Chapter Text
The first leg of the tour featuring The Vampire Lestat ended in September 2025.
Daniel hadn’t been crazy about the impending end of the show schedule, if only because spending time on his own again without anything to really look forward to seemed even more daunting now.
Or at least, it had, until Armand had shown back up.
But, is true Lestat form, he had not intended to stay down for long. Instead, he immediately began to plan for a ONE NIGHT ONLY show in San Francisco on Halloween, a final Anniversary show for when the band was formed, where he was likely to bring up Daniel’s book, again, and harass anyone who was in the audience that inspired his ire at that particular moment.
Daniel was totally gonna go, of course.
It'd been a pleasant surprise when Armand had accepted Daniel’s invite to take one of the spare rooms at his co-op over the break. The only caveat was that Daniel hadn’t completely thought through what it would mean to have to share living space again after so long.
So they were adjusting.
“Daniel?” Armand’s voice came from another room in his Brooklyn apartment, and Daniel braced himself. It was a tight, hesitant tone, one that caused Daniel to expect a compromise or a selling point, something Armand wanted him to do but wasn’t certain he’d be open to it. They’d had many of these moments over the past couple of months, ever since Armand agreed to stay around and allow them to relearn one another.
“Yeah? What’s up?” Daniel hollered back, not looking up from his notes. In the eye of Hurricane Lestat, Daniel had decided to spend his time trying to collect and organize all the garbage the vampire front-man had been throwing at him. Armand poked his head around the corner, smiling softly.
“I was wondering if you’d spoken to your daughter again? You’d mentioned they suggested a meeting this weekend? Just trying to determine if I need to find other accommodations.”
Ah, yeah. Yeah, Daniel had mentioned that before they had returned to New York. He probably needed to text Lenora back.
“You live here, Armand, it’s your room,” Daniel replied, finally looking up. “They wouldn’t stay overnight anyway, if they even come down for the visit.”
“Have you called them yet?”
Daniel made a face at him. “What, are you auditioning for ex-wife number 3?” He rolled his eyes, returning to his notes. “I talked to Katie a couple of days ago. I was going to call Lenora tomorrow, she’s apparently dealing with grand-kids stuff. I think they’re gonna come by Friday afternoon.”
“That’s in three days.”
“And?” Daniel looked back over at him. “Hey, I can, like, meet them at the food court or something, if it's a big deal, they honestly would probably prefer a neutral 3rd place.”
Armand shook his head. “No, no, I would hate to put them out. No, I was just wondering…how you wanted to…explain….” this, us, “our arrangement, to them.”
Oh. Well, yeah. That. That was something Daniel and Armand hadn’t even talked about, not really.
Daniel had invited Armand to move in a few weeks after their reconciliation. Armand had been spotty as he cleared up…whatever it was he’d been doing for the past however many years, but once they hit the last few weeks of that leg of the tour and Daniel faced going back home, he’d suggested to Armand that he join him. The co-op was a three-bedroom condo with tall ceilings, and hell—he was pretty sure Armand had lived there with him when he was young.
The memories had come back, for the most part, but they were still hazy, dimmed now by time and residual fog from the block that had hidden them in the first place. It usually only took a gentle push, though, for it all to come back into focus relatively quickly.
Armand had moved on the first day Daniel returned to the city, having had a coffin delivered before they returned so it was waiting for him in the room down the hall from Daniel’s, along with a few other boxes. He’d been quiet at first, sliding from space to space without a sound, familiar with the cabinets and closets in a way that confirmed that he had to have been here before, but Daniel refrained from commenting on that; no need to provoke an argument while he was still getting settled.
Still. Daniel could begrudgingly admit it was nice to have his maker around. He wanted to have his maker around. That had been difficult to admit when he’d been so goddamn angry about everything.
But there were moments when he put his anger down. Moments when he’d been by himself on the tour, been by himself a lot, the despair of existence setting in, and he had wanted Armand there; not just for answers, but just to be with him.
So there were moments Daniel let things go.
Like when Armand had been rearranging one of the linen closest in the hall. Daniel had stuffed god knows what junk onto the shelves over the years, boxes full of old trinkets, photos, notebooks, whatever he needed a place for and wanted out of sight. Daniel had forgotten about the box the Talamasca had sent him right after his turning, that it was one of those things.
