Mike came back downstairs wearing a red plaid tie. "There. I'm wearing a tie."

Standing by the sliding glass door that led to the backyard, Bobby turned and arched an eyebrow. "That's the tie you're going with?"

"It's a tie, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's a tie."

"Okay, then. I'm ready."

Bobby shook his head and went into the kitchen to set his glass in the sink. Mike followed him and stood in the doorway. "You okay?"

"What makes you ask?"

"That glass you put in the sink."

Bobby sighed softly. It had been a long time since he'd been able to hide anything from Mike. "My knee's been acting up, that's all."

"And you don't see the doctor because..."

"Because I don't want to be taken off duty again, that's why."

"Is it that bad?"

Bobby shrugged and gently pushed past Mike to go into the living room. Mike watched him as he walked. The limp was always there, though Bobby struggled to hide it. The pain, though, had gone away. "I thought it was doing good."

"It was."

"So what happened?"

Bobby frowned. "I'm not going to let something like a bum knee stop me from playing with my children," he snapped, almost inviting a challenge.

Mike knew better than to take the bait. Realization dawned as he remembered they'd been out in the yard a couple of nights before messing around with a soccer ball. Tom had kicked the ball to his father, who had been distracted and had to shift his position suddenly to intercept it. Now Mike realized what Bobby had tried so hard to hide by ending the game with a promise of ice cream. The kids had scrambled into the house, and Mike had gone after them, not realizing Bobby had hurt himself. Only now did he remember that Bobby had not come directly inside. The kids had taken their ice cream into the family room and moved on to another game when Bobby finally came into the house.

"I'm sorry," Mike said. "I didn't realize you got hurt..."

"Exactly. No apology needed. Now let it go."

"Does Alex know?"

"I don't know. Probably. I can never hide anything from her."

"She hasn't said anything?"

"No. She's probably waiting for me to say something."

Mike shook his head. "Then she'll rip into you for not telling her right away."

"No, she won't because I'm not going to say anything about it."

"Oh. That always ends well," Mike muttered sarcastically.

Ignoring him, Bobby sat heavily on the couch and propped up his leg on the coffee table. He trusted Mike. He knew he wouldn't say anything to Alex. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes, waiting for the whiskey to ease the pain away. He was fortunate that Alex liked to do the driving. His thoughts drifted as the dull throbbing began to ease...until he felt a sudden, cold weight on his aching joint. The pain eased away a little more, and he forced his eyes open.

Mike grinned at him, standing by the coffee table. A bag of frozen peas rested over Bobby's knee. After a moment, Bobby smiled at him. "Thanks, Mike."

"I do what I can."

A noise from the front of the house caught their attention, and Bobby tossed the peas to Mike, who trotted off to return them to the freezer. The front door opened as he returned to the living room. Alex joined them a few seconds later. "Okay, boys, are you ready...Is that the tie you're wearing?"

Mike looked down. "What? This is a perfectly good tie."

She stopped by the couch, shaking her head. Opening her mouth to say something, she fell silent when Bobby's hand slid along her waist and under her shirt. His fingers stroked her skin and she looked at him. "You told him to wear a tie. It's a tie," he said.

She let go of her irritation on a sigh and leaned down to kiss him. As his tongue lightly teased her lips, she could both taste and smell the scotch, and she wondered if he was nervous about the upcoming dinner. She allowed herself to linger for a moment before she withdrew. "Fine," she said, pushing her fingers lightly through Bobby's hair. "Wear that tie, if you must. I'll just count myself fortunate that Bobby doesn't own a tie that hideous."

Mike lifted the tie away from his shirt and looked down at it. "What's hideous about it?"

"Honestly, Mike. What suit does a plaid tie actually go with? And don't you dare say a plaid suit."

He laughed. "You'll be happy to know I don't own a plaid suit, and I think it goes just fine with this suit. Lennie always said my plaid ties were classy. Has Carolyn dropped Sean off at your sister's?"

Alex opened her mouth to say something about Briscoe, but she caught Bobby's eye and he shook his head. Mike was very sensitive about his late partner, especially of any perceived slight. The years had transformed Briscoe into a kind of legend in Mike's mind, and Bobby respected that. She let the tie matter drop and answered his question about Sean. "Not yet."

"Did you call her?"

"I tried but she didn't answer. She's probably on her way to drop him off."

