Coin Tricks by Willow Scarlett

Author:Willow Scarlett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay bear, gay romance, new zealand, mm romance, contemporary romance, romance novel, friends to lovers, twink and bear, gay twink, enthusiastic consent
Publisher: Willow Scarlett

Chapter Twenty

Up on Mount Eden the wind was cold and sharp. It got into your nose and burned your throat when you tried to talk.

Sid loved it.

I led the way up the winding walking track, dipping between trees and bushes and sometimes brushing against the road up to the lookout. Gina and Kiri came with us, Kiri bounding ahead and Gina pointing out every bird she could see. Warren skipped around us, sticking her nose into holes and tree hollows.

Sid walked beside me, hands in his pockets, wearing just a ratty t-shirt because he’d given me my hoodie back. He said he’d get too warm walking, but I knew he’d regret it when we reached the top.

“You know people used to live on this mountain? All those terraces were Māori gardens. Most of this bush is still native.”

“Yeah? Are you related to them? I mean, if you know…”

“Nah, my grandparents moved here for work when Mom was a kid and Uncle Anewa had just beet born. We all go up North for iwi stuff like tangi23 and weddings.”

“That’s cool. To know your heritage.”

“Whakapapa24, yeah. Mom wasn’t allowed to speak te reo Māori at school but she makes sure we know our culture and our ancestors. It’s important for, you know, the spirit. Because our ancestors are part of who we are.” I realized I’d been talking too much and Sid would be bored.

But he was smiling at me and nodding.

“You get that?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe. I only met my grandparents once. I don’t know how to get in contact with them, I don’t know if they’re even alive. But I never cared about that until I saw you with your family.”

Every time we walked past a stranger I would wonder if they thought Sid and I were parents taking our children and dog for a walk. I’d walked with Moa and the kids all the time and never thought that. But there was something in the way Sid kept an anxious eye on Gina that made it obvious he was responsible for her.

“Family’s not just what you’re born into. I mean, yeah, obviously who you share your genes with is important. But you can share genes with someone and be totally different—Moa says that there are enough people in anyone’s family tree that you can average out the bad influences, or focus on the best ones. But whanaungatanga25 isn’t just about being related to people, it’s about bonding through shared struggles and loyalty. So you can have someone in your whanau who isn’t a blood relative—like how Anne was one of us, even before she married Gerald and legally became our family.”

I wondered if it was a good time to mention how Sid and Gina were hurtling into our family. But I’d told him he wasn’t alone and he knew he had our support. The next step was for him and Gina to move in to our house where we could look after them, and Gina and Kiri could be sisters.

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