Armand had appeared at the mouth of the hall leading into the living room, standing with the box in hand one day, eyes fixed on it’s contents. Daniel waited for him to say something, ask a question, anything while he watched Armand’s gaze fix on the items, finally picking up a degraded photo strip, examining it.
“I threw this into the sea.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that from all the salt residue.” Daniel acknowledged. “Uh, yeah. That’s from the Talamasca.”
It was so hard to be upset when Armand sounded like he had in the moment, his voice thin and reedy and clearly distressed. It took the wind right out of Daniel’s sails when he’d normally bluster and make snide comments.
“You know what they say, one man’s trash.” Daniel shrugged. “ They're are kind of obsessed with you.”
“So I’ve gathered,” Armand muttered with a frown, not looking up at Daniel. “I made the mistake of believing them to be insignificant in earlier days. I understand they have quite the catalog of me now.” Armand picks up one or two other things within the box. “These things aren’t mine, they’re yours” Armand says softly, then looks up at him. “I…removed them, from a villa we shared.”
“If it bothers you, we can throw it away. The flash drive in there, though, that’s….”
That was their home movies—because that’s what they were, Daniel had realized, when he’d watched the content a few times, or let them play in the background while he worked on the book. It wasn’t just sex—though there were some very interesting clips related to that Daniel had been more than curious about. No, the more difficult ones to watch were actually the sweetest—a clip of them sitting on the bank of the Seine and having lunch as Armand laughed and joked with him, while they people watched and talked about passerby's, or when Daniel had apparently set up the camera to capture them as they slept together in bed, curled up together in each other’s arms.
They had been something once, something tender; Daniel wasn’t sure if that was possible again, with all that was between them now.
“If you wanted to, you know. Reminisce.” Daniel finished his thought weakly, shrugging again. “The other stuff can probably go though, I don’t think anything is salvage—--”
Armand finally moved at the suggestion, closing the box and shaking his head. “I’ll find a place for it.” and then he had disappeared down the hall, back to his room, probably to hide it away somewhere to be weird about later.
So yeah. Things were going okay with the two of them.
It made complete sense to come up with a story, probably not just for Daniel’s children but anyone else who might wonder why a young attractive man was hanging out in the home of an elderly journalist.
“What about as your personal assistant?” Armand suggested now, bring Daniel back to the moment at hand. His daughter’s imminent visit. Right.
Kate had been very diplomatic on the phone call with him. It was clear this wasn’t going to be a house call intended to clear the air and start anew, it more-so seemed like a check to see if the old man had finally lost his mind once and for all, and if they had to do something to keep Daniel from being a public menace.
Too late for that, Daniel thought with a smile.
“Daniel,” Armand prodded gently, able to tell his fledgling’s mind was wondering. “The girls?”
“Yep, yeah I’m…” Daniel closed his laptop, turning towards where Armand was now sitting in an armchair in the corner. “I’m listening, sorry.”
Armand gave him a small, appreciative smile. “You’ve always been so committed to your craft, it’s alright.” He sighed. “But that makes all the more sense why you might have a live-in personal assistant. Not only can I help with your workload, but we can also tell them that I handle your medical affairs and other business.”
“They’re gonna think we’re fucking.”
Elephant in the room, thy name is Dan.
“Well, we used to be, but we can hardly tell them the truth behind that,” Armand shrugged. “Is it going to be a problem, you think, their thoughts about you? I hardly think it will be the worst thing they think while they’re here.”
Ouch. Accurate but ouch. Daniel nodded.
“Yeah, but Katie’s a pistol, and she might bring it up. We can just stick with the PA story, I think that makes the most sense.” Daniel grabbed for his phone. “I’ll text them both now, see if we can nail down a time. Does Friday work for you?”
Armand looked surprised. “You are alright with me meeting them as well?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “What is the point of coming up with a story if you weren’t going to be here?”
“Well, my things are here.”
Daniel waved dismissively. “Might as well grab the bull by the horns.” He sent the message and put his phone down. “There. Dinner invite for Friday night for the two of them. We can get something delivered. I think there’s some wine in the cabinet over the fridge, but might not be good still.”
“I can take care of it. What else is your personal assistant for?” Armand smiled, rising from his chair.
