SF Chapter 33: The Incident - Final
After a while, Mitchell and Cam showed up as well, followed by Haley and Dylan.
"DY-money. There he is," Phil greeted him enthusiastically. "Come on in."
"Hi."
"Uh, hey everybody, this is Dylan," Haley introduced him to the rest of the family, who were already seated in the living room.
"Hey," he raised his hand, a little shyly.
"He has a very gentle soul," DeDe remarked, looking at her granddaughter's boyfriend.
Claire shot her a look, incredulous. "You got that from a 'hey'?"
"So, Dylan, I see you brought the axe," Phil pointed at the guitar case on his back.
He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I just came from practice."
"Sweet. Miss those days," Phil said, a bit pensively.
Dylan blinked. "Oh, you were in a band?"
"Could've been, but in high school I was really all about my magic, so-"
Haley rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh my God," pulling her boyfriend to sit next to her.
DeDe then leaned toward her son, "Oh, Mitchell, I know it's silly, but… I'm a little nervous."
"Oh, no. That's not silly. You should be," Mitchell said, also a bit nervous.
The doorbell rang again, and Gloria, Jay, and Manny came through the door.
"Hey. How are you, Manny?"
"Phil," the boy nodded.
Phil glanced at his scribbled-on face. "Nice mustache."
"Thank you."
"Don't make fun. He may burn your house down," Jay added as he walked in. Then he faked a surprised face, "DeDe."
"Hi, Jay. Hi, Gloria." DeDe rose from her chair.
Gloria frowned. "What is she doing here?" she inquired, already getting angry.
DeDe was also slightly surprised. "What does she mean, 'what is she doing here'? Mitchell told you I'd be here."
Gloria spoke loudly. "Lies!"
Mitchell tried to smooth things over. "I couldn't tell her because she wouldn't come. Gloria, my mom wants to apologize for everything."
"So you just spring it on Gloria like this? Mitchell, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jay accused shamelessly, continuing his act.
But suddenly, an unexpected guest appeared at the door.
"Anybody home?" Evelyn made her poised smile, changing her expression as soon as she saw her sister's face. "DeDe?"
"Evelyn?" DeDe made an anguished expression.
"Who invited Mom?" Charlie wondered out loud, already looking at his younger brother. The same thought crossed several other minds.
"Dani!" Claire hissed in a low, dangerous voice.
"Why is everyone accusing me?" he asked, annoyed.
"Probably because you're the one with a camera..." Charlie remarked dryly.
"Oh… right!" he exclaimed, continuing to film the whole interaction.
"And the one who would do it..." his brother concluded.
[Daniel commentary]
"Some men just want to watch the world burn," Daniel quoted. "I think that would be a nice line for a movie," he added, laughing.
Then he realized, "Oh right, what were we talking about again?"
"Mom? Eh," he shrugged. "She's a good counterbalance to Aunt DeDe…"
[Commentary ends]
"In my defense, Sis, I may have mentioned that there would be a full family dinner tonight to mom," Daniel turned to Claire.
"But I didn't invite her. How is it my fault that she came here on her own?"
Charlie stepped closer and joked, "Might be a good thing. Out of the three of them, I'd bet on Gloria to win the fight. And, hey, a Latina has a big heart - big enough to mother everyone here."
"I can see where all that heart fits…" Alan said a little too loudly, earning a deadly glare from Claire.
Meanwhile, Haley ignored what was going on - she had something better to focus on.
She mocked her sister, "Alex, looks like you have an admirer," jerking her head toward Jake, who kept sneaking glances their way.
"Shut up, Haley!" Alex snapped, then shot back, "Why don't you focus on your own?" She did the same thing her sister had, but toward Manny, who was clearly staring at Haley.
Haley dismissed her sister with a wave. "I prefer my tall, handsome boyfriend."
DeDe and Evelyn began talking as if everything were normal, trading a few jabs from Evelyn and a couple of lines from DeDe casting herself as the victim.
"What is happening?" Daniel asked, looking around at his siblings.
"I don't know…" his sister muttered.
"It's like pressing a detonator and nothing happens," Charlie commented as well.
But suddenly, DeDe lunged at her sister. "You stole my husband!"
"Oh, there it is!" Daniel pointed out, hiding a smile.
Claire barked. "Go stop them!"
But it was Alan who jumped in first. "I got Mom! I got Mom!"
Mitchell and Cam did the same with DeDe.
"I got Gloria! I got Gloria! I got Gloria!" Phil shouted as he joined in.
Daniel made a strange face. "Bro, she's not even in the fight yet."
"Oh, sorry," Phil said, letting her go quickly.
"Okay, can we stop this?" Jay said more firmly. "DeDe, no one stole me from you. You were already seeing another man!" He scoffed, revealing the truth to those who didn't know.
"And yes, I ended up marrying your younger sister - the one you liked the least."
[Evelyn commentary]
The Harper matriarch was sitting on the couch.
"That's the story. My sister DeDe cheated on her husband, and they divorced," Evelyn said calmly.
"I was grieving as a widow, and Jay was dealing with the divorce. It happened." She shrugged, without a hint of guilt.
[Commentary ends]
Seeing that the mood had grown very tense, with DeDe and Evelyn each in a corner, Phil tried to completely change the subject. "Hey, Dylan, why don't you sing something for us?"
Dylan looked surprised, but nodded, pulling out his guitar. "I wrote this song thinking about Haley."
He got a soft, approving "ahh" from his girlfriend, and a few romantic sighs from around the room.
Then he began to sing.
♫♪ The stars are falling from the sky
And you're the reason why
The Moon is shining on your face
And I finally think it's found its place ♫♪
People were enjoying it, when the lyrics started to get a little strange...
♫♪'Cause maybe, baby
I just wanna do you, do you
Do you wanna do me, do me
Underneath the moonlight, the moonlight tonight? ♫♪
♫♪And now we're hiding in my car
I let you see my scars
Escape the dark for just one night
Your heart makes me explode with light ♫♪
"Oh, she's not going," Claire said, leaning into Phil's arms.
"Not a chance in hell," Phil agreed, looking betrayed.
♫♪Cause baby, baby
I just wanna do you, do you
Do you wanna do me, do me
Underneath the moonlight, the moonlight tonight? ♫♪
Charlie and Evelyn were smirking, amused by the situation.
Alan and Cam were each covering Jake and Luke's ears. The rest of the adults stared at Dylan weirdly.
Daniel was the only one humming along.
[Daniel commentary]
"Dylan was the MVP of the night. After the song, everyone calmed down, and no one was in the mood to fight anymore."
Daniel thought back on the night before. "Gloria even forgave DeDe, and life went on."
"But our 'hero' got a firm NO when it came to taking Haley to the concert - the main reason he showed up for the dinner."
He stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to Penny." Daniel walked out humming, ♫♪ I just wanna do you, do you ♫♪
[Commentary ends]
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