Adult-FanFiction.org : Celebrity

All of the Above	By : jai Category: Individual Celebrities > Athlete/Sports Misc Views: 3263 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the people written about in this fanfiction. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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AN: Chapter 5-7 have not been through the hands of a beta although I ran the spell checker. Apologies for anything I overlooked. Future chapters will be posted to the yahoo group as I'm working on them so if you want a sneak peak, or are just curious about how things change during re-writing, please join.

January 14, 2017 Philadelphia, PA

Michael woke up to the sensation of being stared at so he opened his eyes to find four faces lined up alongside the bed, with their chins resting on the mattress and their little eyes boring into him.

“Morning, boys.”

“Morning, Daddy!” His sons chorused.

“What cha want?”

“Sledding.” Liam answered.

“Snow stopped.” Robbie added.

“You promised,” Harry said.

“And we wanna.” Jamey finished.

Checking the clock, Michael realized it was after eight and that the boys were not only dressed but from the cheerio on Robbie’s shirt, they’d also gotten food at some point.

“How long have you been up?”

“Hours!” Liam said, “Mr. Miles and Miss Anna helped us. We had eggies and cheerios.”

“That was really nice of them. But let’s try to not wake up Papa, okay?”

“I’m already awake.” Ian said, coming out of their bathroom. “Boys, that was a great job! It only took you three minutes today and not one poke. Michael, we’ll meet you downstairs.”

Michael waited for the door to close behind Ian and the boys before getting out of bed, but obeyed the warning look from his husband. As the agenda appeared to be sledding or more precisely, using the inner tubes; he got dressed, and delivered their dirty clothes basket to the laundry room before going to the kitchen.

The rest of the kids were awake too, eating in their high chairs and booster seats while Ian enjoyed what looked like his second cup of coffee and the newspaper. Anna, Miles and Chloe were eating oatmeal while the quads were sprawled around the banquette. They seemed to be interested in their coloring books, but Michael knew better from they way they kept looking out the window.

“… the lamb was a work of art, Anna. Done just perfectly, it melted in the mouth.”

“What wine did they serve with it?”

“A 2006 Mapema Malbec . I know the Malbec trend has come and gone but it stood up well to the lamb.”

“I’ve tried a couple of Malbecs but not the Mapema, I’ll have to try and get a bottle. What about the sorbet with pepper?”

“Absolutely wonderful. It’s always an unusual combination and it surprises your taste buds but it set us up nicely for almond and blueberry tart. Good morning Michael, I’ve put an egg casserole in but it won’t be ready for almost an hour. Would you like some oatmeal before you head out with the boys?”

“Sure, thanks.” Michael served himself some oatmeal with a big glass of milk. “How much snow is out there?”

“Four inches with two more predicted later.” Chloe said. “Are you going down the street?”

“I guess.”

“Can I go? I won’t sled or anything but it’ll be kind of weird to be in the snow today after standing on a beach two days ago.”

“Sure kiddo. Ian, do we need anything at the store?”

“No, Anna and Miles stocked us up.”

“Oh, thanks guys. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Ian already said that but it was our pleasure.” Anna replied, reaching over to wipe Nick’s face.

&&

“Miles, are you sure you want to do this?” Michael asked as he put on a strange harness type thing and roped four small inner tubes together.

“Sure. I’m bundled up and it’s not really that cold. Don’t worry, Coach, I won’t be going down the hill in the tube.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

The boys rushed out of the garage, followed by Gizmo and Chloe. They threw a few snowballs around as they gamboled to the end of the driveway, and once Chloe checked the traffic, followed her out onto the snow covered street. Gizmo stayed close, almost herding the boys along, while Michael and Miles brought up the rear.

“I guess you’re going to compete in Cape Town?”

“I’m not sure. I’m still thinking it over; swimming has been such a big part of my life that I’m not sure what I’d do with myself if I didn’t compete.”

“Trust me, you’ll find something to do.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Miles said then paused when Harry flopped to the ground. He started to rush to Harry’s aid but Michael was already there.

“Hey buddy, what happened?” Michael asked as Gizmo barked and investigated the fallen boy.

