Post by Jake Gullane on Feb 16, 2014 17:01:35 GMT -5
"The parents are worse than the kids," Jake assured her, still smiling. "Not that I'd want to look after other people's kids without the parents around - so all respect to you. At least Skye's still little enough that parents usually stick around instead of just dumping their kids at your house." Not that he had a house remotely suitable for any of Skye's friends to visit. The only playdates he had attempted (at Emma's insistence) had all either been at someone else's house or on neutral territory - he couldn't quite imagine inviting another parent and their child round to the flat he shared with Kieran, Rupert and David. Anyway, the flat was in London, nowhere near where any of Skye's friends lived.
He laughed at her story of the party of kids. "Hey, not all males are that hopeless," he protested jokingly. "I take it you've known your flatmate a pretty long time then, if you get roped into his family events? And I think Skye would have been in the centre of the stick battle," he added ruefully.
"Cheers." Jake accepted the sandwiches. "Seriously, though, this is really nice of you." And he was genuinely grateful, though he felt like he'd need to reciprocate in some way next time, assuming there was a next time. He didn't have much spare cash right now, though, what with paying rent and contributing to groceries, as well as paying towards Skye's well being, and treats at cafes weren't really something he could afford very well. Hopefully by the time he saw Brianna again, he'd have a bit more coming in and could pay his way - although that depended a bit on whether he accepted the little side-job someone had offered him the other day, which he was still undecided on.
He watched Skye trotting after Matteo as the two kids finished off their game, and couldn't help wishing that his daughter had at least one friend in the magical world. Trouble was, he didn't really know anyone else with small children - Brigid's sister had a kid, he knew, but he was still a baby. It would be nice, as Skye got older, to have people she could play with without worrying too much about accidental magic. And then, there was the issue that when she was eleven, assuming Jake had seen the signs right and she really was a witch, she'd be going off to Hogwarts. He knew what it was like to suddenly lose your entire world and be plunged into a new one - things were never quite the same with your old friends again. It wouldn't be as bad for Skye - she already knew people in the Wizarding World. But she didn't know any other kids.
"That could make I Spy challenging," he commented. "Skye hasn't quite reached that stage yet - she knows a few letters, but that's it." He laughed again, although there was still a small touch of regret in his voice. "Yeah, if you think I spoil her, you should see how my friends treat her. Princess doesn't come into it." Though really, it was spoiling on a fairly small scale - Jake would have very much liked to treat Skye like a princess, but really, the odd treat from Honeydukes was as about as far as he could go. Most of her clothes and toys were secondhand.
"Well, I'll save that conversation for Michel. Though I haven't managed to follow much football for a few years." He grinned. "All my opinions'll probably be hopelessly out-of-date, but I can still remember the rules." He nodded as the two kids came trotting up, assuming that she was just a bit wary of handing out her mobile number to a random stranger - although it was a bit weird that she was happy to give him her home address. "Oh, well, okay. Though you'll have to let me play host some time. I'm not really in a position to invite people back to mine at the moment - I share as well, so I'd have to check it out with the others. But we could grab lunch somewhere the kids'd like some time."
Skye came up to him and he hooked an arm round her and pulled her onto his lap. "Having a nice time, sweetheart? Hey, this is Brianna, who looks after Matteo - she's invited us to a picnic, that'll be fun, right?" He smiled over at Brianna as Skye nodded enthusiastically and started a rambling account of whatever game she and Matteo had been playing.
He laughed at her story of the party of kids. "Hey, not all males are that hopeless," he protested jokingly. "I take it you've known your flatmate a pretty long time then, if you get roped into his family events? And I think Skye would have been in the centre of the stick battle," he added ruefully.
"Cheers." Jake accepted the sandwiches. "Seriously, though, this is really nice of you." And he was genuinely grateful, though he felt like he'd need to reciprocate in some way next time, assuming there was a next time. He didn't have much spare cash right now, though, what with paying rent and contributing to groceries, as well as paying towards Skye's well being, and treats at cafes weren't really something he could afford very well. Hopefully by the time he saw Brianna again, he'd have a bit more coming in and could pay his way - although that depended a bit on whether he accepted the little side-job someone had offered him the other day, which he was still undecided on.
He watched Skye trotting after Matteo as the two kids finished off their game, and couldn't help wishing that his daughter had at least one friend in the magical world. Trouble was, he didn't really know anyone else with small children - Brigid's sister had a kid, he knew, but he was still a baby. It would be nice, as Skye got older, to have people she could play with without worrying too much about accidental magic. And then, there was the issue that when she was eleven, assuming Jake had seen the signs right and she really was a witch, she'd be going off to Hogwarts. He knew what it was like to suddenly lose your entire world and be plunged into a new one - things were never quite the same with your old friends again. It wouldn't be as bad for Skye - she already knew people in the Wizarding World. But she didn't know any other kids.
"That could make I Spy challenging," he commented. "Skye hasn't quite reached that stage yet - she knows a few letters, but that's it." He laughed again, although there was still a small touch of regret in his voice. "Yeah, if you think I spoil her, you should see how my friends treat her. Princess doesn't come into it." Though really, it was spoiling on a fairly small scale - Jake would have very much liked to treat Skye like a princess, but really, the odd treat from Honeydukes was as about as far as he could go. Most of her clothes and toys were secondhand.
"Well, I'll save that conversation for Michel. Though I haven't managed to follow much football for a few years." He grinned. "All my opinions'll probably be hopelessly out-of-date, but I can still remember the rules." He nodded as the two kids came trotting up, assuming that she was just a bit wary of handing out her mobile number to a random stranger - although it was a bit weird that she was happy to give him her home address. "Oh, well, okay. Though you'll have to let me play host some time. I'm not really in a position to invite people back to mine at the moment - I share as well, so I'd have to check it out with the others. But we could grab lunch somewhere the kids'd like some time."
Skye came up to him and he hooked an arm round her and pulled her onto his lap. "Having a nice time, sweetheart? Hey, this is Brianna, who looks after Matteo - she's invited us to a picnic, that'll be fun, right?" He smiled over at Brianna as Skye nodded enthusiastically and started a rambling account of whatever game she and Matteo had been playing.
