Stars in the Sky (Book 2 of the Real World Chronicles)

Ch. 9: Wingmen

Half an hour after Tom had met Randall and Rachel, Randall invited him to meet his wingmen for the wedding and do some activities together for bonding time. Next thing Tom knew, he was getting slammed by Randall in a game of volleyball. Tom collided with the ground after a head-on set to the chest. Randall's friends high-gives each other for scoring the point.

"Good one," Tom breathed as he got back up. "Solid."

The rest of the game was the same, with Tom getting stung over and over, probably earning a couple of bruises here and there, too. Some hits ended up on his face so much and repetitively that he might've as well be becoming the next Scott Sterling.

Tom failed to bump some pointers and in the end ended up flat on the grass while looking up at the three teenagers who were his teammates, who provided little to no help whatsoever.

"Sorry, fellas."

"That's game!" Randall yelled, as he did his own fast paced friendship handshake with a few of his buddies. "Ha, that's how we do! That's how we do!"

"But are they good at math?" Tom muttered, in which his teammates all responded with awkward looks.

"Teamwork makes the dream work!"

Shortly after their little victory dance, Randall walked over to Tom and helped him up. "Sorry about that, Big Tom. Are you good?"

"All good. Fine," Tom waved it off as they began to walk off the volleyball field. "Hey. Thanks for inviting me out to hang with you and your groomsmen. Good quality bonding."

"Yeah, you know, bro? Those guys right there, they're way more than my groomsmen." They both looked off to the groomsmen all doing a usual array of exercises, such as mason twists, chair lifts, and handstand pushups. Come to think about it, they all looked so shredded, no wonder they kicked Tom and his team's butts so easily.

"That's my squad. Never would've made it through without them."

"Get over here!" His friend, Drench, hollered to him as he picked up a bottle of sparkling cider.

Randall waved to him, "Yeah, I'm coming! I'm coming!" He turned to Tom and offered a fist. "I'll catch you later."

Tom bumped his fist. "Oh, hey. Yeah!"

"Let me know if you're ready for some power yoga."

"You bet."

"Come on, Tommy boy," Randall patted Tom's shoulders and then posed, flexing his arms. "Let's go. Let's go."

Tom flexed back and laughed, "Don't make me." He pointed fun at Randall as he turned around and rejoined his buddies. Tom's hands fell to their sides, feeling silly. "What am I doing?"

"Hey, Uncle Tommy!" A young girl's voice chimed.

Tom turned around to meet his now preteen niece, Jojo, wearing hot pink and curls, and Maddie, wearing a sun hat and a hot pink short beach dress.

"Oh. Hey, girls! How are you do--" He saw the white pillow Jojo was holding in her hands. "Are those the wedding rings?"

"Uh-huh." nodded Maddie.

"May I?"

Jojo handed the wedding ring velvet pillow over for Tom to look at.

"This little ring bearer has been taking her job very seriously," Maddie explained with an impressed smile on her face. "She's been practicing all morning."

"Yeah, I can see that. How very responsible of you," he commented as he slipped a ring behind his back before handing the pillow back to Jojo. "Except aren't there supposed to be two wedding rings?"

Jojo looked down at the pillow and went pale. "Uh-oh."

Maddie sent Tom a mischievous look. "Uncle Tommy?"

"Hang on. What's going on here?"

He reached out with his right hand and pulled out the wedding ring from behind Jojo's left ear. Jojo laughed and took the ring.

"You're gonna do great, kiddo," he gave her a pat on the back.

"Bye."

Once Jojo was off and gone, Maddie edged on closer to Tom.

"Hey, baby,~" she chirped as she embraced him.

"Hi."

The two shared a hug and a kiss before they were startled by the groomsmen popping the sparkling cider open and spraying Randall with it, being the rowdy boys they still were at heart.

"That's right! Groom in the building!" He hollered, all pumped up.

Tom just chuckled as he watched. "Look at those guys," he observed as they all hugged it out. "I wish Sonic had that."

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Muscles?"

"Control yourself."

"Mm-hm."

"No. Buddies. Wingmen. A squad. Sonic doesn't have anything like that. He's flying solo. And judging by the looks of things, it doesn't seem like Willow has a whole lot of friends, either. None that we know of."

"Baby, you got to relax. You're at the Four Seasons. Have a virgin Mai Tai. Spend some time with your wife," she advised drastically.

Tom pointed at Maddie, "That's what he said. Seriously, his exact words."

"See? He's a smart kid. He'll find his way."

"Yeah, but still. Right after our little boat talk today, he told me that Willow had not been in contact with him since she gave him her contacts so they could chat more. Something's off."

"School can be a lot harder for some kids to handle. And this is teen years, we're talking about. She's probably just going through a very critical phase in her life."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. They'll find their way. They both will."