“Theo survived,” Augustus said with a good-natured grin. “I’m the easy one.”
“Theo thrives off interacting with people,” Morris said, giving Lincoln an encouraging smile as he started up the ramp.
“So he’s shy like you,” Victor said.
“I am not shy. People just annoy me, so I prefer my little cave more days than not.” Morris high-fived Laila as she made a beeline for the food. “Work up an appetite?”
“I did, beating Linc in cornhole,” Laila teased as she grabbed a plate. “He’s making up for it in croquette, though. I think it’s the angles. He’s a math nerd.”
Lincoln blushed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Where’s Theo?”
Morris pointed at the deck doors behind him. “In the kitchen, where else? But I wouldn’t go looking for him,” he added as Lincoln’s body shifted toward the door. “I’m sure my sisters are digging out every secret he’s ever had, or at least trying their hardest. If you go in, they’ll focus on you next.”
Lincoln’s eyes widened. “I think I’ll stay here instead.” He straightened his shoulders and faced Augustus, Victor, and Joe. “Pleased to meet you. Thank you for having me. I’m Lincoln.”
Morris knew how difficult that had been for Lincoln, and he was rather proud of him for not waiting to be introduced. Augustus gave him a measuring look, then smiled. “Good to have you. Pull up a chair. Do you help your brother out at the restaurant?”
Lincoln nodded as he filled a small plate and retreated to the other side of the deck, where there was an empty spot for Laila’s chair. “Yes, sir. I bus tables and do all the odd jobs.”
“You don’t work during the school year, do you?” Augustus asked, his heavy brows drawing together in a frown.
“Oh no, not on school nights.” Lincoln grimaced. “Theo and Jill won’t let me. I usually work Friday and Saturday. Sometimes if I’m hanging out there after school and I’m done with my homework and it’s busy I’ll pitch in. I like the extra money for games, and I bought myself a new bike this summer.”
“He started helping me out at cons too, Dad,” Morris added. “Pretty much the same thing, though, glorified gofer.”
“I love it.” Lincoln flashed Morris a smile that animated his thin, narrow features.
“Really?” Augustus turned toward Lincoln. “You’re not thinking of going into that life, are you?”
Morris bristled even as he tried telling himself to not take offense. It sounded worse than he was sure his dad meant, but still it rankled.
“Oh no.” Lincoln shook his head. “I mean it was fun. I love comic books and cosplay, but I couldn’t be a comic book artist. Morris is really good. You should see his table. There’s always someone there looking.”
Morris loved that kid. He really did. Augustus gave Morris a measuring look, and Morris refrained from comment. It didn’t hurt for his dad to hear he was a success from an outside party. “I want to be a video game designer,” Lincoln continued.
Augustus’s heavy brows lifted. “What job prospects are there for that field?”
Okay, picking at him was one thing, but Morris was not going to let him start on Lincoln. “It’s an ever-changing, robust field,” Morris said in a level tone as he gave his dad a warning look.
“Is it stable?” Augustus asked skeptically. “You don’t want to go through school, pay all kinds of money for a degree, and not have a job at the end of it.”
“Bethesda Games isn’t too far from our place, and they’re huge,” Lincoln jumped in. “I want to work there after college. I’ve made game mods for friends and designed some simple stuff. Game design is really neat because it lets you balance creative and tech. Like you have to know art and storytelling as much as coding.”
“Think about it, Dad,” Morris said before Augustus could add another argument. “Law school was expensive and there’s no guarantee after you put in all that work and money a law firm will pick you up and pay you what you need to get out from debt. There are a lot of poor lawyers.”
“You’ve got a point there,” Augustus had to admit.
Joe returned, carrying a small cooler. “I’ve got lemonade, if you want some, Laila.” He set the cooler off to the side and thrust his chin out toward Lincoln. “Who’s your friend?”
Lincoln blushed to his ears, much to Laila’s fascination. “That’s Linc. He’s Theo’s brother. Theo’s inside and Mama’s making him squirm.”
