"I can't have octuplets!"cried Kitty.
"And why not?"asked Ma.Xiomara, threading needle.
"Because that's too many."
"No, it's not. We're ten, and we have four other siblings."
"But that's you."
"Don't worry it's not the end of the world. We'll just have to get more cribs, and more nurses, that's all."
"That's not all!"
"You just have to stop treating everybody the same. Or you can treat everyone the same, you just have to give everyone their place." Arthur was telling the prof. "You see, like, my aunt can't treat say, me, the same as her daughters, because I'm not her daughter. I'm her nephew, and that makes a difference. I think that's a big part of the problem. That was what Sevundo was referring to."
"That my conduct isn't that of a father?"
"Yes, exactly. You see, Ma.Eugenia was taught to think in these ways. Like, you're going to have to give up that idea that mutants are people. Here, people, Ma.Eugenia doesn't think they're people. They're more like, not gods, exactly, maybe saints. They're gifted, they're chosen, well, except for that Scott. You saw how Chachi reacted to him."
Arthur smiled to himself, remembering. Chachi had been on her way to her room, when she came across Scott, and noticing that his eyes were covered, she screamed and ran out downstairs, as fast as her feet would carry her. It had taken a drug to calm her, and she refused to wander the house alone, or eat at a table where that "demon", she called sat.
"Of course, she only reacted like that because she couldn't see his eyes. That's also something. You see, Chachi was afraid of Scott, but when she saw Kurt without the imagine inducer, she just thought he was cute. And of course, she's not the only one. You know nobody here has a problem with Kurt, or any other mutant that looks different, just the ones that don't show their eyes, and that goes for people, too. Maru could never understand why you wanted the dectuplets to hide their powers."
Arthur knew that the dectuplets wouldn't approve of what he was doing, and neither would Sissy, but he was determined to do anything it took to make Xavier a person worthy of great respect, and the best father in the world, in Ma.Eugenia's eyes. He had also asked el Padre Juan not to say anymore on this subject to Ma.Eugenia, that he should just leave everything in his hands, and he would take care of it. He spend a good amount of his time giving the professor 'classes' on how to be a good father.
"You have such beautiful hair, Mother."said Alfonsina, as she watched the brushes brush her mother's long hair.
The dectuplets had taken it upon themselves to take care of their mother, now that she was recovering, very quickly, too. She could now speak.
"I've seen people with more beautiful hair than mine."Francisca answered.
"Well, we know we haven't."said Ma.Ximena.
"It should be different today."commented Ma.Xitlalli. "Yes, I think it should. It shouldn't be in its net."
They were always coming up with wild ideas as to how their mother should wear her hair. Ma.Eugenia was also watching. Even though it caused her a lot of pain, she could stand and walk now, and she refused to stay in bed, after all, laying down was also painful. She just couldn't knit, or move her hands as constantly as she liked to.
"Could someone shut the door after we're gone?"asked Jesus.
"Sure."
Then the boys left. They obviously did not want Guillermo to tag along with them the way he always did. Today, Mama Teta had him helping her with a tecolote she was making, however.
"I think that we should just tell Guillermo to go with them, just to see how they react."
"No, the last time, they threw him in the pool, and he got a cold. Besides, you know they don't come back until who knows what hour."
A week afterwards, even though, it cost her a lot of time and effort, Francisca was determined to dine with everyone else.
"After all,"she said. "I can move just fine. The only problem is I have trouble keeping my balance sometimes when I walk."
"That's great, Mother. Now, we just have to pick out the best dress for you to wear. I think, maybe this one."said Ma.Ximena, taking out a lilac dress, embroidered with purple flowers.
"That's always been my favorite color!"commented Ma.Xiomara.
"That's just why I chose it. It's the nicest color of them all. And I think you should wear silver jewelry with it."
No one had seen Francisca except Lance, the dectuplets, Alfonsina, Monica, Aimee and Kitty, who visited her every day, Monica and Aimee, whenever they could. And they had never seen her wear anything except her robe, or a long nightdress.
