Chapter 7

It's been a while. OK, maybe three years is a little more than a while, but hey, we have lives here you know. Kuki, Wally, Hoagie, and Fanny are still in school. Brady just had his third birthday and Ash, Wally and Kuki's 'bundle of joy', is at that age where she gets into everything. Which, of course, becomes my problem because I watch her most of the day.

Things are pretty normal. The guys are still around 24/7. There was a brief period after Fanny moved in that Patton wouldn't come over. Unfortunately, it was rather short-lived. Now we have to deal with some sort of argument whenever they are within a 10 foot radius of each other.

"Drilovsky! Hand the book over! Now!" a thickly Irish voice screamed.

Choosing to ignore that I possibly felt the windows shake, I side-stepped Ash and Brady on the floor and walked over to Patton. I held my hand out in front of him. After a few seconds, I handed a book over to Fanny. "Problem solved," I said.

"Ash! Get your own truck!" Brady yelled. At least he could say her name now; it used to come out minus the 'h'. He pulled his truck away from the little, dark haired girl.

I gestured at the toddlers and then looked at Fanny and Patton. "This is what you guys act like. Adjust it." Fanny glared at me, grabbed her keys, and left. I turned back to my son. "What do you two want for lunch?" I walked into the kitchen and poked around in the fridge that lately hadn't been empty.

Brady's face lit up. "Peanut butter!" he exclaimed. Of course. Why did I even bother asking? Brady's tiny legs carried him into the kitchen where he opened the pantry to find his equivalent of his dad's chili dog.

"Joey, Ash, get in here! Lunch!" I hollered. It was summer. That's why Joey was around. Everyone was still taking classes into the summer to get some last minute credits. It was just after noon so Hoagie, Ace, Patton, and Nigel were eating too. Some things never change. Those boys would probably still be coming to me for lunch ten years from now. Wally hadn't come home yet.

There were bags of chips strewn haphazardly across the table as well as cans of pop and pieces of lunch meat. I went into the living room and picked up Ash. I gave Joey a glare so he reluctantly followed me into the kitchen. "I know you're almost a 'teen' now or whatever, Joey, but I'm still in charge here," I told him jokingly.

He nodded head, his still bowl-shaped hair shaking. "Got it, Supreme Commander Gilligan." The kid had developed a sense of humor very similar to mine in the past couple years.

Realizing that I hadn't been watching Brady thoroughly, I looked over and he was eating peanut butter straight from the jar. With his hands. On the floor. "Kid, you should really be having some apples with that," I said, shaking my head.

Hoagie wandered in. "That's my boy!" He helped himself to a handful of peanut butter.

I had a vision of peanut butter caked in curly brown hair. Then I had a vision of peanut butter caked in Ash's beautiful ebony hair. Kuki would kill me. "Don't encourage him, Hoagie." I picked up the jar and put some on a paper plate with cut up apples.

"Will you make me macaroni and cheese?" Joey asked from his spot at the table.

"Sure. Ash, you can have that too."

"Abby! I want apples!" Ash moaned. Once she started moaning, it was best to give her what she wanted. The two year old was known for her Kuki-like temper.

I quickly picked her up and planted her next to Brady. "Apples, too. Share 'em, OK?" I could hear some keys jangling in the lock and the doorknob twisting. "I bet that's your daddy."

Ash ran over to the front door, wishing to meet Wally the minute he opened it. Her long hair flew out behind her like a cape. "Daddy!" She raised her arms, wishing to be picked up. Ash knew that when it came to Wally, moaning wasn't even necessary. Her daddy always gave her what she wanted.

"Hey, bug!" Wally picked her up and tossed her tiny body in the air. It was kind of amazing how such a little person could bring out a totally different side of Wally. "Abby's not being too mean, right?" He bent his head close to her ear.

Ash wrapped her little arms possessively around Wally's neck. "No," she giggled. "Abby good!"

