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"Would you like to stay for dinner?"
It was a simple question, a standard invitation, one she'd extended so many times before, when she needed her brother's help; that's why she hadn't realized the damage she'd done, at first.
In hindsight, she should have known. Or, at least, she should have suspected things weren't exactly as they seemed.
The thing is-
When Buck says "we", he usually means "Eddie and I".
It's been like this for years, them coming as a unit, BuckandEddie, thick as thieves, where one goes the other follows and so on.
Ever since that first time, when Eddie and Chim had helped her move to her new apartment, Buck bringing Eddie around, whenever she needs an extra pair of hands, has become a sure thing.
How could she have foreseen that this time would be different?
That's why, when Buck replied to her request for help with a "Yeah, we could swing around after five", she offered them both dinner without a second thought. It wouldn't be the first time Buck and Eddie spent their evening with her and Jee, while Chimney's on some extra shift and, sure enough, Eddie could use some cheering up and one or two of Jee's special hugs, after the whole Chris moving to Texas fiasco.
Now, imagine Maddie's shock when she opens her door only to find, on the other side, not only her brother, lips curved up into an apologetic smile, but also-
"Tommy. What a surprise."
So.
The "we" in question wasn't her favorite Buckley-Diaz duo.
It was Buck and the boyfriend.
Maddie manages to keep her composure, somehow. Though, if her brother was just a tad more intuitive that he usually is, he would immediately call her bluff.
Even the little one inside her womb is kicking unceremoniously, showing his disappointment about the unexpected development.
Instead, her brother immediately puts himself to work, as silently as possible not to wake up Jee from her afternoon nap - which is essential, for their plan to work - while Maddie finds herself tasked with the job to entertain the boyfriend, who has apparently hurt himself at work and can't lift heavy weights.
It's not that she doesn't like Tommy, per se.
It's more that she doesn't know him enough, yet, to have formed an opinion on him, and she would have never thought this would be the way she would end up sharing her first coffee with the guy - inside her own home, at her own table - making small talk while her brother sweats his ass off moving all of Jee's Christmas gifts from their closet to his Jeep.
Judging from the way Tommy keeps sending looks at the clock on their kitchen wall, she thinks she's not the only one who would love to be somewhere else, in this moment.
"You got somewhere to be, Tommy? Am I keeping you from your date night?" she asks, non particularly curious, but willing to make an effort.
"Uh, no. It's just. There's a game, tonight and Evan and I should be on our way soon. We're meeting with some friend at a bar, to watch it together" he replies, with a not unkind, though distant, smile.
There must have been some confusion.
She didn't know they wouldn't stay for dinner and she already ordered four traditional italian round pizzas, one for each of them*.
"Oh, I thought you would stay. For dinner, I mean" she says, studying his reaction.
He stares for a moment, but when he opens his mouth to reply, Evan enters the kitchen with his usual grace and declares that the one in his hands is the last of the packages.
Thank God, it didn't take long.
It's six o'clock already and she needs to wake Jee up or they won't be able to sleep a wink, tonight. And thank God for her brother and his infinite patience; she really doesn't know what she would have done, if it weren't for him.
Because, let's be clear. Her daughter is awesome. She's cute and bright and smart and the biggest joy of her life. But she's too damn curious. And too fucking adventurous and nosy for her age. That's why, now that she's able to walk and run and climb on almost everything, Maddie couldn't keep those gifts inside her and Chimney's closet, or they would have surely been found.
Because, the thing is, Jee likes shiny stuff and sweets but also, apparently, opening closets to ferret out every single thing she can, most of all what they don't want her to find.
It's her favorite activity, these days, and she loves doing it almost as much as she loves stairs.
Give her a staircase and she'll climb and descend those steps, again and again, giggling and sweating but never stopping, as if her life depends on it.
Give her a closet and she'll have a blast getting inside, roaming around like a mad girl to find even the littlest of things, even the best hidden, even the forgotten ones, and bring them back to light.
Buck, though he doesn't remember, was the same, at her age.
When she couldn't find her brother and he was still too little to get in trouble out of the house, Maddie knew there were only two possible scenarios he would have gotten himself into: unfortunately, the same goes for Jee.
First option, Evan had gone to her room, dived right into her closet and made a mess of everything. She would find him nestled among her sweaters or lost inside one of her coats and she would be too endeared by the view to even imagine being angry at him.
Second option, he had decided to run up and down the damn staircase while their parents were too busy to give a damn about him.
He had been obsessed with those stairs, since he was old enough to crawl up and down on all fours. At first, stopping him had been relatively easy. She was good at distracting and he wasn't fast enough to really get in trouble.
The real problems had started later, when Evan was more or less Jee's age and decided that spending his days on those stupid stairs was the funniest thing ever.
Maddie used to follow, hands stretched out behind his tiny form, ready to catch her little demon of a brother every time he lost his balance or stumbled on his own feet.
It was a nightmare. It was also a dream, seeing her brother so happy, so carefree.
One that she'd been destined to relive, thanks to her daughter and the traits she shares with her uncle.
Thank God, though, "Uncle Buck's loft" is the only place where Jee's penchant for them can really breaks lose, since they're house is all on one floor; and now, her brother can finally get a taste of his own medecine.
Now, he's the one who runs around worried out of his mind every time Jee starts her up-and-down-the-stairs routine, complaining the whole time about how she could fall and break some bones and who the heck does she get it from, Maddie?
You, she always replies, smirking. You.
What is it with them, closets and staircases, Maddie will never understand.
But it's hilarious, how the tables finally turned, and she's not going to complain about it.
She's so lost in her memories that, at first, she doesn't register that Tommy has followed her brother outside, until he hears them talk right in front of the kitchen window.
She tries not to listen but-
Well, she doesn't try that hard, actually.
"You didn't tell me she wanted us to stay for dinner, Evan" Tommy's saying.
"I'm sorry but- she needed this favor and it's-" Evan waves his hands around, trying to explain. "It's usually how we do this, you know? We come here, we get whatever she needs done and then she orders pizza for all of us. But It's not a problem, we can go. Or- you can go, if you want. It's been so long since we've had dinner, just Maddie and I. it's fine."
Evan brings his hand on Tommy's triceps, a calming gesture to emphasize his point.
Maddie must admit it, he looks infatuated enough.
Tommy, though, his body doesn't relax under her brother's ministrations. Instead, he looks even more on edge.
"We?" he asks, tilting his head.
"What?" Just like Maddie, Buck doesn't seem to understand what the problem is.
"You said we" Tommy replies. "Who's we?"
And.
Oh.
Oh.
Maddie finally realizes where this is going and, really, she would intervene, if she wasn't technically spying on them.
So? It's the pregnancy hormones. She can't help it.
"Oh. Uhm- me and Eddie?" her brother replies, unaware of the sudden tension in the air. "It's- you know, it's what we do. Usually."
"So you and Eddie come here often? Together?"
"Oh, yeah! Don't worry, Maddie loves to have people around! And- Jee, too. I know she's going to love you. She's going to show you all her drawings and she'll want to sit next to you at the table and she'll probably steal all your olives" Evan tells him, trying to convince him to stay.
Maddie doesn't think he should have to try this hard, to get his boyfriend to stay home with him, his sister and his adorable niece.
"But I like olives" Tommy replies, shrugging like he doesn't really understand.
So, Tommy's like Eddie in this sense, while her and Evan absolutely despise olives.
Eddie, though. Eddie's obsessed with them. That's why his astonished reaction was so hilarious, the first time Jee stole a few from his pizza.
It's something she's always loved doing with her dad; he orders pizza with green olives and she ends up eating at least half of them. It's one of their things and neither Maddie nor Chim have ever thought of correcting her on. It's funny and they're family and she's so cute when she does it, that they've never found any will to put an end to it.
Then, one time, when Chimney was on shift - just like today - Jee decided she would sit next to her uncle Eddie, who had tagged along with Evan for some other DIY little job she's forgotten about.
It had been natural, for her, to steal those first olives from Eddie's pizza.
She'd reached out - with her bright eyes and big grin - and she had plunged her tiny fingers into the mozzarella, stealing the green olives right from under his nose.
Eddie had stopped talking mid-sentence, studied his pizza and then looked towards Jee. He'd repeated the movement twice more, while the perplexed expression on his face got slowly but surely replaced by an amused smile.
Then, he'd shifted his gaze to Evan and winked, before letting his expression drop to one of fake shock and dismay.
"Buck" he'd said, in the end.
"Yes, Eddie?" her brother had asked, with eyes full of mirth and a barely contained laughter.
"I think there's a little thief at this table" Eddie had continued, squinting. "And I'm ready to catch her in the act."
Jee had giggled then - small hands right in front of her mouth - at Eddie's over-the-top Texan accent; the one you could hear fall from the lips of some old-wild-west-sheriff wanna be. He'd ranted about little thieves, tiny swift hands and how they would all be punished with intense tickling sessions.
That had started a new tradition in their household.
"Yeah, I know." Buck is saying, in the present day. "Eddie loves them too, but he lets her steal them all the same. You should see how they get; she hides under the table and he pretends to be distracted by something so that she can sneak her fingers in and take them off his pizza. It's hilarious! And don't make me start on-"
"Fine, Evan! We're staying" Tommy interrupts, with a tone that Maddie can't quite place. It sounds placating but also… a little annoyed? "You're so excited I that really can't find it in myself to say no to you."
Tommy hasn't even finished to give his reply that her brother is all over him, kissing his lips.
Yes. It's time to wake Jee up.
…
Jee doesn't seem too taken with Uncle Buck's new companion.
At first, when Buck makes the introductions, she plays shy as usual, giving him a tiny, questioning smile while hiding behind Maddie's legs.
It's something Jee's perfected lately, since when she's learned that this little routine usually gets her a lot compliments and big grins.
That's how she's able to control any interaction she has with new people, Maddie and Chim have realized, though it's obviously not a conscious thought. This way, she can decide when or how to approach them, after she's studied their behavior, without feeling uncomfortable or crowded.
That's not what she gets from Tommy, though.
No. Tommy gives her one of the biggest, fakest smiles Maddie's ever seen and pats her right on the crown of her little head, breaking the unspoken rule that she has to be the one to approach you, and not the other way around.
This earns Tommy a scowl and uncle Buck a dirty look that seems to say: why did you bring this man here, when he clearly doesn't know how to behave himself?
It's awkward, but also very funny.
For Maddie, at least.
Evan, on the other hand, is looking at Jee like she's a time bomb ready to explode.
"She's shy, uh?" Tommy mutters, getting himself back to Evan's side, looking almost relieved that he won't have to spend the night entertaining some too eager, too energized little girl.
"Nah, man. She just doesn't know you, yet. Before the evening's over, she'll be all over you" Buck reassures him, gaining another dirty look from Jee and a panicked one from Tommy.
But, really, he shouldn't have worried. Tommy, that is. Because, at the end of their dinner, Jee doesn't seem to have warmed up to him, not even a little, and Maddie's starting to believe her daughter might actually be onto something.
It's not for lack of trying, though. At least not from Jee's part.
Maddie's proud of her little girl; despite their false start, she decides she wants to give her uncle Buck's friend another possibility, at first, and brings him one of her books to read out loud, while they wait for their pizza.
Maddie's arranging the table, but she can't help tuning in to the conversation that's taking place on the other side of the room.
"Uh, Evan, I think she wants you to read her the book" Tommy suggests.
"Well, no. She brought it to you, I think you're the chosen one tonight."
"But- how?"
"I don't know, Tommy" her brother shrugs, scratching the back of his head. "Like you usually do? Just- say the words out loud, you know."
"Very helpful, Evan. Thank you. Could you at least turn on the TV?"
"Oh. Right. The game" her brother yelps, getting the remote from the coffee table.
"Yeah, the game, Evan. We can watch it here, right?" Tommy suggests, making it sound more like an order, than a question.
"Mmm. Yeah, absolutely."
Maddie raises her eyes just when her brother's turning on the TV, volume low enough to let Jee enjoy her story without some awful, unfunny sport commentator ruining her experience; he gets himself comfortable on the sofa, his niece nestled between him and the arm of the couch, so that they're facing Tommy on the armchair, both with the same expectant expression on their faces.
She must admit it, it's an adorable scene.
Or, at least, it would be, if Tommy were able to give the book enough attention to actually finish it, without getting distracted by the game on the screen every five seconds.
At first, Jee finds it funny. This grown man who stumbles on his words and says the names all wrong and constantly loses track of the story. She thinks he's doing it on purpose, so she plays along, correcting him when needed and giggling with her uncle, cuddling with him.
It's only when Tommy starts interrupting the flow with some commentary on Johnson's last missed three point shot or boo the referee's incompetence or send his friends a voice note about the game, that Jee finally realizes that the man, simply, doesn't give a fuck.
That's when everything starts to turn south.
She suddenly starts to act up, whining and raising her voice, demanding that her uncle finishes the story and not the other man. She sniffles and whimpers and Tommy is at least smart enough to pass the book to Evan and let him work his magic, saving them and the rest of their evening from a cranky, moody, too-clingy little girl.
Jee, though, doesn't immediately settle and her relentless whining, finally pushes the man to raise the volume of the TV, in order to drown the tantrum and enjoy his game. And Tommy might be too taken by the TV to notice, but Maddie doesn't miss the annoyed looks her brother keeps sending him.
Mhm.
Interesting.
Thank God, a few minutes later, Maddie finally hears Jee's usual giggles following Evan's bright reading voice and she takes a deep fortifying breath: crisis averted.
After a little while, just when the App lets her know that pizza's on their way, Maddie feels a tiny pull on her sweater; she turns around, finding Jee and her grabby hands waiting for her.
She picks her up and her daughter doesn't lose any time before hugging her with all the strength she can muster.
"You're having fun with uncle Buck, baby?" she asks, glancing at her brother who's in the middle of putting away her books and toys.
She feels Jee's tiny nod, something that never fails to make her melt, but her daughter's still not done. She pulls back, cups her face with her small hands and looks her in the eyes with the most serious of expressions.
"Mommy."
"Yes, baby?"
"Where's Uncle Eddie?"
And- yeah. Maddie knew this question would come. Because, really, reading her books is one of Uncle Eddie's special powers. Nobody does it like him, according to Jee. Not even her daddy. Not even Evan.
It's always been Eddie, ever since when one day, a few months ago, he had to watch her for a few hours, while she and Chim went to the doctor, and he managed to become the bestest story reader ever.
He knows so many things about the horsies, mommy. How does he know them? Is he friend with them?
That's how they found out Eddie's talent for making up stories on the spot, something he had learned to do because Chris has always been an avid listener, always full of weird questions, always wanting to know more.
"He's at work, baby. With your daddy. But- Uncle Buck is here, right? And he brought someone new. Aren't you happy? And the pizzas are coming!" she chirps, hoping that her daughter will be easily swayed towards some other - easier - topic.
Jee squints at her and then turns around towards the two men in question.
He studies the older one with a frown.
"I don't know mom. He keeps talking to the TV. There's someone called Refry that he really doesn't like" she points out, not understanding what a referee is yet. "Doesn't he know they can't hear him?"
Maddie snorts at her daughter deadpan tone, delighted by her ability to simultaneously believe that Eddie can be friend with the horsies but Tommy absolutely can't talk with the people on TV. Before she can formulate an answer, though, her phone lights up with a new notification.
"Guys!" she calls the others. "The pizza's here!"
Evan jumps up at the news, ready to go to the door and retrieve it. Unexpectedly, Tommy stands up from the armchair and follows him.
Once they're out of the room, she turns back towards her daughter and gives her a reassuring smile.
"Maybe he's just shy, Jee. But we can be kind, right? And make him feel comfortable. Your uncle cares about him, so we have to try. Alright?" she proposes.
"Mmm. Okay. I can try" her daughter replies, not exactly convinced.
That's when Maddie gets an idea.
Yes, maybe it will work.
"You could become friends" she reasons, voice encouraging. "Just like with Uncle Eddie, right?"
Jee literally lights up.
"Yeah?" she asks.
"Yes, Jee."
"Okay, mom."
"Thank you, baby."
Once the two lovebirds are back with the pizza - or rather, Evan's back, balancing four italian pizzas on one hand and two beers and one bottle of Pepsi on the other, and Tommy keeps typing on his phone - it's time to assign the seats.
Maddie's busy helping her brother, so her girl, her brave, kind, wonderful girl, surprises her once again, listing all the reasons why she wants Tommy to sit by her side and Uncle Buck right in front of her.
The man in question looks startles when he hears his name, raising his head from his phone for the first time since they came back from the front door; that's when Maddie realizes he hasn't been listening to a word her daughter just said.
"Really? Me?" he asks, puzzled.
Buck just shrugs, smiling and nodding like he's just won the the lottery.
"Wouldn't it be better if… she sat next to your sister? So she can help her eat or something?" Tommy objects, looking at them both like they're crazy.
Buck's eyebrows furrow, while Jee looks taken aback by the man's unenthusiastic response to what she thought was a brilliant and generous idea.
Maddie can't stand it.
"Oh, Tommy, don't worry. She's old enough to chew all on her own" she intervenes. "Beware of her hands, though. She likes to submerge her fingers into the sauce and wipe them off on people's shirts. Children, you know?"
"Uh, okay, maybe…" Tommy looks even more stressed than before.
"Come on, Tommy" her brother insists, the need to see his boyfriend bond with his niece clear in his expression. "We can wash up at mine, if we need to. I swear she'll be on her best behavior, right Jee? Like you are with uncle Eddie?"
That's what does it. Those are the magic words.
Something shifts in Tommy's eyes. Uncertainty leaves room to determination. Alarm leaves room to annoyance. And all because Evan dared to mention Eddie's name.
Again.
Interesting.
"Of course, Evan. No problem" he replies, turning towards Maddie with a face that seems to say: okay, since I can't avoid this torture, tell me whereI need to sit.
Now, one thing that Tommy doesn't know is that Jee is a creature of habit. She likes her plushies positioned in a certain way on her bed, she loves to wear a different color each day of the week - today's special is green - and she she loves to sit on the right side of the table. Notably, the one that doesn't face the TV.
No complaints fall from Tommy's mouth, though, something that shocks Maddie to the core.
Okay.
Maybe she was wrong about him. Maybe he's not as inconsiderate as he seemed. Maybe she had been too harsh in her judge-
"So, choosing Jee over your beloved Clippers, uh? You always surprise me, Tommy" Buck teases, with a grin on his face.
He tries to hide it, but the thankful spark in is eyes is evident.
Unfortunately, it lasts only a handful of seconds. Right up until the man decides to open his mouth and ruin the moment, once again.
"Well. I absolutely would, Evan" he says, with the irritating, nasal tone Maddie's starting to associate with him. "But the game got suspended because it was literally raining inside the Arena so- I didn't even have to."
