Nathaniel, the librarian-in-training, stood in his new realm, arms folded under his chest and his back toward the semi-circle of chairs arranged in their rapidly expanding section. His eyes flicked up to the cluttered whiteboard he stood in front of, then to his left, where a confident but anxious Zap swayed gently and faced the proper direction. Proper in this case, see: toward their gathered guests. Who, in no particular order were: Forge, Warpath, Hemlock, Wolverine, Droid, Fortress, Auster, Mars, Kore, Glitch, Polaris, Colossus, Magik, and Eric. All the people he and Eva determined needed to be brought up to speed or could have had more to add to the discussion.
Eva's intentions with her waffle day had been transparent to Nate, and her attempt to recenter her family was admirable. The right people were gathered and the proper social lubrication was applied. Then Nate and Eric had conspired to form their own sexy Bermuda Triangle, which had very successfully jammed Eva's radar, and aided in propelling the day in a very different direction. Less business was discussed and more feelings were felt. Not as much work got done, but vibes were present and enjoyed. The evening had devolved into much more a chill, family hang. Board games had been conjured, dinner had been ordered, and besides a tense and potentially very stabby game of Monopoly between Jon, Logan, Jimmy, and a very much set up Nathaniel, the evening was a pleasant one. Even though very few assignments were completed, Nathaniel felt as though a large amount of pressure had been released - and sometimes that was more important.
Case in point, the party barely ended. Brayden had slept over under the stars in a tent with Mateo, Troy, Grandpa Jon, Jesk, Birb, and Minor. Hopefully, the animals had stayed outside - but Nate couldn't have been sure. Eric had stayed in the guest room he'd grown accustomed to and Jimmy had crashed on the couch, but Nathaniel knew he hadn't stayed there the entire night. And as for Nathaniel, after he and Eva had stayed up the latest, designing the library meeting, he'd retired to his own guest bedroom. An arrangement he completely understood and respected with his heart and mind as a single parent.
That late-night planning had led directly to the moment Nathaniel was standing in now, with fourteen pairs of eyes on him. Give or take, some of the attendees had a difficult time focusing. But all of them were in good spirits, except for Ronan, who'd arrived in a wheelchair - even though Eric and Jo had reassured the entire room that the Irishman didn't need it. Apparently, the other Murphys had given Mars the chair upon his discharge from the infirmary, and the always jovial and willing to take a joke, Ronan, had dedicated himself to using the chair and forcing his siblings to push him around. Hilarious.
Nathaniel turned finally to face the group when the hands on his watch struck the agreed-upon time of 9:00 a.m. "Thank you all for taking the time to join us," Nathaniel started, then made his first mistake of the day. "Before Eva and I get started - did anyone want to say anything or ask any questions?" Of course, they all did.