“Daddy, da bears got me!” Harry said, flailing his arms and legs out.

“Oh no! I guess that means I’d better load you into the covered wagon.” Michael said sadly. Harry was gently dumped in the first tube and Michael took four more steps when Robbie met a horrible fate at the paws of ‘montana’ lions.

Liam’s demise from coyotes was indeed a tragedy if his staggering around was anything to go by, followed by untimely end of Jamey due to an unfortunate encounter with giant skeeters. The giggling boys obviously loved being towed along by their dad, urging him to go faster and ‘make more bumps’.

“That explains why you wanted the harness.”

“Oh yeah. I got rope burns last year. Here we are.” Michael announced as they approached a long stretch of virgin snow that gently sloped to a line of trees. “Chloe, you want to take the top?” Michael asked, helping the boys out of the tubes and unhooking the rope.

“Sure, Dad.”

Michael nodded to the bottom of the slope and started down, so Miles tromped down behind him.

“This doesn’t look too dangerous.”

“It’s not really although there’s a bit of a dip in the middle that can be fun if you hit it right. Since you’ll be at the bottom, let me catch the tubes, especially if it’s Jamey, okay? He likes to aim for the knees.”

“You got it. You’ll just have to tell me which one Jamey is.”

“He’s in the red hat and he’ll be laughing like a loon. Okay, we’re down far enough. Chloe? Let ‘em rip.”

Jamey jumped in one of the smaller tubes and after a push from his big sister, slid down the snowy slope, and yes, he was laughing his little head off as Gizmo ran along beside the tube, barking joyfully. Michael easily stopped the tube with his foot, and helped Jamey out. The dog gave one last bark before taking off to the top of the hill.

“Dad, that was fab! I wanna go again.”

“Sure thing but you know the rules. You ride it down, you take it back up.”

Jamey nodded and wiped his nose on his sleeve, turning to walk back up using the path Michael and Miles made. Harry was the next one down; he wasn’t as loud as his brother but he did manage to hit the sweet spot and the tube caught a little air.

Miles lost count of the number of trips the boys and dog took up and down the hill but he noticed that, somehow, they’d gained a few more kids and two other adults.

“Michael, you’re back!” One of the adults said as he walked up with a girl in pink and a boy with orange boots.

“Hey Zeb. We got back last night. Miles, these are our neighbors; Zeb Claussen and his kids, Kara and Robin and in the back there are Rose Fletcher and her son Kyle. Guys, this is my buddy Miles; he was house sitting for us, so you probably saw him around.”

Zeb extended his hand after his kids said hello and dashed off, “Hi Miles. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

Michael turned to the woman and older boy.

“Kyle! How’s it going?”

“Great, Mr. Mike. How was your trip?” The boy, who looked to be about twelve, asked.

“We had a lot of fun and I remembered to bring you back some Tim Tams. You can stop by and pick them up later, hopefully we’ll be unpacked by then.”

“Excellent!” Kyle said with a big smile.

“Kyle, I hope you didn’t ask Mr. Mike to bring you something back!”

“It’s okay Rose. He didn’t ask, I offered after he was brave enough to try the vegemite. I wouldn’t want him thinking all Australian food was like that.” Kyle and Michael made faces at each other then Michael had to duck to catch Liam’s tube.

“Hi Miss Rose, Hi Mr. Zeb!” Liam said, waving at them. “Daddy, one more?”

“Okay but just one more for each of you.”

“Okay.”

Kyle, Robin and Kara were already walking up to the top but Miles was happy to see Kyle stop and wait for Liam, helping the child up the now well churned path.

“Michael, you really shouldn’t have brought him chocolates.” Rose chided.

“He wasn’t the only one who wanted to try them, Rose. I brought back boxes for a lot of people. How have you been? Are you over the pneumonia? Should you be out here?

“I’m fine. Don’t fuss at me; I get enough of that from my doctor.” Rose said, waving him away as she turned to offer her hand to Miles. “It’s nice to meet you, Miles.”

“Likewise.” Miles replied, gently shaking her hand.

