The group shifted after the toast, and Bryce and Pawl positioned themselves on either side of me while Joseph, Tom, and Flinn brought the circle in close. The six of us were tucked into a narrow space between the kitchen island and the refrigerator. By all accounts, this wasn't a great situation for me since I was the only one who didn't know what was happening.
I locked both hands around my glass, thankful for the cool dampness of the condensation as the back of my neck flamed.
"So, Jory, we're hoping you could clue us in on a few things." Pawl sent a meaningful glance to the other members of the ambush squad. Sweat rolled down my spine and soaked my shirt. "If you don't mind."
I took a sip of my drink, something limey with a confident pour of vodka, to buy myself a minute. I did this whenever I needed a pause from my students—save for the vodka. It gave me time to think and breathe. There were moments when I had to tamp down some frustration or conceal a laugh in my water bottle. Kids often said hilarious and wildly inappropriate things. Even the best of us struggled to keep a straight face sometimes.
I wasn't sure I could keep a straight face for this. I kept my gaze on a tight circuit between the door—come on, Max, get in here—and my interrogators. Still, I didn't know what I'd do if they'd staged this coup to break up Max and me. Would they do that? Could they? I didn't need their approval but contending with their disapproval was a different story. And why would they disapprove? I had more than my share of issues but that didn't mean I needed to be run out of town.
Pawl draped his arm over my shoulders, leaning in close to ask, "How is he doing? We're worried about him."
"I—what?" I blinked at him, thoroughly confused.
"He looks so much better," Joseph offered. "He looks alive again."
"Happy too," Bryce added. "You can tell his spirit is in a much better place."
"How is he doing?" Pawl repeated. "Have you noticed any Eeyore days?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tom nodded, finally understanding my confusion. "After Max left his ex, he went through some difficult periods. Some Eeyore days. You know Eeyore. From Winnie the Pooh. He used to be all Tigger but things went from bad to worse with Teddy. Tigger faded away. Eeyore took over."
"I don't believe that," I said with a shocked, humorless laugh. I knew he'd struggled after his breakup but this sounded nothing like the Max I knew. "I can't see Max being—being Eeyore."
Bryce and Flinn exchanged a loaded glance. "Believe me," Flinn said. "It was a rough time for him. It seemed like he was slipping into a depression, but he didn't want to discuss it with any of us."
"He never wants to bother anyone," Bryce added. "Even when we want to be bothered."
"Especially then," Joseph said.
"We didn't know what to expect when he told us he'd met someone." Tom tipped his chin in my direction. I was the someone. "We were worried it wouldn't be healthy for him."
"Thanks," I muttered.
"You are adorable and all the precious things," Joseph said. "But we didn't know that at the start. We didn't know if it was a rebound or a repeat of the cycle with Teddy—"
"I don't cheat on people," I said, louder than I'd anticipated by the sudden snap of quiet.
"Of course not," Tom said.
"Dude, we're Team Max, and you're the MVP of that team," Flinn said. "We're asking you these questions because we want to believe he's out of the Eeyore days, but since he's spending all his free time with you, we're not sure what's up or down."
When I didn't respond because I was honestly trying to put all of this information into a logical order while also convincing my brain this wasn't a fight-or-flight situation, Bryce said, "We need to know if he's really doing okay or if we should push him to visit a doctor for some help. I'd been keeping an eye on the situation, but then my mom passed, and my entire life was on hold for three months."
"And I had to duck out when a few of my athletes got caught up in a gambling scandal," Flinn said. "I've spent the past couple of months on the road more than off and I didn't check in with Max nearly enough."
"I got engaged," Tom said, holding up his hand to show off his ring. "And we left town for a bunch of weddings and then we spent a month hiking overseas. I know I didn't talk to him nearly enough."
"We've been shitty friends," Pawl said. "That's what we're trying to tell you. Max would run barefoot through the streets if we needed him, and somehow, we all managed to flake out on him when he needed us too much to ask for it." He shook his head and glanced down at the floor, his lips pressed together in a line as his chin wobbled. "We had the situation with Max and his Eeyore moments in hand until life cocked it up for us this summer. Now that we're not falling apart anymore, we want to thank you for being there for him. He's happy as a fucking clam and we're damn lucky he found you. He can't stop talking about you, by the way, so please don't break his heart." He tapped his glass to mine. "We've probably been shitty friends to you too, but I swear to gumdrops, we're working on it. Now, tell us. How's Coach doing?"
I parted my lips to respond but Max's blond head and smiling face joined the group. "There you are, babe!" He pushed his way through the wall of my finely dressed captors, cupped my jaw, and kissed me as if we'd been separated for years rather than minutes. When
