(A.N. Let me know if there are any life milestones or moments you'd like to see.)
It was a Saturday night when Isabella was 15 and it was a night that Troy had been dreading since she came home excited from school a few days prior.
Troy came home from work and was greeted by his wife and three kids. Arabella and Aidan eagerly greeted their father before returning to their toys, Isabella greeted him and waited while her mother greeted him before deciding it was finally time to tell them her news. "Mom, Dad, can I talk to you about something?"
Gabriella immediately turned to her oldest daughter. "Of course Baby Girl, is everything ok?"
She smiled at her mother's concern. "Nothing's wrong, I just want to ask you something." She hinted for them to sit on the lounge and when she had their full attention, she began. "Ok well Dad, I don't think you're going to like this much but Mom, you know that boy in my class? Josh."
Gabriella smiled but Troy interrupted. "Josh? You know who she's talking about?"
"Troy, yes I know who she's talking about, just listen to what she has to say." She returned her attention to Isabella. "Ok continue."
Isabella smiled and seemed to get shy. "Well we were talking at lunch today and he asked me out so I was wondering if I could go to the movies with him on Saturday night?"
Troy went to respond but Gabriella beat him to it. "That's great Bella, I'm really happy for you. I know that you've liked him for a while and I'm glad he feels the same way. Of course you can go to the movies on Saturday as long as you still follow all the rules."
Isabella grinned and hugged her mother. "Thanks Mom and I know, back before curfew, don't let my grades slip and don't let him force me into anything I'm not ready for." Gabriella smiled and nodded in response then the teen turned to her father. "Dad, are you ok with it?"
He smiled weakly. "If your mom says it's ok then it's fine with me." Isabella grinned and hugged him, whispering 'thank you Dad.' He hugged her tightly in response. "You're becoming really grown up Angel, it feels like just yesterday we were taking you to the first day of school and now you're 15."
"I know but I'll always be yours and Mama's little girl."
When Isabella left the room, Gabriella looked at Troy and saw his disappointed expression. "What's wrong Baby?"
He sighed. "Why didn't she tell me? You knew exactly who she was talking about."
Gabriella smiled gently. "Troy, it's not something a girl tells their father about. If my father was still around when I met you, I don't think I would've spoken to him about it until we confessed that we like each other."
"So she doesn't feel comfortable enough to tell me about it?"
"No that's not what I'm saying. You know Bella loves you and she'll tell you everything. It's just a little bit different when a girl gets a crush, it's not something we tend to talk about with our dads. That's nothing against you though, ok?"
He nodded in response. "So you're ok with her going out with this boy?"
"Well I haven't met him yet but from what she's told me, he seems like a nice boy and I trust her judgement."
"Can I still scare him from hurting my baby girl?"
Gabriella laughed and shook her head. "Sure Baby, I don't want to see her get hurt either."
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He went and answered it, knowing that Gabriella was helping Isabella get ready; he let the boy in. Josh was average height with dark hair and brown eyes. Troy immediately recognised the letterman jacket and his protectiveness increased, knowing how the jocks talked about the girls when he was in school.
The boy spoke confidently. "Hello Mr Bolton, I'm Josh and here to pick up Isabella."
"She'll be ready in a moment but I want to have a chat first." The boy nodded respectfully and Troy spoke. "Ok so how do you know Isabella?"
"Bella and I are in a lot of the same classes this year so we've had a few group projects together and we became friends."
"Alright then. I see you've got a letterman jacket there, what do you play?"
"Hockey sir."
"Ok then. Look I'm gonna be the dad here for a second. As much as I trust my daughter's judgement, I don't want to see her get hurt. She's an independent girl and I know she probably wouldn't want me to be talking about this but I was a 'jock' as well when I was in high school so I know how they talk about the girls. I don't want anyone to be talking about her in that way and I certainly don't want to see her heartbroken if this becomes serious."
Josh nodded respectfully. "I understand that Mr Bolton but I won't talk about Bella the way the other guys do. I think it's disrespectful and I know I've been raised better."
"I'm glad to hear that. So you and Bella are going to the movies?"
"Yeah we're going to see the second Jumanji movie, Bella said she liked the first one."
He was satisfied by his answer and looked up to see Isabella and Gabriella coming down the stairs, making him smile. Isabella came to a stop beside Josh as Gabriella stood beside Troy. "Hi Josh."
"Hi Bella, you look pretty."
She blushed. "Thanks." She turned to her parents. "So umm we'll probably get going soon, is there anything else I need to know?"
Gabriella smiled. "No Bella, we trust you, just remember your curfew, does 10:00pm sound reasonable?" Isabella nodded and smiled. "Ok then, be back here at 10 for curfew and please keep your phone on incase something happens, we know you're responsible so we trust you. Enjoy your night and have fun."
Isabella hugged her mother, whispering. "Thank you Mama, I love you."
"I love you too Baby Girl." She kissed her cheek before the girl moved to her father.
"Thanks Dad, I'll see you later. I love you."
"I love you too Bella, enjoy your night. Do you want to say goodbye to Ari and Aidan first?"
"Yeah I will." She kissed his cheek. "Ari, Aidan, can you come here for a second?" The three year old boy came running first and hugged her legs, making her smile. She lifted him into her arms and kissed his forehead. "I'm going now Aidan and you'll be asleep when I get back but I'll see you in the morning and we can play ok? I love you Kiddo."
Aidan hugged his oldest sister. "Ni-night Bella, wove you."
"Sweet dreams Aidan." She placed him back on the ground and he went back to his toys as Arabella came up to her older sister. The older girl knelt to her sisters level.
"You're leaving?"
"I'll be back Ari but you'll be asleep when I come home so I'll see you in the morning. Good night Bubba, I love you."
"I love you Bella." She said hugging her older sister.
When Arabella went into the other room with Aidan, Isabella turned to her parents. "So we're going to be going now, um I'll see you tonight. Good night Mom, Dad."
"Good night Bella." They both responded as the teens walked out the door. Gabriella leant into Troy's arms. "She really is getting grown up now."
Troy kissed her forehead. "Yeah she is. How about we go see what Ari and Aidan are up to?" Gabriella nodded and he pecked her lips. "I love you Brie."
"I love you too Troy." She looked at him curiously. "Was there a particular reason or did you just want to say it?"
He shrugged. "Just wanted to remind my beautiful wife."
She giggled. "Well thank you, now let's go see our two little ones."