Chapter Twenty-Nine – Wait, What?
March 31, 2023
Kelly and Erica had picked up the children from school and were preparing dinner while the children did their homework. It was their normal routine every day and every day Kate would ask for a snack. This day was not any different except for the conversation that followed the question that Kate asked, "Kelly, can we have some girl scout cookies for a snack before dinner?"
"Yes, let me get them for you? Which type of cookie would you like today?" Kelly asked.
"Thin mints and one of those new Raspberry Rally. You know they are the little sister cookie to the Thin Mint so they have to be served together." Kate replied.
"Oh really, says who?" Erica asked wanting to join in the conversation.
"Me, that is why I wanted to join the Girl Scouts. I wanted to help them bake the cookies. Maybe I could have come up with another type of cookie also. It's so not fair that my mommies wouldn't let me join the Girl Scouts." Kate said as she crossed her arms over her chest in protest.
Kate then remembered the conversation with her mothers.
"Please, mama, can I join the Girl Scouts?" Kate asked.
"Why do you want to join the Girl Scouts, Kate?" Jane asked.
"I want to help them bake the cookies, mama," Kate replied, still smiling.
Jane and Maura exchanged a look, and then gently told Kate that the Girl Scouts don't actually bake their own cookies. They purchased the cookies from a bakery and then sell them as a fundraiser for their troop.
Kate was disappointed. Her face fell and she pouted. "But I really wanted to bake the cookies," she said.
Jane and Maura could see how upset Kate was, and they wanted to help her feel better. They sat down with her and explained that while she couldn't bake cookies with the Girl Scouts, they could still find other ways for her to bake cookies.
"You can bake cookies at home, Kate," Jane said. "You will be able to bake cookies and decorate them however you like."
Kate's face lit up again, and she hugged her mothers.
"Kate, you know the Girl Scouts don't bake the cookies, right?" Kelly inquired.
"I know that now, but a few months ago I didn't that is why I wanted to join, but now that I know that they don't bake the cookies, I am fine with baking some cookies with you this weekend." Kate said.
"Way to make me feel special, Kate." Kelly added as she smirked at Kate. Kate just smiled widely at her. Kelly remembered she needed to check with Jane and Maura and make sure that Kate could bake cookies with her.
"Sorry, I am not settling by baking cookies with you and Erica, I enjoy doing things with you and Erica. I just meant I don't need the Girl Scouts. I am looking forward to baking cookies with you this weekend."
Kelly had arranged with Jane and Maura that she and Erica would bake cookies with Kate after breakfast on Saturday morning. Lilly asked if she could bake cookies with them and it was all set. They spent a few minutes looking over the different types of cookies and decided on two types that they would bake, chocolate chip and sugar cookies.
April 1, 2023
The four of them baked cookies on Saturday morning, April Fools' Day. Kelly had told Erica, Kate and Lilly that there would be no April Fools' Day pranking while baking cookies. Kelly took her baking very seriously.
The four of them were in the kitchen, rolling out dough, cutting out cookie shapes, and giggling as they got flour everywhere. Kelly and Erica were helping Kate and Lilly with the baking process, showing them how to measure ingredients and mix the dough.
Kate was having the time of her life, and she couldn't stop laughing as she tried to keep the cookie dough from sticking to her little hands. Lilly, on the other hand, was more focused on making sure the cookies were cut into perfect shapes, with the help of Kelly and Erica.
As they worked, they talked and laughed. Maura hearing all the laughter coming from the kitchen walked in to see what they were laughing about and walked right into some flour that had been thrown up in the air. Kate and Lilly stopped dead in their tracks not knowing how their mother was going to react. Maura looked surprised and then started laughing as she cleared the flour away from her eyes. Kate and Lilly walked over and gave her a big hug. By the time they were finished, the kitchen was a mess, with flour covering every surface and the smell of freshly baked cookies filling the air.
After the cookies had cooled, the girls couldn't wait to try them. They eagerly took bites, savoring the warm and gooey centers and the crunchy edges.
"These are the best cookies ever!" Kate exclaimed, her eyes wide with delight.
"We did it! We baked cookies all by ourselves!" Lilly added, giving Kelly and Erica a big hug.
The rest of the family soon joined in, and they all sat around the kitchen table, enjoying the cookies and each other's company. Jane gave Maura a questioning look as she saw Maura with flour all over her. Maura just smiled at Jane and said, "I'll tell you later." Jane nodded in agreement and just hugged her wife, transferring flour onto her but she didn't care, her family was happy and that was all that mattered.
