Epilogue
"When's Mom coming home?" Emily asks the moment she walks in the door from school.
I look at her, frowning.
"I don't know." I say. "She's in the city for work. I've got no idea."
She nods. "Alright."
"How was school?" I ask the kids.
"So boring." Ethan says. "I hate my Geometry teacher so much. When Mom sees my grades this semester, she's gonna ground me."
"What does your teacher do?" I ask. Emily starts digging through the cabinet for food.
"She literally doesn't care." Declan grumbles. "She just makes us read. She doesn't even give us tests. If I zone ut from the book, she fails us."
"What, you have her too?" I ask.
"Yes. God, this house would fall apart without Mom."
I roll my eyes.
"Speaking of Mom," Emily begins. "When is she coming home?"
I look at her.
"I already told you that I don't know. Her CEO is being flaky. She went to put him in his place."
"Can I ask you something?" Ethan asks.
"Yeah." I nod.
"When Mom hangs up on you, she always does that. She rarely stays on the phone to say goodbye...when she hangs up, do you get scared? I don't really remember everything that went down with Uncle Shaun and her, all I remember is Mom hung up and she was kidnapped."
I sigh.
"I know you really love her." he says quietly. "Do you get scared?"
I hesitate.
"Sometimes." I admit, nodding. "She knows though. She does a lot of things that worry me. You know your mother. She does whatever." I shrug.
"What would you do if Mom got hit by a car today?" Declan asks.
"See, even thinking about that makes me worry." I shake my head, picking up my cellphone.
Emily is so in love with how in love Carmen and I are. She obviously gets disgusted when we kiss, but she's seventeen years old. She can deal.
She's seventeen, Ethan is sixteen, Declan is fifteen, and the twins are twelve. They're still at school until the bus drops them off at four thirty.
Declan is a Freshmen at Southampton High School, Ethan is a Sophomore, and Emily is a Junior. Emily drives both of them to school.
"Are you gonna call her?" Declan asks.
I nod, dialing.
I put it on speaker.
It rings three times, and then it stops.
"Hey." She says.
"Hey." I reply. "What's up?"
"I'm working." She says.
She sounds stressed.
I don't say anything for a second.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask.
"What makes you think something's wrong?" she asks.
"Babe, we've been together for twenty one years, married for seventeen."
Silence.
"Hun?" I ask.
"I'm just, I'm in a bad mood. I want to come home."
"I know." I sigh gently.
"My secretary is sleeping with my CEO." She sounds exhausted and stressed. "And on top of that, my back hurts." She sighs. "And the heat is out in the building."
"It's winter." I say.
"Yeah. It's like, thirty degrees in here." She sighs. "And I don't want to fire the CEO, because that means somebody has to be here to fix the problem." Silence. "Which is me."
"Well, tell them either they stop their little game or they're fired."
"Tyler, they're in love."
I lean onto the counter, sighing.
"Then tell them they need to focus on work. If they don't, they're fired. Let them be in love."
There's a short pause.
"God, I have a fucking headache. It's so damn cold in here."
"I'm sorry, Sunshine."
"It's whatever." She sighs. "Alright, I'm gonna go. I really wanna get this done so I can come home."
"Alright." I say. "Carmen?"
"Yes?" she asks.
"Be careful, alright?"
"Careful?" she repeats.
"Don't walk in front of any cars. Drive carefully. I love you."
"Okay..." she trails off. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I say.
"Did somebody tell you something? Are you calling to check on me?"
"Yes." I say.
"Tyler, I'm fine." she says. "I'm just tired."
"Carmen, if you're too tired to drive home, I want you to get a hotel."
"I'm coming home." She says.
"Carmen." I warn.
I hear her sigh.
"Alright. I'll get a hotel."
"I miss you." I frown.
"I miss you too." She sounds upset.
"Alright. I love you."
"Love you t-"
The line clicks.
I hesitate, and then I call her again.
"Why are you calling her again?" Emily asks.
"She didn't finish her sentence." I say.
"She's probably fine." Emily says.
