ficlet february 7: surprise celebration
More shore verse, when the twins are around five.
***
Ficlet February 7: "surprise celebration"
Erik waits until the waitress has placed three sundaes on the table--fudge, strawberry, and caramel--and clears his throat. He's been trying to figure out the best way to put this all through dinner and he's not sure he's nailed it yet, but he's running out of time.
"Hey," he says once Wanda and Pietro are focused on their ice cream. "So, I wanted to talk to you guys about something."
Both of them look up at him, but don't put down their spoons.
"Remember...remember a couple months ago when Bubbe and Zayde were staying with you and Charles and I came over for dinner?"
"Yeeeessss," Wanda says. "Bubbe asked a lot of questions."
"She did," Erik says. He rubs the back of his neck. That was a long night. A very, very long night with his former in-laws who practically raised him and his new boyfriend. "Do you remember when you were talking to Charles and you asked him if we were going to get married?"
Wanda nods.
"He said that sometimes boys can't marry boys and girls can't marry girls, even if they want to," she says.
"Right," Erik says. "And he was right--Charles and I can't really get married the way Mommy and I were married--"
"That's dumb," Pietro interjects. Then, after another spoonful of ice cream, adds, "But getting married is dumb too. There's too much kissing."
"Just you wait, kid," Erik says. "But you're right, it is dumb, but the people in charge decided that's the way it has to be right now. But, even though we can't get married there's this thing--we can...uh...."
He wishes he and Charles had thought about this for more than two seconds before Wanda started peppering them with questions at that dinner seven weeks ago. It would be much easier if they could just call it a fucking wedding.
He's blaming all of this on the bigots in Albany and Washington.
"We can't get married for real, but there's another thing we can do," Erik says. "It's kind of like being married."
There are two pair of confused eyes peering up at him over ice cream sundaes. Okay. He has to break it down.
"Okay," he says. "So, when people get married, there's a lot of boring grown-up reasons for it."
"You get married when you love someone," Wanda tells him, gesturing with her spoon.
"You do," he allows. "And getting married kind of...rewards you for loving someone. You get all sorts of boring grown-up prizes for getting married. Like, remember when Mommy got a new job and you had to change dentists?"
"Dr. Shah has better stickers than Dr. Barry did anyway," Pietro says.
"Well, that's because you get your doctors through your work, and when you're married, you can choose from the same doctors as the person you're married to. You also get..." There's no way to explain tax laws. "Other stuff. Like, if someone gets hurt, you can go visit them in the hospital. And lots of other things. But the point is, boys can't marry other boys, but they can do this other thing that's like marriage so they can have the same doctors and visit each other at the hospital and things like that. Your stuff becomes shared, and that's a big part of it, too."
Wanda and Pietro don't say anything for a moment. Wanda eats the cherry off her sundae.
"So, if it's just like being married, why can't you just get married?" she finally asks.
"I don't know, baby," he says. He runs a hand through his hair. "There are some people out there who really don't want boys to marry boys and girls to marry girls, so they do things like this to try and stop it."
"That's dumb," Pietro says again.
"It is," Erik agrees again.
"So does that mean you and Charles are going to get...the other thing like getting married?" Wanda asks. Her sundae is seemingly forgotten, eyes wide.
"We are," Erik says. He adds, quickly, "Nothing will change! You guys will still live with Mommy and I'll still see you every single weekend and Charles and I will still live together and I'll still come to see your recitals and games and art shows, just like I do now. Charles and I will probably move to a new apartment or maybe a house, but we won't move far."
"I like Charles' apartment," Pietro says. "It's nicer than yours."
"I like it too," Erik says. "But Charles lives there because he's a student at the university and in May he's going to graduate, so he needs to move out."
"But you're going to get married," Wanda says again. Then, "I mean, the other married thing?" Her ice cream is starting to melt. Erik wonders if maybe he shouldn't have waited until the car ride back home, or taken Charles up on his offer to join them for dinner. He always thought Wanda liked Charles. Both of the kids seem to like him, actually, which isn't surprising given how likeable Charles is. Wanda was the one who asked them if they were going to get married in the first place, all those weeks ago, and he thought she'd be...excited. Happy.
He licks his lips and hesitates. He loves Charles. It makes sense that they do this, especially given that Charles isn't exactly sure yet what he's going to be doing after he graduates and he'll still need health insurance which, even with a literal billion dollars to his name is going to be difficult to secure given his various medical conditions, plus they're going to want kids of their own--he can't call the partnership off just because Wanda is upset.
