All familiar characters belong to Janet. The rest and any mistakes are mine. Hector's toy is based on the 'LaserCube' I saw online.
"Hey, where are you guys?" My wife asked me. "We're back and there's no sign of you, Olive, or the husbands and kids of some of the women grumbling behind me."
"We're in the backyard. Kane didn't have a frame of reference of what we do here to keep the big and little kids amused. Angel got her first real experience with Rangeplay."
There was phone silence for three full beats. "What am I walking into here? Do we now own a personal petting zoo? Arcade? Miniature space camp?"
"Don't exaggerate, Babe."
"Yeah, like any of those are out of the realm of possibility here. Guess I'll see you and what's going on in a few minutes. Love you."
"Mama! Mama here!" Olivia shouted as soon as Stephanie cleared the back door.
"I am," Steph told her, leaning down to catch our daughter's full-body hug. "And guess what Mama brought back for you?"
"What da Olive back?"
She put our baby back on her feet to dig a small bag out of her shoulder bag. "We have some more colors to test out. After dinner or after bath time, we can paint every one of your fingers and toes a different color if you want."
My wife felt my eyes on her. She kept hold of the nail polish, so Olivia couldn't decide to paint Angelique or Remy, and came over to me while Olivia ran back and forth between us and the laser cube. I forced myself to keep the kiss brief but feeling her lips on mine again made that a challenging feat.
Her mouth smiled against mine before pulling back. "I was only out of the building for a couple hours," she reminded me.
"Your point being?"
"That I wasn't gone long enough to miss."
"You're very wrong about that."
"That's good to hear. And don't worry … these," she said, holding up the bag, "are made by the spa lady's daughter. They're promised to be cruelty-free, non-toxic, and also chemical and fume-free. Basically … safe for toddlers and extremely parent friendly, even the parents who don't like this 'crap'. Plus, a portion of the proceeds are donated to a kids' charity, so I didn't feel bad buying a bunch of them."
"I suggest starting now thinking of a place where you can decorate Olivia without your back bearing the brunt of the job."
She placed a lingering kiss on my mouth. "You could paint her nails for me."
"No."
"I had to try. But that's okay … Olive and I need our girl time."
I don't like being excluded, so I'm thinking I can help keep Stephanie comfortable while Olivia gets her simultaneous manicure and pedicure.
"Jeez, guys. Coloring in a book was too boring for you?" Kenzie asked the group.
"Remy and Angelique are a bit young to fully enjoy that activity," I pointed out.
"That's what you know. My Angel can break crayons with the best of them," Kane argued.
"It wasn't a big deal," I told Kenzie. "It's just a combination of a cell phone, a few artists, and a laser box taken from Hector's office …"
"Super-secret tech lab, you mean," Steph said, scanning the small crowd like she's looking for someone other than Olivia. "I was hoping Lester would be out here with you."
"He ducked inside for something to eat. Trying to keep the kids entertained took a lot out of him," I explained without my expression changing.
She knows me too well and didn't buy that for a second. "So, that means he actually got dry mouth, not hungry, from ordering the guys to do stuff, and then went in search of a bottle of water."
I kissed her just because I could. "You're good."
She sighed. "No. I just understand how Lester thinks … and that's a little scary."
"Why's that scary?" Santos asked, appearing right behind Stephanie, causing her to jump.
I allowed it to happen, knowing she'd be bumping into me. I dropped my arm across her shoulders and kept her here.
"You couldn't have said 'Hey, Steph. Glad you're back' instead of scaring the crap out of me?" She said, narrowing her eyes at Santos.
"I'm like Beetlejuice. Say my name three times and I just appear."
She snorted. "First off, wrong 80s movie to be obsessed with. And two, you need to relearn how to count, because you were only mentioned by name twice."
"What about?"
"We were trying to set you up with this amazing woman who was in charge of our table at the restaurant," Kenzie told him, taking a brief break from kissing Remy and Cal to answer the question.
"Hold up," Lester said, actually holding up his hand to stop the conversation. "What do you mean you were trying to hook me up?"
"Set you up," my wife corrected. "We weren't looking to coordinate a hook up. We were all hoping for something longer lasting."
"Yeah, yeah. Relationships good, one-night stands bad. Get to the important part. Why'd the set-up fall through? You find out she's with a guy?"