“You’re only my personal assistant when it comes to the cover story, Armand,” Daniel warned lightly. “This better not turn into any of that shit you had with Louis, I’m not interested in being your maitre.”
They’d had this discussion more than once. Daniel was kind of hyper-vigilant about it, but Armand also had a covert way of needling his way into the critical needs of the people he attached himself to, making himself important while controlling everything, all while remaining in the space of the subordinate. Just mind games on top of mind games, Daniel was not interested in.
Something flickered across Armand’s face—something like hurt, maybe disappointment, but he nodded all the same. “I understand.” And then he disappeared back to his room and closed the door.
Daniel felt a little bad about it sometimes—it was just how Armand was with his relationships. But Daniel didn’t think it was good for him or Armand, and now that they were both going to [hopefully] be around for the long haul, Daniel wanted something different. Something better.
And he hoped maybe a dinner with his daughters would be the first step to get there.
Friday evening came quickly, as it often did when they dealt with standard mortal time frames of being awake and maintaining a facade of a normal life. Daniel awoke to something that smelled incredibly delicious; just because he couldn’t enjoy the taste of mortal meals any longer didn’t mean his sense of smell suffered at all.
Armand had showered and dressed already, and was wearing an apron that Daniel had been gifted years upon years ago from his second wife when they were still in the throes of a happy marriage. “Kiss the Cook” was emblazoned in red against a canvas material, with the image of a grill spatula centered between pockets below.
Daniel ignored that he really kind of wanted to kiss that cook.
Armand oscillated between the stove and a bowl on the counter where he was mixing a salad. Daniel had to smile a little, if only because he couldn’t remember the last time there had been such a domestic scene playing out in his home.
“I thought you were going to have something delivered?” Daniel asked softly, trying not to startle his maker. Armand kept moving though, undeterred; he’d probably sensed Daniel’s approach.
“You need to shower,” Armand wrinkled his nose a bit. “Wash your hair, make sure it’s combed.
“Okay, well now it definitely sounds like you’re auditioning for the role of ex-wife #3.”
Armand scowled at him, standing up right with a hand on his hip. “I had food delivered but I'm preparing it. I would like your children to have confidence in the help you’ve enlisted. That includes making you presentable.” He very pointedly scanned Daniel from head to toe, making Daniel conscious of the thin torn roadie shirt he was wearing over old basketball shorts stained from years of use. “You are not currently meeting that standard.”
“Man, you’re bitchy when you’re nervous,” Daniel muttered but he did as Armand directed, turning and heading to his bathroom.
By the time he emerged, hopefully in acceptable attire at this point (and with a little bit of aftershave for good measure), the food was sitting on hot plates, waiting to be dished up.
The girls had texted and were en route, 15 minutes out.
Armand had organized the living room, moving the armchairs to face the couch. Plates and utensils were out, cloth napkins set beside them, and an empty wine bottle Daniel did not recognize sat next to a decanter full of red wine.
“Well, they’re definitely gonna know this is your doing, because I have never entertained to this standard,” Daniel said, walking into the kitchen. Armand was on his iPad, of course, sitting in one of the armchairs, a thoughtful look on his face. “Is this salmon and chicken?”
“Lenora has been attempting a pescatarian diet as of late, according to her Instagram, but Katie doesn’t seem to like fish? I was hoping chicken would be alright. We have the salad too, and there are some rolls in the basket by the refrigerator.” Armand looked up at him then, very serious. “I probably should have asked you about the wine. Do they enjoy French wines? I found a Cab Franc that had very high scores.”
God, Armand had probably spent a fortune on this. “Armand, this is going to wildly exceed their expectations of me.”
Honestly, it was probably going to make both of the girls even more suspicious of the situation between the two of them, but Daniel certainly wasn’t going to mention that now.
“Contacts,” Armand said suddenly, rising to his feet. He shoved a case into Daniel’s hands before disappearing into the hall bathroom, emerging moments later with his orange eyes cloaked in brown. He nodded down at Daniel.
Daniel hadn’t really gotten into the habit of wearing contacts in public. He wasn’t crazy about putting stuff in his eyes and preferred to wear his sunglasses if he needed to hide. But these were his kids, and it would be smart to minimize noticeable changes in himself where he could.
So he put the contacts in. And they were not comfortable.