It rings three times, and then it stops.
"Yes?" she asks patiently.
"You hung up on me." I say.
"I have so much shit to do, Tyler." She says. "I need to go. I love you, okay?" she sounds annoyed.
I sigh. "I love you too. Bye."
"Bye."
She doesn't hang up this time, I hang up.
"You worry." Ethan says.
"Of course I worry." I say.
"Do you know if she's coming home tonight?" Emily asks.
"No." I say. "Why do you keep asking? I told you I don't know. Call her."
"No, no, I'll wait. I'm going to nap."
She walks out of the kitchen, taking the tube of pringles with her.
Declan grabs a bag of chips, walking out of the kitchen, and Ethan grabs the tub of ice cream and a spoon, leaving me alone in the kitchen.
<><>
She wasn't home for dinner. It's Friday now, so we're all laying on the couch watching Big Daddy.
It's 10:30 and I've not heard from Carmen.
"Dad, I really need Mom." Emily says.
She asked three times before her nap, once when I woke her up for dinner, twice during dinner, and since dinner at eight, she's asked me six times.
Emily hardly goes to Carmen for things.
Most of the kids favor me because I'm more laid back.
Carmen is strict.
She's an excellent mother. All of our kids are perfectly mannered.
"Emily, I've been married to your mother for seventeen years. If you need tampons, I'll give you money."
"No." she says. "I need Mom."
She sounds afraid almost.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Nothing." She says.
I give up.
It's early into the movie.
I hear a door shut somewhere in the house.
I frown, looking around the living room.
All the kids are in here.
I brush it off, resting back against the couch.
A minute or so later, Carmen walks into the living room.
She has a pair of nice slacks on. She's forty one years old and she's still muscular. She's very fit. We keep fit together. She kicks her shoes off, pulling her long hair out of it's bun, dropping her purse on the coffee table.
She pats my thigh until I sit up. She sits down where I was laying, leaning against me. I put my arm around her, kissing her head.
"Did it get better?" I ask.
She shrugs.
"No." she yawns. "I'm so tired." She mutters.
Emily is staring at her, her eyes wide, almost like she's petrified of something.
"Our daughter has been asking for you. She's asked me when you're coming home twelve times."
Carmen looks at her.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"Nothing." Emily says.
When the kids tell me nothing, I drop it.
Carmen doesn't. She never does.
She sits up, grabbing the remote, she shuts the TV off, resting her elbows on her knees, her hands clasped, she looks at Emily.
"Either you tell me, or we sit here until you do."
"I can't tell you." Emily says. "Not here."
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because." She says.
"No, you're going to tell me." I say.
"No." she says. "I'm not."
Carmen sighs, running her hands down her thighs.
"Fine. Let's go." She stands up.
Emily rises too, following Carmen out of the room.
"Girls." Ethan grumbles, turning the TV on.
Carmen
Emily follows me to the garage. I walk out there, sitting on the hood of the Range Rover. It's warm from me driving it, and I've been shivering the whole day.
Emily checks three times to make sure nobody followed us, and then she shuts the door, turning to me.
I raise my eyebrows, waiting.
"When you fell in love with Dad, how old were you?" she whispers.
I shrug.
"I dunno. Twenty, I think. No, I was twenty one."
She nods, gulping.
"And, uh, how long were you with him before you two...you know..." she trails off.
"Before we had sex?" I ask calmly.
"Yeah." She whispers.
"Like, a week and a half." I say. "Why?"
She looks down.
"How did you know you loved Dad?"
I shrug.
"I just knew." I say. "Emily, where is this going?"
"I've had a boyfriend for eight months, and I love him. I really love him." She smiles, looking down. "And today we skipped school, and we..." she trails off.
"You had sex." I say.
"Yeah." She whispers.
I look at her.
"Let me see a photo of him."
She pulls her phone from her sweatshirt, typing for a second, and then she walks over to me, sitting down next to me on the hood. She hands me her phone.
He has brown hair and dimples. His teeth are perfectly straight and perfectly straight. His eyes are brown.
