The flight home was less eventful than the flight to Chicago. The kids had all missed each other and their other parent therefore the greeting in the airport was noisy and big. Hugs and kisses were given all around. Mariana immediately went over to Lena and started talking faster than Lena's freshly popped ears could keep up with. The overall message that Mariana loved and missed her mama was clear.
Brandon and Jesus could hardly wait to get Callie home and show off the new paint in the girls' room that they vowed to keep a surprise. As soon as Mariana heard them almost giving away the secret, she joined in to keep them quiet. Jude also became interested in whatever the rest of his siblings were discussing. Stef and Lena saw all of the kids occupied and were able to greet each other a little better.
"Moms!" Brandon said horrified when he saw them practically making out in baggage claim.
Stef looked up grinning. "Yes, Baby?"
"Kissing is gross. So stop it."
"Did you think it was so gross when Mama kissed you a little bit ago?" Stef asked.
"No, that was different."
"I don't think so…" Stef said teasing her son.
Callie rolled her eyes. "Mom, the kind of kissing you are doing with Mama is gross and kind of embarrassing."
"Oh, you too, I see. Do the rest of you feel that way, too?"
Mariana and Jesus both agreed that was true.
"No, Mommy. I like it when you kiss my mama." Jude said.
"See, that's why my little man is my favorite." Stef gave Lena one more kiss drawing out ews from the four oldest before Lena batted her away. "Tonight then?"
"Yes, Babe, tonight will be perfect." Lena answered slightly blushing to her wife's amusement.
XXXX
Callie loved the light purple that Mariana chose for the walls. It was a compromise between what the two of them originally wanted, but it did look nice. After getting their stuff dropped off, Stef whisked Callie and Jude to the backyard to help her grill some chicken for dinner as well as catch up in person. After a few minutes Jude ran off to play leaving Stef and Callie alone.
"So, you told me a lot on the phone last night, but you did not talk to me at all about taking your brother swimming yesterday. I know basically what you told Mama. Now, I want to know a few things from you."
"Okay, like what?"
"First, was taking Jude swimming by yourself as fun as you thought it would be? I mean, were you having a good time?"
Callie looked at Stef oddly. "Um, not really. I couldn't really swim like I wanted to because I had to stay right with him. Then I also felt sort of bad inside before Mama showed up and then actually felt a little better."
"That first feeling was responsibility. When you get older, the responsibility feeling will not be quite so overwhelming. Right now you are just too young to take on so much. Your other feeling is guilt. The only way to relieve it is to be found out. The fact that you feel it shows that Mama and I have done a good job teaching you right from wrong. Now, when I am taking you swimming anywhere other than our backyard, what do you wear going to the pool?"
"At least a t shirt over my swimsuit and flip flops."
"And Jude?"
"Also wears a t shirt and flip flops."
"I do not want to scare you, but there are good reasons that Mama and I want our children dressed when we are going places. You were in an unfamiliar town in a hotel with hundreds of people that we did not know. Any of those people could be exactly the type of people we are trying to protect you from. Little girls and little boys have to be careful about showing off too much of their bodies in public. Not only were the two of you alone, but also dressed it a way that could attract negative attention. It's nothing wrong with you or your body, it is something wrong with society. As you have already realized, on this trip specifically, Mama and I were working very hard to keep you safe. For the family times, we called you only Adams. At the hotel Mama registered as only Foster. You only took cabs from all the family events to avoid any of the other people at the funeral being able to find you later. Despite all of that, when Mama woke up and saw you were gone, the first thing that went through both of our heads is that either Gretchen or Linda had abducted you. I was even afraid at one point that you had worked out some sort of deal with one of them to come pick you up. You know how you felt responsible and guilty? Multiply those feelings by like a hundred and that's how we felt. Add to that panic. You could have at least left a note."
"I didn't really think about it like that."
"No, you didn't. Even if you were completely thinking that Mama was going to leave you there which really makes no sense since we both told you that could never happened, it is not the right idea to just leave the room. If anything that should make you want to stick closer. It is hard to leave someone glued to your side."
