Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 13

The morning after the date with Andrew, Kate popped out of bed at 6 am, ready to start her long 12 hour shift at the hospital. She woke up and pulled on her green hospital scrubs, pulling her hair into a ponytail, and then she grabbed her bag and rushed into the main house. Lila had slept in "her room" at her parents' house, and she was eager to see her girl before work. When she got into the kitchen, she was surprised to find her mom, dad and Lila all sat at the kitchen table, dressed for the beach.

"Mommy!! You're back from your dinner!" Lila yelled, getting up from her chair and bounding over to hug Kate around the waist. "Of course, sweetie! It's the next morning!" Kate said with a smile, and Lila grinned. "Were you the prettiest friend there?" Lila asked innocently, and Kate grinned. "Oh, I don't know, Lila, everyone is pretty," she said, trying not to harp too much on the date, but Lila looked at her smugly. "You're being nice but I bet you were. When you do that, it's called 'being humble,'" Lila said with a grin, eyeing her grandmother, and Anne laughed. "We learned about that yesterday when Lila let me know she was had been the smartest girl in kindergarten," Anne said with a laugh, and Kate nodded approvingly. "That's a very good lesson," she told her little girl with a sweet grin.

"Grammy and Pops are taking me out to the beach today!" Lila shrieked. "Really, Dad, you're going too?" Kate asked, and Michael nodded. "Well, sure, it's a beautiful day, and this little lady will be in school soon. Figured it's a good time to enjoy ourselves," he said with a shrug, and Kate looked at them wistfully. She absolutely loved her job, and she appreciated her parents taking such amazing care of Lila, but there was a tiny part of her that hated missing out on fun activities with her girl, afraid Lila would think of her as always working. Michael patted his daughter on the shoulder kindly, as if he knew right away what she was thinking. "Don't worry, my darling," he told Kate sweetly. "When you're done with your residency, you'll be able to take fun days like this too," he assured her, and Anne nodded in agreement.

"He never missed a thing with you guys once he had his own practice," she said softly, looking at Michael adoringly as he kissed her on the cheek.

"They're acting romantic," Lila said with a grin, wiggling her eyebrows, and Kate rolled her eyes. "Alright, Lila, that's enough," she admonished the precocious little girl. Michael guffawed, shaking his head at Lila. "You certainly are Pops's little spitfire, aren't you Lila?" he asked, and the little girl shrugged. "Not sure what that means, but I probably am," she answered, and her grandfather cracked up. "Come on, spitfire, let's go into the poolhouse and get you your towel and sunglasses so we can hit the beach!" he cheered, and Lila held her grandpa's hand as they walked out together to gather her things.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Anne turned to Kate with a wide grin. "Alright, my girl, spill it!" she told Kate with a smile, and Kate shook her head. "Mom! Oh my gosh," Kate groaned, and Anne laughed. "Listen, Kate, your father and I share everything. I mean everything. You know he told me you got home at midnight and he said you looked lovesick," Anne said pointedly, and Kate rolled her eyes.

"If he was up waiting for me, that's it, I'm getting myself an apartment tomorrow," she said with an exasperated sigh, and Anne shook her head. "He wasn't! At least, I don't think so! Anyway, whatever. How did it go? Was it fun? Are you going to see this Andrew again?" Anne asked, desperate for information, and Kate grinned a little. As much as she liked to complain about her mother's prying ways, she had to admit she wanted to gush to her about the adorable red-head.

"It was really fun," she told her mother honestly, and Anne beamed. "Well, was he, you know... was it what you were hoping for?" Anne said, choosing her words carefully as she knew how private her daughter could be, but Kate smiled, nodding dreamily. "It was great," she said softly. "He was sweet and kind and a total gentleman, and we talked all night," Kate gushed, and Anne was so excited that she grabbed Kate's arm, hugging it to her chest. "Well, are you going out again?" she asked, and Kate nodded. "Yeah, he asked if I wanted to go out again, but I don't know when. My work schedule is jammed this week," she noted, and Anne smiled. "You know we're here whenever you can make it work. Don't forget, Lila will be with Sally and JD next weekend too," her mom added, and Kate shook her head. "Ugh, don't remind me, I forgot about that," she groaned.