Liliana had barely talked to him at the party, only tangentially knowing Allyn in the first place, so she's surprised when Tom Darwin calls her out of the blue. Liliana may be heartbroken but that doesn't mean she's been lying around crying and getting stuck out of the loop. She knows her gossip, knows that Tom and Allyn, while still most certainly a couple, are seeing other people.
Even though Adele now worked in Sim City while Colby was still in provincial politics, they kept in touch and he often came over, but they weren't a serious "item". Adele didn't want anything serious from him, and if he wanted anything more he kept it quiet. It was a good arrangement.
Allyn doesn't know to connect with Drake now he doesn't rely on her for every last thing. She and Tom have never exactly been academics, yet they've somehow spawned a little bookworm. Allyn barely understands what he's talking about over dinner, as he delves deep into world politics (a bit too deep for an elementary school kid). Where does he get all these ideas from?!
To say Maya finds her current living situation a bit awkward is an understatement. She'd been entirely prepared for the situation of Ashlee and Liliana both getting boyfriends at university and her being the fifth wheel but she hadn't expected this. It's especially awkward when Liliana gets soppy and talks about what they're going to do when they graduate. Maya knows Ashlee better than her, even if she isn't in a relationship with her, and she knows Ashlee's not ready for commitment.
Tom still couldn't believe he was actually a father - or that his son was younger than his half-brother. Weird stuff. But Drake was a cute enough kid and Tom kind of liked carrying him around on his hip sometimes.
Even though the atmosphere in the Darwin household was distinctly awkward, Miranda was doing her best to fit in. Sam helped, of course. For example, one morning Harvey completely blanked Miranda in his search for breakfast after pulling an all-nighter painting. Miranda felt like she was going to cry, but Sam came to her rescue.
Miranda's POV:
Adele still talked to Colby, but only as friends and colleagues. The elections were coming up so the increased work-load and need for communication meant that Adele was the one hogging the phone-line rather than her teenage daughter. Maya did have friends but she needed to concentrate on scholarships... plus the whole thing with Liliana was a bit weird. She and Maya were BFFs and Maya could do without hearing ANYTHING about her brother's love life.
