Who'd Have Known.

I woke up to the sound my cell phone calling. I sighed deeply, sat up in the bed and checked the caller ID before I answered. It was Johnny.

"Hello?"

"Hey Juliet, it's Johnny. Where are you? I've been trying to get a hold of you all morning," he sounded relieved. I looked up at the vintage clock stuck to my bedroom wall and realized that I had overslept, big time.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry Johnny! I overslept!" I apologized into the receiver as I got up from the bed starting the search for something to wear.

"Overslept? It's almost one o'clock!" he exclaimed. "Are you ill? Do you need a day off?"

"No, I'm just fine," I sighed as I threw a couple of articles of clothing on the bed. It looked like my mother's wardrobe, we dressed so much the same it was almost scary. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the studio of course! Lily and Jack are somewhere around here too... Jack! Give Mr. Fry his shoe back!" he groaned. "Could you please hurry?"

"I'm on my way!" I said and hung up. I threw on some clothes and makeup, grabbed my bag and then hit the road.

"Fuck-fuck-fuck!" I cursed when I nearly hit a pedestrian. I'm sorry! I mouthed to the young guy when he gave me the finger.

"Hey honey," my mother greeted me with a hug. I almost burst into laughter when I saw the makeup covering her face.

"Hi mom. So you're the Red Queen, huh?" I smiled faintly at her as the fatigue hit me.

"Well, you better get going. Johnny's in the makeup room getting ready, Lily and Jack should be somewhere around here too." She pointed out the right direction for me and I responded with a grateful smile. But just before I could head in the right direction she pulled me back. "And try to stay away from your father if you can, he's really stressed out," she added in her British accent. Of course he was, I thought to myself. I really wasn't looking forward to get another lecture in responsibility.

I found Lily and Jack playing in the dressing room on my way to where they kept the makeup.

"Hey, Lily and Jack could you come with me please?" I cast them a pleading glance.

"Hi Juliet!" they both greeted with their lovely brown eyes and mischievous smiles.

"Piggyback!" Jack exclaimed holding out his arms towards me.

"Alright," I sighed and bent down so that the little seven year old could climb upon my back. I took Lily by the hand and we made our way to the door with a sign that said 'Makeup'. I hesitated before I pressed down the handle, praying to God that my father wouldn't be in there and that Johnny was in a forgiving mood.

"Finally!" I could hear the very familiar voice call from across the room. I had to blink twice to make sure that I was looking at the right man. The makeup he was wearing was insane to say the least. On top of that he was wearing creepy green contacts, had a gap between his teeth and a big orange wig with matching eyebrows. I didn't know if I should laugh or scream, both felt very tempting. He looked very much indeed, Mad as a Hatter.

"Um," I couldn't find any words.

"I know," he laughed. "You better get going, you're father is furious," he whispered winking at me.

"Dad? Is that you?" Lily Rose asked bewildered. He got up from his chair and changed his intonation completely into a shrill British accent.

"No, I'm the Mad Hatter," he explained with lively movements. "Nothing more nothing less, I would beat your dad at chess."

"He's scary," Jack declared. "It's not dad."

"No, this guy is as Mad as a Hatter," I agreed with a smile. "We better get going."

"Could I have some ice cream, please?" Lily asked with an angelic smile on our way out.

"Of course you can!" I smiled back at her.

"Me too! I want chocolate!" Jack exclaimed eagerly causing me to laugh.

*****

When I was in the middle of the process of making pancakes for the two children, my cell phone started ringing. It was my mother's number so I picked up the phone.

"Juliet Dakota Burton!" I should have known that it was dad. I couldn't bear myself to hang up either, because I knew that would only make him even angrier.

"Dad I-" he cut me off.

"How old are?" he asked.

"Eighteen," I sighed.

"You're eighteen years old and you don't know how to set your alarm?" he snorted.

"I guess I forgot..." I tried to explain.

"I forgot? Is that your excuse? Have you any idea how much you delayed the whole set today? Time is money, Juliet and we need all time we can get in this industry. Is that clear?"

"I'm sorry dad! But I'm only human, I make mistakes just like anybody else!" He sighed deeply into the receiver.

