Stef and Lena were laying in bed, one on the laptop, the other reading a book. It wasn't late, but the house was settled for the evening…or so they thought. Stef had noticed some shadows below the door a few minutes ago. She thought nothing of it, but now almost 10 minutes had passed and the shadows were still there, and she knew what was coming. She leaned over and nudged her wife.
"Huh," she asked, resting her book in her lap?
Stef nodded towards the door. Lena was confused for a moment before her eyes drifted across the room.
"Who?"
"I don't know, but it has been about 10 minutes now so I am thinking Brandon."
"Maybe we are going to be grandmas."
"Oh please, woman, don't even joke."
There was a knock on the door.
"Here we go…..COME IN," Stef called out.
Sure enough Brandon walked in, but Callie was right behind him. Stef turned to give Lena a little glare, giving her a warning that she better not be right about her guess.
"Hey kiddos, what's up," Lena asked, giving her kids her full attention?
"We were wondering if you two were busy tomorrow," Brandon asked, and the moms could tell he was nervous?
"Well, I am off, but mom works at 2pm."
"Oh, ok," Brandon said, turning to Callie to gauge what she wanted to do.
"I could take some time if you need something," Stef offered, not wanting to turn her kids down for something important?
"No, I mean we could…go in the morning," Callie said, confirming with Brandon.
"Yeah, we could go in the morning."
"Go where," Lena asked, thinking she missed part of the conversation?
"Umm we wanted to show you something."
"Something like what," Stef asked?
Brandon and Callie shared a looked, not sure how to explain this.
"We wanted you to see something," Brandon started
"Before we further explained anything," Callie continued.
"We think it would help with a visual," Brandon concluded.
Stef and Lena were highly suspicious about what this thing was, but it was clearly very important to their kids, so they went along with it without pushing back too much.
"Alright, well, where are we going to see this thing, and how long will it take," Stef asked, needing to know so she could plan her time before work?
"It is not far, like 5 minutes or so, and it shouldn't take long…maybe 30 minutes and you can leave whenever you need to."
"Ok, so maybe we can leave here at 10 so we can be back here in time for lunch before I head off to work," Stef suggested.
"Yeah, yeah that will work," Callie said with a smile.
"Ok babies we will see you tomorrow morning."
Both kids scampered out of the room with an extra little bounce in their step. Once the door shut Lena turned to Stef who already was letting her thoughts be known via her facial expression.
"Play nice…this is clearly something they are excited about."
"Excited but really nervous about what we think," Stef added.
"Which is why we need to be opened minded about whatever it is they want to show us," Lena firmly stated.
"Fine, but I am drawing the line at family tattoos," Stef smirked, flipping her laptop back open.
The next morning Stef and Lena were gathering in the foyer area trying to find keys, phones, purses and coats as they prepared to head out. Where they were going, that was still unknown.
"We should be back before lunch, but if not, there is pizza money on the fridge," Step told Jude who was in the living room playing a video game. "Can I get some acknowledgement please?"
"Huh, oh yeah, mom ok," Jude said.
"Do you have any plans besides…what are you playing," Lena asked, seeing some object exploding on the screen?
"Titanfall."
Lena turned to Stef who made a quick exit into the kitchen.
"Please, if you love me at all, don't play this all day," Lena begged with a pout.
"I won't mom, I promise."
"And that is why you're my favorite."
"HEY," Both Callie and Brandon moaned, walking into the room.
"Get over it, we all know I am the favorite," Jude said with a smile. "OH COME ON, DIE YOU BLOODSUCKING CREATURE."
"Ohh yeah I can see why now," Callie said, rolling her eyes.
"Everyone ready," Stef asked, walking back into the room?
"Let's roll," Brandon smiled opening the door.
"I'm driving," Callie said grabbing the keys from Stef and darting out the door.
"Looks like your mini got you this time, mom."
"She might have won this round but I will be back for more," Stef said, charging out the front door.
"And we really love those two," Brandon asked playfully?
"To put up with those two, it must be love," Lena smiled, shutting the door behind her.
True to their word, just over 5 minutes later Callie was pulling into a parking lot. The moms were instructed to follow the younger couple inside.
