Mercedes rubbed the back of her neck tiredly. It was twilight & she was super tired. She exited the garden on the side of the house from picking foods for dinner & went inside.
She met Marcy going inside. "Hi."
"Hey." Marcy had Mickey on her back in a baby sling while Mally was on her chest.
"Where have you been? Ms. Judy radioed everyone for dinner fifteen minutes ago." Mercedes held open the door.
"I was drawing the twins." Marcy held up the drawing pad she held in her hands.
"Out in the fields? In the hot sun? They could have a heatstroke!"
"I had them in the shade, relax." Marcy frowned.
Mercedes shook her head. "They are going to end up pitch black with you keeping them out."
"They're mixed. They're going to get only so dark." Marcy rolled her eyes.
"Daddy's mixed & look at him."
"& we look just like him so worry about your skin."
"We look like Momma, too. Only Marc's light as she is."
Marcy giggled. "I think Marc's even lighter than Momma."
"Not this summer."
Marcy covered her mouth with her hand. "He's dark gold now, huh?"
Mercedes laughed as they made it to the kitchen. "He still thinks he's God's gift to women."
"He's also crazy so it's not like we take what he says all that serious in the first place."
"Marcy!" Laura chided as she turned around from stirring something on the stove. "Don't say that!"
"She's someone else we don't listen to." Marcy left the room.
"She's completely not politically correct!" Laura stomped a foot.
Mercedes set her basket of produce on the table. "You know she likes to mess with you."
Laura sniffed. "I know. It doesn't get any easier though."
Judy smiled. "Are you girls ready to go home?"
"I am." Laura turned back to the stove. "College is going to be so amazing."
"I'm glad you're going to State so you won't be so far away from us. I know we never said it but we were going to miss you." Mercedes began washing off the veggies she'd brought in.
Laura reached over & pinched her still childishly chubby cheek. "I would have missed you, too."
Mercedes beamed. "Ms. Judy, I saw a model in a magazine we got at the market yesterday & she had such pretty hair. Can you take me to the salon to get my hair cut like hers?"
"Cut?!" Olga, who'd been listening with half an ear as she cooked, looked over. "What is this nonsense of cutting your hair?"
"It's a really cute cut, Grandmama. It's a bob. I was thinking of dyeing my hair fully black, too. So it'll match hers? I'll get the magazine & show you!" Mercedes ran out of the kitchen before anyone could say anything.
She ran upstairs to her room & looked through her things until she found the Swedish rag then came back downstairs. Marcy was back with Quinn.
Mercedes flipped through the magazine until she found the right page. "Here. See? Isn't it nice?"
Olga took the page & looked over the bored looking model. "It is nice but not for you. Your hair is long after your haircut. No. No, you will not cut it."
"But Grandmama-"
"You cut your hair, I will beat you."
Mercedes pouted before throwing the periodical on the table & going back to her task.
Judy frowned. "Mother!"
"Judy." Olga sniffed delicately.
"She is fourteen years old! She's allowed to express herself!"
"I remember her tears when her hair was cut the first time." Olga waved a spoon.
"Because there was gum in her hair & she had to get it cut!"
"She was still hurt. I will not hear of it!"
"Mother-!"
"No more words, Judeline!"
Judy's cheeks bloomed with color at her real name.
"It's okay, Ms. Judy." Mercedes didn't want her in trouble. "Can I at least dye it?"
"That is acceptable." Olga said haughtily.
& there were no more words as they finished making dinner.
W.W.W.
Marcy folded another one of Mal's shirts & packed it away in his bag before closing it. Her family was finally fully packed. She blew her long blunt bangs out of her face.
A sharp cry pierced the air & she turned to the bassinets by the bed to see Mickey fussing. She went over & picked the seven week old baby up to soothe her. "What's wrong, Mick?"
The baby's face was red & pinched as she flailed in her mother's arms.
Marcy knew her child always got fussy at the time of day & knew that the only way for her to stop was to sing to her. So she did. A Native American song her grandmother taught her.
