To say that Ray was dreading tonight was an understatement. About a week ago Maya had received a phone call from her mother in Barcelona. Her mother Luana was coming over for a visit with her new boyfriend and Maya was preparing dinner to welcome them. Maya had also invited Cole and Jay around as well and when Ray asked why she said that they didn't spend a lot of time with their children's boyfriends and she wanted her mother to meet them.
Ray quickly reminded her that Kai and Nya weren't getting married to them, but Maya gave him a smirk that terrified him.
The only upside to this was that Luana and her boyfriend stayed in a nice hotel in the city rather than the apartment. Ray didn't hate his mother-in-law. They got along most of the time. Unfortunately, their problems came from Ray and Maya having very different backgrounds. Ray was an only child with very strict, traditional Japanese parents who wanted him to get a high-paying job and keep them in their old age. Ray getting married and having children never crossed their minds.
Maya was a member of a very large, loud, intrusive Spanish family with an overbearing mother who only wanted her to get married and have children.
When we say large, we mean that Luana had given birth to eleven children; seven sons, and four daughters, with Maya being the youngest. Maya was also the one with the least number of children. Except for the eldest of Luana's children, his name was considered taboo among his family and should never be whispered. Especially around Maya. When Ray proposed marriage and Maya accepted she told her parents that had to accept their marriage, but Luana remained upset because Ray was not a member of their pack.
Her father didn't like Ray either, but he was always over-protective.
It wasn't until Ray became a father that he understood his father-in-law's way of thinking. But the rest of the family did accept him. However, they all constantly inserted themselves into their wedding planning, designing ugly bridesmaid's dresses and misspelling Ray's mother's name on their wedding invitations. Ray's quiet, conservative parents met the entire Quinonez family during a loud and extravagant dinner and they were overwhelmed by the experience.
They tried to split Ray and Maya up, saying that her family was far too wild for their son.
This frustrated the couple and they ultimately told his parents not to attend the wedding, which they obliged. Despite Ray's love for his wife, however, he was still a little awkward with her big, loud family. As Ray returned home from work, he saw his wife preparing for dinner. He could hear Nya talking on her phone in her bedroom. He didn't know where Kai was but he guessed that the teen was with Cole.
"Sweetie, why'd you have to invite your mother over for dinner? Didn't we just see her like a year ago?" He whined to the woman he loved.
"Come on honey, I'm looking forward to this." She smiled at the thought. "And I can't wait to meet her new beau."
"She calls him her beau?" He asked as he started munching on some peanuts.
"She called him her Amante and I almost threw up." She admitted with a faint grimace.
"Well if you ask me I think it's good that she has someone; better she spends time with him than with us." Ray shrugged, but Maya's smile dropped slightly.
"I don't know, it's just... I haven't seen her with another man since my Papá died." She said, her tone saddening at the memory of her father. He had died at the age of sixty-one due to a stroke, and other than her mother Maya was the one who took it the hardest. She was the youngest and a Daddy's girl. When Ray saw her sad mood, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the top of the head.
"I know that this doesn't make any sense, but I feel like she's being unfaithful to my Papá." She admitted and Ray froze. Before he could stop it, his mind took him back to the memory of his bachelor party. He vividly remembered Maya's father getting a little too close and hands-on with a woman who was not her mother.
"I... think he'd be ok with it." He dismissed and stepped away to give Maya space to finish cooking.
"Hey, Mom! What time should Jay and the baby be here!?" Nya suddenly called from her bedroom.
"They need to be here by five, we're eating at six!"
"Why the hell did you invite the baby?" Ray hissed quietly so Kai and Nya couldn't hear this. The baby in question was Jay's cousin's daughter. His cousin was catapulted into adulthood when she had a baby at thirteen. The father was a schoolmate who had no involvement in the baby's upbringing. His cousin was having a seriously hard time with school, the baby, and her parents refused to help her. They kept saying that it was her problem so she had to deal with it.
When they learned this, Ed and Edna agreed to take care of the baby for a few days until she was well-rested and caught up with all her school work.
