You would not believe how sick I've been the past couple months; how sick I am now. It's insane. I'm sorry I haven't updated but I just couldn't do it.
I know it's Sunday but hopefully I'll be back. I'll upload Wednesday and Saturday and that'll be it for this story. I won't be posting anymore Glee stories until December and even then it'll be one. The sequel to this story will be out in January.
So if you're feeling well, enjoy and review!
NJPNJPNJP
Mercedes: POV
I washed my new tattoos gently. I shouldn't have gotten any new ones but Marcy assured me that as long as they didn't get infected, Rae was safe.
I pulled on my clothes (black Capri leggings with a design on the outside bottom and an off the shoulder cutout purple shirt) and went to grab Rae. I'd put her in a yellow sundress with a blue jean bucket hat.
I picked her up and took her downstairs for breakfast. "Good morning, everyone!"
Daddy, Marcy, Marionette and Mrs. Gonzales spoke back. The twins screamed. Rae screamed back.
I put her in her high-chair and went to get her cereal. I mixed it with milk and warmed it up a bit before bringing it back to her tray. I started feeding her. I was going to have to change her after breakfast (and before Noah picked her up)…
"Are you excited for the last day of school?" I asked Marcy.
She stabbed at her eggs. "For it to be over."
"Let me see what you're wearing for your lasting impression."
She stood up and showed off her outfit. She was wearing blue jean shorts, a blue tee with a picture of a muffin and a mirror with the words "Muffins are just ugly Cupcakes" and a blue plaid button up that she left open. Her hair was in two braids that she left over her shoulders.
"Cute. What shoes are you wearing?"
She bent to the side and lifted her left leg straight into the air. She was wearing brown fringe calf high flat boots. They were cute.
"I love those. Don't I have a pair like that?"
"Yours are higher. They match Lucy's." She put her leg down before taking her seat.
"Those shorts seem very short." Daddy commented.
"No."
He blinked and looked at her. "No?"
"No." She put ketchup and grape jelly on her eggs.
"How are you going to say no? Your shirts cover them."
"No, Daddy." She stabbed at her eggs and put the fork in her mouth.
"You will not leave this house in those hot pants."
"Of course, Daddy." I had the feeling she was ignoring him.
He nodded. "Good. Now what all will you be doing today?"
"There's a party in 'RO. I'm coming back here and taking the twins to all my volunteer spots then we'll have lunch here and hang out until I go to band. I have my final to perform then it's back here."
"Where-" I said excitedly. "We're going to have family night!"
Daddy smiled. "I'm glad I cleared my schedule for this. It'll be our last family night for a while."
"Maybe until Christmas?" Marcy picked something out of her potatoes.
I pouted. "We have to come back before then."
She shrugged.
"Humph! We're going to come back as much as possible."
Her eyes flicked to mine before returning to her plate.
I narrowed my eyes. "Marcy, we are a family-"
She set her fork down. "Would you quit?!"
"We have to stick together. We're going to be in a whole different world, all alone-"
"Not alone enough." She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to school."
"You're early." I knew she wanted to get away from me.
"Early is on time, on time is late." She stood up and kissed the twins before walking out.
I sighed. "I didn't mean to run her out of here."
"Of course not, Princess." Daddy said before he frowned and turned towards the doorway. "Hey! I told you not to leave in those booty shorts!"
The front door slammed.
He hopped up and ran out.
I looked at the twins, who looked back at me. "Mommy's got a temper."
"Temper." Mally said.
"Yeah." MAP
I waited on the steps and checked my watch. She should be home by now. Marcy didn't waste time.
The door rattled so I looked up.
She came through the door and deflated when she saw me on the stairs. "Why?!"
I popped up. "I'm sorry I got on your nerves this morning. You didn't even get to finish your breakfast. I'm sure you're starving."
She gave me a dark look.
"I'm really sorry. I know you know the importance of family. You're all about your family. I shouldn't pick."
"I guess you could meet us for lunch." She shut the door behind herself.
I smiled. "Thank you."
She grabbed two jackets from the hooks behind the door and went into the den, me following her. "Come on, you two. Mommy has to say goodbye to all her charities."
Mally slid off the couch and ran around the room.
Marcy made a face. "Now I gotta find a way to not want to beat him when I catch him."
