"JESUS!" Brandon screamed from the boys' room where all the boys were still staying for one more night before Sharon left the next morning. "STAY AWAY FROM MY STUFF! MOMS!"
Then there was a brief sound of running feet in the hallway. Both moms looked at each other and said, "It is your turn to deal with it."
"My turn? Really, Stef? I dealt with Mariana and Jesus arguing about where we should go to lunch, remember?"
"Oh, but I headed off a fight between the girls over Mariana 'borrowing' Callie's shorts. That was after lunch."
"If the fight hadn't started it didn't count. You say that you miss us when you are at work… You are working evenings starting tomorrow. Imagine how much you will miss."
"You are right. I will deal with this one in anticipation of how many you will handle next week." Lena give her wife a kiss before she stood up.
Stef found Brandon in his room with his Lego castle practically crying in his frustration. "I like him, but I don't want him in my room anymore, Mom. I can't even find all the pieces this time."
"Well, B, I understand." Stef said finding a few more pieces and handing them to her son. "We really don't have many bedrooms in this house. Pretty much everyone has to share. Maybe we could build some high shelves to put your important stuff on that Jesus couldn't reach?"
"But then I couldn't reach it either. You just need to make him be more careful. Ground him or spank him or something."
"It's not the easy, B. Jesus probably didn't mean to break it. Where is he, anyway? Maybe he could help you rebuild to show how sorry he is."
"He would just break it more. I know you say that we all need to share rooms, but maybe Mariana could move in Jude's room and I could move back in with Callie? I think we could get along in the same room okay."
"When you two were little you did very well that way, but I think you are a little big to share a room with you sister now. For right now, you are going to fix your castle while I find your brother. He will apologize to you and will figure out a new place for Hogwarts to set."
"Okay." Brandon said feeling like he had lost. "Hey, Mom? Do you think maybe just the two of us could go do something together sometime soon?"
"Sure, B, what were you thinking we would do?" Stef sat back down next to her son seeing this was one of those times when Brandon needed her more than anyone else.
"Maybe we could go to the batting cages or maybe you could teach me to shoot a gun? You know how to hit, right? You should take me somewhere and teach me."
"Hmmm, we could do one of those things, but I don't think you like any of that. If I were to just go out with you, I would want to do something you really like. What's going on B?"
Brandon sighed. "A lot of things, Mom. Jesus keeps messing with my stuff. I can never find anywhere quiet in the whole house to play my piano. Dad is never around anymore. We haven't even had a weekend together in two months. Grandpa hates me. You are my mom. Mama is too, but you were my mom when I was born. I think maybe if I were more like you, everything would be better."
"Your dad is kind of distracted right now. Honestly, I am not sure what is going on with him. Grandpa doesn't really hate you, he just doesn't understand you. He is wrong for not trying harder. You are worth loving just for being who you are. Don't change for him or anyone else." Stef suspected that Mike was either drinking again or had a new girlfriend, but it didn't seem like either of those things were the right thing to say to Brandon.
"Am I gay like you and Mama? Grandpa said I was, but I am not sure."
"Are you attracted to boys?"
"Not really. I don't think I like girls either, though. Is that okay?'
Stef laughed little. "Yes, that is probably normal for boys your age. Give it some time. Gay has nothing to do with playing the piano, liking unicorns, painting your nails, or anything else like that. None of those things make someone turn out to be gay. I knew when I was about sixteen and I had a crush on a girl. Mama knew when she was just a little older than you. You don't have to know anything yet. Anyway, just like I told Callie a few days ago, it does not matter to Mama and I who you like in that way. We just want you to be happy."
"Okay. I still want to do something with you soon, but I will think about what sounds like the most fun to me." Brandon said still in some deep thought. "I think Jesus went to hide in your room. I got Hogwarts back together again after all. Since I don't really take it apart or play with it, maybe it could be on my bookshelf?"
"That sounds like a good plan." Stef gave Brandon a kiss on his head before standing up to put the castle out of reach. "I will go find Jesus and we will have another conversation about being more careful with other people's things." Stef also made a mental note to find a time her and Lena could sit down with each of the twins for similar conversations. She thought the kids were all too young for this, but had been proven wrong twice in the past few weeks. If nothing else, she knew it would be good to open the topic up so it would not cause as much stress as it had for Callie and Brandon.
Jesus was in the moms' room, but he really wasn't hiding like he did when he was little. He was sitting just inside the door with his head in his hands. He lifted his head when he heard Stef come in. "Hi, Mom."
"Hey, Bud. I think we may need to have a little talk, what do you think?" Stef asked as she sat down on the floor next to him.
