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The farmer’s market isn’t busy, just as I had anticipated. Charles, Chuck, Jackson, and I usually like to meet a little after the lunch rush so that it’s not too crowded but we still have options for food.
Still, the day is beautifully bright. The sun is shining with not a single cloud in the sky. And even though the sun is beaming down on us, the air is brisk. The breeze is cool enough that we can spend our day outdoors without an ounce of overbearing heat intertwined with it.
Families with little children are enjoying their relaxing weekend while browsing the arrangement of local cheeses, fruits, and vegetables. We walk hand in hand and stop in our tracks as a small boy and girl chase each other in front of us, each with a ripe apricot dripping from their hands.
We finally make our way to the array of picnic tables that are lined around various food trucks. Charles, already there with Amelia, is claiming a long table for us to sit at. They watch as Oliver, the older of their two boys, chases after Andy, the two giggling as they run circles around their doting parents. Chuck and Jackson haven’t arrived yet.
“Come on, boys. It’s time to eat!” Amelia calls to them. She sees us approach the table, and she smiles in our direction. “Rhylan! Hi.” I lean down and hug her. Even before she had kids, she always carried a natural maternal kindness. She always makes me feel like family and considers me an actual uncle to her kids instead of just an honorary one.
“This is Ellie,” I say as I pull Ellie to me. She stands close, both of her hands wrapped around mine.
“Hi, Ellie. I’m Amelia,” Amelia answers with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Charles appears at her side and shakes Ellie’s hand as soon as it leaves Amelia’s. “Hi, Ellie! I’m Charles,” he says a little too loudly. He makes no attempt to hide his eagerness. It’s almost embarrassing. He looks at me with raised brows, as if silently asking me for details on this impromptu date I brought to lunch. I quickly shake my head, signaling to him not to make it weird.
“Hi. Yes, I–I know,” she stammers. “I mean, hi,” she says bashfully.
The boys then come crashing into me. Their giggles travel up my leg while they hang on to me and smile infectiously towards the sky.
“Hey, boys!” I greet them. I pick up Andy, who’s barely over one and still learning to use his legs properly. His chubby arms wrap around my neck as he brings himself closer to embrace me. His hands feel warm and sticky, and he smells like caramel. “This is my friend Ellie.”
Ellie smiles, the corners of her eyes crinkling and her nose scrunching as she waves her fingers at Andy. He reaches his arms out towards her, opening and closing his fists, signaling for her to come closer to him.
“I think he wants to go to you,” I say suggestively.
Ellie looks at me, cautiously moving her eyes between myself and Andy.
“It’s okay. He doesn’t bite,” I assure her. She rolls her eyes and smiles as she reaches her arms up toward Andy. He embraces her, wrapping his arms around her neck and resting his head on her shoulder. He starts lightly tapping her back and slumps into a contentment that is completely endearing.
Ellie accepts Andy’s embrace and leans her head into his. She sighs, drinking in his warm affection.
“Aw, he really likes you,” Amelia says fondly from the other side of the table, watching Ellie hold Andy. “He usually takes some time to warm up to people.”
Ellie smiles proudly at me.
“I’m going to grab us some food. Anything in particular you like? They have grilled cheese. And they make really good tomato soup. Or I saw tacos too.”
“Surprise me,” she answers softly, speaking into Andy’s hair. Their breathing synchronizes, and Ellie starts to rock him side to side, a small smile curving up on her lips.
I bend down to meet Andy’s eyes. “Don’t you go stealing my girl,” I playfully warn him. He responds by covering his eyes and turning away from me, burying his face into Ellie’s neck.
Ellie laughs. “Can you leave us alone now?” she says with a hint of feigned annoyance. She waves a free hand towards me, shooing me away.
I raise my brows at her. “You’re leaving me for this guy?” I point a thumb at Andy, a playful smile creeping its way onto my face.
“He’s better company.”
I lower my lips to her ear and speak low so only she can hear me. “Are you sure about that? Cause it didn’t seem like that last night,” I rasp.
She gasps, and her eyes widen. Covering Andy’s ears, she whispers back, “Excuse me, there are children here!”
She looks at me one more time before I pull away. She’s teasing me, but I can see the fire in her eyes, images of last night and this morning replaying in her head. I smile, knowing what she’s thinking, and wink at her.
Before I walk away, I lightly tap Ellie’s ass, and Charles catches the entire exchange. Our eyes meet for a moment, and I know he’s going to barrage me with questions later. For now, he leans down towards Amelia to whisper into her ear, no doubt telling her what he just witnessed. But I don’t even care who sees me this happy.
I walk away and stand in line to order a mouth-watering grilled cheese sandwich with a side of tomato soup. The fresh cheese they use, the kind that strings when you separate the halves, is a taste that I look forward to every week. From where I’m standing, I see Ellie still holding Andy while talking to Amelia. The two are in an animated conversation, smiling and friendly. Andy waves at me as if he’s keeping his side of the agreement not to steal Ellie away, but I think it might be a little too late. Seeing his little hand move side to side towards me makes me smile, and I wave back.
Just then, my phone rings. When I turn it over in my hand, I see that it’s Shana. I step out of the line and let the person behind me go ahead as I take the call.
