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“Maybe I just shouldn't go.” Cameron says, running his razor under the faucet. He looks at himself in the mirror, half his face still covered in shaving foam. He finishes the job and wipes his fresh face with a towel. A furrow etched into his eyebrows.
Ferris is the one to reply, “Don't be stupid, ‘course you're coming.” he says, like it's the simplest thing in the world, while buttoning his shirt up in the bedroom. It's new for the occasion but by no means ‘professional’. “You are her dad too, can't just weasel your way out of it.”
“I know that, Fer.” Cameron rolls his eyes once he faces away from Ferris. For once Cameron isn't panicking about whether he deserves to call himself Sarah's parent. Now this is a different panic. “Just, all I'm saying is, isn't it a little strange? There being three of us?”
“I don't think so.” Sloane adds, entering to sit at the foot of their bed. An ankle gets pulled up to her knee so she can attempt to do the zipper of her boot. Cameron moves closer and does it for her, waits for the other foot to do that one as well. She runs her palm over his smooth cheek, “Different? Yeah, but not strange.” She kisses his face.
“What's so different about us and some kid who's got a mom, pop and a step dad?” Ferris adds, combing his hair in the vanity mirror.
“I doubt the kid's mom, pop and step dad all share a bed.” Cameron hesitates before going further, into more detail, however he refrains. Though with the look on Ferris’ face he gets what he means.
“Maybe they do, who knows.” Ferris shrugs, gets up and joins them on the bed, jumps with such force they end up in a pile. Someone reaches around Sloane and runs their fingers over her hip, she squirms, cackling at the feeling.
She sits up and pushes them away, almost off the bed. Catching her breath between giggles, she fixes her hair, checks her watch. “We'd better go, unless we want to be the freaks in the throuple and late.”
---
Cameron doesn't smoke. Maybe every couple of weeks in college when an assignment was really kicking his ass or he was drunk as hell at a party he was dragged to he would bum a cigarette. The health risks always scared him away from the habit. And since Sarah he hasn't even thought of them. But now, as he sits in the hallway of an elementary school, he wishes he could take a drag more than anything.
Maybe it's the distraction he needs. He reaches into his pocket for his keys and hones in on the rabbit's foot attached. He runs his thumb over the soft fur and takes a deep breath, returning to the present. Ferris is kneeling down with Sarah as she plays with a bead maze, focusing on the yellow track. Cameron looks at the artwork in the hall the class has done, hand turkeys for thanksgiving and self portraits for the new year.
Sloane steps closer, rests her head on Cameron's shoulder. “She's great, it'll be fine.” He hums instead of replying, wraps his arm around Sloane. It hangs against her hip loosely.
The door opens, a tan woman and her daughter are gestured out of the room. The young girl she's with runs to Sarah, and the two hug, rocking together for a moment. “Janey!” She shouts, a grin plastered on her face. The smile is mirrored on Janey, “Sarah!”
Sloane turns and smiles at Kim, the girl's mother. They also hug, though with less oomph than the girls. “How's things?” Sloane asks as they pull apart, her hand remaining on Kim's forearm.
“Same old, same old.” She fixes the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she shrugs. “Janey's doing alright, that's always good.”
Sloane nods, tucking a strand of hair out of her face, “Well, hey, call me and we can get coffee sometime. Leave Janey with the boys and we'll go out alone.”
Kim's eyes flit to Ferris as he continues to play with the two girls. They giggle at his display. She lets out a sigh and nods, relieved. “Yeah, that would be great, thanks Sloane.”
“Anytime, really.” Sloane waves as Kim takes her daughter's hand while they leave.
Then they're being invited into the classroom and Cameron's anxiety spikes again. He swallows down the lump in his throat and walks into the classroom. The tiny tables and chairs warp his perception more. It makes him feel massively out of place. He looks to the teacher's desk and sees three chairs laid out, relief washes over him as he sits to the right of Sloane, Ferris takes her left. Sarah goes to one of the smaller desks and begins colouring with the crayons laid out for kids as they wait.
The teacher, a lady not much older than them, sits opposite. She takes a sip of her coffee and puts her brightly coloured glasses on from where they hung around her neck.
She smiles at the three of them, “It's nice to see you all getting along for Sarah. I know separation can be hard on everyone involved.”
Sloane takes Cameron's hand and squeezes and he knows she's trying her hardest not to laugh in this poor woman's face. He prays they can just move on, but then Ferris opens his mouth.
“Oh no, we're not separated.” He says, takes Sloane's other hand, brings it to his face to kiss the ring on her finger.
Sarah's teacher looks between them with a poorly hidden face bewilderment before she blinks and clears her throat. “Ah, even better.” She settles on saying with a forced polite smile. Cameron's cheeks feel like they're on fire.
The meeting feels like it goes on forever, even if it was only fifteen minutes. They drag on with every look, every time they can tell she's judging them, consciously or not. Cameron gives her an awkward handshake, as they get up to go. The others do the same while he goes to Sarah. “Hi, papa.” She grins up at him, lifts the picture she's been working on up to him. It's a landscape drawing with My Family written across the top. Below there's four figures, one smaller than the rest, she's got her hair in pigtails, a huge smile on her face. There's two men, one taller than the other and a woman. They all hold hands, a large heart surrounds them. Cameron holds the page tight, “Is this us?” He asks, though he knows. She nods up at him, a sparkle to her eyes.
What's that teacher got to judge? That they love their daughter? Screw her, Sarah's great. Cameron thinks as he lifts her onto his hip. He kisses her check and whispers into her ear, “You wanna go to 31 flavours for being so great?”
She beams, “Yes!” as she tightens her grip around Cameron. They meet Ferris at the door, and as Cameron thinks they've gotten away mostly unscathed, Ferris moves closer and presses a soft kiss to his lips. “Ready to go babe?” He asks, a stupid smug grin on his face.
“Yep,” Cameron says, glaring at him as he feels eyes on the back of his head, he turns and tries to smile at the teacher but it's too far gone now. Sarah giggles and hides her face in Cameron's shoulder, as any child would when forced to watch their parents kiss. They exit the room quickly, and when the door shuts, he can't help but laugh along with the rest of them.