As soon as Laura left her bedroom, the doorbell rang.
“I got it!” Ivy and Dallas shouted in unison and then began running from the kitchen to the front door. It sounded like a herd of elephants stampeding across the floor.
Laura exhaled a quick breath and ran her hands down the sides of her dress one last time to smooth it out. The butterflies continued to fly in her belly as she followed the elephant herd to the front of the house. By the time she got there, Dallas and Ivy were already clamoring for Ethan's attention.
“Those are pretty flowers!” Ivy announced.
“Yuck, flowers?” Dallas said. “You should have brought video games! Girls love that.”
“Alright, alright,” Laura said, squeezing past the two kids so that she could stand in from of Ethan. “Thanks for answering the door, kids. Now can we let Ethan inside without pestering him to death?”
Ethan smiled and handed Laura a bouquet of flowers. It was a dozen of the prettiest yellow roses she had ever seen.
“They're beautiful,” she said, bringing them to her nose to smell them. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he said, with a warm smile. “I'm glad you like them. You look amazing, by the way. I love that dress.”
“Thank you,” Laura said, blushing a little bit. “You look terrific, too.”
She couldn't help but give Ethan a quick once over. He didn't just look good, though, he looked like a million bucks. His tailored gray suit and light green tie, combined with his perfectly trimmed beard stubble and nicely combed hair, made him look like a movie star about to take a walk on the red carpet.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
Laura glanced down at the flowers. “Come on in for a second. I'll put the flowers in water. Then we can head out.”
She stepped to the side to allow Ethan through the door. As soon as he was in, the kids began asking him questions again.
“Ethan, we're going to watch the Lego movie tonight,” Dallas said, as the group walked toward the kitchen. “It's so good. Do you know the 'Awesome' song?”
“No, I don't think I do,” he said, smiling at the two children.
“Oh man, it goes like this,” Ivy said. Then she and her brother began singing for Ethan.
“Everything is awesome! Everything is awesome!” They called out in unison.
Laura found herself smiling. Even though it was a little obnoxious, it was also pretty cute. Ethan was laughing, too. He seemed surprised by how much energy they had.
“They're great kids,” Ethan whispered in her ear, but Laura could hardly hear him over the sound of the duo singing.
“In small doses, yes,” she replied, flashing a wink.
The kids finished singing, and Ethan followed Laura into the kitchen. She filled a clear vase with water and put the flowers in it.
“Those are so beautiful,” Elena said, as Laura walked the vase toward the dining room table.
“Aren't they?” Laura said. She smiled and moved them around in the vase. “I've never gotten yellow roses before.”
“Ethan, you should stay and watch the Lego movie with us,” Dallas announced. “It's the best movie ever.”
“Yeah, please stay,” Ivy said. “You need to watch this movie so that you can sing the song with us.”
Ethan squatted down so that he could look at the kids eye to eye.
“You know, there's nothing more I'd love to do than hang out and watch that with you guys,” he said, his tone warm and sincere. “I have a date with your sister, though. I think she'd get kind of sad if I canceled on her. Especially since I'm already here and ready to pick her up. Plus, I can tell she has put in a lot of time to get ready. Doesn't she look amazing?”
Ivy nodded eagerly. “Yes, she looks really pretty. That's why she and Elena can go on the date instead. You can stay here and watch the movie with us.”
Elena chuckled in the background.