Matty was in his living room that morning with people in suits and Kuki and Wally sat on the couch joining him.
"So Mr. Sanban let me get this straight just so we're on the same page, you're 15? Still in High school? A Senior at a young age? And you want to adopt your best friends baby?" a woman in a grey skirt asked as Matty nodded looking confident.
"Mr. Sanban are you aware that you could be going to college after high school instead of taking care of a child? I think you should go with that first".
"We talked to Matthew about this and he said he would love college but he made a promise to Elizabeth a long time ago that he would never leave her in her time of need, and right now he feels she needs him" Kuki said as the woman nodded looking at Matty.
"All right Mr. Sanban let me level with you, in normal circumstances we'd never grant a fifteen year old permission to adopt a kid but you're fifteen, leaving high school, and I say all systems are go for this, I just wanted to see how serious you were about adoption" A man said as Matty shook hands with him.
"Thank you sir and I'm sure my friend will really appreciate this also, I'll make a good dad because my dad is a good father to me and my two younger sisters, plus my mom's the sweetest woman ever so I was raised right" Matty said as Wally and Kuki both crying hugged him.
"Well we must be going Mr. Sanban and here's your certificate of adoption, now go ease that friend of yours mind" The woman said as Matty nodded taking his certificate and running towards Elizabeth's house with Wally and Kuki quickly following him.
At the Mckenzie's house Elizabeth was baking brownies for Roscoe and Ariana when they got home from school and Rachel kept throwing questionable looks at her.
"Mother please I know you said bed rest but honestly I feel fine and it's not like I'm lifting a couch or something I'm baking to make my younger sibs happy" Elizabeth said licking chocolate from the spoon.
"Lizzie I know I said no lifting things but too much work can stress you and that baby out too, I mean wouldn't you rather lay on the couch and play video games or watch television?" Rachel asked as Elizabeth placed the pan in the oven and nodded heading for the living room.
"Fine if it'll get you off my back Mrs. Worrywart I'll kick back, relax, and watch some TV, but I'm not Roscoe so you can't bribe me with video games mommie dearest".
"Hey Ive been through this before and let me tell you less fun means more fun when you're in this condition Liz, I missed all my school dances when I was pregnant thanks to your dad and mine".
Elizabeth turned the TV on and Rachel sat with her curling up next to her with a blanket.
"See now isn't this comfortable?, no stress, no worries, no anger, just the two of us here watching TV and maybe we'll rent some videos tonight who knows".
"Mom I'd really like that and again I want to say I'm really sorry about the inconvenience, but no worries Jeremy and I will work things out he just needs a firm mouth and a firmer hand" Elizabeth said sipping lemonade as Matty banged on the door and Nigel ran to answer it.
"Matt what a nice surprise won't you please come in? I'm sure Elizabeth would love the company and she's in a baking mood so I hope you like brownies and your mom and dad said there was a surprise you had for Elizabeth.
"Actually it's for you and Auntie Rachel too Uncle Nigel so please join me in the living room won't you?" Matty asked as Nigel nodded following Matty into the living room.
"Matty sweetie aren't you supposed to be in school?, and if not well I'm glad you took time out of your day to come and see us" Rachel said as Matty motioned for Nigel to join Kuki, Wally and Elizabeth on the couch.
"All right Mckenzie and Sanban's alike I have big news, I visited an adoption agency today and I got the privilege to adopt a baby and guess who I chose?".
Everybody but Wally and Kuki shrugged their shoulders as Matty winked at Elizabeth and grinned as Rachel, Nigel, and Elizabeth were still confused.
"All right I believe their names going to be Hope if it's a girl or Olympus if it's a boy because the Gods lived there and you want our son to be treated like a God" Matty said as Elizabeth's mouth quivered and hung open in surprise.
"Look Liz you and I both know that Jeremy Monroe Football MVP, playboy of the year, and womanizer of Lucky High will not play house no matter how beautiful the mommy is".
Elizabeth could only nod as she stood up and hugged Matty her tears stinging his cheeks and she never wanted to let him go.
"So I take it that you don't mind me adopting baby Hope or Olympus?, because if you do I can always find another baby to care for" Matty said joking as Elizabeth giggled kissing him.
"Of course I don't mind I mean you'd make a much better daddy than Jeremy and in the boyfriend game I think you'd win that hands down" Elizabeth said as Nigel and Rachel cried and hugged Matty too.
"Matthew Gregory Sanban you have made the ultimate sacrifice for our family today and if there's anything and I do mean anything at all we can do for you don't hesitate to ask" Rachel said as Nigel could just nod speechless.
"So am I going to move in here or would you rather Elizabeth move in with me and my familia?" Matty asked as Rachel looked hopeful at Kuki and Wally begging them to let Matty stay with them.
