Two

"Hey Julie. Food. Now."

The little demon appeared at the end of the hall, nearly giving me a heart attack yet again. Her eyes were dead and boring straight into mine, as if trying to mind control me into submission. Unfortunately for her that wasn't gonna work with me.

"The name's Julias."

She shrugged, "You believe in Santa so I don't care what you think."

I scowled, "It's not an opinion! It's my name!"

"Whatever." She giggled creepily and ran off her with her stupid bunny.

"Let's cool it, she's just a kid." Toby rolled his eyes at me as he followed me to the kitchen, "I see you two are getting along just great."

"We're already making friendship bracelets," I said sarcastically as I pulled the perfectly golden brown and crispy crêpes out of the oven. The delicious swell wafted throughout the kitchen and Toby visibly had an eyegasm as he stared them down. I slapped his hand away when he reached for one.

"Anyways... I just had this great idea while we were talking to my uncle in the living room earlier."

"I already don't like where this is going."

"Trust me, you're gonna like this. He said he needs to pick up more shifts at the office to make ends meet, but he hardly has the time, what with being a single dad, bringing in the dollars, cooking, cleaning... He also has serious trust issues and hasn't been able to find a proper nanny for Anya since-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there-"

"Think about it!" He groaned, "You could have your own room, privacy, and a job! Let's face it, you hate it here. And I love you man, you're my ultimate OG, but there is such a thing as too close for comfort."

I sighed, "I get it man, I really do, I hate being your roommate just as much as you do, if not more. But you know I can't stand kids. Nor am I good with them. How the hell am I supposed to babysit?!"

"You'll learn, and Anya is fucking awesome. I swear sometimes, she seems way more grown up than I am!"

"Well technically not a ton of competition there so-"

"The point is! She obviously already likes you! Anya isn't exactly friendly with strangers but she's taken to you surprisingly quickly."

"She literally just bullied me!" I scowled.

"Because she likes you! I know that kid, and I rarely see her like that with strangers. All I'm saying is, try to be civil with her during dinner. I'll subtly pitch the idea to Vince and we'll just see how it goes."

I sighed. Honestly... I really could use a job. And my own space. And Toby deserved to have his room back as well. But I still hated the idea of babysitting, much less living with a kid. Then again, how many people actually like their jobs anyway? Everyone’s living in a perpetual corporate hellscape that borders on slavery and let's just say realising you're too underqualified to flip burgers at a McDonald's is not the kind of blow you easily bounce back from.

"Look, it's just an idea. Let me do my thing, and you can play it by ear... And see how it goes, okay? Come on, let's serve dinner before my family starves to death."

He quickly ushered me out of the kitchen before I could object or even think about it too much.

_

"I'm gonna have to send my compliments to the chef. You've got some serious talent, Julias." Vincent commented as he took a hearty bite out of his crêpe. Anya bounced up and down excitedly next to him, nodding eagerly. I grinned a little, feeling flattered. I always was when people complimented my cooking. Ah… never gets old. "Where'd you learn to cook like this? Definitely not in business school."

I chuckled, "Not really. My dad owns a restaurant back home. He taught me the tricks of the trade from a young age."

"Oh yeah, Uncle Greg is no joke when it comes to cooking. He's always learning all sorts of new recipes from different countries and adding them to his menu," Toby piped in excitedly.

"Is that so?" Vincent quirked his eyebrows up in interest.

I nodded, "Yeah. These crêpes are actually an Egyptian street food recipe he taught me back in high school."

Vincent seemed more than a little impressed, "I must say, that's quite intriguing. Your dad used to travel a lot?"

"Back in the day. He dropped out of college, worked some odd jobs here and there and backpacked around the world. Until he met my mum in Lebanon and they eventually settled down in dad's hometown in Wyoming."

"I must say, you just keep getting more and more interesting. Your dad's restaurant sounds like it’s a huge success, too."

My smile faded a little, "I mean... Yeah, I guess he's popular with the locals. It’s just a small restaurant in a small town."

Vincent frowned a little, as if sensing he stumbled on a touchy topic. "I see... Has he ever considered branching out? A business like that in a big city like this would earn him so much more success."

"Yeah, it's a little more complicated than that."

The table went silent for an awkward moment. He eyed me curiously but thankfully had the sense to drop the topic and not ask about it anymore.

