So It Goes, page 6
“I missed you, too, squirt.” Jay kissed the top of his head, and Danny finally let him go.
“Can I have another juice, Dad?” Danny asked, handing Aaron the empty Capri-Sun.
“Not until you eat your lunch. Go wash your hands. The quesadillas are almost ready.”
“But I want to show Uncle Jay my drawings first,” Danny said.
“I’ll tell you what,” Jay said, “we’ll go wash our hands together, and then you can show me your drawings.”
“Okay!” Danny grinned, hopping down from the seat, and then yanking Jay away by the hand. “I’m gonna show you my new room. I have a new friend and her name is Daisy and she lives next door and I love her so much and…”
Aaron smiled as he finished the quesadillas.
Lunch turned out to be better than Aaron had expected. Jay got an earful of Danny’s stories from his new daycare and Daisy. Aaron got to sit and watch his baby brother and son interact, which was really sweet. Jay had always been a great uncle, and he was so patient with Danny. They’d always been close. Aaron knew it had been hard for Danny being almost three hours away from Jay when they lived in Wilburton. Aaron had tried to make the drive, no matter how long, but their visits were always fewer than they’d wanted.
Now, things would hopefully change. Jay was a short drive away. Aaron could go with Danny to visit or Jay could come here anytime. Things would be a lot easier now for all of them. Another reason to love this house.
After lunch, Danny made them both sit on the couch with him to watch PAW Patrol. Danny always got so hypnotized by the show that he hardly paid attention to anything else being said.
“So, your neighbors have a dog named Daisy?” Jay asked.
“Yeah, Danny loves her. She’s a golden retriever. The nicest dog I’ve ever met.”
“Has Karen budged on the no dog rule yet?”
Aaron sighed. “Trust me, the moment Karen says yes, there will be a dog in this house. I’ll take Danny to the shelter to adopt one right then and there.”
Jay frowned. “Poor Danny. I know how much he wants a dog.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much all he talks about.” Aaron couldn’t understand how Karen hadn’t caved on the dog issue yet. Danny wanted to be surrounded by dogs all the time. How did she see that and still said no to him? Aaron sighed. “At least the Adams said Danny can play with Daisy whenever he wants. The other day we took her for a walk with Lucas.”
“It sounds like you’ve spent all your free time with the Adams.”
Aaron gave Jay a look. “Are you jealous we like the Adams so much? You know you’re still my number one, Jay.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m not jealous. It’s just so strange to me that you’re so attached to your neighbors. You’ve only been living here a week.”
Aaron shrugged. “Yeah, well, they’re awesome.”
“Maybe I’ll get to meet them one day.”
“Yeah, sure. Come over for dinner. I’ll invite them, too.”
“I’ll check with Crystal to see when she has a day off. She’s always doing double shifts now.”
“Let me know. We really miss her, too.”
Jay smiled. “Aaron, I’m really happy for you. I mean, you finally have your dream house. I know how hard you’ve worked for this. For all of this. You look great. Happy. Stable. You even have cool neighbors.”
“Yeah,” Aaron agreed. “Things are finally looking up for me and my family. I think this is where Karen and I will get to grow old, you know? I’m actually looking into buying a pair of rocking chairs for the front porch so she and I can sit and drink sweet tea, like real southerners.”
Jay laughed. “I can see that so clearly. You won’t look so bad with gray hair.”
“But I’m not letting my hair get gray until I’m at least fifty.”
“Always so vain.”
“I just know we have bad genes. Gotta start preparing now.”
They got quiet, then. Aaron thought about Rodrigo and all the awful things they’d gotten from him. At least they’d been able to grow into better men than their father.
Aaron looked at Danny, eyes wide as he watched his favorite show. He promised himself that Danny would learn amazing things from him. Being a good dad was going to be Aaron’s legacy in this world.
