Chapter 83

Don stared out into the ocean for a long moment. "We were startled. I think both her mom and I knew she wasn't into boys, but we figured it was just a stage. Once she 'came out', though, we knew it was the right thing for her. We just want her to be happy. We don't care who she's with or what she does."

I looked over at him. He seemed lost to a memory of a long time ago. "You know her birth father died when she was very young, right? When I met Suzie, she was struggling to raise her daughter. We got married when McKayla was four and I tried my best to fill in for her dad."

"You did," I told him. "She loves you like any child loves their parent."

"Thank you," Don replied softly. "McKayla went out with a couple of boys in high school, but was never very serious. She never had posters of boy bands in her locker or on her bedroom walls. When she came home from college at Thanksgiving one year and told us she was gay, her mom and I both knew. And that was okay with us."

He took a sip of iced tea. There was sadness in his voice. "It was hardest on her. We tried to be supportive. We let her know that it didn't matter who she was in love with and we would be there for her. But I think it was difficult for her to fit in. That's why she tried so hard to be popular and be liked and to excel at everything she did. It wasn't any pressure from us and we expected her to give her best effort in anything she did, but if she finished dead last at something, we were happy for her."

Don looked at me and took my hand. "Paige, I think the one thing McKayla is uncomfortable about in regards to her sexuality is not having children with someone she loves. She's always wanted to be a parent and have a child. And now you've made it happen for her."

Earlier in the afternoon, I had settled down enough to tell them the full story about how I had gotten pregnant. They were equally non-judgmental about that, and I think they were both so happy about their impeding grandparenthood that they didn't really care about how I had gotten pregnant.

"If there's anything you need," he said. "Anything at all. Just ask. McKayla doesn't want for money or things. Her mom and I made sure of that when she was younger, and now she makes enough that she can take care of herself. But we have always been there for her, and we'll always be there for you. And let me give you a word of warning: Now that Suzie knows that you two are having a baby, she'll be scouring the neighbourhood for houses that are on the market. She's been wanting a beach house for a while and this might be her excuse to buy one."

He winked at me. "I'll try and talk her out of it, otherwise you'll have her over here every day to see that baby."

We laughed and I knew that everything was going to be alright.

Her parents offered to fly everyone out to the locale of our choice for the wedding, but we decided to wait until after the baby was born. Getting married is every girl's dream; McKayla and I were no exception and we wanted everything to be just right. I did a little bit of planning, but we were mostly getting ready for the baby.

McKayla bought piles of books on babies and pregnancies. She knew more about it than me. I was never much of a recreational reader; McKayla devoured books on any subject and she threw herself into raising our child with wild abandon.

We fixed up the guest bedroom into a nursery and started nesting. I don't know where the next four months went. One night after dinner, McKayla took me into our home office and shared her finances with me.