‘ ian — uh, i mean ETHAN! ’ nate gives a L I G H T chuckle; he’s on the phone with his oldest son, who, unfortunately won’t stop calling his parents while they’re having a date night. ‘ look, your mom fed olivia before we left, she should be sleeping, and we left you two boys money for pizza, right? ’ archibald questions ethan through the phone, no doubt receiving a plethora of comments and excuses from the boy, ‘ you’re seventeen years old. put on a movie, spend quality time with your brother. just stop freaking out about everything. mom & i will be home by ten. ’
‘ you would think that he’d be able to handle it. ’ he smiles at his wife from across the table, taking a sip from the glass of wine that he ordered from the server, ‘ i’m confident in him. ’ nate takes another look at his menu, before back up to caroline, noticing a trace of worry in her features, ‘ they’re going to be fine. it’s just a few hours. ’
while nate is preoccupied on the phone, trying to rein in ethan, caroline's mind is a checklist --- quickly trying to remember if they had forgotten a single thing before they had left their home that evening. dinner movie was left on the kitchen counter next to a list of available delivery places. there was an extra bottle of formula in the refrigerator just in case olivia woke up before they made their return. obviously, ethan had both of their cell phone numbers ( on speed dial ) in case there was an emergency. all the bases had been covered & yet caroline felt a s h o c k of worry stream through her as soon as she recognized nate's fatherly tone. she hadn't even realized how RIGID she'd become throughout their two-minute-long conversation until nate was reaching for the wine.
" --- but maybe it's too much with the baby AND ian. he's only seventeen. " she can't even count on one hand the times they've both left the whole household in ethan's charge --- especially with olivia's arrival. her teeth catch the inside of her cheek, chewing lightly as the anxiety makes itself more apparent. " we could call someone to check in on them. just to make sure, you know? "