June
10 Years Later

I opened the front door and was bombarded with a chorus of children screaming, “Trick or treat!”

“Oh my goodness!” I said, feigning surprise. “Look at all these wonderful costumes! We’ve got a clown, a little Spiderman… and are you a Hogwarts student?”

“I’m Hermione!” the little girl declared proudly.

“You sure are! A hundred points to Gryffindor. And a chocolate bar.”

I dropped pieces of candy into each kid’s outstretched bag, then waved as they went on to the next house.

“You’re good at that,” Cole said. “Why are you pouting?”

“Nobody has gotten my costume yet!” I complained. “The closest thing is the mom who said I was a mad scientist.”

“Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, from Young Frankenstein, is a little out there,” Cole said. “And it works better when Frankenstein’s Monster is with you. Where is Elias, anyway?”

“Hovering over the charcuterie board in the kitchen.” I tugged on his purple coat. “You make a dashing Willy Wonka.”

He gave an extravagant bow. “Why thank you, my dear.”

Rhett came walking up and said, “She’s not your dear, partner. She’s mine.” He was dressed as a cowboy, and let his hand hover over his pistol. “How about we settle this with a duel?”

“Jim from Blazing Saddles doesn’t duel random candy factory owners,” I pointed out.

“My interpretation of him does.”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s a good turn-out for the party. Half the team has stopped by.”

“Cole made them come,” Rhett whispered.

“I heard that. And yes, I heavily suggested that if they don’t make an appearance, I would make them pay for it at practice tomorrow.”

“I’m just happy you guys have Halloween off for once,” I said. “I feel like every year you guys are on the road and miss it.”

“Pretty soon, Cole will be retired and can spend every Halloween at home,” Rhett said, nudging his buddy in the ribs.

“Bullshit. I’ve got at least two more good years in me before I start thinking of retiring.”

Rhett ignored him and looked at me. “He’s insistent on winning another Stanley Cup before he hangs up his skates.”

“We’ve got the core team,” Cole insisted. “Once Jameson comes back from the injured list, there’s nobody in the Eastern Conference who can beat us.”

“He’s looking good!” I chimed in. “His recovery is going faster than I expected. He’ll definitely be back on the ice by Thanksgiving.”

“Thanksgiving was two weeks ago,” Cole said.

Rhett rolled his eyes. “We know. You’re from Canada and you guys do things all stupid up there. Give it a rest.”

“It’s better in October! American Thanksgiving is too close to Christmas.”

The doorbell rang, and I grabbed the bowl of candy. “You two can argue about this without me.”

The last thing I heard was Rhett pointing out that Atlanta was in America, not Canada, and as such he should never bring up Canadian Thanksgiving again.

I smiled and muttered a few words to the party guests I passed on the way to the front door, then threw it open.

But instead of trick-or-treaters, it was my parents standing on my porch.

“Hey, nice knockers!” my dad said. He was dressed as in an Oktoberfest costume.

“Why, thank you,” I said, grabbing the door knocker and giving it a few knocks. “You’re the first person to get my costume!”

“Only because I told him what your theme was,” my mom said. “I brought cake.”

“You didn’t have to do that. We have plenty of candy.”

“Well I couldn’t show up with nothing.”

“Mr. Wilder!” Cole said, hugging my dad. “You’re looking very German tonight.”

“I’m here to drink beer, so I figured I would dress the part! Lead me to the drinks.”

As soon as they were gone, Mom leaned in and whispered, “I want to talk to you. About your… situation.”

I groaned. “You make it sound like it’s something scandalous.” Which, honestly, it kind of was.

“I’ve been doing my research,” she continued whispering. “It’s called polyamory.”

“Uh huh.”

“The four of you are in a polycule. Which is a combination of the words polyamory and molecule.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Mom.”

“And you’re… with all three of them? Rhett, Cole, and Elias?”

“That’s right.”

“You love them all equally?”

“I really do,” I said. “It’s hard to believe it, but my love for all of them is stronger than ever. And they love me more than anything.”

“And they don’t mind sharing you? Men are rarely good at sharing toys, let alone a woman.”

“It helps that they were already teammates,” I pointed out.

She thought about this, then nodded with the utmost seriousness. “I need to have a talk with your father.”
“Mom!”

“I’m just saying, I could use a little more muscle around the house.”

“We’re not talking about this any more,” I said, taking the cake from her hands and walking toward the kitchen.

All three of my men were in there—Elias was dressed as Frankenstein’s Monster, huddled over the charcuterie board. Half the cheese was gone.

“That’s not only for you,” I told him. “It’s for the guests.”

He responded with a monster-like groan. Behind him, my mom was rummaging through cabinets, complaining that I didn’t have a cake knife.

“You’re really getting into the mindset of your costume.”

Elias grunted and smiled.

“It’s the perfect costume for him,” Rhett said with a grin. “He can be an asshole to everyone and not get in trouble for it.”

Elias extended his hands out like Frankenstein’s Monster, then started slowly marching toward the other hockey player. Rhett pretended like he was going to reach for his gun, until Cole broke them up with his cane.

“Now, now. No fighting in the chocolate factory.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“June?” my mom suddenly asked. “What’s this?”

She had the medicine cabinet open next to the fridge and was looking at a bottle. I gasped when I realized what it was.

“I don’t like it when you snoop,” I said, snatching the bottle away and closing the cabinet.

“I was looking for a cake knife. Why are you on fertility supplements, June? Are…”

Everyone in the kitchen was silent now. The only noise was the thumping of the party music and the din of other guests chatting in the surrounding rooms.

“We’re trying,” I admitted through gritted teeth. “Or at least, we’re going to start trying soon. I haven’t had a chance to bring it up to anyone else yet.”

“Oh.” My mom looked at each of the men in the room, her cheeks turning red. “I didn’t realize.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“It’s true?” Rhett asked. “You think you’re ready? Last time we talked…”

“I think I’m ready now,” I said. “I’m just getting all my ducks in a row before bringing it up to all of you. I was hoping this would be a more private conversation, but…”

Cole wrapped me in a big hug. “I’m ready if you are.”

“Hey, wait your turn, partner,” Rhett said, shoving him away and kissing me. He unholstered his fake pistol and aimed it at Cole without looking. “Do you think I’d be a good father?”

“No,” I said. “I think you’d be a great father.”

“Huh,” Cole said. “Maybe I’ll retire sooner than originally planned.”

“After we get another trophy this year,” Rhett said. “You can go out on top.”

“Nine months from now would be July of next year… right after the Stanley Cup Finals,” Cole said. “The timing would work pretty damn well.”

“Everyone just slow down!” I said. “I’m not getting pregnant tonight. Maybe soon, but not yet.” I hefted my beer. “For now, I’m just happy to be surrounded by all the people I love.”

“And who love you, too,” my dad said.

“Baby!” Elias said, still in character as Frankenstein’s Monster. “Me good father! Yes!”

He picked me up and carried me through the party, groaning and fighting my protests.

Yeah. I was definitely ready to start a family with these three.

And I couldn’t wait to see them all become such amazing fathers.