all day, being a pediatrician. I love them. You have to, to do the kind of work I do, but I have a deeper level of insight when it comes to the responsibility of raising one. Aidan’s insight stops at Little League and camping trips, you know what I mean?”
I laugh gently. “Yeah.”
A very small part of me wonders if Michelle is saying this to me as her way of trying to ease my own pain, by telling me that raising a baby is hard. Maybe she is, but at the same time, I think it’s just me. Telling me what’s going on between her and Aidan and considering the issue, it would be hard not to say something like that.
“So, how is Andrew’s physical therapy going?”
The mood instantly shifts within the room, like we can both breathe a little easier now that we’ve gotten through the risky subject matter.
“He had some muscle weakness for a while, but he’s been doing great. Doesn’t really go to physical therapy much at all anymore.”
Michelle nods and pulls out a chair, too. “Well that’s good,” she says and there’s an awkward bout of silence.
Aidan and Andrew break that awkward moment when they both come into the kitchen with us. Aidan heads straight for the fridge while Andrew sits his heavy ass right on top of my lap.
“
An-drew!
” I whine and laugh at the same time, trying to push him off. “Lose a few pounds! Damn, baby, you’re squishing me!”
He turns on my lap, facing sideways long enough to squish my face in both of his hands and kiss me between the eyes.
“Get. Off!” I shout and finally he does. “You’ve got a bony ass.” I rub my hands across my legs to work out the muscles. Of course, his ass is nowhere near bony, but the look on his face was worth the dramatic lie.
“Like little boys,” Michelle says from the sink now.
I didn’t even notice her get up.
Aidan shuts the fridge with another bottle of beer in his hand and sits down in the chair Michelle just left. Andrew lifts me up as if I’m weightless and steals my chair, putting me on his lap afterward.
“Much better,” I say.
He wraps his arms around my waist. “So, Aidan and I were talkin’.”
Uh-oh, I don’t know if I like the sound of that.
“Yeah?” I ask warily, looking more at Aidan since I can’t really see Andrew behind me.
“This should be interesting,” Michelle jokes from the sink, facing us all with her hip propped against the counter’s edge.
Aidan sets his beer on the table and says, “Would you be interested in playing at my bar tomorrow night? Busiest night of the week. The stuff you two play will fit right in with the customers.”
The only time I’ve ever really felt this nervous playing in any bar or club was the first time I performed with Andrew at Old Point in New Orleans. I think it just makes me really nervous to sing in front of his family. In front of people I don’t know and will likely never see again. It’s not so nerve-wracking, but this, I have to say, is causing my stomach to twist into knots.
“I don’t know…”
Andrew squeezes me gently from behind. “Oh come on,” he says, trying to encourage me without being too pushy.
Be pushy, Andrew! Stop being so cautious! Be like you used to be when you told me to get on the roof of your car in the rain, or when you forced me to help change that stupid tire!
“Come on,” Aidan says with the quick backward tilt of his head. “Andrew says you’re quite the singer.”
I blush and wince at the same time. “Well, Andrew is also biased, so you can’t really take his word for it.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Michelle adds and takes her own seat on Aidan’s lap. He playfully smacks her thighs with both hands, and it reminds me of how Andrew tends to do that same thing to me a lot. Aidan doesn’t look as much like Andrew as Asher does, but as far as everything else they share, you can definitely tell they’re brothers.
I think on it a moment and turn at an angle to see Andrew behind me, draping my
I laugh gently. “Yeah.”
A very small part of me wonders if Michelle is saying this to me as her way of trying to ease my own pain, by telling me that raising a baby is hard. Maybe she is, but at the same time, I think it’s just me. Telling me what’s going on between her and Aidan and considering the issue, it would be hard not to say something like that.
“So, how is Andrew’s physical therapy going?”
The mood instantly shifts within the room, like we can both breathe a little easier now that we’ve gotten through the risky subject matter.
“He had some muscle weakness for a while, but he’s been doing great. Doesn’t really go to physical therapy much at all anymore.”
Michelle nods and pulls out a chair, too. “Well that’s good,” she says and there’s an awkward bout of silence.
Aidan and Andrew break that awkward moment when they both come into the kitchen with us. Aidan heads straight for the fridge while Andrew sits his heavy ass right on top of my lap.
“
An-drew!
” I whine and laugh at the same time, trying to push him off. “Lose a few pounds! Damn, baby, you’re squishing me!”
He turns on my lap, facing sideways long enough to squish my face in both of his hands and kiss me between the eyes.
“Get. Off!” I shout and finally he does. “You’ve got a bony ass.” I rub my hands across my legs to work out the muscles. Of course, his ass is nowhere near bony, but the look on his face was worth the dramatic lie.
“Like little boys,” Michelle says from the sink now.
I didn’t even notice her get up.
Aidan shuts the fridge with another bottle of beer in his hand and sits down in the chair Michelle just left. Andrew lifts me up as if I’m weightless and steals my chair, putting me on his lap afterward.
“Much better,” I say.
He wraps his arms around my waist. “So, Aidan and I were talkin’.”
Uh-oh, I don’t know if I like the sound of that.
“Yeah?” I ask warily, looking more at Aidan since I can’t really see Andrew behind me.
“This should be interesting,” Michelle jokes from the sink, facing us all with her hip propped against the counter’s edge.
Aidan sets his beer on the table and says, “Would you be interested in playing at my bar tomorrow night? Busiest night of the week. The stuff you two play will fit right in with the customers.”
The only time I’ve ever really felt this nervous playing in any bar or club was the first time I performed with Andrew at Old Point in New Orleans. I think it just makes me really nervous to sing in front of his family. In front of people I don’t know and will likely never see again. It’s not so nerve-wracking, but this, I have to say, is causing my stomach to twist into knots.
“I don’t know…”
Andrew squeezes me gently from behind. “Oh come on,” he says, trying to encourage me without being too pushy.
Be pushy, Andrew! Stop being so cautious! Be like you used to be when you told me to get on the roof of your car in the rain, or when you forced me to help change that stupid tire!
“Come on,” Aidan says with the quick backward tilt of his head. “Andrew says you’re quite the singer.”
I blush and wince at the same time. “Well, Andrew is also biased, so you can’t really take his word for it.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Michelle adds and takes her own seat on Aidan’s lap. He playfully smacks her thighs with both hands, and it reminds me of how Andrew tends to do that same thing to me a lot. Aidan doesn’t look as much like Andrew as Asher does, but as far as everything else they share, you can definitely tell they’re brothers.
I think on it a moment and turn at an angle to see Andrew behind me, draping my
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