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She smiles, shrugging one shoulder as she glances to the far end of the room, obviously waiting for them to come back.
“Can I help? Can I set the table or something?”
“Seriously? Hell yes you can help. And when Jack comes back in the room, make sure you tell him that you offered. Probably blow his mind to find out that is a thing that human beings do.”
“Okay!” She laughs as she sways around the kitchen island, reaching to the tall cabinets to find everything she needs. I know I could give her more instruction, but it’s fun to watch her figure it out, poking through every drawer as she gathers the plates, silverware, glasses.
“Hey, that smells good!” Jack calls out when he comes back with the boys. “Let’s get some of that good Chardonnay, don’t you think?”
He pulls out the booster seats and gets Ned and Matthew situated and strapped in, and I watch Chelsea glance at him from time to time, her eyes dancing with mirth. I bet it does look kind of funny to her too, to see us with the kids. But she doesn’t make any snarky comments about masculinity or anything, which is a relief. I really don’t think anybody could challenge my masculinity, but some people are just really opinionated about what men can and can’t do with their own kids. Jack and I chose to be hands-on fathers. Every once in a while we will get some pushback about that.
Then again, who cares what people think?
“Okay, this is delicious!” Chelsea sighs, happily crunching a red pepper dripping with sauce.
Next to her, Jack shrugs like he had anything to do with it. “What, did you think we were living on Lean Cuisine and pizza delivery?”
“No, of course not,” she rolls her eyes, absentmindedly picking up Ned’s napkin and sliding it under the corner of his plate before he even has the time to grunt about it.
“Jack would totally be eating Lean Cuisine and pizza delivery if I weren’t here,” I remark, setting the record straight. “Don’t let him fool you; that guy would happily eat Doritos twice a day.”
“Jeez! I’m trying to impress the girl!” Jack objects, dramatically affronted. “You don’t have to call me out for everything, you know.”
I shrug. “Chelsea knows just about everything about us, remember? I’m sure the Doritos are not a big surprise.”
She takes a sip of her wine, pursing her lips innocently. “Yeah… I know about the Reese’s peanut butter cups too.”
Jack groans dramatically. “Oh… Yeah! Those are my weakness.”
“One of many weaknesses,” I add helpfully.
Chelsea smiles, her cheeks dimpling sweetly. I watch her eyes flicker between us and then to the boys.
“This is nice,” she announces, and I can hear her meaning in her voice.
“Totally agree,” Jack smiles, leaning over to nudge her shoulder with his shoulder.
She nudges him back, and I suddenly wish I were sitting a little closer.
After dinner we clean up quickly, while Jack sits on the floor with the boys, erecting his customary tower of wooden blocks for them to drop through Godzilla-style, laughing at the devastation as well as the theatrical displays of horror that Jack puts on for them.
Seems like he can do this for hours, but the boys are pretty tuckered out from an afternoon of excitement. Too soon, it seems that they are yawning and rubbing their eyes, a clear sign that bedtime is approaching.
Ned decides that instead of taking another swipe at the wooden blocks, he’d rather curl up on Jack’s lap. Jack kisses the top of his head as he assembles another skyscraper for Matthew, who goes after it with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
“Okay, boys,” Jack announces fondly. “Let’s put these all away okay? Sounds like bedtime.”
Chelsea sits on the sofa, her hands pressed between her knees as she watches every part of our nightly ritual. Her hair flows over one shoulder as she smiles. With the dishes in the dishwasher and the machine softly humming, I edge in next to her, crossing my feet on the coffee table, leaning back to watch the last few seconds of Jack’s bedtime process.
“Okay, kisses,” Jack tells the boys and they obediently climb the sofa, grabbing my neck for their nightly squeeze. To my surprise, they each offer Chelsea a kiss as well, which she happily accepts.
When they leave the room, we settle back on the sofa. I drape my arm over the back and she automatically slides in next to me, fitting her body along mine just like we used to do, watching movies until three or four in the morning.
I don’t want to disturb her, but I am very aware of how close she is right now. Of course, this was our habit. It’s not strange at all.
“Excellent!” Jack says when he comes back in the room. “Movie time?”
“Sure!” she answers immediately.