Buck's expression falls, while Maddie raises her eyebrows in surprise.
Is this man even trying to appear likable? And what is this obsession he's got with Evan's name? Doesn't he know he prefers to be called Buck from anyone who isn't her?
Oh, and by the way, the Clippers suck.
"Tommy, I hope you like olives. I thought Buck was referring to Eddie, when he said we're coming, so I ordered his usual" she quips, handing him the pizza box. She already knows the answer but she couldn't miss the chance to mention Eddie's name and watch the man squirm.
As expected, Tommy's stance gets stiff for a moment and she'd pat herself on her shoulder, if she could.
"I do, actually. Thank you" he replies, taking his pizza.
"Oh, what a fortunate coincidence!" she fake-gushes, though she would have preferred the man to be allergic to olives. That would have been fun.
"You like olives?" Jee asks him, shifting her head in a questioning tilt.
"Yes, I do. And you?" Tommy replies, though trying to make small talk with a child clearly makes him uncomfortable.
"Yes!" she beams. "I like them, and daddy likes them, and Uncle Eddie likes them. We're all the same!"
"Awesome, then. See? We've got the same pizza" he replies, with a smile that looks more like a grimace.
Jee looks at him with a reinvigorated smile, before stuffing her mouth with her pizza, one which her uncle has just finished slicing for her.
Unfortunately, Maddie's so focused on their guest and his reactions, that she completely misses the mischief shining in her daughter's eyes.
Really, she should have known better, she mentally chastises herself when, not even five minutes later, Tommy suddenly stops speaking.
It goes like this.
"You know Evan, I'm glad your sister calls you by your name, too. At least there is someone else who treats you like an adult" Tommy observes, sending her some sort of conspiratorial glance, like they're on the same team.
They're definitely not.
"Actually, I've been trying to call him Buck as much as I can" she intervenes seeing her brother taken aback by his boyfriend's stance. "I think it suits him."
"But I don't get why he always has to introduce himself as Buck" Tommy insists, undeterred. "If you want people to take you seriously, you should at least give them your full name, the first time you meet them."
"I introduced myself as Buck when I first met you and you've been taking me pretty seriously" her brother reasons, eyebrows furrowed.
"Actually, it took me a while to-" Tommy starts, before coming to a sudden stop. His eyes are fixed on his pizza.
Then, he raises them and looks her in the eyes.
"Some of my olives are missing" he prompts, tone composed but not casual.
And-
Oh.
Oh, fuck.
Maddie suddenly realizes what's happening. She shifts her gaze from Tommy, to his pizza and finally to her daughter, who's happily munching on one of the olives she's just stolen from Tommy's plate, sending him the same look of defiance she usually reserves for Eddie.
Some sense of dejà-vu permeates the air and she almost expects Tommy to laugh it out and pull some well hidden Texan drawl out of the hat.
But Tommy isn't Eddie.
And her daughter - whom she has just mentally nudged to treat Tommy like she treats uncle Eddie - doesn't really know the difference.
"I'm so sorry, Tommy!" she apologizes, sincere regret in her voice. "Jee usually does this with Eddie and she must have thought- I'm so sorry."
Tommy gives her what's becoming his trademark fake smile, and she realizes he's trying not to show how much her daughter literally stealing olives from his pizza bothered him.
This time, she can't hold this against him.
"No problem, Maddie. We just need to establish some boundaries here, right Jee?" he assures, addressing her daughter.
"Bo- boundaries?" she asks, a little weirded out that her Uncle's friend hasn't started to play the little thief game yet.
"Yes, Jee" Buck intervenes. "You know that every person is different, right? Tommy's not ready to play the little thief game, yet, so we should let him eat his pizza in peace, while we keep having fun some other way."
"The little thief game?" Tommy enquires, suspicious.
"It's something Eddie started, the first time she stole his olives" Evan explains, "but you don't have to do it, Tommy. Not if you don't want to."
As always, Evan's mention of Eddie deteriorates Tommy's already bad mood.
"This was Diaz's idea? And what is it, exactly, this little thief game?" he asks the table, crossing his arms.
That's when her daughter decides to intervene.
"I'll tell you!" she says, munching on another slice of her pizza. "It's sooo funny because Uncle Eddie always says nooooo don't take my olivesss but he looooves it!"
Both Maddie and her brother snort at Jee's attempt to copy the man's famous overplayed texan accent, while Tommy's puzzled expression makes it clear he doesn't get the reference.
"Okay?"
"So, I take your olives and- and-" her daughter goes on, excited, "-you pretend you don't see me. But you have to be saaaaaad about it! Because, mmm,because I am the little thief and you're the olive sher-she-"
"Sheriff" Maddie suggests.
"Sheriff, yes! And I will be under the table but you don't know it, okay? And you need to be aaaaah" she screams, raising her arms over her head in her best attempt at a shocked expression. "Because you can't find the olives and you say where is the little thief I'm going to tickle heeeeer and then you see me under the table and I try to run and you-"
"Run?" Tommy interrupts, flabbergasted. "But- we're eating right now, is this something you usually let her do at dinner?" he inquires out loud, looking all around the table like he doesn't believe what he's hearing.
Jee must have heard the reproach in his tone, because her reply is low and quivering.
"That's what uncle Eddie always does…" Jee says, with a pout on her face.
"Diaz runs after her and spins her around while you're having dinner?" Tommy presses, in disbelief, once again addressing the two adults at the table and not the little girl who's actively trying to talk to him.
Maddie feels the need to intervene, but her brother beats her to the punch.
"It's not like he hangs her upside down, Tommy" Evan quips, short. It's the first appearance of his trademark sharp tone, tonight. "And she doesn't actually run away. It's play pretend. She pretends to run away and he catches her as soon as she tries to. It's just- It's one of the easiest way to make her finish dinner and wear her down at the same time. And I think he knows well enough how to handle a four year old, you know?" he finishes, ready as always to defend Eddie and his choices.
An awkward silence descends on the table, and Jee keeps sending Maddie wondering glances, shocked by her uncle sudden outburst.
A low "mmm. If you say so" is Tommy's only answer.
Maddie's trying not to laugh, but it's a very hard thing to do, when his brother finally comes back to himself and realizes what he's just done and starts looking at his boyfriend like he's some kind of wounded beast he needs to approach with caution.
"I'm sorry, Tommy… I don't know why…"
"No problem, Evan. It's fine" Tommy interrupts him, still pretty red in the face. "Let's go back to eat."
Maddie looks at Evan, Evan looks at Tommy, Tommy looks at the wall.
And Jee…
Jee hasn't really appreciated Tommy's dismissal of her uncle, and she makes it clear with her next move.
She takes some of the olives on her pizza and she puts them right in front of Tommy's shocked face.
"Here. I don't want them anymore" she says, nose in the air, before turning back towards her own dinner and eat the rest of her pizza like nothing happened.
Ouch.
They keep eating, Maddie trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere with casual questions about Tommy's job and his hobbies outside of work and Evan helping his now uncharacteristically quiet niece eating her dinner.
Not for the first time since the beginning of dinner, Maddie wishes Eddie was here.
One hour later, dinner is finally over.
Before they leave for the night, Tommy excuses himself to go to the bathroom and Maddie, Evan and Jee are left alone in the kitchen.
That's when her daughter decides to strike.
She runs to her uncle, all grabby hands and cute smile, asking to be picked up; her uncle surrenders immediately.
She gets close to his face, with the conspiratorial air she inherited from her father, and whispers something in his ear. Or, at least, that's what she thinks she does. Problem is: Jee hasn't learned it yet, the art of secrecy, and what she thought was a moment for her and her uncle only, becomes something her mother witnesses loud and clear, from the other side of the room.
"Uncle Buck, is Tommy your new boyfriend?" she asks.
Buck looks at Maddie, half scared and half impressed by his niece's ability to clock him. "Uhm, yes. He's my boyfriend but- he's not new, Jee."
"Mmm" she replies, unconvinced.
"Why?" Buck asks, curious.
"Next time can you bring the other one, please? This one is so boooooring" she pleads, serious.
Evan's eyes grow in size, while his face morphs into an expression of shock. He tries to keep his calm, thought. He really tries. He moves his head back, looking her daughter in the eyes, before saying "I don't know what you mean, Jee. I only have one boyfriend."
Jee sends him an affronted look, like he's just said the silliest thing ever. Then, she bursts out laughing. "You're silly, uncle Buck!" she exclaims, shaking Evan's head with her tiny hands. "Uncle Eddie is your first boyfriend! And he's fun and he plays with me and reads the best stories so you have to bring him back! Pretty please?"
Evan looks speechless, cheeks burning under her daughter's scrutiny. That's when Maddie can't keep it in anymore; she follows her daughter's example and starts giggling.
"You heard your niece, Evan. Next time, bring the other boyfriend" she jokes, starting the dishwasher.
Apparently, she's not the only one who missed Eddie's presence tonight.
"You're evil" her brother mutters in response. "Both of you."
But he's smiling, now; and the flush on his cheeks doesn't register as discomfort. He agrees with us, Maddie realizes. But if he doesn't want to do anything about it, maybe it's time I take matters in my hands.
2
Maddie:
Edmundo Diaz, you're coming over for dinner tonight
Buck's Eddie:
Is it an order?
Maddie:
Nope
Buck's Eddie:
Can I say no?
Maddie:
Nope
Buck's Eddie:
Do I have to bring anything?
Maddie:
Well, a little bird told me Pepa made flautas?
Buck's Eddie:
is the little bird some 6.2 ft tall man with a big mouth and an even bigger problem with keeping it shut?
Maddie:
Maybe
But Jee really really craves those flautas
Buck's Eddie:
Jee doesn't like onions
Maddie:
Did I say Jee? I meant the little one, the one that's inside my belly
Buck's Eddie:
-.-
Okay, see you later
Maddie:
With the flautas?
Buck's Eddie:
Yup, Maddie, with the flautas.
Reassure the little one
Maddie:
YAYYYY
Maddie:
he says thank you
Buck's Eddie:
HE?
Did you say HE?
Maddie:
NOPE NO NO NO
Buck's Eddie:
MADDIE COME ON
Maddie:
See you later Eddie and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT
Buck's Eddie:
I can keep a secret Maddie
WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?
YOUR BROTHER?
YOUR HUSBAND?
So, maybe Maddie could have reacted a little bit better.
Maybe she could have taken at least three deep breaths, before inviting Eddie at their super secret pre-baby-shower surprise party for one.
Maybe.
Problem is: when Evan had called to ask her if he could bring the boyfriend with him, her brain had shut off and she had found herself reacting on instinct.
Not that her brother could have known what they'd be discussing, during dinner. She and Howie just found out the baby's gender and they've decided to share the news with Evan, first. They wanted it to be an intimate moment, just them, Jee and Buck, especially since they want to give the baby Daniel and Kevin's names.
So, really, it wasn't his fault.
But when she read Tommy's name in her brother's message, she had gotten some horrible flashbacks of the last time he'd been in their home and the need to recruit Eddie had become too strong to ignore.
Little B:
you invited Eddieeeee
Maddie:
well, Jee's been missing him, lately
Little B:
Didn't you go get groceries with him last week?
Maddie:
and?
Little B:
I mean, should I be jealous? Does she love uncle Eddie more than she loves uncle Buck?
Maddie:
She surely prefers him to Tommy
Nah, he's just more fun
Little B:
You're so mean
Maddie:
I know, baby, I'm sorry
Little B:
But, on a serious note. Thank you
Maddie:
For what?
Little B:
For including Eddie in our family
Chris being in Texas
It's not easy for him
Maddie:
Yeah, I can't even imagine how he feels
Little B:
yeah
so, thank you
Knowing that Evan, Tommy and Eddie will be arriving together at the Buckley-Han house is one thing, seeing all three of them getting out of Buck's Jeep - Eddie from the back doors - is another.
Eddie'd never been in the backseat, before.
Maddie and Jee are waiting for them at the front door and her little girl's attention is immediately drawn to Eddie's big smile and loud "there's my favorite princess!"
She lets her run towards the man, who doesn't waste a moment and drops the tray of flautas into Tommy's oblivious hands, just in time to welcome her in his arms, pick her up and twirl her around like they haven't seen each other in months.
"Hey!" Buck complains from the other side of the Jeep, lips turned down in a pout but eyes full of mirth. "I knew you played favorites, but this is unacceptable!"
Maddie shrugs, eyes stuck on the way her little girl relaxes into Eddie's arms.
"Oh, come on man" Eddie calls after him. "You know you're my second favorite."
"I was talking about Jee!" Buck splutters, before they both burst into laughter.
"Hello Maddie, thank you for inviting me" Tommy greets her, once gets to the front door with the usual nonplussed expression on his face.
Actually, I didn't invite you she wants to say, but when her gaze shifts back to Eddie, Buck and Jee she notices the decidedly unfriendly way her daughter is watching the guy and she decides to go for a much friendlier approach. Dinner's already going to be hard enough for him, better not add fuel to the fire.
"Thank you for coming, Tommy. You can bring those to the kitchen. Howie's been cooking for the last two hours, he might like come company."
"Chimney cooks?" the man snorts, face twisted into a mocking expression.
"Uh, yes? Why?" she replies, puzzled.
"Nothing, he just didn't seem the type. Firefighter and all."
Maddie is already starting to regret her friendly approach - because what the fuck does it mean? - but Eddie's sharp "What are you saying?" gives her a chance to take a deep breath and avoid ruining the entire evening.
Jee's in Buck's arms, now, tiny hands finding their place through his overgrown curls, and they look lost in their own little world, while Eddie takes advantage of the moment to crush her in a solid hug.
"I didn't know he had time to cook, that's all" Tommy defends himself, with a hint of uncertainty that Maddie has never heard in his voice before.
So, this is the effect Eddie has on him, uh?
Interesting.
"Bobby cooks all the time. Even I am finally able to feed myself and my-" Eddie's voice falters, eyes unfocused while he thinks about his son; it's just a moment, though, and he's back on track. "And should I remind you your boyfriend is a fantastic cook?"
"Well, sure, but that's Evan" Tommy replies, with a tone Maddie doesn't like at all.
"I'm still not getting what you mean?" Eddie insists, staring at Tommy with a shark smile on his face; one that looks like he's all but calm and indifferent, complemented by those narrowed eyes and rigid stance.
He doesn't look like Eddie Diaz; Eddie's warm and attentive and stretched out so tight that sometimes she fears he's going to tear up in the middle, if you don't handle him with enough care.
Or, maybe, he looks exactly like Eddie Diaz; cold and hyper vigilant and simmering under a surface made of apparent calm. Someone she's only seen caught sight of a few times before, usually when her brother had been lying in an hospital bed.
She's thankful, though, when the tension of the moment is broken by her brother and daughter joining them at the door, both excited to spend the rest of the evening together.
Eddie's eyes instantly get softer, his jaw loses its previous tension and his whole face relaxes in a truer, more private smile; the change is so sudden that Maddie starts to believe she's imagined it all.
One thing's clear, though.
Somewhere along the way of Tommy becoming her brother's boyfriend, Eddie Diaz stopped liking him.
…
Tommy brought Jee a new toy.
It's a talking doll, cute and shiny, a model that's been constantly advertised on TV for the last few months. "Every little girl's dream", the ad says, showing two girls - around Jee's age - literally fighting over the doll.
"More like every little girl's nightmare" her husband's whispering in her ear, barely keeping his snickering in check, while they watch the chaos unfold right in front of their eyes. "Some grown man's too" he adds, without any further explanation.
At first, Maddie doesn't get the his meaning, too focused on the scene they're witnessing.
Tommy presented Jee the toy with one of the most forced smiles she's ever seen on someone. He patted her on her head, again, like it's somehow become their thing, before handling her the monstrous doll and getting back to his full height.
She didn't react well. Neither to the head-patting, nor to the gift.
Their daughter is distrusting of the doll, that's for sure. She heard it talk, saw those beady eyes trace her every movement and decided then and there that she would keep her distance for the rest of the evening, staying right next to her Uncle Eddie like he's the only one who can protect her from the thing.
Buck and Tommy are both seated on the sofa, while Eddie's perched on the armrest of the recliner, uncharacteristic unease coming in waves out of him. Jee's been going back and forth from her room to the living room, bringing out every single one of her plushies and stacking them on the coffee table, as if to create some sort of barrier to separate herself from the creepy doll.
When she tells so to her husband, Chim shakes his head, pointing out the comically spooked glances Eddie continues to send to the doll.
"It's not like that", he says, still whispering in her ear.
"What do you mean?"
"Watch him."
"Who?"
"Eddie. He's the one who's terrified of the doll. Jee's been putting herself between him and the little demon the whole time."
"And the plushies?"
"The plushies are there to defend the man. Jee's protecting him. Not the other way around."
And- yes, now that Chim pointed it out… Maddie can see it.
The protective stance. The way she's been sending murderous glances towards Tommy - who brought the thing inside their home - and Evan - who is at fault for bringing Tommy with him.
The way she's trying to distract Eddie, talking nonsense about some cartoon she's been watching with Mara. Like he's the one who needs protection from the evil, unknown threat posed by the - admittedly - horrific doll; like it's the big, strong firefighter who needs saving, and not the tiny little girl with pigtails.
Once again, her daughter reminds her of Evan.
Right before her eyes, the black, sleek strands turn into unruly curls, her focused brown eyes change into two blue, distrusting orbs, while their home - the one they've built with love and acceptance - turns into the cold house she and her brother grew up in. One filled with silence and secrets and grief.
She remembers Buck's first impression of Doug. The way he'd kept sending him those glances, full of confusion and resentment. The ones she'd interpreted as jealousy, because she was too young and too in love with the idea of being loved to see the truth. Evan had known. Evan had sensed the danger behind her boyfriend's too easy smiles.
He was a perceptive child - who's grown into a too-trusting adult - and Maddie can glimpse the same protectiveness, the same unconscious carefulness in every single one of her daughter's gestures.
On the other side of the coffee table, a grown up Evan keeps sending his boyfriend concerned looks, trying to improve his mood.
"Don't worry, Tommy. You couldn't have known. We all would have thought it was a good idea. Right guys?"
Oh, he's talking to them.
"Oh, yeah, don't worry Tommy" Maddie replies, smiling. "She'll get over it soon."
Eddie might need some more time to recover.
"You gotta admit it, though" her brother adds, a moment later.
"What, Evan?" Tommy rasps, unease pouring off of him.
"It is a little creepy."
"No, it's not. It's the latest model. You can use your phone to change its mood or give it prompts. She can also be used to help children play and learn" Tommy explains, looking around in search of approval.
"Yeah, creepy" is Eddie's muttered comment on the whole thing.