Unfortunately, Ed and Edna were working tonight so Jay had to babysit. He thought he would miss the dinner, but Maya said he could bring the baby too. Now, the reason Ray didn't like this was that he didn't want Nya getting any ideas about babies, but his wife wasn't too worried.
"You know how Nya is; she gets an idea in her head and she romanticizes it." She explained to him. "Right now she's thinking how adorable a sweet, innocent baby is."
"Yeah, well she should be thinking about how messy, noisy, and exhausting a screaming baby is," Ray growled.
"My point is that Nya hasn't spent two minutes around a baby and as soon as she realizes what a pain in the ass a baby is she will run from all plans of motherhood for the next few years and all we have to do is sit back and watch." She promised and all though Ray had his doubts, he choose to trust his wife and hoped she knew what she was doing...
That night the dining table was set and the food was almost ready for their guests. They were all stood to attention as they waited for Luana and her boyfriend to arrive. They were all cleaned up and dressed in their best, yet casual outfits. Her family wasn't that bothered by style, but Maya still wanted to make a good impression on her mother's new partner. The only ones not there were Jay and Nya. They had called ahead and said they were going to be a bit late because of the baby and Maya smirked, believing her plan was working.
Eventually, the buzzer rang and Maya let them up.
A few minutes later all four of them picked up the scent of two werewolves approaching and there was a knock on the door. Maya opened it and smiled when she saw her mother and her mother's new boyfriend. Luana Quinonez had long dark brown hair tied in a low braided bun with purple ribbons and gray streaks on the left side, tanned skin, and brown eyes. She also had two gold hoop earrings in each earlobe. She wore a traditional purple dress with frill designs on her cleavage area and the long skirt of her dress, a matching purple choker with frill designs, and short black boots.
She had brought her new partner named Jack Woodward.
Jack was a man who looked to be around Luana's age, if not slightly younger than she was. He had tanned skin, greying blond hair, a mustache, and a beard. He was wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, a cream-colored jacket, white pants, and brown shoes.
"Hey, Mamá!" Maya beamed as the mother and daughter hugged each other. It was then that she noticed her mother's partner, who smiled at her.
"This is Jack Woodward." Luana smiled as Jack extended his hand for a greeting.
"Pleasure to meet you Maya, and you too Ray." He beamed politely, speaking in a stereotypical southern drawl as Luana greeted her grandson. She was running her fingers through his spiky hair and pinching his cheeks as she commented on how much tall he had grown since the last time she saw him.
"Hey Abuela, this is my boyfriend, Cole." He introduce and within half a second, she released her grandson and began inspecting his boyfriend.
"It's nice to meet you." Cole smiled at the old woman, but Luana brushed him off as she examined him, almost as if he was a pedigree at a dog show. Soon, though, she seemed satisfied and gave the noirette a bright smile.
"Maya has told me so much about you Cole; you are even more handsome than I imagined." She said sweetly as she started pinching Cole's large biceps. "You are very muscular for a teenager though." She hummed in thought as she stepped away from the teens and returned to Jack's side.
"Uhm, thanks?" He replied with a smile in awkwardness and Kai grimaced slightly.
"Something smells wonderful." Jack suddenly said, sniffing at the air surrounding them.
"Yeah, Maya made her famous Pollo al ajillo," Ray replied and he saw Luana flinched when she heard that and he couldn't blame her. Even though he loved Maya, she had proven to be a terrible cook. But she always tried her best so Ray and their children stayed quiet and ate whatever she made.
"No, no, it's this one!" Jack replied before he suddenly bent down and started kissing Luana's neck, causing the old woman to screech and giggle.
"Jack! Stop!" Luana squealed as she lightly pushed him away.
"Yes, Jack, please stop," Maya begged with a joking tone, but it was clear in her eyes that she was serious. Jack did stop as she asked, but then he and Luana started whispering sweet nothings to each other. "I-I better check on dinner," Maya said, feeling more and more disturbed, and she all but ran towards the kitchen. Everyone else began to move to the living room to get comfortable until dinner was ready.
"Don't expect much." Luana suddenly whispered to Jack, implying Maya's cooking, to which he nodded.
