"Marcus Donald Taylor-Jones Jr.!"

Marc walked across the stage & accepted his diploma. He shook his guidance counselor's hand & switched his tassel before walking off stage.

In the audience, his family cheered for him as if he'd just won the Nobel Prize. Just like with all their graduations, his grandparents were there.

After the ceremony was over, he walked to his family & accepted hugs.

"We're so proud of you!" Judy rocked a little with her hug.

"Thank you! I coulda been valedictorian if that brownnoser hadn't cut me off at the knees."

"Be grateful to be second." Olga told him.

Richard looked at her like she was crazy. "Never be grateful for first failure!"

Olga sighed heavily & rolled her eyes. "It is not failure."

"Yes, it is!" Po Seon snapped. "He would rightfully had been first place but some ** took his place!"

"Father!" Jeanette was furious. "Don't talk like that in front of the kids!"

He rolled his eyes.

His wife (& Jeanette's mother), Xhi-Xhi shook her head. "He will place first in his class in university."

"No pressure, Marc." Judy pursed her lips.

"I will." Marc didn't feel the slightest bit of pressure. He knew he was going to dominate at Ohio State University.

"Do you want to take pictures with your friends?" Marcus's mother, Victoria Jones asked.

"Uh... I don't care. I'm going to see them all later at the senior party anyway."

"Are you excited for your party tomorrow?" Maddie asked.

"It'll be alright." He ran a hand over her hair. "I've seen these jokers every day for four years. I don't need to see them ever again."

Marcy laughed.

Mike grinned. "You won't miss anybody? Not even the girls?"

Marc punched him in the shoulder. "I can't wait for you to grow up."

"Never gonna happen."

"He'll grow up." Michael's mother, Gertie Chang ran a hand through Mike's hair. "He'll have no choice."

"That's depressing, Mamma." Marcy said.

"It is not." Victoria hugged her. "You can't avoid adulthood."

"I think I can. I'm going to be a kid as long as I can."

"You have children. You're already an adult." Michael Sr. said.

"So we're stuck?" Mal wanted to know.

"In cement."

"& it isn't depressing?"

"It is."

"Michael!" Victoria snapped. "Adulthood is a wonderful thing!"

"You kids don't know how good you have it." Michael Sr. rolled his eyes. "Life was hard in the fifties."

"I thought life was better in the fifties?" Michael blinked in total innocence.

"It was. Because it was harder."

"So in order for something to be good, it has to be difficult?" Mike tried to work that logic out.

"Yes."

"Are you saying that because hard work is supposed to be good?"

Michael Sr. blinked. "We are here to celebrate your brother's milestone."

"Why won't you answer, Pappa?" Mal grinned.

"Let's leave."

The kids snickered.

W.W.W.

Jackie gasped. "Are those your little siblings? They're so cute!"

"We have something to tell you guys." Marcy shut the curtain to the audience. She & Jackie were pointing out each other's families when the Hispanic girl clapped eyes on the twins.

"What is it?" Dexter shrugged.

Marcy looked at Mal, who had been carrying on a conversation with Dexter about computers & therefore had no idea what Jackie saw. "We're married." She held up her hand.

"Married?" Jackie & Dexter blinked owlishly.

"We got married last year before I gave birth to twins. Mally & Mickey."

Mal took her hand. He knew she didn't want to be defined by their family so telling this was a big step. "Yup. We're married."

"You're fourteen!" Dexter blinked again.

"In our culture, kids can get married." Mal shrugged lightly.

"Our culture? I just thought you were best friends! Like me & Dex!" Jackie finally got her mouth to work.

"Dex & I." Marcy corrected absentmindedly. "We told you we grew up together. We've been like brother & sister since we were two."

"Wow! I can't believe this!" Jackie held her head.

"Do you need to sit down?" Mal asked.

"I think so." They walked to some plastic chairs & sat down. "I can't believe this. So you're married? Like really legally married?"

"Yes." Marcy nodded, losing her patience.

Jackie took a deep breath. "Why are you married?"

"We love each other!" Mal snapped.

"I got pregnant." Marcy rolled her eyes.

"Because we love each other!"

"Alright!"

