As they drank coffee and ate delicious muffins, Poppy asked Mick questions trying to get to know him. He felt like Tyler had told him everything about her, so he didn't know what to talk to her about. Finally, he asked, "Are you bored staying home?"

She shook her head. "I was before Clara, but not now. She is a joy. Plus Chickie comes over."

"Do you mind if Ty helps me?"

She smiled. "No, he's your friend. Clara might."

Tyler held Clara, so she was standing on his lap. He was too busy talking to her and kissing her to notice they were talking about him. After the sugar and caffeine, Tyler asked if he was ready, but then he lingered as he kissed his wife before handing Clara to her.

"You'll be okay?"

She nodded. "Leigh might stop by."

Mick said, "I'll send him home if it takes too long."

Mick texted his mother from Tyler's Volvo. The car fit his friend, the family guy, like his own pickup suited him, a guy who worked on construction sites. When Annette Daigle texted him back, he could hear her voice through the letters on his screen.

"She's glad the boxes will be gone."

"Sounds like your mother, not glad you're home." Mick might have said duh, because his parents weren't like his friends' parents. "Is your old man home?"

"I doubt it. If he's breathing, he's working."

"I was bad but not that bad." Tyler laughed.

Thirty minutes later when Tyler parked in the driveway of the stately home, Mick looked up at it. A feeling of loneliness came over him. Love hadn't oozed in his family home like it had in Tyler's house. Mick wished his parents were more like Arthur and Chickie.

As an adult, he knew he was the product of a loveless marriage. The sad part was Annette tried to get his father's attention which left Mick feeling second to a man who only loved his work. Sighing, he whispered, "Here goes nothing."

Tyler put his hand on Mick's arm. "She's your mother."

Mick rang the doorbell at the front door of the large two-story home. It was always too big for a family of three, and little Mick wasn't allowed in half the rooms.

When she opened the door, he saw Annette looked older. Her face looked like it needed another lift. "Michael. And Tyler, come in, both of you."

"Hi Mrs. Daigle." Tyler smiled at Mick's mother. Another woman would ask about his baby or wife, but she didn't.

Mick cleared his throat, she hadn't stepped towards him, so he stayed back. "I came to get my belongings. How's my truck?"

"I don't know. I told your father to handle it. He hired Daniel to drive it."

Their property manager. It figured. "Hopefully, it starts. Where are the keys?"

"On a hook in the garage."

The garage was a large three bay structure. The pile of Mick's boxes were in the back. Luckily, his parents only had two cars, so the truck stayed out of the elements for two winters.

Tyler followed him back outside. Annette stood at the door. "My sister wants you to go over."

"Sounds good. Let me know when." Other than his plans for later, he was free. Normally, he always had the next job lined up, but he hadn't bothered.

Even the Daigle's garage was clean. There was no sand from winter or grease stains or even spider webs. Daniel's staff used the company's mower, so there was no trace of grass clippings. Reaching for his key, Mick turned to his shiny black vehicle. Mick trusted Daniel and when he started the truck it purred.

Tyler smiled. "So we load up your boxes and get back to civilization."

Mick laughed. "You'll be living in the burbs someday."

"We've been looking for a house in Cambridge like Meg's. Even Eli is living in Cambridge in Leigh's condo."

"I'm looking forward to seeing your brother in a serious relationship."

Tyler was fit, so it didn't take long to fill the truck bed. It would take Mick days to unpack. He had a few things in his old room. Mostly clothing and linens he didn't want to store in a garage.

The two men went through the back door into a hall with a narrow back staircase. Once in the room that he hadn't slept in in a decade or more, he opened the closet. His suits were lined up. Somehow his tux was back after Tyler's wedding. Mick hadn't missed his suits, but they were part of his life in Boston.

As if reading his thoughts, Tyler said, "You won't need your tux until fall."

"No summer garden parties."

"Maybe the Kane's. I mean I got invited and you can come."

Mick laughed. "You have a wife for that."

Tyler smiled and Mick felt jealous. With his parents, he should be afraid of marriage, but he wasn't. They were a lifelong course in everything marriage wasn't.

When they descended the stairs with his suits in their arms, Annette watched them. "Call your father. He'll want to see you."

"Does he know I'm here?"

"I texted him."

Once out of the house, Tyler said, "That's fucked up. She could have told him. I've known you were coming for weeks."

Mick laughed. "Then they would have to speak."

"What about the first thing in the morning or before falling asleep?"

Mick laughed. "They haven't shared a room for as long as I can remember. I'm an only child because they probably stopped having sex as soon as I was conceived."

"They're human. They must be getting it elsewhere."

Mick frowned. "I'm sure my father is. Who knows with my mother."

"Maybe she prefers women."

Mick shrugged. "The thought has crossed my mind. I think there are family secrets."

With the suits in the back of the Volvo, Tyler slapped his back. "You have a family with us."

