This one's a bit more light-hearted after the last chapter because…well, I think we all need that. Thank you again to those of you who have sent such heart-felt reviews, I really appreciate them.
The two weeks after the visit were tumultuous at best. Callie managed to start or be around several fights with the twins and Brandon. Jude seemed to be doing well until they found out from his teacher that for two days he had refused to do any assignments. He didn't bother the class, had in fact sat quietly, nearly mutely, but stubbornly refused to pick up a pencil. It was when he shoved the paper violently from the desk, accidentally knocking it over, that she took him to see Lena. At the house both children were alternately remote or clingy.
Stef had flatly refused any protests on Lena's part and had pulled her out of the house on Friday for a date night. Lena had been looking increasingly frazzled since she spent the most time with the children and Stef knew the repercussions of her beloved partner being completely depleted would be dire.
"We shouldn't go anywhere," said Lena nervously as she fastened a necklace around her swan-like throat. "We can't subject Cathy to the kids right now. The only one who could possibly love them right now is us!"
Stef pulled a pair of beige slacks over her hips, "aw that's not true babe. Cathy loves the kids and they love her. In fact, they're less inclined to give her trouble. They like to save that stuff for us, you know, to show their love."
"I don't know," Lena bit her lip.
"I do know," said Stef firmly. "We need a night out. Seriously. You're exhausted and I-" she trailed off, looking guilty.
"Had a bad day," said Lena kindly, putting a hand on Stef's forearm.
Last night, Stef had come home to a dinner slowly burning in the kitchen, four children screaming in the living room and a frazzled partner who was scrubbing Jude, inexplicably covered in honey and feathers, and who was enduring the process by hollering at the top of his lungs, an unusual display of behavior from the normally quiet child. When Stef had discovered that it was due to an "experiment" gone awry, she had let loose with an impressive lecture that had thoroughly cowed all the children, including Callie (whose idea had led to the honey blanket – only it was meant for Brandon, not Jude. She felt really guilty for yelling at the twins, who had gotten in the crossfire of the argument between Brandon and Callie and only slightly guilty for yelling at the other two. "Did you hear Callie's explanation?" asked Stef, her guilt lightening as she chuckled and buttoned up her blouse.
"No, what?"
"Colonial American history. Tarring and feathering," Stef said. "I should have tried that on my parents when they found me using a catapult to launch water balloons at Jimmy Peterson in the fifth grade."
Lena snorted, "I bet they're reaction would have been the same as yours to that particular 'explanation'". She finished applying make-up and adjusted her dress minutely.
"Mine was a lot more gentle than my dad's was," Stef returned wryly, brushing her hair until it shone.
"You're a good mom, Stefanie Foster," Lena told her, pressing her lips against her lover's briefly.
"You too love." Stef said. "And we deserve the chance to enjoy tonight, okay?"
"Okay."
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Cathy was forewarned that two members of the team were summarily grounded and not permitted to leave their rooms after dinner.
"This is so unfair," grumbled Brandon as he and Callie tramped up the stairs. "Cathy is my favorite babysitter. She always brings extra treats and she has all sorts of cool ideas. One time she helped us make a fort out of all the pillows in the house. I think it was seven feet tall. Then we had a pillow fight. It was awesome."
"You started it," Callie argued back, matching him step for step.
"I did not. You're just touchy all the time now."
"I am not."
Brandon stopped at the landing. "Yes you are. You can say you're mad about your dad. That's okay you know. That's totally normal."
Callie narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, "I don't want to talk about my dad, especially with you."
"Fine," Brandon rolled his eyes, "do you think you could stop taking it out on us though? Between you and Jude it's like living in a freaking circus."
Callie reached out and shoved him, causing him to stumble back slightly.
"Callie, Brandon, are you in your rooms yet?" Cathy called to them knowingly, not leaving her place in the living room.
They looked at one another, wide-eyed, "almost," they responded as one.
"I'm coming to check on you," she warned.
The sound of feet pattering down the hall and two closing doors were the only sounds she heard after that.