"So creepy" Jee agrees, nodding along with a serious expression on her face, before sitting down next to him. "Don't worry uncle Eddie," she continues, patting his hand with her little one, "I know she seems scary but she's not real. She's a doll. She can't hurt you."
Eddie's eyes pop out, then, and he tries to protest, but the damage is done.
Evan bursts out laughing, and her husband joins in, unable to keep it in a moment longer.
"God, Eds, she's right. You're, like, really pale" her brother says between giggles, just when Eddie's cheeks start to gain the red tint they always sport when he finds himself under the spotlight. "It's just a doll."
"It's not just a doll" Eddie tries to defend himself, throwing a pillow right at Evan's face. "It's the whole remote-control sh- thing that creeps me out, Buck. You know it."
"Yeah, I do" her brother replies, smirking. "I also know you simply don't like dolls. Remote controlled, or not."
"Well, try to grow up with two little sisters who are literally obsessed by dolls, then you tell me. Those things where everywhere. It's like they moved every time you took your eyes off of them. I found one in the bathroom, once. It was the middle of the night" he says, visibly shivering at the memory.
Jee's still patting his hand, looking at him with compassion in her eyes.
"Sounds like your sisters caught on your little phobia and decided to have some fun" Evan says, smirk still firmly present on his face.
"Sounds like someone doesn't understand what not fraternizing with the enemy means" Eddie replies, squinting his eyes, while Jee decides her job as protector is done, now that her uncle finally made Eddie's cheeks gain some of their color back. It's time to use him as her personal monkey bars.
The man lets her climb all over him, helping when she needs and careful that she doesn't hurt herself; all this, without complaints and without taking his eyes off of her brother.
"What can I say, Eds?" Buck's saying. "The Diaz siblings seems to have a soft spot for me."
"So it seems, uh?" Eddie huffs, eyes both soft and exasperated.
Uh, okay.
They stare at each other for a few seconds, lost in their little bubble made of inside jokes and shared history, and what at first was a defiant glare from her brother, soon becomes something softer. Lighter.
They're both smiling, Evan shaking his head in an exasperated gesture, while Eddie shrugs, as if to say what now?
Maddie's tempted to look away, like she's witnessing something that should remain private, like-
"So, how's Christopher, Eddie?" Tommy inquires, interrupting with his question whatever had been happening between them.
Maddie sees Eddie's face fall right in front of her; she sees the light dim in his eyes, while his mouth curls towards the floor under the mustache.
Suddenly, all the warmth of their previous interaction disappears from the room and they're all left to deal with a sense of sadness they don't know how to face.
"He's fine" is Eddie's curt reply. "Learning chess, spending time with my folks."
"Is he coming back for Christmas?" Tommy insists, unbothered, like he can't feel the awkwardness in the room.
"I don't…" Eddie's struggling to find an answer.
"Eddie was thinking about going to Texas for Christmas. Spend it with Christopher and his family, you know?" Evan replies for him, trying to lift the mood.
"Good luck getting time off for Christmas, man. It's always a nightmare" Tommy scoffs, sipping on his glass of wine, while he puts his arms on the sofa's headrest, right behind her brother's shoulders.
Evan doesn't relax back, keeping a forward stance and never taking his eyes off of Eddie.
"Yeah, I guess we'll see, right?" Eddie replies, defeat in his tone.
Her daughter, her awesome, perceptive daughter, realizes her uncle Eddie's getting sad and decides to be her most adorable self.
She stops her ministrations, sits down on his lap and looks him in the eyes, tiny hands cupping his face.
"You can stay with us at Christmas, Uncle Eddie. And you can sleep in my brother's room, though he hasn't got a bed, yet. He's still in mom's belly, I don't think he'll care much."
Maddie turns her head towards Chim, giving him a look that conveys something like she's special, isn't she? And we made her, but the horrified expression she finds on her husband's face makes her pause for a second.
But it's only when she hears her brother's gasp and Eddie's consequent low "Breathe, Buck" that she realizes what just happened.
Her awesome, perceptive, blabbermouth of a daughter has just revealed her sibling's gender to the whole room and her brother is freaking out about it.
"It's a boy? You're having a boy? When did you find out?" he literally shrieks. "Eddie, did you hear? They're having a boy!"
Maddie looks at her husband first and Eddie next - her daughter's definitely taken after all of them, in the spoiling things department - and they both shrug their shoulders, amused smiles on their face.
"Maddie?" her brother calls out to her, exuding excitement from his every pore. She can't help but notice it every time he sees him happy, the way his whole body comes alive, like he laughs with his arms and torso and not only his mouth.
"Uhm- surprise?" she shrugs, right before Evan engulfs both her and Chimney in a big hug.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" he exclaims, bright smile lighting up his face. "Not that I wouldn't be if- if it was a girl, I mean, it's- it's the same thing, just, you know, mmm…"
"Breathe, Buck" she mocks him, borrowing Eddie's previous words. "We know what you mean."
In the meantime, Tommy's stood up from the sofa, coming closer to congratulate them both.
He shakes her husband's hand, before hugging her for the first time since they've met.
"Congratulations to you both. I knew Chimney was good for something" is what he says, before bursting out in a hearty laugh, patting her husband on the back with a little too much strength.
Maddie doesn't exactly understand his meaning, but she doesn't really think about it because it's Eddie's turn for a hug.
"Thank God for Jee" he whispers into her ear, "I don't know how long I would have been able to keep the secret."
Her daughter - still in Eddie's arms - keeps giggling and sending kisses to everybody, delighted at the sudden happiness that's filled the room; she's still laughing when Evan takes her from Eddie's arms so that he can hug Chimney properly, and she keeps smiling when her brother finally asks the question Maddie's both been dreading and waiting for.
"So, you've already picked a name?" he asks, knees bouncing and head shifting from her to Chim and back again.
The time has come.
"Well, yes, actually" she says, "we've already decided. That's why you… that's why we wanted to tell you first" she informs him with an encouraging smile on her face.
Eddie, bless him, must have sensed something, because a moment later Jee's back in his arms.
"Come on Princess, why don't you show me and Tommy all the plants you've got in the courtyard?" he gushes, catching the man's eyes over her daughter's head before pointing towards the door in the back.
Tommy, who's closest to the exit, nods at him and proceeds towards the glass door; Eddie goes to follow but he stops on his toes, eyes finding Buck's face with a questioning gaze. That's when Maddie notices that her brother's hand's gripping one of the loops of Eddie's jeans.
He's gripping tight, looking at Eddie with confusion written all over his face, trying to understand what's happening.
"You need to let me go, bud" Eddie says, a tender smile on his face.
Her brother shakes his head, brows furrowed. "Why are you leaving?" he asks.
"We're not leaving. We're just giving you all some time to talk" Eddie reassures him, while Tommy keeps watching over from the other side of the room.
"Yeah, but why?" her brother asks again, with a barely suppressed, frustrated whine.
Eddie sighs, balancing Jee on his right hip, before moving his left hand to grip Evan's shoulder. "Buck, hey. It's okay. We'll be right over there, uhm?" he says again, thumb lightly rubbing the base of his neck, making her brother instantly relax.
Maddie's once again hit by the power of this thing between them. She wonders if they'll ever realize.
Finally, Evan nods and lets Eddie go, kissing his niece on her forehead.
Maddie doesn't miss the way Eddie's gaze follows her brother's actions, like he's memorizing this moment; Chimney must have seen it too, because he clears his throat and pats Evan on his back.
"Come on, Buck. Your favorite brother in law wants to tell you a good thing."
"You're my only brother in law" Evan replies, eyes following Eddie, Jee and Tommy as they exit the room.
"Technicalities. Come on, let's sit down a moment" her husband's saying, while she watches them both go towards the sofa, before joining them with a hopeful smile on her face.
"Do you really think he's fine?" Maddie asks her husbands, while they watch Evan, Eddie and Tommy say their goodbyes to their daughter.
"Yeah. He was overwhelmed, yes. But- I think he understands" Chimney replies, caressing her bump.
She believes him. She really does. But she can't help being worried about her little brother.
"I think so, too. I just- I don't want him to be alone tonight. Evan- he's…"
More sensitive than he likes to admit.
"I know what you mean, Maddie. We all do. And, trust me, he won't be."
This makes her pause "But- Tommy said he had something to do with his team, tonight. Did you talk him into staying here?"
"Who, Tommy?"
"No, Evan!" She hisses in her husband's ear.
"Umm, no?"
"Is he going with Tommy, then?"
"No?"
"Then, I don't understand."
"Really? After what we just witnessed before dinner and the whole so lost into each other eyes that they don't know what happens around them thing you can't think of a reason your brother won't be alone tonight?"
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh."
"So you see it too."
"Do I see it?" her husband snorts. "Everyone with two functioning eyes sees it. I think even Tommy sees it, he just decides to ignore it."
"He doesn't seem the kind of guy who ignores something like this."
"He's the kind of guy who likes a challenge. He's the kind of guy who likes to win."
"Mmm. My brother's not a challenge" she says, bothered.
"Your brother's big enough to make his own choices, isn't he?" Howie replies. "Let them do their thing, I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Do their thing?" she asks, confused. What thing?
"Yes, their thing, Maddie. The thing they keep doing, the thing they've been doing for the last seven years."
"Oh, you meant their thing. You meant Buck and Eddie."
"Of course. That's the only thing happening here. And- to go back to your first question. It's Eddie. Eddie's staying with Buck tonight."
Well, that's not as surprising as she would have thought.
In fact, it makes sense.
"How do you know?" she asks, curious.
In the meantime, her brother and his best friend have decided this was the right time to play a game of hide and seek with their daughter. Or, maybe, she decided it was the right time and they just followed along.
Weaklings.
Tommy's been texting for a while - as always - and he doesn't seem that interested in what's happening in front of him.
"Eddie told me while we were doing the dishes" her husband explains, interrupting her thoughts. "They're driving Tommy to his station and then going back to Eddie's."
She keeps observing them.
The way they laugh, so free and untamed.
Eddie, in particular. He's- he's been different, lately.
Sadder, because Christopher's not here. But also… she doesn't know how to describe it. He looks focused. Settled. Like he's finally coming to terms with something and it's making him more centered than ever before.
"Do you think he realized?" she asks Howie, still studying him.
Her husband follows her gaze. "Who? Eddie?" he guesses, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Nah. He's not ready, yet. And your brother… your brother wouldn't believe his best friend would ever look at him that way even if you spelled it out for him."
Yeah, figures.
"So what do we do?" she asks, right when their son decides it's time to play some soccer in her belly.
"Nothing."
"Nothing" she repeats, frustrated. "We let them go on like this? We let Evan stay with Tommy when he could… "
"Tommy's not that bad, Maddie."
"No, I know. He's just so… distant. Detached. And- Evan deserves to be loved fully. Completely. He deserves to have someone who can read him and understand him and-"
"But he does have it" her husband interrupts her. "They may not be together but- Buck has Eddie. He's always had Eddie. And he always will. They're a package deal, Maddie, and you know it."
"But they could be so much more."
"And if it happens, we'll all be happy for them. Until then, please stop using our daughter like she's your personal attack dog. It's cute but I can't guarantee I won't burst out laughing the next time she scowls at Tommy."
"I did no such thing. She hates him all on her own" Maddie protests, all shock and fake innocence.
"That she does" her husbands concedes. "My God. When you told me how she acted last time I thought you were exaggerating but… she really, really does. She's spent the night sending him murderous glances while looking at Eddie like's the best person in the world. At one point I was sure Buck would spontaneously combust."
"It was hilarious, wasn't it?"
"Yeah" he admits, kissing her on the cheek.
"So what I'm hearing is: Maddie, keep meddling."
"I didn't say that."
"You implied it."
"Well, I mean…"
"Come on, Howie, I know you like it."
"Seeing Tommy Kinard chastised by my three year old daughter?"
"Mhm."
"Not really."
"Stop lying."
"Well" he sighs, in the end. "The first time we met, Tommy asked if I was the Chinese delivery man."
"Why?"
"Because I'm Asian." he explains, emphasis on the word Asian. "Chinese, Korean, it's all the same for some people."
At that, every single bit of mirth disappears from Maddie's face.
"He what now? Does Evan know?" she asks, a little bit louder than intended.
Eddie, who's the closest, sends them a confused glance. Her husband appeases him with a thumbs up and a please, drain her batteries as you want, so we can all go to sleep soon, before focusing back on their own conversation.
"I don't think so. And I don't want to tell him. The 118 was not a good place when Tommy was there. We were all… let's say that he's a changed man, now. He helped us in many ways. I know he is."
"But?"
"But- I mean, sue me, but I don't mind watching him squirm under our daughter's murderous gaze, from time to time" he admits.
"Mmm."
"Mmm as in okay husband, my love, I hear you, I'm not going to meddle anymore?"
"Mmm as in okay husband, my love, I hear you, I'm not going to smack him right in the face."
"But-" Howie tries to protest, just when their daughter rushes towards them, asking to be picked up.
"Daaaaaaad!" she screams, running and giggling, with Eddie on her heels "the sheriff wants to eat meeeee"
Howie takes her in his arms, forgetting in a moment what they had been talking about.
"Oh no! Don't worry, I'm going to protect you Princess!" he exclaims, putting himself between her and the silly grown man.
A moment later, her brother joins her in watching the scene, and she immediately gives him a sideways hug.
She lets herself enjoy the moment; Jee's joyous laughter, Evan's closeness, the gentle way her husband always treats her and their daughter, something that she didn't think she'd ever have a few years ago.
"I did good, didn't I?" she whispers to her brother, smiling softly.
"You did perfect, Mads" he replies, rubbing her arm with his hand.
You did perfect too, she wants to retort
But she can't.
Because Eddie Diaz is not his brother's boyfriend.
Yet.
3
This time, it wasn't her doing.
Maddie just needed someone who'd spend the evening with Jee, while she'd finally gets to catch up with Linda, Josh and some other colleagues. A quiet dinner at their favorite Italian place, some gossip, a stroll on the beach, one drink, maybe - alcohol-free for her, obviously - and then she'd get back home.
Problem is: Chim's working some extra shifts, lately, because - surprise - having a second baby means needing more money.
So, she was in need of a baby sitter.
And Eddie Diaz was in need of a distraction.
Maddie knows that for sure.
And not in a I know better kind of way, no; she knows because he's told her.
He's still in the dispatch group-chat and when he read them organizing this night out, he immediately messaged her to propose himself as a baby-sitter for the evening.
Buck's Eddie:
I'd be home alone and I wouldn't mind spending some time with Jee and her new murderous doll.
Maddie:
The doll's under lock and key in the attic, waiting to be donated.
Are you sure you don't have anything better to do?
Buck's Eddie:
Like what?
Wallow in misery while I replay in my head the last therapy session I had with my son who lives eight hundred miles away from me?
Maddie:
So why don't you come out with us?
You're invited, you know?
Buck's Eddie:
Josh will be there
Maddie:
So?
Buck's Eddie:
So, I'd rather stay home with my favorite four-year-old tyrant than spend a night out with Josh Russo asking me personal questions because he loves to annoy me
Maddie:
I can't believe you still don't like him
Buck's Eddie:
What can I say
Diazes are fantastic at holding grudges
Even the new generation, apparently
Oh, Christopher, again.
So, yes.
Eddie needed a distraction.
And now she's running late, still deciding what purse goes better with the outfit, while her daughter and Eddie are choosing which part of Jee's new coloring book they're going to tackle first.
"What do we have here?" Eddie's asking with a soft voice, flipping through the pages. "Oh, this is…""
"It's a big dog, see?" her daughter explains excited. "Big dog with three heads, Arrrgggghhhhh"
"Mmm, it looks like Cerberus."
"What's a cerberus?"
"Cerberus. It's his name, like Jee's yours" Eddie explains. "It's a mythical creature, mmm… like magical? He's the guardian of the Underworld."
"What's the Underworld?" her daughter asks, fascinated.
"It's how the Ancient Greeks called the afterlife, I think."
"What's An- Anc-"
"Ancient. People who lived a long long time ago. They had a lot of magical creatures, see?" he goes on, citing some of them while he turns the pages.
Unsurprisingly, her daughter fixates on Pegasus, the horsie with the wings.
"Yeah, he's cute, isn't he?"
"Yes! What did he do?" she asks, hopeful.
This time, Eddie laughs a little, before answering in a bashful voice. "I don't know, exactly. You should ask your uncle, he knows about this stuff."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's the one who told me about Cerberus. I mean, he and Chris, together. They studied the different Mythological creatures a few years ago, for some school project. And then they read the whole Percy Jackson series."
"What's that?"
"Books about some child who ends up in a lot of trouble" he snorts and- yeah, fair.
"And Uncle Buck read it?"
"Yes" he replies, proudly.
"You didn't?"
"I'm not much of a reader, Jee" Eddie explains. "Chris and Buck. They're the readers of the fa- uhm, they're the true readers among us."
Of the family.
They're the readers of the family.
That's what Eddie was going to say.
If Maddie hadn't already known, this would have been the proof that Eddie sees Buck as part of his family. Oh, these dumb, dumb boys.
"Uncle Buck knows a lot of things" he daughter praises, thoughtful.
"Yeah. That he does, Jee" Eddie replies, voice even softer than before. "That he does."
There's wistfulness in his tone; affection but also sadness, somehow. It's like he's talking about someone who's slipping from his hands. Like he doesn't know how to keep him. Like he thinks the best thing he can do for him, is letting him go.
"Are you okay, uncle Eddie?" her daughter asks, after several seconds of silence. Maddie can only imagine the expression on Eddie's face.
"Uh? Oh, yes Jee. I'm okay" he replies, trying to sound cheerful. "So, what color do you want the horsie?"
"Orange!" her daughter shouts, Eddie's weird mood already forgotten.
"Orange it is!"
Orange it is Maddie agrees, leaving the green purse behind and bringing the tangerine one in the kitchen.
That's when she hears it.
The doorbell.
Who could it be?
She leaves the purse on the kitchen table and goes to open the door.
Who would have thought that, on the other side, she'd find not only her brother but also the ever-present, insufferable boyfriend?
"Uh- why are you dressed like this?" Evan asks as soon ah he sees her attire, take out containers in hand and a puzzled expression on his face.
"What, just because I'm pregnant I can't dress nice?" she quips back, not even bothering with a real answer.
Behind her, she can hear Eddie's and Jee's constant chattering, muffled by the children music that resonates inside her house. They still haven't caught up on who's at the door.
"No. No! I wouldn't… I mean, I'd never… I didn't mean it like that!" her brother backtracks, red in the face.
"I know, Buck" she reassures him, careful to use Evan's preferred moniker since they're in his boyfriend's company.
She doesn't miss Tommy's micro-expression.
Oops.
"So, why are you all dressed up?" her brother asks again, embarrassed but still curious.
