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andrew minyard did not want kids.
kids were sticky, messy, and did not fit well with the busy schedule that had consumed the two since they had joined pro-exy outside of palmetto.
and yet, andrew minyard stood in the doorway with his two nieces blinking up at him with such excitement that it seemed ungodly at 7:00am.
it had been a last minute decision to have the girls brought over so early. but as aaron had explained the night before “ katelyn is stuck in seattle for a game and i have to be on-call for work at the hospital tomorrow ” and in the efforts of maintaining and repairing the tear in their relationship since college, andrew had said yes.andrew had been around the two of them often enough that he knew how to manage the two girls but it was rare that he was left alone with them- completely alone since neil should be traveling back to south carolina after his match the night before. if bee could see him now, she'd be proud of all the ways that he managed to change.
grace and brynn minyard were no strangers to the foxes- and even less so with their uncle that they frequently saw over misshapen family dinners where they awkwardly danced around one another while aaron or kate played hostess. andrew had sat through one too many introductions of barbie dolls that had been awkwardly cut by wandering scissors wielded by brynn, the youngest at only six years old, or listening to grace, the oldest at eight years old, show off her favorite new chapter books. but those introductions had all been within the comfort of their home, instead they were standing at the threshold of a home that seemed too pristine for two young, wandering girls to tear through. from the cat tree in the hallway, king and sir blinked down at the two girls with interest. it was not often that they saw children pass through into their home, just like andrew was staring at them currently.
twenty four hours until pick up starts now.
he led the trail of two kids and two cats through the entry way and into the living room. the tv plays silently in the background with the first cartoons that andrew could find in preparation for the two girls- both of which aaron swore would go back to sleep but considering the way they wielded their backpacks full of toys, andrew doubted that.
“are those doughnuts?” grace asked, her brown eyes shifting from andrew over to the box of doughnuts sat on the coffee table.
andrew nodded, “for you and your sister to share,”
it was enough of a welcoming that all the jitters the girls had held suddenly disappeared- and they were off faster than any player that andrew had ever seen on an exy court. faster than neil who had been bred to run. andrew watched with an amused upturn on his lips while they picked through the doughnut holes boxed from the grocery store.
“mom always makes sure that brynn only has a couple,” grace explained as she delicately plucked four out of the container and dropped them in front of her sister. andrew tried not to grimace as the flaking chocolate coating dropped onto their usually clean coffee table. “they hurt her belly.”
“ do not !” brynn whined, leaning forward to snag a sprinkle filled doughnut hole from the box her sister was guarding. “i only want the sprinkle ones-”
andrew moved from where he was rooted in the entryway of the living room. he rounded the coffee table, grabbing for a pillow that was decorated in tiny orange foxes. a gift from one of the foxes to mark their college years. he dropped it onto the floor first before settling on top of it. he would hate to admit it- but he felt he was getting too old to be crouched on the floor and his knees had taken enough beatings from standing underneath the goals in exy. he crossed his legs, offering a hand out to the younger of the two sisters.
“can i have one?” even in the exhaustion of the morning, he was willing to settle the battle that was coming between the two sisters. brynn looked at the five doughnuts, plucking one of them off the table and offering it up to her uncle. andrew accepted it with a small nod.
“where’s uncle neil?” grace asked, her little fingers shoving another doughnut into her mouth. she chewed, watching andrew expectantly. uncle neil still felt as strange to hear as uncle andrew. they had been given the titles soon after the girls were born and it was grace that had first chirped it- and caught andrew completely off guard in the way she said it with so much promise. like yes, that was her uncle. and he would be the steady figure there for her. he had known how much he and aaron had needed someone as children; and aaron’s children would never have to want for a family member to be there for them.
“at a game,” andrew explained. he popped the doughnut hole he was holding into his mouth, watching as king stood awkwardly on the couch to lean forward enough to sniff the air between the girls. the two of them were unaware of the staring cats and instead opted to watch andrew with those innocent brown eyes that reminded him of all that was lost. it was odd getting ito this role; there had never been anyone to model after and suddenly these girls were his family just as easily as the world kept turning.
“and what are we going to do after breakfast?” brynn was less graceful, falling over her words with a mouthful of food. she slid her hands over her purple dungarees to wipe off the sticky feeling of icing and sprinkles. she pressed her hands across the wooden coffee table, leaning forward to get closer to her uncle.
“i was thinking that we’d go outside,” andrew glanced through the sliding door. the sun had finally come up and welcomed a warm ray of light through the little patio area. the condos had all talked of the illustrious backyard space and the natural lighting; all that had sold neil when they were looking for a permanent home. neil’s influence had been written all over this place because when andrew had thought of life, he had never imagined a condo and a mortgage or anything like that. he had never thought he’d get this far, and yet, they were welcoming the change slowly into their lives. the condo would never be permanent; but for now, it was theirs. “and then we’ll probably have lunch before uncle neil gets back home.”
andrew watched as the girls mauled down the doughnut holes, bouncing conversation off each other before andrew could interject. aaron had explained their personalities perfectly.
grace was more meticulous and smart. her expressions were shown in carefully counting out doughnuts for her sister or filling andrew in on all the notes that she heard from aaron or katelyn regarding everything about her and brynn. she was the daughter of a surgeon and sports therapist and it showed in each bit of conversation. she was more girly than her sister, wearing a brightly colored rainbow sundress and her ballet slippers were carefully velcroed evenly and cleaned before her arrival.
brynn, on the other hand, was the opposite of her sister and andrew had loved that since the moment the youngest was born. she wanted to follow in her sister’s footsteps but she was stubborn and rambunctious. she filled the air with conversation of anything and everything under the sun. she chattered back and forth with grace mostly, sharing stories of her new school or the way that she had done up her own dungarees that morning after picking them out herself. brynn’s face was covered in doughnut once she had finished her handful and she was ready to step outside and run laps around the condo’s yard. andrew would have to start calling her rabbit just like her uncle.
seated at the coffee table on the floor, there was rapid fire conversations about the newest disney movie that katelyn had taken them to see turned to the newest stuffie that brynn had stuffed in her bag after aaron had asked her not to and then later conversation of how katelyn had sworn up and down about joining seattle’s exy team as their sports therapist. by the time they were finished with the doughnuts, andrew had felt like they had talked more than he had ever been spoken to in such a short amount of time.
