One big happy family, right? Could it be done? Could we be happy again, or would every day be a fight? My brother was hard enough on Nick, but my ex-girlfriend and my son... it never felt real. Was I crazy? I had a son.

I never felt like a dad, like a father, but I was asking Nick to be one like me, with me. I was asking him to be a parent with my ex-girlfriend and me. What the hell was I thinking?

“How are we going to introduce ourselves?” Cindy asked.

After getting off work, I picked her up on my way home. My ex had been quiet most of the ride until she reminded me Monday was fast approaching. Malcolm was starting school, and his teachers wanted all the new parents to be a part of the first day.

“You’re Malcolm’s mom. I’m Malcolm’s dad. Nick is Malcolm’s... other dad,” I answered without much thought.

Exhausted from eight hours behind a grill, I didn’t have the mental or physical energy to think deeper. Of course, Cindy was quick to tell me, “We can’t say that. Malcolm is confused enough as is. We don’t need his teachers to be.”

Was I the only one trying to make things work? I thought we were over the bullshit. We all knew the rule. Don’t fuck up the kid. Cindy, of course, loved her son. I wanted Malcolm to be happy. But Nick was walking on eggshells, trying to be a good person in my son’s life.

My older brother might have been the only of us who consistently acted as a bad role model, but River was River. Somehow, even he didn’t get half the attitude Cindy gave Nick. She should have known by then that Nick could be trusted. He wasn’t some dirtbag. As far as I or anyone else with two eyes could tell, he was a better dad than me.

I was afraid of doing something to ruin Malcolm’s childhood. I didn’t want him to grow up avoiding me like I had done with my father. But I didn’t want him to see his parents fight like mine did when I was a kid, either.

Nick had been the MVP ever since we all moved in together. He watched Malcolm during the day, took care of me and the house at night, and he did it all while catering to Cindy’s wishes.

I had to speak up for my Loser boyfriend. No one else, not even Nick, was going to otherwise.

“Malcolm loves Nick more than he does me. He sees him more than the both of us. You know he does,” I said.

“Nick is not Malcolm’s father. He never will be. You are,” she said as I pulled into the driveway.

“Nick and I are together. We’re staying together,” I explained with a headache.

With her eyes turned away, Cindy remarked, “For now.”

How could I argue with her? Was it worth it?

“People change. People learn about themselves,” I started, but she interrupted to tell me, “You’re not gay, Tommy.”

“I never said I was. But I love Nick. I know I do.”

“He’s not going with us,” Cindy ended the conversation and got out of the car in a huff.

Sitting in the driveway, I let the car run while strangling the wheel. My eyes shut, and I couldn’t think of a compromise that wouldn’t push too far. Nick had to go with us. To leave him out...it would have been a slap in the face. But if Cindy were convinced our relationship was a passing phase, she’d never let my boyfriend any closer. She’d never see him as more than a nanny.

By the time I opened my eyes, streetlights had flicked on. To my surprise, just as I was about to cut off the engine, it suddenly stopped on its own.

“No,” I said to God or whatever had decided to make a bad day worse.

Turning the key, I tried to start the engine repeatedly, but it was dead.

“Fuck,” I shouted.

Just what I needed, right?