"I have a date" she replies, smug.
"A date? But Chim's at work and-"
That's when Eddie Diaz, sweet, handsome, oblivious Eddie Diaz, enters the scene.
"Maddie?" he calls out, coming up right behind her, unaware of the chaos he's going to cause.
From then, it's a chorus of names and surnames she can't really make sense of.
"Eddie?"
"Buck?"
"Diaz?"
"Tommy?"
"Maddie?"
This last one is her brother, calling out to her with a astonished expression on his face.
"What?" she says, already tired of their shenanigans.
"You're going on a date… with Eddie?" her dumb brother asks, eyes jumping from her to Eddie.
Now it's her turn to be buffled.
"What?" Oh, and Eddie's.
"Yes, E-Buck. I'm pregnant and totally in love with my husband, so I've decided to use this wonderful evening to cheat on him with his friend and teammate" she replies, deadpan.
Who also happens to be the love of my dumb brother's life, is what she doesn't say.
Thank God, Evan still has some sense in him and hears loud and clear the sarcasm in her words.
"You're right. I'm sorry, it's just…" he starts, hand scratching behind his neck.
She sighs; she's already running late and she really doesn't have time for this. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you but- why are you both here, exactly?" she asks. "Oh and, hi, Tommy."
"Hi, Maddie."
Evan jumps at the opportunity of focusing on a direct question and is finally able to string a coherent sentence together.
"Chimney said you'd be alone with Jee tonight and that you haven't slept well lately so… I thought, since we had a free evening, we could come here and keep you both company" he explains, sending his boyfriend a meaningful glance, as if to say please, back me up on this.
Tommy doesn't seem to get it and stays silent.
So, this is interesting.
Her husband - the one who absolutely knew she would be out with her friends tonight - lied to her brother, pushing him to get here and-
Oh.
So much for not meddling.
So much for letting them cook or whatever GenZ shit he's been quoting lately.
Chimney didn't let them cook, he cooked this all on his own, took a gamble and won.
He knows Evan well enough to know that he would have never left her alone, once he found out she was more tired than usual - which, by the way, is bullshit. So, he wanted him to come and-
"He said you'd be home after seven so we" his finger points at himself and then his boyfriend, though Maddie can't help but notice Tommy doesn't have any containers in his hands "decided to stop at your favorite Armenian place and arrive right on time with some hot food and great company" he finishes, beaming.
Okay, so her husband was hoping she'd already be very far away from here when Evan arrived. So that they'd find only Eddie. Alone, with Jee.
Mmm.
"But Diaz is here so maybe we're not needed anymore, right Evan?" says the unwelcome, grating voice of Tommy Kinard.
Because-
What?
They've come all the way here, brought dinner, and he doesn't even want to stay?
The sigh that leaves her mouth is one of fatigue and irritation. "Well, you're here now, why leave? I am going on a date with my friends" she explains, hands on her hips. "Eddie is here because he was kind enough to volunteer to look after your niece."
"Oh- I… I didn't know…" Evan says, looking at Eddie and then his boyfriend, unsure on what to do.
They're at a stalemate.
Tommy obviously would prefer to be literally anywhere else, right now, while her brother clearly wants to stay.
Eddie's still not saying anything, and Maddie could bet he's torn between wanting to spend time with Buck and hating the prospect of third-wheeling on those two's evening.
In the end, it's her daughter who decides for them.
As she always does.
They hear her little feet before they see her. She pops out of their living room and when her eyes catch her uncle's figure at the door, all bets are off.
"Uncle Buuuuuuuck!" she screams, bolting towards them like she's running from a fire - or, knowing who her father and uncle are - towards it.
"You're staying, I guess" Maddie says, smirking towards a less-that-excited Tommy. "I assume there's enough food for at least four people in those boxes so make yourself at home" she adds, gesturing for them to get comfortable.
Once they're all inside, she can finally pick her purse up, leave a kiss on her daughter's forehead, wish everyone a good evening and get the hell out of that house, before something else comes up.
There's one thing she must do, though, before her free evening can really begin.
Maddie:
What did you say? Stop meddling, Maddie?
Husband:
???
Maddie:
I was just leaving home when someone rang the bell
Guess who
Husband:
How would I know?
Maddie:
Howie.
Husband:
Okay. I can explain
I just thought Eddie might appreciate the company
Maddie:
Company of WHO exactly
Husband: Your brother
Maddie:
And…?
Husband:
And what?
Maddie:
My brother AND the boyfriend.
Husband:
Oh.
Fuck. I had no idea he'd come along
Maddie:
Yeah.
Next time you want to pull a Parent Trap with your friends, make sure the oh so fun boyfriend's not going to be there
Husband:
So you just left them at the house? All three of them?
Maddie:
Exactly
Husband:
Fuck
Maddie:
Exactly
Husband:
Well, at least they've got Jee
to throw the punches, you know?
Let me know how it goes
Maddie:
Yeah
…
A few hours later, she's enjoying her Shirley Temple with Linda and Josh, when she receives a two minutes voice message from Evan's phone.
Not that it's weird - her brother loves to rumble on and leave her voice messages to listen to all the time, though they're usually much longer than this. And she would just put off the listening party until she's on her way home, but since he's with Jee she's going to make an exception and hear it.
She must have pulled some weird face, though, because not even thirty seconds in Josh looks at her with sudden interest and asks "What's that face for? Who's at the phone?"
And-
Listen, Maddie's not one to gossip about people she loves. She tends to keep it to herself - what she thinks, what she hopes - especially when it comes to her brother. This, though. This she can't keep to herself.
Because it's funny.
And unexpected.
And exactly what she needed.
"It's… Jee?" she replies, unconvinced.
"What do you mean Jee?" Linda asks, while both her friends shift closer.
"I mean, Jee just stole her uncle's phone and- she was talking about Tommy? I don't know, I haven't finished listening yet. "
"And why do you have your Buckley smirk on?" Linda keeps insisting.
"What Buckley smirk?"
"The Buckley smirk."
"I don't have a Buckley smirk."
"You absolutely do. Right?"
"Yeah, you do. You both do and it's almost scary when you both sport it at the same time" Josh confirms, literally taking matters in his own hands and putting her phone in the middle of the table. "Come on, let's hear it."
"Okay" she sighs, "just, please, remember, she's a child."
"She's your child. And Chimney's. So, I know that whatever she's going to say it's probably going to be one, funny, two, real, three, very fucking unhinged."
"Yeah, probably."
"Okay, let's go."
It actually starts normal enough. They hear Jee's heavy breathing, like she's been running or hiding from something, followed by her distinct giggles.
Then-
"Hi mummy!" she's saying, panting. "where are youuuuuu you have to come back and si- silence the monster!"
"Silence the monster?" Josh asks, confused.
Listen she mimes. Listen.
"Jee? Jee come back here, please!" says Evan's voice. He's speaking in a low voice, while trying to catch her. "That's not a toy, that's a very new very expensive phone! Please, Jee!"
That's when Eddie Diaz's unmistakable laughter makes itself known, making Josh's amuse smile disappear from his face.
"Oh, Diaz is there."
"And he's apparently having the time of his life?" Linda adds, giggling at their antics.
"Not you too, Eds! And, please, lower your voice would you?"
"Come on Buck, it's eight thirty, this is not a retirement home."
"Moooom!" her daughter's saying, voice a lot higher in volume than the other two. "the monster's been snoring for so looooooong I want to watch the movie with the horsie and he keeps being all rooooonf rooooonf roooonf" she continues, imitating a snore.
"God, she's cute" Linda's saying, with hearts in her eyes.
That's when they hear some hustling sounds and her daughter delighted laughter.
"I got you little thief!" her brother whispers, again, now that the phone is back in his hands. That's also when he must realize that her daughter had been recording a voice message, because he snorts and adds something that sounds like "what's this thing you've got with taking people's stuff, uh? Where did you get it from?"
You, Maddie thinks.
Still you.
"You, Buck" Eddie says out loud, voicing her thoughts. "You're the one who can never keep his hands to himself and always has to snoop around."
Her brother starts complaining, but all they can hear is a squeaky "Eddie!" before, finally, Eddie's voice gets clearer through the phone.
"Uh- Hi Maddie? Sorry? Please don't worry, everything's fine here. We're just trying to watch Hercules and-"
"And Uncle Buck's boyfriend is snoooriiiingggggg so loudddddd" her daughter interrupts, giggling.
"Jee, that's not nice!" her brother reproaches her, surely punishing her with the usual tickling session.
"Well, she's right, though. I don't know how you're able to sleep at night, next to that… tractor" Eddie doubles down.
"Oh yes?" her brother asks, challenging. "You're not being very nice either, Eddie. I think you need… a little bit of tickling too!" he finishes, before launching himself at the laughing man.
Maddie can almost see them.
Eddie running up and down the house, with Jee and Buck at his back.
It's something they're all scared of, Uncle Buck tickling sessions.
"Uhm- yeah, okay! See you later, Maddie. Say hi to Linda and the others" Eddie's panting through the phone, Buck's and Jee's threatening laughter following him everywhere. "Not Josh, though. Okay. Bye!"
"Fuck you, Diaz" her friend replies to a silent phone.
She sends him a pitiful glance, because, really, this rivalry thing is getting old; but before she can say it out loud Linda steals the thunder with the topic that - Maddie knows - is going to monopolize the rest of their evening.
"So, can we finally talk about this weird menage-à-trois that's happening between your brother, Eddie Diaz and that pasty old man?"
"Oh, God. Lame, Linda" Josh scoffs. "You're right, though. Can we?"
Oh yes.
Yes, they can.
They finally can.
…
Two hours later - two hours full of awws (mostly about Jee) ans ewwws (mostly about Tommy) and I knew Diaz was a loser but not this much of a loser (mostly from Josh) Maddie gets home.
There haven't been any more voice messages, but she's received a few pictures since then: one showing Jee covering her ears and Tommy still sleeping in the background, one with all of them eating ice-cream (both from Buck's number) and finally, the last one, from Eddie. In it, she can see Evan and Jee cuddled up on the couch, with the coloring book open in front of them and Buck's mouth opened mid-rant.
Right under it, Eddie's comment.
Uncle Buck is trying to explain how Pegasus was born from Medusa's severed head? Send help!
The last half hour, though, has been full of a whole lot of silence; Evan and Tommy must have already left and Jee should already be asleep in her bed. That's what Maddie tells Chim, when she calls him before entering the house.
"Eddie's probably napping, too" he tells her. "Take a picture for Buck, will you? The fucker's handsome even when he sleeps."
So, that's exactly what she expects to find, when she enters the living room. What he sees, though, is something much cuter.
Evan and Jee are still on the couch, coloring book abandoned at their side, both fast asleep. Her daughter is sprawled over her Uncle's massive frame, head cradled under his cheek, while the fingers of Evan's right hand are tangled in her soft hair.
Not what she expected, but still worthy of a picture.
She snaps the photo and sends it to her husband, who answers immediately with several green hearts and one great question.
Husband:
where are the suitors?
Maddie:
in the courtyard, I think
Husband:
hopefully not shooting arrows through eleven axes
Maddie:
pretty sure there were twelve
Husband:
ask your brother, he'd know
Maddie:
mmm maybe later, I've got something to do
Husband:
Bathroom view?
Maddie:
You know me so well
The bathroom view is something she and Howie discovered a few months after they bought the house, when they found out they could listen to and watch an entire discussion taking place in the courtyard without being seen or heard, standing behind the blinds of the second bathroom.
Overtime, they have gladly exploited the unexpected feature once or twice. The first, when they listened to their parents argue about some dumb shit and almost coming to blows; the second, when their nosy neighbor (not the crazy one) had decided she would trim their hedge without asking.
The third is right now.
Because Maddie's already at the bathroom window, looking out at the courtyard, where Eddie and Tommy are talking - arguing, apparently? - while sipping on their beers.
"-don't need you to tell me how to behave, Diaz. I'm a big boy and Evan is too" Tommy's saying.
"I know you're an adult, Kinard" Eddie replies, annoyance clear in his voice. "That's exactly why I'm telling you and not Jee to take the first step. And I'm not telling you how to behave. I'm just suggesting you try a little."
Oh, they're talking about Jee's beef with Tommy.
"Mmm. What I don't understand is" Tommy says "why should I? She's not my daughter."
She's not your daughter but she's family, Maddie thinks.
At least, she should be, right?
"She's Buck's niece, Tommy" Eddie voices her thoughts. "He loves her. He wants to spend time with her. And every time I see you with them, you look like you can't wait to get out of here. Like you're doing him a favor."
Tommy's answering laughter is short and snarky. "Because I am. I'm here because he wants to be here. Full stop. I don't want to be here. I don't need to be Jee-Yun's Uncle Tommy, Diaz. Unlike you, I know my place."
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me. This little game you play may have worked at first, but it's starting to get old, Diaz."
"What game?"
Maddie might have thought she knew where this was going but- no, she would have never expected this.
"The one where you have to be Evan's favorite or you shrivel up like a wilted flower" Tommy replies, accusing. "Look at me, Buck. Watch me, Buck. Love me, Buck" he finishes, mimicking Eddie's drawl as much as he can.
"What?"
Eddie sounds lost. Like someone who's not ready to have this conversation. But Tommy is on a roll. He doesn't even hear his soft question as he keeps speaking over him.
"-and you have to be the best in his eyes, don't you? You need him to think you're better than anyone else at literally everything, don't you? So that whenever he meets someone, he ends up comparing them with you and they lose. Every single time."
Maddie's breath catches in her throat. Because Tommy's words are harsh. And his intent is to hurt. But- but he's not entirely wrong.
Eddie's pinching the inside of his right arm, like he's trying to distract himself.
"That's bullshit, Tommy. And you know it. I've always been supportive of-"
"Have you? Really?" Tommy insists. "I'm not Evan, Diaz. I see you. I've seen you since the first time we met. I know what you are. I know what you want. I can't believe I even tried to- it doesn't matter, now. I don't want your help with Buck. I don't need your bullshit suggestions. I don't care what you think or what you do. Because, in the end, you're just a coward."
"Fuck you, Kinard" Eddie growls, voice trembling. "You know nothing."
"Oh, I know enough. I know you're fucking lonely, Diaz. I know you've fucked up every single relationship you've had. I know you know exactly why I flew you to fucking Vegas to watch that match with me. And I know you haven't stopped staring at my boyfriend the whole time we've been outside."
Eddie splutters, like he wants to protest.
The problem is: Tommy's right. Eddie's eyes haven't left the back window of the house for more than five seconds, since she's started watching them.
And Maddie knows exactly what's inside.
"That's not your-"
Tommy doesn't let him finish, before landing the final blow.
"But I also know you don't have the guts to do shit about it. So, please, keep your suggestions to yourself and I'll do the same."
Maddie sees Eddie's self control finally snap.
She sees him squeeze his fists and breathe hard.
She sees him stand up from his chair and strut towards Tommy; but right when she thinks it's time to intervene, Eddie stops in his tracks and takes a step back, running his hand through his hair to give himself some sort of composure.
Thirty seconds later, she hears the telltale sign of the back door opening.
"Everything alright, guys?" Evan asks, oblivious to the shit show Maddie's just witnessed. "I saw Maddie's car outside. Is she home?"
As always, it's Eddie who comes to her brother's rescue; his hands are still trembling after what just happened, his breathing is still rushed and uneven, but he still finds the strength to unleash the brightest smile he's able to summon and answer Evan's question.
"I don't know, bud. Let's go find her, yeah?" he proposes, patting Buck on his shoulder before going inside.
"All good?" Buck asks his boyfriend, who's still outside, silently finishing his own beer.
"Yes, Evan, all good. Eddie and I were just confronting our vews about relationships."
"What relationships?" her brother asks, a touch of alarm in his voice.
"Oh, you know. Nothing in particular. Just- that you can't be a wimp, if you want to win someone over. That seeing someone is-"
"Eddie's seeing someone?" Buck interrupts him, completely missing Tommy's meaning.
"Eddie's seeing-" Tommy scoffs, irritated. "God, Evan. I'm tired. I'm so tired"
"Yeah, it's starting to get late. Once we 've talked to Maddie, we can go" her brother replies, still completely oblivious, before they both get inside, no doubt looking for her.
It's time to make herself known.
This night has been hard on everyone, apparently.
Better let them go home.
Maddie:
Thank you for tonight, Eddie. Jee's always happy to spend time with you
Buck's Eddie:
I'm the one who's thankful every time I spend time with her. And I didn't do anything, Uncle Buck was there!
Maddie:
Uncle Buck AND Uncle Eddie were there, Jee couldn't have been in better hands
Buck's Eddie:
Yeah, I guess
goodnight, Maddie
Maddie:
Goodnight, Eddie
That night, she falls asleep next to her daughter, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.
4
"Why aren't you crying?" her daughter asks, accusing.
Tommy seems to be taken aback by the question, not knowing what to say.
"What?" he says, in the end.
"Why aren't you crying?" Jee repeats, squinting her eyes like the police bunny in one of her favorite shows loves to do, while questioning suspects.
"Why should I?" Tommy replies, defensive. "It's a good thing and I'm happy for Diaz. I don't understand what's there to cry about."
And, well, he's not even that wrong.
Maddie knows they're a bunch of emotional, over dramatic people; Tommy has every right to remain calm and collected.
That doesn't mean she has to like it.
"Come on, Jee, leave Tommy alone and go give Uncle Eddie a big hug" Maddie encourages her, drying her own face with the sleeve of her cardigan.
"But- moooom uncle Buck's too big! There's no space for me" her daughter whines, big watery eyes finally moving on from her uncle's boyfriend evident lack of empathy only to find Buck's frame blocking her view of the other man.
"Then hug them both, Jee! Like you do with mom and dad" she insists, lightly nudging her towards the pair.
"Big family hug?" her daughter asks, hopeful.
"Big family hug!"
Three seconds later, Jee's already in the arms of a still emotional Buck, tiny hands cupping both men's necks, to keep them both close.
Maddie looks all around the room, currently overflowing with tears, shed freely and happily, for once, until her own gaze falls on the only face that's not scrunched up and undone with emotions.
"Are you sure you want to stay for dinner?"
A few hours earlier
The big day's getting closer and closer and DK's room needs to be ready.
It needs to be repainted and reorganized and everything has to be done in a way that doesn't make Jee feel jealous or sidelined in any way.
Maddie's a big sister and, though their childhood wasn't normal and Daniel was only two years younger than her, she remembers feeling envious of the attention he used to get when they were little. Before everything fell apart.
So, DK's room needs to be ready and Jee needs to feel involved.
This is where the big, strong firefighters of the family come in handy: an entire day dedicated to the renovation of the room but also to making Jee feel important and useful in creating the best setting for her brother's arrival.
