Page 41 of Out on a Limb

“No.” Cameron giggled to himself. “Yes. I just came over to say hi and tell him that Taints Misbehaving won.”

“What’s a taint?”

“Hobie, get back to sleep.” Walker shoved the refilled glass into Cameron’s hands and rushed over to his son.

“Isn’t it late for a playdate?”

“It’s not a playdate.”

“That’s not what Cameron said.”

“You remembered my name! High five!” Cameron’s hand hung in the air. Hobie couldn’t resist slapping him five.

“Back to bed.” Walker remained firm.

“But I’m not tired anymore.”

“Yes you are.” Walker yawned, complete with lion’s roar at the end. “See, we’re all tired.”

“That was a fake yawn,” Cameron said. He looked to Hobie who nodded in agreement.

Walker tried to hold onto control, but his parental power couldn’t match a cute kid and a drunk college student. He sighed. “Fine. Hobie, you can play with your Legos for twenty minutes. And then it’s back to bed. No exceptions.”

“Deal.” Hobie held out his hand, and father and son shook on it.

Cameron loved that no matter how firm Walker was (or tried to be), he cared deeply for his son. A flicker of sadness burned inside him like a lighter searching for a cigarette.

“I’m sorry for breaking your Lego castle,” Cameron said with actual remorse.

Hobie nodded like he wasn’t that surprised. Were all six-year-olds this smart? “It’s okay. When I rebuilt, I turned half the castle into a space station.”

“Cool! Can I see?”

Walker raised his eyebrows. Cameron shrugged. It was Lego time. You were either in or out. Walker followed behind and sat on Hobie’s bed.

Cameron knelt right beside Hobie, who showed off the castle/space station. A rocket ship sat on the drawbridge, attended to by knights and a purple squid-like alien.

“This is Monte.” Hobie pointed at the knight. “He’s King Dandelion’s most trusted knight, and he’s in charge of protecting the rocket ship along with Smort.” He pointed to the alien.

“Protecting it from whom?” Cameron asked.

“Uh, everyone! It’s a rocket ship in Medieval Times. All the other kings and kingdoms want it.”

“Right. Duh. So do Monte and Smort get along? Like are they friends?”

Monte and Smort were on opposite sides of the rocket ship. Cameron could make out some friction in their body language.

“I don’t know,” Hobie said. “Monte wants to protect King Dandelion, and Smort likes to eat insects and grass.”

“Okay. Got it, got it. So Monte is uptight and by-the-book. He follows orders, and I’m sure there were tons of rules in Medieval Times. But Smort comes from the future and a planet with no rules. So they’re like an odd couple.”

“What’s an odd couple?”

“It’s when two people seem totally opposite, yet still can be friends. Like peanut butter and jelly. They have nothing in common, but they work great together on a sandwich.”

“I can’t eat peanut butter. I have a peanut allergy.”

“Oh. Sorry.”