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"Cathy?" asked Jesús.
"Yeah?"
"Can we use a little more cardboard for the track? I think we can connect it to the coffee table if we do."
"Sure," said Cathy as she helped Jude with his part of the track.
"We need to have a better angle for the track," said Mariana. "The marble has to get lots of momentum so it goes fast."
"You're right kiddo," said Cathy. "Why don't you help your brother with that?"
"I can do it," said Jesús quickly.
"You can do the first part. I'll make it so the angle is right," said Mariana bossily.
Knowing better than to argue, Jesús acquiesced.
Jude sighed as he taped his own section, "I wish Callie could help. And Brandon. It would be more funner if they were here."
"Sorry buddy," said Cathy, "orders from your moms."
Jude looked at her, "they're not my moms," he reminded her.
"Sorry. I meant Stef and Lena," she said, patting his head.
He looked thoughtful as he placed another part of the track and taped it meticulously. "They're good moms," he said, still looking at the track. "They take good care of Callie and me."
"Well, they care about you," said Cathy as she looked around the room and made a face. Time for her to start cleaning up some of the mess.
"Yeah." Jude noticed what she was doing and stood up to help. He began picking up tiny scraps of paper that littered the floor. "Callie says we won't get to live with Daddy for a long time."
Cathy gave him a quick glance, "yeah. From what I understand that's true."
"I don't like it," said Jude, "it makes me feel sad when I think about it."
Stuffing the paper in a bag to be recycled later, the older girl went over to him and gave him a hug, "I know Jude. It's okay that you're upset about it."
Jude accepted her hug, the frown not leaving his face. He looked at the twins. "Mariana and Jesús got a new family," he observed, "they told me."
The two aforementioned children looked up, then looked at each other. "Yeah," said Mariana finally.
Jude nodded thoughtfully. "Okay." He went quiet again.
"Hey maybe Moms will adopt you and Callie," said Jesús cheerfully. "That'd be pretty cool. I could be your forever big brother."
Mariana scowled and nudged him, disrupting his ability to tape the pieces correctly.
"What?" he demanded, glaring at her in exasperation. "You love Jude. You even like Callie now. Most of the time anyway."
"We talked about this already…remember?" she hinted broadly. "It's the thing we weren't supposed to talk about?"
"Oh. Right." Jesús looked at Jude. "Pretend I didn't say that."
"But you did." said Jude.
"Well you like pretending, so just pretend that too," said Jesús.
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Callie slipped into Brandon's room and padded into the alcove where his piano was kept. Predictably he was wearing his earphones as he practiced. She tapped on his shoulder and he spun around quickly, scowling at her as the earphones slipped off his head and tumbled to the ground. "You're supposed to knock. Not just barge in," he told her.
"If I knocked, Cathy would have heard," she said, the duh implied in her tone.
"What are you doing here? If Cathy finds you we're going to get in more trouble," he said.
She looked at him, nervousness twisting her lips, "I just wanted to talk to you."
"About what?"
The little girl shrugged, "whatever."
He sighed as he looked at her, "Well I don't know a lot about whatever, so maybe you should leave."
"Don't be a jerk," she said, scowling at him now. "Just shut off your stupid piano for a minute, okay?"
Rolling his eyes, Brandon did so and spun in his chair to face her. "Now what?" he asked, voice challenging.
She leaned against the wall and shoved her hands in her pockets and was quiet for several minutes.
Brandon was about to say something, when he really looked at her. Sadness was etched on her face. He bit his lip and sat back in his chair. "What do you want Callie?" he asked eventually.
"I-so if you-do you-" she began, then stopped.
Brandon continued to wait.
She took a deep breath, "do you know a lot about cop stuff?" she asked him
He frowned, "I-well not really."
She looked disappointed, "I thought you would, 'cause your mom and dad are cops."
"I hear funny stories from them sometimes, like the one Mom told the other day," he said slowly, "but that's all. What do you want to know?"
She straightened from the wall, "never mind. It doesn't matter." She turned to leave.
"Wait. Callie…is it about your dad?"
