By the ti Gael and Haley arrived at the house, brunch had already beco a controlled disaster.
Smoke drifted faintly from the kitchen.
Luke was laughing too hard at sothing.
And Phil stood near the stove holding a spatula like a man defending his honor in battle.
"I was experinting," Phil announced imdiately.
"You burned eggs," Claire corrected while carrying plates toward the dining table.
"Creativity requires risk."
"Creativity requires lower heat."
Gael laughed quietly as Haley dropped onto one of the stools near the counter.
"You started cooking unsupervised again?"
Phil pointed dramatically.
"Your mother doubted ."
The kitchen buzzed with the usual overlapping noise:
Alex arguing with Luke,
Phil defending terrible decisions,
Claire trying unsuccessfully to maintain order.
At so point, this house had genuinely started feeling normal to Gael.
Still loud.
Still chaotic.
But familiar now.
"You're late," Alex inford them while sipping coffee.
"It's eleven-thirty on a Sunday," Haley replied.
"Exactly."
Gael grabbed coffee from the counter automatically before pausing.
Claire had already poured one for him.
No sugar.
Small thing.
Still noticeable.
"You spoil him," Haley accused imdiately.
Claire barely looked up from the stove.
"I reward competence."
"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to ," Gael answered dryly.
Phil looked deeply offended.
"I complint people constantly."
"You compared to a German shepherd yesterday."
"That was admiration."
Gael hid a smile behind the coffee cup while Claire laughed softly.
Easy.
Conversations with her had started becoming easy in a way he hadn't expected months ago.
Not loaded.
Not tense.
Just comfortable.
"You know what's weird?" Luke said suddenly from the table.
"That sentence has historically brought suffering," Alex muttered.
Luke pointed at Gael with a fork.
"He walks around here like he pays taxes."
Silence.
Then Haley burst out laughing.
"Oh my God."
"That's disturbingly accurate," Alex admitted.
Gael looked mildly offended.
"I don't even know what that ans."
"It ans you move like a suburban father," Luke explained proudly.
Claire physically turned away laughing into the kitchen counter.
"That is painfully specific."
Phil nodded thoughtfully.
"He does have responsible energy."
"This family is attacking professionally."
Haley grinned beside him.
"You carried reusable grocery bags last week."
"They were efficient."
"You folded them afterward."
Gael opened his mouth.
Paused.
"…Okay that one sounds bad out loud."
Even Alex laughed at that.
The conversation drifted naturally after that while everyone gradually moved toward the dining table.
Haley sat beside Gael automatically, one leg brushing against his beneath the table while she stole pieces of fruit from his plate without asking.
Again.
At this point, nobody even reacted anymore.
Phil launched into a story about accidentally offending a client.
Luke argued that waffles counted as sandwiches.
Alex called that "a hate cri."
And through all of it, Gael found himself watching the room quietly for a mont.
The noise.
The interruptions.
The constant movent.
"You disappeared into your head again," Haley murmured beside him.
"I'm eating."
"You look thoughtful while eating."
"That's because your brother just called waffles a sandwich."
"Valid point," Luke defended.
Claire shook her head while reaching for coffee again.
"You know," she said casually, "it's weirdly quiet when you're not here now."
The sentence slipped out naturally.
Simple.
But the table went briefly still afterward.
Haley looked instantly pleased.
Phil nodded like this confird a long-standing theory.
Alex looked annoyed at how true it sounded.
Claire noticed the silence a second too late.
"…I ant"
"Too late," Haley replied smugly. "You admitted attachnt."
"This family weaponizes words."
"Correct," Alex said.
Gael glanced toward Claire briefly.
She looked mildly exasperated with herself now while avoiding eye contact by focusing very hard on cutting pancakes.
Honestly?
That reaction was strangely endearing.
Before the mont could settle too long, Phil suddenly pointed across the table dramatically.
"Wait. Important question."
Everyone looked cautious imdiately.
"If Gael and Haley get married eventually, what do we call him before that? Because boyfriend feels temporary now."
Haley nearly choked on orange juice.
"DAD."
"What? I'm planning emotionally."
Gael smiled nervously while Claire covered her face with one hand.
"Oh my God, stop scaring the children."
"They are literally adults."
"Biologically, maybe," Alex muttered.
Luke pointed at Gael proudly.
"Outdoor cat upgraded to indoor cat."
"That's sohow worse," Gael replied.
But despite the teasing, despite the noise, despite Phil apparently planning imaginary future weddings—
Gael couldn't stop the small smile that stayed on his face the rest of brunch.
User Comments
0 comments from readers