Page 20 of Actions and Reactions
I can’t help but snort and then rush to beat him to the controls.
Dad’s always been enamored with Aunt Elle’s meatloaf, and considering Mom wasn’t... knowledgeable, let’s say, in the kitchen, and Dad is pretty much useless, the only timewe got normal home cooked meals was when we went over to the Waynes’ house.
It was fine, though. There were an abundance of takeout places in LA, and we had Corinne during the week, the best personal chef ever. She still works for Dad to this day, and I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing my parents argued over in the divorce—who got to keep Corinne.
But she chose for them, since she didn’t want to move to New York with Mom. And just remembering her paella, my mouth waters.
“Hey, Dad,” I call back to where he’s sitting like I’m his personal captain or something.
“What’s up?”
“When they announce the schedule for the season, can you ask Corinne to make paella for me one of the days I’m playing against the Empire?” I ask, talking about Dad’s old team.
“You got it, Vin.”
I smile and slow the speedboat down when our dock comes into view. Dad only calls me Vin when he’s relaxed and happy with me. Ivan is for when he’s angry, Vinny is for when he’s too excited for words, son is for emotional moments, and dumbass is for whenever Lex and I fight or break something inside the house.
Dad jumps up to the dock when we’re close enough and ties it off expertly as I shut it off and make sure everything is as it should be, then he offers me a hand. I don’t need it, but I take it, since it’s another peace offering.
“Stand back now,” he mutters, and before I can askhim what he’s talking about, he’s running full speed toward the end of the dock—to the gazebo, where our family is.
Lex is out of the water, chatting with Lottie, and Si is speaking to Uncle Paul, which is exactly where Dad is headed.
He lowers his torso just a little, wraps his arms around Paul, and then jumps into the lake while Uncle Paul shouts in outrage.
I laugh and shake my head as I walk over at a normal pace, since it’s always fun to hear Uncle Paul try to berate Dad.
“They’re the children,” Lex mutters from next to me while we all stand on the edge and watch them have a water fight.
“We can be children too,” I say, tone easy, then I turn to my brother and let him see my smile only for a second before I push him in.
He also shouts, and since they’re laughing at him and distracted, I take the opportunity to push Mom and Aunt Elle in as well.
Lottie’s practically crying from laughter by the time I get to her, and she can’t even put up a fight, so in she goes.
And when I turn, I see Si’s frown full of trepidation.
I walk over slowly, and I see he’s thinking about how to overpower me, but I don’t want to take him by surprise.
I have no idea if any... violent movements could aggravate his injuries, so I just stare at him and keep my arms lowered.
“You want me to push you?” he asks after a moment, clearly puzzled.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I admit.
“You can’t hurt me by pushing me into the lake, Vinny.” He looks so... impatient. It’s distracting. And since I don’t want to have to deal with all of that just yet... more like never... “It’s not like my leg’s going to land against anything so—oh, fuck you,” he shouts when I finally push him.
I watch them all for a long moment, laughing, coughing, swearing at me, and then I jump in too.
Aunt Elle’smeatloaf is as perfect as I remember it, and Dad’s still singing its praises when I walk back from my bedroom and hand him the almost-full bottle of vodka.
Avoiding any kind of meaningful conversation with Si about yesterday’s events turns out to be incredibly easy since we haven’t spent a single second alone all day.
Our moms haven’t really said anything, but Mom did give me an extra long hug when I handed her two towels as she climbed out of the lake.
The conversations have ranged from hockey to Mom’s next big collection, to Lottie’s thoughts on Chicago’s chances next season, to more hockey.
It’s all very familial and nice and heartwarming, but when they all want to start a game of Monopoly I have to tap out.
