"I'm actually glad you Sissy decided to act. I can't wait to go home!"cried Maru.
"Neither can I, Niña."answered Meche.
"Us, too. We should start getting everything ready now. The sooner the better. I cant' wait to go home, and see the hacienda again. To go riding everyday. Well, you get the idea. I hope Juanita has been taking good care of everybody for us."cried all the dectuplets.
"Yes, she probably has. Go back to where people act normally, where they aren't afraid of, or offended by you. And where you don't have a sore throat all the time. Where the air is good to breathe. Here, would you believe not a single night has gone by when I don't wake up with a sore throat."Maru shook her head.
"Us, too."
"That's just because its much more humid in San Pedro, and you're used to the humidity. Here, the air is much drier, not to mention polluted."Arthur told them.
"Yes, yes. Maybe we should take everyone with us."said Lance.
"Everyone? Why we take everyone? I don't think they'd want to come. Besides, they probably couldn't even survive, you know. It's very different. The climate, the people, the scenery, the food, the way of life, in general."
"I still think we should convince them to go."he insisted. Just imagine the looks on their faces, when they see the entire hacienda is mine, he thought, they won't think to offend me, or make me look ridiculous again.
Sissy seemed to know what he was thinking, and stretching, said to the dectuplets.
"Yes, you must invite everyone. Remember, even if you don't like them, it's only right that you offer to invite them. What would your parents and your sisters say if they knew you told someone they were not welcome at Piedras Grandes? Besides, if Lance says that they should be invited, they should."
"Sissy's right."sighed Ma.Xochilt. "We should offer to invite everyone. Arthur, you will have to explain everything to them."
"Me? Why me?"
"Because we told you that you should explain things, that's why. We did most of it, just right now."
"That's not fair. Besides, it's really none of my business. Well, it is, but you guys are closer to him. You're his sisters, I'm only a first cousin. That's it."
"It would take longer if we did it. You're much better at it."
"Fine. I can't say no to you guys, anyway, and arguing about it isn't going to get anyone anywhere, so fine. When? And where? Or what?"
"That's a good question! When should we break the news to everyone? It was hard enough to break the news to you, now to everyone. I think now I'm beginning to understand why Lucrecia wouldn't tell Ignacio about his father. She didn't know how. However, she never hesitated to tell Atilio, did she? That's what makes me mad. She would tell Atilio, but she wouldn't tell Ignacio. Why not just both of them, or neither?"
"Right now. Today. Or as soon as possible."said Lance. I want everyone to know, he thought. "If it's necessary I'll do the talking. Actually, I will do the talking. I want to."
"That's a great idea!"Arthur exclaimed, who was glad to be relieved of the duty the dectuplets had predetermined on him. "You see, people? There was no need for us to argue over who was going to talk. We already have a volunteer."
"Yes,"said Sissy.
"That's great. The only trouble is, you said we were going to invite everybody. Well, who's everybody? Everybody, as in everybody in town? Everybody as in everybody who works here, the staff? Everybody as in..."
"Everybody as in all of the X Men and the Brotherhood."
"You know,"Maru's face lit up. "This might just have been what we were looking for. You guys said you wanted to make that Scott mad. What could possibly make him madder than this? He'll be shocked! Imagine to find out that your rival is actually, well, you know, the kind of person who has money, comes from a good family, a good name, and an old one. While you, while you're just a nobody. Just, well, that a nobody. You have nothing. Perfect, and to tell you the truth, I think that guy deserves it. I hate him. He always thinks he's better than everyone else. You wouldn't believe all the things I had to put up with while I was going out with you."
"We didn't think of that, but that will be so much fun!"Ma.Xamila was almost jumping up and down.
"And hopefully, he'll come with us to Piedras Grandes, he'll accept the invitation."added Lance.
"He will,"Ma.Xosefina said. "One way or another. Because if he doesn't he'll be labeled as a coward, or that he just can't stand the fact that his rival is much, much higher than he is. So, he'll just have to come. Because everybody will. Period."
"How d'you know they will?"asked Arthur.
The dectuplets shrugged.
"Now will we tell everyone to get over here, because we have something important to tell them? That way we don't have to tell people one by one, you know."
"Yes."
Arthur shook his head.
"Why would you want Scott there? I mean, if everybody in this room hates him so much, wouldn't it be better just to forget about him. I know you have to invite him because, it's just the right thing to do. But to actually want him to go. That's something else."
"Because of all the humiliations. Don't you see? This would be the perfect way to humiliate him. He's always made me feel less, so this time I'm doing the same to him-Cuzz."Lance told him.
