Uncle Dan has returned to the dining room with a deck of cards in hand. He sits between Suki and Dres. "So, Cas," he says as he doles the cards out. "We bought the kids skates if you're interested in taking them to the rink tomorrow?"

     "Yeah, absolutely. Lily's first lessons should be from a professional like me."

     Dres chokes on a laugh. I refrain from scowling at him. A professional doesn't have to defend themselves. Their skill speaks for itself.

     Suki says, "I think we should get her walking on the ground first before we put her on the ice."

     "So are you guys going shopping for black Friday then?" I ask, looking between Suki and Dan. This is basically a Thanksgiving tradition at this point. The last few years, I've taken Sofia and Maddox off of their hands so they can get a jumpstart on their holiday shopping.

     Suki nods. "We need to get started on Christmas presents."

     "We're all going to go, actually," mom says from the head of the table. She doesn't play cards, mostly because she's not very good and she hates losing. But she enjoys watching and usually lends a helping (cheating) hand to whoever needs it. "Dres, Amelia, you're both welcome to join Cas and the kids. If you're interested."

     Dres looks to me like he needs my permission to intrude. I feel like I've said it before, countless times even, that I will never turn down time with Dres. I try to express this on my face but it's a lot to convey and I think I fail.

    Not that it really matters. Amelia nods her head, enthusiastically, saying, "Oh, we'd love to. That's a great idea."

     I feel like I've said this before, too, but it bears repeating. Dres and Amelia are literally nothing alike.

     Mom smiles. It's the kind of smile that says she's plotting but plotting what, exactly, I'm unsure. "Then it's settled. Let's say eleven. We're not going do the early shopping thing."

     We move through a few rounds of BS and by the third, grandma and pop head upstairs for bed. I won the first game, so I'm not really trying anymore. Suki's kicking ass anyway, and it's more entertaining watching her call out Dan every time he puts down a card. Dres is pretty good at the game. He's solid at lying but he doesn't call anyone out, even when he has the cards (I've been peaking at his hand and calling them out for him.)

     The baby monitor goes off with a loud wail. Suki flinches before she starts to stand. Dan moves to go, too.

     But then Dres says, "I can get her."

     Uncle Dan raises an eyebrow but seats himself. "Yeah?" Dres nods. Suki and Dan seem happy not to leave the game in the middle of their battle.

     Mom says, "It's the first door on the right."

     Dres gives Amelia this warning look before exiting the room. As soon as he does, Amelia goes, "Okay, give me your number."

     "Uhm," I say.

     "You've got a way with words, huh," she responds. "Seriously. Phone number. Give it."

     "Why exactly?"

      "You said you're an open book."

     "I did. I did indeed say that. But what I meant was more like I am uncomfortable."

     Amelia laughs. "Chill. Look. Dres is not an open book. He is so far from open book its like Fort Knox. I just want to know how he's doing. Like really doing. And how you two are doing. You've helped a lot, you know."

     "With what exactly?" I respond. "Also, I don't know if we can make Fort Knox jokes about him. Given the military history."

     "With getting him to be more like him, again."

     I know that I shouldn't and I know that Dres won't like it but I find myself asking anyway, "Do you know what happened with Private Weston?"

     Amelia turns her head like she maybe expected me to know. "He died."

     "Yes, I did figure that. But I imagine there is a lot more to the story."

     "None of which he's shared with me. Again. Fort Knox."

     Dolores is at the end of the table conversing with my mom so I lower my voice when I ask, "Well, does Dolores know?"

     Amelia makes a face. "Dres and my mom just got back on speaking terms."

     "What?" I nearly exclaim.

     "Has he told you anything?" she asks.

     "A little bit about your dad," I answer and she makes a face.

     "Yeah, fuck that dickwad."

     I grimace. "Yikes."

     "He's the reason everything went the way it did. But Dres should really tell you about that." She shakes her head like she's pushing memories away. "So you giving me your number or what?"

     "I have a feeling I'm really going to regret this," I say as I take her phone and punch in my number. "Obviously, you can't tell Dres about this. I mean, I will likely tell him but you shouldn't tell him."

      "You guys are like obnoxious, you know that right?"

     "I genuinely don't know what you're talking about. We're positively charming. Historians will write about us."

