I look at Kate after making the announcement. Everyone looks excited, but Kate’s face is just blank. It’s shock, I think. We, and by we I mean myself and Eddie’s other half-siblings and their families, are back at Kate’s home for their family cookout. The gathering of the abandoned bastard children, as Kate’s son Bobby had put it to me recently. “I’m sorry,” Kate says after my announcement has sunk in, “but you’re doing what?”

“Doing? No. Done, yes,” I say, “The Edward Mont Scholarship Fund is already up and running. All of them,” I wave my hands at the group of kids all standing by, “will be taken care of. They’re going to college, Kate.”

Single dad of three girls, Troy, breaks down. He sits himself down on Kate’s couch and buries his face in his hands. The kids are all pretty speechless as they crowd together, staring at one another as they contemplate what this will mean for their futures. Bobby, Kate’s oldest, looks pale and teary eyed. Donnie looks just as emotional as Troy as does DJ and his pregnant wife. Even Max, Stacey, Sandra, and Arthur –the childless ones –seem to have gotten choked up. “You’re paying for our kids to go to college?” Donnie says. I picture Eddie Christmas shopping for Donnie’s kids as Donnie had told me had had done. If Eddie could have done it, he would have paid for every last one of them to be looked after. Eddie didn’t have that kind of money, but I do –especially now that Éclair and I have merged.

Oh, yeah, did I fail to mention that? Shattered Inc. is no more. It’s officially Beauchene-Mont Incorporated; Éclair had been a little cunt about her name appearing first, but whatever –I’m sleeping with her, but she agreed to ditch the pink and silver colors all around the building and restricted the colors just to her office

“Of course we are,” Éclair says in response to Donnie; she’s here with me. Truthfully, the scholarship was her idea –I would have just paid for the kids to go to college, but setting it up as a scholarship organization sponsored by our company will make for a great tax right off at the end of the year. Éclair is a lot more business savvy than me, but I’ve got the creative genius. We actually make for a pretty rock solid pair. Éclair sways slightly as she is standing there; Kate calls it the “mama sway.” I never had really pictured Éclair like this before –pregnant, I mean. She’s one of those high end business types –always so professional, so the pregnant mom-to-be look is a change of pace for me. It’s a good change though. Éclair smiles brightly. “And there is one more thing,” she says, “Beauchene-Mont is opening up a new factory. We’re going to need a new branch manager,” she looks at Kate, “the new building is going to have a daycare center to cater to working moms.”

Kate looks flushed. “Are you two offering me a job?”

“It’s nothing too fancy,” I say, “But with the added bonus of the daycare center, Bobby wouldn’t have to juggle homework, chores, and watching his younger siblings. He could get back into motocross and focus on school. Plus you wouldn’t have to work those long hours or work nightshifts anymore.”

Kate is practically shaking, “Oh my God, thank you both so much. I don’t know what to say.”

“And anyone else, if you’re ever looking for a job, there is a place at Beauchene-Mont for each of you,” Éclair adds.

Nick suddenly pipes up. “Maybe I can come work there?”

“Hell no,” I say, “I already told you –you’re enrolling at that private school this September.”

He slumps down, and I laugh. He’s only been living with me for a couple of months now, but it’s actually going fairly well. He’s a good kid. He accidentally called me dad last week; I pretended not to notice because I think it embarrassed him, but I kind of liked it. “All right,” Tommy chimes in, not one to get too sucked into all of the emotion that’s spreading around the room, “I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m ready to eat.”

“I know I am,” Éclair says excitedly, rubbing her stomach. I had to bring oranges with us because that’s all she’s been eating. She seriously told me to put oranges on her hamburger while I was grilling. Pregnant women are weird.

Food is passed around, and general merriment pursues. It’s sort of strange how I’ve become a part of this family. After Eddie died, I pretty much became the last living member of my family. It was kind of depressing really. After all the craziness that took place last year, I wasn’t sure what my life was going to turn out like. I wouldn’t change a damn thing.

I suppose I should mention that Suzette’s not dead –although she came pretty damn close after Leo hit her head-on with his car. She is, however, in prison where she belongs. I got my money back, but that was a hell of a court case –Lillian is probably about ready to kill me after all that. She also represented Leo for me. It’s sort of scary to think about. Éclair cleared things up for me after we were almost killed. Honestly, Suzette wasn’t too much unlike Eddie. Éclair’s parents had this old school theology, and they left pretty much everything to their oldest child. Suzette just felt like she had to prove herself. Looking back, I sometimes wonder if Eddie and I could have ever gotten to that point. If I had been like Éclair and had just ignored the signs –would Eddie have ever gotten to that point of hatred? I would like to think not. Eddie was too good of a person; I know this for sure after spending time with his siblings.

I pull a lawn chair out for Éclair as she dives into her weird burger with grilled oranges. Seriously –pregnant women weird me out. I sit down beside her, and I smile. I need to put a ring on that. The pregnancy, I’ll admit, was not planned although it was bound to happen eventually. I’m just glad it was with her and not Suzette. That would have been a nightmare. I’m actually really excited about being a father. I’m getting a practice round with Nick, but he’s surprisingly well behaved for a former addict. I’ll probably get what’s coming to me with whatever we got brewing inside of Éclair’s stomach; I was a hoodlum. They say your kids always pay you back for whatever you put your parents through. I watch the kids running around in the yard; I smile when I picture a little boy or girl running up to me like one of those little rascals.

I smile at Éclair and watch her eat her nasty citrus burger. She catches me staring. “What?” she asks, covering her mouth like she thinks she has food on her face.

“I love you,” I say.

“I love you too,” she says and then suddenly sits up all straight and excited. “I have a secret,” she taunts. “Do you want to know what it is?”

“It depends –are you going to finally tell me what went on between you and Lillian? Because that’s a story I’m dying to hear.” I smile and wink at her; she rolls her eyes at me.

“No, stupid, I know the sex of the baby,” She says, and I get pretty excited. She’s been to three different ultrasounds trying to determine the baby’s sex, but it keeps turning away. My baby is apparently camera shy.

“What is it?” I ask excitedly, and I can see from the corner of my eye a number of on-lookers have turned their ears out way in anticipation of the news.

“It’s a boy,” she says, and I am so thrilled I think I could be sick.

“Th-that’ss, aw-awesome,” Max mumbles.

“Do you two have a name picked out yet?” Tommy asks. “Because I think Tommy is a pretty awesome name.”

I smile, “Yeah, we got a name.”

Éclair and I smile at one another, and we answer in unison, “Eddie.”