Family diner

White Josh was sitting on a table, all by himself, checking his phone from time to time. He had been waiting for fifteen minutes, and Darryl was not the kind of guy who was late for dates. Or on this occasion a family diner.

The thought of it made him smile, but couldn't help getting worried about Darryl's delay.

"Hi!" He heard Darryl's voice from across the restaurant. He waved at him. "I'm sorry I'm late, but traffic was crazy." He said, giving White Josh a gentle kiss on the lips.

"It's okay babe, don't worry." He said, smiling. "Hey there Madison!" He said to the little girl, who was holding hands with her dad.

"Hi Josh!" She said, and rushed towards WhiteJo to give him a hug. She sat next to him and Darryl across the table.

"So how was your day Madison?"

"It was great! Today we visited a farm and got to pet many farm animals."

"Sounds exciting, did you have fun there?"

"Lots! My friends didn't love it as much." She seemed unhappy about it.

"Aw, that's sad, but the important part is that you had a good time." He glanced at Darryl, who had been in silence and staring at the menu. "Are you alright?" He moved his hand and placed it on top of his.

It took Darryl a few seconds to react. "Wh-What? Oh! Yeah, I'm okay." He gave Josh a reassuring smile. "Which toppings do you want on the pizza?"

"Pepperoni!" Madison claimed.

"And mushrooms." WhiteJo added.

"Should I go order now?"

"Yes! I'm hungry." Madison said, and Darryl approached the counter.

"Can we go to the movies tomorrow Josh?" She asked excitedly.

"Sure! What do you want to watch?"

"My friends told me that Sing! is really good."

"I bet it is." He smiled at her. Josh loved Madison so much, just as if she were his own daughter. In a way, she was.

"The pizza will be ready in twenty minutes." Darryl said as he sat down.

"I should have ordered as soon as I got here." Josh said regretfully.

"Nah, you wouldn't have known how long it was going to take us to get here, what if the pizza got cold?"

"You're right, I'm not a fan of cold pizza."

"Me either." Madison said.

While they were waiting, Madison told them in full detail about her day at the farm. Josh teased her a little and so did Darryl, she'd smile and give them a frowny face. She also asked her dad what he thought about going to the movies, to which Darryl agreed.

Once the pizza was served, each one of them grabbed a slice. It was Darryl and WhiteJo's turn to talk about their days. Josh said he saw a kid running around the gym, trying to escape from his parents; many were upset, but he just found it funny. Darryl told them that Nathaniel had fired Gerome? Greg? a week ago but showed up since he had been rehired.

After they were done eating, they payed and headed to the parking lot, where Darryl asked Josh if he was going home with them for a while.

"I've got to get up early tomorrow."

"Oh come on, you don't have to stay for too long. It's not that late anyway."

"Please Josh." Madison begged.

"All right, I'll catch you there." He agreed and kissed Darryl before each got into their cars.

When they arrived at Darryl's, they sat on the couch and Madison put Gravity Falls on Netflix.

"Madison, this again?" Darryl asked her in a tiresome tone.

"Hey, hey, let her. I like this episode." He said lying his head on Darryl's shoulder and Madison was on the other side, hugging her dad.

The episode ended and another one began, but Madison and Darryl were now asleep, and Josh's eyes were closing. He reached for the remote and turned off the TV. He had to wake up early the following morning like he said, but that didn't matter, not in that moment. He had all he ever wanted right there.