I shrugged. “I know. Crazy shit. So yeah, I’m out.”
It should have been the end of the conversation, but that would’ve been too easy. Tibbs chewing his mouthful before adding, “so, we’ll hang out later. Actually, here’s a plan. Why don’t you leave your car at your mom’s and I’ll come get you. Then we can go do something, and I’ll drive so you can have a few beers. Trust me, after a few hours with a bunch of kids, you’re going to need it. I’ll drop you back in the morning to pick it up.”
“Is this your way to try and score birthday cake, Tibbs? Because if you want some, I can just bring some home.” I tried not to panic, my throat feeling tight.
Tibbs laughed, not noticing I couldn’t breathe. “Dude, your mom loves me. I’m like the son she never had.”
“She has a son, me,” I pointed out, not in the mood for the famous Tibbs logic.
“Exactly, which is why she needs me.” He waved his hand, not bothering to hide his grin. “Listen, tell you what. I’m heading to Long Island anyway in the afternoon to see my folks. Mom needs to fuss over Presley and make sure she’s okay. So, I’ll be out there anyway.”
Mention of his sister had my immediate attention, especially since I hadn’t spoken to her in the last few hours. I knew she had some kind of meeting at the Plaza, and I’d told her about my family thing tomorrow, but other than that, nada. “You both should stop by. Dinner is always early or the kids get cranky and my mom hasn’t seen Presley in forever. Annnnd, since we’ll have to leave to take her to work, I’ll have an excuse to leave.”
Oh, I knew I was being shady. Using Tibbs as the middleman so I could see Presley. Did I give a shit? Not even a little. Not to mention I liked the idea of her being with me and my family, the opportunity too good to pass up.
Tibbs nodded, oblivious to my ulterior motives. “Yeah, sounds good. You bringing the girlfriend to Maddy’s birthday?”
“No,” I answered truthfully, after all, I wasn’t bringing anyone. Presley was coming with Tibbs, so as far as breaking one of the commandments, I was free and clear. “I show up with a girl and my mother is going to be planning the wedding. I like this girl, I don’t want to scare her off.”
That was also true.
I wanted nothing more than to take Presley to my house and introduce her as my girlfriend. One, because my family already loved Presley, and two, because I didn’t want to hide it anymore. But that came with consequences, ones that would see my mother calling Mrs. Tibbs and the two of them already naming the grandkids. And that was pressure I didn’t want to put on either of us, especially since everything had been so great. So we compromised and got creative. I’d get to have my girlfriend with me, by my side, and we wouldn’t have to deal with the family drama that would surely erupt.
It was a win/win.
“Good plan. Let me know what Maddy wants and I’ll pick something up tomorrow. My mom will kill me if I show up without a present. Never thought I’d be excited to go to a kid’s birthday party, but your mom’s cooking is the best. I actually can’t wait.”
I barely kept the grin from my face as I agreed, “Yeah, me either, buddy. Me either.”
My mom’s family was Irish, which translated to a lot of fucking people. Even though most of them hadn’t set foot on the Emerald Isle, they popped out kids like it was their job. And don’t even get me started on religion. They lived their lives like Jesus was watching, and prayed to the saints and angels in an effort to cover all their bases. You’d be hard pressed to walk into any of their houses and not see a crucifix, the chance of a devoted holy wall, better than average.
But unlike my mom’s seven brothers and sisters, she’d only had us three; Deanna, Sarah and me.
Deanna was the oldest, and already had two kids. Mason was seven—who she’d had with her deadbeat first husband—and the birthday girl, Maddy. And Sarah—the middle kid—had a three-year-old son named Sammy. So, as you could imagine, my mother—whose family was huuuuuge—loved nothing more than getting the gang together and feeding everyone until they thought they were going to die. The woman was literally incapable of catering small, the idea that someone might go hungry as sacrilegious as taking the Lord’s name in vain. Which was why we were all crammed into Casa Leighton on a chilly Saturday afternoon.
“Baby, you look tired.” My mother shook her head as I helped clean up the balloons and streamers from earlier in the day. “You getting enough sleep? Just last week I read an article that said lack of sleep was as dangerous as cocaine.”
“Orla, leave the man alone. He works long hours, he’s fine,” my dad piped in, trying to play interference. I wasn’t just my mom’s only son but her “baby” as well.
“Mom, I can assure you I’m fine, and I’m getting plenty of sleep. Would have preferred a little more today but couldn’t miss Princess Maddy’s big day.”
The princess in question was passed out on her father’s chest. She’d been hyped up on sugar and cake, crashing hard once the last of her little friends had left. Sammy was also taking a nap, dangling like a stunt dummy from my mom’s two-seater. “Should we move him to one of the spare bedrooms?” I asked my sister, Sarah, who was sitting in her husband’s lap. I swear if they didn’t make another baby before they left the house, it would be a fucking miracle.
She laughed, showing a complete lack of concern. “He sleeps like that all the time. It’s worse if you move him.”
Mason—who apparently was too old to nap—was checking out his little sister’s present haul. He was quietly entertaining himself on the iPad I’d given her—because I rocked as an uncle and was determined to be their favorite—while his mom was uploading the three thousand photos she’d taken to her social pages.
Content that I was getting enough sleep, my mother moved on to other pressing matters. “What time are Justin and Presley coming? I’m so glad you invited them over, you should have told them to come earlier for the party. Justin loves my cooking.”
“Tibbs, Mom, call him Tibbs.” I shook my head, my mother hanging on to Justin even though no one hardly called him that. Hell, even his old man was calling him Tibbs, as was most of his family. “And they were hanging out with their parents earlier. Trust me, he’ll eat enough when he gets here to make up for whatever he missed earlier.”
She shot me a stern look. “I’ll call him the name his mother gave him. And don’t you go making him feel bad. I love him like another son.”
Rolling my eyes, I finished filling the trash bag in my hands and carried it out to the garage. I’d barely put the bag into the trash can when my phone buzzed with an incoming message, an announcement from North that he was a new daddy to a little girl named Ava. Quinn and the baby were doing fine, Mack already at the hospital with him. Gave me a warm feeling in my chest to hear his good news, and doubly excited there would be a new princess to celebrate next year on the same day as my niece.
“Quinn and North had a baby girl, Ava,” I announced, walking back into the house.
My dad laughed, pointing to Tibbs and Presley who were already in the living room. “Gotta be quicker than that, Son, Tibbs already told us.”