Page 32 of Modern Persuasion

I totally missed the tense she used in that last sentence. If I had paid better attention, I wouldn't have been so surprised when I walked out to the deck and found Fredrick sitting there with Tommy drinking beer and monitoring the grill.

Chapter Twenty-One

I rushed back into the house and out the front door before Fredrick could see me. I sat on the front step and caught my breath before I pulled out my phone and began a text conversation with Penny.

Emma: FW is here - @ the Musgroves

Penny: Why

Emma: No clue - ran away B4 he saw me

Penny: Emma!

Emma: I can't do this again

Penny: You R a mature adult who can do 1 damn BBQ

Emma No I really don't think that's true

Penny: You had the fight, he apologized, move on

Emma: Or I could stay in the house and play with the boys

Penny: Or you could throw him on a bed and fuck his brains out.

I couldn't help chuckling at Penny's text.

Emma: Or I can go play with my nephews

Penny: I say sex!

Emma: Updates later - play with toddlers.

That's precisely what I did. I grabbed a beer, found my nephews, and played with them. Thing One (TJ) and Thing Two (Nathan) were born ten months apart. They had struggled to get pregnant the first time. My sister swore she knew she could get pregnant; she just thought the chances were unlikely.

"That's when the time is best for life to laugh at you," Karen had said when Mary got pregnant a month after Thing One was born.

I agreed, but I adore both boys so much that I never remind my sister that she's reckless. They're toddler boys with limited vocabulary and more energy than anyone knew what to do with. I got lucky and found them playing with their trucks when I got into the playroom. They were wearing their wet swimsuits, which were dripping into the carpet.

After twenty minutes, Seth came down to the playroom with Fredrick in tow. Neither child seemed very interested in the two men they didn't know. I was lying on my stomach making fire truck noises with Thing Two. My nephews both have their mother's need for constant praise and attention. Give one attention, and the other will want it, too. Years of dealing with their mother's attention needs had taught me to handle the boys, but Seth was trying to play with them and was out of his league.

"Emma, my turn!" Thing One yelled as he started to climb on my back.

"You can wait your turn," I said, trying to pull my nephew off.

"NO! Play with me," Thing One demanded as he grabbed my hair and pulled back.

Being wholly engrossed with fire trucks, Thing Two ignored his older brother. I kept trying to pull Thing One off my back, but he was out of reach, no matter which way I turned and moved. His wet clothes dripped on me and made me uncomfortable. He enjoyed the struggle, which turned it into a game of keep-away.

"Thomas, let go right now!" I demanded.

I hated having to resort to his given name. Next would be his full name.

"No!" Thing One said through his giggles.

When I felt him let go of me mid-giggle, I looked up to see Fredrick standing over me with Thing One in his arms.

"Let your aunt take a break. Let's go play on the beach!" Fredrick said, quickly turning away but not before I noticed his tight lips that almost looked like a snarl.