DOS Ch-343

I walked into Casa Encantada and found a scene I hadn’t expected at all. Evan and Dad were on their knees, giving piggyback rides to Ace and Ian, respectively. From what I could see, they were both wearing some kind of harness for the kids’ safety and trying to race each other.

Meanwhile, the two toddlers were having the time of their lives, judging by their happy giggles.

Mum and Scarlett were sitting on the couch, happily watching the moment. I felt a pang of guilt for having missed more moments like this over the past month.

“Daddy’s home, kids!” I announced loudly, making everyone turn toward me. “And look who I brought along with me!”

From beside me, a young girl ran toward my sons before anyone had time to process her presence.

“Damian! Atlas! I’m your auntie, Helen. Say hi!” My little sister made her presence known to my kids, who just stared at her cluelessly while continuing to enjoy their piggyback rides.

Scarlett got up and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I missed you, babe.”

“I missed you more,” I shot back with a grin. Then I turned toward the two men crawling on the floor, trying to run circles around Helen.

I went over to Dad first and quickly scooped up the twin riding on him, who I now recognized as Damian. While they were identical, if you looked carefully, there was a small mole near Damian’s right ear. Barely noticeable, but once you knew it was there, it was hard to miss.

“Daddy’s here, Ian,” I called out. “You missed me?”

“Da!” he cried happily as he placed one of his hands on my face.

I froze for a few seconds as I processed what he had just said.

“Did he just call you…?” Scarlett asked in surprise.

“I think he did.” My grin widened as I hugged the baby closer to my chest. “Call me Da one more time, Ian. Dada. Dada.”

I enunciated the word a few times, hoping he’d copy me again, but he didn’t.

“Aww, come on,” I coaxed gently.

“Don’t pressure my son.” Scarlett scooped him from my arms and cradled him lovingly. “He didn’t call you Da. He was just making sounds. And of course he was. He’s not even four months old yet.”

I knew that was the most likely scenario, but I couldn’t accept it.

“Troy was speaking at that age,” Helen chimed in happily. “When I asked Mum to tell me stories about you, she told me that.”

I honestly don’t remember that part. It had been literal decades since that happened, and time is very difficult to quantify when your body forces you to sleep more than 70% of the time.

“Yeah, but Troy is… unique,” Scarlett said after a moment, searching for the perfect word. “I’m perfectly happy with these two being absolutely ordinary.”

She smiled at the baby in her arms, who smiled back at her before giggling. My heart melted at the sight.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, I bent down to Evan’s level and scooped up Atlas in my arms.

“I don’t care what you all think. I know that Ian called me Da, and so will Ace. He just needs some time.” Then I turned to the older twin and said in my baby voice, “Call me Dada, Ace. Dada.”

Evan, who had just stood up beside me, gave me a disbelieving stare. “What a brother I’ve got. He comes back after more than a month of shooting abroad, and he doesn’t so much as say ‘hi’.”

“Hi, Evan. Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad,” I greeted, but my eyes never left Ace. “Come on, say Dada. Dada. Prove your mother wrong.”

Scarlett laughed at that. “So that’s what this is about? Proving me wrong?”

“That’s part of it,” I agreed. “But it’s more about the fact that I want at least one of them to say Dada before Mama.”

Scarlett gasped in mock outrage. “They’ll say Mama first. Both of them. Don’t you dare try to corrupt my kids, you son of a…”

I put a finger on her lips and gave a meaningful stare toward the young girl standing beside me, who was giving Scarlett a confused look.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite girl!” Mum said as she hugged Helen. “How old are you now?”

“I turned nine two weeks ago!” Helen replied happily before pointing an accusatory finger in my direction. “Troy promised he would be there for my birthday, but he missed it. Again. It’s not like I’m his only sister in the world.”

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “Cut the sarcasm, will you? I told you my reasons. I was shooting a TV show.”

“A TV show that you told me not to watch.”

That suddenly reminded me of something important.

“Well, I have a movie coming out next week where Scarlett and I voice characters. That’s a movie you should definitely watch. You’ll love it. I promise. It’s about a princess, magical hair, singing, dancing, and floating lanterns.”

“Floating lanterns?” Helen asked, unimpressed. “I don’t think I’ll like it. I’m way past my princess phase.”

