"Why is Momma's car here?" Jesus questioned as they were walking home from school and saw both cars in the driveway.
"I bet your in trouble again" Noah smirked.
"Oh damn it! It wasn't me this time" Jesus cried slumping his shoulders he started dragging his feet. Callie opened the front door both women were standing in the entryway.
"What's going on?" Mariana asked.
"Jesus take Noah upstairs please start your homework" Stef said. Jesus started climbing the stairs and Callie saw him stick his tung out at the girls
"Come sit down please" Lena said leading the girls into the kitchen. Callie dropped her bag on the floor and followed her sister in not sure what to expect. She and Mariana sat on one side of the table and Stef and Lena sat across from them, Callie could tell by the look on both their faces it was something serious. Frankie was snoozing in her swing in the nook.
"So we just wanted to check in with both you girls, see how everything is going" Stef said.
"It's good" Mariana said as she and Callie both glanced at each other.
"With boys, everything ok, you guys know you can come to us, tell us anything" Lena offered eyeing both girls
"I get the sense you know something" Mariana said.
"We umm, we found this in the trash this morning" Stef said putting a box on the table. Callie looked at it, pregnancy test box.
"We however did not find the test, and so now, well you can imagine we are just on the edge of our seats! this is quite a cleft hanger" Stef said sarcastically.
"We just..since it doesn't belong to either of us we thought we would ask one of you before we start questioning the boys" Lena said a little softer. Callie glanced at Mariana waiting for some kind of sister que on what to do. Maybe if they both denied it. Said they were holding it for a friend, but the look on Mariana's face told her it was a lost cause.
"It's mine" Mariana squeaked.
"No, we talked yesterday, you told me you didn't have sex with Matt yet" Lena said
"That's because I didn't have sex, with Matt" Mariana said. They all jumped when Frankie let out a cry.
"I'll take her" Callie cried jumping up. She went over to the swing turning it off and gently lifting the baby into her arms.
"Thank you love" Lena offered her a smile as Callie walked into the living room.
"so may I ask, who did you have sex with?" Stef sighed.
"Max" Mariana offered.
"who?"
"Ok let's just back up, the first question is, are you pregnant?" Lena asked.
"No, We used a condom and I started my period this morning" Mariana shook her head
"Oh thank god" Lena whispered
"Then why take a test?" Stef asked
"I don't know, I was freaking out and I felt all weird and moody"
"Your a teenager Mariana your always weird and moody" Stef sighed.
"And I had a stomach ache last week, I don't know I was just afraid and mom had all those extra tests from when she was trying to get pregnant and I figured why not, It was supposed to make me feel better" Mariana said.
"Well we are not hear to make you feel bad" Lena said gently
"I guess the next question is why?" Stef asked.
"Why have sex?" Mariana questioned.
"well yes that too, but why have sex with this Max kid?" Stef added
"Well, the plan was to have sex with Matt but then he didn't want to.." Mariana shrugged
"So Max was back up sex?" Stef cried.
"No, look I just wanted to lose my virginity, I'm 15 and everyone in the house is having sex, well maybe almost everyone, you gave Brandon and Jesus condoms, I don't see what the big deal is" Mariana cried.
"Losing your virginity at 15 is a big deal Mariana" Stef said.
"I thought you guys were feminists" Mariana cried.
"Don't play that card, we said the exact same thing to your brothers" Lena shook her head.
"I don't understand why you think this is some kind of race" Stef said.
"Well i did, and I'm not a virgin anymore" Mariana shot back
"Honey I think what momma and I are trying to say is, we love you and we just want to understand your choices" Lena said gently
"Well I did it, i'm not a virgin anymore, and no one is pregnant. Can't you just be happy about that" Mariana looked pointedly at Stef and turned going up the stairs.
"Yeah I know I handled that wrong" Stef sighed as Lena shot her a look. In the living room Frankie let out a wail again
"Mom, I think she's hungry" Callie called.
"Coming! this isn't over" Lena told Stef going into the living room.
"You didn't tell me about Max" Callie said going up to her room.
"Yeah well, I didn't even mean of it to happen, I was so ashamed" Mariana shook her head
"I didn't even know you were into him"
"I wasn't, I'm not"
"So you guys aren't dating?"
"No, I don't really even know why I had sex with him" Mariana shook her head
"I get it, I mean, I don't…but at school everyone is always talking about it. Like it's some right of passage or something, something you just need to get it over with to be an adult. But it shouldn't be like that" Callie shook her head
"Ugh don't big sister me I already have two moms" Mariana rolled her eyes but Callie saw her smile a little.