"Yes," he says. "It's called a 'domestic partnership' and we're going to get it." He tries not to seem too nervous as he waits for her response. Her expression is grave.
"Are there flower girls in domestic partnerships?" she asks.
He exhales all at once.
"Yes," he tells her. "You can be the flower girl."
"Yay!" she cheers. "Hooray! Can my dress be pink? Will Mommy be there? Will Moira be there? Will there be cake?"
"Finish your ice cream, guys," Erik says. "Then we'll go home and see Charles and we can all talk about it together, okay?"
"Okay!" they chorus, and attack their sundaes again. Erik's own caramel chocolate concoction is now mostly melted. He picks the cherry off the top and gives Charles a mental tap.
You were right, they're fine, he says.
There's a burst of affection and recognition, as well as the slightly distant fog that means Charles is doing twenty other things while having this conversation.
I told you they would be.
Yeah, Erik responds, but you weren't the one who had to sit here and explain spousal benefits to a couple five year olds.
Well, you're still their father. I'm legally nothing to them until we sign the papers. It's your duty.
Excuses, excuses. Erik glances over at Wanda, who is nudging his sundae closer to him.
"Daddy, you need to finish your ice cream so we can go home and see Charles!" she says.
"You're right," Erik says. "You're pretty excited to see him, huh?"
"Yes," Wanda says impatiently. "Hurry up."
Erik can't help but smile.
We'll be home soon. Thanks.
For what? Charles replies as Erik picks up his spoon. He thinks about it for a moment.
For being you, he responds.
"Daddy!" Wanda says. "Ice cream!"
"Okay, okay," Erik says, and digs into his ice cream soup with gusto.
*
ficlet february!
Get some sleep
Five minutes away
Faint recognition
Half an hour before sunrise
Useless, but beautiful
Something’s broken
Surprise celebration
There were signs and signals
Rituals
Write about a postcard
What are you looking for?
You remind me of someone
A meeting, a beginning
Lasting impression
Long drive
Behind closed doors
Ask questions later
Six impossible things
Day off
Lost in a city
A door key
A late night phone call
Someone else’s mortification
Something from music
Something from a picture
***
Ficlet February 7: "surprise celebration"
Erik waits until the waitress has placed three sundaes on the table--fudge, strawberry, and caramel--and clears his throat. He's been trying to figure out the best way to put this all through dinner and he's not sure he's nailed it yet, but he's running out of time.
"Hey," he says once Wanda and Pietro are focused on their ice cream. "So, I wanted to talk to you guys about something."
Both of them look up at him, but don't put down their spoons.
"Remember...remember a couple months ago when Bubbe and Zayde were staying with you and Charles and I came over for dinner?"
"Yeeeessss," Wanda says. "Bubbe asked a lot of questions."
"She did," Erik says. He rubs the back of his neck. That was a long night. A very, very long night with his former in-laws who practically raised him and his new boyfriend. "Do you remember when you were talking to Charles and you asked him if we were going to get married?"
Wanda nods.
"He said that sometimes boys can't marry boys and girls can't marry girls, even if they want to," she says.
"Right," Erik says. "And he was right--Charles and I can't really get married the way Mommy and I were married--"
"That's dumb," Pietro interjects. Then, after another spoonful of ice cream, adds, "But getting married is dumb too. There's too much kissing."
"Just you wait, kid," Erik says. "But you're right, it is dumb, but the people in charge decided that's the way it has to be right now. But, even though we can't get married there's this thing--we can...uh...."
He wishes he and Charles had thought about this for more than two seconds before Wanda started peppering them with questions at that dinner seven weeks ago. It would be much easier if they could just call it a fucking wedding.
He's blaming all of this on the bigots in Albany and Washington.
"We can't get married for real, but there's another thing we can do," Erik says. "It's kind of like being married."
There are two pair of confused eyes peering up at him over ice cream sundaes. Okay. He has to break it down.
"Okay," he says. "So, when people get married, there's a lot of boring grown-up reasons for it."
"You get married when you love someone," Wanda tells him, gesturing with her spoon.
"You do," he allows. "And getting married kind of...rewards you for loving someone. You get all sorts of boring grown-up prizes for getting married. Like, remember when Mommy got a new job and you had to change dentists?"
"Dr. Shah has better stickers than Dr. Barry did anyway," Pietro says.
