Once Julian had Danny tucked in and asleep, he stepped out of his room for a break. Rob had been texting updates about his day to Christie and his friends when he met up with Julian. It was no accident. He had been hoping to get at least a few minutes alone with Julian.
Rob set aside his phone, and they both leaned on the upstairs railing that overlooked the foyer. "That sandwich party wasn't so bad," Rob said.
"Not at all. Danny had a lot of fun," Julian said.
"And you?" Rob prompted him.
Julian chuckled. "It was a nice change of pace. I don't go to many casual gatherings."
"Casual is kind of an understatement," Rob said. In his college days, his own friends would have outdone this bunch, throwing potluck dinners where almost everyone just brought chips. But these guys were supposed to be responsible adults with kids. Of course Rico and Sam were college age guys, but only Rico acted like it.
"Rico picking on you didn't bother you, did it?" Rob asked. He was worried that Julian might have been putting up with him for Danny's sake.
"He wasn't that bad," Julian said with a smile. Did Rico somehow manage to win him over?
"He did call you Jules," Rob reminded him, but not because he was jealous or anything. After all Rico was happily engaged.
"As long as everyone else doesn't start," Julian said and gave Rob a warning look.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Rob told him then he thought of something and frowned. "The kids who bullied you at school didn't call you Jules, did they?"
"Why would they when they could call me Julie, Julia, or Juliet?" Julian said but he didn't show any signs that it had bothered him much. Maybe that was nothing to what else he had to endure. In a boarding school, bullies would have more time to torment him. There would be no going to the safety of home at the end of a school day.
"I was just worried that Rico might have brought back bad memories," Rob said.
"Hardly. Nothing that happened tonight reminded me of anything I ever experienced," Julian said. With that smile playing on his lips, Rob couldn't imagine that any heavy thoughts were weighing on him.
"Made me think of every drunk gathering of my friends, and this bunch didn't even have the excuse of being properly boozed up," Rob said.
"But you enjoyed yourself," Julian said.
"How do you know?" Rob asked him since it wasn't a question.
"The look in your eyes. You were in your element," Julian said.
Catching himself staring into Julian's eyes, searching for clues about him, Rob decided to change the subject. "The main thing is that Danny was having fun."
"I didn't expect him to respond so positively to a group of kids after the trouble he had at daycare," Julian said.
"Maybe that was just a few bad apples," Rob said.
"True. It takes just a one or two mean kids. These kids are pretty good with him. I was surprised," Julian said.
"But I bet that doesn't mean you'll stop being protective any time soon," Rob predicted.
"You mean overprotective," Julian said.
Rob denied it. "You're exactly as protective as you need to be. Danny is a vulnerable kid. I saw how he looked for you when he was away from us by the river and even when he was with the other kids. He likes to see you're close."
"When we were by the river, I wanted to see how long he would play by himself. I thought he might get uneasy, but he did well."
"He knows you're watching over him, so he feels safe," Rob told him. Today Rob had tried to watch over both of them, but he wouldn't be able to do that for long. He had fun too, but that wouldn't last either.
Don't you get used to this, Rob said to himself.
To snap himself out of it, he asked Julian. "Are you staying with Danny again all night, or sleeping in that big bedroom?"
"I wasn't planning to sleep in the master bedroom until my new furniture is in there," Julian said. "It will be here tomorrow morning. Tonight I'll stay with Danny to make sure he isn't alone if he wakes up."
