Dex raises the spatula like he's saluting. "Our hero."
Natalie laughs and sets the bowl on the table.
Maddie bursts out the door right behind her.
"Daddy!" she shouts. "We're starting hockey!"
"Already?"
"Yes," she says. "The kids voted."
Dex nods seriously. "Democracy."
Five kids run past us with plastic sticks.
One of them trips over a lawn chair.
Nobody notices.
"We're making teams!" Maddie says.
"I want Gabriel," one kid announces.
"Of course you do," Dex says. "He's the only one here with actual skill."
"Rude," Bobby calls from the cooler.
"Truth hurts," Dex replies.
Maddie points a stick at me. "You're on my team."
"Naturally," I say.
"Dex," she adds, "you're not."
Dex clutches his chest. "Devastating."
"You cheat," Maddie explains.
"Allegedly," Dex says.
The lawn hockey game starts with absolutely no organization.
Kids run in every direction.
Someone brings out a plastic puck.
Colby misses it completely and nearly falls over.
"Great start," Bobby says.
"I was distracted," Colby replies.
"By what?" Dex asks.
"Your personality and Sloane, of course."
Natalie is standing near the patio with a drink, laughing at the mayhem.
