“Hi Connor! Kiss kiss?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

“Alright, suit yourself. I forgot poor people prefer high-fives.”

“I, uh… I gotta go!”

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“O-M-G, Renee! Isn’t he the cutest?”

“I guess? I dunno. Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Oh, I’m coming in late today~! I asked Mayhew to stop the limo here so I could invite Connor over next Saturday. Could you be, like, the best cousin ever and ask him for me? I’d really appreciate it!”

“Uhh… Okay?”

“Hey, Renee, can I ask you a quick favor?”

“Sure. I don’t see why not. I mean, you’re my best friend.”

“Ohmigosh this  means so much to me I really appreciate it!”

“So what’s the favor?”

“So you’re cousins with that girl Isabelle, right?”

“Yeah. Do you like her or something.”

“No, actually it’s, um, quite the opposite. I’m really not interested in her; in fact, I’m really not that interested in girls at all. I just don’t know what to do. It seems rude if I just told her ‘I prefer guys’.”

“Maybe just avoid her? She goes to a different school than us, so it shouldn’t be hard.”

“She has my number! And she won’t stop texting me! It’s gosh darn frustrating and kind of annoying as heck!”

“I’ll think of something. Don’t worry about it.”

“Ohmigosh I’m so happy! Thank you!”

“No problem, it’s not like she… goes… here…”

“Umm, is something wrong?”

“Hiiiii Connor~!”

“Oh, fiddlesticks.”

“Well, Frances was nice.”

“Yeah, he was.”

“You know, I had no idea time goes so fast! It’s like our years are days! Beau used to be a daddy, now he’s a dad.”

“Maybe that’s a sign we should start thinking about being parents, soon. We’re not getting any younger.”

“Okay, but can you please promise me we’ll have time to have a life before then!”

“You read my mind, hon.”

“So how have things been since you, y’know, moved to an entirely new country.”

“Oh, it hasn’t been bad at all. I found a nice job as an astrophysicist in town, and Max loves being away from Windenburg. I still keep in touch with my mom and brothers, though, and Max is happy about that, even though he never talks to his own family.”

“He doesn’t talk to his family at all? I mean, if Frances or I stopped talking to either of our families, we’d never get out of the house. Grandparents and aunts and uncles are usually great sitters after all.”

“I’m not sure why he doesn’t, but… I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but we’re not sure if we’ll be having kids for a long time. I mean, we’re only 23.”

“By the Watcher, you two are young!”

“Well, I, um, noticed your pet.”

“Oh, Scruffles?”

“Yes, um, I don’t think I’ve seen one quite like him. He’s so… large.”

“Yeah, Lucas wanted him. He loves big dogs. You should see him playing with the big guy, he gets so happy. It was worth the long search.”

“A long search?”

“Yeah, he’s specially bred to not bother Luc’s asthma. I suggested we get a smaller dog, like a maltese, but he really wanted a big one.”

“Well, that’s kind of you. I don’t think Beau and I could ever have the patience looking for a pet for that long. We’ve got three kids, after all.”

Three? Kids?”