“Uncle Adrian!” My twelve-year-old niece Maddie yells as soon as she gets out of MJ’s SUV. “Hey, Mad Dog,” I say with a smile and let her attack me into a hug. She’s one of the limited few who get to hug me. My sister MJ married Maddie’s uncle Sebastian last year, but Maddie views both Sebastian and MJ as her parents since she never knew either of hers. When I first met Maddie, it was at her dance competition where we showed up for moral support. My brother Grayson gave her the nickname Mad Dog, and she conned us into doing a TikTok dance with her. She’s had me wrapped around her finger since
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