Rob caught Julian smiling at that and he smiled too. "Danny is making sure we're taken care of," Rob told him. He could tell that Julian was amazed at how well Danny was doing.
Assorted sandwiches and sandwich triangles went to the dining table along with various other things on the side. The kids' food got set up separately on the coffee table. Rob and Julian watched as Danny got taken over there by the other kids.
"That's our kids' table," DJ said to Danny.
"You come and sit with us," Sammy told him.
"Don't let the dogs eat your sandwiches," Sam warned the kids.
"I'm gonna sit with the kids at the kids' table," Danny reported to Rob and Julian.
"That's good. Can we visit you there and say hi?" Rob asked.
"I don't know. Maybe," Danny said uncertainly like he thought the rules about grown-ups going to the kids' table might be strict.
"OK. Be good," Julian told him.
Rob nudged him a little as they went to take their seats at the dining table. "He's going with the flow."
"I'm just not used to seeing him around so many people," Julian said.
"Things are pretty relaxed here. I think he's responding to that," Rob told him, leaning in so he could keep his voice low.
"Very relaxed," Julian murmured like the word was alien to him.
"Your little guy has abandoned you," Lara said as Julian kept glancing over to check on Danny at the coffee table, or the kids' table as everyone called it.
"You lost him for good," Wyatt told him. "The children of the corn have him now."
"Don't make the kids sound creepy," Sam told him, keeping his voice down so the kids couldn't hear.
Through all that, Rob and Julian both kept an eye on Danny to make sure he was doing OK. He was the quietest of the kids, but he piped up to join in their chatter now and then. The other kids treated him like he was everybody's little brother.
But Rob also noticed how taken Danny was with those dogs. He kept looking at them and smiling at them. Whenever they came close, he petted them and hugged them.
Rob caught Julian's eye and told him, "So far, so good." He meant Julian as well as Danny. He wasn't really sure how Julian would take to such a disorganized, freewheeling bunch, but he held his own.
Over dinner of sandwiches with beer and cider flowing, conversations were overlapping and merging. Julian and Mitch managed to talk about the renovations at the house. Julian also spoke to Noreen about the local elementary school. Hearing him talk business with everyone, Rob wondered if he knew how to have a lighthearted conversation. He still found that he focused on Julian's voice more than anyone's, like he wanted to hear every word he said, no matter what the subject was.
Rico more than made up for any serious conversations, as did Wyatt and Lara. The talk turned to weddings, and Rob and Julian got to hear about Sam and Wyatt's wedding with everyone adding their own version of how it went down.
"You did a really good thing letting them get married in the orchard," Rob whispered to Julian.
Briefly, Julian's dark eyes flashed to him warmly and he nodded and smiled. He could see it too. Sam and Wyatt were so happy together. Sam was shy while Wyatt regarded him with an openly adoring look.
At the end of the night, they all exchanged phone numbers, and the kids sent Danny off with some of the candy they bought.
"Thank you for inviting us," Julian told Wyatt as he walked them to their car.
"You were doing us a favor helping to dig us out from under all that food," Wyatt said.
"You guys make some mean sandwiches," Rob told him. "Thank Sam for us too."
"We'll hang out again soon," Wyatt promised, or threatened maybe.
As soon as they got to the house, Danny needed to go straight to bed. When Julian took him to get ready, he asked his little brother, "How did you like the sandwich party?"
"You and me and Rob made lots of friends. And I got to play with the doggies." Danny kept chattering but that was all Rob caught.
