Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide!

"Okay, another big push! You can do it, honey, you're almost there!" Lorna encourages Karla, who's still screaming, sweating, and squeezing the life out of Ramón's and Blanca's hands. The latter wipes Karla's face as she cries in pain and curses loudly in Spanish.

"There it is! The head!" Franny shouts as she runs to hold out her gloved hands for the newborn coming. "Shoulders, arms, torso…"

Karla wails and shrieks loudly as the rest of Abel slides out of her and into Franny's hands. Once he's welcomed to the world, he starts crying. The nurse hands him to Karla, who's now relaxed against a pillow in her hospital bed. The little one has a head of thin black hair and big brown eyes; he looks similar to Karla in the face, but has lighter brown skin than her, more like Ramón.

Blanca laughs emotionally as she watches Abel's smiling, tearful parents meet him for the first time. Karla holds Abel and waves his tiny hand at Ramón. "Hi, buddy. Hey there. Ese es tu papi. Y yo soy tu mami." She taps Abel's button nose as she speaks to him in a soft, shaky murmur. She points at Blanca. "Y tu madrina. You're gonna be so spoiled, you got so many family members who love you already."

That's your daddy. And I'm your mommy. And your godmother.

"Aww, I'm touched, Karlita, ¡gracias!" Blanca exclaims, pressing her hand to her heart.

"De nada."

"Abelito is so precious, ¡ya lo amo!" Blanca gushes.

I love him already!

"¡Yo también!"

Soon after Abel is born, Lorna cleans off the baby and wraps him in a blanket. She gives him back to Karla, who snuggles him against her chest while looking up at Ramón. "¿Quieres abrazarlo?"

You wanna hold him?

He nods and holds his hands out for Abel. After kissing their son's cheek and forehead, Karla places him into his dad's arms.

She redirects her attention to Blanca. "¿Puedes transmitir el mensaje de que Diablo es el padrino y ¿ambos cuidarán de él esta noche?"

Can you pass along the message that Diablo is the godfather and will you both take care of him tonight?

"¡Sí!" Blanca responds excitedly.

"¡Gracias!"

So she does, after she hugs Karla goodbye and leaves her alone with Ramón and their new baby boy.

"¡Karla tuvo a su bebé! Es un niño, su nombre es Abel. Ella y Ramón van a pasar la noche en el hospital con él." Blanca announces, and a chorus of excited chatter fills the waiting room.

Karla had her baby! It's a boy, his name is Abel. She and Ramón are going to spend the night in the hospital with him.

"Aw, that's great!" Maritza comments.

"He must be so precious," Gloria murmurs.

"He is!" Blanca confirms. "Diablo, tu eres su padrino."

You're his godfather

Diablo beams at the news. "¡Dile gracias a Karla, me siento honrado!"

Tell Karla thanks, I'm honored!

"I will!"

"Yay!" Benji jumps up and down happily. "¿Can I see mi hermanito, por favor?"

"Mañana, you can, your mami and Abel are so tired!" She ruffles Benji's hair and the little boy glances up at her with a grin. "You can stay with Diablo y yo y nuestros hijos tonight." She sends a questioning look to Diablo. "I hope that's okay."

"¡Claro, eso está bien conmigo!" Diablo assures her.

Sure, that's fine with me!

"Muchas gracias."

"No tienes que agradecerme. Tu y yo somos sus padrinos and we love him like our own nephew."

You don't have to thank me. You and I are his godparents

Blanca smiles. "Mm-hm."

"My mom is staying on my couch and I helped Mirna, Roberto, and Antoni get set up in a hotel," Margarita informs her.

"Abuela, ¿te importa dormir en el sofá?" Blanca asks.

do you mind sleeping on the couch?

"No, está bién. Gracias."

"De nada."

Raiza and Benji hold hands and run ahead of the group a little while giggling. The families disperse in the parking lot and they go to their respective homes after hugging and kissing each other good night.

Maritza and Raiza share the former's bed and Benji sleeps soundly in Raiza's bunk with Laronne above him. Blanca makes sure her grandmother is comfortable on the couch with soft pillows, blankets, and a fitted sheet to cover the cushions. She and Diablo check up on the kids one final time before bed and then they get into their own. They cuddle, facing each other, and then drift off to a peaceful slumber.

"Abel keeps 'em up all night," Maritza is saying, referring to Karla and Ramón. "I'm gonna miss Karla teaching Spanish, but at the same time, she really deserves maternity leave!"