“okay, outside,” andrew announced, leading both girls to the back door after washing hands. he flicked the lock, tugging back the door.
quickly, brynn was out first with grace following right behind her. brynn wielded two barbie dolls like weapons while grace was looking for a sunny spot to color in her newest coloring book. andrew dropped into the chair on the back patio, his fingers itching for the usual brush of nicotine that he usually indulged in sitting on the back space. there was no more need for rooftops when he had a secluded patio to hide behind. he didn’t light a cigarette though, instead he watched his nieces settle. grace plopped down at the bottom of the patio steps, spreading out the glittering gel pens while brynn dropped a doll down beside her sister. in her other hand, the blonde barbie with a mismatched haircut soared through the sunshine of the patio with a whoosh of the youngest.
“she’s a superhero uncle andrew!” her voice announced, causing andrew to nod. “she fights bad guys!”
watching the girls play was like placing the innocence back into a world that andrew wasn’t used to. he wasn’t used to the softness that these girls possessed when he looked at them and saw there was nothing hiding behind their smiles. they looked softer; and andrew had seen it in his brother too. aaron had met him at the door in his pressed slacks and button down shirt and looked content to be awake at seven a with the two girls in tow.
andrew glanced down at his phone after it pinged. everyone still alive? the message was from aaron and andrew gave a little sigh- something that resembled a laugh under his breath. all good . came the reply and as he lifted his head, brynn came bounding up the stairs.
“uncle andrew,” her voice came out breathless from her running as she grabbed the arms of his chair to lean into his space on her tip toes.
“brynn,” he answered.
the barbie waved in his face as brynn pulled her hands off the arm of the chair. “can me and gracie give you a makeover?” she asked, her voice a stage whisper.
andrew glanced over to grace. the eldest minyard sister had her nose pressed down into her coloring book with a white knuckle grip on the pink glitter pen. “did you bring stuff for it?”
“mhm! i have it all in my bag. nail polish and eyeshadow and-” she rattled it off on her fingers, barbie wobbling back and forth in a twisted nature of torture at the hands of the six year old, “and blush and lipstick and hairties!”
“okay get grace and we can do it,” andrew didn’t know what possessed him but brynn was bounding down the porch and grabbing her sister.
that was how andrew found himself hostage on his own living room floor again with a six year old running the bristles of her brush through his shaggy hair. he was due for a haircut- and if this suddenly turned wrong like the second barbie staring at himself from the table- he could just get it all chopped short again. andrew closed his eyes. grace stood in front of him wielding the tiny eye shadow brush and pallet like a paint brush while she rubbed it over his eyes. brynn twisted his hair in her fingers, sliding the sharp part of the barrette across his scalp.
“what color are you doing grace?” andrew asked, trying to remain optimistic as she stabbed at his eyelid.
“orange! it’s uncle neils favorite,” grace sang out, her voice chipper as she snapped shut the eyeshadow pallet. “now hold still! i have to add lipgloss!”
the lip gloss was uncapped and slid across his lips in a messy, haphazard application. behind him, brynn giggled with delight. “i need help,” brynn announced, “i can’t do this-”
before andrew could reach back, grace was up on the couch. there was another tug and the twist of a hair tie sliding into place in his blonde hair. grace pulled back and clapped her hands together. “this is the most pretty you’ve ever been!” her voice chirped out.
and andrew had allowed their work to remain until the girls were down for a nap. the twist of energy and sugar rush had come with a crash. he was standing in his doorway of the bedroom with both girls sprawled out over the queen size bed. brynn tucked underneath grace’s arm in her sleep and he felt the comfort settling in his chest. the girls had everything he could have once hoped for when he was there age; something that resembled a family that loved them. andrew paused hearing the shuffling and slam of the front door. he started back down the steps, pausing at the bottom.
“junkie.” andrew greeted.
neil paused in the doorway; his intimidating boyfriend now was a view of glittery lipgloss, orange eye shadow, four different lopsided ponytails, and three different butterfly hair clips. every image of the make over rivaled up against his all black outfit and the armbands that were tugged up his wrists. neil dropped his bag and laughter erupted from his chest. he smacked a hand against his chest, leaning down.
“the girls are asleep.” andrew added, casting an eye up the stairs.
“i’m so-” neil laughed harder but it sounded like home to andrew, “ what did they do to you?”
before andrew could stop him, neil was wielding his phone and snapping a picture. the same picture that would later surface in the foxes group chat. neil moved forward, pausing before he grabbed at andrew’s shirt.
“yes or no?”
“yes.”
his lips collided with neils and andrew pulled him closer. the two held one another for only a moment before neil was pulling back with another burst of laughter. the residue of the lipgloss appeared on his partner’s lips.
“i missed you,” neil squeezed his hand.
“i didn’t.”
but they both knew andrew’s secret. he always missed neil.
andrew was finally softening in the world.