"Marcy, that's not funny!" I gasped.
"Who said I was joking?" She waited for him to streak past her before snatching him up mid-run.
Mickey, who was dressed like her mother in a blue shirt and blue jean skirt and brown boots with two French braids, slid off the couch and approached the duo. "Mally bad, Mommy?"
"Mally very bad." Marcy kissed his cheeks. Mally giggled.
Mickey giggled, too and leaned against Marcy's leg. "Bad Mally!"
Marcy put both of their coats on them. "Come on. We have to go. Say goodbye to Tia Me."
"Bye, Tia Me!" They waved to me.
"Bye, babies." I kissed both.
Marcy grabbed the designer diaper bag Laura gave her at her baby shower and ushered the twins out.
I sat down and brought my phone out. "Lucy? Come over. I'm meeting Marcy for lunch but I'm bored now. Ooh! That's a great idea! Let me grab some stuff for Rae and I'll meet you guys there. Bye!"
I hung up and turned to Marionette. "You got the rest of the morning off. Lucy and I are taking Beth and Rae to the club."
"The club?" She frowned in confusion. "The country club?"
"Yes." I popped up. "Just watch her while I put some stuff in her diaper bag." I grabbed the bag (that matched Marcy's [and Lucy's]) and went to the kitchen to put a few things inside it. I made sure she had extra clothes and towels before coming back to get her.
"See you later, Marionette!" I yelled over my shoulder as I left.
"Goodbye, Miss Mercy!"
I grabbed Rae's blanket and lamb on the way out and slammed out the front door. I went to my car and put Rae in her car seat and covered her with the blanket before throwing our stuff in the passenger seat.
I got in the driver's seat and backed out the driveway before driving to the country club. I found a place to park and went inside with Rae.
"Ooh! Is that your baby, Mercedes Catherine?!" A loud voice boomed from my right. It was Mrs. Gipani.
I smiled. I liked her. She was loud (she was hard at hearing) but she was super nice. "Hello, Mrs. Gipani. It is."
"Let's see her! Let's see her!"
I pulled the blanket back and Rae reached up.
"May I hold her?"
"You might want to sit down. She moves a lot."
Mrs. Gipani moved over to a sitting area and sat down.
I set the car seat on another chair and undid the straps on it to lift Rae out. I gave her to Mrs. Gipani.
"Ohh! Look at her! She's so precious!" Mrs. Gipani hefted her high and wiggled her like Mikey did right before he gave her back and she threw up. "How old is she?"
"Seven months and two days." I smiled.
"Such a darling age. She loves everything, doesn't she?"
"Actually no. She hates an outstanding number of things but she's so cute about it." I adjusted the blue hairband in Rae's curls.
"I bet she is. Where's your sisters and their children?"
"Well Marcy is taking the twins to her charities and Lucy should be here."
"I heard you all will be going to New York." Mrs. Gipani whispered with a wink.
"We are. Did you hear about Marc going to the NFL?"
"I did! We're all so proud of him! He and Laura will be happy in California. They just need to make sure those weird people don't change them."
"I'm sure they won't be changed."
"They're good kids." Mrs. Gipani jostled Rae as she started acting like she wanted to cry. "We'll be watching every game."
"Us too." I searched through my diaper bag for a binky. I found a yellow one and put it in Rae's mouth then I gave her, her lamb.
Rae calmed down and waved her lamb in the air.
"Oh, you like your stuffed animal. That's what that was." Mrs. Gipani spoke in baby talk.
"Her father bought it for her before she was born. She loves it." I pinched Rae's cheek. She eeked.
"I've never seen your young man. He is treating you well, I assume."
"Yes, ma'am." I nodded as my phone went off. I reached for it and checked. It was Lucy. I answered it. "Hey, Lucy. I'm here. Oh. I'm talking to Mrs. Gipani. Okay. We're near the entrance. See you in a bit."
"Was that Lucille?"
"Yes. She's on her way. And she's got Beth."
"Good. She's talking, correct?"
"Oh yes! She's three now. She speaks English and Swedish. We're trying to get her to speak Italian and Yiddish."
"Her father is Jewish?"
"Yes."
"They share the same father?"
"Yes."
"I couldn't do it. I've never been able to share a thing with my sister."