I sighed in defeat. “Don’t say that. I made that film for you.”

“Fine.” She raised her hands in the air as if giving up. “I’ll watch it. But don’t expect me to like it.”

Scarlett laughed beside me. “It’s like she skipped a few steps and became a teenager.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I said with a shake of my head.

“I hope that’s the last Disney film you two will ever do,” Dad added from beside Evan. “It’s bad publicity that the owner of a major studio like Phoenix is doing a film with its biggest rival, Disney.”

“It’s just this film,” I assured him. “At least for me. I won’t ever restrict Scarlett from doing or not doing particular films with any studio.”

“I won’t do a film with them either,” Scarlett promised. “Or any other studio, for that matter.”

“That’s reassuring to hear,” Dad said with a smile.

“Troy! Can I hold my nephew now?” Helen raised her hands toward me, clearly expecting me to oblige, but I didn’t want to risk the safety of my child in the hands of another child.

“You must be tired after your long flight.” Mum skilfully scooped Atlas from my arms before the girl could throw a tantrum. “Why don’t you freshen up and change into something comfortable, son? It’s time for the kids to take a nap anyway. And Helen, would you like to help Scarlett and me put these two to sleep?”

“Yes!” she said excitedly and followed the two ladies toward the nursery. “I will be the best baby sleeper in the world.”

When the three were gone, Evan called out, “Best baby sleeper? Is that a thing in the UK?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Nope. That’s just something she made up. She has a vivid imagination.”

“That she does,” Evan agreed.

I raised an arm and sniffed my pit. “Mum was right. I really do need a shower. See you later, yeah?”

He nodded. I waved at Dad once again before walking toward my bedroom.

(Break)

There’s nothing better than a hot shower after a long flight. Maybe a full day of rest doing absolutely nothing would be better, but I was jet-lagged, and it would take a few days for me to get back to normal.

When I got out of the bathroom, none of the ladies were anywhere I could see, so I decided to check the place they were most likely to be.

I walked over to the kids’ nursery and saw Ace and Ian snoring softly in their shared crib. We could’ve gotten them separate ones, but the doctor had suggested letting them stay together as much as possible. After all, they had been together since before they were born.

Their nanny, Abby, stood up the moment she saw me. I motioned for her to stay quiet before softly patting my sons on the head. After a minute or two, I finally left the nursery and roamed around the house until I was greeted by my old pal, Loki.

BARK

A grin appeared on my face the moment I saw the husky. I bent down to his level and kissed him on the forehead.

“I missed you, buddy,” I said lovingly.

He licked my face before running around me, which was his way of saying he wanted to play.

“Come on.” I motioned for him to follow me. “Let’s play catch.”

He wagged his tail excitedly at the mention of the game, and I led him toward the front garden with a frisbee. Playing with Loki was exactly what I needed to relax after such a hectic shoot. Even though my body was in constant motion, I was still happy to run around with my old pal, who had been with me for years now.

As the sun lowered in the sky, I snuggled closer to Loki, who was tired by now. It was heartbreaking to see the dog’s decline. Just a few years ago, he used to outlast me easily, but now it was the opposite.

Just the thought that Loki would have to leave us in a few years was too difficult to swallow.

After what felt like hours, I left Loki alone and decided to take a walk around the grounds, enjoying the sunset. I reached the backyard, where Evan was busy playing mini-golf with Roger, my old security guard who was now assigned to him.

“That’s another hole for me, Roger,” Evan boasted. “Man, you’re really bad at it for someone your age.”

“Of course you’re good at getting holes,” Roger shot back. “I’m not a manwhore like you.”

Evan inclined his head in agreement. “There’s nothing wrong with being a manwhore. You would be too if you weren’t so restricted with your straight views of monogamy and shit. Just say yes once. I’ll rock your world with the best…”

Before that conversation could go any further, I cleared my throat to announce my presence.

Evan turned toward me, and his easygoing smile with Roger evaporated. The older man stood straighter the moment he saw me and took a few steps back, as if giving us some privacy.

“Am I really that uptight?” I asked. “Roger went back into his guard mode the moment he saw me.”

Evan chuckled and shook his head. “Not really. It’s just that you’re the one with the most risk to your life, so they can’t relax in your presence. No one gives a shit about me. They’re just here because you asked them to.”

