Page 30 of The Home Game

“No one move,” Antoni shouted over the noise and River, who’d been reaching for a piece of bread, startled, knocking over Antoni’s glass of water.

It spread across the table, dripping down onto River’s clothes and the floor below. She wailed and Antoni closed his eyes and breathed deep until he could respond without screaming.

After a few moments trying to figure out what needed to happen first, Antoni soothed River, then asked Alexis to at least eat something that wasn’t chicken.

Next, he cleaned up the mix of soggy and dry cereal on the floor.

He got River dried off and changed into clean clothes, then coaxed her to finish eating. He made Reese a bottle, glad he was old enough to hold it on his own now.

Finally, after Alexis ate a reasonable amount of food and she and River were excused, Antoni pulled out his phone.

“Okay,” he said, looking across the table at Eli, who sat there looking glum. “I’m sorry it took me so long to check the messages. Do you want to see them now?”

Eli nodded but they still looked worried. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“Hey, no,” Antoni said, patting the chair beside him. “C’mere.”

Eli slid into the seat beside him, all big, worried eyes. Antoni put his arm around Eli and gently squeezed. “Look, things got a little crazy there for a minute but it’s not your fault. Sometimes I just get a little overwhelmed. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. This storm probably reminded you of the one last spring, huh?”

Eli nodded.

“And that’s probably scary. So let’s see what everyone has to say, okay?”

“Okay.”

There was a message from his parents, reassuring Eli that they were fine and were looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

There was also a message from Matty and, to Antoni’s surprise, it was a video. He was in his kitchen—probably cooking something—and he smiled big and waved. “Hi, Eli! Your Uncle Antoni said you were worried about me. I promise, I’m fine. I was home before the rain started.”

He rambled on for another few minutes, using a soft, reassuring voice as he talked about how much fun he’d had meeting them earlier.

And goddamn it, it made Antoni’s eyes sting as he wished he’d asked Matty to stay for dinner. Not just because there would have been a second set of hands to help him out and because Eli wouldn’t have worried about him in the first place.

But because there was just something so kind and reassuring about him that put Antoni at ease. Matty’s presence made that constant fear and tension that sat so heavy in Antoni’s chest loosen its grip, just a little.

“Can I watch it again?” Eli said when the video message ended.

“Uh, sure,” Antoni said, handing the phone over. “Watch as much as you want while I heat up your plate. And then I want you to try to eat a little, okay? Do you feel like you can do that now?”

“Yeah.” Eli smiled. “I feel hungry again.”

“Good.”

Antoni stuck the food in the microwave and set it for a minute. “So, you like Matty a lot, huh?”

“Yeah.” Eli smiled. “He’s nice.”

Antoni nodded. “Yeah, he is.”

“Can I send him a message back?”

“Sure.”

After Eli had finished eating and texting with Matty, Antoni coaxed Eli into taking a shower.

When Eli was done, Antoni cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, then stared at his plate of food. It was stone cold and he could have warmed it but he was too tired to make the effort, so he shoveled it in, not really tasting it as he tried to figure out what else he needed to do tonight.

Several hours later, after Reese was tucked into his crib and River was snuggled under the covers in the room she shared with her younger brother, Antoni sat there a while, just staring at River and listening to the faint noises she made in her sleep.

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