He and Lily are sitting ramrod straight, side by side across the table. They never quite got to the point of Bear’s freaky twin language, but they do seem to share a brain most of the time. We’ve done our best to give them the best lives we could, and while we’ve made mistakes, I like to think we’ve got some pretty levelheaded kids. They tend to feed off each other every now and then, with Lily usually playing the role of the instigator, but for the most part, they’re good kids, the both of them. They do well in school. They’ve got good friends. Lily’s stunning, though she really couldn’t give two shits about looks. Noah’s handsome in a gangly, still-growing-into-his-limbs sort of way.

I pick up my napkin and wipe it across my mouth, sitting back against the booth, and wait.

Lily and Noah glance at each other, having a silent conversation solely with their eyebrows, something Bear and Ty have perfected over the years. It looks like Lily’s arguing against something, and somehow, Noah seems to be resisting.

This should be good.

Lily’s shoulders slump.

Noah’s eyes are a little wide as he turns back to me.

I arch an eyebrow at the both of them.

Caleb has chocolate ice cream on his forehead.

“Okay,” Noah says. “So. Um. I need to… tell you. Something.”

I nod slowly.

“The. Um. Weed. Thing?”

“The weed thing,” I say blandly, like I don’t have a care in the world. I’ve got this dad thing locked down.

“Okay. So. Um. You see, Lily wasn’t the one who wanted it. It was. Sort of. For me?”

That… is actually surprising. Somehow, I’m able to keep the shock off my face. “Really.”

He nods, throat clicking as he swallows. “Yes, sir.”

“You wanted to get marijuana from JJ.”

“Yes, sir.”

“So you could smoke it.”

“Um. Yes?”

“You don’t sound sure.”

His hands fidget on the table. “I’m sure.”

Lily says, “I told him I could—” but I hold up my hand, cutting her off. She doesn’t look too happy about that but doesn’t say another word.

“And why did you want to smoke weed?” I ask Noah, completely sure Bear is going to flip his lid when he finds this out. That our sweet, innocent little Noah of all people seems to have concocted a plan to get his sister to ask JJ for pot. It was really rather devious. I’m almost impressed by it. But you shouldn’t show your kids you’re almost proud of them when they tried to buy drugs. Bear learned that from the internet.

“Because… it… looks cool?”

“It looks cool,” I repeat flatly.

“Yes?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”