“We are, but we never had any doubt he’d succeed. David has always excelled at the things he puts his mind to. He’s very motivated, sometimes to a fault.”
“It’s true,” Jessa said. “When we were in elementary school, he cried when he found out he could only receive the Student of the Month award once.”
I giggled into my hand just as the three boys descended on the table. Alex climbed up between Jessa and me as David and Brian sat across from us.
“Who are you?” Alex asked.
“I’m Olivia.” I smiled down at him. “Nice to, um, meet you,” I said, offering my hand.
He made a sputtering noise with his lips, sending spittle onto my top.
“Alex,” Jessa scolded. “That’s not polite.”
“It’s fine,” I said, waving him off. “He can’t possibly get more saliva on me than Sofie already has.”
Alex gave me a narrow-eyed look before grasping an iPad from the table and diving into it.
What was that for?
“Watch this,” David said to me, then turned to his nephew. “Hey, Alex.”
“Huh.” Alex snorted, his fingers gliding across the screen expertly.
“How old are you?”
“Huh.”
“Where do you go to school?” David asked.
“Huh.”
“Alex.”
“Huh.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Alex jerked his head up. “No way, yuck,” he exclaimed before returning his eyes to the screen.
We laughed. David was a good uncle, that much was obvious. It hit me that perhaps he liked children and wanted some of his own one day.
“Come and get it,” Gerard said, indicating to the barbeque.
I went to stand, but David waved me down. “Burger?” he asked, and I nodded. He left the table, clapped his dad on the back, and loaded our burgers onto two plates.
Brian fixed his twinkling eyes on me just as David set down my plate. “Ah, the question of the hour. Whatdoesthe mysterious Olivia Germaine take on her burger? Can I guess?”
With all eyes on me, I nodded. He rubbed his hands together.
“Ketchup,” he said, moving the bottle in front of me. “Because red is the color of love.” He paused, and David rolled his eyes before taking off almost half his burger in one bite.
“Not onions,” Brian murmured, “for that would make her lovely eyes cry.” I blushed furiously as Jessa giggled. “And sauerkraut is much too sour for such a sweet creature.” He hummed to himself as he looked over the offerings. “Yes to relish, because I know she has a naughty side.” He winked at me. David was openly glaring at Brian now, and Jessa watched her brother intently. “To top it off, lettuce, extra crispy, and a touch of mayo. How’d I do?”
I was about to respond when David swallowed his food and cut me off. “Wrong. Ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomatoes.”
He’d remembered how I’d taken my burger during our lunch months ago. I smiled and emptied some ketchup onto my patty. “David wins.”
“Bummer,” Brian said.