"Mom, before you start, I think I have an idea that will fix everything. Brandon gets annoyed with the train tracks and cars that I like to play with sometimes. He moved most of those toys to Jude's room. What if I moved into Jude's room, too?"
"Jude's room is a little small, but I will discuss this with Mama. Maybe we could just switch Jude and Brandon." Stef said thinking out loud. "That is a very well thought out idea, actually. I am proud of you, Jesus. Now, though, you need to apologize to your brother for not being careful with his stuff. You know how much he hates that and you really could do better."
"I know, Mom. I need to be careful, but there is just so much stuff he doesn't want me to touch. That's why I would like to move rooms. Jude doesn't care. He doesn't own anything that breaks that easily."
"That's another good point. Like I said, before a decision can be made, I need to talk to Mama. Jude and Brandon also get some input on this one. Let's go make things right with B for right now and we will talk about the room situation again after I have time to talk to Mama."
Jesus and Brandon easily made up. Despite their differences they were very close. Both had some time to cool off which also made it all a little easier. "Hey, Brandon, if you really aren't mad at me anymore, how about if we go ride our bikes!"
"Okay, Jesus. Is that okay, Mom?"
"Yep. I will go outside with you. Remember your boundaries."
"Only around our block, right?" Jesus asked. Even though the kids had walked home from school, Lena got nervous about them riding bikes that far due to the traffic.
"Yep, wear your helmets, watch for cars, stay together and don't talk to strangers." Stef added.
"Should I also wrap myself in bubble wrap, Mom?" Brandon asked with a smirk.
"Mama would say yes."
The boys laughed. "We should ask the others if they want to come ride with us!" Jesus said excitedly.
In the end the adults took their discussion to the front porch while the kids rode their bikes. Jude and Mariana stayed fairly close while the other three rode to the very edge before coming back.
"See, some need boundaries and some have to be pushed." Sharon said again watching the three adventurous ones ride by again.
"Hmmm, you are right Sharon. I am just glad Brandon is with Callie and Jesus. The two of them together could probably ride to LA without ever thinking about where we said they could go. The driveway used to be far enough for all of them." Lena commented sipping her tea.
"Before you know it San Diego won't be a far enough for them." Sharon said with a faraway look.
"So, what about the room situation?" Stef asked bringing the topic back to the present.
"I think no, Jude is just a baby… Brandon and Jesus are closer in age and look, they are out riding together and happy." Lena said watching the older three ride by and glancing back to the two in the driveway again.
"Lena, Honey, Jude is not a baby. He is six years old and in first grade. When B was this age he was already the oldest of five and had been sharing a room with Jesus for a year. Next you are going to tell me that he still sleeps in your room at night." Sharon said with a laugh before Lena looked uncomfortable. "Oh, I am sorry. I didn't realize…."
"It is okay, Mom. Jude is our last baby. We may sometimes treat him as a baby a little more than we did the others. Do you think sharing with Jesus would keep him in his own bed better? I mean, I certainly don't mind him joining us in the early morning hours, but I think it would be good for everyone if it wasn't every night."
"It isn't quite every night, Babe… Plus, his room is still decorated just how we did it when we first moved him in the room. Brandon probably wouldn't want to live in a room decorated for a baby." Lena insisted.
"I bet Jude would also like to live in a room not decorated for a baby." Sharon said quietly to Stef. Then she said a little louder. "Nothing that a little paint and things couldn't fix. In fact, you could let Brandon pick it out along with a new bedspread. For a little more, you could have Jude and Jesus pick a new paint color and theme for their room, too."
"What if Jude doesn't want to move in with Jesus?" Lena asked trying one last effort.
"Really? Jude loves Jesus more than anyone. They play together more often than Jesus and Brandon. This would give Jesus the chance to be the big brother in the room. Jesus may surprise us with his responsibility. He could move to the top of the loft bed which he would love. I still think we should at least discuss it with the boys and see where it goes."
"And the girls. If we are changing the boys' rooms, we should also talk to them. What if Callie and Mariana would also like their own rooms? It may not be fair to just let Brandon…"
"We can talk to the girls, but really, the only way they could move apart is to put all three boys in one room. That would be unfair. They are also really doing fine together. Neither have expressed anything of the sort."
"Fine." Lena conceded still a little unhappy by it. "Tomorrow we will talk to all of them about rooms and see what happens."
"Tonight, Love. Tomorrow you all have to go to school, I have to drop off my mom at the airport and I will be at work by the time you come home."
"Okay then, let's call the kids in right now. There is no need to delay."
Lena went to get the kids off the driveway while Stef went into the street to motion the other three it was time to go in.
"But Mom, we were just getting ready to have a race!" Callie protested. "I was trying to prove that I was the fastest. It isn't even dark outside yet."
