Page 107 of Loving Kai

“Hey, kid.” He shook the support pole to check the stability, then picked up Kai. “Are you having fun with your cousins?”

Kai pointed at the three boys. “Levi.”

“Wow. Good job. How about the other two?” Abe pointed at Micah. “Who’s that?”

“Micah.”

“And the one with the big red ball?”

“Ry…Ry Ry.”

“Close enough.” He held up his hand, and Kai hit it with his. Then they bumped fists. “My man.” Kai kicked to get down, and Abe set him on the ground. “Go have fun.”

Milo approached, and Abe turned to him. “I thought you weren’t getting here until ten-thirty.”

“I figured you guys might need some help.”

The boys were chasing each other around and trying to kick the ball between each other’s legs. “Are you sure you want to take on that whole crew?”

“Sure. We’re going to have a great time. Gentry and Marti will be here and ready to come save me if necessary. Mom’s coming at noon to take Kai. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay. If anyone can do it, you can.”

“Gentry could handle it, too.”

“Well, yeah. Three-fourths of them are his kids.”

The boys all spotted Milo and ran over to him. He high-fived them all, then picked up Kai. “Hey there, my little man.”

Kai hugged him. “Milo.”

“That’s right.”

“Milo, Milo, Milo.”

Milo patted Kai’s chest. “Kai, Kai, Kai.”

Gentry looked out the order window. “I could use some muscle in here.”

Milo patted Abe’s shoulder. “That would be you, brother. I’ll keep an eye on these guys.”

Abe went to help Gentry, and they were ready to go by the time Maggie showed up. Abe went out to greet her and looked at his watch. “Glad you could make it.”

“You told me not to come until 10:30.”

He hugged her. “Just kidding. We’re ready to go. Gentry is putting together some pizzas.”

She smelled the air. “Pepperoni.” She turned toward the Thai booth. “Oh my gosh. That smells wonderful.”

There was a slight chill in the air, but as the sun got higher in the sky, it would warm up. The predicted temperature was in the high seventies. “The weather is perfect this year. It’s going to be busy.”

She watched Milo with the boys. “Your brother is so good with the kids.”

“He spends every day with kids. He’s had lots of practice. I think we have just enough time to go get a frosted lemonade before we have to open the booth.”

“Sounds good.”

They walked over to Milo and the boys, and Kai ran over to Maggie and held up his arms. She picked him up. “Hey, sweetie.” Kai hugged her. “Mama.”