He nodded. “Yes. And that brings me to my second apology of the morning. I should’ve told you that I was having a dinner party, but in all honesty, I completely forgot about it myself until my brother Adam texted last night asking if he could bring anything. It’s Jeremy’s birthday, and months ago I agreed to host everyone at my place.”
“Are all your brothers coming?” Will asked from his place at the kitchen counter.
“Yes,” Matt said. “I believe so. And my dad. You are welcome to join us, by the way,” he said to me. “But it is just going to be my family and me, so it’ll probably be very boring. My dad is going to want to talk about Becker Tech all night, and trust me when I say that conversation will put you right to sleep.”
I laughed. “In that case, maybe Will and I can watch a movie instead.”
“That sounds way more fun,” Will said. “Do I have to go to the dinner, Dad?”
Matt frowned. “I guess not. But I do want you to spend some time with Ezra and Jeremy. You never get to see your two youngest uncles and you know they are really looking forward to reconnecting with you.”
“It’s not my fault I don’t see them,” said Will. “They never come around.”
“It’s true,” Matt said, smiling at me. “Getting my two youngest brothers to drop by for a visit is like pulling teeth. That’s why I went to the trouble of hiring a cleaning crew and a caterer. Anything to make my life a little easier, and to give my dad less reasons to complain and gripe.”
“I’m sure it’ll go great,” I told him. “And please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
He smiled. “That’s very nice of you to offer, but I think we got it all under control. I’ve got about a million errands to run, but at least it’s a nice day out.”
I looked at Will. “Well then, guess it’s just you and me today, buddy. What do you want to do?”
His eyes lit up. “Zoo?”
“Let’s do it!”
* * *
Will had to ‘make the rounds’ when his uncles and his grandfather first arrived at the house that evening. His dad told him he needed to stick around for an hour, and then he could be excused and the two of us could watch a movie on the big TV in the basement. In the meantime, I was planning on just staying in my room, but then a little after six, I caught a whiff of something delicious coming from the kitchen and I had to go investigate.
When I walked in and saw a woman in a catering outfit take a baked lasagna out of the oven, my stomach immediately started growling and my mouth started watering. Matt had told me I was free to eat with his family, but what if I just wanted to eat andnotspend time with his family? Was that allowed?
The woman put the lasagna down on the stove top and then turned around and jumped when she saw me. “Oh geez! You scared me.”
“Sorry. I have quiet footsteps.”
She smiled. “That’s fine. You must be the nanny.”
I smiled with surprise. “How did you know that?”
“Mr. Becker told me to set aside some food for you.” She pointed to two plates that were wrapped in foil and sitting on the kitchen counter to her left. “There’s lemon chicken, lasagna from my earlier batch, steamed veggies, and a couple different goodies for dessert. He didn’t know what you liked so he just asked me to put a little bit of everything on a plate for you.”
“That was so nice of him,” I said. “And so nice of you. Thanks.”
“Not a problem.” Something started to boil over on the stove behind the lasagna and she quickly snapped back into action. “Oh shoot! My chocolate sauce. Don’t mind me.” She got back to work and I sat down at the table and started to eat. The food was fantastic, just as I had expected based on the smell. About five minutes into my dinner, the door to the kitchen swung open and I glanced over my shoulder to see a man who looked somewhat similar to Matt smiling at me. He was about the same height, and he looked strong like Matt, only he dressed very differently and wore his hair a lot longer.
“Damn,” he said. “If I had known we were allowed to eat in here instead of out there where my dad is, I would’ve pulled up a chair next to you.”
I laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure just anyone is allowed to eat back here in the kitchen. I think you have to have the privilege of being employed by Matt Becker.”
The man made a face. “There’s not enough money in the world that could get me to work for one of my brothers. Hence why I’m one of the two Beckers who doesnotclock in five days a week at Becker Tech.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That means you’re one of the younger ones, because I know that the older three do earn a living from Becker Tech.”
He walked towards me with a flirty look in his eye and stuck a hand out for a shake. “I’m Ezra,” he said. “The youngest, and smartest, and handsomest Becker brother.”
I took his hand and gave it a single, firm shake, then stood up to get myself some water. “Was that something people could vote on or…”
“There was a vote, yes,” he said. “And I won in every category.” He looked at the caterer and walked over to the stove where she was hard at work. “Can I just say, your food is amazing. I’m not sure I can ever go back to eating anything else.”