A few minutes later, Michael called a halt to the tubing and started gathering up his brood, not listening to their protests for ‘just one more’.

“Nope. That’s it, boys. I’ve got to get the laundry started and we’ve got lots of bags to unpack.”

With only slightly ill grace, the boys gathered up their tubes and started for home leaving Michael, Miles and Chloe to follow behind.

“That was fun, Dad, but I’m glad we’re going back.” Chloe commented. “My feet are cold.”

“God, don’t mention that to Pop or I’ll never hear the end of it.” Michael said.

&

Back at the house, once the tubes and outerwear were taken care of, the kids ran off to change into dry clothes while Gizmo got a good toweling before being allowed to seek out his playmates.

“I guess we were silly to call you about Gizmo moping around, huh?” Miles asked as he watched Michael take down several coffee cups.

“Well you were right to be concerned but I’m glad it turned out he was only missing us. Well, the quads, anyway. He really loves those boys now that they’re not chewing on his tail. Do you want hot chocolate or tea?”

“Hot chocolate please.”

“Sure thing.” Michael said as he retrieved the hot chocolate mix, tossed a bag of mini-marshmallows on the counter then pushed the intercom button. “Ian?”

“Yes love?”

“I’m making tea or hot chocolate.”

There was a pause and then Ian answered, “Tea would be lovely. We’re unpacking in the family room and the casserole is in the warmer.”

“Got it and thanks!” Michael replied, reaching for an oven mitt and opening the warming drawer to reveal a large covered baking dish which was quickly put on the counter. “Excellent! Miles, do you want some?”

“Sure, a small piece though. Man, don’t you ever worry about your weight?” Miles asked, watching as Michael cut a really big piece and put it on a plate.

“Not since the kids could eat solid food.” Michael replied, cutting a much smaller piece for Miles. “You’ll see.”

Michael recovered the casserole and replaced it in the warmer, prepared the tea pot and infuser, then spooned out hot chocolate mix into the various cups. “Sorry this is instant, but I’m just not up for doing the whole ‘make it from scratch’ thing today.”

Miles picked up his fork with a grin. “Until I met Anna, I didn’t even know there was a ‘from scratch’ way, so don’t worry about it.”

Once the tea and chocolate was delivered to the family room, Michael sat down in front of his plate and got one bite down before he had to scoot back to share his lap and food with three year old Garret. While Miles and Michael talked about their respective holidays, several of the other kids wandered in and out, each one of them stopping for a bite or ten.

By the time Michael’s plate was empty, he’d only actually eaten about half of it and Miles no longer wondered how Michael stayed in shape. After a quick clean up of the kitchen, they went into the family room where Ian had the unpacking well underway. Items were being sorted as each bag was emptied and there was a big pile of dirty clothes waiting near the stairs for Michael’s attention.

Michael looked surprised when Miles volunteered to help carry up the clothes but wasn’t going to turn him down. Upstairs, Michael dumped the last basket out, moved several previously washed loads into the dryers, added detergent and restarted the washers before he began sorting. Gadget, who normally followed Ian, padded into the room and flopped in front of the heater, glad to be away from the noise and busyness of the family room.

“Miles, you might as well take a seat. I’m kind of picky about how the clothes are sorted.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Miles said, sitting down on the small loveseat near the window and checking out the room. Anna had done their own laundry earlier in the week so this was his first chance to look around the room.

The space was longer than it was wide with five pairs of stacking washers and dryers on his left, a big sink opposite along with an amazing array of floor to ceiling shelves and cupboards including a computer desk. There was also a small plasma TV mounted on a swing arm and a chalkboard topped table with storage for toys and books underneath it.

“This is some laundry facility.”

“Welcome to my lair.” Michael said, throwing one of Chloe’s shirts into a pile. “I thought this was going to be a storage room but Ian surprised me. I’m in here a lot, so it’s quite handy to have the computer and TV.”

“It’s nice. Do the kids spend time in here?” Miles asked, looking at the toys.

