I've had this done since Thursday and I impatiently waited for my beta to give it back to me. Thank for betaing this for me! I know I already thanked you in my email but I have to thank you again! I would also like to thank GorgeousSmile, MojoNolive93, Fangirl44, and LEXIRENT97 for reviewing Chapter 13. Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Chapter 14 Hangovers and Cell Phone Calls
Joanne could hear her cell phone ringing in the kitchen, but she was currently trapped under a sleeping Maureen on the couch. She tried to roll the diva off of her, but that caused Maureen to tighten her grip around her waist. Joanne sighed and pried Maureen's arms off of herself, though careful not to wake her. Somehow, she managed to slide out from underneath the snoozing diva and hurried to the kitchen to pick her phone up off the counter. Despite her efforts, she had missed the call, but when she saw that it was Amy, without thought, she dialed her number to call her back and waited patiently through the three rings.
"Joanne, hi, I'm glad you called back. I wasn't sure if you guys were awake yet," she said, chuckling. "I was just wondering when would be a good time to bring the kids home."
"Anytime is fine, I guess. I was actually just going to wake everyone up so they could start nursing their hangovers before the kids get here," Joanne replied, grinning slightly.
"Okay, they just seem a little homesick, that's all. Rylie keeps asking for Maureen and the twins clearly miss their moms. I guess I don't have your magic touch," Amy said, laughing a little.
"Well, sometimes I doubt that I have it too," Joanne admitted, keeping her tone light and trying not to convey her actual self-doubt. "They're teething and it seems like nothing I do can console them. I guess I'm just not used to this age. Hannah had most of her teeth by the time we finally got to bring her home and Rylie took to Maureen so well that just her presence would put her in a better mood." She paused, then added after a moment, "I guess it also helped that Maureen used to sneak her popsicles when she thought I wasn't looking."
"Yeah, kids are funny that way. We had no trouble with Kelsey while she was teething, but Kyler was a monster. I guess it just depends on the kid. Everything does, right?"
Joanne was about to reply, but heard some noise that could only be the waking bohemians. "Okay, well you can bring them home any time. I think I hear some rustling around in the living room, so I have to go for now."
"Alright. I'll see you later Joanne. Bye."
"Bye," Joanne replied, hanging up the phone. She set it on the table, then walked back into the living room. Everyone seemed to have woken up-- except, of course, Maureen. Slightly amused, she approached the couch and leaned down towards the mess of curls that was Maureen's head. Carefully, Joanne put her hand on her back so not to startle her. "Maureen," Joanne said quietly, shaking her just a little. "Honeybear. It's time to get up."
Maureen groaned. "Not so loud, Jo," she whined, refusing to open her eyes.
Joanne chuckled to herself, then replied, "Amy is bringing the kids some soon. I thought you might want to go upstairs."
"Okay, Pookie," Maureen said reluctantly. "Will you come with me and close the curtains? My head hurts," she added, yet again in a whiny tone.
"Yeah, come on," Joanne said, smirking and helping Maureen off the couch. "Can you guys get some of the mess from last night cleaned up?" Joanne asked the rest of the group, though knowing that the bohos cleaning was very unlikely, especially due to the constant state of the loft.
With much reluctance, everyone got up from where they were sitting and made their way to the kitchen and the backyard. Joanne helped Maureen up the stairs and into their bedroom, where Maureen promptly collapsed on the bed. Joanne walked over to the windows and pulled the curtains closed to shut out as much light as possible, but her success was limited. She had to suppress a laugh, however, when she saw Maureen sprawled out on the bed on top of the blankets, her face buried in a pillow. Joanne pulled the comforter and sheets down on Maureen's side and coaxed her half-asleep wife under the blankets, then covered her up. She shut the door and locked it on her way out so the kids couldn't bother Maureen. If they were to wake her up, the sight would not be a pretty one.
As she was coming down the stairs, Amy was walking through the front door with the kids. She had a twin on each hip while Hannah and Aaden were carrying the empty car seats. Rylie came barreling through the door behind them carrying the bags, looking frantically for her parents.
"Mama!" Rylie yelled upon seeing Joanne, dropping the bags at the door causing a loud crash. "Where's mommy?" she asked immediately, looking for Maureen.