CHAPTER 8
LUCAS
By Sunday, Lucas had written ten-thousand words of backstory for his new book. Unlike his other books, there weren’t any monsters or creatures or anything like that. It wasn’t really horror either. Instead, it was closer to mythology.
It was a story about a fallen angel.
Lucas had always been interested in angels. Growing up in a Christian household had influenced him in that regard. Angels had always been this fascinating concept. A celestial, powerful, winged creature; a soldier of God. But what if this soldier wasn’t as firm in his beliefs as the other angels? What if this angel was tempted by the joys that earth could offer, and he fell from heaven?
That was the basic idea, anyway.
There was so much work to do. So much more to think up. This was brand new territory for Lucas, who didn’t really know much about angels and had spent most of the previous night researching angelology.
When Angelica found Lucas asleep at his desk in his home office, Lucas had been dreaming of the angel in his story. A divine creature that had lived millennia, but still had so much to learn from this world. The angel remained nameless, so Lucas addressed him as The Angel as if he was the only one in existence.
“Dear, did you pass out in here?” Angelica asked, a hand brushing back the mess that was his hair.
Lucas sat up, feeling several aches all over his body from sleeping in his desk chair all night. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, blinking up at Angelica, who was offering him a hot cup of chamomile tea. “Thank you, Angie.” He grabbed the cup and took a careful sip.
Angelica smiled. “Something must have truly inspired you yesterday. I don’t think I saw much of you before you disappeared into your office.”
Lucas sipped his tea again. “I think I have my new book. I have most of the backstory down, but I still need to come up with a plot, side characters, and a clear outline. I need to get back to work.”
Angelica held his shoulder. “Lucas, dear, you need to take care of yourself. I’m glad you found your mojo again, but you slept in this chair all night. Well, judging by the bags under your beautiful eyes, I’d say you slept half the night, if that. Go to bed. When you’re well-rested you can get back to work.”
As much as Lucas wanted to argue, he knew Angelica was right. Sometimes, when he was so deep into his work, Lucas forgot self-care. Once he’d gone an entire day without eating because he was so focused on what he was writing.
“You’re right,” Lucas said. “What would I do without you?”
Angelica kissed him. “Crash and burn. Now go to bed.”
Lucas went to bed, his thoughts racing and revolving around the angel in his new story. He thought that sleep would never come, but as soon as he was under the covers, he passed out.
When Lucas woke up, it was to the wet feeling of Daisy’s tongue on his cheek. Lucas groaned, rolling over so his face buried into his pillow, but then Daisy started licking his ear. That was when Lucas knew it was time to get up.
Lucas rolled around, and Daisy jumped excitedly on the bed. “Hi, sweet girl. You want my attention? I hear you. I’m up.”
The alarm clock on his nightstand showed it was 3:15 pm, which explained his growling stomach.
Lucas got out of bed, stretching his sore muscles. Maybe he’d never fully recover from sleeping in that chair. He felt closer to fifty than his actual thirty-three years. Lucas walked Daisy to the backyard, sliding open the glass door to let her out. Daisy ran eagerly to do her business on the grass. He wondered where Angelica was. Usually, Daisy would bother her to be let out since she was usually on the back porch painting.
There was music coming from somewhere.
Lucas stepped into the backyard, following the music all the way to the tall fence that he shared with Aaron and Karen’s house. It was Spanish music, and it sounded like rock. Classic rock, if Lucas had to guess. Lucas wasn’t tall enough to see to the other side, so he jumped.
In the quick second, he thought he saw Aaron, Karen, Danny. Maybe Angelica? Lucas jumped again.
“Hey, everybody, we have a Peeping Tom!” That was clearly Aaron.
Lucas laughed, leaning against the fence. “I seem to be missing my wife. I was just looking for her.”
Suddenly, Aaron’s head was looking over the fence. “Hi.”
Lucas furrowed his brow. “Are you standing on something, or are you just really tall?”
