Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
That got another dramatic sigh from Brady who clearly didn’t like that answer. “Toys are very special things and not something that should be taken away unless I’ve been really naughty.”
Gareth frowned, shrugging. “I don’t know, but if they tip over, you’ll probably die, so that might mean you have too many.”
His logic was on point.
Jude seemed to appreciate the backup, even if he hadn’t been expecting it, because his frown got noticeably less intense. “We’ll figure out something, but I’m not making any promises.”
Brady started to pout but then seemed to reconsider his strategy and turned to give Gareth and Cashel big smiles. “When are you moving in with Bates?”
I loved insane littles…and I was very glad not to have one.
Cashel was pulling a Jude and just frowned, but Gareth was adorably Gareth and shrugged. “We’re working on that but not soon enough for you to buy more toys. He’s finishing his master’s at the end of the year and has to move out of the apartments and go live in the real world again.”
“Oh, that’s terrible.” Brady was finally distracted by the tragedy of my move and seemed to forget the toys for a few seconds. “I’m sorry.”
Aww.
Even Jude frowned like he felt bad for us. “What are you going to do?”
Cashel decided he didn’t mind the turn the conversation had taken and actually spoke up, probably to show Gareth and me that he wasn’t worried anymore. “We’re looking at apartments that we’ll all fit in for after we graduate, and for next year, we’re going to work on figuring out the best way to handle it.”
Brady was still in the shocked and sad little phase but Jude was surprisingly helpful. “You might want to think about organizing your classes so you only have them four days a week. That way you can have three-day weekends to spend with Bates.”
Oh.
Cartoon light bulbs probably went off over all our heads based on the fact that Jude actually chuckled and shrugged. “I know I wouldn’t like to be separated from Brady, so I thought that might give you more options.”
Had he actually been thinking about ways to help us?
Maybe dinner wasn’t going to be that bad after all?
****
Well, it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been but it certainly was awkward.
The silence was stretching out and not even the food arriving had helped. With everyone being on their best behavior, and only a minor number of frowns, I had a feeling it was more about not rocking the boat and less about being frustrated to be there.
Hopefully.
Because as we finished up the Mexican food, which was absolutely fabulous, I decided to throw a rock into a very still pond and see what would happen.
“I couldn’t help hearing your conversation about toys and looking for a spare room to use as a playroom.” Pausing, I waited to see if it would get an unexpected reaction.
It did.
Jude frowned at Brady who sighed and tried to look innocent as he figured out how to apologize. “We’re both sorry if we made Gareth and Cashel feel uncomfortable. That wasn’t anyone’s intention.”
Laughing seemed like it would’ve been the wrong response, so I did my best to take the whole thing seriously. “I’m pretty sure I can speak for all of us when I say we weren’t offended. It was a very practical discussion to have with someone who has lots of collections.”
That had Brady beaming and nodding, so I had a feeling I’d phrased it fairly well. “Yes, collections are important.”
Jude looked like he was trying not to laugh and encourage Brady, but he nodded. “They are.”
“I might have a way around that issue, though.” Here we go. “I was talking to the staff in Housing the other day about my own lease and yours came up.”
The silence around the table was deafening and the famous Jude glare was starting to return.
“I had no idea it wasn’t public knowledge. They thought it was sweet and were bragging about Brady’s mother.” That had everyone going completely still.
Was I supposed to keep going?
Finally, the life came back into everyone and Brady cocked his head and looked at his Daddy. Jude just gave a very Daddy shrug and looked like he was trying not to sigh. “What did you discover?”
Well, he hadn’t exploded.
“Brady’s mother paid the single supplement for this semester so you wouldn’t be given another roommate.” That had eyes going wide around the table. “I don’t know if it was supposed to be a surprise or if the explanation just got lost in translation, but from what they were saying, you aren’t going to be given another roommate this year.”
“People tell you all kinds of weird stuff.” Gareth’s delightful commentary had laughter circling the table.
“They do, but this one was your fault.” I couldn’t resist teasing him even though I was pretty sure he’d been cheeky to break the tension. “I was telling them about my wonderful boyfriends and they connected you with Brady and Jude.”