Page 52 of Grounding the Baker
“You know how your uncles like men, and Billy’s mums like women?”
She nodded.
“Well, some people like both.”
“You mean bisexual?”
“Where did you hear that word?”
“Billy told us all about it. He said some people like boys, some like girls, some like both, and some don’t like any.”
“How old is Billy?”
“The same age as me. Well, he’s a month younger.”
“Is Billy the boy you like?”
“Ew, no. He’s just a friend.”
He would not push that anymore, and he was getting off track.
“How would you feel if I had a new partner, Maisie?”
“Like a girlfriend?”
“Or a boyfriend.”
She looked at him for a second. “Do you like both as well then, Dad?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Can I tell my friends?”
“If you want to.”
“Cool. Can I have ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch today?”
“Of course,” he said, getting choked up. He couldn’t help but feel pride in his little girl. “Can I have another hug?”
She wrapped her arms around him again and squeezed. After that, they went about their morning. Maisie had her breakfast while Austin made lunch for both of them. He was going to be on site all day, so it was easier for him to take a packed lunch as the customer was in a remote location.
Maisie had started going to the early morning drop-off club, which was at seven thirty. She had friends there and loved it, but didn’t like the porridge they served, so he always made her breakfast beforehand. It was an hour before official school time. That gave Austin enough time to get to his customer by eight thirty, or even earlier depending on where they were based. It also allowed him to stop off for his all-important first coffee of the day. By seven forty, he’d parked up the truck and was walking into Sylvie’s Slice. Liam was chatting to Giselle, but he looked up when the door opened, and broke into a big smile. Austin really wanted to rush over and kiss him, but they’d not discussed what they were yet. As far as Austin was concerned, Liam was already his boyfriend, but it’s not something he’d push for Liam to define– well, not yet anyway.
“Good morning, Austin,” said Giselle, with a twinkle in her eye, probably thinking she was going to pick up some gossip.
“Morning, Giselle. Morning, Liam.” His smile was only for Liam.
Giselle chuckled.
“What’s so amusing?”
“Just thinking how badly you want to jump over that counter and give Liam a good morning kiss.”
Austin chuckled and looked across at Liam, who’d gone bright red. He wasn’t having that.
“I think we need to cut Giselle off from her chocolate orange muffins if she can’t keep her nose out. What do you think, Liam?”
“I think that’s fair,” he said with a smile.