"So, uh, that's a nice jacket, Jack," Ray said, trying to start up a conversation as Luana started interrogating Kai about everything that was going on in his life.
"Oh thank you, it's cashmere; soft as a camel's backside." Jack grinned as he ran a hand over the material of his jacket.
"That's a fancy watch, is that a Cartier?" Ray asked when he saw Jack's wrist.
"Yeah, if you want quality you got to pay for it; that's why I've got the finest hip replacement money can buy." He replied as he rolled his hips to prove his point. Ray chuckled at this and after a few more minutes of talking, Ray excused himself to the kitchen to get a bottle of when for everyone but Kai and Cole. When he entered the kitchen he saw Maya finishing up some appetizers to munch on while dinner was still cooking.
"Hey, I don't know about you but I like that Jack guy." Ray smiled as he grabbed the bottle of wine and some glasses.
"Yeah? What's to like about him?" Maya asked, genuinely curious to know.
"He's nice, he's funny, and best of all he's loaded." He replied and Maya's eyes widened in horror.
"He's a drinker?!" She exclaimed and Ray almost laughed, but then he remembered that they were in a kitchen filled with many sharp objects so he stopped himself.
"No, I mean he's rich! But if he was a drinker that would explain what he's doing with your mother." He replied and Maya snickered as she followed him out into the living room with the appetizers.
"Who wants some homemade gambas a la plancha and albondigas?" She smiled as she set two hot plates on the coffee table in the living room. As soon as the plates touched the table Cole dove for it and started inhaling the food until Kai told him to leave some for the rest. Jack reached out to help himself to a serving but Luana quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him with a shake of her head. Jack slowly nodded in understanding. Ray was just grateful that Maya hadn't seen that.
Before Maya could ask why her mother wasn't eating, the front door suddenly opened and Jay and Nya walked into the apartment, with Nya carrying his one-year-old cousin.
The baby was dressed in a dusty pink onesie and a white wooly hat.
"How come no one ever told me I had a bisnieta?!" Luana suddenly shouted angrily at her daughter and son-in-law when she saw the baby in Nya's arms. Ray glared at the old woman while Maya rolled her eyes. Kai looked like he was about to explode in laughter and Nya had grown pale as a horrified look filled her face. Jay and Cole shared confused looks, not sure what that word meant. Eventually, she got over the shock and shook the horror off.
"Abuela, this is my boyfriend Jay and his cousin Mandy," Nya explained carefully and Luana's eyes widened a fraction at the assumption she had made, but she just shrugged it off and hugged her granddaughter.
"This is my Amante, Jack Woodward." She introduced and Ray thought he saw Maya gag slightly out of the corner of his eyes.
"Sorry we're late guys but she got a little cranky," Jay explained, growing a little nervous as Luana gave him a securitizing glare.
"No problem Jay, babies are always cranky and crying; I'm told that stops at some point but I'm still waiting." Ray laughed, trying to drive home to his daughter how difficult taking care of a baby was. No showed many reactions to this as Nya started lightly bouncing Mandy. This quickly proved to be a mistake, however, when Mandy suddenly threw up all over Nya's shoulder, staining her dark grey blouse. Nya gasped and flinched as Jay jumped forward and took the baby while Nya grabbed a tissue to try and get the sick off.
Everyone else gagged and winced as Nya tried in vain to get the goopy, milky substance out of the fabric.
"That's not gonna come out, but what you can do is make the baby throw up on the other side and make it look like a design," Maya suggested, unable to get the smile off her face as she saw her plan working. Unfortunately, after Nya took a moment to process what happened she turned back to Jay and the baby and smiled.
"Oh, who cares? Who could be mad at this cute, little snuggle bunny?" She cooed as she took the baby from Jay's arms and smiled brightly as the baby giggled sweetly. Maya frowned in puzzlement at this, not expecting Nya to react like that.
"Nice plan Abuela." Ray suddenly hissed quietly and Maya's eyes widened in terror. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...
