Vincent Kinsington

We got off the bus and Chet led me hand in hand along the sidewalk among the houses. More and more of them became familiar and with that familiarity came a sense of unease. That unease only grew when we came on the street with his house. He pulled me along under the dark night and street lamps. I was too much in a daze to stop him as he pulled me towards the front door.

This was not seriously his plan. This was not how he was going to introduce me to his family. My feet stopped as we drew closer to his front door. He turned back to look at me, squeezed my hand and said, "Trust me." And I did. So even though my heart was beating like crazy, my feet followed him.

He opened the front door. I tried to withdraw my hand, but his grip only tightened. He was strong as he pulled me in after him. We stepped directly into the living room. There wasn't a foyer like my former house. His mom and sister stared at us as they stood behind the couch. They faced each other as if we had just interrupted a conversation. His father stared at us as he sat on the couch. No one said anything. My heart beat so fast and loudly that it pounded in my ears. My mouth was extremely dry.

"This is my boyfriend, Vincent Kinsington," Chet said. I swallowed hard. I could not believe this was the way I was being introduced to his family. What if they hated me? What if they were as homophobic as my dad was and Chet just didn't know it yet? What would we do if they kicked him out too? My fingers began to tremble and I began to feel lightheaded. The strength in his hand was the only thing keeping me on my feet.

"His mom caught us in his apartment this morning and kicked him out unless he broke up with me. He obviously didn't break up with me. Since everything was paid for with his dad's money, he doesn't have anything to his name and nowhere to go. He can stay here right?"

This was seriously his plan? Except even with as crazy as it sounded and with how heavily my heart pounded, I still trusted him. I wasn't having a full on panic attack because Chet seemed confident.

There was a long pause as the three of them stared at us in silence. Their faces were expressionless. Then Kannika playfully hit Mr. Watakeekul's shoulder.

"I told you," she cried out.

"You owe us money," Mrs. Watakeekul said to Mr. Watakeekul.

"Now hold on," Mr. Watakeekul said, "I never agreed to that bet. The only thing I said was that Chet said they were friends and we should wait until he decided to tell us otherwise."

"Wait," Chet said. "You already knew? You already knew that I was dating Vincent specifically? How?"

"That night you left distraught after the phone call you told me the next morning you were dating someone," Kannika said. "And during the phone call, you specifically said, Vince."

"And you came and asked me about his family," Mr. Watakeekul said.

"And then there was the way the two of you looked at each other at the last game of the regular season," Mrs. Watakeekul said.

There was a pause and then Mr. Watakeekul said, "What are you waiting for? Go put your backpack in Chet's room - your room - and then come in to eat. Dinner is ready." He stood up and went through the swinging door on the right. Kannika and Mrs. Watakeekul followed him with wide smiles on their faces. The rush of relief left my fingers tingling.

"See?" Chet said. "It's fine." He pulled me to the door directly to the left. The room was small, but cozy. Friendlier than my room in my family house. Inside was a queen sized bed with a blue and white cover. There was a window on the side wall. There was a dresser by the door. There were trophies, medals and a signed soccer ball on his dresser. Directly opposite the foot of his bed was a small desk with an old laptop. Next to that desk was a door that I assumed was a closet. He took my packs from me and placed them next to his on the floor just inside the door.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I had no idea this was your plan. What if they rejected me?"

"I knew they wouldn't," he said easily. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded. He took my hand again, led me back into the living room and through the swinging door.

Their kitchen was bright and airy with light yellow cabinets with small blue flowers. The table was round and a light color of wood. Their dining chairs were the same color and a simple design.

There were five place settings not just four. Pad thai was for dinner and it smelled delicious. Chet pulled me into the seat next to him which put me between Chet and his mother. Kannika sat on the other side of Chet and Mr. Watakeekul sat on the other side of Mrs. Watakeekul. Mrs. Watakeekul put a large amount of pad thai on my plate. Chet and Kannika immediately started eating. Mr. and Mrs. Watakeekul stared at me eagerly waiting for me to take the first bite.

I took a bite prepared to lie and say it was the best thing I'd ever tasted. Except, it was delicious. It was the best pad thai I had ever eaten. If I could eat like this everyday, I would be happy.

"Well?" Mr. Watakeekul asked me. "How is it?"

"It's delicious," I said. "It's honestly the best pad thai I've ever had."

Mr. and Mrs. Watakeekul smiled grandly at that. Chet's mom finally started eating.

