[Pritchett-Tucker House]
Cam and Mitchell were finishing getting ready, waiting for the babysitter to arrive and for Lily to finally fall asleep.
Mitchell was in his daughter's room, lit only by the soft glow of the bedside lamp. He'd spent over ten minutes trying to convince her, but Lily's eyes were still wide open and bright, as if it were two in the afternoon.
"Come on, sweetheart… go to sleep, it's late," murmured Mitchell patiently, though resigned.
"I don't want to!" Lily replied in her sweet little voice, dragging out the "o" in a childish whine. "I want to play!"
Mitchell stifled a sigh. He knew he was losing the battle. He gave in, turned the light back on, and handed her a few of her favorite toys, hoping that a little playtime would help tire her out.
Lily clapped her tiny hands in delight as she sat up in her crib. She crossed her legs on the mattress and hugged her favorite doll first—a Max Steel figure who, in her imagination, looked just like her big brother.
"Andy… touchdown!" she said excitedly, moving the doll as if he were running across an invisible field, then made him jump and fall. She celebrated by throwing her arms in the air. "Yeaaah! I win!"
Watching from nearby with his arms crossed, Mitchell couldn't help but smile tenderly. Seeing his daughter imitate Andrew with such passion warmed his heart.
But Lily didn't stop there. With her other hand, she grabbed a classic Barbie, brought her close to Max Steel, and said in a softer voice:
"Hi, Andy… you're really cool."
However, the plot took a sharp turn. She dropped the Max Steel and picked up a third doll, a bigger one, and made it attack the Barbie with clumsy but determined movements, hitting her over and over.
"No! He's mine! I protect Andy!" Lily proclaimed with fierce determination, making the bigger doll hug Max Steel tightly while leaving the Barbie lying off to the side, defeated and forgotten.
Mitchell's smile froze. 'Oh, boy…' he thought.
As if Andrew didn't already have enough with Claire as the inquisitive aunt, always ready to interrogate any girl who came near him; Haley, his cousin, overprotective to a fault because she saw him as a brother; and Gloria, who loved romance but would never allow Andrew to end up with just anyone.
Now, on top of that, he also had Lily. And if at three years old she was already playing at defending him from imaginary suitors, Mitchell didn't even want to imagine what she'd be like when she grew up.
The future promised to be quite a challenge for Andrew, because before introducing any girl, he'd have to pass through a full family committee, and Lily seemed destined to be the president of that committee.
"All right, little guardian. Ten more minutes, then bedtime," Mitchell said affectionately before leaving the room, letting Lily continue her game.
He closed the door softly and walked down the hall. The bathroom light was on, and the door was half-open. When he peeked inside, there he was: Cam, standing before the mirror, in the middle of doing his makeup.
Mitchell leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "You're still not done? And any news from the babysitter?" he asked with a resigned sigh.
Cam didn't even flinch. With a surgeon's concentration and brush in hand, he replied without looking away from his reflection, "Do you see this makeup finished?"
Mitchell exhaled. The costume was, without a doubt, one of the most elaborate Cam had ever attempted: torn clothes, fake blood stains, ashen skin, and carefully shaded dark circles. A true zombie.
'I'm not sure if it's better or worse that he's finally over his trauma…' Mitchell thought wryly.
Until last year, Cam had hated Halloween. A childhood experience had left him scarred, and although he loved dressing up, he always went for quick and simple outfits on the night of the 31st.
But everything changed after he shared that story at the Dunphys' haunted house. No one had asked him to, but it was like releasing a burden.
He managed to heal that trauma, and now Mitchell faced a new problem: Cam was taking an eternity to perfect every detail.
"I sent the babysitter a message a few minutes ago. Hopefully, she replies soon. How's Lily?" Cam asked, blending a dark shadow beneath his right eye.
"She doesn't want to sleep. Her schedule's off on Fridays with all the games," Mitchell replied, shaking his head.
Lily had a normal routine like any other three-year-old, but on Friday nights, everything went out of sync. Andrew played until ten or eleven, and the little girl got so excited by the game's atmosphere that instead of wearing herself out, she seemed to feed on the energy. Logically, she should end up exhausted, but it was the complete opposite.
"She's playing with some toys right now. Pray she gets tired on her own, because if not, the babysitter's in for a long night," Mitchell added.
Cam nodded and kept focusing on his makeup. With nothing else to do, Mitchell let his mind wander. He couldn't help thinking about Lily's protective attitude toward Andrew, and how that same trait showed up in other women in the family.
The scene after the game came back to him. Outside the stadium, Haley, with her usual interrogative tone, had asked why Madison was so clingy with Andrew.
Madison, the cheer captain, the same one Andrew had literally fallen asleep next to at her house.
Mitchell, however, wasn't alarmed like Claire or Haley. He trusted his son. He knew that even though Andrew had broken up with Pippa, he wasn't the type to jump straight into another relationship. In fact, Mitchell had noticed, he was taking things slow with Madison. He'd only just invited her to something that could maybe be called a date.