"You mean she ain't comin' back this year? Aww…" Flaca sighs disappointedly. "Twelve weeks! Makes sense, though."

"Yeah, it's good she has the whole summer to chill out with her little one and the rest of her fam, too."

"At least she wasn't panting and sweating in labor or bleeding through her pad and pants like I was," Daya mumbles. They gaze at her in sympathy. "My mom held my hair as I vomited into the sink…fucking John!"

"Yeah, Karla had a better experience, but she was still in pain," Maritza says.

"Who's the sub?" Taystee asks.

"If it's Piper, you bitches oughta make her life hell," Maria says with a smirk, gesturing between Maritza and Elena. "She's always bragging that she knows Spanish. Plus, she dumped Stephanie as a teacher's pet since she figured the Nazi girls could protect her better…so she favors them instead."

"Gracias a Dios it's not that idiot!" Elena responds. "Blanca's cousin Antonio, he's cool."

"Yeah, and for Raiza's class, Mami's tía has taken Karla's place temporarily," Maritza chimes in.

"Ah, fantastic!" Daya comments.

"Mm-hm. Yo, hey, I got some scoop!" Flaca says.

"What else is new?" Cat asks teasingly, earning a playful swat on the shoulder from Flaca.

"So, I overheard Karla talking to Blanca about her acquaintanceship with Fig." Flaca lowers her voice as the others gaze at her in curiosity. "The story is, Karla and Ramón went to visit their parents in El Salvador, then decided to live in the country for a while because to her, New York wasn't the same without her close friends around."

"Aw, that's sad, but at least she had him and they got to meet each other's parents!" Maritza comments.

"Yeah, but I ain't even close to done. Karla went through four years to get her bachelor's degree, then seven years of law school...concentrating on her studies and being with her man kept her busy and not thinking about Blanca so much. She tried to find her in Arizona or online, but she couldn't."

"Of course not, unfortunately," Poussey mutters and the rest of the girls nod in agreement with solemn looks.

"Yeah, 'cause Dean kept my mom well hidden from society, unless they were working together at the nursing home, and he wouldn't let her have any form of social media," Maritza says. "So, where does Fig come into this?"

"I'm getting there, querida!" Flaca assures her, patting her hand softly. She takes a breath and then continues the story. "Karla got the job at El Aleph for a few months, then there were thirty-six boys who were murdered by gangs and she was pregnant at thirty-one, so they had to leave. ICE, including Clitvack, tried to deport her and her husband when they came to Arizona in hopes of finding Blanca somewhere in the state, but she insisted she'd need a lawyer and wanted to reapply for a green card. Fig advocated for her and her husband and told ICE to back the fuck off!"

"Really? That's awesome!" Ceci exclaims. "I bet Clitvack's parents emigrated from the fucking Philipphines."

Flaca cackles. "¡Sí! What a goddamn hypocrite. Anyway, yeah, she hates that stupid pendejo."

"I knew Fig was a good egg somewhere inside the cold hard shell front she puts up," Katie puts in.

"Wow, well, that's interesting!" Maritza smiles. "Nice to know she's a decent human being."

"Yeah! She was like, 'Hey, look, you piece of shit, leave them alone!' and when I heard they were talkin' about the bastard, I just had to say somethin'! I told Fig, 'you know what I call that motherfucker? Clitvack!' and she laughed, along with Blanca and Karla, and then Cindy, who was with me, joined in. We also talked about her and Caputo being so lucky to foster and hopefully soon adopt Vanessa, thanks to Karla and Blanca finding the little one and I dig her Louboutin shoes, so I complimented 'em."

"Oh, that's sweet! You having a good relationship with the VP is pretty important, maybe you won't get into trouble ever again!" Daisy points out.

"She says flattery gets people nowhere, she tells Caputo that sometimes. It just won't make me as mouthy to her, is all."

"Cool. Speaking of head honchos at school, Blanca's second cousin is pretty cute, even better than Mr. F, ya know, the History teacher whose last name I can never pronounce. He always looked a little wimpy anyway, but I bet Antonio's got a real big-"

"Hey!" Maritza holds her hand up for Daya to quit talking. "Yo, you wanna stop right there. Gross, dude, I'm related to him!"

"You just met the guy last week," Daya points out. "Need I remind you, you are adopted!"

Maritza rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean. Not all family is blood. Anyway, did you forget you have a man?"

