Emily fell victim to teasing by the girls well into the late afternoon. She had just started Monsters University, in the living room, when her phone chimed. She picked it up to read the text message and heard snickering. Before long, she felt two sets of eyes on her and couldn't help but smile, "How may I help the two of you?" Amina jumped up, "Is that the big boy you like? Your boyfriend?" Emily chuckled and shook her head yes. She read the text from Andrew 'Did you sleep well? I only snuck out because Nicky needed me.' She responded {I didn't even hear you leave. Is she okay? The girls came back early. They've been teasing me all day.} He responded, 'Yeah she's fine. She got released from the hospital and needed me to pick her up. They came back early huh? You've been getting teased for having a boyfriend. That's sweet.' Emily laughed at the message before responding, {Well, you should come over tomorrow. You know, to meet the girls. Bring your brother and sister. We might as well get all the meet-and-greets out the way.} He sent her a winking emoji 'Are you saying that you miss me already? I need to talk to Nicky about the next steps in the process. I would love to meet the girls.'
Emily smiled at him teasing her. {Just be here tomorrow at 2. We'll all having lunch together.} He responded, 'We'll be there beautiful. Can't wait to meet your replicas.' Emily looked up from her phone to see the movie ignored and two pairs of eyes on her. Anais got up and went into the kitchen. "Mommy, I have a question." "Yes Ana." "When are we going to meet your boyfriend?" "Tomorrow." Mirabelle turned her head immediately and gave her mother a wicked smile, "Really?" Emily nodded her head and went into the kitchen. "We're going to make lunch for everyone tomorrow." Anais was still in the kitchen looking for a snack, "Who's everyone?" "Andrew is bringing his brother and sister along. Is that alright with you too?" Mirabelle shrugged her shoulders, "What are we eating?" Emily muttered, "6-way tacos." Both girls screamed in unison and ran to hug her tightly, "Mommy, you're the best! 6-way tacos are my favorite." Emily learned back when the twins were 2 that 6-way tacos were the only meal that they ever agreed on. "Well then, it's settled. We're having guests for lunch tomorrow. We need to make a grocery store and farmer's market run, so go get ready." Emily watched them run to their rooms before tidying up the living room. She turned the movie off, cleaned up their light snacks, and went into her bedroom to throw on a t-shirt and jeans. She waited for them and locked up her home before they went down to the garage. The security guard, Mr. Viggo, greeted them, "The Prentiss girls. what are we doing today? Dinner run?" Emily shook her head no and unlocked her Mercedes, that was thankfully parked close to the security guard, "Late grocery run. Oh, I'll be having guests tomorrow so, I'll need 1 visitor's parking spot." "Sure thing Emily. Here you go." She thanked him and left the parking garage. They got to the tail-end of the farmer's market and Emily saw her favorite tent. A local family that grew the best peppers that Emily has ever had, always got her business when she came to the farmer's market.
She waved as they made their way over, "Hello Emily", Silvia said. Silvia looked down at the girls and said, "Mira we have some habaneros for you and Ana we have some fresh serranos for you. Emily, we have a nice amount of ghost peppers to pick from." The three Prentiss girls nearly exploded with excitement. They made their choices before moving on to another favorite tent, the hummus tent. After getting 4 different peppers, 6 types of hummus, 3 jars of preserved jams, juicy tomatoes, and a prime cut of steak at an unbeatable price, Emily quickly went to a small grocery store nearby to get the rest of the needed ingredients. They were on their way to the checkout line when Emily felt a tap on her shoulder…it was none other than Clyde Easter. She turned around, "What do you want Clyde?" "Just saying hello. Hello girls" he said speaking to them. They cut their eyes at him and looked at Emily. "Girls, take the buggy and go to line 3." They followed her instructions and she turned around to him, "They remember you Clyde and they still don't like you." "Emily, I was so out of line. All I can say is that I am so sorry and it'll never happen again." "I know it won't because I will kill you. You were drunk off your ass and high as a kite. You put your hands on me in front on my children. I have no clue what's wrong with you nor do I care." She tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm, "Is that why you left London?" Emily scoffed, "Hell no. I didn't leave an entire country to get away from you. I left because I was unhappy and I wanted my daughters close to family and a STABLE support system." Clyde was about to speak, when they both heard the girls, "Mommy, we're next." Emily looked down and hissed out, "Get your hands off of me Clyde." "Have you—have you found someone?" She walked away saying, "Goodbye Clyde."