"So you live together & everything?" Jackie cut in.

"Are you going to be like this for much longer?" Marcy cocked her head to the side.

Jackie swallowed. "I just don't know how to process this. You guys never let on."

"Why would they?" Dexter didn't see the logic in that.

Jackie slapped his arm. "They've hidden their love!"

"They're fourteen! It's gotta be weird. So yeah, their culture is different but this is America & we don't do that. How can any kid be okay being married?"

"I'm okay." Mal said immediately.

"I'm fine." Marcy shrugged.

"How are you so okay with it?" Dexter adjusted his glasses.

"We haven't changed. We just live together all the time & we can't fight like we used to & we have two little people counting on us for everything." She shrugged again.

"Don't your parents help you?" Jackie asked.

"Yes but we have to make every decision. Like breastfeeding. It would have been easier to do formula when school let in but I wanted to breastfeed still. It was our choice."

"But we do take their advice. Like with their shots. When we came home, we got their shots right away." Mal added.

"What do you do when something big happens? What if they fall or get lost or something?" Jackie wanted to know.

"They fall all the time. They're learning how to walk." Marcy raised a brow. "& we've never lost them. We probably will when they start to run but we're going to freak out like any other parent."

"& you're okay with that?"

"What other choice do we have?"

Jackie digested that. "How does it feel?"

"What?"

"Being married, having kids?"

"Being married feels nice. I know he's always going to be with me & I never have to worry about being unwanted. Having kids is like having your heart walking around outside your body. It's scary & thrilling at the same time."

"For me, being married means I get to keep her close & always have her with me." Mal said. "As for the kids, I never thought I'd love something so much. It's weird cuz they came from me. That's something nobody can take away. They're mine."

Dexter smiled. "I've never thought about being a dad but it sounds pretty cool."

"It is. Every time they do something new, I'm there with a camera to make sure we have that moment forever."

"I can admit I'm not that affectionate but I shower it on those two." Marcy smiled. "I kiss & hug on them all the time. I speak in that stupid baby voice adults are always pulling out & I play with them on the floor."

"I want a baby!" Jackie said out of nowhere.

"No!" Marcy & Mal shouted.

"But you were just saying how good it is to have kids."

"When you're ready & preferably an adult." Marcy shook her head.

"Yeah, it's still hard & we have all the help in the world." Mal added.

"How so?" Dexter asked.

"Like the twins first cold." Marcy remembered. "I thought I was going to lose my hair."

"They cried all night when they caught a fever." Mal shook his head sadly. "We couldn't do anything to help them. The medicine was taking its time & the doctor told us just to wait it out."

"Wait it out?!" Jackie was outraged.

"With colds, you have to take the medicine & wait it out." Marcy lifted a shoulder.

"That's for everybody but when it's your kid, it's not good enough." Mal went on.

Jackie pouted. "I still want kids. But maybe I'll wait until I get older."

"Please do. Besides in order to have kids (at least while a kid), you have to have sex & you are not ready for that." Marcy shook her head.

Jackie was offended. "Why not?! You were!"

"I was a special case. You're thirteen. You don't need to be having sex. It can mess you up."

"But isn't it fun?"

Marcy blushed. "You're not listening to me."

"Stop it, Jackie!" Dexter blushed his own self.

Jackie pouted. "I want to be like you guys!"

"No, you don't." Mal laughed. "Diapers suck & breast milk makes it worse."

"Diapers?" She drew up short.

"You have to change diapers." Marcy blinked. "You know they don't clean themselves, right?"

Jackie made a face. "I think I can change a diaper."

"Come over. We have a week before we leave. You'll see. They stink to high heaven & they pile up when you have twins."

"You leave? Where are you going?" Jackie frowned.

"We used to go to summer camp but we have kids now & can't so we decided that while our siblings are at camp, we'll spend the summer with our grandparents." Mal said.

"Your grandparents don't live in town?"

"We're not from around here." Marcy said slowly.

"You can't be from down South." Dexter was pretty sure.

Mal & Marcy explained their roots.

"Wow. Rich people are a class all their own."

Mal & Marcy shrugged.

"I guess that culture thing makes sense now." Jackie said. "We never met your family at your birthday party. Can we meet them now?"

