Noah licked a blob of white icing from his thumb, patted Nicholas's head on the way past, and grabbed a cloth to wipe his hands as he headed to answer the door.
"HEY!" he laughed the moment he saw that beaming smile and the tiny arms already stretching for him. He reached out to take Mia from Kevin, who grunted with relief; since he was already overloaded with her bags and stuffed toys. "How's my favourite girl?"
She nodded in answer and twirled a forefinger around the patterns in his t-shirt.
"Hi Kev. Come on in."
"Thanks." Kevin said, pushing past Noah and heading immediately to the bedroom to drop off Mia's things.
Noah bounced the little girl on his hip making her squeal.
"So? Did you have a fun time with Daddy?"
"Yes we went on the choo choo."
Noah frowned and laughed, "The what, baby?"
"Oh, the train." Kevin told him, returning down the passage. "There was a miniature railway down the coast and we went for a ride."
"Wow!" Noah exclaimed, "You did? Was that fun?"
"Yes and it went very far."
"Aren't you a lucky girl? Your Daddy spoils you, doesn't he?"
She nodded. "Where's Nicky?"
Noah kissed her forehead. "Actually you've come just in time! We made cupcakes this morning and they're all ready to be decorated!"
As was her way she immediately began to pant with excitement and wriggle to be let free to the ground. Noah bent to put her down and she scurried quickly toward the kitchen.
"WAIT!" Noah yelled and she stopped and turned. Noah smiled at her. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Daddy first?"
"Oh yeah!" she agreed, running into her father's waiting arms and kissing him. "Goodbye Daddy!"
"Bye Sweet! See you soon."
Back on her feet she ran into the kitchen where they heard the childish conversation with Nicholas begin.
"She really loves that little guy." Kevin smiled, shaking his head. "It's all she talks about. Nicky this and Nicky that!"
Noah chuckled, "Yeah, Nicky's the same. They really are like two peas in a pod!"
"Maybe one weekend I can take them both?" Kevin suggested. "Give you and Luke some time to yourselves."
"If you'd like to that would be great! Nicky would love it! Thanks Kev."
"No problem."
"But only if you're sure! He can be a bit of a handful sometimes!"
Kevin smiled, "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't."
"Would you like a drink or something?" Noah offered.
"No, actually I can't stay. I have a job interview today."
"You do? That's great!"
"Yeah! So hold thumbs, okay?"
Noah walked Kevin to the door.
"Oh!" Kevin said before leaving. "Would you like my newspaper? I'm done reading it."
He handed Noah the broadsheet he'd been carrying under his arm.
"Great!" Noah smiled.
"Okay then, well, see you soon." Kevin said.
Noah shook hands with Kevin.
"Good luck with that interview."
He watched until Kevin had driven away and then returned to the kitchen, chuckling at the mess the kids were making of their cupcakes; pink, yellow and blue icing everywhere and sprinkles spilled. He didn't care. They loved it and it kept them occupied for a few hours.
He dropped the newspaper on the counter and began preparing the morning coffee.
"Hey, baby!" He heard Luke say, "Welcome home."
He turned just in time to see Luke kiss the top of Mia's head and Nicholas's temple.
"Luke!" She said, "We are making cupcakes."
Luke laughed at the pool of cake and sticky icing before him.
"I see that! Good job!"
He was still in his sleepwear, not quite yet fully awake.
"Finally up then, sleepyhead?" Noah asked.
"Sorry." Luke said, "I know how you hate when I sleep in."
"That's okay, baby." Noah replied. "You were up late working on the project. Did you make some headway?"
Luke walked over to kiss Noah good morning.
"We did actually. I think we've decided on the property we want to buy."
"Cool! Which one?"
"We think we like that big house up on the hill. It's got loads of land so we could organise outdoor projects too."
"Yes! I love that old house! And I guess it's going cheap since it needs some work done on it."
Luke nodded, noticing the newspaper on the counter and pulling it over to browse the headlines. "I also want to make sure it's access friendly. I want the centre to be open to all teens! And that includes those who are wheelchair bound."
Noah smiled at him; standing there all sleepy and unkempt; his hair sticking up at odd angles.
"Coffee?" He asked after a few minutes.