"Make way, make way, Princess coming through! And she's got orders!"
Buck enters the room with Jee on his shoulders, tiny hands gripping his curls like she's Rémy from Ratatuille and he's poor Alfredo Linguini, doomed to be the hands to her brains in this adventure.
They make such a cute picture, though.
Jee decided she'd be donning a white ballet skirt today and seeing her brother with a crown of white tulle is making Maddie want to coo at their every interaction.
Eddie's already squatting on the ground, intent on duck taping the entire perimeter of the room, to save the skirting board from the GO Green paint Jee's chosen for the walls.
"Oh, Princess, please, let us know how we can be of service" the man intones in an awful British accent, eyes sparkling and smirk in place under the mustache. He's down on one knee in front of her brother and her daughter now, as if he were a knight waiting for orders. This makes Jee giggle and pull her uncle's hair even harder, making him groan in pain.
Maddie observes the scene from her place next to the window, seated on the rocking chair Kevin's parents gifted them which - for now - is the only piece of furniture of the entire room.
"The Princess is still deliberating" Evan announces, amused eyes jumping from her to the man kneeling on the ground.
Eddie must have just noticed the tulle situation too, because he raises his eyebrows and points at the white, puffy cloud all around her brother's head.
"Nice veil" he quips. "You planning on marrying someone today, good Ser?"
Buck's not someone who blushes easily, but a few choice words from his best friend and he's suddenly red as a tomato.
"Well, dear knight, it depends on-"
"Come on, Ser Uncle Buck, tell him!" Jee shouts, interrupting them and pulling Evan's hair once again.
"Yes, Ser Uncle Buck, tell me, before you end up bald" Eddie encourages him. "What's the plan here?"
"Okay, the Princess has decided: you, good Ser, are going to paint the whole room all on your own, while I, the right hand man of the Princess, and uncle to the ruler herself, get to watch you suffer while munching on Maddie's-" another pull, "on the Queen's savory chips" he proclaims.
"Stay away from my chips" she immediately warns them, greedy for the oily, delicious treat. "You can get your own from the pantry room."
Eddie, in the meantime, is trying to convince Jee that it's Buck - being the taller - who must paint the majority of the room.
"-believe me, Princess, you and I could have so much more fun together. Let your royal Uncle take care of the walls and we can spend time on the important stuff. Like deciding where to put the rest of the furniture. Which he is going to assemble, obviously."
"Obviously" Buck deadpans.
But Jee's not sure what to do; she can't decide who's the best choice and she keeps looking at Maddie for guidance.
Well, she's not wrong.
Maddie's the Queen of the house.
"Why don't you make them both paint the room, Princess?" she proposes, sending them both her brightest smile. "Be a fair ruler and make them sweat equally, while you and I eat our chips and decide what they are going to assemble first. Your dad and Tommy will be back soon from the store, we don't have much time left!"
Surprisingly, the boyfriend offered to go with her husband to the warehouse, to pick up the whole shebang of furniture for the entire nursery. The idea is to paint in the morning and then start to assemble as many things as possible so that - when the second coat of paint is completely dried - she and Chim will only have to put everything in the right place.
"Okay mummy! Let's do that!" her daughter screeches, pulling again at her uncle's hair, to be put back on the ground.
This is how they spend the next few hours; bossing around the two boys while they try to do the best job they can.
"He's good with her, isn't he?" she whispers to her brother a while later, while they're watching Eddie help Jee with the white "hand print" part of the project. According to the Princess, they need to get it done before can start on the last wall of the room.
They've decided to let her leave her hand prints on the far side of the room, the one that - according to their outline - is going to be the playground area for DK. Tiny, white hand prints all over that wall, just like she and Chim saw on someone's Pinterest.
"See, Jee? It's easy. Let me just…" Eddie shows her how to submerge just the palm of her hand and then place it on the wall, in order to have the best results. "You just need a little patience."
Buck's eyes follow each and every one of Eddie's moves, awe pouring from his focused gaze. Jee's favorite songs are blasting out of the laptop they've got on their side of the room, leaving Maddie and her brother some sort of intimacy and privacy to talk.
"Yeah" he replies, after a few seconds of silence. "It's good to see him like this."
"He's unusually chipper today" she baits him, fishing for information.
"He…" Buck takes a breath. "He and Christopher are going to therapy. Together. Did you know?"
"Yeah, he mentioned it, once or twice."
"It wasn't easy, at first. Chris was… angry. And confused. And Eddie had this belief, ingrained in his brain that- that his presence might be bad for his son. Like he didn't deserve to be close to him. Like he- like he couldn't be what Christopher needs."
"Oh, wow."
"Yeah, that's Eddie Diaz for you" her brother sighs. "A messy and tangled skein made of guilt, sense of duty and the constant fear of not being good enough. All seasoned with the inability to enjoy the good things in life nor believe he actually deserves them."
"Well, that explains a lot" she muses, mind replaying the conversation between Eddie and Tommy she overheard a few weeks ago.
"You think?" her brother asks, mouth curved up in half a smile. "But it's going better now, I think."
"That's why…" she waves her hand towards the man. "The giddiness."
"The giddiness. Yes," her brother repeats, smile turning softer. "Last session… it went well, apparently. Like, really well. And he thinks… he hopes- I don't know, I think he can finally see the end of the tunnel. Like they're almost there."
"Yeah, that would certainly put me in a good mood" she replies, offering her brother one of the last chips.
He munches on it for a moment, lost in thought.
He seems to be conflicted on something.
"Help me change the sheets in Jee's bedroom?" she proposes, so that they can get some more privacy and her brother can finally spill what's been bothering him, if he wants to.
He nods; they both leave a kiss on Jee's head - though she's too taken with her task to pay even a bit of attention to them - and go to her room.
They're making her bed, when Evan finally speaks up.
"Tommy doesn't want children" he announces, casually.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"How did you, I mean, how-?"
"I asked him" her brother shrugs. "I saw the way he interacts with Jee and- I mean I had to ask, didn't I?"
"Yeah, he doesn't seem too taken with her."
"And the feeling's mutual" he snorts.
Maddie can only grimace, because it's true. "But, I mean, Jee's not his child. She's- she's your niece. It's different when it's your child" she tries to reason.
"That's what I thought" he replies. "But he said something, a few days ago, and- that made me think."
"What did he say?"
"He-" he takes a breath. "We were talking about the Eddie and Chris situation. And he was so nonchalant about the entire thing. And I would have let it go, really. If he didn't try to imply what I was too involved."
"You don't agree?"
"No!" he fumes, bitter. "If anything I feel like I'm not doing enough!"
"But Christopher's Eddie's son, Evan. You know they're the ones who have to work it out."
"I know I'm not his parent, Maddie" he replies, with barely concealed anger. "Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean I don't-"
"What?"
"That doesn't mean I don't want to fix this thing for them" he blurts out. "I know I can't. I'm aware of my place. It's just- I'd really, really love to. And Tommy doesn't understand it. He can't."
"And how did this" she questions, perplexed "lead you to the not wanting children part of the discussion?"
Evan sits down on Jee's bad and takes one of her plushies in his hands, eyes jumping from left to right like he's trying to find the right words.
"You know," he starts. "When I first saw Eddie with Christopher I thought- now, that's what a good father looks like. They were so attuned, so lost in their own little world, that I didn't know how to act around them."
"What do you mean?" she asks, curious. Eddie came into her brother's life more or less when she got to L.A. but this part of their dynamic's always been a mystery to her.
It's like they were Buck and Eddie one day and BuckandEddie the next.
How it had happened, she still doesn't know.
"I felt like I was intruding" her brother explains. "They- he opened up the doors of his home to me and he did it so… easily. I just felt I had to walk on my tiptoes, or something. Like I had to be careful not to disturb this- this equilibrium they had built."
"And you're everything but light on your feet" she jokes.
"Exactly. I kept thinking, why me? He didn't trust his parents, even Christopher's own mother wasn't someone he wanted around his son, at first. But he trusted me."
He's saying it like he still doesn't believe it.
"You never said how it made you feel."
"Frightened? Absolutely unqualified? Wanted?" he replies, voice cracking on the last word. "I was scared shitless, especially when he told me about the will. But-"
"The will?"
Too late, Evan realizes what he just said. But he can't take it back now, and he knows it.
He squares his shoulders, like he's preparing for a fight.
"Eddie put me in his will. If something happens to him, Chris goes to me."
"Oh." She's speechless. "Oh, fuck."
"Yeah" he confirms, voice full of disbelief . "And I'm-" he keeps going, "since the beginning, I was surprisingly okay with that?" he finishes, making it sound like a question.
"Why wouldn't you be?" she asks, threading their fingers together.
"Because I'm fucked up."
"Buck, you're not-"
"I am, Maddie" he interrupts her, voice serene, at odds with the harsh words. "We both are. And it's not our fault, I know. And I know you tried your best to make me feel loved when I was little but- but it's something we both have to coexist with. The way we were raised. Or not raised, in my case" he says, honest, breaking her heart a little.
"Yeah, you're right" she admits, because he is.
He is.
"And in my fucked up mind" he goes on, "I decided a long time ago I would never be able to take care of anything. Which- was fine by me. I mean it. I'd made peace with it and it was fine until- until it wasn't, anymore."
"What changed?"
He searches her gaze with his own, making eye contact for the first time since the beginning of their conversation.
"Eddie" he says, shrugging, like it's obvious. "Eddie came into my life, showed me what a real, good father looks like and then gave me his son. He's the one who planted the seed. And when he couldn't get to him he came to me. He asked me to try and I- I failed."
"Evan. Buck, I don't think you-"
"And then Tommy tells me I care too much. And he's so- He was there, when we had that surprise party for Christopher's birthday. He was there. He saw Eddie's heart breaking right in front of us. And when I try to speak about the situation, when I tell him how hard Eddie's trying, he gets all-"
"Evan I don't know what you're…" she tries to interrupt, but he's not listening. He stands up and starts walking back and forth in front of her,
"I don't know what to tell you, Evan" he mimics his boyfriend's voice. "I don't really have an opinion on this. What do you mean, you don't have an opinion? You always have something to say about everything and everyone, and now you don't have an opinion on the fact that your friend is hurting? How can you be so heartless?"
"Did you say this to him?" she asks, both horrified and impressed at the same time.
"I would have. But then he decided that was the right time to drop the bomb."
"The no child bomb."
"Yeah. Turns out, he doesn't have an opinion on this because he doesn't have children. How could he know if what's Eddie's doing is right, then? So I say- okay, you don't have children now but what about the future? What about-" he pants, turning back towards her. "I mean, you kinda have to have an opinion about it, right? Since if everything goes well we are going to have children someday" he finishes, breathless.
"Oh, okay. I see where the problem might be."
"Yeah, exactly. So, that's when he said it. That he thought I knew he didn't want children. But- how could I have known? He never said!"
"Maybe he thought it was obvious?" she suggests, hoping not to add fuel to his fire of frustration and resentment.
"What do you mean, obvious?" he asks back, stopping in his track.
"I mean, Evan, he's a little…"
"What?"
"I mean, isn't he…"
"What?"
"Old?" she finally gets out, face scrunched up in an apologetic frown.
"No, he's not old. He's a little bit more mature than me but- that's not the point" her brother replies, confused.
"It kinda is, though" she says, feeling some sense of déja-vu. "He is a lot older than you and he seems to be pretty set on this."
Evan sags on the bed, fighting stance just a memory, now.
"I really, really don't want you to be right on this, Mads."
"What do you mean?" she asks, enveloping him - as much as she can, at least, given their difference in size - in a warm side hug.
"I don't know, maybe- maybe with time things can change. The more we stay together, the more…"
"You think you can change his mind?"
"I don't know what I think" he confesses, indulging in the hug. "I just know I can't- I don't want to end it."
Fair.
He doesn't seem as convinced as he wants to sound, though. So, why not dig a little bit more?
"Why?" she investigates.
"What do you mean, why?"
"What are you afraid of, Evan?"
He looks towards the ceiling, sighing. "You know what I'm afraid of."
Being alone is what he doesn't say but she hears, anyway.
"But you're not. You're not alone and you're not going to be, even if you and Tommy break up."
"Maddie, I love you, but I don't think you can understand."
"I can try."
"No, you can't" he snorts.
"But why?"
"Because you fell in love with your best friend and he fell in love with you right back" he says, like it's some kind of chimera. "And now you've got a family, together. I know you suffered so much in your life but- now you have it Maddie. And I'm… I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying."
Maddie honestly stopped listening after the first part of his sentence.
Because you fell in love with your best friend and he fell in love with you.
"Buck."
"What?"
"I'm going to be honest with you now, okay?"
"Mmm. Okay."
"Have you ever thought that, maybe, we're not that different?" she suggests. "You and I?"
"In what sense?"
"Have you ever thought that, maybe, falling in love with-"
"Eddie?"
"Uhm, yes, exa-"
"Sorry to bother you guys but Princess Jee here has finished her job and the other side of the room is waiting for us. We happen to be missing a knight, though. Have you seen him?"
Oh.
Eddie's at the door. That's whar her brother meant. Eddie's at the door with Jee in his arms, both looking at them expectantly with their big dark eyes.
Evan's the first to react; in a moment he's standing up, big smile stretching his face.
"Here I am, Princess Jee, Ser Buck at your service! Come on, the wall's waiting for us!"
Yeah, okay, truth session postponed.
After all, the wall is waiting for them.
"Eddie's doing a much better job than your uncle, isn't he Jee?" she says to her daughter a while later.
For this last wall, the two men have decided to split the job, though not exactly evenly. In fact, Evan's been doing most of it, sliding the paint roller up and down, spreading the first layer of paint. Eddie, on the other hand, is using the brush to cover up the admittedly too many white spots Buck's been leaving on his wake.
So, it's easy to imagine why her brother doesn't seem to appreciate this last dig and stops painting to send her a glare.
"Maddie, if you don't stop it right now I'm going to paint you both green" he threatens, brandishing his paint roller like a sword.
"Queen Maddie, please. And it's not my fault your work's so sloppy, little brother. You should learn from Eddie."
"Eddie's been pretending to do something for the last hour, Queen Maddie." Buck answers, butt hurt. "See? See how he's faking it? That brush's practically dry!" he protests, making Jee giggle.
Eddie turns around with the most dramatic face on, gripping his left pec like he was stabbed in the heart.
"Ser Buck! How can you say something like that?" he challenges, sending a wink in their direction like he would in a school play. "This is precision work we're talking about. Do you know how hard it is to fill all the white spots you keep leaving in your wake?"
"What white spots?" Buck asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"See? See what I have to deal with, Princess?" Eddie keeps addressing them, while stalking towards her brother. "The ineptitude is unmatched" he finishes, sending him his best smirk.
Jee keeps laughing in her arms and Maddie can't help but feel like this is how it should be.
Eddie and Buck have been baiting one another the entire morning, joking and making fun of each other like the two best friends they are. But- Maddie knows better, now. Now that she's experienced firsthand how it feels to fall in love with your best friend. Now that she knows what can be hidden behind casual touches or seemingly normal banter.
Now that she knows what it means, when you move in tandem with someone without even realizing; when you keep stealing glances at your best friend whenever you can, always when the other isn't looking.
The conversation she just had with her brother has given her food for thought. She's starting to think that deep inside of him there's a place that knows. At least, what he feels for the other man. Just like Eddie can't be completely ignorant about his feelings for Evan.
If only they weren't two oblivious idiots who talk and talk and talk but never say the important part out loud.
If only they could see themselves, when they're together.
By the way, she can see it. Eddie's giddiness. The way he can't seem to sit still, today. It's like he's waiting for something, hoping for something, and Maddie really wishes he's going to get the best news ever.
The man's not an easy person to read, but she's starting to understand him more and more, lately; and what she sees, she really likes.
Her brother, though. Her brother is an open book. At least, he is for her.
Because, yes, Eddie's something of a loose cannon, today, always running up and down the room, full of nervous energy. But her brother can't stop looking at him. He can't take his eyes off of his form for more than twenty seconds at a time; always finding excuses to walk over and bother him, always keeping his neck at an angle so that he doesn't miss even one of Eddie's moves.
Hence, the white spots.
"I'll show you ineptitude, Eddie!" Evan's threatening now, trying to take full advantage of the few inches if height he's got on the other man.
"Oh, yeah? And how do you plan to do it, Ser Buck?" Eddie gauges him, taking one last step to get even closer to her brother.
They're at a stall, studying each other like they're going to-
Maddie doesn't even know anymore.
She's just here for the show.
"What about a duel, good Ser?" her brother suggests, keeping up their silly little game. "We could decide on a weapon and have Princess Jee as chief judge and-"
Eddie doesn't let him finish. He rolls his eyes with a sigh and proceeds to sweep his brush right on Evan's left cheek. The one that should have been dry, according to Buck, but that, by the looks of it, is actually full of paint.
Bright, green paint.
That now graces her brother's face.
"-or you could do that" Evan ends up saying, shrugging like this is usual behavior for them. "You know I have to retaliate now, though, right?"
"Well, I mean. The room's finished, the paint is washable and the girls need some kind of entertainment until Chimney's back, don't they?"
Maddie doesn't miss the deliberate omission of Tommy's name.
"Well, when you put it that way…" her brother replies. Then, they're off.
Evan attacks, relying on his size and the sheer strength of his muscles; Eddie is faster, though, compact body dodging and retaliating in fast, swift, movements.
Jee tries to sneak out of her embrace to join the fight, but Maddie knows better than let her get involved in that, holding her back with the excuse of protecting the Princess.
The two grown men, in the meantime, keep smearing paint all over each other, running back and forth inside the empty room while playing some weird version of you're it where both of them are it at the same time and no part of their body is safe from the assault.
They're screaming and shouting and giggling like two middle schoolers, still calling out for Princess Jee to declare the winner, and Maddie's starting to think she'll have to intervene when her brother's finally able to corner Eddie and push him against the farthest wall of the room, one she hopes is already dry.
"Got you!" her brother taunts, paint roller in hand and a big smile on his face.
They're both panting and she can't help but notice the way Eddie's brown eyes light up, before he speaks again.
"I let you win, Buck. You know that, right?" he taunts.
"Yeah, Eddie. Sure" her brother replies, taking another step towards the man, who's literally getting squished against the wall. "What did I win, though?"
"Depends. What do you want?" Eddie asks, resting his head back, while a smirk graces the features of his face.
From her position, Maddie can't see her brother's eyes, but it's not difficult to recognize the moment they zone in on his best friend's face.
Once again, she feels like she's intruding in some intimate moment.
Maddie really should say something, remind them of her presence and of the fact that-
"What's going on here?"
Okay, maybe she won't have to, since Tommy has just entered the room and found his boyfriend literally pushing his best friend against a wall, both drenched in green paint and smiling like lunatics.
