Then we did some art shots. Pam dressed in a Victoria’s Secret pajama set, and I wore white silk pajama bottoms and no shirt. Coby was naked. I smiled when I thought about fifteen years later, when we could pull out his bare bottom and show his dates. Mr. Hill pulled out a bed for us to lie on. That picture made the cover of
Grandma Dawson wanted a picture of Dad, Uncle John, Greg and his kids, and me with Coby. I also added Little David to the group after we did the first few pictures. Peggy wore a big smile on her face, recognizing that I was telling the world that she and Little David were part of my family. I figured that Little David and Coby would grow up together and might as well think of each other as brothers.
Dad came in with Duke, and I had to laugh. I knew a family member had been missing. Duke hadn’t met Coby yet, and he sniffed my son all over. We got a great shot of him with Little David and Coby lying on Duke’s side. When the two little ones were taken off the set, Duke followed Pam and Peggy. He had another baby to look after.
I found Adrienne and Caryn.
“I think the moms are all happy. Jackie did a great job,” I said.
“She wasn’t cheap,” Caryn complained.
Adrienne and I just rolled our eyes. Yes, I could have had Mr. Hill provide a local photographer, and we would have gotten fine pictures. The difference between fine and great might not be much to the untrained eye, but to Adrienne and me, it was worth the expense to have someone of her caliber.
“Have everyone pick out what they want, and I’ll get them printed and framed as gifts,” I said to Caryn.
She gave me a look, but I wanted everyone to be able to remember today. I ended up getting the group shot and the magazine-cover shot for myself. Jackie also made photo albums for everyone with all the best shots. They had a picture of all the little ones as the cover.
◊◊◊ Friday April 15
Tracy ambushed me as I came into school. Apparently, with Pam not being around, she needed someone to harass.
“I’ve set up another blind date for you,” she announced.
That got me a little excited. The last one had been with Melinda Kesh, a Victoria’s Secret model.
“I’m hoping this one was in the
“Who is Bo … what’s her name?”
“Krsmanovic,” I said and pulled out my tablet.
I figured my phone didn’t have a big-enough screen to do her justice. Tracy wasn’t impressed.
“What happened to Hannah Minacci?” Tracy asked.
“She got engaged to some baseball dork,” I huffed.
Tracy didn’t understand the amount of effort I’d put into stalking Hannah. How could she go after some guy who was older and athletic? I was the younger version and just coming into my sexual prime. Hannah had made a colossal mistake.
“Well, you’ll just have to suffer through a date with Brit Callahan.”
I looked at Tracy warily. Her brothers had made it clear that no one was to date their triplet sister. I’d vowed to keep them happy since they blocked for me.
“What about her brothers?”
“I didn’t know you swung that way.”
“Very funny.”
“But seriously, that’s exactly why you have to take her on a date. They won’t kick
I wasn’t so sure of all that.
“You’ll take her to dinner and dancing at the T-Bird,” Tracy continued.
I liked the Thunderbird; they had prime rib on Friday nights. And Brit was a good-looking woman. I say ‘woman’ because she wasn’t built like other girls at Lincoln High. She was six feet tall, and I would guess weighed 160 pounds. The Callahan triplets were of good Norwegian stock. If you’ve ever seen women from there, they’re some of the most beautiful blond-haired blue-eyed women you’ll ever encounter. If Bryan and Brock let their hair grow, you might mistake them for Vikings.
Brit was solidly built, and I think she might have the largest breasts at Lincoln. She wasn’t the least bit fat. I’ve seen her hold her own with her brothers when they got rowdy. While she was no blushing violet, she also was one of the sweetest girls I knew.
I suspected that Tracy was right. The only reason she didn’t date was that her brothers kept a close eye on any guy who looked her way. I’d had them glare at me more than once, and it convinced me to back off.
“I would love to take Brit out,” I finally agreed.
◊◊◊
At lunch, I found Bryan and Brock waiting for me at the entrance to the lunchroom. I was walking with Cassidy, so I wasn’t worried.
“We hear that you plan to take our sister out on a date,” Bryan said.
Cassidy looked at me.
“Why haven’t you asked me out on a date?”
I raised my eyebrows, and she giggled. Did we really have to talk about our promise to her dad?
“We’re going to the T-Bird to eat and then dance,” I explained.
“We don’t think so. You forget, we know what you’re like. You’re not dating our sister,” Brock said.
