I blink in surprise when Angie opens the door to Kent’s house.

“Ang? What are you doing here? Why are you in pajamas?”

“What are you doing here, and why are you not in pajamas?”

I look down at my outfit, confused.

“Is it an all-Ketterbridge spirit day or something?” I ask, just as Destinee appears in the doorway, also in her PJs.

“Yooo, Jamie’s here!” she says brightly, looping an arm over Angie’s shoulder. “Came to join the party?”

“What party are we-?” I begin, and cut off as Gabby emerges from behind Destinee.

“Jamie’s here?” she asks, smiling. “But he’s not in his pajamas!”

“Jesus!” I sputter. “How many of you does Kent have in there?”

Ellen wiggles through everyone, making her way to the front.

“We’re making cupcakes!” she announces, tipping her head back to look up at me. “Jamie, you can have one if you want, but this is a sleepover for girls. And you didn’t wear your pajamas, so. Double no.”

“He can come in, cariño,” Gabby says affectionately, smoothing a hand over Ellen’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take the girls upstairs and get the tie-dye set up? The cupcakes have to cool down before we can frost them, anyways.”

Ellen considers it, then turns around.

“Let’s go, girls!” she says, to giggles from Destinee and Angie. They fall into line behind her, a little troupe headed for the stairs, and Gabby steps back from the doorway to let me in.

It feels very on-brand that she looks so pulled together even in her pajamas. The plaid blue PJ pants and loose linen tank top somehow do nothing to make her seem more casual. It looks like someone professionally blow-dried her hair this morning, and she’s wearing her usual amount of jewelry.

“What’s up?” she asks, closing the door after me.

“Not much, just here to pick up Aiden.”

“Ah, yes, he recovered miraculously quickly from whatever sickness he had yesterday,” Gabby answers, her lip twitching. “Almost quickly enough to make a person wonder if that was the real reason he called out of the office.”

I pause, my face reddening.

“Um. Right. So-”

“Why do you two keep trying to lie to me?” Gabby groans. “You realize it never works? I’m starting to feel embarrassed for you.”

“Look, it was all my fault, Aiden was just trying to help me-”

“Stop.” Gabby holds up her hands. “I don’t want to hear it. If you admit it, I’m going to have to get him in trouble. Just tell me that he had a one-day illness of some kind and let’s move on.”

“Oh.” I stop, surprised and relieved. “Thanks, Gabby. That’s really nice-”

“It’s not nice. He had a one-day illness, right? So he was perfectly fine to call out of work.”

“Well, no, he was - oh, I mean. Yes?”

“Jamie.” Gabby sighs deeply, pressing her fingers to her temples. “Promise me something.”

“Okay…?”

“Never go into politics. Or any other job where you might be asked to lie.”

“Oh, that’s an easy promise to make. You’ve got it.”

“Good.” She fixes me with an exasperated smile, and I try to return it with an expression that says thank you, since she won’t let me say it out loud.

“So - is Aiden here?”

“I think he’s in the shower. You can go up and wait.”

Definitely tempting, but walking in on Aiden fresh out of the shower might just kill me. My sexual frustration level right now is wild enough without adding that particular image to the pile.

“Um - nah, I’ll wait down here. Where’s Kent?”

Gabby’s smile drops.

“He’s in the kitchen. Actually, Jamie -” She lowers her voice and leans closer to me. “It might be good for you to talk to him for a minute. He’s having a really tough day. I’m doing my best, here, but…” She fades off.

“Oh, no.” I feel an immediate stab of sympathy. “What happened, did Julia call?”

Gabby blinks.

“No… does Julia call, often?”

Oh, god. I suddenly find myself rushing to clarify.

“No, not often at all! It’s just that when she does call, that means a tough day for Kent, pretty much automatically. That’s all I was saying.”

Gabby’s eyes soften. She presses a hand to her chest and tips her head to the side, biting her lip.

“Oh, my poor sweet - he - that’s - understandable.” There’s a thread of sadness in her voice. “Well - the whole reason we’re doing the sleepover is to cheer up Ellen, and to give Kent some downtime, so. Come say hi?”

“Sure, of course.”

She leads me to the kitchen and pushes the door open. One of the counters is covered with cans of frosting and a colorful array of sprinkles. I can smell the cupcakes, and I sincerely hope that they’ll be cool enough to frost before Aiden and I get going.

Kent is leaning back against the far counter, looking down at a crumpled piece of paper.

“Hey, boss.” I set my bag down on the floor. “What’s going on? You look-”

He wordlessly offers me the paper.

It’s printed on letterhead from Ellen’s school, and a quick scan of it tells me everything I need to know. Some key things stand out: disruptive, unfocused, missing assignments, not listening to directions, speak with you immediately.

“Oh.” I cringe, then hand Kent back the letter. “Okay.”

