“I think it’s a great idea,” I told him and added as much enthusiasm as I could, to hopefully put his mind at ease.
His leg stopped bouncing and he stared at me. “Seriously?”
“Yup,” I said and started to gather up my text book, notebook, and pencil. “You guys make each other happy so that makes me happy. And he lives here already, so you two are practically married anyway. Might as well make it official,” I said with a shrug as I stood up. “I’m going to go take a shower now.”
“Wait,” he said and stopped me. I flopped back down in the chair and looked at him. I had a meet time with a classmate on my latest war game, and if I didn’t get in the shower soon, I’d miss it. “I want you to help me ask him.”
“Uh, I’m pretty sure you’re the one who has to do it, Dad.”
My dad laughed at my comment and then told me how he wanted my help. I never did make it to my game that night, but helping my dad was a little bit more important.
The very next day I’d gone to my art class and talked with Mr. Tyler about it. He’d eagerly agreed to help me get the shading just right. But I’d noticed how, once again, he’d looked sad when I’d explained what it was for.
I was actually excited about having two dads. Anthony was a lot of fun to have around, and it was great to see my dad really smiling again. My friends thought it was weird that I was living with my teacher, but when they saw that Anthony treated me the exact same, they stopped bugging me about it. And they actually started asking if they could hang out at my house. So far I hadn’t let them, yet. I wanted to get used to having him around first. And then there was the crazy thing with my mom showing up.
I wasn’t lying when I’d told my dad I didn’t want to see her. It wasn’t because of anything… bad. I just didn’t know her. I wouldn’t know what to say to her, and I’d just feel weird. Yeah, she was my mom, but so what? She was never around doing mom things. That was always my dad. So why would I want to spend any time with her? Maybe when I got over the, whatever it was I was feeling, I’d shoot her an email or something. But for the time being, I didn’t want anything to do with her.
“Hey squirt, are you ready to go?” a voice asked, cutting into my weird thoughts.
I snapped my head up in surprise at my dad standing beside me. “Yeah, let me clean this up.”
I stowed away my drawing and put the drawing utensils back where they belonged. Then after washing my hands, I waved goodbye to Mr. Tyler, and I met my dad at the door.
“Why are you here so early?” I asked him. Usually Anthony picked me up, since my dad worked so late.
“Well, I figured we could go to the tux shop and find something for my best man to wear,” my dad said as we walked over to his car.
“Oh okay, cool. Who is that going to be?” I tried to think of who my dad would pick as his best man for his wedding, but he really didn’t have many friends. The dude was a first class loner. Maybe it was someone from work?
“Well, I decided to pick someone who is very important to me. Someone who is my best friend.”
I crinkled my eyes in confusion as we stopped beside his car. Since when did my dad have a best friend? “Who? Is it someone from work?”
My dad laughed and climbed into the car. Oookay. He was so weird. I didn’t say anything else to him as we drove to the tux shop. I walked inside with him and watched as he talked to an old man. The dude was so old I was surprised he could still stand upright. How was he going to help with a tuxedo?
“Jackson,” my dad called out to me, and I approached him and the old dude.
I felt like I needed to hold my breath, scared to even breathe near the dude. What if a gust of my breath knocked him over?
“Mr. Eisenburg, this is my son, and best man, Jackson. We’re here to get him fitted for a tuxedo.”
“What?” I asked my dad in confusion. Me? He said I was his best man?
My dad placed a hand on my shoulder and crouched down so we were eye-level. “Jackson, you are my son, and my best friend. There is no one else I’d rather have stand beside me than you. So what do you say, squirt? Will you be my best man?”
I gaped at him for all of two seconds before I threw my arms around his neck. Of course, I’d be his best man, and I made sure to tell him that. I loved my dad. I loved Anthony. And I loved that we were going to be a family. And I had to admit, I knew I was going to look pretty good in a tuxedo.
A lot of kids weren’t as lucky as I was. They didn’t get to see their parents get married, or even get to be a part of their wedding. Yeah, Rebecca was my mom. And I’m glad she gave me life. But I was going to have my two dads, and I was pretty fortunate I’d get to stand beside one as he married the man he loved. Anthony was a cool dude. He was an awesome teacher who was helping me with my dyslexia. But more than that, he treated me like I was his own kid, and maybe one day, he’d let me call him Dad, too. But in the meantime, I had a tuxedo to try on. I had a role to fill, and I was going to be the best, best man ever. I owed it to my dad.
The End
Stay tuned for Tyler and Sebastian’s story in Teaching Trust: Forever in Middlebury Book 2
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Acknowledgements:
There are so many people I need to thank in this section, and I’m not even sure where to begin. First and foremost, I need to thank the two people who encouraged me to write this book. Michele and Stephanie, without you two this book would not have been finished. I put off writing it for so long, but your constant words of encouragement and support helped me push through and write Marcus and Anthony’s story. And I am thrilled beyond words that you love them as much as I do.
To Michele, thank you for being a wealth of knowledge with the publishing process. I thought I learned a lot during my first book, but I learned even more during this one. Your patience and helping during all of this did not go unnoticed and I will never be able to thank you enough. I love you so much, and I appreciate you more and more every single day.
To Stephanie, you are an amazing editor and I am thankful you edited this book for me. You helped turn this book into hopefully something amazing. You did a phenomenal job and your diligence caught even the tiniest of details. Thank you so much for your help with this book!
To everyone who Beta read this book, thank you so much for taking your time to do so, even when it was still in the editing process. Your kind words and encouragement meant more to me than I’ll ever be able to express with words. I truly appreciate you.
To everyone else, thank you so much for taking a chance on this book and I hope you enjoy reading it. I hope Marcus, Anthony, and Jackson touch your heart as much as they did mine.
About the Author:
Brittany was born in Enterprise, Alabama and moved to a small town in Indiana. During her free time she loves to read amazing books, watch mindless television, and spend time with family and loved ones. When not doing any of those fun things, she works at a hospital as a switchboard operator.
Other work by Brittany Cournoyer:
Fated Heroes: The Consequence of Destiny Book 1
http://mybook.to/FatedHeroes
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