“Is that right?” Joe said with one of his slow smiles. “He didn’t look like he was squirming that much to me.”
“Probably not,” Morris said with a shake of his head. “I’ve yet to see Theo squirm. Wait, I take that back. He definitely squirmed when he saw the state of my freezer and fridge. It was everything Mom won’t let you have anymore, Dad.”
Augustus sighed and gave the kitchen door a sour look. “A little preservative and processing keeps the body from decaying.”
“I tried telling Theo the same thing.” Morris thought of the new contents of his freezer with a rueful smile. “It didn’t work either. And I get the feeling once we move in together, I’ll never see a Hot Pocket again.”
“Moving in, that’s a big step,” Victor said. “I remember you freaking out when I moved in with Makayla.”
“I did not freak out.” It wasn’t freaking out; Morris was only expressing care and concern. He supposed that’s just what his dad was doing too. Funny, when he thought about it that way, it made him look at all those irritating comments in a new light. “I wanted to make sure you were absolutely certain.”
“On pain of death certain,” Victor pointed out.
“I didn’t outright say death.” Morris might have meant it, but he knew there were limits to what Makayla would let him get away with, and threatening Victor on that level would’ve crossed a line.
“You didn’t have to.” Victor leaned toward Lincoln. “Did you give him a hard time about your brother? Please tell me you did.”
Lincoln looked down at his plate and shrugged, but Morris saw the small smile. “I didn’t threaten him.”
“He expressed his concern.” Morris gave him a wink. “He trapped me in a car, and I got the message.”
“Well, don’t jump down my throat, but I for one am glad you are going to be sharing your life with someone.” Augustus made a point of fishing for a beer so he wouldn’t have to meet Morris’s gaze. “Does Theo have health insurance through the restaurant?”
“Dad,” Morris said with more exasperation than irritation. “I can take care of myself.”
“In a relationship you take care of each other.” Augustus gave him a pointed look. “So sue me if I’m happy that you might have a backup plan.”
“I can’t sue you,” Morris said with a grin. “You’d win.”
“Your dad was like that with Sierra and Makayla,” Joe observed. “Don’t take it personal.”
“Talk to Monica,” Victor added. “I’m sure she can give you an earful about his hovering.”
Morris had never thought about that before. Monica was the only other one of his siblings who also lived alone. She taught school in Baltimore. Though if there was anyone in this world who could take care of herself, it was Monica. He was sure she could take him out with three well-placed blows. It was a theory he never wanted to test.
“Don’t get me started on your sister.” Augustus pointed to the side of his head. “See all that gray? That’s because of her, and I don’t dare say a word because she’s even more touchy than you.”
“I am not touchy. I’m trying to point out I can take care of myself and I have been for a decade now. I’m doing what makes me happy, and I’m with someone who makes me happy.” Morris met his dad’s gaze and saw the bemusement there. “Got it?”
“I got it.”
“So when are you giving up those skirts?” Joe asked, with a gesture to Morris’s attire. “Don’t you know black men don’t wear kilts?”
“This black man does.” Morris gave Joe an o
minous stare, and Joe grinned back.
“See, touchy.”
Morris opened his mouth to retort and then closed it thoughtfully. When one person said something he could ignore it. When several people commented on it, that was something else. He was living his own life and he was happy. He needed to learn to let other people’s comments roll off his back.
Morris breathed a sigh of relief as Theo came back out bearing a vegetable tray as his mom followed with a pitcher of tea. Theo’s eyes were sparkling, and he looked none the worse for having spent the last thirty minutes alone with his mom and sisters. Morris wished he could say he felt that unscathed. Theo set the tray down and sat next to Morris, accepting the margarita he held out. “Thank you for holding this for me.”
“I see you survived.” Morris leaned forward and grabbed a celery stick and some dip.
“I have war wounds and deep, lasting emotional scars.” Theo took a sip of his drink. “I’m going to need some tender loving care when we get home.”
Makayla perched on Victor’s knee and poked Morris in the leg with her toe. “I took my vengeance out on him for the stunt you pulled.”