"Keep telling yourself that. I'll bet you dinner for a week she's gonna show up with him, then offer some lame excuse for why she had to bring him."

Alex frowned, but she offered no argument. Mike was probably right, and she needed to figure out how she was going to deal with it when it happened.

The restaurant Alex had chosen was a quiet place that served good food, a nice restaurant they had taken the kids to for dinner on several occasions. The menu offered everything from pasta and enchiladas to steak and vegetarian dishes. They even had a few good international choices—lamb curry, gyros, and a surprisingly good stir fry dish with apples and raisins. The kids loved the egg rolls and the tacos, sometimes as part of the same meal.

They arrived before Carolyn did and were seated in a quiet corner. To start with, they ordered drinks—wine for Alex and scotch for both Bobby and Mike. Reaching out, she placed a light hand on Bobby's knee, looking at him with alarm at the heat she felt through the denim of his pants.

He looked at her, gently grabbing her hand under the table before she withdrew it from his knee. His thumb stroked hers and his eyes told her he was okay. With a brief nod, she let it go, but he knew she would bring it up later.

Mike had not missed the exchange and he knew that if she had been unaware of Bobby's reinjured knee, she wasn't any more. Bobby looked up at him, and he offered a brief grin of encouragement. It would be okay. It always was...well, almost always.

When the waitress came back for their food order, Alex explained that they were waiting for one more person, and Bobby ordered another scotch. Quietly, Alex asked, "How is Denise doing?"

Bobby tensed, which he usually did when she brought up the subject of his dying friend and former lover. Alex was fully aware that he had never stepped away from his relationship with Denise, never stopped loving her, although he swore to her it had changed, that he was no longer romantically involved with her. Alex had to trust him. She couldn't say he never lied to her, but she did believe that he had never cheated on her. She also knew that Denise was a good woman who would never allow him to stray, not with her, no matter how much she loved him, and Alex knew that she loved him very much.

Bobby withdrew his hand from hers and began to play with his napkin. "She's, uh, she's okay right now, mostly. The pregnancy is hard, because of the cancer. She has a lot of pain that...that they can't do much about. She still works half-days, but that won't continue for much longer."

Both Alex and Mike could hear the pain in his voice. He dealt with loss poorly, and Denise's illness was taking as much of an emotional toll on him as it was a physical toll on her. "Are you going to tell the kids?" Alex asked.

He paused, focusing on the napkin in his hands. "Maggie knows," he said. "But I don't know any way to explain it to Tom. He's too young to understand anything more than she's going away."

"And Maggie does understand?"

"She does as well as any six-year-old can. Maybe better."

"Will you take them to see her again?"

He was surprised by her question. "Do you want me to?"

"They love her. You have to let them say good-bye. Maybe Tom won't remember her, but Maggie will never forget her and if you don't let her say good-bye, she may resent it. I don't want that."

"What about you?"

It was her turn to be surprised. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Denise has always liked you, even if you haven't returned the sentiment, but how are you going to explain it to Maggie if you don't go to see her with us?"

He had a point. "Bobby, I like Denise, and I was always grateful for what she gave you when I couldn't."

Mike choked on his drink and Alex glared at him. "Excuse me," he said. "But that's not what I remember. You always resented her for sleeping with him because she could and you couldn't."

"You're a Neandertal, Logan. She did a lot more for him than that."

Bobby looked around, desperate for Carolyn to show up, with Sean or without him. Alex and Mike both noticed his restlessness, and they knew it was time to change the subject. Reaching out, Alex lightly played with his hair. "I'll go with you," she promised.

Finally looking at her, Bobby felt a sense of relief. "Thank you," he said.

"You don't have to thank me. Do you remember telling me there was nothing you wouldn't do for me?"

"Once or twice."

"Well, how can I do any less for you? Besides, how often do you ever ask me to do anything for you?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I distinctly remember, the other night..."

She gave him a light smack. "Shut up," she hissed, but she was smiling at the memory.

"Come on," Mike said. "You can't leave me hanging like this."

"Like hell we can't," Alex replied, knowing full well Mike would cajole Bobby into telling him what it was later on. Sometimes she was uncomfortable with the level of trust Bobby had with Mike, wondering if he trusted her the same way. But Mike had earned that trust a hundred times over, and Alex could not begrudge her husband his closest friend.

