“Smart girl.”
“Hey, Callie, why don’t you cool it on the makeup?” Hayes hollers across the room.
“Leave us alone. We’re talking about boys.” I elbow Lake. “Watch this.”
His arms unwind from Leighton, and he takes a step in our direction, but she tugs him back. “Boys are dumb, and they smell,” he calls.
The whole room laughs.
“Speak for yourself,” Easton says.
Ruby comes into the back room. “Chocolate milks.” She puts them rather forcefully on the table.
Monroe slides off the stool and runs over to Ruby, stopping right in front of her. “Ruby, do you have bananas?”
I glance at Leighton. “I thought she was done with the National Day thing?”
She and Hayes laugh. “She’s on to food days now. Today is banana day.”
Ruby ruffles Monroe’s brown hair. “No, but I’ll send out one of the regulars to get you one.”
Leighton steps up, but Hayes goes along with her like a Velcro puppet on her back. “Ruby, that’s not necessary. I’ll stop on the way home.”
“Please, they need the exercise.” She leaves the room.
I lean back in my chair. “Curious minds, when you two start procreating, are you incorporating the whole name thing?”
Decker, Easton, and Foster all turn toward them.
“Are you pregnant?” Easton asks, eyes wide.
“No. She’s talking about my family and their obsession with family names having a theme.” Leighton meets my gaze. “And no, that’s ending with me.”
“Like what?” Decker asks. “You know in Tedi’s family, all the kids’ names start with Ts.”
“That’s like Leighton’s family. They’re all Ls. Lily, Lenny, and Leighton.” I count them off on my fingers.
Hayes turns Leighton around. “I never knew that. You never said anything.”
“It’s never come up,” Leighton says and turns back toward the group. “My mom and her sister are Lily and Iris. Flowers. We’re the Ls. And Skylar continued it with these three.”
Leighton smiles at the kids as if she’s remembering Sky fondly. I know it’s been a hard road, but she’s doing the hard work to heal, so I’m proud of her.
“How do Lake, Lincoln, and Monroe go together?” Decker asks, as though he’s trying to work out a puzzle.
“Streets. Lake Shore, Lincoln, and Monroe,” Easton guesses, thinking he’s right.
I make a buzzer sound. “Wrong.”
He winks at me, and I shake my head and smile. He’s always flirting.
“It’s actually Lake for Lake Michigan,” Leighton says. “Lincoln for Lincoln Park, and Monroe for Monroe Harbor.”
“Damn,” Foster says, rocking back his head. “You’re screwed, Carlisle. How are you going to come up with something?”
“The biggest struggle will be that the name has to match the theme. So, they have to find a fourth Chicago landmark,” I add to put some fuel on the fire.
“No, because we’re not doing that.” Leighton squares her gaze on Hayes, but I can tell it’s game over.