"I never should have take that test" She sighed.
"yeah but you know moms would have found out another way" Callie said.
"yeah I know" Mariana shook her head laying down on her bed. A little while later there was a knock at the door and Stef and Lena came in. Callie got up going downstairs so they could talk
"I think, I owe you an apology, I was not trying to shame you Mariana I wasn't" Stef said.
"But sex is a big deal, every time you have sex it's a big deal, your shearing a venerable and precious part of yourself, and you should always feel good about it" Lena added sitting by Mariana on her bed putting the baby on her shoulder
"Not that we are encouraging you to have sex at your age" Stef whispered.
"No of course not, your young and so are your brothers and sister. We give them condoms not to encourage them but to protect them because we know we can't control everything" Lena said.
"Try as we might" Stef chuckled a little she bent down so her face was even with Mariana's.
"We just want you to love yourself as much as we love you" Stef said gently
"And it doesn't seem like you love yourself to much right now" Lena added.
"I don't" Mariana sighed.
"Well you know love we all do things we wish we hadn't but we learn from them, and if we manage not to repeat them, it feels really good, ok?" Stef asked. Mariana nodded and Stef climbed up next to her wrapping her in a hug.
"If I had been pregnant..?" Mariana asked
"Oh please let's not go there" Stef closed her eyes.
"Anytime you need some help in the birth control department feel free to let us know" Lena said.
"What do you mean?" Mariana asked. Lena took the baby placing her in Mariana's arm's
"She needs a diaper" Lena winked at her.
"and that is why 15 is to young" Stef smiled kissing her forehead as she and Lena left the room. Mariana sighed laying back on her pillows laying Frankie on her chest kissing the top of her head.
"But your so cute, how could anyone not want one of you around?" Mariana cooed at the baby. Suddenly she got a whiff from her diaper.
"Oh mommy! she stinks!" Mariana yelled.
"How are you? come on in" Lena smiled greeting Robert at the door.
"Thanks, oh wow she's getting big huh?" Robert smiled at the baby snuggled on Lena's chest in her wrap.
"Well she sure eats enough" Lena said laughing
"Hey, you look nice" Robert said as Callie came down the stairs.
"Thanks, where are we going?" Callie asked.
"Sophia is waiting in the car, I thought we could grab some dinner at that Mexican place you girls like and see that new movie that just came out"
"Cool" Callie smiled.
"It is summer vacation so curfew has been pushed to 10:00 so don't feel like you have to rush" Lena said
"You got it" Robert nodded.
"Ok have fun sweetie" Lena said as Callie gave her a hug.
"By mom. bye baby" Callie whispered kissing the baby on her curly head
"By momma!" Callie called up the stairs following Robert out.
"How was your last day of school?" Robert asked as they got into the car.
"Fun, it's hard to believe I'm going to be a senior next year" Callie smiled
"And Brandon's graduation?" Sophia asked as Callie waved hi to her in the back seat
'It's next week, He's excited"
"Did he pick a school?"
"Yeah he's going to the music school around here so he will be living at home for one more year at least"
"Your mom's must be happy about that" Robert smiled
"Yeah, they are, that does however mean Mariana and I get a roommate come this winter"
"that's right, babies' moving in with you! lucky!" Sophia smiled
"Well not until she's sleeping through the night and even then I bet it won't be often, she usually ends up in moms bed anyway" Callie laughed
"and you did you figure out what schools you wanted to apply to? I know you were thinking about maybe going east" Robert asked.
"Oh yeah I decided I would stay around, probably live at home a few more years, go to state school. The program is just as good and I can practically walk there. Plus I waited 9 years to have a family. I feel like I just got a family you know. i'm not ready to leave quiet yet"
"Well, I think that's a good choice" Robert nodded and Sophia smiled.
"Gay means boys who like boys and girls who like girls right?" Noah asked. Lena braced herself for this conversation she had felt was coming. She wished they were not in the car.
"It is one of the terms that mean that yes" Lena said. She was on the way home from store with her two youngest in the back seat.
"So you and momma are gay?"
"yes we are"
"There's this boy in my class, his name is Conner, I think that I like him, does that mean I am gay?" Noah asked. Lena pulled the car into the parking lot of a park.
"Let's take a walk and talk about this" Lena said lifting Frankie from her car seat and wrapping her up tight knowing she would be asleep in a few minuets. Noah climbed out and Lena took his hand as they started walking through the walking trail.
