Teenage Harriet asks her parents for advice after her friend kisses her. (Inspired by a scene in Love, Rosie)
"I wanna die. I can never show my face at school again!" Harriet whines, placing her bag by the front door as she storms over to the kitchen counter, taking a seat on one of the stools and resting her head against the cool surface.
April's eyes widen, and Jackson tries hard not to chuckle to himself, reminded of the many times that April has acted like the world is ending over something minor. Their daughter definitely inherited her tendency to be dramatic from her.
"Whats wrong, bug?" Her mother asks softly, standing on the opposite side of the island.
"Caleb kissed me! He's my best friend and he kissed me! Why would he do that?!"
Jackson feels his spine straighten at his daughters words. He'd thought he'd have at least a few more years before he had to worry about dating, damn it. He figures it's best to let April take the lead on this, not wanting to make things worse than they apparently already are.
"Okay...do you want to talk about it? What about this is making you so upset? Did you not want him to kiss you?"
"I...I don't know! He's my friend. I don't want to ruin our friendship. What if we do decide to date and we break up? Then he'll hate me, or I'll hate him, and we won't be friends anymore. I don't want that."
April and Jackson both manage to catch each other's gaze from across the room, a sympathetic look on their faces. As much as April can tell that Jackson is probably spinning out over the concept of their teenage daughter potentially liking a boy, she also knows that they're uniquely qualified to offer advice on this aspect. They know, more than anyone, what its like to start something with their best friend, and all of the ways it can (and has) gone wrong over the years, but also the ways in which its gone right.
He clears his throat, figuring that, as much as he might not be ready for this new develop in his daughter's life, he can at least try to be helpful, "You know, your mom and I were best friends when she kissed me once, bug, and I'm still stuck with her all these years later."
His wife can't help but roll her eyes, and he knows that if were any closer to her, that it'd probably earn him a swat on the chest.
Harriet lifts her head up, trying to make sense of the eight different potential scenarios that seemed to be running through her head. Another quirk she inherited from her mother. She frowns slightly before responding, "Didn't you and mom get a divorce once?"
"Well, yeah, but that having nothing to do with us not being friends...it...it was complicated," Jackson replies, rubbing the back of his shaved head.
April opens her mouth for a moment, wanting to get the words right before she speaks, "I think the point your dad is trying to make is that...sometimes friendship can be a really good solid foundation for something more. If you both like one another, and you're on the same page, then him kissing you doesn't have to be the end of the world. Just talk to him and tell him how you feel, and if you don't like him in that way, then hopefully he'll understand, and you guys can continue being friends."
She contemplates her mothers words for a moment, before nodding, "Yeah...yeah. I guess you're right. Thanks mom. I'm gonna go call him now."
Practically hopping off the stool, Harriet gave her mom a hug before grabbing her phone from her jean pocket, running in the direction of her bedroom and shutting the door swiftly behind her.
"Hey, what about me? I helped too!" Jackson whined, causing April to chuckle as she made her way over to the back of the sofa, placing her hands on his shoulders and massaging them.
"Aww, sorry, baby. She's getting too grown up now. I hate it. I wish she could've stayed little forever."
"God, I know. I don't even want to think about her dating."
"Well, at least it's someone we like if she does decide to date him, right?"
Jackson grumbles, "No. Let's talk about something else."
"Hmm, I could always give you a repeat of that kiss...you know, for old times sake." A smirk forms on the corners of her mouth, as she makes her way around to the front of the couch, causing him to light up. He can't help but think its amazing how much she still manages to affect him, even after all these years.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
She sits down next to him, eyes flitting between his eyes and his lips, before leaning in and pressing her lips to his.
They allow themselves a few moments to get lost in one another, making out like they're standing outside of that hotel room in San Francisco again, until they hear the sounds of their daughter hanging up the phone. They quickly untangle themselves from one another before she has a chance to exit her room, and look at her expectantly when she reappears again.
"Okay...I'm okay now. Everything's good. Hey, what's for dinner tonight? Can we go out?" Their daughter asks, holding her hung-up cell phone still in hand.
"I don't see why not. Maybe around 6?" April replies, whilst Jackson nods.
"Great! I guess I'll go do my biology homework."
As much as they hated that their daughter was growing up, they were grateful that she still wanted to spend time with them, and they were planning on cherishing that and making the most of it for as long as they could.