We walked up the steps and Ethan un

We walked up the steps and Ethan unlocked the door. “If you hear my sister scream, just ignore her.”
“Okay,” I said.
When we walked inside, there was a pile of dolls and fire trucks on the wooden floor. Ethan kicked them aside before I walked in. “Sorry about that. Kids are messy.”
“It’s okay,” I said. Jared and I moved around the pile.
I heard the sound of small feet pounding the hardwood floor.
“Uncle!” a little girl screamed.
Ethan bent down and scooped her into his arms. “Yes, Uncle Ethan is here.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Where have you been?” she whined.
“Just doing grown up things,” he said with a smile. “Becky, these are my friends.” He turned to Jared. “This is Jared.”
“Hi, Uncle Jared.”
Ethan smiled awkwardly. “You can call him Jared, Becky.”
Jared smiled. “Hello, Becky.”
Ethan came over to me. “And this is Sadie. Say hello.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at me. She immediately reached her hands out to me, asking me to hold her. “She’s pretty!” she yelled.
Ethan smiled. “Yes, she is.”
I held her in my arms and felt my cheeks blush. “Hello, honey.”
“Are you my uncle’s girlfriend?”
I didn’t know what to say.
Ethan stepped closer to me. “Yes, she is, Becky.”
“Yay!” she squealed. “I need more friends.”
“I’ll be your friend,” I said.
A small boy came into the living room then stopped when he saw Jared. He stared at him for a long moment.
Ethan lifted him from the ground. “This is Jared. He’s a friend, Tommy.”
He said nothing.
Jared grabbed a toy from the ground. It was a small car. “Sweet car,” he said as he held it.
Tommy’s eyes widened. “I got it for my birthday,” he said quietly.
“I’m jealous.”
Tommy grabbed the car and held it to his chest. He averted his gaze.
Ethan carried Tommy to me. “And this is Sadie,” he said with a smile. “Say hello to her.”
“Hi,” he said without looking at me.
“Hello, Tommy,” I said with a smile. “You’ve been taking care of your sister?” He shrugged. “Jared is my brother.”
Tommy looked at Jared again.
“And he takes good care of me,” I continued. “He teases me too.”
Tommy laughed. “I tease my sister all the time.”
“Well, my brother can give you pointers,” I said.
Tommy’s eyes widened. “Ooh!”
I smiled. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.”
He looked at Jared with a smile on his face. I could tell my brother liked these children already. He always liked kids and I knew he would be a good father. He was just a natural.
Becky looked at me. “He put syrup in my hair and Mommy was mad.”
“I bet,” I said with a laugh.
“Ethan?” I heard a female voice say. It gave me chills. Her voice was beautiful.
When I saw her, I felt my palms sweat. I was so nervous to meet her. She had long brown hair like mine and her blue eyes shined like stars. She had wide lips and a beautiful smile. Her pale skin contrasted against her dark hair. She was the same size as me, very petite. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. She was gorgeous.
She smiled when she saw me. “I’m so happy to meet you!” She rushed to me and pulled Becky from my arms. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Finally!”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Must you embarrass me, Elisa?”
She ignored him. “Thank you for coming. I’ve very delighted that you’re here.”
I felt my cheeks blush. “Thank you.”
“I was worried my brother would die alone.”
Ethan sighed. “You need a filter.”
She held my hands in her own then released them. She looked at Jared. “You must be Sadie’s brother?”
He nodded awkwardly. He placed his hands in his pockets and stared at her with wide eyes. In fact, Jared couldn’t stop staring at her. I could tell that he was immediately smitten with her. Hell, if I was gay I would be into her too.
“Uh, yeah. Sadie and I are related.”
I shook my head, embarrassed for my brother.
Elisa grabbed him and hugged him tightly. “Any friend of Ethan and Sadie is a friend of mine.”
His hands hung limply at his sides then he returned her embrace, patting her on the back awkwardly. “Yeah, thanks.”
Ethan leaned near me. “Is he always like this around pretty girls?”
“No. Well, at least I hope not. He sounds stupid.”
“Yeah, he does,” he said with a laugh.
Elisa pulled away. “You work with Ethan?”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
She clapped her hands together. “That’s wonderful. I’m so glad.”
Jared nodded.
“Well, please come in and take seat,” she said. “Try to ignore my children. They can be attention seekers.”
We moved into the living room and sat on the couches. It was a petite apartment but was decorated beautifully. It was obvious that Elisa had designed the whole place. The dressers and table were white and the couches were a light blue. It looked like a page in the Pottery Barn catalog.
“Your home is beautiful,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said happily. “Ethan and I worked very hard.”
Ethan placed Tommy on the ground then sat beside me. “We’re going to start making dinner. How does spaghetti sound?”