"Nah, but I can have a crush, I ain't gonna do shit! I just gotta get over it."

"Yeah, I was gonna say…don't turn into your motha," Flaca lectures Daya.

"Excuse me, but I was never that bad! I still ain't," Daya insists.

"True," the group choruses.

"What were y'all just talkin' about?" Adarsh asks as he, Sergio, Clarence, and Darius join them.

"Ah, just that Fig is nice after all," Daya tells him as he sits down and kisses her cheek. She smiles. "So, hey, you'll like this, babe. There was this random street fight between Jayne Cooke, Rhonda, A-Rod, and Juanita Vasquez by the bodega that Gloria owns, and they asked me and Alana to pick sides, but we sat it out, as did Alex, who actually called her stepdad cop on those idiots! They were obviously hooked on Oxy. I noticed Gloria looking at the scene and smiling; she was glad I wasn't getting into the drama."

"That's great, so am I!"

"Mm-hm," the others murmur in agreement.

Daya beams, pleased with herself.

"I know for a fact that Blanca's husband is not dead, unless she killed him. She doesn't even seem that upset about it," Anita says in the staff lounge after finishing off a bean and cheese burrito. She can't see that Blanca has just entered the room. Gloria and Aleida both send Blanca an apologetic look.

"Ay of course she didn't kill him!" Aleida snaps as she files her nails and then starts painting them pink.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Gloria adds, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Yeah, let's not spread rumors," Natalie chimes in after sipping some coffee.

"Especially when I'm right here!" Blanca rolls her eyes and folds her arms across her chest. "Dios mío, Anita, no offense, but I don't know you well…so I'm not going to get into too much detail. If you really wanna know, I'm not a murderer, but he does deserve to be muerto; he was a motherfucker."

Gloria and Aleida know that Dean isn't dead, but Natalie and Anita don't, and Blanca wants to keep it that way. So, she's content that her fellow domestic violence survivor and Gloria's best friend are respecting her wishes.

"Oh, sorry!" Anita looks embarrassed.

"Gracias. The end of Dean is much less interesting than you think," Blanca assures her. "He just got into a car accident, driving himself home from work. I almost thanked the guy who hit him. After he got better, he went hunting, but ended up getting killed by the wolf he was trying to shoot!"

Gloria and Aleida crack up. Blanca does too, but weakly, just wishing that did actually happen.

"Oh, the irony!" Natalie murmurs.

"That's pretty funny!" Anita puts in. "What the hell did he do to make you hate him so much?"

"He only beat the shit out of me for years," Blanca mutters. "Knocked me down emotionally, too. Can we not talk about this anymore?"

"Yeah, sure, I apologize if I was nosy."

Blanca shrugs. "It's fine."

"Maybe watch what you say next time and cuidado with the asking too many questions bullshit," Gloria lectures her.

"Well, I was just gonna say, I've been through some tough crap too. Drama with the hippie yoga teacher, Ms. Jones, and my husband had open heart surgery…I didn't know whether he'd live or not. I wanted him to, and he did…I had to breathe mindfully to a hundred and eight while holding my baby grandson, and that calmed me down after that procedure."

"Not quite the same experience as Blanca's, but lo siento to hear it, glad he's fine now," Aleida says.

"Excuse me, ladies, I've got something to do in the office! Joe needs me." Natalie stands and exits the room while exchanging waves with Blanca, Gloria, Aleida, and Anita.

"Norma killed her husband Guru Mack, you know. He led a cult; he married her and nine others so ten in total-she was Norma Moon, and then there were Kirsa Rain, Silver Tree, and I forgot the rest of their names. He was charged for tithing and he called her nothing but a slave! Beware of the silent ones, though…she has a stutter, which is why she can't speak, but she did call him a son of a bitch as she pushed him off that cliff!" Anita informs them.

Blanca chuckles. "Nice!"

"Yeah, she once tried to steal my practice, but besides that, she's a badass," Gloria says. "She smokes outside like us, too." She gestures between herself, Blanca, and Aleida.

"I've dealt with Piscatella before too, I was part of taking him down!"

"Yeah, Red told us the story. You two are close?" Blanca wants to know, and Anita nods her head yes. "I bet!"