Callie looked back over to Stef and saw a slight teasing in her eyes after all of that lecture and smiled a little. "I guess you are right. If she had left while we were in the pool we would have only had our swimsuits. I was just thinking that maybe if she got more sleep she would think over it again and not want to leave us at all."
"Hmmm, well I know from the times you have wandered off in the past, those are the moments I would be most likely to leave you. It is irritating to not be able to find your children. You have always been a wanderer, Bug, but that is not your best quality. Realize right now that we would never leave you."
"I really wasn't exactly wandering this time…" Callie said before she got the look that made her stop talking immediately.
"I know Mama already took your iPod and things like that. However, there is a little more coming your way. For the next week or so depending on what happens, you will be in our sight all the times unless you are at school. You are not exactly grounded, just a bit restricted. You will sleep with your bedroom door open so that we can easily check to make sure you didn't wake up first and go somewhere. You will hang out with the family downstairs every evening and participate in whatever we are doing. My biggest question to you, though, is do you know how much you are loved?"
"I think so. I mean you told me that even if I became a Dodgers fan you would still come see me. That is big, right?"
"Absolutely. I think I am also going to add that when I go for a morning jog before work, I will be waking you to go with me. That part isn't really because you are in trouble as much as I want to spend more time with you. You are growing up too fast."
"I thought your morning runs were just for you to be by yourself. You told me once that you went really far and really fast so you couldn't take any of us with you."
"Well, now you are bigger. I think you can run a mile or so, right?" Callie nodded a little. "I can slow it down a little for you until we can build up your speed and distance. Or perhaps you could take your bike. We can't do much talking on these trips, but I would love to share it with you. So what do you say?"
"I thought it wasn't a choice. You said you were just going to be waking me up and dragging me out of bed to exercise with you." Callie said grinning back at Stef.
"I also said it was not a punishment. Therefore I suppose it is optional. Which brings me back to my question, will you go with me in the morning? I will have to get you up around six instead of seven. You would also have to take a shower in the morning before school, no exceptions or arguing on running days. Mama said she could get up a little earlier and blow dry your hair for you if you need it." Callie made a face. "It's not so bad. No one will bother you about showering at night. If you keep up with it, you will be amazing at the elementary track meet in the spring. Plus, this can be special time with your mom."
"You have really thought this through. I would love to start running with you in the morning. I would have been willing without being in trouble, I have wanted to go with you since I was four… It is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, right?"
"That's right. Except night shift weeks. Those weeks we will go in the evenings when I wake up. I also pick up a short Saturday or Sunday run sometimes. Are you in for those, too?"
"Of course!"
"Tomorrow morning will be the first. I love you, Callie." Stef said looping her arm around her daughter's shoulder and kissing the side of her head.
"I love you, too, Mom."
XXXX
In the meantime, Lena had the other three inside working on other parts of dinner. "So, how did things go with Mom over the last few days?"
"Fine." The three said collectively.
"Well, I heard there were some issues that we haven't discussed yet. Is that true?"
The kids all looked at each other for a moment. "No."
"So Mom is a liar? I thought she had to go up to school for two of you on Friday. I spoke to Mariana on the phone already, but there is someone else, right?" Lena asked with an eyebrow raise.
"It wasn't for me this time, Mama. I had a fine day on Friday." Jesus said putting both hands up, but also causing the other two to glare at him. In all honesty they should have known that Lena knew about both of their situations, but in the moment they were going for solidarity.
"I didn't quite finish all of my homework on Thursday night." Brandon finally admitted when he realized Lena's eyes were on him alone. "Mom already embarrassed me by showing up to school, spanking me in your office which I am sure everyone in there knew what was happening, and watching me do all the work. Trust me, she has handled it."
Lena smiled. "I can see that. She is good. The next time your homework is not done, I will personally watch you do all of it twice. We can even go back to your teacher to see if there are other things she would have you do. Plus, you know this means I will be talking to your teacher every day after school for a while to get a list, right?"