"Aren't we supposed to start soon?" Marcy asked.

"I think we're behind schedule." Dexter said. He checked his watch. "Yeah, we should have already started."

"Alright everyone!" A teacher waved to the eighth graders. "Line up by name! A's through F's up here! G's through P's here! Q's through Z's here!"

"We'll see you on the other side." Mal took Marcy's hand & led her to the A-F section.

Jackie & Dexter split up, Jackie going to G-P for Hernandez while Dexter went to Q-Z for Williamson.

W.W.W.

Marcy opened the door. "Hey!"

"Hi!" Jackie waved. Dexter waved beside her. "We're here & ready to babysit!"

"You're not babysitting. We're just hanging out." Marcy smirked.

"You should leave. We can do this."

"Please don't leave. We can't do this." Dexter begged.

Marcy laughed. "Come in." She let them in then shut & locked the door. "We're in the den."

Jackie & Dexter gawked at the house as she led them towards the back of the house. "Your house is insane!"

"It's okay. You should see our Nana's house. We're going to spend the first part of summer with her." Marcy went into the den.

Mal was on the floor helping Mally with his blocks with Mickey in his lap, chewing on his shirt. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Mal!" Both greeted.

Jackie took off her jacket & sat down next to him. "They're even cuter in the light!"

"Yeah, they're pretty cute." Marcy sat down on Mal's other side while Dexter sat across from him.

Mally looked at these two new people & immediately crawled towards the girl.

Marcy pouted. She noticed her son seemed to really like girls. "Hold his hands & he'll walk to you."

Jackie gently grabbed his hands & Mally struggled to his feet & walked the rest of the way to her. "Ah! He's doing it!"

Mally crashed into her & hugged her.

She wrapped her arms around his little body. "He's like my little brother!"

"He'll stay there for a while." Marcy folded her legs.

Dexter cocked his head to the side. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure." Mal handed Mickey over. "She blows a lot of bubbles."

Dexter held her close to his chest. "She's like one of my sister's dolls. This is crazy."

"Do you guys want anything to eat? drink?" Marcy stood up.

"Uh, sure."

"Yes, please." Jackie was enthralled with Mally.

Marcy left.

"Where are your parents?"

"Work." Mal cleared away the blocks, even as his son made a distressed noise.

"So you're here by yourselves?"

"Yeah. Who else would be here?"

"Don't you have siblings? Where are they?" Dexter took his glasses back from Mickey.

"Laura is making sure they're all ready for summer, Marc, Mike, Mercy & Quinn are with their friends & Maddie is at a lesson."

"It just seems weird that you're alone." Jackie said.

"We're usually not but everyone wanted to see their friends. You're here."

Dexter inclined his head. "You're right."

Marcy came back with chips & juice. "I don't know what kind you like so I brought one of each."

"Can they eat chips?" Jackie asked.

"They have teeth."

Mal passed Jackie a bag of chips & she took one out & held it out to Mally. The baby reached for it & grasped it in his pudgy hand.

"He's like a little person!" Jackie watched riveted as he slobbed on the chip & chewed.

"He is a person. Just little." Marcy opened her apple juice.

"I'm back to wanting a baby!"

"Jackie!" All three yelped.

"He's so cute! You're not changing my mind!" She tossed her head.

"Do you want me to tell you about labor?!" Marcy snapped.

"What's that?"

"When the baby come out of your vagina!"

"Marce!" Mal blushed.

"Babies come from where?!" Jackie gulped.

"The baby splits you open like a coconut." Marcy stared her down.

Jackie was a little dazed. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"So bad."

"Don't they give moms drugs?"

"You want a foot long needle in your spine?"

Jackie paled. "Alright! I get it! It's not fun."

"It's more than not fun. It's agony."

"She broke my hand." Mal frowned.

"Your children ripped me apart." Marcy glared at him.

"I'm sorry." He grabbed her hand & kissed the back of it.

"Would you do it again?" Dexter asked. "Or are these two it for you?"

"I'm not having another kid until my age doesn't end in "teen"." Marcy shook her head.

"I can wait." Mal added.

Dexter laughed. "So what do you all do for fun together?"