"Awe!" I say. "Emmy! He's so cute!" I smile. "I'm happy for you, sweetheart."
"But we had sex, and I skipped school."
"Whatever." I sigh. "You're not a bad kid, Emmy. You're smart. Don't do it again, okay? Don't skip school."
"Mom, don't tell Dad." She whispers.
"I won't." I say.
"Dad is going to kill me." she mumbles.
"I'll tell him when he's ready." I say.
"Mom..." she hesitates. "We didn't have a condom."
Silence.
"You had unprotected sex? Emily, you know when you have sex-"
"I know, I know how babies are made. I know. Mom, I'm too young for a baby."
I grab her hand, squeezing it.
"Alright." I kiss her temple. "We'll go to the store and get you the morning after pill."
"Mom, what are you going to tell Dad?"
"I'm not telling him anything."
She nods, walking inside with me.
I go back to the living room, putting my shoes back on.
"We're going to the store."
"It's ten thirty." Tyler says. He's mad now. He wants to know what's going on.
Emily is his baby girl.
If he finds out Emily even has a crush, he'd make her end it.
I still remember when she had that boyfriend in kindergarten. He and I fought for an hour straight about it.
"You're not going." Tyler saying, grabbing my purse.
He never tells me when I can't do anything.
He and I never, ever fight.
I don't remember the last time we even had a disagreement.
"Tyler," I warn.
"You're not going." He says, standing up, getting right in front of me.
He's tall. He towers over me.
The kids just stare.
They look scared.
I cross my arms, glaring at him.
He has both arms around my purse.
"Tyler," I begin, angry.
"No." he says. "You're not leaving this house. Either one of you. Not until you tell me what's going on."
I feel Emily tense next to me.
He's still wearing his jeans.
I uncross my arms, sighing, I look down.
And then I dart my hand into his left pocket, grabbing his wallet and the keys for the Land Rover.
I run, grabbing Emily's arm.
"Carmen!" Tyler yells after me. "Come back or we're getting divorced!"
I snicker.
"You'd never divorce me!"
<><>
We got her the pill, and we were laughing at how I got my way.
We're home now. I get out, locking the Land Rover, and Emily follows me inside, into the living room.
I hold Tyler's keys and wallet out to him.
He's angry with me.
"Did you ladies have fun?" he asks.
"Yes." I say.
"We need to talk." He stands up. "Kids, we're going to bed."
I open my mouth to argue, but he turns around, walking out of the room.
I sigh, grabbing my purse, following him.
Emily
"Let's follow them." Ethan says.
I hesitate.
"No, that's wrong."
"Whatever. I want to hear this." Declan says.
All the boys follow Mom and Dad.
I hesitate, and then I job to catch up with them.
They shut the door, and we walk up, pressing our ears to the door.
Carmen
Tyler paces around the room.
"Wh-" he cuts off. "Carmen, you're not their only parent." He says. "I am their father. I deserve to know what's going on with them."
"I don't disagree." I say. "But some things aren't your business."
"She's my child." He whisper shouts. "If she needs tampons, that's my business. She's my kid!"
"She's our kid, first of all, and she's not a child. She's seventeen years old. She's driving. She's going into her senior year of high school!"
Emily
We're all pressed the door.
"I don't care what grade she's in, or how old she is. She's a baby. She's not allowed to date. She's not about to have guy friends. She's a baby. She's my baby."
"Tyler, she's seventeen." Mom argues. "Be reasonable."
"Carmen, you need to tell me why you went to the store." He says.
"No. I won't." she says.
"Does she have a boyfriend?"
"No, I don't fucking know! She talks to you more than she talks to me! The kids fucking hate me! Who cares if she does have a boyfriend? She's only three years younger than we were when we met."
"The kids don't hate you, Carmen." Dad sighs. "And I care if she has a boyfriend."
"If Ethan had a boyfriend, you'd be happy for him!"
"Ethan is a boy!"
"So? Emily is a girl!"
