Better Than Home: Better Than Good Novella

“Got it.”

Aaron gave me one last piercing look, then pasted a welcoming smile on his face to greet our guests.

And me? I sucked back half my beer and told myself to man up and get my shit together. With a houseful of company to entertain—including my notoriously difficult mother—this was going to be interesting.

Occasional discord was part of the human condition. Even the best instruments fell out of tune once in a while. But Aaron and I were almost always in sync. Our rare arguments or misunderstandings were about inconsequential things like whose turn it was to pick the next show to binge on Netflix.

We’d both recognized early on that communication was vital. I hadn’t been willing or able to wrestle with the idea that I was bisexual until I met Aaron. I’d thought it was a mind-over-matter kind of struggle. All I had to do was meet the right girl, and my heterosexual normal life would unfold the way my family and friends expected it would with a house in the burbs, dogs, kids…the whole shebang.

But I wanted Aaron.

No, I needed Aaron. I wanted all those so-called hetero-normal things with him. And now I literally had it all…and it scared me. I’d been grappling with the root of that fear for a while, and I couldn’t tell if it was simply fear of the unknown or something bigger.

It had been so much easier when these goals were nebulous concepts. Marriage, house, kids…but the second those goals became attached to reality, they took on a new life with a whole new set of worries. I didn’t know how to protect us from the things we wanted.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I knew this wasn’t the time or place for introspection.

Music wafted from the outdoor speakers, conversation and laughter drifted and hung in the air. It was nice. And everyone seemed to be having a good time.

I stood in a circle with a group of friends, sipping beer while Curt regaled us with a funny story about a recent run-in with a raccoon at their cabin in the mountains. According to him, the beast was six feet tall with fangs and an insatiable appetite for Doritos.

“I swear to God. That was all he took. Doritos. I’m not even sure who bought them.”

“Curtis, baby. You’re the only one of us who’d buy Doritos,” Jack huffed, squeezing his boyfriend’s elbow and kissing his cheek.

I chuckled at their exchange as I cast my gaze around the yard. My mom bounced Holly on her hip as she chatted with Aaron’s folks and one of his sisters. They were laughing, so I assumed they were doing okay.

Our nephews and niece tossed a ball at the far end of our property. Rhys and Connor and their wives chatted with Colleen and her husband. Our friends Paul and Seth held court with our pervy realtor, Chandler, and his girlfriend, Tania, while Jay and Peter were engaged in deep conversation with our new neighbors.

Screech. I did a double take and stared at the unlikely foursome. Jay held Henry while Todd played peek-a-boo with my godson and Peter and Jess looked on in amusement.

I started to turn back to my friends, but Aaron was right. I had to make an effort.

“Hi, there. Glad you could make it,” I said, offering my hand to Jess first, then Todd.

Todd grinned. “Thanks for inviting us. We appreciate it.”

I scooped Henry into my arms and tickled him as I turned to Jay and Peter. “Sure thing. And you met our friends and my godson.”

“And your goddaughter too,” Jess confirmed, booping Henry on the nose. “They’re absolutely precious. And they’re at the fun age…just before they start talking nonstop.”

Todd winced. “Yeah, that’s when they say the occasional unfortunate thing before you catch it. I’m pretty sure you overheard Billy and…we’re sorry. We want you to know that we’re all for marriage equality. Truly. We discussed it with him that night and if it’s okay with you, we’d like to have him come by to apologize for—”

“That’s not necessary,” I intercepted. “We can kick a ball around sometime instead.”

“He’d like that. So would I. Your friends were telling us you play basketball…”

I chatted about sports with my new neighbors for a bit and you know, it was nice.

When my stomach rumbled, warning me I’d had more beer than actual food, I handed Henry off to one of his dads and immediately bumped into my dad. As in, I almost knocked his sandwich out of his hand.

“Oh, sorry about that.” I made a mad dive to rescue the turkey club masterpiece before it hit the grass and plopped it on Dad’s paper plate. “Ta-da.”

“Nice save.” Dad grinned as he plucked a chip from under the sandwich. “Nice party too.”

“Thanks. Aaron did everything, but yeah…this is nice,” I replied lamely.