Prelude to chaos (Part 1).

Diana also decided that she only needed 10 more minutes and came down to the kitchen not long after Mila and I had our little chat. Sarah came down as well, and by 10:30 Grace, Alice and Noelle were walking in as we were finishing preparing breakfast.

“Mila got up before me?” Grace asked, looking around. “What sort of wacky, alternate reality is this?”

“You know… screw you,” Mila said, pouting mostly at being unable to think of a comeback.

“Mila’s growing, Grace,” Alice said, setting the table along with Sarah. “She’s taking this as seriously as everyone else. We all need to adapt. In fact, I don’t think you should be making breakfast on weekends, Oliver.”

“Hm? Why not?” I asked, putting the toasted broad on a wicker bread basket Mrs. Aliev gave us.

“You and Diana will be coming home late on Fridays and Saturdays, right? You should rest properly. I can take care of it.”

Sarah let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I’ll help with that. You’ll have to watch me to make sure I don’t screw up, though,” she told Alice.

Diana raised an eyebrow. “Screw what up?”

“Scrambled eggs, burning bread, stuff like that.”

“I… I’m sorry, but I thought you’d be good at stuff like that,” Diana said.

“Pfff, no!” Sarah laughed. “My mom is a master of the kitchen. I’ve never had to lift a finger to feed myself. Not that I’m proud, but you know. She always had all four of us fed and ready before school. Well, five. My dad is actually not that good with mornings.”

I shook my head with a sigh, but I had to admit it. “Her mom IS a master of the kitchen. I’m planning to ask her for more tips today.”

We had breakfast together, eating quietly. One of us, an unnamed redhead, was eating toast on autopilot, just barely awake to function. Cake tried to jump on the table and Red tried to beg for more food, and we had to stop Alice from caving.

“But look at his ears! And those head tilts!” she said, melting at the dog’s cuteness.

“It’s for his own good,” Diana said. “German Shepherds are especially prone to suffering from hip problems, and if they gain too much weight they’re at an even higher risk.”

That definitely woke Noelle up, because her face went pale and her eyes as wide as plates. “W-What!? But… But I gave him an extra piece of ham last week!”

Diana chuckled. “An extra treat here and there is fine, but if all seven of us give him an ‘extra treat’ then he’ll definitely gain weight.”

The sound of a phone stopped our conversation. It was mine, which I’d left on the kitchen counter. I stood up to get it and saw that my mom was calling. I didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Mom? What is it?”

“You’re awake, right? You sound awake,” she said.

“Yeah, we’re all up. We’re having breakfast.”

“Good. I called to tell you your sister, the dogs and I are on our way to your house right now.”

My eyebrows shot up. “W-Wait, now? But we told you to arrive at 1:00 pm…”

“Nearly all of your not-yet in-laws are coming to your house today. Are you telling me you don’t want my help?”

“...” I swallowed hard. “Please and thank you. I love you.”

“Thought so. We’ll be there in 40 minutes, so… keep that in mind.”

“Can you tell Isabelle she’s stupid for me?”

“Your brother says you’re stupid.”

“Give me that…! Hey, bro! How are you doing?” Isabelle, apparently taking mom’s phone, asked with an… eerily cheery tone.

“Um… I’m sorry?” I said.

“Too late. This chance is too good to pass up, so I’m going with a nuclear-grade weapon to your house.”

“Isabelle…” I began with a warning tone.

“I have in my hands a photo book full of pictures of you as a baby to show your future in-laws.”

My jaw dropped and my heart sank. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“You’re in all those, too!”

“It was mom’s idea, but I’m willing to bite the bullet if it means taking you down with me. Like I said, I’m not passing up this chance.”

“Alice! Your friend is being mean to me!”

The girls all giggled.

“Yeah, sure, run to her for help like she won’t take the book off my hands to have it to herself,” Isabelle said.

Fuck.

I heard some awkward noises that must’ve been mom taking her phone back, because she spoke next. “I’m taking the folding tables I mentioned. You have enough seats, right?”

“Yeah. With the chairs in the backyard, the ones here in the kitchen and the stools, we should have enough for everyone.”

“Did you take the meat out of the freezer last night?”

“Yes, it’s already defrosted.”

“Did you clean the place up? You should at least sweep the first floor.”

“We… were going to do that now.”

“This will be everyone’s first impressions on how you’re all living on your own, Oliver. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but it needs to be presentable.”

“There’s no underwear laying around, is there!?” Isabelle asked from somewhere near mom.

“Of course not!” I said, narrowing my eyes and looking around the room. “Of course there’s no underwear lying around!” I repeated.

On cue, the girls also began to look around, with Mila going to the living room to check. There wasn’t any, but I wouldn’t put it past us…

“Anyway, we’ll be there soon,” mom said. “Do the dishes, take a shower and start cleaning up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I think a part of me thought I should be angry or offended that my mother thought I couldn’t handle things on my own, but… after seeing my shirt at work last night, you know, not ironed… I came to appreciate more that my mom still worried about me.

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