She looked at him furiously, then finally ducked her head, "yeah," she muttered to the floor.
"What do you want to know?" asked Brandon, his voice gentling.
"I want to know when he'll be out of p-prison," Callie said, voice catching on the last part.
"I don't know," Brandon said after a moment. "I don't know stuff like that."
"I didn't think you would," said Callie, kicking at the carpet, her barefoot skimming across the surface. "I didn't. Not really. It's stupid."
"No it's not," said Brandon, frowning at her slumped shoulders, "I'd want to know too."
She shrugged, still not looking at him, her hair curtaining her face.
"I bet we could find out," he ventured.
She peeked at him from behind her hair, "how?"
He let his hands rest on the keys, pressing them soundlessly as he thought, "the internet? You can find out a lot there."
Callie looked interested, "that's true. What computer can we use?"
Brandon chewed on his lower lip, "Mama's maybe?"
"Seriously?" Callie looked at him speculatively. "Do you know her password?"
Squirming uncomfortably Brandon nodded. "I uh-I haven't used it before but she put it in right in front of me and I couldn't help but notice…" he trailed off, ducking his head.
Callie's eyes lit up with intensity, "let's do it. Right now."
"Now?"
"Sure, your moms aren't home right now. Cathy's busy with the little kids. It's perfect."
The boy folded the earphones and placed them neatly on top of the keyboard, "fine."
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The restaurant was lovely and Lena could feel herself relaxing into the chair as the murmur of conversations rose and fell round them. She smiled at her partner.
Stef grinned back, "feeling better?" she squeezed her lover's hand. The two women had been holding hands ever since they left the car with only brief pauses to maneuver. It felt wonderful.
"I am. Thank you for making me get out of the house," Lena said.
"I can't make you do anything," said Stef sweetly, "but I'm glad you succumbed to my logical arguments and magnetic personality."
Lena giggled, "yeah, that was it."
"Aww," Stef pouted with a mock-wounded look, "you're saying it wasn't?"
"I'm saying," said Lena, stroking Stef's arm with particular intent, "you are amazing and I'm so glad I'm with you."
Stef's joking façade crumpled immediately, "thank you love," she said tenderly.
"I love that you try to take care of everyone," said Lena softly. "I want you to take care of yourself too, okay?"
Stef snorted, "pot, let me introduce you to the kettle," she said pointedly.
"I'm taking care of myself," Lena protested instantly.
"Sweetheart, you are exhausted. Your job is hard enough but we have five kids at home and even our original brood had it's difficulties. Callie and Jude have a…unique set of challenges and it's wearing on you…on us."
"It's not," Lena said. "It's really not. I can handle it."
"Sweetheart, I'm not saying we have to give the kids up. I'm really not."
Lena dared a quick look at her lover.
"I l-,I care about them too. You know that. But we have to be able to handle everything. Not just you, me too." Stef looked at her seriously.
"What do you want to do?" asked Lena.
"I think we need some help. Maybe we could get Cathy to help you after school a few days a week. She can do some…mother's helper type jobs. Take care of the kids, wash some clothes, tidy up a little." Lena opened her mouth, but Stef raised a hand, "this isn't on you sweetheart. We've always shared the household stuff but you have to admit, the house is looking a little raggedy these days and," she hesitated, "when I get home I want to be with the kids. I don't want to be yelling at them about their chores and I'd really like them to have their homework done before I get home. I want to be able to enjoy my time with them. I feel like I'm yelling at them all the time."
Lena squeezed her hand, "Brandon didn't mean it. He was just upset the other day."
"I do feel like the mean mom though," Stef sighed. "It's hard to work all day and come home and have the kids arguing." She closed her eyes, "I'm exhausted too,sweetheart."
"I'm sorry," said Lena. "I had no idea that you were feeling so upset about this. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because you're doing so much with them right now. Much more than I am. I didn't want you to feel that I was blaming you or expecting you to do more."
"Thank you," said Lena. "Thank you for trying to take care of me but remember-"
"I do," Stef interrupted. "I will."
