Page 71 of The Grumpy Vet
It's one thing for Ryde to have told him we're together, but wow, he went the whole hog and dropped the L-bomb. A warm, fluttery sensation swoops into my belly, and I beam at Ryde who smiles back at me.
Oakey continues. "I'm proud of Ryde. He's grown up into a brilliant young man with a good head on his shoulders. So are you, Dario." Oakey turns to him and smiles warmly. His lips remain stretched as he turns to me. "And you're one of the best men I know, Linus. I want nothing but the best for you. I've hated seeing you alone, and truth be told, I was worried it would be hard for you to find someone out here. But you have. And as long as the three of you are happy, then that's all I need to know."
"So you don't have any questions about sleeping arrangements?" Dario, the cheeky shit, quips with a sly grin.
"Most definitely not." Oakey's eyes go wide, and then the four of us laugh.
It's the tension release I needed after the heaviness of the past few days, especially with how difficult today has been.
But I'm glad I got up and said a few words about my father, and I sure as hell am happy Ryde told Oakey about us. It's all finally out in the open. Our closest friends know, and so does my best mate. If anyone in town has a problem, I couldn't give a stuff. As long as everything is cool with the people I love and care about, then I'm a happy man.
A happy man who's about to embark on a new life with the two men he loves most in the world.
And I can't fucking wait.
EPILOGUE
Six months later…
Dario
"Still reckon you're the king of best plans?" Ryde snorts, standing beside me, as he, Linus, and I watch in horror as the roosters scatter in different directions—Cracker takes off towards the drinks table, James leaps onto Mrs. Mangle's lap and starts crowing loudly, while Linus's pride and joy, Cluck Norris, decides now is the perfect moment to flop onto his side in the dust and act completely uninterested.
Oblivious to the fact the three of us are taking a huge step in our relationship today and are about to commence our commitment ceremony.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and curse under my breath, wondering why the roosters were so perfectly behaved the three times we rehearsed this but are acting up now. "I think I may have to officially give up that title," I tell Ryde.
"The crowd might be freaking them out," Linus offers, glancing between Ryde and me and the chaos unfolding in his back paddock.
"But you take them to shows all the time," I say.
"Yeah, and they're used to that." Linus shrugs. "This is a different setting. I don't know. Either way, we have to do something."
"I agree," Ryde says with a determined nod. "There are three roosters, and there's three of us. Dario, you secure Cracker. I'll get James. And we'll leave Cluck Norris in your capable hands, Linus."
"All right, let's do it," I say, clapping my hands, which at the very least seems to wake Cluck Norris up a little, and he getshimself upright. "And fast. I don't want either of you two getting cold feet and disappearing."
"Ha," Linus retorts. "As if we'd ever let you get away."
Warmth blooms in my chest. Was it silly wanting them to ask me to stay before my contract expired? Maybe a little, yeah. But ever since we talked that time and I told them about my insecurity, they both drop the occasional quip that lets me know they want me here, that this is where I belong. Not too often so that it comes across as heavy-handed or insincere, but just enough to let me know that they care and that they mean it.
The three of us spread out. I take slow, deliberate steps as I inch towards James who's long left Mrs. Mangle's lap and is now pecking at something under where the Johnson familyweresitting before they scrambled out of there.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryde lunging at Cracker, but he's a fraction too slow, managing only to grab a tail feather. Cracker flaps wildly and escapes with an indignant squawk. At least Fitz and Muir have recovered from laughing, and Muir joins Ryde giving chase as Fitz records the whole thing.
Great. This will be up on TikTok before the ceremony is over.
If we ever get to that part.
I can't see Linus from where I am, but I pray he's having better luck than me before I return to my own situation. James is still wedged under the seat, his dark eyes sharp as I lurch closer and closer. When I'm within grabbing distance, I crouch down and reach out slowly. James glares at me from the shadows as if daring me to even try. The second my fingers brush his feathers, he explodes into a frenzy of flapping wings and squawking, but I manage to grab his legs before he can escape. "Gotcha!"
With the rooster secured, I march him back to the pen. I'm relieved when a few seconds later, Linus and Ryde join me with roosters in their hands, too.
With the birds safely back in their locked pen, we're ready to give this commitment ceremony another go. Yeah, my plan of having roosters make up the wedding procession was a bad one. I can admit it.
I extend my hands towards my soon-to-be life partners. "Shall we?"
Ryde slips his hand into mine first. "Let's do it."