"Daddy, can I get some more crap?' Anya asked and everyone at the table laughed because everything little kids say is adorable even if it’s dumb as shit uwu.

"Darling, it's called a crêpe. And of course you can."

"You really like it huh?" Mrs. Callaway said with a big smile. Anya nodded enthusiastically as her father cut up some more bite sized pieces for her to eat. I watched silently as he fed her, picking at my own food.

"I must say, it's not often Anya eats like this. She usually has a poor appetite," Vincent said, sending a grateful smile my way.

"That's good to hear. You can take some leftovers with you."

"I most certainly will. Anya, say thanks to uncle Julias for the food."

"Thanks Julie," she said with a mouthful of food. "Daddy can we keep him?"

Toby elbowed my arm and I turned to glare at him. He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I shook my head.

"So, Vince. Been a while since you came over. You must have been busy," Toby spoke, his voice a little more high-pitched than usual.

"Oh, yeah. There's just been a lot going on. It's been especially hard to hit our targets these past few months."

"I heard you telling mum earlier you wanted to take up some overtime shifts. That's gotta be rough.”

I rolled my eyes. As you all can see, subtlety was not Toby's strong suit.

"Yeah, but I can't do that. My shift already ends right when I need to pick Anya up from kindergarten."

"Why don't you hire a nanny then?"

"You know what the past nanny did. I don't really trust anyone anymore. Besides, hiring one nowadays is pretty expensive. All the money I'd be making from my overtime would just go straight to nanny services."

"I guess that makes sense," Toby pressed his lips together, pretending to be deep in thought for a second. "Oh wait, didn't you have a spare bedroom in your apartment? Have you ever considered renting it out? Your place is near our university, I'm sure there's lots of students looking for a place."

"That's not a bad idea actually," Mr. Callaway nodded approvingly, "Why haven't you considered it?"

"Actually, you could get someone to stay in the room and babysit Anya! Two birds and all that," Toby suggested, a little too enthusiastically.

Vincent frowned a little, "I did consider it, but... Can I really trust college students I barely know with my home and my kid? And you know Anya gets sick often. I can't just have anyone taking care of her."

"Hmm... You do have a point there. College students do tend to be reckless..."

A thoughtful silence hung over the dinner table. Ah shit. Here goes nothing.

"Come on, Toby. I'm sure we know someone at college that's responsible. How about Jasmine?"

He opened his mouth as if to ask who the hell is Jasmine, but understanding dawned upon him and he grinned at me slyly. Yes, he’s a bit slow sometimes. "I don't know man. She's cool and all but I heard she sleeps around a lot. What if she brings a companion into the house? No way!"

Vincent grimaced.

We both pretended to be deep in thought before Toby snapped his fingers and I swore I could see the light bulb flash right on top of his head.

"Wait a minute. What about you? Julias, you're perfect for the job! You can cook, you're clean, organised, responsible, great with kids… You've been looking for a job and you said you wanted to move out for a while now!"

He gritted his teeth through his smile, nodding at me slightly. Oh geez.

"What, me? Nah man, I don't know..."

"You know... that's actually not the worst idea that's ever come out of your mouth! My son's not dumb!" His father said with a proud smile. "What do you think, Larissa?"

"Absolutely not! If Julias moves out, who's gonna make us dinner on Fridays?" She pouted.

All the while, Vincent stared at me thoughtfully, like he was really considering the idea. I pursed my lips awkwardly.

"What do you think, Vince?" Mr. Callaway asked, "I can vouch for Julias. He's a little rough around the edges, but he's a good kid. You should consider it."

He stayed silent for a moment, before facing me and resting his chin on his palm. "I mean, if you and Larissa trust him, then I trust him. Though I have to ask, do you have any babysitting experience?"

Toby narrowed his eyes at me, giving me a subtle nod with his head. Don't screw this up. I sighed.

"To be honest... No," I said. Toby's expression immediately fell but Vincent just kept watching me. "However... I am a good listener and I have taken care of my cousins before. You just have to tell me exactly what to do and I'll do it." There. At least I didn't lie. Omitting information, however, is totally acceptable.

He nodded at me slightly before smiling. "Well, I appreciate the honesty. Tell you what. Join me later for a little chat and we can discuss a little more, yeah?"

I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips. "Yeah, of course."

I guess it wouldn't really hurt to live with a super attractive British single dad.