Page 73 of Just A Little Magic

“Da, silly.” Owen’s giggle stopped Jakob in mid-dance.

With a sweet smile, Jakob held out his hand to Owen and asked, “Owen, you wanna see the playroom?”

Owen glanced up at me. “Go on, baby. I’ll be right behind you. I think Rory’s already playing.”

Jakob waited patiently for Owen to decide whether to take his hand. He finally took a few hesitant steps forward and put his hand in Jakob’s outstretched one. That was enough of a green light and Jakob tugged him through the foyer toward the playroom at the back of the house. I trailed behind to give him some space but close enough to intervene.

“Look who I have!” Jakob whisper-shouted and presented Owen like a gift. “Ta-da!”

Rory’s expression exploded in joy and he clapped his hands. “Owen! I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. Daddy and Uncle Reed said I gotta have paa-peh-pa—, ugh, they said I gotta wait.”

Rory sat on the floor and bounced up and down like a tiger on his tail. Jakob plopped down next to him, leaving Owen in the middle of the room.

“Rory, ’member what my Papa said. He said Owen’s a baby, and we gotta be super-duper careful.” Jakob was veryfirm.

“I ’member.” Rory forced himself to slow his movement and patted the spot next to him on the rug. “Owen, you wanna sit with us?”

Owen glanced back at me for confirmation.

“It’s okay,” I said with a smile and nod. Owen inched his way toward the rug and sat down with them. His fisted hand started in his lap, floated toward his mouth, and then retreated several times.

If he was going to play, a thumb in his mouth wasn’t a great plan. I fetched his paci from the bag I brought with us. “Hey, baby, this will help.” I clipped the paci to his onesie and gently probed his lips until he opened and latched.

“Owen, you wanna play?” Rory asked. “We got new toys! Uncle Reed and Daddy helped us pick ’em out.”

One by one, the boys presented Owen with his options. They had textured cloth blocks along with some malleable plastic cars. However, the rag doll they offered him drew Owen’s interest the most. He immediately clutched it to his chest and gave the baby a few pats on the back. Rory and Jakob high-fived and complimented each other for finding the baby, and weren’t they so smart because they knew they’d find something that all of them loved?

After a quick victory dance that looked very much like the chicken dance popular at wedding receptions, they hurried to get their own baby dolls. Between the three of them, the babies had a bounty of options in which bottles and blankets would be best. The babies must have been very picky because they demanded new options every few minutes.

During all of it, Rory and Jakob checked in with Owen and made sure he was taken care of and had what he needed. After his initial shyness, he enthusiastically joined them in helping their baby dolls choose new bottles and blankets to be wrappedin. He didn’t say much beyond one-word responses, but he was giggling and smiling.

“Hey, I figured this was where I’d find you.”

I jumped a little when I heard Gabe’s voice. I wasn’t sure when, but at some point, I’d sat down on the couch and just watched the boys play. Seeing Owen happy while playing with others was too mesmerizing to walk away from and not savor every second. “Oh, yeah, I got distracted watching them.”

Gabe smiled indulgently at Rory. “Yeah, I have the same problem. When they are so happy and in the moment, the only thing I want to do is sit and enjoy them playing. It’s dopamine by proxy.”

“Hi, Daddy. You wanna play too?” Rory asked from the floor while he waved his baby in Gabe’s direction.

“I’ll play in a little bit, Bunny. I just came in to tell you that Anders got stuck at work, but he said he’ll be here in about thirty to forty-five minutes at the latest.” Rory’s smile disappeared. “I know, buddy, but I can’t do anything about Ander’s boyfriend.”

“He’s a meanie head and makes Anders sad.” Rory pouted.

“Stop, Bunny. Even if we don’t like Anders’s boyfriend, it’s not okay to call him names. Don’t you think that would hurt Anders?”

Rory, properly chastised, hung his head and whispered, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“C’mere, you’re not in trouble.”

Rory scrambled off the floor and jumped in his Daddy’s lap. Gabe whispered something in his ear and Rory was quick to agree. He snuggled in with his baby doll and closed his eyes.

Owen looked over at them before turning to me. “Da?”

“Climb up, baby.” I patted my lap, and Owen jumped at the instruction and hurled himself off the floor and ontomy lap. He brought the rag doll with him and proceeded to snuggle him just like Rory had done with his Daddy on the other chair.

“Nooooo, I wanna play!” Jakob cried from the floor, where he was now the only one sitting on the rug.

“Shhh, love, you can play in a bit. The boys just need some cuddle time, and I do too,” Reed said as he walked into the room with his hands and arms full. “Jakob, can you be a helper and give everyone their drinks? And then I need my own snuggles.”

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