"No," Aubrey answered with an apologetic smile. "She, um, wasn't interested in a good-looking man who works out a lot and carries a gun on him at all times."
"We got more than the impression that her ex was a similar type and did a number on her," Harper filled in.
"What's up with that?" Kane asked, hovering behind his wife and daughter like Harp's going to disappear for another couple of hours if he doesn't shadow her. "Not every guy who enjoys working out or being physically ready for anything, is the same. Just look around. We're all different."
I glanced down at Steph and raised an eyebrow … saying without words that we aren't so different, since Kane is acting like his wife has been gone for months, just like I'm feeling with Stephanie. This woman's ex is likely just an asshole.
"Damn right we are," Lester agreed.
That's always a dangerous sign.
"I'm not just another pretty face," he continued. "Sure, I've had my fun over the years, but I'm not some a-hole only looking to get laid. 'Scuse the language ladies."
"You sure you're not that guy anymore?" Steph asked, clearly skeptical. "You're not just saying that because you're jealous of what some of the men have found?"
"Of course, I'm jealous. I want a woman to look at me like I'm hanging the sun and moon up every day special for her."
"Ah …" Kenzie started, but Steph cut her off.
"I'll take this one. I've known him longer. You need to rephrase that, Les, and include why she'd be looking at you like that. Otherwise, you sound just like her ex who wanted her adoration and good credit score but nothing else."
"Shit. I've got tons of ways to make a woman feel good."
This time Kenzie waded into the weeds that is Santos' mind. "That just took you a huge step closer to a-hole territory and further away from the guy we described to Ayanna."
"Is it alright if we join the party?" Amari asked, stepping out of the building with Atlas and Edna. "Gene told us that our group moved to the backyard."
"Darn tootin' we're joinin' the fun," Edna said to the backyard. "What are we workin' on?"
"The guys were making floating laser shapes for the kids to ohhh and awww over before we got home," Steph told her grandmother. "Now we're trying to teach Lester how not to sound like a drunk frat boy on Spring break if he ever meets Ayanna."
"I can help," Grandma Mazur said. "I may be an old broad, but I still get my fair share of wooing."
Kenzie pointed with the arm not holding Remy. "That's what we mean. You need to talk less and 'woo' more, Lester."
"Dude," he countered. "You married Cal. He worked here for a solid year before I heard him speak."
She nodded and kissed her husband's cheek. "Exactly! He didn't piss me off by saying stupid stuff. He smiled at me, asked me out in less than six words, and had me falling hard with half that date-request word count."
Kane gently nudged Harper. "Make that make sense to the rest of us."
"I'm not breaking any confidences to explain what happened between K and C, but I think Kenzie's saying that Cal wasn't wasting words to just flirt with - or come onto - her. He was genuinely interested in her and her life … reciprocating her interest in him."
"I can do that," Santos replied.
"I don't want to overstep here …" Amari started.
"Step on him as much as you want to, Mar," One Shot told her. "I'll handle the clean-up."
"We're not insulting Lester," she said to Atlas. "We're helping him not mess up what could be a really good thing. Like Ranger did for you … in case you've already forgotten what and who got me here."
"I ain't forgotten shit. That wasn't the same thing."
"That's what everybody says when they know they were wrong," my wife told him.
"Keep it up and I'll accidentally show up to work with Manoso pet number five."
Steph subtly flipped him off while Olivia and Amari were busy looking at what Ram was drawing.
"I've got your backside, sweet cheeks," Edna assured Lester.
"It's 'I've got your back', Grandma," Steph told her. "No backsides should be involved in whatever conversation you think you're about to have."
"What'd we miss?" Tank asked, arriving with Mabyn, like he hadn't timed it just right so Mabyn wouldn't be excluded yet didn't 'have' to attend a girls' day away from him.
"Nothing yet," Steph told him, letting Olivia go almost as soon as she got to hold her again just so our baby could usurp GodTank while Mabyn was talking to the other ladies.
"What's happening?" Santos asked me. "Why aren't we focusing on me and the woman who has a major misconception about me?"
"My advice is to take a one sentence poll from each woman while they're all here and get their opinions on what you should say if you decide to pursue this."
"Why wouldn't I pursue it? Even if I wasn't interested, I don't like being shoved into some jerk-off category."
