Page 3 of Chubs

“Where’s Luke?” I ask, looking around the room.

Luke’s usually anywhere that Axel’s at or with Craig, but he’s not here, and Craig didn’t say he was at Axel’s with the girls.

“He’s with Bella at the Aunts’ house today. I don’t think he wanted to do a spa day,” Craig answers with a laugh.

We take the path through the woods and veer off to Axel’s backyard instead of following it to Craig’s fort. Creeping silently, we climb the steps of the deck and stop next to the sliding glass doors. Keeping tight to the building, I pull my phone out and get the camera opened and set to video. I smile when I hear Craig smother a giggle at the conversation coming through the opened kitchen window.

“But you’d look better in pink, Uncle Axel,” Mia states decisively.

“Gold!” argues Zoe.

“Pwink!” says Alexia in her little girl voice.

“Which one is best for my skin?” Axel questions the girls in a serious tone.

That being the comment that caused Craig’s smothered giggle.

“The gold one. That’s the one Mommy uses the most,” Zoe insists.

“But he’s a pink ballerina!” argues Mia.

Leaning my head out far enough to see through the glass door, I spot Axel. Jerking my head back, I bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud and alerting him to unwanted visitors. When I get myself under control, I peek again then turn on the video. Holding the camera to film inside the house, I keep my head out of sight. Craig drops to his knees, peeks around my legs, and then does the same as I did. Sitting on his heels, holding his hands over his mouth, he looks up at me, and I can see the laughter in his eyes. This is priceless and much more fun than towing cars.

“Gwold!” Alexia says, changing her mind.

“Okay, gold. Put it on thick, though,” Mia orders.

“Why’s the container shaped like a gold pig?” Axel asks.

“Mommy likes pigs, I guess,” Zoe answers with a shrug.

“And it will make my skin smooth?” the big bald biker questions.

“It makes Mommy beautiful,” Mia answers confidently.

“You have to lay down, Uncle Axel. Yes, like that. Close your eyes. Mia, put the cucumbers over his eyes. Here, Alexia, you can put the gold stuff on. Smear it all over because that’s the best way,” orders Zoe.

I have a moment of concern that Craig’s going to piss his pants when I see him grab himself. After a moment, though, he gets it under control. Grinning, he peeks through the window again. Still holding the camera up, I lean enough to see the spa day going on.

Axel’s laying on the couch, head resting on the arm. Little Alex is smearing some thick, bright metallic gold concoction all over his face. His eyes have slices of cucumber over them, and Mia is busy painting his fingernails a bright, sparkly purple color. Zoe is supervising while smearing her own face in gold too. Next to the couch is a small children's table set up, complete with a tea set. Sitting next to the plastic teapot is a plate of cookies, and my stomach grumbles in protest of not being able to reach them.

All three of the little girls are wearing princess-type dresses and toddling around on plastic high heels. That’s not surprising for three young girls. What’s surprising is that Axel’s wearing a pink tutu around his waist with navy blue Nike basketball shorts underneath. The tutu doesn’t really go with The Devil’s Angels t-shirt he’s got on but matches perfectly to the high-heeled sandals that he’s wearing, even though they only fit on about half his foot. My guess is Bailey’s not going to be happy if his huge feet stretch out her shoes, but that’s his battle to fight.

Craig and I wait patiently while the girls finish up on Axel and then add the facial stuff to their own faces. Since Zoe already did hers, she helps the other two get theirs as covered as Uncle Axel’s is. Each girl puts cucumber slices over their eyes and lays down on the floor around the couch.

As quietly as possible, I slide the door open, and Craig follows me in. Walking up to the couch, I make sure to get a shot of each person, especially a good close-up of Axel. This is pure gold—no pun intended. Craig earns my love when he snatches up a few of the cookies and hands all but one to me.

“How long do we leave this stuff on?” Axel asks.

“Don’t know. At least until we’re beautiful,” Zoe answers with authority.

“Every one of you young ladies are already beautiful,” Axel assures them, and I have to admit, warms my heart with his words.

“Loves you, Uncle Axel,” Mia answers while the other two girls nod their heads.

“Love each of you,” Axel returns.

Our fun ends when my phone pings with an incoming text. Mia lifts a cucumber off her eye and spots Craig and me standing near the couch.

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