It would have been as great of a morning for Tabitha Howlter as it had been for her husband today… if only she hadn't over-slept.
She had woken to a slightly different light flooding through the bedroom window and had immediately sat up, the sheets falling off her as she did, knowing without even checking the clock that this was not her usual waking time.
As quickly as she could, she sprang to her feet, got dressed and bounded into the front room where she almost tripped over her own feet trying to get to the kitchen, looking up as she skidded to a halt in front of the breakfast bar where Phil stared down at her in what seemed like complete shock at her sudden emergence.
And this is where they stood now, maintaining prolonged and confused eye contact until it became increasingly awkward.
"Morning," Phil said, eventually, and Dan lifted his head from his shoulder where, by the looks of it, he had fallen back asleep in the middle of giving his friend a hug from behind.
"You're up early," Tabitha observed.
"Dil was up even earlier," Phil replied, peacefully, "Why are you in such a rush?"
"I over-slept," Tabitha replied after clearing her throat, "Don't have much time to get to work-"
Phil gave a short, sharp laugh and Dan flinched at the sudden movement of his shoulders and quickly let go of him.
"You have plenty of time," Phil smiled, softly.
"It's half nine."
"Oh, what; really?" He yelped in surprise, "In that case, you'd better be going!"
"That's what I was doing," Tabitha said, "No time for breakfast – I've gotta' dash!" She snickered and said her goodbyes before hurrying out of the door.
And after that abrupt departure, she raced along the street to try and get to work as quickly as she could – computers don't just program themselves – and left everyone else in the house a little bit confused.
Her son and his friend had woken up by then and were currently talking between themselves. It wouldn't be too long until they came bounding into the kitchen in search of food to ease their rumbling stomachs.
Of course, they'd certainly find something to eat, because Dan, too, had been helping to make enough bacon, sausages, toast and eggs for them, though he assumed Phil would rather settle for cereal… if anything.
Dab was the first to step through the door, and Dan could see his friend go pale as the thought of a relaxing morning drained away and he was instead confronted with the harsh reality of responsibilities.
He still hadn't really gotten the hang of childcare.
Dan put a hand on his shoulder as if to say 'don't worry; I'll do most of the work' but of course hands can't speak and so this slight touch did not really do anything to help in any way whatsoever.
It had been a relief when Dil and Tabitha finally came home and they could take a rest from looking after Dab, but now that it was Monday, the Howlters had gone back to work again.
And not only that, but they also had a second child in the house to deal with now, and even though Evan didn't seem to really be much of a bother, even just having an extra mouth to feed and another person to entertain was enough.
Though, Dan was doing quite a good job of keeping the kids busy, even if Phil didn't.
He'd tell them stories, suggest things for them to do and other things like that.
Today, he'd had the idea of taking both Dab and Evan to the park because it was nice and sunny and warm today.
As Dan remembered, it was Saturday when Dab had wanted to go to the park with him, but seeing as Phil was laid up and busy feeling sorry for himself, Dan had opted to stay at home.
Dil had taken Dab out instead, but the kid still insisted that he wanted to go with Dan sometime.
This persisting gave Dan a feeling of pride and joy, knowing that he'd done well enough with his responsibilities of childminding that even the Dab wanted to spend time with him and actively suggested bonding activities.
If only he'd suggest bonding with… someone else.
No matter, though; Dan supposed he could always drag Phil down to the park, too, to try and get him to interact a bit more.
He looked up as he had this thought and smiled at his friend, giving him an extremely brief hug around his waist before turning around and finishing the cooking, leaving Phil looking mid way between being confused, unimpressed and worried.
The two children energetically came running into the kitchen, and Dan heard Phil heave a sigh at the realisation that the day was now beginning and 12 hours of work lay ahead.
They'd get through it, though; they always endured through these situations.
"Hey, Dan!" Dab grinned, the ears on his bunny slippers wobbling as he walked across the kitchen tiles, "What are you making for breakfast?" He asked.
Dan listed off the things he was making, and Evan and Dab listened intently, their little mouths watering.
Phil looked over his shoulder at them and rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn't get any 'good morning' or even a brief 'hi'.
He, very brashly and purposefully, flicked on the tea machine, opened the cupboard, fetched as much cutlery as was needed and set about laying the table.
He'd been fine up until the kids woke up.
Though today, as he was setting the table, he made the resolve to stay positive. The last time he'd done that was when he was trying to accept the fact that making friends with Summer was going to take a while, and he'd accomplished it pretty well, so he assumed that today would be no different.
After all, how hard could it be to socialise with children?
(Actually, it was relatively hard, as he was soon to find out, but we'll get into that.)
"Sleep well?" He asked, out of the blue, turning about and slipping his hands into his trouser pockets, mostly directing the question to Dab, but only Evan looked up at him.
"Yes, thanks!" He smiled, but Dab only gave an unenthused nod, too busy fantasizing about food, of which he was busy watching as he sat on the tiles in front of the oven.
He was probably getting a very warm face.
Phil tilted his head to the side, watched Dan butter some bread for a bit, drew in a long breath, smelling the aroma of cooking, and rocked backwards and forwards on his feet.
"Why don't you two sit down?" He suggested, and Evan obediently did so, choosing the green chair at the table.
Dab didn't move from his spot by the oven, but Phil didn't allow him to stay there much longer, especially considering that he was in the way and sitting next to ovens (above all, ones in this house) wasn't usually the best idea.
"That means you, too, Dab."
It was only after Dan stopped and told him to get off the floor that Dab actually moved, taking the red seat opposite his friend and waiting there with his hands on the tabletop.
Phil rubbed his dry hands together, chewed his lip, wondered why Dab was only listening to Dan, and decided to take the time to get to the bottom of the reason.
Himself from a few days ago wouldn't have done this – he would have given a fed-up frown, accepted the fact that nobody would recognize his authority, left it at that and not mention it again – but now, he put the effort into figuring things out.
Dan noticed this change in temperament, too.
He'd learned to recognise a lot in mannerisms and body language within almost 9 years of friendship, and he felt that the air was somewhat different, and that was something he was glad of.
He caught a glimpse of eye contact and held it, giving Phil a fond smile, the dimples at the side of his mouth showing up and forming his freckles into little patterns that looked as if they'd make some sort of a picture if you got a pen and connected them all.
Every little thing today was going to be a-OK, and he felt as if both he and his best friend could tell it.