NEPO BBY

18

After dinner, Dad excused himself to call Mum because we had finally shared with him about Benoit's passing weeks ago. I helped Lily clear the table and wash the dishes.

"I think we should get mum and dad together," she told me as she stood in the kitchen. I walked past her to put some dishes in the sink.

"No thanks," I replied.

"I'm serious, Jack," she whined. "They still love each other. Don't you see it?"

I stopped and stood across from her, "I know they love each other. But not enough to jump back into a relationship."

"How do you know?" She tested. "The least we could do is set the stage for them to come back together, and if they do, it's fine. If they don't - also fine."

I chuckled sarcastically, "Yeah, right. If they don't, you'll hatch another plan to get them together again."

"And so what? Maybe I want them together. Do you want our parents to be separate? You don't want us to return to being a family again?"

I side-eyed her as I placed some dishes in the dishwasher, "I just don't think it's that easy."

"Look at him!" She hissed, pointing in his direction. My eyes averted towards where she was pointing. Dad was standing in the backyard of Lily's house on the phone with Mum, and he looked extremely happy - for once. It had been years since I'd seen him so happy. But was it because of Mum? I couldn't be sure. But I thought maybe Lily was right. We give it a shot and see what happens.

"Fine," I sighed. "Come up with your plan, and I'll go along."

Lily squealed and hugged me tightly.

"Gross!" I said, pushing her away. "No hugs."

She rolled her eyes at me, and I laughed as I finished the dishes. "Hey!" I called out as she began to walk off towards the back of the house. "I'm the guest! How did I get stuck with cleaning up this mess?!"

"I cooked! You clean! It's fair!" She called back to me. "Plus, I've got important business to handle."

"Yeah, right," I mumbled to myself. Dad finally walked in with a big smile on his face. I looked him over. "You seem happy."

"I am," he replied.

"Yeah?" I said, watching him lean against the kitchen counter.

"It was good to speak with your mother. It was great to have dinner with you and Lily. Life is good, Jackie boy."

I smiled at him. "Good. I'm glad to see you like this."

"So," Lily said, walking back into the kitchen. "I was thinking we three go spend some time on the island."

"You two have time off from work and school to do so?" He asked us. We both smiled and nodded. "Well, okay. Let's do it!"

The following day, Lily woke me up at 5 am. "Jack! Jack! Jack, get up!" She hissed, towering above me. I growled, turning to my other side. She gave me a hard shove. "Get up now!" She hissed. I glared at her and wondered why I'd gone along with her plan, which was that I could use more sleep. Nonetheless, I rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes, and met Lily in the kitchen. Malcolm was sitting down, having tea, and reading a magazine he'd found lying around.

"Does he know?" I asked Lily, pointing over at Malcom.

Malcolm looked up and smiled my way, "Morning, Jack."

"Of course, he knows!" Lily spat.

"You two better get out of here if you don't want to get caught," Malcom warned.

"Yes, Jack let's go!" Lily said, walking out of her front door. I slowly followed behind her. She walked around to the driver's side door and got in. I stood there with my arms crossed. She rolled the passenger side window down and shouted for me to enter.

"No, let me drive," I demanded.

"No! This is my car! Get in the car, Jack." She insisted.

"No! I don't want you to drive me around." I tested back.

"You're not driving my car, Jack. You can barely drive a golf cart without crashing it."

"Hey! That was only a time or two!" I said, getting into the passenger side of her vehicle and putting on my seatbelt. Lily backed out of the driveway, and off we went. "Where are we going exactly?" I asked, realizing I needed to find out the exact location we were headed to.

"The penthouse for now," she replied. "I've got this event to get to tonight."

"Cool," I nodded. "What should I wear?"

Her neck snapped in my direction. "What are you talking about? You're not invited."

I chuckled sarcastically, "I'm your plus one now. So let me know what I need to wear to know if I've got to go shopping."

"Jack, you're not going with me. I mean it. This is a serious work event.." I smirked as I pulled out of my phone and hit the contact that read Dad. "What are you doing?!" She freaked out, slapping the phone out of my hand and onto my lap. I chuckled. "God! You're such a child, I swear!" I shrugged carelessly. "Fine! Wear a suit and do something with your hair. And do not talk to anybody. I can't risk you saying something to embarrass me."

Later that evening, Lily and I dressed and headed out to the awaiting car outside. We pulled up to a fancy event in Hollywood. Both of us were making bets on what Mum and Dad were up to.

"They're confessing their love for one another," Lily said confidently. I laughed.

"They're making out!"

"Ew! Gross!" She slapped my chest. "I mean it - don't speak to anyone. You're a mute tonight, Jack." I pinched my thumb and pointer finger and ran it across my cheesy grin.

"My lips are sealed," I remarked.

"Then why do I still hear you?" She replied.

"Holy moly, is that Carmen Ortiz? You didn't tell me my celebrity crush was in attendance," I gushed excitedly in Lily's ear.

"Jack!" She whined.