Following a typical day in Manny's shoes. Just how does one survive with seven kids?
A Mile in her Heels: Manny McDuelle
Like any other day, the alarm clock went off at six thirty in the morning. Groaning, Manny McDuelle rolled to hit the stupid buzzing atrocity as it had ruined yet another peaceful dream.
"Max," she said nudging her sleeping husband. "Max, you have to wake up baby. You have a plane to catch soon."
"I know." came the tired reply. "Okay, I'm getting up."
So, this was how her day started off. As normal, he had a meeting to go to, this one just so happened to be in Liverpool, England. He would not be home for nearly a week. And though she was sad that he was not going to be there, she knew that it was an important business meeting that require both owners of the company- he and his sister Ginger- to be there.
"I'll go get the kids up." Manny said sitting up.
"Thanks babe." Maxwell said before leaning up to capture her lips. "I'll make breakfast."
"No, I got it. Just get ready." Manny said before getting out of bed, slipping her bedroom shoes on, and leaving the room.
Many people did not know the real life of Manny McDuelle, and that was because on the sets of her movies or an award ceremony, she looked rejuvenated and happy. In fact, some said that she nearly glowed at all times. And for the most part, that was true. And she owed it to her strange family, starting with Maxwell. The next one in line would be her eldest daughter, Danica McDuelle.
Danica, for some odd reason, slept in the pool house out in the back. Sure, it allowed Jayden and Katya to have their own rooms inside the house, but it meant extra walking for Manny. Oh well. She had to put exercise somewhere in her busy schedule.
Walking outside in the cool morning in Newport Beach, California, Manny knocked on the locked door.
"Are you awake, Danni?" Manny asked.
The seventeen-years-old girl groaned. "Mama…"
"Come on. Get up. You know how I feel about you and Jayden getting to school on time." Manny replied.
"I'm up." Danica said before muttering something Manny could not catch. Manny just rolled her eyes. Danica's foul mouth was always directed to a teacher or a student she did not like, but from time-to-time, Manny and/or Maxwell would catch their daughter cursing her luck. "Has Daddy left?"
"He's in the shower." Manny said. "I'm going to run in here and get the others up before I start breakfast. You want anything particular?"
"Is sleep on the menu?" came Danica's response.
Manny did not answer. She just walked away. The pool house was equipped with its own shower, so Danica did not have to leave her 'bedroom' until she was fully cleaned and dress. Although many of Danica's friends thought that this was the coolest thing in the world, Maxwell and Manny knew that it was just to stop people from seeing Danica in her disheveled form. The girl took pride in her good looks.
Now back inside of the house, Manny climbed the steps to her son, Jayden's room. She opened it to see her husband's miniature form lying beneath his covers, back towards the door.
"Jay, school." those were her only words to get him up. Sure, Jayden got into trouble at school like his sister did, but he was still a mama's boy.
"I'm coming." Jayden mumbled into the sheets.
"Hurry up. If Danni leaves and you're not in the car, you can't catch a ride with anyone else. Your father will be gone." Manny said.
Jayden sat up slowly. He grabbed a large rubber band from his nightstand and used it to pull his hair back and tied the rubber band around it, giving him his puffy ponytail that Manny adored since he was little. Her other sons did not have long hair like Jayden nor did they have dimples.
"Anyone in the shower?" he asked, his voice still hoarse from sleep.
"Not yet." Manny said leaving.
Her next target was her other sons, Aaron and Christian's bedroom. While Christian was just four, Aaron was nine and attended elementary school with his sister, Katya. Christian went to a preschool a few blocks away from Aaron's school, leaving Manny to deal with the two-years-old twins, Renée and Jenée alone. Unless she decided to take them to the daycare around the corner, but today she felt like she should keep her daughters home.
"A.J. Chris. Get up." Manny said in a warm voice. The two had bunk beds where Aaron slept on the top and Christian slept on the bottom. Manny went to Aaron and nudged him. "A.J, get up. You have that field trip later on, remember."
"Yeah…" Aaron said.
"Mommy." Manny turned her attention to the door to see Jenée standing there. She knew it was Jenée out of sheer mother instincts. Bending down, she lifted the little girl up.
"What are you doing awake, Jenée?" the toddler shrugged. "Okay. Are you hungry?" a tired nod. "Okay. We'll get you something to eat." Manny looked at Aaron. "Make sure that Chris is awake."
"Sure Mama." Aaron said as Manny left for her last stop, Katya's room.
Aaron and Katya were alike in many ways. They were usually soft-spoken and quite smart. However, Katya had a limit to her patience and once in every blue moon, there would be a phone call home talking about the verbal or physical abuse Katya had done to one of her classmates. Aaron, on the other hand, has never been in trouble in school so far.
Going into Katya's always cleaned room, Manny walked to her bed and gently shook her daughter.
"Kitty. Kitty it's time to get up." Manny said. "Kitty."
"I'm awake." Katya said before yawning. "Did Daddy leave yet?"