“Yeah.” He tosses it onto the countertop and presses his hands against his eyes. “Yeah.”

I glance at Gabby, who winces at me, biting her lip again. Kent turns and leans his palms on the counter. He looks exhausted.

“Did you go talk to them?” I ask. “The teachers?”

“Not the teachers,” Kent sighs. “Apparently we’ve graduated to speaking directly with the principal. Which might be the only graduation that ends up-”

“Kent.” Gabby crosses the kitchen and reaches up to put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He takes a breath. “Just - I don’t fucking get it, I don’t get what I’m doing wrong. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get her to focus and just do what her teachers tell her, but it’s like… I can understand why she’s frustrated, when I talk to them. You know what the principal said, when we talked today?”

“No…”

“He said, where is Ellen’s mom?” Kent puts his glasses back on, grinding his teeth. “What does Ellen’s mom think about this? Like, her mom doesn’t want to be here, and I’m doing the best I fucking can, okay, so-”

Gabby moves suddenly, curling her arms around Kent’s waist from behind, leaning her cheek against his back. Kent steadies out in her embrace, closing his eyes taking a deep breath.

“We all know how hard you’re trying, tesoro,” Gabby murmurs.

“Seriously, Kent, we do,” I put in, my heart twisting. “Ellen knows, too. That’s so fucking - listen, the school shouldn’t be laying down every problem she has on the fact that you’re divorced. Plenty of kids have parents who are divorced, so that’s some bullshit.”

“He’s right, you know.” Gabby leans around Kent and sets her chin against his upper arm. “And don’t take Ellen’s performance in school as an indicator of how you’re doing. She clearly just learns differently, or this school isn’t a good match for her, or-”

“But-”

“Kent.” Gabby cuts him off gently. She releases him, takes him by the arms, and turns him to face her. “Does Ellen have a good heart? Does she care about other people?”

“Of course,” he answers, at once.

“And does she love you, and know that you love her? Do you keep her safe, cheer her up when she needs it, and make time for her? Is she happy, aside from this business with the school?”

“Well - yeah, I think so, but-”

“Then you’re doing a great job as a father,” Gabby says, tapping his nose with a manicured finger. “That’s the stuff that really matters. Everything else, there’s a solution for. We just have to find it.”

I hear the we in that sentence just as loudly as Kent does, I think. He blinks behind his glasses, takes them off again, and rubs his hands over his eyes.

“Thank you,” he says, a little hoarse. “And thank you for planning this whole sleepover, Gabby, I really needed a little time-”

“Hey, don’t thank me for that,” she says, smiling. “I’m having a blast. This is the girls-only sleepover I never got to have when I was Ellen’s age. Although I’m not great with tie-dye. Pretty sure my shirt is going to end up looking like baby vomit.”

“Gabby!” Kent says, startled into a laugh.

“Seriously, you’re a wonderful dad,” she says, tracing a hand down his beard.

“Definitely,” I chime in. “Plus, what the school isn’t taking into account is that you have tons of kids, because you’re basically my second dad, and Aiden’s, and-” The kitchen door opens and Aiden steps inside, damp and tousled from his shower. “Aiden, back me up. Isn’t Kent a good dad to all of us?”

“Fuck yeah,” he answers, leaning a hand on the counter and bending to pull on his socks. “Best dad I ever had.”

“Would you all stop it?” Kent groans.

“No,” Gabby says, twining her arms around his waist. I decide it’s time for me to get in on this, too, so I dart around the counter and wrap my arms around both of them. Kent starts to laugh, and then groans again as Aiden joins the huddle by closing his huge arms around all three of us and squeezing tightly.

“Okay, stop it,” he says, detangling himself. “Gabby, you’re missing the sleepover, and Jamie, Aiden, don’t you have someplace you need to be?”

Gabby crosses the kitchen, heading back towards the party upstairs.

“You’re a good dad!” she calls over her shoulder.

Kent smiles.

