Page 66 of Karma Kitty Christmas
“According to Roxy, if it’s the real thing, it’ll wake her out of a sound sleep.”
“I sort of remember that from Lamaze,” Isaac mumbled, sagging in Luca’s arms.
“Here, baby. Let me finish this while you dish up some ice cream. We can sit, finish the movie, and have a nice quiet night at home. From what I understand, we don’t get a lot of those in the future.”
Isaac suddenly jerked in his arms. “Oh my God,” he said.
“What?”
“Luca, in as little as two nights, there is going to be awhole other human beingin our house! What are we going to do withthat?”
It was so close to Roxy’s words that Luca found himself laughing. A little bit hysterical, sure, but it was cleansing and glorious to hold Isaac in his arms and pour out his muffled laughter into the hollow of his lover’s neck.
Isaac clung to him and laughed too, maybe not understandingLuca’slaughter but, and Luca could feel it, secure in his arms, knowing his fears, his giddy panic, his excitement, all of it was absolutely fucking fine, totally acceptable, and extremely valid.
After a shaky moment, they parted, and Luca took another long, deep breath as he started to stack dishes. Worrying about Allegra was fine, as long as they kept it to themselves—but he and Isaac were going to be okay.
AN HOURlater, after ice cream and knitting, and the tranquility of a quiet evening, Luca said, “Hey, honey—your back is really bothering you tonight. How about you go take a long shower, pamper yourself a little, and get some rest for tomorrow, okay?”
“Oh God, yeah,” Allegra murmured, standing up and stretching, then morphing into a warrior pose as she tried toalleviate the discomfort. “Yeah. I think that’s areallygood idea. Thanks, Luca!”
“I’ve got some laundry to put away,” Isaac called as she moved down the hallway. “I’ll just set it on your dresser, okay?”
“You’re a peach!” she called back.
They heard her door click closed—not locked, so Isaac could get in—and met eyes with equally grim determination.
“I’ll get her bag from the closet,” Luca said.
“I’ll pack her essentials,” Isaac said. “But I need you to get your ragged old sleep sweatshirt from your drawers. The one she steals at every opportunity.”
“Why?” Luca asked, puzzled.
“Because she’s spending at least one night in the hospital, sweetie. She’s going to want something that reminds her of home.”
And with that they skedaddled. By the time Allegra poked her head out of the bedroom, her blow-dried hair back in a soft ponytail, to say she was going to bed, there were two packed bags next to the doorway. One was a baby bag covered with rosebuds, because girl or boy, Allegra had fallen in love with it, and the other was a soft duffel, with a pair of maternity pajamas as well as Luca’s sweatshirt and some maternity sweats to wear home—with lots of maternity underwear for accidents. Apparently Isaachadbeen paying more attention than Luca, because when Luca asked about the larger clothes, Isaac had explained patiently that Allegra wasn’t going to be anywherecloseto her old sizes for at least six weeks.
“Oh God,” Luca muttered. “Where wasIwhen the nurse was telling us those things?”
“Asleep,” Isaac told him, amused. “Baby, we’vebothbeen going balls-out to get ready for this, you know?”
They were sitting on the couch, leaning back exhaustedly. The TV was off, and Isaac wasn’t evenfondlinghis knitting,although hehadpacked what Luca thought of as his “knitting go bag” and had set it next to Allegra’s bags by the door.
Luca smiled and then turned his head toward the nice man whostillliked to knit out on the porch in the evenings, only now with Luca’s sister next to him, and sometimes, when Luca got home early from work, with Luca sitting on the Adirondack chair Isaac had quietly set out after Luca had spent a couple of sweet September evenings leaning against the porch railing so they could all talk.
“What?” Isaac asked, his eyes half closed.
“Six months ago,” Luca murmured. “Six months ago, I never would have guessed this would be us. That we’d be a team. That we’d be a family. That you and me would be helping Allegra do this huge, important thing. That we’d be welcoming a whole new human being intoourhome—notyourhouse, butourhome. God, Isaac. I’m so lucky to have you in my life. I mean, AllegraandI are lucky, but… but you aresucha good partner. You aresogood at justbeing therefor people. It’s your superpower. I don’t know how you’ve gone about unworshipped for so long, but you deserveallthe big noise and celebration, you know that?”
Isaac’s eyes were no longer half closed—but they were a little damp.
“Has it only been six months?” he mused. “It feels like….” He frowned a little, like he was trying to do math. “That’s so odd,” he said. “That time I spent with Todd feels so… small. Like a footnote. This time with you and Allegra, being your family, having a noisy, happy home—it feels like my real life. Isn’t that odd?”
Luca felt the hugeness of having an Isaac in his heart. “No,” he murmured. “Not strange at all.”
Isaac reached for his hand and squeezed. “We’ll go to bed in a minute,” he murmured as Euclid hopped up on the couch andspread out between them, purring. The warmth and vibration of the cat only added to the somnolence of the moment.
“Just as soon—” Luca yawned. “—as you’re ready.”