"So," Lena twirled her hair a little as she thought, "use Cathy as a mother's helper?"
"Only for a little while- until the kids settle down. She could even drive them to some of their after school things. That would save us a huge amount of time."
Lena nodded, "that's a really good idea."
"I do have the occasional one," Stef joked.
"You do," Lena affirmed seriously. She cast her mind back to the previous weeks. "I think the kids should do more chores too. If Cathy monitored some of that we could kill two birds with one stone. They're getting older. They could take on more responsibility."
"Please don't say that," Stef winced. "They're already getting too big. Wasn't it just yesterday that they were riding Mikey?"
"I know," Lena looked at her whimsically, "it's too fast."
"Way too fast," Stef said.
"On the upside," Lena began, tiptoeing her fingers across Stef's arm.
"Yeah?"
"They're a lot less likely to crawl in our bed tonight…"
"That's very, very true," said Stef, striking a pose and raising an eyebrow. "do you want to get lucky tonight?"
"Definitely," Lena said. "In fact, I think we should stop by BabesLand and see if we'd like to add something to our toy box."
Stef's eyebrows nearly shot off her head. "Why Lena, I did not know complete mental exhaustion was a turn on."
Lena snorted, "you being sweet and romantic is always a turn on for me."
"I'm sweet all the time," Stef protested, "you must be in a constant state of arousal!"
Lena rolled her eyes, "I'll remind you of that when you want me to examine your neck for bumps."
"I have sensitive skin," said Stef, touching each fingertip to Lena's.
"Uh-huh."
Stef felt a nylon covered foot stroke her leg suggestively. Abruptly she looked around for the waiter. "I'm not really hungry. Let's get the check."
Lena chuckled, foot still stroking her lover's leg and creeping higher. "No way sweetheart. I get the full-court dinner and after dinner entertainment tonight. We are not going back until the kids are all safely tucked in their beds."
Stef bit back a whimper, as Lena's foot traveled higher. "This is like torture." She closed her eyes a moment to gather herself, then gave her lover a significant look.
Lena smile faded, "what?"
"Two can play at this game."
Dinner couldn't end fast enough.
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"Okay," said Brandon nervously as he tapped on Callie's door, "Cathy just checked on us so she shouldn't be up here for another ten or fifteen minutes. Now's the time."
"Are you sure?"
"She's been babysitting us since I was seven. Mama is friends with her mom. I know her."
"Okay," Callie peered in the hallway cautiously. "So Lena's computer is in her room?"
"Yeah, when she isn't using it," Brandon said, tiptoeing across the carpeted hallway. He opened his mothers' door and crept over to their closet.
Callie followed, watching.
"Here it is," said Brandon. He plopped down onto the carpet and opened the computer. The computer hummed lightly.
When the screen requiring the password came up, Callie held her breath but Brandon typed it in efficiently. The screen blinked and opened to the main page. Callie studied the screen saver. It was a picture of the family was at the beach. Stef was holding both the boys who were covered with sand and grinning wildly at the camera. Lena was holding Mariana who wore less sand than the boys but also sported a large grin. Lena was leaning on Stef a little, her head resting on her shoulder. The happiness radiated from them all. "You guys look really happy," said Callie eventually.
"It was a couple years ago. At the beach," he added unnecessarily.
"Yeah." There was no sarcasm in the little girl's tone – just wistfulness. They looked at one another for a moment until Callie cleared her throat, "So where do we start?"
Brandon opened the web browser, then handed her the computer. "Do you want me to leave?"
Callie shrugged, then shook her head. "No. I want you to help me."
"Sure," Brandon straightened a little.
Callie reconsidered when she realized what she would type into the search engine. She looked at Brandon and saw only empathy. She took a deep breath; how long does someone stay in prison if they cause an accident, she typed.
Before she could hit send, Brandon stopped her. "Uh, I think you. I mean your mom-" he swallowed uncomfortably. "I mean, people died, right? It's different when people die."
She took a breath, tears blurring her eyes for a moment.
