"Sorry mate, just wanted to know if you were coming over tonight or staying with Collin." my head snapped to attention as Emily passed me the little bundle so that she could take a toilet break. I had to resist the urge to rub my now aching neck. Note to self, don't whip your head up fast, it hurts. a lot. The little boy had on a pale blue colour. So boring. He should be dressed in pink. Like it used to be in the 1920s and behind that year...
"Erm, yeah. Dunno yet." i heard a hasty reply and started bouncing the baby slightly, his eyes had opened and he looked a little confused by the bright lights and the fact that i wasn't his mother. Or maybe it was the change in gravitational pull. maybe he knew i wasn't as tall as his Dad or short as his Mum.
"Heyya, i'm your Auntie Cassandra. You can call me Goo or Ga if you want." He gurgled and stared up at me. "Or gurgle... i don't really mind." he just looked at me again and then closed his eyes. "There ya go little man, go to sleep..." i smiled and kissed him on the cheek lightly before leaning back up. "His eyes are brown." i stated to noone in particular, frowning and trying to remember what i was doing before i got distracted. Oh yeah, eavesdropping.
"-staying at Collins' Brady?" I saw a girl who looked about eight, well, she could have been older but she looked a bit like a midget so i assumed she was a child. But that increased the number of people my brother knew to a total of... way more than i knew. Pah! Anyway, she may well have just een short but she had a face which was slightly chubby and like she still had puppy fat so...
"Erm,... i told my parents about something and they kicked me out. I was stupid and didn't have anywhere else to go so i just went round to Emily and Sams and they let me stay the night. Why, where're you staying Claire?" She giggled and looked up at him with adorable little eyes. I didn't like her... Those eyes could charm their way into free popcorn at this rate and i was pretty sure Brady would only have enough money left for my popcorn not both. Sill little girls. Pah!
"With my mummy of course! It's okay though, Quil comes over all the time so sometimes i feel like i live with him and my mum babysits sometimes." she grinned and smiled at another one of the boys in the large circle. I assumed it was Quil and my like of Claire came back. I didn't mind her so much now. Considering she had a new source of confectionery comfort money.
"Why did they kick you out Brady?" i asked softly, trying not to smile as i remembered the wording on a small but extremely significant piece of paper perfectly. I was thinking about my parents' will so much i almost missed when Brady began to speak.
"Because they didn't agree with someone i wanted to spend time with." i couldn't help but grin. Well, frown grin. Frorin? anyway, i did both at the same time. I guess it was the fact that i was being nosey into the fact that his parents didn't think he should be around someone.
"Why're you smiling? He's homeless because he decided to stay in your relationship instead of staying with his family. He turned his back on them all!" i looked at a tall exotic beauty, i should remind myself to ask her her name sometime, or would that seem too weird considering i'd talked to her already. not to mention awkward in the most likely event that Collin had told her my name and i still don't know hers... and nodded.
"First,Brady and i aren't going out, and second, my parents always thought of Brady as the third child who they never had and so, they did finally what they always threatened Collin and me with doing."
"They changed the will?" i nodded, my eyes probably shining with excitement as i held baby Kwoli in my arms and relayed the piece of information.
"If the third child, their second son joins the family, he will get an equal share in the family's inheritance including the house which the first daughter was instructed to buy." I finished quickly and Collin's face mirrored my happiness. "Which means that Brady's moving in with us! no longer will he need to think about not having enough smiles in the freezer!"
"Or a place to crash every night."
"yeah, that too! Ooh, and since i've already bought the house for a good price, kitted it out completely etcetera etcetera, we can turn the basement into a home cinema!" i got blank stares from both Collin and Brady. "Erm, i mean also have a really nice boys corner with loads of games and an xbox 360 and a ps3 and a computer for me to play sims 3 on..." i got lost in my own fantasy for a second before i heard Kwoli make a noise. "Honey... calm down. Shush... it's okay." Kwoli stopped crying and looked up at me before yawning the biggest yawn i've never thought possible of a baby and somehow pulled his arm out of the blanket so he could rub his eye. "Do you want your mummy?" i looked up a bit and started to hand him back to Emily.
"You're really good with him. he's normally such a loud baby." i could see bags under her eyes and decided to get Collin to have a go at Sam some time about her having to do everything probably. " would you like to babysit sometime?" i nodded enthusiastically. "But i won't be able to pay you that much." i just smiled down at her.
"It's okay. Brady's turning 18 soon so we don't really need any thing because that's when we get the inheritance. me, i'll love to be paid by getting lessons off of this guy."
"Lessons?"
"You know, in raising midgets. Hopefully mine will all be short, with white hair and blue skin." She just looked at me funny. "You know, smurf babies. They're awesome, they're born like tiny and then grow up to be about yay high," i put my hand by my hip and hit the top of Claires head by mistake. "Ooh, sorry honey." She just looked up at me and smiled. (the short, white hair and blue skin. Copyright Charlotte, my twin whose aim in latter life at the moment is to have smurf babies. and she's a 'mature' teenager.)
"You never know what'll happen when you mix people's genes." Goosebumps travelled up my neck and to the top of my head. I stopped and turned my head slightly. "So um... are you sure it's okay if i stay at yours?" i smiled and nodded, trying to make sure i didn't blush when i looked at him.
"Mum and Dad wanted it." i tried not to smile at the lopsided one which graced his gorgeous features and tried to think of other things... unicorns... oh, Larry said hi... that was nice of him.
"Stop thinking about Larry the Unicorn." he huffed before i smiled and nodded.
"Sure Brady... i'll do that, but have i told my two favourite boys..." i pulled Collin towards me and held both of their hands. "about four years of washing up duties you've missed?" the smiles instantly dropped off their faces.
"I elect Brady as the official washer upper. Seen as how he's a year older than us. and so will be the responsible adult in the house."
"Collin, Brady is only three days older than you."