Unfortunately, the little difference that Katya did not share with Aaron, she shared with Danica. Manny could only pray that Katya did not do half the things her eldest daughter did.
"No. He's still here." Manny said before putting a hand through Katya's straight dark brown hair. The chocolate orbs that her daughter calls eyes looked up and met her own, her heart nearly melting at the innocent look. "Hurry up and get dressed. I'm taking you and A.J to school today."
"'Kay Mommy." Katya replied.
Manny left Katya's bedroom and took Jenée into her and her twin's bedroom. Manny laid the nearly sleeping girl back in her bed. Manny kissed Jenée's forehead.
"I'll be right back sweetie. I have to go make breakfast." Manny said.
Manny checked to see if Renée was still sleeping, and as if answering her prayers, she was. Manny left and walked into her bedroom to see Maxwell nearly dressed. He was sitting on the bed, looking at some papers in his hands, his shoes beside his feet and his suitcase on the bed behind him.
"So what is it?" Manny asked stepping into the bathroom. She had just enough time to wash up and get dressed before her children would all be ready to eat.
"Nothing." Maxwell said. "I wish I didn't have to leave for England though. It would be much better if this was in L.A or somewhere near."
"Go to England." Manny replied behind the closed door.
"And leave you guys here? You do realize that this will be the longest I've been away since the twins were born, right? I doubt that you can handle all seven of them by yourself." Manny opened the door to glare at him, though with her toothbrush in her mouth, she failed and gained a smile from her husband. "Okay, so maybe I should worry more about them and not you."
Manny gave her husband a middle finger before closing the door, though this only fueled his fire and he laughed.
This was the kind of things that they did behind closed doors. They could say and do everything that they wanted to without the worry of one of their kids seeing it or some reporter catching it on camera. They could act just like they did nearly eighteen years ago when they met. While Maxwell could be the perverted boy he once was, Manny could be, well, Danica. She could be rude, fun, hard-to-get, and above all, flirtatious with her husband. They knew that once they left the comfort of their own bedroom, that this kind of play was limited until all seven kids were asleep. But with their luck, they usual fell asleep before that happened.
Manny spit the toothpaste into the sink. "Hey babe."
"Hmm." he replied.
"For the summer, what do you say about visiting my parents in Toronto?" Manny asked.
"Depends on the time of month. Wouldn't want to catch your dad while he's on his period." Maxwell said.
Manny rolled her eyes once more. "No. He won't be on his period anytime we go up there. So what do you say?"
"Yeah. We'll talk more about this on the phone. I'll go get breakfast started." Manny opened the bathroom door and was seconds away from protesting before he beat her to it. "Don't say a thing. I'll make breakfast. You just make sure that you make dessert for my return. I like my pie hot."
Manny blushed. "Go."
Maxwell left the bedroom, allowing Manny to get dressed in privacy. Once she was fully dressed, she sat on her bed and looked at the family picture on her nightstand. This caused her to look at her notepad and groan. She had a scheduled interview today. After putting her shoes on, she made her way out of the room.
Maxwell was a man of many talents, but none came close to his ability to cook. Sure her father- being the old-fashioned man that he was- found it wrong for Maxwell to do most of the cooking while Manny did not, but Manny and the kids loved it.
"Coffee?" Maxwell asked, sipping the beverage out of a cup.
"I'd love some." Manny said taking his cup away from him with a smile. Maxwell gave her a playful slap on her rear, seconds before Danica came into the kitchen from the backdoor. "Danni! You took longer than I expected."
"It was my hair." Danica said, combing her hair with her fingers. "Tangles and split-ends do not make for a princess."
"Yeah," Maxwell said standing over the stove. "You got anything particular you want to eat?"
"Whatever you got." Danica said. Danica checked the time on the microwave. "I could've slept for another fifteen minutes."
"It would've done you no good, trust me." Maxwell said.
"Say, Mama, don't you have an interview today?" Danica asked.
Manny nodded. That was Danica for you, she kept track of everyone and everything that revolved around her. Well, except for her homework, but she did do her projects three days in advance. This was a great trait, since Manny sometimes forgot when some, lesser important things had to be done.
"Stupid grease." Maxwell muttered. Manny saw her husband frying bacon at the current time. She checked the time on the microwave. "Don't worry Dimples. I'm out as soon as this is done. You can finish the rest."
Manny smiled. Sometimes it was creepy that he knew what she was thinking. Others, it made her life and job that much easier.
"Hey Dad," Jayden said coming into the room. "When are you coming back?"
"Why?" Maxwell asked, knowing that a favor was going to be asked.
"Coop and I wanted to go to the Lakers game next week and-"
"The Lakers? Jay, when will you get it in your head that you're not going to become a professional basketball player?" Danica interrupted.
"The same day you stop answering for our parents." Jayden replied.
Danica glared at him. "Don't start with me this early. Remember that you have to make it to school in my car."
"And he will." Manny said to her daughter.