"Want me too?" asked Brandon.
She nodded.
He put the computer back on his lap. How long does someone stay in prison if they cause an accident and people die? He typed.
"Accidentally," Callie whispered. "He didn't mean too. It was an accident."
Brandon added the word quickly and hit return. Both of them looked at the results page in dismay, "there's over thirty million results," said Brandon.
"I think the stuff at the top is the most important," said Callie, sounding unsure.
"I guess," said Brandon, frowning a little.
They clicked through the articles, reading simultaneously. "All the information is different," Callie sighed. "How do we know what's true?"
"My mom says that different judges and stuff decide different things." Brandon volunteered. "There's lots of judges all over the place so everything is probably all mixed up."
"Maybe we should add California to the question," said Callie.
"Yeah," said Brandon. "But I still think everything is going to be different."
Callie bit her lip, "how'm I supposed to find out anything then?"
Brandon looked at her helplessly, "I don't know. I guess the only one who knows is your dad. Maybe you can ask him."
Callie looked stricken, "I can't ask him. That'll just make him sad."
Brandon shook his head, "then I don't know."
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"Okay monkeys," Cathy said after several successfully run marble run trials and surveying the living room, checking her phone for the time. "It's time to clean up. You're going to need to get to bed soon."
"Aww, just a little longer, please Cathy?" begged Jesús predictably.
"If you guys get ready for bed really quickly and with no problems, maybe we'll have a chance to play a game or something," said Cathy. "But that means no problems," she continued, looking at Jesús twice.
"Sure," said Jesús eagerly, bouncing a little on his knees.
"Can I choose the game?" asked Jude as he began picking up the cardboard pieces.
"Sure," said Cathy.
Mariana joined Jude, stifling a yawn. She was already a little tired, but if the six-year-old in the family could stay up – she could too.
"I'm going to go check on Brandon and Callie. When I get back down here, most of this should be picked up. Your moms said they wanted you all to take showers tonight." She headed upstairs.
"They're not my moms," said Jude quietly, sounding sad.
Jesús looked at him, cocking his head quizzically at the younger boy. "They kinda are. They're your foster moms, just like I'm your foster brother…and I'll take care of you. I promise."
Jude looked at him solemnly, then nodded the faintest bit.
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Callie poked at the keys disconsolately. She had continued to search, hoping that the information she wanted to would be revealed, but with no luck.
"Sorry," Brandon offered quietly, pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them.
Callie poked another key bitterly, "it's not fair," she said quietly. "I don't know anything. Why do the grown-ups get to know everything and not tell the kids?"
Brandon stayed quiet, recognizing it as a rhetorical question.
Anger and sadness filling her, she looked at the screen and she curled her fist as though she were about to bring it down.
Brandon's eyes widened as he grabbed the computer quickly and cradled it protectively on his lap.
Callie looked at him in exasperation, "I wasn't going to hit the computer," she informed him.
"I'm not taking any chances," he said. "I don't know what I'd tell Moms if-"
Cathy opened the door to the bedroom, "just what do you two think you're doing here?" she asked.
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They were a few minutes into the cleaning process when Jude sat back down with a big sigh. "I'm hungry," he announced.
"I'll get you some milk or make you a sandwich," Mariana volunteered instantly, laying pieces of the track carefully on top of one another.
Jude wrinkled his nose, "I'm hungry for dessert," he emphasized.
"You can't have any," said Mariana firmly. "Cathy does what Moms says and they say no dessert close to bedtime."
"But it's not bedtime yet," Jude protested. "Cathy said we could play a game...and we still have to get ready for bed."
Mariana shook her head, "sorry Jude," she said simply.
Jesús paused in his haphazard cleanup, wanting to cement his big-brother role. "Mom bought ice cream yesterday and I got to choose the flavor. I really wanted bubblegum but she said no so we got cake batter flavor. We could try that."
"No way," said Mariana instantly, glaring at her twin, "didn't you hear what I just said to Jude?"
"Just a little taste," Jesús pleaded, "for Jude?"