"Yeah. She's my only daughter. She's not getting married. She's going to be alone. I'll make sure of it."
"You're so ridiculous." Mom says. "I'm married. I've been married since I was twenty four! My Dad doesn't hate you. He used to say the same thing. She's growing up. Accept it. It's not an option. If somebody asks her out, she's aloud to go."
"No, I won't allow it." Dad says.
"Yes you will." Mom says. "You will. It's not a choice."
Silence.
"You honestly think the kids hate you?" Dad whispers.
"I know they hate me." Mom says. "Why wouldn't they?"
"They love you." Dad says.
I hear her sigh, and then she takes a deep breath.
"Today was so long, and I think I've hit my mid life crisis."
"You won't hit a mid life crisis." Dad says.
"I've built that damn business from the ground up twice. It's crumbling again. The kids hate me. God-" I hear a plop, like she hit the bed or something.
"The kids don't hate you. The business isn't crumbling."
"If my CEO doesn't get his head out of my secretary's vagina, the company will fall. I told them that I'm happy for them, but that they need to keep their work lives and their personal lives separate. They both agreed they would. Now I wait." She sighs. "And then, I mean, with the kids...you walk into the room after a few hours and they start greeting you and get excited you're home. I get silence. All the time. I get silence. They'd be happy if you and I got divorced, and every single one of them would choose you to live with."
Carmen
The next morning, we're all in the kitchen eating breakfast.
The kids are acting different.
They're talking more.
They're talking to me more.
"Mom," Ethan begins. "My teacher is a bitch."
"Ethan." I say, looking at him.
He doesn't swear.
At least, not in front of us.
"What? I'm sixteen."
"We all swear, except the twins." Declan says.
I sigh.
"Why is she a bitch?" I ask.
"She doesn't teach. She just makes us read. I have an F in her class."
Normally, I'd yell at him for not telling me earlier.
But they hate me anyways.
"So tell her to fucking teach."
He looks shocked.
"You're not going to yell?"
He looks almost afraid.
"No." I say. "Tell her to teach."
<><>
This continued.
I let back completely. Emily would sneak out, and I caught her sneaking out, and I told her to be back in time for breakfast in the morning.
She was.
They're out of control. All five of them.
It's Christmas break. We're at my parents today, and I know my kids are terrified of me.
They're acting out beyond belief.
Tyler yells at them when they fuck up.
Emily is driving the kids home from school today. They're hanging at home and then she's picking up Nathan and Noah.
All five of them are acting out.
Tyler keeps telling me to step up and parent.
He's even getting nervous.
Everyone is getting nervous.
Delaney is getting nervous.
Like, everyone is worried.
I'm not letting it bother me.
Whatever.
I will ask for report cards.
I'm sitting on the couch, all the kids arriving from school, Cameron driving, and Aleena. She's sixteen so she's got her license and a car.
I won't let Ethan.
All of them are driving their cousins from school.
It's weird.
Cooper is the strict one with Aleena. Delaney is the strict one with her and Blake's kids.
Shaun is strict.
It's me though.
I'm known as the Nazi in the family.
Me not giving a shit is honestly putting everyone on edge.
The kids come into the house.
I let them have their snacks and settle down on their electronics.
"Alright, let me see the report cards." I say, looking at my kids.
"Why?" Emily asks.
I furrow my eyebrows.
"Uh, because I said." I say.
She hesitates.
"Alright." Ethan shrugs. He starts digging through his backpack, handing it to me.
The youngest I the room is Michael and Frankie's daughter, Taylor.
She's eleven. She's adopted, like Aleena, because Frankie was infertile like Caroline was.
I've fixed the business. Everything is clicking back into place.
All that's left is my job as a mother.
I don't look at Ethan's yet.
Emily doesn't move, and neither do the twins, or Declan.
"Now!" I say.
They all jump up. Emily hands hers to me. I put it on top of the pile. Declan gives me his, and I put his on the bottom.
The twins hand theirs to me, and I put them on the bottom.
I sigh.
The whole house is silent.