"Yeah, but in how many pieces?" Danica stated.
Maxwell looked at Danica, quickly hushing the girl. Though it was Manny who was normally hard on her kids, they all knew that when Maxwell was angry about something, it was best to undo what had been done or else. Which was another reason she loved him. Handling children like Danica was much easier with him around.
"Let me get out of here." Maxwell said. "And if I call and one or all of my children are hurt, for your sake, your mother had better be the reason Danica."
"Yes sir." Danica said.
Maxwell smiled before kissing his eldest daughter on the forehead.
"That's my princess." Maxwell turned and gave Manny a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll call when we land."
"Sure." Manny said as he left the kitchen, heading for the bedroom where he had left his bags. "So, when are your next games?"
"Next Tuesday." Danica answered. "His is at five and mine is at six thirty."
"I'll be there rooting for you both." Manny said as she moved to finish breakfast. "And Jay, if, and only if, you stay out of trouble between now and Saturday, you can go with Marissa to the game."
"Thanks." Jayden said.
"Well," Danica said with a smile. "You might as well tell your little girlfriend that you won't be able to make it. With your kind of luck and attitude, you'll be grounded before you even leave the house."
"Like you are?" Jayden asked with a smirk.
Danica had no response to the comment, something that made Manny mentally pat her son on the back. When one pulled one over Danica, they had achieved something in their life.
"Bye Daddy!" the sound of Katya called, followed by a response and the door closing.
"Well, there goes my chance to see any movies this weekend." Danica muttered before she got up and moved to the dining room.
"Why do you say that?" Manny asked.
"Let's be honest. You're going to say no." Danica said sitting at the table.
Manny was quiet for a moment as she continued her cooking. When she first learned that she was going to be a mother, she decided that there were two things she would never do: Let her daughters grow up like she did and not become her father. However, doing the first on her list meant contradicting the second one. She hated being the bad guy, but she did find Danica in bed with a boy on her sixteenth birthday. That image only reminded her of her and Craig or her and Jay.
Her mind slowly traveled down memory lane for a moment. The birth of Danica gave her a chance to undo her mistake with Craig. She would have a child, whether she was ready for it or not. That, plus Maxwell was a big antagonist of abortion.
And Jay? Well, since the last time he cheated on her resulted in her sleeping with Maxwell in the first place to create Danica, she could care less. He got whatever he deserved and then some. And thankfully the next time someone told her that he loved her, they began a family and got married, something Jay was a little hesitant on doing.
Manny looked over into the next room to see Danica sitting at the table by herself, staring out of the window. She reminded Manny a lot of herself, with bits and pieces of her father in there. She was a beautiful growing woman and it only scared Manny more to think that this was Danica's graduating year. In a month, she would be eighteen and officially a woman. Yet the weird thing was, it seemed like yesterday she was reading bedtime stories to the young girl who had an interest in everything magical or things that seemed highly unlikely like Martians. A smile crept onto Manny's face when she remembered a five-years-old Danica walking around the house saying that she was a long-lost descendant of Atlantis.
"Home by midnight." the words left her mouth before she realized what she was doing.
"Huh?" Jayden said.
"Not you. I was talking to your sister." Manny said. Manny turned back to her cooking. "Did you hear me Danni?" Her answer came when a pair of arms nearly squeezed the air out of her. Though, there was always air left for a small laugh. "I guess you did."
"You are the best mother ever, I swear." Danica said while hugging her mother. "I'll finish cooking. I promise."
"Good." Manny said. "I'm going to get the twins ready."
The time was now seven o'clock. That was good, she had thirty minutes to take Aaron and Katya to school and drop Christian off at pre-school.
As she walked to the twins' bedroom, she stopped to check on the other kids. Katya was combing her hair, though Manny knew that Danica was just going to do it once the girl got downstairs. Danica would never allow her younger sister to leave the house 'half-pretty' as Danica would say. Christian was dressed as was Aaron. Thankfully Aaron was nothing like Jayden, who believed that one warning was enough for everyone. Therefore, if Jayden were to tell someone to get up once and they did not move, he would let them sleep unless he needed something. Aaron, fortunately, did what his parents told him to do.
Finally, Manny made it to the girls' bedroom where both twins were awake and mobile. Renée, the older of the two, was busy playing with some dolls while Jenée was playing with some toy computer. Manny sighed heavily.
This was going to be tough.
"Are you two ready to eat?"
"No."
Yep. Manny knew this was going to happen. Once the two had something to do, everything else seemed unimportant. This meant that the necessities in life such as eating, sleeping, and bathing came second to playing or watching TV.
"Come on," Manny said moving towards Renée first. "Let's go."
"Play!" the girl whined.
"Play later. Eat now." Manny said lifting her up, much to the girl's chagrin.
"Breakfast is done." Danica said at the doorway.
"Danni!" Renée cried, hoping her sister would give her what she wanted.
Danica rolled her eyes before taking her younger sister from her mother.
