"Is it going well with your parents?" Julian asked to divert him.
Rico went along with it. "Do you know what my dad said when he saw our place? 'I never thought I would see you living in a proper house like this.' If I would only go back to 'real' college, I would make all his fatherly dreams come true."
"Are you saying it's going well or it isn't? I can't tell," Rob told him.
"Not too bad, I guess." Rico still sounded like he was complaining. "Mom and Dad are both in love with Mitch, and Sammy is their new treasure. They try to buy her everything in sight. It could be worse I guess," Rico said with a shrug then he focused on Julian. "And don't you worry. Christie is going to love you."
Rob didn't think Julian needed the encouragement, but maybe he did. Rob was used to the way Christie was. But in Julian's life, family disapproval didn't come from well-meaning big sisters. It was unrelenting and cruel.
That's why Rob put his arm around Julian and told him, "She already likes you. She helped Danny buy us the boyfriend apple, didn't she?"
That made Rico want to question them, but Mitch changed the subject to all the work that needed to be done to clean up after the festival. "I'll get ready to roll up my sleeves again," Rob said.
Most of the party guests were inside where it was warm and booze was flowing, but the kids were happy to run around the yard. The guys didn't mind keeping them company until Mrs. Del Rio announced that dinner was being served. At first it took real work to get the kids to come in and eat, but then they were racing each other inside.
As they were being seated at two long dining tables, Rico introduced Rob and Julian to his parents. Neither his mother or father seemed like the kind of people who could be responsible for producing a son like Rico. Both of them were pleasant and perfectly normal.
The long tables were set up with impressive Thanksgiving centerpieces and loaded down with food. There was a separate table for the kids nearby. The guests had only just started eating when Julian got an alert.
"That's my car alarm. I'll go see what's going on," Julian said and got up from the table. Now that he said that, Rob could hear it faintly from way back where they were parked.
"Some critter probably jumped on it," Mrs. Del Rio predicted.
With Julian gone, Rob looked to see how Danny was doing. He had Lenny by his side, and Mitch was over there making sure the kids' plates were full. Wyatt was over there too, taking pictures of the kids as they tackled their food.
Now that he didn't have Julian to hold his full attention, Rob started to listen to the conversations around him.
"Grandma and her boyfriend, the judge, are off on a wine guzzling tour, and they leave tonight," Rico was saying. "Mitch and I are helping my mom and dad straighten this place out."
"Wyatt and I can stay and help," Sam told him.
"You're volunteering your man. That is such a married thing to do," Rico said with a shake of his head.
"You'll get to do married things too one of these days," Sam said to him.
"Right. One of these days," Rico said.
"If Mitch doesn't change his mind," Rob needled him.
At that Rico's brow furrowed and he looked down at his plate. Was he taking him seriously?
Trying to figure that out, Rob was leaning over for a better look when Sam called his name sharply. "Rob. You know I like you. Let's keep it that way," Sam hissed at him.
"I was just messing around," Rob said to both of them but Rico was still brooding. "Mitch loves you. I know because I asked him to make sure. For some reason he does. He really does."
"Let me do the pep talk," Sam told him then he took Rico by the shoulders and shook him. "Snap out of it. Mitch won't change his mind. He just wants to be able to pay for his own wedding."
"OK, OK," Rico said so Sam would stop shaking him. "I trust Mitch. I believe in him with my whole heart and soul. I just get spooked sometimes."
"Weddings do that to people," Sam said and winked at him.
Rico now looked at Mitch over by the kids' table. He and Wyatt were embroiled in a debate with the kids about how many green beans each of them had to eat. This involved some kind of special kid math so the guys didn't stand a chance.
"There are easier guys to be married to than me," Rico said while gazing at Mitch with pained longing. Rico put up a good front, but even he had self-doubts.
"Mitch has already proved he's not into easy," Sam told him.
"You talking about Lara's sister?" Rico asked him archly.
