MIKAELA:

I'm checking out the kitchen, and it appears that I'm going to need to make a quick grocery run, so I decide that I should probably put on my shoes and get ready to go.

As I'm doing this, my phone rings, so I grab it and say, "Good morning, sunshine!"

"Mik, he's dead!" I hear my best friend groan.

"Damn, he couldn't hold out another month?"

"Apparently not. I came out to the parking lot, and pffft! Nothing. Not even the usual cranky wheezing," she informs me.

"Well, you know as well as I do that the damn car is a hunk of junk, hon," I reply.

"Thanks for the news bulletin, Barbara Walters! I'm well aware of that, but it's the only hunk of junk I have, and I can't afford to get it fixed right now. Milt called a meeting this morning and cut us back to part-time until he finds out if we're gonna get one of those contracts he's going for."

"Shit, that sucks! So, does that mean you're off now?"

"Yeah, I'm across the street at the Quik-Trip trying not to melt."

"Stay there, I'll come get you, and I'll call Ryan and have him do the pickup, since he's out in that direction anywho. I've got to hit the grocery store, so you can help me with that. We're having extra people for lunch," I inform her.

"Anybody I know?"

"Not even anyone I know. When Ryan took his folks to the airport yesterday, he ran into an old high-school buddy, and invited him and a couple of his out of town visitors for lunch."

"So three more guys, then?" she asks .

"Two guys and a girl, apparently the guests are a couple. He was yelling most of this at me while he was in the shower this morning, so pretty much about all I actually understood was what I just told you, and that the girl's name is Julia. Or possibly Judith, I'm not completely sure either way. But the end result is that we need more food."

"OK, I'll hang here, just ask Ryan to please not be late. They charge me by the hour, y'know."

"You got it, hon. See ya in a few."

I end the call and dial my fiancee, preparing to add a little something to his schedule, then head out to pick up my friend and the groceries.

ASHLEY:

We've been wandering around the car show for a little while now, and even though Juliet isn't quite as enthused as the three of us, she does find a few things that interest her. It's getting pretty hot, though, so we go grab some cold drinks and sit down at a table with a big umbrella.

Just as we get settled , Ryan's phone rings. He glances at it, then taps the screen and says, "Hey Kaela, what's up?"

He's apparently turned on the speaker, because we all hear a woman's voice reply, "Unfortunately, there's a bit of a situation, so you'll need to make a stop on your way home."

"What happened, babe?" he asks .

"Lurch bit the dust a little while ago, and that jack-wagon Milt decided to cut everybody's hours, which kinda nixes any chance of resurrection anytime soon," she replies.

"Well, I obviously can't say I'm shocked. So I presume y'all want me to go collect the Bren-Muffin, right?"

"It would be greatly appreciated, hon. And please don't be late, they'll charge her for an extra hour if you overshoot by even five minutes."

"Yeah, I remember," he says. "I'll be early, if anything. I'll see you back at the house, babe. Love you, bye!" 

None of us are sure if we should ask what's going on, but he looks up and says, "I guess that probably sounded a bit weird, didn't it?"

We all just sort of shrug, and he explains, "Lurch is her best friend's piece of shit car, and they need me to pick up her little girl from daycare."

Andy sort of raises an eyebrow , and says, "Bren-Muffin?"

"Her name is Brenna, that's my nickname for her. The girls call her Smidge, because she's such a tiny thing. She was a preemie, so she's small, but she's healthy, and very smart for her age, fortunately. They're having lunch with us anyway, so it's no big deal," he says.

"And your fiancee said something about hours being cut," I say. "I assume that's her friend's job she was talking about."

"Yeah, it's too bad she can't come up with something else, because the place is barely more than a sweatshop, and her boss is an asshole. But it's hard enough to find jobs around here that aren't fast food without a degree, and she had to drop out when she had Bren. She apparently had that thing that makes your blood pressure spike, and went into labor at a little over six months. That, of course, meant that the baby was in the hospital for almost two months, which made it a bit difficult to go to classes."

"I take it that Dad isn't in the picture, then?" Andy inquires.

