“It won’t be long before you’re ready for a big boy bed,” I told him.
I got both Little David and Coby ready and ran down the stairs, carrying them.
“No running in the house!” greeted me when I came into the kitchen.
My mom gave me a put-out look. Some things never change. She’d been yelling that at me for as long as I could remember. The boys loved it when I did it, though.
Duke was waiting by the back door. He had figured out we were going for our run. Peggy took Little David and got him into his coat so he could go outside while I did the same for Coby. We walked out and put the boys in the tandem running stroller. Duke ignored Precious as he sat in front of Peggy to get his leash put on.
“Sorry, your buddy would rather go for a run than play,” I told the neighbor cat.
Precious glared at us as if we were dead bugs in her water bowl.
I let Peggy set the pace and just enjoyed the run. It had warmed up, so all the snow had melted. It was still in the high 30s, which made me miss LA even more.
“Do you have a date for tonight?” I asked.
“No. I thought I would go stag and hang out with Ashley and Scarlet. I hope you realize that you have to dance with us.”
“Unlike you three, I’m not socially inept. I actually have a date,” I said with a superior attitude.
“It’s kind of hard to find a guy when you’ve got a kid,” Peggy complained.
“Puhlease! I have five, and it hasn’t slowed me down,” I teased her.
She mumbled something about having a talk with Cassidy.
“Okay. I expect that I’ll end up dancing with my grandma and mother, so dancing with three more old ladies shouldn’t hurt me,” I conceded.
“Are you trying to piss me off?” Peggy asked with a stern expression.
“Lighten up. You used to be fun.”
That earned me a smack, and I saw a little smile touch her lips. I knew that Peggy could dish it out as well as take it. Our relationship had evolved into one where I considered her a part of the family. Not precisely a sister, but close enough. I couldn’t quite put her in the sister role because I still had impure thoughts about her. Peggy had been my first serious crush, after all.
We spent the rest of the run catching up. That had been my intent and was why I didn’t push the pace. We were both laughing when we came in the back door.
“You two are in a good mood,” Uncle John observed.
“We went for a run, and David was being a goof,” Peggy explained as we took the coats off the boys.
Aunt Bonnie came in, looking put out.
“That kitten is evil,” she announced.
“No take-backs,” Dad said to make sure it was clear they’d agreed to take him.
“He’ll have to be a barn cat. I’m not having that in my house,” she announced.
We would owe Uncle John big-time for taking Satan’s Spawn off our hands. Neither my mom nor dad made a comment once my aunt had all but said she would give him a home.
“Did you try on your tux?” Mom asked.
“Uh, that would be a ‘no,’” I admitted.
“Go take your shower and try it on. If we need to get it altered, we don’t have all day.”
Duke followed me up to my apartment, where we found Satan’s Spawn guarding the stairs. He took a swat at Duke but was bowled over. My hound wasn’t afraid of a kitten. Now, if Precious had been at the top of the stairs, we might have had a standoff.
“Silly cat,” I said as I scooped him up and gave him some loving.
I walked into my bedroom and tossed him on the bed.
◊◊◊
The tux fit fine, as I was sure it would. Adrienne knew my measurements from all the work we’d done together. She’d scored me a Ted Baker London ‘Josh’ trim-fit tuxedo that was blue with a contrasting black shawl lapel. That clued me in that Brook’s dress must be blue, too.
I called Adrienne to thank her. Of course, Tyler answered.
“Is the boss around?” I asked.
“David! We were just talking about you.”
“You’ve both decided you like guys and want me to get on a plane to fulfill your wildest fantasies?” I guessed.
She laughed, and I heard in the background, “Who are you talking to?”
“David.”
“Give me the phone.”
“Why is Tyler blushing?” Adrienne demanded.
“I was just telling her what a rare gift she is to you,” I said, sucking up.
“Yeah, I know,” Adrienne grumbled. “She’s as rare as finding a leprechaun under a double rainbow.”
“Actually, rarer.”
“Why do you say that?” Adrienne asked.
“Who else would put up with you?”
“Whatever. Was there some reason you called, or did you just want to rattle our cages?”
“I wanted to thank you for the clothes.”
“You know the drill. Get your picture taken in them,” she said and then got excited. “Maybe you could get arrested or get drunk and do something foolish. That would make them happy.”
“Gee, thanks. I think I’ll pass. The last thing I need right now is a scandal.”
“You’re probably right,” Adrienne said and changed the topic. “You owe me pictures of the kids.”
“I’ll send you some later today. I’m having lunch with my new ones.”
“We should look into getting a reality show for you. You could be like that family that has like a hundred kids.”
“Nice. With that, I’m hanging up.”
She laughed at me. I was glad my life was amusing to someone.
◊◊◊
