It's time to just be happy

 "You know, you were always going to be a veterinarian's assistant," Holden reminded him, knowing he was a whole lot more than that. "You work with animals all the time."

Tristan squinted. "Are you sure it wasn't Dora who told you to say all this?"

They were out in the back yard and Holden was turning T-bones which of course, Tristan could not say no too. He might have lost his girl, but he hadn't lost his appetite.

"How about if you work for me on weekends?" Holden was serious.

"Weekends?" Tristan gritted a smile. "I guess I could. I don't have anything else going on." His fingers were in the tips of his front jeans pockets. He hadn't changed completely out of his work clothes to relax. He was in his Zoo Team T-shirt.

"I don't know, help is hard to find these days," Holden sighed. "Maybe they're all on vacation." He made light of it and took a sip of No Alcohol beer. Tristan did the same.

"I don't want to let you down," he then said. Things hadn't been the same for him since Dale left.

"Well, maybe you can get her back," Holden shrugged.

"I don't think so," Tristan said. "She needs this. She needs to be all on her own."

"Then..maybe you do too," Holden told him he was proud of him. "You've done a lot at the zoo. I can see that." He'd made phone calls. He knew what Tristan was capable of. "See, you do work well with others."

Tristan couldn't help but laugh. About then, Dora came out with the baby. Tristan put down his beer and smiled at the seven-month-old. "My God, he's bigger than you," Tristan told her.

"He's long." 

Dora said he loved the water too.

"Yeah, we've been going swimming with him," Holden said.

"Already?" Tristan winced with a laugh.

"Oh, he's a water baby all right," Dora told him that she wanted him to be waterproofed.

"I am way behind the times," Tristan sighed with a smile.

"Oh, it could still happen. You just never know when you might be a dad."

Holden teased as he put on some thin chicken breasts for Dora.

"Seriously, I don't think I would want any kids," Tristan shrugged. "But then,  I wouldn't mind being someone's dad, either."

"I just don't understand you, man." Holden shook his head and turned to tend to the meat over the licking flames.

"Look, I'm going to work for you on weekends, isn't that enough?" Tristan took a sip of his beer then. As of yet, he hadn't held Holden's baby.