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imperfect parenting. chapter four
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"Yo, why do we have to do this again?" Jac asked.
"I just don't want to send him out into the world like this," Ariana barely flinched as Jac walked next to Ariana, both girls staring into the abyss that was Jared's closet. "I mean, it would be a crime. It's like leaving a baby on a doorstep and hoping for the best. I just don't want him to bomb his date and start harassing us again about hot lunch," she paused. "This is the third pair of earmuffs I have found. Who hurt this guy?"
Jac shook her head. "Whatever. Man, I'm gonna go pee and then grab a drink, lord knows I need it," she dismissed herself from the dull atmosphere.
"Anna, I want to hug you and give you all my gum," Ariana's son, Luke, said aloud before taking a sip of a juice box that was handed to him.
"That's a great start," Jared smiled at the young kid, being the one who handed him the juice box.
"I've been in love with Anna since day one of kindergarten. Then she put those bunny ears on stick a fork in me, I'm done," Luke sighed. Emma was sitting on the barstool next to him, watching how he talked, and couldn't help but laugh.
"It's your first love," Jared sympathized as Luke slurped his juice. "That's a big deal. It's exciting. You shouldn't be afraid to let your feelings out."
"Exactly. That's how I want to play it with Anna," he nodded. "Raw, open, positive. Oh, by the way, don't let my mom scare you about the date tonight. She doesn't believe in love because my dad is kind of a garbage human."
"That's good to know," Jared said, reaching for Luke's now empty juice box. "But I'm gonna cut you off on the juice boxes, 'kay, bud?"
"Hey, Jared?" Lina's son Adam walked over to the three at the kitchen counter. "Ariana says I have to give you a makeover," he looked him up and down. "This is my Everest," he sighed before Ariana screamed in the distance.
"Ariana, are you hurt?" Jared asked as the adults piled into the room where she was.
"Why do you have this?" Ariana held up a bag in the shape of a mermaid.
"What in the Lord's name?" Emma asked, staring at the sequin and plush mess. That had to have been bought on clearance in a sold out store, there's no way someone could be that desperate or excited to by it.
"Oh, Jared scoffed. "Honestly, I've never seen that before in my life."
"Dude, your wallet is in here and a bag of popcorn that's still hot," Ariana rummaged through it. "You've used this today."
"I use it for snacks, okay?" Jared admitted. "Nobody ever tells dads what to do about snacks, and this is a good snack holder," Emma placed a hand on his shoulder. "It was actually my wife's before she left." Emma looked up at his face as Lina's dropped.
"Oh," Ariana said, lowering the bag. "I'm sorry, dude. I didn't know."
"I'm sorry too," Emma rubbed Jared's shoulder slightly, relaxing him.
"Just throwing it out there, do you think that maybe there's a reason that this is the bag she didn't take when she left?" Ariana asked. Emma glared at her. "What?"
"Do you miss her?" Emma took a step in front of him so she was standing by Ariana.
"No," he admitted. "But I miss having someone, and not just for the bad stuff or hard stuff or whatever, but for all of the good things, like when she lost her first tooth and when she told her first joke and the week she demanded I called her "Jelly Bean Teen Machine. Nobody tells you how lonely it can be."
"Oh sweetie," Emma giggled, pushing a stray hair from her bun behind her ear. "We do."
"One time, I made a boyfriend out of a pile of laundry and I rolled around in him," Ariana said, setting the bag down on his bed. "It wasn't built to last."
Jared chuckled. "Okay, that was funny."
"When you have kids, something happens to you," Ariana said. "You become mush."
"Agreed," Emma nodded. "It's unexplainable," she shrugged, but she knew the small group was picking up what she was putting down.
"But you got to hide it. That's what I tell Luke. Otherwise, that little weirdo's gonna get his heart broken," Ariana sighed, digging her hands into her jean pockets.
"I-I honestly don't know if I'm capable of hiding my mush," Jared admitted. "I mean, you guys are lucky. You have each other to look out for one another, but it's just me. Do you ever look at each other and go, - "Ah, it takes a vill" -"
"Don't say it," Emma put up a single finger. "Just throw out the bag."
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"Hey," Lina clicked her phone off. "Did Ariana text you her plan?"
"Yeah, we help him get ready for the date, and then we never have to volunteer," Noah said as they walked into the driveway. "Hello, ladies," he greeted his daughters.
"Hi, Dad," they both said in unison.
"Hey, girls," Lina smiled. "What are you doing?"
"Jared's floor mats," one said. "Would it kill him to shampoo them once in a while?"
Lina turned to Noah with a concerned look on her face. "People don't think that kids can buff and wax, but they're the perfect height," Noah shrugged.
Adam came walking out of the front door, interrupting their conversation. "Before I can commit to a blazer, ask yourself can this man pull off this vest? I mean, he doesn't have the arms, but, you know, he might have the attitude," he held up two different vests for Noah.
"No, no vest," Noah said.
"Vest," Lina nodded with a shit-eating grin.
"For the love of God, no vest," Noah insisted.
"Maybe this wants to live here," Adam held up the blue vest to Noah's body. "For tonight's dance party?"
"I'm seeing it," Lina nodded again.
"Forget it," one of Noah's daughters poked their head out from the inside of Jared's car. "We've been trying to get him to sing and dance for years."
"They're right," Noah turned to Adam with a sad smile. "I-I'm sorry, kid, but I'm not going to the party."
"That's okay," Adam's smile dropped. "Maybe next time," he turned to go back inside the house.
"Nice, Noah. Real nice," Lina glared at Noah before rushing after her kid. "Adam, I'll wear your vest!"
"You don't have the right torso for a vest, Mom. Stop trying to make it happen!"