"Matt I think staying here would be better for Liz, I mean she's not allowed to lift heavy things and seeing we live right next door you can visit with us whenever you like" Kuki said as Rachel hugged her and Nigel looked to find Matty's suitcases already at the front door.
"I come prepared Uncle Nigel and I thought this would be the better living arrangement, so I'll just put my things in the spare bedroom and we can go from there".
"Absolutely not Matthew, you inherited my granddaughter and with that comes my daughter and you'll lay with her in her bedroom and if kissing goes on well that's expected" Nigel said as Elizabeth, Rachel, and Matty looked shocked.
"Yes I know what I'm saying Matt and I'm only letting you sleep with Elizabeth because I trust you and her, and I hope friendship can turn to lovers soon but that's just me".
"I think Matty has proven himself worthy of my love long before today, in fact he proved himself worthy of my love at your wedding where he asked me to dance and wouldn't take no for an answer, the persistent little munchkin he was and that's what made him as cute as he is today" Elizabeth said.
"I think Matty and you will make the perfect couple, I always said that even at our wedding I did because Matty loved you even as a tomboy whereas the other boys accepted you in the groups but that was it you were just a guy to them but Matty always saw you as a girl even as a tomboy" Rachel said.
"Yea and he did earn that dance saying please for like two hours before I caved and then he wowed me by being the best dancer there".
"Well you two have catching up to do so your dad and I will be going Matt, don't be a stranger and please treat Elizabeth and your new daughter with respect, and send us lots of pictures because we'd like to at least see our granddaughter in pictures" Kuki said about to leave but Elizabeth stopped her.
"Aunt Kuki you've got to be kidding me right now, Matty's your son, I'm your future daughter in law I hope, and my mom and dad totally trust him and you so I'd like you in the delivery room while I have this baby and I want you in its life and Uncle Wally also" Elizabeth said as Kuki bawled hugging her.
"I also want you to be the godmother to baby Hope or Olympus Aunt Kuki, I mean who better to be the godmother than the peppy, cute, sweet, altogether kid loving Aunt Kuki?".
Kuki bawled harder hugging Elizabeth and Elizabeth cried with her hugging her back as Wally lugged all the suitcases of Matty's to Elizabeth's room.
"All right dad thanks for the help and I want you to know that I love you and all the things you and mom taught me about life, love, and happiness" Matty said hugging Wally as he hugged him back trying hard not to cry.
"You take all the things that we taught you and use them to teach baby Hope or Olympus the ropes, and tell them you love them everyday trust me they'll thank you for it".
Matty hugged Wally again with all the love he was showed by his parents flooding his body.
"Dad don't kick yourself over this all right, I have never made one mistake in my life and I'll be damned if this is the first one" Matty said as Wally nodded ruffling his son's hair.
"You don't need to convince me Matty I know you do everything one hundred percent, but your mom may need some convincing" Wally said as Matty walked back inside with Wally at his heels.
"All right mom and dad well I guess this is it, graduation's tomorrow and then I have 24/7 daddy duty on my hands but I'll never forget you guys as long as I live and breathe".
Kuki sniffled hugging Matty and he hugged her back as the front door banged open and we hear Roscoe and Ariana skipping across the front hall as Rachel sighed angrily knowing they broke the major rule in the Mckenzie house.
"Roz Ari what is the major rule of the house young people, and don't say you don't remember because I remind you everyday" Rachel said gritting her teeth as Ariana and Roscoe gulped taking their muddy boots off and Rachel saw muddy footprints all over her clean floor.
"All right I'm not mopping that you two, I spent all day mop and glowing this floor and then I mopped and after all that cleaning I have two hurricanes who always forget to take their boots off, so the two hurricanes are going to be the ones mopping up their own mess".
"But Matty's here and he never took his boots off, how come he's not getting the biggest rule in the house talk?" Roscoe asked as Rachel angrily looked down at him and he gulped.
"Because I don't have to tell Matty to remove his shoes at the door every day, I'm sure he'll remember to do it tomorrow seeing he's moving in".
"Mama quit being silly Matty can't live here because we have way too many people living here already" Ariana said laughing hysterically as Rachel looked serious and Ariana quit laughing.
"It's all set he'll room with Liz who is now his girlfriend and there will be no teasing, taunting, or singing of Lizzie's got a boyfriend in their prescience" Rachel said as Roscoe and Ariana slowly removed their boots and put them on the front porch.
"Good kids now one of you get the mop bucket and the other one get the mop then I want to see this floor sparkling in ten minutes time or I'll dirty it and you'll have to mop it all over again".