"You know, I'm old enough to be your mother." Danica said to Renée, gaining a glare from Manny. "But since I'm not, how about we do what she says before you get in trouble?"
"More like it." Manny said cutting the computer game off, causing Jenée to whine as well. "It's time to eat."
"I'll strap this one down." Danica said leaving the room with Renée.
Jenée looked at Manny. "Hung-wee."
"I know you are." Manny said leaving the room with Jenée in her arms. "That's because you're mommy's chubby little girl." Manny poked Jenée in her stomach, causing the girl to giggle childishly. "A.J, Chris come down and get something to eat before we have to go."
"Yes ma'am." Aaron replied.
"Kitty did you hear me?" Manny asked walking by her room.
"I'm coming." Katya said.
Once she was downstairs, she spotted Renée in a highchair, eating dry cereal from a bowl and drinking milk from a sippy cup. The strange thing about Renée was that she could not eat cereal with milk in the bowl. Both Manny and Maxwell seemed confused about Renée's inability to allow anything on her plate to touch, even cereal and milk, but they never said anything out loud. Danica and Jayden, however, took every chance to pick on their baby sister.
"There you go Jenée." Manny said sitting Jenée in the second highchair. Manny put a bowl of cereal, with milk, in front of Jenée. Jenée began to faithfully eat her meal. "That's mommy's girl."
"Hey Mama," Danica said. "Do you think we can go to Italy this summer?"
"No. I was trying to talk your dad into going to see my parents in Toronto." Manny said as she moved to the kitchen to fix her a plate. "But as you know, he does not want to go see my dad."
"What's new?" Danica asked.
"So do you want to go to Toronto?" Manny asked.
Danica shrugged. "I don't know. You know that the Seniors' Party in Tijuana is this summer. I thought about going until I heard that some guy that I shouldn't be around or I'll lose myself will be there."
Manny rolled her eyes. "Danni, don't let a boy control your life or you'll be miserable."
"I know. I'm trying to be more like you." Danica said with a smile.
"You're getting close." Manny said as she moved to an empty seat at the table near the two highchairs.
"So, are you going to do the interview here? Because if you are, I could always come during lunch and help." Danica said.
"I got it Danni. Besides, I need you to stay in school all day today. I can't have your father thinking that I can't control all of you." Manny replied. "Do that for me and I promise I'll lessen your punishment."
"Deal." Danica responded.
Manny smiled as she watched as her family ate. Danica and Jayden talked amongst themselves as they usually do. Aaron sat in silence as always, looking at everyone else. Katya sat and listened to her older brother and older sister talk, her interest in Danica growing every second. Finally, Christian sat content in eating his meal. He hardly paid attention to anyone or anything.
After breakfast, Manny put the dishes in the dishwasher.
"Danni, can you keep the twins busy? I won't be long." Manny said as Christian, Katya, and Aaron got their things.
"I can." Danica said as Manny left with three of her seven children.
Getting Aaron, Katya, and Christian into the car was a lot easier than most days. Usually one of the three would remember that they forgot something and that meant that she would be running later than usual. Fortunately today was not one of those days.
On their way to Newport Elementary, Manny eyed her three children in the backseats. These three were surprisingly her quietest three despite having the energy to tire out everyone in the house, the twins included.
"Mommy, are we going to see Nana?" Katya asked, referring to Manny's mother.
"Hopefully. But that's in the summer." Manny answered. "Did you want to see her?" Manny looked into the mirror to see the small brunette nodding. "Well, you'll have to be extra good and get your father to say yes."
"Okay." Katya said.
When Manny pulled in front of the school, she unlocked the doors.
"Alright, you two have a good day." Manny said turning in her seat to give them both a kiss on the cheek.
"We will. Bye Mommy!" Katya said happily.
"Bye Mama." Aaron said as he got out of the car with his younger sister.
Manny smiled as Katya followed Aaron into the school like a lost, hyper puppy, bouncing every other step. She locked the doors before pulling off.
"You ready for school Chris?" Manny asked.
"I'm sleepy." Christian whined.
Manny sighed. Well, it had been a nearly perfect day and she has learned a long time ago that nothing was perfect.
Ten minutes later, Manny was pulling into Gardner Preschool and went into a parking spot. Getting out of the car, she went to get Christian out as well, the four years old latching on to her. Manny sighed, but carried him anyway. He was getting way too big for this and Maxwell had begun to grow annoyed by it. Though, Manny only thought it was because Maxwell somewhat favored Danica for whatever the reason and Danica hated being carried anywhere after she learned to walk. In fact, the only time one picked up a young Danica is when she was in trouble. And that was quite a lot.
"Hello Mrs. McDuelle," Christian's teacher, Ms. Ryan said as Manny sat Christian down. "I see that he's a bit sleepy today."
"He'll wake up soon." Manny said before handing Christian his bag. The boy instinctively went to put it in his cubby. "I'll be here to pick him up later. And if I don't make it, Danni will."
"Business meeting?" Ms. Ryan said with a smile.
