"If you recall I was a welcome participant in that." She smiled at him, not making any attempt to move away.
"Yes you were. Still." He looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen.
"That was awkward. And I had to answer some questions. We'll talk about that all later tonight, okay? Let's just enjoy dinner." She held up the box so she could look at it. "Kip you really didn't have to do this."
"I know. But I wanted to. I just thought." He busied himself taking off his shoes while he searched for the right word. "It would be a nice introduction for him and I."
"He'll be impressed," she said, still looking at the box.
"I had to call Maggie for advice."
"Did you tell her about me?" He nodded. "Is she going to tell your Mom?"
"I begged her, nearly literally, she hung up before I got down on my knees, not to tell."
Mandy let out a sigh. "If she tells your Mom, she'll tell mine. And, the last thing I need is."
"I know. We grew up in the same town right? We have the same mothers."
"Nearly. Except," Mandy shook her head. She shoved the box back at him.
He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper. "I didn't mean to bring up those memories."
"It's not your fault. I should be over stupid shit, er, stuff, like that."
He kissed her ear softly and then let her go. Always sticking his foot in his mouth these days. So, she had willing kissed him back? What was he read into that? Would they do it more later? Talk about not doing it again? He used to be able to read her mind. He wished that he knew her that well again. Of course that Mandy didn't have the confidence that this new Mandy did, and to go back would be a crying shame, he thought as he followed her into the house.
****
Mandy sat on the sofa while she watched Colton and Kip playing with the Lego set Kip had brought. She smiled as she leaned on her elbow. This felt real, like a family. Every once in a while one of them would look up at her and smile. Then they would go back to building.
She was thankful that Kip was interested, or at least feigning interest in the set. It was just a general set and they had set about to make a police station and some police cars, as illustrated in the accompanying papers. She was not very good at making her imagined creations turn into something real, and Colton had stopped asking her play Lego some time ago.