"Definitely!" Luke exclaimed. He took the paper and joined their gummy children at the breakfast bar; making himself comfortable before opening the first page and settling down to some reading.
"Hey! Kevin's got a job interview today!" Noah told him as he set the water to percolate.
"That's great! I hope it works out for him. That man could sure use a break."
"Yeah." Noah agreed.
His eyes drifted over to Nicholas who had more chocolate icing smeared across his face than he had on his cupcake.
"Nicky?"
The big blue eyes, filled with wonderment and enjoyment, lifted to meet Noah's.
"No more eating the icing, okay? I think you've had more than enough."
Luke snorted from behind the paper.
"Okay." Nicholas sang.
"You just make those cakes look pretty. No more eating. And that goes for both of you. Mia? Okay?"
She nodded without looking up from her task of sticking jellybeans around the perimeter of her cake.
As the rich coffee smell began to mingle with that of the sweet baking, Noah spent some time wiping up the counters and stacking the dishwasher with all the dirty baking trays and spoons he and Nicholas had used that morning.
The cafeteria beeped and he poured out two mugs of Java's finest.
"Here you go bab-"
Noah's words cut off as he tilted his head, reading off the back of the newspaper.
Luke's face appeared from around the other side as he waited for Noah to hand him his mug, "Earth to Noah?"
Noah jerked up, blinking. He locked eyes with Luke for a moment and a million 'what if's' ran wild through his head.
"What is it?" Asked Luke.
Recovering quickly, Noah grabbed the paper from his hands and replaced it with the mug of coffee.
"Hey!" Luke complained. "I was reading that!"
"You can read it later." Noah lied, "Drink your coffee and socialise with your family for a bit. We didn't get any attention from you at all night last night!"
"Yeah!" Nicolas agreed.
Luke laughed, "All right, all right! I can tell when I'm being ganged up on!"
Noah watched with relief as he turned his attention to the children, grabbing a fresh cupcake and starting to decorate one.
Noah was shaking slightly. He needed time to think.
"Um. I'll just be a minute."
He left them and hurried for their bathroom; locking the door, closing the toilet seat to sit down.
The newspaper vibrated as he opened and turned it around to the article he'd seen earlier.
...
Hunt For Missing American Doctor
An American doctor was recently reported by friends as missing in the African country of Uganda. He was half-way through working a mission placement treating Aids patients at a clinic in the capital city of Kampala.
Virology specialist, Dr. Tony de Franca (pictured right), left the Christa Medical Centre with his colleague Dr. Kizza Nakalinzi on the 6th March. Neither man has been seen since.
According to friends it was not unusual for the two men to travel away together, but it is unusual for them not to inform the Medical Centre where both volunteer.
Fellow colleagues at the centre "are very sorry to hear this news and are hopeful for a positive outcome."
American Embassy officials are extremely concerned by the apparent way in which the doctors have "simply vanished."
"We are still very open minded about what has happened to Tony and his friend. We have been speaking to his acquaintances here in Kampala and will do everything in our power to find them."
...
"Shit!" Noah whispered to himself, looking up from the photograph of a smiling Tony in his white medical coat.
"Noah? Did you drown in there or something?"
He shot up at the sound of Luke's voice, but then remembered he'd locked the door. He stared down at the article and back up at the door behind which the love of his life stood.
"No. Sorry. Must have been something I ate. I'll be out in a minute."
"Okay. Don't take too long." Luke replied, "Nicky wants to show you his masterpiece! It's quite a sight."
Maybe it was wrong. Maybe Luke had a right to know about his friend. But Noah tore the article from the page and stuffed it into his back pocket. For effect he flushed the toilet and turned on the sink tap to quickly wash his hands, drying them on a towel.
He took two deep breaths and grabbed the paper, "I'm coming."
He opened the door to find Luke waiting for him on the other side.
"Poor, baby." Luke grinned, taking Noah into a hug.
Noah breathed in. Luke still smelled warmly of sleep.
"Not feeling well?" Luke asked.
"I'm fine now." He held Luke to him, the newspaper getting scrunched up against Luke's back and reminding Noah of what he was doing. "Luke?"
"Mmm?"
"You know I'd to anything to protect you."
Luke pushed Noah back, frowning at him. "Is something wrong?"
