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“Baylee, if you don’t put that phone away, I’m going to take it away.” Brian chewed viciously on the piece of turkey that he had just placed in his mouth as he watched his son pull out his phone for what was likely the tenth time in the last thirty seconds.

“I just need to send one text.” Baylee mumbled. His head was bowed and his fingers were flying over the screen. He had barely touched his dinner.

“I’m serious.” Brian finished chewing and placed his fork on his plate. He extended his hand, palm up and wiggled his fingers in Baylee’s direction. “Give me the phone.”

“Daaaaaad!” Baylee whined. “You’re so not fair!”

“I’m not trying to be fair.” Brian pointed out. “You’re being rude, especially to your grandma who spent all day cooking the food that you’re currently choosing to ignore.”

Baylee let out an excessively loud sigh and slapped his iPhone roughly into the palm of Brian’s hand. “You suck.”

“Fine.” Brian’s fingers curled angrily around the phone. “I suck.”

Brian glanced down at the phone and confirmed what he had suspected all along; Baylee had been texting Ashley. The last few messages were still displayed on the screen and Brian’s stomach dropped as he read them.

Ash: How’s the super lame dinner going? Miss u!!!!! oo

Bay: Sucks balls! My dad is such a loser! Miss u more! ooo :)

Ash: Can’t wait 2 c u on Mon! B4 school @ r spot. oooo

Bay: B there 4 sure! ooooo

“Are you reading my messages?” Baylee was staring across the table at Brian in horror. “You can’t read them!”

“I pay for your phone.” Brian argued. “I can read whatever I want.”

“Baylee, honey, I’m sure that your dad didn’t mean to look at your messages.” Jackie soothed. “Why don’t you eat your dinner? I’m sure that your dad will give you your phone back once you’re finished.”

“Okay, grandma.” Baylee sighed and picked up his fork. He began shovelling mouthfuls of mashed potatoes into his mouth at a rapid rate. Clearly, he had taken his grandma’s words to heart and was hoping to regain access to his phone after he had cleaned his plate.

Brian dared one final glance at Baylee’s sullen face before returning his attention to his plate. He speared a piece of asparagus with his fork and folded the entire thing into his mouth. The happy chatter from the others buzzed in his ears as he chewed, but he wasn’t really paying attention to any of the conversations that were going on around him. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had felt so alone.

Brian’s eyes wandered around the dining room and landed on the framed photo-collage that took up the majority of the far wall. His mother had obviously been busy; every single trace of Leighanne had been erased. Her images had been replaced by pictures of Baylee, his older brother, even Nick’s face was smiling back at him. It was as though his failed marriage had never even taken place.

“Brian?” Leigh whispered.

Brian stared into the concerned eyes of Howie’s wife.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Brian forced what he hoped was a genuine looking smile onto his face and placed a forkful of stuffing into his mouth. “I’m fine.”

“Dad?”

Brian sighed. “Yeah, Bay?”

“I’m done.” Baylee gestured at his empty plate. “Can I have my phone back?”

“Why not?” Brian muttered. He pulled the device out of his pocket and Baylee eagerly snatched it out of his grasp. “I’m gonna get a bottle of water.” Brian announced. He stood up from the table and looked around. “Does anybody else want anything?”

Those who bothered to respond shook their heads and Brian quickly escaped into the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and removed the bottle of water that he didn’t actually want. He could hear footsteps coming up behind him and he knew without even needing to turn around that it was Howie.

“Did Leigh tell you to come after me?”

“Of course she did.” Howie chuckled. “Who else could convince me to stop eating?”

“You should go back and eat.” Brian encouraged. “I’m just going to tidy things up a bit for my mom.” He began shifting items around on the counter and pulled open the dishwasher.

“It must be hard.” Howie acknowledged. “This is the first holiday that you’ve spent as a single guy in a long time.”

Brian said nothing as he turned on the tap and began rinsing the bowls that the girls had used to prepare dinner. One by one, he placed them carefully in the dishwasher; trying to conserve as much space as possible. He hated washing dishes by hand.

“I don’t know what I would do in your situation.” Howie continued. “I don’t think that I would be able to stand to see everyone else looking so happy.”

“I’m alone, Howie.” Brian finally broke his silence. “The only person that I have in the whole world is Baylee, and he thinks that I’m a loser.”

“You’re not alone.” Howie argued. “The fact that we’re all here at your parents’ house is proof of that.”

“You know what I mean.” Brian sighed. “My family is gone. Leighanne and Baylee were practically my entire life. Now that Leighanne is gone and Baylee is pushing me away, I’m lost.”

“We’re your family, too.” Howie reminded him gently. “I don’t want you to forget that.”

“I know.” Brian continued to methodically load the dishwasher in order to avoid having to look the older man in the face. “I don’t know what I would do without you guys, but it’s not the same. I go to bed alone, I wake up alone, I take care of Baylee alone, I do everything alone. I don’t know how to move on. Nick seems to have it all figured out; he’s all over Kayla like he hasn’t even missed a beat. It’s like he’s forgotten all about Lauren. How do I get there? How do I get to the place where I’m capable of being attracted to someone else?”

Howie hesitated. “You’re already at that point, Brian. You’re just too scared to act on it.”

Brian finally turned from the dishwasher and took in Howie’s expression. His friend was being dead serious. Brian’s mind flashed back to the moment when he and Kayla had hugged in the entry way. Even the thought of her body pressed against his made his stomach clench.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Brian dropped his gaze from Howie’s and turned the tap on full blast.

“Nobody ever knows what Howie is talking about.”

Brian flinched at the sound of Nick’s laughter; his fingers gripped frantically at the heavy ceramic platter that he had been rinsing. He shut the water off and turned to see that both Nick and Kayla had entered the kitchen. Liliana was tottering along ahead of them and she made a beeline for Howie, grabbing on to his lower legs in order to steady herself.

“We came to see if you needed any help.” Kayla smiled. She had one eye on Brian and the other was on Liliana.

“I’m fine.” Brian took note of the fact that Nick’s hand was resting gently on the small of Kayla’s back. “The Steelers game is on soon. You guys go relax. Howie’s offered to help.”

“I have?” Howie frowned. It took him a second to clue in. “I mean, yeah, Brian and I’ve got this covered.”

“If you’re sure ...” Kayla trailed off and reached for Liliana. She lifted her daughter off of the floor and cradled her against her chest. “...I don’t mind helping.”

“Let’s get out of here before they change their minds.” Nick steered Kayla in the direction of the family room. He shot Brian and Howie a look of gratitude over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Kay. I’ll explain the well-established art of Steelers’ football to you before the game starts.”

“Well established my ass!” Kevin cried. “You better hope that Big Ben plays the game of his life. Romo and the Dallas defence have already set me up nicely for a shot at the playoffs.”

“You know that Nick will never hate you, regardless of what you do.” Howie waited until he was sure that he and Brian were, once again, alone in the kitchen before he spoke.

“I know.” Brian had already returned his attention to the dishes. “Why’d you bring that up?”

Howie shrugged as he began collecting a random assortment of dirty dishes from the kitchen table. He brought the dishes over to the counter and stared at Brian until the younger man finally turned to look him in the face. “I just thought that you needed to be reminded.”