BOWIE
I walk into Luminary with Jonas cradled in one arm, a diaper bag slung over my shoulder. The bells jingle overhead and before Clara can even clear her throat and point toward the makeshift dance zone, I launch into a ridiculous little jig. Sort of a two-step shuffle combined with a wiggly shoulder move. Jonas bounces gently in my arm, eyes wide, and then he lets out a high-pitched squeal that echoes through the shop. Clara’s jaw drops and I think she might collapse from surprise.
Instead, her eyes get misty, and she claps a hand to her heart. “I just love seeing you like this,” she says, her voice thick.
I grin at her. She’s not the first person I’ve heard this from, and I’m more aware than ever that I must have been a real barrel of laughs before Poppy turned my life around.
“You’re looking awfully happy for a man who didn’t win the Super Bowl,” Walter grumps.
“Yes, I am,” I say, and he rears back in surprise.
“Harumph,” Marv says.
“I just got back from my honeymoon and it was incredible,” I tell them, walking past their table. I lift Jonas’s hand and have him wave, and they stare at me in shock.
The guys are waiting for me. It’s been a struggle to get anywhere on time since having Jonas. I think I’m only five minutes late, so I’m counting it as a win. Everyone greets us happily, still looking like they’re riding the good vibe waves from our vacation.
“How’s everyone doing?” I ask, settling Jonas onto my lap.
Everyone goes on over him and he laughs at them. He laughs at everything, it’s the absolute best.
Penn leans forward, clearing his throat. He looks oddly bashful. “So…I sort of met someone.”
We all perk up instantly, sitting up straighter.
“What?” Rhodes demands.
Penn drums his fingers on the table. “It was actually at the wedding…like, the night before the ceremony. I was making sure everything was right for you, Bowie, and I ran into this woman, Addy. We hit it off, talked for a long time, had a drink…other things happened. It was, I don’t know. Different.”
“Is that why you kept disappearing during that weekend?” Weston says, giving Penn a slight shrug.
Penn is sheepish as he nods. “Not my finest hour, I know, but fuck me, she was beautiful.”
“Who was she?” I ask, intrigued. “I don’t know anyone named Addy. One of our guests? A friend of someone?”
Penn shakes his head, frustration in his eyes. “I’m not sure. I think she must have been a guest at the resort because I told her I was there for a wedding and she didn’t say she was. I was so busy running around, making sure I had everything down for the ceremony, and then…I never saw her again after that night.”
Henley tilts his head. “You’re telling me you had a night like that and you didn’t get a number, a last name, a social media handle?”
“I don’t typically!” Penn throws his hands up in the air. “And I was so shaken up over how good it was, I wasn’t thinking! We were just so in the moment, and I thought I’d see her again.”
Rhodes chuckles. “And you’re still thinking about her. We need to figure out who she is. If you’re still thinking about her, that’s…shit…you know what that means.”
“Don’t say it.” Penn exhales heavily, shoulders slumping. “Forget about it. The wedding, the re-wedding, whatever we’re calling it…it was spectacular. It was probably just the romance in the air that had me making more out of it than it was.” He runs his hands through his hair, looking genuinely perplexed. “Just a lingering aftereffect of a perfect night. And I mean, was that not the most spectacular wedding?” he says, sitting up straighter. His chest puffs with pride, as if he personally orchestrated not only the ceremony, but the perfect ocean breeze and sunset as well.
Henley raises his coffee cup. “It was indeed spectacular. I’ll give you that, Reverend Penn.”
Weston laughs in his mug, and Rhodes smirks as he nods. Jonas slams the Penn rattle on the table and Penn flinches.
“I didn’t really think through that gift,” he says. “It’s jarring, seeing my face slammed like that.”
We all laugh. I press a light kiss to Jonas’s forehead before taking a sip of my coffee. I grin at Penn. “So, what’s the plan? Gonna track her down?”
Penn shrugs. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll just chalk it up to being a magical moment and leave it at that.” But he doesn’t sound convinced. Whoever this girl was really got to him.
He pulls out The Single Dad Playbook and sets it on the table.
I tug it toward me.
I’ve been told that I have a knack for seeing patterns.
It was regarding football,
but I like to think I’ve carried that over
into my life as well.
So much is changing for all of us,
and here are the patterns I’m seeing in us.
I’ve seen you guys become
the best husbands and fathers.
I already knew you were the best friends.
But seeing you open your hearts to love…
It’s been so inspiring.
I love that we laugh more now.
Trust more.
Let more people in.
We’ve become men who wear
our hearts on our sleeves,
and I’m so fucking proud of us.
~Henley
“I’m really fucking proud of us too,” I say thickly.
“Are you crying?” Rhodes asks, shocked. “Let me read that.”
“No, I’m not crying!” I say, laughing because clearly, I am talking through blurry eyes. “What the fuck has happened to me? How did falling in love turn me into such a sap?”
Weston reads the entry and clears his throat, blinking up at the ceiling.
“Hell no, I’m not doing it,” Penn says, shaking his head. “You can keep your love crap to yourselves and I will remain sap-free, thank you very much.”
Rhodes points at Henley’s entry, his eyes shining. “I dare you to read that and not weep,” he says to Penn.
Sighing, Penn pulls the book over and reads. When he’s done, he presses his palms into his eyes. “Goddammit.”
We laugh and tease Penn mercilessly, still the same motherfuckers even while we’re evolving.
Life is full of surprises. Good ones, mostly. I happened to hit a gold mine with Poppy, and I’ll never stop being grateful for it.