"I would like some things to remain private between us," she said with a teasing poke to Bobby's ribs.

"Like what?" he asked, trying to project an air of innocence.

She shook her head, but smiled. Every so often, he would do something in complete innocence that made her trip and fall head over heels for him all over again. His expression sent her reeling and she leaned up to kiss him, slipping her hand behind his head to prolong the kiss.

She sent his head spinning with her kiss and she took his breath away completely. He would have allowed himself to become lost in her had Mike not punched his shoulder. "Come up for air," Mike said. "She's here with her little appendage, just like I said."

Bobby took a moment to recover before responding, "Well, at least you know she doesn't trust someone else more than she trusts you."

"No. She mistrusts everyone equally."

Carolyn approached them, Sean on one hip, diaper bag over the other shoulder. Sean squealed happily when he saw his father and reached out for him. Rising, Mike took his son, making a point to ignore the boy's mother. Alex rolled her eyes. The evening was not starting off well.

Ever the gentleman, Bobby rose and pulled out the fourth chair for Carolyn. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "Sorry I'm late, but we came directly from the doctor's office."

"Doctor?" Mike said. "What's wrong with him?"

"He has a sniffle."

Mike stared at her. "And?"

"And what? He has a cold and I had to get him checked."

"Seriously? You took him to the doctor for a sniffle?"

She frowned. "When your child is sick, Mike, you take him to the doctor. If you were any kind of father..."

"Hold on, Carolyn," Alex interjected. "We aren't here to attack Mike's parenting. He loves Sean every bit as much as you do."

"How can you say that? If Sean had been in his care, he would not have taken him to the doctor."

"Neither would I," Alex responded. "You can't take a child to the doctor for every little sniffle."

"Give me one reason why not."

By now, Bobby had recovered his bearings, and he answered, "Every time you take him to the doctor, Carolyn, you expose him to illnesses he might not otherwise come into contact with. Most doctors make well child appointments separate from sick child appointments so that the healthy kids don't get sick as well. So when you take him in for a minor illness, you may unintentionally expose him to something much worse."

After a moment of silence, Mike finally spoke, "I couldn't have said it better myself, but you do realize she's going to go home and boil him now."

"Logan!" Carolyn snapped angrily.

Bobby laughed, defusing some of the tension. "You know he's kidding," he said, still smiling at Mike's remark.

"Two peas in a pod," she said. "You two are just alike."

Bobby looked around the table. He wasn't really hungry, partly due to the pain in his knee and partly due to the pain in his soul. He focused his gaze on Carolyn. "Listen to me," he said. "There is a problem here—a big problem—and you need to work it out. That's not going to happen with Sean sitting in your lap, which is why we asked you to drop him off with Reggie."

"Reggie has her hands full with all the other children. Suppose she doesn't have time for Sean?"

"Do you think for a second that Maggie or Tommy would ever let him be neglected?" Not giving her a chance to respond, he stood up. "That's a moot point now. You're here to talk to Mike, and Alex feels you need a mediator, so here you and Mike are and here she is, and Sean and I are going to take a walk."

Not giving her a chance to object, he reached over as Mike handed the baby to him. He winked at Alex and walked away.

They watched him leave, and once he was gone, Carolyn turned on Mike. "You planned that!"

"Actually, no. That was all him."

She looked at Alex, pointing at Bobby's half-empty glass. "How much has he had to drink?"

"Relax. Sean is perfectly fine with him."

Carolyn pushed her chair back. "I don't have to put up with this."

"Yes, you do," Mike retorted.

Alex leaned forward. "Mike is living at my house, Carolyn, because you treat him like an outsider in his own home. Like it or not, he is Sean's father, and he has every bit as much right to Sean as you do. You know that, and you know that the court will see it the same way."

"Court?"

Mike nodded. "Court. I'm not going to walk away from him, and if you ever thought I would, then you don't know me at all. We can work this out and I can come home, or I'll move my stuff out, but whatever happens between us, Sean is still my son, and I want joint custody. Wherever I am living, I want my son for half the time, and that is not up for debate."

Carolyn stared at him. "You would take my son away from me?"

"What? Have you completely lost your mind? When did this become about you?"

