Page 52 of Scoring Chance

“Are you giving me lip?”

Lena is crimson from embarrassment, and I’m almost there with her. I hop up from the couch and put my hand on Des’s shoulder, like telling an attack dog to stand down.

“Des.”

“Just making sure these kids follow the rules.”

“Sir, I don’t drink alcohol, and I’d certainly never drink in the presence of Lena.” His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat like a Geiger meter.

Des leans into Matthias and sniffs. “You wear a lot of cologne, Matthias. When I was in high school, I used to douse myself in cologne to cover up anytime I smoked. Or I guess it’d be vaping now.”

Lena seems about ready to fall into a pit. I fear a stern phone call from Matthias’s parents in a little bit.

“I don’t smoke, sir. I just sweat a lot when I’m nervous. Like now,” he says, his voice cracking.

Des just nods. I cut in between this interrogation.

“You kids have fun.” I kiss Lena on the cheek, which she seems to find as mortifying as Des giving her boyfriend the fifth degree.

“Thanks. Bye.” She pulls Matthias out the door with her.

“Whoa! Don’t mess with Uncle Des!” Davy says.

“It’s Daddy Des now,” Lulu tells him.

Des raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You sure about this guy?”

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

“He’s taking Lena bowling on a Friday night? What next? The malt shop and a sock hop?” Des cocks an eyebrow.

“Kids go bowling,” I say, returning to the couch. “We went bowling in high school.”

He leans in to my ear. “First, we got high in the parking lot. Well, not you. But some of us did.”

“No wonder I always beat you.”

After pizza, the kids decide to have a movie night. Through multiple rounds of negotiation, we all agree on Wall-E, which Des has never seen. We dim the lights, drag out the sleeping bags and blankets, and fire up the movie. Lulu immediately worms her way into Des’s lap, curling up like a baby kitten.

Dean wedges himself between us and demands to be the guardian of the remote. I help Davy make stovetop popcorn while Des deals with Lulu wiping her hands on his slacks.

He doesn’t even flinch. I’m afraid to ask what part of Italy those pants are from. “I’m gonna assume this is grape juice and not blood,” he says.

“You’re so delusional!”

Halfway through the movie, the kids finally settle. My arm brushes against his every now and then. It’s just light, casual contact, but every time it happens, it lights something up in me I don’t want to look at too closely.

“I’m confused,” he says.

“By Wall-E?” I ask.

“If the adults are all super fat, stuck in their chairs, and don’t communicate with each other, how are they able to make babies?” He points to the screen where a classroom of babies on the spaceship are learning their ABCs. “Were Buy N Large customers artificially inseminated without their knowledge and consent?”

“Ew.” Davy squirms on the blanket on the floor.

“What’s Daddy Des talking about, Daddy?” Lulu asks me.

“Oh, nothing. Daddy Des really likes the movie,” I say, hoping that suffices.