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CHARLIE STOOD IN THE KITCHEN WITH JOHNNY AND DANIEL. She leaned against the counter, patiently waiting for Miguel to finish his conversation with Sam, asking for pointers with her dad.
"Oh yeah, wiseass?" Johnny quipped, tossing a bottle lid at Daniel with a flick of his wrist. Daniel caught it with ease that surprised even him, "Nice catch."
"Hey, do you mind taking the broccoli rabe off the stove? I wanna grab a Barolo from the garage. It's the green stuff in the pan," Daniel requested, gesturing towards the bubbling pot before striding away.
"No problem," Johnny replied, walking over to the stove. Charlie couldn't help but chuckle, giving him a small pat on the shoulder. "Look at you two actually getting along."
Johnny rolled his eyes dramatically, and Charlie turned back to the table, laying out colorful mats in a neat row.
"What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar voice broke asked. She turned around to see Anthony, but this was not the same kid she remembered. He was now almost towering over her, with a small weight loss and a deeper voice.
Johnny squinted at the unfamiliar figure. "I was invited. Who the hell are you?"
"Anthony?" Charlie gasped, her eyes wide. The last time she had seen him, he'd barely reached her waist, and now he was practically eye-to-eye with her.
Johnny's brows knitted together as he turned back to the boy. "Wait, are you the son? What did you do, switch over at Whopper Juniors?"
"It's called a growth spurt, dipshit," Anthony shot back, muttering the last word under his breath.
"Still a piece of crap," Johnny shook his head.
Charlie walked over with a grin to ruffle Anthony's hair as she wrapped her arm around his head in a headlock. "You finally grew!"
He let out a small chuckle as she let go of him, "Just give it a few months; I'll be even taller than you."
"You wish." she said, pushing his head away, just as Amanda walked into the kitchen.
"Hey kids, Dinner!" she called out cheerfully, settling into her seat at the table.
As everyone began to pile into the room, Charlie slid into her seat between Anthony and her dad.
"You know, I don't think I'll ever get sick of seeing the two of you together," Carmen remarked, her eyes glancing between Johnny and Daniel.
"Makes two of us," Charlie replied with a light shake of her head. Growing up, she had always heard of the rivalry between the two men, even getting caught up in the middle of it and see it first hand. So to say - seeing them being civil was a relief for her was an understatement.
