She just puts her hand flat on my back for half a second on her way past the stove, the same half second, every morning, and then she's gone into her business, and I'm out of her kitchen.
Zorro after her, then Brick with his med kit already on his shoulder because Imani's got him running Mateo's blood pressure twice a day and he takes it more seriously than Mateo does.
"Rooster." Two knuckles on the doorframe as he passes. "Garage. That compressor's dying."
"It's dead." I don't look up from my cup.
He stops walking. "It's dying."
"It's been dead since October." I tip the cup at him. "You're talking to a corpse."
He points at me without turning around and keeps going.
Lashes comes in around seven with Hope on her hip and the baby's got a fistful of her hair.
"Hey." She drops into a chair one-handed and starts working her hair loose. "Is that coffee yours or Ruby's?"
"Ruby's."
Her whole body goes slack against the chair back. "Thank God."
"Sure."
"I'm not sorry." She gets her hair free, and Hope makes a noise like she's been robbed, and Lashes holds her out to me.
I take her without saying anything.
She goes still against my chest. Little girl always does.
I hold my coffee out to the side so I don't get it on her head, and I don't move for a while.
Hope's got her fist wrapped around the chain of my dog tags through my shirt, and she's pulling on it with her whole body.
Her mouth is going like she's working out something serious.
Lashes watches me over her cup.
"What?"
"Nothing." She sips. "Nothing at all."
"Say it."
"Nope." She stretches her legs out under the table and closes her eyes. "I'm having four minutes where nobody's touching me. That's what I'm doing. That's my whole morning."
"Take five."
"Don't tempt me, Rooster."
Nova comes in behind her with her hair still wet, drops her bag on a chair, already talking. "Ruby, I'm stealing a tamale, I've got clinicals at nine." She sees me and stops. "Oh, that's not fair."
"What?"
She waves the tamale at the whole situation. "You're standing there holding a baby. Being enormous. It's very effective, Rooster, and I want you to know it's working."
"On who?"
"Oneveryone.That's what I'm telling you."