Manny grinned and nodded. "Yeah, he won't be back for a few days, but we'll manage." Manny looked at her son, who was now playing with a few blocks with another boy. "Bye Chris." Christian waved. "Well, time to head on home."
"See you later." Ms. Ryan said.
Manny made it to her car and got in it with a sigh. She debated which job was harder: Actress or Mom. Seeing that being a mom paid more- sentimentally that is- she figured that it was the harder and better job. She just wished that Maxwell was here. Being a wife, or at least his wife, was the easiest job in the world. Having someone to pamper and spoil at all times of the day was probably the best part of her life.
Once Manny returned home, she was met with a brunette known as Marissa Cooper-White, aka, her son's girlfriend.
"Hey Mrs. McDuelle." Marissa said with a smile.
"Hey," Manny said. "Where're Jay and Danni? I know I told them to be ready."
"Danni's out in the back looking for something and Jay's playing with the twins in their room. He said that if he can tire them out, they'll be asleep in no time." Marissa explained. "I was just waiting just incase Danni tried to leave without us."
"Right." Manny said climbing the steps for the umpteenth time today. She swore she lost at least ten pounds doing this daily. "Jay, I'm home. You can go back down…" Manny's voice became a fit of giggles as she watched Renée and Jenée wrestle with their brother and win. "I thought you were some sort of tough guy?"
"Mama these two are demons." Jayden said as he stood up, though the twins were not done with him. "Okay, okay. You win this round. But you're not the champion. You'll have to beat Danni."
Manny smiled. "Seems like they'll be ready to beat you both in a few years."
"Years? Try months. I'm just waiting for their horns to grow in." Jayden said.
"Jay! Come on! We're going to be late!" Danica called from downstairs.
"I have to go." Jayden said before giving Manny a kiss on the cheek. "Bye Mama. See you after practice."
"Okay." Manny said.
"Bye." the twins said before Manny knelt down and picked them both up.
"Guess what. You two get to stay here with Mommy all day and sit during her interview. Are you two going to be good girls?" they nodded. "I'm sure you aren't." The house phone rang. Manny sat the twins down and sighed heavily. "Who in the world could this be?"
There were a few people that called the house phone. One would be Manny's parents. They called every other day to check in. Then there were Manny's neighbors, the Cohens. Yes, her neighbors. Seth and Summer Cohen grew up in Newport along with Maxwell and they all attended the same high school, though Seth and Summer graduated a year before Maxwell. Strangely enough, when the McDuelle family moved to Newport, back to Newport in Manny's husband's case, they moved into Seth's former house that was remodeled after an earthquake. Now, Adam Cohen and Jayden were best friends and Summer usually called to gossip with Manny if Taylor Atwood was unavailable. Which brings Manny to the third person, Taylor. Taylor was talkative and loved gossiping and exchanging tips. In fact, she gave Manny great cooking tips. A few business calls came through the house phone, though Maxwell always told people to call him on his cell. It sounded suspicious, but Manny realized that it was to ignore certain calls but cutting his phone off.
"Hello." Manny answered.
"You sound terrible." And this was the final person to ever call, Maxwell's older twin sister, Regina Mileston, trophy wife of White Sox star pitcher, Darius Mileston. "That twin loser left already?"
"Yeah." Manny said taking the cordless phone into the bathroom to run the twins bath water. Since they were two, it was much easier to bathe them at the same time. It turned two separate battles into one. "He didn't seem very pleased to go though."
"I blame his father." Regina said. What many people found weird about the McDuelle twins were their different fathers. Regina's father, John MacKaine (not the senator), was currently married to their mother while Maxwell's father, Jordan McDuelle, was the rich business owner.
"I'm trying to get the twins dressed for this interview." Manny said. "So how're your kids?"
"Ugh," Manny knew what that meant. Deion was in trouble. "Deion has gotten on my last nerves about going to that PCA place. She said it's 'closer' to her home."
"Well Reggie," Manny said testing the bathwater. "It is in California where she was born."
"So? Are you complaining about going home?" Manny did not reply since she did just have a talk with her husband about going back to Toronto. "See what I mean? Change is good sometimes."
"How's Darius? I heard he pitched a nearly perfect game the other day against the Braves." Manny said.
Regina gave a low giggle. "He had a pre-game good luck ritual, I can say that."
Manny smiled. "You didn't."
"But I did." Regina said. "And I would do it again if I didn't have five kids." There was a pause. "Speaking of which, you wouldn't mind me sending a few of them down there would you? We could trade Deion and Asante for… Kitty and A.J."
"Tch. You're a terrible bargainer." Manny remarked as she took a doll away from Renée, again gaining a whine. "I'd think a sports wife such as yourself would know how to do a fair trade."
"That's what-" Regina was cut off by a loud bang in the background. "Manny, I'll have to call you back. D.J just got into her sisters' room again."
"Alright. Tell Darius I said hi." Manny said.
"I will." Regina said. "Bye."
