I called Brook to let her know what had happened last night. She was surprisingly okay with it. I guess she’d finally come around to the fact that I loved her and wouldn’t stray. The Destiny incident, where Brook had assumed I’d slept with her, had made Brook realize I would never hurt her that way. If she knew what my mom had gone through, and the promise I’d made to her, she would never have had to worry.
◊◊◊
I met Brit coming in the door of my apartment. Precious wanted to stay with her, but I made the cat go out. When I let Duke out of the house, he got the vibe that the cat from hell was back and gave her a wide berth. She ran to the door and started to meow. I was wise to her and made sure I was out of reach when I opened the door to let her in. She did try to take a swipe at me.
Duke was acting like a total goof because there was about four inches of snow on the ground. I contemplated getting the snow shovel out to clear the sidewalks and driveway when I saw Wolf pull up with Yuri. Duke decided he should help supervise as I walked into the house.
I found Melanie puttering around in the kitchen. She looked up when she heard me.
“Your mom tells me you eat a special diet. After I check to see what all you have, I plan to go to the grocery store later this morning.”
“I try to eat high protein with low carbs when I can, as well as a lot of vegetables and fruit. I’m not as strict about it as I should be, so don’t worry if you don’t do it all the time. Plus, I sometimes just poach some chicken and eat salads if Mom and Dad are eating something I really shouldn’t have.”
Mom and Dad came downstairs.
“Go get the boys,” Mom told me.
I ran upstairs and found Peggy dressing Coby. Little David was standing up in the playpen and reached up to be picked up.
“You’re getting too big for this,” I told him.
“I agree. I think he needs to get a job while he’s at it,” Peggy said.
Coby reached for me too.
“You little traitor,” Peggy teased my son as she handed him to me.
I spun in a circle, ran out into the hall, and bounded down the stairs. The boys loved it when I did that and were all giggles when I came into the kitchen.
“You better not get them too wound up because they’re going to church with us today,” Mom warned me.
Like being fussed over by every woman at church wouldn’t do exactly that.
Mom talked to Melanie about who all would be coming this week. I was surprised to find out it wouldn’t be just family. It was almost everyone I knew who would be in town for Thanksgiving and/or our championship game. We’d found out last night we would play Wesleyan. Somehow, I couldn’t think of a more fitting opponent.
I figured out that Wolf and Yuri had planned it so they would get fed. I didn’t blame them; we’d discovered that Melanie was a good cook. Then again, it was hard to mess up ham and eggs. She cut slices of tomato and put cottage cheese on top for me instead of hash browns. Someone had actually listened to me.
◊◊◊
The boys did well at church. I suspected that Mom brought them to get some women who’d been requesting to see the babies off her back. Most everyone wanted to talk about football and the upcoming game. The whole town was buzzing about it, so I should have expected it at church. It was kept to a minimum because my mom was with me and wouldn’t put up with too much foolishness.
When we got home, Scarlet texted me that Ashley and her boys were almost here. Scarlet asked if I would come over and help them unload her car. Mom and Dad accompanied me so they could see their grandkids.
We only had to wait a few minutes for Ashley to call Scarlet to let us know they were downstairs. Dad and I went down to help her move her stuff in.
“I almost killed us,” Ashley announced. “I didn’t expect there to be snow this early.”
After giving her a hug, I helped her get Dawson and Allen out of the car. They were happy to be set free. I took Ashley upstairs so the girls could get reacquainted, then returned to help Dad get everything upstairs. With the carts and elevator, it didn’t take long.
“They haven’t eaten,” Mom announced when we were done.
“And I need to pick up a few things,” Ashley said.
“Call in an order for food, and I’ll take Ashley shopping,” I said.
I think it was actually a ploy for Ashley to talk to me alone. When we got into her car, she turned to me. Before I could say anything, she leaned over and pulled me into a bear hug.
“You have no idea what you’ve done for both Scarlet and me. Neither of our parents wanted us under their roof while we raised a family. Your mom has been great. I wish she were mine.”
“Careful what you wish for.”
“No, seriously. You do know how lucky you are, don’t you?” Ashley asked.
“I do,” I admitted.
Both of my parents had been pretty great about all this.
There was a knock on the window; it was Pam. She jumped into the back seat.
“Ashley, this is Pam, Coby’s mother.”
“Peggy’s coming over with the boys,” Pam said.
“Is Peggy’s son yours as well?” Ashley asked.
