Page 72 of Poly

Chapter Seventeen

November

Arlo

“Why inhelldid we let her talk us into doing this ourselves?” I’m staring at the last section of kitchen cabinets we have to install.

Yes, we went with IKEA cabinets.

Yes, we’re doing it ourselves.

No, I don’t know why. Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment.

Plus, my wife and my husband are very persuasive.

Especially when my husband gangs up with my wife to help her get her way.

That wasn’t a complaint, just a statement.

Because I’m definitelynotcomplaining.

Not aboutthem, at least. Just that we don’t have a fully functioning kitchen yet.

Nolan tips his head over onto my shoulder. “Because you loooove us,” he teases.

“Fuck, I guess.”

Thanksgiving is in three weeks. The house sold faster than we thought it would—the second day it was on the market—and at a much higher asking price than we thought it would, leaving us scrambling to get packed and moved into a house that wasn’t quite ready yet.

Which is an understatement.

Because it wasnotready yet.

We all took several days off from work to try to slam through the worst of what had to be done so we could at least move in. We’d been working on the finishing touches ourselves. Yes, it’s saving us tens of thousands of dollars, but…

Damn. What a pain in the ass.

“So what do we have to do next?” Nolan asks.

It’s after seven at night, and I’m exhausted, but I’m bound and determined these cabinets will be bolted to the fricking walls before I go to bed. There’s probably another two hours of work to do, at least.

I’m explaining to Nolan what we need to do next when I hear the kids talking in the dining room. I’ll admit I’m tired and not really paying attention to them because my multi-tasking skills are sort of offline right now. I’ve got tunnel vision going at this moment.

Lucas calls out to us. I’m trying to finish my thought to Nolan before I acknowledge Lucas, because right now, I’m so tired, I know I’ll forget what I was saying if I don’t.

“Dad,” Lucas calls out again, insistent, finally getting our attention. It doesn’t escape my notice that both me and Nolan look at him.

“What?” we both ask. Then we look at each other and start laughing.

So do Lucas and Katie. They actually high-five each other.

“See, told you,” Lucas said, smiling. “They’rebothour dads.”

“I think we were just played,” I tell Nolan.

“Gee, ya think?” But he’s smiling.

“I like having two dads,” Katie says with a grin. “Does this mean I get extra Christmases, birthdays, and stuff now, like I did with Mommy?”