"Katie, want to meet my cat, Macaroni?"

Katie followed Emily into the Evans' house, the little girl leading her to her bedroom, where an orange and white kitten was snuggled up near her pillow. "Aw, he's so cute. Do you like cats a lot?"

Emily picked Macaroni up, putting him in her lap, as she sat down on the bed. "Yep. I love them. And Mac's adopted just like me."

Katie reached out to pet the kitten, hearing it begin to purr. "You have a very cuddly one here. You're adopted?"

"Yeah. Uncle Soda and Aunt Penny gave me to Mommy and Daddy when I was a baby."

"Oh, wow. I should've noticed you look like both of them. What's it like to be adopted?"

"It's fun! I've got two families. Or maybe just one very big one."

"Yes. It sounds like you do. That's a lot of people."

Emily put Macaroni down on the floor, the kitten then scampering off. "It sure is! They all make me so happy. Especially Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Soda. Are you going to marry my Uncle Steve?"

"I don't know about that. But I really like him."

"Oh! Do you two like to kiss?"

Katie laughed, as she beckoned Emily out of the room. "Since you're asking, I guess I can tell you we do. Come on, let's head back outside."

Emily followed Katie down the hall, seeing that Macaroni was playing with one of his fuzzy balls, as they went to the backyard. "I've seen my Mommy and Daddy kiss. I never want to kiss a boy."

"Good. You're too young to want to just yet." Katie spotted Soda standing with Steve under the tree closest to the fence, as Emily ran back to the swing set. "I should've known. She looks just like him. Of course he's her father."

"Take it easy on that burger there, Stevie. It ain't goin' anywhere."

Steve bit into the meat that was sandwiched between a bun, as Soda took the seat beside him. "Yeah, it is. It's going in my stomach."

Soda smelled the hot dogs and chicken that were now on the grill, as Nicholas stood in front of it, Audrey, Samuel, and Vivian in the folding chairs just behind him. "It's a nice day, huh?"

"Yeah. The best."

"Emily told me Katie met the cat. She was excited about it."

"I bet she was." Steve saw Katie grab a burger before she pulled a chair closer to him. "Hey, you having a good time?"

Katie eyed Soda, her gaze catching his for a second, as she sat down. "Yes, I am. Emily's been very entertaining."

"She's always a fun kid, isn't she, Soda?"

Soda noticed that Katie's eyes were once again focused on him, as he then looked down at the plate of food in his lap. "She is. She's happy about pretty much everything."

Katie looped her arm around Steve's waist, leaning against his shoulder. "She talks like she's very close to you."

"Yeah. We are close. Have been since she was a baby. I've been good friends with Samuel almost as long as Steve has."

"Is that why she calls you Uncle Soda?"

"Pretty much. Um, I think I'm going to grab a Mountain Dew from the cooler. I'll be back in a minute."

Steve caught Soda's eyes, as his best friend got to his feet. "Will you grab me one too, man?"

"Sure, buddy."

Katie watched Soda walk away, her attention turning to Steve. "So how much longer are we staying here?"

Steve shrugged, as he took another bite of his burger. "I don't know. I'm enjoying myself. Why?"

"I just wondered. It feels crowded here to me."

"In that case, you sure don't want to come with me to Darry's tomorrow night."

"You're going there tomorrow night? Why?"

"Just to hang out with all three brothers. It's a small house too, so that might feel crowded to you if being out here does."

"I thought we'd spend more time together once classes were done for the summer."

"We will. We're together now. I still have to work and all though."

Soda came back with two canned drinks, handing one to Steve. "There you go. Nothin' like ice cold Mountain Dew."

Katie glanced over at the cooler, then back at Soda, as he sat down with them once again. "You didn't bring me a drink?"

"Oh. I'm sorry. You didn't say you wanted one. Mountain Dew for you too?"

"Yes, please."

Steve tried to ignore what had just happened right in front of him, as Soda made his way to the cooler for a second time. "Katie, if you want, I can drive you home."

"Will you stay over then?"

"Well, no. I'd probably come back here for a while, then head home myself."

"Are you sure you like me?"

"What? Of course I do. I just don't spend all my time with one person."

"Yes. You're right. I'm sorry. I just like being with you so much, it makes me a little silly sometimes."

Soda returned with a third drink then, handing it to Katie. "Hey, Stevie, remember that time you called me Mountain Dew?"

Steve chuckled at the memory, as he took a swig of his drink. "Of course I do, buddy. Cause you had to be a lemon-line caffeinated beverage."

Katie's expression darkened, as she looked down at the can in her hand. "I'm sure you two have lots of inside jokes."

"Soda took to calling me by what I thought was an embarrassing nickname once, so we played around with one for him. Not that he needs one anyway."

"No. I'm sure he doesn't."