"I had a heart attack when I first met her and she helped me out. Years later, she was the one in danger…Frieda was calling me, Ms. Jones, Gina, and Norma careless stoners since we were poking around her stuff in the bunker. I thought Frieda's dad was cute when he was young based on the wedding picture of her parents." Anita smiles to herself. "We were playing Scrabble and I was saying gyno is a word, but we couldn't use abbreviations, as well as capitalized words, foreign words, or words requiring apostrophes or hyphens. Gina then sprayed whipped cream into her mouth, and we all got baked! Our fun came to a full stop when we realized what was going on with Red and the rest of her friends."

"It's good she had y'all, then!" Blanca says with a grin.

"Sure is."

"At first, I didn't like camp, but then I ended up loving it when I went there at eight years old. I had this counselor named Stacy, who braided my hair and made friends with a girl named Jordache…plus three close friends and six other friends. I did art projects there and decided I wanted to be an artist when I got older. We also did stupid songs before dinner and Stacy acted like a desperate piner since she had a crush on her unattainable co-worker, a dude counselor," Daya explains at a sleepover with the girls later that night at her house. "My tía abuela Lourdes didn't like Ma sending me to camp for city kids…I remember playing basketball in our ratty backyard and picking up a condom that resembled a balloon…she snatched it from me and gave me the talk a few hours later. I told her I knew it was a condom, and that I was glad she was having safe sex."

The friends laugh. "How did you know what it was?" Maritza wonders aloud.

"I would overhear her talking about the different guys she was with wearing a condom!"

"Oh, wow," Flaca murmurs.

"So, how'd your third date with Clarence go, Taystee?" Poussey wants to know. "I know you always wear a bun to look nice…"

"Damn right I did! I scored another one next weekend with that fine-ass boy!" Taystee high fives Poussey and everyone giggles.

Poussey eats more of her red jello, which is her favorite flavor. "So, I was reading Arms and the Man as Taystee strode up the day we met, and then we made fun of some white girls who were wanting to get skinny by eating and then throwing up…not healthy by the way."

"We've been close ever since!" Taystee exclaims. "The day I found her sitting with Norma's group and then standing in their circle later, though…that was so weird! Even stranger than the time Poussey got a squirrel into a laundry bag that she thought was drunk from her stash but really it was me who hid it!" They all giggle at this, even Poussey.

"Hey, Norma touched my chin since I said she made us feel seen and loved, like my great grandmother from Jackson, North Carolina, and my mom Lila, we used to read Calvin and study butterflies when I was in middle school! I gave her an extra fruit cup like Jeanie did and she smiled. The quiet made me feel calm, sometimes I needed a breather!" Poussey defends herself.

"Well, that's sweet, but Norma's other worshippers were seeing her in the toast, and they were so loud they had to scrub the hallway floor!" Ceci points out.

"I don't associate myself with those crazy-ass bitches, and neither did Brook! She called 'em the Mediation Club. I met her in summer camp, makin' gimp bracelets together and competing against each other in archery, before I started high school and Brook was a senior. I was new in school, just there for six months. We were both depressed and almost became alcoholics. I yelled at the Norma worshippers who were bullying Brook and almost causing her suicide and punched Leanne in her defense, because she started all the drama! She was so mean to Brook and I stood up to her. Brook laughed that Leanne used to wear a bonnet, because that cracker was Amish except for her Rumspringa days or some shit."

"Whoa, that's cool!" Elena comments. "I mean, that you two were so close and you really looked out for her."

"Yeah, she was my first girlfriend before Franzi. I enjoyed her losing control but she loved having it. She hated the element of surprise and she was a pillow princess…she did nothin' but lay there! She didn't think she'd be enough for Poussey since we're both girls, but at two-thirty two on a Monday afternoon, she confessed her love for me. She snored at times, just if she was on her back or had a cold. Brook played piano as a kid…she cheated a lot, apparently. We talked about lucid dreaming. Nicky was one of her exes and she tried warning me that Brook was shitty, but I didn't listen. It ended though when she left for college; she was too old for me anyway. My girl and I are going to West Point together so that's great!"

Maritza is beyond shocked that Brook never mentioned Poussey, but she tries not to show it. "Huh, that's interesting! Glad you have Franzi now, though!" She waves at the German girl who comes over to sit next to Poussey.

Franziska smiles and puts her arm around Poussey. "Yeah, and our other friends, Roger and Alicia!"

"Plus I got Aliyah and Mikey who I hung out with in New York the first time I went…I got lost there in a teen club when some fool took my camera, but some drag queens helped me find my way back to them. I've never had long term friends because of being an army brat, but I'm beyond happy I got this squad!"