“Oh, that’s how we’re going to play it?” Morris turned to Victor. “Sorry man, you’re toast.”
“Leave me out of your squabbles.” Victor shook his head at Theo. “Word of advice, never try to get in between quarreling twins. It’s dangerous.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Theo took a sip of his drink. “This is really good. I—”
“Oh my God! Oh my God! Theo!” Lincoln jumped up, spilling the rest of his plate. He stared at his phone, his mouth agape, hand fisted in his hair.
“What?” Theo frowned, then pulled out his own phone. A stunned expression crossed his face, and he lifted his gaze to Morris’s. “Oh my God, Jill’s in labor. For real this time. They aren’t going to try to stop it.”
Morris stared at Theo. “Are you kidding me?” Then he looked at Lincoln, who was running his fingers through his hair until it stood on end. He took in a deep breath of wonderful food scents and resigned himself to hospital food. He stood up, checking to see if he had his car keys on him. “Are they at the hospital now?”
Theo nodded as Lincoln made a strangled sound. “Yeah, Craig says she’s settled and it’s going fast. Oh my God.”
“Babies come at their own time,” Laverne said with a laugh as she got up. “For Morris and Makayla, it was in the middle of an ice storm. I didn’t want to leave my comfortable bed, and their daddy was in a panic we wouldn’t make it on time.”
“Don’t remind me,” Augustus said. “Delivering twins was never on my list of things I wanted to have to do.”
Laverne lightly slapped him on the arm. “Do not talk to me about delivering twins, carrying twins, or anything else like that. You got off easy. Wait a few minutes, Theo, and I’ll pack you up some plates. You helped cook it. You might as well help eat it.”
“You’ve already heard my tale,” Sierra said with a fond look at Laila. “You, young lady, almost got me fired.”
“I’m so sorry,” Theo said to Morris. “I know I promised you a whole day of me and you.”
“It is going to be a whole day of me and you, just not in this spectacular backyard.” Morris held up his keys. “I drove, remember?”
“How much have you had to drink?” Augustus asked, eyeballing Morris’s glass.
“One margarita over the last couple hours, and I’ve been stuffing myself with whatever food I could glean. I never got into the second round,” Morris reassured his dad. “I’m okay to drive.”
“Linc, go grab your things. Morris, why don’t you stay and I’ll come pick you up before work tomorrow,” Theo said with a dazed look in his eyes. “I don’t want you to miss out on time with your family.”
“It’s okay, my alpaca man. I’m going with you.” It was a good two hours to Southern Maryland and back. Theo would have enough on his mind today and tomorrow without having to worry about shuttling Morris.
“You are?” Theo continued to stare at him as if he couldn’t seem to get his brain to work.
“Of course I am. One, you shouldn’t be driving. You’re going to want to spend every five minutes looking at your phone. My future brother-in-law is in the car with your adorkable self, and I want you both to make it in one piece.” Morris caught Theo’s hand and gave his knuckles a kiss as Theo shot him a grateful look.
“I love you,” Theo said under his breath.
“To quote the greatest smuggler ever… I know.” Morris shook a finger at him. “And don’t tell me you don’t know who Han Solo is. That just may be a deal breaker.”
Lincoln came up shouldering his bag, his eyes wild. “Is Jill okay?” he demanded as they made their way into the kitchen, where Laverne and Makayla were bustling around. Laila followed them, pestering Morris with questions he barely heard. He was glad this happened on a day off and not while Theo and Lincoln were at the restaurant.
“Yep. Craig is hovering over her.” Theo pressed his lips together, his anxiety showing, before he offered him a tight smile. “You might be an uncle by the time we get down there.”
“Ooohh.” Laila wheeled into the kitchen and reached up to snag two rolls off the counter. She tossed one to Morris. “Be an uncle like Uncle Morris.”
“No.” Makayla shook her head. “Don’t be an uncle like Morris.”
“I am an awesome uncle.” Morris took a bite of his roll and grinned at his mom. Then he nudged Theo in the side. “Ready?”
