The Cost Of Winning

A / N : This is going to be something of a long chapter , so please bear with me .

MIKAELA'S POV :

I'm checking out the kitchen , and it appears that I'm going to need to make a quick grocery run , so I should probably put on my shoes .

As I'm doing this , my phone starts playing "Got Your Six" , so I grab it and say , "Good morning , sunshine !"

"Mik , he's dead !" , my best friend groans .

"Damn , he couldn't hold out another month ?"

"Apparently not . I came out to the parking lot , and pffft ! Nothing . Not even the usual cranky wheezing ." , she informs me .

"Well , you know as well as I do that the damn car is a hunk of junk , hon ." , I reply .

"Yeah , but it's the only hunk of junk I have , and I can't afford to get it fixed right now . Milt called a meeting this morning and said he's gonna have to cut hours until he finds out if we're gonna get one of those contracts he's going for ."

"Shit , that sucks ! Does that mean you're off now ?"

"Yeah , I'm over here at the Quik - Trip trying not to melt ."

"Stay there , I'll come get you , and I'll call Ryan and have him do the pickup , he's out in that direction anywho . I've got to hit the grocery store , so you can help me with that . We're having extra people for lunch ." , I inform her .

"Anybody I know ?"

"Not even anyone I know . When Ryan took his folks to the airport yesterday , he ran into an old high - school buddy , and invited him and his out of town company for lunch ."

"So three more guys , then?" , she asks .

" Two guys and a girl , apparently the guests are a couple . He was yelling most of this at me while he was in the shower this morning , so pretty much about all I actually understood was what I just told you , and the girls name is Julia . Or possibly Judith , I'm not 100% either way . But the end result is that we need more food ."

"OK , I'll hang here , just ask Ryan to please not be late , they charge me by the hour , y'know ."

"You got it , hon ! See ya in a few !"

I end the call and dial my fiancee , preparing to add a little something to his schedule .


ASHLEY'S POV :

We've been wandering around the car show for a little while now , and even though Juliet isn't quite as enthused as the three of us , she does find a few things that interest her . It's getting pretty hot , though , so we go grab some cold drinks and sit down at a table with a big umbrella .

Just as we get settled , Ryan's phone starts playing "Always" , by Killswitch Engage . He taps the speaker button and says , "Hey there , 'Kaela , what's up ?"

"Unfortunately , there's a bit of a situation , so you'll need to make a stop on your way home ."

"What happened , babe ?" , he asks .

"Lurch bit the dust a little while ago , and that jack - wagon Milt decided to cut everybody's hours , which kinda nixes any chance of resurrection anytime soon ." , she replies .

"Well , obviously I can't say I'm shocked . So I presume y'all want me to go collect the Bren - Muffin , right ?"

"It would be greatly appreciated , babe . And please don't be late , they'll charge for an extra hour if you overshoot by even five minutes ."

"Yeah , I remember , I'll be early , if anything . I'll see you back at the house , babe . Love you , bye !" , he says , and ends the call .

None of us are sure if we should ask what's going on , but he looks up and says , "I guess that probably sounded a bit weird , didn't it ?"

We all just sort of shrug , and he says , "Lurch is her best friends piece of shit car , and they need me to pick up her little girl from daycare ."

Andy sort of raises an eyebrow , and says , "Bren - Muffin ?"

"Her name is Brenna , that's my nickname for her . The girls tend to call her Smidge , because she's such a tiny thing . She was a preemie , so she's small , but she's healthy , and very smart for her age , fortunately . They're having lunch with us anyway , so it's no big deal ." , he says .

"And your fiancee said something about hours being cut ." , I say , "I assume that's her friends' job she was talking about ."

"Yeah , it's too bad she can't come up with something else , but it's hard to find jobs around here that aren't fast food without a degree , and she had to drop out when she had Bren . She apparently had that thing that makes your blood pressure go up and down like the price of crude oil , and went into labor at a little over six months . Which , of course , meant that the baby was in the hospital for almost two months , which made it a bit difficult to go to classes ."

"I take it that Dad isn't in the picture , then ?" , Andy inquires .

