Page 101 of Just A Little Fling

“Feel better now, sunshine?”

I nodded enthusiastically and said, “I do, Babbo. It’s better. My brain moved so fast that I got dizzy. Gonna think now.” Babbo straightened my long sleeve shirt that actually kept me warm and the T-shirt I wore over it because it was pretty. Once I was all tucked in properly, he buttoned me up and redid my clasps.

“Can you help me finish setting up?” Babbo playfully shoved me off his lap onto the couch. The pain when my bum hit the sofa made me groan, but it hurt so good. The dull ache was a constant reminder that he loved me unconditionally, even when I wasn’t being very lovable or nice. It took me a minute, but I knew he did. And I loved him too.

“I can help!” I scrambled off the couch and headed to the kitchen. Each step was a sharp reminder of what Babbo and I had done this morning and just now. I moved a little faster to make it hurt a little more. My kitchen job was to stock the silverware organizer. I made sure to keep the spoons, forks, and knives in their separate cubbies and put the napkins on the other side. When I was finished, Babbo asked me to make the teeny-tiny tea sandwiches look pretty on one platter with all the chopped veggies on the other. I had just finished placing my last cucumber when the doorbell rang.

“Babbo!” I hollered. “Everybody’s here!”

“Well, let them in,” Babbo yelled back.

I threw the door open, and Jakob burst through it. He wrapped his arms around me for a giant bear hug before stepping back and doing a happy dance of excitement. Jakob’s happiness was always infectious. I joined in his happy dance, and we shook our butts all the way into the kitchen. Reed followed behind us chuckling at our silliness while admonishing Jakob to be careful not to run into the kitchen island. Jakob was too busy shaking his butt to notice, so his Papa had to soothe his hip where he hurt himself on the island.

“Love, you’ve got to be careful, or you’re gonna hurt yourself. And if you hurt yourself, you won’t be able to play.”

“Papa, I’m not gonna hurt myself that bad.”

“I’m a doctor. I know things, and you would be amazed at how people can hurt themselves at home.” Then he tapped Jakob on the nose and told him to behave before walking around the kitchen to shake Levi’s hand.

“Good to see you, man. Help yourself to something to drink. There’s beer and sangria in the fridge. The food is ready to be grilled. We just have to wait for everyone to get here,” Babbo said.

“Do you know if Anders is coming?” Reed asked. When we heard the name of our friend, Jakob and I looked up instantly.

Babbo glanced at us before he answered, “He texted me this morning and said he didn’t think so.”

“No Anders?”

“Sorry, sunshine. He said there was an emergency and he wouldn’t make it.”

“It’s probably his meanie head boyfriend,” Jakob groused.

“Yeah, we hate him,” I added.

“Boys, it’s not nice to hate anyone,” Reed interjected. “But we can make an exception for Anders’s boyfriend. Fuck that guy.”

“Yes, but, boys, don’t say anything to Anders because he still loves him even if none of us understands why,” Babbo cautioned.

Jakob and I weren’t happy that our Daddies wouldn’t let us hate on Anders’s yucky boyfriend, but we were momentarily distracted from that when the door burst open half a second after the doorbell rang.

“I’m heeeeeeeere,” Rory announced as he rushed through the door. Behind him was a much more sedate Gabe, who was bogged down with boxes wrapped in paper.

“Whatcha got, Uncle Gabe?”

“Don’t you worry about it, Mr. Nosy.” Gabe patted Jakob on the head after he set the boxes on the table. Jakob looked to his Papa for help, but Reed only shrugged at him. He turned to Rory and tried a different tactic. “You know, Rory?”

Rory shook his head sadly and said, “Daddy won’t tell me.”

“Our Daddies are so mean.”

“I’m gonna be sad all day.”

It didn’t have the desired effect because all Uncle Gabe did was roll his eyes.

“Well, if you’re going to be sad all day, I guess you’re not going to want to see the surprise inside the boxes.” All three of us perked up at that announcement.

“I like surprises,” I squealed. Jakob and Rory immediately joined in.

“Well, you boys are gonna have to wait until Owen gets here, and then we can all see the surprises together.” We groaned in unison, but those meanies laughed at us.

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