"A home is not a mere transient shelter: its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it."
Henry Louis Mencken, American Journalist
I wake up the next morning still blissed-out about my good fortune and great future. During the night, Zach had flipped over and slid into me so I am holding him close, breathing him in as I hold him tight. The coziness of the moment is suddenly interrupted by the slam of a door, and my previously-snoozing beau is startled awake.
Within a few seconds, Cody runs into the room. Zach is still groggy, his eyes squinting in the morning light. I can feel him tense up seeing his nephew seeing him in my arms in bed. Rather than shake me off or make a sudden movement, I feel him take a deep breath in and a long exhale, before releasing the tension and settling back into my arms.
"Good morning, Codes. How'd you sleep?" He drawls, ever so cool, calm, and collected and I am incredibly proud.
"G'morning! I slept good but I missed you. I miss Mommy too and I am hungry," he begins. I look at the time on my phone and see it's just around seven in the morning.
"I imagine we can rustle up some food, Half-Pint," I chime in with a smile. "I think we have some vegetables!"
Cody cuts me off immediately. "No vegetables Uncle Shaun!" he chastises, shaking his head. I laugh and see him and his uncle smiling at me.
"We still have your Trix you insisted on from the last time we were here. How about that, Codes," pragmatic Zach suggests. Cody claps and squeals and takes off out the door and down the hall, so I imagine he agrees.
I am feeling the need to squeal as well, to be honest. He called me Uncle Shaun!
I check my phone to see a message from Gabe had come in while we were sleeping.
Bro -
We decided to give you guys some privacy tonight.
Back in the morning for breakfast?
I message back: Sure. We're up now. Kids, man! :)
I show the messages to Zach and he nods, sitting up. Grabbing his undershirt from the floor, he gets ready to head downstairs, but before that, he turns around and caresses my jaw.
"Aren't we the luckiest three?" he murmurs with a content sigh. I smile in agreement and pucker up for a kiss as he leans toward me.
"Gonna have to get that tattoo updated, huh?" I joke. He smiles and flexes his muscles, before leaving to track down the third member of our lucky trio. After sighing and enjoying the reality that is my life now, I get up and throw on my shirt to go join them.
I find them in the kitchen. Zach is already rummaging through the pantry and fridge. Cody has found both walkie-talkies and is pretending to have a conversation with his mom.
"Cody to Jeanne, Cody to Jeanne, come in Jeanne!" he pushes the button on Zach's graffitied radio to call out through the static. Peals of laughter erupt from him as he hears his own voice calling out for his mother on his radio's less-stickered twin.
"There's stuff here for omelets I think," Zach's voice calls out from being half-emerged within the fridge.
"That sounds like heaven, babe," I respond. Both nephew and uncle look up at the endearment. Zach checks Cody's face.
"You call me 'Ankle-Biter' and 'Half-Pint,'" and you call Uncle Zach 'Babe,'" Cody practically sings into the walkie-talkie in his hands. I scoop up my brother's radio to respond.
"I sure do kiddo," I reply over the air-wave. Cody dissolves into giggles. I push the 'Talk' button to continue. "Sometimes I also call him 'Student' because I taught him how to surf," I elaborate, watching him closely.
"Uncle Zach," what do you call Shaun?" Cody wonders via walkie-talkie.
"Uh, I call him "Sweetheart," Zach flushes as this confession, but the moment is so sweet and I am glad that we are sharing our affection for each other with Cody. "And, uh, "Master," since he is a master of the waves," he explains, gesturing with the hang-ten sign toward his nephew, who takes the new information in stride as he hangs-ten back.
"And I sometimes call you "Daddy," Cody concludes. I swallow at the sweetness of the moment as Zach just nods as he accepts the information with grace while he chops and dices ingredients.
The garage door faintly announces that we will soon be having visitors. Cody looks up and around, his eyes inquisitive.
My brother and Elisabeth appear in the kitchen, and Cody hears another nickname he's been bestowed: "Playboy," my brother jovially calls out, coming over to rustle the hair atop the young boy's head. "How's it hangin' little dude?" he asks, setting his hand up for a high-five that Cody quickly gives.
"It's okay," Cody responds thoughtfully. "My mommy moved to Oregon with Alan so I'm gonna stay here and with Uncle Zach and Shaun so they don't get lonely," he elaborates. Gabe shakes his head and his eyes widen with this information, but he refrains from one of his usual inappropriate quips. The likely reason for my brother's new-found good behavior chimes in.
"Hey there, Cody. I'm Elisabeth," she introduces herself, holding her hand out. Cody takes in today's outfit: overalls covered in patches of cartoon characters, as he shakes her hand.
"Hi, I'm Cody. Is that Hello Kitty?" he wonders, pointing to a patch of the ubiquitous feline.
"It sure is," she confirms, and they begin a discussion about the other animals and whatnot on her apparel.
Gabe wanders over to his best friend who is plating up some seriously delicious-looking eggs. "I see we're having some low-carb fa-" Gabe considers what he's about to say and stops himself mid-word. "Uh, food. Low-carb food," he finishes, looking at me and then Zach and then over to Cody and his girlfriend. "Looks good, bro," he says, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Uh, good to watch my carbs too," he throws in, with a closed-fist pat to his stomach. I smirk and look upward at his quick save, a bit proud he's being more thoughtful with his word choices when it comes to describing food.
Zach doesn't look totally comfortable with the situation, but also doesn't look like he's ready to crawl out of his skin, so that feels like progress. "Thanks dude," he sighs with a slight yawn. "Hey, set these on the table, wouldja?" He points to four plates with omelets and assigns my brother a task and I think their relationship will indeed weather the recent turbulence it experienced.
As Gabe transfers the plates to the dining table, Zach pours a bowl of Trix for Cody. I head to the fridge to grab some orange juice and then grab five glasses to make my contribution to our first family breakfast.