It's like they're waiting for my reaction.
Delaney admitted it's making her nervous I'm not killing the kids for how bad they're acting.
Emily admitted that all five of them was listening at the bedroom door when we were talking.
I didn't care.
I leave them on a table, going to get water before I view these.
I set my glass on the coffee table, picking the pile up.
I look at Emily's first.
English 3: C
Algebra 2: D
World History: F
3D Art: F
Spanish 3: F
Chemistry: F
Health: F
I stare at it.
Sighing, I set it aside, moving onto Ethan's.
I don't even look at the classes.
F
F
F
F
F
D
F
What the hell is this?
I set Ethan's aside, not changing my facial expression.
I move onto Declan's.
D
F
D
F
F
D
F
I set Declan's down, looking at Noah's.
F
F
F
F
F
F
A
I look at Nathan's.
C
D
F
F
F
F
F
I set his down, staring at the pile.
"Well?" Tyler asks.
I stand up slowly, running my fingers through my hair.
Emily isn't even paying attention. She's typing away on her phone.
I look at my glass of water, and then I walk up to Emily, taking her phone from her hand.
I move slowly, dropping it into my glass of water.
Silence.
I grab Ethan's from his hand, adding his to the cup. I take Declan's, setting his down in the water as well.
I add the twin's iPod's.
Their jaws are all slack.
"Mom!" Emily stands up, pissed. "What the fuck!"
I take a deep breath.
"Why the hell did you fucking do that?" Ethan yells.
"Sit." I whisper. "Your ass." I take a deep breath. "Down."
Neither one of them move.
My eyes are on the table, where their report cards sit.
They still stand there.
I lift my head up.
"Now!" I say loudly.
They drop to their seats, quick.
I stand there for a second.
I don't even know how to begin.
"Emily," I begin. "I have spent hundreds of dollars in the last three weeks." I say. "Hundreds."
"You can afford it." she says.
"Stop talking." I snap. She bites her lip.
"Hundreds?" Tyler repeats.
I don't answer him.
"Sneaking out." I whisper. "I've spent hundreds getting the morning after pill to keep you from getting pregnant so you can go to college and make something out of yourself other than a teen Mom." My voice is calm. "Hundreds!" my voice rises slightly. "You're sneaking out, cutting class, having sex, doing whatever the hell you please whenever the hell you please! I am done." I hiss. "I tried cutting back. I tried. I-how do you get grades that terrible! You can't afford to get grades like this! You're a junior in high school! Do you realize how many colleges you just lost! That's hundreds of dollars down the drain because you can't keep your hand out of your boyfriends pants long enough to pass a fucking test!" I'm yelling now. I look at Ethan.
"And you! How the hell do you think I didn't notice my keys missing for three hours the other night? You took my car! What the hell is wrong with you!" I look at Declan.
"And you! You leave at random hours of the night, going god knows where! What the fuck!" I look at the twins.
"You two are twelve." I hiss. "You're children. You can't be fucking around and doing whatever you please whenever you please!"
I take a deep breath.
I feel like the last part of me just clicked.
I grab Emily's purse, fishing her wallet out.
I take her license, and then I grab Ethan's wallet, taking his learners permit, and I take Declan's permit too.
I out of the living room, getting scissors.
I cut all three of them in half, walking back to the living room.
The slam them down on the coffee table.
"I don't even have a punishment." I whisper. "I can't even think of a punishment. I am so, so disappointed." I shake my head. "You were raised better than this." I shake my head.
The house is silent.
Nobody moves.
"Uh," Tyler clears his throat. "I believe you said you were buying the morning after pill?"
"Yes." I say.
"Mom." Emily says.
"Nazi is back." Delaney grins.
I look at her.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I hiss.
"Oh, this was fake." Emily says. "I didn't have sex." She sighs. "And the sneaking out, we were going to Aunt Delaney's."
I'm pissed.
"What?" I hiss.
"We wanted our Mom back." Declan says.
I look at Tyler.
"Did you know about this?" I ask, angry.
He sighs.
