Mr. Lone Boy /BoyxBoy/

||Thirty-two||

"It's good to see you again," my father said as he pulled me in for a manly hug.

It felt a bit odd, but I managed to nod and smile in return.

My mother's hug felt a bit more familiar and comfortable. I noticed the space she left between us due to the bump in her stomach and felt shockingly at ease.

They led me to the living room and I sat on one of the seats, facing them both as a maid walked in with a tray of tea, following another with biscuits and fruits.

I lifted a cup of tea to my lips and took a sip.

"We've used one of the guest rooms and redesigned it for the baby," my mother spoke excitedly.

"But you don't know if it's a boy or girl yet."

"Yes, but we chose a theme that would suit either," my father said.

"You worked on it, too?" I asked, surprised.

"We wanted to do it from us, as a gift to the baby," my mother explained.

"That's a great idea," I said.

My mother beamed. "Would you like to see it? It's not completely done yet. We still need to get a few of the little details but the basis is there."

"Yeah, sure."

"Are you still thinking about moving in?" my father asked.

"Honey, give him space," my mother said gently.

"It's fine, Mom," I said, turning to my father. "I have. I don't know the answer yet. Is there a deadline?"

My mother looked horrified. "Of course not!"

I almost smiled. "I'll have to go to university soon."

"Yes, but this way when you come home for the holidays you can return to a family and not an empty apartment," my father said.

He has a point, I thought.

"I'm still thinking about it," I said again.

We talked a bit more. Things about the past, things about the future.

My father got up when we he received a phone call and my mother discreetly moved closer to me.

She smiled. "You seem very happy lately."

"I do?" I asked, smiling a bit.

"Yes," she said. "Are you seeing somebody?"

My heart leapt in my chest, an image of Ian's smiling face flashing before me. "I don't know."

My mother smiled knowingly. "It's complicated then."

"You can say that," I muttered.

"Does he make you happy?"

I felt a fluttering feeling my stomach. "Yeah."

"He makes you happy and he likes you. That's all that matters."

I stared down at the Persian carpet beneath my feet. "What if I shouldn't be with him? I could be hurting someone else while I'm with him and I don't want that."

She was silent for a while before she spoke again. "You have to decide if it's worth it. Who do you value more?"

Devin was my best friend. He used to be all I had but now I know I have Tom, Jesse, even my parents by my side. Devin seemed to have his own separate life now, one he's less likely to mix in with my own.

Ian was different. It was too early for me to know who I wanted more, it wasn't something I could decide on a whim. Yet I felt that I still had some time left to do something.