Page 76 of Manny Included

“And nobody is going to leave, right?”

His eyes went wide.“Never.You four are our family.We will never leave you.Ever.”

“No matter what,” Bay added.“I’m your Uncle Bay and each and every one of you are important to me and loved.”

“You promise?You can’t leave us.”

“We swear,” Pete said.“We swear to you.”

“We’re not going anywhere.We’re going to stay right here with you and Eric and Merida and Flynn,” Bay promised.

“Good.Because… I need my family.Bad.”

He held his arms open to her.“Us too.”

She ran into his arms and squeezed his neck tight, sniffling hard.

“I love you, sweet Belle.I have you.It’s okay.”

“Nobody else can leave, Petey.Nobody.”She sobbed, and he just hugged her tight.

Merida’s lower lip was quivering.“Belle sad.”

“Yeah, she is.”Bay picked her up and hugged her.“That’s okay.Sometimes people get sad.”

“I love you.”She was so sensitive.

“And I love you, Merida.I love all of you so much.”

He could hear the emotion in Bay’s voice.

“Me too, right?”Eric asked.“And can I have more waffle?”

Bay laughed.“Of course I love you too.And yes, you can have more waffle.Have you developed a hollow leg?”Bay was right, Eric had to be going through a growth spurt, because he was eating at least seconds in each meal.

“We’re going to have to buy new pants and shoes soon, hmm?”he teased.

“How come?”Eric asked, shoving the food in like he was starving.

“Because you’re about to grow.That’s why you’re hungry.”

“I’m gonna be big like Uncle Bay!”

“I bet you are!”Pete loved that.He really loved that.

“More?”Eric asked, pushing his plate toward Pete, looking hopeful.

“Sure, honey.How about a half?”

“Okay.”

Eric was going to wind up with a sore stomach if he ate too much.

It was always a balancing act, especially with Eric.

“So I guess we’ve kind of discussed the main thing we’re having a family meeting for,” Bay noted.“Pete and I are sharing a bedroom now because we are together and we love each other.Nothing else is going to change.Do you guys have any questions or anything you want to talk about?”

“What are you going to do with Pete’s room?”Belle asked.“Is it going to be a TV room?The library room?My room?It has its own little bathroom.It could be my room.”