"You're not you."
"You all knew about this." I whisper. "Well, where are the real report cards! I want them right now!"
They all grab them from their bags handing them to me.
Straight A's.
All of them got straight A's, except for Ethan and Declan.
"Why did you get a B in English?" I ask them.
"Mom, I told you, the teacher is a major-" Ethan starts. I cut him off.
"Say that word and I swear-"
"She's horrible." Declan cuts in.
I stare at the report cards.
"You guys are grounded."
"What? Mom, we did perfect!" Emily says.
"You, all of you, you lied to me. You're grounded."
I stand up, leaving.
I stop at the door, sighing.
They just wanted their Mom back.
Shaking my head, I walk out of the house.
Tyler
It's been an hour or so since Carmen left.
"Why did your Mother say you've been having sex? Was that true?" I ask Emily.
She hesitates.
"Well," she begins.
"Emily, you better not lie. I'll ask her. You know I can tell when she's lying."
She sighs.
"Daddy, I've had a boyfriend for nine months."
I stare at her, shaking my head.
"No. Break up with him."
She sighs.
"No." she says.
"What?" I ask.
"No. I won't break up with him."
"Who knew about this? I-" I cut off. "Did your mother know?"
"Mom has known for three weeks. Remember that day when she was in the city and I kept asking for her?"
I stare at her.
"You've had sex with him." I whisper.
She's just a baby.
"No, you're going to end it. Call him right now and break it off! You're not allowed to date."
"Dad, I'm seventeen!" she says. "I love him!"
"You're a child!" I stand up. "You don't know what love is!"
"I won't break up with him. Ground me. Lock me in a tower. I'm not breaking up with him!" she stands up.
I never yell at the kids. I never yell at anybody.
Carmen does the yelling and the scolding.
But I'm pissed. I've never gotten into a fight with the kids, especially not Emily.
She's my little girl.
I tell them when to do their chores.
I don't fight because they listen to me.
"Yes you are!" I yell at her.
Carmen comes walking into the room then, hanging her coat up on the hook.
"What's going on?" she asks, looking at me, and then at Emily.
"You knew she's had a boyfriend and you didn't tell me?" I ask her angrily.
She sighs.
"Yeah."
"Why? I am her father!"
"And you're a guy and you're her father and she's your little girl. You freak out if she smiles when a boy is on TV. There was no way in hell I was going to tell you she had a boyfriend."
"She's a baby!" I say, pissed.
"She's seventeen." Carmen says.
"So? She's-"
"You were with Sarah when you were seventeen. In three years, she'll be the age I was when I met you. I'd-"
"I don't care!" I say. "She's breaking up with him!"
"No she's not." Carmen crosses her arms.
"Yes!" I say. "Emily, you're grounded until you turn eighteen. You're switching schools. You're not leaving the house. You can't do anything. I'm giving your car to Ethan."
"Dad!" Emily says. She's crying now.
"Tyler, calm down." Carmen sighs, shaking her head.
Emily
My heart is racing. Thank god Mom is here.
"No, I will not calm down!" Dad yells at her.
"Would you rather her be with somebody who's going to buy her flowers, or who's going to have sex and leave?" Mom stares at Dad. The house is silent. "She's not a baby anymore. She's not eight. She'll be eighteen in two months. She's going to date. She's going to have sex. She's going to get her heart broken. She's going to get married and she's going to have kids. We can't protect her from everything. We need to be there for her when she falls. She's going to have a boyfriend. You need to accept it. Either she breaks up with Nick and is miserable, meets somebody that's a horny teenage boy, and gets her break shattered into ten million pieces, or she stays with Nick, and she's happy, and smiling, and she's loved." Mom's voice is calm. Soft. Dad stares at her.
He looks down, shaking his head.
"Invite him over." He mutters.
"Uh-" I hesitate. "I don't..."
I don't want Nick to meet my Dad.
"Tyler, give it a few days." Mom whispers. "You need to actually calm down and accept it before you meet him."
