Chapter 151: Who’s your daddy?

[Edward POV]

Haley and I were laying down on the pool chair as we enjoyed the sun with a drink in our hand. We were both wearing sunglasses as we watched the drama unfolding in front of us, and to avoid direct sunlight at the same time. 

"They are pretty pissed off. You'll be in trouble when they find out you deliberately stirred them up when they were supposed to be enjoying the barbeque." Haley said.

I turned towards her with an astonished face. She was confused and asked, "What?"

"Nothing. Aren't you changing?" I replied with a smile. I didn't want to tell her that I was surprised she knew what 'deliberately' means, as I was afraid to discourage her. 

"You want to see me in a bikini so soon?" Haley teased. "I thought you weren't going to swim?"

"I'm not." I replied before I sighed and said, "I can't wait to grow up. I miss popping up a can of cold beer as I lay in the sun."

"Same." Haley muttered in a guilt-free manner. Sometimes, she snuck in a couple of beers while her grandpa wasn't at home as she tanned by the pool, so she knew what I was talking about.

"Hey, what do you think about Father's day?" Haley asked in a curious manner. 

I pushed up my sunglasses and turned to her, "Father's day is the step-dad of the whole holiday celebrations." 

"It's the time when single moms posted on FB to try and make this day about them, and for fathers to be overlooked once more after getting a few lousy cards. Most people don't even bother to celebrate the event, so seeing your family get together is refreshing for me."

"Well…to be honest the gathering is actually for summer, not father's day." Haley explained. I smirked and said, "I know."

She smiled in a guilty manner and said, "It's not like we don't like…our dad."

"I'm not saying it like that. I'm just saying, people don't make much of a deal about this day compared to the other celebrations. Let's take your family for an example. What did you guys do on Mother's day?"

"Let me see…Humm…Well we woke her up with a surprise, then allowed her to make a wish, and this year, we almost went to the beach, but Alex brought out the water quality report, so we just stayed home and celebrated."

"And what did you do with your dad today?" I asked,

"I gave him a card…and made him breakfast…the same thing as we usually ate on weekends." 

"And…"

"Well that's it." 

I smiled while Haley ruminated on what I was talking about. Gloria walked briskly towards the both of us, "Ayy, do you know what happened? Why are Cam and Mitch suddenly arguing? And why is Jay so grumpy?"

"Isn't Jay always grumpy?" I muttered. Gloria nodded and said, "That's true. But there's something weird going around-"

"Hey Gloria, are you making any sauce for the steak?" I asked, changing the subject before she could catch on.

She smiled and said, "Yes. I'm going to make a …traditional Colombian sauce that has been in my family for generations."

"That sounds interesting. Can I learn it?"

Gloria smiled widely and said, "Yes! YES! Come to the kitchen. I'll show you the steps."

"Seriously?" Haley lowered her sunglasses as she gazed at me. I shrugged and said, "Yeah. It sounds fun. Besides, Cam and Mitch have relocated inside."

"Well…I'll come with you." Haley hesitated before standing up, "But I'll go change first."

As I entered the house, Phil suddenly surprised me and asked, "Ed, you're making another app?"

"Huh? What app?" I asked, confused. 

Alex then reminded, "You know, the group chat app."

"Ah. right. Sorry, impaired cognitive function." 

"Why?" Alex asked, confused. She used the information to get out of her dad teaching her about the new phone. Otherwise, the lecture would still be going. 

Phil was excited as he heard about the group chat app and the prospect of exchanging photos with me over the summer. As an early adopter to any new technologies, Phil couldn't wait to use the new app even though it wasn't even in production yet. 

"Haven't slept yet since yesterday." I replied in a casual manner before I narrowed my eyes at them, "Didn't I tell you about it this morning?"

Phil widened his eyes and asked in shock, "But you had the concert yesterday right?"

"I don't think you did?" Alex replied, unsure. I actually didn't tell them, just Claire could figure out what happened without me saying anything. 

I chuckled before I talked to Phil about the app again, "It's still just an idea right now but I'll work on it after I get back from Texas. Phil, have you made an instagram account yet?" 

