TITLE: SOFIA ROBBIN SLOAN TORRES'S 16TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
FOLKS INVOLVED: EVERY MEMBER OF THE ROBBINS TORRES FAMILY
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: SOFIA'S 16TH BIRTHDAY...THE DAY BEFORE, THE DAY OF AND THE DAY AFTER AND ALL THE CRAZINESS IN BETWEEN FROM MISS SOFIA ROBBIN SLOAN TORRES'S POINT OF VIEW.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. ONLY WHAT'S IN THE SHADOWS OF MY MIND AND THE THOUGHT PROCESS IN MY HEAD. ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO SHONDA RHIMES AND ABC TELEVISON.
A/N I RECENTLY TRAVELED OUT OF STATE TO ATTEND MY GREAT NEICE'S 16TH BIRTHDAY PARTY IN NORTH CAROLINA. WITH ALL THE SOUTHERN FAN FAIR AND THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE THAT WAS SHOWN TO MY GREAT NEICE ABIGAIL BY HER PARENTS, HER SIBLINGS, BOTH SETS OF HER GRANDPARENTS, AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, I BEGAN TO WONDER AND WRITE ABOUT HOW SOFIA ROBBIN SLOAN TORRES WOULD CELEBRATE HER 16TH BIRTHDAY WITH THESE SAME GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN HER LIFE. PLEASE ENJOY!
A/N 2: I WROTE THIS STORY A WHILE AGO. I FIRST POSTED THIS STORY ON MY LJ JOURNAL ACCOUNT. AFTER REREADING IT AGAIN I THOUGHT MAYBE SOME READERS HERE OF FF MAY ENJOY THIS STORY TOO. SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK…ENJOY!
Chapter 1… Friday March 30, 2027
Sofia…The day before…
Tomorrow I am going to be sixteen years old and my Mama's, my brother and sister and I are throwing me a sweet sixteen birthday party. My Mama, Arizona Michelle Robbins Torres and I have planned this party down to a tee since the last of the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day last year. Since as far back as I can remember Mama Arizona and I have been planning parties in our home from birthday parties for me and my two twin siblings, Mark and Michelle, to holiday parties and to going away parties for my non relative aunts and uncles over the years. But today, March 30, 2027, Mama Arizona and I along with my twin brother and sister are placing the finishing touches on my Sweet 16 birthday party. The first rule of being born into the Robbins Torres family is that family comes first. Always…there is no exception to this rule…Ever.
We have a book…The Robbins Torres Family Business Book…the front of this book consists of our family business logo and the inside of this book consists of people's names, phone numbers, addresses, calendars of dates and times, florists, places where we buy party items and the catering service we use for our parties. We also have a website where people can visit and make appointments for our services. My Mama's created this opportunity for a family business for my brother and sister and me to help with our college education when the time was right for all of us to go off to college. Mama Arizona along with us children plan out the parties and do all the "grunt work" as my Mama Callie calls it while Mama Callie focuses on the business side of our profit and losses. Both of our Mamas still work as surgeons and heads of their specialty departments at Grey+SloanMemorialHospital, formally known as SeattleGraceMercyWestHospital, under the guidance and tutelage of our Aunt Miranda Bailey Warren. The entire Robbins Torres household just does this party planning business on the side for the learning experience and for our future education.
I was about one and a half years old when my Mama's moved the three of us out of the apartment with the blue door and into our home that they both had built for us. Mama Arizona and my dad were in a plane crash, when I was about thirteen months old, along with my Uncle Derek and my Aunts Meredith, Christina and Lexie. The plane crash that took my Aunt Lexie's and my father's life and took my Mama's leg as well. With some of the settlement money my Mama's bought stock the hospital and with the rest they bought some land about a few miles from the hospital and built our house and a farm together. The house is a mixture of a rectangular Spanish eclectic ranch-style meets prairie-style with an open air kind of feeling because each room has their own beautiful sliding screen door system so that you can enter each room from the inside of the house or from the outside of the house.
