“Does that mean I’m the first?” Liam asked as he wandered into the living area that took up most of the apartment’s southside face. Liam grinned at him, freshly showered and shaved, wearing dark jeans and a crisp checkered shirt and tailored jacket.
“You just had to walk down the stairs,” Jamie told him. “You don’t count.”
“I always count,” Liam said as he went to greet Jamie’s mother. “You look radiant as always, Charlotte.”
Charlotte smiled, pulling him into a brief hug. “Liam, so good to see you. How is your mother?”
“Doing well, thanks.”
The three of them chatted for a couple of minutes until Jamie heard Phaedra’s exuberant shout from the front door and Kyle’s happy response.
“Looks like the Dvorkins are here,” Jamie said.
His mother’s smile widened. “Then let’s go greet them, shall we?”
It wasn’t the first time his parents had met Kyle’s. The differences between their social statuses had made things awkward in the beginning, but Charlotte was a pro at smoothing things over. Under any other circumstances, their parents’ paths would never cross, but they’d come together because of their children.
“Jamie!” Phaedra shouted in excitement as she made a beeline for him.
She wore a yellow dress and white dress sandals, the colors standing out brightly against her dark skin. Phaedra seemed to be mostly legs these days, the preteen racing toward her teenage years under the watchful eyes and loving care of her adoptive family.
Jamie scooped her up in his arms and gave her a big hug. “Hey, Phaedra. How are you doing?”
“Fine,” she told him as he set her back down. “Mama said there’s going to be other kids. Do you know when they’re arriving?”
“Soon,” he promised her.
The sound of the elevator arriving through the open front door heralded another arrival. Jamie and Kyle spent the next thirty minutes or so greeting their friends and family as they arrived. Phaedra, Donovan’s niece and nephew, and Madison’s nieces were directed to the game room where Kyle had set up a couple of gaming consoles to entertain them while the adults mingled.
No one brought gifts, just themselves, and Jamie was happy to see how relaxed his former teammates looked. The hardest thing about transitioning into civilian life was not seeing everyone on an almost daily basis. Calls and uplinks just weren’t the same compared to getting to see everyone in person.
“Is that your mother’spelmeni?” Jamie asked, eyeing the sealed container Matthew was holding while Jamie hugged Katie when they arrived.
“I know you said no presents, but she wasn’t going to be persuaded,” Katie told him.
“Where is she? I need to say thank you. I love herpelmeni.”
It went like that for the first hour, he and Kyle mingling with the people close to them and those they all cared about. Conversation bled from one person to the next, the happy mood affecting everyone.
Kyle came and went, orbiting Jamie as they made sure everyone was having a good time, neither far from each other. Their eyes met across the room from time to time, fleeting moments shared where it seemed like they were the only two in the room.
“It’s a very nice home you have here, Callahan,” Nazari said when Jamie wandered over to where the director and Stirling were chatting amicably with Donovan’s grandmother.
“Thank you, sir,” Jamie replied.
“I hope you’re both doing well?”
Jamie nodded, thinking about the therapy sessions he and Kyle were attending with Dr. Elizabeth O’Malley. Just because they were in the MDF Reserves now didn’t mean they could escape their time with her. Truth be told, Jamie was grateful for the private counseling he was going through.
“We’re good,” Jamie said, catching sight of where Kyle stood across the room.
He seemed to be arguing with Alexei about something while Sean and Tatyana ignored them. Valentina was chattering away with Sean’s three brothers, gesturing wildly, and whatever she was saying caused them all to laugh. Kyle looked over at Jamie and rolled his eyes.
Jamie didn’t bother hiding the smile on his face. “Real good, sir.”
“Glad to hear it,” Stirling said while Nazari hid his own smile behind his glass of scotch.
Extra chairs and small tables had been ordered from an event company and set up in the first level of the apartment, draped with white linen and decorated with exquisite centerpieces. When it was time for dinner to be served, the line for the buffet table went fairly quick.