“The oldest kids have laundry as one of their chores. Chloe usually does the ironing on her day, but since the only thing we iron anymore are her uniforms, she doesn’t mind. The quads are responsible for gathering the clothes in their room, helping switch over the loads and putting the clean stuff away. It gives me time with them one-on-one.”

“Anna and I were looking at that chore list you have down in the kitchen.”

“That’s Ian’s work but we both think that it’s important to teach the kids the basic household stuff.” Michael said, a little defensively.

“Hey, I’m not criticizing. All the kids in my family had chores but what the heck is ‘birds’? We thought Callum had birds in his room and panicked when we couldn’t find a mention of it in Ian’s instruction booklet.”

“Sorry about that.” Michael said with a laugh, ‘Birds’ is filling the birdfeeders outside. We never had feeders until Callum felt sorry for them last winter so that’s his job on Thursdays. He’d rather have a bird in the house, but we’ve managed to avoid that for now.”

“Oh. I guess having this many washers and dryers in a necessity for your family but I can’t imagine your electric and water bills.”

“I’d be doing laundry all day, every day if I only had one set. Between the new insulation, passive heat gain exchanger, and gray water system, we’re more energy efficient than we used to.”

“No wonder it took so long to get it finished. It’s really amazing how much the house changed from the last time I was here. How much square footage did you add?”

“About seven thousand feet, I guess, between the port cochere, the second floor over that, the conservatory and the big addition off the back. That seems like an awful lot but we do use almost every inch of the house.”

“Anna is in love with your kitchen but I like the boys’ room the best. All that space and the beds! Ian really designed them?”

“Yeah, we cleared some of the trees in the back when we added on to the garage and pool house. Ian kept looking at the logs before finally deciding to do something with them. He drew up the plans, commissioned a carpenter and voila. Ian’s got enough logs for Nick and Xander’s beds but he’s a little stumped, no pun intended, on what to do for Marah.” Michael frowned at one of the shirts in his hand and leaned in to take a whiff. “Oh geeze! There is nothing as bad as old milk.”

“Ew. So, didn’t your room used to be where Gail’s room is now?”

Michael shook his head as he threw a load of whites in a washer and reached for a stain stick. “No, you and Anna are in our old room. Gail’s suite is in the new part of the house and our room is where Gail’s room used to be. We switched around so Gail would be far enough away to have some privacy and we’d be in between the nursery and the boys’ room.”

“Oh. Okay, now it makes sense. I could have sworn we stayed to the right of the stairs the last time but I guess that’s the back hall now.”

“You’ve got it.” Michael nodded then held up a pair of pants. “I think Nick wore these to the zoo and I really don’t want to know what this brown stain is.”

Miles took a look at the growing piles and shook his head. “Doesn’t Australia have one or two washers, maybe even a few dryers?”

“Hey, I did laundry right before we left the resort so this is less than two weeks worth. Hopefully the next time we take the kids there, we’ll have our own place so I can keep on top of the wash.”

“So you’re really going to buy a house there? Ian was talking about it earlier.”

“Yeah, I think we are. It’s going to take a while to work things out though.”

“Uh, speaking of Australia, I didn’t want to ask Ian in front of the kids, but how did the hearings go?”

Michael shoved another load in the next washer and leaned up against the machine, “We went in with our lawyers, the judges read over our depositions, asked us a couple of questions and granted the restraining orders. Once Steve’s parents and brother are back in Australia, they won’t be allowed to come within five hundred meters of us and a thousand meters of the kids. It took about an hour in Canberra, the same in Sydney, but most of that was spent waiting.”

“Do you think they’ll try something anyway?”

“I’m not sure. From what DA Caruthers said, David is better off without his parents and brother. He’s finished high school, learned how to repair cars and will probably move to New Zealand to live with one of his mom’s cousins. The parents are a whole other story; I think they’re as nutty as Steve is, but we’ve already hired a security firm and we’ll be taking proper precautions.”

“Do you regret agreeing to the plea bargain? They might have gotten more time at a trial.”

“Or they could have all gotten off on some technicality so you never know.” Michael said with a shrug. “The deal allowed us all to move on with our lives, especially the Blankenships.”

“How is John doing these days?”

