“It’s too hard to sleep…
I got the sheets on the floor…”

I’m dancing.

“Nothing on me…
And I can’t take it no more…”
“Aaaa… I want you too!
Aaa…
I want you!”

Caleb walks out of the shower.
Wet hair.
Drops of water running down his chest.
Just a towel around his hips.
I swallow.
God…
he’s so hot.
“No kidding,” Ursula says.
I shove her.
“Hey. Don’t stare at him. That’s my boyfriend.”
Mushu and Hades appear beside me and start doing the stadium wave with their hands.
I join in.
“Ooooh—
Girl, you know…
You make me want…
Girl, I want you too…”
I start singing into the hair dryer.
Curlers still in.
“Girl, you know…
You want…”
I sway my hips in front of the mirror.
Behind me — Caleb.
His arm up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
I turn around — and burst out laughing.
Caleb is yelling at the top of his lungs:
“Girl, if you want me!”
I bend over laughing.
“Oh my God… you idiot.”
He starts spinning around like he’s performing in a stadium.
I’m dying laughing.
“Caleb, stop.
I can’t breathe.”
He points dramatically at the floor.
“Woman, move aside.
Step aside. A professional is here.”
I whistle.
“Whoa, whoa.
As you wish.”
He starts clowning around even harder.
“Girl, you know…”
I whistle again.
“Come on, baby, come on!”
Caleb is completely out of control now — the towel goes flying across the room.
He’s left in his boxers and keeps doing his insane dance.
And I yell:
“Sebaastiiiaaan!”
Sebastian appears instantly.
Like a hawk.
I’m already laughing uncontrollably.
Hades grimaces.
“Poor old Sebastian.”
Through laughter I say:
“Oh come on.”
Hades continues coldly:
“Watch him die from all this screaming.
And then we’ll have to manage the staff ourselves.”
I turn to him.
“God… you’re such an asshole.”
Hades raises an eyebrow.
“I’m a realist.”
Mushu giggles.
“Oh please.
You just like being served.”
“Of course I do,” Hades says lazily. “I’m not a barbarian.”
I snort.
“Listen to him.
An aristocrat… from the basement.”
Meanwhile, Caleb keeps going with his dance routine.
I clutch my stomach.
“That’s it.
I’m dying.”
Caleb rushes over to me.
“No, no, no.”
He grabs me around the waist.
“Your turn now.”
I squeak with laughter.
“You’re insane.”
“You started the concert.”
We start dancing together, spinning around and goofing around.
Through laughter I shout again:
“Sebastian!”
He looks at me calmly.
I circle my finger.
“You know what to do.”
Sebastian gives the faintest nod.
Mushu perks up.
“Ooooh…
This is going to be interesting.”
Hades narrows his eyes.
“Finally. Something sensible.”
Caleb looks at me.
“What are you planning?”
I smile.
“Relax.”
Then I raise the hair dryer again.
“Girl, you got me…”
The clock says 6:15.
Everyone’s going to be furious.
But hey… it’s family.
They’ll understand.
The speakers creak softly.
A huge beast wakes up with an annoyed yawn…
—and a second later the mansion explodes with music.
“Girl I want you too…
Right up next to you…”
“Aaaa!”
“Want you too!”
The door bursts open.
Everyone rushes into the room.
The kids immediately start jumping on the bed.
Caleb is shouting into an imaginary microphone.
I’m laughing and suddenly realize — tears are running down my cheeks.
From happiness.
I look at Caleb.
This idiot is already standing on the bed.
In jeans.
In a T-shirt.
Shouting into the microphone together with the kids.
Four enormous St. Bernards show up beside us almost instantly.
And the bedroom suddenly feels way too small.
“To the dining room!” someone shouts.
We all rush downstairs together.
I’m laughing.
Caleb — that idiot — gets a running start and slides down the banister.
“Oh my God!”
The guys whistle.
Someone yells:
“Go! Go!”
Everyone starts cheering for Caleb.
I sing along.
“Need you back the way we had it…
I got you, baby…”
“Girl you want…”
“If you want…”
“Aaaa!”
“Want you too!”
By the time we reach the dining room, it’s already complete chaos.
Josh and Jonathan step in next to each other.
The guys start snapping their fingers to the beat.
For a second I freeze.
My heart starts beating faster.
God.
What beautiful boys.
So beautiful…
And Caleb…
Caleb is ridiculous.
So gorgeous.
So handsome.
He’s laughing, his hair a mess, his eyes shining.
He’s alive.
Truly alive.
And something inside me softens.
I don’t need anything else.
As long as he smiles.
As long as he’s full of life.
I wink at the girls.
Like — see that?
That’s my guy.
They whistle.
I laugh again — and suddenly the tears start falling again.