"Well, you're not going out with your friends this weekend, that's for sure!"

"Dad! For fuck's sake! I'm eighteen, you can't ground me!" I groaned, flipping a pancake.

"As long as you live under my roof, you'll follow my rules," he said as a matter of fact.

"Then I'm moving out!" I muttered. He laughed.

"I'd like to see that with my own eyes," he said derisive. "I got to go now honey, but I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"Love you too," I sighed and hung up. We had this thing me and dad, that no matter how angry we were at each other we always told each other 'I love you' before we hung up. He is a really good father, but he's stubborn and sometimes too proud to admit that he's wrong, as mom likes to put it. She also says that I got my stubbornness from him. Fashion and looks from my mother and attitude from my father.

"Here are your pancakes," I placed the plates on the table in front of the two blonde beautiful children.

"Could you pass me the hundreds and thousands, please?" Lily Rose asked with a smile. Her politeness still surprised me, even after just a few days I've been babysitting her and her baby brother.

"Of course you can," I smiled. The pancake dinner with whipped cream, jam, hundreds and thousands and soda pop probably weren't the healthiest alternative of food I could give those growing children. But I wanted to make it up for them, they shouldn't have to be yelled at for being children when they was on the set earlier that day. They just wanted to have fun, it wasn't their intention to delay the whole production of a movie by a couple of hours.

"Oh, and remember, don't tell daddy about what we ate for dinner today," I reminded them and took a bite of my pancake.

That night I organized a competition on who could brush their teeth for the longest time. I had noticed that Jack had been sloppy when it came to brushing his teeth lately. We sat in front of the television, watching cartoons when the front door opened. I glanced at the clock, it was ten past nine.

"Hey there," Johnny's face shone as he entered the room. "Why are you brushing your teeth in front of the television?"

"Because we're having a- a-" Jack got up on his feet eagerly, "-a competition!" he finished off with a charming smile.

"Is that so? Who's winning?" he asked embracing his angelic children.

"I am!" they both said in chorus. They were about to argue when Johnny decided to step in.

"Shouldn't you be in bed now? Let's say that the first one to bed is the winner. I'll be right there, shoo!" he laughed as they both hurriedly ran to their rooms.

"Hey," he said once we were alone.

"Hi," I got up from the black sofa and turned off the T.V. "I'm sorry about-" He hushed me.

"It's alright, you overslept so what? That happens," he laughed stroking my cheek. "Have you spoken to your father yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, he called earlier," I sighed.

"What did he say?" He asked me to sit down and I told him about how dad had said that I couldn't go out this weekend. "But isn't it your friend's birthday this Saturday?" I nodded in response.

"Oh, but are you sure that he won't change his mind once you tell him about the party?" he tried.

"He sounded pretty definite to me," I said. "He doesn't give a shit that I'm eighteen, he said that as long as I live under his roof, I'll have to follow his rules..."

"I could try to talk to him if you want."

"Na, I'll be fine," I shrugged. "Thanks for being so understanding."

"You don't have to thank me," he smiled helping me on with my coat. "I'll see you in the morning, and this time try not to be late, okay?"

"Yeah, bye," I looked into his warm eyes and smiled at him. He stroke my cheek gently and pecked my forehead.

"Good night," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. That was my favorite time of the day, when Johnny and I got to be alone for a moment. He placed the money in my hand and when I was about to object he placed his finger on my lips. "Don't you dare give it me back, you did a great job today like always."

I smiled all the drive home. As I pulled in the driveway, I sighed knowing I would have to face my dad. My parent's house was split between two big house, My mom's side and my dad's. Don't worry, it doesn't surprise me either. I made my way through my dad's front door, throwing my bag and coat to the floor.

"Hey dad," I greeted passing him in the hallway.

"You look exhausted," he stated.

"Um, thanks I guess?" I said with a yawn.

"Maybe we should talk tomorrow instead," he suggested.

"Yeah, maybe we should..." I agreed, having a hard time focusing my gaze.

"Good night, honey," he pulled me into a hug which I returned with a weak smile.

"Good night, dad." We both went separate ways.

"I love you," I heard him whisper.

"I love you too."