Teddy was angry. First, he was mad his parents ever named him such a stupid name as Teddy. Now that he was in high school, the other kids teased him for having such a childish name. Second, he was angry about the fact that his parents didn’t have any other kids after him. He noticed the scattered toys and bikes littered around his aunt and uncle’s house and grew jealous of his cousins. They had two kids and another baby on the way? It just wasn’t fair.  He looked up to see his aunt standing on the porch, just like she knew he was coming.
            “Staying for dinner, Teddy?” she asked as she turned into their house, ignoring his issues. Teddy sighed and followed her inside. He knew she would get to the problem soon enough; she always knew if something was bothering him.
Their house was gorgeous. She and Uncle Luke built it from the ground up on a hundred acres of land, which they converted into fields. It was just the right distance from his house, his grandparent’s house and most importantly, in Teddy’s opinion anyway, town.  The big white house had a wraparound porch with black shutters and a chimney. Inside, Aunt Grace kept it tidy regardless of her messy kids.
            A small weight hit Teddy’s legs when he entered their foyer. He looked down and Nick, a blonde haired and blue-eyed six-year-old, was hanging on to his legs.
            “Teddy, come play with me. Sarah can’t,” he pleaded. Teddy felt like he was looking into the face of his grandmother, although Nick was named after his grandfather. Nick had inherited his grandmother’s bright blue eyes and blonde hair. Teddy was just the opposite, more like his grandfather. Both of his parents had dark brown hair that Teddy inherited. He got his mother’s dark brown eyes and it marked him different from the rest of the blue or green-eyed Parkers.
            “Why can’t Sarah play?” he asked his cousin. Nick pouted and shrugged. Just then Sarah, a little girl of three, waded into the kitchen with her long curly dark hair a big mess.
            “He says its cause I’m a girl but Daddy said I can play with any boy toy I want and be just like Momma, who played with boy toys when she was a little girl,” rambled Sarah. Her green eyes sparkled with wonder at the world. Teddy tried to picture the world from her three-year-old perspective.
            Grace watched her nephew interact with his cousins. Both her kids adored when he came over to play. As she attempted to fix her daughter’s hair, she thought about what Teddy really needed to talk about. His anger had faded at the door when he saw her kids but she knew it would return when they left. She decided she’d deal with it after dinner. Just then, she heard the tractor pull to a stop out in the nearest field. She wiped her hands and went out to meet her husband.
            Fifteen years couldn’t erase the way Luke Taylor made Grace feel. They had a whirlwind of a start until they eased into a relationship their senior year of high school. He had a high temper but high enough to match her attitude. They never got a long as kids and they still didn’t.  Still, seeing him in his work boots and hat made her heart swell with pride and love.
            Luke seemed to be in a good mood but Grace could never tell until she got right under the brim of that cowboy hat. Feeling like she was seventeen again, she raced across the yard in her bare feet and stopped just where she wanted. His blue eyes, exactly like Nick’s, had held no emotion. She could tell he was tired from working. His eyes lit up when he saw running towards him. He picked her up and kissed her while twirling her around.
            Teddy watched his uncle and aunt from the doorway and felt jealous almost instantaneously. Why couldn’t he have that relationship? Sure he had liked a few girls but no one ever looked at him like his aunt looked as his uncle. If he ever saw his parents kiss, he might be sick to his stomach but this moment was rare for Luke and Grace. They were hardly affectionate in public. He knew they must have missed each other lately. Both were so busy getting the kids back to school and harvest time was coming for the crops. His parents were just as busy on their farm so Teddy knew he wouldn’t be missed.