Alex intervened before their discussion escalated into a full-blown argument. "Just what are you doing to him, Carolyn? You are withholding your son from his father, and that isn't fair to either of them. He's not taking Sean away from you. He wants his time with him, and that's his right. It will be good for you and for Sean to have time apart. It's absolutely necessary."

Carolyn scanned the restaurant, looking for Bobby. Alex said, "He's right, Carolyn. It's not healthy. You need a life separate from your son. Mike has a right to spend equal time with him. But we aren't here just to talk about Sean. What about you and Mike?"

"What about us?"

Mike took over. "Us? There is no 'us' right now."

"You're the one who moved out, Logan."

"People, as a rule, don't like to stay where they aren't wanted, and I got fed up with being constantly criticized. I think I deserve better than that."

"When have I criticized you?"

"When? Try every time I do anything with Sean. I give him a bath and you bathe him again..."

"I have to make sure you washed off all the soap."

"I know how to wash a baby."

She seemed surprised by that information. "When did you ever bathe a baby before? Sean is your only child."

"First kid I ever bathed was Maggie when she was about six months old. I've given baths to all of Bobby and Alex's kids except Harry. I've fed them and dressed them. I play with them. And they've all survived."

"That's different. They aren't like Sean. He's not used to being handled by so many different people."

"Because you won't let anyone else touch him! You're obsessed, and it's not healthy. You were supposed to start teaching in January. Tell Alex why you didn't."

"I just postponed my start date. Sean needs me."

"How do you plan to pay the bills if you don't go back to work?" he challenged.

She glared at him. "You'll withhold money from your son?"

"Don't play that game with me, Barek. I'm not going to support your habit. I want joint custody. Equal time with my son."

"No judge will grant that. You can't even match his socks."

Exasperated, Mike looked at Alex. "A couple of weeks ago, I put a black sock and a navy blue sock on him. You'd have thought I murdered the Queen. Apparently, matching socks is the gold standard of good child care, and I just don't live up to it."

Alex gave Carolyn a look. "You criticize him for putting mismatched socks on the baby instead of giving him credit for putting socks on him at all. He gives the baby a bath, and you bathe him over again. He gets up with the baby so you can sleep in, and you change his clothes when you get up because you don't like what Mike chose to put on him. To his credit, he loves his son and he wants to spend time with him and help to raise him, but all you can give him for that is grief. What's going on with you? This is not like you at all. Before you left for Arizona, you were ready to marry him. Now you are driving him away and you won't even talk to him."

Mike sat silently listening to Alex go to bat for him, something he never expected. He knew he could always count on Bobby to be in his corner, but Alex? Would wonders never cease? When Alex mentioned Arizona, a light went on in his head. "Arizona."

Both women looked at him. Alex was curious, but Carolyn's expression was much darker. "I'm right," he said with certainty. "I never put it together until now."

"Put what together?" Alex asked.

Mike poked a finger in the air at Carolyn. "You were supposed to be gone for two weeks; you stayed for two months. Post-partum depression, my ass. Something happened in Arizona! How did I miss that? Before you went to Arizona, I could put his socks on his ears and you'd just laugh. What is it, Carolyn? Did your mother get to you? Did you think you could bully me into letting you move to Arizona with my son? Did you think I would get so fed up with your bullshit that I would tell you to leave? What happened to you out there? You used to at least talk to Alex about what you're thinking and feeling, but not this time. Why?"

Alex was impressed by Mike's sudden insight. He had changed so much since he'd gotten close to Bobby and all for the better. Remembering the kind of man he used to be—the hothead who once punched a councilman on the courthouse steps, the maverick with an IAB file the size of War and Peace—she contrasted who he once was with who he was now. He was the kind of friend to Bobby that everyone deserved to have in their lives. He was a man she was happy to have in the lives of her children, one she knew she could always depend on to love and protect them.

Seated across from her, Carolyn looked down at the table. "I don't want to be across the country from my son for half the year," she said.

"So don't move."

"But my parents deserve to have him in their lives and he should have them in his."

Mike slammed his hand on the table. "I'm his father, dammit! I have the right to have him in my life!"

"But if you stepped away..."

"If I stepped away, then you'd have no reason to feel guilty. I deserve better from you. He's my son and I'm not going to let you run off with him. Let your folks come to New York to see him. Otherwise, he's gonna be on a plane every other month. Quit the crazy mother act. You're not moving across the country with Sean, and I'll get a court order if I have to." His frown deepened. "They were the ones who chose to move away. I'm not gonna feel guilty about their decision to live in Phoenix. Go if you want, but I'm not going to give up my son."