Pulling himself together Noah beamed at him, "Course not! Everything is the way it should be."
He kissed Luke long but lightly on the lips.
"Can I read my paper now?" Luke asked.
"You mean MY paper?" Noah raised an eyebrow at him.
"Please? I'm a reporter! It's my job to know what's going on in the world!"
At that Noah froze for a second thinking over those words and just how true they were in Luke's case. He ran a hand down Luke's cheek. "Sure you can read it. I have to get the kids cleaned up anyway."
He passed the now crumpled pages to Luke and Luke followed him down the passage.
"Geez Noah! Look what you've done to the thing!"
Giggling Luke lounged back in an armchair and resumed his reading.
"Hang on!" He exclaimed before Noah could make it to the Kitchen, "There's a big hole in this page. Did you tear something out?"
Noah stood with his back to Luke, knowing Luke would see the lie otherwise. "Um, no. It was Kevin's paper. Perhaps there was a job advert or something."
"Oh."
Satisfied with that answer Luke settled down and Noah left him for the kitchen.
"Noah, there are no more cakes." Nicholas said.
"All done?" Noah smiled.
They both nodded, proudly displaying their cakes before them.
"Let's have a look then."
As talented as Nicholas was when it came to drawing and crafts, cake decorating was definitely not his thing. The cakes looked anything but appetising.
"Mmm, they look yummy! Thanks for helping me."
Then he noticed that the two of them were already tucking into one cupcake each.
"Hey you guys! Didn't I say no more?"
"Luke said." Nicholas was quick to chime in.
"Yeah!" he heard Luke confirm from the other room. "Luke said!"
Noah shook his head. "Oh well! You've eaten so much already I suppose one more won't make much difference. Why don't you take them outside on the decking so I can clean up in here?"
"Okay." They both sang jumping off their stools.
"Hang on a minute, little man." Noah caught him on the go so that he could use a damp cloth to wipe all the brown and blue icing from his face. "Okay, go."
They disappeared into the lounge and out through the glass doors.
Noah watched them through the window as they sat together on the top step, licking at the icing on their cakes.
He felt the torn off pages in his pocket and bit his lower lip. To keep this information from Luke, to essentially lie to him, would tear Noah up, but he would do it.
Their family had only just gotten back to some sense of normality.
His eyes never left the children.
It was the right thing to do.
...
Noah took a break from helping the other men load suitcases into the back of the van.
He wiped the sweat from his brow on the bottom of his t-shirt. He was glad he only brought the small rucksack containing two clean shirts with him. He couldn't imagine messing around with a suitcase under these conditions.
The tiny village they had stopped in to spend the night barely had a store let alone a hotel so he and Kikongo had slept outside under the stars on makeshift reed mats, along with the rest of the van's passengers.
That morning they had bathed as best they could in the small trickle of water in the nearby river. Noah had filled his water bottle there too. He wasn't sure how safe it was to drink, but he figured he was better off drinking some water rather than none at all.
"Ambapo ni mke wako?"
Noah blinked away the sweat from his eyes to find one of the more rotund female passengers smiling and pointing at him.
He shrugged, having no idea what she had just asked him.
She tightened the colourful wrap she had around her head before gesturing toward his stomach area.
He looked down, wondering whether he'd spilled some of his breakfast on his t-shirt. Finding nothing there he looked up and frowned at her.
"Ambapo ni mke wako?" She repeated, taking hold of his hand and holding it out. "Ambapo ni mke wako?"
"She is seeing the ring." Kikongo explained, giving Noah an expression that clearly indicated he should be mindful of his reply. "She is asking where is… your wife."
Noah sucked in a breath and looked to the floor. He knew what Luke would have answered.
"She is back home." It was so difficult to say, so unnatural, that Noah almost whispered it.
Kikongo nodded his approval at Noah and then turned to translate Noah's reply to the nosey lady.
She smiled and nodded that she understood. "Je, kuwa na watoto wengi?"
"She asks whether you have many children."
Noah felt his heart breaking.
"Two." He said. "We have two children."
As they scrambled back on board the unbearable van to continue their journey north, Noah rubbed the ring on his finger, silently apologising to Luke for his necessary denial of them.