I laughed. MAP
Lucy and I had a great time at the club then went to meet Marcy for lunch. We made sure it was before lunch at the high school so she could go get T and Ellen.
Lucy picked up Rachel while I grabbed Kurt. Tana went for Britt and we all met up at our house.
Marcy, Lucy and I put the kids in front of the TV before giving the girls drinks. We talked about how excited we were for tomorrow. We were really leaving!
"Oh!" Marcy jumped. "I got something for you guys!" She raced out.
"She's already given us so much." T exclaimed.
"How do our vanities look, Girl Chang?" Tana demanded.
T sighed. "I told you, you will have to see for yourself. They're very lovely."
"Can't you just give us a clue?" Britt pouted cutely.
T laughed. "It'll make you feel good."
Britt clapped. "Yay! I can't wait!"
Marcy ran back in with a box. "Okay, here!" She opened the box and pulled out a set of keys. She threw them at Kurt, who nearly dropped them.
"I wasn't prepared!" He yelled.
"Always be prepared for someone to throw something at you."
Tana threw an apple and Marcy caught it without looking. She raised an eyebrow at Tana, who crossed her arms. "Humph!"
"Well alright, Little Diva." Kurt took the apple from her. "I'll always be prepared. What keys are these?"
"House keys. The green is our apartment, the red is across the hall, the black is the boys' and the gold is yours." Marcy explained.
"So we all have the same keys?" T asked as Marcy tossed her a set.
"Until you put on other keys and key rings." Marcy threw a set at Tana, who glared. She gently tossed a set to Britt.
"I like the colors." Britt looked them over.
Lucy picked up a set and examined them. "I love the shades. They're so dark and metallic."
Marcy gave Rachel and Ellen sets before giving me one. "I gave Finn and 'Zilla theirs yesterday. I can give Blaine and RT theirs at school and Mikey and Mal theirs tonight."
"Do you have any extras?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah. You'll never know."
"I love how prepared you are."
"Thanks, Berry."
"I really can't believe tomorrow is happening." Ellen hopped on her toes.
"I gotta piss. Where's that test?"
"Here." I handed Marcy a pregnancy test. "You can't put a damper on tomorrow."
"Not trying. I just gotta piss like a mad Russian." She set the box down and ran upstairs.
"I actually have to pee, too." Britt switched.
I gave her a test. "You can use the big bathroom upstairs."
Lucy took a test. "I'll use Marc's bathroom."
"Can I use yours?" T asked.
"Yeah." I gave her a test. "Who else has to go?"
"Me." Kurt said.
"You can use the bathroom around the corner."
"Thanks." He took a test and left.
Pretty soon they were back and Rachel, Tana, Ellen and I went to use the bathroom. When we were done, we gathered back in the kitchen and wrote our initials on the backs.
"I bet Patti's knocked up." Tana crossed her arms.
"You shut your whore mouth." Marcy said immediately.
"Marcy!" Britt pouted.
"You're not going to throw that on me." Marcy didn't care. "My baby making days are over."
"The twins can't be your only kids." I pouted myself.
"They will be for the next ten years."
"I swear!"
"You have a bunch of kids! I'm having one more at most!"
"You and Mal are going to have a houseful." Lucy said.
Marcy gasped.
Ellen wrapped her arms around her. "I would like a lot of kids."
"Then I suggest you start giving birth."
"Well I hope we're both pregnant."
"Girl!"
I couldn't help it. I started laughing. I knew Ellen was only trying to scare Marcy but it was working.
Lucy laughed as hard as I did. "Is that what we're praying for now?"
"What about you?!" Marcy spat.
"No. No. I'm not getting pregnant again until I'm twenty five."
"Twenty five is a great age." Rachel squeezed her hand. "We can get pregnant together."
"And Finn has to deal with both of you pregnant?" Marcy licked her lips. "Twenty five is so old. Go for twenty."
What was she trying to say? I hit her just in case it was bad. Then I felt bad. What if she was pregnant? "I'm sorry. You might be pregnant."
She hit me. Hard. "I'm not pregnant!"
"Ow! I'm just saying!"
"I think you are." Tana taunted. "And I think you know you are."
"Don't get hurt, Lopez."
"Patti's pregnant! Patti's pregnant!"
