Mercy Lives 10 years later

Chapter 2

After breakfast, Adrian's mom helped her clear the table and wash the dishes. Mercy helped them by loading the dishwasher. The younger kids were playing in the playroom. Ben had gone out to the yard with Rueben to finish setting up for the birthday party. It was warm for november and they were expecting about 20 kids so they decided to have the party outside.

Adrian couldn't believe how big her oldest was getting or that she was 27 with a 10 year old now. Mercy looked like a mix between the two of them with Ben's lighter brown eyes and Adrian's dark hair. Adrian wiped her hands on a dish towel as she looked towards the play room where the younger kids were still playing. Mercy climbed on the stool at the island across from where Adrian started setting out party bags to make for the kids coming to the party to help her. Mercy said, "mom when is uncle ricky and john getting here?"

Adrian thought to two of her and Ben's closest friends from school. They had moved to New York when Amy had decided to go to Hudson University for college and had stayed there after graduating. Ricky was now working in the New York office for Boykewich international and Amy worked as a music teacher at an elemantary school there. They now had 3 kids John who was 12 now, Melissa who is 8 and Joshua who was 2. They were expecting their 4th baby in a little more than a month so Amy and the younger children were not coming for Mercy's birthday just Ricky and John. Adrian looked down at her phone for the time, "their flight is supposed to get in at 11 so they'll probably be here about 1."

John and Mercy despite their 2 year age difference were pratically best friends. John had loved Mercy from the minute he laid eyes on her when she was just a little over a month old. They stayed close after Ricky and Amy had moved to New York through skype and when they got older text and phone calls. Adrian and Mercy sorted the candy and small toys for the grab bags they were making for the kids coming to Mercy's party. Cindy was working on the cake for the party, "who would thought back in school Ricky and Ben and you and Amy would become life long best friends?"

Adrian laughed, "tell me about it I still remember the argument we had in the middle of the school hallway right before our wedding."

Mercy was placing candy in the bags, "arguing in the school hallway never a good thing kids talk about it forever."

Cindy laughed, "from the mouth of babes."

Adrian laughed as well, "yeah i think your dad called it getting emotionally naked in the middle of the school hallway. so you're right mercy and you will understand better when you are older that yes it wasn't the brightest thing for us to do."

Mercy knew her parents were young she noticed a few years before that her friends and classmates parents were older than hers and Ben and Adrian had explained at an age appropriate way at the time that they had been very young when she was born. They would explain more as she got older and hopefully teen pregnancy would not become generational in their family as it did in so many families especially hispanic families. They knew the best way to do that was when Mercy was old enough to emphasis being open with them and knowing that they would rather when she was old enough to think about such things her come to them to get on birth control than her become a teen mom like her mom and abuela.

Adrian finished putting the grab bags together and headed outside to see how the guys were getting along with set up. Her dad and Ben had just finished hanging a happy birthday banner and putting the plastic cloth on the folding tables they set up for the kids to eat at. The few adults that were staying for the party would eat at the patio table they had. Adrian counted chairs and thought about the grownups that were staying. There was of course her parents, ben, her, ben's dad, ben's stepmom, and Ricky but also Grace her best friend from high school was coming bringing her little girl Andrea who was the twins age. Grace's husband Jack was unfortunately busy today with some sort men's program at their church..

Jack had surprised all of them when he had recovered from the injuries from the man that attacked him his freshman year of college putting him into a coma for several weeks by chosing to become a minister. That night had changed his life but sadly after his injuries were healed he was no longer able to play football. He had mostly recovered but one the breaks to his arm left him without full range of motion. Him and Grace had dated through college and married the summer before Grace started medical school. Grace was in her residency for pediatrics at the local hospital.

Ben's best friend Alice was also coming she was now married to a man she meet in college. His name was Joseph and they had a 3 year old son Anthony and a 3 month old daughter named Callie. Her and Henry had remained friends but had broken up shortly after they graduated high school. Henry now lived in Atlanta working for Boykewich international office there. He wasn't married yet but had been dating a fine girl who was a few years younger than them from georgia.

Adrian heard Mercy yell and looked up as she saw Ricky and John coming in the back yard. Leo had picked them up from the airport and he and Betty and their 3 kids were with him. Leo and Betty had 3 kids together. Miranda was 9 almost 7 months younger than Mercy. They also had Jenny who was 6 and Angelo who was 3. They also had their foster daughter the girl that Jack had rescued from the pimp but she was grown now in college and studying to be a social worker.

Adrian hugged Ricky as he came in the back yard with John behind him, "How was your flight?:

Ricky hugged her back, "it was great Amy sends birthday wishes. She hates that she couldnt come but her dr said absolutely no she was not flying across country."

Adrian said, "well we're glad you and John could least make it."

Leo came over and hugged his daughter in law and his oldest grandkid, "cant believe how big you are getting."

Mercy hugged her grandpa back, "thank you grandpa."

A/n: I thought id get to the birthday party in this chapter but i wanted to give an update on some of our other main characters least the ones that were close enough to Ben and Adrian they would come to the party. I come from a community where teen pregnancy is pretty much a normal part of our society though its going down in more recent decades. I remember wondering for instance when watching 7th heaven as a teen why the fact wilson was a teen father was so big of a deal? i speak of generational teen pregnancy in this chapter and i know this can happened and there is stastics that a child of a teen parent has a higher chance of becoming a teen parent. ive seen it so much arond me in fact the first girl in my own class to become a mom at the age of 13 no less was a grandmother by 30.