My Mama Arizona and Grandma Barbara's favorite part of the house is the wrap around porch with several porch swings attached. The roof of our home is a prairie-style horizontal design so that every room has their own extended roof over the individual patios due to the rainy weather here in Seattle just in case we want to sit outside for a while and watch the rain. Then there is our barn…our barn where our six horses, four dogs, three rabbits, and our dozen or so chickens call home. Either every Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting, our mothers help the three of us children as we all gather together in the barn and clean out the horse stalls, the dog pens, the rabbit cages and the chicken coop.
The rest of the week the responsibility for these tasks falls on my brother, my sister and me after school. Our Mama's are world class and renowned surgeons in their fields of medicine, but for this one day a week my brother and sister and I get to see them in a whole different light as our Mama's are cleaning the animal cages with the three of us and they love every minute of it. Then once the cages, stalls and chicken coop are cleaned we all make our way to the outdoor shower area that our Mama Arizona designed and had built as we all take a shower. Mama Arizona has a thing about tracking the remnants of the outside world into our home so we all shower and change our clothes and then make our way to the enclosed entrance that leads us all back into the house.
The house itself consists of six bedrooms on the main level, four for us and two guest bedrooms, an enormous kitchen and dining room that my Mama Callie designed, a library that partakes as a study and my Mama's offices, a den/family room where we have movie night once a week on our big screen TV where each week one individual family member picks the movie to watch, a large laundry room that has a mud room that is used for taking off your shoes and clothes so the outside world does not invade our inside world. The basement consists of two more guest bedrooms along with one extremely large recreation room that houses one very large wrap around room sectional sofa, two large recliners along with three pinball games, one Ms PacMan video game, a plasma TV for our video games on our Playstation 3 gaming system, a pool table, a ping pong table, an air hockey game and all of our musical instruments.
But the one part of our house that all five of us love unanimously and without a doubt is the indoor/outdoor swimming pool and lounging area. The pool sits right smack dab in the open air center of the house. In the summer time we can retract the retractable screened roof to let the sun shine in on us and in the winter time the roof adds the extra warmth needed to swim indoors. The five of us are excellent swimmers and even with my Mama Arizona and her leg being amputated all those years ago, she can still give each of us a run for our money when we swim laps with her and race each other. Everyday both my Mama's exercise regiment consists of yoga, weight training and swimming fifty laps in the pool. "Even with only one leg and a half, my Mama Arizona can swim like a fish" my brother Mark always tells his friends.
Mama Callie is talking to a friend of Uncle Alex's that will be doing the deejaying for my party on the makeshift stage that my Uncle's Alex, Owen, Derek, Ben and my cousin Tuck constructed near the indoor pool area. Mama Arizona along with Mark, Michelle and I are showing both sets of our grandparents and our Aunt's Addison and Aria where everything will be situated tomorrow. Both sets of grandparents along with my Aunt's Aria and Addison have all arrived early today from all across the country to help put the finishing touches on my birthday party. My Grandma Lucia asks "Where's the birthday girl's gift table" as I perk up quickly to say "Grandma, there is no gift table. I placed a request in everyone's invitation in lieu of gift giving that all the guests tomorrow make a donation to the Seattle Grace Animal Shelter and Hospital where I volunteer".
My grandfather Daniel walks up to me and gives me one of his big bear hugs and kisses my forehead as he says "Happy early birthday, big girl" as I kiss his cheek and say "Thanks, Grandpa". Then Mama Callie joins us as we take the rest of our family throughout the house to show them where different things will be set up for tomorrow. My sister Michelle has two twin beds in her room and I have a queen sized bed in my room so my sister and I will share my room so our Aunts Addison and Aria can have my sister's room for the next few days of their visit. That way everyone is on the same floor of the house. Before all of our guests begin to unpack for their stay here for my birthday celebration, my grandfathers say that they want to take all of us out to dinner tonight since we have a big day planned for tomorrow. We all stop what we are doing and begin to head out.