The dectuplets were excellent at drama, since they watched so much of it on TV. When they were younger, they and Maru would spend their time reenacting what they had seen on the novelas for their father. They also sang in perfectly, just like the artists themselves, with the only fault that it wasn't the same voice. Their father, and other people had often told them they should be actresses, but they had never thought about any life, other than the one they led at Piedras Grandes.
When they called with such urgency, that everyone came at once. Some people thought someone had suffered an accident, that someone was dying. Others that Arthur had suddenly made a new discovery, since he loved science so much, and was always inventing new, energy-saving devices, because he was so into ecology.
Kurt had actually thought that he had passed to a new level on an extra hard video game, he was testing, and actually teleported into the Playstation/X Box/GameCube/any other video game room, instead of the parlor. He was shocked when the computer asked him what game he would like to play, since none of the maids were allowed to come to touch Arthur's things, he had invented a computer to do the dusting, vacuuming, and so forth, for his bedroom, game rooms, and all the other rooms where he kept all his collections, which were many.
Scott thought that there was danger, and seeing Lance, he automatically took off his shades, but thanks to Sissy, the blast hit and destroyed one of Arthur's most priced paintings. A painting he had painted himself, as everyone in his family, including the dectuplets had such artistic talent. It was a painting of the mountains, the mountains close to Piedras Grandes.
"Sorry,"he said.
"You will have to pay for that, you know."said Ma.Xaviera. "I think it should be at least three million dollars. However, if you don't have the money now, you can work for us. It would be about a lifetime."
"No, that's fine."Arthur looked sadly at the ruined frame, and there wasn't even anything left of the canvas. It had just been burned to ashes. I just wouldn't let that guy go to the hacienda, he told the dectuplets, telepathically, if my Aunt Francisca were to find out that her things were being blasted, she would kill him. Literally, you know most of the things at Piedras Grandes are priceless.
The prof. thought that Ma.Eugenia had suffered a terrible accident, since she was at Arthur's house, from where the dectuplets had from with such urgency, that on the way there, they almost crashed five times, as he kept making Ororo nervous, by telling her to drive faster.
Pietro, Fred, and Toad thought that they were being invited to a party, since the dectuplets told them that they would be sending Fermin to pick them up, and they couldn't believe their luck, as they got into the fancy car, all dressed up, and were being driven to Arthur's luxurious mansion.
When everybody got there, they were surprised to find that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. The dectuplets, Maru, Arthur, Kitty, and Lance were all watching Mujer de Madera, some drinking lemonade, others raspberry iced tea, embroidering , knitting, crocheting, reading, and Arthur playing his Gameboy.
"Everybody's here? Good. We wondering what took you all so long."said Ma.Xulia.
"What's happening?"asked Ororo.
"I think that Carlos and the police are trying to arrest Don Xacinto and all the other talamontes, and of course, they are going to try to catch Efrain, too, since he's the one behind it all. Actually, it's Piedad, but that's basically the same, because if Efrain goes, he will certainly take Piedad with him."Ma.Xochilt explained, thinking Ororo had asked about the novela.
"What?"
"Don't you see, the guy talking to all those people, and the men behind him? They're the police officers, the people, are well, I guess you could say they're confused, uneducated, really, and the man whose wearing the hat. He's telling them that they must not help these criminals. That the forests are very important, and they must not be cutting them down. They've been lied to. You get the idea.'
"I wasn't talking about the television. I was talking about why you called us with such urgency. We thought something terrible had happened."
"Oh, no. No, just the opposite."Lance told her. "You see, I'm actually their brother. A little difficult to believe, but true. You see, I'm actually Eduardo Ivan Lance Altamira Alvers. The details are complicated, but that' s who I am."
"Yes, and of course, you can't forget to mention your fiancee."Ma.Xacinta told him. "You see, Kitty will soon be our sister-in-law. And that's why everybody is here, so that they can be invited to the wedding. I know this isn't exactly the right way, and we don't have any invitations, but you see, the thing is, they're already married. We're just going to celebrate the wedding again, in San Pedro, at Piedras Grandes, you know. And everyone here is welcome to come. Drat, I ran out of brown thread again!"
"What? What do you mean, they're getting married?"asked Jean.
"Do you mean to say, that you are actually rich? And their brother?"asked Pietro, who could hardly conceal his joy. What better candidate could someone choose for their sister, than their own friend. This was too good to be true! "But of course we'll come. Congratulations!"he said.