Days later it was evening, and Ridley had called to invite over Grayson for some intimate socializing along with Emilio, Aoife, Arthur, Iker, Martin, and Silas. He took a quick shower and bade farewell to Alex, who had his own plans to meet up with the gang at the grotto. Ridley had told Grayson to come on a partly empty stomach, so he made sure not to eat before leaving.

When he got to Umbramoor, he knocked only once before hearing someone yell, 'come in!'

As he entered, the first thing he saw was Emilio and Aoife, hands to hands, dancing the Foxtrot in the middle of the hall. There was blaring, swing music wafting through the house, as well as the smell of pecan nuts.

Grayson walked up to the dancing duo with a curious grin. "What're you two doing?"

"The Foxtrot, duh!" said Aoife.

"I wanted to impress you with my dancing skills," Emilio started, "but Arthur, Martin, and Iker got two left feet. And Ridley and Silas are busy baking, so Aoife's the only one free. I bet you're quaking in your steel toed shoes right now, aren't ya? Wanna lesson? Free of charge."

"Maybe next time, but thanks," Grayson said.

Ridley finally appeared from the kitchen and waved to Grayson. "Ah, Gray you're here! Come come, give us a hand in here and get first-hand experience of cooking with Silas Mitchell!"

Grayson smiled and started over to the kitchen. Emilio and Aoife continued with their rhythmic swaying from room to room as he passed them by.

The kitchen was a mess with all sorts of ingredients. Silas was busy rolling away at a patch of dough. Ridley led Grayson over to a counter occupied by a number of freshly washed passion fruits.

"While Silas is working on the pecan cookies, you'll help me with the passion fruit pudding," Ridley told Grayson.

"Greetings neighbor," Silas said without looking up from the dough. Grayson could see beads of sweat racing down his forehead.

"Hey Silas." Grayson whispered to Ridley, "he's really into it, huh?"

Ridley chuckled. "Well he absolutely loves to cook and bake. Since he was a plucky middle schooler."

Grayson nodded. "And hey, I'm not really the best in the kitchen. I cook from time to time, but Alex was always the whiz there. Anyone else might be a better solution here."

Ridley shook her head. "Arthur hates cooking, Martin's buzzed, Iker's running late, and Emilio and Aoife are quite engrossed in dancing and I'd hate to stop them. You'll do just fine. All I need you to do is slice the passion fruits in half, scoop out their insides, and then place them into this bowl. I've placed all the tools you need right here, so it-" She gasped a little as she caught a glimpse of a small cut on each of Grayson's hands.

Grayson noticed what she was looking at. "Oh, don't worry about those. They're small, they'll heal up quickly. It usually happens at some point during work, though I never really notice them."

"Oh, that won't do at all. Even the tiniest cuts can have a big impact on your health if not treated quickly. Not to mention it could contaminate any food you touch. Come come, I'll fix you up. No buts."

Grayson sighed as he was pulled to a dining table in the living room. Ridley sat him down and returned to the kitchen to get something.

While seated, he grinned as he caught sight of Arthur fast asleep in an armchair, with the remote on his lap and his arms crossed. Martin was sprawled out on the sofa, passed out, and a couple of empty beer bottles occupied the coffee table.

Ridley returned with a jar of honey, a popsicle stick, and a box of band-aids. She dipped the stick in the jar, and applied a small amount on each cut. "A handy method I learned from Silas a couple years ago."

Grayson watched her, content with the contrasting smoothness of her hands with his rougher ones. "You...called me 'Gray' before," he said to her.

Ridley looked up, a bit confused, but then remembered what she called him earlier, the realization making her cheeks redden. "Sorry about that. I can get too friendly sometimes. I'm always pushing boundaries so early in a friendship. A week after I met Arthur, he'd gone out one night and hired a babysitter. I was walking home with Ziro the same night, and saw that babysitter sneaking in her boyfriend. I was so appalled that I just marched up to the front door and scolded the two. I told them to leave, and I took over babysitting myself. I called Arthur and told him exactly what had happened. He was angry at first, but let me off the hook the next morning. That was also the day Ziro met Arthur's youngest, Six."

