Coming over more slowly, Wyatt was forced to wait for his turn to meet the dog. He got his chance when the kids all wanted to get a bowl of water for Lenny.
"Four kids getting one bowl of water. That's how it's done," Wyatt said as he got down to greet Lenny. He let Lenny sniff his hand then deftly avoided getting his face licked. "What's this young lady's name?"
"Lenny is a boy dog," Sammy informed him as she came out carrying a bowl of water together with Danny. None of the water made it over to Lenny. Good thing Mitch was following with a bottle of water, which he was forced to surrender to Riley. Then all the kids helped pour the water and some of it made it into the bowl.
"Yes, I got all that on video," Rico bragged then all the kids clamored to see it.
"Instant replay?" Rob said to Julian.
"I still have to catch up on some work emails," Julian said. "I was hoping to do that over dinner."
"That's not the life you're living right now," Rob told him as Mitch handed them each a beer.
"Sniffing is how dogs make friends," DJ was saying as Lenny was over by the screened in area, sniffing at one of the cats.
"You're friends with everybody," Danny whispered to Lenny.
Riley disagreed. "Not with everybody. He has to make friends with Barney and Brownie."
"We'll have to introduce them one of these days," Wyatt said then he saw that the grill had been uncovered. "Is there a barbeque in Lenny's honor?"
"In honor of the new dog, we're having hotdogs. Sam is bringing them when he comes by," Rico said.
"So we find ourselves at another party," Julian said.
"I noticed that. It's their fault," Rob said as he pointed at the other guys. They were busy around the grill giving Rob and Julian a moment to themselves.
Lenny was keeping the kids entertained, so Rob and Julian strolled the tree-lined back yard. "It's nice here," Julian said.
The late afternoon air was cooling as the sun hovered above the horizon. A breeze stirred the treetops and sent leaves fluttering to the ground. Rob caught one as it came down and found that he held all the colors of autumn in his hand in that one leaf.
It was pretty, but Rob knew he was staring at it to avoid staring at Julian. That he was in the periphery of Rob's vision was more than enough to stir his imagination. He pictured him and Julian out there alone, rolling around in the autumn leaves. They would unzip each other and...
The kids were shrieking and running after Lenny. The little dog had spotted two new arrivals rounding the corner of the house. That was Lara and Gloria coming over so the little redhead could squeal over the new dog too. She joined the kids. Lara only waved hi to Julian and Rob then went over to see what the other guys were up to.
Before going off, she gave Rob and Julian a smile, like she knew better than to interrupt them. What did they look like to her? They weren't doing anything, just meandering over the yard. It's not like they were holding hands.
By the time they joined her and the others, she was already armed with a beer. "You didn't bring your dogs?" Lara asked Wyatt.
"We thought it might be too much since Lenny is new," Wyatt said. "The boys will tell them all about the new dog in town."
"Where's your girlfriend?" Rob asked her.
Lara shook her head at Rico. "Now see what you've done." She then addressed Rob. "If you mean Noreen, she's not my girlfriend."
"Not yet," Rico said.
"We're just friends," Lara said. "And let this be a lesson to you never to listen to a thing Rico says."
Now Rob gave Rico a sideways look.
Rico shrugged. "They just won't see reason. I did invite Noreen. I said hotdogs. She said, 'Eh.'"
"Her grandmother is cooking dinner," Lara told him, but now it was Rob's turn to be questioned. "So you and Julian are work friends?" Lara asked though the look in her eyes said she thought they were more than that. Maybe that was Rico's doing too.
"I've only worked for Julian for a few days," Rob informed her.
"Oh. I was sure... I guess looks can be deceiving," she said with a shrug and a mischievous smile. She spotted the kittens and went to baby talk to them.