“He and Mindy moved to Cape May, and bought a great house on the beach. We went to see them last summer; their kids and grandkids were there so we had a load of fun. You wouldn’t recognize John; he’s grown a beard, lost about thirty pounds and he’s taking kick boxing.”

“No way.”

“Yes way. Mindy’s taking the class too; she looked fabulous.” Michael threw the last pair of pants into his sort piles, loaded the washers and came over to take a seat next to Miles.

“That’s good news. Uh, do you guys talk about it much?”

“Not anymore. It’s something that happened but we didn’t want to let it define us, you know what I mean? We talked to Charles, our therapist in Ann Arbor, a couple of times by phone and spent a lot of time talking it through with each other. There were some rocky moments; nightmares and anxiety in certain situations but we’re pretty much over it.”

“You never thought about moving?”

“I guess we flirted with the idea; well maybe that was just me, but it wasn’t the house’s fault and we put in a lot of security features like the fence, the cameras and such, so the place is safer. We have great neighbors, we’re close to the shops and the schools. It really didn’t make sense to move, but I suppose part of that is sheer stubbornness. Moving would have been losing to Steve and we can’t be having that.”

“Speaking of the schools, we overheard some people talking about the pool.” Miles said slyly.

Looking a little embarrassed, Michael frowned. “Were they complaining about it?”

“No, actually they sounded rather happy. They all had kids so they thought getting a free aquatic center was a good idea, especially the water safety courses.”

“That’s good to hear then. Uh, you know we arranged to have it built, right?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much a given since they’re naming it after your grandmother.” Miles said, wryly.

“That wasn’t my idea.” Michael said quickly. “Pieter, Grant and Ian outvoted me.”

“Well I approve. Your grandma sounded like a real pistol and since Chloe’s one too, it’s a good fit. I’m a little envious that she’s going to get a brand new pool to use.”

Michael blinked in surprise. “You know, I never really made that connection. Mom says that Chloe reminds her of me but really, she’s Gran all over again.”

Miles laughed, “Especially some of the things she came up with. I think she’s going for Lenny’s crown in the prank department. There was this one time-.” Miles paused when he saw the look on Michael’s face. “You know, I think I’ll just stop right there.”

“Oh no you don’t! What did she do?”

“As your friend, I’ll only tell you that it was a funny prank that caused harm to no one, including Chloe.”

“Miles! That’s not fair.”

“Don’t pout at me. Ian’s the only one who falls for that. Chloe’s my team mate, Michael. You can’t expect me to betray the team and tattle.” Miles pointed out mildly.

“But I was on the team!” Michael said, standing up as the first dryer finished.

“Hey, I didn’t tell your parents all the stuff you got up to.” Miles answered as Pieter entered the room with a large laundry bag.

“That’s because I never did anything.” Michael retorted. “Hey, Pieter.”

“Hello Michael, Miles. What is this that you’ve never done?”

“Swim team high jinks.” Miles answered.

“Miles inferred that Chloe played a few pranks; either at camp or at the Games but he won’t tell.” Michael added as he emptied the clothes into a basket.

“Because you’re her dad.” Miles said. “I’m not a squealer.”

“Ah, that is an interesting dilemma. I will have to side with Miles on this one. The parental role overrules the former team member status.” Pieter said as he dumped the clothes out of his bag. “Sorry, Michael.”

“Fine but just wait until one of your kids is on the team.” Michael groused as he handed the basket off to Pieter and started sorting out the Hackett-van den Hoogenband laundry.

“If we are that lucky, I will try to be mature about it.” Pieter said with a smirk, his hands busy with folding. “Did Ian or Michael mention that Tracey may be coming here?”

“Tracey?” Miles asked. “Wait, Tracey Menzies, Ian’s old coach?”

“Yes. She is interested in the coaching job at the schools.”

Miles sat back and looked between them for a minute. “Wow.”

“Yeah, I know.” Michael said. “Ian spoke to her about it and he seemed okay with it. He knows her best so I’m going to trust his decision on this.”

“You know her, too, Michael.” Pieter commented.

“No, not really. I know her as Ian’s friend and coach, but we’ve never spent much time with each other.”

