Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 4

Andrew stood staring at Kate in the middle of Target in complete shock, unable to form any sort of sentence, and he immediately felt like a dumbass as he stood there speechless. Ryland had wandered up next to them, and he wasn't talking either. Kate was obviously stunned to see him too, and Andrew struggled to figure out if there was something smart or funny he could say to ease the awkwardness, but luckily for both, the little girl was happy to oblige.

"Who's this guy?" Kate's daughter asked, her arms folded precociously, and Kate blushed. "Lila, that's not very polite. This is Andrew, he's Mrs. Sarah and Mr. EJ's friend. And um, my new friend too, I guess," she said, looking up at Andrew with an awkward smile, which he returned. Before he could say anything, the little girl had more to say. She extended her hand up to shake Andrew's, and he took it, completely shocked at how adult she was.

"Hi, I'm Lila Grace Hendricks, I'm 7 years old, and I'm starting first grade in a few weeks. I'm from Texas, but Mommy says we're California girls now," she said with a smug smile. "You're very tall. I guess that's good for reaching Frozen 2 bubble bath," Lila added, hands crossing again over her chest as she gazed up at the red-head. Andrew looked from Lila to Kate, shocked to see how much the little girl looked like Kate's mini-me. He glanced quickly at Ryland, whose eyes were wide as saucers, and then he looked back to Katie as she shook her head, rolling her eyes a little.

"She's a 17 year old trapped in 7 year old body," she told Andrew softly, and Lila looked at her mom. "There's nothing wrong with being confident, Mommy," she countered, and Andrew couldn't help but let out a small laugh at how funny she was.

"That's true, it's good to be confident," he said quietly, and Kate looked at him with wide eyes as he crouched down a little, getting down on Lila's level. "It's very nice to meet you, Lila. This is my friend Ryland," he said, gesturing to Ryland who stood by amused as he watched the whole thing play out. "You sound a lot older than seven," the red-head said with a little grin, and Lila gave him a tiny smile back. "I read A LOT," she answered, and Andrew nodded approvingly. "That's good, I like to read too," he told her, and Lila grinned. "Have you read Diary of a Wimpy Kid? I need a little help from my mom with some of the bigger words, but it's really good," Lila suggested, and Andrew smiled. "I haven't, I'll check that one out," he told her, and Lila looked at Kate with a gleam in her eye.

"Alright, Lila, that's enough, I'm sure Andrew and his friend are busy shopping," Kate said nervously, and Lila shrugged. "They don't seem that busy," she told her mom, and Kate face-palmed as both guys cracked up. "She's perceptive," Andrew told Kate with a grin. "Ry, this is Kate, I met her at Sarah and EJ's," he said softly, and Ryland shook Kate's hand, smiling broadly. "Hi! Nice to meet you, she's adorable," Ryland said, gesturing to the little girl, and Kate stammered out a quick thank you, still obviously freaked out by seeing Andrew.

"It was nice to see you again," Kate told Andrew, and the red-head smiled at her softly. "Yeah, you too. I, um... I didn't know if I'd get to, but..." his voice trailed off, and she grimaced. "Yeah, well... some things don't translate well over text," she said, voice barely a whisper as she looked from Lila to Andrew with a weak smile, and then Lila started off again, fixated on some Chapstick, and Kate waved, muttering a quick, "See you around maybe," as she rushed after Lila, leaving Andrew standing in the aisle with his mouth open.

"So, I'm gonna take a guess and say the kid never came up in conversation?" Ryland asked, standing over Andrew's shoulder, and the red-headed cameraman shook his head slowly. "I mean, I had no idea. She's a mom," he said softly, shaking his head a little as he followed Ryland to look for Shane and Morgan and go home.

In the G on the way home, Andrew and Ryland relayed the run-in with Kate and her daughter to Morgan and Shane, and Morgan's eyes went wide as Shane shook his head knowingly.