Chapter 103 103
Chapter 103 103
Just before lunch when they head into the kitchen,
Andre maybe should’ve warned Dylan before subjecting him to his mother’s hangover remedy soup that he will have to eat every drop of it no matter how much his stomach hurts.
“Ahhh, if it isn’t our little party animal.” Denis giggles. pointing at the table.
“have a seat, honey. water coming up after you finish your soup.” Dylan’s eyes almost pop out at the size of the bowl.
Henry offers a sympathetic smile, “no point arguing it, son. eat up.”
The front door opens when Dylan hasn’t even made a dent in his bowl.
Jay looks miserable as Grant guides him into the kitchen, “Ma! I got another one for you.” She starts pouring another bowl, “good, you can join Dylan for his first time since it’s your fault!”
Andre hugs over his shoulders, kissing the top of his head, “I know it’s a lot. But you really will feel better once it’s in your system.”
"If I don’t explode…” Jay nudges him, “a few more nights out and your stomach will be prepared for the morning after.”
Denis leans against the kitchen island hugging both Andre and Grant who wrap arms around her shoulders, “how did my two wild boys end up with boyfriends even wilder?”
"I am not wild!” Andre argues but the entire kitchen bursting in laughter renders him silent.
Dylan snorts, "Idk…after all of Bryan’s talk about the NDAs.”
“oh for fucks sake—“
“Andre” Henry mimics zipping his lips just in time for Hyeri to pop in sing song about a full house at the top of her lungs.
One thing is for certain, if Dylan can survive the last fifteen hours, he can survive anything—the smile on his face when their eyes meet across the room assures Andre that he isn’t going anywhere.
Denis and Henry took the day off of work to accompany Dylan on a walk through tour of the assisted living community his grandma will be staying in.
Admittedly, he’s nervous.
He feels like he’s not being a good grandson, just sending her off to some community of old people.
That’s not what he wants…but she can’t come to New York while he’s in school…and if she stays here, there’s people that Dylan knows he can rely on to take care of her if needed.
That thought alone is almost too much.
How can he expect this from Andre’s family?
But as soon as the car starts moving Denis twists around in the passenger seat with a big smile, “my parents are going to meet us there too! They want to chat about the community programs because there’s a lot of them” Henry shoots her a look that has Denis sighing
“okay, and they’re dying to meet Andre’s boyfriend.”
Great .
Dylan wasn’t planning on meeting more family members today and knowing Andre is going to be at the arena with Daniel and Evan doesn’t help his nerves.
Denis starts pointing out all kinds of places. Andre’s old elementary school…and his middle school… and his high school.
Henry chest puffing out, “look at that…”
He’s gesturing towards a big sign that’s in front of what he assumes is the highschool sports facilities.
A banner is draped beneath the letter board
‘Home to NCAA Hockey Superstars Andre and Daniel.’
Dylan tries not to smile like an idiot, but Denis is just as big when she laughs, “that banner has been up since they left for New York. Imagine if they had been horrible players in college, it would’ve been an embarrassing reminder.”
“Good thing they’re fantastic” Henry sighs. Pulling up into a subdivision with a beautiful fountain and a small building in front. There’s an old couple standing outside waving their arms when the car parks.
Glancing down at the timer he set, Dylan is relieved to find that it’s not a long car ride, only seven minutes.
Which means he can easily walk to visit her when she’s here.
He climbs out of the car once Henry opens the door for him…he’s so nervous and he shouldn’t be.
The hand Haejin puts on his shoulder brings comfort, “Denis parents are a lot…even more than she is. But they’re going to love you, so don’t worry. They’re already excited to meet your grandmother.”
As soon as Dylan is standing on the side walk near Denis the older couple approach him and hug him so tight he coughs.
His ears are burning when they pull back and smile at him,
“Andre has been hiding this gorgeous boy from us for how long?”
“um, he—” Denis shakes her head, “Andre wasn’t hiding anyone mama, it’s been a crazy summer. Dylanis on the shy side, so tone it down a bit, alright? I don’t want to have to hear it from Andre if you scare our boy away.”
“I would never” Andre’s grandmother gasps and Dylan can’t help the way he laughs to himself.
The more people in Andre’s family that he meets, the more everything he loves the most about his boyfriend makes sense. Including his dramatics.
Whatever Dylan expected of this place, was way off. He imagined a glorified nursing home—he did not imagine a beautiful neighborhood with a golf course and swimming pools and townhomes with big back yards.
He’s calling his grandma on facetime to show her the place, but he wasn’t expecting his father to answer the phone.
He’s about to hang up when the man offers a half smile, “she’s outside in the garden, I didn’t want her to miss your call. She's been waiting for it all day.”
Dylan doesn’t say anything. Only stares blankly at the phone gnawing on his lip.
The sound of his father’s voice through the speaker clearly caught the attention of both Andre’s parents because they’re standing behind him almost instantly.
Denis’s voice is soft, “Is she there? Are you ready to show her the place or do we need to record a video instead?”
“One second. He’s giving the phone to her.”
Henry makes a displeased noise, but his hand squeezes Dylan’s shoulder again.
It makes the nasty vibrating in his chest go away. His father leaves the phone on the table, instead of staring at Dylan through it like he was.
When his grandmother comes into frame she is all smiles.
Oo-ing and ah-ing at the sight of the comfortable home that’s fresh from inspection.
He hands his phone to Andre’s grandmother who ends up spending the next half hour talking to Jiah about her gardening club.
Which apparently has a lot of gossip.He’s walking around the backyard that will be hers when Henry joins him.
“What do you think? You’re allowed to have opinions you know.”
“Oh, I do. I think it’s great…but really, I’m just so happy to have her here that I’d pretty much be happy with anything. As long as she likes it.”
Henry sticks his hands in his pockets, “have either of them reached out to you at all?”
“No.”
“That’s okay. You know that if they do, you’re allowed to make those decisions too, right? Whether or not you speak to them is entirely up to you. We will support you, fully.”
“I know.” Dylan smiles brightly. He really does know that Andre’s parents will support him endlessly and that’s exactly why he has no desire to speak to either of his own.