The next afternoon, Emily was starting to prepare all the ingredients needed for their lunch. The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. She opened the door with a smile as Andrew handed her some wine coolers. He leaned in to kiss her on the lips, "I figured you wouldn't want to drink the hard stuff with the kids around." "You're right. Thank you. They will compliment lunch well." He got lost in her eyes until Nicky cleared her throat. They both blushed as she said, "You guys are cute." Andrew spoke again, "Emily, you remember Nicky. This is my little brother Dennis. Dennis and Nicky, this is my girlfriend Emily." Emily ushered everyone inside and closed the door behind them. "Belle, Ana come in here please." The Mendozas were speechless as they looked at the two gorgeous mini-versions of Emily. "Girls, this is Andrew." Mirabelle interrupted, "Your boyfriend" as she started laughing with her sister. Emily chuckled, "And this is his sister Nicky and brother Dennis." They spoke politely but examined the Mendoza family carefully. Anais stared at Dennis for a while, before running off to grab something. Mirabelle looked at the glances between her mother and Nicky. "Mr. Andrew, do you play poker?" Emily chastised her, "Belle, that pot better not got over $10." She smiled at her mother, "You got it dude"
Andrew laughed as he let Mirabelle lead him to a nearby table and set up a game of poker. Anais came back with a Mancala game. "Dennis, have you ever played this game before?" Dennis looked over it carefully, "No, it it is too hard. I'm not smart enough." She gave him a wide smile, "Yes you are. Besides it's easy for me to teach you. Do you want to try, just to prove that you can do it?" Dennis shook his head yes and went into the living room with her. "Wow, they're great" Nicky said out loud. Emily smiled softly, "Yeah they're pretty great. You want to help me with a few things in the kitchen?" The two walked into the kitchen but Nicky stopped and said, "Look, I'm no Andy in the kitchen." Emily laughed, "You'll be fine…just grate those cheese please." They worked in comfortable silence—in spite of the loud cheering of Dennis/Anais and the loud laughing/groaning of Andrew/Mirabelle—until Nicky asked, "So, did you talk to your sister?" "I did. She said that there's a space for you whenever you're ready. She's willing to do it pro bono for me." "Uh oh, what do you have to do?" Emily let out a groan, "Give her two of my favorite pair of shoes, a designer dress, and I have to host our family reunion this year instead of her." Nicky made a sour face, "I'm sorry. Sounds like a lot." Emily shrugged, "She had more demands when I decided to keep my pregnancy a secret until my dad's birthday. Can you grab the crab out of the refrigerator please?" Nicky handed the crab to Emily, "I gotta ask. What are we eating for lunch?" "6-way tacos." Emily looked up to see Nicky waiting for further explanation.
"One taco has a shell made out of chicken, one made of cheese, and one made of steak. The filling for one is crab, the garage (basically everything) and finally the sort of healthy one with turkey, avocado, etc." If you're still hungry, then there are a few different sides to go along like kabobs and grilled fruit." Nicky smiled, "Well it already smells amazing." Andrew came into the kitchen and hugged Emily from behind. He kissed her shoulder then her neck, "Nicky, Mirabelle wants to play you in Gin." She stopped what she was doing and went in search of her entertainment. Emily resumed cooking while she relished in the soft kisses Andrew continued to plant on her shoulder and neck, "How much did you lose?" He laughed, "$60." "Drew!" "Don't be mad at her, I wanted to up the stakes." Emily shook her head, "I taught her." He peeked over her shoulder, "Why am I not surprised? What are we eating?" "6-way tacos." "Sounds good. Can I have you 6 ways?" he asked seductively in her ear. She leaned into his touch, "You've had me 9 different ways or have you forgotten already?" He bit her ear softly, "You little minx. You're going to tease me all day aren't you?" She shook her head slowly and pushed her hips against his, "Nope, but I am going to put you to work. Cut up those tomatoes while I slice these peppers." With his help, lunch was finished rather quickly. Anais took the initiative to help Dennis get his food off the kabobs. Mirabelle gladly went around the table serving everyone with their preferred salsa—mild or spicy. Emily gave herself, Andrew, and Nicky a wine cooler while giving Dennis, Anais, and Mirabelle homemade raspberry lemonade. They enjoyed the lunch and Mirabelle asked, "Andrew, where do you work?" He wiped his mouth with a napkin, "My job is kind of like your mom's. I run my own team but we stay in D.C. and the surrounding area."
Anais jumped in, "So you don't have to travel?" Andrew reached over to help her cut the grilled mango she had. "No, I don't travel much for work." She thanked him, ate a piece of her fruit, and start to talk, but her mom cut her off "Finish chewing before you talk." She complied and asked, "How much do you like my mom? When are you going to meet the rest of our family? Have you met the team? Do you—" Emily interrupted her, "One question at a time baby." Andrew smiled as he looked at both girls seriously, "It's okay. I don't just like your mom; I believe I am falling in love with her. I understand that you guys are a package deal and I'm fine with that. I want you to know that Nicky and Dennis are a part of my package too. If we're all giving this a real try, then we all need to be aware of the fact that we will become family." Everyone was anxious to the girls' response after Andrew's speech. They looked at each other and Anais said, "I like this package."; Mirabelle said, "Family is forever. Dennis, do you want to be around us forever?" Dennis looked uncomfortable for a moment, "I like all of you." Everyone smiled and Andrew grabbed Emily's hand and looked into her teary eyes, "What about you? Are you all in?" She kissed his hands, "Of course I am. I'm falling for you too." She pulled him close and kissed him on the lips.