A quiet morning.

Saturday morning. 9:30 am, so a bit over five hours of sleep. More than enough for me, thankfully, but I gave Diana a kiss on the forehead as she stirred beside me and told her to sleep as much as she wanted.

As I went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, I realized we hadn’t agreed to a weekend routine. By which I mean I didn’t know when anyone was going to wake up.

I had a feeling that Mila and Noelle were going to get up late. Mila because she’s fairly lazy and Noelle because she was up until late at night. Alice and Grace too, for that matter. That left me with Sarah, so I made a meaningless bet with myself that she’d not only be the first to wake up, she’d also get up in the next 30 minutes.

I was wrong.

She was already up by the time I got out of the bathroom.

“You really are an early riser, huh?” I mused, grinning.

“It’s a habit that’s hard to break, and I’d rather not to, anyway.” She let out a big yawn and rubbed her eyes. “Breakfast and then a workout?”

“I don’t know when the others will get up.”

“I say we give them 30 more minutes before waking them up,” Sarah said. “10:00 AM is a perfectly reasonable time to wake up on a Saturday.”

“That’s fair, but Alice, Noelle, Grace and Diana were up until 4:00 am, so maybe one more hour?” I suggested.

“Fine.” She let out another yawn. “What were you doing?”

“Nothing naughty, if that’s what you mean. We were tired and the mood wasn’t right.”

That made her raise an eyebrow. “The mood? Did you guys fight or something?”

“No, but Diana and I had a tiring night and Cake was sad that my mom wasn’t here.” Sarah squinted her eyes in confusion at that last part. “I’ll explain later. Go wash your face. You’ve got eye crust,” I told her, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

I saw Cake and Red walking out of my bedroom, so I called them both over with a soft whistle and they followed me to the kitchen. I filled their bowls and had to stop Red from eating Cake’s breakfast after he practically swallowed his.

“...”

It was quiet in the huge house, and while there’d be a lot to do soon enough, I could take my time for the moment. I walked around the first floor, taking in the silent, empty living room first. So far we’d spent most of our time in the house here, and it was already starting to feel like home. It was like that for the big, empty entrance and the library, though. I don’t read a lot, but having such a huge room dedicated to books and reading makes me feel like I should. I browsed what was essentially Grace’s collection, looking for something that would catch my eye, when I suddenly remembered that Sarah’s and Mila’s siblings were also coming over today and I started to panic, trying to remember WHERE he had put her… raunchier collection. I let out a heavy sigh of relief when I saw that they were in one of the top shelves, one they’d never reach even getting on a chair. Not that kids are that interested in books, anyway, so maybe I got worried over nothing. Still, better safe than sorry.

I went to check the bar next. The shelves behind the counter were empty, as we hadn’t bought anything yet. It looked weird compared to the colorful shelves we had at work, but knowing now the price of some of those bottles, I don’t think we’ll have a full shelf anytime soon.

Finally, I stepped outside, to the backyard. The chill morning air surprised me and made me shiver. It didn’t feel as cold inside. The grass was wet with morning dew and I could spot a few birds on the roof of the pool, but what took my breath away was seeing the reflection of the sun on the large pond in the distance.

I remember that was the view that made me pick this lot. I took a deep breath and focused on the sounds. Birds chirping, a very faint, chill breeze, but other than that… almost nothing. No cars, no people…

I chuckled. I guess there’s still a part of me that enjoys solitude. I may have mostly gotten over my social anxiety, at least the most severe aspects of it, but I’m still an introvert at heart.

Maybe this house really was a good decision.

“Whatchu doing?” Mila hugged me from behind with little to no warning, but her presence surprised me more than the hug itself.

“You’re up? What happened? Did you have trouble sleeping?” I asked her.

I frowned. “I’d be offended, but I do usually sleep in on weekends. No, I set my alarm because I knew you’d all get mad at me if I got up at noon.”

“I wouldn't have been mad,” I told her.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I would’ve felt sorry for you, because Sarah, Alice and Grace would chew you out until the end of time.”

“See!? SEE!?”

I chuckled, turned around and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up. And spinning us around once. She laughed.

“What? Woke up in a good mood?” she asked, smiling brightly down at me.

“No, but I’m in a good mood now. I’m glad to have you all here with me. I’m the luckiest man alive. I just hope Fernanda will join us one day and…” I sighed. “And I hope that we can figure a way to make it work with Diana.”

“What? Why wouldn’t it work?” she asked, confused.

“She works while we sleep, she sleeps while we study. Most of the time, at least.”

“Ah. Um… W-Why didn’t we think about that?”

“Probably because we mainly see her on the weekends, so…”

“Right…” I set Mila down and she sighed alongside me. “M-Maybe you can talk to Luke?”

“I’m not comfortable asking for favors, especially not work-related ones. Besides, he hired Diana because he needs her there, at those times. And on top of that, Diana herself likes those night shifts.”

“...”

“...”

Ugh, now I feel down again. It’s hard to come to terms with it, but maybe it would really be for the best if Diana didn’t move in with us. We’d still see each other every weekend, after all. I don’t like it one bit, but since I couldn’t think of anything else, maybe I should start coming to terms with the idea.

“Change of topic, but… are you ready for lunch today?” Mila asked me.

“Are you?” I ased back.

“No.”

“What a coincidence. Me neither.”

Having to host lunch for the parents of four of my girlfriends plus my own family? Nothing could’ve prepared me. Has anyone else ever had to deal with this situation? Unlikely.

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