Grayson belt out a jovial laugh. "You are certainly the kind and brute force that many don't even know they need. Like me. And Gray is fine, by the way. It's a nickname I haven't heard in a long time, and it sounds nice coming from you."

Grayson noticed, though didn't say anything when Ridley blushed an even more furious red.

"My, my, my."

Ridley and Grayson both jumped in their seats as they turned to see Silas, Emilio and Aoife, standing in one of the kitchen entrances.

"I'll admit — I like it," Silas praised. "And it's about time one of started getting out there. You, Gray, must be quite proactive. And Ridley, you sly, Western-groomed pooch. I wasn't sure if you had it in you. Nice.".

"W-what," Grayson stammered. "N-no! U-uhm..."

Surprisingly, Ridley chuckled as she started placing the bandages on the honey-covered cuts, paying Silas no attention.

Emilio sighed, his smile lighthearted. "I guess that means we'll soon be called the 'single six' instead of 'seven'."

"Times are changing indeed," said Aoife.

Grayson looked back at them, bemused. "Single...six?"

Silas strolled up to Grayson and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Once upon a time, there were many happy marriages and nuclear families. But as years progressed, some parents became bored and frustrated with the lives they led, and even their own families. So they left. They tried to convince their children that it was the best decision, but their children were too smart for their bullshit."

Aoife stepped forward next to Silas. "Ronald left Tate and I, to pursue acting in L.A. He said he couldn't be tied down by his beekeeper wife and bug enthusiast son. We divorced six years ago."

Emilio then took stand next to Aoife. "Eileen had stolen about three-thousand dollars saved up for Evan's university fund. She used it to run off to Montreal where she tried out for the women's Olympic swim team. She made it actually, and decided all on her own to move out there to focus on her training. Our divorce was finalized about three months ago."

Silas switched his arm and placed it on Grayson's other shoulder. "Carsyn came out to her parents when she was fourteen. Her dad is my older brother, Darius. He's a priest at a church in the city, and his wife Sohee, is an organ player there too. They wouldn't accept homosexuality, and Syn, the stubborn one she is, refused to change. One night I found her sitting on the front steps of their house, crying. I tried reasoning with her folks, but they were just as stubborn. So I took her in permanently. I was never a religious one myself, so they didn't really protest the idea. I was leaving the next day to move to Moonhaven and start up the café. The adoption process didn't take long — just about a week."

Ridley scooped up one of Grayson's hands, and the few soft squeezes she gave it received Grayson's attention. "Vincent, became increasingly vexed with how much I express my Korean culture, especially when I started influencing Ziro to do the same. What with the traditional meals I make from time to time, my love for art, and even speaking Hangul, Vincent didn't want to fall into that, 'behavior' he called it. He tolerated it when we had gotten married a year after I graduated university, because he thought I would change. He preferred the Westernized lifestyle, so eventually he moved back to the states. He tries contacting me sometimes to see if I'm willing to change, but luckily Ziro is quick to thwart all those attempts. I divorced him four years ago."

For a moment, Grayson locked eyes with each one of them, feeling his heart swelling. His hand still connected to Ridley's tightened around her palm, and he held her gaze. At last, he caught his breath and turned to where Arthur and Martin were still sleeping. "What about them?" he asked.

"About six years ago, Arthur's oldest, Three, committed second-degree murder," Silas revealed. "After he went to prison, Nila couldn't handle the burden anymore. One early morning before anyone woke up, she packed up and left, leaving a goodbye note. According to Arthur, she'd never really wanted to have children, but kept going along with things each time she got pregnant. Arthur may not look it, but he loves kids. He's a grumpy hard-ass everyday because he doesn't want his kids to suddenly abandon their futures and disappear without a care in the world. To this day, no one really knows where Nila might've gone."

"Oh, and Iker," Emilio began, "has some trouble finding a job to hold onto every now and then. Graduated high school, but no money for university or college. He came to Canada after four years of saving enough from working in Venezuela, and quite soon he had met the future mother of his child, Veronica. Sometime eight years ago, she grew tired of Iker's wishy-washy work ethic, and deserted him and Jeremi."