"I think that you are pretty young to know who you think you are attracted to. You may like boys, or you may find in a few years you like girls" Lena said.
"Could I like both?"
"Sure, that's called bisexual it means you love both boys and girls"
"Max says being gay is bad" Noah said biting his lip. Lena sat down on the bench pulling Noah down next to her.
"There is nothing wrong with being gay. Some people think there is, but I am telling you there is nothing wrong with it." Lena told him firmly.
"Max says his dad wouldn't love him if he was gay" Noah whispered.
"Momma and I are gay we would never care if you were" Lena laughed a little pulling Noah close to her.
"We love you no matter what, that means that no matter who you are, what you do, who you love or anything else. Momma and I and your brothers and sisters will always always love you, I promise" Lena said.
"So it's ok if I do like boys?" Noah asked.
"Of course it is. As long as he is a good boy who is good to you, but your still very young buddy, why don't you just focus on being a kid and save the liking boys or girls for two more years ok?" Lena asked.
"Ok" Noah smiled giving her a hug rubbing his hand over sleeping Frankie's curly hair.
"Ok let's head home and see momma, and if you have any more questing you know you can come to me or momma right? you can ask us anything or tell us anything and we will never stop loving you" Lena said.
"ok mommy" Noah said taking her hand again as they made their way back to the car.
"We're home!" Lena called as they went into the house.
"Kitchen" Stef called back
"Where is everyone?" Noah asked as Lena followed him through the house.
"The girls went to the beach with Lexie and Amanda, B is at his summer class and Jesus is at Basketball camp, we have a quiet day today" Stef said taking the baby from Lena giving her a kiss on her chubby cheek.
"Hi little one" Stef cooed making Frankie kick her feat roll her head to hide her face in Stef's neck.
"Can I play in the back yard?" Noah asked.
"Sure bub" Lena nodded putting some of the groceries away. Noah ran out the back door.
"We had an interesting conversation in the car" Lena said.
"Oh yeah?" Stef asked sitting down in the nook bouncing Frankie in her lap.
"Noah asked if it was ok if he was gay"
"Oh he's to young to know that" Stef shook her head.
"that's what I told him, but he was asking all these questions if it was bad or if we cared. I had to pull over into the park and have a conversation with him"
"Oh of course, you told him we didn't care?"
"I told him we loved him no matter what and that we could care less if he was gay as long as he was happy, but we talked about how he was to young to decide and worry about these things" Lena said. Stef nodded.
"Good, good, of course we don't care" Stef nodded as Lena came to sit next to her. Frankie flashed Lena a smile. Lena reached out kissing her fingers.
"How did we get so lucky" Stef asked.
"About what?"
"This, all of this, Brandon is graduation high school next week, going onto one of the best music schools in the world, Callie is so happy and adjusted, she has friends she teases her siblings and talks back to us, she's on her way to college in a year. Jesus is the tough boy with a big heart who will probably get a sports scholarship to the school of his choice. Mariana is just…our little Miss Thing who puts everyone before herself, good in school, lots of friends. Noah is turning into such a little man everyday I feel like we have had him his whole life. Like he always belonged right here. And then this beautiful little girl, I can't want to see her grow up" Stef smiled at Frankie in her arms.
"Yeah we did good" Lena smiled.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you Mrs Adams Foster" Stef whispered giving her a gently kiss
"Oh your done with me now are you?" Lena laughed.
"I will never be done loving you my love" Stef whispered kissing her again.
The familiar car rolled up and Callie jumped off the rock wall calling bye to her friends.
"Hey Callie girl" Stef said as Callie opened the passenger door.
"Hey momma" Callie smiled leaning over to plant a kiss on Stef's cheek before sitting back to buckle up.
"How was the beach?"
"Awesome! we got to do the banana boating and tubbing with Amanda's dad " Callie said
"Wow! that sounds exciting" Stef smiled.
"And her made this really good desert with ice cream and crushed Oreos with pudding. I got the recipe, mom has to make them! Callie said.
"That sounds like a plan to me" Stef gave her a wink Callie happily chatted the short ride home as Stef pulled into the driveway.
"Go let mom know we're home I'm going to grab the mail" Stef said parking the car. Callie hopped out walking up to the front door.
"Hey Cal" Jesus said not looking up from his video game on the couch. Brandon sat plucking at the piano. He offered Callie a nod and smile as his fingers never stopped moving. Callie returned it making her way into the kitchen. Noah was at the table doing his summer math packet. Mariana was by the stove mixing something. Lena bounced between the two balancing the baby on her hip as Franky played with her chunky necklace.