As the evening progressed, it was almost time for the main course. While the dinner was finishing cooking, Ray was getting a little bored and decided to go outside for a cigarette. He would have stayed inside since it looked like it was going to rain, but Maya and Luana hated smokers so he had to go outside. Kai, Nya, and their boyfriends also headed to their respective rooms to hang out. Ray said that was alright as long as they kept the doors open and nothing was hanging out.
When Ray told her what he was doing, Maya said that was fine as long as he took a breath mint before he came back up.
As Ray was leaving, Jack suddenly called after him, asking to join him downstairs for some fresh air. Luana gave him a disappointed look, but he promised her that he wouldn't smoke. Unfortunately, that was proven to be a lie because as soon as the men were outside, Jack pulled out some expensive-looking cigars and started puffing away. Ray was a little stunned, knowing that they were some of the best and most expensive cigars. That just proved in his mind that Jack must be a very rich man.
"So what line of work are you in, Jack?" He finally asked as he took a drag of his cigarette.
"The stationery store business, but I'm retired," Jack replied as they took a seat on a bench next to the building.
"So you had a chain of stationery stores?"
"No, I worked in a stationery store." He replied and Ray frowned in confusion. "I sold cards, gum and cigarettes, and surprisingly very little stationary."
"Oh, so what's your deal? Did you inherit? Invest? Win the lottery?" Ray probed but now it was Jack's turn to look confused.
"I don't follow."
"Well, you've got a lot of pretty fancy stuff like the jacket, the watch, those cigars."
"Oh, Luana bought all that stuff for me." Jack beamed and Ray almost choked on his cigarette when he heard that. "Except for the cigars, I took the money out of her purse for those." He snickered as Ray looked on his horror when he realized that this man was smoking away on his and Maya's inheritance. Back inside, Maya and Luana had almost finished a whole bottle of wine yet they didn't feel even remotely tipsy. Whether it was their age or their genes, adult werewolves struggled to get drunk as fast as humans could.
As Luana and her daughter were talking, Maya was keeping her enhanced hearing open for her children and their boyfriends.
She couldn't hear them being up to anything naughty, but she would rather be safe than sorry.
"Isn't Jack sweet?" Luana asked and Maya snapped her full attention back to her.
"Yeah, Mamá, he's alright." She sighed, trying to be happy for her mother, but she couldn't stop thinking about her late father.
"I think I'm in love with him," Luana announced and Maya started at that.
"You are? Are you sure? Because it could be just a leftover hot flash." She replied, trying to be supportive but cautious at the same time. "I mean, Mamá you hardly know him!" She cried, but instead of getting upset, Luana gave her an understanding smile.
"Maya, no disrespect to your Papá but finally here's a man that looks at me the way... well, the way Ray looks at you." She explained as she thought about how happy Ray made Maya. That and seeing her grandchildren all grown up and finding their love reminded Luana of those days when she was their age and she first fell in love with Maya's father. She honestly believed that she was feeling that again with Jack. When she heard that, Maya finally seemed to get it.
If Jack did make Luana happy, then she was happy for her.
She was glad that Luana could find love again at her age and after she lost her husband. But if Jack hurt her mother, there would be nowhere on Earth he could hide from her and her siblings.
"That's great Mamá, I-I'm glad to see you looking so happy." Maya smiled in understanding and the two embraced. The moment was short-lived, however, when Ray suddenly burst into the apartment, looking both uncomfortable and concerned.
"Hey, Luana, I don't want to cause any problems between you and Jack but he's out there smoking a cigar." He said and Luana growled in annoyance and excused herself to go and find him and take the cigars away. Once he was sure that Luana was gone, Ray turned to his wife. "We gotta talk about that Jack guy."
"Yeah, you know what, I guess you were right, as long as she's happy that's all that matters." She smiled as she started cleaning up the empty wine glasses.
"No, no, Maya, the guy had nothing, except expensive taste," Ray told her with worry. "Who do you think is paying for everything? Your mother!" He exclaimed, but Maya wasn't that worried. Her mother was in love, but she wasn't an idiot. She had always been a good judge of character and if Jack was taking her for a ride and her money, she would probably kill him.
