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Edwin smiled. He still remembered Andrew once saying how hard of a time he used to have falling asleep and staying asleep back when they’d first met. Now, whenever Andrew fell asleep in Edwin’s presence, it felt like the perfect confirmation of how important Andrew found their relationship to be.

Edwin planted a soft kiss on Andrew’s head.

“Does he know now?” William whispered. “About you?”

“He does,” Edwin confirmed. “He knows everything.”

“He must have been kind about it,” William said. “Judging by the continued closeness between you.”

“He was,” Edwin said. “He was more than kind, even. He was perfect.”

He blinked back a few tears. It was incredible, almost indescribably so, that Andrew hadn’t wavered in either his love or his lust.

“I’m happy for you,” William said.

“Thank you.” After a moment, Edwin tilted his head questioningly. “Does Agnes know? About you?”

William nodded. “She does. Actually, the, ah, the story we told you and Andrew earlier was the concise version. When your mother finally let me in, I had to first convince her to let me talk to Agnes alone, and then I needed to convince Agnes that I had something to tell her that was worth hearing. Your mother, bless her heart, trusted me enough to retire to her bedroom for over an hour while I conversed with Agnes here in the front room.

“I told Agnes everything. Ev-ery-thing. And I . . . well, I was maybe a little explicit. I was just too flustered to come up with any polite phrases that could convey the same information. But I needed her to know how I experienced certain . . . things. And I needed her to know what I thought our bedroom life could be like if she were to have me for a husband, too. And she still . . .” He sniffled and paused to swallow, seemingly overcome with emotion. “And she still wanted to marry me,” he said, his voice cracking the slightest bit.

“I knew she’d still want you, Will,” Edwin said warmly.

William shut his eyes, possibly to keep himself from crying. Edwin wished so fervently that he could pull his friend in for a hug. He settled on nudging William’s foot for a second time instead.

“Thank you for encouraging me to talk to her,” William said once he’d composed himself.

Edwin’s smile broadened. “Glad I could help.”

But then Edwin’s face fell as he remembered what William and Agnes’s engagement would mean for him.

“I have to talk to your parents,” Edwin said through an uneasy exhale. “Oh, God, I have to explain who I am.”

“I can be there with you when you do.”

Edwin swallowed thickly. “Fuck, Will, I’m terrified.”

“Don’t be. I know my parents. And I know they’ll be kind to you.”

“Kind is one thing. But I’d be in their family. Would they really want someone like me to be—”

“Yes,” William said. “Whatever you were going to say, the answer is yes. Edwin, they know how much you mean to me. And they know how much Agnes means to me as well. Even if they think your situation is strange, even if they think you are strange, they won’t turn you away. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that, though. I know you wish you could, but you can’t.”

“All right, well, I will at least promise that I won’t turn you away.”

“I might have to leave Albany, though.”

“Then Agnes and I will follow you.”

Edwin’s eyes started to become misty again, only this time, he couldn’t blink the tears away. Several tumbled down his cheeks, and he turned to try to wipe his wet face on the blanket that was still resting on his shoulder.

“Do you really mean that?” he choked out.

“Of course I do.”

Sniffling, Edwin said, “Thank you.”