He turned excited and said, "I DID! I even have 10 followers already!" Alex rolled her eyes as even she got wayyy more followers than that, considering that she posted a few behind the scenes photos and tagged me in her account. 

"That…nice." I muttered, hiding my pity. I couldn't say that I have a quarter million followers now, as it would just sound like a brag. 

"Do you know the real potential of the accounts?" I muttered with a sly grin. Alex was confused, but when I asked Haley the same question before, she could come out with a few advantages in just a jiff. 

"Potential?" Phil tilted his head. "To be…famous?"

"That too, but the thing I'm talking about is more of a business advantage–"

"Cam, you're being unreasonable. Facial hair doesn't mean that people will see a person as the dad. You don't need to grow a beard, or MAKE ME SHAVE MINE!" Mitchell said exasperatingly as Cam followed him from behind. 

I looked towards them in amusement as they argued, and Haley came back after quickly changing her clothes. She had tied her hair into a ponytail, bringing attention to the nape of her neck, collarbone and her large earrings. She changed into a blue bikini, and was wearing a see-through cover dress as she walked indoors.

" What are you guys talking about?" Haley asked, but her attention was fixed on me instead of her own family.

"Instagram. Ed is going to teach me some stuff." Phil replied in excitement. Haley widened her eyes before she nodded knowingly and said, "Oh yeah, the influencer thing."

"Ugh…Influencers." I groaned in disgust as I heard it. She was baffled and said, "You're the one who named them…it… that!"

"I know I know. I'm just…quite revolted when I think about what's going to happen in the future. Stupid people being famous everywhere. People completely forgot about human decency as it is. I don't even want to think about what will happen the more they live in an online world."

Alex rolled her  eyes and said, "If you hate it so much, then why DID you create the platform?"

"Well mostly for the money, and the immense pleasure of sliding into a girl's dm." I joked, but no one laughed…yet. 

Haley's eyes became hazy, and then she realized something, "Can I see your account?"

"Yeah sure." I didn't think much and gave her my phone. Alex smirked evilly and said, "Dad, you should learn from Ed. Maybe he can help you in promoting your business."

I rolled my eyes at her while Phil was a little troubled by the suggestion cause he couldn't quite understand the benefits of her suggestion therefore he didn't want to waste his time.

"Well…I'll at least listen to it."

"Sure. Meet me in the kitchen." I replied before I whispered to Alex, "Trying to get revenge on me?"

"The Empire Strikes back." Alex muttered with an evil grin. 

"You've underestimated my power." I exclaimed before I walked towards the kitchen. "Stop quoting Star Trek." Haley said to both of us.

"Wars! Star Wars!" Alex replied begrudgingly. 

Haley followed us from behind while checking my instagram account. She was startled when she opened my dms, "You got…12,000 message requests!" 

"Ooh, it's still going up." I muttered non-committedly as I walked right next to Gloria. "What sauce are we making today?"

"Are you just going to ignore me? How are you going to handle this?" Haley asked in dissatisfaction. "I'll help you screen the messages. There's a lot of thirsty bitches here that need to get a reality check." 

I laughed and said, "There's no need. I have employees whose whole job is to handle it."

"(Gasp) They sent you pics too! Those sluts!" Haley groaned without registering what I said in her brain. "Just make sure not to reply to any of them okay? Or I'll be in trouble." I said before I ignored her.

"What pics?" Alex peeked on the screen, and then let out a disgusted gasp too. "Can I see?" Phil asked.

"NO!!!" Alex and Haley shouted at the same time.

"Ayy Ed, I don't have a couple of ingredients." Gloria said in a depressed manner after she checked her fridge for stuff to make her sauce.

"Oh dang. That's too bad." Phil muttered sadly, "I love your special sauce." 

"Can't you substitute- never mind." I tried to suggest, but was met with Gloria's piercing glare instead. 

"You still have the A1 sauce right?" Phil asked when I was checking the fridge.

"You know, you do have the right stuff here to make a chimichurri sauce." I said.

"Huh? Chimichurri?" Phil asked, confused.

"It's like Salsa…I think…But it's pretty nice. Good with chips, tacos, bread, and even meat." 

