Here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Two days later, Sal, his wife, Marine, and their friends, Kelp and Aqua, and Ramses and Nefertiti all came over in shipping crates. Gracie rushed up to Sal, and wrapped her flippers as far as she could around his muscular waist.
"You came!" she cried.
"How did you know what the note said?" Sal asked.
"We, uh, had Phil and Mason, the chimps, read it for us," Gracie told him.
"This is my wife, Marine," Sal introduced. Marine was a beautiful, amber-eyed penguin with the shiniest feathers Gracie had ever seen. She was a little shorter than her husband, but a little taller than Kowalski. So my brother got his gold eyes from my mother, and I got my jade eyes from my father. Gracie thought.
"Oh, aren't you a darling little thing," Marine cooed, kneeling down so she was eye-level with Gracie. "And that gorgeous pink bow. It's so sweet."
"Now, we've heard you were named after an Egyptian queen," Ramses said to Cleo. "Any idea how that could have happened?"
"My Dad – sorry, I mean Kowalski named me," Cleo answered. Nefertiti was also a very beautiful penguin, with black kohl around her eyes, like the Egyptians had. Ramses was even more muscular than Sal, and was very tall. He had greying feathers, but he seemed like a fun father to have.
The twins' parents were very different from Skipper, but they liked them nonetheless. Kelp wore small spectacles on his beak, and Aqua seemed more like the type of person who wanted everyone to look pretty, including herself. It turned out Cam got her temper issues from her father, who sometimes yelled so loud, ice would fall from the roof of their igloo.
"Sounds like Cam," Ace joked when he heard.
Gracie noticed Rusty was introduced to his mother, but standing alone on the edge of the fake ice-burg. She waddled over to him.
"Why not come and say hello to Veronica?" she asked.
"I'm feeling nervous about meeting my mother for the first time," Rusty admitted. Sal walked over, and had heard what they had said.
"I'm afraid you won't be meeting your mother, Rusty," he said gently.
"Did she get killed, too?" Rusty asked anxiously.
"No, but she didn't come."
"Why not?" Gracie asked.
"It hasn't been that long since the leopard seal attack, in her village, and she has a lot to do, still, like fix up her igloo with the help of her brother, and help others who need it. Also, she told me she was scared to meet you."
"Why would she be scared?" Rusty asked. Gracie silently slipped away.
"Because she's worried you're going to look just like your father when he was your age. She knew him since they were hatched, and they were best friends."
"Wouldn't I be a good reminder?"
"Yes, you will, which is why she doesn't want to meet you." Rusty's beak quivered, and he turned to stare into the water under his feet. "Shall I go?" Rusty nodded, and Sal left him. Gracie watched him, wondering what was wrong, as he jumped into the water. He usually only swam in the pool to get his mind off of something, if it wasn't for entertaining the crowds, or training from Skipper.
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