I pushed the thoughts aside as we joined the family downstairs.
We didn’t need to tell anyone what we’d been up to because it was all over Adam’s, Lex’s, Emery’s, and River’s faces.
Thankfully, the parents remained oblivious.
When it became too late and Carla started threatening to feed us dinner, we left and gave my mom a lift back to her place. She was quiet on the ride.
“Do you want us to stay over?” I asked as she unlocked the front door.
“Would you? I know it probably sounds odd to you, but after spending the day around so many people, the silence in this place is deafening.”
“We understand, Mom.”
Noah wrapped his arm around my mom’s. “Mathilda, do you by any chance have photos of Lior as a baby? I’d love to see how adorable he looked.”
“Oh, of course. I have tons of photos. He was the most beautiful boy. With his tan skin and dark eyes, he definitely inherited the European gene. We think there may be some Mediterranean blood on his dad’s side. Of course we can’t be sure because everyone’s long gone now.”
I couldn’t help smiling at the two most important people in my life, even as they colluded to talk about me.
Resigned to my role as an outsider, I went to the kitchen to make a pot of tea for my mom and coffee for us.
We stayed up longer than I expected after Noah asked to see album after album of my childhood photos.
“I would definitely have dated you in high school,” he said.
“My high school or yours?”
He thought about it for a while. “Oh. Yeah, maybe not. Besides, I think your silver fox look is by far the best of all.”
“I aim to please.”
Mom stifled a yawn. “Oh gosh, I think I better retreat. Will I see you boys in the morning?”
“We’ll grab a quick breakfast before going to work,” I said.
“Goodnight, boys.”
She gave me and Noah a kiss and left for her room.
“Boys.” I shook my head.
“It’s kinda sweet, isn’t it?”
“I’m forty?—”
“Seven years old, I know.” He rolled his eyes.
“If we weren’t in my parents’ house, you’d be in for a good spanking right now.”
His lips curled into a smile. “What if I’m really,reallyquiet?”
“No.”
“But I’ve been bad, so bad.”
“No.”
He sulked. “You’re the worst husband. What happened to meeting all my requests?”