Oopsie?
This time, Evan's not the first to react; he's still out of sorts when Eddie uses his free hand to push him gently off of his own frame and remove himself from the situation.
"We've finished painting the room?" he pipes up, shrugging his shoulders. "Hi, Tommy."
Yeah, hi Tommy.
"Hello," the man replies, still unmoving at the entrance.
Buck finally shakes himself off and joins him, a much more contained smile on his face.
"Hey, Tommy. You got everything?" he asks, before kissing him on the cheek.
"Eww" her daughter whispers in her ear, while Maddie's trying really, really hard not to burst into laughter.
"Shh, Jee. It's not nice."
"But he's so old, mom!" she protests, and thank God she's finally learning the whispering art or Maddie wouldn't be able to defuse the situation; not after what Tommy's just witnessed with his own two eyes.
"Daddyyyyyyy" her daughter shouts then, blowing her eardrum out, before running towards her father.
"Yeah, we got everything" Chim says, answering her brother's question, while he takes her in his arms. "I propose we eat something and then we start assembling, yeah?"
"Yeeeeesssss!" her daughter yells, right next to Tommy's ear, making the man flinch.
Poor guy.
"Who's on the phone?" she asks her husband later in the day, furniture almost completely assembled all around them.
"Chris, I think. Eddie wasn't expecting a call, I hope everything's alright" he replies, still fighting with the bed frame.
Her brother keeps stealing glances at the door, waiting for Eddie to come back; he left in a rush almost ten minutes ago, when Christopher's name flashed on the screen of his phone, leaving the five of them - four, actually, since Tommy doesn't seem particularly bothered - in a wondering state.
"Come on guys, if it was something bad he would have already come back inside" Tommy tries to reason. "We're first responders, we know that acting quick is the most important thing in an emergency."
"Yes but it's Christopher" her brother hisses, using a little too much strength to nail the last of the shelving he had to secure.
"Yes, we know, Evan. How could we not?" the boyfriend replies, annoyance gushing from his voice.
Jee senses her uncle's distress and silently walks to him, fingers finding his curls like they always do when she needs to reassure herself or her uncle about something.
It's something they started doing when she was very little; Jee has always loved her uncle's ringlets and the more he lets them grow the more she keeps petting them. Maddie suspects her brother's decision to embrace his curls has everything to do with Jee's familiar touch; this is their shared way of soothing themselves and each other and he wants to facilitate it as much as he can.
This time, though, it doesn't seem to do the trick; Buck's leg keeps bouncing up and down and it's clear that no amount of cuddling is going to reduce his anxiety.
"I'm-" he says, after a while, standing up from the ground. "I'm going to check on him."
He looks around, hesitating a bit when his eyes fall on Tommy.
His boyfriend, though, keeps typing on his phone, not sparing him even half a glance.
"Yup, I'm going."
He barely gets to the door, though, before they hear quick steps making their way up the stairs; two seconds later, Eddie's back in the room with them, phone still in hand and big, fat tears streaming down his face.
He's trembling, gripping the phone so tight that his fingers have turned white.
"Eddie? What happened? Is Chris okay?" her brother asks, hands already bracing the other man's shoulders.
Eddie starts sobbing, then, and Evan's hands find their natural way upwards, moving until they're cupping the man's face.
Maddie's never seen Eddie cry, before.
And judging by the disgruntled looks of her husband and Tommy, she's not the only one.
Evan, though. Evan is not taken aback by the situation; he takes it in stride, ready to offer Eddie as much comfort as he can.
"What happened, Eds?" he asks again in a tender whisper, thumbs wiping under his eyes.
"He's-"
"He's what? Is he okay? Do we need to get to him?" Buck suggests, using the we like it's the most natural thing in the world.
That makes Eddie snort through the tears.
"No- no" he's finally able to say. "No, we don't need to, Buck. He's- he's coming home. Chris is coming home."
"Really? Are you sure?" her brother asks then, joy and wonder and disbelief clear in his voice.
"Yes, Buck" Eddie repeats, voice wavering. "Fuck, I don't even know why I'm crying but I can't stop- I'm sorry."
"Hey, hey" her brother reassures him. "It's okay. It's okay. Let it out, Eds" he continues, taking him in his arms, cradling his head onto his chest as if to protect him.
Maddie doesn't realize she's crying too, until she feels her husband's fingers under her own eyes and his quiet "Come on, Maddie, you know that if you cry, I cry."
He's already leaking, isn't he?
In the meantime, even her brother's face's getting wet, tears rolling down his cheeks while he keeps hugging his best friend.
"Buck" she hears Eddie say in Evan's chest.
"Mmm?" is her brother's response.
"Stop crying."
"You stop crying."
"I don't think I can."
"Yeah, I figured" he snorts.
Eddie de-tangles himself from her brother's arms, giggling a little. "God, this is so embarrassing."
"If you haven't noticed, Eddie" her husband interrupts them, eyes reddened, "you made us all cry. I think dinner's on you, man."
This makes them laugh a little, but their faces are still a mess.
"Yeah, I guess it's the least I can do, isn't it?" he jokes.
That's when her daughter's voice make itself known.
"Mommy, why are we crying?" she asks, big brown eyes wet and confused. "has something bad happened?"
"No, no baby" she reassures her. "These are good tears."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Remember Chris? He's Eddie's son. He's coming home" she explains, kissing her on the forehead.
"Why, where was he?" she asks, not really knowing the whole story.
"He went away, for a while. That made Uncle Eddie very sad. But now he's coming back and they're both going to be very, very happy."
"Oh. Is he arriving with DK?" she asks, curious.
"Mmm, not exactly" she replies. "But if these tears tell me one thing, is that we are all going to be as happy to see him again as we are to welcome your brother."
Her daughter nods, a determined expression on her face.
She looks around the room, bed half-assembled, walls still wet, sunlight already leaving space to the evening's dust.
Maddie watches her as she takes note of everyone's emotional state; Buck and Eddie are already talking about the logistics of Christopher's return, though their eyes still shine under the warm light of the room; the three of them are still somehow tangled on the rocking chair, Jee in her arms and Chim petting her hair. Finally, her daughter's eyes move to the other side of the room and she sees them harden in real time in a questioning glare.
"What is it, Jee?" she asks, confused.
Her daughter's on a mission. She doesn't even hear her question, as wired in as she is on the only person that still hasn't said anything.
When Maddie realizes what's going to happen, it's already too late.
"Why aren't you crying?" her daughter asks, accusing.
Tommy seems to be taken aback by the question, not knowing what to say.
"What?" he says, in the end.
"Why aren't you crying?" Jee repeats, squinting her eyes like the police bunny in one of her favorite shows loves to do, while questioning suspects.
"Why should I?" Tommy replies, defensive. "It's a good thing and I'm happy for Diaz. I don't understand what's there to cry about."
And, well, he's not even that wrong.
Maddie knows they're a bunch of emotional, over dramatic people; Tommy has every right to remain calm and collected.
That doesn't mean she has to like it.
"Come on, Jee, leave Tommy alone and go give Uncle Eddie a big hug" Maddie encourages her, drying her own face with the sleeve of her cardigan.
"But- moooom Uncle Buck's too big! There's no space for me" her daughter whines, big watery eyes finally moving on from her uncle's boyfriend evident lack of empathy only to find Buck's frame blocking her view of the other man.
"Then hug them both, Jee! Like you do with mom and dad" she insists, lightly nudging her towards the pair.
"Big family hug?" her daughter asks, hopeful.
"Big family hug!"
Three seconds later, Jee's already in the arms of a still emotional Buck, tiny hands cupping both men's necks, to keep them both close.
Maddie looks all around the room, currently overflowing with tears, shed freely and happily, for once, until her own gaze falls on the only face that's not scrunched up and undone with emotions.
"Are you sure you want to stay for dinner?" she asks, tone less friendly that her usual.
"I guess?" the man replies, unbothered. "Someone has to make sure those two get home in one piece, the state they're in."
"Mmm. Okay, thank you then" she says. "But I don't think anybody here's in the right mind to cook anything."
"Yeah, no problem. Diaz said dinner's on him, right?" Tommy reminds her, broody eyes never leaving the man in question. "Evan and I can go retrieve it, right Evan?"
Hearing his name, her brother turns around, eyebrows raised and eyes wide.
"What?"
"Since Diaz's paying, you and I can do the delivery part, right?" he insists, hands crossed over his chest, like this is some test.
He wants to separate them, doesn't he?
"Oh yeah, absolutely" Eddie replies, already turning around. "Take my wallet, Buck."
Her brother hesitates just a moment, before he pulls out Eddie's wallet straight from the back pocket of his dark jeans.
"Still the same PIN, right?" he asks, unaware of the daggers shooting from his boyfriend's eyes at the domesticity of the whole thing.
Eddie's nod is tiny but sure; it's all her brother needs to take the card and tuck the wallet back into its rightful place.
"We're going then," he announces. "Indian?"
"You read my mind."
Maddie's alone in the kitchen, checking the freezer to see if they've got ice-cream, when she hears the telltale noise of a car door slamming and she realizes her brother's back with food and a not-particularly-relaxed boyfriend in tow.
"Again, Evan? It's like the man's not able to sleep alone" Tommy's complaining.
"I just think I should stay with him, tonight" her brother's trying to reason. "And you weren't even coming to mine, since you've got a shift tomorrow. I don't understand why it's such a big deal."
"I don't understand how you can believe it isn't" is his boyfriend's response.
"He's just received some big news, Tommy, and he's got no one to share it with. What do you want me to do?" her brother insists.
"I don't know, Evan. Not treat me like I'm stupid, maybe?"
"What do you mean? Eddie's in a very emotional state and-"
"And last time it was because he was sad" Tommy interrupts him. "And the time before it was because you'd had a bad call. And the one before his fucking fridge wasn't working. If I didn't know better, I'd think you can't wait for an excuse to spend the night in that house."
Maddie surely is not intervening but, this time, she must admit it- at least to herself.
The man is right.
Her brother though, doesn't seem to agree. He scoffs, before climbing the steps of their patio.
"Think whatever you want, Tommy. That doesn't change the fact that I'm sleeping there, tonight."
"On the couch?"
"Where else?" her brother retorts, puzzled. "I can't sleep in Christopher's room. It's not right."
Tommy's snort is full of disbelief but also pity. "The thing is, I believe you" he remarks. "You really are going to sleep on the fucking couch, aren't you? You're so-" he stops himself. "That's what I signed up for, isn't it?"
"What?"
"Nothing, Evan. Nothing."
Well, it's going to be a long dinner. Thank God they've got ice cream.
5
Little B:
Guess who's officially back in L.A next Monday?
Maddie:
OMG already????
Little B:
Yup, we're picking him up from the airport
Unfortunately, he won't be alone ):
Maddie:
D:
Which one?
Little B:
Helena
Maddie:
D:
Couldn't Adriana or Sophia come with?
Little B:
Nope. Apparently, she needs to check for herself that everything's good and ready for him
which means she just wants to be a pain in the ass and put some more pressure on Eddie
like he's not shitting his pants already
Maddie:
Listen
Jee's been asking for a SPA day
And Chim said you're both going to be free on Wednesday
Little B:
A SPA day with my favorite niece you say…
sign me up
Maddie:
Awesome, be here at three okay?
Little B:
Fuck
Maddie:
WHAT NOW
Little B:
Wednesday's also Tommy's day off
I promised him we'd do something together
:/
Maddie:
Bring him then
Little B:
I don't know, I don't think he'd have much fun
Maddie:
Did you have *much fan* last week, when he brought you to that helicopter museum?
Or the one before? What was it?
Little B:
Monster truck.
YUCK.
Maddie:
Exactly
Tell him I asked
He wouldn't say no to a pregnant woman
Or he would
then you can just come w/o him lol
Little B:
He said he doesn't know
Maddie:
tell him Eddie's coming
Little B:
Boyfriend's on board
Maddie:
wow so fast
wonder why
:D
Little B:
shut up
Maddie:
Love u too
The thing is: the boyfriend's behaving perfectly.
Well, he's behaving as good as someone with no sense of humor and a not particularly developed ability to care about people can.
He brought sweets, he engaged Maddie in a conversation on a TV series about secret agents they both enjoy and he's even been doing a puzzle with Jee for the last twenty minutes - at least, trying to - while they all wait for their home-made face masks to be ready for use.
For the first time since he's met him, he's actually being a decent boyfriend to her brother and Maddie thinks Evan would actually appreciate his efforts, if only he could take his eyes off of Eddie Diaz for at least five seconds in a row.
And she'd feel sorry for the guy, if this sudden nice act wasn't - yeah - just an act.
Instead, she keeps stealing glances at her brother inexistent poker face and Eddie's apparent ignorance of the whole thing.
"No," her daughter sighs, defeated. "You have to let me do the puzzle. I'm the child."
Oh, and her daughter's apparent inability to read the room (which, if it's real, she definitely got it from her father).
Now, to be honest, Evan's been distracted the whole time, even before Eddie's arrival. Or his boyfriend's. Like he's been thinking hard about something and he's still processing.
And Maddie's dying to know what's on his mind.
The way his eyes got stuck on Eddie as soon as he entered her house, though, that's another thing entirely.
Especially because Eddie is… Eddie's still Eddie.
But there's something different about him, today.
Something she can't put her finger on but keeps bugging her brain.
It's not the way he's dressed, that's for sure.
He's wearing a white T-shirt, one or two size bigger than the ones he usually wears, which fits large and looser on his frame; under it, gray, cargo knee-length pants and those silly too-long white socks he's been wearing lately, matched with shoes in the same color.
So, not the clothes.
It's not even his hair; they keep falling on his eyes, while he distracts Jee from her hatred for Tommy with a series of silly faces. They may be in need of a cut, yes. But they're not that different.
So, not the hair either.
But something's different and if she doesn't identify what, before the day's over, Maddie's going to go crazy.
Her brother is going to go crazy, too, but that's a whole other story.
When the half hour wait is over, Eddie's the one who volunteers to go pick up the olive oil and yogurt mask from the fridge in the pantry room, so that she and her daughter - and her brother, if she spins this right - are going to put on their faces.
"And could you put it in those tiny colorful bowls Jee likes so much?" she pouts, batting her lashes at him hoping that the Buckley effect extends to her too, when it comes to Eddie.
It does.
"Only because you asked, Maddie" he replies, sending a million dollar smile her way.
Not even five seconds later, her brother announces he's going to help him find and fill up the bowls because "Eddie and food stuff still don't go together that well" and follows him right into the pantry room.
Mmm.
Interesting.
And- really. Maddie knows she should just stay where she is and mind her own business.
But the baby monitor is right there.
And the other one is coincidentally inside the pantry room, since Jee likes to make her potions in there (which, literally means playing with water and the herbs they've got in the garden).
No, she's not going to do it.
She's going to give them some privacy, wait for her brother to come clean and-
"-not that it doesn't look good! I mean, it's just- I don't know, different?" Buck is saying, when she finally puts the monitor by her ear, volume low not to alert Tommy and her daughter of her little mischief.
"Buck" Eddie snorts. "It's not like it's the first time you've seen me like this, come on."
"No, you're right. It's just- mmm I don't know, I just can't believe it's gone" her brother replies, voice wondering.
And what the hell are they talking about, exactly?
Eddie snorts again, a familiar sound, one that Maddie's realized is reserved just for Buck.
"You in mourning or something? It's like you're seeing a ghost, the way you keep staring."
Oh. So Eddie's not as oblivious as she'd thought.
"I'm not staring."
"Sure you aren't, buddy."
"I'm not!" her brother insists. "I'm just getting reacquainted with the whole…" and Maddie can almost see her brother wave his hands around, not knowing how to finish the sentence.
"The whole what?" Eddie asks, not letting him get away with it.
"You know what, you asshole."
"I really don't Buck. You come here, tell me that you miss the mustache and that you need to get reacquainted with my bare face… I don't understand,are you telling me you find me ugly or-"
"What? Ugly?" her brother splutters, affronted.
Maddie can't help the gasp that falls out of her mouth, which immediately draws the attention of her disgruntled daughter and the bored man at her side.
"Everything's alright?" Tommy inquires, doubtful.
"Yup!" she replies, anxious to get back to the conversation.
The conversation revolving Eddie's obvious lack of a mustache.
That's it.
That's what's been bothering her and her brother the whole morning.
Eddie shaved off his mustache.
"Why did you shave it off, then?" her brother's asking.
"Why do you care so much?" Eddie retorts, voice getting closer to the baby-monitor. And closer to where her brother's standing, since his voice's always been loud and clear.
"Why do you keep answering my questions with other questions?"
She can't hear him walking anymore and the pantry room is admittedly small. Eddie must be right in her brother's face, by now.
"Isn't this what we do?" he replies, once again with a question.
"What do you mean?"
Eddie's sigh is so loud that she can't believe neither of the other two occupants of the room are not able to hear it.
"Dance around subjects" he explains."Leave everything unsaid, talk without actually saying anything, you know?"
"No, I don't know" is her brother's response.
Yes, you know is what Maddie would love to shout so loud that they both hear her and save her from this torture.
"Yes, you do" Eddie's voice insists, with a tilt in his tone. Like he wants Evan to take the bait.
Her brother remains silent for a moment, before going back to his first question.
"Why did you shave it off?"
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
God, they're both so stubborn.
"Stop it, Eddie. Please."
"Why?"
"Because it's not- because my boyfriend's-"
"Your boyfriend what? Why do you keep bringing him up?"
"Is this about the other night?"
What happened the other night? Maddie's absolutely intrigued.
"What if it is?"
"I don't get it, Eddie. You said it wasn't like that."
"Well maybe you convinced me."
"Convinced you about what?"
"Come on, Buck. I think it's pretty obvious."
"Nothing's ever obvious with you, Eddie" her brother replies. "Unless we're talking about your evident distaste for my boyfriend."
"See? See what you do? We start talking about us and you always- bring that man up!"
"No I don't! You're the one who has always something to say about him."
"Nope. Not this time. Believe it or not, not everything revolves around you and your awful taste in partners, Buck."
"God, why do you hate him so much? You used to be friends, you were so… what happened?"
Eddie scoffs, contempt loud and clear in his tone.
"Difference of opinion. Conflict of interest."
"But you've got the same interests, Eddie, what the fuck?"
"Exactly."
"I don't get it."
"I know."
"Then help me get it, please. I can't have this-" her brother takes a deep, trembling breath. "I don't want this to become a thing. I don't want to have to choose between spending time with my boyfriend and spending time with my best friend."
"Then don't."
"What do you mean? Stop speaking in riddles, Eddie!"
"Then you stop being so-"
"So?"
"So…" Eddie can't seem to find the right words.