Aaron waggled his eyebrows. “Yeah, I’m standing in a chair. Sleeping Beauty get enough rest? Angelica came over because you were sleeping. I’m gonna fire up the grill and make burgers. Come join us.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Lucas was really hungry. His first instinct was to go next door immediately. However, he hadn’t showered in a while, so he decided to jump in the shower first. The warm water woke him up all the way. After dressing in cargo shorts and a red polo, Lucas realized he had a text from Aaron.
We’re all in the back so let urself in with the spare key in the fake rock on our porch
Lucas and Daisy went next door, and Lucas let himself in with the key. It felt strange to just open up a house that wasn’t his, but he had permission from the house owner. Lucas had a similar hide-a-key rock on his porch.
The house was eerily quiet, but Lucas followed the music—louder now—to the backyard.
Aaron’s backyard was well kept, the freshly mowed grass scent strong. It was also bare, aside from a grill, a table, and a few plastic chairs occupied by Karen and Angelica. Aaron was at the grill. Danny was riding a tricycle, but he climbed off it and ran up to Daisy as soon as he saw her.
“Daisy’s here!” Danny cheered. “Hi, Luc!”
Lucas smiled, squatting down to Danny’s eye level. He’d always done this with kids, wanting them to feel as equal and important as adults. “Hello, Danny. It’s nice to see you again. I thought you might want to play with Daisy.”
Danny nodded. “Yes, yes, yes! Can I show her my tricycle? My dad got it for me today.”
“Go for it.”
“Thank you,” Danny said before leading Daisy to the tricycle.
Lucas looked after Danny, smiling. That kid had incredible manners.
“You made it,” Angelica said. “I got bored in the house. It was too quiet.”
“We were happy to rescue her from boredom,” Aaron said.
“Would you like something to drink?” Karen asked. “There’s soda and beer.”
“A beer would be great, thanks,” Lucas said.
Karen nodded, ready to get up.
“No, don’t get up,” Lucas said. “I don’t want to bother you. I can get it myself.”
“Luc, why don’t you get two beers from the fridge?” Aaron asked. “I’m running low.”
Lucas nodded. First, he let himself in, and now he was rummaging through their fridge. Aaron and Karen were either really trusting people or Lucas was suddenly a close friend of the family. That made him smile.
When Lucas made it back outside, he stopped to kiss Angelica’s cheek on his way to Aaron. Angelica seemed to be getting along well with Karen. Then again, Angelica got along well with everyone. She was just that charming. Lucas, well, he didn’t exactly have her people skills.
Lucas handed Aaron one of the beers, and Aaron thanked him. He was still getting the grill ready. “I didn’t know you were into grilling.”
“Oh, yeah, big time,” Aaron said. “I make the best burgers. But you’ll have to wait and try one to believe me.”
Lucas smiled. “I can’t wait.” He sipped his beer. “I wanted to thank you for the conversation we had yesterday about my book. I’ve been in a rut when it comes to writing. But after we talked, I finally got inspired to write something new. Angelica found me asleep at my desk this morning.”
Aaron raised his eyebrows. “I helped you write? Wow. That’s kind of a nice compliment.”
“You did help me. I very much enjoyed talking to you about my book.”
Aaron’s smile grew. He looked suddenly giddy. “Heh. I’m like your muse now.”
“Well—”
“I’ve never been a muse.”
“I mean—”
“I feel special.”
Lucas chuckled. Aaron was far more excited by this than Lucas had expected him to be. “Well, it wasn’t you in particular. It was more the conversation we had over my book that helped.”
“Hey, man, don’t take back my compliment. I’m a muse.”
“Whatever makes you happy, Aaron.”
Aaron grinned. “So, Jay came by yesterday. We got to have lunch together. It was just like old times.”
“That’s wonderful. I would have loved to meet him.”
“Yeah, I told him he should come over for dinner with Crystal and you guys. But he’s a busy guy, and so is Crystal. She’s an ER nurse, and he’s a divorce attorney, so it’s rare when I get to see them both at the same time. But I told him all about you guys, and he’s excited to meet you both.”