     She laughs. "He really did need someone like you."

     "Well, thank Dolores for that cause he was definitely not gonna' hire me when we met."

     "Yeah, imagine if you met him six months ago. He'd probably have just glared at you for two whole minutes before walking away."

     "That's like — that's like exactly what he did."

     "He's come a long way is what I'm trying to say."

     "Yeah, no, I agree. He ate a whole chicken nugget from Wendy's a few weeks ago. Triumphant moment for me."

     Amelia smiles then, this big grin that just kind of reiterates her sentiment. It feels weird, like self ingratiating, to think of myself as a proponent in someone else's growth. I guess it's normal for people to bring out the best in you. I never thought I was bringing out the best in Dres, though. I thought he was doing that for me.

     I excuse myself from the game once Suki beats Dan, wandering towards the living room to find Dres. He's there, on the couch, Lily asleep on his chest. If he notices me, he doesn't react. He's rubbing circles on her back and whispering something I can't hear. The sight of this alone bottoms out my blood pressure. I nearly fall over. It is the most unusual of aphrodisiacs.

     I watch him long enough to commit the whole thing to memory. Dres doesn't even say anything. I know he knows I'm staring. I guess, where some people would find that uncomfortable Dres is used to it. Maybe even likes it.

     When I've got my fill of him, I join him on the couch, sitting close enough that I can rest my head on his shoulder. "Today was pretty perfect," I find myself saying, my voice muffled by his arm.

     He hears me and moves close enough to kiss my head. It's a strange thing coming from Dres, but it lets me know that he thought so, too.

     After everyone has left, I help mom finish up with the cleaning. She's got a thing about leaving messes. It's only nearing ten p.m. but I'm exhausted, and falling asleep on my feet as I sweep the dining room floor. Mom's putting the china back into its cabinet. She doesn't stop as she says, "I think today was nice, right?"

     I nod, slow to respond. "Yeah, yeah, it was good. Your cooking was excellent, of course."

     She huffs a laugh. "You devoured like three servings so I would hope you liked it." I roll my eyes. I don't know why everyone acts surprised by my appetite. "Amelia is very sweet."

     "I know. She's nothing like Dres. It's crazy."

     "Dres is sweet, too," mom argues.

     "Uhm, debatable, but what I meant is, she's like, she's just a lot. Like I think she talks three times as much as he does."

     "Dres can be talkative, too, you know."

     I frown and stop my sweeping. I was really just pushing around the same pile of crumbs, anyway. "Right and you would know this because you've been secretly hanging out with him, haven't you?"

     She stops putting dishes away, turning to me. "What? Don't be absurd. I don't hang out with Dres."

     "Okay, maybe not hanging out. But I'm serious. Just tell me like how often are you showing up at Weston's?"

     "Cas," she says but I give her a look, and she smiles, sheepishly. "So I've gone a few times on my lunch break. When I need some coffee and, you know, a lot of people at the hospital enjoy his cupcakes."

     "Mom," I say, groaning. "This is so weird."

     "It's really not," she says.

      "What do you guys even talk about?"

      She makes a face like she's not going to reveal this information. As if I'm not privy to it. Seeing as he's my boyfriend and she's my mom, I'm pretty sure I'm the most privy to this information. "Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill," she answers, instead. Only because I'm tired, I decide to let it go, bending over to brush the pile into the dustpan.

     "Anything else you want me to do?" I ask when I return from the kitchen where I've dumped the dustpan and put it away in the pantry.

     "No, that's it. Go on to bed."

     "Yes, let me go embark on what will likely be the worst sleep of my life."

     "Oh the dramatics," she says with an over-exaggerated groan.

     "You know, I think everyone secretly enjoys my dramatics so you're welcome for the free entertainment."

     "You're exhausting, Cas," she says her tone a cross between joking and exasperated.

     "You are not the first person to tell me that," I say plainly.

     Mom shakes her head, violently. "Oh, Cas, gross. Come on, that's too far."

     "OH, that is not what I meant! Ew mom ew, I can't even - I can't even look at you. What, why you would even go there. Okay let's never speak of this moment again. Good night. Wow, I'm just wow." She's laughing now as I head upstairs to go to bed. I can't help but feel this is some sort of payback for all the teasing Dres had to endure tonight.