Author's note: Happy New Year guys! Hope this year would be better that the last.

Chapter 8

"Ugh! I can't believe this is happening!" Sarah exclaimed as she hugged her grandmother tight. "Why didn't you tell us grandma?"

Beverly laughed a bit. "We wanted it to be a surprise for you guys!" she said.

"Thanks Leonard." said Alfred, shaking his son's hand.

"I'm happy for you Alfred." Penny said, hugging her father-in-law.

"Thank you Penny." Alfred said.

William then went and sat beside Beverly. "Grandma, does this mean that you and grandpa are no longer divorced?" he asked, surprising both grandparents.

"Uh...yes dear..." said Beverly. "...and who taught you that word?"

"I heard it in school grandma." said the young boy.

Beverly sighed. "Okay...why don't you guys freshen up so we can have dinner..." Beverly said. "I'm gonna guess that there's more to your story than just hearing it from school..." she added, as Penny led William upstairs, with Sarah following close.

Leonard went over and hugged his mother. "Thank you mom...this means so much to me and the kids." he said.

"It's alright dear..." Beverly said, hugging her son back.

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"So William, tell us about that thing you heard in school." Beverly said as they start having dinner.

"Well, I heard one of the teachers saying it when I was walking back from the toilet. It turns out this kid Robbie's parents are not together anymore." William said. "I didn't understand the word that's why I asked mommy about it."

"And what did your mom tell you?" asked Alfred.

"She told me that a divorce means that the mommy and the daddy are no longer together..." said the young boy.

"What else?" asked Beverly.

"Daddy told me that maybe they're having problems...like money...or one of them cheated or something..." William said.

"Well that is mostly the case..." said Alfred.

"Grandpa, why did you and grandma get a divorce?" William asked.

Beverly and Alfred looked at each other, knowing that they needed to be careful with what they tell the kids when Sarah suddenly jumped in.

"They were having some problems too little brother..." said the young lady.

"What kind of problems?" asked the young boy.

Sarah subtly gave her grandparents and parents the look, telling them to let her handle the situation.

"They were somewhat, how can I put this...growing apart. They've been married for so many years and they were not happy anymore." said the young lady, giving a slightly vague answer to her brother.

"But why are they not happy anymore? Can't they just go to a nice dinner or drink wine like what mommy and daddy does?" asked William, making Penny laugh a little.

"It's hard to explain little brother...I guess that's just the way with older people...they change even if they didn't want to..." Sarah said, making Leonard proud at how she can run circles around her brother without saying anything that would scare or confuse him. "When you grow up, you'll know what I mean."

"Your sister is right buddy..." said Leonard. "...aren't you glad that your grandma and grandpa are back together again?"

"I am happy daddy...I can't wait to tell my friends at school that my grandma and grandpa are dating again." William said, making them all laugh. "Grandma, are you and grandpa gonna get married soon?" he asked, surprising the two.

"Uh...I'm not sure dear...your grandpa and I haven't talked about it yet." Beverly said.

"Why not? I mean, I think you should get married soon so you can make babies again." William said, making them all laugh even more.

"Oh my god!" Penny said, bowing her head while Leonard took a deep breath.

"I think it's too late for us to have a baby buddy." Alfred told his grandson.

"Why not?" asked William.

"When women reach a certain age, they can't have babies anymore little brother." Sarah said.

"What age?" asked the young man.

"Usually around forty-five. After that, a woman can't get pregnant anymore." said Sarah.

"Will that happen to mommy too?" William asked.

"Yes...and to me as well. That's just how things are..." said the young lady.

"But what about daddy and grandpa? Will that happen to them too?" asked William.

"No, I don't think so." Sarah said.

William then turned to his mother. "Mommy did you hear that? You and daddy should make another baby before you get too old!" he said, making Sarah and the grandparents laugh while the couple shook their heads in disbelief.

"Leonard, please kill me now." Penny jokingly said.

Leonard sighed before facing his son. "Okay buddy, we already talked about this. Your mom and I already decided not to have a baby anymore because we wanted to focus on you and your sister. Do you understand?" he said.

