Logan holds up his drink. “May the girls with itty bitties let me pet their pretty kitties.”
“All right, you two, that’s enough.” Okay, maybe a bit of a bad influence.
I reach out for Logan’s beer. “Logan, hand it over now.”
CJ lifts up his beer. “Here’s to the girl on the hill who says no way, but her sister will.”
Matthew is next. “To a fine selection, no rejection, a firm erection, a clean injection, and no infection.”
Tessa covers her face and laughs. It’s great to hear her laugh again.
Then … Harper. “To the hole that never heals. The moreIrub it, the better it feels.”
Okay, so no, Ava is not worse than Harper.
I look at Tessa, who is still covering her face. “You teach her that one, Tessa?”
She shakes her head and holds up her drink. “Here’s to those who wish us well, and those who don’t, can go straight to hell!”
Fuck it, I think as I hold my Gatorade up. “To the ones who love and the others who hate. May we know the difference while standing face to face.” I set it down and rub my hands together. “All right, let’s cook some steaks.”
Ava jumps in and cranks up the radio. “Seventeen” by Winger plays.
Oh shit, here we go. Old school. Keep it together,I tell myself as I fire up the portable grill.
She then hurries to me and wraps her arm around me. “Dad and I discovered some things while we were going through boxes the other night. I made a playlist of my favorites.”
“Good stuff, huh, Ava?”Fuck, fuck, fuck.I kiss her head and get back to the grill. Shit!
The song changes, and Tessa nudges me with her hip. “Goo Goo Dolls?”
“What?” I try to act like I’m not paying attention. “You need another drink?”
“No.” She laughs, but I handed her one, anyway. “Name. I like this song.”
“Yeah, I forgot all about the shit in the box. Cool find, huh?”
The song changes to “Hook”by Blues Travelers.Son of a bitch!
“The hook brings you back,” Ava sings, and I look over at her as she’s twirling Harper around and they laugh.
Sweet Jesus, please let this not get any worse.
I peek out of the corner of my eye and see Tessa looking at me. I hold up another drink, asking if she’s ready.
She smiles and holds up both hands; one drink Ava gave her and the other I just handed her.
I’m drowning here.Son of a bitch!
“My Own Worst Enemy” starts, and I can’t help it. This song’s fucking awesome. I grab Ava, spin her around, and her and I sing. Even Logan joins in. I’m pretty sure his sister has snuck him a couple when I wasn’t looking. Logan doesn’t loosen up like this normally. Not gonna lie, it’s good to see my kids happy.
“I made Loggie his own copy.”
“Good stuff, Dad … for dinosaur rock.” Logan chuckles.
“Dinosaur rock?” I huff. “You can say that when you can out-lift me, boy.” I mess up his hair, which is a no, normally.
“Found Out About You” is next, and I laugh. “High school tunes.”