One hand in my pocket

 

"Hey, now, don't be so blue," Rafe touched KC's shoulder as he contemplated going into the coffee shop.  "Let me buy you a coffee."

Rafe looked KC over. Usually, they kept their distance because of Ruby, but she hadn't been mad at KC for some time now. Rafe was still friends with him, in spite of the past. Even though he knew why Ruby's first love was KC, the dude was cool. He could be slumming and still master the walk of being his total self, no matter what. No matter how much trouble it was with Millie being sick with morning sickness.

"So how's it going?" He asked KC when they found a seat at the coffee bar.

"Oh, you know." KC yawned with a shrug. He looked slimmer than usual, and his hair was getting shaggy. 

"Yeah, you're still a long way from the finish line," Rafe nodded. "She's still having trouble sleeping?

"Uh-huh." KC was doing a few gigs these days. His boss was finding a way for him to have a side gig when he wasn't working at the recording studio. But the venues were close, and only on Friday nights. KC stretched then as if he'd just got out of bed, and his long fingers bumped the wood of the bar accidentally. He made a face of aggravated pain. "God, I'm getting old."

"You're not any older than me." Rafe's bright eyes glared back as he stirred his coffee with a little cream. KC drank his straight up black as if that was the only way to take it. 

"Yeah, well, these days are making me feel old. There just isn't enough time. I can't keep the place clean. I feel I'm at the grocery store all the time buying groceries. And that alone can be horrifying."

"But aren't your parents and her parents helping you guys?" Rafe looked at him as if it could be worse.

"Yeah, they do, but then she snarls her nose up about my dad's cooking or the bottled water her mother bought."

"She is sensitive. Probably just as sensitive as Ruby."

"Yeah, you got that right," KC agreed as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. "We're really into real food, you know. None of that packaged stuff." KC said it took longer to complete prepping. "But you know.."

"Never-ending is what it is."

KC chuckled at Rafe's remark. 

Happy Father's Day!

 Maddie and Boone took a road trip to Harrisburg to see her father, Clark, for Father's Day. Maddie was so happy to see his home and where he worked. It somehow felt like both a new beginning and closure. She felt relieved yet giddy with this chance to know him better. Of course, they kept in touch via email and text daily, but being here with him on Father's Day made it all the more special.

Yet they made a homemade meal together with Boone's help. "It's the best Father's Day ever," she couldn't help but gush about it to someone back home. That someone was her cousin Junie, who laughed softly over the phone. She said she was glad she was spending Father's Day with her Dad.

"How about you, do you ever want to find your Dad?" Maddie let slip. She knew it was a forbidden subject, but she was so happy yet instantly sad that she'd mentioned it to Junie.

"What Dad?" It was as if Junie already knew. "The only dad I have is KC's Dad." She quickly mentioned they were going to KC's with food. "I know we're not like some families." She pointed out how her mom and dad worked hard. "They are both workaholics. I wish they'd slow down, but they won't until they absolutely have to. They must love their jobs even if they complain about them all the time." She sighed. "But right now, I know KC is going to be a good dad. He already is the best dad to Millie. And I hope things get better with her pregnancy."

Maddie smiled. She understood. Maybe Junie had grown up after all. She seemed calmer now and wasn't being outlandish about her own dreams. 

"I'm glad you're there for your brother," Maddie said. "We'll stop by to see you soon. You'll have to let me know what KC and Millie need. Maybe we can see them together soon."

Yes, Maddie knew she had family back home, too. If only her Dad could move closer, but he had a life in Harrisburg, which included long-time friends and a job he certainly enjoyed.

Oh, is it June?

 

Graduation was over in a heartbeat, and Memorial Day came in between the humidity and stormy weather. But Junie learned to play the drums with Eli's help, and for the first time, she actually got to do something with her brother, KC.

Perhaps it was a ploy to let everyone know about the recording studio where Eli and KC worked. But they soon found their weekends full of local music festivals. However, Junie did have summer school, but that was online. 

Junie got to spend her June birthday on the road. Still, there were lapses in wondering how to approach Darry. She only saw him in passing at graduation. Of course, he was stone cold. Maybe she was, too. There was nothing to say, but still she thought of him ever so often, wondering where it all went wrong. How could she have turned her back on her first love? Even Eli had stopped talking to him. At least she had Eli on her side.

Of course, they were just friends. Still, he could make her feel happy. But she still felt like the Bad Girl that she knew she'd been. Hadn't she even broken up Eli and Amy?

"We broke up in a text," was all Eli had said about the matter. "Besides, she never did like my stinky feet."

Junie sighed with a laugh. 

"We were very unlikely to succeed. I would never be successful enough for her." Eli sighed as if he'd put all he memories of Amy in a folder to put in the trash of his heart.

"But, you knew her, forever."

"Well, maybe we knew each other too well." He told Junie, as they were packing once again to go somewhere in the tri-state area.

Junie nodded and knew she had to let it go. Still, she was in shock that Amy was with Nico. 

Making the wrong right

 "I think what you need to do is just be there for your Mom," Naoki told Tyra as he was squeezing a lime for a fresh margarita. "You need to think of something you can do with her. Like write a song. Or maybe you and your sister could take a road trip with her."

Tyra sighed. She was too hot even in her bra and slip pants. She might as well get naked. The AC was blasting, but she felt as if she could melt. There was no way she was going anywhere with her sick pregnant sister.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind if we had a kid, but you know, you might not be up for that." He shrugged. His back turned to her in the open kitchen.

She just wished he'd hurry up with the drink, but no, he had to shake it like a professional before he would pour it over a bed of ice.

Tyra blew a breath. Was he serious?

"What has gotten into you?"

"I guess I love you." He teased. "It's just everyone's got a kid."

"That is not true. Just your brother and, well, you know, Millie."

He handed her the salty and tangy drink. She wished he'd made it sweeter, but he knew where to cut calories. "You'd really want to be a dad?"

He cracked up, a bit giddy, but then he nodded. "If my brother can do it, I know I'd be a much better dad."

Now Tyra laughed with a smile. "Millie is so miserable. She can only keep Dr. Pepper down. I don't know what's wrong with that girl."

"Maybe, we should ask your parents over for dinner."

"But, then we'd have to ask your parents too?" Tyra shot him a look.

"Not necessarily, we could just ask them, some other time." Naoki had accepted Jo to be his new stepdad. After all, he was handy when it came to car troubles.

"Oh, God, I just thought if we were here and they were there, it would be, far enough away." She closed her eyes. She was tired. She just wanted to sip her drink and ask for another, but Naoki was already making the stirfry.

"We need to be there for them," he said, looking back at her as he scooped up the slices of chicken and veg while they browned. "I love your mom. I want her to feel happy. She needs us."

Tyra guessed he was right, but when was the last time she told her mother that she loved her?