Lucas knew Aaron had more likely been referring to Angelica than him in that conversation, but it was still sweet to act like he talked up both of them to his younger brother. “Well, I hope we can meet each other soon.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Lucas kept Aaron company while he grilled, and he surprised himself when he started talking about his new book idea. It was rare when Lucas talked about his unfinished manuscripts, but since Aaron had been such a big help in getting it started, it felt right. And Aaron asked excellent questions, helping Lucas come up with things he might have overlooked. Who would have thought of an angel feeling more like family with the humans he interacted with rather than his other angel brethren?
When the burgers were ready, they all sat down at the table to eat. Aaron hadn’t lied about how great his burgers were. They were better than any burger Lucas had ever had before.
Angelica seemed to agree. “Aaron, these are fantastic.”
Karen smiled over at Aaron. “Yeah, he’s amazing at so many things, but making burgers is right at the top of the list.”
“I’m not good with a grill,” Lucas said. “But I’m tempted to learn so I can make some myself.”
Aaron gave him a look. “You can try, but no one makes better burgers than me.”
“Is that a challenge?” Lucas asked.
Aaron snorted. “Hardly. You’d only be setting yourself up for failure.”
“Oh, dear, I think you’ve been burned,” Angelica said.
“If you guys decide to challenge each other to make the best burger, put me down as a judge,” Karen said. “I’ve been with Aaron for over six years. I’ve probably eaten burgers from every place in Oklahoma that makes them.”
“I’ll be the second judge,” Angelica said. “I can’t say no to burgers.”
Aaron held Lucas’s gaze. “What do you say, Adams?”
“I never back down from a challenge,” Lucas said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. He was good at making burgers, but he’d never made his recipe on a grill. He’d never even owned a grill.
Aaron smirked. “Game on. Next weekend. We’re having a grill-off. Karen and Angelica will try both of our burgers, and they’ll pick the winner.”
“Perfect,” Lucas said. “Prepare to lose, Santos.”
Karen and Angelica “Ooooh’d” at that.
Lucas grinned.
Aaron chuckled. “You talk a big game, but I know you’re shaking inside.”
“You wish.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes, his face serious. But then his lips quirked into a smile. “You want another beer?”
“Yes, please,” Lucas said.
And just like that, they continued onto their nice Sunday together.
CHAPTER 9
AARON
On Tuesday, Lucas dropped off a large manila envelope.
Aaron found it under the mat on his front porch. Inside, there was a stack of papers, with a blue sticky note on top.
* * *
Aaron, I was hoping you’d tell me what you think of my new book so far. Since you call yourself my muse, I’m going to make you work for the title.
P.S. looking forward to kicking your ass this weekend.
-Lucas
* * *
Aaron smiled. Lucas had trusted him with his new book. And Aaron would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to dive right into it. Last night, he’d finished the first book and started the second one about vampires. Lucas’s books were fantastic. By the sounds of it, his newest one wouldn’t fall far behind.
He sent Lucas a text.
Got your pages. I’ll give you a call once I finish them
Lucas texted back.
Sounds good.
But Aaron had a whole routine to follow now that he was home from work. Karen had offered to make dinner tonight, so that was one less thing on his list. However, that meant that it was Aaron’s turn to get Danny in the bathtub afterward.
Aaron took a shower first. Then he played a quick soccer game with Danny in the backyard. They had tried out baseball and basketball, but Danny seemed really into soccer.
Aaron stole the ball from Danny again. “Hey, kiddo, do you wanna play soccer with other kids? Like, in a team?”
This time, Danny stole the ball from Aaron. “Yes! I wanna play with other kids.”
“Awesome. I’ll find you a team to play with. You really like soccer, don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun.”
After dinner, Aaron looked up soccer teams for kids in Danny’s age range. He found one that met at a park about fifteen minutes from here. Aaron wrote down the information and emailed the coach, hoping to hear from him soon.
