The House in the Cerulean Sea(126)

Zoe kissed the back of Helen’s hand before stepping away. The truck turned over, the engine rumbling as she began to drive down the road back toward the dock. Linus startled when arms wrapped around his waist. He turned his head slightly to brush his nose against Arthur’s cheek.

“You can do this,” he whispered. “Bring him here. Make him happy.”

“We can do this,” Arthur corrected gently. “Because he’ll need you just as much as he needs me. He’ll need all of us, I think. And we’ll be ready.”

Linus turned. He kissed the tip of Arthur’s nose. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“This. Everything. All this color.”

Arthur knew what he meant. “It was his eyes, wasn’t it? That’s what you saw first.”

Linus nodded. “They reminded me of the sea. It’s a sign. He belongs here. And we’ll do everything we can to make sure he knows that.”

“Do you think we should tell the children?”

“About David? Of course. They need to—”

He shook his head. “About the petition of adoption. About how your name is on it too.”

Linus hesitated. “Not yet. Not until we’re sure it’ll go through with the both of us on there. I’d hate to say something only to have it need to be amended to just you if DICOMY rejects it because we’re…” He coughed roughly. “You know.” Linus wished he could sink into the floor. He hoped Arthur would ignore him.

Arthur didn’t. “Because we’re unmarried.”

“Yes. That.” And no, Linus absolutely had not been thinking about that at all. Not in the slightest. Why, the very idea was preposterous. Not only was it far too soon, there was—

“We may have to change that, then.”

Linus gaped at him as Arthur stepped away toward the door. “Excuse me?”

Arthur glanced back at him over his shoulder. “Coming, dear Linus?”

“Now, see here! You shouldn’t—you can’t just say something like—what on earth—”

Arthur opened the bedroom door. He held out his hand for Linus.

Linus, still sputtering of course, took what was offered.



* * *



It turned out they needn’t have worried. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, the children and Zoe had gathered in the kitchen, and Lucy was already explaining with ferocious excitement that Linus was going to be their father too, and that Arthur and Linus were to be married. They would have to talk to him again about eavesdropping.

As the children jumped on the both of them, shouting their happiness with no small amount of tears, Linus found he wasn’t upset at all.

Sometimes, he thought to himself in a house in a cerulean sea, you were able to choose the life you wanted.

And if you were of the lucky sort, sometimes that life chose you back.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS



Writing can be a solitary and lonely journey. Writers are often wrapped up in their own heads as they feverishly put their thoughts down in words. It’s not until we get ready to put our stories out into the world that it becomes clear we don’t have to go through this scary and exhilarating journey alone.

To my beta readers, Lynn and Mia, who were the first to read this story: your input was invaluable, as always. You made The House in the Cerulean Sea something more than I expected it to be, and for that, you’ll always have my gratitude. I’m lucky to have you.

To my agent, Deidre Knight: you were and are a godsend. Remember when you contacted me after you read my book about wolves? I do. It was a life-changing experience, and you took me under your wing, pushing me beyond what I thought I was capable of. Because of your hard work on my behalf, this book and those to follow found a home with a publisher that gets me, that understands the importance of the queer experience. You are the bomb dot com, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

To my editor, Ali Fisher: dude, I love you. I was so nervous when we spoke on the phone for the first time. I was out of my depth, and though Deidre was there to hold my hand, I was about to vibrate out of my skin. But you took my babbling in stride, and after we spoke, I knew there would be no better place for me to tell my stories than with you and Tor. Thank you for giving me one of the biggest thrills of my life. Your work on Cerulean made it the best story it could be, and I couldn’t ask for a better editor. We’re gonna knock this out of the park.

And to all the others:

Thank you to Tor for showing me that a publisher believes in telling honest, queer stories (by way of the Antichrist).

Thank you to Saraciea Fennell, my publicist, with support from Anneliese Merz and Lauren Levite, for pimping me out (in a good way).

Thank you to the art director, Peter Lutjen, and Red Nose Studio, for creating one of the most beautiful covers I have ever had. Seriously. When you’re done reading this, go look at it some more. It’s art.

In addition to Ali, the assistant editor, Kristin Temple, has made sure I didn’t go off the rails, which I’m wont to do. Thanks, Kristin.

Thank you to Melanie Sanders and Jim Kapp in production, the Macmillan sales team, the marketing team from Tor (Rebecca Yeager—you’re a freaking rock star), and the digital marketing team.

So, yes, while the writing of a novel is solitary and lonely, as you can see, I’m not alone. I have good people behind me. That’s something I will always be thankful for. They make me a better writer.