“I’m sure that between me and my friends and all those animals you heard, that’s exactly what scared the bad guys.”
Bam saw them coming and pulled the truck around to their side of the street. He unlocked the doors and watched as they got nearer, waving and grinning at them through the windows.
“Who is that?” Leo asked.
“That is my uncle. His name is Bam.”
“Did he help you, too?” Leo asked.
“He sure did. And he’s the nicest man you could ever know.”
“He’s looks really big,” Matteo said.
“He is. But he’s nice,” Ronan said. Then he remembered something that would win them over. “And you know what else? He is Mrs. Analise’s dad.”
“He is?!” Leo asked.
“He is.”
Ronan got to the truck and opened the door. “Hi, Uncle Bam!” he said more jovially than he actually felt.
“Hi, Ronan! Who do we have here?”
“This is Matteo, and this is Leo. I was just telling them that you are Mrs. Analise’s dad. They met her when they spent the night with Ruger and Lola and Harley.”
“Those are my grand babies! Did you have fun spending the night with them?” Bam asked.
“Yes, sir,” Leo said, sitting still while Ronan buckled him in the back seat.
“I want a lizard like Gerald,” Matteo said.
Bam laughed. “Gerald is special, isn’t he?”
“He didn’t like me. But my lizard will like me,” Matteo declared as Ronan carried him around to the other side of the truck and buckled him in.
“Alright, guys. I’m gonna climb into the middle, alright?” Ronan asked.
“You’re going to sit in the middle?” Matteo laughed.
“Where do you think I’m going to sit? In the back of the truck?”
“That’d be funny,” Matteo said.
“I got ‘em!” Maverik shouted to them as he jogged to catch up holding up a hand full of super heroes.
“Look! Puppy found our super heroes!” Matteo exclaimed.
Bam burst out laughing. “Puppy! It’s been a while since I heard that one.”
“Stop laughing,” Maverik said as he got in the front seat and closed the door before turning around to offer the toys he held. “Whose is whose?” he asked.
The boys pointed out which toys were theirs as Ronan strapped himself into the middle seat.
“Alright, we good?” Maverik asked.
“Yes,” all three in the back seat answered.
~~~