There was no time to really dwell on it, though. Within a few minutes, the doorbell rang, and there they were, standing shoulder to shoulder and looking ever prepared to do battle with their aging father.
Graciously, Armand met them at the door, disarming them immediately.
“Hi,” Katie began tremulously, leaning back to eye the number on the side of the door. “We’re here for dinner with our dad, but we must have the wrong——”
“You do not, you are at the right place.” Armand smiled easily, stepping aside. “My name is Armand. I’m your father’s personal assistant; he hired me recently, to help him with his affairs. As you know, he's been quite busy with his work as of late.”
“Isn’t Armand the name of one of the vampires in that book?” Lenora asked skeptically, following her sister through the threshold. They both were looking around, guarded and suspicious.
Armand just chuckled, closing the door behind them. “A humorous case of happenstance, I assure you. Before this, I helped run a business with my ex-husband. Unfortunately, we are no longer together. Mr. Molloy was gracious enough to trust me with his business.”
Daniel cleared his throat loudly. “Ah, yeah. Yeah, sorry girls, I should have mentioned him in my texts, I forgot you didn’t know about him.” He stepped forward, smiling softly, his own heart now racing with the nerves Armand was feeling earlier. He hadn’t seen them in years; even before Dubai, it had been months at that point. As they turned to face him, he could feel the dread they had at having to have a conversation with him overshadow the curiosity from the stranger.
“Hey, Dad,” Lenora walked over to him first with a soft smile, giving him a gentle hug.
Ah yeah. They still thought he was sick.
“Hi sweetie, it’s so good to see you.” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
Katie was less happy to see him, but still went through the motions. She gave him a hug, said a few nice things, but the undercurrent of distrust and skepticism was there. “You look really good, Dad. How is your Parkinson’s coming along?”
He probably has dementia developing, he heard Katie think, a little piteously. It’s good that he hired someone to help him. Doesn’t hurt that the guy is so hot. Does he kind of look like Mom?
“Alright then!” Daniel clapped his hands together, startling her a bit, but he put on a smile. “I can’t take credit for most of this. Armand put together an incredible spread for the night. We already snuck a plate, but we’re gonna have some wine, do you guys want a glass of wine to start off?”
His daughters both enthusiastically accepted.
The thing was—Armand did kind of look like Katie’s mother. Katie’s mother, Alice, whom he’d met here in New York during one of the times when he ran away from Armand, declaring their relationship finally done. It hadn’t been of course--Armand had shown up more than once to save him from himself, sparing the two of them from having to deal with a dead husband and father.
Sometimes, Daniel wondered if they might have been better off with him that way.
Daniel hadn’t ever consciously thought about it, but it made sense—Alice, a 2nd generation Bengali woman who did actually look a lot like his maker, whose parents had come from nothing and had worked hard to send her to college so she could become a doctor or a lawyer, something that would be secure, and she had become an anesthesiologist. Pretty much the only time she’d disappointed them was when she’d married Daniel.
Katie had been the true achievement of that marriage.
His relationship with his second wife had been more organic, it felt more real. Looking back, it had been wildly unfair to Alice, especially once he realized his memories of her had been spliced with the ones Armand had buried. Lenora’s mother was closer to his speed, an academic with a little more time to spare, time she’d dedicated to their daughter in spades. Daniel really couldn’t take any credit for how well Lenora had turned out.
They settled in. Armand brought the girls their wine first, then returned with glasses for he and Daniel—--glasses that, Daniel noticed, tasted a little more iron-y than whatever the girls were having.
“The food is ready when you would like it, but there’s no need to rush.” Armand slid a charcuterie board onto the table between where Katie and Lenora were seated on the couch and the armchairs they took.
“Thank you, Armand,” Katie said sincerely, still tracking him with a questionable look on her face. “I’m sorry if we seem a little flustered, we just didn’t expect…”
“I’ve already told Armand that this is not the standard of entertainment you’ve come to expect from your old man.” Daniel said with a smile, sipping his wine.
“It is my belief that your father could stand some improvement in his standard of living.”
Lenora snorted into his wine glass, choking as she swallowed. Armand was quick to hand her a cloth napkin he’d laid out.
“Well,” Katie continued as her sister collected herself. “I have to say, one of the reasons for the visit was that we’ve been, well,” She twirled the glass in hand, glancing over at her sister. “Concerned, for his well being. With the book and this rock…tour…thing you’ve been wrapped up in.”
