Page 248 of The Holy Grail
“Deal!”
After everything was cleaned up, they all watchedMonster’s, Inc.and munched on popcorn.
Then, while Jules took her turn holding the baby, Evan led Jacob upstairs for his nightly shower, only to have it turn into a bath when he saw the giant tub.
By the time Jacob had a story read to him and was down for the night, Jules, Evan, and Malcom were all exhausted, even though it was barely 9:00 p.m.
As they all curled up together on the couch, they talked in low voices, because of Julian sleeping in his portable crib nearby.
“Do you think we handled that all right? You know, the stuff about living together?” Malcom asked.
“Wedidn’t handle that,” Jules objected. “Ihandled it because you two were just sitting there like you’d lost the ability to speak.”
“That’s fair, I guess … fair but harsh. So, do you thinkyouhandled it all right?”
“I think so. It was what Paige would have told him had he asked.” She went on to tell them what Paige had said about giving kids just enough information to satisfy their curiosity, and nothing more.
“I have to say, you guys are doing pretty well, all things considering,” Evan mused. “Is it making you re-think your stance on kids at all?”
Malcom was the first to answer. “No.”
“Me, either,” Jules replied. “I’ll admit this has been pretty fun, but I have no desire to do this with a child of my own. Especially since what the three of us are doing here is tricky enough without throwing in a child, who will have a mom and two dads and probably take a lot of shit about it in school.” She paused to look at Evan. “What about you?”
He shook his head. “It hasn’t changed my stance.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” He tilted his head. “You didn’t ask Mal if he was sure.”
“Because you’re younger than Mal—” she stopped to glance at Malcom, quickly saying, “No offense.”
He chuckled. “None taken.”
She turned back to Evan. “Anyway, you’re younger than Mal and are really good with kids, from what I’ve seen. If anyone should have children, you’re the likely candidate.”
Evan shook his head again. “Just because I’m good with kids—which is more of a by-product of having several nieces and nephews than anything else—doesn’t mean I want kids of my own. You know, I’m surprised you’re hitting me so hard with this, considering we talked about it that night in the bar.”
“I know, but things change, and I’m just making sure. I don’t want you to regret not having them a few years down the road.”
“I won’t. Not every happy ending has to include a child, and mine doesn’t. My happy ending is with you two.”
“Same,” Malcom said. “I’m one hundred percent fulfilled with the two of you.”
“So am I.” Jules smiled at both men, before pursing her mouth. “And I know this might sound selfish, but I’m in such a good spot right now, and with the move to Paris coming up—”
“Potentialmove,” Malcom stressed.
“—I don’t want anything to get in the way of enjoying every minute of it.”
“It doesn’t sound selfish,” Evan told her, reaching over to take her hand. “And I feel the same way.”
The three of them were silent for several moments, until Evan broke it. “What about marriage?” he asked Jules, giving her a long, probing look. “I know what you told Jacob, but …”
“What I told Jacob was the truth. I don’t want to marry either one of you, because that would alter the equality dynamic between the three of us. I don’t want to be a wife to one of you, and a girlfriend to another. And if you two were married, then I’d feel like a weird side piece. Does that make sense?”
“It does. Because if you two got married,” Evan said, “I’d feel like I was a weird roommate.”
“And if you two got married, it would feel weird to have a married couple living with me in my house,” Malcom said.
