Mel wiggle closer to Dean, holding outtheir peanut butter-speckled hands in anticipation of his gift, and he carefully pulls two gold bracelets out.

“Tell me those aren’t really Cartier bracelets,” I gasp, because what kind of psycho buys six thousand dollar bracelets for a couple of five-year-olds?

“They’re adjustable,” he says to me as he fastens a bracelet onto Mellie’s wrist, and then Lemmie’s. “So they can wear them forever. We’ll just size them up as they grow. I’ve got one for Ollie-girl too, for when she’s old enough. And…”

He pulls a red and gold box from the bag, opening it up to reveal a simple gold band. My eyes go wide and my stomach does a flip.

“For me?” I ask, and Dean shrugs sheepishly.

“We didn’t talk about rings, but I thought we should all have something to solidify our family unit.”

“Put it on Uncle Lukey!” Lemmie squeals, and Dean takes the ring from the box and slides it on to my left ring finger.

“Dean, this is beautiful, but I didn’t get you anything,” I say, though I can’t take my eyes off the band sitting on my finger. How something so unassuming can feel so monumental, I don’t understand.

“I’ve got my ring covered,” Dean says, pulling a matching gold band from his pocket and sliding it onhis hand. “And you gave me everything, Luke. You gave me a family today.”

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