"And Martin," Aoife started, "has a strange relationship with his job. He doesn't exactly love being a lawyer, but he gets really passionate whenever there's a case involving a Moonhaven citizen."

"That drunkard's helped us all through our divorces," Emilio added.

"Once I asked him when he planned on dating and starting a family of his own," Silas commented. "He told me that everyone in this town was his family, and that asexuality doesn't get enough credit. He was drunk when he said that, but even intoxicated he always manages to say exactly what he's feeling. He'd also told me that 'adulting' can really be life-consuming, so it's important to know that the job can't be full-time twenty-four-seven. Even adults, whether parents or not, need to take a break from the grown-up world and let loose. Otherwise, you'll probably end up regretting all the choices you've made in your life and you'll walk out on everything and everyone."

"So, what about you, Gray?" asked Emilio.

Grayson scratched the back of his head. "Ah, you know, the usual walking-in-on-your-spouse-cheating-on-you-with-your-brother — in our bedroom."

"Ouch. Oh, the typical ways of betrayal," Silas mused. "But anyhow, you're one of us now."

Grayson gave a warm smile. "So, I guess that probably makes us the single eight?"

"Mhm, we were almost the single nine," Ridley sighed.

"Almost?" Grayson asked as he felt Ridley's grip on his hand loosen. He glanced back, noticing Silas, Emilio and Aoife, looking solemn.

"There used to be one more in our group," Ridley started. "She... we both grew up in Moonhaven and lived here for most of our lives. While I came back to town after university, she went away for two years to play music. She came back pregnant, and was engaged to someone named Weston. Around the same time I was also pregnant, so naturally we had a ball going through that journey together."

"I gave birth first, and the next day so did she. Imagine our surprise when we realized we both had had a baby boy. Now Weston...I never really understood that man. He didn't work himself, but he had the gall to pressure his wife about her career choice. He left two years after their son was born. But, at least she had a 'village' to help raise her child. She's skilled in all sorts of instruments, so soon she started giving lessons in town, and eventually saved enough to open up her own music store. "

"She sounds amazing. So..." Grayson dreaded asking, "what happened?"

"Kaia's son, Leven — he's usually just called Lev — used to be close friends with Ziro. Along with Tate, Carsyn, Evan, Jeremi and Six, they were all good friends. But recently there was a falling-out. Ziro won't tell me all the details, but Lev is no longer very close with them. Kaia wasn't able to get much out of Lev either. Their friendship has been in shambles for a few months now. He never explicitly said it, but Ziro was upset that I continued to visit Kaia. It was the same situation for her and Lev. So she and I met one day and decided to put those two first. I'm not sure if we'd officially stopped our friendship, but we haven't spoken to each other since."

Grayson reached out and clasped both of Ridley's hands, engulfing them in his. "I'm so sorry..."

Ridley shook her head. "No, no. It's fine. I'm alr-"

The front door was suddenly hurled open, and everyone listened as it gently closed. Heads swiveled over at the living-room entrance. Arthur had woken up startled, but Martin was still sound asleep.

Iker stumbled in, sweating and out of breath. "Oh, hey. Sorry I'm late guys. I missed the bus, then I had to use the washroom, and then I missed the next bus so I had to wait longer." The room erupted into laughter from all except Arthur.

"When are you going to just get your license and a car? Then you can drive where you need to," demanded Arthur.

Iker tiredly waved him off. "I've told you already, driving isn't for me. I don't trust myself on the road. Hey, what were you guys all talking about? Actually, could we all continue talking about whatever it was you were talking about, in the kitchen? I'm starving."

In quiet agreement, Silas returned to the kitchen and continued his work on the pecan cookies. Ridley led Grayson back there as well, straight to his passion fruit scooping station. Emilio helped Iker to a dining chair, while Aoife handed him a wooden folding fan to cool off.

Arthur patted Martin on the head and grabbed an unopened beer bottle from the table, before heading over to take a spot at the dining table across from Iker. He used a silver bottle opener that sitting atop of it, and sipped from the tip. "Always with the cheap stuff, Singh."