Martin At Home
This scene was originally part of Allison and Ethan trying to settle into normal life after the tour wrapped up.
In early versions of the book, Martin was more of a voice on the phone than a physical presence, so I wrote this scene to try and give him more depth. But then his wife and kids ended up completely stealing the show anyway! I thought the scene had a lot of potential, but it just felt like it was spinning its wheels, so I never got around to finishing it and it ended up getting chopped. Poor Angie.
By the way, this was written before I decided to make Allison dad’s Leo (which eventually became the name of one of the twins in the epilogue), so the kids are named Leo and Chloe here. "Chloe" was also Amelia Chan’s name for quite a few drafts before I settled on Amelia.
Allison knocked on the door because Ethan’s arms were completely overloaded with bags from the Disney Store. There weren’t many of the brick-and-mortar locations left these days, so Ethan had splurged a little bit when they were in New York.
The door swung open, and two adorable young children were waiting on the threshold with open arms. The girl couldn’t be much older than five, wearing a Cinderella dress that was just a little too big for her. The boy was in camouflaged pajama pants with a dinosaur shirt.
Allison leaned in, whispering to Ethan, “Are they looking for a hug?”
“I think they are looking for gifts,” Ethan muttered back.
Right on cue, the kids snatched the bags straight out of his arms and vanished into the house like a pair of tiny thieves.
From the hallway, their mother, Angie Keller, yelled, “Leo! Chloe! Don’t you dare run off without saying thank you!”
From deep within the house, two muffled voices screamed in unison, “THANK YOU, UNCLE ETHAN AND LADY WE DON’T KNOW!”
Angie stepped onto the porch, shaking her head. She was a handsome woman in her early fifties, with silver-streaked hair swept back from a face that radiated a calm, steady warmth.
"Ethan," Angie said, her voice rich and welcoming as she stepped forward to wrap him in a comfortable hug. "Look at you. When are you going to get a haircut?”
She stepped back, turning her hazel eyes onto Allison. Her gaze was sharp but incredibly kind, instantly picking up on the subtle, guarded posture Allison was holding. She extended a hand, her silver rings catching the late afternoon sun. “You must be Allison. I'm Angie. It’s nice to meet you. Martin says you have done an amazing job of controlling our favorite author on this tour.”
Angie looked at the two of them, her eyes darting between Ethan and Allison for about ten seconds. Then, she let out a small, knowing sigh. “Oh. Does Martin know?”
Ethan managed to choke out, “Does Martin know what?”
Angie gave him a dry look. “Ethan, I can see the way you look at each other. If you are trying to keep this a secret, you are both doing an awful job of it.”
Allison cleared her throat, her professional composure cracking just a fraction. “We’re not trying to keep it a secret. We just... haven’t told a lot of people yet.”
“Probably a smart thing,” Angie said, her tone softening into something practical and protective. “Martin is not going to be happy about it. It’s always tricky to mix business and personal.”
Ethan said, “Didn’t you start out as Martin’s secretary? It all worked out for you guys.”
Angie said, “I said tricky, not impossible.”
Angie led them inside, “Watch out for the—”
Ethan immediately tripped over a sprawling LEGO tower sitting right in the center of the entryway, his large frame stumbling forward with a loud plastic clatter.
“—LEGOs,” Angie finished, entirely too late.
Martin emerged from the kitchen, a dish towel slung over his shoulder. “What was that crash? Oh, it’s Ethan. Never mind, that’s not a surprise.”
Before Ethan could defend his coordination, Chloe bounced back into the hallway. She had already discarded her Cinderella look in favor of a brand-new Beauty and the Beast tiara, which she was adjusting with a look of intense focus. She stopped right in front of Allison, looking up with wide, calculating eyes.
“Hi, new lady," Chloe said, getting straight to the point. "Do you have any candy?”
Allison glanced at Angie to check for maternal permission, receiving a small, permissive roll of the eyes. Allison leaned down slightly. “Are gummy worms okay?”
Chloe narrowed her eyes, assessing the situation like a seasoned detective. “Are they the sour ones?”
“Yes.”
“Are they stale?”
“Yes.”
Chloe nodded with immense, ancient wisdom. “Those are the best ones. Yes, please!”
“Don’t anyone help me up or anything,” Ethan grumbled, trying to extract himself from the stabbing pile of LEGOs when Leo crashed head on into him wielding massive Hulk hands and sending Ethan tumbling back to the ground.
Allison said, “Be careful with him! He’s old!”