DREW

“Unca’ Drew!” says my nephew, Nathan, as I step into the house. He saw me through the side window so his mom must’ve let him open the door.

I pull him into my arms. “Hey, buddy! Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa?”

He nods. “Yep! We played Legos and dinosaurs and Hot Wheels and got to swim in a pool and eat lots and lots of sugar!”

Riley’s parents moved up to the Seattle area shortly after discovering they had a grandchild. Riley is an only child and they’re retired, so according to Rye, it was an easy decision for them to make. I love the fact that Nate can grow up with at least one set of grandparents since he never had a chance to meet the other. 

“That does sound like fun!” I squeeze him as tight as I can without crushing him. “I missed you, little man. Two weeks is too long to wait to get my Nathan fix. Your mommy and daddy are never allowed to go on a honeymoon again.”

He giggles as he wraps his little arms around my neck. “You wanna play with me?”

“Of course, I want to play with you.” I set him down. “Just let me talk to your mom for a few minutes first, okay?”

“‘Kay.” With that, he runs across the room to play with his cars.

Devyn smiles fondly. “Hey, Drew.”

I pull her in for a hug. “Hey. You look great. How was Hawaii?”

She motions for me to join her in the kitchen so she can continue making dinner. My sister’s house has an open floor plan so we can easily see Nate from anywhere in the main living area.

“Hawaii was amazing. I was ready to get home to Nate though. Besides Vegas, which was only overnight, I’ve never been away from him before. Riley and I Facetimed him every day but it wasn’t the same.”

“I get it. I missed him like crazy and I’m just the uncle.”

She dumps some chopped onions into a pan. “You’ve never been just the uncle, Drew. He loves you just as much as he loves me and Riley.  I don’t know what we would’ve done without you those first four years.”

I smile. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Devyn stirs the onions a bit and sets the spatula off to the side. “I know you would.”

I nod to the cutting board as she slices some mushrooms. “What are you making?”

“Beef stroganoff. Do you have time to stay? I have more than enough.”

I pat my stomach. “I’m sure as shit not going to turn down a homecooked meal.”

“Ooh, you said a naughty word, Unca’ Drew!” Nathan shouts. “Put a dollar in the jar!”

“That kid has super hearing, I swear,” I grumble.

Devyn laughs as I shove a dollar bill into the swear jar on the top of their fridge. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Where’s Rye?”

“We were out of egg noodles. He should be back from the store any minute.” As if on cue, the garage door starts opening. “Or right now, rather.”

My new brother-in-law walks in through the door that leads into the kitchen. He smiles when he sees Devyn, sets a bag of groceries on the counter, and pulls her into a kiss. “Hello, my wife.”

She sighs. “Hello, my husband.”

I make a gagging gesture.

Devyn rolls her eyes. “Oh, stop it.”

“I’m just giving you sh...crap. Marriage agrees with you guys.”

Devyn smiles. “Speaking of marriage...”

“Yeah, what’s happening with that?” Riley asks. “I got some really...interesting texts from Brody while we were on our honeymoon.”

“I can only imagine.” I roll my eyes. “At least he’s talking to you. It’s been two weeks and he refuses to acknowledge me or Charlee.”

He opens the fridge and grabs a couple of beers, offering me a bottle. “I can’t believe you married her, man. I knew you were fooling around but that takes it up quite a few notches.”

“So, Brody didn’t take it too well, huh?” my sister asks.

“Not even close. He punched me in the face. And then he gave me an ultimatum: him or Charlee.”

“Crap,” Devyn mutters. “What are you going to do, Drew? I know how much you like her.”

“I more than like her,” I say. “I have no idea what’s going to happen. I won’t give her up, Dev. But I don’t want to lose Brody either. I had hoped he would see how difficult he was being after he’d had some time to cool off but that doesn’t seem to be happening.”

Riley raises an eyebrow. “Well, who would’ve thought? The man who swore the M.P. is a myth has finally found his unicorn.”

Ah, the good ol’ magic pussy. He’s right; I didn’t think it really existed but as is everything with Charlotte Harris, I’m a new man.

“I’m that obvious, huh?”

He laughs. “Totally.”

Devyn rolls her eyes. “You guys are so crude sometimes. Can’t you just call it soulmates or something?”

Riley smacks a kiss on her cheek. “Sorry, baby, not gonna happen.”

“Unca’ Drew,” Nathan whines. “Come play Legos with me! You pwomised!”

I nod to the kid. “Uncle duty calls.”

Devyn gives me a sad smile. “We’ll continue this conversation later.”

Riley helps Devyn finish dinner while Nathan and I build Hot Wheel garages out of Legos. 

“So, what’s new with you, little dude?”

He grabs his junk. “My pee pee pops out all the time.”

I fight back a laugh. “Maybe if you stopped touching it all the time, it wouldn’t pop out so much.”

He thinks about that for a few seconds. “But I like touching it all the time!”

I lose the battle with my laughter. “It is pretty fun, isn’t it? Just wait until you discover girls. It gets even better.”

He scrunches his face. “Girls are gross. My friend, Aliyah, at preschool tries to kiss me all the time. I told her to get her stinky face away from me.”

I lean down. “I’m going to give you some advice, buddy. You’re about to start kindergarten so I think we should discuss this man to man. Okay?”

Nate’s eyes widen. “Uh huh.”

“Girls are the most awesome thing in the whole world. You should always be super nice to them and tell them they’re pretty. You should never call them names.”

“Even mommies?”

I smile. “Even mommies. And you know what else?”

“What?”

“I love it when girls want to kiss me.”

“You do?” he asks incredulously.

I nod. “It’s one of my most favorite things.”

“Can it be one of my most favorite things, too?”

I ruffle his hair. “Maybe when you get a little bit older. But for now, you should practice being nice to them and telling them they’re pretty. Do you think you can do that?”

Nathan fist pumps the air. “I can do it!”

“Dinner’s ready,” Devyn announces.

I look over to my sister. “You wanna practice right now with your mom?”

He jumps up and runs across the room. As he wraps his arms around Devyn’s legs, he says, “Mommy, you’re pretty.”

She hugs him closer. “Oh, thank you, sweetie.”

Nate turns to me. “Did I do it right, Unca’ Drew?”

I give him a thumbs up. “Perfect, dude. You’re a natural.”

“Do I want to know?” Devyn asks as I join them at the table.

“Nah,” I say. “Let’s just say I did the future women of the world a favor.”

She just shakes her head, knowing by now she shouldn’t bother reading into that. “Just sit down and eat.”

I smile. “Gladly.”

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