Becky jumped in the air. “I love spaghetti!”
“Well, that’s one vote,” Ethan said. “Now what does my beautiful girlfriend want?”
I blushed.
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. I knew what he was thinking.
“That sounds delicious. And thank you for the compliment.”
“That’s what I thought.” He kissed me on the cheek. “It’ll be ready soon.”
He left the living room and walked into the kitchen with Elisa.
Becky climbed on the couch with her doll. She sat on my lap and started to comb the doll’s hair. I didn’t mind.
Jared took the seat next to me. He said nothing for a long time. “His sister is nice.”
I smiled. “Yeah. She’s gorgeous.”
He nodded. “Um, yeah.”
“I like her.”
“Me too. I like her kids also.”
“Her husband passed away three years ago.” I don’t know why I volunteered this information. I guess I wanted him to know that she had been single for a long time.
He nodded.
Jared stared at the pictures around the apartment. Most of them were Ethan and the kids, and a few were Elisa with the children. Some of the pictures had a man holding the kids as small infants. I assumed this was her husband.
Tommy came to Jared and grabbed his hand. “Play with me.”
He smiled. “What do you want to play?”
“Cars,” he said.
Jared moved to the floor and started playing with the cars with him. They didn’t say anything, just moved the cars across the floor. I stared at the little girl on my lap. Her brown hair reminded me of Ethan’s. She was beautiful like her mother. Tommy reminded me of his father, or at least what I had seen in his pictures.
When I smelled the sauce and garlic bread from the kitchen, my mouth started to water.
Elisa came in. “Dinner’s ready.” When she saw Jared playing on the ground with Tommy, she stared at them for a moment, a smile on her lips.
I rose from the couch and carried Becky with me. “I’m starving.”
Elisa snapped out of her reverie. “Good, because Ethan always cooks too much. We always have leftovers for days. He’s determined to make me and the children fat.”
I smiled. “That sounds like him.”
Jared grabbed Tommy from the ground and carried him into the kitchen. He and I put the kids in their booster seats then pushed their chairs closer to the table.
Ethan stared at me with a smile on his face but didn’t say anything. He placed the food on the table then grabbed my face, kissing me hard. “Thank you for coming.”
I smiled. “I’m touched that you invited me.”
He pulled my chair out and helped me sit down. He kissed my head before he took the seat next to me.
Jared sat on the other side of me, directly across from Elisa. Her two children sat next to her, across from me and Ethan. We started to eat and I was surprised how good it was.
“This is great, Ethan,” I said.
“Why do you sound surprised?” he asked.
I smiled. “You just don’t seem like a cooker.”
Elisa shook her head. “I taught him everything he knows.”
He rolled his eyes. “She’s just jealous that I’m better in the kitchen than she is.”
She glared at him for a moment before she continued to eat. She looked at Jared. “So, did you go to school with Ethan as well?”
“No. I went to Harvard for my bachelors and my masters.”
I rolled my eyes. I knew he was trying to impress her with his credentials. Elisa didn’t strike me as a person who cared about stuff like that. I wished Jared would shut up.
“That’s impressive,” she said with a smile. “You must be a genius.”
He shrugged. “Well—uh—I don’t know about that.”
“You don’t sound like one right now,” I said.
My brother glared at me then returned his look to Elisa. “Did you go to college?”
“No,” she said. “It wasn’t for me. My brother got all the brains.”
Ethan wiped his mouth. “I hate hearing you say that. You’re smarter than me, Elisa. You just aren’t interested in academics. There’s a difference.”
She looked at me. “My brother is bipolar. He can be such a jerk to me then be the sweetest guy a second later. I hope you don’t understand what I’m talking about.”
I shook my head. “Fortunately, no, I don’t. He’s always sweet to me.”
“Well, that’s because he’s in love with you.”
I stiffened at the table. Did she just say that? Ethan flinched at her words but didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or mad.
Elisa looked at Jared again, ignoring her brother’s startled reaction. “So, what do you do for fun?”
“Uh, volunteering at the homeless shelter, reading to the blind, and running in charity marathons.”
I shook my head. My brother was being a pretentious douche right now. Obviously, none of that was true. He was acting like a total idiot. Ethan stared at him incredulously. I wanted to call my brother out, but since he had never acted this way around anyone before, I decided not to embarrass him. But he would hear about it later.
“Wow,” Elisa said. “So you’re really busy, then?”
“Well, no,” he said. “I still have a lot of free time to do things.”

