Enrico had no clue, but Mitch had learned to tell them apart. "You have Veronica. I have Natalie," he told Enrico. "Veronica has the white patch on her front right paw."
"This little paw," Wyatt said. He went over to pet the kitten, and Sam came to get acquainted with Natalie. "You want to box?" Wyatt was asking Veronica, while she was swatting at his fist.
"So you're Natalie," Sam said, and Natalie meowed at him and tried to climb up Mitch's arm. "You get extra dad points for being able to tell them apart."
"Sammy gave me such a disappointed look when I mixed them up, so I had to figure it out," Mitch said.
Talking to him, he noticed that Sam had a completely different vibe from either Wyatt or Enrico. He seemed nice but also guarded. Since he hardly knew Mitch, Sam's attitude made sense to him.
On the other hand, Wyatt and Enrico easily fell in with near strangers. It made Mitch realize how little time had passed since he met Enrico, but the impression he had was that it had to be longer. Otherwise why would he feel this connection, like Enrico was someone he was supposed to meet?
Once they were back from walking the dogs and the kittens, the kids got to have ice cream on the Hayes' back porch, and Wyatt showed off his fiancé's garden with a mixture of teasing and pride.
"Sam is a born farmer. My wedding gift to him will be an ox and a plow," Wyatt announced.
Enrico looked at him sideways. "Only one ox? Cheapskate," he told Wyatt while Sam smiled and shook his head.
When they drove back to the Dunbar house, Sammy's job was to keep the kittens from climbing under the car seats. That made Mitch realize they would need a pet carrier and a whole bunch of other things. Once they were at the house, Sammy got busy giving the kittens water and Mitch and Enrico lingered in front.
Twirling his grandmother's car keys around his finger, Enrico told him, "I'm glad you don't have a problem hanging out with Wyatt and Sam."
"Why would I?" Mitch said as he grew suspicious. "Is that why you wanted us to go over there? Were you testing me?"
"I already tested you at Grandma's. I'm just saying it's good because now you won't get stuck hanging out with your kid, some kittens and your tools," Enrico claimed.
"So you were worried about my social life," Mitch said, still skeptical.
"In a small town like this, you're lucky to find anyone who isn't too young and snivelly or too old and shriveled up. Just be grateful that I'm willing to share Sam and Wyatt with you," Enrico told him.
Mitch decided to accept his answer. "OK. It was a good idea to go over there. I didn't even know Sammy's friend had a dog that had to be put to sleep. It worries me when she doesn't tell me things."
"She's a sweet, caring kid, and you're a pretty good dad. I'm sure she knows you're there for her if she needs you." Then Enrico asked something he had probably been wondering about for a while. "What happened to Sammy's mom?"
Mitch felt that painful tug, an old wound reopening, as it always did when he had to say the terrible words. "She died. Complications during the birth. She started hemorrhaging."
"I'm so sorry," Enrico said.
"Ellie was so ready to be a mom. She looked forward to it so much then she was gone," Mitch said. He remembered her excitement, all the plans she made. "She had great instincts and she was so sure of herself. Sometimes it made me feel like I was just a happy bystander. I wondered if I was going to be one of those weekend dads."
Enrico frowned at that, like he could tell he was missing something.
"Elli and I weren't together. We were just friends," Mitch told him.
"More than friends if you made a kid together," Enrico pointed out.
"We were just friends. We just happen to fall into bed one night," Mitch told him. He remembered the rush of it, desperately reaching out, grasping for something that wasn't there. Afterward, he was just grateful that they stayed friends.
"But you were close, maybe you wanted more," Enrico said.
"Not until Ellie told me she was pregnant. She was very matter of fact about it. She told me, 'I think I'm going to have this kid. But it's up to you if you want to be a dad. I won't even put your name on the birth certificate if you don't want me to.'" Those words still stung him.
"And what did you say?" Enrico asked.
"I was offended, mad that she would say that. I did want to be a dad. The situation wasn't perfect, but I thought we could make it work, get married..."
"You asked her to marry you?"
"I did. Ellie didn't even take two minutes to think about it. She actually laughed. Then she chewed me out for even asking. 'What are you thinking, Mitch? We don't love each other, and I'm not making room in my closet, or clearing out any drawers, or setting aside precious space on the bathroom counter for a man I don't love. I'm not putting on some lame, white dress for anyone but a man who can't live without me, and that ain't you Mitch McEvers.'"