"I knew you wouldn't cooperate with me," Carolyn accused.

"Cooperate? You don't want me to cooperate. You want me to give you permission to take my son away from me, and that's not going to happen. You can leave him here with me or you can shuttle him back and forth six times a year. Or you can just stay in New York and teach at John Jay. But I'm not giving up my rights as his father."

Her expression turned dark. "Get a lawyer and prepare for a battle, Logan. I'm going back to Arizona and Sean is going with me."

"Damn straight I'll get a lawyer, but you're not going anywhere until the custody issue is worked out. Expect a court order to that effect in the next couple of days. I'm going for joint custody."

"And I will fight it every step of the way. I'm going to fight for you to have to come to Arizona to see him. We'll see how long that lasts."

Logan's face grew bright with rage. "You want to play dirty? Fine. I'm going to fight for full custody, then." He got to his feet. "I'm taking Sean home with me tonight. Bobby and I will get my stuff tomorrow."

"You can't..."

His glare silenced her and she slowly took the diaper bag off her chair and handed it to him. He took it and walked away without another word.

Once he was gone, Alex asked, "Is this the way you want it?"

"All I wanted was for him to let me take the baby and move closer to my parents. He's spent too much time with Bobby."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"It is for getting what I want."

"What happened to you? You've done a complete turn-around, Carolyn. How did your family turn you against Mike?"

"They didn't." She sighed unevenly. "I honestly didn't realize how much I missed my family until I went out there with Sean. My mother made me realize that Mike just isn't a marrying man and that she and my dad will be a lot more help to me than Mike ever will. I interviewed for a teaching job just before I left and it looks good for me to get it. My father and one of my brothers will come out to help me move. It's all settled."

"So that's it? You just made this decision without even talking to Mike. Your plan was to just spring this on him and hope for the best?"

"I had no idea how to approach him. I thought if I frustrated him, he would be glad to get rid of me."

"You, maybe. But Sean? I can't see that happening."

"I guess I was hoping he'd be more of the man he used to be and less of the man he's become since he befriended Bobby."

Alex smiled. "Do you really think Bobby would let him get away with that?"

Carolyn looked down at the table. "I guess not. I know I should be grateful that he's such an involved father, but I can't help resenting him. Do you think he'll pursue the custody thing?"

"I'm sure he will. Maybe if you meet him halfway, he'll settle for joint custody."

"He's really going to make Sean travel across the country every month?"

"He won't give up his son, and it's not fair to ask him to move to Arizona. His life is here."

Carolyn frowned. "Bobby once considered moving, but he stayed because of Maggie. Why can't Mike move because of Sean?"

Alex was surprised. "He what?"

"You didn't know? Back when you were still married to Ricky, Bobby got to the point that he didn't think he could handle it any more. He thought about moving away to start over again, to distance himself from you and maybe stand a chance of getting over you. Mike said he talked to police departments in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and Seattle. I think one of them even made him an offer. Ultimately, he decided that he couldn't leave Maggie. The pain of facing his loss was nothing compared to not having that little girl in his life, even if she wasn't his."

Alex felt a lump form in her throat. "I had no idea."

"You had no idea about a lot of things back then. But my point is—why can't Mike be that devoted to Sean?"

Alex was quiet, absorbing what Carolyn had just told her. She knew times had been rough for Bobby back then, but she had no idea just how rough. After a few minutes, she forced herself back to the conversation. "None of this is fair, Carolyn. You left for a two week visit to see your parents that lasted a couple of months. When you came back, you seemed like an entirely different person. Now you announce you're moving across the country and you expect him to be okay with it, or to uproot his life and follow you with no real prospect for a future with you any more. You haven't really given him any thought, have you?"

"Why are you taking his side this time?"

"Because you aren't being fair to him. Why can't you see that?"

Carolyn looked around, frowning when she saw Bobby across the room without Sean. Mike really must have taken him. He approached and leaned over to kiss Alex's cheek. "Are you going to stay for dinner?"

She looked up at him. "You're not?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to go with Mike. If you want to stay, one of us will come back for you."

She searched his eyes. "What is it?"

"I need to make a stop on the way."

