Beth raised her eyebrows at me. “Don’t you?”
This was getting us nowhere. “I apologized. Can we move on, please?” I gestured toward the house, hoping she’d step out of the way and invite us in. “We need to talk about this.”
Beth stepped back. “Fine. We’ll sit out back.”
As I walked past the living room, Charity leaped up from where she was playing on the floor. “Uncle Ash.” She flew across the floor. I barely had time to get my arms out before she launched herself at me.
“Hey, kiddo,” I said as I placed a kiss on the top of her mop of curly brown hair.
“I didn’t know you were coming over,” she chided. Her little nose scrunched up as she stared at me accusingly.
“I didn’t know either until a little while ago.”
“Is that cuz Mommy is mad at you?”
Whoever said kids were in their own world had never met my niece. “Yep.”
She leaned in and whispered loudly. “She’s really mad.”
“I know,” I whispered back. “But Nat brought cinnamon buns from The Switchback.”
Natalie held up the box she was carrying.
Charity’s eyes widened. “For me?”
“That’s up to your mom since I don’t know what you’ve eaten today.”
Beth shook her head and sighed. “You can have a little bit while I talk to Uncle Ash and Natalie outside.”
“Me too, please,” Diesel called from his place on the sofa.
“Hey, D.” I nodded to my nephew.
“Hey, Uncle Ash.” Diesel sat up a little straighter, and a shy smile curled up the corner of his mouth. “Hi, Natalie.”
“Hi, D, whatcha watching?” she asked.
“Just stupid cartoons cuz Charity and Brady are playing in here.”
Just then, the sound of small footsteps thundered down the stairs. “Hi, Uncle Ash,” Brady yelled as his feet hit the bottom step. “I was pooping.”
I snorted out a laugh. The kid said the damnedest things. “Good to know.”
“Really Brady? Come on, we have company,” Beth complained.
“Uncle Ash isn’t company,” Brady said.
“Yes, but Natalie is.”
“No, she’s your friend. That’s not company. Company means we have to be on our best behavior. Like when Grandma and Grandpa come over. Not when Nat is here.” Brady nodded once as he proclaimed this statement of fact.
“He’s got you there,” I said. The last thing anyone wanted to deal with was my mother’s disapproval. When she felt Beth’s children were poorly behaved, no one was safe from hearing about it.
Beth held up her hand, closed her eyes, and took a breath. “Fine, can we just try to behave like I taught you some manners, please?”
“What’s that?” Brady pointed at the box in Natalie’s hands.
“Cinnamon buns,” Charity squealed. “And we get to eat them.”
