“We had one of those,” Commander Catalanotto’s wife Veronica chimed in, in her crisp British accent. “We were lucky if we got two uninterrupted hours a night. That child washungry. We threw the rules out the window and started him on rice cereal and he finally slept for four hours straight. That was the night we knew we’d survive.”
“Jake took paternity leave because the twins had colic.” Zoe had a story, too. “We’d take turns getting up in the night, which only worked in theory, because Jake can sleep through anything. So I’d wake up—when one of the babies cried, I couldn’t not hear him—and I’d nudge him and snarlIt’s your night, and he’d stagger into the babies’ room. And one night he didn’t wake up all the way, but he got out of bed, and I’m lying there goingThe baby—I think it’s Sam, he’s still crying, and I finally sat up and turned on the light, and I saw that he’d opened the door to the walk-in closet, and he was just standing in there, like,I know I’m supposed to be doing something, but I’m not sure what…”
“I will never live that down,” Jake came up from his place at the grill and reached over to take and kiss Zoe’s hand as the entire group erupted in laughter. “When we celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary, Zoe’s gonna tell that story.”
“You know it,” she said, smiling back at him.
A loud clatter from the kitchen made the conversation stop. “Everyone all right in there?” Syd called.
“Guess what, Syd,” Luke called back. “Great news! When the party’s over, Space and I are gonna clean the interior of the fridgeandwash the kitchen floor. Hoo-yah!”
“Hoo-yah, indeed!” she called back as she rolled her eyes. “There’s a shelf on the door that’s broken. It’s rigged with duct tape, but it’s got a weight limit, and someone always fails to read the memo. This year, apparently, it’s Spaceman.”
As everyone again laughed, Colleen took the opportunity to lean in and quietly ask, “You okay?”
“Yeah, do I not look okay?” Ashley whispered back.
“You poured yourself a very large glass of wine.”
Oh, crap, she had. “I didn’t even really want any.”
Colleen held out her own plastic “glass,” and Ashley gratefully poured half into it, realizing that Col was still whispering to her. “…look great.”
Oh, God. “Yeah, he really does, doesn’t he?”
“You either didn’t or can’t hear me,” Colleen said. “I saidyoulook great.”
“Oh,” Ashley said. “Thanks. Oh, God. Maybe I should leave. I mean, I had an entire plan figured out, but…”
“Don’t you dare,” Colleen said.
“So I’ve been banished from the kitchen,” Jim Slade announced.
Ashley looked up to see him coming out onto the deck. His words were aimed at Sydney. “Anything out here you want me to break…?”
There was more laughter, but Colleen stood up since there were no empty chairs. “Here, Space, you can sit here.”
Jim looked from her to Ashley. “Oh. Don’t I… need to hold a baby to sit out here?”
“I’ll go find you one,” Colleen said.
“Oh, good,” Jim said. “Can you bring me an owner’s manual first, because I’ve never held one and I’m the guy who just broke the freaking refrigerator, so…”
“You’ve seriously never held a baby?” Brittany asked Jim.
“Don’t look at me,” Dave said. “I’m not giving up mine. He can find his own baby.”
“Mine,” Dunk announced, “has just filled his diaper, but even I am not cruel enough to hand him to a newbie like Spaceman Slade. I could use a little assistance, however, both in standing up and getting this monster, I mean sweet angel to the nearest toxic waste removal area, because oh my Jesus God…”
“I got this,” Jake said, taking the still sleeping baby from Dunk’s arms. “Dear God, you weren’t kidding… Come on, Senior. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
“Is it okay if I, um…” Jim was still standing and he pointed to the seat that Colleen had vacated as Ashley realized he was asking her if he could sit.
“Of course,” she said. “Yes.” As he stepped closer, she realized… “Your toenails are very pink.”
“Yes,” he said. “They are. Neon, I believe it’s called. Joe and Veronica’s daughter was offering mani-pedis, and the twins wanted their nails done, but they got into an argument, because some kid at school told one of them that boys couldn’t or shouldn’t, so I saidBoys, get in line behind me.And then I said,Yo, Veronica’s Mini-Me, I’ll take the neon pink, please. I feel it will work best with both my outfit and skin tone.”
Ashley laughed as her heart lurched. He was still so… Jim. Which made sense. Just because she’d kept her distance for the past few months didn’t mean that he’d stopped being funny and smart. “You were very right.”
