got a cloth and wiped Seth’s face and fingers, and then removed his bib, which looked like an impressionist painting. “Right, that’s good enough till bath time.” She unclipped him and scooped him out of his chair. “Off you go with Uncle Nick and Uncle Jackson.” She passed him to Nick, shooting Jackson a quick grin and a wink.
Jackson’s cheeks heated as he grinned back. It felt good being referred to as Seth’s uncle. Way too good.
He followed Nick into the empty living room.
“Right, Seth.” Nick plopped him down on the carpet and sat cross-legged next to him. “What are we going to do?”
Jackson sat on the floor too, and they watched as Seth crawled off towards the basket of toys. He pulled out a few random things until he found a soft toy. It looked like a rabbit, with big floppy ears, and buttons for eyes. Some parts of it were furry, others smooth fabric, others textured. Seth poked the button eyes, and then scrunched one of the ears in his hands. It made a crackling sound.
“What have you got there, buddy?” Nick asked. Seth held the toy out towards him, and Nick moved closer, reaching out a hand to scrunch the other ear.
“Guh.” Seth looked at him expectantly.
Nick scrunched the ear again. “Cool. Nice rabbit.” He took the rabbit from Seth and wiggled it in front of him, putting on a silly voice and saying, “Hello, Seth! How are you today?”
Clearly unimpressed, Seth grabbed the toy and crawled towards Jackson, rabbit clenched in one determined fist. When he reached Jackson he shoved the toy in his lap. “Guh.”
“Your turn.” Nick grinned.
“Thanks, dude.” Jackson smiled. “What do you want me to do with it?”
“Guh-guh.” Seth sat in front of Jackson. “Guh-guh-guh!” His tone implied that whatever he wanted, it was very important.
Jackson picked up the toy and squeezed it, making it give a loud squeak.
Seth’s face split into a huge smile and he flapped his hands in excitement. “Guh!”
“Ah, that’s it.” When Jackson squeaked the toy again, Seth gave an excited squeal, whole body bouncing as he flapped again.
“How did you work that out?” Nick looked a little disgruntled.
“Prior knowledge.” Jackson tapped his nose with a smug grin. “It’s not my first time playing with baby toys, remember.” He had two nieces and a nephew, and sometimes babysat for his sisters.
The squeaking only kept Seth’s attention for a couple of minutes though, and soon he was on the move again, pulling more toys out of the box. None of them caught his interest for long. Eventually he gave up on the toys altogether and started climbing over Nick and Jackson instead, as they sat leaning against the sofa with their legs stretched out along the floor.
“Do you want to have kids one day?” Nick asked.
Blindsided, Jackson considered the question. It wasn’t something he’d given much thought to, but the answer rose from his gut and came out decisive. “Yeah. I do. You?”
“Yes. Definitely.” Nick picked up Seth and lay him on his back on the floor, tickling his belly till he giggled. “I want a family.”
“Two point four children?” Jackson teased.
“The point four can be a dog. I want one of those too.”
“That sounds pretty awesome.” Jackson briefly allowed himself to imagine an alternative reality where he and Nick got married and adopted two adorable kids and an adorable dog.
“Doesn’t it?”
Seth twisted away from Nick’s grasp and pulled himself up on Jackson’s arm. He stood there for a moment, suddenly still and frowning in concentration. Then his face turned red and he made a grunting sound.
An unmistakeable odour intruded, chasing away Jackson’s rose-tinted daydreams.
Nick laughed. “Thanks for the reality check, Seth. I think it’s time we gave you back to your parents.”
Five
They’d finished the main course and were having a short pause while the crumble finished cooking.
Nick watched his father as he took a sip of his tonic water, and then smiled at something Adrian had said.
It was weird watching him drink tonic while the rest of them were having wine. Nick was begrudgingly impressed at his determination. Surely it couldn’t have been easy for him to be around other people knocking back the booze when he’d had a drinking problem.
Outwardly he seemed fine though. A little quieter than Nick remembered perhaps, and listening more than he was talking. But he seemed perfectly relaxed, and nobody else was behaving any differently around him.
Nick glanced around the table. Pete was well on the way to sloshed, which was usual for