Page 83 of Complete Me

“Miracles happen. He knows how to use the phone!” I’m about to snark back about it being end of semester and having a busy schedule, but I don’t get the chance. My mother’s voice sounds distant as I assume she turns away from the phone to yell to my father. “He actually picked up. Go ahead and start without me.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear. I’m here. So excited to finally have a few moments to speak with my only child. Are you sure you can spare the time, darling?”

“Mom. Do we really have to do this every time?”

“Well, if you’d call more often, or at all, then I wouldn’t have to chase you down to make sure you aren’t deceased.” Her voice is teasing, but I know on some level she’s not.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Mom.” Unbidden, I get an image of Bjorn, trying to keep up with the lives of his brothers and sister, still wanting to be relevant, when they obviously are well on their way to starting their own families. The realization that I’m inadvertently causing my parents pain the same way Bjorn’s siblings hurt him hits me like a kick in the gut. Fuck. “You know what? You’re right. And I’m sorry.” There’s silence on the other end of the phone. “Mom?”

“I’m here, Xander.” Shit. Is that a catch in her voice? She clears her throat. “And thank you. That’s very sweet, and I accept your apology.”

I really need to do better at calling her. God, I suck at the son thing. “So what’s going on with you guys?”

There’s another moment of silence, but this time, her recovery is faster. She tries to cover her emotions with a teasing tone. “Xander, darling, are you alright? Is everything okay? Your father and I can be on a flight tomorrow morning if you need us. Cough twice if you’ve been kidnapped.”

Grinning, I get some of my footing back. “Everything’s fine, Mom. I promise.” I think about the tenure letter, and happiness bursts in my chest. “Truthfully, everything is more than fine. It’s amazing.”

She gasps into the phone. “You got your letter?”

“I did. And I’ve been offered tenure.”

“Oh, Xander!” She turns away from the phone again. “He got tenure!”

There’s a muffled shout of congratulations from my dad. “Your father says well done, and we’re proud of you. And we are, Xander. You always make us proud.”

Not always. But it’s very sweet of her to say so. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Maybe now that you know you’ll be staying in the area, you’ll find a boyfriend and settle down. It’s useless to hope you’d ever move back east, so I won’t even say that.”

Thank god for small mercies. “About that.” Call it being a bad son, or a coward, but I haven’t really updated my parents about Bjorn and Kaino. Not since that initial call, when I mentioned dating them. So now is probably as good a time as any to fix that. “I’m actually in a relationship. And it’s serious.”

“Oh, Xander! That’s wonderful.”

It’s at this point that I start pacing. I can feel the tension from her end of the call. She wants to ask questions, but she’s hesitating. Probably because she’s worried I’ll be annoyed and end the call. God. As my students say, I worse than suck. “Yes, it really is. I want to tell you about it, but before I do, I need you to promise me you’ll listen before you judge. And maybe it might be good if you put me on speaker and get Dad.”

“Good god, Xander. The last time you worked up to a conversation like this, you were twelve and announced you were gay. Please tell me you haven’t joined a cult.”

I snort. “God, Mom, no. I haven’t joined a cult.”

By the change in sound from her end, I can tell she’s put me on speaker. “Who’s joining a cult? Xander, if she means you, pick a good one. Something fun. Maybe one that worships little hedgehogs or something cute. Devil worship and apocalyptic groups are so passé.”

“Hi, Dad. I’m not joining a cult.”

“Hi, son. That’s too bad. It could have been fun. How’re you doing?”

“I’m really great, Dad. And I wanted to tell you both why.”

There’s a slight pause on the other end. “Fantastic. We’re all ears, son.”

“Darling, that’s just your receding hairline making you look all ears. But I love you anyway.”

The sound of her loudly kissing some part of him travels clearly through the phone, and I grin because it’s so like my dynamic with Bjorn and Kaino, and it just reaffirms that this relationship is the right thing for me. “So, aaaanyway…” There’s no easing into this, so I blurt it out. “I’m in a committed relationship with Bjorn and Kaino. The three of us are together. Romantically.”

“But not sexually?”

My face burns red hot. “Oh, my god, Mom!”

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