pieces | ethma

First Date

Ethan

"Are you sure we should let her go on this date?" I asked.

Emma smiled, rubbing my back with her hand. "She's 16. That was the deal."

"I thought we agreed on 35." I said.

Emma laughed, gently shoving me. "Ethan."

"What? She's growing up too fast. Our little Brookie."

"Just wait till Kennedy and Kylie start dating."

"Ugh. Don't remind me we only have a year before that whole mess."

"I'm pretty sure Kennedy already has a boyfriend." Emma said.

I jumped up. "And you're just telling me this now? Who'd you hear it from?"

"Kylie."

I opened our bedroom door, peeking my head into the hallway. "Kennedy, get in here now!"

Kennedy and Kylie were our middle children. They were identical twins, and they were a little over a year younger than our firstborn, Brooklyn.

"Yes, Dad?" Kennedy said, walking into mine and Emma's room.

"You have a boyfriend?" I asked.

Kennedy shrugged. "Yeah."

"Ken, you know the rules."

"Dad, come on. Brooklyn gets to!"

"Kennedy, she's older than you." Emma said.

"Mom!"

"Ken." I said softly. "You know the rules. We'll talk about this later. Now, go see if Brooklyn's ready yet."

Kennedy huffed. "Fine."

I glanced at Emma, who got up from the foot of our bed and put her hand on my shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, baby."

"We we like this in high school?"

"Like what?"

"Breaking rules all the time."

"I mean, we did drink at parties, and we were fairly, you know, active."

"But at least we were seniors! I mean, Brooklyn's gonna be a senior next year. What if some guy takes advantage of her?"

"She knows better than that, E. We taught her to protect herself if she's uncomfortable."

"You're right. I guess I'm a little too worried."

"No, you're not. You're just being a good dad." Emma said, stepping away from me. "Brooke, honey, you look beautiful."

I looked over at Brooklyn, and she did look beautiful. She looked just like Emma, except she had my hazel eyes.

To my relief, she had a very sensible outfit on. I knew she'd be okay. "Brooklyn, you are so pretty. My girl." I said, giving her a hug and a peck to her forehead. "Be good tonight, okay?"

"I will, dad."

"Promise?" Emma asked, making it into a group hug.

"I promise, mom."

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. Of course I opened it.

"Mr. Dolan. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Adam."

Adam gave me a firm handshake. "Please. You can just call me Ethan. Nice to meet you too, kiddo."

"Hey, Adam."

"Hi, Brooke. You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Be good!" Emma called.

"Back by ten." I said. Pointing at Brooklyn, then Adam.

"You got it, sir."

Respect.

Brooklyn and Adam left, and I watched out the window as they drove away.

"She's gonna be fine, E." Emma said.

"I know. But she's still our little girl."

"Hey, we grew up at some point. Our kids have to too. Also, you said she should date at 35? I had her when I was 20, E. You really want her to be a year younger than both of us are now before she can date?"

I laughed, pressing a quick kiss to my wife's cheek. "That was a joke, my lady."

She giggled. "I can't believe we're old enough to have a kid that is going on their first date."

"Maybe we should've raised the rule another year."

"Ethan."

"What?"

"What were you doing at her age?"

My face turned red. "Same thing I do to you all the time."

"My point exactly."

I leaned over and pressed a peck to her lips. "Are we just gonna stand here and wait all night, or are we gonna have a talking to with Kennedy?"

"I'll talk to her. You relax. Play video games with Jackson or something. At least sit down. I'll be back in a few minutes." Emma said, walking towards the stairs.

"Did you forget that Jackson is hanging out at Grayson's tonight?"

"We have four kids. I never know where all of them are."

I laughed. "Good luck with Ken." I said.

Emma smiled and nodded before she ran up the stairs. I love her so much.

A little while later, I was in the kitchen snacking on some pretzels when Kylie came in. "Hey, Ky. Is your mom still having a talk with Ken?"

Kylie sat down, taking some pretzels from the bag. "Yeah."

"How's that going?"

"Ken's actually listening for once."

Emma always gets through to Kennedy.

"That's the magic of your mother." I said.

"Sorry I didn't tell you." Kylie said. She seemed a little disappointed in herself.

"Hey. You told your mom. That's good enough for me. I love you, Ky. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Thanks, dad. I love you too."

"I ordered some pizza. It should be here soon." I said.

"You're the best." Kylie responded.

"Pizza Friday." I said.

Emma came back downstairs followed by Kennedy, who walked straight over to me and gave me a hug. "Sorry, dad."

"Hey, it's okay. Next time just tell me." I said, kissing the top of her head.

The pizza arrived soon, and the girls, Emma and I ate it while watching one of our favorite game shows.

Kennedy and Kylie decided to invite their cousin Savannah over (Grayson's daughter), so even though Jackson was at Grayson's, we still had a house with four kids in it that night.

Brooklyn got home right on schedule, and I was a proud father. My kids never cease to amaze me.

Of course I grilled Brooklyn about the date. Where they went, what they ate, what they did. The usual parent stuff.

Emma and I aren't stupid. We have friends who work at the places around town, and so we knew Brooklyn was following the rules.

Emma and I went to sleep that night proud of the daughters we've raised, (and our son of course), and I couldn't have been happier.

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A/N: thanks to @ecxdol for this idea!

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