I draped an arm around his shoulder and joked, “I give a shit about my manwhore of a brother. Just don’t hit on the staff. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

He barked out a laugh before sobering quickly. “It’s just harmless flirting. I won’t actually sleep with any of the staff.”

I gave him a disbelieving look. “Need I remind you that Jonathan was also staff once before you decided to take things beyond ‘harmless flirting’?”

“Ugh.” He groaned. “And you wonder why the guards become all serious in your presence. You need to loosen up.” Then he motioned toward the mini-golf course. “Come on, grab a club and join me.”

I wanted to decline his offer, but for some reason, I didn’t. I’d played golf a few times by now, so I wasn’t a complete rookie. Unfortunately, Evan was better.

“I’m the king of the holes!” he proclaimed happily, [Titanic]-style, when he pocketed another ball.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his tactics. “Roger is right. You’re a manwhore obsessed with holes.”

“And proud of it,” he said happily. “The best thing Jonathan and I did was open up our relationship. There’s been no jealousy, no anguish over being in separate cities, and the best part is that when we are together, it’s not just about sex, but intimacy on another level.”

The reason Jonathan and Evan weren’t together right now was that Jonathan was doing a play on Broadway, while Evan was here preparing for our first movie together, [Hacksaw Ridge].

“How are the preparations for [Hacksaw Ridge] going?” I asked, changing the topic.

“Everything’s ready. The crew, the set. We’ve even auditioned most of the cast. I’ve selected multiple people for most of the roles, so if they’re already booked when we begin shooting, we’ll have options. All we need now is your go-ahead. We can begin shooting within two weeks.”

I nodded slowly. “Have you made your decision about the love interest?”

He shook his head. “She doesn’t have a very big role, so I thought I’d offer it to Scar. It could be your second movie together. I haven’t talked to her yet because I wanted to consult you first.”

I closed my eyes in thought before shaking my head. “No. Let’s not put Scar and me against each other right now. She wants to be with the kids as much as she can for the next few months. Hold fresh auditions for the role. Let’s cast someone no one knows.”

Evan nodded in agreement. “I can do that. But you should know that I’ve cast Jonathan in a role in [Hacksaw Ridge].”

“Okay?” I asked in confusion. “Why should I know that?”

“Just a heads up, in case you want to become a stick in the mud about relationships and work, and all that stuff.”

I shook my head. “You know the real reason for my worries, and you know that I’m right about it as well.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved off my concerns. “Can we move on now?”

I dropped the topic and said, “Have you seen Scarlett, Mum, or Helen? They went to put the kids to bed, but have gone MIA.”

He shrugged. “How would I know? I’ve been here ever since you came back.”

“I’ll go look for them inside then.”

“You do that,” Evan said with a smile, “while I get [Hacksaw Ridge] on the floors.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

With a wave, I walked back inside the mansion. This time, I didn’t roam aimlessly and instead asked a servant for their location, so I was surprised to find all three of them in the kitchen. Mum is a very good cook, but with her hectic schedule, she leaves all the heavy work to our private chef. Scarlett, on the other hand, couldn’t cook to save her life.

“And that’s how you pour the batter, slowly and evenly.” Mum poured what looked like cake batter into a cake mould. When that was done, she picked it up and tapped it lightly against the counter. “We tap it so that all the air bubbles trapped inside get released.”

Scarlett and Helen nodded dutifully and copied her, pouring their respective batters into different cake moulds before tapping them on the kitchen counter.

“Hey, ladies,” I said, choosing that moment to make my presence known. “What are we making?”

“We are making a three-layer chocolate fudge cake for my belated birthday,” Helen announced. “The one that you missed? You forgot already?”

“Hmm.” I rubbed my chin in thought. “Maybe I should take your gift back. That bicycle I sent you.”

Her face immediately paled at the mention of her gift. She stepped closer to me and wrapped her arms around my torso.

“You’re the best big brother in the world. So what if you couldn’t be there in person for my birthday? At least you remembered, right?”

I gave her a superior look while patting her head lovingly. “Thought so.”

Scarlett and Mum shared a laugh at the situation, and I couldn’t help but join in as well.

If there was one wish being granted in the world, I would ask for this happiness in my family to continue forever.

Unfortunately, life is rarely that predictable.