Hurrying into the living room, Ronan spied Jude trying to get off the sofa. He rolled his eyes, but stayed silent. A minor miracle in itself. “Here, I’ve got you.” Ronan offered his hands to his best friend and helped ease Jude to his feet. He held Jude’s shoulders to make sure he had his balance. A week ago, Ronan had made the mistake of letting Jude go before checking if he was steady and had watched in horror as Jude melted back down to the sofa. It would have been hilarious if Jude hadn’t come so close to meeting his maker.
Jude sighed. “Thanks, man. Dinner smells great.” He took a few steps toward the kitchen as the kids ran down the stairs.
“I’m so hungry, I could eat a whole elephant!” Wolf announced before running into Ronan, who was holding up traffic so Jude could get to the table without the kids knocking him over.
“Yeah, well, what if the elephant wanted to eat you too?” Ronan poked Wolf’s tummy. “You’d be an appetizer. One tiny friend ravioli.”
“What would I be, Daddy?” Everly asked.
“You woulda be a spicy meat-a-ball!” Ronan grinned.
“You need to work on that accent, Uncle Ronan.” Aurora said. “You don’t sound Italian at all.”
Ronan begged to differ. “What do I sound like?”
“A dork!” Aurora sprinted past Ronan, leaving him alone with his daughter.
“Am I a dork?” Ronan asked. “You can tell the truth. It’s okay, I can take it.” Ronan knew his daughter would give it to him straight with her usual dose of sweetness. After all, he was Everly’s favorite parent.
“No, Daddy, you’re not a dork.” Everly kissed Ronan’s cheek. “You’re Super Dork!” She giggled and ran into the kitchen.
Ronan clutched his heart. This was how it ended. It would have hurt less if his darling first born had stuck a knife in his back and gave it a twist.
The front door burst open and in ran Lizzy and Ezra, both still dressed in their little karate uniforms, complete with white belts.
“Oh, no you don’t, monkeys!” Ronan grabbed both giggling kids. “There’s no way you’re eating lasagna wearing white.”
“We’ve got clothes for them,” Cope said, panting as he walked into the house, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. “There wasn’t time to get them dressed after class ended. Or now.” He pointed to Lizzy, who had stripped out of her gi and was left in her undershirt and diaper. She made a break for the kitchen. Ezra, now similarly undressed, was right behind her.
Ronan got off the floor to hug Ten. “Why do you both look so exhausted?” Each man looked as if they’d run a marathon.
“We had to recapture the runners.” Ten sighed. “Getting twenty three-year-olds to stand in one place at the same time is impossible. We should have gotten hazard pay.”
“It was Jude’s idea to sign Lizzy up for kiddie karate. I didn’t know I’d be the one learning all the moves. I ache in places I didn’t even know I had.” Cope slumped into his seat. “You’re gonna have to serve the meal, Ronan. I can’t feel my fingers.”
“I’ll take them next week, babe.” Jude patted Cope’s left hand.
“No way, pal. You got dizzy walking to the bathroom earlier. I almost had to scoop you up like that last scene fromAn Officer and a Gentleman.” Ronan started to warble the theme song.
“Tattle-tail,” Jude muttered. “Where’s Fitz?”
“Date night!” Aurora said. “My Daddies are gonna get stoned.”
Ronan snorted and started to choke. “What?” He’d known Fitzgibbon for almost twenty years and there was no way the Fitz he knew would go anywhere near drugs.
“They’re getting hot stone massages at some swanky hotel in Boston,” Ten said. “Aurora is spending the night with us.”
“Me too!” Wolf said, his mouth stuffed full of garlic bread.
“We can take Lizzy too if you guys want a quiet night,” Ten offered.
“Sounds great,” Jude agreed. “There’s some stuff we need to talk about.”
“I’ll go pack!” Wolf hopped off his chair and ran for the stairs.
“We’ll help.” Everly wiped her mouth and slipped off her chair. “The last time Woofie packed for himself, he forgot panties and had to wear mine!”
“Purple is definitely his color, Uncle Jude!” Aurora ran after Everly.