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Kami berjalan menaiki tangga dan Ethan membuka pintu. "Jika Anda mendengar adik saya menjerit, hanya mengabaikan dirinya.""Oke," kataku.Ketika kami berjalan di dalam, ada tumpukan boneka dan truk pemadam kebakaran di lantai kayu. Ethan menendang mereka samping sebelum aku berjalan in. "Maaf tentang itu. Anak-anak berantakan.""Tidak apa-apa," kataku. Jared dan saya berpindah-pindah tumpukan.Aku mendengar suara kecil kaki berdebar lantai kayu.Berteriak "Paman!" seorang gadis kecil.Ethan membungkuk dan meraup dia ke dalam tangannya. "Ya, paman Ethan adalah di sini."Dia mencium pipi. "Mana Anda telah?" dia merengek."Hanya melakukan hal-hal yang tumbuh," ia berkata dengan senyum. "Becky, ini adalah teman saya." Ia berbalik untuk Jared. "Ini adalah Jared.""Hai, paman Jared."Ethan tersenyum canggung. "Anda dapat memanggilnya Jared, Becky."Jared tersenyum. "Halo, Becky."Ethan datang ke saya. "Dan ini adalah Sadie. Say hello."Matanya melebar Ketika ia menatapku. Dia segera mengulurkan tangannya kepada saya, meminta saya untuk memeluknya. "Dia cantik!" dia berteriak.Ethan tersenyum. "Ya, ia adalah."Aku memegang dia dalam pelukanku dan merasa memerah pipiku. "Halo, madu.""Apakah Anda pacar paman saya?"Aku tidak tahu harus berkata apa.Ethan melangkah lebih dekat kepada saya. "Ya, dia adalah, Becky.""Yay!" Dia menjerit. "Saya perlu lebih banyak teman.""Aku akan menjadi teman Anda," kataku.Anak kecil datang ke ruang kemudian berhenti ketika ia melihat Jared. Ia menatap kepadanya untuk waktu yang lama.Ethan lifted him from the ground. “This is Jared. He’s a friend, Tommy.”He said nothing.Jared grabbed a toy from the ground. It was a small car. “Sweet car,” he said as he held it.Tommy’s eyes widened. “I got it for my birthday,” he said quietly.“I’m jealous.”Tommy grabbed the car and held it to his chest. He averted his gaze.Ethan carried Tommy to me. “And this is Sadie,” he said with a smile. “Say hello to her.”“Hi,” he said without looking at me.“Hello, Tommy,” I said with a smile. “You’ve been taking care of your sister?” He shrugged. “Jared is my brother.”Tommy looked at Jared again.“And he takes good care of me,” I continued. “He teases me too.”Tommy laughed. “I tease my sister all the time.”“Well, my brother can give you pointers,” I said.Tommy’s eyes widened. “Ooh!”I smiled. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.”He looked at Jared with a smile on his face. I could tell my brother liked these children already. He always liked kids and I knew he would be a good father. He was just a natural.Becky looked at me. “He put syrup in my hair and Mommy was mad.”“I bet,” I said with a laugh.“Ethan?” I heard a female voice say. It gave me chills. Her voice was beautiful.When I saw her, I felt my palms sweat. I was so nervous to meet her. She had long brown hair like mine and her blue eyes shined like stars. She had wide lips and a beautiful smile. Her pale skin contrasted against her dark hair. She was the same size as me, very petite. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. She was gorgeous.She smiled when she saw me. “I’m so happy to meet you!” She rushed to me and pulled Becky from my arms. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Finally!”Ethan rolled his eyes. “Must you embarrass me, Elisa?”She ignored him. “Thank you for coming. I’ve very delighted that you’re here.”I felt my cheeks blush. “Thank you.”“I was worried my brother would die alone.”Ethan sighed. “You need a filter.”She held my hands in her own then released them. She looked at Jared. “You must be Sadie’s brother?”He nodded awkwardly. He placed his hands in his pockets and stared at her with wide eyes. In fact, Jared couldn’t stop staring at her. I could tell that he was immediately smitten with her. Hell, if I was gay I would be into her too.“Uh, yeah. Sadie and I are related.”I shook my head, embarrassed for my brother.Elisa grabbed him and hugged him tightly. “Any friend of Ethan and Sadie is a friend of mine.”His hands hung limply at his sides then he returned her embrace, patting her on the back awkwardly. “Yeah, thanks.”Ethan leaned near me. “Is he always like this around pretty girls?”“No. Well, at least I hope not. He sounds stupid.”“Yeah, he does,” he said with a laugh.Elisa pulled away. “You work with Ethan?”“Yeah,” he said quietly.She clapped her hands together. “That’s wonderful. I’m so glad.”Jared nodded.“Well, please come in and take seat,” she said. “Try to ignore my children. They can be attention seekers.”We moved into the living room and sat on the couches. It was a petite apartment but was decorated beautifully. It was obvious that Elisa had designed the whole place. The dressers and table were white and the couches were a light blue. It looked like a page in the Pottery Barn catalog.“Your home is beautiful,” I said.