"Denise?"

He nodded reluctantly. "She, uhm, she needs some help, and I'm really not hungry. If you want me to stay..."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. Go ahead. I'll find a way home."

"Alex..."

"Really. It's okay."

He paused before leaning over to kiss her again. Straightening to his full height, he looked at Carolyn. Quietly, he said, "Give it some serious thought before you fully commit to relocating," he advised. "Mike deserves better than this."

He walked away. Alex watched him until he was out of sight. When she turned back, Carolyn was watching her. "You're really okay with that?"

"With what?"

"With him going to Denise."

"Yes. She's dying and he's all she has."

"She has to have other friends."

"Since she got so sick, most of the friends she did have avoid her because they can't deal with her illness. So now, she has Bobby and Mike, and me to an extent. She doesn't have much more than a couple of months left."

"You're a better person than I am. I don't think I would be comfortable with my husband at the beck and call of a former lover."

"You don't know Denise. I trust Bobby, and I trust her. They both have integrity. Bobby has had plenty of chances to cheat on me, especially with her, and he never has."

"How do you know?"

"They both told me it's never happened, and if it had, Bobby's guilt would eat him alive. I would know. I have no doubt about that. And Denise would never let him put his family on the line. She just wouldn't."

Carolyn shook her head. "You're way too trusting. I would never let Mike continue to see an old girlfriend."

"Mike isn't Bobby."

"They're more alike than you realize."

"Only in some ways. If you don't trust Mike, why did you agree to marry him?"

"I thought things would be different once the baby came, and they are, just not the way I hoped." She paused. "Do you think that he and Bobby are too involved?"

"Once I did, but not any more. The relationship they have with each other is exactly what they need it to be. Think about it this way: if they were brothers, would you feel the same way?"

"Well, no..."

"Okay, then. Mike is an only child and Bobby disowned Frank long ago. I'm glad they have the friendship they do. If it wasn't for Mike, I would have lost Bobby long ago."

"Maggie is the one who saved him."

"Maybe so, but it was Mike who kept him around so she could. Maybe Mike doesn't form attachments the way Bobby does, but there are a very few important exceptions to that. Sean is one."

"And Bobby is the other."

"Yes. He won't leave New York, and he won't let Sean live full-time in Arizona, which is his right."

"So if I go, I'm stuck with a long distance parenting situation."

"Yes."

They were interrupted by the waiter and, after a couple of indecisive moments, they ordered dinner. The waiter brought them another bottle of wine, and Alex called her sister to make sure it was okay for the kids to spend the night. Carolyn said, "Your family is here. You have all the support you need. I didn't realize how much that meant until I had Sean."

"I can't say much about that because I've always had my family close. But if they all chose to move away tomorrow, and Bobby wanted to stay, I would stay."

"Of course you would. He's your husband and you love him. No one would question that."

"So you don't love Mike?"

"He makes it hard sometimes. Since the baby came, I don't feel the same way toward him that I used to. In good conscience, I can't marry him, and I think he's okay with that. So I'll move to Arizona and he can have his bachelor pad back."

"It's not that simple. He's a father now with a father's responsibilities."

"Only for half the year. Where is he going to live if he doesn't move back to his apartment?"

"He'll stay with us. We're putting in an addition with two new bedrooms. Bobby has already offered him one of the rooms and we've talked about maybe adding an outside door if he stays."

"So he never intended to come home?"

"It's not that. Bobby offered it for as long as he wants or needs it. Mike will always have a place to live, but Bobby was still hoping you would reconcile."

"As you can see, that doesn't seem to be an option."

"Carolyn, don't be so hard on him. He's lived in New York all his life and you want to uproot him and make him move across the country with no support system, no friends, not even a relationship. Why are you surprised he won't go?"

"If he loved Sean..."

"He does love Sean, which is why he's putting up a fight. He doesn't want you taking the baby anywhere, but if you insist, he's going to make sure his rights are protected."

Their dinners arrived and when they were alone again, Carolyn said, "I never expected him to step up and be a father. He's content playing favorite uncle to your kids. I never expected more than that."

"Then you really don't know Mike."

"I guess I underestimated him."

Alex cut off a piece of chicken. "That's something we've all done, to both of them. They've proved us wrong every time."

As they continued to eat, their conversation turned to other topics and the rest of their evening was pleasant.