ONE

"You and Liam are now engaged."

Those words have been wrapped around my brain for weeks now.

"Lily...Lily!"

I jumped at the sound of Nicky Peters taking me away from my thoughts as he poured orange juice into my half-empty glass. "Are you okay, honey-bunch?" he asked in concern.

Nicky Peters, aka Nicholas Greene. Before meeting my other Dad, Nicky was a baseball player for the Colorado Spring Sox and one of the best. He told me his Dad made him play to be a man, but all my Dad wanted to do was make colorful clothing and make-up. He played baseball until he was in high school, but during that time, he joined beauty pageants when he finally came out. His Dad was unhappy once he found all the dresses and costumes and kicked him out. 

With the money, he saved enough to travel to Long Beach, where he works as a hairstylist in a salon. The ladies love him not because he is a handsome man but because he is straightforward to get along with, and they enjoy his company. He had one regular customer that came every week for a trim and older woman named Birdie. She was a sweet woman and loved my Dad to do her hair. She would even try to set him up with her son, but my Dad refused and said he was not ready for a relationship.

The story continues, earning big tips, living in a small apartment, and the terrifying part comes. One day, while closing the salon, my Dad walked home alone at night, and because his apartment was just two blocks away, it was easy for him to go back and walk to work. He was walking home and then attacked by three drunk and high men. Those men did not only assault him and verbally degrade him. They tried to steal his money but also learned of his sexuality that they almost raped him. I was only fifteen when he told me because that day would remind him of that tragic and horrifying memory, but it was also the day where he met Wayne Peters, his future partner.

Daddy Wayne Peters was rolling down the street with his Harley bike while on the run for a beer. He spotted my other Dad in trouble and rescued him. They formed a bond over beer and, yeah, fell in love. It took Dad time to open up to Wayne because my daddy is a big man and doesn't express much, but also because he was traumatized from almost being gang-raped, he wasn't sure he could trust Wayne. But love is love, and Dad reminded me when I see the love, I know it's love. He advised me if my eyes dilated, I involuntarily do something regrettable towards a specific person - its love.

 Daddy Wayne would visit Dad Nicky every week, surprising him with flowers, his favorite Hersheys chocolate, and other things. It was not Nicky's gifts but the love Wayne showered him with. Then one day, Wayne came over to Nicky's apartment bringing along his mother, and it turns out the woman who had been persuading him into dating her son was none other than Birdie. It was a happy ending for both of my dads, especially since same-sex marriage was legal. They wed on a cruise ship. They bought a home near downtown and decided to adopt a child.

Me.

In short, My Dad, Nicky, wanted to adopt a child from another country, no matter where. He googled, went on a legit website called Infancy, where you can apply to adopt a child, and saw a baby girl picture needs to be taken into a new home. My Dad cried to Daddy and said, "I found our little princess."

It took him a while to go through the application with finalizing with documents, tax credit fees, legal adoption court approval, traveling fees, and everything. I didn't know adopting a child from another country was complicated and expensive. My dads spent so much money that they were able to fly to India, and once they picked up that small baby girl from an adoption center in Mumbai. My Dad said that they knew I was home right away once I opened my eyes.

I was just an infant back then and was told that my mother abandoned me near the trash with only a pink blanket wrapped around me. I was a tiny little thing, weighed six pounds, and was malnourished because I didn't breastfeed after birth. I stayed in the adoption center for a week until the Peters could take me into their lives and bring me back home to Long Beach.

Growing up in a happily gay home wasn't easy. Since legal same-sex marriages are approved, some people find it disturbing and unethical. Other kids often teased me at school because I have two dads and one wearing a dress. Middle school was no different; they called me 'the girl with two gay dads,' and sometimes they would ask me repulsive questions like, who is the mom? And who is the Dad? Or the mortifying one was who popped me out from which ass?

I know societies think that one man and one woman should be married and quickly raise kids in a healthy environment in a healthy home, but things change. You couldn't turn a person's mind and body because other people find it gross. Nobody is perfect.

 I ignore all those jokes and insults. I tell them I'm happy to have two dads because they are my everything, the best of both worlds. It's like I have two princes at my side to protect me, and I wouldn't need to worry about it. I distinguish the two by calling Wayne Daddy, like Daddy's little girl, and calling Nicky Dad because although he dresses now in women's clothing, he has long hair and implanted silicon breast to make his boobs more extensive and still has his man parts.

I didn't care how he dressed, and he didn't mind me calling him Dad. He and Daddy Wayne are still my princes. As a little girl, I love Disney Princesses and their happily ever after. My dads would read me a story before I went to sleep, and I would listen to the change of voice and character. I enjoy being with them. I would always wish I could find a guy who could be strong and loyal like my Daddy Wayne and be charming and brave like my Dad Nicky.

Growing up, I believed that meeting Liam made my wish into reality until he was not a prince but a jerk.