"So what? Annoying? Insufferable? Exhausting? What am I Eddie? Tell me! Because I really don't understand what the fuck you're- oomph."
Suddenly, everything gets quiet.
There are no more words exchanged, just an unnatural, unexpected silence.
Then- is that static?
At first, Maddie thinks the monitor stopped working; she discretely holds it away from her ear but everything looks fine and the green light's still on.
She puts it back on her ears and-
Okay.
Maybe it's not static.
It sound more like some shuffling? Like hands rubbing over something?
And now that she's really listening she can almost hear-
Oh.
Oh.
Those are definitely-
Oh, fuck.
Are those- kisses?
Are they really…?
Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of a moan reverberates through the baby monitor.
Yup.
That's definitely a make out session, she's hearing.
Her brother and his platonic best friends are kissing each other in her pantry room.
Maddie can't believe this is her life; months and months - years, to be honest - watching these two idiots dance around each other, denying themselves, hiding their feelings, and now they're making out in her fucking pantry room and she's listening to them, while her brother's boyfriend is sitting right in front of her.
She needs to intervene.
No. First she needs to put down the damn baby monitor because, yes, she might be nosy, but she definitely doesn't want to listen to her brother's moans, while he kisses his best friend.
Then, she needs to find an excuse to distract the boyfriend and let those two finally have the conversation they should have had a long, long time ago.
The grass needs to be mowed, right? Maybe Tommy could go out there and-
"Did you hear that?" the guy asks her, after the unmistakable noise of a metal bowl clattering to the ground.
What the fuck are those two doing?
"Heard what?" she chirps, feigning ignorance. "I didn't hear anything."
"I heard it too, mommy" her daughter intervenes, suspicious. "Are you deaf?"
She's going to deny again, because, really, what can she do at this point?
"I didn't-"
Clang.
"Fuck!"
Yup. That was definitely her brother's voice.
Her brother's too loud voice, if they all can hear it through the wall.
"I'm going to see what's going on" Tommy says, standing up from the sofa like a man on a mission.
"Nah, you know how clumsy my brother is, Tommy" she tries. "He must have accidentally knocked over one of the bowls…"
Clang.
Splash.
"Gnnn, yes, fuck!"
Aaaaannnd, that's definitely not her brother's voice.
They're really making this difficult for her.
Has she already said how idiotic those two idiots are?
"Okay, I'm going" Tommy announces, making his way towards the door.
Fine, Maddie's going to have to put to good use the three years of drama classes she took in high school.
The two idiots owe her an entire month of baby-sitting duty, at least.
"Wait, Tommy, I'm coming with you" she says, pretending to stand up from the armchair. "I'm- owwww."
Thank God she's pregnant.
"What is it?"
Tommy rushes over, first responder instincts kicking in like clockwork.
Good job, Maddie. Great performance. Worthy of an Oscar.
"I don't know, I think it's Braxton-hicks, maybe?" she replies, acting like she's in pain, gripping the man's arm like her life depends on it. "Nothing to worry about, but they hurt."
"Are you okay mommy?" Jee rushes to her, eyes gentle and worried.
Yup. They owe her. Big time.
"Yes, baby, your brother's just getting ready to get out" she explains, not letting go of Tommy, because she needs to keep him there.
Her daughter, bless her, does exactly what Maddie was hoping she would do.
She opens up her mouth and screams her uncle's name like she's being payed to do so.
"Uncle Buck! Uncle Buck! DK wants to get oooout!"
And this is the magic of knowing so well the people in your life. Because Jee's not even finished the sentence that they hear another clang from the other side of the wall, followed by two pair of feet literally running towards the living room.
Three seconds later, her brother's back, Eddie at his back.
Like he always is.
Evan rushes to her side, taking her in with panicked eyes.
"What happened? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asks, breathless. If it is for the scare or because of whatever was going on in that pantry room, Maddie doesn't want to know.
She brings out her most contrite face, eyes jumping from her brother to the two-legged red bell pepper behind him. "Don't worry Buck. I'm fine. Like I was telling Tommy, it was Braxton-hicks. I'm already better."
"Do you need anything?" Eddie intervenes, always willing to help.
"A glass of water, maybe?" she says, and he instantly gets to work.
They spend at least five minutes worrying about her, asking her questions, making her walk through the room to check if everything's alright.
"So, what's the verdict? Can I still enjoy this SPA day with my daughter or…"
"Oh, on that note" Eddie interrupts her, cheeks back on fire.
As they should.
"What is it?" she asks, finally able to look them both over for the first time since they've come back from their pantry room session.
Eddie's hair is a mess, there's no way of denying it. Sticking up in every direction, the telltale sign that hands have explored and gripped it a little too well. There might be even a little beard burn on the side of his throat but it's not easy to tell from a distance.
Her brother's not in a much better shape. His old blue LAFD t-shirt is full of wrinkles and even a little bit stretched out around the neck; both his lips and the birthmark on his eye are full-on red, almost burgundy, and- is that…?
"Why are you dirty?" her daughter asks, tiny hand pointing at her brother's dark cream trousers.
In all fairness, Evan's more than ready to answer.
He must have been thinking of an excuse for the past ten minutes.
"'Cause I was leaning up against the counter and- you know I'm clumsy, Jee."
"That's why we might need to change plans about the SPA day" Eddie intervenes, shrugging. "There was a little accident with the mask."
"Oh, so that was the noise we heard?" Tommy inquires, eyes never leaving his boyfriend's legs, covered in yogurt and olive oil.
"Yup" they both reply in sync, without looking at each other.
Oh, she's definitely the actress in the family.
"No problem guys, just mop it up like the good boys you are" she orders. "And then, to make it up to us, you can let Jee paint your nails, right baby?"
Her daughter's delighted squeak is even louder than the boys' groans.
Serves you right for taking your mess in my house.
Her brother can't look at Eddie.
He can't even glance in his general direction.
A stark contrast to the beginning of this eventful SPA day, when Evan's eyes were glued to his friend's figure and not even his niece's antics were able to distract him.
Jee already painted his nails; she's chosen a sparkling midnight blue for him, much to his boyfriend's distaste.
"Looks good, Princess. Thank you" her brother had complimented her, earning himself a big MUAH on the cheek.
That's some signature Diaz shit right there, Maddie had thought.
"Yeah, I guess" Tommy had commented, now a bit more on edge than earlier in the day. "Just remember to take it off before we get to the bar, tonight."
Okay so that had been the death of the good behavior.
Buck's response had been a stiffening in his posture and a grimace.
Eddie's, though. Eddie's had been something else.
"And why should he, Tommy?" he had inquired, while Jee was choosing his nail polish.
"Because we're going out with our friends?" the man had replied, like it was obvious.
"So?"
"So I don't think Evan wants to be seen out and about with sparkling nails?"
"And what if he does, Kinard?" Eddie had sparred back.
"He doesn't."
"I think he does."
That had made Tommy react. "And I think you should start minding your own business, Diaz."
"That's what I'm doing, actually."
"Since when what we do is any of your fu-"
"Why don't you both stop telling me what I want to do?" her brother had snapped at that point, eyes still not moving toward Eddie. "I'm not a child. And this thing you do where you need to one up each other? It's starting to get old."
That had silenced them both; Eddie's jaw shutting close with a click.
At least until now, ten minutes later, when Jee's already working on Eddie's second hand and the tension is still simmering in the air.
"That's the best color you could choose, Jee. Thank you" Eddie compliments her, admiring her taste.
There's something strange in his tone. It's like he's playing some kind of game.
"Yayyy!" her daughter replies. "It's so pretty, Uncle Eddie."
"Yes, it is." Eddie agrees. "And you know why?"
Jee raises her own eyes from his hand, to send him a curious look. "No. Why?"
That's when Eddie's plan starts to become a little more obvious.
He lowers his head, until his mouth is closer to Jee's ear, like he's going to tell her a secret. His next words, though, resonate loud and clear in the tense atmosphere of the room.
"Because it's the color of your uncle's eyes, Princess" he stage whispers, staring at her brother. "The most beautiful color I've ever seen."
For a moment, Evan's gasp is the only other noise in the room. Then, his eyes finally snap towards his friend, who looks like he's just won the lottery, now that he's got her brother's attention.
Maddie's never seen Eddie donning a smile like that.
Shark like and feral.
"Stop it, Eddie."
"Why?" he asks, still smiling that weird-ass smile.
"Because- just stop it, please. You really don't want to do this."
"So it's fine when it's you who tells me what I want? But I can't do the same?"
"I never-"
"Yes, you did. The other night."
Evan splutters, vexed by his friend's ability to match his contrarian nature.
"It wasn't-"
Tommy clears his throat, interrupting them. "Want to share with the class?"
"No. Not particularly" Eddie replies, short, jostling his hand, causing her daughter to give him a murderous look.
"Sorry Jee" he apologizes, when he realizes he's caused her to make a mistake.
"No problem, Uncle Eddie. It's still pretty" she says, getting back to her task.
"That it is" Eddie replies, eyes still focused on her brother. It's obvious he's not talking about the nail polish.
Maddie can't take it anymore.
This tension that permeates the room.
"Why don't we start thinking about dinner, guys?" she tries to change the subject. "What are you up for? Italian? Chinese? Or maybe some home-made hamburger?"
The men all shrug their shoulders, like they don't particularly care nor want to talk to one another right now.
Her daughter has other plans.
Maddie sees her observing Eddie for a moment, tilting her head to the right just like she and her brother usually do when they're confused about something.
She proceeds to stick her index finger right between Eddie's nose and his mouth, forcing the man to cross his eyes to look at it.
"Whatcha doing, Jee?" he asks, curious.
"Where's the mus- mu- ugh" her daughter puffs, "where's the hair?"
"You mean the mustache, Princess?" Eddie guesses, snorting. Her tiny finger still tapping the space right under his nose.
"Yes! Where's the mustache?" she repeats, happy.
"I decided it was time to shave it off, Jee" he replies, serene. "Do you like it?"
Her daughter finally takes her finger back, still studying him.
"Yeah, you look nice" she decides, in the end.
"Thank you, Princess" Eddie gives her a high five. "Finally someone who embraces change" he remarks, glancing at her brother who's still meticulously studying the floorboards of the room.
"But why?" she insists, still curious.
"Why did I shave it off?" he repeats the question. "Like uncle like niece, uh?" he snorts.
Jee keeps looking at him, waiting for an answer.
"Fine, you win. Let's just say I finally came to terms with something about myself and the mustache wasn't needed anymore."
"And what is it?"
Oh, that's her brother's voice.
Eddie's answer has finally made him break his silence.
"It's making you crazy, uh? The not knowing" Eddie replies, smug.
"Just tell me, Eddie, jeez. It's not like it's some dark, twisted secret" Evan presses, a grimace on his face. "Come on, we're all wondering."
"I wasn't" his boyfriend cuts in. "Not until you both started acting so weird about it. So now I want to know it too, Diaz. Why's your bare face such a seismic shift for everyone?"
Eddie gives him a once over, clearly deciding how to tackle this mess.
"Fine, I'll tell you" he announces, voice trembling but unwavering. "A few weeks ago, a priest told me I needed to stop depriving myself of joy."
"What?" Maddie can't help but blurt out. What's a priest got to do with all this?
"That's exactly what I thought. What does it mean?" he replies, still looking at her brother who, in the meantime, is back looking at the pavement. "So, I decided to bring it up with my therapist. I don't know if she and the priest are friends or part of the same find happiness through life club, but she kinda agreed."
"Okay?" she's puzzled. "And what's that to do with the mustache?"
"Oh, the mustache was all Buck" he answers her, while her daughter starts blowing on his now painted fingernails. "When I told him about this exchange, a few days ago, he asked if the mustache had something to do with it. I said no, absolutely not. But- it made me think. Because it did. But it also didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, at first, I thought it was because of Chris. This need I had to conceal myself. I thought the guilt was one hundred percent caused by-" he interrupts himself. "Well, you know what."
"And it wasn't?" she presses.
"No. I mean, not completely" he replies. "Because Chris and I… we've been talking. Really talking. And- yeah, what happened with Kim was shitty and a big mistake I made-"
"Stop blaming yourself , Eddie, God" her brother intervenes, harsh.
The way his words transform Eddie's face is something Maddie still can't get over.
There's a word to describe it, but she doesn't dare voicing it out loud.
"Yeah Buck. I know" he relents, tenderly. A moment later, he shakes himself off and gets back to the story. "So, Chris and I, we're getting over it. He's coming home. And still, I didn't want to shave the stupid mustache."
"But now you did" she remarks.
"Now I did."
"Why? What changed?" her brother insists.
Eddie takes a deep breath, before opening his mouth and say the words Maddie's sure are going to change her brother's life for ever.
"I'm gay. And I'm surprisingly okay with it. So, sbam, Eddie gay, mustache gone. Yuhuuu!"
"Yuhuuu" Jee repeats, raising her hands in the air, though she doesn't really understand the importance of the moment.
The rest of the room stays silent.
Maddie looks around; at Eddie's hopeful yet scared expression, at Tommy's raised eyebrows and, finally, at her brother's devastatingly blank face.
He's frozen, eyes unfocused, like he's not able to process what he's just heard.
Come on, Evan she thinks, you just made out with the man inside the pantry room and you want to tell me you really had no idea?
But she can't say it, right? Because everything's a mess and they don't need her to make it even messier; so she does the only thing she can, standing up from her recliner and going to Eddie with a big, reassuring smile on her face.
"Oh, Eddie, I'm so, so, so proud of you" she tells him, giving him the warmest hug she can.
Eddie melts a little in her arms, tightening his grip around her shoulder with a tiny thank you, Maddie whispered in her ear.
Her daughter, her curious, nosy, wonderful daughter, takes advantage of the situation to slip into the hug, even though she still doesn't understand the significance of the moment.
"Mommy, what does it mean?" she asks her, once they're not entangled anymore.
"Being gay, baby?"
"Yes. Gay. What does it mean?"
"Mmm- you know I like boys and your daddy likes girls?" she starts. "And your uncle Buck likes both boys and girls?"
"Yes! He's bi- uhm… he's bis-"
"He's bisexual, yes" she comes to her aid. "Being gay means you like people of the same gender."
"What's a gender?"
"It means I like boys, Princess" Eddie intervenes, sure. "I'm a boy who likes boys."
"Oh," her daughter realizes. "And you didn't before?"
"Well, I did" he explains further. "I just didn't know it yet?"
"Ohhhh, okay" she replies distractedly, already bored with the news, now that she isn't being hugged about it.
Children.
"Well, at least she took it well" Eddie remarks, nervous eyes finding the figure of her brother, who still hasn't said anything. "And, thank you Maddie, you don't know how important it is for me that-"
"Nope. No. Nope."
Evan's voice, high and a little bit squeaky, interrupts the moment, and every single head in the room turns to him.
"What do you mean nope?" Eddie inquires, cheeks inflamed.
"This is- You're- Eddie, you-" her brother stammers fidgeting on his lap. "You're straight. Eddie, you're straight."
"Obviously, I'm not."
"Nope" her brother insists.
"Yes."
"No. You're joking, right? This is a joke?"
"What do you mean a joke?" Eddie retorts, hurt.
"It's- this is a prank. This whole damn day's been a prank, right? The mustache thing, the- the pantry room" her brother continues, strong emphasis on the last part. "It's a big, elaborate prank. Right?"
Disbelief and desperation are clear in his voice, and the way he keeps opening and closing his fists makes it even clearer in Maddie's eyes. Evan is struggling with this. He's struggling with coming to terms with the fact that his best friend, the same best friend he's always considered straight and whom he's just secretly kissed, isn't straight at all.
Eddie, though. Eddie's already an emotional mess, fresh out the closet, and he doesn't have the same grace or benefit of the doubt to give that Maddie has.
This leaves him with just one emotion left.
Anger.
"What the f-" Eddie growls, stopping himself only when he remembers that Jee's still in the room with them, even if she's now in Maddie's arms. "What the hell are you talking about, Buck? Does it look like I'm joking? Do you think this would be something I'd joke about?"
"I don't know, Eddie! I don't-" Evan doesn't know where to look anymore, "I don't know what to think. I'm- I don't know what to say! You can't just- come out like this. I'm not-"
"You, you, you, you!" Eddie erupts. "I'm the one who's just come out. I'm here, laying myself bare in front of you! And you're making this about you?"
"You've made this about me, Eddie!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about before, in there-" Evan replies, fury finally showing herself on his face, while he points at the pantry room. "I'm talking about the other night. I'm talking about- God, this is awful, I don't-"
"Me coming out is awful?" Eddie asks, even angrier than before, standing up from his chair. "Wow. Thank you for being honest about your feelings on this, Buck. Really. This makes me feel real good."
"No!" her brother protests. "No, I'm not- you coming out is cool, if you really mean it-"
"Again with this sh-stuff? I mean it, Buck. Don't you believe me? I'm gay" he repeats, again and again. "I'm gay. I am gay. So fucking gay!"
"Stop saying it!" her brother rages, matching Eddie's energy, standing up and unconsciously getting closer to him.
"Why?" Eddie asks, taking another step towards her brother.
Maddie's sure they're not even aware of this dance they're doing.
"Because-" another step. "Because-"
"Because what?" another step. "What does my coming out have to do with you? What does it change for y-"
"Everything!" her brother interrupts him, when they're practically face to face, in the middle of the room. "This- this changes everything, Eddie. Fuck. How could you?"
They're staring into each other eyes, both furious, both on the verge of doing something really stupid. Maddie's going to leave the room now, because they obviously need time to-
"Okay, I think it's time for me to go."
Her head snaps toward the sofa like she'd been hit by a dart.
Oh, God.
Tommy.
Tommy's still in the room with them.
Maddie'd completely forgotten about him.
The man stands up from the sofa with the glower of someone who's leaving the theater in the middle of a movie he doesn't like. He looks annoyed, like he's just lost a competition nobody but him knew was happening.
He stops right in front of Buck and Eddie, giving the latter a once over.
"Congrats, Diaz. Didn't think you'd have the balls."
Eddie doesn't even spare him a glance, keeping his eyes trained on her brother, still trying to gauge his reaction.
Evan, for his part, looks like he's just woken up from a dream. All the rage leaves his body, leaving place to confusion and puzzlement.
"What? Tommy where are you going?" he asks the man, hand gripping his arm.
"Home, Evan" the man deadpans, annoyance written all over his face. "I think it's time for me to go. Don't you?"
"No? Why?"
Maddie can't believe her brother.
Eddie can't believe him either, apparently, because his stance gets rigid and his demeanor colder, as he distances himself from them.
"You know why, Evan. Don't make me say it" Tommy's saying.
"Say what?"
"You can't be serious right now."