"Bye." Manny said before hanging up. Manny looked down at her twins. "Why does your aunt call at odd times?" Both girls just stared at their mother with dark brown eyes. Manny smiled. "Let's get you two in the bath."
After nearly an hour of fussing, whining, bathing, and then more fussing and whining, Manny was able to get both twins into the tub, bathed them, and then fought with them to get out of the tub. This sort of thing was nothing new to the mother of seven. While Danica had been something akin to a mermaid- the child loved water- everyone else had a problem with taking a bath. Every single one of them from Jayden down to Jenée. And oddly enough, once they were in the water they had a real problem getting out of it.
Fickle children.
Now that the girls were dressed, Manny allowed them to scurry about as she got in the shower herself. She knew that they were bound to get into something they should not have, but brushed it aside as toddler mentality. They all did it. And once she was done and fully redress, she was not disappointed as Katya's baby dolls were scattered around the girl's bedroom.
"Renée, Jenée," Manny said, gaining their attention. "Whose toys are you playing with?"
"Mine?" Renée said.
"No. Not yours. Kitty's." Manny said.
"Mine." Renée said again.
"No. It's not yours." Manny said picking the unused dolls off of the floor and putting them where Katya stored them. "Your sister is going to be so mad when she gets home."
Manny allowed the girls to play with one doll each and led them into her and Maxwell's office. The couple used this office to do work at home with or without an agent present in Manny's case. They would hardly go in here together though. And Manny never questioned if her husband was committing adultery since he, not only allowed her to go through his calls, but always kept her updated about his grandfather's company.
"Let's see," Manny said using her planner on the laptop. "Today we have an interview from… Mother's Weekly. Wow, I didn't know that." Manny looked at the twins to see them still preoccupied before continuing. "Max's flight goes to Dallas where he'll meet Ginger. I'll call him later then. I hope he makes it there okay." A reminder popped on the screen. "I know Dad. Stop asking."
Manny paused in her work again to see the two girls still playing. She eyed them for a moment, wondering what they were thinking. She had often times wondered if her twin girls behaved during certain times because they knew that she or their father was busy. A smile graced her lips at the thought and she shut down the laptop.
"Renée. Jenée. You want ice cream?"
Bam. And just like that that pent up energy she knew was in their bodies somewhere came out full blast. The two were now on their feet hopping up and down, their hair failing at keeping up with the rest of their body. Manny giggled as she walked out of the office, her daughters hopping behind her excitedly.
Despite her very attractive figure, Manny only worked out on the sets of her movie. In the house, she ate what she wanted to whenever she felt like it, and ice cream was always on that list somewhere. Maxwell had even joined her for ice cream in the bed once. Ice cream seemed to be the answer to a lot of problems. And oddly enough, whenever in trouble, Danica ate ice cream too in her bedroom.
Entering the kitchen, Manny reached into the freeze to pull out her special stash of Cookies n' Cream ice cream. No one except Manny was allowed to touch "Mommy's special ice cream" or else. Even Maxwell settled for vanilla. Manny smiled at the thought of her husband's face whenever Manny became furious over ice cream. It was like a mixture of pure fear, utter confusion, and a slight hint of amazement as well. He often compared her to the Hulk when angered, but she did not believe hm.
Setting the three bowls of ice cream at the table, she handed her daughters a spoon each and they got busy eating the dessert in front of them. Manny however ate slowly, thinking about her busy week without her husband. A day or so without him was not so bad, but a week? It was starting to look harder and harder every second.
After the twins had their share of ice cream, the trio of McDuelle women- well the two girls and their mother- went into Manny's bedroom as she begin to search for anything on Mother's Weekly. As she found one of the magazines, she plopped onto her bed where her daughters crawled up to see what she was reading. Manny saw the two actually attempting to read and tickled them, causing both girls to scream in a fit of laughter. She had no earthly idea why she decided to tickle her daughters, but she did anyway. And the two girls did not go down without a fight, no, they began to tickle their mother as well. So, another day of Manny's life began with the ordinary waking of her children, taking them to school, and now a tickling fest. She swore if her life were anymore crazy, she would have her own show.
Unfortunately, the doorbell rang. Manny sat up, her hair no where near as tamed as she had it.
"Uh-oh," Manny whispered to her daughters. "Mommy might be in trouble."
"Ooh." Renée and Jenée said in sync.
Manny left her bedroom with her daughters hot on her heels. She came to the front door and opened it. There stood a woman with notepad in hand. Manny smiled.
"You must be…"
"Michelle Crouse, Mother's Weekly."
"So that's the mysterious interviewer." Manny said opening the door wider. "Well come on in. There's no one here but me and the twins." The reporter stepped into the house, eying it carefully. "We can talk in the living room."
"Sure." Michelle said following Manny. "I love your decorations."
"Thank you." Manny said as they entered the living room. "Please, have a seat on the couch." Michelle sat on the couch beside Manny, Jenée and Renée squeezing in-between the two women. "As you can see, my daughters are very protective of me."