"Well, that's because you get your doctors through your work, and when you're married, you can choose from the same doctors as the person you're married to. You also get..." There's no way to explain tax laws. "Other stuff. Like, if someone gets hurt, you can go visit them in the hospital. And lots of other things. But the point is, boys can't marry other boys, but they can do this other thing that's like marriage so they can have the same doctors and visit each other at the hospital and things like that. Your stuff becomes shared, and that's a big part of it, too."
Wanda and Pietro don't say anything for a moment. Wanda eats the cherry off her sundae.
"So, if it's just like being married, why can't you just get married?" she finally asks.
"I don't know, baby," he says. He runs a hand through his hair. "There are some people out there who really don't want boys to marry boys and girls to marry girls, so they do things like this to try and stop it."
"That's dumb," Pietro says again.
"It is," Erik agrees again.
"So does that mean you and Charles are going to get...the other thing like getting married?" Wanda asks. Her sundae is seemingly forgotten, eyes wide.
"We are," Erik says. He adds, quickly, "Nothing will change! You guys will still live with Mommy and I'll still see you every single weekend and Charles and I will still live together and I'll still come to see your recitals and games and art shows, just like I do now. Charles and I will probably move to a new apartment or maybe a house, but we won't move far."
"I like Charles' apartment," Pietro says. "It's nicer than yours."
"I like it too," Erik says. "But Charles lives there because he's a student at the university and in May he's going to graduate, so he needs to move out."
"But you're going to get married," Wanda says again. Then, "I mean, the other married thing?" Her ice cream is starting to melt. Erik wonders if maybe he shouldn't have waited until the car ride back home, or taken Charles up on his offer to join them for dinner. He always thought Wanda liked Charles. Both of the kids seem to like him, actually, which isn't surprising given how likeable Charles is. Wanda was the one who asked them if they were going to get married in the first place, all those weeks ago, and he thought she'd be...excited. Happy.
He licks his lips and hesitates. He loves Charles. It makes sense that they do this, especially given that Charles isn't exactly sure yet what he's going to be doing after he graduates and he'll still need health insurance which, even with a literal billion dollars to his name is going to be difficult to secure given his various medical conditions, plus they're going to want kids of their own--he can't call the partnership off just because Wanda is upset.
"Yes," he says. "It's called a 'domestic partnership' and we're going to get it." He tries not to seem too nervous as he waits for her response. Her expression is grave.
"Are there flower girls in domestic partnerships?" she asks.
He exhales all at once.
"Yes," he tells her. "You can be the flower girl."
"Yay!" she cheers. "Hooray! Can my dress be pink? Will Mommy be there? Will Moira be there? Will there be cake?"
"Finish your ice cream, guys," Erik says. "Then we'll go home and see Charles and we can all talk about it together, okay?"
"Okay!" they chorus, and attack their sundaes again. Erik's own caramel chocolate concoction is now mostly melted. He picks the cherry off the top and gives Charles a mental tap.
You were right, they're fine, he says.
There's a burst of affection and recognition, as well as the slightly distant fog that means Charles is doing twenty other things while having this conversation.
I told you they would be.
Yeah, Erik responds, but you weren't the one who had to sit here and explain spousal benefits to a couple five year olds.
Well, you're still their father. I'm legally nothing to them until we sign the papers. It's your duty.
Excuses, excuses. Erik glances over at Wanda, who is nudging his sundae closer to him.
"Daddy, you need to finish your ice cream so we can go home and see Charles!" she says.
"You're right," Erik says. "You're pretty excited to see him, huh?"
"Yes," Wanda says impatiently. "Hurry up."
Erik can't help but smile.
We'll be home soon. Thanks.
For what? Charles replies as Erik picks up his spoon. He thinks about it for a moment.
For being you, he responds.
"Daddy!" Wanda says. "Ice cream!"
"Okay, okay," Erik says, and digs into his ice cream soup with gusto.
*
ficlet february!
Get some sleep
Five minutes away
Faint recognition
Half an hour before sunrise
Useless, but beautiful
Something’s broken
Surprise celebration
There were signs and signals
Rituals
Write about a postcard
What are you looking for?
You remind me of someone
A meeting, a beginning
Lasting impression
Long drive
Behind closed doors
Ask questions later
Six impossible things
Day off
Lost in a city
A door key
A late night phone call
Someone else’s mortification
Something from music
Something from a picture