My Winter Days with Ty

(Part 2)

I think of my early autumn days with Ty, when the leaves swayed on the trees, colorful and lively, and the air possessed comfortably cool temperatures. I was standing in the foyer of Ty's house, shout-singing our song through the ceiling and listening to him shout-sing through the floor.

His mom gave us strange looks as he came down the stairs. "Every time you meet?" she asked.

"Every time," Ty said.

"Wait," I said to his mom, "you know about the song?"

"Yes, and when he told me about it, I didn't think it would last this long." She shook her head. "Three whole months and you still meet that way. I can't wait until you both get tired of that."

I smiled to myself. If Ty mentioned me at home, I must be special! "So," I said, "where's everyone else?"

Ty pulled out his hand and held up five fingers."Well, if you're really wondering, Josh is still at college, Tasha is out with her friends, Parker is grounded but found a way out of the house, Dad is hunting him down..." He counted each of his family members with his fingers, putting a finger down for each person. "And Caitlyn," he finished with his index finger pointing to a little girl hobbling towards us, "is right here."

Standing next to Ty, Caitlyn only made it to the middle of his thigh. She tilted her head up to see me, then she looked at him, her blue eyes wide open. She pulled on his coat gently and asked sadly, "Ty, you're leaving?"

"Yep," he said. "Don't worry, I'll be back in a few hours."

Caitlyn frowned. "Aww, but we were gonna play dress up! We were gonna!"

"I didn't forget," Ty said as he placed his hand on her head. "When I come back, it'll be din-din. After din-din, we can play dress up."

I smiled at the scene. Guys with little kids was sweet, but Ty with little kids was a whole other world of adorable.

"Ty, will you eat my veggies at din-din?

"But they're yours, and I'll have my own."

I pulled out my phone to check a text from Dakota and listened to the two of them talk.

"You can steal them, and I'll tell Daddy that someone stole them."

"But stealing is wrong, Cailtyn."

*big sis and whats-his-face sitting in a tree* the text said.

"If you see a lollipop, can you buy me one? Pwetty pwease?"

"I'll tell you what, I'll bring a lollipop when I come back, and if you eat all of your veggies, I'll give it to you."

My phone buzzed again, and I glanced at it. *k-i-s-s-i-n-g* the next text said.

"Yay! Tanku, Ty!"

"Don't thank me yet, you have to eat your veggies first."

Another buzz. *psych! :p* Dakota finished. I rolled my eyes and didn't bother to reply.

"Alright Caitlyn, Brielle and I have to go now."

I looked up to see Caitlyn looking at me again, and I smiled and waved.

She stared at me, then back at Ty. "Ty, are you and Brielle going out?"

He paused. I was all ears when he said finally, "I guess in a way."

My heart leaped; Ty and I were "going out"!

Then he said, "I mean, we're not dating, just doing stuff as friends. You do stuff with your friends too, right?" She nodded clumsily as my heart fell.