Hollywood Ever After (Red Carpet 1)

“Mom, is Helen our sister now?” Will asked. “Or our aunt? ‘Cause she seems kind of young to be an aunt. But she’s older than Natalie and she likes me, so she can’t be my sister, can she?”

“I like you, Squirt,” Natalie argued, her cheeks coloring. “But I spend more time with you than Helen does, so I know what a little monster you can be.”

“I’m not a monster. I’m a prince,” he corrected her before turning back to me. “So what is she, Mom?”

“She’s your…Helen.” I smiled then shrugged.

Helen smiled back. “We’ll have to come up with something in the way of a special name.”

I nodded. “Okay, but don’t stay up too late working on it. Nat, how’s the packing going?” I held the door open for her, inviting her to follow me into her bedroom and leaving Helen and Will to brainstorm. I surveyed the mess in Natalie’s room with frustration. “What happened?”

“Mom, do we have to go?” Natalie sighed and stared at her suitcase open and neglected on the floor.

“Would you want to stay?” I asked her, picking up some of her belongings and placing them into the suitcase. “It’s kind of a big change, Nat. I mean, I have no idea what the curriculum is here, what their required classes are versus those in America. I’m not even sure you could attend school here since we’re not British citizens.” I added, “And you’d have to wear a uniform, Natalie.”

Natalie wrinkled her nose. “That would suck. Still, I don’t think it’d be that bad,” she said, her dimple peeking out as she smiled.

I sat on the edge of her bed. “Oh?”

“I like it here, Mom. I like having a big sister and a whole family.”

I laughed a little. “We’ve always had a family, Nat.”

“I know, but this seems more…complete.” She looked at me then. “You’re happier.”

I leaned back against the headboard and looked at her. “Things aren’t bad in Texas.”

She shrugged then shook her head. “It’s not just that, Mom. I mean, we have friends back home, but they do talk about Dad, the divorce, and you sometimes too. It’s not cool, some of the stuff they say. It’s not all the time, but it’s enough to make school suck sometimes,” Natalie muttered.

I watched her. “I’m sorry, Nat.”

“I don’t want to bum you out with that too. I mean, I get why you worry a lot. And I know there’s a lot of stuff you don’t want Will and me to know, which is fine by me. But I do know that there’s a lot of junk that you have to deal with there.” She paused, her voice soft. “It’s kind of nice not to have to deal with it.”

I sat forward, a frown pulling my eyebrows together. “You need to tell me what you’re feeling, kiddo. I may not be able to fix it or make it all better, but we need to know what’s going on in each other’s lives, okay? If I knew you were getting grief at school I would’ve tried to change it.”

Natalie sat by me. “I know. It’s not like I can’t handle it, but I won’t miss it if things do end up changing. That’s all I’m trying to say. Okay?”

“Okay.” I started putting things into the suitcase.

“So what is going on with you and Josh?” I felt her eyes regarding me.

“We really like each other.” I smiled.

“So you guys haven’t worked something out?”

“Like what?” I looked at Natalie and waited.

She smiled, blushing. “I dunno. You guys are pretty serious, though.”

“It’s getting there. Is that okay?”

“Totally, Mom. Josh is great. And I can tell he really loves you,” Natalie gushed. “I like him, Mom. Will likes him too, lots. And you’re happy, too. So it’s all good.”

I shrugged. “It’s hard to have…a boyfriend—” She smiled broadly when I said the word. “—when I’m also a mom. I’m figuring this out as we go, okay? But I’m your mom first and I need you to talk to me. I don’t care how hard it might be, promise me you’ll always talk to me. I’ll keep you in the loop, but you have to do the same.” I hugged her, kissing her forehead.

“Okay, I promise.” She yawned. “I need to take a shower. Can I hang out with Helen a little before I go to bed?”

I nodded. “I’ll help you finish your packing in the morning. But please don’t stay up too late. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I love you.” I helped her get her things together and into the bathroom.