Chapter 405 - What A Night
By the time the Singleton parents came back, the younger children had nearly destroyed the living room. Cushions were upended, somebody spilled an entire bag of rice on the ground, and the poor dog had Play-Doh stuck to its fur.
"What on earth happened?!" Jennica asked, aghast.
"I'm so sorry!" the babysitter wailed. "They refused to go to bed! I tried, I really did, but as soon as I chased after one another did something else."
Cameron touched his forehead and rubbed it in agitation. "Clean this up if you want to get your full pay. I'll put them to bed."
The babysitter nodded tearfully and immediately began sweeping up the rice as Logan threw himself at his father's legs with a cheeky grin.
"You're in trouble, mister. Don't smile at me like that," he said sternly. "Oliver, Nathan, you need to get ready for bed too."
Nathan was only wearing a pajama shirt and a diaper because he had thought it would be fun to tease the babysitter and run around as she tried to put his pants on. He saw that Cameron meant business though so he quietly recovered his pants and put them on.
"Where are the older kids?" Jennica asked the babysitter with a tint of frustration in her tone.
She was trying so hard not to lose it on this girl who had probably tried her best. She knew the kids didn't react well to strangers watching them.
"Upstairs in Noah's room."
Had she even been trying to check in on them at all? Ugh, she really didn't deserve full pay for this. It was a miracle the apartment hadn't burned down with how badly things had gone.
Jennica trudged up the stairs wearily—the party had exhausted her and she hadn't even gotten to talk to any of her friends. She was glad these sorts of things didn't require her presence too often. Cast parties for her job weren't nearly that bad.
When she approached Noah's door, it was completely silent in there. What were those three up to?
Jennica had to stifle a laugh when she saw them all passed out on the floor with a partially completed Lego castle in the middle. Violet's head was pressed up against her twin's arm and Noah's hand was on her wrist even though the castle was between them. None of them looked terribly comfortable.
The kids were too big for her to lift so she ended up switching duties with Cameron so he could carry them to bed. He put his son on his bed and tucked him in before pulling out the trundle for Kaleb.
Since Violet was a girl and shouldn't be sharing a room with boys anyway, he took her downstairs and tucked her in on the couch. Man, these kids were getting heavy! It seemed like just yesterday he could carry two of them at once.
While he was down there, he noticed the babysitter had finished cleaning so he paid her and shooed her out of the house. Cameron definitely would not be using that babysitting service again. That girl had no child management skills.
He went upstairs and flopped down on his bed, ripping off his tie as he went down. Jennica joined him a few minutes later and could not wait to get out of her constrictive dress.
"They all asleep?"
"Yep. What a night," she sighed heavily. "Did you notice Keeley tell off her in-laws? It was pretty subtle but I happened to be looking that way when it happened."
How could he not have noticed? After nearly two decades of working with Aaron, Cameron would recognize that ice flaring up across the room in a heartbeat. There was only one thing at the party that could set him off like that; his parents daring to show up.
He wasn't surprised by the ice. He was surprised that his friend was glowing like the sun after the encounter. What on earth did Keeley say that changed his attitude so much in less than five minutes?
"Oh, I noticed. Aaron was over the moon about something afterwards. She must have said something amazing. I wish I had been closer so I could have heard it for myself."
"I feel sorry for her. Nobody should have to deal with in-laws that hate them. I got really lucky in that department; your family is the best," Jennica replied as she curled up next to her husband.
Keeley wasn't the only one Cameron felt sorry for. Aaron's parents were horrible people, not only about his son's choice of wife. He had dealt with Alistair Hale long enough in those shareholders meetings to know the man didn't care one whit about his son.
Back in 2012 when he first found out about the woman Aaron loved he had been shocked. Why would this ice statue be in love with someone so normal?
It became fairly clear in the few years after their marriage. Keeley gave him the warmth, love, and fun he never got to experience growing up. Cameron wouldn't have thought his boss was capable of being so sentimental if he hadn't spent so much time with him outside of work and around his family in the years that followed.
Aaron always seemed so happy doing average or even ridiculous things with his wife and children. So that seemingly emotionless block of ice simply wanted a family after all. People could be surprisingly simple when you really thought about it.
Even at work he wasn't as icy as before after marrying his wife. He had mellowed a lot over the years; all of his long-term employees had noticed it.
He definitely still had a commanding presence and could terrify anyone in the blink of an eye but ice wasn't his default anymore. Aaron was more…neutral…now for the most part. Keeley was a miracle worker.
"At least they have each other," Cameron said after some thought.
"Yeah, you're right," Jennica yawned. "Come on and get changed. I'm exhausted and want cuddles."
That was a request he couldn't refuse. No matter how many times he had done it, he always savored the feeling of holding his wife in his arms. It reminded him of how they met. She literally fell for him.
Aaron wasn't the only one lucky in love. Cameron considered himself just as lucky if not more so.