"She's in her room sleeping. She'll come down later when she wakes up," Joanne replied easily, taking Collin from Amy and putting him in the Pack 'n' Play. Amy sat Callie down beside her brother and Joanne briskly moved the kids' bags away from the door. Aaden and Rylie wandered into the kitchen, Aaden looking for his mom and Rylie looking for Mimi. Hannah laid down on the couch, clearly exhausted. Charlotte and Mimi walked into the living room, each with a kid on their hip.
"Thank you so much for watching him; Amy," Charlotte said, a forced smile on her face. "His dad was supposed to have him this weekend but he's not the most dependable person in the world." She bit her lip and shifted her weight, though her tight smile didn't falter.
"He was no problem. My son, Kyler, was thrilled to have a boy to play with," Amy replied hastily.
"I'm glad. We had a conversation about good behavior last night before you got here, didn't we, bud?" Charlotte said, directing her attention to her son. Aaden nodded his head proudly. "Hey, let's say we go find Mark so we can go home and have our special Sunday lunch," Charlotte suggested to Aaden, her fake smile replaced by a genuine one.
"Okay, let's go," Aaden replied, wriggling down before running off to find Mark. Charlotte followed close behind.
"So, we know that Aaden behaved, what about the other trouble maker?" Joanne asked, glancing at Rylie. Rylie hid her face in Mimi's shoulder, embarrassed.
"She was good for the most part. I only had to warn her a couple of times not to get too loud while the twins were asleep," Amy replied easily, grinning in Rylie's general direction.
"Good job, chica!" Mimi cheered, hugging Rylie and trying to get her to smile.
Joanne grinned. "You can go put a star on your chart, Ryles."
Rylie's face lit up and she pulled her face away from Mimi's shoulder. "Really?" she asked, disbelieving.
"Yes, you had good behavior so you get a star," Joanne replied, shrugging.
"How many stars? Can I put on two?" Rylie asked holding up three fingers, then quickly lowering one. "Two?" she repeated.
"No, you can put one star on the chart. That's the rule," Joanne said simply.
"Aw! I want to put on two stars!" Rylie whined. "Aunt Mimi, tell her I should get two stars."
"Stop it," Mimi said, crinkling her nose. "You're making me feel guilty!" Reluctantly, she mumbled, "listen to your mama, Ryles."
"But I want two!"
"Do you want to make it zero?" Joanne said, putting her hands on her hips.
"No-o," Rylie admitted, then ran out of the room to put a star on her chart.
"I'll go make sure she only puts on one star," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. "If she's anything like her mom, she won't." Grinning, she headed out of the room, giggling and running after Rylie.
"I don't even have to ask about Hannah. I know she was good," Joanne said after a moment. "Did she complain about her knee at all? I sent an ice pack with her to see if that would help."
"Yeah, she complained a little, but not too much. Jim checked it out because he noticed her limping on it a little. He wants her to see her pediatrician," Amy admitted, playing with her fingers. "I don't know what he found, but he told me to tell you to make an appointment. If I were you I would call his cell phone and talk to him just so you have the full story. A lot of his medical talk goes way over my head," she added, trying to keep her tone light.
"Okay, she probably just bumped it on something. I'll make her an appointment tomorrow just so I know it's nothing serious," Joanne replied, her voice portraying none of her worry.
"Here's Jim's contact info. He'll be in town for another week if you need to talk to him," Amy said, writing it down on a piece of paper and handing it to Joanne.
"Alright, I'll give him a call after I get everything settled here."
"Okay, take care Joanne," Amy said, and walked out the door.
Joanne sighed and looked at Hannah sleeping peacefully on the couch. Not wanting to disturb her, Joanne carefully placed one of the blankets on top of her. She gently stroked her cheek for a moment before attending to the twins, who were showing signs of being hungry. She picked them up from the Pack 'n' Play and carried them into the kitchen to their high chairs. Rylie was helping Mimi wipe down the counter, both of them occasionally throwing wet sponges at each other. They had cleared away all of the beer bottles and put them in a trash bag, which was lying in the middle of the floor, partially spilt over. The guys had started cleaning up outside while Aaden was running around.
"You want some help feeding them?" Mimi volunteered, dodging the sponge Rylie tossed at her with ease.
"Sure, I was just going to feed them some baby cereal and fruit," Joanne said, laughing a little. She considered scolding Rylie for a brief moment, then reconsidered.
"Alright, I'll get the cereal ready." She turned to Rylie, and said sneakily, "we'll continue our battle later, chica." Grinning, she took the cereal out of the cupboard and placed in on the counter before searching for a bowl.
