Page 21 of Manny Included

Bay looked surprised but smiled and waved back at her.“Good morning.”

“Mornin’!”She laughed, that little girl so happy just to be.

Bay chuckled.“Are you hungry?Apparently we’re having french toast.”

“Yay!”That was Eric.

He put Flynn in his highchair with a handful of Cheerios and a cut-up banana, then he got out the eggs and the milk.

“Can I do anything to help?”Bay asked.“Keeping in mind that I don’t cook.”

“Can you pour four milks?One in a bottle, one in a sippy cup, two in regular cups.”

“Sure.”Bay got to work, pouring milk out and putting the cups and bottle on the table.

Pete set to making breakfast—soaking the bread, heating the pan.He’d started actually cooking the toast when he realized Bay was standing nearby, leaning against the counter and simply watching him.

“How many pieces do you think you’d like?”

“Two sounds about right.Have we got maple syrup and butter?I can put them out while you’re cooking.”

“We do.That would be great, but—” He lowered his voice.“Keep them over here or we’ll have a syrup explosion.”

One of Bay’s eyebrows went up.“Explosion?”he asked, just as quietly.

“Uh… tsunami?”he tried.

Bay’s quirked eyebrow turned into a frown.“What?”

“You remember how yummy and pure sugar maple syrup was when you were a kid?How easy it was to pour out the whole can?”Surely Bay hadn’t been the perfect child.

“Um… oh!”Bay looked over at the kids, nodded.“Why didn’t you just say it got messy?”

He tilted his head.“Because we don’t want anyone’s feeling hurt.”

“Huh.Okay.I guess that makes sense.”Bay found the butter in it’s container on the counter and looked through the pantry, coming back to set the maple syrup bottle down next to the butter.“So do you apply it here for everyone, then?”

“That’s the safest answer, yes.”And he always defaulted to the safest answer.

“Okay.I guess I should bring the plates back then.”Bay went over to the table and gathered all the plates but Flynn’s and brought them over.“I assumed Flynn was good with what he had.”

“Absolutely.It’s excellent to have Belle help you, though.She’s a little lost.”

“It made my life easier, and I can keep having her help, too.Hey, Belle, when Pete’s finished cooking the pancakes, can you remind me who gets which plate again, please?”

“Uh-huh, but Uncle, Petey’s making french toasts.”She blinked at him, wide-eyed.

“Oh, that’s right.Thank you for reminding me.”

She giggled softly.“I’ll help you with the plates.”

“Cool.The only thing I remember is Merida gets the purple plate.”

“That’s because she is the little girl and she might throw her plate.”

“Huh.I had assumed it was because purple was her favorite color.”Bay tapped the plate.“What do you know, it’s plastic.”

She nodded, the expression knowing.“It is!”