"Same here, girl!" Taystee fist-bumps Poussey.

"Yeah!" the others agree. Franziska and Poussey share a kiss and everyone smiles.

"Oh, by the way, Judy King got arrested!" Taystee announces randomly and they grin excitedly.

"Cool, what for?" Poussey asks through a guffaw.

"Tax evasion!" Taystee answers, and they all howl with laughter.

"That's even funnier than that time Ouija told us that she and Pidge got put into human tacos to keep them restrained since they tried to create a trap for the cops bustin' them for somethin' stupid they did! Britney Spears on steroids, or Helen, named 'em Team Latte, since she committed the crime with them, but they thought it was weird and didn't want to be on her team, she's a Nazi, for fuck's sake! They didn't go down without a fight, or they tried not to…but they were taken to the slamma!"

Maritza cackles at Flaca's story. "Dios mío, the shit that goes on with those bitches! Fuckin' karma!"

"Hell yeah! Ouija and Pidge disrespected Gloria, so even though they apologized, fuck 'em," Flaca mutters. "Besides calling her a twatwaffle, they encouraged her to snort coffee since it'll make her high and advanced and not have to sleep, but Gloria was like, 'I'm just gonna drink coffee,' so yeah! Pidge thought Gloria was too lenient of a parent, but now she kind of understands why, apparently…Alison gave her and Ouija a lecture that clued them in on it. They asked her what Alison meant by Gloria being smacked with the hard truth about her ex, and she told them almost right away. Blanca being there may have helped her say what happened to her."

"Oh yeah, I remember, our mami said they apologized," Ceci says.

Elena smirks. "Good, 'cause I was about to kick their asses!"

"I saw Ouija running faster than Gloria and pushing her down once," Katie informs them. "Ouija thought Gloria was selfish because she wanted to see her son, but so did Ouija…it was after a child predator was reported to be lurking around their neighborhood…they live in the same one. Just Benny was at home with a cold and Lourdes taking care of him. Ouija's baby Miguel was sleeping in his crib with her older sister watchin' him. She yelled that Gloria disappointed her kids by being with an abuser and putting them in danger…but I don't think she was being herself that day. My dad caught the asshole, luckily, and stopped Ouija from attacking Gloria."

"Oh, good! I'm glad things worked out for the better," Cat says.

"Mm-hm," the others agree.

"There's just somethin' I didn't like about the Dominicans being called thugs when they were defending themselves against bigoted teachers, though," Katie begins. "It's racist! Alex, a white girl who used a crowbar and kicked Humps in the face, was doing the same thing…but no one said she was a thug! When she was in fifth grade, Jessica Wedge started a band of bitches calling Alex a white trailer trash accident and telling her to starve herself and making fun of her low voice. Alex punched Jessica, the leader of her snotty little group, for bullying her after she had enough of it! Nobody blinked an eye. It was cool and it shut Jessica down for good, but…I just wish people could understand that people of color want to stick up for themselves, too, instead of being stereotyped!"

"Maybe some idiot was scared of the Dominican girls at school without even knowing them, but Alex didn't get that bad reputation?" Poussey guesses.

"Sí. I gotta give Ouija and Pidge credit for this one thing, though…they helped Mami after she got thrown down the stairs by those Nazi bitches while we were homeless, and Maria arranged for them to beat Sankey and Jennifer up! It was awesome and I think they only didn't throw punches at Jennifer 'cause she got away. Maria later used a wooden bat to hit Sankey over and over and then Ouija murdered the cunt and stuffed her in a black trash bag. No one knew we were livin' on the streets, by the way."

"Oh my god, were they concrete steps?" Daisy asks worriedly.

"Lo siento. Is your mom okay?" Flaca wonders aloud.

"Totally fine, yeah, she's better now," Maritza assures her. "Nah, more like carpet stairs that she had to use because the elevator in the nursing home she worked at was broken. So she bruised her elbow bad and got a bleeding scrape on her forehead, but she was able to put ice on her elbow and patch up her other injury right away with gauze and medical tape she had in the cheap first aid kit she bought. Good thing Maria was visiting her abuela at the same place and time! Unfortunately, Jennifer was, too."

"Aw, that sucks, but at least she's alright," Daya comments.

There's a chorus of agreement.

"Hey, you do look like a hoochie mama!" Pennsatucky insists.

"Told ya," Margarita adds, and Blanca and Gloria both giggle while Aleida scowls and hoists up the top of her low-cut shirt.