Kurt was quick enough to catch Marcy as she threw herself at Tana. "Little Diva, no!"
"San, stop." Britt hid Tana behind her. "She's getting mad."
Marcy started yelling in Spanish.
"She is mad."
Ellen picked up a set of keys and dangled them in front of Marcy's face. "What are these to? They're silver with a red tint."
Marcy was like a baby or a cat. Shiny things distracted her. Thank everything, she calmed down. She pulled away from Kurt. "Those are that devil's."
Tana took them from Ellen. "What are they to?"
"Your desk and filing cabinet."
"Cool."
Marcy handed us a pair of keys. Mine were purple, Rachel's were pink, Ellen's were white, Lucy's was just silver and Britt's was yellow. There were other keys in the box but they were just the spare house keys and a set of orange and a set of blue.
I jiggled mine. "I like these. They are so cute. Perfect."
"I know." Marcy had zero modesty.
"You know what else is perfect?" Tana grinned. "You're baby making record."
Marcy's face changed. The look in her eyes was hate-filled and she jumped at Tana and screamed at her in a language I didn't know.
It took most of us to get her down on the floor and she was still crawling towards Tana.
"Marce, what's wrong?!" I wrapped my arms around her neck and kissed her cheek.
"Get off me!"
"Not until you promise not to kill Tana." Lucy was on her other side.
"Get off me!" She didn't sound like she was playing.
Against our better judgement, we got off her.
She got up and with a glare towards Tana, she left. We could hear her pounding up the steps and slamming a door.
"I'll go see what that's about." Ellen left.
"Damn! Why was she so pissed? It was just a joke." Tana looked freaked out.
Lucy sighed heavily. "Who knows how Marcy's brain works? We've been trying to figure it out for sixteen years."
I was worried. If we weren't all here, Tana would be dead. Marcy didn't usually go off for no reason so something must be at the root of all this. But what?
"Maybe she thought you were talking about the twins?" T was suggesting.
"Well I wasn't." Tana sat down. "I was just making a stupid joke."
"She didn't think it was funny, San." Britt rubbed her shoulders.
"I see!"
We murmured amongst ourselves until Marcy and Ellen came back. Marcy didn't look any less pissed but Ellen clutched her hand.
"I'm sorry, Patti." Tana spoke up when Britt elbowed her. "I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a stupid joke."
Marcy just stared at her before rolling her eyes and snatching up her pregnancy test. "Negative." She threw it back on the table.
I rubbed her arm and read mine. "Negative."
Ellen read hers. "Negative."
"Are you okay with that?"
"I haven't even graduated yet. I should probably not be wishing to be pregnant."
Marcy squeezed her hand. "Every feeling is valid."
"I guess I am a little sad but it'll happen when it happens. Right?" Ellen looked at her with big eyes.
"When it's meant to be, it'll be."
Ellen smiled and leaned into her. "Then a negative is positive."
Marcy's lips twisted. "You're totally adorable."
"I know that's an insult but I like it cuz I am."
"It was no insult."
Ellen blushed.
I elbowed Lucy and giggled.
"Okay, that- that can stop." Marcy looked at us grinning at her.
I stuck my bottom lip out. "But you're so cute together!"
"Lucy, go before I sit on your sister."
Lucy giggled and checked her test. "Negative, demon."
Rachel went as Marcy rolled her eyes. "Negative."
T looked at hers. "Negative. Again. Not that I'm counting."
"Mikey is not going to knock you up and you're not married." Marcy said. "If you want a kid, you better get down on one knee."
"I have to propose?!"
"He's not going to do it anytime soon."
"Ugh!"
Kurt laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry, Tina. It's not my time either."
"Aw!" Marcy pouted cutely. "Poor Kurt!"
We surrounded him and gave him hugs. He fake cried. "It's been months and nothing!"
"Poor Kurt!"
He laughed. "Okay, I say we have a drink to celebrate (or commiserate) not being pregnant. Who's in?"
"Wait! Britt and Tana didn't go." T threw up a hand.
"Oh please!" Lucy sneered. "They're not pregnant."
"Wouldn't it be hilarious if they were?" Marcy grinned. "Poor RT."
"What are you trying to say?!" Tana snapped.
"That Britt might come out the gate on him but you will make his life hell."
