Hey!
So, I have the list of kids and ages at the end of this chapter, just so you all know. :)
Enjoy!
"So, how was school, guys?" Jerome asked lifting Gracie into his lap as he sat with his children in the living room where they had all gathered to watch a movie.
"Josh made a friend," Louisa announced.
"Louisa made a friend," Josh grumbled.
"Alice got a boyfriend," Michael growled.
"Michael got a girlfriend," Alice shrugged.
"I painted a picture," Gracie cheered.
"I r-read from our history b-book," Matty grinned and crawled over Alice's lap to be closer to Jerome. "And I didn't stutter a lot."
Jerome smiled, ruffling his son's hair. "I'm proud of you." His eyes glanced over his older children and arched an eyebrow at Josh first. "You made a friend?"
"Leo Lewis, the son of your high school friend. The kid's so annoying." He huffed, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.
Jerome pushed his feet off with his own with a chuckle. "Well Alfie's annoying, but he's a loyal friend. It's a good thing to have a Lewis around."
"Whatever,"
"And, little miss Alice, you have a boyfriend, do you?"
"I guess so," she blushed, hiding behind her hair.
Jerome stroked it behind her ear. "You guess?"
"He sort of just told me we were dating. I met him yesterday."
"His name's Nick Oliver and he's a total douche that plays girls." Michael said in a monotone, his hard gaze directed at the TV.
"Be careful, love,"
"You'll let me date?" she gasped in shock, turning to him quickly.
"Dad," Michael cried.
"I'm not happy about it either, but I have to let you live, don't I?" he chuckled, tickling Gracie and she squealed.
"Does this have anything to do with your girlfriend?" Josh asked slowly.
"I admit she has a bit of an influence on me. I ask her for advice. And she makes me feel a little compassionate." He winked at Alice. "You can date. I have to let you learn lessons. Louisa can begin dating when she turns fifteen as well."
"Really," she smiled happily.
"Oh, yeah, that's a great idea; release her on the male population."
"Shut up, Josh." She snapped.
"Make me, Lou."
"Guys," Jerome warned loudly. They fell silent, looking away from each other, and Jerome smiled at Louisa. "So who's this friend of yours?"
"Fiona, how's the musical going?" Fabian asked from the head of the dining room table.
"Great! We got someone to fill the part of the sixth swooning girl; Danni Miller."
"Auntie Patricia's daughter is going to be in a musical?" Jamie asked wide-eyed. The ten year old tugged at her brown ponytail anxiously.
"Yeah, she tried to decline, claiming that she didn't want to take Magenta's place, but we insisted. Louisa Clarke is really good at getting people to do things."
"Makes sense," Joy mumbled.
"Nathan, would you like the grapes?" Fabian arched an eyebrow at the eight year old as he stretched his arm across the table.
His wide brown eyes shifted to his father and he shook his head, trying to reach it on his own.
Fiona picked the bowl up and Nathan pouted as she took some of the grapes, before she put it back, within her brother's reach. He smiled and picked it up, looking at his father as if he had done it all on his own.
"Mummy,"
Joy swallowed her bite of food and turned to six year old Lynn. "Yes, Cupcake?"
"Arthur took Maria from me," she said sadly, her brown hair falling over her face.
"Aw, when did he do that?"
"At the park. He said he won't give her back to me."
"We'll get her back don't worry."
"Can we go now?"
"No, sweetie, not now—"
"Yes!" she cried.
"Lynn," she said warningly.
"Mummy!"
"Lynn, really, honey," Fabian sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
Jamie shot out of her seat when the front doorbell shrilled through the house. "I'll get it!"
"Wait, Jamie," Joy started.
Before she could continue, Jamie had left the room and rushed to the door, swinging it open. "Hi, Auntie Amber!"
"Hey, Jamie, are your parents home?"
"Lynn, put the fork down," Fabian scolded.
"I guess that's my answer," Amber laughed, stepping into the house. Jamie led her into the dining room, finding Lynn standing on her chair, Fabian gently coaxing her to put down her silverware, Joy whispering comforting words to her, Nathan hiding under the table with the bowl of grapes, and Fiona staring at her younger sister in shock.
"Lynn, did Arthur take Maria from you?" Amber asked, holding the small doll up.
"Maria!" she cried happily, dropping her fork and jumping from her chair. She hugged her doll to her chest and smiled up at Amber. "Thank you, Auntie Amber."
"You're welcome, sweetie."
"Okay, dinner's over," Fabian stated, picking up his plate.
"But I'm not finished!" Jamie protested.
"Yeah," Nathan agreed, eyes cheeks stretched with several grapes.
"Nathan Thomas, what have I told you about stuffing your mouth?" Joy demanded, pulling him out from under the table. She held her hand under his mouth. "You're going to choke. Spit them out."
Nathan slowly spit the grapes into her hand.
"Now go get ready for your bath."
Nathan ran off and his sisters followed suit, scattering around the house.
"Thanks for bringing Lynn's doll back, Ambs." Joy smiled, turning on the water in the sink as she began to do the dishes.
"Yeah, um, from who's side does she—?"
"We don't know," Fabian said simply, stacking their dirty plates beside the sink.
"Well, anyway, I wanted to ask if you're all coming to the barbeque at Eddie and Patricia's Friday. We're going to invite Jerome and his kids. A way to catch up, you know?"
Fabian glanced at the big calendar hanging on the wall as he brought more dishes to the sink. "Yeah, we'll be there."
"Great! Now, I just have to talk to Jerome… I have to go, bye, guys!" she scurried out of the kitchen and a second later, the front door shut behind her.
