Chapter 9 #3
I nod, taking another sip of my beer. Something about him reminds me of my youngest brother Jack when we were growing up.
Jack is happier now than he’s ever been, living in Monaco with his wife Lark while they both chase their careers—him in Formula One, her as a musician touring the world. But it wasn’t always like that.
Jack was the charming one, the one with the easy smile and the quick wit, but there was a darkness underneath it too, a restlessness, and wounds from before our parents adopted him that took years to heal.
Mateo has that same guarded look in his eyes, hiding wildness and something that hasn’t healed yet.
“Hey,” I say, searching for the right words. “You doing alright? I know this is all a lot. New family, new town, new everything.”
He’s Calvin’s biological brother, not mine, and I barely know him. It’s not really my place to push. But I guess in a way he’s becoming my brother too, whether either of us expected it or not.
“It’s good. I’m getting there.” He pauses, looking down at his hands for a moment before meeting my eyes again.
“I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? For someone to realize they made a mistake inviting me in and ask me to leave. But it hasn’t happened yet, so I guess at some point I’m going to have to accept that maybe it’s not going to. ”
“It’s not going to change,” I tell him. “That’s not how we work.
The Midnight family may have flaws, but once you’re in, you’re in.
Ask any of us. Calvin and I butted heads for years over some stupid shit, really went at each other a few times, and we’re still here.
Still family. That doesn’t change just because things get hard. ”
Mateo nods, and something in his expression eases. “Thanks, Dominic. You guys are really something. I wish... I guess I wish I’d reached out sooner. I mean, I only found out a few years back, but still. It was stupid to wait.”
I shrug. “I’m not sure what I would have done in that situation. It’s not an easy thing, disrupting your own life like that. Potentially disrupting someone else’s. Dropping a bomb like that on a stranger and hoping it doesn’t blow up in your face. I don’t think there’s a right way to do it.”
He looks at me for a long moment, something shifting in his expression, and then he nods again. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
Before either of us can say anything else, Calvin appears in the doorway wiping his hands on a dish towel, with Alex right behind him carrying a basket of bread.
“Alright, everyone,” Calvin calls out. “Dinner’s ready.”
We all settle in around the table, which is loaded down with the roast chicken, roasted vegetables, fresh bread, and a salad that looks like it came from Maren’s garden.
The food is incredible, and the conversation flows easy and warm the way it always does when we’re all together.
Even Mateo seems to relax more and more as the meal goes on.
“Oh shoot, I almost forgot,” Alex says halfway through dinner, pushing back from the table and heading into the kitchen while we all watch him go. He returns with a small covered plate.
Calvin starts laughing the second he sees it. “I forgot about that too.”
Emma leans forward, Theo’s hand resting on her shoulder. “What is that?”
“It’s just a little piece of salmon with some sweet potato,” Alex says, crouching down near where Gus and Laila have positioned themselves hopefully under the table.
“Theo said it would be alright, and I already got Maren’s okay.
Plain, no butter or fatty stuff, nothing that would be bad for them.
I looked it up and it’s actually good for their coats, the omega fatty acids or whatever. ”
I shake my head at him, grinning. “Alex, you’re ridiculous.”
“I prefer devoted,” Alex says, breaking the food into careful pieces. “I take my responsibilities as an honorary dog uncle very seriously. These animals trust me. I’m not going to betray that trust by giving them something that might make them sick.”
Gus and Laila both inhale the salmon and sweet potato in approximately three seconds flat, then immediately start sniffing around for more, their tails wagging hopefully.
Alex looks at them with pure delight on his face, and the whole table laughs.
He doesn’t have a dog of his own, but he’s an animal person through and through, and both dogs figured that out within about five minutes of meeting him.
Once Alex is back in his seat, the dogs have repositioned themselves directly under his chair, having identified him as the most promising source of future food opportunities.
Gus has his chin resting on Alex’s foot, gazing up at him with worshipful devotion, and Laila is pressed against his other leg, noticeably slobbering on his jeans.
Alex still looks absolutely thrilled about this arrangement.
Calvin clears his throat and taps his fork against his glass.
The table quiets down and everyone turns to look at him.
“Alright, everyone, Maren and I actually have a little announcement.” He looks down at Maren.
She reaches up and takes his hand, squeezing it tight, and I can see her eyes are already shining.
Calvin takes a breath. “Maren’s pregnant,” he says. “We’re having a baby.”
For a single heartbeat, the table is silent, and then everything explodes.
Emma shrieks, a sound so loud and high-pitched my ears actually ring, and she’s out of her chair before I can blink, rounding the table at impressive speed for someone who could literally go into labor at any moment, and pulling Maren into a hug.
Theo is right behind her, clapping Calvin on the back and saying something I can’t hear over the noise.
Chloe is on her feet dancing in place, her hands pressed to her cheeks. “I get a cousin and a baby sister! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” she squeals, evidently thrilled to finally have more kids joining the family.
Gus and Laila don’t know what all the fuss is about, but they’re caught up in the excitement anyway, tails wagging and bodies wiggling in the way dogs do when they can tell something good is happening.
I pull Calvin into a hug, solid and tight, and when I pull back he’s grinning so wide his face might split in half. I kiss Maren on the cheek and tell them both congratulations, and she laughs and squeezes my hand. The whole house is filled with noise and laughter.
Alex catches my eye across the chaos and grins. “The Midnights are taking over Dark River one baby at a time,” he says, raising his beer. “It’s basically a hostile takeover at this point. We’re going to outnumber the rest of the town by 2030.”
I laugh and raise my beer back at him. “God help Dark River.”
Maren wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, laughing even as the tears spill over.
“Ugh, I swore I wasn’t going to cry!” She takes a shaky breath.
“By the way, Jack and Lark already know. We wanted everyone to find out at once, but I kind of spilled the beans while FaceTiming her last night. They’re both traveling today for Jack’s race this weekend, but they said to give everyone their love.
But I’m sorry you didn’t all find out at the same time. ”
“Honey, don’t worry for a second about that kind of thing,” Emma says, still holding onto Maren’s hands. “This is the best news. I’m so happy for you guys. And the kids all get to grow up together!”
I look around the room at my brothers and their partners, at Chloe already chattering about all the things she’s going to teach the new baby, at Mateo looking less like a stranger and more like someone who belongs here.
Jack and Lark are missing but not gone, just somewhere else building their own life the way everyone in this room is building theirs. Another baby on the way. The family keeps growing, keeps shifting, keeps making room for whoever needs it.
Mom would have loved this. Dad too. Sunday dinners were always their favorite, all of us crammed around the table talking over each other, the house loud and warm and full. They’d be proud of what this family has become. All of us finding our way, building lives, making room for the people we love.
So why, in the middle of all this warmth and chaos, does Brooke’s face flash through my mind?
She’s the one that got away for you.
I take a long pull of my beer and push the thought aside. Alex watches too many movies. That’s all it is.