“Congratulations,” he says, low, just for me.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, uncle Frank,” Kit sings as she comes over to accept a hug from him, too. “You better get ready. You are officially our number one babysitter.”
“Not sure I’m babysitter material.”
“You’ll do just fine.”
“I’ll babysit,” says Travis. The kid offers to do everything. All the time.
I share a glance with Kit.
We’ve got to find a way to make him understand he’s not a paying guest here. He’s part of the family.
“Boy or girl?” Ricky asks.
Kit and I share another look, this one lingering. “We don’t want to know.”
“What?” Dolores’s voice goes high, screechy. “How’m I gonna know what color clothes to buy?”
Annette shakes her head.
“Babies care about stuff like that?” Travis, as he so often does, chimes in with just the right answer at the awkward moments.
“No,” says Frida. “No, theyreallydon’t give a crap,” with the same inflection she’d use to tell me her fried oysters were up. She cocks an eyebrow at Dolores, as if to dare her to talk about pink and blue and that other nonsense. “I’d say you’re pretty safe with leopard print.”
Frank snickers and Ricky smacks him on the arm and a smiling Kit turns to look up at me, her eyes all soft and warm and full of love for me and everyone else here.
Family. That’s what this is. The rightness I remember from when I was a kid, the safety in being with those who care.
“How’s it going over at the gym?” asks Ricky, who’s finally rid himself of that responsibility.
“Membership’s up,” says Frank. He’s taken over the apartment and helps me manage the business.
We’ve been working with a local non-profit to make the community service aspect of the place official and suddenly, there’s an influx of interest where for years there wasn’t much.
Yemi’s at the restaurant full time and I help out when I can. I always make sure Kit takes days off.
Then there’s Travis. Our foster kid. I want to adopt him, but this shit takes time. The system, as several of us know, isn’t always easy to navigate.
And his mom’s trying to do right by him. We’ll see what happens. I want the kid happy. It’s all that matters. Maybe he’ll wind up with her. Maybe that’s a good thing.
“We’ve got more news,” I call out, swallowing hard as I turn to look at my woman. “So, the papers came in and…Kit’s divorce is final.”
“We’re getting married!” she squeals, unable to hold out long enough to keep them all in suspense.
Again, Dolores’s reaction’s the biggest and again, the rest of us are laughing at how excited the woman gets. Kit pulls the ring out of her pocket, slips it on, and shows it around. Dolores is too obsessed to let anyone near.
My eyes slide over to catch a look from Frank, a slight nod. He knows exactly what happened that day at the university between me and her ex. I told him the whole goddamn thing. If anything ever happens to me, I know that Frank, beyond a doubt, has my back.
It’s a damn good feeling.
Ricky sidles over. “You asshole.”
“What?”
He punches my arm and pulls a box from his pocket, slaps it into my palm. “Stole my goddamn thunder.”
