This is the real Nick Baldwin, the man who raised me. He was fun and adventurous, the kind of dad who never told us no. I’m glad this version of my dad will be around for my children. If only my mom were here to see all of us together.
Max’s eyes widen as she looks up at my dad. “Really?”
My dad nods and then extends his hand for Max to take. He leads her toward the dining room, and from a distance, I hear her tell him how to play the game.
“Theo, Travis,” dad says before he leaves the room. “Turn that game off and come into the dining room. It’s time to eat. We’re playing Mac and Clues.”
The twins narrow their eyes at each other, like my dad just spoke a foreign language.
Theo drops the controller on the floor. “Is Dad high?”
Travis raises two fingers to his mouth, making a movement like he’s smoking.
“So, what’s this game we’re playing?” Kat asks Lila as we head toward the dining room.
Lila’s cheeks flush. “It’s silly. I made it up years ago to get Max to eat. It’s kind of like Charades. You have to give the other players clues and then spell the answer on your plate with macaroni noodles.”
Kat throws her head back and laughs. “I’m down.”
“Me, too,” Dean says with a smirk. “As long as I get to eat the noodles afterward.” He rubs his stomach. “I’m starving.”
“You’re always hungry,” Kat quips.
Deans whispers into her ear, and Kat giggles. It must have been something dirty, and he said it with me right behind him. Not one of his brightest moments.
Lila’s mouth widens in shock when we step into the formal dining room large enough to entertain fifty people. My dad sits at the head of the table, bouncing Noah on his knee. Max is on his right, where I usually sit. Austin is running late, which is unusual for him. He never misses Christmas dinner, no matter what the reason.
Kat skips over Austin’s usual chair to the right of my dad, leaving his spot open. Theo and Travis plop down on the other side of Lila. The twins’ phones start dinging, one text after the other. They argue under their breaths.
“Boys,” Dad says to them. “No cell phones at the dinner table.”
Theo rolls his eyes.
Travis snorts. “Since when?”
“Travis,” Dad warns. “We have guests. Turn off the phone.”
“Just do what he says.” Travis shows his twin a new message and scowls. “We’ll deal with this later.”
After everyone takes their place at the table, sans Austin, Dad raises his glass to give his usual Christmas toast. He talks about love and family and welcomes the newest members of the Baldwin clan into our home. We go through the typical holiday traditions, and then my dad gives us permission to eat.
“Wait,” Max says, and Lila covers her face with her hand. “You can only have macaroni on your plate for Mac and Clues.”
“My bad,” Travis says, dropping the ham back to its plate.
Max explains how to play the game. By the time she’s finished, she’s practically out of breath. She talks so fast sometimes it’s hard to understand her. When Max is passionate about something—like Mac and Clues—she puts everything into it. Max is a lot like her mom in that regard. Lila put one hundred and ten percent of her energy into helping me get better, and because of her dedication, we’re celebrating our first Christmas together.
No one argues when Max takes the first turn. Since I came into her life, Max changed the game a little. She wasn’t thrilled with using riddles back then, but now, she searches the Internet for new questions to stump me. Lila gets most of them, me not so much.
“I’m as big as a lentil at six weeks grown,” Max says. “Soon, my presence will be known. What am I?”
Lila looks at me, and her breath hitches. She knows the answer and spells it out with her macaroni and cheese. Theo and Travis look as lost as usual. Kat and Dean are moving noodles around on their plates. Dad is busy feeding cut up macaroni to Noah, who has cheese all over his mouth.
“Time’s up,” Max yells. “Hold up your plates.” She turns to me. “Duke,” she groans. “Why didn’t you play?”
“I didn’t know the answer.”
Lila raises her plate that says, BABY. Dean and Kat lift their plates, revealing the same answer.