“Alexander!” a squeaky voice shouted as we stumbled into the baggage claim at Auckland International Airport.

“Zeke,” Alexander smiled, setting his carry-on on the floor and picking up Ezekiel immediately when he ran over to us, “oh hi kiddo,” he sniffled, hugging him tightly.

“You’re here!”

“We are,” he laughed, leaning back to look at Ezekiel, “my goodness, look at you. You were a baby when I left. When did you get so big?”

“I’m 11 now. Don’t be weird,” Ezekiel scowled before looking at me, “hi Mr. Caelan!”

“Hi Zeke,” I snorted, ruffling his hair gently, “it’s nice to meet you in person.”

“We talk every day!”

“Mhm, I know. But it’s not the same as being here.”

“That’s what Mum said too,” he nodded, pointing past Alexander to who I knew was Ruthie. She had given us space to see Ezekiel and finally walked over, her hands tight in front of her chest.

“Hi Mum,” Alexander whispered, setting Ezekiel down and immediately hugging Ruthie, his forehead on the top of her head.

“Alexander Thierry Bennett,” she muttered, rubbing his back, “you can’t do this anymore. Okay? We need you to come visit more often. I know you’re moving here in two years, but it’s been too long not seeing my son.”

“I…”

“We’re moving either at the end of the year or in January,” I called softly and Ruthie leaned past Alexander to look at me, “I already had all of my documents processed and transferred. I have my work visa ready. I know exactly what I need to do to work and live here permanently. He was the one being hesitant.”

“Really?” Ruthie came to me once she peeled Alexander off of her and I nodded, allowing her to hug me, “Oh, that’s wonderful, Caelan!”

“I did it for me to be fair. But yes. I’m very excited and thrown off by the fact it’s nearly winter here. It’s the end of spring back in Indiana.”

“Did you pack warm clothes?” she leaned away and I shrugged.

“I think so. I can always go shopping if I didn’t. I made sure to inform my bank I was traveling so they wouldn’t flag me for using my card here. I’m overly prepared for most things. I wanted to ensure this trip was fun for us, not stressful.”

“He also doesn’t like when I spend money on him,” Alexander laughed, taking my hand, “he gets annoyed by it.”

“I make plenty of money to care for myself. I don’t need you to do it too,” I scowled and Alexander kissed me, making me smile, “fine.”

“Ew,” Ezekiel scowled, causing me to laugh, “don’t do that. It’s gross when Mum and Dad kiss. I don’t wanna see you do it.”

“Fine, fine,” Alexander hauled Ezekiel over his shoulder, reminiscent of a sack of rice before we left the airport, all of our bags settled on a cart as there was no way I could carry three suitcases.

“Well, I brought Jake’s lorry so we’d all fit,” Ruthie unlocked the door to an oversized bright orange pickup.

“Mum,” Ezekiel whined from his spot on Alexander’s shoulder, “it’s not a lorry. It’s a ute!”

“It’s a pickup truck,” I laughed loudly, putting the suitcases into the bed, “it’s called something different everywhere. But Ruthie? Alexi told me you moved here when you were five. I’m surprised you’d call it a lorry.”

“I go back to Headingley three times a year to see my grandparents,” Ruthie smiled, “it’s north of Leeds where I’m from. I’ve never lost the accent or the different names for things. That’s all.”

“Fair. My grandfather Sebastian has lived in Montana since he was in his twenties and still regularly uses French to talk about things he wants or needs. It throws me off. I never know what he means.”

“Your grandpa is French?” Ezekiel gasped loudly, “I love French! It’s so pretty!”

We loaded into the truck, Alexander sitting in the front with Ruthie as I joined Ezekiel in the backseat. Once everyone was settled, I returned to the conversation I’d been having with Ezekiel, watching the city roll past us.

“Yep. I have two grandparents that weren’t born in America. One is French and the other is Portuguese. My aunt Silveria is Portuguese and American. My father Teodoro is French, Portuguese, and American, I think. My grandparents used a surrogate for him, I know that.”

“Teodoro is a weird name,” Ezekiel scrunched his eyebrows together and I laughed softly, ruffling his bright red waves.

“It’s Portuguese for Theodore. When my dad transitioned, he needed a new name. His dead name was very feminine. So he named himself after my great-grandpa Theodore and my grandpa Thélio. Hence, Teodoro Cristiano Solorio. Now Hope.”

“What does that mean? To transition?” Ezekiel tilted his head and I made eye contact with Ruthie in the rearview mirror. She nodded, clearly telling me it was okay to explain to Ezekiel and I smiled, patting his head softly again.