Just as we are all getting ready to leave the house my Mama Arizona's phone goes off and as everyone around her begins to voice their disapproval at the offending noise because they think that she is getting called into the hospital. But I smile when she says "Look everyone" as she shows us the pictures of the cake and cupcakes that Stephanie, my Mama's personal baker is sending in a e mail. I shout "Yea" just like my Mama Arizona everyone laughs a little at me as I then say "I can't wait for tomorrow to get here. I am going to have so much fun". We all pile into the town car limousine that my Grandpa Carlos has reserved for all of us to go to dinner tonight. Once we are all in the car my Grandpa Carlos says "Mija, where would you like to eat dinner tonight"? I look at my brother and sister and my Mama's and the five of us shout out together "Rosita's". My Grandma Lucia says "Well then Rosita's it is".
After an amazing dinner that included everyone in the restaurant singing "Happy Birthday" to me in English and in Spanish, we all make our way back to the town car as I see both my grandfathers talking to the driver of the limo. They are the last two to enter the town car and I ask politely "What are you two up to"? They both look at each other and just smile back at me. Thinking that we are going back home I do not pay any attention to the outside world as I am enjoying my family and the conversations that are flowing inside the town car. Then all of a sudden the town car comes to a stop and I along with everyone else look out the window and see the big ferris wheel and the sign to the "Waterfront Arcade". I fall into the laps of my grandfathers and I kiss them both on their cheeks and say very loud "Thank you both so much for tonight".
For the next few hours all of us enjoy being a kid again. We all enjoy the different arcade games but before we leave to go back home we all walk down to the pier to stand and watch the ferry boats come and go. I lean my back against and into my Mama Arizona's front as she wraps me up in her jacket along with her as I feel my Mama Callie wrap both of us up in her arms. Then I see my Grandpa Carlos pick up my baby sister Michelle as my Grandpa Daniel does the same to my baby brother Mark so they can both get a better view of the ferry boats. Then when the weather begins to take a turn from being comfortable to becoming cold with a northern breeze coming off the shore we all pile back into the limo but I take a moment to thank Jake our limo driver for a wonderful night. As he says "You are very welcome birthday girl and Happy Birthday Miss Sofia". I shake his hand and curtsy for him and say "Thank you, sir" as he opens the door of the car for me.
Once we all arrive back home my Mama Arizona tells me and my siblings to get ready for bed as we all have a big day tomorrow. My grandmother's quickly ask my Mamas if it is alright if they get the children ready for bed. Mama Callie says "Mama, you and Barbara never have to ask that and I'm sure the children would love it" as the three of us say "Yes please" and we all run upstairs with our grandparents in tow. I stop at the top of the stairs to gaze back at my Mamas as I hear Mama Arizona say to the rest of the grown ups standing around her "So who would like to go swimming before bed"? Mama Callie, Aunts Teddy, Aria and Addison and Uncle Alex all raise their hands and take off in different directions to change then Mama Arizona looks up the stairs at me looking down at her as she smiles and blows me a kiss. I catch the kiss in my hand as we tell each other we love each other. Then I open my hand and I kiss my palm to show Mama Arizona that I have kissed her back as she says "Night mija, sweet dreams" and I say to her "Tu tambien, Mama". I see my Mama Arizona's smile grow wider as she loves it when I speak Spanish to her just like my Mama Callie does. I watch her walk into her bedroom to get ready for her swim with Mama Callie and their friends.