"I see." Michelle said. "So, let me start by saying that last year you were Wife of the Year and this month you are Mom of the Month. How do you have time to do all of this?"
"Well," Manny replied as Michelle began scribbling. "I don't always have time to act and parent. If I know that it's an emergency and my children need me, I won't do a job, no matter what, or I'll ask if the taping can be moved back a few days. But if I know that they're safe and Max is going to be home for a while, I act. It's not really a big thing to me."
"But your children just seem to," Michelle looked at the twins. "Adore you as if you're always there all the time."
"Well, it's because I am when they call. Or at least, I try to be." Manny answered.
"You're originally born in the Philippines," Manny nodded. "And then you lived in Toronto where you attended school. Tell me how the moving affected you because I've learned that, you know, you take a child away from their friends and they whine until they make new friends. And as a parent you don't really want them to change but so much, right?"
"That's a good question." Manny said. "I struggled to find myself. I wanted to stand out and it actually backfired in school. I didn't really have confidence in myself until later in my life."
"Is it true that you dated Craig Manning?" Michelle questioned.
Manny smiled. "Yeah, we dated during high school."
"And the abortion?"
Manny sighed. "It was a bad decision, I'll admit. Neither of us was really ready and it was something my mother suggested it."
"Play?" Renée asked pulling on Manny's arm.
"Go ahead." Manny replied pointing to the doorway. "I'll be there later." The twins hopped off the couch and dashed out of the room. Manny looked at Michelle. "Are you a Craig Manning fan?"
"I like his music." the other woman said.
"Oh. That's it." Manny said.
"What's it?" Michelle asked.
"My husband has told me about reporters that don't want to report anything, they just want to find that one old wound that hasn't healed yet." Manny said. "My abortion with Craig's child is a decision that I live with everyday. I have no clue on how differently my life would be, but one thing is for sure. I'm glad I am where I am today."
The two women were quiet, Manny quite pleased that the reporter had seemingly stopped to think about her actions. Clearing her throat, Michelle smiled.
"So," Michelle said. "How has being the wife to one of the richest men in the country being?"
Manny smiled. This interview was becoming better already.
After the interview, Manny went to play with the twins as well as make dinner. She succeeded in making dinner and turned her attention to her youngest daughters, hoping to tire them out and put them down for a nap. The plan worked and backfired at the same time. She and her two daughters fell asleep in her bed after two pillow fights, a tickling fest, and a story.
"…ama. Mama," Manny opened her eyes to see her eldest daughter smiling face. "Did you forget that you had other children?" Manny gave Danica a frown. "If I'm home, don't you think the others are home too?"
Manny quickly sat up. "Oh my-"
"It's okay. I kind of figured you were worn out from yesterday, so I had Sophie pick up A.J and Kitty and I got Chris after school." Danica interrupted.
"Max is going to be so pissed." Manny muttered as she put her head in her hands.
Danica sat beside her. "Dad will never know because I won't tell and I'll kill Jay if he thinks about it." Manny turned and gave Danica a small smile. "It's fine Mama, really. Besides, you do too much anyway. It's the least I could do."
Manny sighed. "I love you so much Danni."
"I know you do." Danica said. "Oh! And today, on my way home, I saw the cutest pair of shoes on display at that store across from Chris's daycare. I thought that, I don't know, Saturday we could kick the little one's out and go get a pair and show up at the next premiere in them?"
Manny laughed a bit. "It's a deal."
Although she was smiling, Manny felt really terrible about oversleeping. She had not overslept since Danica was born. If there was ever a time when she felt like she could not pick up one or more of her children, she had always called Maxwell, Danica, or Summer to give them a heads up.
This had to be the worst day ever.
"The Cohens invited us to dinner." Danica said. "They said to come over whenever we're ready."
"But I-"
"I took it over there already." Danica said. "You did not think that Summer was going to cook for all of us, did you?" Manny did not reply. She would never talk badly about a friend, even if what Danica said was true. "And you might want to talk to your son. He and his girlfriend were connected at the tongue during lunch."
Manny sighed as she stood up.
"I'll go talk to him."
Manny had grown to know that Jayden was very much like his father. He was the down-to-earth, easygoing, athletic, rich playboy who had only one kryptonite, which were women crying. And as much of a gentleman he could be, Manny knew that Jayden had a very mischievous side to him. One that drew girls like Marissa to him.
Going to his room, Manny saw her son actually lying down, reading his Social Studies book.
He must really want those Laker tickers.
"Jay," Manny said gaining her son's attention. "Is there something you want to tell me? Something about lunch?"
"Danni…" the boy muttered before speaking to his mother. "It was nothing."
"Uh-huh?" Manny replied.
"There aren't any grandchildren walking about. Well, not from me of course." Jayden said. Manny smiled. "Seriously Mama, I think you work too much. Maybe you should lie down?"