Ryan's eyes get sort of wide , and he says , "Nooo , not even a little bit ! And don't go there when we get to the house . I made that mistake once . Once . I asked why she didn't hit him up for child support , and she just told me that she'd sooner drink Drano , and wouldn't discuss it anymore . Then 'Kaela told me later that if I ever brought up the subject again , she'd have no problem neutering me ."

"Ouch , that must've been a bad situation ." , Juliet says .

"All I know is that 'Kaela told me , and I quote , 'He's a thoughtless , egotistical , self - absorbed prick , and if I ever see the rat bastard crossing the street , I'll run him down and do donuts over his bloody corpse !' " , Ryan tells us .

"Sounds like you better be careful about pissing her off ." , I inform him .

"Weirdly enough , that's the only topic I've ever seen her get that worked up over . Usually , she's the most laid - back gal you'd ever wanna meet ."

"So , how much longer 'til we need to book ?" , Andy inquires .

Ryan checks his watch , and tells us that we have about 45 minutes before he has to leave , so we get up and continue to check out cars .

___________________________________________________________

After we leave the show , I follow Ryan to the daycare , and the plan is to then follow him to his house .

We pull into the parking lot , and he walks over to my car . I roll down the window , and he says , "Do you think one of you could do me a favor while I run in ? The car seat is in the back , and I need someone to get it back into the seat ."

We get out and walk over to his SUV , and Andy reaches into the back and pulls the thing over the back of the seat . I'm not sure what it says about his competence , or mine , that Juliet had to basically walk us through the entire process of fastening it into the back seat .

Just as we finally finish getting it in place , Ryan walks up to us , carrying an absolutely adorable little girl on one hip . She has curly dark brown hair , and big dark eyes , and she's wearing a white shirt with Big Bird , yellow shorts , and little white sandals . She looks at us and says , "Unca Wy , who's them ?"

"These are my friends , baby . This is Juliet , and Andy , and Ashley . Everybody , this is Brenna ."

"Not a baby ! Me's two !" , she informs him , rather indignantly .

"Yes , you're right , I'm sorry ." , he chuckles .

I notice that she's holding something in her arms . "What's that , cutie ?" , I ask her .

She gives me a big smile , and thrusts a stuffed toy at my face . I see that it's a plush cat , in an almost violent shade of green , with a white face , and sparkly yellow oversized eyes .

"Her's a kitty , and her's my fwend !" , she announces . "She's name is Pickle !"

"That's a very good name for her ." , I reply with a laugh .

She looks at all of us again , and her eyes get really big . She turns to Ryan and says , "Unca Wy , them's got colored on themself's . If I color on me , Mommy say 'No!' , and I has to gets a bath !"

This makes everyone laugh , and Juliet tells her , "It's OK to color on yourself if you're a grown- up , sweetie ."

She turns back to Ryan and asks , " Where Mommy ?"

"Mommy's with Aunt 'Kaela , Lurch was naughty today ." , he says .

"Wurch bad car !" , she agrees .

"So let's get you into your seat , and we'll all go have lunch , OK ?" , Ryan says as he opens the door of the SUV .

"I can has peemie budder ?"

"I don't know , Muffin , we'll see what Mommy says ." , he tells her as he buckles her into the seat .

She waves as he closes the door , and Juliet says , "She is too cute to be tolerated !"

"Yeah , she's a doll ." , I agree . "Does she look like Mommy ?"

Ryan laughs and says , "Not even close , dude ! Mommy is a blue - eyed blonde ."

"Oh , now you're speaking his language !" , Andy chuckles .

Ryan just shakes his head at us , and gets into the SUV , so we go to my car , and follow him out of the lot when he pulls out .

"She is absolutely precious ! " , Juliet proclaims to Andy and I .

"Yeah , and she seems pretty verbal for only two ." , Andy adds .

I smile and say , "A little fuzzy on the personal pronouns , but I know some grown - ups who can't do much better ."

"Like Danny when he's shit - faced ." , Juliet giggles .

"I'm not entirely sure what actual language he speaks when he's loaded ." , I say .

This causes all of us to crack up , and we wind up laughing most of the way to Ryan's place .

Notes