Page 74 of Sometimes You Fall

“Can I be on the team?” Bentley asks around his corn on the cob.

Astrid pats him on the back. “Not yet, baby. You’re not old enough.”

He swats her away. “I’m not a baby, mom. I’m eleven.”

“Chase is old enough though, isn’t he?”Scottie asks.

I clear my throat and look over at Chase. “He is. I’m sure Penn could use the manpower if you’re interested.”

Chase shrugs. “Yeah, I’m in.”

“The best part of the games for me is the shirtless men,” Gigi chimes in as Scottie and her mom both roll their eyes. “Do you play the games with your shirt off, Grady?”

“Jesus, Gigi. Can you not?” Scottie shakes her head.

Gigi just waves her off. “If you’re not going to appreciate the fine specimen of a man that knocked you up, then this old broad will.” She pushes a bowl of chips toward her granddaughter. “Just keep growing that baby, Scottie.”

Scottie’s mouth drops open as I stifle my laughter. Astrid giggles, and Lisa and my mom share a look.

“Hey, I’m more than just a baby factory, you know.”

“Mom, please don’t refer to yourself as a baby factory.” Chase grimaces as he takes another bite of his hot dog.

Lilly decides to chime in at this moment. “Where do babies come from?”

The whole table goes silent as Astrid’s eyes bug out and then lock onto mine.

“Uh…”

Chase nearly chokes on his hot dog, Penn stifles his laughter behind his fist, and all three of the matriarchal women sitting at the table share a look before Gigi pipes up. “Well, Lilly, you see… First, you need a handsome looking fella who has a package that intrigues you…”

“Mom!” “Gigi!” Lisa and Scottie shout at the exact same time as the rest of us old enough to know what sex is lose our composure.

Fuck. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard.

“Lilly, you and I can have this conversation later,” Astrid finally says, deflecting my niece’s curiosity for the time being.

Lilly simply shrugs. “Okay. I’m done now, so can I get up from the table?”

“Yeah, me too,” Bentley says.

Astrid nods. “Yes, but please clear your plates,” she says as the kids get up from the table.

“Chase? Do you wanna see my uncle’s backyard? He’s got a soccer goal back there for me to practice on when I come over.”

Chase stands from the table, shoving the last bite of his hot dog in his mouth as he mumbles, “Sure.”

Scottie glances at me. “You put up a soccer goal for him?”

“Yeah. He doesn’t have space for one at Astrid’s, so I put one here.”

“He has a backstop back there too,” Astrid adds, a pleased grin on her face. “You haven’t shown that to Chase yet, have you?” She directs her question to me.

Staring at my sister, I say, “No. Haven’t gotten that far yet.”

Scottie eyes me from her seat. “I might never get my son to leave this place now.”

Everyone chuckles before standing from the table, leaving the two of us alone.

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