“Hold on,” Laverne said. “Almost done.” She closed up the to-go containers as Makayla came forward with a bag to put them in with some paper plates and everything else they could possibly need. “Hospital food is terrible. This should tide you over.”
Morris took the bag with a rush of gratitude. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you. I would’ve been miserable eating out of the cafeteria.”
Laverne grinned in pleasure. “If you want to thank me, send on a picture. I love seeing new babies.”
“Seriously, thank you,” Theo said, catching her hands. “And thank you for having us. I promise to stick around later next time.” He smiled at Makayla and gave Lincoln a light push toward the door. “If any of you are ever in Solomon’s Island, come by the bistro. Dinner’s on me.”
Theo bolted out the door without waiting for a response with Lincoln right behind him. Morris shook his head and followed. The pair of them were one hot mess. He hoped they calmed down before they got to the hospital, or one look at them would probably send Jill into hysterics.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“YOU DO know where the gas pedal is, don’t you?” Theo asked tartly and returned to gnawing on his knuckle as he silently willed Morris to go faster. There was such a thing as being too cautious.
“We’re almost there, in one piece. Let’s not jinx it now,” Morris replied in a patient voice. “I doubt Jill wants you in the delivery room, and I know you don’t want to be there.”
“Oh God no,” Lincoln said as Theo shot Morris a panicked look at that thought.
No, he couldn’t handle being in the delivery room. And he doubted Jill would even know if he was pacing the waiting room floor. It didn’t matter. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be nearby.
“What is she doing in the hospital in Clinton? Why isn’t she at the hospital closer to home?” Theo muttered for Morris’s ears only. “I don’t know where this hospital is.”
“Don’t worry,” Morris said as he navigated through the bottlenecked traffic to get into the turn lane. “I know exactly where it is. It’s literally right around the corner.”
“Did Dustin and Robin answer?” Lincoln asked for the six hundredth time and Theo had to bite his lip to keep from snarling a reply that had far more to do with his resentment at his missing siblings than it did with Lincoln’s pestering.
Theo checked his phone again and wished he could lie. “No. It’s a holiday. They may be at a bar-b-que. Why don’t you try
to reach them?”
Morris reached over and took his hand, giving him a silent squeeze of support. “Were you teasing about getting married?” he asked in a low voice.
“Not that part.” Theo turned to look at him, trying to gauge Morris’s expression. He couldn’t tell if Morris was trying to distract him or if it was a serious question. “I hope I’m not rushing you. I know what I want. I’m one of those people who just seems to know. I knew I wanted the bistro. I knew I wanted to be Lincoln’s guardian. And I know I want you with me. That being said, I know this isn’t entirely a normal boy meets boy situation, so I understand if you want more time.”
Call him greedy or needy, but Theo didn’t really want to wait for an answer. His heart pounded as a slow smile crossed Morris’s lips.
“I should hedge to tease you for that bullshit you pulled earlier, but now’s not the time for it. I don’t need to think it over.” Morris pulled into the crowded parking lot and found a space tucked into the back.
“Was that a proposal?” Lincoln asked, leaning forward. “Because if it was, that was the lamest proposal I’ve ever heard.”
Morris chuckled softly. “Okay, let me do better.” He turned to Theo and took his hands. His eyes were warm with a little amusement and a lot of love, and damn, Theo was lost. “Do you wanna?” The corner of Morris’s mouth lifted in a shy smile.
“Oh hell yeah,” Theo breathed and leaned forward to seal it with a kiss. Worry and resentment over his siblings faded away under the warm rush of happiness.
A yelp came from the back seat, and the sound of a door opening and closing followed. Morris laughed again and pulled away. “I think that was official enough for him.”
Theo smiled and got out of the car, and his smile faded at the sight of the hospital. He saw Lincoln frozen in place a few steps away, his shoulders hunched, as he also stared up at the sprawling building. It looked different from the hospital where they’d visited their dad, a fact Theo was profoundly grateful for. Maybe Jill had made Craig drive here instead for that reason.
A Little Side of Geek Page 32
