Alex:So what keptyouup?
Riley:The penis,mostly.
Alex:Ha.
Riley:What's the dress code for Saturdaynight?
Alex:I don't know. I haven't really thought aboutthatyet.
Riley:Are we talking black tie? Diddy's white party? Luau? Backyardbarbeque?
Riley:Ballparkit.
Alex:I asked Hartshorn. He's wearing a suit. Five bucks says he rolls in twenty minutes beforeclosingtime.
Alex:If he shows. He's the one person who can get away with missing thisparty.
Riley:And whyisthat?
Alex:He's amazing. Really, truly amazing. Some people go to the theater or the ballet. I watch Hartshorn from thegallery.
Riley:Wait…do you have a thingforhim?
Alex:Cal? Cal Hartshorn? No. Hell no. He's in brother/uncle territory. Same withAcevedo.
Riley:Justchecking.
Alex:Jealous?
Riley:Is it an issue ifIam?
Alex:Sounds like a personalproblem.
Riley:This attitude ofyours…
Alex:It's ahandful.
Riley:Good thing I have twohands.
* * *
"That's Bumblebee,"I said, pointing at the screen. "He's an Autobot, and a loyal soldier. He's veryprotective."
Dave kicked his feet up and waved his arms, a wet gurgle accompanying his movements on the round mat. He was just over four months old now, and the cutest little dude I'd ever met. I liked Shannon's kid, Abby, too, but it was different with Dave. I got to see him every day, and the two of us had a gentlemen's gathering whenever Sam and Tiel needed some time together. Or sleep, as was oftenthecase.
"And that's Optimus Prime," I continued. "That's what we call your Uncle Patrick. I'm not sure whether he's always been this serious or he grew up to resemble the reluctant leader of the Autobots. It's a chicken and eggsituation."
He gurgled again and went to work at cramming his entire hand into his mouth. It didn't appear he was interested in a primer onTransformers, not when he had hands toexplore.
"That's cool, bro," I said. "We've got plentyoftime."
I eyed the row of bookshelves beside my bed. Dave wasn't mobile yet, but I'd moved my comic book collection to the top shelves the day he'd rolled over on that mat. I loved my nephew to pieces but a small part of me would shatter if he decided to use one of my early editionX-Menas achewtoy.
It was somewhat unusual that I lived with my brother and his wife, but I liked being around people. Specifically,mypeople. I enjoyed seeing them in the kitchen each morning and coming home to them each night, and all the times inbetween.
My sister-in-law Tiel was an incredible friend, and the one person in my family who never defaulted to comments about me being slow or immature. She'd never suggested that I'd overstayed my welcome at the firehouse either, and I couldn't articulate how much Iappreciatedthat.
I hadn't known what to expect when Sam and Tiel announced they were having a baby. I was thrilled for them, of course, but we had a nice little ecosystem here. I'd worried about things changing, or finding myself in the way of the new family. That hadn't been the case, and I'd only confused the squat bottle of breast milk in the refrigerator forcreamonce.