"Doesn't matter, we are going in. You got to ride for over an hour. Mama and I want to talk to all of you." Stef explained.
"You wouldn't have won anyway, Callie! I am the fastest!" Jesus declared boldly now that he wasn't having to race her again. They raced often and Callie nearly always won.
"We aren't going there, Bud. Mama and I want you all inside. Please put your bikes away and go sit in the family room."
"There is no way you could have beaten Callie, Jesus! No one can beat her on a bike. Maybe we should race on foot. You could definitely beat her in that!" Brandon said continuing to ignore Stef.
"Maybe we do that right now!" Jesus said letting go of his bike and letting it hit the curb.
"Or maybe you could all put your bikes away and join Mama and me in the family room right now." Stef said guiding Jesus to pick his bike back up.
By the time Stef got her three inside, Lena had both of her's inside and had ice water for the other three. Jesus settled on the couch next to Mariana. "Oh, Mama, he stinks. Make him go shower!"
"I do not!" Jesus said back indignantly.
Brandon laughed and got right in Mariana's face. "How about me, do I stink?"
"Ewww! Yes! Get away from me." Mariana looked over at Callie who was laughing. "You probably do, too. So stay away from me!"
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on going over there, I heard they smell bad." Callie smirked.
"Okay, that is enough! Everyone will shower tonight and we will start with the three who are currently sweaty from riding bikes. That's not what we called you in for today." Lena said taking charge back from her kids.
"But Mama…" Callie whined.
"Don't start, Bug." Stef warned making eye contact. Callie stopped remembering a few days ago. "Okay, Jesus gave me an interesting idea and we have been talking about it. Mama and I want to know how you guys feel about Jude and Brandon switching rooms."
"Really?" Jude said hugging Lena a little more. "I want to move in with Jesus! That would make me a big boy like him! I want to do it right now!"
"You are already staying with the boys tonight, Baby." Lena reminded him. "This means that you will have to leave behind the border in your room that we put up when you first moved in there. You would also be sleeping in Jesus's bed instead of your special one that used to be your crib…"
"Alright!" Jude yelled excitedly. "No more baby stuff!"
Lena looked a little pained. "Once you move in with Jesus, you have to stay in there at night, Jude. Are you okay with that? You can only come in to stay with Mama and me if you really need to." Stef explained further.
"That's okay because I will have my big brother, right, Jesus?"
"Yep! And we can set up the tracks for our cars and leave them up for a long time because no one will be mad at us! I can show you lots of cool stuff at night!"
Brandon was a little bit quiet. "How do you feel about this, B?" Lena asked gently.
"I don't know. I still kind of like to share a room. I haven't really slept in a room by myself in a long time… What if I don't like it?"
"You will be right next door to us and right across the hall from your siblings. This way you can have a quiet spot to practice the piano and protect all of your stuff from everyone else. If you get lonely, you could probably invite one of the others to stay the night in your room every now and then."
"That could be good, I guess. Do you think we could take all the baby stuff down? I am going to be eleven next week, not a baby. Could I also get a new bed?"
"Redecorating might not happen overnight, but yes. You may choose a color for your walls, a new bedspread, and perhaps a new bed. We might redo Jesus and Jude's room as well since it will be different people living in the room." The boys all nodded in agreement. "How about you girls? What do you think?"
"I think our room needs to be repainted, too. Could we do that, Moms?" Mariana asked. "Maybe even a little new stuff for us, too?"
"Like we said, it may be a slow process, but we will see what the budget allows for. Are you okay with Brandon getting his own room while you still have to share, Lady Bug?" Stef asked looking at her oldest daughter.
"I begged to have a sister to share a room with. I was just sort of feeling bad for B because he will have to be alone at night."
XXXX
The next day after Stef dropped of her mother at the airport she went to a store to look at paint. She found several colors that would be okay and gathered up the paper paint samples. While Stef was at work, Lena showed the samples to the kids. Brandon found a blue that he liked. Jude and Jesus picked out an almost lime green. Callie and Mariana couldn't agree.
"Mama, I want to go with this princess pink color and then get the sparkles for the topcoat. Wouldn't that look nice in our room?" Mariana asked Lena.
"No, Mama, we should go with a darker color, like this one." Callie said holding up a deeper purple.
"But our room would look so dark, Cals! We need something light colored and happy."
"The pink would make me sick to my stomach, Mari! No way!"
"You two don't have to agree right now. We will be doing the boys' rooms first, starting with Brandon. Your room will not be done for a few months anyway." Lena said to settle the argument.
Stef used her mornings she was off from work and the kids were not home to work on Brandon's new room. By the end of the school week, it was ready for him to move into. He invited Callie to stay with him the first night. All of the kids went to bed happy and Jude stayed in his new room all night long.