Mariana looked at Jude, then closed her eyes at the younger boy's pleading face. "No," she said, her voice uncertain.
Jesús rolled his eyes, "c'mon Jude. We'll just get a little, teensy-tiny bit. It's no big deal." He started towards the kitchen.
"I'll tell," warned Mariana, stopping him in his tracks.
"You'll tell on Jude?" asked Jesús knowingly. Smirking at his sister he continued on to the kitchen. Jude looked at her, then Jesús, gave her a c'mon look, then followed his foster brother.
"This is not going to end well," mumbled Mariana. By the time she got to the kitchen, the ice cream had been retrieved from the freezer and three spoons were lying on the counter.
Jesús removed the lid to the ice cream carton, and looked and looked at it in delight. "It looks delicious. Smell it Jude."
The little boy hitched up to one of the stools and did so. "It smells so yummy!"
"You take first bite," said Jesús generously.
"Jesús Foster if you eat any of that ice cream-"
Mariana's threat was cut off by Jude's ecstatic moan of pleasure as the spoon sank into the ice cream and was delivered to his mouth. "Mmmm. It's so good!"
Needing no further encouragement, Jesús dug in too.
Mariana's mouth dropped open. They were eating right out of the carton. Right where everyone was supposed to eat from. "Stop!" she said helplessly.
"This is the best ice cream ever Mariana. Seriously, you gotta try it," said Jesús as surveyed his twin's horrified expression.
"No," said Mariana. "And I'm going to tell Cathy." Unfortunately her feet refused to move from the scene of the disaster.
"Aw, c'mon Mariana, have some," said Jude chirpily. "It's really good. We wanna share with you too." He took another bite and licked both the front and the back of the spoon as not to miss anything.
Almost beyond her control, Mariana took a step forward, "no," she said, voice wavering.
"You're missing out," sing-songed Jesús. "Maybe you won't get to try any of it. Ev-ver."
Jude slid off the stool, his mouth already rimmed with ice cream and grabbed her hand. "C'mon Mariana, it's not fun for me if you don't have any too. I want to share with you 'cause I love you and you're my foster sister."
Mariana's shoulders slumped, the final arrow having pierced her Achilles Heel. "Fine," she said, "give me one of the spoons." She hopped up onto the stool in between the boys and took her first sweet bite. She closed her eyes, "this is awesome," she said.
Jesús nodded enthusiastically, gripping a spoon tightly in one hand, "you know what would be even better?" he asked.
"What?" asked Jude.
"Chocolate sauce."
The little boy's eyes practically goggled, "can I put it on?" he whispered.
"Sure," said Jesús, feeling generous. He practically swaggered over to the refrigerator and unearthed the sauce from somewhere in the depths. He handed it to Jude, "here ya go."
Jude looked at the twins seriously, "you know what I have always wanted to do?" he asked, clutching the bottle with both tiny hands.
"What?" asked Jesús.
"I always wanted to pour out all the sauce and see what it looks like."
"Yes!" said Jesús enthusiastically.
"That is not a good idea," said Mariana. "We don't know how much-"
Without waiting to hear the rest, Jude began squeezing. The carton began filling dark, luscious chocolate as the children watched. In a short time, the container made that particular flatulent sound those containers always made as the last dregs were squeezed from their plastic bodies causing both boys to break down into giggles. Mariana was still staring into the carton, "it looks like a chocolate lake," she said finally, "like in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
"Hey, yeah," said Jesús, peering at it again. He scooped up a spoonful of chocolate and put in in his mouth. "Yummy," he said.
Jude did the same. Tentatively, daintily, Mariana followed their example. The children looked at one another at the same time. This was great!
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"What are you doing here?" Cathy asked again.
Callie and Brandon shared nervous glances.
"Nothing?" Brandon offered tentatively.
"Oh, I cannot even believe that you're trying to lie to me," said Cathy, striding towards them and snatching the computer off of Brandon's lap. "You are not supposed to be in here and you know you're not supposed to be using your mom's computer."
Brandon chewed on his lip and looked at Callie again. "We had too," he finally said.