Ryan's eyes get sort of wide, and he says, "Nooo, not even a little bit! And do not go there when we get to the house, I made that mistake once. Once. I asked why she didn't hit him up for child support, and she just told me that she'd sooner drink Drano, and wouldn't discuss it anymore. Then Kaela told me later that if I ever brought up the subject again, she'd have no problem neutering me."

"Ouch, that must've been a bad situation," Juliet says .

"All I know is that Kaela told me, and I quote, 'He's a thoughtless, egotistical, self-absorbed prick, and if I ever see the rat bastard crossing the street, I'll run him down and do donuts over his bloody corpse,' " Ryan tells us.

"Sounds like you better be careful about pissing her off," I inform him.

"Weirdly enough, that's the only topic I've ever seen her get that worked up over. Usually, she's the most laid-back gal you'd ever wanna meet."

"So, how much longer 'til we need to book?" Andy inquires.

Ryan checks his watch, and tells us that we have about 45 minutes before he has to leave, so we get up and continue to check out cars.

___________________________________________________________

After we leave the show, I follow Ryan to the daycare, and the plan is to then follow him to his house. We pull into the parking lot, and he walks over to my car. I roll down the window, and he says, "Do you think one of you could do me a favor while I run in? The car seat is in the back, and I need someone to get it back into the seat."

We get out, walk over to his SUV, and Andy reaches into the back and pulls the thing over the back of the seat. And I'm not sure what it says about his competence, or mine, but Juliet has to basically walk us through the entire process of fastening it into the back seat.

Just as we finally finish getting it in place, Ryan walks up to us, carrying an absolutely adorable little girl on one hip. She has curly dark brown hair and big dark eyes, and she's wearing a white shirt with Big Bird, yellow shorts, and little white sandals. She looks at us, then inquires, "Unca Wy, who's them?"

"These are my friends, baby. This is Juliet, and Andy, and Ashley. Everybody, this is Brenna."

She crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at him, with her bottom lip poking out in a rather impressive pout. "Not a baby! Me's two!" she declares, sounding very indignant.

"Yes, you're right, and I'm sorry," he replies. "But you've only been a big girl for a few days now, so I still have to get used to it."

Her smile returns, and she tells him, "That otay, Unca Wy, me's not mad on you."

I notice that she's holding something in her arms, and inquire, "What have you got here, cutie?"

Her smile widens, and she thrusts a stuffed toy at my face. I see that it's stuffed cat, made of an almost violent shade of green plush, with a white face, and sparkly yellow oversized eyes.

"Her's a kitty, and her's my fwend!" she informs me. "She's name is Pickle!"

"Well, that looks like a very good name for her," I reply with a laugh.

She seems to be looking us all over again, and her eyes get really big. She turns to Ryan and says, "Unca Wy, you's fwends color on theyselfs! That naughty! If I colors on mineself, Mommy say 'No!' , and I gots to has a bath!"

This makes all of us laugh, and Juliet tells her, "It's OK to color on yourself if you're a grown-up, sweetie."

She then turns back to Ryan and asks, " Where Mommy?"

"Mommy's with Aunt Kaela, because Lurch was naughty again today," he says.

"Wurch bad car!" she agrees.

"So let's get you into your seat, and we'll all go have lunch at our house, okay?" Ryan says as he opens the door of the SUV.

"Me can has some peemie budder?"

"I don't know, Muffin, we'll have to see what Mommy says," he tells her as he buckles her into the seat.

She waves as he closes the door, and Juliet says, "She is absolutely too cute to be tolerated!"

"Yeah, she's a doll," I agree. "Does she look like Mommy?"

"Not even close , dude!" Ryan laughs. "Mommy is a blue-eyed blonde."

"Oh, now you're speaking his language!" Andy snickers.

Ryan chuckles, and says, "Trust me, I remember." Then he gets into the SUV, so we go to my car, and follow him out of the lot when he pulls out.

"She is absolutely precious! " Juliet proclaims to Andy and I.

"Yeah, and she seems pretty verbal for only two," Andy observes.

I smile and say, "A little fuzzy on the personal pronouns, but I know some grown -ups who can't do much better."

"Like Danny when he's shit -faced," Juliet giggles.

"I'm not entirely sure what actual language he speaks when he's loaded," I retort.

This causes all of us to crack up, and we wind up laughing most of the way to Ryan's place.