Page 23 of Becoming His Perfect Daddy
P.S. Maybe we’ll go to California together someday, and I can show you around San Francisco. I should’ve figured it would be on your to-visit list the minute I read about it in your books. You know, because at least FIVE of them are set there. :)
Chapter eight
Sam
Mid-May
Ihadn’t been looking forward to this day, but our annual sibling get-together was happening next month, and the changes I’d been going through wouldn’t go unnoticed.
It was time to come out to my family.
Wanting to complete the less stressful tasks first, I decided to come out to my brother and sister. My parents would likely not take my news well, but I could manage the situation much more easily if I at least knew my siblings would support me. Maybe them knowing first would make things a little less awkward. Or not.
I guess I was about to find out.
I drove to my brother’s ranch a couple of hours north of the city after I’d called my sister, Sadie, earlier that afternoon. She traveled a lot for work and was currently across the country. My video chat with her had gone well, which buoyed my spirits a little, but I wasn’t sure how this would go.
As my car inched up the gravel drive of my brother’s classic farmhouse, his kids, the most adorable children I’d ever met, burst out of the house.
Then they stopped.
My heart sank to the floorboards as I slowly crawled out of the car, watching as my nine-year-old niece and six-year-old nephew stared at me with curious eyes. I hadn’t told anyone in the family about cutting my hair, hadn’t talked to them on the phone so they could hear how deep my voice was getting, so I was certain this was a shock. But I couldn’t help but feel like a stranger in my own family.
My brother, Seth, stood on the wide porch with his wife, Anna, his arm around her as I shuffled across the grass and up the steps. He opened his arms when I got close, and I sank into his embrace, his full dark beard scratching against my neck. I may have sniffled once. Maybe twice.
Seth pulled back, his eyes wiser than his thirty-five years, and gave me a kind smile. “Seems we have a lot to talk about.”
I simply nodded, trying to swallow past the lump in my throat. After a quick hug from Anna, I followed them into the house, my niece and nephew on my heels then disappearing when they made a sharp turn for the living room behind me.
My brother’s home was rustic and earthy, with plants on nearly every surface and herbs hanging from wide wood beams near the ceiling in the kitchen. He was a farmer at heart, always had been, and he and Anna made their living selling produce and handmade goods at local farmers markets. He looked tired but happy, and that did my heart good.
“So, S—” he started once the three of us had taken seats on either side of his long kitchen table with mismatched chairs, and I heard his voice catch before he said the name he’d known me by for my entire life. I sensed he suspected why I was here; Isupposed my appearance told a lot of the story. “Did you come here to talk about something?”
I nodded, sniffing once and wiping away an errant tear. “I did.” He blinked at my lower voice but didn’t otherwise react. “I wanted to tell you something in person, something important.”
He nodded, motioning across the handmade wooden table. “Please.”
I straightened my shoulders, bracing for the worst, hoping for the best. Sadie’s reaction was as good as I could’ve expected, but somehow Seth’s opinion held more weight. We were closer as kids since we were only a few years apart.
His actions until now seemed to indicate this would go fairly well, but one never knew . . .
I drew in a deep breath then just put it all out there. “I’m transgender. My name is Sam, and my pronouns are he/him.” And just like I’d done with Sadie, I held my breath.
After a moment to process—a habit he’d had since childhood—his face split into a wide grin. He leapt to his feet and circled the table, reaching for me, pulling me out of my chair and into a bear hug. He’d never been a huge man, but he was strong from the years working outside. And as he squeezed me tight, my heart healed, just a little.
Several long moments later, he pulled back, keeping his hands on my shoulders and looking me over as if seeing me for the first time. “Sam. I love it. Welcome, brother.”
At that, I broke down. I started sobbing, overwhelmed by his easy acceptance of me—so much more than I’d dared to dream—and collapsed into his arms. He pulled me close, just let me cry, as his wife came behind me and wrapped her arms around me, too.
Before long, two little sets of footsteps pattered against the tile in the kitchen. The three of us broke apart, and a little hand reached for mine. My nephew, Josiah, gazed up at me with wideeyes. His sister, Cali, had wrapped her arm around her dad’s waist.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, glancing between us, her eyebrows furrowed.
Seth squeezed my shoulder, his eyes asking for silent permission. When I nodded, he smiled down at his kids. “Nothing’s wrong, sweetie. I just wanted to introduce you to your Uncle Sam.”
Josiah blinked up at me, his little eyebrows pinching together as he appraised me. “Uncle Sam?”
I nodded, my eyes wet and swollen. “I’m a boy, Jos. Your uncle.”
