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Liam looked bemused as he obediently tied the apron around his neck. "I'm...not sure."
"Here, try it," she handed him a pink handled paring knife.
He eyed the chef's knife she wielded with aplomb. "You could have at least given me the big one."
"You said you weren't sure about your chopping," she said in her professor-voice.
"Right, okay, valid point." He bent to his tomato, more mashing it than slicing. The knife looked ridiculous in his huge hands, and I smiled.
"Hot hot hot," chanted Kiki, bustling through the kitchen with a brownie pan. "Where can this cool out of the way?"
I brushed some mail to the floor and grabbed a hot pad. "I got it," I told her, spinning in place to put the pan down by the toaster.
"Liam, can you slice a little thinner, I only grabbed two tomatoes," Jazzy asked.
"Sure."
"Hey Jazz, where are your forks?"
"I got them, want me to set the table?"
"Hey, what are we having, anyway?" Liam wanted to know.
"Steak, mashed potatoes and salad," Jasmine barked, attacking the mound of potatoes like they had insulted her mother. "Kiki also made brownies for some reason."
"Dessert! You always need something sweet to finish," Kiki called from the sink, shaking out the head of iceberg.
"Need me to mix the salad dressing?" I asked, after I'd finished setting the table.
"Just grab the bottles off the door," Jazzy called over her shoulder.
Liam looked down at his mutilated tomatoes in triumph. "I did it!"
"You did your best and that's what's important," Jasmine teased, sliding them into the salad bowl and tossing them with the lettuce.
"You wouldn't let me use the big boy knife," Liam complained. "My skills were hampered."
"The only one of us who had medical training is Kiki, and hers is limited to patching skinned knees and kissing snotty noses," Jasmine replied archly. "I made the right decision in keeping sharp knives away from you."
"You'll get it next time," Kiki patted Liam encouragingly.
Liam shot me a helpless look and I bent double with laughter. I laughed even harder as the two of them herded him into the cramped dining room, bickering over who should sit where.
In the five minutes Liam had been here, they had already put him to work, teasing and bantering like he belonged here. I felt more comfortable with Liam meeting my friends than I had in four years with Tre.
"I supposed you can sit next to Shay," Jazzy conceded to Liam's pleas. "But no funny business under the table."
"What about on top of the table?" Liam asked, perfectly innocent. I slid next to him and he squeezed my thigh.
"You're so bad!" Kiki shrieked.
"Are you going to send Kiki a zillion flowers for hurting her virgin ears?" Jazzy huffed, winging a steak onto his plate.
"Just give me your address, Keysha," Liam nodded.
"I like daisies," Kiki said primly as she smoothed her skirt and sat down.
"What do those mean?" Liam asked me.
I smiled. "Innocence."
"Which you just robbed her ears of," Jasmine sat down at the head of the table.
Kiki sighed. "I actually just like the way they look. So cheerful. I could use some after today."
"What happened, babe?" I asked, a bite of steak poised on my fork.
She heaved another sigh. "Remember I told you about Trevor?"
"He sat in your lap," I nodded. Jasmine leaned forward, nodding too.
Her eyes glittered as she blinked rapidly. "His parents pulled him from the program!" She viciously stabbed a forkful of steak and jammed it into her mouth.
"Oh shit," Jazzy muttered.
Liam looked quietly at me. "Trevor's one of her preschool kids. Special needs. She made a breakthrough with him recently...."
"And now it's for nothing." She coughed into her napkin. I could tell she was trying to keep from crying.
"Did they give a reason?" Liam asked.
Kiki looked at him, seemingly startled that he would be interested. "They did. They said the therapy worked and was no longer necessary."
"Well that's good, right?" Liam asked. His gray eyes blazed with hope.
Kiki set down her fork. "No. It's deluded. Their child needs the full complement of therapies; OT, PT, speech... We had him with three different therapists three days a week, plus small group time. The only reason they saw this progress is because we were working our collective asses off with him." I had never seen Kiki so furious.
"Can you get them to reconsider?" I wanted to know.
Her shoulders slumped. "I can try. But they're bound and determined to force him to be 'normal.' Whatever that means." She looked around wildly. "I mean, who here can claim to be normal?"
Three heads swiveled to stare at Liam. He looked alarmed and set down his fork. "Me? Why ladies, I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted."
"A bit of both." I patted his shoulder. "Sorry, killer."
He wiped his mouth with his napkin and leaned in. "Do you work for the school system or a private practice."
"Schools," Kiki replied, wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion.
"Then you'll be able to follow him, so long as he stays in the district, right?"
"I can, theoretically."
Liam nodded forcefully. "Keep on him. Check in, show interest...just keep being present for him. I can tell you from experience how important it is for a scared kid to have an adult who cares."
The three of us stared at him. Kiki's mouth was hanging wide open.
Liam grunted and shifted in his chair. "I'm sorry, did I just kill the light-hearted mood?"
Kiki leaned forward and patted his hand. "No, honey, I'm pretty sure that was me." She smiled at him. "Thanks for that."
"It was the truth," he said shortly, before turning back to his steak.
"I like him," Jasmine announced suddenly. "Shay? Get it, girl."
Chapter Twenty
A good friend is always there when you need them. An even better friend knows when to go the hell away.