"So what if she wants to spend her money on him; it's her prerogative." Maya shrugged, but Ray wouldn't let it drop.
"Maya you don't get it! This guy's taking her for a ride, he's using her, and I'm worried about her!" He exclaimed, but Maya was not stupid. She could see through Ray's little act. Ray may have been a good man, but she could read him like a book. There was something else going on.
"Alright, what's going on?" She demanded and after a moment Ray finally dropped the act.
"THIS GUY'S BEEN SPENDING ALL OF OUR INHERITANCE!" He shouted and Maya was shocked. She reckoned that Ray was working some agenda, but she didn't think it was this.
"Our's? Don't you mean MY inheritance?" That was all she could say to that.
"Look, whatever she has it doesn't matter, I don't want him to get his hands on it! I was kinda counting in that money for us!" He shouted, getting more and more frustrated. Maya could only roll her eyes at his overreaction.
"Well, we have our investment accounts." She replied, but the guilty look on Ray's face told her otherwise. "We have our bonds." She added but Ray winced. "Do we have our IRA?" She glared and her expression went murderous when he regretfully shook his head.
"Baby, where do you think the money came for the new septic tank? Or Nya's braces? Or when the Giant Dragons lost the game?" He asked, growing more and more scared for his life with each passing second. It took Maya a few minutes and many deep breaths to calm herself before she ripped Ray to shreds.
"Ok... I get it, we spent a little." She dismissed, not wanting the night to be ruined yet.
"No, we spent a lot; and that money was someday going to be like our safety net!" He cried and Maya had had enough.
"Ok, first of all, that money belongs to my Mamá and she can do whatever she wants with it and you're not going to say a word to her." She snarled with her eyes flashing yellow and after a moment, Ray nodded. "Secondly, have you completely forgotten my other siblings or all of their kids? Because I seriously doubt we are first in line to get that inheritance." She reminded him and he nodded again, having forgotten about that. "Lastly, starting tomorrow I will be handling this family's finances!" She growled, but Raya didn't seem too bothered by that.
"Knock yourself out, but there isn't that much to manage." He shrugged and headed for the bathroom with Maya glaring daggers at his retreating back...
The dinner was soon on the table and everyone dug in. With Cole and Jack at the table, the food didn't last long. It was almost time for dessert when their downstairs neighbors suddenly started blasting loud music. Yes, the Smith family and their guests had enhanced hearing. But when they bought the apartment, Ray, and Maya had spent a fair bit of money to make their home as soundproof as possible. So for them to be able to hear the music from downstairs meant that it was very loud.
They tried to ignore it at first, but Maya soon lost her patience and went down to tell them to turn it down.
Jack offered to go with her as back up and it would give them a chance to get to know each other. Maya agreed, leaving her mother, her husband, and the teens alone in the apartment. While Luana was relaxing on the couch, the teens were still sitting around the dining table, talking as Jay prepared a bottle. Mandy had napped while they had eaten but she was due to wake up soon so Jay was getting a fresh bottle and some baby food ready.
As everyone was doing their own thing, Ray suddenly approached from the bathroom, looking worried, uncomfortable, and irritated all at once.
He wanted to keep his promise to his wife, but the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't stay silent. He mentally begged to every God he could name that Maya wouldn't murder him for this.
"So... that Jack, he's... uh, he's a real catch huh?" He stammered nervously as he sat next to his mother-in-law.
"Tell me about it." Luana giggled like a schoolgirl talking about her new crush. Ray nodded and cleared his throat, hoping that he didn't look as nervous and uncomfortable as he felt on the inside.
"You know, I was thinking and you were married to somebody for over forty years, don't you wanna get out there and play the field?" He tried suggesting casually, praying that she didn't think he was a weirdo. Instead, Luana gave Ray a confused and done look.
"Ray, I'm seventy-one, how many players do you think are on the field?" She asked sharply. "Besides, Jack takes me places I've never been."
"But you could go anywhere you want by yourself, half-price with a senior bus pass." He chuckled awkwardly as he gulped leftover wine.
