Hollywood Journey

Family Time

"Your dad just has to make things difficult, doesn't he?" I look down at Zane eating as I carry him through the disaster I once called my kitchen

"Your big brother must have really been hungry." Zane continues eating completely unphased by the huge bowl of pancake mix Brad and Nolan managed to splatter all over the counters.

I can tell they were having fun too because their handprints are lining my white cabinets.

"Momma we decorate!" Nolan runs out once he knows I'm awake "See?"

"Yeah, I saw right away, buddy. Why didn't you and daddy clean up?"

"We eating." He shrugs, running back into the living room to be with Brad. Willow walks downstairs shortly after, sleepy hair and all.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. You look thrilled to be awake."

"What the hell happened in here?" She rubs her head, waiting for the coffee to be done as she examines the room "Did Nolan wake up himself again?"

"No, he had help from your uncle."

"Hey Jen, can we go talk?" Willow pulls me aside before I make it into the living room "I need to tell you something I don't really want Brad knowing yet."

Confused, I follow her into the second living room that we never use. She pulls me onto the couch where I lay Zane between us since he's finally done eating and turn to face her, noticing she's getting more and more anxious by the second. I lean in closer as she sits silent, waiting for her to get whatever this is that's bothering her off her chest.

Her silence is terrifying. She freezes completely as her nerves take over control of her body as I try to think of anything I can do to comfort her. She seems helpless, unable to do or say anything.

"Honey, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything..."

I wait very impatiently for her to finally give a response. She won't stop staring around the room as seems more and more distant with each second going by, making me even more nervous about whatever it is she's about to tell me.

"Well, uh," She stops, trying to find the words she wants to get out, "Julian asked me out the other day... and well, I kinda said yes."

Before I get the chance to even process this and why she's so nervous, she starts talking again, this time almost nonstop to get past the awkwardness.

"I hope you're okay with it. He's so great and I know you've known him forever and love Lisa. I don't know how to tell Brad without him freaking out though. He's so protective."

Just as I'm about to tell her that it's okay, Zane starts crying. He must not like the position I laid him in because he won't stop. He won't stop even after I've picked him up, so I situate him to eat again, hoping it calms him at least long enough that I can help Willow.

"I just need your help with telling him."

"He'll be happy for you. It might not seem like it at first with the initial reaction he's going to have, but he loves Julian just as much as I do. We both know Julian's an amazing guy, and as long as you're happy, we're happy for you."

"This is such a relief. I was really worried neither of you would take it too well. Thanks for not freaking out."

"As long as you're happy, which you seem to be, I'm happy. That's what I care about the most."

"So... how do I tell Brad?"

"Let's invite Julian over. We aren't doing anything today, we can tell him in person."

She doesn't seem to believe it's a good idea but goes along with it since I know Brad better than she does. I try my best to keep Brad in a good mood, cleaning up the mess and keeping the boys as occupied as I can so he gets his work done for the day.

"Hey, Julian!" I greet him as he walks through the door casually like he always has, "How is everyone?"

"We're all good! Mom wants you to call her later, something about lunch with her and Aunt Court."

He finds Willow sitting in the room with Brad and the boys, so I motion for him to go sit with them. She already told him about our plan so he does what I tell him and finds the empty spot.

"Hey," I go in, sitting next to Brad as they all decide on what to watch now that Nolan is with his toys "Willz and Julian wanted to tell you something."

"Okay, what's up?" He seems completely oblivious to anything unusual, continuing to go through all their movie options. I take the remote from him, forcing him to pay attention to them.

Willow looks over at me unsure about if she should go through with this, so I step in again to help.

"So you know how we really wanted Willow to have friends here and we thought our friends' kids would be a good start?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, Julian and Willow have been close the whole time."

"And? Is this going somewhere?"

Willow reaches for Julian's hand as Brad finally starts realizing what he is being told.

"We're dating."

"But... but no." Brad turns towards me frantically, hoping I'll help him seem less crazy "Willow we told you to be friends, you're still so little!"

"Brad I'm almost 15." She tries not to laugh at his funny, yet somewhat scary reaction "I listened to you, we were friends for a while."

"I think Julian and I need to talk."

Brad gets up as Willow and I try to calm him down. He waits for Julian to follow, directing him towards the kitchen where I expect lots of questioning is happening right now. I follow quietly to make sure Brad doesn't overreact too much since they do really seem happy.

"Brad they aren't children. They're dating, it's not like she's pregnant or they're moving in together. Calm down!"

His head whips back towards where Willow and I are standing, clearly showing that he hadn't even thought of those possibilities.

"You aren't helping! I was just getting to the good questions. Now let me overreact so we can move past this."

"Willz, I think you're going to be just fine."