And even that was probably just because he didn't have anyone else to go with to the game.
But there was something else that bothered him more.
"Andrew's going out with Madison tomorrow…" Mitchell said.
Cam paused for a second and raised an eyebrow, though he didn't take his eyes off the mirror. "Yeah. So what?" he asked, brushing more shadow under his other eye.
"Nothing. I'm just confused. Didn't you say there was… tension between Andrew and Willa?" Mitchell tilted his head. "You know, those looks that aren't just friendly? I've noticed them too. And yet, nothing. They're still the same as always."
Willa had been one of Andrew's close friends for over a year. For nearly three weeks now, she'd been giving him acting lessons, an hour a day, every day. She often stayed for dinner, and still, nothing seemed to change between them.
They were the same as ever: friendly, comfortable, in sync. And meanwhile, Andrew was inviting another girl out, one who at least seemed to have a more obvious spark of romantic interest.
"Yeah, I know. It confuses me too," Cam admitted as he added the final touches to his makeup.
It was strange to him as well that nothing had happened yet. They had trust, natural chemistry, and both he and Mitchell had noticed the dynamic between Willa and Andrew.
A dynamic that wasn't the same as the one Willa had with Leonard and Howard. The four were part of the same close friend group, but Willa seemed to have a different code with Andrew, a closer, more personal way of connecting. That had made Cam and Mitchell suspect there might be something more.
Mitchell looked at him in surprise. It wasn't common for Cam to admit uncertainty when it came to romance.
"So your famous intuition failed? That's new," Mitch said with a faint smile.
Cam put away his brushes, unbothered by the remark. "Maybe… maybe they just see each other as friends. Or maybe since they've always been friends, neither wants to take a step further, knowing it could make things weird. Or maybe that's just their dynamic, two best friends who understand each other without needing anything romantic."
Mitchell raised an eyebrow. "A straight guy and a straight girl as best friends? That's… complicated."
Not impossible, but definitely harder to maintain for many reasons.
Cam turned to him, his face now fully zombified. "Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. And when it comes to Andrew and Willa, trust me, if anyone can defy the odds, it's them."
Mitchell watched him in silence for a moment, unsure what surprised him more: Cam's mature conclusion, accepting that his intuition had failed without making any drama about it, or how good the zombie makeup actually looked on him.
Before he could say anything, Cam's phone vibrated on the sink. He picked it up, glanced at the screen, and smiled. "It's the babysitter."
But his expression slowly changed as he read the messages.
"What does she say?" asked Mitchell.
Cam sighed. "She canceled. Says something came up at the last minute."
"What? She canceled? You've got to be kidding me!" Mitchell exclaimed, outraged. He snatched the phone from Cam's hands and immediately started calling. Once, twice, three times… no answer. Then he began typing furiously, his fingers flying across the screen.
"This is unacceptable. You can't just leave us hanging like this. You agreed to a commitment, young lady, and commitments are meant to be honored," Mitch muttered as he typed long paragraphs that looked more like last wills than text messages.
It had been ages since they'd gone to a party together, and he wasn't about to miss this one. When there was still no reply, Mitchell huffed and shook his head.
"Of course! She probably had a party. That's what happens when you hire someone young. She'd rather cover herself in glitter and get drunk in someone's garage than be responsible."
"Hey, she seemed reliable. She didn't look like someone who'd ditch two desperate parents on a Friday night," Cam said defensively, reclaiming his phone.
Mitchell sighed, more resigned than angry. "So what now? I got dressed up as a mummy for nothing."
Cam gave him a once-over and raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Please, Mitch… you wrapped yourself in toilet paper. Big deal. I spent almost an hour doing my zombie makeup. I'm going to that party no matter what."
Mitchell opened his mouth to reply, but Cam lifted a finger before he could speak.
"Hold on. Claire just texted, asking when we're getting there," he murmured, typing quickly. Two minutes later, he looked up again. "I told her what happened. And guess what? She says to bring Lily."
Mitchell raised an eyebrow. "Lily? What are we supposed to do with her? Let her sleep on the couch in the middle of the party?"
"No. Your sister says we can let her sleep in her room. She says the second floor is far enough from the noise, so Lily can rest peacefully."
Mitchell frowned slightly, considering the option. "Do they even have a crib?"
Lily was already three years old and would soon be moving to her own bed. Still, Mitch and Cam were nervous about letting her sleep in a regular bed, worried she might fall or wander off in the middle of the night.
Cam typed the question on his phone. Seconds later, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "She says yes. She still has Luke's old crib stored away. She's going to set it up in the room before we get there so we can put Lily down right away."
Mitchell blinked, genuinely impressed by his sister's efficiency. "Well… that's great. Problem solved."
They could even check on Lily from time to time to make sure everything was fine, much better than leaving her with a stranger.
Cam smiled with satisfaction. "See? Not everything ends in disaster."
"Whatever…" Mitchell said. "Come on, we're already late," he added, pushing off from the doorframe and heading toward Lily's room.
A party was waiting for them.
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