"So what do you think of this place," Callie asked, letting everyone into the empty condo?
Suddenly it all made sense, and Stef wished it weren't so…although she was a little proud too.
"Well, this looks to be a really nice place," Stef said, glancing down the hall.
"It's a three bedroom and has an office so it could be made into a 4th bedroom if needed. As you saw when we got here there is a gate you need a pass code for which adds another level of security and each unit comes with an alarm system connected to the control panel in the management center and linked to the police and fire stations."
"That is a nice little feature," Stef said, a little impressed.
Callie showed them around the downstairs which included a kitchen, dining room, living room, office and bathroom. She then took them upstairs to show them the 3 bedrooms and additional bathroom.
"I dunno Lena, think I can talk you into moving in here," Stef asked with a smile.
"Nice try honey…just because they include yard upkeep doesn't mean we are moving."
"Oh man I was so close to getting out of gardening."
"So you guys really like the place," Callie asked, a little nervous?
"Yeah sweets, we do."
"Good….because I made a down payment."
While Stef and Lena knew they were being shown the condo because Callie was interested in it, she had no idea the girl already made a down payment.
"You already paid for it?"
"Well, not fully just a small amount really. The unit I am moving into is still under construction but is nearly complete. This is a replica of what my unit will look like, but because I am requesting an end unit they wanted a small holding fee."
"And how much is this place costing you," Stef asked not wanting anyone to take advantage of Callie?
"$750,000."
"WHAT!"
"Kidding…just kidding, geeze. I promise I did my homework. I looked at what other units such as this one have been going for recently and adjusted that for new constructions. We are just coming out of a recession…especially the housing industry so I made an offer in line with the fair market value and we have come to terms."
Stef and Lena stood there, their jaws almost hitting the floor. They should not be so shocked at how amazing this girl…woman was…but sometimes they still got caught off guard.
"Come here bug," Stef said, pulling Callie into a hug as she kissed her forehead. "I am very proud of you."
"Thanks but there is more."
Stef cringed slightly.
"On a scale of 1 to 10 how painful is this going to be?"
"When Callie moves into this place I am moving in with her," Brandon announced.
Stef turned to Lena.
"You know I blame you for this," she said playfully. "Raise them to be independent she said…raise them to stand on their own…nowhere did I agree to both my babies leaving me," she said pulling both kids into an exaggerated hug, peppering both their faces with kisses.
"Oh mom, god come on now," Brandon said, squirming away.
Stef just laughed.
"All joking aside the house will not be the same without you, but mama and I are so proud of the people you turned out to be and the couple that you have become. However, just because you will have you own house does not mean you forget where home is understood?"
"Understood," Brandon said with a smile.
"And don't think for one second you're too big to put over my knee if you think about ever hurting my baby," Stef added, pulling Callie into a hug.
"I knew you were the favorite," Brandon laughed.
"I did get a 3 bedroom for a reason. It is big enough for the whole family can sleep over if they want. You and mama can come visit whenever you want…it's not just for the kids."
"Just call first," Brandon said, pulling Callie back into his arms, kissing her.
"Oh gag."
Jude had been at home playing video games when he thought about what Lena said about not sitting in front of the TV all day. He knew they would be out for a little while longer but still didn't want to let Lena down. He called someone to come over so he wouldn't be bored while everyone else was out. They headed up to his room to hang out until it was time for lunch.
The once quiet house was slowly coming back to life. Stef, Lena, Callie and Brandon all arrived home shortly before noon. Having no desire to make anything on this summer afternoon they called for pizza using the money they had left for Jude. One thing was for certain, when it was meal time in the Foster house everyone seemed to be ready in the kitchen to eat.
"Where is Jude?"
"Probably up in his room."
"I will go see if he is hungry."
Walking up the stairs the door was close. After a soft tap and simultaneously opened the door they entered the room.
"Jude lunch is….oh my god."
Who walked in on Jude?
A. Stef
B. Lena
C. Callie
D. Brandon
E. Mariana
F. Jesus
And what did they walk in on?
A. The room completely destroyed
B. Experimenting with alcohol or smoking
C. A compromising position
D. Other