"Maybe Lynn gets it from your side of the family." Fabian said thoughtfully.
"And why do you say that?" Joy questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, no one from my side of the family is, let's say, feisty." He shrugged.
"I'm trying to make sense of what you said."
"I don't know, sometimes, she just reminds me of you in certain situations." He murmured, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck as he grabbed the rag from the counter, wetting it under the warm water from the faucet.
Joy hummed sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.
"I have some work to do, I'll be in the office." He informed her.
She nodded silently, turning toward him and he pecked her lips.
"J, are you okay? You seem to be a little distant." Mara spoke as she walked out of the kitchen. Jerome ran a hand through his hair, staring forward from where he sat on the sofa in Mara's living room.
"Alice has a boyfriend," he whispered.
"Are you okay with that?" She asked.
"Well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. She's gorgeous and smart and kind…any guy would be an idiot not to notice that." He sighed, whipping his tie off his neck. "I remember holding her for the first time in the hospital you know."
Mara smiled sadly, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind. She kissed his cheek. "And?"
"And every single second of the last sixteen years—I remember everything." He closed his eyes as if reminiscing. "I remember holding each of the kids for the first time. I remember holding Michael and just…this feeling sweeps over you and you suddenly become so proud and you love them so much that you'd do anything to keep them safe. I remember when Alice grabbed onto to my sweater and wouldn't let go when the nurse came to take her to the nursery.
"I remember Lou and Josh when I had laid them down on the hospital bed; they grabbed onto each other's hands, almost as if they knew they'd be best friends. I remember when Matty was born and the doctor said he could have possible brain damage. I had never prayed before in my life. And I prayed all night long. He was fine. And then Gracie…she's always been fascinated by my ties."
He laughed softly.
"And on the first days of kindergarten; Michael didn't say goodbye to me and my heart broke. Alice wouldn't let go of my leg. Louisa and Josh were inseparable. I had gotten a call about Matty, pulling me out of work. Some kid had made fun of his stutter. That was the day he minimized his talking. Gracie's first day of kindergarten, I knew she was going to be an artist."
He looked down, fiddling his thumbs. "They're all growing up…and so fast, too. They're all going to leave me one day. They're not going to need me to wake them up for school or stop fights or be there when they have a broken heart or…" he drifted off. "Having children is the most amazing accomplishment, but it's the most painful experience."
"Look who decided to join the living." Patricia announced as Danni marched into the kitchen, clad in her sweatpants and her father's old college sweatshirt.
"She's been sulking," Justin said with a smirk, looking away from the game he and his father were setting up on the kitchen table momentarily.
"Are you guys still playing those boring nerd games?" Danni scoffed, pulling a soda out of the refrigerator.
"It's not a nerd game." Eddie defended himself.
Patricia flicked the side of his head and sat down beside him with work folders laid out before her. "Why have you been sulking?"
"I don't want to talk about it." she grumbled.
"She was cast in her school's Beauty and the Beast musical as swooning girl number six." Justin answered, pressing his lips together to hold back a laugh.
His father didn't try very hard to keep his guffaw quiet and Danni glared at him. "Shut up, dad."
"Yeah, Cockroach, if your daughter wants to be in a play, it's her choice. Don't laugh at her." Patricia told him, leaning forward and blowing on the game board, and all the little men fell over.
Justin covered his mouth, chuckling behind his hand as Eddie stared at the board in shock. He looked up at his son and frowned. "You're grounded."
"What?"
"I don't want to be in the play, mom." Danni corrected her with a groan, sitting across from her.
"Then why are you in the play?" she asked and glared at the boys when they started arguing. "Do you two mind?"
"No, you're fine, Yacker." Eddie said dismissively.
Patricia remained silent, arching an eyebrow at her husband.
Eddie looked at her from the corner of his green eyes and sighed quietly. "Justin, let's play this later."
"Whatever, dad," he chuckled, cleaning up his pieces.
"So why were you cast if you don't even want to be in the play?" Patricia tried again.
"Fiona," Danni said.
"Oh," Eddie and Justin mumbled simultaneously in realization.
Danni sent them an annoyed look before pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. "She's annoying."
"She's your best friend," Patricia laughed.
"That doesn't mean I like her. All the time."
"Well, that's a given."
Danni shook her head and pulled the drawstrings on the hood, and it tightened into a small hole she could see through but her family couldn't.
"Come on, Rock Star, it can't be that bad." Eddie smiled.
"But it is! And I can't get out of it." she moaned, pulling her knees up to her chest and tugging the ends of her sleeves over her hands.
"How can you do that? Aren't you hot?" Justin asked.
"Shut up, Justin."
He rolled his eyes, standing up so he could tuck the board game box away in the coat closet.
"Who knows, maybe you'll like it." Patricia said encouragingly.
"Mom."
"If you don't like it after a couple rehearsals, I'll try to get you out of it. Just…try something new, alright?" Eddie suggested.
Danni groaned and stood up, stalking out of the room. "You guys are no help at all."
Review?
Here's the list of kids and their ages:
Clarke: Michael (16), Alice (15), Louisa and Josh (13), Matty (7), and Gracie (5)
Miller: Justin (15) and Danni (13)
Lewis: Jenna (15), Leo (13), and Arthur (7)
Rutter: Fiona (14), Jamie (10), Nathan (8), and Lynn (6)
In case you forgot or never read those parts.
"Let it go, let it go. Can't hold it back anymore. Let it go, let it go. Turn my back and slam the door. And here I stand, and here I'll stay. Let it go, let it go. The cold never bothered me anyway." -Let It Go, Demi Lovato
-Rachel
