This short is a future scene - a Watermelon Sugar update if you will.
"Shoot."
Sarah's tower crashed and fell apart. The mud was just no good for building castles. She began digging it back out of her moat and squeaked in surprise at the sound of a loud snap beside her. She looked down at the little white baggie and rolled her eyes. She jumped again as another hit the ground behind her and spun on her twin cousins.
"Watch this," Jacob whispered. Paul was already glaring at his sons.
"I should have never bought them those damn things. I swear. They're like the fucking kids on that Horror Story show," Paul grumbled. "Rotten little shits."
Jared laughed and asked, "When did you become such a pushover, anyway?"
"When those little fuckers got here," Paul grumbled.
A third pop landed at Sarah's feet. Looking exactly like her father at the moment, a five-year-old Sarah Hope Black slung a handful of mud at her cousins. She'd been blessed with her mother's remarkable aim, splattering them both as they huddled together giggling.
The men chuckled, pretending not to watch the children as the yelling started.
"Damn. Thith ith my favorite thirt," Bobby yelled, the image of his hot-headed father. His identical twin, in appearance only, patted his shoulder and grinned.
"Momma will wash it," Billy said. His name had been well chosen. Though Billy tended to do whatever Bobby did, his nature was calmer. He did not anger easily and was the only person his twin never picked on. He was, however, fiercely protective of Bobby, whose lisp was a sore subject. It blew Jacob's mind to think that a preschooler should have to worry about being bullied. Bobby, like Paul, picked on everyone else in turn. His behavior had made Paul face some hard truths about his own childhood. Being a father had calmed Paul considerably.
Paul grinned and whispered, "You think I can convince them to change clothes before the girls get home?"
"Not a chance," Jared said.
"Shit, Bells has gotten to the point that she just hoses Sarah down in the backyard before she comes inside just like my mom did to us," Jacob said and laughed. "She had so many hopes of passing down clothes when Sarah outgrew them. My little mud monster doesn't like to share." As the children's voices grew louder, they turned back to listen.
"You said a fourteen-year-old word," Sarah said, smirking at Bobby as she glanced toward their fathers.
Bobby asked, "A what?"
"The bad word you said. Daddy said you have to be at least fourteen to use that word," Sarah scolded.
"Jesus, that's Bella," Jared cackled as Jacob rolled his eyes.
His Bella, indeed. She'd corrected Jacob regularly as children. Jacob, however, had never minded it. She liked to teach him things. Even as children, Jacob was more than willing to listen to every word she had to say.
"Where are they, anyway," Jared wondered aloud. They had been gone quite some time.
How long was a lunch date with your gal pals supposed to last?
"Uncle Jake ith crathy," Bobby said. "You can thay it any time you want. Thee? Damn!"
Paul scowled.
"You aren't supposed to," Sarah grumbled, turning back to her muddy blob of a Castle.
"It's too wet," Billy said.
"I need sand," Sarah said.
"You need more dirt," Billy said. He knelt down next to Sarah and started digging into the mud.
"Momma said I can't make the hole any bigger," Sarah said.
"Shut up," Jacob grumbled softly before Paul or Jared could make an inappropriate joke. Paul had been present for Sarah's birth. He knew approximately how quickly the entire process had gone and rarely failed to joke about it. Paul and Jared looked at each other and laughed.
"Thith is boring," Bobby said. He picked up a small pail of water Sarah had and dumped it directly onto her barely standing castle. Sarah glared up at her uncle Paul, who silently strutted toward his son, lifting him by the back of his shirt.
Bobby hung limply in his father's hand as Paul walked away with him and mumbled, "Damn."
"Quit using that word," Paul said before pulling his son's shoes off and carrying him into the house.
"He needed a time-out," his twin brother said. "He was getting cranky."
Sarah yelled, "Daddy! Bobby made it worse. I want to go inside."
Jared's son, Thomas, came around the side of the house with a book in his hand. He didn't even glance at the others as he walked into the house.
"He is his mother. A thousand percent," Jared said and chuckled.
Jacob said, "It's odd, watching little versions of ourselves and our wives, isn't it?" Jared nodded in agreement as Jacob walked over to turn on the hose. He carefully sprayed off Sarah's hands and bare feet for her.
Sarah yelled, "Thank you, Daddy," and sprinted for the back door. She stopped and spun toward the driveway as Leah's car pulled into the drive.
Jacob wasn't surprised to see Bella, Rachel, and Kim exiting the vehicle together. He was surprised to see the anxious look on their faces. Bella bent down to kiss her daughter, who immediately snagged her mother's hand and walked beside her. Bobby charged out the kitchen door, yelling for his mother as Paul chased behind him, scowling. Rachel spun to catch her son, lifting him onto her hip.
"He's in trouble, Rach," Paul said, "He's supposed to be in time-out. He was pickin' on Sarah. As usual." Rachel sighed aggravatedly and handed him back to his father. Paul wrapped one arm around his son's kicking legs to stop his assault.
Rachel yelled, "Robert Lahote, do you want to watch Billy and Sarah get treats later while you don't?" The boy instantly stilled, puckering his lip in a pout. She shook her head at the others and laughed. "He's just like his father. He only responds to food."
Jacob asked Bella, "So, why were you guys looking so nervous when you got home? Worried we'd break the kids while you were gone?" She smiled down at Sarah, shaking her head before grinning tearfully at Jacob. Leah swooped down to pick up her niece, who giggled and wrapped her arms around Leah's neck.
"The girls had to take me to the emergency room," Bella said sheepishly, holding her wrist to show Jacob her hospital bracelet. He looked her over quickly, both confused and concerned.
Jacob asked, "Did you fall or something? Are you okay?"
"I get why you'd ask that first," Leah cackled. Bella slapped her playfully and hushed her.
"I passed out," Bella said. "Got lightheaded, and it was lights out."
Incredulously, Jacob said, "Well, that's weird. You haven't done that since you were pregnant with Sarah." Bella bit her bottom lip, waiting for him to catch the hint.
Paul cackled at Jacob's blank expression, pointed at his wife in a warning, and turned to carry Bobby back inside as Rachel laughed.
"Are you sick?" Jacob asked Bella.
Leah rolled her eyes and huffed, shoving Jacob playfully. "I really love you, Jake, but geez, you can be thick."
Bella grinned up at him and laid her hands on her lower abdomen. She'd done it through her entire pregnancy with Sarah, and what she was indicating finally hit home. Jacob gave her a dazzling smile before squatting to wrap his arms around her thighs and lift her up high.
Excitedly, Jacob asked, "He's finally coming?" Bella laughed, nodding emphatically.
Rachel asked, "He?"
"Yep," Bella said happily. "He. He's going to look exactly like his father."
Jacob smiled happily at Sarah and said, "You know what this means, Sarah?"
She smiled nervously and shook her head no.
"You are going to be a big sister," Bella said.
Sarah momentarily gaped at her parents in shock before scowling as she said, "Damn."
