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“Really careful now!” Evan said.
Tommy turned around, a little alarmed by that warning. He had happily taken on the task of playing with little Bobo, who was seventeen months old now and seemed to know only one speed when walking ever since he had learned to walk, and that was full speed ahead. Evan, in the meantime, was keeping Jee-Yun busy.
It was exhausting to keep up with one child already, so babysitting for Maddie and Chimney was always a team effort between them. Only one time Evan had offered to babysit alone since Bobo—a nickname Jee-Yun had given her brother practically immediately, and that everyone else had happily adopted—had learned how to pull himself along on his belly, ever curious and never staying where one had put him. Tommy had joked more than once that Bobo was very much reminding him of Evan in that respect.
Tommy huffed when he saw Evan and Jee-Yun at the dining table, which they had commandeered right after Tommy and Evan had arrived. Evan had bought three huge pumpkins at the farmers' market just the day before, and Tommy had known right away the horrors that would lead to.
Jee-Yun had squealed in delight every time she had pulled out another handful of pumpkin guts over the past one and a half hours. For half an hour, Tommy and Bobo had joined them after Evan had cut the tops of the pumpkins, but Bobo had soon lost interest in gutting the pumpkins that were nearly as tall as he when he stood beside them on the table. So Tommy had cleaned him up, including a change of clothes, and had been playing with him in the corner where Maddie and Chimney had created a play area in the living room.
“What are you doing?” Tommy asked skeptically.
Jee-Yun was holding a knife and held her tongue between her teeth in concentration as she pushed the knife through the thick skin of the first pumpkin. Evan hovered behind her, one hand carefully covering her hand holding the knife.
“Carving the pumpkin, Uncle Tommy!” Jee-Yun said without looking away from her work.
“I see that,” Tommy said. “But I'm pretty sure your parents will ground all of us—including Bobo!—for letting you do the carving.”
Evan grinned. “Ah, don't be a spoilsport, Uncle Tommy!”
Tommy raised his brows. “Did you or did you not promise your sister not to let Jee-Yun handle any sharp knives?”
“But it's just a tiny knife!” Jee-Yun said.
“A very tiny knife,” Evan agreed and had the audacity to wink at Tommy.
“We are in the response area of the 118,” Tommy said. “B shift is working today, right? That means Ravi is working. Chimney will know you let Jee-Yun cut off her finger before we're even in the hospital.”
Jee-Yun huffed and glared at Tommy, and thankfully, she stopped cutting into the pumpkin while she did that. “No one is cutting off fingers, Uncle Tommy! Don't be dramatic!”
Evan laughed and Bobo joined in. The toddler got up faster than Tommy could follow and ran over to the dining table, running into Evan's legs at full speed. Thankfully, Evan had seen him coming and braced himself.
“Fingers, fingers, fingers!” Bobo repeated and held up his hands, wiggling with his fingers.
“Your fingers are safe, too,” Evan promised with a brilliant smile.
“Fish fingers!” Bobo shouted.
Tommy sighed deeply as he picked up Bobo to free Evan of the distraction. Chimney had been complaining for two weeks about Bobo’s obsession with fish fingers.
“Fish fingers are a great idea, Bobo!” Jee-Yun agreed. She turned her head to look at Tommy expectantly. “I want real mashed potatoes, too!”
Tommy raised his brows and watched Jee-Yun skeptically. He could deal with fish fingers and mashed potatoes. Evan and Jee-Yun had also cut enough flesh out of the pumpkins to use it for some fried vegetables as a side for the adults and maybe even for Jee-Yun if she was willing to try it.
Tommy still asked, “And who is going to clean those potatoes while you and Evan are elbow deep in pumpkin guts?”
Jee-Yun grinned, showing off her missing front tooth. She had been prouder of losing that than going to school, and she hadn't stopped telling everyone about both of those facts for weeks. “You and Bobo got that. It's not rocket science!”
Evan laughed. “We'd have to call in Aunt Karen for reinforcement if it were.”
Jee-Yun frowned. “But Denny and Mara have to bring their own pumpkins! I'm going to carve all of these!”
“Denny has this science fair at his school today,” Evan said. “So, he and Mara and their moms are pretty busy. I’m sure they'll carve their own pumpkins when they have time.” He lowered his voice and added quietly, “But ours will be sooo much scarier than theirs!”
Jee-Yun nodded with a very solemn face. “But not the one we keep. Mommy hates scary pumpkin faces.”
“The one Tommy and I take home and the one your dad and I will take to the fire station will still be yours,” Evan said. “Even if they aren't here at home.”
“The 118 will have the bestest carved pumpkin of the whole LAFD!” Jee-Yun declared. “Dad says there is a whole competition. And the 118 hasn't ever won. We will win this year!”
“The best,” Tommy and Evan corrected together, which made Jee-Yun laugh.
Tommy was pretty sure that if there was such a thing as a carved pumpkin competition at the LAFD, he would've heard about it many years ago. He shared a look with Evan, and they agreed silently that creating such a competition and making sure everyone believed it had all been Chimney's doing was the only road to take. They couldn't disappoint Jee-Yun by not winning that competition, after all.
Jee-Yun stuck out her tongue. “Whatever. Can you let us work now, Uncle Tommy? Or we won't have any carved pumpkins at all!”
“Fish fingers!” Bobo demanded and smacked his little hands against Tommy's shoulder.
Tommy sighed. “Yes, we'll make fish fingers. Let's go hunting for potatoes so Princess Jee-Yun can have her wish, too. Don't let your uncle cut off his fingers, Princess.”
Jee-Yun giggled, and Evan rolled his eyes. They both returned their attention to their carvings without another comment, though. It was very clear that they considered Tommy and Bobo utterly unimportant in comparison to their very important task of carving the perfect pumpkin.
Tommy turned with Bobo in his arms and headed for the bathroom first. Getting Chimney’s first aid kit out couldn't hurt, just in case they did slip with the knife. Better to be prepared for all eventualities with the chaos Jee-Yun and Evan regularly produced.
Then Tommy would inspect Maddie and Chimney's pantry in the hopes they had potatoes and he wouldn't have to take little Bobo on a shopping trip while leaving Evan and Jee-Yun unsupervised with their very important pumpkin carvings.