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Whit scratches his chin. “Yeah. I’ve been remodeling big time since my ex-wife is behind bars.”
“Ex-wife?” A genuine smile works on my face. “You’re free from the pink cloud.”
Whit looks surprised as Tucker moves closer. “Sounds like a specific memory.”
I nod. “I just remember her surrounded by a lot of pink.”
Whit chuckles and moves to a shelf holding albums. He flips through it and points at a picture. It’s a younger version of him smiling - I somehow know it’s a fake smile- as his arm is draped around… I immediately start laughing and Whit joins me. That puffy cloud of pink on a teenage girl should be illegal.
“Oh, no. That’s tragic.” I look down to see Jumpy staring at the picture like we invited her to look. Her eyes are big with horror as she stares at the dress. “Worth all the anxiety.”
“She speaks,” Whit points out. Everest’s eyes pop up to his. Then she disappears behind Tucker.
“He stares too much as well, Tucker. Tell them to stop that. Must be a twin thing.”
Whit smirks, less annoyed by her jumpiness than I am.
“Dad! What’s wrong? What happened?” I hear someone run in, but the way the angle from the door is set up, they will see Tucker before me. “Who are they? What’s the problem?”
“Son, I wanted you to hear it from me, but I didn’t think you’d believe me unless you saw with your own eyes.”
My nerves increase, rooting me in place. I try to breathe even and not make myself known until Whit is ready for Rowe to see me.
“I see a kid with a dog. The guy you’re standing next to and some men in black outside.” I smirk when Everest growls and mumbles ‘rude.’ “Am I supposed to know you, sir?”
Tucker chuckles. “I’m not the unbelievable thing.” He moves out of the way.
I look over to find a teen who looks like me with white hair and is almost as tall. He doesn’t say anything, just blinks slowly, giving me the same shocked look Whit gave me at the grocery store. He shakes his head like he’s in disbelief and runs his fingers through his hair. One of my moves, for sure. Pride and love swell in my chest. If I had the slightest doubts, I was in the wrong place. The way I feel when I look into his blue-gray eyes would have killed them.
“Walt...uncle...Dad!”
Whit and I exchange a surprised look before Rowe advances with tears in his eyes. “Don’t hit me,” I joke. He pulls me into a hug I could live in forever.
“Oh, my fucking…” he pulls back and looks at me. “How?” He looks between us for answers but starts crying, which triggers Whit’s and my tears.
We’re in a group hug when I hear sniffling that doesn’t belong to us. “They’re making me cry, Tucker.”
We all kind of laugh and pull away. “I know this might hit me and weird me out later, but I’ve missed you so much,” Rowe confesses.
“I’m sorry. Also, I must warn you. I’m not fully myself. I just remembered the name ‘Whit’ yesterday.”