"I'm going to make a quick phone call first before I forget," Joanne said, grabbing her cell phone.
"Okay, Rylie and I got it. Take your time," Mimi replied easily. The minute Joanne left the room, the two looked at each other, then commenced their sponge-battle, grinning.
Joanne took her cell phone to the laundry room off the kitchen for some privacy. She closed the door and pulled the slip of paper from her pocket. She then dialed his cell phone number and heard it ring a couple of times before Jim's voice came on the line.
"Jim Nelson," he answered in a brisk, business-like voice.
"Hi, Jim, this is Joanne. Amy said I should call you about Hannah…?"
"Oh, hi, Joanne. I was hoping to hear from you. I noticed that Hannah was limping a little while she was playing with the other kids. I did an initial exam and she has very limited range of motion where it isn't painful for her to move that knee. I want her to see her pediatrician for a scan just to ease my mind. She might have just twisted it, but with kids it's hard to tell. Never hurts to be too careful."
"Okay, I was planning on making her an appointment tomorrow morning. She's not one to complain so she must have hurt it pretty bad," Joanne replied, just a hint of worry in her tone.
"Hopefully, all she did was strain the ligaments. Kids' ligaments are pretty stretchy so she should be fine in a few days. In my opinion, she needs to see her doctor to make sure she didn't tear anything."
"Okay, thanks for checking her out. I know you didn't have to."
"It was no problem, Joanne. I would see her myself but having a knee exam by a neurosurgeon would look kind of funny in her chart. Not to mention confusing for radiology. They'd think I'd gone bananas ordering a CT scan on a knee instead of a brain."
Joanne chuckled. "Well. I've got babies to feed and a house to clean. I'll get Hannah into her pediatrician and let you know."
"Alright then."
"Thanks again, Jim. I'll talk to you in a couple of days."
"Talk to you then. Bye Joanne."
"Bye." Joanne hung up her cell phone and joined Mimi back in the kitchen. She and Rylie had already started feeding the twins, and both of them were sopping wet.
"Do I even want to ask?" Joanne said, shaking her head.
Mimi grinned. "Let's just say your daughter plus a sponge, equals mass destruction."
Rylie looked up and glanced between Mimi and Joanne, then announced, "Aunt Mimi, you need to stay here forever."
Mimi laughed and kissed Rylie's forehead. "I would, but then Roger would starve because he can't cook for his life. You don't want him to starve, right?"
To that, Rylie grabbed a sponge and threw it at Mimi again, giggling.
Collins and Angel had come in from outside, and were now rummaging in the fridge looking for some food to make everyone for breakfast. Charlotte was sitting at the kitchen table watching Mark and Roger chase Aaden outside, a quiet grin playing on her face.
"Mark is going to make a great dad, don't you think?" Charlotte asked no one in particular, smiling fondly.
"You think our Marky is the one, honey?" Angel asked, her eyes dancing.
"I think he might be," Charlotte admitted, still smiling. "He's so good with Aaden and he's everything that my ex isn't. He's kind and he's charming and he really cares about us."
"Just be patient with him. Losing Julie was really hard on him. Take little steps and he should come around. I'm sure he feels the same way about you. It just might take him a little longer to show it," Joanne offered.
"Yeah, he doesn't talk about Julie a lot. I know who she is and that she died before they could start having kids. I don't know much else, but I'm not going to push him. He'll share when he's comfortable," she said, shrugging. Outside, Mark scooped up Aaden and tossed him into the air, both of them grinning.
"You've got good taste, honey," Angel offered, looking outside as well.
Charlotte grinned broadly. "Yeah, I guess I do."
I know this has a ton of dialogue but it's needed and it moves the story along in the most organic way possible. Thanks again to my beta for making this chapter so much better than my first draft! School has scared my muse into hibernation. It's grouchy when I try to wake it up and because my muse is grouchy it only lets me write mediocre crap. I'm so thankful that I have a beta otherwise this chapter would have been crap. In the next Chapter, Rylie starts her first day of Kindergarten! I'm so excited for her! I'll get to dive into Maureen's head and let my inner Frat boy come out because Rylie's teacher is hot! I have to warn you that the next update is going to take awhile. I have a Creative Writing class that is going to kick my ass (It's alot of writing but if I am inspired I will work on Chapter 15) and I have two science classes that are alot of work.