Round Three: Mackenzie

Lisa and Ewan's life was happy and comfortable. Lisa's relationship with Taylor Straight was going well and she called him whenever she could. Ewan kept working on his grades and cooking, occasionally getting exhausted and falling asleep on the sofa. Lisa would smile and brush his long hair out of his face.


Lisa and Taylor had decided together that it was time to take their relationship to the next level. The truth was, Lisa Mackenzie was in love again. She'd been trying to be cautious but it was undeniable, and it seemed like Taylor was worthy of her affections.


For starters, he and Ewan got on very well. Ewan continued his trend for unerring ability to show interest in people's lives and make them genuinely like him, asking Taylor about his job and his apartment. Taylor responded in kind, telling Ewan jokes and generally being a good prospective stepfather.


Unfortunately it wasn't all bliss. A burglar picked out the Mackenzie household to steal from, probably because they didn't have a security system. He snuck in during the dead of night, taking a lot of their possessions.


By the time Lisa realised what was going on and called the police it was already too late. She wandered around the strangely empty house. They definitely needed Taylor around to look after things. That and a decent burglar alarm.


Taylor moved in, bringing in a host of new changes. He cut his hair and bought slightly more sober clothes, and bought them all new furniture to replace what was taken. It helped make it more of a shared home rather than just a house they happened to live in. Lisa and Taylor were already planning more refurbishments and possibly even extending the house once they'd earned enough money.


Taylor made as much time for Ewan as he possibly could. He didn't quite see him as his own son yet, but he was definitely fond of him. He had a tendency to ask odd questions sometimes, though.

"So you and my ma are... going steady?"

"Yes," said Taylor, smiling. "Your mother is a very special lady."

"Ewwwwww!" Ewan grinned. "Are you gonna get married?"

"Maybe. If she'll have me. Would you like that?"

Ewan nodded. "You make my ma happy, and you're a really cool stepdad already."

Taylor smiled again. Now he knew it was okay with Ewan, he could propose.


Ewan was there when he popped the question. Lisa said yes without any hesitation whatsoever and Ewan jumped up and cheered.


They weren't getting married straight away, though. Lisa's studying had paid off and she was now an architect's apprentice; they needed to wait until she had a few days off and Ewan was old enough to look after himself for a night so they could have a little honeymoon.


The latter came quickly. Ewan hit puberty with a vengeance. He cut his hair and bought a leather jacket, trying to look cool and tough, but underneath the devil-may-care exterior he was still the same old Ewan. It was still tough for Lisa. He kept talking about bands she'd never heard of, a reminder that she wasn't getting any younger. She and Taylor had better move quick if they wanted to get married and have kids together.

Note: this round went so quickly! I want to have a proper wedding party, hence waiting. Taylor has also been aged up to be the same age as Lisa.