Page 35 of At Last

Doc calls to our newest guest. “Hey Sneak, beer?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Trisha, juice? Water? Tea? It’s herbal.”

“Juice will be good.” She laughs, rubbing on her own belly. “I can drink it from a bottle and not feel so left out. I miss beer.”

I grab up my beer and one for Sneak. Doc takes hers and the bottle of juice for Trish, then we join our guests in the living room. The last to arrive is Carver.

“Don’t get up,” he says to my old lady. “Beer in the fridge?”

“Yep,” I answer for her. Though she gets up anyway to pull the peppers from the oven. Along with those Pillsbury breadsticks. She’s also made a salad, and in squeeze bottles that I know I didn’t have, so she must have put them on the list for Jesse, it looks like three different salad dressings.

Then she sets out my plates, flatware, and napkins.

“Okay, everybody. Time to eat. We try not to eat a lot of processed foods in our house because Jade has allergies to some preservatives, so it’s just easier to make my own. The dressings are buttermilk and Italian. And, of course, creamy cucumber, because that’s Princess Jade’s favorite. So please, help yourself. Jade, sweetheart, sit at the table, and I’ll fix you a plate.”

Peaches kisses Gun’s forehead and runs over to the table with her bottle of juice and waits. Doc slices a cooked pepper in half, putting half on Jade’s plate, along with a breadstick and a small pile of salad, which she squeezes creamy cucumber dressing on top.

“Fank you, Mama. Will you sit wiff me?”

“Well sweetheart we’ve got—” I know she’s gonna say we’ve got company. But Trish picks up her plate and juice to walk over to the table, and sits down next to Jade.

“Look,” she says, “We’ve got matching drinks.”

“Mama, me and Twish got matching dwinks.”

The women congregate at the table, while the men take their food back to the sofa and chairs. Gun starts to fuss, and Elise puts her fork down mid-bite to go to him, but she’s stopped by Sneak, who puts his hand up. “I got him. Bottle in the bag?”

“Yes,” a stunned Elise answers, watching Sneak fish a full bottle of formula from the diaper bag. He pops the cap, then positions the boy in his arms and feeds him.

We all watch him in silence, about as stunned as Elise. That’s when he looks around the room at all of us and asks, “What?” Sounding affronted. “Got me a kid coming. Figure I should get used to this.”

“Right.” The brothers start on him.

“You gonna have one of those joint baby showers?” Carver asks.

“We’ll get him one of those Snugli front wearing baby carries like we got for Elise, so he can keep the baby against his chest while he works.” Tommy teases.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Elise cuts in. “I’ll have you know, Tommy Doyle, that Beau wears that just as much as I do, if not more. So leave poor Sneak alone.”

“What?” Tommy asks, unbelieving. “Someone facetime Boss. I need to hear this for myself.”

Carver puts his plate down on the coffee table to pull his phone from his front pocket. He hits a couple buttons, and we hear his phone ring. After about four times, Boss answers with a, “Whatcha need, brother?”

“Hey Boss,” everyone but Elise calls out. Hers is a, “Hey baby.”

“That my wife?” he asks. “Where the fuck are you?”

Carver turns his phone so Boss can see all of us. Then turns it back. “We’re at Duke and Caity’s for dinner.”

“Caity?” Boss asks.

And fuck if I don’t like the sound ’a that. Duke and Caity’s. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I look around to find my woman, who’s turned as strawberry as the lip gloss she usually wears, tastes.

“Dr. Brennan,” Carver continues.

“I thought her name is Caitlin. I always call her Caitlin.”That’swhat throws him, not hearing Carver call it Doc and Caity’s place? Tommy must have explained some things when he called earlier.

---