Chapter 4
Dinner Guests and Luck
"Daddy!" Amanda sat herself down on the grass in the backyard and started bawling hysterically. Seth handed Ryan the numerous cooking utensils he had been using to flip hot dogs on the barbeque, and ran over to his daughter.
"What is it Mandy? Are you hurt?" Seth asked worriedly, kneeling down next to her.
"No," Amanda sniffled. "I can't run like James and Chris and they keep leaving me!" Seth let out a sigh of relief before lifting Amanda into his arms.
"Well that's alright Mandy because you can help Uncle Ryan and I cook dinner okay?" Seth asked bringing her over to the grill with him. Helena was a klutz when she was a baby and ever since then Seth always assumed when there was a cry for daddy it was because someone was hurt.
"Can I be your special helper?" she asked excitedly. Ryan and Seth had gone out to the backyard to finish cooking dinner, while James and Christopher chased each other around the Cohen's spacious backyard.
"Have any idea why Summer asked you to cook all these extra hot dogs?" Ryan asked him, sipping on his coke.
"Of course I do. She invited Mom and Dad. The gents, the folks," he explained. Ryan raised his eyebrows slightly.
"She told you?"
"Well she didn't exactly TELL me per say but we've been married eighteen years Ry, we've known each other for about 25," Seth said taking his cooking supplies back.
Meanwhile, Summer, Marissa, and Helena were busy trying to fix salads and vegetables with Ashton, Matt and Adrian under foot, banging wooden spoons on various items of Tupperware. They were also trying to talk to Priscilla and Angel who were seated at the kitchen table, both of them avoiding the others gaze.
"You don't need to be angry with Angel, Scilla. You guys have been best friends forever and I don't think that this accident should change anything," Helena reasoned, sprinkling cucumbers over a bowl of lettuce.
"Momma, look this one makes a loud noise!"
Marissa winced as Adrian brought down his wooden spoon on a small plastic container.
"Honey, remember Aunt Summer uses her Tupperware more then Mommy does," Marissa said, gently prying the spoon away from Adrian. Ashton and Matt both pulled bowls on over their heads and giggled at themselves.
"She didn't need do keep things from me," Priscilla snapped.
"I just…I just didn't want to hurt your feelings," Angel said honestly.
"Ha, nice going on that one pal," Priscilla stated sarcastically.
"Priscilla! Would you cut this out? Your sister is just as much to blame here!" Summer raised her voice slightly.
"What?" Priscilla asked, confused.
"Where do you think Angel found out from?" Summer asked her.
"I hate you!" Priscilla cried in Helena's direction, rushing out of the kitchen in tears.
"Priscilla, hold on a minute!" Helena ran after her sister, Angel and Summer close behind her.
Adrian banged his bowl with a spoon.
"Come on you two, let's go see what Daddy's up to," Marissa said, helping the twins get their heads out of the bowls and taking each of their hands.
"Can I go see what my Daddy's doing too?" Matt asked innocently, lifting the bowl off of his head.
"I'm so sorry honey. I forgot you were there, you were so quiet. Of course you can come," Marissa apologized and grabbed the little boys' hand.
"Daddy cooking?" Ashton asked.
"Yeah, Daddy and Uncle Seth are cooking us yummy dinner," Marissa said. The boys let go of her hands and ran into Ryan as soon as he came into view.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Ashton and Adrian jumped up and down at Ryan's feet, anxious for his attention.
"Hey you guys," Ryan hoisted up a twin in each arm.
"You remember Ashton and Adrian don't you Mandy?" Seth asked Amanda. She buried her face into Seth's shoulder, immediately becoming shy again. Matt still had a hold of Marissa's hand until he saw Seth.
"Daddy!" he cried, equally as excited as Ashton and Adrian had been. "Hold you! Hold you please!" he hopped around on one foot tugging at Seth's pant leg. Matt had been saying 'hold you' as a way of asking Seth and Summer to pick him up since he was a toddler. Seth handed Amanda to Marissa and lifted his son into his arms with a slight groan.
"You're getting too big for Daddy to hold you Matt," Seth said, flipping the hotdogs that were already done on to a nearby plate.
"No I'm not," Matt defended in a whiny voice, clutching Seth tighter around the neck.
INSIDE…
Priscilla had locked herself in her bedroom and refused to come out.
"Will you please come out Sill?" Helena asked gently.
"No! Go away!" Priscilla snapped angrily. It sounded like she was crying.
"It's not worth the effort Helena. You know how she gets. Come on you two. We'll be downstairs when you're ready to eat Priscilla May," Summer stated sternly. She only ever used her middle name when she was upset.