After the kitchen was all cleaned up and everyone showered to remove all the remaining flour and other ingredients from their bodies, the family gathered in the living room. Jane reminded them all that they had agreed that no 'April Fools' Day' pranks would be pulled on anybody this year.
The children were disappointed that there would be no pranks this year as they now had Kelly and Erica in the family and they were looking forward to pranking them, but they understood after last year's pranks and the mess they had made trying to pull off the prank.
April Fools' Day Last Year
MJ, AJ, Lilly, and Kate were all fans of the movie "Home Alone," and after watching it one day, they were inspired to try and pull off some pranks of their own. The only problem was, they weren't quite sure where to start.
So, they came up with a plan to surprise their mothers, Jane and Maura. They decided to set up various booby traps around the house, just like Kevin McCallister did in the movie. "We need to make sure that mama and mommy get the biggest shock of their lives!" exclaimed MJ.
"Yeah, let's do it just like Kevin in Home Alone!" added AJ. The kids got to work, gathering all the supplies they would need for their prank. They set up trip wires, rigged the doorbell to make a loud noise, and even placed fake spiders around the house. They rigged up the bucket of water and tray of flour at the front door.
Finally, the day of the prank arrived, and the kids were so excited. They hid in the basement and waited for their mothers to come home. As soon as Jane and Maura walked through the front door, they were immediately met with a loud banging noise from the doorbell. They jumped in surprise, but then quickly composed themselves just as the bucket of water fell on Jane followed by the tray of flour. Jane was not a happy camper, she was wet and covered with flour. Maura was standing behind her and trying hard not to laugh she was so happy that she had missed out on that special treat.
"What was that?" asked Jane, jumping in surprise and almost tripping because of the spilled water on the floor.
"I don't know, but let's be careful," replied Maura, cautiously making her way through the house.
At every turn, the mothers encountered another one of the kids' pranks. Trip wires caused various objects to fall from the shelves, and fake spiders made Maura scream.
"This is crazy!" exclaimed Jane, trying to catch her breath.
"I can't believe they thought of all this!" added Maura, shaking her head in amazement. Finally, after making it through the house, Jane and Maura found their children hiding in the basement, giggling uncontrollably. Jane wondered where her mother was, as she was supposed to be watching the children. Right then Angela walked in and asked Jane, "What happened to you and the entry way?"
"Our children are pranking us." She then looked at the children and said, "You little monkeys! You startled us!" Jane said, trying to sound stern but unable to hide her smile.
"We got you good, mama and mommy!" said MJ, with a mischievous grin.
Jane and Maura couldn't help but laugh at the silly pranks, and they were impressed by the kids' creativity.
"We made such a mess last year. I am surprised they didn't put us on restriction last year. Mama was not happy when we rigged the front door with water and flour so when she opened the door it all fell on her. It looked good in the movies." MJ told Kelly and Erica after Erica had asked him how come they were not allowed to pull pranks on each other.
Jane walked in at the end of that conversation and said, "Yes, I had to wash my hair several times to get all the flour out of my hair." With that Erica understood why the children couldn't pull pranks on their mothers anymore.
April 7, 2023
Kelly had been working hard at her school work and she was sitting at the dining room table working on an assignment for her Language Arts class while Erica was preparing dinner for the family. Kate walked up to see what she was doing. "What are you doing, Kelly?"
"I am doing my homework." Kelly replied and Kate smiled at her.
"I finished my homework already, can I help you finish your homework?"
"Actually, I would love that. I need to write instructions for teaching someone how to utilize a 'Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How' worksheet to pull information from a one-page article, and then write a small paragraph relaying all of the information."
"Oh, can I be your student." Kate volunteered.
Kelly admitted, "And you would be a fantastic student, yes you can be my student. Let me find an appropriate one-page article for you to use for this assignment."
"Okay, I will get a drink of water while you find an article." Kate said as she walked over to the kitchen and Erica handed her a glass of water after hearing Kate tell Kelly that she would get a drink. Kate thanked Erica for the glass of water and returned to the dining room and waited for her instructions from Kelly.
"Okay Kate, I found a story."
"Awesome, I am ready to help you." Kate said as she moved so that she could sit by Kelly.
Kelly found a story about a little girl named Sarah who loved to play in the park. "Here you go, Kate. This is a story about a little girl named Sarah who loves to play in the park," said Kelly as she handed the article to Kate.