Carmen
Emily is so nervous. She keeps looking through the front door, and then walking back into the living room, checking her phone, and then coming back.
"Daddy, I really love him." Emily whispers to Tyler. "Please. He's nervous."
"I'll be nice." Tyler says. He's making dinner.
Christmas Eve is tomorrow. We're having Nick over for dinner tonight.
She looks so scared.
I hug her.
"I'll keep him good." I whisper, kissing her temple. She sighs, wrapping her arms around me.
"Mom, I'm so nervous."
"I know. Trust me, it's gonna be okay."
The doorbell rings.
"I'll get it!" Tyler says. I release Emily, shooting forward as he exits the kitchen, I hook my index finger in the belt loop of his jeans.
"No." I say. "You won't."
I back up, pulling him back into the kitchen.
Emily sighs. I squeeze her hand.
She nods, nervous, and she walks out of the kitchen.
"I'll behave." Tyler says like a scolded child.
"You all will behave." I say, looking at the boys.
We're not necessarily dressed up, but we're all wearing nice clothes.
A minute passes, and then Emily comes into the kitchen, holding hands with Nick.
He's tall, like Tyler, and he's buff like him, too.
Tyler eyes him, their joined hands.
"Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Nick, Nick, this is my Mom, Carmen, and my Dad, Tyler."
"Hi." He says. He's so nervous. His cheeks are pink.
Oh god, this is so fucking cute.
I smile.
"It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." I hug him.
"It's nice to meet you, too." He hugs me back.
I step away.
Tyler is hesitating, his right hand stirring the noodles.
"What are those?" He asks, suspicious, pointing at the container in his hand. It has tin foil on it.
"Brownies, sir." Nick says
Sir.
Oh god. This is so adorable.
"What kind of brownies? Pot brownies, perhaps?"
"Tyler!" I hiss.
He sighs.
"No sir," Nick smiles. "They're just regular brownies."
"Sorry." He says. "It's nice to meet you, Nick." He shakes his hand.
I can tell he's uncomfortable.
Both of them are. Emily looks so nervous.
"And these are my brothers." Emily says. "You've met Declan and Ethan, but this is Noah and Nathan."
"Wow, you two are completely identical." Nick says. "It's nice to meet you guys."
"Yeah, you too." Noah says.
"How did you guys tell them apart as babies?" Nick asks.
"Noah had a birthmark o his left hand when he was born." Tyler says. "After it faded, Noah wore blue and Nathan wore green."
"What if we got mixed up in the bath?" Noah says. "Could I be Nathan?"
Nick laughs.
I roll my eyes.
"No, you're Noah. Sit down."
"But Mom, how do you know?" Nathan asks.
"Because I just do." I say.
"But-"
"Nick, do you play any sports?" Tyler asks, cutting Nathan off.
"Yeah, I'm actually on the football team at school."
Tyler played football in high school.
He sets the spoon down, turning around.
"Really? What position? I played in high school."
"Quarterback." Nick says.
"That's awesome." Tyler says. "Are you going to go to college for that?"
"No, no actually, I don't want to go for that."
"What not?" Tyler asks.
He shrugs.
"I don't want something I love to become about the money." He shrugs.
"Makes sense." Tyler nods. "Are you gonna go to college though?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna go for business and culinary. I love baking. I want my own bakery."
Tyler nods.
"Carmen bakes." He says.
"You do?" Nick looks at me.
I shrug. "A little bit."
"Mom makes all the cakes and everything. She's the best baker I know." Emily says.
"Awesome." Nick smiles.
"Do you cook?" I ask. "Like, dinners and stuff?"
"No, actually, I'm horrible at cooking." He laughs nervously. "I burn everything."
I grin.
"You and I have that in common. Tyler cooks food, I serve burnt pop tarts."
Nick smiles.
"I have a baby sister. Well, she's not so much a baby anymore. She's four now. Still little, but not a baby. I was microwaving a bottle for her, because my Mom and Dad were...never mind, anyways, the bottle...I kinda exploded the milk all over the place. I'm not good at cooking."
