Page 15 of Painting Together a Family
“Cool.” Bryan wasn’t used to having money for whatever anymore, even if they were doing so much better now, so it was surprising every time Dev casually said stuff like that.
“Yeah. It’s the easiest answer. We have to pick up the girls’ friends too.”
“Sounds awesome. Let me text you our address.” He grabbed his phone and typed it in, sent it off. “Now you’ll know where to go next week for Sunday supper, too.” He was going to be spoiled for company, what with being here tonight, doing the zoo with Dev and his family tomorrow, and them coming over next Sunday. “Hopefully, you won’t be sick of us by then.”
“We’re having a ball. Aren’t we, girls?”
Both girls nodded around their tacos.
“And so are we, eh, guys?”
“Balls!” Micah shouted, both hands in the air.
Bryan bit the side of his mouth, hard, to keep from bursting out laughing. He didn’t want to encourage them, though, and he knew laughing totally would.
The girls stared at each other, then started giggling.
Micah clearly didn’t know what the joke was, but he was happy to have made everyone laugh and so he did it again, shouting “Balls,” and enthusiastically throwing his hands in the air. Then Dylan joined him.
Bryan shook his head, then put it in his hands. Oye.
“Ah, boys. How is the food?” Dev chuckled, obviously trying to distract.
“It’s balls!” Micah said, clearly believing he was onto something.
“Micah…” Bryan gave his son a look. “It was funny thefirsttime.”
“That means it’s really good, Daddy,” Micah insisted.
“Then say it’s really good.”
“Okay.” Micah shoved half a flauta into his mouth.
“Sometimes it’s like a… hiccup, saying something funny,” Juniper said, smiling at Micah.
Oh, that was so sweet. Bryan smiled at Juniper. Dev’s kids were good kids. It said so much about the man.
“So, what do you do for a living?” Dev asked him as the kids settled back down to finishing their food. “I don’t think we discussed it yesterday.”
“Nothing exciting like what you do. I’m an accountant.” It let him work from home. Let him set his own schedule; as long as he got people’s taxes done and their accounts settled, he was good. And it paid good money, too, which was a bonus given the lack of funds.
“Oh, that’s a great job, though. Solid. Stable.”
Assuming your ex doesn’t steal it all, of course…
“It pays the bills and because I’m working for myself, I can work as much extra as I want at tax season rather than mandatory overtime.” He’d put in his time with a company, and February to April, nobody saw their family.
“Oh, good for you. I appreciate that—sometimes my life gets a little nuts, to be honest.”
“That’s one thing I learned from the whole debacle—to make time for what’s important. Which in my case is my boys.”
“I understand that, bone deep. I have my girls and my arts.”
Bry held Dev’s gaze and nodded. They got each other.
“Is there sweets?” Micah asked.
“He means dessert,” Dylan clarified.
