Mo, the Matriarch of the Family

Jude

My parents live in Vermont, in the woods. Their house is amazing, huge, and has the best view I’ve ever fucking seen. Better yet, there’s a series of rope bridges that lead to their guest houses, which float among the trees. There are three, and each is more epic than the last.

This house is their ultimate retirement space. There’s an enormous woodworking workshop that was converted into a studio for Dad Zak’s business. Among the vaulted ceilings with enormous windows is a loft that has all of Dad Owen’s hockey stuff and Dad Zak’s awards. It’s like walking through a museum that’s all about their careers. It’s amazing.

They have an indoor pool, and while not big, it’s large enough for Mo to splash around in for hours. Large enough for Elijah and Ezekiel to practice flips and shit in the water where they’re not going to get hurt.

There’s also a greenhouse that Dad Owen’s been tooling around in since retirement. He moves between vegetables and flowers, depending on his mood.

The house is honestly one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen. And they didn’t even build it. Dad Zak says they couldn’t have dreamed this place up if they’d tried.

This is the first time bringing Conner home with me. He met my parents and my sister when the whole family stopped in to celebrate Nolan’s graduation last spring. He obviously knows my twin brothers since they were in the same frat house.

As a hockey fan, I think he’s a little nervous to be in my father’s house, though. There’s comfort in being surrounded by a huge crowd when meeting people whose careers you’ve followed and admired all your life.

I get it. And yet, I don’t. I’ve grown up around hockey players my entire life, since Dad has a bunch of friends from his hockey days. As kids, we often got together with a bunch of them every other year or so. They and their families.

We’re the last ones here, which isn’t surprising since we’re coming from the opposite side of the country. Even further than Eli, who’s in Edmonton with his boyfriend Edin and Edin’s ten-year-old daughter, Morgan.

My parents are loving having a grandkid. They were made to be grandparents.

“This is where you live?” Conner asks as we get out of the rental. He stares up at the house with his jaw dropped.

“No. I live with you, fool.”

He rolls his eyes, glaring at me.

I grin. “We didn’t grow up here. They moved here after I was drafted. Their retirement home. Dad needed hobbies when he retired, so he wasn’t always bugging Dad Zak, who was still growing his business. He joined the boat club when we were young. When he no longer had us kids to tend to, they found this house to keep Dad entertained.”

“Jeez,” he murmurs.

I’m still grinning because he hasn’t even seen half of the amaze-balls secret bits I’m going to show him. For now, we’re heading in. I link our hands together and drag him along to the front door.

As soon as I open the door, I hear, “Uncle Jude!”

Yeah, my dads are enjoying being grandparents, but I’m also loving being an uncle. Morgan comes streaking around the corner, her dark curls flying behind her like a cape. I let go of Conner and scoop her up.

“You’re always so late!” she complains as she hugs me tightly.

“Dude, I saw you two weeks ago when we kicked your dad’s hockey butt.”

“That was lucky. The refs were on your side,” Morgan says. “Three of those penalties were horsesh—crap.”

“Nice save,” I note.

“And two against you were also crap, but since you won, I agree with them.”

I kiss her cheek. “You’re growing too quickly, Mo. I hate it.”

She beams at me as I set her on her feet. She turns to Conner. “Hi, Lang.” She waves and then holds out her fist for Conner to bump. “I miss yelling at you to hustle on the ice.”

Conner sighs. “So do I, Coach.”

Morgan beams. “Everyone is in the living room.” She turns but glares at us over her shoulder. “Waiting for you.”

“I can’t control the plane, Mo.”

She rolls her eyes.

“Good thing I shipped Dad’s present, huh? She’d be furious if she had to wait for us to unload it from the luggage,” I note.

“Yes, I would be,” Morgan says as she enters the living room.

Gracie jumps to her feet and hugs me. Conner looks a little startled when she hugs him, too. It’s a little awkward as he pats her back. I try not to laugh.

My twin brothers greet him next with Edin. I’m glad there are others here that he knows pretty well to put him at ease. And we have Mo, who is a huge tension breaker.

Then there are my dads, and I hug them both. They shake Conner’s hand, which I think Conner is grateful for. It occurs to me that I’m not sure how he feels about hugging. Gracie is a hugger, so I probably should have checked in.

“Where’s your bromance buddy?” I ask Zeke as we take a seat on the small couch.

Zeke rolls his eyes. “Home, probably.”

I frown. “I just realized I’ve been so caught up in my own shit that I haven’t kept up with yours.”

He shakes his head, shrugging. “I live with Eli, Edin, and Mo. We’re talking about starting up a cheer school. Like a true school. We’re talking following a Catholic school regime, but instead of prayers and shit, we’re inserting cheer.”

I laugh. “That sounds awesome.”

Zeke shrugs. “It’s really lame that there are no competitions after college.”

“What he’s not telling you is the Minnesota Norsemen offered him a position on their cheer team,” Eli says, shoving his brother. “And he turned it down.”

Morgan is frowning at Zeke. I have a feeling that she’s laid into him many times already.

“Why?” I ask.

“I want to compete. Not cheer just to cheer.”

