Page 18 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

“Is it like you remember?” Leo hung by the door.

“Amazingly, yes.” Funny how comfortable everything felt despite it being three years. This house was my home in a way.

Two pairs of footsteps rumbled down the hall, which creaked like a violin.

“Oh, my God! It’s the twins fromThe Shining!” I yelled.

Ari and Lucy ran into my arms. I squeezed them in bear hugs.

“Uncle Dusty! This is so cool that you’re here,” Lucy said. She had the same black hair as Leo, while Ari had inherited his father's slim build and gray eyes.

This was one marker that it’d been three years. The kids were gaining on me. They came up to my chest now, whereas last time, they were belly high.

“Do we call you Uncle Dusty since you’re dating Dad now?” Ari asked, head cocked to the side, confused and amused like the rest of us.

I looked to Leo for the official party line. He swooped into the middle of the conversation.

“Uh, yes. Same old, same old for now.” Leo put his hands in his pockets and leaned forward, channeling some kind of Mr. Rogers vibe. “As we discussed, your dad and Uncle Dusty have gotten closer, and Uncle Dusty has decided to come stay with us for a little bit.”

“I thought Uncle Dusty was into girls?” Lucy asked in that whiplash way that kids spout off questions without regard for social graces.

This was not something we went over. Leo laughed nervously. Our eyes met, and I nodded. I got this.

“Sometimes, people can be into both girls and boys,” I said. “Love has no limits. Your dad is one of my closest friends, but we realized that we might like each other as more than friends.”

I went over and held Leo’s hand. This fake relationship presented quite a conundrum, but we’d figure it out. He squeezed back, sending a zip of pleasure up my arm. We could totally win at this couple thing.

In a desperately needed topic change, I unzipped my suitcase. “I brought you guys stuff from the set ofOcean City.”

I flashed branded t-shirts and notepads in their eyes to cast off any awkwardness about this arrangement. They gobbled it up like candy.

“This is so cool! My favorite character is Lena. What’s she like in real life?” Lucy asked. “Is she just as villainous?”

“Oh, yeah,” I answered, realizing how perfect Audrey was for that part.

“We can playRoman’s Choice?” Ari said. He wore plaid pajama pants and a Sourwood junior high t-shirt. “Have you ever played?”

I had flashbacks to the electronic sound effects and my roommates yelling at each other day in and day out.

“It, uh, sounds familiar.” I managed a weak smile.

“Ari, maybe you should focus more on homework and less on video games,” Leo said.

“I do my homework,” he pouted.

“Your grades say otherwise. You play that thing all the time.” Leo very noticeably rolled his eyes. “There are lots of better things you can do with your time. What about playing the piano as we discussed?”

Ari very noticeably eye-rolled back. I stayed far away from this squabble. “I don’t like it.”

Leo turned to his daughter, but Ari’s face burned red, and he left for his bedroom.

“Ari!” Leo called after him.

“That was a little harsh, Dad,” Lucy said.

“I know.” Leo sighed, the plight of parenthood weighing him down. “I wish he was more into his studies like you. How’s my brainiac?” Leo hung an arm around Lucy. “She’s going to be our next surgeon,” he told me proudly.

Lucy smiled along, the embarrassment coming off her in waves.

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