"It's my fault," said Callie boldly. "I had to know some stuff and I made Brandon help me."
"You didn't make me help you," Brandon objected. "I wanted too."
"Shut up," she said, trying to make him stop incriminating himself.
"You shut up," he shot back, looking irritated. He didn't need her to take the blame for him.
"Both of you be quiet," Cathy said. "I'm really disappointed in you guys. You're already in trouble. What do you think your moms are going to say?"
Brandon looked at the carpet.
"They're not my moms," said Callie, but without any heat.
Cathy rolled her eyes, "foster moms then. Whatever. What do you think they're going to say?"
Callie shrugged, guilt prickling on her skin.
"You don't have to tell them," Brandon offered.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't tell them," said Brandon. "We're sorry, but we had a good reason. Really. We were just helping each other. Don't tell moms. Let them have a nice night."
"No chance, kid. Let's say for example that I didn't tell them. Then somehow they found out. Then they told my mom. How do you think that would work out for me?"
Brandon frowned, he knew Mrs. Doucet very well. "Not good," he admitted.
"Hiding it from your moms would be worse then what you actually did," she informed him. "How could they trust me anymore? Nope, sorry chum. You're going to have to face the music."
Brandon's shoulders slumped and Callie winced. Great. Now Stef and Lena'd be even more mad at her. And she'd been doing pretty well for awhile.
"In the meantime," Cathy continued, "you guys are going to come downstairs. You can sit in the corners of the kitchen. Opposite corners," she frowned.
"I'm too old to sit in stupid corners," Brandon whined instantly.
"Yeah, well that's what happens when you're not trustworthy," Cathy shot back unsympathetically. "Apparently I have to keep and eye on you all the time. C'mon." She steered both children out the bedroom and down the hall, cocking her ear downstairs. "I wonder what your siblings are up too? I don't hear them."
"That's not a good sign," mumbled Callie, sparking a nervous glance from Cathy.
She rushed them down stairs, stopping briefly in the living room only to find it empty. They headed towards the kitchen when they heard a soft giggling and stopped in the doorway. A carton of ice cream sat on the floor and the three children surrounded it. Both Jesús and Jude wore ample evidence of their crime. Mariana managed to remain fantastically clean.
Jude saw them first. "Hi," he said with only the smallest trace of guilt.
Brandon turned to Cathy, "so about telling our moms…" he began.
"Seriously?" Cathy said. "Are you guys kidding me with this? What's wrong with you?"
Both Jesús and Jude stopped the trajectory of the spoons towards their mouths, leaving them tantalizingly close. Mariana dropped her spoon into the carton hastily and moved several steps away.
"Jude wanted dessert," offered Jesús helpfully. "I was just trying to help him." He seemed to realize his begrimed status because he began rubbing ineffectually at his mouth.
"Oh really?" Cathy said, as she put her hands on her hips, "and you're eating it because…"
"I wanted some too," Jesús said, blissfully ignorant of her sarcasm.
"Of course you did," Cathy sighed, shoving her glasses back up her nose. "And you?" she said, turning her gaze to Mariana.
"I told them it was a bad idea," said Mariana. "They didn't listen to me." She stepped a few more paces away.
"And you're eating the ice cream because…" she said again, this time her voice more weary then when she had spoken to Jesús.
"Ummm…"
At the girl's unusually inarticulate response, Cathy shook her head again. "okay, here's what we're going to do," she said, grabbing a rag from the counter and scrubbing at Jude and Jesús faces and all traces of skin showing on their upper body. "We're going for a walk."
"I can clean myself," Jesús said, his protest garbled by the rag.
"I'll remind you of the time you took a forty-fine minute bath and still came out with mud on the back of your neck," said Cathy, not pausing in her ministrations. "Dirt. On your neck. Forty-five minute bath. I'm not sure how you managed it, but you did." Jesús grumble was equally muffled as she finished up. "You three," she pointed to Mariana, Callie, and Brandon, "start cleaning up this mess."
"That's fair," Brandon muttered nearly inaudibly.
