“You’re not even married and you’re having a baby,” Alex points out.
“I’m aware, thanks.” I give him the hairy eyeball.
“You know we all kind of called this a while ago.” Rook takes another slurp of coffee.
“Called what?”
“This thing with you and Hanna. I mean, I’ll be honest, I never really picked up on it, but Lainey sure as hell did.”
“Oh hell no, if anyone called this, it’s me.” Bishop points to his chest and then holds his arms wide. “I’m like a goddamn oracle.”
“What do you mean, you called this? I think we all called Hanna and Jake hooking up.” Alex crosses his arms, like this is suddenly some kind of competition. “Vi kept talking about how it would be so wild, because if you two get married then Queenie and King would be stepsiblings.”
“Yeah, well, I caught these two coming out of a bedroom all cozy, cozy at the wedding, and then again in one of the private rooms at Queenie’s birthday party,” Bishop says. “I thought it was messed up enough that you two were getting all fresh with each other and that you’d make them stepsiblings, but now they’re sharing a half-brother, too. That makes your kid their kid’s uncle. Think about that for a second.” He puts his fingers at both temples and makes the “mind blown” hand gesture.
Silence follows. The kind that’s heavy and a little awkward.
“On the upside, if King and Queenie end up having a kid sooner rather than later, you can raise them together,” Rook says.
Alex rubs his chin. “That would be—”
“Fucked up?” Bishop supplies.
“Kinda cool, really, if you ask me,” Alex comes to my defense. “Age is just a number, man. And kids keep you young. At heart anyway. Look at my dad’s relationship with Robbie. Doesn’t matter that he’s over sixty and loves Led Zeppelin and The Grateful Dead. Robbie treats him like some kind of genius overlord. He loves hanging out with my dad. I actually think he believes his Gram Pot is a wizard, Harry Potter style, you know? Anyway, what I mean is, you can be sixty and still cool to a teenager. And as unconventional as it may be, you’re still young, and lots of people start families in their forties. And you’ll have tons of support. Except maybe for this guy.” Alex thumbs over at Bishop. “I wouldn’t trust him to take care of my goldfish, let alone my kids.”
“I have a cat,” Bishop points out.
“Dicken lives with your brother,” Rook says.
“We have shared custody.”
“I hadn’t really thought about that. I mean, I’ve thought a lot about the energy demands of toddlers, but not what it would be like to be able to raise a kid alongside my daughter,” I muse.
“Plus, you have the benefit of experience, and none of the financial or career worries. Once you get past the unconventional family situation, I think it has the potential to be a really cool experience, for all of you,” Alex adds.
I decide to take the opportunity for what it is. If anyone knows how King is dealing, beyond what I’m seeing, it’s Bishop. Not that I expect him to say anything to me, but the digs have to mean something. “I don’t think King is particularly excited about this whole thing, let alone the idea of Hanna and me together as a couple.” I rub the back of my neck.
“I thought things were better there,” Alex says.
“I think it’s a lot to handle for him. I’m basically his boss and his father-in-law. And now Hanna and I are having a kid together. It’s a bit of a mindfuck, I’m sure. Mostly I’m worried about how it’s going to affect Hanna. Anyway, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” I don’t want to put Bishop or Rook in a difficult position where they feel like they have to tell me what’s going on with King behind his back.
“Maybe you need to sit down with him and talk it through,” Rook suggests.
“I did. He seemed okay, but I’m not sure if he’s giving me lip service,” I reply.
“Think about what he’s been through over the past couple of years. Finds out his sister is his mom, gets married to the GM’s daughter. Now his momster is pregnant with his father-in-law’s kid. He’s good at toeing all the lines, better than most, but it’s a lot of hats to try to wear successfully. Maybe cut the guy some slack,” Bishop says.
It seems like maybe I need to sit down with King again and give him an opportunity to air his grievances with me without worrying about there being repercussions—professionally or on any other level.
The doorbell rings, ending that slightly uncomfortable conversation. When the rest of the guys show up, we head out to the pool house and settle in for a night of cards. Both Alex and Rook have their phones facedown on the table. It used to irk me, but now I understand why they do it. Bishop keeps his face up. An image of Stevie flipping him off appears every time it flashes with a message.