Gloria's eyes lit up and she said, "Yes, that can work too."

"You know how to make it?" I asked her. Her smile froze, and before she could reply, I said, "Maybe…I can do it? As a gift, for Jay."

Gloria's smile turned soft as she realized I didn't want to make her feel embarrassed, and she patted my head as she said, "Alright. You make it. I'll help!"

"Right. Can you get me some tinfoil, a lemon, 2 peppers, whole garlic, and shallot?" I asked her politely. 

"Foil is here." Phil replied as he was standing right in front of the foil drawer. As Gloria took out the ingredients from the fridge, I talked to Phil about ways he could boost his brand using social media.

I cut off the top of the garlic and made a few cuts in the shallot, but not all the way through. Then I sprayed some olive oil, salt, and pepper as I wrapped them inside a foil. I cut the lemon in half and gave the ingredients to Alex.

"Can you ask Jay to put this on the grill?" I asked.

She nodded and went to the backyard while I waited. 

"So, no goofy videos?" Phil said, depressed.

"Definitely. You want to seem professional. You should do the same on your Facebook too." I explained. 

"What about me? How can I…have more followers?" Gloria asked after I finished talking with Phil. I looked at her from top to bottom before I said, "You just need to post a picture of you. That's it."

"Ayy you sweet talker." Gloria smiled, flattered. I laughed a bit before I turned to Haley, "You still opening up the requests?"

"I counted them, and so far, there's 93 girls who send you…pics from the 100 messages I opened." She said in dissatisfaction before she scolded me, "You shouldn't have made this. This makes it easier for sluts to throw themselves at you."

I just laughed and ignored her. "Well if you recognize a few famous people, don't delete anything."

"Even if they sent you pics?" She asked. "Wait? There's someone who did?" I asked, astonished.

"Don't be so excited! I'll tell this to Pepper!" Haley scolded in a jealous tone.

"I'm…not?" I was confused by the accusation. "Did I seem excited?" I asked Gloria. 

"No. You didn't." Gloria replied honestly. Haley groaned and walked away from there, leaving us all behind.

Sensing the suitable moment, Phil muttered, "Ed, I have been wanting to ask you. How are you feeling? With Abby and Desiree moving away? Are you alright?"

"I don't know what I feel, but I'm alright." I muttered with a wry smile. 

"Oh no. Poor baby." Gloria exclaimed sympathetically and gave me a pity hug. "Losing a first love…is hard…" She added.

"Love? Who said anything about love?" I replied quickly with a puzzled tone. 

Phil gave me an understanding smile as he said, "Yeah. It might not be love, but you got to admit, she was someone special to you. Or else, I don't think you'd have asked her to prom, even going out of your way to make it a special day for her."

Gloria smiled teasingly and said, "You were in love. You just don't know what it was." 

"Well if that was true, teasing me about it would be quite insensitive right? You already know I'm going to be devastated…Not that I'm saying I am-"

"Ed. It's okay. First love hurts. I still remember when I had my first love. She was a lovely girl– Mitchelle Flaherty. We met at band camp, and we were very close. Like you, I don't know what I felt at the time. It wasn't until we went our separate ways that I knew I was in love with her."

Phil added, "I was…DEVASTATED. It haunted me for a while, and I regretted not keeping in touch with her. But that taught me something important."

"That being…?"

"Love. She taught me what it felt like. So when the next girl came along, I wasn't confused anymore." Phil patted me on the shoulder, "So cheer up Ed."

"That advice actually makes things worse, but I appreciate the intention, Phil." I said in a dry manner before going to the grill to pick up the ingredients.

Gloria slapped Phil's arm, causing him to exclaim in pain.

"Oww. what's that for?" He asked, aggrieved as he rubbed his sore arm.

"Ayy Phil. She just left this morning, and you told him that. Of course he's going to feel bad. He hasn't moved on yet, and you already told him to find a new girl." Gloria said angrily.

"Wait. That's not what I meant." Phil widened his eyes as he realized what he had done. 

I returned to the kitchen soon, and put all of the ingredients into a large blender. I added paprika powder, cilantro, salt, and red wine vinegar and started blending all of the ingredients together.