“Thank you,” she said happily. “Ethan and I worked very hard.”Ethan placed Tommy on the ground then sat beside me. “We’re going to start making dinner. How does spaghetti sound?”Becky jumped in the air. “I love spaghetti!”“Well, that’s one vote,” Ethan said. “Now what does my beautiful girlfriend want?”I blushed.He raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. I knew what he was thinking.“That sounds delicious. And thank you for the compliment.”“That’s what I thought.” He kissed me on the cheek. “It’ll be ready soon.”He left the living room and walked into the kitchen with Elisa.Becky climbed on the couch with her doll. She sat on my lap and started to comb the doll’s hair. I didn’t mind.Jared took the seat next to me. He said nothing for a long time. “His sister is nice.”I smiled. “Yeah. She’s gorgeous.”He nodded. “Um, yeah.”“I like her.”“Me too. I like her kids also.”“Her husband passed away three years ago.” I don’t know why I volunteered this information. I guess I wanted him to know that she had been single for a long time.He nodded.Jared stared at the pictures around the apartment. Most of them were Ethan and the kids, and a few were Elisa with the children. Some of the pictures had a man holding the kids as small infants. I assumed this was her husband.Tommy came to Jared and grabbed his hand. “Play with me.”He smiled. “What do you want to play?”“Cars,” he said.Jared moved to the floor and started playing with the cars with him. They didn’t say anything, just moved the cars across the floor. I stared at the little girl on my lap. Her brown hair reminded me of Ethan’s. She was beautiful like her mother. Tommy reminded me of his father, or at least what I had seen in his pictures.When I smelled the sauce and garlic bread from the kitchen, my mouth started to water.Elisa came in. “Dinner’s ready.” When she saw Jared playing on the ground with Tommy, she stared at them for a moment, a smile on her lips.I rose from the couch and carried Becky with me. “I’m starving.”Elisa snapped out of her reverie. “Good, because Ethan always cooks too much. We always have leftovers for days. He’s determined to make me and the children fat.”I smiled. “That sounds like him.”Jared grabbed Tommy from the ground and carried him into the kitchen. He and I put the kids in their booster seats then pushed their chairs closer to the table.Ethan stared at me with a smile on his face but didn’t say anything. He placed the food on the table then grabbed my face, kissing me hard. “Thank you for coming.”I smiled. “I’m touched that you invited me.”He pulled my chair out and helped me sit down. He kissed my head before he took the seat next to me.Jared sat on the other side of me, directly across from Elisa. Her two children sat next to her, across from me and Ethan. We started to eat and I was surprised how good it was.“This is great, Ethan,” I said.“Why do you sound surprised?” he asked.I smiled. “You just don’t seem like a cooker.”Elisa shook her head. “I taught him everything he knows.”He rolled his eyes. “She’s just jealous that I’m better in the kitchen than she is.”She glared at him for a moment before she continued to eat. She looked at Jared. “So, did you go to school with Ethan as well?”“No. I went to Harvard for my bachelors and my masters.”I rolled my eyes. I knew he was trying to impress her with his credentials. Elisa didn’t strike me as a person who cared about stuff like that. I wished Jared would shut up.“That’s impressive,” she said with a smile. “You must be a genius.”He shrugged. “Well—uh—I don’t know about that.”
“You don’t sound like one right now,” I said.
My brother glared at me then returned his look to Elisa. “Did you go to college?”
“No,” she said. “It wasn’t for me. My brother got all the brains.”
Ethan wiped his mouth. “I hate hearing you say that. You’re smarter than me, Elisa. You just aren’t interested in academics. There’s a difference.”
She looked at me. “My brother is bipolar. He can be such a jerk to me then be the sweetest guy a second later. I hope you don’t understand what I’m talking about.”
I shook my head. “Fortunately, no, I don’t. He’s always sweet to me.”
“Well, that’s because he’s in love with you.”
I stiffened at the table. Did she just say that? Ethan flinched at her words but didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or mad.
Elisa looked at Jared again, ignoring her brother’s startled reaction. “So, what do you do for fun?”
“Uh, volunteering at the homeless shelter, reading to the blind, and running in charity marathons.”
I shook my head. My brother was being a pretentious douche right now. Obviously, none of that was true. He was acting like a total idiot. Ethan stared at him incredulously. I wanted to call my brother out, but since he had never acted this way around anyone before, I decided not to embarrass him. But he would hear about it later.
“Wow,” Elisa said. “So you’re really busy, then?”
“Well, no,” he said. “I still have a lot of free time to do things.”