"Les," Steph said, in the same tone she uses when she needs to convince Olivia that she can't have only fish crackers for dinner, "this isn't about you exactly. It's about a woman who could be amazing for you if you can both get past the same thing."
"Are we interrupting?" Simone asked, coming from the garage entrance door with Gene right behind her. She wasn't letting go of Jax's shoulder until she was sure they were welcome. "I'm sorry I couldn't join you today. Jaxton had practice, but Gene said we should just come on back here."
"It's okay, Simone," my wife told her. "We all told you that Jax comes first. And now we get both of you … plus Gene."
"Yeah, glad you're all joining us. Now back to the issue at hand. What is she?" Lester asked the restaurant crew.
"Ah, I'm not sure how to answer that," Harper told him. "She's a woman …"
He shook his head to clear her answer from it. "No, I mean is she a hot mom-type like Simone, Mabyn, and Harper," he said, pointing to where Mabyn's drawing an impressive flower field that had all four kids staring at the floating image … "or sweet Disney Princess type like Mireya, Aubrey, and Amari?"
"Neither," Kenzie told him. "She's in a category with me and Stephanie."
"Which is?" Cal asked her, curious to hear what she'd say.
"Think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Someone you don't want to mess with or tick off."
I found myself nodding in agreement at that description. I know what I can do, but I still wouldn't want to piss my wife off. I'm betting Cal's in the same boat. Kenzie's a 'take no prisoners' type too. Aubrey's ex is likely glad he got embarrassingly dead before Kenzie could get her hands on him for hurting someone she loves.
"This sounds promising," Lester replied. "Okay, give me the rundown. Hair color, eye color …"
"If you say weight next, I'm going to wet willy you," Steph threatened.
He threw up both hands in surrender as every pair of female eyes turned on him. "Come on. I'm dumb at times, but I'm not stupid. I was gonna ask when she's working again."
The women relaxed. "She works every day," Steph told him. "She's got rent and student loans to pay off, plus debt her a-hole ex stuck her with."
"How much information did you get out of her over appetizers?" I teased.
"Not much. It was over the 'main course' when we finally got somewhere. She needs a vacation."
"Maybe she'd just appreciate a date with someone who cares," Simone added. "Sometimes just knowing that you've been 'seen' helps get you through a tough day."
All eyes shifted to Gene. "I think she was talking about you guys," he told us. "We wouldn't have met if Steph and Aideen hadn't brought her into, and kept her in, my life."
Simone smiled at the grass, but Gene took note of the slight blush coloring her cheeks which led everyone to the conclusion that she was definitely not talking about my wife or Aideen.
"I'm that guy," Santos declared. "I told Steph that I trust her to vet potential soulmates …"
"I heard that she also said she'd just as easily tell the woman to run," Kenzie told him. "Which she kind of did … in a nice way."
Santos' face screwed up into confusion. "I thought you were just shittin' me? WTF, Steph?"
"I hadn't been kidding," my wife replied. "You're a great guy, but I'm not okay with you dating someone for fun when I know they need way more. Ayanna has too much crap on her plate already, she doesn't need to mix in another guy who's going to enter her world just to screw it up again. So only approach her if you're serious about settling down with someone who'll totally unsettle you, but completely love you … if my instincts are still working through pregnancy."
"Hair, eye, and car color?" Lester pressed.
"Black/brown, brown, and how the heck do I know the color of her car?" Steph answered. "Maybe she drives a truck, not a car."
"That'd only make her hotter," Santos stated. "I'm gonna hang out here while I plan a course of action. But tomorrow is when everything changes."
"Uh," Aubrey started, "aren't you putting a forever plan in front of a mutually agreed upon date?"
"No. If Stephanie thinks someone is meant for me while warning me away from her, that's some forever shit right there."
"Please don't add that to your eventual wedding vows," my wife said, half serious/half joking.
"I ain't making any promises."
"Mama! I caught da fower!" Olivia shouted, running over with her index and thumb pinched together to hold the air daisy that remained where it was drawn, not in her finger-grip.
"I saw that. Good job picking the best flower Aunt Mabyn drew for you."
"You make dings da air?"
"I can try. But I'm better at painting fingers and toes than drawing flowers. You sure you don't want Aunt Mabyn to keep going?"
Her answer was our daughter letting go of her non-existent flower to wrap her fingers around her Mama's, tugging her towards creative command central.