"Boo didn't need to wolf-whistle at me and give me her email address, booboombah at Hotmail!" Aleida rolls her eyes. "Your motha figure is too horny! Ain't you gonna get her laid?"

"Oh, she does that for herself all the time, but it doesn't stop her from flirting with any woman she sees walking by her," Pennsatucky mutters. "At least she doesn't fake seizures so she can touch nurses anymore. Boo has a cousin named Sandy with epilepsy, that's how she learned and then educated me on it so I could get out of being raped or whatever. She knows how to keep quiet at times, like sometimes, you just have to. She also sang me to sleep when I was having bad insomnia."

"That's sweet. Frieda used to sing to Diane a lot!" Gloria says.

"Aw, cool! We got nicknames for each other, too…I call her Big Boobs and she calls me Pennsafucky. Boo has been a real inspiration to me…I was enjoying the life of prostitution, at least until I met Boo at a seedy bar. She's the bouncer here, ya know, and she got me another job, moonlighting as a bartender. She's also a tattoo artist. I told her I used to work at a bar called Twisted Tea in Pennsylvania, which is true, and I was hungry, so we got toast, oatmeal, and cheerios at the American Dream Diner for breakfast on our first day of becoming friends. We bonded over both being assholes at first and then improving ourselves."

"Yeah…I can't believe I only thought you called Piper college when she came here for a drink last year…she seemed offended," Margarita says.

"Nah, there was other shit, too, and that was me just being jealous that she got an education and I didn't. Hey, at least I'm close friends with a history teacher, Elmer F. He's also my GED instructor. I can't pronounce his last name. He teaches me some shit, so that's nice."

"Sí. That's my daughter's maestro, he seems great!" Blanca exclaims.

Pennsatucky grins. "He is. He's one of the only good people I got here besides Boo. My Oxy addict brother Donny cooked a bald eagle and got into some Virginia federal prison for it, my daddy's useless, and I'm still tryin' to find Mama…she used to call me her Bessie Bug and have me get Supplemental Security Income when I was seven, three hundred and fourteen dollars a month, by giving me a lot of Mountain Dew so I would act like I had a disability. My best friend Suzanne is still in the big house, of course! I remember the last time I chilled with her, we were eating fries and talkin' about birds. She told me on the phone yesterday that she was imagining psych inmates dancing to the 'Cha Cha Slide' while getting evaluated because she needed her meds. She hates shots and she doesn't like secrets since they hurt her tummy. She's so bored with no friends, she was twiddling her thumbs, trying to touch her nose with her tongue, and pretending the floor was lava. She also said randomly that she and Cindy were communicating in sign language the other day and a while ago, she found Christopher and Angela's wedding invitation in Lorna's trash at a birthday party of hers. Suzanne can sing, but she gets stage fright…she wants routine, like when things were weird at school and teachers were going on strike, Cindy called it Motherfuckin' Van Bitchin' High. No idea why, though. I just miss her and Mama, is all."

Blanca gives Pennsatucky a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry to hear that! I hope you'll see 'em soon."

"I'm visiting Suzanne every week and her parents are in contact with a lawyer; we think a mental hospital is the best thing for her, not prison, for fuck's sake. At least Boo's here. She told me I needed to brush my teeth even though they were redone, and floss, too. All my biological mom ever told me was to let boys have quick sex with me…basically rape. So maybe I don't need to see her ever again, I dunno."

"That's horrible advice, you poor woman!" Gloria exclaims.

Pennsatucky shrugs. "Yeah, but I got a better memory of her. See, I used to help my mom shoplift from a Save-A-Lot and pretended to cry and apologize for trying to steal shampoo, stuff it down my pants, eight packs of chicken wings in my overalls, but I was busted when it came to Cheez-Its because of the square boxes and the manager was gay, so he didn't believe I was really sad or that Mama was cute, he couldn't stand children anyway, but my mom gave him a popper and he let us off the hook. I'm great at fake crying, ya know!"

"Oh, that's nice and hella smart!" Aleida comments.

"Yeah. So, anyway, whaddya'all wanna drink?"

They give her their orders and then toast to Karla finally having her baby.

"It's a pity Karla can't actually join us, though!" Margarita points out.

"Mm-hm," the others murmur, and then drink their champagne as they sway to the music in their seats.

Thank you for reviewing, Juliette45 and MsSchneeheide!