"I meant in bed." She smirked and the wine Ray had just drank almost sprayed out all over the table, but he managed to hold it in. "I'll tell you a little secret, Maya's Papá may have been a wonderful man, but Ray." She scowled as she held up her pinky finger and Ray suddenly felt even more uncomfortable when he realized what she meant. "Don't tell Maya I said that."
"Y-Yeah... I, uh, I can't see that ever coming up in conversation." He muttered as he tried not to gag or vomit at the thought, regretting even trying to talk to her, but he couldn't turn back now. "B-But if you think about it, isn't it hard having to pay for everything?"
"I don't mind." Luana shrugged and Ray was starting to get desperate.
"I know you don't, b-but instead of throwing that money away on Jack you could be using it on your grandkids." He suggested but was a little shocked when his mother-in-law suddenly burst out laughing.
"Those kids are your headache! I'm spending it on me."
"But listen, Luana, you know, your husband worked hard his whole life, do you think he would want you spending his money on another man? I mean, this guy Jack is probably only after your cash." He shouted and the apartment froze. Jay almost dropped the bottle and Cole was stiff as a statue as Kai and Nya's head turned to stare wide-eyed at Ray. To hear their Dad say that so blatantly was a surprise. Luana was hurt. Yes, she knew that she and Ray didn't like each other at first, but she thought the man was over that.
It made her wonder if she had always been known as the rich granny to him.
Her eyes suddenly held a fierceness none of them had ever seen. Ray's brain seemed to catch up with what he had just said, but it was far too late.
"You think the only reason a man would be with me is that I'm paying him?" Luana growled and Ray knew nothing he said would make this right. At his lack of response, Luana's eyes turned a burning glowed and most of her veins darkened. Everyone was scared that she was about to wolf out. "Puedes ir al infierno; ¡¿Y por qué tendrías que depender de mí para el dinero de todos modos?! ¡¿Qué clase de hombre es usted?!" She shouted in Spanish before storming out of the apartment.
Cole and Jay shared confused looks.
Nya and Kai were shocked by their grandmother's outburst but they understood why she said that. Ray didn't know what she said, not knowing a lot of Spanish, but he didn't care. That settled it in his mind. If Luana ever got sick and none of her other kids wanted to deal with her, they were going to put her in a home...
Thankfully for everyone, it didn't take long for Maya and Jack to get the downstairs neighbors to shut up their music and to come back home. None of the teens said anything to Maya about what Luana and Ray had said to one another. Kai and Nya wanted their father to live to see their graduation. To their surprise, Luana didn't say anything either. Given how much she disliked Ray, everyone, Ray included, figured that she would jump at the chance to complain and rant about her son-in-law.
Yet throughout the entire dessert, she didn't say anything to Maya or Jack.
They all figured that she either loved her daughter too much to cause upset, she didn't want to ruin the evening, or she was just waiting for the opportunity to do as much damage as possible. But the older woman was completely hiding it. As Maya was serving the large tarta de Santiago and everyone took a slice, Luana kept giving Ray nothing but dirty looks. She was also carrying her purse and clutching it tightly as if she was on the bad side of town and was about to be mugged.
"Mamá, you can put your purse down, I think it'll be safe." Maya smiled, but it dropped at the harsh glare Luana gave her.
"Oh, are you sure? I understand that there are people here who are only after my cash." She snarled, casting a hateful look to Ray as she made a point of sitting as close to Jack as she possibly could. It didn't take her long to put two and two together and Maya gave Ray an angry look. She chose not to say anything at the moment, deciding to wait until everyone left to chew her husband out for what he said to her mother. As Maya and her husband cut the cakes and handed out the slices, Ray noticed Nya feeding the baby.
They had grabbed Nya's old high chair for the baby to use as they fed her.
"Who loves her carrots? That's right, Mandy loves her carrots!" The teen cooed as the baby giggled ate everything that was on the spoon.
"You're so good with her." Jay smiled warmly as he wiped Mandy's mouth.