"Don't you want to be the only baby in our family?" Sarah asked her brother.

"But I'm not a baby anymore! I'm a big boy now!" William said.

"Oh no you're not!" Penny said, quickly hugging and kissing her son. "You're my baby boy no matter what!" she said, not stopping with what she was doing.

William tried to wiggle himself off his mother. "Mommy let me go! I'm not a baby anymore!" he protested, making his grandparents laugh.

"Hmmm...you're so adorable!" Penny said, landing a few more kisses before releasing her son.

"Don't do that!" William said to his mother.

"Do what?" Penny asked, teasing her son.

"You're embarrassing me in front of grandma and grandpa!" William said.

"Okay cut it out and let's just eat..." Leonard chimed in. "...and later you can help your grandma and grandpa in putting up the Christmas tree in the living room." he said.

"But what about the presents daddy?" asked William. "It won't be complete if there aren't any presents and stockings around the tree."

"Don't worry dear, the presents are in my bedroom." Beverly said. "We'll bring them down after we put up the tree."

William smiled before turning to face Sarah, giving her a goofy look before going back to finishing his plate of food.

"That gets him really excited." Penny said to Leonard before turning back to her son. "Finish your dinner and brush your teeth before you help your grandma." She told her son.

"Don't worry mommy, I got it." said William as they continue eating dinner.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Can we put the presents under the tree now!?" William excitedly asked as they put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree.

"Come on...I'll help you and your sister..." said Alfred as William ran toward the stairs.

"Hey no running!" Penny yelled.

"Come on big sister! Hurry up!" William yelled.

"Okay I'm coming!" Sarah said, following her brother and grandpa upstairs. "The presents aren't going anywhere!"

After a few minutes, the three came down the stairs, carrying the gift boxes for the Christmas tree. "Look how big my present is mommy!" William exclaimed, carrying a big box in his arms.

"That's great sweetheart...just be careful not to drop it..." said Penny as she leaned on her husband's shoulder.

"Don't worry mommy...I'm gonna make sure this is safe." said William, carefully putting the box by the Christmas tree while Sarah and Alfred did the same.

"Come on...there's still a few boxes up there." Sarah called her brother, taking his hand toward the stairs.

"Do you have an idea what's in your box?" William asked.

"It doesn't matter...what's important is you have a present in there." said the young lady.

After putting the rest of the presents under the tree, the kids joined their parents and grandparents on the couch with William sitting between Leonard and Penny while Sarah sat beside her grandmother.

"Ugh...I'm so excited to open my presents!" said William, making them laugh.

"Now remember...no peeking!" Penny told her son.

"Even a little bit?" William asked.

"No...you have to wait until Christmas morning." said Penny.

"But that's like two days from now! I can't wait that long mommy!" William said.

"Well you have to suck it up for now..." Sarah chimed in. "...and we still have to wait for Santa Claus to put his presents under the tree...right?"

"You're right..." said William. "...ugh I can't wait!"

"What if you don't get what you wished for?" Sarah asked, surprising her brother.

"Okay that's enough...you don't have to tease your brother. You know how much he gets wound up if he doesn't get what he wants." said Leonard, giving his daughter the look.

"Yeah, why do you have to kill the mood every time?" William snapped at his sister.

"Well personally I don't mind if I don't get a present...I mean, grandma and grandpa getting back together is a good enough gift for me." Sarah said before snuggling up to Beverly.

"Thank you dear...that's so thoughtful of you." Beverly said, savoring her granddaughter's warmth and affection.

William quickly got off the couch and ran toward Beverly to join them. "I'm thoughtful too grandma!" said the young man before squeezing himself under her arm.

"I'm sure you are dear..." said Beverly, letting the young man bury himself under her arm, knowing that in a few years, it would be next to impossible if she could even hug her grandson.

Penny leaned on Leonard's shoulder, seeing how happy their children were. "He really has to put himself in the middle of everything huh?" she said.

"Well he is our son after all." Leonard said, making Penny laugh.

"He is indeed." said Penny before facing Leonard and kissing his lips, making the kids yell in protest.

"So gross!" yelled William and Sarah.