Soda felt Katie's eyes on him, then sent her a smile. "I went and got that for you. Aren't you going to drink it?"

"Of course I am." Katie popped open the can of Mountain Dew, her gaze focused solely on her boyfriend's best friend. "I'm going to drink it, and enjoy every bit of the taste."

"Watch me, Uncle Steve!"

Steve stood nearby, as Emily climbed up the ladder of the slide, then went down on her belly. "Oh! Look how fast you went!"

Emily ran to the swing, also getting on it belly first. "I can go even higher when I do it like this!"

Samuel came up behind Steve, seeing Emily's feet dangling in the air, as the swing swayed back and forth above the ground. "Be careful doing that, and next time, please sit down on the swing."

Steve leaned on the slide, as he saw Katie going in the house. "So how do you like her?"

"She seems nice. I'm glad for you."

"I've been opening up to her a lot. You can imagine about what."

"How that's been?"

"Not great, to be honest. But I think it's just different because Katie's not someone I've known for a long time. It seems like some things just surprise her, and she's not sure exactly how to take them or what to do."

"I think that's common when you tell someone new anything about your life that's not really the norm."

"Yeah. The stuff I've told her definitely isn't that. Not much about me is."

"At least then it can never be boring getting to know you. I know I was never bored. Not even for a minute."

"Because ministering to people is what you do, and that's what I needed when you first met me. But, now, I just want a relationship with Katie, and I'm really hoping I don't ruin what we've already built."

"Oh. Hey, Katie, I just came in to use the bathroom and pet the cat. You've seen how Emily is about him. He's probably her best friend."

Katie's eyes cast a quick glance at the kitten, as it jumped off Soda's lap, then nearly tumbled over a ball of yarn that was in the middle of the living room. "Yes. I think so too. But you'd know a lot about being best friends, wouldn't you?"

Soda realized Katie's eyes weren't leaving his face, as he started to head back outside. "Yeah. I guess I would."

Katie's hand covered Soda's that was now on the door knob, her other hand coming to rest on his lower waist. "You're a great friend, aren't you?"

"I am." Soda pulled away from Katie's touch, as he opened the door. "I'm going back to everyone else now. You should too."

"I know you're Emily's father. She told me."

"Her birth father, yeah. It's not really a big secret."

Katie put her hand on Soda's back, knowing it was hidden from anyone else, who may look their way. "You and Steve both have a lot of secrets, don't you?"

Soda stepped outside and onto the porch. "No. We actually don't. I ain't too sure what's happening here, but you can bet I'm walkin' away from it right now."

"We can make plans for just the two of us on Tuesday or Wednesday. I don't know what you want to do, but we could just figure that out later."

Katie felt Steve's car come to a stop in a parking space near her apartment door. "I would love that. Why don't we go out for drinks? I feel a little more like having fun now that classes are done for the summer."

Steve kept his key in the ignition, as he leaned over to kiss Katie's cheek. "We can do that. I'm not much of a drinker due to a few reasons, but I'd enjoy one or two."

Katie put her purse strap over her shoulder, as she noticed Steve remained in the driver's seat. "You aren't coming in?"

"Not tonight. I have a few things to do before bed."

"Like what?"

"Showering. Getting ready for tomorrow. Just the kind of stuff you do at night."

"And I'm sure you want to talk to Sodapop too?"

"Of course. We always have plenty to talk about."

"Yes. It seems that way. Well, I hope you have a good night with your friend, and I'll see you whenever the time is right."

"You're as quiet as I've ever seen you tonight, buddy. What's up?"

Soda tried not to show his anxiety, as Steve joined him in the living room, the TV playing a sitcom rerun he hadn't even been able to focus on at all. "Nothin'. Just tired, I guess."

Steve dried his hair with a towel, tossing it into a nearby laundry basket before he sat down beside Soda. "So what are we watching?"

"I don't know. I haven't really been payin' attention to it."

Steve looked at the TV screen, then back at Soda, seeing his best friend's eyes wandering off in another direction. "Are you sure nothing is wrong? I know that, between the two of us, there really has been a lot going on for the few past weeks."

"Yeah. You're right. But I'm fine."

"I think I've figured out something about me and Katie. I can see what makes us different."

"You can?"

"Yeah. The way she sees the past is a lot more centered around just moving on from it, whereas I know that can't work for me. Recovery's part of my life, not just something that I need to stop doing after a certain point. She said she wants to help me not focus on the past and to be my own person since I'm not a child anymore."

"You are your own person, Stevie. Don't let her make you think you're doin' anything you aren't supposed to be."

"I won't. I can accept her view without it changing me. I think I'm going to head to bed now, man. This day did get to be kind of long."

"Yeah. It did."

"But I got to spend it with a bunch of people I really love, and life sure doesn't get any better than that."