“As I’m sure your family is as well.”
“I hope so,” his dad said with a wink.
“I’m glad you’re still here, Grandpa,” Dani said as she joined them, slipping her hand into her grandfather’s. She was Angie and Jude’s oldest, a year younger than TJ.
His dad bent and pressed a kiss to her dark hair. “Thank you, my darling.”
Ben loved seeing his dad interact with his grandchildren. He frequently helped TJ with a Lego project, colored in adult coloring books with Dani, who declared the kids’ ones to be too babyish, and read stories with the little ones.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Burke. Dinner is served.”
At Connie’s announcement, everyone made their way out of the living room. Ben offered his elbow to Amelia, who, after a moment’s hesitation, took it.
In the dining room, the table was at its largest size to accommodate everyone comfortably.
“Ben, you and Amelia come sit beside me,” his mom instructed as she took her seat to his dad’s right.
Julian sat at the opposite end of the table with his kids seated between him and Kiara. Jude and Angie sat on the other side of the table with their kids.
“Julian, will you please say grace?” his dad asked.
Ben was still amazed whenever his older brother prayed, because ten years ago, praying would have been the last thing Julian would have wanted to do.
Ben was grateful for the chang. Now all the adults in the family were believers, and that brought him a large measure of peace.
Once the prayer had been said, they began to pass the food around the table.
“This looks amazing,” Ben said as he held the platter of brisket for Amelia. “Does Connie have a smoker?”
“She does,” his mom said. “And she makes the best brisket around.”
Amelia didn’t talk much as they filled their plates, but then his mom turned to her as they began to eat.
“So, Ben says you work at the church?”
“Yes. I work part-time there,” she said. “I share the job with another woman. She does mornings because she needs her afternoons free to pick up her grandchildren from school, andthen she watches them until her daughter is done with work. Since I prefer to work later in the day, it suits us both.”
“That’s a blessing then,” his mom said with a smile.
Ben had already explained to his parents a bit about why she didn’t work full time, and he was glad his mom didn’t pursue questioning about that.
“Could Cole and Annie not make it tonight?” Ben asked.
“No. I invited them, but Annie said that since Cole’s been so tied up with the clinics, she’s been trying to keep their evenings free to spend time together as a family.”
"That makes sense," Ben said, reaching for his water glass. "Those clinics likely take a lot out of him. He probably shouldn’t have scheduled so many for this summer."
“Except you can’t tell him that,” Angie said. “Annie said he’s determined to pack as much in as he can. Plus, it means he’s home for the summer.”
Amelia seemed to relax a bit as the conversation flowed around her. She didn’t engage in any of it, but she responded when something was directed to her.
“Is Amelia your girlfriend, Uncle Ben?” Dani asked, tilting her head as her gaze went from him to Amelia, then back to him.
A sudden silence settled around the table at the girl’s question, and Ben should have realized that it might be a question that one of the younger ones would ask.
“Amelia and I dated in high school,” he said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. “Life took us in different directions, but I’d like to think we’re still friends. We were good friends even before we dated.”
“Mom said you used to compete in figure skating,” Dani said, shifting her attention to Amelia.