She looked very different, dressed in a long lilac dress, with her hair in its braid, and her jewelry. The jewelry was clearly expensive. Kitty had never seen such stones in all her life. Not even the dectuplets' jewelry was so fine as their mother's.
"That's because she's married."explained Ma.Xosefina quietly. "We're only single, so we can't wear such fine jewelry."
"Oh, wow."
Francisca sat next to Lance, and of course, the dectuplets had asked that Scott not dine with them at the table, since their mother also had a fear of him, as Chachi did. Everyone expressed their delight that Francisca was recovering extraordinarily.
"I always knew Mother would recover."Alfonsina said, with tears in her eyes.
"I had to recover."she said looking at her son. She smiled. "You don't suppose I was going to stay like that, and not be close to my son."
"Yes,"said Arthur. "It looks like you'll be back to your old self in no time, Tia."
"I hope so."
It seemed so. It seemed to everyone that Francisca had never even been in the coma. She joked, just like she always had, and laughed. The only one who seemed not happy about this was Pietro. However, he knew that he shouldn't show it, and that he must seem like he, too, was delighted at Francisca's recovery. And he tried to show his best face to Francisca, too.
"It's a miracle."he said happily to Ma.Xamila.
"Of course it is."she replied. "What else could it possibly be."
"Not a miracle? But that's not possible." Then an idea occurred to him. He heard, through eavesdropping that in order for Ma.Eugenia to think highly of the professor Arthur had told him to convert to Roman Catholicism. Pietro cursed himself for not having thought of something like this before. And what better time to bring it up than now.
"You know,"he started. "I didn't really believe in miracles until I've seen your mother. But now, I think that, no, I know that they do exist. I've seen the way you prayed for her recover, and just look. She is recovered. You know, I would like to pray with you, if you would let me."
"What?"
"Well, yes. You've helped me find faith in God."
He knew that this would probably mean hours of sitting in a church and supposedly examining his conscience, but he knew that he was willing to do anything, just to be eligible as an heir to this family's fortune.
"I would like to be a son of the Roman Catholic Church."
"Oh. What religion are you?"
"My parents weren't exactly...any religion. They were atheists, and I don't want to be like that. Not now that I've seen with my own eyes your mother's recovery. I would never have believed it."
Pietro had never had to do anything more boring and pointless in his life. This was even worse than literature. He had to sit for an entire hour listening to the priest, and thinking about a million other things he would rather do. However, everytime he saw Ma.Xamila or her sisters, he reminded himself that it everything was worth it. He was securing his future. That was what he had to think about. His future. He knew that once he was married, he wouldn't have to do any of it. He knew, after all, that no matter how horrible and what a failure the marriage turned out to be, that whichever one of the dectuplets he managed to marry, she would never divorce him.
No one would believe when Pietro told them he was going to convert to Roman Catholicism.
"You? I can't see you praying every single evening, and going to confess."said Lance.
"Well, you better start seeing me. I am going to convert to Roman Catholicism. You just don't understand just how my faith in God has changed."
"I thought you didn't believe in God."said Toad.
And I still don't, thought Pietro, but he just smiled, and shook his head.
"I was just very bitter. I just started seeing things in a different way, you know. And I see that I was wrong. I want to change that."
Lance nodded. He also saw things in a different way since he had come to Piedras Gandes. Of course, he hadn't had to convert. He found out that he had already been baptized and confirmed. Toad and Blob just looked at him like he was crazy.
"He's not the only one, you know."Sissy was telling the dectuplets, who were telling Ma.Eugenia.
"What are you talking about, Sissy?"
"I mean, that Arthur has convinced Ma.Eugenia's father to convert also."
"What?"exclaimed Ma.Eugenia when Ma.Xochilt told her what Sissy had said, and she ran out of the room.
"Why? What for?"asked Ma.Xitlalli.
"It seems that getting Ma.Eugenia to forgive her father is his chief goal right now."