With my brother and sister and I lying on my bed as we all listen to my grandparents read from the latest pre teen book that they have purchased for us, we all hear the talking and laughing from the pool area as I rise from the bed to look out my window to see the rest of the adults playing in the water. With the rest of my family walking over to the window and standing behind me and around me so they are able to view the sight before them. But then my sister lets out a giggle that is the exact replica of Mama Arizona's laugh and everyone in the pool area that also hears my sister's giggle fest stop what they are doing and gaze up at us all standing in the window. Our mamas are in the middle of the pool as our Mama Arizona says sternly "Children, you all have a big day tomorrow so you need to get some sleep. And to you our children's grandparents, when you finish putting our children to bed why don't you join the rest of the adults down here so we may have a rousing game of water polo before we all retire for the evening. Or are you four to old to play with the younger crowd"? My grandfathers stare at each other as my abuelo Carlos says to my grandfather Daniel "Did your daughter just say that the four of us are too old to play a game with them"? My grandfather Daniel says "I think that she did and I think she is challenging us. What do you all say we place these beautiful grandchildren of ours in their beds and show the younger generation how water polo is played". Our grandparents quickly tuck the three of us in our beds as they kiss all of us goodnight and tell us they love us and will see us in the morning as they swiftly make there way out of our rooms and down the stairs to change and make their way to the pool area.
My brother in his room as my sister and I are in my room as the three of us listen, for the next hour of so until we all three fall asleep, because the swimming area becomes filled with the laughter and taunting from different family members as they choose sides. Uncle Alex is picked to be on our grandparent's team as they face our mama's team with our Aunt's Aria, Teddy and Addison. Mama Arizona is goalie for mama's team as is Grandpa Daniel is for our grandparent's team. But when it is all said and done, with both teams agreeing to play to the first team that scores ten points wins, it is the rough and tumble grandparent's team along with Uncle Alex that wins the game.
Sometime in the middle of the night I walk into the kitchen for a bottle of water when I hear the faintest sound of "Dammit…Dammit…Dammit". I see that my mama's bedroom door is ajar and a glimmer of light is shining into their bedroom from the light in their bathroom. I open their bedroom door carefully as I hear my Mama Callie snoring like a freight train but still in their bed. Then I see something out of the corner of my eye from their bathroom so I go inside to investigate. I open their bathroom door and the sight before me was beyond funny but still borders on the laughable. I start to giggle and I hear my Mama Arizona say "Sofia"? I stop my giggles when I hear that tone in her voice, you know the one I am talking about. I say to her "Mama" and then with my Mama Arizona somehow stuck in their bear clawed sunken bathtub I hear that tone again as she says "Sofia Robbin, what are you doing up at this hour"?
I walk into the center of my parent's bathroom to face my Mama Arizona as I say "I was in the kitchen getting myself a bottle of water when I heard you swear. By the way mama, you now owe the swear jar three dollars from what I heard from you tonight". I try to make light of my mama's situation and why she is in her bathtub with her pajama's on. She tells me that she was sitting on the edge of the tub shaving her legs when she just slipped in the tub awkwardly and was having a hard time pulling herself out of the tub. She tried to yell for Mami but could not wake her up. I pick up my mama's crutches that are now lying on the floor across the bathroom and say "Yea she's pretty much out of it tonight. Swimming always makes her sleep so soundly". Then I lean the crutches against the sink as I bend over the tub to look into the tear filled eyes of my mama as I say "Are you alright, mama"? My mama cannot look into my eyes as she replies "No baby girl, I am not alright and you should not have to help me pick myself up. You are sixteen today and you should be worrying about what other sixteen year old girls should be worrying about and not be concerned about helping your handicapped and disabled mother up off the floor or in this case out of the bathtub".
Without saying a word I take my mama's arms and wrap them around my neck as I place my hands on her waist and say "Ready"? She silently nods her head in the affirmative and I stand up straight and raise my mama up in the tub so she can sit on the edge of it and swing her right leg over the edge while I hold her body close to mine and she now sits on the edge of the tub. My mama then takes her hands from around my neck and places them on the side of the tub to balance herself while I turn to find her crutches. When I turn back around to face my mama she is crying and softly saying "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…this should not be your life…you should not be taking care of me…this should not be your life Sofia".