I’m completely overwhelmed.
God… how I love this man.
The teachers brought the kids down for breakfast.
The kids immediately joined in.
And suddenly the place turns into complete chaos — it’s impossible to tell where the kids end and the adults begin, or where any sense of decency even went.
I’m laughing.
The girls and I start whistling.
I clap my hands.
“Come on, boys!
Wooo!
Let’s go!”
The boys are on fire.
Aaron is already banging on the table to the rhythm of the music.
Josh is jumping around.
Jonathan is yelling the lyrics like it’s the last concert on earth.
I’m glowing.
I just stand there and watch.
Caleb starts walking toward me.
I swallow.
Good Lord…
How am I supposed to refuse him?
Where am I supposed to find the strength to refuse him?
He comes up to me.
Looks at me with that look.
And that’s it.
He lifts me into his arms.
And spins me around.
I squeal.
We shout together:
“Girl you got me!
Right up next to me!”
“Aaaa!”
“I want you too!”
I pull the curlers out of my hair.
My curls spill over my shoulders.
Caleb stops and looks at me.
And then he gives me **that smile of his — the one that says:
Woman. I’m not asking. **
And he pulls me upstairs.
Breakfast
8:17
Breakfast finally starts.
Everyone takes their seats.
After the morning madness, the house finally gets a little quieter.
I barely have time to grab a cup.
The staff keeps bringing out dish after dish.
I’m starving.
Caleb looks at me.
I swallow.
Oh God…
No.
No, no, no.
Caleb.
We literally just…
No.
I can’t anymore.
He understands perfectly.
And pretends to be merciful.
He leans closer.
“Eat, sweetheart.
Later.”
I burst out laughing.
“God…
Are you ever satisfied?”
Hades snorts.
“This guy’s insane.”
“No kidding,” I say with a smile.
Caleb is absolutely insatiable.
If I didn’t have things to do, he would simply never let me out of bed.
Jonathan suddenly jumps up.
“Guys!”
I stare at him.
Our financial genius seems awfully energetic this morning.
Cody and I glance at each other.
She kicks Aaron.
Aaron kicks Josh.
Josh kicks Logan.
And here we go.
I can barely hold myself together so I don’t burst out laughing.
Jonathan drops his shoulders.
Like: seriously… again?
And we start at the exact same moment, like it’s rehearsed.
Everyone straightens up.
Hand to the forehead.
The anthem begins.
“Oooooh great CFO…
Oooooh mighty financial genius…”
He grimaces.
“How long do I have to endure this?”
I burst out laughing.
Caleb sits there with the face of a man who has just realized his woman is slightly insane.
And all her friends too.
We finally finish the act.
And Jonathan suddenly lights up again.
Hades drawled lazily:
“Maybe Caleb slipped him some coke.”
I stifled a laugh.
And glanced at Caleb.
If he knew what Hades was saying about him, he’d strangle him on the spot.
Meanwhile Jonathan grabbed a megaphone.
He lifted it like he was about to declare war.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Jonathan…
Don’t even start.”
He was already getting fired up.
Eyes blazing.
“Guys, I’ve got it!”
Hades groaned quietly.
“Oh no.”
I leaned back in my chair.
“God…
Here we go.”
“Guys, how about we go somewhere?”
I smiled.
And inside me everything bloomed.
I love adventures.
I love surprises.
I immediately pushed my breakfast aside.
“Last one there is Roman’s dirty, smelly, pee-soaked diaper!”
Everyone exchanged looks — and jumped up at the exact same time.
Chairs scraped loudly.
Roman shouted in outrage:
“Mom! I’m already grown up!”
“Then run faster!” I yelled.
And suddenly everyone started running around like the house was on fire.
Cody knocked over a chair.
Our chess champion almost dropped her cup.
The St. Bernards happily decided it was a game and charged after everyone.
Chaos.
I was already almost out of the dining room, heels clicking, in my narrow little skirt, when Caleb intercepted me.
He simply lifted me into his arms.
“Baby.
You’re coming with me.”
I shrieked:
“Help!
Somebody help!”
But everyone, of course, was busy with themselves.
The kids were already running up the stairs.
Logan and Philip were arguing about who would get there first.
No reaction.
“What is wrong with you people!” I protested.
And then burst out laughing myself.
Caleb pressed me against the wall.
For another second I pretended to resist.
Pathetic.
Completely pathetic.
Then I waved it off.
Fine.
How can anyone resist his charm?
He leaned closer.
“Mr. Caleb, sir…”
He smirked.
And suddenly my head started spinning…