Pieter quirked his eyebrow, “Hm. I thought they came to stay with you two in Michigan.”

“Sure, they came for a couple of days with Sophie before Beijing. Tracey and Ian were busy going over his training stuff. I did get to know Jason and Sophie, though. He’s a nice guy and she was such a sweetie.”

“The son’s name is Oliver, right?” Pieter asked.

“Yep. He’s almost nine and Sophie’s eleven now.” Michael answered as another dryer dinged.

“Ah, yes.” Pieter nodded. “They seemed like nice children. We had lunch with them when we dropped Chloe off.” He explained to Miles.

“I’ll admit I don’t keep up with the Australian clubs, but isn’t Tracey head coach at Aquadot? ”

“She was. She had some problems when she was pregnant with Sophie, so her doctor put her on bed rest the last four months. The swim club appointed an interim coach, Ronnie something-.“

“Dowling.” Pieter interjected.

“Right, Ronnie Dowling. He left when Tracey came back, then she got pregnant with Oliver. She had bed rest again, so yet another coach was brought in.”

“Wayne Jennings, from one of the Perth clubs.” Pieter added. “I heard that SLC promised Tracey that they would keep her position for her, but when she returned from maternity leave, the club set up that ‘co-head coach’ business. Leisel told Grant that the club was concerned about Tracey’s ‘commitment to swimming.’” Pieter said, making finger quotes.

“Which is a load of bull. Tracey’s very dedicated to coaching and getting the most out of a swimmer.” Ian said as he ushered Nick through the door. “Are we having a gossip session?”

“Yep. And what are you doing up here?” Michael asked Nick, squatting down to Nick’s level, but quickly rearing back. “Wow, Nick, you’re pretty stinky there.”

“Go poo, Daddy.”

“Yeah, so I smell.” Michael said, giving Ian a look while he stood up and held out his hand. “Come on, Nick. Let’s go get a fresh diaper on you.”

“Otay.” Nick waved bye-bye to the other men as Michael paused on the way out the door to whisper something that just made Ian laugh.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” Ian said innocently, “He heard you talking and wanted to see his daddy.”

“Yeah right; there are diapers downstairs.” Michael said from the hallway.

Ian shrugged and pulled out the computer chair to sit down while Pieter looked amused.

“Really, Ian, it’s just a dirty diaper. You’ve changed hundreds of them.”

“True but if Michael will do it, why should I?” Ian said, unrepentantly, then switched subjects, I think the club’s treatment of Tracey was discriminatory. They’ve slowly been pushing her out and they used her maternity leaves to do it.”

“But why? Because she’s a woman?” Miles asked. “That’s just idiotic.”

“She’s a woman and she was my coach.” Ian stated.

“Oh, so it’s all about you?” Pieter jibbed.

“To a degree, I think it started out that way. Tracey admitted that when the crap hit the fan, she tried to defend me. Like any other organization, Australia Swimming is made up of people, and some of those people are very good at holding grudges.”

“So Tracey got flack because you came out? I don’t understand that.” Miles said.

“It wasn’t that Ian was gay, although I’m sure some people didn’t approve of his lifestyle.” Pieter said, “The real problem was that he moved to the States to train, basically thumbing his nose at the Australian program.”

Ian nodded, “Yes, that’s it. If Michael hadn’t been an American, I don’t think there’d have been such a furor. Unfortunately, the rivalry between the U. S. and Australia is rather entrenched.”

Miles furrowed his brow, “I know there’s a rivalry, but I had no idea it was that bad. I mean, I’m friends with you and Grant, and with lots of other Australian swimmers. Have I been missing something?”

“No, because the real problem is between our respective governing bodies. The Australians have a fine training program but, and this is only my opinion, the U. S. program has a distinct advantage and it really rubs on the AOC. Look at how many athletes come from other countries to train in the States. That alone gives your team a head start in international competition.”

Ian paused for a moment when a dryer buzzed, then continued as he went over to remove the clothes.