Tana's mouth fell open.
Britt giggled. "We would not!"
"Mercy tore 'Zilla a new one." Marcy tilted her head.
My jaw dropped. "I did not!"
"Mercy." Lucy licked her lips.
"Stop that! I was sweet!"
"When a mood swing hit you, Puck ran for cover!" Marcy taunted.
I stomped a foot. "Shut up!"
"Am I going to be like that?" Britt asked, scared.
"Britt, we're not pregnant." Tana took her hand.
"Check the test." Lucy teased.
Tana snatched up the tests and gave Britt hers. Both looked down and had two wildly different directions. Britt started screaming while Tana burst into tears.
"What's going on?! What's it say?!" We rushed to Britt's side.
Britt showed off her test. "I'm pregnant!"
We stood there stupid until Marcy put her hands on Tana's shoulders. "Tana. Tana, look at me."
Tana looked up and sniffed.
Marcy leaned close and opened her mouth. "Ha! Ha, ha, ha! Ha, bitch, ha!"
I pulled her away as Tana burst into fresh tears. "Marcy!"
"Oh my goodness, this is amazing!" Lucy screamed with laughter.
"Lucy!"
"It is! She gave us all flack for getting pregnant and now she is? That's what she gets!"
"That's so rude!" I almost laughed myself when I thought about it. Tana (though supportive) had been all over our cases when we got pregnant. Karma.
"I can't believe *both* of you are pregnant." T read the tests.
"Take another test." Marcy said. "It might be a false positive."
"She's right." I gave them new tests. "Don't start planning anything until you know for sure." MAP
Santana: POV
Britts and I took test after test but each one fucking said positive! I was so mad, I went straight to the fridge and grabbed ice cream. I didn't even care that it wasn't my house.
Patti and Q got their laughs in but it was not funny. Even Girl Chang and Fairy got their fucking laughs in. Hobbit, Elle Woods and Aretha were trying to calm me down but it just made me cry more.
I didn't even know why I was crying. I could handle this. I'm a grown ass woman. I can handle anything.
Well… almost.
Patti said I had to tell Jimi. I was not looking forward to it. She suggested that Britt and I go to the doctors to see.
Luckily my doctor had a last minute opening so I was able to get in while Britt's doctor was whoo-whoo so he had hours open at the weirdest of times.
Anyway, it's true. We're both pregnant. Due in the middle of December. Fuck…
Britt was excited, talking about names and genders but I was freaking out. What was Jimi going to say? What were our parents going to say? Could we actually be parents?!
I hated cooking and cleaning and I had zero patience. I didn't pay attention to what the others were doing. I had no idea what they were doing.
Guess I had to pay attention now.
Britt pulled me down the hall to an empty room. Jimi was supposed to be meeting us in a classroom at the high school. We wanted to tell him as soon as possible.
Actually Britt was excited to tell while I wanted to judge his reaction. I had no idea what I was looking for but I'd know it when I saw it.
Britt came to the classroom and pulled me inside. "He's not here yet."
"What's taking him so long?" I grumbled.
"I didn't know I was on a timetable."
We turned as Jimi wheeled in. "Well you are."
He smirked. "So what's going on? What couldn't wait until after school? It is my last day and all."
Holy crap, we were about to ruin his life!
Britt jumped on her toes. "We have the best news!"
He patted his lap. "Then let's hear it."
She jumped on his lap and pulled me over. I sat on him and let him wrap his arms around us. "Guess what it is!"
He sniffed. "You're getting a new cat?"
Britt giggled. "No! But you're close!"
"You're getting a new pet period?"
"No. Not a pet."
"Is it something for the house?"
"Kind of."
"Will I like it?"
"You better." I muttered.
He kissed my arm. "Just tell me."
"We're pregnant!" Britt screamed.
Jimi didn't move. "What?"
"We're pregnant. Both of us. We're pregnant."
He blinked. "Hmmm."
"You're not saying anything." She sounded hurt.
He bit his lower lip.
"Artie?"
I hit his chest. "We didn't get this way by ourselves!"
He still didn't say anything.
We got up from his lap and clasped hands. "You don't have to be happy about this. We are. We'll be great mothers. Don't worry. We can find somewhere else to live and-"
"Hey, hey, hey." He rolled forward. "It's not even like that."