“Well. My dad was born a girl. But he knew he wasn’t supposed to be one. He never felt comfortable that way. So when he was old enough, my grandparents helped him to be the boy he is now. With medication, therapy, and surgery. It’s called being transgender. I even have a grandparent who is non-binary. Their name is Hyacinth. It means that Hyacinth isn’t a boy or a girl. Just a person. Gender expression is important to mental health and quality of life. For some, they live with families who can’t accept it. It makes me sad. But I have such a big and loving family that no matter who any of us are, we love each other deeply.”

“Oh! That’s so nice! Do you know what his name was before?”

“Normally, you shouldn’t ask someone that. It can be incredibly painful for them to share their dead name. But… I can tell you because he let my little brother use it as a middle name for my niece Cosette. It was Evora.”

“Evora is beautiful,” Ruthie smiled gently as Alexander watched the three of us talk, “it’s quite unique.”

“Portuguese as well. Very common on that side.”

“Your parents are Remington and Teodoro, right? Do they have siblings?”

“Teddy has a sister named Silveria. We call her Silvy. Remi has an older brother named Augustine and a much older sister named Madilyn. She was 16 when Remi was born. But uh… I found out not long ago that Madi was Remi’s birth mother. She was entirely alone when he was born so my grandparents adopted her as well and she told them to not tell Remi the truth. He figured it out himself and it’s been kind of an open secret in the family. It didn’t change anything for them though. Madi has never seen Remi as more than her brother.”

“That was good of your grandparents to do,” she smiled, turning off of the freeway and into another town, “my parents were happy to take Jake in when we found out about Alexi.”

“Where are they?” I leaned forward, gently rubbing Alexander on the shoulder.

“My Dad died a few years ago. He had a stroke. My Mum moved back to England to be with my grandparents once he was gone.”

“I’m sorry. What was his name?”

“Petteri. It’s Finnish.”

“Unique! I like it,” I smiled.

“Me too. My mum is named Beatrice. Jake’s parents are Wiremu and Aroha.”

“Hang on. I’ve never heard a name like that,” my eyes grew wide and Alexander poked my nose.

“It’s Maori. They wanted Jake to have a more European name,” he shrugged, “but I like Maori names. They’re beautiful.”

“What is New Zealand called to the Maori people?”

“Aotearoa.”

“Wow,” I whispered, looking out of my window again, “it’s so beautiful here…”

“Better than Montana?” Ruthie laughed and I started to as well.

“Well. I’d say it’s equal in terms of beauty but I can actually breathe here, even with it being colder. It’s so humid.”

“Good. We were worried about you,” she turned down a dirt road off the large one we had been following, “so this path will lead you to the farm. For future reference. It can be easy to miss but Alexi knows how to get here from anywhere and I’m sure that you’ll learn. Are you going to take him to your house?”

“Absolutely. We’re going to live there after all,” Alexander shrugged and I blinked a few times.

“Wait. We?” I leaned to the side to catch his attention and he nodded happily.

“By the time we move here, we’ll have been together about a year or a little more than that. It doesn’t make sense for you to get another home when we could live together.”

“Ah. I wasn’t thinking. I was mad at you for not processing what you needed and lying to me that I hadn’t picked up on that when we talked two days ago.”

“I told you I was sorry,” he sighed as Ruthie parked the truck.

“I’m not mad anymore.”

“I know.”

We climbed out after Ezekiel crawled over my lap to get out of the truck on my side and I froze as I stared at the house. While my parents lived in a single-story home that was long and wide, Ruthie and Jacob’s home was three stories and nowhere near as wide as my parents. It was a soft white color, the roof black shingles and all of the windows were two panels wide and thin, each one going from the exterior trim to the roof line, a piece of wood breaking each up by floor level. Someone had taken the time to plant corkscrew willow trees around the entirety of the home, each one reaching the second floor and I walked over, laying my hand on the trunk of one of them. A small bark came from somewhere and I looked over to see a puppy running full force to Ezekiel.

“Scout!” Ezekiel squatted down, letting the dog jump and try to lick his face.

“When in the world did you get a collie?” Alexander laughed, unloading our suitcases as he did.

“A few weeks ago. He was Zeke’s birthday gift,” Jacob called, walking from the front door and I realized how close I had been to it, my attention fully on the trees, “welcome to Taupaki,” he smiled, shaking my hand quickly, “What do ya think?”

“I love it already,” I smiled, still touching the tree.

“Good. Well, I made supper if you’re hungry.”

“It’s 1 in the afternoon?” I looked at him surprised and Jacob stopped for a moment, clearly lost in thought.

“Ah! Lunch. I made lunch, sorry. To us, lunch is a mid-day snack. Supper is what you call lunch and then there’s just dinner. You’ll adjust.”

“I sure hope so,” sighing, I helped Alexander with the last of the bags and followed everyone inside, smiling at how welcoming the interior was, “this house is lovely!”

“Thank you. We did a lot,” Ruthie laughed softly, “this is where I grew up.”