"I made it myself," Mr. Watakeekul said.

"Chet told me you were a good cook," I said. "I just didn't know it was going to be this good."

"Vincent's a good cook too," Chet said. "His spaghetti and meatballs are delicious."

"Why don't you teach me how to make your spaghetti and meatballs and I'll teach you how to make this pad thai," Mr. Watakeekul said. He took a bite of his food and blinked at me expectantly as he chewed.

I opened my mouth to answer, but my throat suddenly closed off and tears sprang to my eyes. They were so accepting of me. They were everything and more that I had ever wanted from my own family. I never expected in my entire life to be part of something like this. It was something other people enjoyed. Never me.

"You made him cry," Mrs. Watakeekul accused Mr. Watakeekul. "What's wrong, honey?" She stroked my hair in such a motherly way that the tears fell from my eyes and onto my cheeks. I couldn't answer to say that nothing was wrong and everything was right.

Chet smiled and pulled me into his arms. I hid my head on his shoulder until my tears stopped.

"Nothing's wrong," Chet said. "He's just never been treated this way."

"What way?" Kannika asked. "Like a decent human being?"

"Like family," Mrs. Watakeekul answered with understanding. "Obviously there is something wrong with his if they would kick him out for dating my son."

This was greeted with silence. My tears stopped and the lump in my throat dispersed. I sat back up and said, "Sorry. Nothing is wrong. I'm just touched."

Everyone stared at me and it made me embarrassed. I wished they would just go back to eating dinner.

"Well," Kannika said, "you now have something you didn't have before."

"What's that?" I asked.

She stood up and walked towards me. "A little sister," she said and then she wrapped her arms around me and placed her cheek on my shoulder.

"And a proper mother," Mrs. Watakeekul said and then she was hugging both of us.

Tears sprang to Mr. Watakeekul's eyes and he stood up and rounded the table to us. "And a proper father," he said and wrapped his arms around all of us.

Now I was crying again. I had never felt familial affection this intense. When I was in Chet's arms, I felt safe. Alex and Trevon were like brothers to me and Alex's mother was like a surrogate mother, but nothing had ever been this welcoming and right. They made me belong.

"Don't worry, Vincent," Mr. Watakeekul said. "You are our son now and you will stay as long as you need to. Even if that is forever."

I didn't think that would hold up if Chet and I ever broke up, but I had no intention of breaking up with him. Ever.

"Okay," Chet said and began to pull arms off me. "Let him eat."

Mr. and Mrs. Watakeekul wiped away tears. Kannika went back to her seat and immediately began to eat.

"There will have to be some rules," Mr. Watakeekul said as he sat down. "Are you okay with that Vincent?"

"Of course," I said. "Just tell me. I will do whatever you say."

"There is an underage girl in this house that can hear everything," Mr. Watakeekul said.

"It's true," Chet and his mother said at the same time.

"I'm not a girl," Kannika said, "but I do hear everything."

"It's why she is the last child," Mrs. Watakeekul said and looked longingly at Mr. Watakeekul.

"It's true," Mr. Watakeekul said. "If we want to get intimate we have to do it somewhere else."

"TMI, dad," Kannika said.

"So keep it PG13," Mr. Watakeekul said. "At all times. Even if no one else is home."

"Okay," I agreed. We could just get intimate elsewhere. Like a hotel...except I had no money for a hotel. I didn't have money for anything. I was penniless.

"Okay, Chet?" Mr. Watakeekul said in a demanding, fatherly tone.

"Okay," Chet said without looking up from his plate. He quickly stuffed another bite of pad thai into his mouth.

"What are the other rules?" I asked.

"Uh...that's the only one I have at the moment, but we reserve the right to add more whenever we think of more," Mr. Watakeekul said. "Unless you've thought of more?" he asked his wife.

Mrs. Watakeekul smiled and shook her head. "No. I think that's the main one for now."

"So," Mr. Watakeekul said, "is that a yes to you teaching me your spaghetti and meatballs and I'll teach you my pad thai?"

"Yes," I said.

"Good. Make me a list of the ingredients and I'll go to the store tomorrow. Unless you want to go with me, son." He waited for a response.

I sat there frozen. I would have assumed he was speaking to Chet, except he stared directly at me when he said 'son'. The tears were back and spilling down my cheeks.

Mr. Watakeekul's face immediately changed to concern. "Oh no," he said. "What did I say now? I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "No man has ever called me son before."