"Right, Mama." Brandon said a little disappointed. "But guess what? I finally got the fingering right on that song I have been working on. I had to slow it down a little, but I figured it out yesterday! Do you want to see it?"
"I would love to, B." Lena said smiling at him again. "After dinner you should bring down your piano and play for me some. I missed it while I was gone. You know that I love you, right? If I didn't I wouldn't care about your homework." She reached out and gave him a hug and a kiss.
"I know and I knew that I wasn't going to get away with the homework thing. My teacher said that you must love me a whole lot. Most parents don't check that close."
"She would be right." Lena ruffled his hair.
The family sat down to dinner fifteen minutes later. Mariana had started endlessly chattering again. "And then do you know what happened? His whole desk fell on top of him! It was so funny! And then…."
"Mari, take a breath and eat your food." Stef said seeing that Lena was already nursing a headache. "Anyone else have anything they would like to talk about?"
"Not really, but Mari was just getting to the good part, Mom. Remember? Justin puked?" Jesus chuckled causing the rest of the kids to also start giggling quietly.
"Yes, I did remember that part was coming. As we discussed Friday at dinner, vomit is not a meal conversation. Anyone have anything that is appropriate for right now?"
"One time a kid in my class puked at lunch." Jude started, but shrank back a little at the looks he got from his mothers. "Well, it happened at a meal…"
"Thank you, Jude. Again, any topic not about throw up?" Lena asked smiling just a little in spite of the conversation.
"Do you remember that time that I tried to climb the fence, but instead I got my arm cut and it bled so much that you took me to the hospital?" Jesus asked knowing this was also not a mealtime topic. He drew more laughs from the kids.
"Allow me to rephrase… Anyone have anything to say that does not involve bodily fluids? For instance, maybe Callie could tell us about something fun we did in Chicago?" Lena hinted looking at the girl.
Callie was still giggling a little. "At the science museum, they had a center that was about animals. They had brains and guts of lots of different things and we…"
"That's enough." Lena said interrupting knowing that this really going to end up on the same topic. "What is up with all of you wanting to discuss gross things at dinner tonight?"
The four oldest sort of shrugged their shoulders. Jude decided to answer. "I don't know, Mama, but those things are all very funny. Have you ever thrown up, Mommy?"
Stef chose to ignore the book from her wife. "Yes, of course. The last time I was really pukey was when I was pregnant with Brandon. He made me very queasy for a few months."
This brought a fresh round of giggles from everyone except Lena who rolled her eyes. Then they all looked at Brandon. "I couldn't help it. I wasn't even born yet."
"No, it is true. He hasn't kept being like that, only when he was inside of me. It is a common problem among super tiny unborn people. Probably all of you caused someone sickness also."
"Brandon made Mama sick since then. Remember? She had to bring him home from school sick and then she got it, too." Mariana stated.
"Not the same. Those were actually germs that made me sick. I had to bring him home and I knew I was risky my own sickness to take care of him. That's what I do for all of you as your mama. All of you have made me sick at some point or another."
"We never make Mom sick." Jesus pointed out.
"Why is that, Mommy?" Jude asked.
"Well, cleaning up puke is Mama's job just like washing clothes is mine. It was in our wedding vows. Therefore most of the germs get on her." Stef explained with a wink.
"Really? When you get married you have to sort out the puke?" Brandon asked looking intrigued. "That will be the job for my wife."
"Not really, son. Mom is just being funny. What really happens is that many times when you are sick at school it is easier for me to take you home since I am already there. I can usually get off and Mom has a harder time leaving work like that. Besides, I have found that when my kids are sick they mostly want Mama snuggles. Isn't that right?"
All the kids readily agreed thinking back to times they had any sort of sickness or injury. Even Callie who thought herself too old for most things knew that her mama could make her feel better even if she sometimes whined for Stef.
"Can we get another baby?" Jude asked after a moment of silence. "I know how it works, but if Mommy could have Brandon then Mama could have another baby for us. I want a baby brother."