“The Australian program is very insular and although most of us do some training in the States, staying was out of the question. It’s rather funny that I was accused of ‘going Hollywood’ when, in reality, Michigan was more like going into obscurity. The profile of swimmers here is much lower than in Australia.”

Nick walked back into the room, wearing a different outfit, and immediately made a b-line for the play table. “Oomie, me pay?”

“Sure, Mr. Nick.” Pieter answered, sitting up and taking his feet off the table. Miles did the same and Nick pulled out a toy truck to run across the surface as Michael returned, carrying another basket of clothes, and also wearing a different shirt.

Ian took one look at the basket and took a step back. “God, how bad was it?”

“It was more stinky than anything else, you wuss. We changed clothes because I knocked the powder off the shelf; we really should move it higher.”

“I am not a wuss, I merely have a delicate nose.”

“Delicate, no. Hugely out of proportion, yes.”

“There’s no need to be catty, Pieter.”

Michael started to tell them to knock it off or get out, when Robbie wandered in and made a beeline to his nearest parent.

“Daddy, can we watch a movie?”

“What movie?”

Robbie twined his arms around Michael’s legs and stared up. “The fish movie. Nana said she’d put it in.”

Michael ran his hand through Robbie’s hair and looked over to the play table. “Nick, do you want to watch the fish movie?”

Nick shook his head and pulled out another truck.

“I guess not. All right, Robbie, but no switching on the game console.”

“Okay. Thanks Daddy.”

Pieter stood up as Robbie ran out, “I love the fish movie, so I’m going to go watch. Ian, do you mind if I make popcorn?”

“Not at all, in fact, I think I’ll go with you.” Ian said as he finished folding the last pair of underwear and picked up the laundry basket. “Don’t let them start the movie without me.”

“I won’t.”

Michael took another load out of a dryer as they left, and switched in a wet pile. “Well, I guess it’s just you and me and Nick now, Miles.”

“I guess it is. Now I understand why you have a couch in here.”

“That would be why.” Michael replied, as he started folding clothes. “Now, aren’t you sorry you didn’t hightail it out of here yesterday?”

“Nope, tomorrow’s soon enough and I like hanging around your house. What’s the fish movie?”

“Some shark documentary that Ian taped a few years ago. The kids really get into all the carnage; it must be the Australian in them.”

“Hee. I guess so. Do you want help folding or do you have some arcane rules for that, too?”

Michael responded to that by plopping down another basket of clothes in front of Miles. “There. Knock yourself out.”

Miles grinned and picked up a small pink shirt from the pile. “Wow, this is so tiny. Do I fold or hang it?”

“Fold. What time does your flight leave, again?”

“Two o’clock in the afternoon. You know, we can take a cab.”

“Nah, it’s no problem to drive you over.”

“Michael, are you busy?” Grant asked from the doorway.

Michael looked down at his basket, “What does this look like?”

“Oh, come on. It’ll just take a minute; I really need you.”

Sighing, Michael pushed the basket aside and stood up. “Fine, take off your shirt.”

Grant smiled and came forward, whipping off his shirt.

Miles gulped loudly, “Whoa dudes! What are you doing?”

Flipping the chair around, Grant sat down on it backwards and smiled reassuringly at Miles. “Don’t worry, it’s not what it looks like. My neck’s killing me.”

Michael pulled a bottle of oil (Miles was not going to ask!) from a drawer, poured a bit out on his hands and started rubbing Grant’s neck and shoulders. “Oh, yeah, you are really tight.”

“I slept wrong on the plane. And that feels wonderful. Oh, yes.”

“Does it really feel that good?” Miles asked, look at the faces Grant was making.

“You have no idea,” Grant groaned. “I thought when I married a doctor, I’d have it made. Little did I know the man has ‘Monica hands.’”

Miles out and out chortled. “Monica as in Monica from ‘Friends’?”

“Yes - oh a little harder there, Michael - when she gives Chandler a back rub –oh, dear lord! I have totally been assimilated into Ian’s weirdo life, haven’t I?”

“Do you want me to stop?” Michael asked.

“Hm. Backrub and weirdness, no backrub and pain.” Grant mused, then shook his head. “No, don’t stop.”
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