"Your dad never called you son?" Mr. Watakeekul asked as if that was the most dreadful thing he had ever heard.

I shook my head. "I'm not..." I stopped to take a deep breath. It helped to steady my voice and stop my tears. "I'm not biologically my father's son," I admitted for the second time in my life. But the Watakeekuls had been so open and welcoming I thought they should at least know. "My mother had an affair. I've never met my biological dad." And now I didn't have my real father's number so I couldn't call him even if I wanted to.

The table was silent until Kannika said, "Your family is like a soap opera."

"Even if he's not your biological dad, how can he treat you so poorly?" Mr. Watakeekul asked. "How can they just throw you out for dating my son? My son is awesome."

"That I agree with," I said smiling wide.

"I agree too," Chet said. "I'm awesome."

"You're not that awesome," Kannika said.

Mr. Watakeekul shook his head. "I guess it just goes to show no matter how good someone is with business, it doesn't make him a great family man or a great human being."

"We'll go with you to the store tomorrow," Chet said, "but we need to go to the financial aid office first."

"We do?" I asked.

"Your mom said they wouldn't pay for next semester's tuition. We need to go in and see if there is a grant or scholarship you can apply for. And we'll probably need to get some type of student loan too."

"They'll want proof that your parents won't pay for your tuition," Mrs. Watakeekul said. "It probably will only take a phone call to your parents. Maybe they'll need a letter. And they will be hesitant to give you a student loan, but Nate and I will cosign for you." She reached out and took her husband's hand.

"Yes," Mr. Watakeekul readily agreed.

"I can't ask you to do that," I said.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Watakeekul said. "We're family now. We're happy to do it. What are you studying?"

"Entrepreneurship," I said.

"That's perfect," Mr. Watakeekul said. "When you graduate you can start your own successful business and make your poor excuse for a family regret this day."

"I better go to the financial aid office with you," Mrs. Watakeekul said. "Just text me a time," she said to Chet, "and I'll be there."

"And then when you get home, we can go to the grocery store," Mr. Watakeekul said.

Chet's family truly was amazing. We managed to finish dinner without any of us crying again. When we finished, Chet and I went in his room to do homework. We both sat on his bed. It wasn't as comfortable as my old bed, but it was more welcoming. I loved it.

When it was time to get ready for bed, I learned they only had one bathroom. I didn't know how that was possible. I didn't know how they could have survived so long with only one bathroom. The bathroom was between Chet and Kannika's bedroom. Chet whispered to me to use Kannika's face wash. I hesitated, but he told me everyone used it.

Everyone had gone to bed. I crawled under the covers of Chet's - our - bed. Chet went and retrieved a wooden box from his closet before he came and sat on the bed. I scooted up into a sitting position beside him.

"My tiger's eye stone collection," he said and opened the box. He handed it to me. The stones were cool to the touch as I grazed my fingers over them. I smiled recalling the times he told me my eyes reminded him of tiger's eye stones. The wooden box was filled with the polished stones. The stones really were his favorite and I supposed so were the color of my eyes. He took the box back and put it away in his closet. He climbed into bed next to me and we sprawled out under the covers side by side. He immediately scooted towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I in turn wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you," I said. "This day has been one of the best in my life."

He pulled back slightly so he could look into my eyes. He smiled. "I'm glad," he said. "It's going to work out, Vince."

"I love you, my heart," I said.

"I love you, my love," he said.

"Are you two always this sappy?" Kannika called out from her bedroom.

"Don't listen in on our conversation!" Chet yelled back.

"I don't want to, but I have super hearing remember?"

"Fine," Chet called out. "We'll stop talking." And as soon as he said that he kissed me. It wasn't a chaste one either. It was wet and lip smacking loud.

"PG13, remember?" Kannika yelled at him.

"Kissing is PG13," he called back.

"Kissing leads to other things that aren't PG13," she called back.

"We can control ourselves," he called back.

"Go to sleep, kids," Mr. Watakeekul called out.

"Fine, goodnight," Kannika called out.

"Goodnight," Chet called out to the rest of the house.

Mr. and Mrs. Watakeekul said goodnight at the same time. There was a slight pause and then Mr. Watakeekul called out, "Goodnight, Vincent."

"Goodnight, Vincent," Kannika and Mrs. Watakeekul called out.

"Goodnight," I called out in the family house to the family that were now mine.