Page 91 of When Ellie Falls in Love

Sadie furrowed her brow in confusion as the question slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it. “You know your sperm donors?”

“Yep,” Ellie and Dylan answered in unison.

“Mine’s an accountant in Syracuse that my mom went to high school with.”

“And her uncle is the Mackenzie donor,” Ellie laughed and it was clear it was no big deal to either of them. “We call him Uncle Keith.”

“Oh,” Sadie knew her voice sounded more surprised than she meant it to. “That’s cool. I just didn’t know people knew their donors. I thought it was anonymous.”

“That can be, but my parents wanted to know the donor.”

“Same with my mom.”

“That makes sense,” Sadie said with a firm nod as she took everything in.

“Uncle Keith is gay and has been happily married for years.” Ellie tucked her hair behind her ear as she spoke. “When he found out my moms wanted kids, he offered to be the donor. He was the donor for me and Brayden as well as Everleigh.”

“That’s so cool. I hadn’t ever thought to ask about any of that before now, but thank you for telling me.”

“Our parents were always open with us,” Dylan added as Ellie nodded.

“Sometimestooopen. But they never kept things a secret from us. That’s why Uncle Keith is in our lives. Or, well, we see him a few times a year. I don’t see him as a dad or anything like that. He’s just the sperm donor and Uncle Keith. My parents are my parents.”

“And my mom gets her taxes done for free because of my donor.”

Sadie couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, that’s definitely a plus. I feel kinda stupid for never wondering about it before. I guess it’s because mydonoris my dad. My mom’s bi.”

“Hot,” Dylan interjected with a smirk which earned her a jab in the ribs from Ellie. “Respectfully.”

“Dylan’s bi, so she says.”

“Sexuality is fluid.”

“I’ve been telling you that since we werenine.”

“I know,” Dylan joked. “But not all of us figured out our sexuality at nine.”

“You knew atnine?” Again, Sadie asked the question before she had time to stop herself.

“It’s impossible to grow up in the Mackenzie house andnotlove and respect women. It’s why my older sisters are gay and so am I. And why Brayden loves girls.”

“The jury is still out on Everleigh, though.”

“Is it,though?” Ellie asked with a laugh, which made Dylan give her a look that told Sadie there were definite guesses on the youngest Mackenzie’s sexuality.

“Well,” Sadie waited until Ellie looked at her and smiled, “I knew for sure when you kissed me.”

“Aww,” Dylan and Ellie both put their hands on their hearts dramatically. “That’s so sweet.”

Part of Sadie wished she’d kept her comments to herself, especially in front of Dylan, but it was out in the open now. Why should she care that Ellie and Dylan knew that about her? They’d been open with her, so it made sense for her to be open with them.

“So, how was rehearsal?”

Sadie knew asking the question would change the subject as the two recounted their latest rehearsal. While Ellie was playing the lead, Sophie, Dylan was playing her friend, Ali. Isla was playing Donna, while Carter Hayes, the theater director, was Tanya. Sadie couldn’t remember who else Ellie had mentioned was in the play aside from Alexis, who was in the ensemble.

“I think it’s gonna be a great show.”

“It def is.”

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