"Hi love! good timing how was your day?" Lena greeted her.
Good" Callie said accepting a kiss from Lena and tickling the babies toes.
"I'm making dinner" Mariana said
"Is that safe?" Callie asked. Mariana stuck her tung out at her.
"I'm supervising" Lena laughed.
"Hi my babies!" Stef called coming in.
"Hi love" Stef gave Lena a kiss.
"How's our girl?" She asked accepting Franky from her blowing a raspberry on the babies' neck sending the infant into a fit of giggles.
"She's to much like her momma" Lena laughed as Stef swung the baby onto her hip.
"How's this mom?" Mariana asked.
"Looks just about done, you can turn off the heat, Noah can you set the table love" Lena asked
"Dinner" Stef called into the living room
"Well i don't smell anything burning, that's a good sign" Jesus said following Brandon in.
"Hey, your sister is becoming a very good at cooking" Lena said. They gathered around the table as Stef placed Franky in her bouncy seat and took her seat opposite Lena at the head of the table..
"Miss Thing this looks wonderful!" Stef said.
"She did it all herself too" Lena said.
"Good job baby" Stef winked at Mariana.
"So I called the camp ground today" Lena said.
"Camp May?" Noah asked.
"Yes, our camping trip is booked for next week" Lena said.
"Oh yes" Jesus cried high fiveing Brandon
"What's it going to be like camping with Franky?" Mariana asked.
"Oh it's going to be an adventure" Lena laughed as they all looked over at the baby blowing raspberries with her tung.
"We call the big tent this year" Callie said pointing to herself and Mariana who nodded.
"No way there's two of you and three of us!" Jesus cried.
"Yeah but Mariana brings enough stuff for five people" Callie said.
"she's right Miss Thing, you may need to cut back, we are going to need a lot of stuff for the baby this year" Stef said.
"Moma! I need all my stuff!" Mariana cried.
"Momma can I have more chicken?" Noah asked.
"Sure love" Stef put some in his plate.
"So next year we were thinking about skipping the camping trip" Stef said.
"What!" Everyone cried turning to her Stef glanced up at Lena as they were both laughing.
"We thought, we would go to disneyland instead, we haven't been since the twins were 7 and we have Frankie now, plus Callie and Noah have never been" Lena said.
"Disneyland!" Noah cried.
"Actually Disney world" Stef said
"So like Miami!" Mariana yelled as she and Callie clapped their hands
"Alright alright, it's still a year away! we just couldn't keep the secret anymore" Lena laughed. The table settled back into comfortable silence as Everyone was eating for a minute
"hey mom my friend John just got a puppy" Jesus said making them all look up again.
"Oh yeah?"
"Can we…?"
"Don't even go there" Lena laughed shaking her head.
"But mom I'd take care of it. A puppy is the only thing this house is missing" Jesus said.
"Wrong, the only thing this house is missing is an asian kid, we should get one of those" Mariana said.
"Mariana!" Callie yelled laughing.
"Yeah then we can copy his homework" Noah yelled.
"I think 6 kids is enough thank you" Stef said getting up to refill her glass
"Yeah, so about that puppy" Jesus said as Lena rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right you wouldn't take care of it!" Brandon said.
"I would too"
"puppies pee everywhere" Mariana said
"And chew everything" Callie added.
"Not if I watch it" Jesus argued
"You won't" Callie said.
"I want a puppy!" Noah cried.
"Maybe we can go to the park and you can pick up the dog poop hanging around its the same thing" Mariana offers as Stef leaned over Lena to fill her water glass. Stef laughed resting her head on Lena's shoulder as everyone was talking at the same time. Before Lena could call for quiet Franky squealed kicking her legs through all the commotion making her seat rock. They all turned to her surprised into silence before bursting out laughing. Callie watched Stef lean over towards Lena.
"My love, my love, my love" She whispered kissing Lena. Stef went back to her seat and Callie looked up at her. The table was quieter now as Noah was talking about his day. Stef smiled looking up at Callie and Callie smiled almost to the point of feeling tears in her eyes as she leaned over resting her head on Stef shoulder for a minute. Less then a year and a half ago Calle was seated in this same place having her first meal with a random foster family. Now this was her family, her house, her mom and brothers and sisters and always would be. for 9 years Callie had forgot what a family was, now that she had one she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
The End!