I laugh. "Yeah, I've done that."
"What were your parents doing?" Tyler asks.
I shoot him a look.
Nick sighs. "They were arguing."
"They fight a lot?" I ask.
He nods.
"On and off, yeah, uh, they actually probably don't even know I left the house, even though I told them a few times."
"Trust me, it gets better. Once you move out, it'll be better."
"I hope so." He sighs.
"Do you want them to break up?" Tyler asks.
"Um..." he looks like he doesn't want to answer.
He's afraid he's going to say the wrong thing.
"I grew up listening to my parents fight." I say. "They still fight. Honestly, I want them to get divorced."
Nick nods.
"Yeah, if they did though, I wouldn't want two houses. I wouldn't want to share. I wouldn't want my Mom to change her last name. I don't know." He shrugs. He hesitates. "If you know, when you were my age, I they got divorced would you pick one of them or would you share the custody?"
I hesitate.
"I don't know. Nobody's ever asked me that question. I think it depends on what my brother chose. He's four years younger than me. If he had split, I'd split. I'd want to stay with him."
"My sister would be shared. She's just a kid. She doesn't get a choice." He says.
I nod, understanding.
His phone starts ringing in his pocket.
He hesitates.
"You can look at your phone." Tyler says. "We're not like that."
Nick nods, pulling his phone out.
"I'm sorry, it's my Mom. I have to take this."
"Of course."
He steps out of the kitchen.
I hear him talking.
"Hello?" he hesitates. "What?" he sighs. "Mom, it's two days before Christmas! No, you don't need to save your marriage! It's already ruined! Oh, so you're just going to leave with Dad and leave me alone with Lily until school starts again? Oh, even better, so I'm going to watch her while I'm at school, and you and Dad go around arguing in another country?" he pauses. "No, this has nothing to do with Lily. I'm not mad I have to watch her. I'm mad at you! It's two days before Christmas! She's four years old! She doesn't even know about Santa yet! You two aren't going to be there for her Christmas! You're going to crush her! Fine, whatever. Bye."
Emily looks down.
"I don't like how they treat him. I can't help him." She whispers.
Tyler hugs her, kissing the top of her head.
Nick comes back in a second later.
He looks upset, really upset.
"I'm really, really sorry. I have to go."
I hesitate.
"Nick, if your parents are leaving, you can come spend Christmas with us. We can watch your sister while you're at school. I know it's not your family..." trail off.
"No, I don't want to intrude." He says.
"You're not intruding." Tyler says.
Emily looks at him.
"Are you sure?" Nick asks. "She's four years old. She's a lot to handle."
"We've had a three year old, a four year old, a five year old, and two infant twins at one time. We can handle your baby sister." Tyler says.
"Okay. I'll just..."
"You can go pick her up and come back." I shrug.
"Are you guys sure it's okay?"
"Yes." Tyler says.
"Okay." He says. "Thank you, guys. Really."
"It's no problem." I smile.
"I'll drive you." Emily says.
"Okay. We kinda need to go right now. They already left her there. She's alone."
<><>
Later that night, I'm laying in bed in the dark, wrapped in Tyler's arms.
"Is that how your childhood was?" he whispers.
I sigh.
"With the fighting, yeah. It was..." I trail off. "Horrible."
"I'm sorry, Sunshine." He murmurs. "I knew it was bad. I didn't know the extent of it."
"Nick is nice." I sigh, nuzzling closer to him. Nick is sleeping over with his sister until his parents get home. They're sharing a room. Nick and Emily promised not to sneak into each other's room.
I think they're actually going to follow through.
"He's a good kid." Tyler murmurs.
"Yeah." I whisper. "He is."
He calls Emily beautiful and he loves holding her hand.
He's very affectionate.
"You know," Tyler sighs "I hate to say it, but I actually like the kid. You know what I think?" he asks.
"What?" I mumble.
He tightens his arms around me, kissing my forehead.
"I think he's Emily's serendipity."
The end!
I'm so sad it's over, but it was definitely time!
~Sam