Page 68 of The Grumpy Vet
"I'm seeing someone."
"Oh." His eyes widen in surprise. "That's…that's great, son."
"It is." I nod, trying to swallow around the pressure choking the base of my throat. "But…it's a little…unconventional because, see… I'm actually datingtwopeople."
"Oh." He squints, suspicion flickering across his face before he catches it and shakes it away. "Do I know them?"
"You do."
"Is one of them Dario?"
"It is."
"Right." He tilts his head, and I can see him trying to place the missing piece. "And the other person?"
Okay. This is it. I'm so nervous I could throw up, so I close my eyes. An image of Linus relaxed and smiling fills my vision. There have been so many times over the past six months where he's been like that. Laughing, talking, chilling out with us. And Dario and I helped do that. The two of us brought out a side to Linus that was always there but just needed the right guy—orguys—to coax it to the surface.
I have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud to love Linus. And Dario. And if Dad has a problem with it, then that's just what it's going to have to be—his problem.
Riding this new surge of confidence, I sit up taller, pinch my shoulder blades together, and look my father square in the face. "The other person I'm seeing is Linus."
He freezes, his eyes not getting bigger or smaller. After a few seconds, it starts to freak me out because he's not even blinking, just staring straight at me. I can't for the life of me get a read on him. Is he mad? Shocked? Disappointed? Grossed out?
He pushes to his feet, and for a moment, I think he's going to go inside without saying anything to me. But he doesn't. Instead, he walks over to the edge of the tables and stares out into the empty paddock out the back of the pub.
I know Dad, and I know what he needs at this moment—time.
That's fine. I can give him that. I just threw a grenade at the guy. It's understandable he needs to process it.
A few minutes pass, so I decide it's safe to approach.
"So…" I say, stepping up next to him, staring out into the open dusty field. "Thoughts?"
"I'm surprised."
"That's not surprising," I say with a small smile.
He turns to look at me and offers a small smile in response. That's a good sign. I think?
"How? When?"
"Which part?" I say, caught a little off guard. I wasn't expecting him to want to get into the details so quickly. "The Dario part or the Linus part?"
"All of it," he says. "Tell me everything right from the start."
I suggest we sit back down again since it's a long story, and then I fill him in on everything. My two year crush on Linus, assuring him nothing ever happened between us beforehand since I never looked at Linus that way until I moved out here and started working at the clinic. How Dario moving out here half a year ago was the turning point where I went from pining for Linus from a distance—I omit telling him about my pattern of getting drunk and embarrassing myself in front of Linus because he may be my father, but he doesn't need to know that—to something unexpected starting. How instead of just being a wingman and support system on my quest to see if Linus shared my feelings, Dario somehow became an integral part of the picture.
I tell him about how after his last visit, where he sensed Dario had feelings for me, we talked about that and he admitted that he did, which in turn, gave me the courage to be honest with Linus about my feelings for him, which then led to us ending up together. All three of us.
He seems to take it well, listening and nodding from time to time as he puts it all together in his head.
When I finish speaking, he's quiet for a few moments then asks, "So, how does it all work? Are you guys in a relationship?"
"We are."
"But you can't get married?"
"Correct. Marriage is only between two people."