"How badly to you want to come out of this evening's affairs when I tell your moms?" Cathy asked him.
He grabbed some towels quickly and began mopping up around the leaking carton as Mariana and Callie used wet cloths to reduce the stickiness.
"You two go grab everyone's jackets," Cathy told the younger boys, "we're going for a walk."
"It's dark out," said Mariana, looking up from her task.
"There's the streetlights and the moon," Cathy informed the little girl, "we'll be fine."
"Why are we going for a walk?" Callie asked, looking at her little brother worriedly.
"Three kids on a sugar rush," Cathy said flatly. "They're not coming back into this house until they're dropping with exhaustion." She looked at the nearly empty carton of ice cream and sighed with resignation, "or until they've puked."
Callie looked at the three younger children's. Jesús's eyes were pinging around the kitchen like he was watching a particularly active game of tennis. "I see your point," she conceded.
"How gracious of you," said Cathy a touch icily. Her usual store of good humor had bottomed out. "C'mon you miscreants. Let's go."
"What's a miscreant?" whispered Jude to Callie as the children were prodded out the door.
"Can't be good," Callie whispered back.
The door closed quietly behind them.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Stef and Lena slipped through the front door, snickering slightly at one another and holding an unmarked bag. "I'm so glad it's Friday and Cathy was able to stay with them until late," Lena whispered.
"It'd be better if she could stay overnight," Stef whispered back, "then we could have an overnight. Preferably at a place with soundproof walls."
Lena poked her, "I am not that loud."
"I dunno honey," said Stef, "last time even the dogs were howling with you-" Lena cut her off by reaching over and poking her in a particularly sensitive place. "Hey!" Stef said, more loudly than she intended.
"Lena…Stef…is that you?" a voice called from the living room.
"Busted," sighed Stef as footsteps came towards them.
Both women's eyes widened when they caught a glimpse of their babysitter. "Honey, what happened?" Lena asked, moving away from Stef to place her hand on Cathy's arm.
Cathy jabbed her finger towards the second story, "who are those children? Seriously? They're either evil clones or pod people."
"Rough night?" Stef asked, pulling a face.
Rubbing her forehead and shaking her head, Cathy looked at them. "I don't now where to start. Wait-okay. Dinner was fine."
"And after dinner?" Lena asked trepidatiously.
Cathy looked at her, "your computer is no longer safe from your eldest."
Stef's lips tightened, "he got onto Lena's computer? The one that's password protected?"
"Him and Callie. They were looking up stuff, I think it was about her dad," Cathy sounded more subdued than upset now.
Lena exchanged looks with Stef and sighed, "we'll deal with that. Thanks for letting us know."
"What about the little ones?" asked Stef.
"Well, while I was dealing with Callie and Brandon, they decided to have a snack. A large snack." said Cathy dryly, she was beginning to find her sense of humor again. She looked at Stef now. "Your carton of cake batter ice cream is gone."
"The entire carton?" asked Lena, gaping at her.
"Pretty much," said Cathy said. "There may have been a few inches left, but since it was drowning in chocolate sauce, it was pretty hard to tell." She checked her phone, "Jesús was the last to fall asleep and that was about half an hour ago. I'm not sure if he fell asleep, or whether it's a sugar-induced coma."
"I am so sorry Cathy. Really. We would never have had you come babysit if we knew that was going to happen," said Stef. "Please know that they will have consequences for this behavior."
Cathy covered a yawn, "I know. And I still love them but…maybe you shouldn't ask me to babysit for awhile."
Stef and Lena looked at one another, then Cathy, "I suppose this is a bad time to talk about having you baby-sit the kids more often as a Mother's Helper?" asked Lena.
Cathy narrowed her eyes at them, "I'll sleep on it." She grabbed her jacket and slung it over her shoulder.
Stef opened the door for her, passing her the cash for the night as Lena patted her shoulder. "See you later kiddo. Sorry for the rough night," said Stef.
"I'll want more money," said Cathy firmly, but then she grinned as the other women shut the door.