chamber of reflection ➵l.s

steal the limelight

This chapter is based on S3 E25 of "My Wife and Kids."

Harry's going to be a little hypocritical and... delusional but I still love this episode and his behavior will be explained eventually.

Keep sending in chapters you'd like to see 🤍 I promise, I'm not just asking this to ask. I'm waiting until my summer break to start writing them because it requires more thought.

Don't forget to vote, comments are always appreciated!

💌

Allison and Faith sit at the table, up before their siblings, like usual. Allison swings her legs as she nurses a spoon of oatmeal in her mouth, watching her glass of milk ripple from the footsteps coming down the stairs. She finally pulls her spoon out of her mouth with a pop, only for a glob of oats to fly off the spoon and onto Faith's nose.

Faith scrunches up her face, her eyes crossing slightly as she tries to see the offending glob. She wipes it off with the back of her hand and frowns at her sister. "You gotted oatmeal on me!" She complains, her voice whiny but loud.

Allison, still swinging her legs, giggles. "You look silly."

"You're messy!"

"I'm not messy, you're messy!" Allison retorts, still giggling, unaware of the bits of oatmeal clinging to her own chin.

Faith's lips quiver slightly, more upset than angry now. "Mommy! Allie made me messy!"

Allison shakes her head vigorously, her light curls bouncing. "Nuh-uh!"

As summoned, Harry strides to the dining table, still cradling the pot of oatmeal in his hands. "Girls, what did I say about blaming each other?"

Allison looks sheepishly at her mother. "I didn't mean to."

Harry raises his eyebrows. "You think you should tell her that?"

Allison turns her gaze to Faith and repeats herself.

"Go get yourselves some paper towels so you can clean this up." Harry instructs. The twins easily oblige, hopping out of their chairs to grab the towels. Eileen comes into the dining room then, carrying her notebook in her hands.

"Hey, you want some oatmeal?"

"Oh, no. Just some fruit for me, thank you. I'm trying to slim down for next week." Eileen says, taking a free seat. Harry glances at her as he taps a ladle full of oatmeal on the edge of a bowl. "If you get any slimmer, you won't make it to next week. You're already wearing doll clothes."

Eileen rolls her eyes. "Have you looked at the calendar? Next week is when I take my school pictures. I don't want to look all bloated."

Harry gasps in mock understanding. "Oh! Okay, Eileen. I see. I thought it was something serious, like you were starving yourself for some silly, little vain teenage girl reason."

Eileen narrows her eyes at him as he starts fixing her a bowl. "It isn't silly, Mom. This picture goes into the yearbook." She reminds, like he needs any closure.

Allison and Faith return to the table with paper towels in hand. As Allison wipes the mess down, she catches part of their conversation and grins, trying to join in. "Is that why you eat oranges, Mommy? So you're not fat like Grandpa?"

Harry's lips curve into a half-smile and he brushes Allison's hair back. "No, love. Grandpa isn't fat... he's just big-boned."

"Good morning, princesses." Louis addresses, announcing his arrival.

The girls all respond, Harry retaliating with a kiss. "Daddy, do you know what time of the year it is?" Eileen broaches, smiling giddily.

Louis hums in thought and Faith starts to chant the answer around her oatmeal, her response coming out groggy and muffled. Eileen affirms, shaking her head fluctuantly. "Yup. Now, I assume you'll like the 'Deluxe Proud Parent Package.'" She reads, gazing over the packet her school sent. "This includes 62 lovely, wallet-sized pictures, 12 eight-by-tens, and a spectacular 48-by-72 tapestry-type wall covering."