Wally placed her down on the floor and shook his blond hair. "Go eat, Ash." He turned to me. "Thanks again, Abs, for watching her all the time. You're the best."

"It's all good," I smiled.

When Kuki came home, she was not in a good mood. She dragged in a way I'd never seen before and she actually sat down to take off her shoes. Kuki never sat down to take off her shoes. "I made you a salad," I told her.

"Fantastic." Kuki brushed past me and into her room. She shut the door behind her.

Knowing something was up, I followed her in. "Kuki, what's up?" I shut the door, quieter, behind me.

Kuki turned to face me. I hadn't noticed when she came in, but her eyes were rimmed red. "Abby, you know how you say I can tell you everything?"

I nodded slowly. I tried to guess what she might need to tell me. "Yeah, girl. Tell Abby."

She took a deep breath, filling her cheeks with air, and let it out slowly. "I'm pregnant again," she whispered.

"How far along?" an accented voice asked. Kuki and I both swung our heads to face the door; it must have fell open a little. Wally's muscular frame filled the door. Kuki looked up at him and started crying. I slipped out of the room as Wally walked over to the bed.

Ash looked up from her lunch as I wandered back into the kitchen. "Where's mommy?" she asked with orange macaroni cheese around her lips.

"She's gonna talk to your daddy for a little bit." I brought Brady over to the sink. Even without eating the peanut butter from the jar, he still managed to get it all over himself. I'd have to give him a bath.

Hoagie entered the kitchen, to find me and Brady having a stare down over the peanut butter issue. He laughed and then kissed the side of my head. "I'm off again," he said. "See you later, buddy!" Hoagie added turning towards our son.

Ace, Patton, and Nigel followed him out. Wally left about ten minutes later, visibly upset. I gave Brady his bath and situated him and Ash in front of the TV. Kuki still hadn't come out of her bedroom. I was worried about my friend; it always seemed wrong when she was sad, like she was wearing someone else's clothes.

There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it. Kuki stood in the doorway. Of course, it wasn't really Kuki; it was just her twin of a little sister, Mushi. "Uh, hey, girl," I greeted. Mushi was a senior in high school this year and didn't come to visit often.

"Abby," Mushi replied.

I didn't particularly care for Kuki's little sister. There was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way, like her whole 'I love everything' personality was just a show she liked to put on. Regardless, I let her in the door. She had video equipment with her. That worried me.

"Where's Kuki?" Mushi asked me.

"Kuki's a little…upset, Mushi. Abby don't know if this is the best time."

The teen aged girl smiled and flipped her short, black hair. "Of course it's the best time. It's always the best time to see your sister!" Mushi let herself into Kuki's room.

I groaned. What was Mushi doing here anyway? I found out a few minutes later when Mushi reappeared, dragging Kuki behind her. She plopped her sister down on the couch next to Ash. "Is your deadbeat here?" Mushi asked.

Kuki shook her head sadly, not even bothering to make a comment about Wally not being a deadbeat. Mushi set up her equipment and turned on her camera. "Now, this is the best part of my family," she started in a sickeningly sweet voice. "My sister and my niece. They don't live with my parents and I at home. My sister's name is Kuki. Say hi, Kuki!" Kuki waved at the camera. "She's the best big sister in the world. My niece's name is Ash. My sister's boyfriend, Wally, named her, don't ask. He couldn't be with us today, tragic, I know. Ash is the cutest little thing in the world. Aren't you, Ash?" Ash nodded her head. It was true. And Ash definitely knew it. Mushi shut off the camera. "I have to make a documentary about myself for video production. I'll be off now. See you soon, sissy!" she added, making her way to the door.

Kuki sat on the couch for a few moments after the door had slammed. Then, she picked up Ash and walked back into her bedroom, silently.

A/N: Mushi's so mean...And, I can't exactly tell you why I skipped ahead three years. I just kind of wanted to and this works better with where I want the plot to go, I guess. hope you enjoyed!