"Well it's easy, she is so well-behaved." The noirette female smiled lovingly at the young child. Ray and Maya shared a look before Maya nodded and Ray snuck over behind the teens. Everyone else watched in confusion as Ray, unbeknownst to Jay or Nya, allowed his eyes to turn yellow, the veins in his face darkening, and his teeth sharpening. He then started making all kinds of different, scary faces at the baby, causing her to start crying loudly.
"Oh, there the baby goes again!" Ray exclaimed as his features returned to normal before his daughter and her boyfriend noticed. "What are you gonna do?" He asked rhetorically as Nya picked Mandy out of her highchair and started lightly bouncing and shushing the crying infant.
"I guess you get used to it, but you never really do," Maya replied very dramatically, but they were both surprised and a little bit horrified when Mandy suddenly stopped crying and was giggle lightly at Nya, who was smiling at her success of calming the baby down. Kai and Cole almost laughed at Ray's defeated look. Luana looked happy that Ray had failed, and Jack looked confused at the entire situation.
"Look at this! Look at that cute, little smile!" Nya laughed lightly at her boyfriend. "I can't wait until I have a baby of my own." She added and for a split second, Ray thought his head had exploded. An image from the depths of his nightmares suddenly surfaced. It was an image of a heavily pregnant Nya sitting in the kitchen, happily munching on some ice cream. That very thought caused Ray's already thin temper to snap. Maya's way wasn't working as well as they wanted, so he had taken charge.
There was no way he was becoming a grandfather until Nya and Kai were very old and he was very dead.
"Alright, that's it! You're not hanging out with this baby anymore!" He shouted and Maya nodded in agreement, catching everyone off guard and making his stance on this matter clear. "If you want to spend time with someone in a diaper, go visit your great-aunt Yua in the home!" He exclaimed, leaving no room for argument but it seemed Nya didn't get that memo.
"What have you got against Mandy?" Nya growled at her parents.
"Well let's see; she throws up on my daughter, she won't stop crying, and oh yeah, her parents are FOURTEEN!" Ray snarled and Mandy started to whimper at all the loud noises.
"Fifteen." Jay corrected harshly as he took the baby from his girlfriend.
"You think that makes it better?" Maya growled lightly. She didn't have a serious problem with teen moms. She understood that accidents happened no matter what age you are and the teenage mothers were already dealing with the consequences so she would never harass a defenseless young girl. But she also understood that it was a public health concern and how impressionable teenagers are. Maya was a teenager once upon a time and so was Ray.
Teenage mothers had higher risks of living on lower incomes, lower educational achievements, difficulties with housing, and family conflicts when compared to their peers.
Teenage mothers were also more likely to be socially isolated. Teen pregnancies could also carry extra health risks to both the mother and the baby. Often, teens didn't get prenatal care soon enough, which could lead to problems later on. They had a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby could include premature birth and low birth weight. By now, Luana had had enough and stood up to get everyone's attention.
"Look, just because you and Ray decided that you had to get married doesn't mean this baby's parents do." She glared and everyone froze. Ray and Maya were horrified as they stared at Luana as if she just pulled the pin on a grenade. Kai and Nya were shocked and were looking back and forth between their grandmother to the parents while their boyfriends looked around in confusion and concern.
"W-What'd you mean they had to get married?" Nya stuttered and Luana's eyes widened, being under the thought that the teens already knew. Seeing that Luana wasn't going to answer
"You wanna take this one?" Ray all but begged his wife and with a heavy sigh, Maya sat her children down and explained everything. To say Kai and Nya were shocked by the truth was an understatement. They just learned that their parent's marriage and their family were the results of an accidental pregnancy when Ray and Maya were eighteen, which resulted in the birth of the twins right after their wedding. Ray could vividly remember Maya showing him the positive pregnancy test and him immediately dropping to his knees and proposing as they both cried.
"So we were an accident?" Kai asked after Maya had finished explaining, and the parents nodded. "Then what's with all this crap you've been feeding us about not having sex until after you're married?! Or how you guys waited and how it was even more special?!" The brunette shouted, but neither of them could think of a response.
"So, are there any other big secrets you've been keeping from us? Jail time? Previous marriages?" Nya glared hatefully at them.
