We stood as Brody scurried back to his seat at the table and picked up his ridiculously fat crayons and started coloring again.
“Where’s Sienna?” Helene slipped her hand around my waist as she spoke to Hilde.
Hilde glanced at us, her eyes catching on the closeness of our bodies. She glanced to my eyes and then dismissively back to what she was stirring. “She just went down for a nap. She’s coming down with a cold, and she’s not feeling very well.” She glanced back to us again. “Mark’s outside, Kane. He’s looking forward to talking barbeque with you.” Hilde rolled her eyes.
I kissed Helene on the temple and left the safety of her side. The slider from the eat-in kitchen opened out onto a patio that extended to the detached garage. Mark and his smoker were set up by the side of the garage. Mark was wearing a ridiculous apron that no man with testicles should ever be caught dead in. But then, Mark had always been a bit of a dweeb. Hilde too for that matter. And Helene also if I were being honest.
“Hey, Kane,” Mark said with a broad smile on his face the moment I stepped out to the patio. “Glad to see you.” He waved with his tongs.
“Good to see you too.” I walked over.
Mark pulled his right hand from his equally emasculating oven mitt and held his hand out. I shook his hand and then stuffed mine in my pockets. It was cool out, and it was overcast. If it didn’t rain before the end of the day, I’d be surprised.
“There’s beer in the garage fridge if you want one.”
“No, I’m fine. Thanks anyway.”
We were silent for a moment as Mark studied his ribs, turned them over, brushed something on them, and grabbed the large serving platter sitting on the nearby table. “The key to smoking a good rib is using a mop sauce rather than barbeque sauce. And applying it every forty-five minutes, of course.” He smiled at me.
“Of course.” I took the platter from him, and he stacked one rack after another onto the plate.
“Naturally, that meant I couldn’t go to church this morning.” He winked at me. “Ignore the passive aggressive Hilde comments on that subject.”
And now I liked the man.
I laughed as he closed the smoker and took the platter back from me. I pulled the slider open for Mark, and he stepped in before me. Hilde and Helene were setting the table, talking about some random thing to do with Kindergarten education. Brody was sitting at the table already, and when the table was set, Helene sat down next to the little boy, and I took the spot across from her. Hilde and Mark sat at the ends of the table, and the booster seat next to me remained empty of the little maven of mayhem.
I watched Helene tear off a rib from her rack, and she held it up to Brody who clinked it with his own. He instantly giggled, and she nudged him in the side.
“Do you want children, Kane?” Hilde asked before I’d even touched my food. I glanced at her, startled for a second.
“Good heavens, wife. Don’t you know how to ease into anything?” Mark asked her as he rolled his eyes.
She smirked, but then she looked directly at me, waiting for an answer I wasn’t sure how to give her.
“I… I guess I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it that much.”
Helene watched me for a moment, but she glanced down at her plate, saying nothing. I watched her eat her ribs, ignoring the way Hilde studied me suspiciously and Mark berated her with his eyes.
Helene ended up with barbeque sauce in the corner of her mouth, and I watched her try to lick it away. It didn’t work, and she ended up pushing it just a bit farther from her lips. I stared, refusing to tell her and enjoying the sight of my ridiculous little nerd immensely.
Until Hilde got her second wind.
“So what have you been doing all these years, Kane?”
I looked at Helene for a moment, and then I turned my attention to Hilde. “I’ve just been moving around here and there. Worked on some construction crews. South during the winter where it was easier to find work, and then up north again during the summer where working outside was more tolerable. Just … around.” I glanced away.
“Helene said you’re doing work on your dad’s house. I wasn’t aware you were so skilled, but she says it looks amazing.”
And that was a classic underhanded Hilde compliment. I had no idea if I should thank her for saying my work was amazing or be offended she assumed I was unskilled. Instead, I ignored the comment altogether. “I started out framing and roofing years ago, but since then, I’ve spent a lot of time doing finish work too. I like the detail of finish work, so renovating my dad’s place is right up my alley.”
“Well, perhaps when you’re finished on your dad’s place, we can hire you to do some work around here.” Mark smiled kindly at me. “As you may have noticed, our youngest tends to be…”
“Artistic—?” I started to offer.
“Destructive,” Mark cut me off, chuckling. “You couldn’t have missed the P-E-N-I-S in the entryway,” Mark continued.
“I was told it was a flower.”