When we get to the end of the aisle, Asa darts over to help my dad into his wheelchair. “That was a sight,” he says affectionately to my dad who pats his arm companionably.
“Can’t wait to get in my chair, to be honest.” Asa smiles and goes to pull back, but my dad suddenly grabs his arm. “Look after my boy,” he whispers.
Asa reaches out and clasps his hand. “Always and with every bone in my body,” he says steadily. They grin at each other and Asa offers me his hand. “You ready?”
“Always,” I say. I look down at Billy. “Want to sit with Grandma or come up with us?”
His eyes dart uncertainly about. “I think I’d like to be with you and Daddy,” he whispers.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I say, and holding both of my men’s hands is how I end up in front of the registrar.
She starts to talk, and my eyes flick to Dylan, who has come up on my other side. He immediately bugs his eyes out, and I bite my lip to stop myself laughing and turn back to the registrar. Sometimes we seem only a tiny step away from primary school.
“Okay,” she says, smiling at Asa and me. “First, the unpleasant bit. I’m quite sure this won’t be a problem, but I must ask. Does anyone in this room know of any just impediment to me joining these two men in matrimony?”
I smile at everyone in the room and then nearly jump out of my skin when Dean shouts, “Oh my God! Yes. Yes!”
The room seems to come to a screeching stop, and Asa turns to glare at his stepbrother.
“What the hell?” he says in a low voice.
“I’ve found them,” Dean exclaims, ignoring Asa’s face of apoplectic doom. “The rings. They were in this little pocket on the back of my trousers,” he says sunnily, handing them to me and slapping Asa on the back.
“So, you’re not objecting to this marriage, then?” the registrar enquires faintly.
Dean looks perplexed. “Fuck, no!” he exclaims. “I mean, sorry. No way. These two are meant to be.” He waves at her airily. “Why have you stopped? Let’s get them married, mate.”
I can’t help my snort of laughter, and Asa shakes his head at me. “You’re enjoying this?”
I laugh. “You must admit that it could have been amazing. My previous partner shouting out in torment at the last minute at me marrying another man. Epic,” I say happily and then make haste to lose my smile as the registrar and Asa stare at me. “But very, very silly,” I say ponderously. “At such a solemn occasion.”
Dylan snorts. I elbow him discreetly, and I see the exact moment when the registrar decides to get the ceremony done as quickly as possible.
“Okay,” she says brightly. “Let’s proceed.”
Slowly my laughter fades, but it’s inside me like sunshine racing through my veins as I say the words that bind me to the man I love. And I hear his own vows in his deep, resonant voice, the Yorkshire in his accent very thick today.
Finally, the registrar asks for the rings, and I look down at Billy. “You want to put the rings on for us?”
Asa looks at me in query, and I smile. “He’s part of this family,” I say. “Right from the very beginning, it’s been the three of us. Might as well do it at the start of the rest of our lives.”
His eyes look over bright, and he nods furiously, smiling down at his son as he very solemnly puts the rings on our fingers.
“And I now pronounce you married,” the registrar says with a big smile. “Congratulations, gentlemen.”
I turn to Asa, and he grins down at Billy. “Thanks for your help, sweetie.”
Billy shrugs. “I quite liked the other rings with the flowers,” he says sadly. “Maybe if you ask Uncle Gabe he’ll swap for the flower ones.”
We break into laughter, and our first kiss as married men is with smiles on our lips. It seems like an excellent omen to me.
Henry and Ivo
A Change is as Good as a Rest
This is a deleted chapter from Risk Taker. It’s set between the events of Chapter Four and Chapter Five, in the two months that separate them. Ivo is seeing his therapist, and I wrote this chapter to show Henry’s attempts to help Ivo get interested in exercise again. I took it out because it unbalanced the other chapters.