I walk through the kitchen and into the living room where the entire family including Cat's father is seated. He smiles warmly at Cat and she smiles back. I'm amazed at how much has changed between them. His eyes meet mine. His smile disappears into a frown. I pull out a chair for Cat to sit down.

This is going to be a disaster.

Cat's mom sets a grilled cheese sandwich in front of Cat. "I remembered you can't have lunch meat. Honestly, Cat with all the rules they have for pregnancy today, I don't know how you keep it all straight."

I help myself to a turkey sandwich from the tray in the middle of the table.

"She does have Alex's help," Dillion offers. "So Tiger, when do we get to see the ring?"

The sandwich I took a bite of turned to sawdust in my throat and I cough.

"Ring? What ring? Did Liam finally come to his senses?" Her father asked, and I tried to ignore his hopeful tone.

I take a sip of water to dislodge the sandwich. Sparing a glance at Cat and I find her glaring at me. I'm in trouble. I glare at Dillion.

"What? Oh! Wait, was this a secret?"

That's when I realized I caused all this. I never told Dillion not to tell anyone that we are engaged.

"Cat?" Cat's mom sits down, I'm guessing because she knows she'll need to, in order to prepare for whatever may come next.

"Honey?" Her Dad looks at Cat, confusion, only one of the many emotions playing across his face. "What's going on?"

Cat took in a deep breath. "Mom, Dad... I'm guessing Dillion already knows, but I am... engaged."

"We figured that much out, Cat, from the mention of a ring. It's, to whom, we are interested in," her father says, and I swear you could almost feel the barometer change to that of an impending storm.

"To me, Sir," I pipe in, but my voice was so shaky I almost sounded like an adolescent teen.

"You?"

Her father laughs, a roiling laugh that just won't stop. Every time I think he's stopped, he looks at me and starts up all over again.

"Dad, he's not joking," Cat announces, annoyed. "It really is him."

"But he's gay!" Her dad says, pointing at me. "I understand you may not like the idea of being a single mom, but honey, the kid won't stay a kid forever. You'll be able to date again and when you do, you'll find the right guy. There's no need to settle for... for... this."

Jeez, thanks, I thought.

"Dad, Alex is not gay," Cat informs him and his smile disappears. He gives her a hard stare, then me. When he turns to his wife, she just shakes her head in denial and so does Dillion.

"So the entire family knows about you two except for me!"

It surprised me to see the hurt on his face. "It was a mistake," I say, and he cuts me off immediately.

"Oh yeah, this is a mistake all right!"

"Tom, please! Alex didn't mean to mislead anyone he didn't know Cat thought he was gay."

"YOU thought he was gay?!"

Cat looked embarrassed. "Well... I had a good reason."

"Are you Bi? Did she see you kissing some guy?"

"No, no. It was nothing like that," Cat jumped in.

"My Brother, my twin who died, was gay. Cat saw pictures of him in my apartment and not knowing I had an identical twin brother assumed he was me."

Her father blinks slowly a few times, trying to absorb the information that is being imparted. "Okay? When did you find out?"

"Over winter break," Cat supplied.

"So you've been living together. You think he's gay. While you're here you find out he's not gay and in the short time, you had after that you thought... Hey, I got a good idea let's get hitched?"

"I love Alex, Dad."

I take Cat's hand in my own and give it a squeeze. She doesn't look at me. This is not how I wanted this to go down, but I will not be mousy about it either.

I let go of her hand and stand up to face down her father.

"Look, Mr. Fischer, I get this is a lot to take in. I love your daughter. We've been living together for months now and it's pretty easy to decipher the good, bad, and ugly about a person in that sort of situation, but the more I got to know Cat..." I look down at her, and she looks up at me finally. "The more reasons I found to fall in love with her." She smiles at me and I'm so grateful.

"Her strength, her intelligence, and I won't insult yours by not mentioning her beauty, enamored me from the beginning, but her compassion for others, for me, is what sent me over the top. It's been a long time. No, I never considered entering love into the equation of my life."

"Why not?" Cat's mom asked, her face contorted with worry.