The interior was just as white as the exterior but there were small pops of color everywhere due to the art that littered the walls, the couches being bright teal, and the candles littering the coffee table. Unlike my home, every room was separated by walls, something I hated but could understand being necessary in a home as tall as this one as they would need the support of walls and beams. Luckily, it seemed as if Ruthie had taken the time to make it a home, regardless of the fact you lost sight of someone as soon as they turned a corner.

“You’ll be staying in the second home right?” Jacob smiled, leading us to the dining room after we set our bags down.

“That was my plan,” Alexander smiled, pulling a seat out for me.

“It uh… may need to be abandoned.”

“Why?”

“Give me a second,” Jacob sighed and walked to a different room as I shared a confused look with Alexander. Suddenly, he returned and I sputtered, nearly spitting out my water, “Caelan. This is my twin brother Harvey. Harv, that’s Alexi’s boyfriend Caelan.”

Harvey and Jacob were identical. Even more so than my twin sisters. They had the same haircut, stance, and movements as they joined us at the dining table. The only way to tell them apart was that Jacob had a few scars on his face and Harvey was deeply tan.

“Holy crap,” I muttered, “sorry. I have sisters who are identical twins. Growing up, the only way I knew who I was talking to was the fact my sister Cadie is deaf so she has a cochlear implant the same as my father Remi. I didn’t realize you were a twin as well, Jake. Threw me for a loop.”

“It happens,” Jacob laughed softly, “unfortunately, Harv is staying in the second home. He just got back from his time on the rig. We thought he’d be gone another month.”

“Rig?” I looked at Harvey and he nodded, grabbing a sandwich for himself.

“I’m a drilling engineer on an oil rig in the Taranaki Basin. I work 8 months a year and come back here for four. Been working there for twenty years or so.”

“Dangerous?”

“Highly,” he nodded, showing me the many scars on his hands, “but I enjoy it and make good money. Have a good crew out there. What do you do?”

“I’m a physical therapist. I work under a few people back in Indiana but I accepted a job as lead doctor at an office here in Henderson.”

“Perfect,” Ruthie giggled, looking at Alexander who sighed, “Oh come on! They’re waiting for you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alexander rolled his eyes and I looked at him confused, “I know what office you’ll be working in. It’s across the street from the hospital I’ll be at.”

“Really? Why didn’t you tell me!”

“Literally didn’t have the time two days ago. We fell asleep. I’ll be working at Waitakere Hospital. They’ve had a position for me for a while.”

“Why though?”

“Because our aunt is the hospital director,” Harvey laughed.

“Really?”

“My aunt Manaia has worked there forever and is finally director,” Jacob nodded, “she’s been trying to convince Alexi since he got his degree. They don’t have anyone that specializes in what he does and they need it. If you decide to stop being the lead doctor at your new office, they could always use you at the hospital.”

“I’ve actually been wanting to help run an office since I started working so I’m excited about this new opportunity but I’ll keep it in mind,” I smiled, patting Alexander’s leg under the table, “thank you, by the way. For letting me be here.”

“We wanted to meet you in person,” Ruthie waved me off, placing a plate with a sandwich in front of me and I stared at it for a moment, “I copied a recipe from a shop I like. It’s called a coaster. Fried egg, prosciutto, cheddar cheese, pepper, and lettuce. I hope it’s to your taste.”

“I’m not picky about food. I was just surprised. This looks wonderful,” I took a quick bite and smiled, doing my best not to wiggle as I was excited, “Oh, it’s amazing. Thank you, Ruthie.”

“Of course! While you’re here, if you’d like, you may call me Mum.”

“Really?” I whispered.

“Absolutely. What do you call your parents?”

“Teddy is Dad. Remi is Baba.”

“I was curious about that,” Alexander smiled, taking a bite of his sandwich, “why Baba?”

“I don’t know. I just grew up calling him that. Cash probably has something to do with it.”

“Cash?” Ezekiel looked up at me and I nodded.

“I told you, I have five siblings. The only one without a nickname is my youngest brother. Cruz. It goes Cash, me and everyone calls me Cae, Cadie, Callie, Cy, and Cruz.”

“Full names?” Jacob tilted his head.

“Cassian Ansel, Caelan Lucas, Cadence Juniper, Calliope Alison, Cyrus Oliver, and Cruz Orion. All of our middle names come from someone in our family.”

“That’s so lovely. I love that it’s all C names,” Ruthie giggled, making me smile.

“Yeah. Even my nephews and niece have C names. Oh except Annamaria. My sister decided against it.”

“Your family is huge!” Ezekiel gasped.

“Yep. But I like this more. It’s warm and comforting.”

“I’m glad,” Alexander whispered, kissing my cheek softly.

“Me too.”