Page 51 of Will & Patrick's Endless Honeymoon
“Start the process. Just start.”
“We can’t just start. There’s a lot to consider. I mean, I haven’t changed my mind, but I didn’t think you’d want to do this now.”
“Why not?” Patrick frowns. “I’ve been waiting for you to say you’re ready. It’s what you want. What we both want.” He nods decisively. “Let’s just do it.”
“It’s not like it’ll be easy for us. There are a lot of hoops we’ll have to jump through. Choices to make. Things to decide.”
“Fine. We’ll do those things.”
“We haven’t even discussed if we’re going the surrogacy or adoption route.”
“Details.”
“Important details.” Will studies Patrick’s face, taking in the sharp edge of his jaw and the stubborn set of his mouth. “Why now? I mean, here we are trying to have a honeymoon and the family wealreadyhave is making that close to impossible. I’d think all of this would make you wary of bringing anyone else into this mess, much less a baby.”
“True. That would be the logical conclusion. It would make the most sense to keep any other human being, especially innocent ones, far away from the crap show that is the Patterson-Molinaro clan, but…” He trails off for the second time in just a few minutes, a lack of precision that speaks of deep feelings, or confusion between his logical mind and his emotions. It makes Will’s heart thump.
“But?” Will prompts. The fresh freckles on Patrick’s nose stand out, and Will wants to trace them with his finger.
“But you’re a Patterson-Molinaro and you’re my favorite human on earth, and those siblings of yours don’t suck, and neither do babies.”
“Youlovebabies.” Will waits for the inevitable denial of this incontrovertible fact, but it doesn’t come.
Patrick shifts uncomfortably.
“What? Tell me.”
“As annoying as it is to admit, I do love babies. And lately I keep thinking about how much I’d loveyourbaby.”
“Our baby.”
“Yes, I’d love it a heck of a lot.”
Will’s stomach wriggles giddily. “I would too.”
“We’d protect it from the craziness, and if we couldn’t, then we’d teach him or her to endure it. Promote character development.”
Will laughs. “Okay, well, I can’t believe I’m the one suggesting we put the brakes on this for a little while longer. But, how about this? When we get home, we can start a list of discussion points. Things we need to decide before we can really begin.”
Patrick squeezes Will’s hand again. “You’re not backing out?”
“Absolutely not. But there’s so much to decide. If we use a surrogate, we need to decide if it’ll be someone we know or someone we hire. If we adopt, we need to choose local or international. I’ve dealt with some LGBT adoption stuff, grants to help offset the costs mainly, through Good Works. It’s not easy stuff.”
“I just want to know we’re going to do it. After all, when I married you, I was promised a baby.” Patrick’s smile turns into a smirk.
“I remember it was more me trying to convince you than any kind of promise.”
“Tomato, to-mah-to. Let’s go. We only have a few minutes before our appointment. I hate being late.”
Will’s heart aches fondly as they walk, hands still together, to the check-in. His mind swirls with thoughts of making a family with Patrick: what their baby will look like, how they’ll parent together, and how to keep their child sane in a world of Patterson-Molinaro madness.
The meditation beds are placed far apart on the rock outcrops lining the resort’s ocean front property. They’re white curtained and canopied with the only open side facing the sea. And even the open side has a privacy screen that can be dropped if they’re worried about people on passing boats or jet skis seeing what they’re up to.
Will strips down to his underwear, leaving his monitor attached, and folds his clothes in a neat stack in the cubby at the head of the bed. “Let’s leave the family talk behind,” he says. “We’re still on our honeymoon, after all.” Then he stretches out on the warm, soft sheets, smiling invitingly.
Patrick strips completely, of course, shameless as ever about his body, and drops onto the bed next to him, his white ass up. He waves at the water shimmering out to the horizon. The family discussion seems as good as dropped. “Romantic, right?”
Will smiles and rolls to his side, admiring his husband’s lazy sprawl. Some people might hear arrogance in Patrick’s voice, but Will hears the underlying vulnerability too:Is this okay? Am I doing it right?
