"You knew this was going to happen," Rachel says in a sing-song voice. It makes me laugh. I look around and see Luke and Quinton outside at a table. It looks like they're coloring, or painting. It's beautiful out today and I want to go play.
"Can Fluff go outside?" I ask, looking at my Daddy. He's standing up, still close if he's needed, but seems to be listening to Garrett say something. He turns his attention to me and nods.
"I brought Fluff’s leash and harness. If you want to go outside, I'll bring him out in a few minutes."
"Okay!" The three of us head outside together. I check once more before the door shuts. Daddy gives me a nod and I know that today is going to be a great day.
"Hey, Ty!" Luke says with a wide smile. They are painting and it looks like so much fun. I sit between Quinton and Orion, tryingto decide what I want to paint. An idea pops into my head and I reach for a piece of paper. I want a picture of me, Daddy, and Fluff to put in my play area.
"Is that your new Daddy?" Quinton asks after we all start painting. I nod, smiling hard.
"He is. We got the keys to our new apartment today." I'm too excited to not share that information any chance I can.
I pick up the paint brush for the orange and try to paint a cat. It gets a little smudgy, but I use the black paint carefully to add ears and a tail. Austin snickers across from me. "It looks like Fluff is a pumpkin!"
The others look at my painting and I join their laughter too because it does. I made him more like Garfield than Fluff actually is. "Oops."
We continue painting for a few more minutes. I can feel the sun beating down on my back and sweat is already starting to form on my neck and forehead. Before I can get up to ask Daddy for water, Rachel has a whole tray of water bottles coming our way.
"Make sure you all drink plenty of water if you're out here, okay?" We grab a bottle each and I chug a fourth of mine before Mommy Rachel speaks again. "Tyler, can you come over here so I can put some sunscreen on you?"
I nod and stand up from the table. It's not a full sized picnic table but it isn't one of the plastic kiddie ones either. My Daddy is sitting in the shade with the others. Daddy Garrett and Orion have a big backyard. The patio is spacious and covered enough to have a table big enough to fit everyone. I like it, but I'm also excited to sit with my Daddy on our little balcony and watch the water flow by.
Mommy Rachel sprays me down with sunscreen and dabs it on my face too. I laugh when she even rubs some onto my ears."Can't be too careful," she says with a playful wink. Once she's done, I'm instructed to sit in the shade for it to soak in properly.
I take the opportunity to sit in my Daddy's lap. He has Fluff on his leash and Riley is still trying to figure out how to play with him. They're cute together.
"Well hi there." Daddy rests one hand across my thighs and the other remains around my back.
"I was told I have to sit in the shade," I say. It's a bit sulky because I want to finish my painting.
"You do," he agrees. "You also need to remember that you have to limit how long you're in the sun and drink lots of water. I brought a couple of your electrolyte packets to add to your cup if you start feeling too hot, okay?"
I nod and rest my body against his. If I have to sit here, I'm taking advantage to cuddle.
"I like your bracelet, Ty,” Vaughn says. "What is it?"
"It's a medical alert bracelet." I hold my wrist up for all of them to see it. "If I get really sick again, it will tell the emergency people that I have Addison's."
"Your Daddy was telling me about it," Remington chimes in. I look at Daddy and then back to Remington. I didn't know they talked that much for him to tell them. It makes sense though, since Remington was already in the room with me at the hospital.
"I wanted to make sure you were around people that understood what could happen," Daddy says. "You can tell them as much or as little as you want about it, but I need to make sure you're safe."
"Thank you, Daddy." I don't look at the others when I say that because I'm already feeling shy. I don't mind that Daddy told them.
"Are you excited to move into the new place?" Garrett asks the question this time. I nod quickly.
"So excited! I'm painting a picture for my play area right now." I look at Mommy Rachel. "Can I go back and play now?"
"Sure, Ty. We'll call you back in for lunch soon."
I give Daddy a quick kiss before heading back to the table. I'm wearing a green shirt with a matching pair of shorts and my favorite sandals. If I stay out in the sun for too long, I get funny lines across my toes. I look at what everyone is painting.
Orion is obviously painting Riley. Garrett loves to tell the story of how Orion painted eyebrows on him. Quinton is painting a beach scene. I know him and his Daddy are going on vacation soon. Austin is painting a bunch of different animals. Luke's painting is…
"What is that?" I ask, looking from Luke's paper to his face. He's smiling and the whole group laughs.
"I don't know," Luke says with a shrug. "I wanted to see if I could mix all the colors, but I just created a blob."
