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“Don’t you dare get car oil on his clothes. Have you got any idea how much baby clothes cost these days?”
“Oh come on. He’ll outgrow these in a week anyway. Unless you’ve got another bun in the oven?”
She colors. “No.”
“Not yet?” I tease, and she colors more.
Hm. Interesting. Is my sis thinking about having another baby? “Will you give him over or not?”
“Here. Max, say hi to Uncle Merc.” She turns him toward me, and I grab and lift him up in the air, making him squeal.
“Hey, little buddy. I’m your favorite Uncle Merc. I’ll teach you about car engines, booze and girls.”
“Oh God…” Octavia rolls her eyes to the heavens.
“He’s cute.” I lift him up again, then shake him a little, until he laughs. “Clearly takes after me.”
“Ah-huh,” Octavia mutters, smiling. “Keep telling yourself that.”
“What? He has my smile. Look!” Even if he’s a spitting image of Octavia with her dark hair and blue eyes.
On cue, Max grins at me, showing me four lonely teeth.
“Like a tiger,” Octavia says, giggling, and I have to laugh, too. He looks so happy. Makes my heart race, echo his joy.
“He’s a ladykiller, this one.”
“Yeah,” she mutters. “His diaper’s full. The smell alone will end them.”
Wrinkling my nose, I lift Max up in the air. His socked feet wiggle. “Really, you little stinker. Giving the family men a bad name.”
He wiggles, kicking at me. Man, Tati is right, he does stink.
“Here,” I say, handing him back to her. “Take your offspring and deshit him, please.”
“One day,” she sighs, taking Max in her arms, “I’ll do the same to you, when you have kids of your own.”
I laugh because Tati doesn’t have a single vengeful cell in her body. This girl can forgive and love everyone. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I follow her to the little office where she unceremoniously pushes papers aside to change her son. “How are the other kids?”
“Fine. Asking when you’re staying over to build forts.”
“That’d be Cole.”
Mary and Cole are Matt’s kids from his previous wife. She died young, years before he met Octavia. And I love them. I love all my nieces and nephews. I’ve been blessed with great people around me.
“Yeah, it was Cole. Mary pretends not to want that anymore, but trust me, she does. She misses you.”
“We’ll do that. Let me know when you can.” I rub the back of my neck, at the hard knot of tension there. “It’s just that I moved to a new place, and I’ve been more busy than usual.”
“Gigi told me.” Max squeaks and kicks at my sis as she puts a clean nappy on him. “Roommate okay?”
“He seems decent. How’s Mom?”
“Happy. At least she seems to be. She wants to invite us for dinner. To officially meet her beau.”
I nod. “Sure. As long as he treats her right.”