Roscoe and Ariana angrily clicked their tongues and sucked their teeth at Rachel as she pointed to the kitchen her finger quivering with anger.
"Well that's one crisis averted now let's get down to the biz you two, I expect to see love dripping from you two, you know eskimo kissing each other, holding each other's hands, kisses in the hall, the whole shebang" Rachel said as Matty and Elizabeth sat on the couch his arm around her shoulders.
"I don't think that'll be a problem Auntie, I mean we've been friends since forever and I feel it was only a matter of time before we started dating" Matty said as Elizabeth blushed and nodded.
"I want to see you two laying up together in the bed too, and I expect dates galore you two, I want to see Matty be a good boyfriend and father and I want to see Lizzie be a good girlfriend and mother".
"Mom as Matty said I don't think we'll have a problem showing each other affection and as for being good parents well we had good parents so that should make us good parents too" Elizabeth said as Rachel beamed at being called a good mother.
"I've had my say so you two scoot and start the loving and flirting stage of your relationship, and I won't be disappointed to see you too cuddling in the bed if you know what I mean" Rachel said winking as Elizabeth giggled leading Matty up the stairs to her room.
"You go girl live like your father and I did at your age, and kiss him more times than you can count on your fingers and your toes".
"Rache baby who are you talking to and might I be involved too?, if not then I think you need help because there's nobody there to talk to" Nigel said as Rachel giggled and looked at him.
"I was talking to our daughter Nigel, her and our future son in law are in her room doing God knows what just like we did at their age, remember my dad's house at midnight every night?".
"I most certainly do and let me just say I hope they're not doing the same thing we did at their age or they're going to have twins" Nigel said as Rachel giggled pecking his neck.
"Nigey they're not doing anything they haven't done before, I mean come on Nigel their teens and there's parties, movies, television, books, friends, and movie stars they look up to doing it all the time" Rachel said as Nigel nodded pecking Rachel's neck as she giggled and walked to cook dinner.
"This is all your fault Ari I mean you're Mrs. Know It All when it comes to rules, I mean how could you forget the golden rule Mrs. Know It All?" Roscoe asked angrily mopping the floor as Ariana angrily squeezed her sponge all over Roscoe's head.
"Yea and you're the one mommy always gets on about the golden rule so you should be the one to remember it egghead" Ariana said scrubbing the mud on the floor.
"Know it all, Know It All, Little Mrs. Know It All Ari, there should be a halo around your head Ari The Angel of Know It Allville".
"Yea well it beats having paint on my fingers and under my fingernails all the time Grungy Boy, Grungy boy, a thousand time Grungy Boy".
Roscoe angrily picked his bucket up and dumped it on Ari suds, water and all and beamed as she looked at him her blonde hair looking dirty brown with it drenched and Roscoe laughed out loud at her.
"Little Angel Ari of Know It Allville looks a little soaked doesn't she?, whereas Grungy boy well he's dry as a bone" Roscoe said still beaming as Ariana opened her mouth wide and screamed for Rachel who ran into the hall like there was an emergency.
"Just look what he did to me mommy, he's so mean that he dumped his bucket of sudsy water on me and then he called me Little Angel Ari of Know It Allville" Ariana said sniffling and starting to cry.
"Young man you just earned two weeks in the house starting now, and you young lady have earned the same for not cleaning, I mean this hall looks dirtier than it did earlier" Rachel said as Roscoe and Ariana both had their jaws open in surprise.
"In those two weeks you'll do nothing but read books. Write book reports, do math problems, and get your butts in bed at 8:00 even on weekends for two weeks".
"Well would you look at the time 7:59 one minute to bed I guess that means we're off the hook doesn't it mommy?" Roscoe asked about to walk off as Rachel grabbed him around the collar and pointed to the hall.
"I'm not a 24/7 maid young man and I will not be treated like one, you and your now drenched partner in crime will clean this mess and get to bed, if this hall isn't cleaned soon you'll stay up all night until it's cleaned" Rachel said as Roscoe angrily grabbed his bucket and filled it with more hot sudsy water.
"And you young lady will not tattle we've been over this time and time again Ariana and nobody likes a tattletale".
Ariana angrily shook her drenched hair out and wrung her clothes out hoping they'd dry soon as Rachel continued to stare at her wet daughter.
"I wasn't tattling I was just saying that Roscoe doused me with cold, sudsy, dirty, water and I could catch pneumonia thanks to him" Ariana said as Rachel sat on the stairs like a warden when Roscoe came back with his hot sudsy water and Ariana smirked pouring it all over him.
"There now we're even orphan boy, now fill it up again and let's get this job done you little orphan Rozzy".
