“Too early to tell,” Justin said. “I hope we’ll be a good fit for him though.”
“Is he around?” Wyatt asked.
Justin threw him a sideways look. “He’s helping Sam pack the deliveries for the food bank. Why?”
Wyatt set the chocolate chip cookies on the table. “Oh, nothing. I just thought it’d be good if you could make sure the new guy gets a cookie.”
“I think you baked plenty,” Justin said. “What is this? Six dozen?”
Wyatt flushed. “I wanted to make sure there was enough for people to take home.”
Justin smiled, the tan skin at the edges of his eyes crinkling. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue, Wy.”
Wyatt looked at the stack of containers on the table. “Okay, so maybe I went a little bit overboard.”
“I’m not complaining,” Justin assured him with a grin. He slung an arm around Wyatt’s shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. Hugs were kind of a thing with Justin and Dad, and Wyatt liked them too. Also, he figured they didn’t get their quota now since Harper had left home, and Lettie preferred fist bumps to hugs. Wyatt was kind of their go-to kid for hugging, and he didn’t think he’d ever outgrow that. He didn’t want to outgrow it. He liked being in a family that was so quick to show love and affection. Things hadn’t started out that way for them at all.
“I’m gonna head back,” Wyatt said. “Don’t forget to save some cookies for the new guy.”
Like he didn’t remember his name.
Izzy.
He looked around as he left the break room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Izzy, but he didn’t. That was probably for the best in so many ways, since Wyatt was terrible at meeting new people without coming across weird and awkward, but it didn’t stop him from feeling a little bit disappointed as he headed home again.
* * * *
Dad arrived home just before lunch, and in less than ten minutes was in the kitchen, his hair pulled back and his sleeves rolled up as he chopped vegetables with the sort of fierce intensity that meant he had something on his mind. Dad’s hair was mostly gray now, but still shot through here and there with dark strands.
“How was LA?” Wyatt asked.
Dad set his knife down and turned to get a hug. “The traffic was terrible.”
“You always say that.”
“That’s because the traffic in LA is always terrible.”
Wyatt snorted. “Fair point.”
Dad leaned back, smiling at Wyatt and staring at him like it’d been years since he’d seen him, and not days. “Missed you, buddy.”
“I missed you too.” Wyatt snaffled a piece of carrot and crunched it between his teeth. “How were your meetings?”
Dad reached out and ruffled his hair. “Let’s save that for lunch, huh? That way I can tell you all at once.”
“Okay.”
He and Dad fell into an easy rhythm as they worked. Wyatt took over the vegetables while Dad cut the chicken into strips. Stir fries were easy and quick. Wyatt soaked the kelp noodles while Dad ground the ginger and the garlic for the sauce. Kelp noodles were lower in carbs than Hokkien noodles, and Dad was always looking out for ways to keep Justin’s blood sugar from spiking, and always looking to experiment with alternatives anyway. Dad approached cooking like he was telling a different story with the ingredients every time.
Lettie and Justin turned up soon after, and Lettie made gagging sounds when Justin and Dad kissed like they were newlyweds.
They ate at the kitchen table, and for a while any conversation took second place to the food as they dug in. Dad got that small, happy smile on his face he always did when he watched his family eating, because Dad didn’t just love cooking, he loved providing for the people he cared about.
“Not too spicy, Lettie?” Dad asked. Lettie sometimes had sensory issues with food. Dad always joked she’d live on cereal if they let her, and it probably wasn’t too far from the truth.
Lettie shook her head and said, around a mouthful, “‘S’good!”
“So how was LA?” Justin asked. “How did the meetings go? Are we gonna be doing another holiday special this year?”
