I stared at my son, a grin trying to work its way out. It was official. I was raising a monster. A brilliant, stubborn, and hilarious monster, but a monster nonetheless.
“All right, in thirty seconds, if you don’t have all your stuff, I’m going to invite ‘all the guys’ over tomorrow to watch you suds up the grass with the bubble mower. Yeah?”
His eyes flared wide, but his feet got moving.
He stomped straight to our table and snagged his jacket off the back of his chair.
“Pay up, sucker,” Lex taunted with her feet propped up on a chair, a pyramid of empty glasses stacked in front of her.
“You’re a cheater,” Jack accused.
She snapped her fingers and held her palm out. “No. I just know your dad better than you do. I’d like to say you’ll get on my level one day, but the truth is, if you weren’t there to witness the travesty of him wearing leather pants and puka shells in high school, you’ll never truly understand the inner workings of his psyche.” She snapped again. “Grease the palm, Jackie Boy.” A wicked glimmer suddenly hit her drunken eyes and she tapped her cheek. “Orrrrrrr you could pay me with a smooch-a-roo right here. Your call. But a deal’s a deal.”
Jack loved his Aunt Lex. She’d been a fixture in his life since the day he was born. She’d attended every school play, field day, and birthday party. But recently, he’d come to the conclusion that he was too cool for her hugs and kisses.
This explained the disgust and panic on his face as he turned to me and begged, “Dad, you gotta let me borrow twenty bucks. Please. Please. Please.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I’m fresh out of cash. Go hit up your grampa. But make it quick. I need a burger stat.”
He took off in a dead sprint, barreling through a crowd of people to get to Lex and Cal’s dad.
I had no family to speak of, but I’d always felt gratitude that the Lawsons had accepted Jack as one of their own. It shouldn’t have been surprising though. They’d always been like parents to me. But they took the doting-grandparent thing to a whole new level. I’d never forget the tears in Mr. Lawson’s eyes when I’d told him we were using David for Jack’s middle name. He’d wrapped me in a bear hug, slapping my back almost painfully as he’d mumbled around the emotion, “It’s a good name, son. A real good name.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d called me son. It was, however, the first time I’d allowed myself to believe it.
They were good people, the Lawsons. Even the drunk one sitting in front of me, hustling my kid for cash. But if there was ever a day she deserved to utilize an open bar, this was it. She liked to put on a good show, but deep down, we all knew that weddings were never easy on her.
“You ready to go?” I asked.
Lex swung her adoring gaze from Jack to me. “Depends. How much longer till the bar closes?”
“For you? It should have closed two hours ago. But for everyone else, I think they are shutting down shop now.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and dug my keys out. “Come on. I’ll buy you a burger on the way home.”
“Mmmm,” she hummed, her head falling back and her long, auburn hair cascading over the chair. “That sounds amazing. I nearly gagged on that last cucumber creme de la frufru, but I should probably find Craig.”
“No need. I sent him home an hour ago after you and Jack requested the Chicken Dance for the third time.” Only part of that was because I didn’t trust that idiot to take her anywhere in her current state, and Lex could do a hell of a lot better.
“And he just left me here? What kind of date does that?”
“Clearly, you have not seen yourself do the Chicken Dance…thrice.”
Laughing, she stumbled to her feet and drained the last inch of her Captain and Coke. “Hey, my main man Jack seemed to like it just fine.” She bent over to pick her shoes up and lost her balance, nearly taking a header into the floor.
I caught her arm at the last second. “Whoa. Easy there, Kid.”
She clung to me, swaying ever so slightly. “I knew those damn shoes were going to kill me. They’ve been plotting my demise all day.”