“Mom too,” Lenora piped in, clearing her throat. “Even Miriam is worried about you.”
Daniel frowned. “Why is a seven year old even aware of what I’m doing?”
“Because the only time she sees you is when you’re yelling at a talk show host on YouTube about vampires,” Lenora said plainly, staring right at him. Daniel had the grace to look a bit mollified, settling back in his seat and sipping wine, ignoring the amusement he was feeling from his maker.
“I assure both of you, it is my utmost intent to ensure your father’s stability as he continues his work,” Armand said with a smile. “He’s been looking forward to your visit so much; he’s told me much about you both.”
“Oh really?” Katie said with a grin. “Like what?”
“Well, Kate, he’s been impressed with the work you’ve done in your community building efforts. Haven’t you been working with your mother on outreach campaigns to ensure families are vaccinating children?” He looked over at Daniel as if this were truly anything they had ever talked about, instead of something Armand had likely pulled off the internet, but it was true—-Daniel was proud of her for doing that.
Katie, for her part, looked shocked. “Oh. Oh well, yeah. There’s a lot of hesitancy these days around vaccines, what with the misinformation campaigns and stuff. I really like working with new parents to help them understand how important it is.” Her brow furrowed. “I didn’t know you knew about that.”
“Yeah, well,” Daniel shrugged. “I keep an eye out on both of you, on the Facebook and Instagram stuff. I’m sorry I never said anything.” He paused for a beat. "It's really important stuff you're doing."
“It’s okay.” Katie gave a shy smile. “I’m glad to hear that, Dad.”
Daniel tried not to notice the little side glance from Armand as his heart felt like it was growing 3 sizes.
“And you, Lenora,” Armand smiled. “Devoted mother to your son and daughter. As twins, I imagine they keep you busy.”
“Oh god, do they,” She shook her head. “They’re so awesome though, I love them to bits.”
“Daniel has shown me photos; they look precious.” Daniel had not shown him photos. “How do you manage with balancing the demands of teaching high school with all of that?”
“My husband is a saint,” She said simply. “Truly, a wonderful man. And we have a part-time Au Pair, thanks to his career. Which helps a lot.”
“I can only imagine,” Armand mused. He looked over at Daniel while sipping his wine. “Daniel, when was the last time you saw the children?”
Daniel’s face burned. Armand was having fun with this. “Oh, I think…probably their 4th birthday party? You had that up in Westchester, right, Len? Out at one of the parks there?”
Lenora laughed. “Didn’t Eli hit you in the knee with the bat we were using for the pinata?”
“He did.” Daniel acknowledged with a nod, setting his glass on the table. He grinned. “Didn’t bother me much. I like the spirit.”
“Oh, I guess I got a different impression from all the cursing.” She replied with a smile.
The conversation evolved organically from there. The girls soon rose to help themselves to the food, which they raved about—--Lenora mentioned how thoughtful it was that Armand had salmon and chicken for them, and Daniel didn’t miss as he preened a bit when she turned away.
It warmed Daniel to see how invested Armand was in all of this.
The only time it got tense was when his work was brought up. Both his daughters expressed their concerns, not just about his behavior but about his health and well-being, and also how it affected their family.
“Mom even mentioned it,” Lenora repeated from earlier, sitting closer to Daniel now while Katie helped Armand put things away in the kitchen. “Which reminds me, she wants you to get a hold of her. I have her number and her email. I’ll text it to you, but she said she might have some archaeology stuff you might be interested in?” She picked up her phone, scrolling through the texts with a frown. “Ah yeah, here it is. Mesopotamia, Bronze Age…” Lenora pursed her lips. “Something about Those Who Must Be Kept? A legend or something, I don’t know.”
Daniel, very well aware of that reference, maintained an unaffected air. But he heard a glass shatter in the kitchen.
“Silly me,” Armand said tonelessly. “I can be so clumsy sometimes. Kate, how about you rejoin them in the living room? I’ll clean this up.”
Daniel didn’t blink. “Oh, that sounds interesting, Len. Yeah. Yeah, just…shoot me her contact info, I’ll reach out soon.”
