New Beginnings

Chapter 27

"I'll be there in a few days."

Alexander stood outside the office after work, talking on the phone to his father. He knew if he didn't contact him soon, he would be annoyed with Alexander. The dark-haired man decided he would give his father a chance after speaking with Marley.

"I'm bringing my partner with me too," Alexander added as he leaned back against the wall. "They are excited to meet you two."

"Good. You've finally settled down with a girl," his father replied.

Alexander sighed as stood up on his own. "Yeah, okay, I'll talk later."

He ended the call and breathed deeply through his nose, slowly letting it out through his mouth. Alexander shoved his phone into his pocket and walked to Marley's car where he was waiting for him.

Marley smiled sweetly at his lover as he hopped in the car. "Hey, Sweetheart. How was it?"

"Fine, I guess," Alexander leaned back on the headrest. "He's expecting me to bring a woman with me."

The golden-haired man gave his lover a sideways frown. "Did you not say I was a guy?"

"No, he wouldn't understand. It's better to tell him in person with you by my side."

Marley put his left hand on Alexander's thigh and rubbed his thumb across it. "I'll be with you the whole time, don't worry."

Alexander smiled in response and corrected his posture. "We should pick up Shai, she'll be all alone if we wait any longer."

The blue-eyed man turned on the car and backed out of the car park. "I can't believe Shai won't be living with us in a couple of days."

"I'll miss having to look after her," Alexander admitted. "Then I just have to look after you, making sure you eat proper food."

Marley chuckled, "Have you contacted your landlord?"

"Yes, I did it the other day. Soon enough we'll officially be living together."

"I can't wait," Marley beamed.

The two made it to the daycare, picking Shai up and they quickly drove to the graveyard where Marley's parents are before going home.

Alexander helped the child out of her seat as Marley rummaged in the car's glove box for a certain something. "I haven't been here in a while," Marley exhaled deeply. "Alright," the golden-haired man grabbed Alexander's free hand, "let's find my parents."

They looked around, eventually finding a place that felt familiar to Marley. "This is it." He sat down in front of it, extending his hand to touch the tombstone. 

The dark-haired man sat beside his lover, holding Shai in his arms. There was a great tree that rustled in the wind above them that filled the silence. 

"Mum, Dad, I'm sorry I haven't visited sooner. My life has been filled with new things recently and I've been preoccupied. You're probably thinking why there's a child," Marley chuckled lightly. "She's not mine. This is Shai, Bonnie's one-year-old daughter. I've been looking after her for a few months with someone very dear to me." Marley smiled sweetly as he looked at Alexander. He could see the blush forming on his cheeks. "His name is Alexander. He's my best friend and my lover."

"I've never shown you any of my past lovers before because you guys are special to me, and I wanted to show you someone I have a strong connection with. Someone who I believe is my soulmate."

"Stop saying embarrassing things," Alexander pushed Marley's arm.

The blue-eyed man chuckled. "It's true though. I really do believe we were meant to find each other."

Alexander lay his head on Marley as he took his left hand in his. "Your son is such a flirt. I wonder where you got it from."

"I wonder too," Marley said dreamily. "Oh," Marley sprung his head up, searching in his back pocket for something. "This is an old picture of my parents on their wedding day."

His mother had golden red hair just like Marley. Her eyes sparkled just like the ocean just like her glittery wedding dress. As for his father, he had bright blond hair with gorgeous brown eyes. His arm was wrapped around her and they both had a glowing smile on their face. 

"You look so similar to your mother," Alexnder smiled. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah," Marley grinned, "she is. This is the only picture I have of them. Evander probably has a few more though if you wanted to see more."

"They look kind. I bet they were great parents."

"They were," Marley smiled. "I wish they could've met you in person. They would have loved you."

"I would've liked to meet them too."

Marley slid his thumb across the photograph, looking at it endearingly. "I remember when I was five, I had nightmares from a tv show Evander would play in the living room. Each night that I had a nightmare or I felt something was in my room, my mother would sing a gentle song to me as she sat on the edge of my bed. 

"She'd cup my face as her voice continued to sing a sweet melody. Some nights she would hold me tight and sleep beside me, singing the nightmares off into the night.

"When she died, I had nightmares again. But this time she was in them. It was about the plane and she was stuck in it with my dad. I would sing the tune she once sang to me, but it didn't work like it did when I was younger. It wasn't the same. 

"I still remember the song to this day. I'll never forget it. I don't know where she found the song-"

He heard a sniffle by his side. He looked over and saw Alexander's hand wiping his eyes. "X-Xander? Why are you crying? What's wrong-"

"Just come here," Alexander said as he wrapped his arms around his lover. Shai sat on Alexander's lap so he made sure not to squash her. 

"Xander, are you okay?" Marley asked, gripping his hands onto his lover's shirt.

The dark-haired man let go seeing tears fall from Marley's worried eyes. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just glad you're okay now," he smiled lovingly. Marley beamed, wiping his tears away. "Why are you crying now?"

"Because seeing you sad makes me upset," the golden-haired man cupped his lover's cheek. "I'm more than okay now, so don't worry."

"Baba," Shai babbled in between them.

Marley chuckled, letting go of his lover and rubbed his thumb against Shai's left cheek. "Sorry Shai we're probably boring you. Should we go home? It's getting dark."