"Then why won't you say anything?" Britt sniffled.
"I just shocked. They always said my sperm wasn't affected but you know how doctors are. They'll tell you anything. I never thought I'd have kids. It just took me back is all."
"So you're happy?" She narrowed her eyes.
He pulled us back onto his lap. "I am over the moon. I'm gonna be a dad."
"Are you crying?" I frowned.
"Hell yeah! I'm gonna be a dad!"
I usually hated when men cried but it did make me feel a certain way that he was getting so emotional. I snuggled into his chest. "Yeah, you are."
He hugged us tight and breathed deep. "So do you know any details? How far along are you? How'd you find out? What are we having?"
Britt rambled on and on about how we take tests every few months and how far along we were and how we wouldn't know what we were having for another month.
He asked questions and asked us how we felt. If we needed anything. It was really… sweet. I think I can get used to that.
But I broke into their excited talkings to make them remember something it seemed only I did. "What about our parents? When are we going to tell them?"
Jimi grimaced. "I'm dead."
Britt bit her bottom lip. "Will your mom not like us anymore?"
"I want to say "of course she's still going to like you" but I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know."
"Well I think we should do it as soon as possible." I said.
"I still have school."
"After school, genius."
"I was hoping you would say we could drop them a line a month from now."
Britt hit him as I laughed. "No, Artie! We have to tell them! Right after school!"
"Call your parents and have them come to my house." I decided.
"I'll probably have to bring Lila and Sara through."
"Is Sara still dating Ellen's little brother?" Britt asked.
"Yeah. Elle Woods is still tripping about it. I told her Sara was good people but she don't care."
"It's her only little brother."
"Gomez is mine but I'd gladly give him up. Lila can have him!" I crossed my arms.
Jimi snickered. "I should go back to class. My teacher probably thinks I ran out."
"Okay. We'll see you in an hour." Britt got up.
"Okay." He pulled us down to kiss us before staring at our stomachs.
"Yeah, there are babies in there." I smirked.
"Wow." He reached out to rub first my stomach then Britt's.
For the first time since hearing the news, I felt like everything would be okay. MAP
"What's going on, Santa?" Papí asked.
I paced back and forth. "You'll see soon."
"You're leaving tomorrow. We have to spend as much time together as we can." Mamí said.
"Ugh!" Gomez groaned. "I'm missing out on seeing Lila."
"You just saw her at school!"
"And he's about to see her again." I turned towards the door as the doorbell rang. I went to get the door. The Abrams and Pierces were there. "Come in."
They spoke to me as I led them back to the den. They sat around the room and talked to my family.
"So what's going on, guys?" Ms. Janet asked.
Jimi wheeled up to me and Britt stood on his other side. He took both of our hands. "We're just going to say it. San and Britt are pregnant."
"What?!" Our families leaned forward.
"We're pregnant!" Britt shouted, happy.
"Yeah, we're pregnant." I rolled my eyes.
"My baby!" Ms. Melanie clapped her hands to her face.
"My baby." Mr. Ken pouted.
"Santana Gloria Lopez!" Mamí shouted.
"Arthur Tevin Abrams, I should kill you!" Ms. Janet stood up.
Jimi wheeled back. "Mom-"
Mr. Bennett pulled her back. "Dear, we should talk about this."
"He's having not one but two babies! He's a baby himself!" Ms. Janet yelled.
"You're supposed to go out and enjoy the world!" Mamí whined.
"Whoa!" Gomez laughed. "I guess I'm the favorite now!"
"Shut up, Gomez!" I snapped.
"You're going to be a dad? You?" Lila seemed really shocked.
"I mean you've messed up before but this is gold!" Gomez grinned.
"Shut up!" I took a step.
"You can't do anything. You're pregnant. You're going to be a mommy. You're stuck. Trapped-"
"Santiago!" Papí bit off.
"Sorry, Papí."
"Apologize to your sister."
"Sorry, San."
Papí rubbed a hand over his face before standing up and approaching us. I was scared. Papí was a nice, gentle man who rarely raised his voice. Now he was too quiet.
He stood in front of me and reached out to hug me. "You're an adult. You're in love. You're going to be a mother. You'll always have my love and support."
"Oh, Ene." Mamí shook her head.