"Aunt Sum, I think I'm going to stay here," Angel said from her perch on the ground. "I think she'll talk to me if I'm patient enough." She looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"Okay sweetheart," Summer patted Angel on the head before going down the stairs with Helena. The doorbell rang shrilly through the house and Summer hurried to the door. She pulled it open and there were Sandy and Kirsten standing on the porch, hand in hand.
"Hey guys! Your right on time," Summer pulled the two into a hug.
"Hi Summer. Wow it smells wonderful in here," Kirsten commented.
"Kirsten's always been jealous of your cooking abilities," Sandy teased his wife.
"Ha ha funny guy," Kirsten pushed him playfully.
"Gamma! Grandpa!" Helena jumped into the arms of her grandparents before they could even open their mouths in surprise.
"Helena! What are you doing home? Is everything okay?" Kirsten asked.
"Everything's fine Gamma. I just decided to surprise mom and dad for the weekend," Helena explained.
"How'd you do?" Sandy smiled.
"You tell me," Helena giggled as Sandy ruffled her hair.
"Oh look who's here."
"Try to sound remotely excited for the sake of your children Seth," Sandy took his son into a bear hug.
"GRANDMA! GRANDPA!" Matt leaped out of Seth's arms and into the open ones of Kirsten.
"Hi Mattie Matt. How are you honey?" Kirsten kissed her excited grandson on the head.
"Good. Did you and Grandpa bring presents?" he asked happily.
"Matthew!" Summer scolded. Sandy laughed.
"Of course we did." Christopher and James hugged Sandy and Kirsten before heading to the kitchen to get forks for the dining table outside.
"Well look at how big you three are," Sandy knelt down to the twins and Amanda's level.
"I grew lots Grandpa! I'm a big girl now and I even have a big girl bed too!" Amanda said, extremely proud of herself.
"Well look at you Mandy girl. Good for you," Sandy pulled his granddaughter into a hug.
"Momma," Ashton hid shyly behind his mother while Adrian dove behind Ryan.
"Ryan," Sandy spotted his other son.
"Hey Sandy," he hugged him and then Kirsten before pulling Adrian out from behind him and planting him on his shoulders.
"Hey there big guy," Sandy tugged gently on the toddlers shirt as he smiled into Ryan's hair.
"Say hi fussy boy," Marissa attempted to pull a squirmy Ashton out from behind her without much success. He was latched, tightly on to her leg.
"Where are my teen girls?" Kirsten asked.
"Priscilla and Angel? Their going through drama," Matt smiled proudly at himself as everyone laughed.
"Things have been tough since the accident," Seth explained. "They'll get through it. They just need more time."
"TIME TO EAT!" Amanda cried from the slider, leading into the backyard.
"At least we know where Mandy got her lung capacity from," Kirsten joked, pushing her son slightly. Seth lifted his tiny girl into his arms as the others helped carry out the bowls of salad and veggies. It was a perfect spring night. The sky was a light, sunset purple. The pool glistened with the light of the two candles placed on either side of Seth and Summer's outdoor dining table.
"I take it our granddaughters won't be joining us for dinner?" Kirsten asked, once everyone was seated.
"I'll go see how their holding up," Helena offered, getting to her feet.
"Daddy, I'm hungry," James complained next to Ryan.
"Shhh. Eat this," Ryan whispered, sneaking his son a piece of bread under the table.
"I saw that Ryan Atwood," Marissa whispered, squeezing Ryan's leg under the table. He squirmed at her touch and Seth looked at him funny.
"So should we say the blessing?" Ryan asked, embarrassed as Helena sat back down at the table.
"Scilla's talking to Angel but the doors still closed. She's actually getting somewhere though," Helena updated. Sandy offered to do a short blessing and then everybody dug into their food. Sandy and Kirsten talked about how good the retired life was being to them. Kirsten would pop in to the office every so often to say hello and see if there was anything she could do. Sandy had continued to attend jury duty whenever a difficult case came up.
"Excuse me I'm going to go check on Angel," Ryan dismissed himself from the table as his 3 sons yelped in protest.
"Daddy!" Adrian cried hysterically from his highchair.
"He'll be back honey. Calm down," Marissa whispered handing him his sipper cup full of milk. Ryan gave a little wave before disappearing into the house. The kitchen was deserted and quiet but from upstairs he could hear Priscilla in her state of hysteria. Once he reached the landing he saw Angel still seated outside of Priscilla's door.
"Any luck?" he whispered, sitting down next to her. Angel sadly shook her head.
"I tried Daddy. I really did," Angel whispered. "She's impossible sometimes."
"Why don't you go down and eat while I talk to her," Ryan said.
"Good luck," Angel used Ryan's shoulder to balance herself as she got to her feet. "Thanks dad." Ryan sighed. Somehow he felt like he would really need all the luck he could get…