"That looks good!" Gloria's eyes lit up as I opened the appliance and poured all of the sauce into a large bowl. Then, I grabbed a spoon and tasted it. Phil and Gloria did the same thing, and they exclaimed in wonder as they swallowed it.

"It's very delicious!" Gloria said excitedly, shaking her entire body as she did. 

"Hmm…It needs more salt, and a little bit more lemon juice." I muttered blandly as I watched Gloria's chest heaving up and down as she celebrated.

"Really? This is already great enough." Phil muttered with a drool on his mouth, not sure if it was from the sauce or watching Gloria.

"Trust me." I muttered as I added the missing ingredients. After tasting it for the second time, I was finally satisfied and grabbed a piece of bread before dipping it onto the sauce. 

"Yeah. This is perfect." I muttered with a mouthful before I asked, "Is the meat ready?"

"It's supposed to be. Let me check." Phil said excitedly as he couldn't wait. Gloria followed me and tasted the sauce with the bread, exclaiming a few times as she loved it.

"Manny, come here!" Gloria called. Not only Manny, but Luke and Claire also followed along as they wanted to taste it. Mitch and Cam had calmed down, and they helped set up the table for dinner together with Gloria and Claire.

"Alex, come on." I exclaimed in disbelief as I saw her hanging out around Haley in order to read the messages that I had gotten on my dms. 

"The meat is served!" Phil announced excitedly as he brought the meat to the table. As he cut into them, it revealed that the meat was cooked perfectly at medium rare.

Jay entered the house proudly, bringing the extra bratwurst with him. "Jay. This is really good." I muttered as I chewed a piece of meat.

"It's not too tough for you?" He asked with a smirk, causing Claire and Mitch to freeze for a second.

"It's not. Those who said you're bad at grilling really don't know their stuff." I flattered him, causing him to get an ego boost.

[Jay's commentary]

"I have a reputation to keep." Jay muttered with a solemn expression. 

The flashback started, and it showed that Jay used a meat thermometer– something that he had never used before, just to make sure his meat was cooked perfectly today.

He continued with the commentary, "Of course, I won't ever admit that I used it. Now, let me see if they still critique my grilling now."

[Commentary ends]

[General POV]

Edward sat next to Haley in the living room, gently grabbed his phone back and put it inside his pocket after finishing his dinner.

"Ugh. Give that back! I was having a lot of fun!" Haley demanded with a smile on her face. 

"Nuh-uh. What did you even do with those texts?" Edward asked in confusion.

"Well I ignored the sluts, but there's a few of them who messaged you to thank you for your music. It was fun reading that." She grinned in a proud manner, which made Edward confused as to which one of them was the artist.

"Is your dad coming to get you? Or will you go home with us?" She asked.

"He's coming. I asked him to pick me up at 6.30." Edward replied before stretching his arms as he suddenly felt incredibly tired after sitting next to Haley.

She realized it and pulled his head gently to put it on her shoulder, but as she was tiny, there was a big gap there and it was impossible for Edward to do so. Edward laughed as Haley was embarrassed, and then she cuddled with him instead.

"I'll just shut my eyes for a moment." Edward muttered, not believing that he would actually fall asleep. But in less than 3 minutes, he was proven wrong.

"Hehe." Haley grinned mischeviously as she watched Edward's sleeping face. At this moment, a vengeful kid saw what was happening, and moved closer towards where they were sitting.

"(Mimicking Helicopter sounds..) Ratatata… Private Ryan, stay with me." Luke whispered to Edward's ear before Haley grabbed his face and pushed him away violently.

"What are you doing?" Haley whispered angrily.

"I'm trying to give him a World War Flashback." Luke muttered before he made some war noises again. "The bomb is here. *Ka-Boom*. MEDIC!" 

"Luke, get out of here!" Haley chased him away, but as she couldn't move from the spot, Luke continued with his drama. Manny was nearby, and was pulled by Luke to act together with him. He wrapped his arm around Manny and pretended he was limping, "Tell…tell my wife…I love her." 

"Luke, I feel uncomfortable with this." Manny muttered while Luke pretended to be dead.