Chapter Three
Remy
By the time I pull up to my mom’s brownstone, chaos is already in full swing.
Through the closed front door, I can hear at least three different kids yelling, laughter from my mom, and the unmistakable sound of a dog barking.
My mom and Howard don’t even have a dog.
Carmen is practically vibrating with excitement in her car seat. “Hurry, Dada! I wanna pway!”
And Izzy isn’t far beyond her with impatience. “Park the car, Daddy! Let’s go!”
When I get out and open the back door, Izzy is off like a rocket, little legs pumping as she barrels toward the house. Carmen lets me unbuckle her, but once her feet hit the ground, she runs after her sister as fast as she can. By the time I step inside the house, absolute mayhem is unfolding before my very eyes.
Roman and Ryder are wrestling in the living room, rolling around like two tiny Tasmanian devils.
My eighteen-year-old niece Lexi stands over them with her arms crossed, playing referee. The only thing missing is a whistle around her neck. “Ryder wins that round.”
Roman shouts, “He cheated!”
“No, Roman,” Lexi refutes. “You lost points for the illegal neck hold.”
“What the heck?” Roman groans, and Ryder grins like a maniac.
“Ha-ha! I won!”
Out of nowhere, my wild girl Izzy jumps right into the wrestling fold, climbing on top of both of her cousins with a battle cry. If there’s one thing that’s a certainty about Roman and Ryder, it’s that they might be batshit crazy ninety-nine percent of the time, but when it comes to Izzy and Carmen and the rest of their female cousins, they’re surprisingly gentle.
Hawk runs past me—completely naked, mind you—with Meadow chasing after him in one of his superhero capes.
My mom is quick to yell, “Hawk, put your pants on!”
But it does nothing. He just zips past her, yelling, “Grandma, I’m the Flash!”
“Oh boy,” my mom muses, laughing instead of stopping it, and takes Izzy’s and Carmen’s overnight bags from my hands to set them down in the living room. I follow her into the kitchen, and Howard is sitting at the table, completely unfazed by the madness, drinking a cup of coffee. Ty’s daughter Emily sits at the table with him, her focus on the book in her lap.
“Is it just me, or does Jude’s son never have any clothes on?” I ask, shaking my head on a chuckle.
“Oh, Rem, you shouldn’t be surprised,” my mom chimes in. “I swear, for the first five years of Jude’s life, he was naked.”
“Like father, like son, huh?” I tease and Howard laughs.
“Rem, five bucks says Hawk’s still naked when you pick up Carmen and Iz in the morning.”
My mom just shrugs on a laugh. “I’m not taking that bet, Howard. We both know we’re going to be lucky to get him to put on pajamas.”
“I’m not in charge of that,” Lexi announces as she walks into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and sit down beside Emily. The two of them fall face first into books, their calm and quiet routine of reading a stark contrast to the wild saloon showdown a room away.
My sweet Carmen wanders into the kitchen, apparently done with all the chaos, and turns to Howard. “Howie, you gots any cookies?”
“Of course, kiddo.” Howard smiles at her. “You know where they are.”
Without hesitation, Carmen marches straight to the cookie jar, completely ignoring everything else.
“Like father, like daughter,” my mom muses before she manages to scoop Hawk up mid-sprint and plop his bare butt onto the counter. “Flash, honey, let’s put on some underwear, okay?”
“Grandma,” Hawk whines like she’s ruining his whole life, but eventually agrees, “Fine.”
Once my little Carmen has her cookie, she sits down at the table beside Emily and Lexi. Izzy, though, the little wild child, is in the living room still, wrestling around with Roman and Ryder while Meadow cheers them on, “For glories! For glories!”
Hawk screeches like a dinosaur before jumping into the pile, sending little bodies flying and bumping into the couch so hard it scoots an entire foot. I wince.
“Are you guys sure you’re good with all of them?” I ask, looking between my mom and Howard.
“Of course, honey,” she says, beaming. “They’re my grandbabies. Besides, Lexi is here to help, and Howard is a pro.”
Howard just lifts his coffee cup in agreement. “We got this.”
I look over at Lexi. “You willingly gave up your Saturday night for this chaos?”
She shrugs. “Technically, there was a bribe involved.”
“Who?” I laugh. “Your mom or Wes?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
I chuckle at that. “Well, I can only hope you got one hell of a bribe to be roped into this chaos.”
She just shrugs. “I’m being compensated generously.”
At that exact moment, something else crashes in the living room.
“I didn’t do it!” Ryder shouts.
Eyes wide, I look back at my mom, but she just waves me off. “Go, Remy. Go play poker. Enjoy your night. We’ll survive.”
I hesitate for all of five seconds before nodding and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. “You’re the best, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too, Rem.”
After I give Carmen and Izzy a quick hug and kiss and slip Lexi an extra hundred bucks on top of whatever my sister and Wes already bribed her with, I head out the door. But just as I’m hopping in the car, my phone buzzes with a text from Maria.
Maria: You get the girls to your mom’s okay?
Me: They are officially in the care of Wendy and Howard and Lexi.
Maria: Really? I didn’t know Lex was going to be there tonight.
Me: Per Lexi, she is being compensated generously for her Saturday-night sacrifice. I also slipped her an extra hundred bucks before I left, just to seal the deal.
Maria: Good thinking.
Me: And Carmen and Izzy were the last grandkids to arrive. Hawk was already running around naked when we got there, and Roman and Ryder were well on their way to breaking shit. Izzy, of course, found her way straight into the chaos, and Carmen found cookies and her favorite calm cousin Emily.
Maria: So, pretty much how it usually is, then.
Me: Exactly. You getting some much-needed peace and quiet?
Maria: Yep. Currently in a bubble bath. With wine. And a face mask.
Me: Damn. That sounds like maybe I should skip the whole poker bullshit and come straight home…
Maria: You and I both know the backlash from Thatch wouldn’t be worth it. Anyway, I’ll still be here when you get home… ;)
Me: As in, you’ll still be naked in the bath?
Maria: Definitely still naked.
Me: You’re ruthless.
Maria: You love it.
Me: Always. Love you, Ria.
Maria: Love you, Rem.