The other kids looked at him in shock. "Since you do now how it works just like you say, then you know that it isn't really possible for Mama to have a baby right now. Where is this coming from?" Stef answered for the family.
"Um, I don't know… My friend's mom is having a baby…. We say a baby at the science museum. Mama said that she remembered when I was a baby and said she wanted another one." Jude said carefully aware of all the attention he was getting.
Now all eyes were on Lena. "I think I said I wanted to play with another one, Jude. That is much different than I want to have a baby all the time. Our family isn't really in the right place for me to have a baby…"
"Mama's right. Our house is full and we are done. No more diapers and no more daycare. Done." Stef finished for her wife.
"Really? But Mama, I know you said you would like to have another baby. Remember? The lady said I would made a good big brother." Jude said again.
"I am sure that is not what I meant." Lena said oddly before turning to Jesus to change the subject. "Tell us about your new skateboard ramp."
XXXX
The women got all five kids tucked in and sat down on the couch together. "Do you really want a baby, Lena?"
"Well, yes and no. I know that I had all of the babyhood experience with Jude and most with Callie, but I have never had the feeling of having a baby growing inside of me. I have done the middle of the night feedings, but I have never had the chance to breast feed. It is a different sort of bond, like the one you have with Brandon. This trip made me thing a little more about birth families. It would be nice to have one that was always ours, you know? However, when I really think about it, our family is complete. We said so at the adoption. We aren't in a place financially for me to quit work or to pay for daycare seeing that your dad is not currently an option. Plus, getting pregnant would be expensive in itself…"
"If this is what you want, we could make it happen. There are cheaper options. This time you would get maternity from work which would help with daycare at least at first. The older kids would be more helpful now versus when Jude was a baby."
"Really? I am pretty sure that Callie was a much better helper when she was four than she is now. Plus, this just doesn't feel like the right timing."
"Well, I am sort of relieved to hear you say that. You know, though, that I would do anything for you, right? And as for my biologic bond with Brandon, we both know when he is given the opportunity he goes to you. I was his mom by birth, but you are his mama by choice. He chose you."
Lena snuggled into her wife and Stef kissed the side of her head. "Do you think they are sleeping yet? I have missed you at night."
"How about you check on your way to our room? They all seemed tired and you know we are getting Callie up a little early tomorrow morning." Stef said helping Lena to her feet. "I will turn of the lights and check the doors and meet you up there in a few minutes."
Stef quickly completed her tasks and went up the stairs. As she passed the girls' door her rush was slightly interrupted. "Mom, is that you?" Callie asked from her bed.
"Yes, Bug. Do you need something?" Stef asked pausing at the doorway a moment.
"Well kind of…"
"Spit it out, Cal, what do you need? A glass of water? Another kiss?"
"Not exactly. I was just thinking that maybe since we are getting up early together tomorrow morning that maybe just this first time I could you know…"
"Sleep with Mama and me?" Stef finished for the girl.
"Well, may I? I will bring my own pillow this time, I know you hate it when I take yours."
"I would ordinarily say yes, but Mama and I sort of had plans to finish what we started at the airport. You know what I mean?"
"Yes, and that is TMI." Callie said pretending to gag.
"Stef if our baby wants to be with her moms tonight, let her come on. We can do that another time." Lena said walking over to Stef. "Callie, you are always welcome with or without your own pillow."
"No thank you, Mama. Although now I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight because of how disgusted I am."
"If that is the case you might as well join us, because I can tell you with certainty that it is not happening tonight." Lena said giving a look to Stef.
"Yeah, Bug, come join us tonight. We would love you have you."
"Let me get my pillow and my favorite blanket and I will be right there." Callie said happily.
"Don't forget your bear. He wouldn't want to be left behind." Lena reminded her before dragging Stef back to their room. "We definitely do not need another baby right now, Babe. In just twelve years we will have the house to ourselves."
Stef kissed her wife. "In twelve years then, we will finish what we started at the airport?"
Lena kissed back. "Absolutely. And yes, we are open with our kids about things, but no you shouldn't tell them when we are going to have sex."