"I- I don't understand. I-"
"Yeah, I'm starting to get it" the boyfriend replies, condescendence dripping from his tone. "I thought Diaz was the problem here but maybe it's you. You're the one who needs to make peace with yourself."
"Make peace with- what? Why are you leaving?" Evan keeps stammering, even more confused than before, still gripping his boyfriend's arm like it's the only thing keeping him from the reckoning he so much wants to avoid.
Tommy sighs, stance losing its stiffness for a moment.
"God, you're-" he shakes his head. "It's hard to resist you when you get like this."
"Yeah, don't I know it?" Maddie hears Eddie agree through his teeth, too low of a volume to be heard from the couple in the middle of the room.
"Okay, Evan. I'll bite" Tommy relents, in the end. "I'm going home. Come to me when you've finally made up your mind. I won't wait forever."
He snatches his arm out of her brother's slacked grip, thanks her for the hospitality and returns the favor to Eddie, not sparing him even a glance before getting out of the door.
Maddie keeps looking at her brother, still frozen in front of her, while her daughter's eyes jump from her to the other two occupants of the room, filled of confusion.
"He left his jacket" is the only thing he says.
Maddie's eyes snap towards the entrance, where Tommy's jacket still hanging from the coat rack.
"Uncle Buck?" Jee finally calls to him, a curious tilt in her voice.
That's what shakes her brother out of his reverie and prompts him to do the dumbest shit she's ever watched him do.
And she's seen a lot.
He turns around, arms raised at his sides in a universal I've got no clue of what just happened gesture and looks at them with what can be described as the fakest dazzling smile she's ever seen.
"Can you believe the guy?" he says, seeking validation. "What is he even on? We were simply having a conversation and he got all-"
"No. I'm not doing this with you, right now" Eddie interrupts his bluff, calling him out. "I'm leaving too."
"What? Why?" her brother asks again, poker face starting to show some cracks. He might be used to fake a smile, but he can't hide the desperation in his eyes.
"Because I'm done pretending, Buck" Eddie replies, before kissing Maddie and her daughter on their foreheads. "Because I shaved my mustache and came clean. Now it's time you do the same."
"What?" her brother asks, shocked. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know why I reacted this way, but I'm proud of you, Eds. Really. Don't- don't go."
Eddie stops right in front of him, jacket in hand.
"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
Eddie sighs, shoulders slumped and gaze defeated. "That night you told me I should pursue joy. That I deserve it" he finally reveals, like he's got nothing to lose. "And you said that I should stop concealing myself and what I really want, because I deserve to have it."
"Yeah, but-" her brother
"And you said that wanting doesn't make me less of a person. Desiring is what makes me human. And that I had to give myself a chance at happiness."
Her brother keeps staring at Eddie. And Maddie wants to go there and shake him by the shoulders because, come on, Evan say something.
"This-" Eddie waves his hand around. "This was me doing that. The kiss in the pantry, was me doing that. This whole- coming out stuff, was me doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Giving myself a chance at happiness" he replies, voice strong and unwavering. "I've done what I had to. What I wanted to. But I can't make things happen, when they can't. I can't make people want things they don't want. So, Evan, I'm going now."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes. I have to go Buck. It's fine. Just- give me a couple of days to reset, alright? And then- we can go back to our usual ways. Chris is back on Monday, you're invited to dinner" he finishes, with a sad smile.
"But-"
"But nothing" Eddie puts his hand on Buck's shoulder. And it's a move so like them that for a moment Maddie thinks it's really going to be fine. Then, he speaks again. "It looks like you're boyfriend's waiting for you at home. Better not make him wait too long, right?"
Eddie's laughter is forced but it makes the trick.
Buck remains silent, still stuck in the middle of the room, while Eddie, too, leaves Maddie's home.
He didn't even try to stop him.
He just- let him go.
One minute passes.
Then another.
And then a third.
Everybody's silent, even Jee.
"Evan."
"What?" he asks, eyes still stuck on the front door.
"You know you gotta go, right?"
"Yeah, I know" he sighs.
"What are you still doing here, then?" she asks, with her best sisterly voice.
"It's just- what if he changed his mind?" he wonders, scared.
"Impossible."
"You sure?"
"Only one way to find out" she retorts, shrugging.
"Yup."
Still, he doesn't move.
"Buck" she calls him again.
"Mmm."
"Go."
"Just another minute, yeah? This is big. It's- huge" he explains, fidgeting. "I can't- I have to do it right."
"You will. You always do. At the very the end" she tries to joke.
"Shut up."
"Buck, go!"
"Uncle Buck!" her daughter joins in.
"Mmm?"
"Go!!!"
"Okay, okay, I'm going" he finally says, shaking himself off before hugging them both.
"Go get your man, Buck."
"Yeah, go get your man, Uncle Buck!"
She follows his form through the dining room, watches him retrieve the jacket hanging from the coat rack and finally get out of the house. She doesn't ever realize she's still smiling, until her daughter makes fun of her silly face.
She keeps smiling while she plates their dinner.
She keeps smiling while she reads her daughter her bedtime story.
She keeps smiling while she relaxes in bed, hand gently stroking her belly.
She closes her eyes, waiting for sleep to come and-
Oh.
Oh no.
Suddenly, her eyes are wide open, smile falling from her face.
Buck didn't have a jacket, when he got there.
Tommy did.
And it was Tommy's jacket that her brother took from the hanger when he got out of the house to go after his man.
No.
It can't be.
But it is.
It is.
She needs to check.
Maddie:
yo lil B everything alright?
She waits fifteen minutes to get an answer.
Little B:
never call me that ever again Maddie
just got chills all over my body
Bad ones
Maddie:
Whatever. So?
Little B:
So. It's going well
Maddie:
well how
Little B:
well meaning I went and talked to Tommy
Her fuck is so loud that she's almost sure she's just woken up the whole neighborhood.
Maddie:
???
Little B:
Kinda had to, right?
If we want to move past this
Maddie:
Yeah, I guess
Little B:
Like I said, everything's fine and
it's going to take a little time to adjust but
at least we're on the same page
Maddie:
Which is?
Little B:
building something stronger than before and yada yada yada
sorry I have to go now
the boyfriend wants homemade tacos for dinner
at 10 in the evening
apparently I need to pay for my sins or whatever
typical
see you later sis. And thank you for giving me the push I needed today
Maddie:
yeah no problem
She puts down the phone and picks up Chimney's pillow, so that she can scream into it without waking her daughter up.
Because-
Her brother went after his fucking boyfriend, didn't he?
God, when will she get some peace?
+1
Turns out, soon.
Her peace was right behind the corner.
A too-long peace treaty she never agreed to nor signed that ended up lasting two whole weeks, during which her brother basically vanished from the face of the earth, together with his fucking boyfriend (thank God for this part) and, unfortunately, Eddie Diaz.
Not that she hasn't heard from them, since that day, but it's usually short exchanges made up of pleasantries and small talk, mainly about her pregnancy, Jee's antics and Christopher homecoming.
Not even her own husband has had any news to share, ever since he came back from his first shift after the fact and told her almost nothing about the way Eddie and Buck had interacted with each other, now that her brother had made his mistake choice.
"So, how are they?" she asked at dinner, Jee too distracted by her food to pay attention to them.
"What can I say, Maddie? There's tension. A lot of it" he replied, a horrified look on his face. "And a lot of weird looks between them. I mean, not that they've ever been normal but this… nobody deserved this. Nobody, Maddie. And it's kinda your fault."
"What? My fault?"
"Yes. Apparently you're the one who pushed Buck in the right direction or something. That's what he told Hen."
"I didn't" she replied, horrified and a little hurt that her husband could believe something so absurd. "Are you kidding? I would never."
"You-" he looked at her with a frown. "You wouldn't?"
Maddie's already short temper - a gift of her pregnancy - vanished right then and there. "Do you think that I, after everything we both said about the situation, would have ever pushed Buck back into Tommy's arms? Are you kidding me right now?"
"Eww, Tommy" her daughter spoke up at the name. "Please mommy, no more Tommy. Please!"
"I don't know if I can keep this promise, Jee. Apparently your uncle doesn't really listen to me when I speak."
Her husband remained uncharacteristically silent during the whole exchange, fork frozen in the air, eyebrows raised and mouth opened in surprise.
"What is it?" she asked him, once her daughter had calmed down.
"Nothing, Maddie. I guess you're right. You'd never push Buck in the wrong direction."
"Yes. Thank you" she replied, pleased that he didn't still find her at fault for the awful outcome. "So, how's Eddie?"
"Eddie?" he repeated, face sporting a smirk she couldn't quite read. "I think he's going to be fine."
"Mmm" she replied, petting her daughter's hair. "Let's hope so."
After that, nothing.
Her husband mysteriously continued to be tight lipped about the whole affair, changing the subject or giving answers so vague every time she brought the subject up, that she had to resort to Hen to get some more insights.
"They're fine" she replied, when she called. "Though it's hard, you know?"
"I can imagine."
"New dynamics, new boundaries… everything's changed so fast" she explained, voice pained. "We're all still getting used to this new Buck and Eddie."
"Do you think they'll ever go back to the way they were?" she asked, heart breaking for them.
"No, Maddie. I don't think they will" Hen replied, sure.
The last one she tried, was Bobby.
He wrote her thirteen days into the two weeks stall, asking about her pregnancy, and she couldn't resist the temptation.
Captain B Nash:
I'm sorry, Maddie. I can't talk about my crew's private affairs, not even with you
Maddie:
I know, I know, it was worth a shot though, right?
Captain B Nash:
Absolutely. What I can tell you, though, is that you have to stop feeling responsible for whatever's going on right now. Those boys are old enough to fight their own battles and make their own choices. And you have to rest, before the baby arrives.
Maddie:
Yeah, you're right but it's not easy. I'll try, though. Thank you, Bobby
Captain B Nash:
No problem, Maddie. Stay safe.
That was two days ago, though, and Maddie was almost sure she'd have to take her car and drive her almost nine month pregnant body and an overexcited child to her brother's house in order to find the answers she was seeking.
At least, until Evan called her that same night, with a proposal she could never refuse.
"Come on, Maddie, Italian Pizza at your house before the baby arrives. You can't say no" he said, voice calmer that she would have expected, given the circumstances.
"Okay, okay. At least you gave me a sign of life, Evan" she replied. "It's like you disappeared from the face of the Earth these last few weeks. I was getting anxious."
"Fuck, Maddie. You're right" he admitted, then. And for the first time since the beginning of their call, she heard a hint of remorse in his voice. "I'm sorry, just so you know it was worth it."
"I really hope so, Evan. So, you coming alone or-"
"Nah. The boyfriend's coming along, if it's okay to you."
Of course.
Of course the boyfriend was coming along.
And he would come along for a long long time, wouldn't he?
"Yeah, I thought so" she replied, unable to muster much excitement.
"We bring the Pizza, okay? You won't have to think about anything. Just-" he took a deep breath. "Just remember I'm your little brother and you love me so so so so much when we get there, okay?"
And what a weird thing to say?
"Okay? You're scaring me a little, Buck."
"No! Don't be scared! Everything's alright, yeah? Just remember what I just said, okay? Bye sisssss."
"Bye, bro."
So now her nine month pregnant body, the overexcited child and her suddenly tight-lipped husband are all waiting for uncle Buck and the boyfriend to get to the house, pizza in tow.
"Do you think we should have invited Eddie?" she whispers to her husband, trying not to let her daughter hear his name, or else she's going to get excited for nothing.
"Nah," Chimney replies, already setting the table. "We got the boyfriend, didn't we?"
Yeah, they got the boyfriend.
What a wonderful outcome.
"Are you sure he's fine?" she inquires again, like she's been doing day in and day out since that faithful afternoon.
"I'm sure you'll see for yourself very soon, Maddie."
"If you say so."
"I do."
"Moooom! Daddyyyy! They're hereeeeee!"
Her daughter - that has been waiting at the window for the last fifteen minutes - rushes into the room, running towards her like a mad woman, toothy smile on display.
So Tommy has won over her daughter too, now?
What the hell?
"Come on mommy, come at the door" her daughter orders, dragging her by the hand. "They've got pizza!"
Oh, that's explains it. The excitement's for the food.
"Do I really have to?" she whines, giving her husband the best doe eyes she's got.
He doesn't seem willing to budge, though. "Yes, Maddie. Come on. You may even have fun tonight."
"Yeah, sure. You, me, Jee, Buck and the boyfriend. Yayyyyyy"
"Yayyyyy" her daughter mimics her, while Chim starts laughing. He really finds this whole thing funny, uh? Maddie just wants to cry.
Especially when the doorbell rings and she realizes she can't wait put this off any longer.
"Okay, let's go" she tells her daughter, following her to the front door.
When they get there, she takes a deep breath, raising her hand to the doorknob.
"Mommy?" her daughter calls out to her.
"Yeah, baby?"
"Why are you sad?"
"It's nothing, baby. I'm just tired."
"Mmm" her daughter sounds all but convinced.
So much for being a great actress.
Maddie's poker face doesn't work on his daughter. How the hell can she get through a night with Buck and the boyfriend?
Whatever, the show must go on.
At least, she knows exactly what's waiting for her, on the other side of the door.
So, she opens it, unleashing the most excited expression she can feign, and finally welcomes her brother.
Buck's lips are curved up in an apologetic smile and his gaze seems to be already begging for forgiveness. Her eyes go past his angelic face, following the length of his left arm right down to his fingers, tightly intertwined with-
"Eddie?!" she screeches, taking in the smiling figure half-hidden by her brother's frame.
"Uhm-" the two awful, awful men utter in sync, looking at each other with the guiltiest expression ever, both trying not to laugh in her face and both doing a terrible job at it. "Surprise?"
In an instant, all the pieces come together.
Evan's messages from that night; her husband's shocked reaction at her mention of Tommy; Hen's purposely vague answers Bobby's reluctance to give her any information.
The way these two have been avoiding her for two weeks straight.
Her husband's firm belief that she'd be having fun tonight.
"Whose idea was this?" she hisses, voice low and dangerous.
"Remember what I said?" her brother begs. "I'm your brother and you love me."
"Evan. Whose idea was it?" she asks again.
"Come on, Maddie, it was just-"
"Eddie" she says, then, shifting her gaze onto the other man with the best murderous smile she can muster. "Whose idea was it?"
The man looks her in the eyes, cheeks flushing with embarrassment and guilt.
"Eddie, resist. Please" her brother tries to reason.
But she knows she's going to win.
"Sorry, Buck" Eddie relents a few seconds later. "It's my first dinner here as your boyfriend. I really don't want to piss your sister off any more than we already have."
"Good choice, Eddie" she encourages him. "Spill."
Truth is, she already knows the name that's going to fall down from those lips.
She just needs confirmation.
She just wants-
"It was Chim."
Yup.
"HOWIE HAN", she hollers, turning her back towards the two traitors and thundering towards the man in question. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"
Her daughter's delighted laughter is the last thing she hears, before she unleashes her fury on him.
"So, let me get this straight" she starts, once she's calmed down and the five Italian pizzas are in front of them. "you got together literally that same night."
"Yup" her brother replies, with the dumbest smile she's ever seen on his face.
The man by his side is not less ridiculous than him. He and Eddie are holding hands over the table and it's both the most adorable and the most annoying thing she's ever witnessed with her own two eyes.
"And by your next shift you were already so lovey-dovey that everybody at work clocked this new dynamic as soon as you got there" she continues, dazed. "Unbelievable."
"In our defense, we didn't even try to hide it" Eddie explains, munching on his pizza. "Between this and Christopher being back, I've been walking around like I've won the lottery for the last two weeks. I probably should be embarrassed about it but…"
He shrugs, making his shoulders speak for him.
But I don't care. I've got everything I need. I'm happy. Let people think whatever they want.
"But you took Tommy's jacket" she reminds her brother. "And you said you'd talked to him."
She can't help but notice Eddie wrinkling his nose, at the mention of the ex-boyfriend.
"Well, I didn't want our relationship to have a false start" her brother clarifies. "And in order to do so, I had to come clean with Tommy. And give him the jacket back, together with the two tickets he'd bought for us to go to a Clipper's game."
"Which were a gift, by the way. You should have kept them" Eddie intervenes.
"Yes, babe. Sure" her brother placates him. "You and me, going to the game with the tickets my ex got me for our six months anniversary. That would have gone well.”
"Would have served him right" Eddie mutters, adorable pout on his lips.
Yeah, Maddie's not going to hold this grudge for long, uh?
They're too cute.
"You're smiling at them!" her husband whines by her side. "How come they're already forgiven and I'm still in trouble?"
"Because, look at them, Howie! How can I stay mad when they're so disgustingly happy?"
Her husband groans, not knowing that he, too, is well on his way to be forgiven.
She feels magnanimous, tonight.
"So, how's Chris doing?" she asks Eddie, sincerely interested in the matter.
"Well, he's doing well" the man starts saying. " We're doing well. We're finding a new balance, based on honesty. It's tricky, you know, because I'm his father and boundaries need to be set in place. But we're still healing and-"
Eddie stops talking mid-sentence, a look they all know so well making its way onto his face. He observes his pizza and then raises his eyes towards Jee. He repeats the movement twice more, while the perplexed expression on his face gets slowly but surely replaced by his knowing smile.
Then, he turns towards his boyfriend and winks, before letting his expression drop to one of fake shock and dismay.
"Buck" he says.
"Yes, Eddie?" is the usual reply, accompanied by the most affectionate smile Maddie's ever seen oh her brother's face.
"I think the little thief is back."
"And let me guess" Evan deadpans. "You're going to catch her in the act?"
Eddie's responding grin is radiant.
Two seconds later, her daughter's already trapped in the man's arms, giggling and kicking, while Eddie tickles her.
"Help! Help! Uncle Buck!" she shouts happily, just when her brother decides Eddie's going to have to suffer too and starts tickling him, finally free to touch the man without any limit, now that they're together.
With the show happening right in front of them, Maddie gets closer to her husband and whispers in his ear.
"You know, Howie? I've got a secret of my own" she reveals, smugly.
"What do you mean?" he asks, curious.
"What if I told you that you don't know everything that happened here, that day?"
"What?"
"Yup."
"Come on, Maddie. You can't just-"
"Can't I? After the stunt you just pulled?" she deadpans, raising one eyebrow.
Her husband groans again, laying his head on the table, right next to his pizza.
"You're right, you're right. I deserve to suffer" he moans. "But it was worth it. The look on your face…"
The bright smile he gives her makes her stomach tingle.
"Tread lightly Chimney, or…"
"Or…?"
"Or you will never know what our pantry room, some yogurt and the baby monitor have to do with those two's first kiss" she finally says.
"What?" he jumps up from his chair. "Tell me everything!"
Mmm.
She'll have to think about it.
For now, her pizza's waiting for her.