Chapter 56

“Short will do,” Paul said.

“No,” I said.

“What’s the long answer, then?” Sean said.

“Well,” Randy said, “to quote someone famous, ‘Not only no, but hell no’.”

“Seriously,” I said, “if you guys are enjoying yourselves that much, maybe you ought to look into the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. There are a lot of kids out there who need guidance from guys your age.”

“We might just do that,” Paul said.

“Robbie seems to have cheered up a bit,” George said. “Did he say anything while you were outside?”

“Not really,” Sean said, “he just said that his granny was real sick and would probably die soon.”

“He didn’t go into any detail, and we didn’t pry,” Paul said.

“Good,” George said.

ROBBIE CAME BACK into the great room and announced that he was going up to the loft to practice. “We have company, kiddo,” Mike said, “so don’t forget your headphones.”

“I won’t, Daddy.”

“It just hit me,” I said. “Robbie calls one of you Dad and the other Daddy.”