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“Da! Un-ca! Da-da-da!”

“Yep, yep, you’re right,” Ash said, hitting the power button to black out his phone and then slipping the phone back in his pocket. “Let’s go inside, huh?”

“Ohm! Ohm!”

“Yep, we’re home!”

Ash smiled and shook his head at Bri’s silly giggling from the back seat. Then he grabbed his duffle bag and Bri’s backpack and climbed out of the car. After he unbuckled Bri from her car seat, he lifted her out, took her hand, and led them to the elevators, Bri holding tight onto her stuffie the whole time. A few minutes later, Ash unlocked the door to their third-floor apartment, and Bri tumbled inside, making a beeline for the mess of toys she’d left out on the living room floor that morning. Ollie the Octopus was unfortunately discarded along the way, and Bri planted herself on a small mat on the floor next to a basket of colorful wooden blocks.

“Un-ca! Pway? Pway?”

Ash set his bag and Bri’s backpack down next to the front door. “I would love to play with you, baby girl,” he said. “And then—” His phone buzzed once and then again, and he stepped over toward Bri as he pulled it back out. “And then, we can . . .”

Cass (4:40 p.m.): That would be amazing, actually. Are you free now?

Cass (4:41 p.m.): Or maybe in about an hour, I guess. I just got off the plane. Gotta catch a Lyft to my hotel and check in

Ash slowly lowered himself to sit cross-legged next to Bri, who had dumped over the basket of blocks and started stacking them. She picked up a blue block and set it in front of Ash.

“Pway!”

With a grin, Ash set his phone down for a second. “Yes! Let’s play. Oooh, you gave me the blue block. Can I have a red one too?”

Bri said, “Da!” Then she promptly picked up a yellow block and offered it to Ash. “Bwa!”

He smiled. “Oh, I love yellow. This one is yellow. Thank you so much for the yellow block.”

“Da!”

With a laugh, Ash took the yellow block and set it on top of his blue one. Then he picked up his phone again while Bri continued stacking more blocks on her pile.

Ash (4:45 p.m.): An hour is perfect :) The Ugly Mug on 43rd. I think it’s only a block or so from your hotel. Best place for initiation into Seattle coffee (well, near UW anyway). They also have some food stuff if you’re hungry, sandwiches, pastries, bagels

Ash (4:46 p.m.): See you there around 5:45?

“Bwa?” Bri leaned over and set a red block on top of the yellow block in Ash’s stack.

“Oh, thank you! That’s the red block.”

“Bwa!” Bri declared, clapping her hands.

“Yes!”

Cass (4:47 p.m.): Perfect. Ugly Mug @ 5:45. See you soon :)

Ash blinked as some warm sensation spread through his chest. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and sat there for a moment, watching Bri build a stack of several blocks and then knock it over gleefully, clapping and giggling and generally being happy and joyful. But his mind was only half present, even as he clapped right along with her and helped her rebuild another stack of blocks.

The other half of his mind was somewhere else entirely, wondering whether these feelings in his chest—the warmth, the little flicker of excitement, the eagerness he barely recognized—might mean what he thought they did. And if he was right—if they did mean what he thought they did—he was in trouble.

Dad (Tuesday, September 20, 2022 – 5:32 p.m.): Glad you got there safely. Your mother said to tell you to have a good time and don’t worry about her. She also said good luck on your date. I already told her you said it’s not a date, but she’s not having it. So, good luck on your date ;)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Cass

Cass’s heart thrummed in his chest as he stopped along the sidewalk outside a building that he would have called rather plain-looking if not for the oddly shaped, “ugly” faces sculpted into the stone above either side of the front windows. A faded blue sign hand-painted with the words Ugly Mug Café hung above the entrance. And it sure was an “ugly mug,” Cass thought as he glanced up at the sculpted faces again.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, wishing the silliness of the café’s name and façade had done anything to quell his nervousness. But it hadn’t. He was buzzing with energy, just as he had been since he’d gotten Ash’s text a little over an hour ago.