Chapter 67: Notebook
A week had passed since we entered 2004, and I was making pancakes at the Dunphys' house while chatting with Phil.
We heard Haley yelling, "Just keep your hands off my stuff!"
"I didn't put my hands on your stuff," Alex shot back.
Huh, they actually managed to go a whole week without bickering...
"Hey!" Phil called out, "What's the problem?"
"Alex read my journal!" Haley accused.
Alex denied it. "I did not! Why would I even want to read your stupid journal?"
"Because it contains the details of a life, and you don't have one!" Haley replied sarcastically.
I winced. Wow, that was an emotional damage…
Alex grimaced. "Oh!" And the two stomped off in opposite directions.
A moment later, Claire shouted, "Phil!" and appeared in the kitchen.
"Luke was using my computer for this!" She placed the laptop on the table and turned the screen toward Phil.
"He told me he needed it to do homework, and then I find this - a picture of a topless woman with the biggest boobs I have ever seen, driving a tractor!"
Phil froze, unsure how to respond, while I leaned closer for a peek.
"At least he has good taste," I smirked.
"Jake!" she scolded sharply.
I joked, "Look on the bright side - judging by the woman in the photo, it doesn't look like he has any mommy or sister issues." Then I mumbled, "they are too huge…"
Claire shot me a murderous glare, probably holding herself back from smacking me only because I was standing in front of the stove.
She turned back to her husband. "Phil! It's smut, and our ten-year-old is looking at smut! It's disgusting!"
"Completely unacceptable," he agreed, though with a somewhat guilty look on his face.
I frowned. Maybe Luke wasn't the one who searched for that picture...
"Where are you going?" Phil asked when he saw Claire grabbing her purse.
She answered, "I'm going to pick up Luke from his sleepover. We need to talk to him about this now."
"Claire, this is a very delicate situation," Phil tried to dissuade her. "If we don't handle it right, Luke might end up with an unhealthy attitude about sex… or agribusiness."
"Okay, fine. But I'm telling him that every time he looks at porn, God kills a puppy," Claire remarked.
"Yeah, why don't you tell him that's how the dinosaurs went extinct?" I added sarcastically
I finished cooking and called the girls to come and eat as well.
The five of us sat at the table (since Luke wouldn't be back until the afternoon), the two of them still refusing to speak to each other.
"Haley, Alex didn't read your diary," I remarked.
"How would you know?" she glanced at me.
Alex jumped in, "Because if I had, I'd be handing you a dictionary right now," she made a mocking face.
Before the two could start arguing again, I warned, "If you keep this up, we're not going to the museum." I looked at Alex. "And I'm not letting you drive the car either," I added, turning to Haley.
Both of them stopped immediately.
But soon Haley commented excitedly, "Marissa and I are going to work part‑time for Margaret. I can save money to buy a car."
"That is great, Haley," Claire smiled, giving me a brief glance. She'll probably ask me more about Margaret later.
Haley told her parents about her 'tutor,' but didn't go into details.
"My baby is growing up," Phil spoke emotionally. "It seems like yesterday you were my little girl on the tricycle."
"Now she'll be a young woman in a car, running over a little girl on a tricycle," I joked.
"Jake!" Haley snapped, annoyed.
"He's not wrong," Alex agreed. "Last time you barged into a park, God knows how."
"It was an accident," she defended herself.
"Oh, that's reassuring! At least my sister isn't a complete maniac," Alex retorted.
I focused on the beautiful pancakes I had made.
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While Alex and Haley were getting dressed for our trip to the museum, the three of us stayed at the table.
"So, who is this Margaret?" Claire inquired. "Haley said she's been learning about fashion, and that you were the one who convinced this woman."
"I did," I nodded. "Margaret is the Fashion Director at InStyle magazine. She's already considered part of the upper echelon of the fashion world. Very few people can open more doors than she can."
I continued explaining, "I only handled the introduction for the tutoring part. Now, the part‑time job is because the two of them managed to impress her."
"If Haley really wants to follow this career path, this will add a lot to her résumé - whether for the job market or for a fashion college."
They were both surprised.
Claire took my hand. "Thank you, Jake. We really appreciate it." She was the one most worried about Haley's future.
"Hey, she's family, and like a sister to me," I smiled, then added, "but it won't be for free. And there's still the Christmas event you punished me unfairly."
She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Your husband."
"Oh, you can take him," Claire dismissed.
"Nice! Phil, we're going to Vegas this weekend," I smirked, making Claire squeeze my hand tighter so I couldn't pull away.
Then I revealed, "CES 2004 is happening - the Consumer Electronics Show, with the most modern tech in the world."
"Awesome!" Phil lit up in excitement.
"Jay and my dad will definitely be up for going to Vegas," I added. Just... not to attend an electronics convention.
"It will be a nice boys' weekend!" I declared
The three of us went to the museum, with Haley driving. Later, Phil ended up confessing that the topless-woman photo was his, sent by a colleague (Gil Thorpe), and Luke also admitted that he had read Haley's journal by accident.
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