Chapter 25

Once their emotions had returned to normal, the men stayed and socialized.

"Are we going to be grandparents for the second time?" Ken inquired.

"Yeah, Luca is expecting twins," Tyree confirmed with a nod. "It's a boy and a girl," he explained.

"That's fantastic," Thomas said.

"Have you decided on names?" Carl inquired.

"Yeah," Tyree agreed, nodding. He said, "Noah for our boy and Madison for our girl." "We want to sell this house and buy a bigger house," Tyree explained.

"Have you found any that meet your requirements?" Ken inquired.

"Yes, but it costs $500,000," he explained. Tyree took out his phone and showed them photos of the house.

Tyree turned his head in the direction of padded footsteps.

"Hi, babe," he said as Luca entered the living room. He inquired, "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well until I got lonely," he explained.

"Sorry, we were talking," Tyree explained.

"Are we going to do something about my ex?" Luca asked.

"Don't worry," "It's bad for the babies," Tyree said.

"If we have to, we'll involve the police," Ken said.

To change the subject to something lighter, they talked about the house.

"I hear that you found yourselves a new home," Thomas said.

"Yea, it's a five-bedroom, four-bathroom with a three-car garage," Luca said.

"We were going to set aside money for it once we sold this house," Tyree said.

"How much can you get from this house?" Ken asked.

"I'm not sure," Tyree said. "A friend is coming over tomorrow to discuss it," he said.

"If you need help coming up with money, we can help," Carl said.

"Thanks guys," Tyree said.

"Thanks dad," Luca said.

That evening, everyone sat down at the dinner table. Both of the fathers and Thomas had returned home. Plates of grilled fish and potato wedges sat in front of everyone. Elena was in her carrier on a chair next to Luca. Luca's mental defenses were still up, but not as much as before.

"Babe, after we are done discussing the house with Andre, why don't we go shopping for baby stuff?" Tyree asked.

"Really?" Luca asked.

"We need to get out of the house," Tyree said. "Plus, Elena will need a playpen and a high chair soon," he said.

Tyree felt Luca's hesitation but gave a warm smile. "Babe, it'll be alright," he said. "With everyone helping us, we'll be perfectly safe," Tyree said via the link. Luca sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry." "It's just that whenever things are going well, it all falls apart,"

"Let's focus on the good things, babe," "We have our love and our children," Tyree said via the link.

"You're right," "I need to stop worrying about the past," Luca said, nodding his head.

"You know, I'm right," Tyree jokes. "Let's get the kids into bed and get some much needed sleep," he said.

8/12/2041

Elena woke Luca up at 6 am, wanting her bottle. Luca rose from the bed, stretched his arms and picked Elena up. Tyree's side of the bed was empty.

"Baby girl, you pick the strangest times to wake up mommy," he said. Luca carried the crying baby into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed a bottle and sat it on the kitchen counter. Luca filled a pot with water and set it on the stove. He put the bottle in the water and turned on the burner.

Once the bottle was warmed up, Luca turned off the burner and sat down at the table. The kitchen door opened and Tyree walked in.

"I was wondering where you went," he said, sitting down at the table.

"Elena was hungry," Luca said. "You were in the shower when she started crying," he said.

"Are you ready to meet Andre?" Tyree asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Luca said. "When we get this house, can we get a security system installed?" Luca asked.

"Anything for you," Tyree said, nodding his head.

Carl picked Alicia up and took her to preschool while Luca and Tyree got ready for their meeting. Luca had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock on the front door. Tyree noticed Luca holding his breath.

"Relax baby," he said, kissing Luca on his forehead. Luca let out a deep breath and followed Tyree out of the bedroom. Tyree stepped up to the door and opened it.

"Hello," he said to Andre, who stood holding a black briefcase.

"Hi buddy," he said. "I want to meet your new love," he said.

"Okay, but no teasing him," Tyree said. "He's sensitive," he said.

Andre followed Tyree into the living room. Andre suddenly noticed the raven-haired young man on the couch.

"Who is this cutie?" he asked, sitting down in the chair.

"This cutie is my boyfriend, Luca," Tyree said.

"Wait, aren't you the one with that art blog?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Luca said, nodding his head.

"Your photos are awesome!" Andre said.

"Thank you," Luca said, blushing.

"Okay, smooth talker, let's discuss the house," Tyree said.

With the subject changed to why he was there, Andre opened his briefcase and pulled out some papers.

"You're in luck," he said. "The house that you're interested in is through my company,"

"What about this one?" Tyree asked. "How much can I sell it for?" he asked.

"I researched it and talked to my co-worker," Andre said. "It looks like you could get $200,000," he said.

"That means that we'd be $300,000 short," Tyree said.

"I can see if the price can be lowered," Andre said. "But there are no guarantees," he said.

"By the way, when were you planning on moving?" Andre asked.

"As soon as possible," Tyree said. Andre rose from the chair and said, "I'll contact you Friday," he said.

"Thanks," Tyree said, shaking his hand.

When Andre left, Tyree called Carl and Ken. Luca relaxed on the couch. Tyree pushed the speaker button when the line picked up.

"Hi there, dad," Tyree and Luca said.

"Hello," Carl said.

"Hiya guys," Ken said.

"We just got done talking to my friend about the house," Tyree said.

"What did he say?" Ken asked.

"Well, we can get $200,000 from this house," Tyree said. "He'll try to get them to lower the price of the house we want," he said.

"Keep us updated," Carl said.

"We'll know by Friday," Luca said.

"Good luck," Ken said. Tyree ended the call and put the phone on the table. Now they had to wait.