Second Chance(69)

He’d specifically asked people not to buy him much in the way of gifts this year. There wasn’t anything he could think of that he wanted, and he already had everything he needed. His life felt rich enough without extra trimmings.

Opening the package, he pulled out a book—a YA story about a trans boy that Nate had heard great things about. “Oh, this is awesome.”

“You haven’t already read it, have you? I kept the receipt in case you wanted to exchange it.”

“No, I haven’t. But I’d been considering it. It has good reviews. Thank you.” Nate wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “And thanks for bringing pudding too. Pavlova is my favourite.”

“I know; that’s why I made it.” She turned to Jack and hugged him too, and then she looked around the room. “Oh gosh. Doesn’t it look lovely in here now you’ve decorated?”

Sunshine poured in through the windows, lighting up the space. The blue-and-white tiles around the sink gleamed, an attractive contrast to the subtle yellow walls and the stripped wooden floorboards.

“Yeah. We’re really happy with it. Jack painted it last weekend and I finished the tiling.” Nate smiled at Jack. Sometimes it still took him by surprise that they were together. He had to mentally pinch himself to remember it was true because it felt too good to be real. “The walls look a bit bare now, but we’re planning on making some photo collages to go on this wall.” He pointed over the kitchen table. “Featuring family and friends, and maybe some of us from when we were younger too—so Cass can laugh at our terrible youthful fashion crimes.”

They’d talked about this a couple of weeks ago. The photo collage had been Nate’s idea, but Jack had been the one to ask how Nate felt about having old photos of himself on there. Their shared history was important to both of them, but Jack thought maybe Nate would prefer not to display photos of himself from before he transitioned. But Nate was okay with it as long as they avoided any where he was looking particularly feminine. Fortunately he’d been such a tomboy, and had had short hair so much of the time as a teenager, that there weren’t too many photos of his old self that he truly hated. The worst were when he’d been forced into dresses for special occasions, and Nate had already got rid of most of those.

The doorbell rang and Jack excused himself to answer it.

“Cass!” Jack called loudly. “Adam’s here. Are you ready to come down or shall I send him up?”

“I’m coming down,” Cass yelled and Nate heard the tread of her feet on the stairs.

Jack came back into the kitchen followed by Adam and Cass.

“Hi, Gran.” Cass greeted her with a hug and a kiss.

“Hello, Sue.” Adam tried to shake her hand but Sue was having none of it, pulling him into a hug too. He flushed and smiled.

“It’s just my parents we’re waiting for then.” Jack checked his watch, and as if summoned by his words the doorbell rang again.

“I’ll open the bubbly,” Nate said as Jack went to answer the door. Glad for the excuse to keep busy, he got the cava out of the fridge along with the sparkling grape juice, and started to assemble glasses. “Cass, Adam, can you take these out and put them on the table in the garden? It’s getting crowded in here.”

The kitchen was only small and already had too many people in it. With the oven on and the summer sun beating in, Nate was starting to sweat. Partly from the heat, but also from the nerves that Jack’s parents always inspired in him.

He still had a rather cautious relationship with David and Cathy. They trod carefully around Nate, as though afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, and that in turn put Nate on edge. It was obvious they’d tried hard to educate themselves on trans issues since he and Jack had made things official between them. They were learning to be better allies, but they still occasionally misgendered Nate, or said things that made him wince a little. But he could see they were making an effort so he tried to ignore the few slips in favour of a quiet life.

Following Cass and Adam out, Nate opened the first bottle of cava. The cork popped as Jack led David and Cathy through the doors to the garden.

“Oh I love that sound,” Cathy said brightly. “Hello, Nate. Happy birthday.” She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in, cheek brushing his with a waft of perfume as she kissed the air by his ear with a mwah sound. She moved on to greet Nate’s mum, while David took her place, giving Nate his usual hearty handshake. Nate returned his fierce grip, wondering if David was trying to prove his masculinity or test Nate’s—or both. “Many happy returns,” David said gruffly. He handed Nate a wine gift bag with a bottle of champagne in it.

“Thank you. That’s very kind. I’ll go and pop that in the fridge in case we fancy it later. Jack.” Nate touched his partner’s shoulder. “Can you do the honours and start pouring while I put this away?”

“Of course, hon.” Jack smiled at Nate, blue eyes like a reflection of the cloudless summer sky above them.

When Nate came back outside, everyone was holding glasses of fizzy stuff. Jack and Cass’s were the soft pink of the grape juice, and everyone else had cava. Jack held a glass of cava out to Nate. “Here you go. Happy birthday!” Jack raised his glass while everyone else echoed him. They all drank, Nate gulping the cava gratefully. Being the centre of attention was never his favourite thing. The alcohol would chill him out a little, hopefully.