The Siblings
A/N My sincere thank you to those of you who took the time review, fav and follow this story, I truly appreciate it. In the last chapter, Mia and her mom spent the day watching and rewatching the Royal Wedding. She then spent time with her dad and asked him for a specific gift while outlining her future to him. Rick was not prepared for the news and it left father and daughter in a spot. Michonne pitches in to broker a deal between father and daughter but would it be enough? This story felt unfinished and as such, I decided to explore what Mia would do next.
The day after...
"Carl, when are you coming home?"
"Hey, Mimi!" Carl smiled at his sister on the screen of his laptop. It didn't fail whether she was happy or sad that was always her greeting to him. He missed her a great deal but that's the way things were, at least for the next two years. He thought about taking summer classes to finish his studies sooner but his brain really needed the break. Plus, he was missing his family, his five siblings were growing up so fast without him, it made him sad to think he was practically a man before he had siblings. He was the offspring of two parents who didn't love one another but stayed together for his sake, a noble gesture on their part, but they were miserable in the end.
He sometimes envied his little brothers Andre, Alex and Nicholas for having sisters close in age to grow up together. In the present case, however, the twins were more of a torment to poor Mia. Unfortunately, his brothers were too young to appreciate having a big sister. Nicholas was a little younger so, Logan had it easier. Then, it was also a matter of perspective too, his childhood was better in one aspect because where his mother failed in her nurturing duties, he had his father all to himself. This was largely in part, however, that not much ever happened in King's County; whereas, his father's new job with the FBI took him away frequently.
It was nice to see his father truly happy, he was reunited with the love of his life and a new family, one, Carl was happy to be a part of. The trade-off in this, however, meant his siblings saw less of their dad but he made them a priority whenever his duty didn't take him away. The difference between this marriage and the former one was like night and day, his mother constantly harped on his father for everything, while, Michonne, his mom encouraged his dad to follow his dreams. She never complained even though Carl knew it had to be tough on her, especially being at home with three small kids and a pretty taxing career, but somehow, she made it all work.
"I'll be home soon, Mimi! How's Mom doing?"
"Home where, Carl?"
That was always his sister's second question and until she was satisfied with his answers the conversation would not deviate from its course. Mia was going to be an excellent attorney someday. She was six going on thirty, very sure of herself and what she wanted and she took no prisoners.
"I'll stay with you for a little while then I'll stay at my place to be closer to Enid."
"Can I stay there with you?"
There it was... the red flag, Carl knew things weren't okay at home. His sister only opts to leave their father's side for an extended period whenever he put his foot down. It was a rare occurrence indeed because his father always manages to cave in the end. He and his mom always had a good laugh at his father's expense. He knew whatever happened had to be huge and obviously, their father was sticking to his guns, which meant his sister's poor little heart was broken. It was now his responsibility to manage his baby sister's expectations before he found himself facing her wrath.
"You can't live with me Mimi because I still have to finish school, but you and Logan can have a sleepover without the boys. After, I'll have one with the boys. How does that sound?
"Oh goodie, I miss Logan she's gone away again." The proposal brought a smile to his sister's otherwise business face.
"Did you know that daddy tells mommy I shouldn't spend so much time at Logan's? He said Miss Lori gives bad vice? What does that mean, Carl?"
Carl shook his head remembering how his mother tried to mess with his parent's marriage from the get-go. She always had some type of shade ever since she learned he started calling Michonne, mom. He wondered just what she's done now.
"Is everything okay at home, Mimi?"
"No! Daddy won't give me a sister, but Logan's like a sister and she likes the same things I do, too. She doesn't break my stuff or hide them as the boys do. I know how to it fix it too, if we give Andre and Alex to Miss Lori and Mr. Negan, then Nicholas won't be alone, and Logan can live here with me."
Carl did not want to touch this sore topic between his sister and his father. "Mimi, that's not how things work sweetie, but I will talk to Andre and Alex again, I promise, okay?"
"Carl, it doesn't work." Her frustration was evident as she exhaled.
"Mimi, mom and dad will be sad without Andre and Alex. Plus, Miss Lori, Mr. Negan and Nicholas will be sad to lose Logan too.
"Carl, you're not listening, when daddy tells you to ask Mommy for something, it means, no. I can't have a sister because daddy tells me to ask mommy for a sister. I can only have one if daddy asks mommy. She would never say no to daddy. I'm going to have a sister, Carl but I need your help."
"Okay, but what can I do Mimi?"
"You can talk to daddy… tell him to let Logan stay with me and he should get me a tiara too."
Carl shook his head, his sister was brilliant, she wanted him to plead her case to obtain something her dad could easily buy to appease his guilt for not delivering on a promise. She was truly her father's daughter going around the problem to achieve her ends.
"Mimi, what's really going on?
"Daddy won't get me a tiara for my birthday, and he says I have to finish school before I can marry my Prince."
Carl giggled, trying to imagine the conversation leading up to their fallout, all the while knowing full well their father probably almost had a stroke when Mia dropped that little bomb. He wished he could have been a fly on the wall but made a mental note to ask his mom for details.
Mia tilted her head and fold her arms, "It's not funny, Carl." It was uncanny how whenever she was upset she could imitate their dad visually and in aural clarity. Her forehead wrinkled to show her discontent as she stated her case, her eyes were cold, "Daddy's not fair, he says I'm too young, but you hold hands with Enid and sometimes you kiss her like daddy does to mommy. Daddy even slaps her on the bum too."
