The Party Scene Got The Best Of Us...And Look Where We Ended Up.

“Rian, where’s Friday’s dinner gonna be? I need to know who to call so I know what we need to bring,” Kara asked, walking into the living room, where Rian was watching TV.

“Uh...Zack and Sarah’s I think. You know they’re not going to let you bring anything anyway.”

“It can’t hurt to ask though, can it?”

Rian chose not to respond, knowing he’d lose, and turned back to the television instead. Kara retreated to the basement to finish laundry.

“Hey dad, where’s mom?” Rian turned his head to see Shae standing at the edge of the kitchen, looking for Kara.

“Downstairs, finishing laundry, I think."

“’Kay. Thanks!” She kissed her father on the cheek quickly before running down to the basement.

Making her way carefully down the abnormally steep stairs, Shae found Kara at the bottom of the stairs, pulling sheets out of the dryer. “Can I help with anything?”

Kara turned and slid the laundry basket over to Shae with her foot. “Would you mind carrying that upstairs and then feeding the dogs? Oh, and we’re going to the Merrick’s tomorrow, so if you want we can make brownies or something later?”

Shae nodded and balanced the basket on her hip to take upstairs. She let the dogs in on her way past the sliders, who attacked her with happy barks and kisses. After putting their food in bowls and setting it on the floor, she dumped the sheets on the couch next to Rian to fold. Kara came back upstairs not too long after, and settled next to Rian, who wrapped and arm around her and kissed her nose.

“So, about those brownies…”

Kara sighed and got up off the couch. “You just want to eat the batter, don’t you?”

Rian looked guiltily at his two girls for a moment before answering. “I might.”

Kara laughed and rubbed his head on her way into the open kitchen. She and Shae made the brownies with the help of Betty Crocker, and once the batter was in the oven, had fun spraying and splashing each other with water from the sink while they washed dishes.

They had saved the bowl and a little bit of batter and brought it out to the living room and handed it to Rian. Grinning, he patted the couch on either side of him, inviting them to sit and share. MTV was playing on low volume, flashing clips of whatever video was currently at the top of the charts. Shae took up one side of the couch, while Kara took the other, and the three fought to get their fingers into the bowl of batter.

“…So, is Ian gonna be at Emmy’s on Friday?”

Rian looked up from the bowl. “Why?”

“I was just wondering!” Shae held her hands up, as if in defense. “I mean, he wasn’t there last week, so I wasn’t sure if Alex was going to make him go tomorrow or not.”

Rian grumbled something to himself that neither Kara nor Shae could hear. “Probably. There’s no way Alex should leave that kid home alone.”

“Oh, you stop it!” Kara said, lightly hitting Rian’s arm. “Ian’s perfectly nice!”

“He’s just like Alex.”

Kara only shook her head and smiled a little, turning back to the TV. Shae, meanwhile, fought the urge squeal in delight.

- - - - - -

After the brownies had come out of the oven, Shae said goodnight to her mother and father and excused herself to her room. Taking the stairs two at a time, she put her pajamas on and went to her closet. She wanted to pick out the perfect outfit for the next night’s dinner –something that looked decent without looking like she’d actually picked it out the night before. She finally narrowed it down to a pair of light denim cutoff shorts, and a few different vintage classic rock tees, paired with her pair of well-worn flip flops.

Satisfied with her choice, she climbed into bed, set the TV on its timer, and tried to calm her nervousness before she fell asleep.