Page 171 of The Home Game

“Truthfully, I want to faceplant on the bed and sleep next to you for about sixteen hours,” Antoni admitted with a sigh. “But I guess I gotta do this parenting thing instead.”

Matty took his hand. “We’ll do it together, okay?”

“Yeah,” Antoni said, his eyes stinging with unexpected tears. “Together sounds good.”

Matty squeezed his hip.

Antoni rinsed his mouth with some mouthwash then made a half-hearted attempt to tame his wild hair, patting it down with a little water that would probably only make it frizz when it dried. There was no hiding the redness of his lips though.

He shrugged. Oh well, nothing he could do about that now.

Hand in hand, he and Matty left the room, turning out the lights as they went.

When Matty stepped into the kitchen, the kids were eating at the kitchen island, their hair wet, dressed in pajamas. Antoni’s dad leaned against the counter nearby, doing something on his phone.

He looked up with a concerned expression that quickly melted into a smirk. “Good talk, eh?”

Embarrassed, Matty glanced over at Antoni who looked equally uncomfortable.

“Uhh, yeah. Very productive,” Antoni said weakly.

Alexis glanced up, then made a face but kept shoveling three-bean chili into her mouth. Eli, thankfully, didn’t even look up from their bowl.

“You can head out now if you want, Dad,” Antoni offered. “Sorry you had to come over and stay later after a long day of meetings. I really appreciate it though.”

“Eh, no prob,” Enzo said with a shrug as he reached for his coat. “I love spending time with them. Bye, kids! Love you!”

“Bye, Uncle Enzo! Love you too!” they both chorused.

With kisses on the cheek or hair for the kids and hugs for Antoni and Matty, Enzo was off.

Matty turned back to see the kids filling their bowls again.

“Hey, are you gonna save any for us?” Matty teased, reaching for bowls for him and Antoni.

Alexis shrugged. “There’s a bean or two still in there.”

“Thanks. Generous of you.” Matty ladled in some chili, then pulled out plates for their salads, heaping his high and giving Antoni a little less.

“Hey, so,” Antoni said, clearing his throat. “Do you want to talk about what happened with your grandparents tonight?”

“I guess,” Alexis said with a sigh, stirring her chili. “I hate them.”

“That’s fair,” Antoni said. “They’re kind of shitty people.”

Eli shot him a surprised look and Antoni shrugged. “Look. They are. And I’m not going to pretend like they’re not.”

Matty hid a smile.

“It scared me,” Eli said softly. “That they’d try to grab us and take us away.”

“I don’t think they’d resort to that,” Antoni assured them. “But it’s not a bad idea if you make sure there are always trusted adults around you in public.”

“Grandma and Grandpa aren’t on the pickup list at school or anything, right?” Alexis asked warily.

Matty held out a bowl and plate to Antoni.

“Absolutely not,” Antoni said, taking the food. “Just me, Matty, Aunt Eliza, Uncle Enzo, Uncle Andrea, and Aunt Stephanie. And I’ll call the school and the hockey program organizer and let them know that your grandparents are not allowed to speak to you under any circumstances.”

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