Page 14 of Painting Together a Family
Bry nodded, amused. “Yes! That’s it exactly.”
“Daddy, are you awake enough to eat now? There’s tacos!” Dylan was always hungry these days. His boy was going through a growth spurt, he’d bet money on it.
“And fluties!” Micah added.
“And chips and guacamolly!” Juniper grinned, even as the eldest girl rolled her eyes.
“Well, I don’t want to keep anyone waiting if there’s fluties and guacamolly.” He got up and followed the kids as they trooped into the kitchen, which had a nice-sized table, already laid out with plates and the take-out food in the center. “It smells delicious.”
“Doesn’t it? I want to try guacamole with salsa in it.” Dev grinned at him, obviously trying to put him at ease. “What do your boys drink?”
“Milk or water. I try to keep the sugary drinks to a minimum, especially in the evenings.” He wasn’t a crazy no-sugar-at-all dad, but he had found that high-sugar content drinks had absolutely no nutrition and hyped the boys up. Hyped-up kids were the last thing you needed when bedtime rolled around.
“Yeah. I understand. I have milk. Juniper?”
“I’d like water, please, Daddy. Is there lemon?”
“There is.”
Bryan tilted his head. “Lemon juice in the water? Or a fancy slice on the side?” He nodded to the boys, letting them know they could take some food. He trusted they wouldn’t fill their plates with three quarters of what was there, but would know they could go back for seconds.
“Just a fancy slice. I like lemon in my water. It makes it goes down easier,” she informed him.
“Oh, that’s cool.” Bryan thought water went down just fine, but he also knew kids all had their foibles. He kept an eye on his boys, pleased to see them each take one taco and two flautas. He took two tacos of his own and one flauta, along with scoops of salsa, guac, and sour cream.
The girls each took tacos, and Dev took the dips and some chips.
Was that all he was going to eat? Was there not enough for everyone?
“Not hungry?” he asked, hoping it was that and not that he and his boys were taking more than their share, although there seemed to be plenty of food left. He bet there’d be leftovers, even if he and the boys went back for seconds.
“I’m a grazer. I’ll eat this. Then a little more. Then a little more.”
“Ah. That makes sense.” No longer worried they were running out of food, he happily munched on his tacos. These were pretty good.
The kids all jabbered happily about art and cartoons and the zoo, eating like they were starving, comfortable around Dev.
This was clearly a good man, and, despite the circumstances of why they’d met, he was glad they had. So far, he more than liked what he saw, and he wanted to get to know Dev better.
“So what kind of art did you do for the zoo?”
“I donated a painting for the new building. It’s a pair of penguins and their baby.”
“That sounds adorable. Did you use actual zoo penguins as the models?”
Dev smiled, the expression friendly. “I did. I went down, took some photos, and worked from them.”
“That’s awesome! I can’t wait to see the piece and then the penguins that inspired it.”
“Tomorrow, huh? They hung it today, and the unveiling is at three p.m.”
“So when and where are we meeting up?” He and the boys would be there with bells on. They hadn’t had an extensive outing like this before. An expedition to the zoo, behind the scenes stuff, and food? They were going to remember this for a long time.
“We can pick you up at one thirty? Does that sound like fun?”
“Have you got room for all of us? Both boys are still in car seats.”
“I’ll have a van pick us up.”