"After my brother's murder. I just couldn't. My parents and I are estranged and the only person I have in my life other than Cat and the baby is William, who used to date my brother."

I look back at Mr. Fischer. "I swear to you, Sir. I did not intend to mislead or deceive anyone. I love your daughter and I want nothing more than to make her happy."

Dillion caught my eye, and I understood his silent transmission. "We are engaged and yes, I gave her a ring. But I understand Cat is going through a lot right now. I need you and Mrs. Fischer to know, and perhaps Cat too, that this is a no-pressure arrangement. We can stay engaged for however long Cat would like. There's no rush. I know she'll need time to adjust to being a Mom, figuring out what all that means. I'm here to help. Not to complicate things."

When I glance back at Cat, she has a tear rolling down her cheek. "Thank you!" she says, and she pulls the necklace out of her shirt. She takes the ring off the chain and hands it to me to slip back on her finger. I gladly do so.

"Well, you've had your say. Now I'll have mine." Cat's father stood up at the end of the table. He's a lot more intimidating when he's standing, but I refused to back down, knowing it was important not to.

"You two must have the weirdest "How we met story" in history and I... appreciate the care you've been giving Cat. She's clearly glowing from it. So long as you make her happy... I say... I'm all for it. Cat can use the support and it's obvious how much you care, but you hurt her," he points to Cat, "And I hurt you. Are we clear?"

I knew it was inappropriate to smile, but I couldn't help it.

"You think I'm kidding?"

"No, Sir. I'm just happy to have this chance to prove myself to you. You have nothing to worry about. I want nothing more than to make Cat happy, feel safe, and loved. I love your daughter so much it scares me sometimes."

Mr. Fischer broke into a grin and it looked so out of place on him. "Welcome to the club, kid. You don't have a clue what you're in for. Fischer women are amazing, but they're a handful."

"TOM!" his wife admonished, but not before a slight blush graced her cheeks.

Mr. Fischer chuckles and sits down. "I know we are just sitting down to eat, but let's go out to dinner tonight. The group of us, to celebrate the engagement."

Cat beamed at me. She looked like she just witnessed me performing some sort of miracle, and I guess in a way I did.

"That would be wonderful," I said, taking my seat, and Cat took hold of my hand.

The afternoon went great. Cat got to catch up with her Mom, and we all got to go over the baby pictures together. Cat told them what happened at the last ultrasound and how much of a help I was. I began scoring points everywhere.

By the time dinner came, everyone felt in a great mood. It had been a long time since I considered myself a part of a family, but at that moment I felt truly welcomed into the Fischer fold.

"I was thinking of going to the beach tomorrow. Alex has never been," Cat interjects and I can't get over just how beautiful she looks tonight. For the first time in a long time, she looks relaxed. Her laugh comes easily and her smile just takes my breath away. She turns to her parents and asks, "Did you want to come?"

I'm pretty sure her parents' shocked looks mirror my own. I was definitely not expecting that. "That's sweet of you, honey," her mom answers. "But you should have some time alone."

"Brittany and I are going," Dillion chimes in, and I'm surprised they are both trying to talk their parents into coming along.

"You are?" Mr. Fischer winks at his wife, who shies under his gaze. "All the more reason for us to stay home, I should think. We can use some alone time, too."

Dillion interjects with, "Eww, Dad!" and the entire table erupts in laughter.

Cat, however, looks slightly disappointed, and I hated to see the joy from her face earlier disappear. She must have been hoping to recreate one of those childhood moments where they were all together.

"Hey, why not come for a little while?" I offer. "I've never been to the beach, the ocean, or had a family vacation. It would be... nice, if you both came?"

The Fischer parents look at one another and smile. "Alright, we'll come for a little while and give you kids the night to hang out. Just don't hurry back, okay?" Mr. Fischer agrees for them both.

Dillion shakes his head in dismay and I know it's moreover what his Dad keeps implying than him spending more time with his parents. Cat is excited all over again and I find her excitement contagious. My first family vacation at age twenty-two, well, the wonders never cease.