“Well, she was being kind of weird about it,” Lenora shrugged, a few glasses of wine having relaxed her a bit. “She has to go out to that family estate in California before the end of the month. I think it might have something to do with old marital assets? I don’t know, but she said she has to talk to you before then.” She held her hands up comically. “That’s all I know. No shooting the messenger.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, sweetie, thanks for sharing,” Daniel said softly.
He wanted to look over at Armand so bad right now. Kate had done as Armand asked (likely commanded, but Daniel would let that one slide), and was sitting across from them in an armchair, sipping on some water.
They stayed longer than Daniel had expected, longer than they expected to as well. They hugged Daniel a little tighter when they left, giving Armand a hug as well. Their thoughts about him had quieted though, gotten more kind, and Daniel was grateful he didn't have to do this on his own.
Especially once Lenora had sent her mother’s contacts as had promised, just a few minutes after they were on their way home.
“Are you gonna freak out about this?” Daniel asked Armand, who was still cleaning up in the kitchen soundlessly.
“You need to contact her immediately,” Armand said. “That term is unknown to most of the vampire kind, there is no reason for her to know about them.”
“Lestat mentions them in one of the songs.”
“In passing and without context,” Armand bit back, turning finally to face Daniel, a scowl on his face. “Daniel, this is serious.”
“Yeah I got that, but I…” He sighed, pressing the bridge of his nose. “I just kind of really fucked that whole situation up on my own, and I haven’t seen Jess since Len got married back in 2016. So just…”
“All the more reason to treat this with urgency then. This is clearly not a request for pleasantries.” Armand huffed. “I told you, I told you there would be—-”
Daniel held up his hands. “Can we not do this? We just had a really great evening with Katie and Lenora, they really liked you.” He walked over and grabbed Armand’s hands on his own. “Can you just enjoy this, for tonight? I’ll email her, yes, but like…” He swung his arms a little. “Dinner was a giant success? Yay?”
Armand pressed his lips together, stewing, the huffed, looking down at their joined hands. “Fine,” He released Daniel’s hold with a squeeze, then turned back to finish with the dishes. “It was very nice. Your daughters are wonderful young ladies.”
“Yeah, their moms really did a great job.”
Armand hummed, tilting his head. “Yes, they certainly did.” He spared a look over his shoulder with a soft smile, a sense of affection replacing the anxiety in his tone from only a moment ago. “Though I daresay, I can see very much where they occasionally favor you.”
Hm. Daniel thought. There’s that warm feeling again.
The sky was so much clearer upstate, away from light pollution. Jesse loved looking at the stars. As she’d stepped back from her duties at Columbia, it’d become one of her favorite pastimes—her auburn hair streaked with white in a clipped bun, comfy clothes, and a glass of her favorite wine, watching the moon rise and fall as the constellations painted the sky with their timeless tales.
Her phone pinged in front of her, a notification lighting it up where it sat on the patio table in front of her.
She loved this spot, up on the Hudson. Close enough of a drive to see Lenora and the kids, far but not too far from the train to get into the city. Remote, beautiful, surrounded by trees, and a beautiful view of the water.
A little after 2 am. But she’d wanted to see if Daniel reached out.
And there it was. Email subject line: ”Alimony?”
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, sliding the phone open.
Unusually brief, Daniel had mentioned Lenora’s passing on request, letting her know that she could call him in the morning when she woke up. Jesse wondered if he suspected anything.
A figure emerged from the dark, silently by way of the patio door. Jesse didn’t turn to look, just quickly read through his message before closing it and sliding the phone back onto the table.
“Have they agreed to a visit?”
“They will,” Jesse replied, sipping at a glass of Chardonnay. “God, this is going to be such a shit show…” She rubbed at her brow with a sigh.
“I’m sorry to involve you in this,” The woman said softly, sitting beside Jesse and taking her hand into her own. “You know I would not be here if it weren’t so important.”
“I do,” Jesse covered their clasped hands with her other one, setting the drink down. “I do, really. I’m just not super jazzed to explain all of this to my ex-husband turned vampire. I think I’d rather get another colonoscopy.”
The figure laughed, throwing back her head, red curls dancing down her back like flame. “Oh, my Jesse. I do love our visits.”
“Yeah, Maharet,” Jesse brought their clasped hands to her mouth, pressing a kiss to the cold marble hand of her visitor. “I love them too.”