“Are you serious right now?! I freaking told you that you were too big for the playground! And what did you tell me? You said that it would be fine, that they were built for parents to follow their children. You’re right, they are, but not when their parent looks like BIGFOOT!” she shouts up the slide.
Behind us, Andrew, my father, and Silas’s father bellow with laughter, folding in half as they slap their knees or each other’s backs. The rest of us have gathered around the front of the slide as well. Noah and Gabe are at the top looking into it, but neither dares to go in while Clay and Greyson stand beside me.
“Can you wiggle your way out?” Clay calls out to Silas.
We hear a series of grunts and bumps as he tries to free himself, only to end with a loud, frustrated sigh. “Nope. Definitely stuck. My shoulders touch from side to side, and my feet have nothing to grip on to help push me back up.”
“I’m gonna climb up and see if I can pull him out,” Grey says from my side.
He takes a step forward, but I grab onto his wrist, stopping him. “No, Wolf. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He turns to face me with a tender smile, cupping my face with his free hand. “I’ll be fine. I went down it earlier.” He pecks my lips as I release his wrist, chewing away at my lip as I watch him climb up the slide.
An employee walks up to me with a concerned look at that exact moment. “Is everything okay?” When I look at her, I notice several other employees joining our circle to see what’s going on.
“I’m not sure, one of the guys is stuck in the slide. Another just went up to try and drag him out.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh… should we call the fire department?”
“Umm… Let’s just see if this works before we bring in the big guns,” I tell her with a tight smile, praying we won’t have to resort to extreme measures.
A few moments later, Greyson’s voice resonates through the tube. “I see him! I’ve got him.” We hear shuffling and bumps against the hard plastic, then the sounds stop altogether. “Fuck!”
I get to the bottom of the slide, looking up but seeing nothing. “Wolf? What’s wrong?” I call out with worry.
“My pants are stuck on something, and I can’t reach back with my hand to get it undone. Fucking hell!”I’ll let this swearing slide for the moment.
“Great! Now we have two grown men stuck in a kiddy slide,” Cecilia whines with her head thrown back, clearly exasperated.
I look over at Clay, who watches with amusement while his wife giggles against his chest. He turns to me and shrugs. “What? I’m not stupid enough to go up there as well.”
I turn back to the employee with an apologetic smile. “I think you can call the fire department now.” She nods, pulling out her phone and walking away to get farther from the noise.
“Better get your checkbook ready, Sy,” Gabe calls out from the top while cracking up.
“Ugh! Why is it that everywhere we go, we end up making big donations because Silas always causes problems?!” Cecilia growls with anger.
“Because despite their grown size and abilities, they are still children,” Mira informs us, with Nancy nodding in agreement.
“Jesus, this is too funny. Please tell me someone is filming this? I’m going to use it as blackmail on my son,” John guffaws loudly.
“Hell, why didn’t I think of that? I want it, too!” Andrew adds at his side, still laughing.
“I am!” my father answers John’s question with a chuckle.
“Seriously, Daddy?!” I groan at the same time as Nancy says, “Andrew!” and Mira gasps, “John!”
“Oh, shit…” Sy suddenly says in a hushed tone, but his voice travels to the bottom of the slide.
“What?” Grey asks.
“I gotta let one out, man.”
“Don’t you fucking dare, Hayes!”
“I don’t know if I can hold it in…”
“Bro! I don’t care. You hold that shit in! I swear to fucking God, if you let it out, I’m going to murder you! I don’t care if we’re stuck in here, I’ll find a way! The minute help gets us out of here with their electric saw, I’m gonna take it and chop you up into a million little pieces. Then I’m gonna buy a dog and feed you to him!” Greyson angrily threatens Silas.
