33. Dom
Chapter thirty-three
Dom
L uca shrieks and giggles, teetering on unstable, chunky legs before tackling Dee and crawling all over as she dramatically plays the weakling, letting him jump on her and have his victory.
“This kid is built like a tank,” she says, failing to recover quickly enough to avoid another leap from Luca onto her stomach before he holds her face in both his hands and laughs.
“That’s right, baby. You rub it in her face that you won fair and square,” Ellie says.
“Fuck, I’m going to be bruised tomorrow. He really got my cheek there,” Dee says, sitting up and rubbing her face.
“Shit, I’m sorry. You good?” I ask. Dee nods.
“He’s been super into roughhousing lately,” Ellie explains. “I’m never worried about him. It’s usually Dom and I who need help recovering afterward. Little guy has endless energy and no sense of awareness. He’ll clock you right in the eye and then hug you immediately after.”
“Lesson learned,” Dee says. “At least I can blame Luca for my eyes watering and not be exposed for crying at Sesame Street again. Can they take a fucking chill pill? Goddamn, they’re not playing fair with these songs. ”
“Are you crying over a kid’s show?” Dylan asks, smirking at Dee as he joins us in the living room.
“Uh, are you heartless ? Did you not listen to the lyrics of Elmo’s song? Anyone with dry cheeks after that is a bigger grouch than Oscar.”
“My cheeks are as dry as a desert and I’m an angel,” Dylan retorts before reclining on the couch, one arm stretched over the back cushion.
Ellie scrunches her nose. “Ew, this feels weird. Let’s not talk about cheeks, wet or dry.”
Dee shoves her middle finger in the air, giving Dylan a snarky look.
“Don’t flick him off. I don’t want Luca to start giving everyone the middle finger,” I beg.
Dee furrows her brows and tilts her head, but before she can say anything, Ellie’s flying across the room.
“Another point for me! Flip , Dom. Dee is flipping him off.” I hear her yank open the junk drawer to get the notebook.
“You’re full of shit. Cheating isn’t going to get you anywhere, Ellie. It’s most certainly flicking .”
“Wooooow,” Dee says, rolling her eyes. “God forbid I give Dylan the middle finger, but you can tell your wife she’s full of shit? I wonder which bad habit Luca will pick up first?”
“Shit. Fuck . I mean, yeah, you’re right,” I say.
Okay, so the not swearing in front of the toddler who’s learning to talk thing could be going better.
“I hate to break up this party and super important life lesson for Luca, but if we don’t want to be late, we need to leave in the next five minutes,” Dylan says, checking his watch.
“Dee, you want to join? Dylan planned the next puzzle activity. We’re taking Luca to his first music class,” Ellie says excitedly as she documents my loss in our commonly fucked-up phrase notebook.
It’s good to see her excited about this.
I appreciate the guys all taking this favor seriously. When I asked for their help, it would have been easy for them to brush it off or half-ass plans. But they’ve each shown up for me and Ellie with thoughtful ideas. As dysfunctional as our small circle can be, everyone showed up when we needed them, and I’ll never forget it.
Dee gives Dylan a surprised look. “Huh, didn’t peg you for a musical guy. What gives, Dylan?”
“Nothing,” he answers quickly. “I mean, you should come…if you want.”
“Ooookay, fine. Then I will,” Dee says, voice laden with hesitation.
Ellie looks at me, then back at the two of them, then back at me. I can read that look. What the fuck is going on?
I give her a look back. Not a fucking clue, but let’s see how far we can push this.
She rolls her eyes.
Dee and Dylan spend the entire class making snarky quips at each other in a battle to outwit one another as usual. But between all that, the four of us have a great time playing music with Luca and watching him try out the drums, tambourines, xylophone, and keyboard.
Ellie watches closely as Luca takes part in this new experience, his eyes glowing with wonder, while hers do the same. My family might not be perfect, but moments like this are.
I want Luca to be anything he wants when he’s older, but based on how much he loves this music class, my money is on lead drummer in a rock band. That, or a WWE headliner. Too soon to tell.