Mick had counted his friends as his family. "One more load and then we can go."

His sheets and pillows were in vacuum sealed bags in the same closet as the suits. Tyler laughed. "It's so compact. We need something like this for the clothes Clara has outgrown."

"Take them. I won't need them."

"What about the next time you go off to South America?"

"I'm not interested in long gigs away from home."

Tyler chuckled. "We're all grown up."

Mick thought of his friend's words later when he sat on his own sofa surveying the stack of unpacked boxes. He wasn't a pack rat, but he had accumulated items. Most belonged in his kitchen, but he had been gone so long he couldn't remember where everything went. It was a project he would save for another day, since he hadn't shopped yet. With his clothing put away and his bed made, Mick was ready to sleep in his own place.

The scent of fresh paint masked any odors his tenants had left behind. It didn't smell like his place, but it would soon enough. He had lived in his condo since graduate school. A gift from his father. His old man recognized Mick couldn't live with his mother. Glad to have a place to come home to, he considered personalizing it some and making it look less generic. Tyler had decorative pillows, but Mick didn't know where to start. Maybe some pictures on the wall. He thought of his cousin, Harper, who was an interior designer. Perhaps she could help.

Mick showered and dressed in shorts. It reminded him of how he dressed for meals on the island. On his phone, he scrolled through pictures of the beautiful views and the last picture of him with Trish. She was as wholesome and pretty as he remembered.

Driving over the bridge to Cambridge, he felt excited to see his friends, but it also felt strange. Their group had become a gang of nine and he was the odd man out. Not only was he not coupled up, but he lost two years of history. On second thought, it was less time, since Tyler hadn't forgiven Meg right away.

Cars filled the driveway of the small house in Cambridge, including the Volvo. Mick parked the truck on the street and lumbered to the door empty-handed. What kind of guest was he with no manners?

Emily opened the door before he rang the bell. "Mick! You look amazing." He smiled, as he returned her hug. They had dated in high school, but quickly ended it as friends. Emily turned to a nice-looking woman. "This is Cloe."

She waved. "Welcome home. I've heard a lot about you."

"It's not all true." His eye caught Meg as she walked to him smiling. The front of her dress looked like she had stuffed a small ball underneath. "Hi Meggy. Look at you."

Her hand went possessively to her middle, before she reached him. Instead of hugging him, she put her hands on his cheeks. "I've missed you." Only then did she hug him. When she pulled back, she said, "Cade's in the back grilling. Tyler is pretending to help. The dogs and Clara are with them.

He laughed. "She's the tenth. My date."

"You will need to fight Tyler." He looked up to see Lucy who had been in the kitchen. "Come here, you big lug." She hugged him. "We missed you. All of us."

"I missed you too. Where's your guy?"

"He went outside with the men."

As he stepped towards the kitchen, he saw Poppy sitting on a stool. She smiled. He chuckled. "Long time no see."

What struck him was how comfortable she looked in Meg's kitchen. In front of her were catalogs and as he moved closer, he saw baby items. Poppy had folded down some corners.

Emily said, "We're helping Meg pick the decor for the nursery."

"I'm surprised your mother hasn't bought everything under the sun."

Meg laughed. "She probably has, but I told her not to. So you saw your mother today?"

"I did, but nothing's changed."

"She has always struck me as lonely."

Mick nodded. "But I have always felt a distance with her, an invisible barrier."

Meg put a hand on his back. "We love you." He cherished his friends because they filled a void, his cousins did too. As if reading his mind, Meg asked, "What's new with Hunter?"

Mick shrugged. "Nothing, but I'll try to see him this week."

Meg reached in the fridge and handed him a beer. "Go see how the burgers are."

She pointed at the back door, and he walked through it into a small fenced-in yard. The dogs ran around on the green grass while three men stood talking. Tyler had Clara in his arms, but Cade was tickling her. She reached and pulled his nose.

Tyler saw him. "Hey, we thought the guest of honor was going to blow us off."

"Nope. I was in the kitchen getting hugs from the women."

Cade laughed. "Meg couldn't wait to hug you." He put out his hand. "Welcome back." They shook with a firm handshake.

"Thanks. Congrats on the baby."

Cade beamed. "Thanks. It's great. I love Clara, but having my own daughter will be amazing."

Mick turned to Harrison. "Congrats on snagging our Lucy."

As they shook, Harrison laughed, "You and Tyler were so annoying as kids."

"Thanks, man."

Harrison laughed. "I mean I can't believe we are all hanging out now."

"Without Eli." Tyler smiled.

Cade said, "He'll be around since he's with my sister."

Harrison laughed. "They hated each other."

Cade laughed. "They don't anymore."

Mick didn't know why he worried because everyone welcomed him. He didn't realize how lonely he had been.

By the time the evening ended, he felt completely at home.

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