Page 75 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
“Whoa. That’s incredible,” she says around a mouthful of flatbread. She offers me a bite. My reaction is the same.
“Damn, that’s good,” I say through a bite, savoring the flavors.
Gage hands me the tray of flatbread. I grab a slice and scarf it down.
“Any chance you can make about a hundred more of those flatbreads?” Austin asks after finishing his plate. I look at the tray, which is sitting on the coffee table. It’s empty.
“You got it,” Gage says, chuckling.
“I’m serious.” Austin sits up and exchanges a look with Declan. They’re both smiling.
“We have something to tell you all,” Austin says. “We’re hosting an anniversary party.”
“At Seb’on,” Declan says. “We’d love for you all to come.”
Everyone responds with smiles and congratulations.
Maya jumps up from the couch and scurries over to Declan and Austin and hugs them. “Of course we’ll come. We’d be honored.”
Everyone takes turns hugging Declan and Austin. I walk over and shake their hands. I’d be down to hug them, but I’ve only met them a couple of times and I don’t want them to think I’m joining as part of their family when I’m just Maya’s housemate.
“Congrats, you guys,” I say. I go in for a handshake, but Declan pulls me in for a hug. So does Austin.
“No handshakes, dude. You’re practically family now. After that horrendous karaoke performance, you’re bonded to us,” Austin says.
Everyone laughs, including me. Maybe it’s weird, but hearing him say that feels comforting.
“You’re invited to the anniversary party,” Austin says to me. I thank him and say I’ll be there.
“You know I’m always down for a party,” Tyler says. “Even though it’s kinda weird you two are throwing one after only being married a couple years. But hey, any excuse to get drunk and celebrate.”
I notice the sharp look Gage gives his brother. I’m ninety-nine percent sure Tyler was joking—he seems like the kind of guy who makes a joke out of everything. I can relate to that.
“Okay sure, it’s probably kind of silly that we’re having an anniversary party already,” Austin says, his tone good-natured. He doesn’t look offended at what Tyler’s said.
He aims a warm look at Declan, who grabs his hand.
“We just figured why the hell not?” Declan says. “For a while, we didn’t always know if we’d be able to get married.”
Austin nods once, his smile turning sad for a moment. “We just want to take every opportunity to celebrate the fact that we can be together.”
And then it dawns on me. They’re talking about the fact that as gay men they weren’t always guaranteed the right to legally marry.
“Good for you guys,” I say, feeling a surge of conviction and emotion well up inside of me. “I’m honored to celebrate with you. Thanks for letting me be part of it.”
When I turn my head, I catch Maya staring daggers at Tyler, who now looks embarrassed.
Gage tells Austin and Declan that he’d love to cater their party. Becca offers to make a fancy ice cream cake for dessert. The rest of the night everyone talks about Austin and Declan’s anniversary party. They reveal that Maya, Gage, and Tyler’s dad offered up his restaurant as the venue for free as his gift to them.
The night winds down and everyone starts to leave. All that water I’ve been guzzling finally catches up to me and I head to the restroom. As I open the door to walk out, I stop when I hear Maya’s firm voice.
“I don’t care that you meant it as a joke, Tyler. It was still a shitty thing to say,” she says.
Tyler huffs out a breath. “I get it. I told them I was sorry.”
I stay behind the bathroom door. This is a charged conversation and I don’t want to interrupt.
“Imagine what it would be like if you couldn’t legally marry the person you love because a bunch of bigots were in charge of the world. And then, one day everything changes and you can. Hell yeah, you’d want to celebrate that,” Maya says. “If Austin and Declan want to throw themselves an anniversary party every year, they deserve to do that. And we should be right there with them celebrating.”
