Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

The waiter took Hansen's phone, his eyes going wide as he stared at the screen —a family photo that said it all. Behind the old man stood a sharply dressed, stone-faced guy, his arm around a woman cradling a baby. The waiter's jaw dropped. "Wait-is that... Andre?!"

Hansen grinned, cocky as ever. "What's got you so surprised about Andre? I'm his dad, you know."

The poor waiter was so rattled he almost forgot how to stand. If he was serving Andre's father, then this whole table of seniors had to be... "Uh, let me, uh, go get my manager."

"For what? Just get us hooked up already," Hansen said, impatiently waving him off. "We've been waiting ages."

The waiter fumbled through setting up the karaoke, then handed the phone back to Hansen with both hands before sprinting out to find his boss. "Sir, that group of seniors I just helped? The one leading them is Andre's dad."

"Which Andre?" The manager looked doubtful.

A few minutes later, just as the group was about to grab the mics and start belting out classics, the manager showed up, all respectful and on edge. "Mr. Hansen, welcome. I'm the manager here."

Hansen frowned. "Alright, alright, just don't bother us, okay?"

"Of course, if you need anything, please let me know," the manager said, backing away carefully.

But as he was leaving, Hansen called out, "Hold up."

The manager paused mid-step.

Hansen lowered his voice, "Look, nobody needs to know we hit the karaoke tonight—especially not my son. He'd never let me hear the end of it if he knew I was still out raising hell at my age."

The manager nodded quickly. "Understood, sir."

With that handled, the retirees got down to business, singing their hearts out like teenagers. The fun was contagious, and before they knew it, midnight had come and gone. Still, nobody wanted to leave.

That's when Andre's call came in.

The phone buzzed and buzzed, but nobody answered. Andre hung up, scowling. "Where's the old man off to now?"

Chad offered, "Andre, maybe he's dodging your call. Want me to give it a shot?”

Andre shook his head. "Hold off a bit. If you call right after me, he'll know we're together."

Chad shrugged. "Alright."

Ten minutes later, Chad tried calling.

"Shush, everybody-my son-in-law's calling," Hansen announced, looking at his phone, undecided.

"Seriously, Hansen, afraid of your own son I get, but you're scared of your son-in- law too?" someone teased.

Hansen huffed, "Who says I'm scared? Besides, aren't you all afraid of my second son?"

That did the trick. Hansen answered with a flourish, "Hey, Chad, what's up?"

Chad, on speaker, shared a look with Andre sitting across from him.

Andre silently mouthed something, and Chad relayed, "Dad, are Mia and Molly with you?"

"What? Those kids are out all night, too?"

There was a brief pause. Chad glanced at Andre, who looked like a thundercloud. "Dad, where are you, exactly?"

"I'm just out having a good time. Don't bother me unless it's serious."

Andre leaned over and whispered something else. Chad passed it on, "Dad, remember your stomach-no spicy, no cold food. You guys are all seniors, so take it easy and don't stay out too late."

"Yeah, yeah you sound just like

Andre," Hansen grumbled. "And net well him I'm not h

t belongs to swit

yet!"

Chad shot a look at Andre, hesitated, then finally hung up.

Andre let out a sigh. "The old man's running wild, the kids are up tonoveldrama

trouble tonight. Try not to lose your

something-everyone's makin ne

cool." .