The soft words flowed from her lips easily as Mickey quieted down. Her peridot eyes stopped overflowing with tears & she blinked owlishly up at her mother's sage orbs.
Marcy continued singing as she put Mickey back in her bassinet & checked on her brown eyed twin. Mally was still asleep (or at least had his eyes closed) so Marcy sang louder as she moved around the room straightening up.
By the time she was done, both children were asleep. She tiptoed out of the room & went to see how her siblings were coming along with their packing.
W.W.W.
Marcus was thrilled to see his children & very pleased to meet his grandchildren. The Changs', Jones' & Fabrays' were all at their country club for lunch the day Judy & the kids got back to America.
"They're so cute!" Jeanette cooed to Mally, who kicked his legs.
"& they don't throw up a lot unless you move with them too much." Maddie piped up.
Russell inspected Mickey. "She resembles MarcAn to a T."
"It's the eyes." Marcus touched her tiny hand with his index finger.
"Now we have five green eyed people in the family." Quinn beamed.
"Well let's sit & eat." Michael said. "Tell us about your trip."
The kids sat & told about their adventures on the farm, mostly consisting of work related stories.
"Ms. Judy took us to the salon & I got my hair dyed." Mercedes was saying.
"You did?" Marcus hadn't noticed. "It looks very nice."
Mercedes ran a hand through her long hair. Since she hadn't been able to cut it, it reached the middle of her back. "Thank you."
"My hair was dyed, too." Quinn piped up. "I'm blonde again."
"I see you've lost weight." Russell said. "Work agreed with you."
Both Quinn & Mercedes lost a ton of weight though the brunette was still thick & curvy. Marcy on the other hand lost all the baby weight & more. Though she was still thick like her sister. Quinn on the other hand was thin & slender like she'd always wanted to be.
"It was all the walking. I'm proud of them." Judy smiled.
"We need to go school shopping tomorrow." Jeanette said. "You'll need a whole new wardrobe."
"Can we donate our old stuff?" Marcy asked.
"That's a great idea!" Laura loved it. "We can call ITI."
"Are you going to give up your toys now?" Russell teased.
Marcy thought about it seriously. "I think so. I want to keep my stuffed animals but I think the rest can go. It's not like any of them are real baby toys so the twins can't get any use from them."
Michael was pleasantly surprised. "Good. You're thirteen now. You should put away childish things."
"Do we have to go shopping for clothes?" Mike complained.
"Yes. You've outgrown all your things." Jeanette frowned. "Don't you want to switch up your style?"
"I don't have style." He blinked.
Laura laughed. "We know!"
He glared at her. "At least I wore real clothes instead of some stupid cheerleader's uniform!"
"Ooh!" Quinn became excited. "Mercy & I are gonna join the Cheerios!"
"Really?!" Laura gasped. "I can teach you some cheers guaranteed to make that mean old coach take a second look at you! Tell her about me & then blow her away! Also, add in some gymnastics & dance moves. She won't expect it & you'll be in the top picking."
Mercedes blinked. "You always complained about that woman. Why should we do this?"
"Don't you want to be popular, Merce?" Quinn whined. "All the cheerleaders are popular."
"She's right." Laura said. "Being a Cheerio or Titan ensures your popularity."
"Titans the football team, right?" Mike asked. "I want to join, too. I didn't play pee wee for nothing."
Marc high-fived him. "My man! You're gonna have so much fun! I will show you the ins & outs. You will be the most popular guy at McKinley. After me of course."
"What about us?" Marcy crossed her arms.
"We want to be popular, too." Mal added.
"Join the cheer team & Coach will def. look twice at you when you audition next year." Laura advised with a finger on her bottom lip. "Keep going to all your lessons."
"What about the twins? When will we see them?" Marcy asked.
"When you come home. I'll sit down with you tonight & we'll come up with a schedule so you can still see them."
"What about me?" Mal asked.
"I'll prep you so you'll have an easier time next year." Marc said. "Keep playing football, play basketball & keep up with rugby. It'll all help."
Quinn clapped quietly. "I can't wait for this year to start!"