I lean my Mama Arizona's crutches against the edge of the bathtub that she has found herself on. I say to my beautiful mama while I wrap my arms around her neck now and place her face on my chest as I feel her hands wrap around my waist as we hold each other tight. "Do you remember what you were doing sixteen years ago today"? I hand my mama a box of tissues from the shelf above the bathtub as I hear my mama say "Of course I remember Sofia". She wipes her tears from her eyes she says to me "I am the one who put you and your mama in that predicament remember. The car crash was all my fault". I tug gently on my mama's face as I look into her eyes and say "When are you going to stop blaming yourself and realize that the car crash was an accident…it was just an accident and it was not your fault".
I lean my forehead against hers as I continue to say to her "Besides that was not the point I am trying to make here. Sixteen years ago today after Aunt Addison delivered me by C-section and then Uncle Alex and Lucy tried their best to get me breathing and get my heart beating but they couldn't. My dad nodded his head to you, because of all the people working in that OR that day he knew you were the only one who could save me. And you took over and administered the right amount of drugs into my system as you and you alone pumped my chest with your two fingers to find a heartbeat and you did…you were the one who got my heart beating and started me breathing. You saved me…you saved my life. You were my mama from before I was even born and you have been my mama for sixteen years because you saved my life that day. So for you to sit here on the edge of this tub tonight and today of all days and say that I should not be taking care of you and that this should not be my life well then shame on you mama. You are my mama and for the rest of my life this is my life and my life includes taking care of the people I love. I love you mama and until my last dying breathe…I will always take care of you and this is my life…because I am a good man in a storm".
I kiss my mama and tell her I love her as she wipes the remaining tears from her eyes and whispers "I love you too, my Sofia" as I place her crutches in her hands. I walk behind her with my hand on the small of her back for support as we leave the bathroom and make our way to her bed. My mama turns to sit on her side of the bed when Mama Callie turns in their bed to face the inside of the bed and not face away from it any longer. She has still not awoken from all the noise of my Mama Arizona and my conversation. I take the crutches out of my mama's hands and place them against the headboard and I then tuck her into bed. I kiss my mama again and place my forehead onto hers again as I tell her "Now try to go back to sleep…we have a busy day today…it's my sixteenth birthday party you know". I smile at her one last time before I make my way back to my own bed.
I walk across my mama's room and when I reach the door I see my Mama Callie pull my Mama Arizona closer into her arms as I hear her say "You alright, baby" and my Mama Arizona says "Better…I am much better now, Calliope". I watch my Mama Arizona turn in their bed to face my Mama Callie as I hear her say "Honey, we raised a beautiful daughter that is turning sixteen today. She's a mini version of you with her daddy's nose…she is positively beautiful". Watching my one mama kiss the other, Mama Callie says "Let us not forget how even though our Sofia may have mine and her father's DNA, she is your daughter too Arizona through and through. From her laughter, her sense of humor, her mini Robbins speeches when she is right and passionate about her beliefs, her death stare, as well as her positive and perky attitude…yes my dear wife…she is truly your daughter too".
Just as I close my parent's bedroom door I hear a couple of final comments from my mama's as Mama Arizona says "We did do right by her, right Calliope…I mean her father would be proud of the way we raised her, right honey"? My Mama Callie kisses her wife to calm her down and she says "Yes baby, we did do right by her and Mark would be proud of the fine and beautiful young lady she is becoming. Now do you want to talk about the conversation the two of you had in the bathroom earlier or do you want to try to get some sleep"? Between the shocked looks on both my Mama Arizona's face and mine, I hear my Mama Arizona say to my Mama Callie "Sleep please…we can talk about the conversation later. How much of the conversation did you hear, Calliope"? I see Mama Callie hug Mama Arizona tighter into her embrace as she whispers "Enough to know that we are the mamas of three beautiful children and with everything that has happened in our lives, we raised them well. Now kiss me goodnight like you mean it". I hear Mama Arizona moan the words "Oh my Calliope" and I hear her giggle into the kiss. I realize that even though I don't possess any of her DNA, I do possess her laughter just like my brother and sister do as she has raised us right.