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Bottle of red, or bottle of white?
Armitage Dameron-Hux glanced up from his menu as Poe muttered his indecision. One year of marriage, much of it spent shadowing Armitage through his oenophilia, hadn’t quite left Poe an expert in wine pairings. Armitage wanted to tell his husband it didn’t matter. Order whatever he damn well desired -- get a beer if it pleased him. Italy made those, too.
Still, Armitage interpreted Poe’s intense study of the wine list as an attempt to impress. He found it endearing.
He set down his menu and folded his hands on top. “I’m happy to suggest something,” he said. They’d come to their usual Italian haunt tonight in early celebration of their first anniversary. For the actual date, occurring on a weekday, Armitage’s son pressed for a sushi delivery and Marvel movie double-feature. This being a school night, young Han had to settle for whatever vegetable dish his other side of the family -- Ben and Rey -- had prepared at home.
Though neither had mentioned the significance of this milestone dinner, the restaurant staff displayed a higher level of attention. The best two-top near the window. Immediate seating. Bread right out of the oven with EVOO and cracked pepper. Armitage smiled through all the aesthetics, his silent assurance that they’d tip well.
“No, I got this.” Poe slapped the bulky folder shut as the waiter approached. He ordered the braciole over polenta with a bottle of the house Barbera. Interesting. He’d gone off the familiar path of spag and meatballs tonight.
“It’s a special occasion,” he added on meeting Armitage’s gaze, as though mind-reading. Good point. Eat outside the box, go wild. He ordered the braised lamb shank and mushroom risotto to pair with his glass, then took Poe’s hand when the waiter cleared the menus and water glasses.
He turned Poe’s wrist to bring the man’s knuckles topside. Poe wore two rings on the same finger -- Armitage’s college ring, a gift from Christmas past, and his thin wedding band. All suggestions for Poe to move the bulkier ring to his other hand went unheeded. His husband insisted they belonged together, and as they fit firmly with no signs of slipping Armitage learned to leave it alone.
Idle chatter carried them through the shared appetizer and salads. Poe summarized the high points of his day teaching fourth graders at Cloud City Academy; Armitage provided an update on a discrimination suit he’d filed against a local fitness center. Together they discussed potential destinations for their upcoming summer vacation, the two weeks when Armitage had young Han to travel. To this point, it served as a topic of contention between them and Han’s other parents, Ben and Rey Solo.
“You’re just allergic to fun,” Poe accused him, not for the first time.
Armitage refilled their wine glasses. “I am allergic to crowds, and lines,” he corrected. “I have nothing against the ‘rat kingdom.’ Ben and I went there a few times when we were dating. If they want to take Han and their twins there for the big family vacation, they have my blessing.”
“They want your presence. Han wants you there to share his first experience at the Galaxy Wars park.” Poe quieted while the waiter set down their entrees. Then, “You know, I’ve never been myself, and we don’t have to spend the whole two weeks with them.”
Armitage expected this argument. The so-called kingdom with its cluster of theme parks and entertainment complexes took up nearly a fifth of the state. He and Poe could easily slip away for a few days alone, either drinking at the international food court or feeling up each other on the haunted house ride. He imagined, too, Ben and Rey hoped to unload all three children on them for a night to give them some alone time. Perhaps if Ben’s parents agreed to join in on the “fun” he’d consider it, but the elder Solos were smart enough to book a cruise for the season.
“I’m not here to argue with you,” Armitage said, and forked up a generous bite of lamb shank. Especially not when the food tasted so damn good. “Han has the whole summer off. I don’t see why he can’t enjoy Galaxy Wars with the six million other people crammed inside the park during that week and then enjoy two weeks with us in a more serene setting.”
“Because ten-year-old boys live for serenity.”
Armitage pinned him with a hard stare. “I’m holding a rather sharp knife,” he warned.
“So am I.” Poe used his to spear a chunk of beef. “If you’re suggesting we borrow Leia and Han Senior’s lake house for a trip we can still do both vacations. I have the summer off as well, and you’ll probably sit on the deck with your laptop the whole time.”
“Why am I nursing the suspicion that Ben and Rey have gotten to you?”
Poe swallowed his last bite and set down his utensils. He reached behind his chair and produced a card envelope, which he handed across the table to Armitage.
“What’s this?” Armitage asked, confused and feeling like a heel. “We agreed on no gifts.”
“It’s not from me. Open it. It’s kind of relevant to the other thing we’ve been talking about.”
Inside the envelope was a generic greeting card festooned with butterflies and flowers. Armitage opened it and recognized Rey’s handwriting. The right blank panel contained two short sentences. I want to do it. Ben is okay with it if you are.
Armitage’s pulse kicked up speed. The card trembled in his grip and he turned his gaze up at his smiling husband. “Is she serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
He read the note again. When he and Ben were married, Rey had served as their surrogate. She carried and gave birth to young Han, and used the money given her to attend school. Some time after their divorce, Ben reconnected with Rey in a different capacity and the two fell in love. A one in a million shot, probably, but it brought Rey back into young Han’s life as his mother. Her relationship with Armitage began contentiously but warmed over time, largely when he and Poe became a couple.
Now she was offering to surrogate a child for him and Poe. This would not only give young Han another sibling, but connect a child of his to Rey’s daughters with Ben, by blood. Expand their unique family. Give the town gossips fresh speculations to share.
“What do you think, Mr. Dameron-Hux?”
Armitage returned the card to its envelope. “I think, Mr. Dameron-Hux, I love you,” he said, “and that this is a most generous offer. Not just from Rey, but Ben as well. It’s not like they’re helping us adopt a rescue from an animal shelter. She’s willing to carry a child for us, and it will affect them.” For him, again. “If she and Ben were thinking of having any more themselves --”
“They’re not. Ben told me three’s plenty for him.”
The waiter cleared their entree plates and announced the coffee and tiramisu were forthcoming. Poe then added, “Funny, though, he didn’t seem to have an issue with Rey being pregnant again. You think he has a fetish?”
“Please. I’ve just eaten.” Armitage divvied up the rest of the wine, still processing this revelation. The subject of children between them passed initially as idle conversation. Poe, being a teacher, loved kids and was willing to co-parent. Armitage adored his son with Ben, who was growing older. Young Han already had a substantial age gap with his sisters, so a new addition -- while not unwelcome -- stood to hard reset Armitage’s parental instincts.
Nonetheless, the idea of a child with Poe appealed to him. It made sense for Rey to surrogate for them, yet a decision like this couldn’t be made over coffee and tiramisu.
He held up the remainder of his wine and clinked the glass to Poe’s. “Happy anniversary,” he said. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Poe said, and sipped his wine. “We don’t have to decide right away, either. Ben and Rey invited us to dinner for a deeper discussion.”
“That's fine. When?”
Poe smiled. “This summer. They reserved a table for seven at the finest Italian restaurant in the rat kingdom.”
Armitage was about to dig into his dessert, but instead set down his spoon to rub the bridge of his nose. Well, of course they did. He knew when he was beaten. “Very well,” he said. “I take it they’ll pick up the check, so we’re ordering wine.”
“A bottle of white, a bottle of red?”
“Yes,” Armitage said.