Page 52 of Painting Together a Family
“I haven’t had that in a very long time.”
He squeezed Bryan’s hand. “You do now.”
“Thank you,” Bryan said quietly. “I’m definitely getting spoiled.”
“Daddy! Time for food! Marley says our new room is ours for realsies!”
“We’re coming, Dylan. And yes. you guys get to keep the room. We’re going to move in here for real, not just a few days.”
Micah’s eyes went wide. “We get sisters?”
Bryan bit his lip, but then he nodded. “Yeah. No matter what else happens, you’ve got sisters.” Then Bryan turned to him. “Right?”
“What do you say, girls? Do you want brothers?”
Marley chuckled. “Of course. No going in my room, though. That’s off limits unless I say.”
Bryan nodded. “I think everyone’s bedroom should have that rule. We all need space that’s just ours, where we can expect privacy.”
“What’s priacy?” Micah asked, eyes wide.
“Pri-va-cy,” Bryan repeated slowly. “It’s having stuff that’s just yours, that other people have to ask about. Like my work files. I keep those private.”
“Oh. Like don’t touch my crayons, but share my Legos?”
“Exactly like that. So Marley, Juniper, and Mr. Dev’s rooms are all private. That means you don’t go in there unless invited, okay?”
“Okay. And they don’t come in ours? Right?”
“That’s right. Everyone has privacy. How about we get our sandwiches, and if anyone has any questions, we can talk over lunch.” Bryan started herding everyone into the kitchen.
Dev was glad to have Bryan here, because he was wearing down, starting to hurt.
Bryan got everyone sitting and eating their sandwiches, even cajoling him into a few bites.
The sandwich was delicious, and Marley watched him like a hawk. He knew if he wasn’t going to get a lecture, he’d have to manage to eat more than just a few bites of his sandwich.
A glance at Bryan confirmed that the lecture would be coming from two sources.
“It’s good, huh?” he said, hoping to distract Marley at least.
“Yeah, Daddy. Eat, eat, eat.” Marley did not seem in the least distracted; in fact, she seemed very focused.
Bryan chuckled, nodded. “She’s right. You need to eat all your food so you can get better. Your body can’t heal without fuel.”
“Listen to you.”
Actually, he was listening to the boys and Juni, who were laughing and telling silly stories. It was lovely, how the kids were being together.
Bryan was looking at the kids too, a small smile on his face.
“They’re going to be fine, Daddy. They like each other,” Marley told him.
God, his girl was so grown-up sometimes.
Bryan nodded. “They’re doing well, together. She’s a good sister, huh?”
Marley nodded. “Mostly, yeah?”
