The Good Hair Family Sitcom

S4 E12.3: Awkward Exchange

Hazel's POV

There's a few seconds after I ring the doorbell that I use to stress about if I'm at the wrong house, but that thought ends when the door floats open, and Linny is unveiled, wearing a rose gold dress with white flowers on it and a white cardigan that I think she probably knitted herself. I lose my breath for a moment while looking at her, enchanted by the way her skin sparkles, and I realize she has faint freckles on her nose. 

"Is it too much?" she asks, glancing down at her dress. 

I immediately shake my head. "No, it's definitely not. It's... I'm sorry. Apparently, I don't know how to talk around you."

That makes her blush and smile as she replies, "The feeling is mutual."

We stare at each other like the moon and the sun, linked together by some strange force.

Eventually, I remember myself and speak, "Uh, come with me."

I wave for Linny to follow, and she steps down her porch, her ballet flats clacking on the wood. 

"Where are we going?" she asks. 

"Somewhere special."

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Buffy's POV

The minute Marty, Cara, and I step into the orthodontist's office, a woman in a lab coat and scrubs calls my child's name. 

"Cara Driscoll?"

Cara spins around immediately to head back for the door, saying, "Not me. Can we leave?"

I take Cara's shoulders and turn them back around, replying, "It's not that hard. Would you rather get braces when you're a teenager?"

"That's when the peer pressure to be perfect is the worst," Marty adds on. 

"Um, nobody pressures me, thank you," they snap back. "Why do I need braces? God gave me these teeth! Why are you trying to mess 'em up?"

"Cara, you grind your teeth at night, because they don't fit together properly."

"And once they're ground enough, they'll fit together! I don't see the problem!"

I let out an exasperated sigh and step back, muttering, "I can't deal with this."

Marty takes my place, going up to Cara to say, "Cara, what will get you to agree to get braces?"

Without hesitation, they answer, "A sword."

"Deal."

They shake hands, and my jaw drops, shocked that my husband just agreed to that. 

But Cara is satisfied and goes over to the orthodontist while popping their knuckles and saying, "Alright, let's get this over with. I apologize in advance if I bite your hand off."

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Hazel's POV

Linny looks out the window at the flowering trees as I put the engine to sleep. Pastel petals and baby green buds cover the branches of the forest to our right. My car sits silent on the edge of this side road that points out of town. 

"Where are we?" she questions. 

Rather than answer upfront, I pull my purse over my shoulder, get out of the car, and go over to get her door, withholding the secret a little longer. I hold out my palm for Linny to take as she climbs out of the passenger side, and I get a swirl of butterflies when she does. Carefully, I guide her down between the trees and bushes, making sure not to put her at risk of having her lovely dress torn, our hands remaining connected the whole time. Finally, we come to the place, a trickling waterfall wide as a canoe. It spills over stones and drizzles down a river, outlined by a ledge of giant rocks. The water swishes and swirls, spilling rainbows of light through its ripples.