Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 41

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of nervous," Andrew said as he raked a hand through his wild mop of red hair. Kate looked at him with curiosity, her head tilted to the side as she grinned at her man. "Baby, I already said yes," she said with a giggle, reaching out to grab his hand, and he bit his lip a little. "I know, but I'm just... I don't know, I'm nervous about how this will go with Lila," he said softly. Kate shrugged a little. "You already told her you wanted us to get married. I thought you said she was happy?" Kate asked, and Andrew nodded. "Yeah, I think she will be excited, but now that it's real, she's gonna have a lot of questions and I want to answer them all the right way." He looked at Kate nervously, and she smiled sweetly at her fiancée, hugging his arm to her chest.

"Baby, I'm going to be with you the whole time, and I'm going to answer everything honestly. If she has a question and we don't know the answer, we'll be honest and tell her we don't know. Lila is smart and perceptive, and she really likes to be told the truth. So that's all we have to do," Kate said, shooting Andrew a reassuring glance.

Andrew and Kate were standing outside of her parents' Santa Monica home, and they were getting ready to share their big news with Lila and her mom and dad. After Andrew's sweet proposal, the two had spent 20 minutes just sitting on the rock at the top of the cliff, basking in the glow of their new status as an engaged couple. Andrew had originally planned to take Kate to dinner or something, but after he thought more about it, he figured it would be better to immediately share the news with Lila. He had her little necklace in his pocket, and he hadn't mentioned it to Kate, planning to surprise her as well when he gave it to Lila. Andrew wanted to make sure Lila felt apart of the engagement, and while he knew the little girl would be excited about them getting married, he did wonder if the reality of it would hit differently with her.

"I'm going to let you take the lead, OK sweetheart?" he asked Kate nervously, and she leaned in, hugging him around his waist. "I'll take the lead, Andrew. But you've got this, don't worry. She loves you," Kate told her man with a sweet smile, which he returned.

Kate opened the front door, finding her father in the living room. "Well, hello dear," Michael greeted Kate, and he saw Andrew walking in behind her. "Andrew! What a surprise to see you on a random Monday! Anne and Lila are in the poolhouse doing a puzzle," he said, and Kate smiled a little. "We have some news, Dad," she said with a tiny grin, and he smiled a little, knowing already what was coming due to his previous conversation with Andrew. He raised an eyebrow, and Kate held out her hand, showing her father her sparkling diamond engagement ring. "We're engaged!" she said excitedly, and Michael grinned broadly.

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you both!" Michael exclaimed, pulling his only daughter in for a warm hug. He felt warm and fuzzy as he saw Kate's genuine smile, as he could tell how truly happy she was. After finally letting her go, he reached over to pull Andrew in for a bear hug as well. "I'm proud of you, Andrew," he said to the red-head softly, and Andrew blushed. "Thank you. I'm glad it went OK," Andrew answered breathlessly, and Kate looked at the men with squinted eyes. "I talked to him beforehand," Andrew said quietly, and Kate beamed at how sweet her man was to have spoken to her dad before proposing.

Just then, Lila came bounding into the main house with Anne following behind. She heard voices coming from the living room and rushed in, her eyes lighting up when she saw her mother. "Mommy! You're back already?! I thought you were at work!" she said sweetly, running up and throwing her arms around her mother's waist as Kate grinned. "Hi sweetie! Hope you had a great day!" Kate cheered, and Lila looked past her, eyeing Andrew. "Hey Andrew! What are you doing here?" Lila asked, and Andrew laughed. "Well, hey to you too buddy. Came to visit you, of course!" he said, chuckling as Lila beamed. Kate thought quickly, wanting to talk to Lila alone with Andrew, and she quickly pulled her mother into the kitchen to show her the ring, leaving Lila with Andrew and her dad.