"I'm fine Jayden, thanks for your concern though." Manny said. "Just like I would rather you not make-out with your girlfriend where anyone could see you. It's bad publicity."
"Coop's a minx." Jayden mumbled a bit too loudly and his mother caught on to it.
"She's a what?" Manny asked, her voice rose in shock of the statement.
Despite obviously being in trouble, Jayden laughed. It was during this time that Manny got to fully see his dimples, the only son of hers that had inherited them.
"I'm playing Mama, though she did kiss me first." Jayden said. "I promise nothing but a few kisses will ever happen between us until we're older. I don't think they could surgically replace my, you know, if you were to rip it off in fear that I could be 'using it prematurely' as you so kindly put it."
Manny sighed. He was so understanding when he wanted to be.
"I trust you Jay. Don't disappoint me." Manny said.
"That's what Danni's for." Jayden responded.
As much as she wished Jayden would stay the little boy he once was, she knew that he was slowly growing, just like his older sister. Despite him only being in the seventh grade, he had learned a lot more thanks to his big sister and Manny and her husband could do nothing but answer questions Jayden had. Of course, Danica was reprimanded for this, but the damage had basically been done.
The week had gone by faster than Manny had expected, but she was glad it had. Yawning, she slipped into her bed. It was unusually cold tonight, the mattress that is. She turned, trying to find a warm spot, but it was useless. Jayden had gotten to go to the Lakers' game, which they won, and Danica had gotten to go to the movies, both children returning home happier than they left.
During the week, several of things had happened. For one, Michelle Crouse had made it her mission to say at least one bad thing about Manny in the article in Mother's Weekly. While Manny brushed it aside, Danica and her father, who had read the article online in England, were thoroughly pissed. Manny calmed Maxwell down over the phone, but it was safe to say that Danica was anxious to meet the woman 'in the street' as she put it. Secondly, Manny learned that Summer Cohen was with child. Considering that Summer's oldest child, Adam, was Jayden's age (14), it was sort of like the age difference between Danica and the twins, which was fifteen years. Finally, Manny talked to her mother, who nearly begged Manny to come visit for the summer. She and Maxwell were unable to talk like they wanted to, so the decision was still up for grabs.
She heard her door open before closing quietly, a smile coming onto her face as her husband got into the bed.
"I missed you." he said kissing her neck.
"I missed you too." she replied, turning to kiss him passionately on the lips.
"I have a surprise for you." Maxwell said, getting out of the bed. "One that I'm sure you're going to love."
"A car?" Manny asked.
"Nope. Guess again."
"House?"
"Close."
Manny thought again. "A computer named after me?"
Maxwell laughed. "Yeah, because I love my company and my wife equally. No, seriously, guess."
"I give." Manny said, sitting up in bed now. "Tell me." Her husband gave her a wag of his index finger as he moved into the bathroom. Manny pouted. "Max… Please? You haven't kept a secret from me since…" Manny paused. "Tell me one of your crazy exes haven't found you again."
Maxwell emerged from the bathroom, his suit folded in his arms, now in boxers and a tee shirt.
"You know, there's a funny story behind that." Maxwell said. "But, no, that's not the surprise I have for you."
"I give." Manny said as he crawled into bed. "Tell me."
"Fine," Maxwell said. "How would you like to move back to Toronto?" Manny's eyes widened. "We're moving into Canada and while Montreal and Quebec were clearly the ideal locations, I figured, two birds with one stone, right?"
Manny squealed as she rolled onto her husband, hugging him tightly.
"Oh Max! Thank you!" Manny said. "You are amazing!"
"I kn-" Maxwell was cut off as Manny kissed him deeply. When she finally pulled away, Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "If I knew that that would get you excited, I would have thrown in that car."
"Shut up." Manny said.
"You and I are going to go look at it next weekend. We'll leave Friday afternoon and return Sunday night, Monday morning." Maxwell said. "We should be able to move up there by July. What do you think?"
"I think you're doing this to get on my good side. Why else would you put yourself so close to my father?" Manny asked.
Maxwell rolled over, putting Manny beneath him.
"So he can hear how loud his daughter really is." Maxwell said before attacking Manny's neck.
Manny smiled lightly. "Remember that our children are still here, Max. I can't be that loud."
Maxwell looked at Manny. "Oh don't worry. I can wait for tomorrow when they're in school." Manny saw the look in her husband's eyes. It was one that she saw often that told her to be prepared for a long day tomorrow. "And afterwards, you can tell the kids on how we'll be moving to Toronto."
Manny kissed Maxwell. "Only if you can handle it."
"Let's go-" Maxwell was cut off by a small knock on the door. Rolling off of his wife at lightning speeds the married couple turn to see a pair of brunettes scurry into the room and tackle their father. Maxwell laughed. "Why aren't you two in bed?"
Neither twin said anything as they hugged their father tightly. Manny only smiled at the scene. As said before, if Renée and Jenée wanted to play, everything else was put on hold. That included both sleep and sex. But she would wait because this was nothing new in the McDuelle household.