“Spam said the food will be done around two, so then I guess,” Grizz says, distracted by the baby. She’s smiling at the pink dog in Grizz’s hand, trying to reach for it.
It’s still early now. About 9:30.
“I think I’m going to take a nap before we go,” I say, yawning as I lean against the couch.
“That’s a great idea,” Grizz says, giving me his attention and waggling his eyebrows.
“I meant a real nap, Casanova.”
“I’ll be your alarm clock with my tongue—”
Tommy smacks him upside the back of the head, and Kelsey and I laugh.
“What the hell are you going to do when she starts to understand what you’re saying?” Tommy says, pointing at Dorothea.
“Obviously I’ll stop,” Grizz grumbles, rubbing his head where Tommy slapped him.
“Maybe you should practice now, because going cold turkey, with a mouth like yours, isn’t going to work.”
Grizz gives him the middle finger, and Tommy goes to swat it away, but Grizz moves too fast.
“You’re too slow, old man.”
“I’ll show you too slow,” Tommy says, swiftly getting Grizz into a chokehold.
I gasp but can’t help but laugh. It takes only a few seconds for Grizz to tap out.
He rubs at his neck. “Damn, you almost killed me.”
“So dramatic,” Tommy mocks, getting to his feet. He walks toward the kitchen.
“Wait!” Kelsey calls out. “I, uh…” She looks at me, then back at Tommy who is now facing us, looking confused.
“What’s wrong? Do you need something?” he asks.
I hold my breath as I wait for her to answer. I have no idea what she’s going to say. This could go either way. It’s not the signal we talked about, but improvising is fine.
“I think, uh…” She looks at me, and I give her an encouraging smile. With a heavy breath, she looks at Tommy again. “There’s one more gift for you over here.”
I carefully slide my hand under the couch to grab it and nudge it toward Kelsey.
“There is? I thought we got them all,” he says, walking over completely clueless.
Kelsey picks up the small rectangle box and hands it to him. He doesn’t notice the shaking in her hand, but I do.
“Is this the watch I wanted?” he asks with a smile as he pulls the ribbon off. “It must be. I knew you’d get it for me.” He takes the top off, and the smile falls from his face when his eyes settle on the contents. Everything goes completely silent. It’s like the world was shut off.
I’m holding my breath. Kelsey seems on the verge of a panic attack, so I really hope Tommy says or does something soon.
“Is this…” he starts, swallowing hard. He finally pulls his gaze away and looks at Kelsey. I see the shine of tears on her cheeks and the red in his eyes. “This is…”
She nods. “It’s…”
My gaze flicks to Grizz, who is lying on his side, head resting on his fist that’s propped up on his elbow. His curious gaze is set on them.
“Kels, you’re… This is…” His eyes flick back to the box. “Fuck,” he chokes out.
Grizz finally gets up, concern beating out the curiosity. By the time Grizz gets to him, he’s already crying. It takes Grizz a second to realize what’s in the box.