"I love you, Santa." Papí ignored her.
"I love you, too Papí." I hugged him.
Mr. Ken got up to hug Britt. "My baby's all grown up."
Mr. Bennett got up and held his hand out to Jimi, who took it. They shook hands before Mr. Bennett hugged him.
Our moms looked at each other before coming to give us hugs. Then they switched. Mr. Bennett and Ms. Melanie gave me hugs before they switched with Mr. Ken and Ms. Janet. Everyone was crying.
Lila hugged all of us and she and her friend were crying. Even that rotten Gomez gave me a hug.
I broke away while everyone was hugging and carrying on. Abuela wasn't my number one fan at the moment but I was having a baby. Surely that meant something to her?
I called her on my cell in a different room. The phone rung for a while until she picked up. "Hola. ¿Que pasa?"
"Hola, Abuela." I cleared my throat. "It's Santana."
"Santana." She hissed. "Why are you calling me? I thought I told you I didn't want to hear from you as long as you're with that girl."
"I have news." I pushed forward. "We're pregnant. Both of us."
"Pregnant?! You're all of nineteen! What do you mean pregnant?!"
"I know it's not in the plan but plans change, right?"
"The plan was for you to be with a nice Mexican boy, not some gringo and gringa."
"Don't call them that!" I hated when she called them names.
"Some white boy that doesn't understand our struggle, some girl." She made a disgusted noise. "It's bad enough my boy was so disgraced by his own people that he went after that uppity Cuban-"
"Don't you dare talk about my mother!"
"Humph! I thought you would bring me honor. I had such high hopes for you. I guess you'll just continue being that boy's whore and an abomination with that girl."
I wiped away tears I didn't know I was shedding. "I'm going to do something with my life and be happy with the loves of my life and children. You can't take that away from me. I won't let you."
"Do not call me again." Abuela hung up.
I stared at my phone before wiping my nose and turning around. Papí was there. I rushed into his arms.
"Ama is stubborn and set in her ways. She'll see what she's missing one of these days." He rubbed my back.
"I don't care! She's through with me, I'm through with her!" I sniffled.
"Do not harden your heart, mija. You will need it for your children."
Papí was so wise. "Thank you, Papí. I love you."
"I love you, mija Santa." MAP
Mercedes: POV
I rubbed my forehead. This could not have been going worse.
"I will hurt you, Chang!" Marcy leaned over the table.
"Moppet, don't make me-" Mikey started.
Marcy threw a pillow at his head and he fell backwards.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Marc accused.
"Just die already!" Mal banged his fists against the table.
"No!" Lucy cried.
"I don't wanna play anymore!" Maddie whined.
Mikey hit her with the pillow before throwing it at Marcy, who ducked. The pillow hit a lamp and it fell to the floor, shattering.
It got real quiet.
"Michael!" Ms. Judy yelled.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Judy." Mikey grinned sheepishly.
"I guess that means we're done playing." Marcy picked up the game board and threw it over her shoulder.
"Marcy!" We all yelled.
"That's not fair! We were winning!" Mikey could have cried.
"I can't believe you did that!" Marc was just as livid.
"You horrible shrew!" Mal was, too.
She twirled her finger. "Turn around!"
"Turn around?" Lucy was confused.
"Turn around."
We each turned around but I was peeking over my shoulder. I saw Marcy grab Mal and lay a big kiss on him. He grinned as he held her close. "I feel much better."
We all turned back around and she pushed him away. "Let's play a new game."
"What game could we play? You all cheat." Laura shook her head.
We all gasped. PM even sputtered, "We do not cheat!"
"Yes, you do. Each and every last one of you."
"Oh so you don't cheat?" Mikey taunted.
"Shut up, Sonny!"
"Cheater, cheater! But I guess you just liked to cheat on Robert."
Laura screamed and threw herself on him but Marc was in the way.
It devolved from there as everyone started screaming and fighting. Even the twins were in on it. I was just glad Beth and Rae were with the Puckermans.
This was always how it was when the Fabanges got together to do anything. I'm just glad Noah didn't see it at Christmas. I don't know how we pulled off that miracle but I was lucky we did. I still have a boyfriend…
But even as they screamed and heaped curses on each other's heads, I knew we were family and would miss each other like crazy.
It was our way.