"Screw you finish it yourself you spoiled, rich, little, bratty, I must have it all, preppy, idiot" Roscoe said with tears streaming down his face as he threw the bucket on Ariana's lap and ran up the stairs to his room slamming his bedroom door.
"Ariana Rachel Mckenzie that was uncalled for and you know it, I mean why are you so cold towards him?" Rachel asked as Ariana shrugged shivering in spite of the cold water.
"Maybe it's because the water he poured on me was 30 below 0 but who knows, he also called me spoiled and I think that's uncalled for too" Ariana said as Rachel shook her head grabbing the bucket and filling it up.
"Thanks to your harsh words Roscoe is now not grounded at all, and he's right you do act spoiled and like a brat, that'll give you something to think about while you're in your room for the night and Roscoe and me are out here cleaning the hall ourselves".
Ariana made to object but Rachel grabbed her wrist and led her to Roscoe's room where we hear him weeping and The Fray's Heartless played in the background.
"Now I believe you owe him an apology and let's hope you didn't hurt him too much young lady, because if you did then daddy, Matty, Lizzie, and I will do whatever Roscoe wants until he feels better and you're in your room thinking about what you've done" Rachel said.
Ariana's hand shook as she opened the door to find Matty sitting on Roscoe's bed consoling him and she made to skip off thinking she was off the hook but Rachel grabbed her and led her to the other side of Roscoe's bed.
"Look Roz you may not be 100 percent Mckenzie but you'll always be one to me, I mean you're the heart of the Mckenzie kids, Elizabeth's the teen, and Ariana's the girl who doesn't know how to say nice words" Matty said as Roscoe sniffled and looked up at him a thin smile on his face.
"You really thin k I'm the heart of the Mckenzie kids Matty honest to goodness?, because I thought I was too but painting has also made me an individual in this family" Roscoe said his voice hoarse from crying.
"I think he's the orphan of the Mckenzie kids, I mean he's not even 100 percent Mckenzie so what else would that make him?" Ariana asked malice in her voice.
"Three weeks Ariana Rachel Mckenzie, and if you care to go for six keep it up and see what I do next young lady" Rachel said as Nigel heard Roscoe crying and went into his room followed by Elizabeth.
"Nigel until further notice Ari's grounded for three weeks and if she keeps up what she's doing she'll be grounded for 6 weeks then 7 and we'll keep going until she sees how much her words hurt her brother".
"He called me a spoiled, rich, little, bratty, I must have it all, preppy idiot and you don't see me boo hooing over that" Ariana said as Roscoe angrily turned to her and Rachel's gaze also met her.
"You called him an orphan boy and little orphan Rozzy first young lady, just be lucky he censored himself over what he wanted to call you" Rachel said as Nigel and Elizabeth both looked surprised at Ariana.
"Young lady we said orphan was a banned word in this house when we adopted Roscoe, he's not an orphan anymore because he has a family and that family is our family" Nigel said as Roscoe sniffled hugging him as Rachel joined in hugging Roscoe.
"Yea but he dumped cold, dirty, sudsy water on me, and he blamed me for the mess in the hall when he did the same thing I did" Ariana said as Rachel glared angrily at her.
"I don't care if he wrote the word runty orphan on his forehead you know how that word makes him feel and you know the punishment for using it especially when it's directed towards him" Nigel said as Ariana whispered sorry but Rachel wanted more.
"Sorry's not going to cut it this time Ariana Rachel Mckenzie, I want you to write a one page apology for him, and I also want you to put yourself in his shoes during this time" Rachel said as Roscoe stopped crying and unclung from Nigel and Rachel.
"But that's totally unfair he called me names too and he doesn't have to write an apology, clean the hall, or even get grounded for it why am I grounded?" Ariana asked as Rachel angrily stared at her.
"Because he didn't use words that he knew would hurt you. He used anger words against you after you used words you knew would hurt him first".
"Yea because he poured cold, dirty, sudsy water all over me and blamed me for him getting into trouble".
"Right and you poured hot, clean, sudsy water all over him and blamed him right back, I was at the door listening to the whole conversation young lady".
Ariana made to stomp off but Elizabeth grabbed her so she was eye to eye with her and Ariana gulped seeing how angry she looked.
"Mom and dad made it perfectly clear when we got Roscoe that orphan wasn't in our vocabulary anymore, and you said you understood but apparently you don't" Elizabeth said as Ariana squeaked in fear at Elizabeth's anger.
"He may not have the blood of a Mckenzie but he has the heart of one, the love of one, and he as the soul of one and if you want to point fingers at people not being a Mckenzie maybe you should think about yourself Ariana Rachel Mckenzie".
Ariana started bawling and ran off to her room slamming her door ten times and stomping on the floor as Rachel handed Roscoe a mop and the both of them went to clean the front hall together.