Carl felt the heat rising as it crept up his neck, he could only imagine what was going through his sister's head as he sat there blushing. He knew his folks could at times be embarrassing with their PDA, he just never thought he had become them. He thought he had been very discreet around his siblings. Obviously, he was failing miserably if his six-year-old sister had noticed that much, their father, on the other hand, was a lost cause, he was too old to change. He would have to mention the situation to his mom and he seriously hoped that she would be the one to have the talk about the birds and the bees with Mia; he remembered his dad's woeful attempts on the subject. The fact is, his dad was a lousy role model for such issues.
"Mia, you know that you are only going to be seven, right? I wasn't allowed to do those things at six either. What did mom say about the tiara?"
"Mommy says boys don't understand about Prince and Princess stuff. You have to be one to get it."
Carl tried hard to contain his laughter, it all made sense now, his mom and sister had no doubt watched the Royal Wedding, which obviously had a huge impact on Princess Mia. It would also seem that his mom was enjoying the temporary rift between father and daughter.
"How's mom doing, Mia? Can I talk to her?"
Mia was a talker, she was also a wealth of information, she saw things even most adults missed, but her innocence and her ability to talk usually gets herself and others in hot water. For instance, there was the time when she told his mother, he called Michonne, mom. It wasn't a secret, all their immediate family and friends knew this, but Lori caused a shit storm of grief for his mom, and nothing his father did could change her wrath. It got to a point where both of his sisters could only have play dates whenever he was present, as a result, the girls who were born only months apart and became inseparable because of him were now miserable in his extended absence.
That incident reminded him of the time, when he himself mentioned his mom was expecting, only then, his mother's target was his father.
"Mommy's always tired and she cries a lot but she's okay again because daddy's home."
Carl tucked the little nugget his sister shared about their mom away for later. He was sure his parents would tell him if his suspicions were in fact right. He didn't have time to ponder much because there was screaming in the background, the tranquillity had been broken, Mia looked over her shoulder to acknowledge the source of the disturbance. It was none other than her twin brothers, Andre and Alex, running down the hall and into the family room.
"We wanna talk to Carl!" They screamed in unison, "Our turn Mia, mom said we could."
"Nah ah, it's my Carl time. Go away!" She said brushing their hands away as though they were gnats.
"Mia, sweetie, let your brothers have a turn they won't be long," Michonne said as she caught up with the three siblings who were now vying for a moment with their big brother. Time with Carl was a commodity that was used frequently in the Grimes household to quell riots, it was used as a pick me up or as a prize for achievements. The younger Grimes loved their big brother so, they'd take every spare second he had to offer them. It was also a good balm for him too who moved out of state to study for the love of a girl.
Reluctantly, Mia ceded her mom's laptop to her annoying little brothers who were jockeying for the best spot on the sofa. She went directly to her mom's comforting arms when her dad walked into the room. Her actions hurt her father who thought his famous banana splits had resolved their rift, his wife assured him it would but things weren't right with his Princess. He scratched his head and left the room not wanting to upset her further, it was clear she needed her mom so he respected their time together.
As Michonne promised, both Andre and Alex's screen time took no more than ten minutes, to arrange a sleepover and exacting a promise to watch Black Panther only in the presence of their older brother as per their mother's strict instructions. Shortly thereafter, they were running through the house again looking for their father who promised pool time before supper. Mia finished making plans with her big brother for their sleepover and went off to find her grandparents whose voices were calling for her.
Meanwhile, in the family room, Michonne was having a heart to heart with her son. "Mom, is everything okay at home... is there anything you wanna tell me?"
Michonne didn't understand what he was getting at. "You mean about Mia and dad? It's pretty funny actually, she lulled him into a false sense of security and asked him to buy her a tiara like the one the Duchess wore to her wedding because she decided she's going to marry a Prince. I have it all on a video, we can watch it together when you get home."
"Oh yeah? Cool… Mom, are you okay? If something was going on you'd tell me, right? I mean you wouldn't wait till I come home… right?"
"Sweetie we're okay… correction, with the exception of the issue between Mia and dad, we're okay. I promise."
"Mom, Mia says that you're tired all the time and you're always crying. That only happened when you were expecting the boys and dad…"
It all made sense now, they were outed yet again by Mia. Although she meant no harm, Carl knew. Both siblings had this infinite link, they were both very perceptive of others and their feelings. Mia had no idea what she stumbled onto but her older brother was able to decipher it from his sister's keen observations.
"We were waiting till you got home to tell you. You're going to be a big brother again. Just keep it under wraps for now, if you know what I mean…"
"Wow! Congratulations, mom. Can I have a minute with you and dad?"
"A short time later, Rick appeared on screen dressed for the pool. He had left the kids with their grandparents in order to take the call.
"Dad, mom told me and I'm truly happy for both of you but y'all are going to have to be a little more discreet about what you say and do in front of Mia. It's gross to hear about your parents PDA from your six-year-old sister."
"What are you talking about son?" Rick asked as his arm closed around his wife in exaggeration knowing the effect it would have on his son.
"Dad, do you forget I was a kid when you and mom got together and how you embarrassed me? Well, Mia is comparing me and Enid to y'all. It's just gross. I'm going to be more careful and so should you. She asked to come to stay with me… if you scale the PDA back to PG, maybe she won't want to chase after that Prince until she finishes college."
Michonne watched both father and son blush, it was priceless, it brought her back to a place in time where Rick was preaching his wisdom of the bird and bees to his teenage son. These were priceless Grimes moments, but on this day, however, the student had surpassed his teacher.
A/N: there'll be one more chapter before the main story... please leave a note below. Thanks.