I elbow Conner.

He looks at me, smiling. “I know that feeling,” he says.

He and Zeke share an understanding smile. “I know,” Zeke says.

“You landed a great job with Van Doren, didn’t you?” Dad Zak asks.

Conner nods. “I did. It’s pretty cool.”

“What do you do?” Morgan asks. She’s sitting on the floor with a big table filled with nail polishes and glam stuff that I can’t even begin to name. She’s currently working on Gracie’s nails.

“I actually work for their boarding school to arrange trips and experiences. I’m working on trying to find ways to integrate sporting opportunities.”

Morgan grins. “That’s cool! Do they have cheer?”

“No. Would you like to be a student visitor, Mo?” Conner asks.

Her fingers pause, and she looks up. “Are you serious?”

Conner nods. “Yes, actually. Maybe while your dad is away on games, you, Eli, and Zeke can visit the school and talk to them about what your cheering schedule looks like. Between the three of you, you can show them some routines.”

The way she lights up has everyone in the room smiling. She looks at her dad, and I swear he squints. She’s as bright as the sun right now. “Can I do that, Dad?”

“We’ll talk about it, but I don’t see why not,” Edin answers.

“That’s so cool! I can’t wait.”

I grip Conner’s leg, giving him a slight squeeze. He might not get to live out his dream as a hockey player, but he’s certainly on the road to helping kids make memories and discovering passions they might not otherwise be exposed to.

We spend a while talking about Conner’s job and the twins’ new cheer adventure. Conner suggests that they get in touch with the Van Dorens since they recently built their school from the ground up, and they’d be able to point them in the right direction to get started if they’re serious.

“Arek,” Eli muses. “Right? That’s the only Van Doren that was part of DI—Delta, right?”

“I know it’s called DIK,” Morgan says, not looking up from where she’s applying gemstones to Gracie’s nails. “It’s not like my ears closed every time someone said it, Eli.”

Dad covers his mouth with his hand to hide his laughter.

Eli sighs. “Always scolded by the child.”

“Yes, only Arek. He’s a good guy,” Conner says. “Even if a little… chilly.”

Eli nods. “Alright. I’ll reach out.”

“He attended Van Doren Prep his entire school career,” I tell him. “Which you’d know if you’d ever joined us at the boat club.”

“Boat club?” Morgan asks.

Edin looks at me with curiosity, too.

“Yeah,” Eli says. “It’s an old castle on an island on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York. Our family has been members of the club for, what? Fifteen years now?”

“I think we’re closing in on twenty,” Dad Zak says and looks at Dad Owen. “How long have you been retired?”

Dad Owen sighs. “Too long. Yes, closer to twenty.”

Morgan looks at Eli with narrowed eyes. “Why haven’t you taken us there, Eli?”

Eli glares at me, but I smile as if I have no idea why he’s put out. He didn’t want anything to do with No Face, which is why he stopped going to the castle when our dads stopped going. They weren’t part of No Face either. In fact, I’m not sure they know it exists.

Perfectly safe, I think to him.

“We can go there next summer, right?” Morgan asks.

Edin looks between Eli and me, his eyebrows knit together. Wondering what is passing between my brother and me.

“Yeah,” Eli says. “Mo will love it.”

Morgan beams and then sits back. “Okay, Aunt Gracie. Don’t touch anything for ten minutes.”

Gracie nods. “Thank you, Mo.”

Morgan rearranges everything on the table and then turns to everyone else in the room. I see both my fathers’ nails are already done. Eli’s mani might not be fresh, but it’s still vibrant. As is Zeke’s. Edin’s is fading, but I’m guessing that’s because of hockey.

I’m not in the least bit surprised when she turns to us. More specifically, Conner.

“Lang, your turn,” Mo says and pats the cushion in front of her.

Conner doesn’t even sigh as he gets up and joins Mo on the floor. I have a feeling he’s used to doing exactly what she says.

“Ugh, look at your nails!” Mo says. “They’re awful.”

“Sorry, Coach.”

She sighs heavily. “While I get you cleaned up, you choose the color and finish, okay, Lang?”

“Yep, on it.”

There’s a chance the smile on my face is permanent as I watch them. I haven’t truly thought about our future. In reality, we haven’t been together long. We haven’t had any conversations about our future beyond ‘next week, we have this scheduled.’

But seeing him with Mo like this? How easily he fits in with my family. I can’t help but wonder what his family would think right now. Conner, surrounded by people who love him. Who will treat him as a son and brother, no matter what he believes or whom he loves. He has a job that he enjoys, and though he just started it, he’s going to do good things. He’ll be successful, despite their attempt to break him.

“That’s better. Look how clean your nails are now, Uncle Lang,” Mo says.

Conner’s breath freezes as he looks at Mo. She’s rearranging the station so she can move on to painting. When she finally looks up, she smiles.

“Much better,” Conner agrees.

She nods and sets his hand where she wants it before taking the nail polish brush out. Conner looks at me, and maybe his eyes shimmer a little. I grin.

Yeah, hun. You’re part of this family now. I’m keeping you forever.

I smile.

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