Bond (Klein Brothers 1)

We all hit a crossroads in our lives. My brother had done it, my parents had, and so had my friends. This was mine, and I was taking a new road that I hoped led to somewhere extraordinary.

Heidi and Nemi’s house always made me smile. I’d only been to it twice now, but it was almost an instant reaction.

Their front yard was bright and bursting with life and color, and the little garden ornaments, including a family of gnomes, would make even the grumpiest person chuckle.

And then there was the bright yellow door. The other houses all had either plain wood, white, or black doors, ones that were void of personality and style—like the one at my apartment. The color Heidi had painted hers was quirky but cool, and the door itself was more secure than others.

Instead of having a glass pane in it or one to the side of the door, she had a small door cut in, with a peephole in the middle. She’d told me when I’d dropped them home after the hospital that she’d asked them not to install one with glass in it, so it was harder to break into with Nemi in the house. I’d never considered how stressful it’d be to raise a kid, taking shit like that into account, but I had to admire her ingenuity with it all.

Heidi lived her life like she made her cakes—with style, but more uniquely than anyone else you’d ever come across.

Hitting the bell, I smiled when I noticed it was one of the ones with a camera attached. Safety first with everything she did.

The door opened, and she smiled at me. “Hey, great to see you. Miss Nemi’s in the living room with your mom.”

Shutting the door behind me, I passed her the bag of food from Kleins. “I brought over club sandwiches and fries. Before you panic”—I held a hand up, even though she didn’t look panicked at all—“the fries are cooked in an air fryer, and the bacon isn’t fried. Our chef prefers to cook it in the oven, and then he drains off the fat and water that comes out of it.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

I’d just leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek when she’d said it, and smiling, I turned to say okay just as she angled her head to smile up at me. This meant that it looked like we were about to kiss when Mom appeared with Nemi on her hip.

Because she was talking to the little girl, she didn’t see our stance until she’d already begun to speak.

“Bond, so great to se— Oh, damn. I’m sorry. Y’all continue doing what”—she waved between the two of us—“you were doing. We’ll go and do whatever we can find to do.” The last words were rushed out as she turned to go upstairs.

“Oh, it’s okay, Gloria. Bond was just telling me about how the club sandwiches and fries aren’t fried,” Heidi spluttered.

I would have replied, but I heard the sound of heavy breathing and frowned as I looked around.

“What the hell’s the noise?” Before any of them could reply, the ugliest fucking beast I’d ever seen in my life appeared next to Mom and Nemi. “What’s that? Jesus Christ, Mom, give me Nemi before it tries to eat her.”

In fairness, it looked like it’d eaten everything it’d ever come across in its life. It was like a hairy Jabba The Hut from Star Wars.

“That’s Hooch, Bond,” Nemi explained. “We babysitting him.”

“Babysitting?” I repeated, then leaned into Heidi and hissed, “I don’t know what kind of lies you’ve been told about its species, but that ain’t no baby.”

“He’s an English bulldog who belongs to my friend. She’s away on vacation with her boyfriend and asked me to look after him. Her boyfriend’s mom is allergic to his fur, so I took him in and—” Heidi stopped and bit down onto her lower lip. It was like a magnet for my eyes and complete torture. “Uh, you probably don’t care about that bit.”

“Hey, my handsome boy,” Mom cooed, and my distracted response was automatic.

“Hey, Mom.”

She and Nemi burst out laughing. “I meant Hooch, son.”

Looking over Heidi’s shoulder, I scowled at her. “You always told us it was a sin to lie. That dog isn’t handsome.”

I mean, it was as wide as it was tall, had droopy jowls, rolls upon rolls of fat or skin, and its mouth was as wide as its head. And what in the shit was up with that noise coming out of it.

Sighing, Mom shook her head and pointed at the bag in Heidi’s hand. “You best get that served up before it goes cold. Cold fries are a sin against food, especially Albert’s fries.”

That wasn’t a lie this time. It really was a sin to let them go cold.