The Steps Verse
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“Book, look at yourself,” he says. “This is fucking sad. They’ve already lost their mom. Now they’re gonna lose you, too?”
Booker can’t look at Joe. He can’t see those eyes— Sophie’s eyes— so concerned and so sad and so disappointed. “Fuck off,” he says. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
Joe shakes his head. He bends over and saddles a duffel bag on his shoulder. “You want your sons back?” Joe says. “Get sober. Then we’ll talk.”
Fourteen months after the death of his wife, Booker hits rock bottom. But he didn't know that getting sober would mean gaining so much more.
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- Part 1 of The Steps Verse
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“You know he’s here with someone,” a voice says from beside him, and he turns his head and—
“Oh, fuck,” he says, his stomach twisting. “There’s two of you.”
In a shitty club in Montreal in August 2002, a man meets two twins. It changes his life forever.
Series
- Part 2 of The Steps Verse
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“Hello? Is this Nicky?” She says, a devious gleam in her eyes. “Yeah, this is Sophie, from a few weeks ago. Are you free tomorrow night for dinner with my brother?” She pauses, listening. “Six? Excellent, he’ll meet you at the shop. Bye, Nicky!”
It's September 2002, and Joe Al-Kaysani goes on a first date.
Series
- Part 3 of The Steps Verse
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The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it's just transcendental
Some of it's just really dumb
But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anythingFive dances at Nile's wedding without her husband (and one with him).
Series
- Part 4 of The Steps Verse
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There’s a steady crescendo from the den of that olé chant, and eight minutes later, Nicky hears an eruption of joy from the den.
“ANDERSON SCORED!” He hears from down the hall, like a siren, getting louder as it gets closer. “ANDERSON SCORED, UNCLE NICKY!”
In July 2021, the Montreal Canadiens play in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Al-Kaysani-Lelivre boys go bananas.
Series
- Part 5 of The Steps Verse
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He wishes he could go to no therapy, but Ely concedes that kids with dead moms and alcoholic dads who have tried to run away should probably be in therapy.
Ely’s so sick of seventeen. Where’s his fucking teenage dream?
Series
- Part 6 of The Steps Verse
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“So what you’re saying is,” Nile’s mom interrupts. “With a June wedding, I can expect another grandchild around March 2024?”
Nile looks to Booker, and he winks at her.
“Sure, Mama,” she says, and God, she loves him—her fiancé—so, so much. “We’ll try our best.
Nile wants to get pregnant, but things aren't going according to plan.
Series
- Part 7 of The Steps Verse
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“I just—” Joe settles into bed, curling into Nicky’s side like he does every night. “I just wish—”
How? How can he say that he wishes it were as easy as a condom breaking, a mistake between two teenagers, or as easy as a husband impregnating his wife—something done four times with ease—and not sound like a cruel, jealous, petty man?
“I wish I could give this to you,” Joe says finally, his voice soft.
Joe and Nicky have been trying to adopt for nearly a decade without success. With the impending arrival of a new addition, Joe—hurt, frustrated, adrift—learns that love, hope, healing, family, doesn't always happen according to plan.
Series
- Part 8 of The Steps Verse
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“Book, look at yourself,” he says. “This is fucking sad. They’ve already lost their mom. Now they’re gonna lose you, too?”
Booker closes his eyes. Good, Joe thinks. He doesn’t deserve to see her eyes. Not like this.
>“Fuck off,” Booker says finally. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
Joe shakes his head. He bends over and saddles a duffel bag on his shoulder. “You want your sons back?” Joe says. He’s shocked by how steady his voice sounds, even though he feels one millisecond away from falling apart. “Get sober. Then we’ll talk.”
November 2nd, 2021: Fourteen months after the death of his wife, Booker hits rock bottom. Joe isn’t far from it himself.
Series
- Part 9 of The Steps Verse
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The CBT, 12-step, logical voice in her head that sounds like a weird mix of her therapist, Celeste, Mom, and childhood pastor, says she can feel weird about her 27th birthday. It doesn’t have to mean anything.
A year before The Steps, Nile turns 27.
Series
- Part 11 of The Steps Verse