Kate began reading the story and Kelly asked her questions to help her pick out the who, what, when, why, and where elements.
"Kate, who is the story about?" Kelly asked.
"The story is about a little girl named Sarah," replied Kate.
"That's right! And what does Sarah like to do?" asked Kelly.
"Sarah likes to play in the park," replied Kate.
"Perfect! When does Sarah play in the park?" asked Kelly.
"The story doesn't say," said Kate.
"Okay, well let's assume she plays in the park every day after school. And why does Sarah like to play in the park?" asked Kelly.
"Because she loves to play on the swings and see the birds," Kate informed her.
"Great job! And where does Sarah play in the park?" asked Kelly.
"In the park is all that the article states." said Kate, matter-of-factly.
"That's right! Now let's put all of this information into a paragraph. Ready?" asked Kelly.
"Yes!" said Kate.
"Okay, here's your paragraph: Sarah is a little girl who loves to play in the park every day after school. She loves to play on the swings and see the birds. The park is where she goes to have fun," said Kelly.
"Yay, I did it with your help!" exclaimed Kate, proud of her work.
"Yes, we did it, Kate. Now I just need to write out the instructions and I will be done with my assignment." Kelly said as Erica announced that dinner was ready. Kate and the rest of the children washed their hands and then set the table.
April 28, 2023
Jane and Maura walked in the house. After closing the door Jane was sorting the mail that had just been delivered. They had a substitute mailman today and that is why the mail was late in arriving. There was a piece of mail for Kelly from the BPD Academy. Jane held onto Kelly's letter and put the rest of the mail down on the table at the entry way. Jane showed Kelly the letter and asked, "Kelly, what's this about? Why are you getting mail from the BPD Academy?"
Kelly smiled and said, "I actually applied to become a police officer a few months ago and this letter hopefully is my acceptance into the next academy class."
Erica then walked over and hugged her wife. They had discussed this change of career for Kelly months ago and had not discussed their decision with Jane and Maura. They knew that Kelly's time as a caretaker for the children was being cut down as Kate was entering a full-time Kindergarten class in August. So, this was the perfect time to make this change. Erica would be available to assist with the children, if needed.
Kelly was looking forward to this change of career. She admired Jane and the work that she had accomplished over her career. Being around Jane and Maura and their coworkers and seeing how they worked together as a team, helped Kelly make the decision to become a police officer.
Kelly took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly thinking about how she could still achieve her goal of helping people. Erica reached for her arm and gave it a quick squeeze to get her attention. She was anxious to see what the letter said. Kelly opened her eyes, and looked lovingly at Erica as she ripped opened the letter.
She took another deep breath and pulled the letter out of the envelope, she read the letter out loud, it was exactly what she thought that it was. It was her confirmation letter for a spot in the October class.
Jane and Maura both hugged Kelly and congratulated her. "We're so proud of you, Kelly," Jane said.
"Yes," added Maura, "You'll make an excellent police officer. We'll be here to support you every step of the way."
Kate walked over to Kelly and said, "You are going to be a police officer like my mama?"
Kelly smiled and said, "Yes, Kate, I'm going to be a police officer just like your mama." Jane smiled at her. Jane knew something was up as Kelly had been asking her questions about being a police officer and what her academy time was like. She also asked Maura about what it was like to work with law enforcement officers. Jane and Maura enjoyed sharing stories about their time in law enforcement. They loved their jobs and they hoped that Kelly would as well.
Kate's eyes lit up with excitement, "Cool! Can I come with you to the police academy?"
Kelly laughed, "I'm afraid not, Kate. The police academy is only for people who want to become police officers. But you can be proud of me and cheer me on. I will be able to come home every night, so I can tell you about what I learned each day. You can share your adventures from your kindergarten class with as well."
Kate nodded, "I would like that. And I'm sure you'll be a great police officer just like my mama."
Kelly informed her, "The class is twenty weeks long and I will be a police cadet during that time. At the end of the twenty weeks there will be a graduation ceremony and during the ceremony Erica will get to pin my badge on me signifying that I am a police officer."
"Can I come to the graduation?" Kate asked as she hugged her best friend.
"Yes, of course. I hope the entire family would come."
Jane and Maura nodded, there is no way that they would miss the graduation ceremony. This is a big step for Kelly and now with Rizzoli-Isles as her last name, she hopes to live up to their reputation at BPD.