We each go our separate ways without saying break or clapping each other on the shoulders or butts—okay, I can’t pretend I ever really loved sports even though I’m built for it and might rib the other guys pretty mercilessly about their football days. Maybe I should say we don’t draw attention to ourselves. We filter around the room, trying not to look suspicious or guilty. We probably do, but Granny is too excited about Milo to take note. She gets Leandra and Luna—who are already sitting on the chaise together, discussing something that I really hope isn’t me—cornered, and then it only takes a few minutes for them to be off.
Milo hovers near his mom, and when I motion to him, crooking my finger then putting it up to my lips to indicate he should come quietly, he puts on a huge grin and sneaks away without anyone noticing. That’s my boy, alright. That’s my boy!
Granny’s hands are now flying all over, and Luna and Leandra are captivated. They don’t even notice when the rest of us vacate the room. Ash’s kitchen is just behind the living room, but because the house is old, it’s fairly closed off, so it lets us gather without being seen. It’s the perfect setup.
“Cake tasting,” I tell Milo, who has followed me in without making a sound. “It’s something we boys do. We always have, and we always will. Whenever there’s cake, it has to be tasted.”
“Cakes are good,” Milo whispers. “Really good. But won’t GG and mom be mad?”
“Who’s GG?” I choke out.
“Great-Granny. She said I should call her GG because it’s more hip.”
“Of course she did.” Ash sets a hand on Milo’s shoulder. “Because you’re the newest member of our family, you get all the honors today, Milo. You’re the only one who will lick the cake. But the fun of the game is to do it secretly, so no one knows it’s been licked.”
Milo makes a face. “Won’t that make people mad when they find out?”
Taylen smacks a fist up to his mouth to hold in his laughter. “It probably would,” he wheezes, “if we weren’t all family already. Granny expects this, and so do Ellis and Leandra. Your mom knows about it too. We’re all sharing germs just by being in the same space as each other, so what’s a few more?”
Milo just grins by way of acknowledgment. Kirian takes up his position by the kitchen doorway, and the rest of us get to work opening the cupboard as quietly as we can. There’s a big square cake up there. Well, it’s more rectangular, actually, with white, creamy icing done up in little ridges along the sides and swirls on top.
“Ooooooh, she’s a good one, boys,” Taylen whisper-yells as soon as he sees it.
“Going to be nice and heavy,” Ash agrees.
“Hurry up.” Kirian also uses the art of the whisper-yell.
Together, we get the cake lifted down and set it on the counter. There are some indrawn breaths and low whistles.
Welcome, Milo is written on the top in bold red letters, and there are pink and yellow flowers in the corner. Oh, yeah, this is totally a Granny’s choice cake. She’s the one who got it. She loves the old-school-looking beasties.
“Vanilla cream? Two layers? With cream in the middle?” Ash guesses.
“I second that,” Taylen says.
“I think she fooled us and went for the changeup. It’s chocolate under there with vanilla cream in the middle.” The creamy pudding stuff is Granny’s favorite. She wouldn’t get a cake without it.
“I think it’s both,” Milo whispers, looking between all of us. “Chocolate and vanilla. One on top and one on the bottom.”
We all take a moment and consider that. The looks my cousins and brother give Milo make me proud. This is my son, and he’s wicked smart. They clearly like the little dude. I mean, they’d do their best to love him anyway, even if they didn’t like him, but Milo is an easy kid to like. He’s taught me a thing or two about just going with the flow, letting my guard down, and letting out the inner kid in me that never really got a chance to shine. Of course, only he gets to see that. So far.
“This is where the knives come in.” Ash slides open the kitchen drawer as silently as possible.
I rest my hand on Milo’s shoulder. “Can you keep watch until we’re done with the sharp stuff?”
“Sure.” Milo grins and tiptoes over to Kirian, who puts a hand on Milo’s chestnut brown hair—a mix between my sandy color and Luna’s jet black.
My heart flip-flops again. I think I might have to go see a specialist soon if this keeps up.
When the knives are procured, we slide them under the cake. We motion Kirian over as soon as we have them in place, and each of us lifts it up at the same time, two on each side. When the cake is balanced, we get our hands under it. Four big dudes mean eight big hands, which easily hold up the cake. Ash slips his hand out long enough to put the knives in the sink behind him. Then, we bring the cake away from the counter.