“And you’re an angel,” he answers, but she’s already gone.

~~~~

“Got everything?” I ask, a few minutes later. “Map, glasses?”

“Yep.” Aiden pats his backpack, and I pull the car away from the curb. “You know, dude, I must like you a whole lot, to leave behind an entire house filled with beautiful pajama-clad women.”

“Stop it!” I laugh, smacking his arm. “They’re there to cheer up Ellen, you goon.”

“I’m joking, man.” Aiden resettles his snapback over his messy hair, smiling. “I’ve only got my eyes on one person.”

He reaches over and lightly traces his fingers down the back of my neck.

“No, I know,” I answer, struggling to keep my eyes on the road. “I’m just - mad that I didn’t get a cupcake, that’s all.”

“I’ll save you one if there are any left when I get back,” Aiden says. “But if there’s only one, I’m keeping it for myself.”

“Jerk face!”

“Idiot.”

We smile at each other in the rearview. He takes his hand from my neck and rolls down the window.

“Is Noah doing better, by the way?”

I’d left Aiden a very sleepy voicemail when I got home last night, filling him in on the whole debacle with Grant.

“I think so? He seemed okay when I left. I called to check on him today before I went to work, and he was with Raj. He didn’t sound back to one hundred percent, exactly, but... he definitely sounded a lot happier than he did yesterday.”

“Such a dick move from Grant,” Aiden says, his eyes narrowing. “He didn’t have to do all that, and he knows it.”

“No, I know.”

Aiden falls silent for a moment. I wait, knowing he’s got something cooking in his head.

“Jamie, do you think… Would it help Noah out if I just went over there and got his stuff? I... don’t think that Ralph would try to stop me.”

He’s definitely right. The image of Ralph sprinting away from Kent’s house in blind terror pops briefly back into my head. I can tell from Aiden’s voice that the thought doesn’t make him happy, so I reach over and give his knee a squeeze.

“That’s really sweet, babe, but… I think it’s best that we just stay away. I don’t even want Noah thinking about that house, or what happened to him there.”

“Well.” Aiden shrugs. “Whatever you think is best.”

I don’t know why, but I take that as a little compliment. I turn away, smiling to myself.

“Anyways, we should stay focused,” I tell him. “It’s been days since we got the glasses to work. We need to take a look at that map.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Not gonna lie, I’ve been tempted to take a peek, but I think Kasey would be mad if we did that without her.”

“Um, yes, she absolutely would be, are you kidding? She would roll over in her grave. And then she’d come yell at us.” I flip on my blinker and take a left turn. Aiden glances over at me, raising an eyebrow.

“Are we not going to the Ghost Office?”

“Oh, shit. Why am I taking us to Mugshot, right now? Sorry, I’m on autopilot. We probably shouldn’t get coffee at like 8 PM.”

“No?” Aiden asks, smiling. “That sounds like us. We can make a stop, if you want.”

“Nope. No time for that. I want a minute to make out with you before Kasey meets up with us.”

That sweet, huffing laugh sets off a pleasant fluttering in my chest, as always.

“Fair enough,” he murmurs. “So... she’s not here right now? I’m not wearing the glasses.”

“No, she’s not.”

“Hmm.” Aiden’s hand slides onto my thigh and stops there, his thumb tracing over the fabric of my jeans. My heart starts pounding, but I try to sound casual.

“I actually haven’t seen Kasey since we made the glasses work. I don’t know where she’s been. I tried calling for her last night when I got home from Noah’s, but. She didn’t come. I guess we might be working alone today?”

“Mmm. I do like the time we spend alone at the Ghost Office.”

A memory flashes into my head: Aiden pressed up against the wall, his cheeks almost scarlet, his lip pinned between his teeth.

Distracted, I scramble around for something to say.

“So, what should we do with our alone time today? Should I do a dramatic reading of my poem? Now that I know you like it.”

I expect Aiden to tell me off for this, but he only smiles.

“I really do like it. Even though it made me so fucking jealous.”

“Jealous?” I sputter, twisting to look at him.

“Well - yeah.” He shrugs. “You wrote it for some other guy.”

I gape at him for a moment, then grin so hard that my cheeks instantly hurt.

“Oh. My. Fucking. God.”

“Don’t-”

“You were jealous.”

“Ugh, shut up.” Aiden moves his hand from my thigh and covers my mouth instead. “Instant regret, telling you that.”

“Yeah, you fucked up,” I tell him, my voice muffled through his fingers.

“Dear god. I’m just gonna stop talking, now.”

After what he said to me on the phone last night, I think a little payback is in order.

“Yeah, please do stop talking,” I answer.

“Okay, that coming from you-”

“We’re almost to the Ghost Office, and I can think of better stuff for your mouth to be doing.”

Aiden pauses. One of his eyebrows arches up.

“Oh, yeah?” he asks, a teasing smile rising on his lips.

“Jesus Christ, what did I just drop in on?” someone asks, and I whip around to look in the backseat.

“Holy shit! Kasey!” I press one hand to my heart and cling to the wheel with the other. “Don’t fucking do that!”

Aiden, who jumped when I did, reaches into his backpack and finds the glasses. He slips them on and turns to glare at her.

“Damn, Kasey! Shouldn’t you of all people know about the importance of safe driving?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she answers, smirking. “Tell me again what it says in the driving safety handbook about talking dirty with the driver while he’s in a traffic circle?”

Aiden’s cheeks turn pink.

“There is a whole lot of middle ground between that and a fucking ghost just appearing in the backseat!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But check this shit out. I’ve got huge news.”

“What news?”

“It’s Will,” she says, practically glowing. “I’m pretty sure he sent me a message.”