"How are we supposed to know? They've been lying to us all our lives!"
"Ok, we didn't tell you but it's only because we didn't want you both to make the same mistake we made." He glared but the siblings scoffed at this. "Listen, I know what I'm talking about! One minute I had my whole life in front of me, the next thing you know I had a family and I'm stuck at home with your mother and two screaming kids! I can't even do the things I enjoy! I'd be more specific about it but at this point, I can't even remember what they were!" He shouted, but that was a lie.
Before Kai and Nya were born, Ray was a very different man.
He used to like going for a run or a brisk walk, having a luxurious shower without a kid banging on the door asking him when he was done, or shopping for only himself. Sometimes he liked the quiet things like sitting in a coffee shop and reading a magazine, watching a film, or listening to music that he wanted to listen to. The thing he missed the most, however, was sleeping in without any young children shaking him awake and demanding things.
It wasn't an exciting life, but Ray still loved it.
These things weren't as much of a problem now, but it had taken almost twenty years of his life to get here. Kai and Nya shared looks, unable to recall a time their father was this angry. By now Jay and Cole had taken Maddie and migrated into Kai's bedroom to avoid the fight since it was the furthest from the living room. Luana and Jack were watching this argument as if it was the most entertaining thing since reality TV.
"So maybe now you guys will understand why I get so upset when I hear you say things like how you wish you had a baby." Ray finally finished, a little out of breath from his rant. "I just don't want you to end up miserable like me." He added and behind him, Maya looked like she had just been smacked in the face. Was Ray truly miserable and thought all these years together and their children were a huge mistake?
"Well, we aren't as stupid as you two!" Nya snapped and with that she and Kai went to find their boyfriends. Maya said nothing and let them leave and leaned against the kitchen counter as she tried to take in this new revelation about her husband. The teens were gone, but Ray was still angry and he turned to the other target of his rage.
"Way to go Granny! You sold us out because of what I said about Jack." He snarled at his mother-in-law, much to Jack's confusion, but she wasn't about to play these games with him.
"No Ray that's something you would do." She smirked as she watched the noirette's life starting to fall apart, but Jack was still confused.
"What did he say about me?"
"He said that you were a gigolo." She replied and Jack's confusion morphed into anger.
"Why? Because we have an active sex life and I let you buy things for me?" He glared and Ray and Maya shuddered in disgust at too much information. "That's it, I've had enough, let's go." He huffed and with that, the older couple grabbed their coats and made to leave.
"Don't worry, I didn't let him steal the change behind the cushions," Luana said snarkily as they left the apartment.
"He better not have, apparently that's our savings account." Maya snapped back at her, but she doubted her mother had heard her. A moment of silence fell upon the apartment, aside from the chatter coming from Kai's room until a relieved smile spread across Ray's face and he jumped onto the couch.
"Huh, after all those years of keeping that secret, I'm kinda relieved that it's out, in a way I feel better; how about you?" He asked his wife as he grabbed a slice of cake, yet Maya wasn't as relaxed or relieved as he thought.
"MISTAKE?!" She suddenly roared so loud you would have thought a gun had gone off. It was so loud it caused Ray to jump off the couch and the teens down the hall went quiet, but Maya wasn't finished yet. "You think the last eighteen years have been a mistake and that you threw your life away?! Yeah, why wouldn't I feel better?!" She shouted, feeling more hurt, sad, and angry than she ever had in her life.
"Come on Maya, you knew what I meant." He tried to dismiss her, but she wouldn't let him.
"Yeah, that you're miserable!" She snarled, and he flinched slightly. "Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this because I was under the impression that we were happy?!" She shouted, scared that everything she had known about their entire relationship was a lie.
"I am happy now! But back then I kept thinking how do I get out of this?" He admitted, not understanding why she was so upset. He thought she felt the same way he did. They hadn't intended to have a child until after college. They had only been dating for a year and had only been in college for a few months. They were young and had assumed that the pills Maya was on would prevent an unwanted pregnancy. They hadn't been ready for a child.
They hadn't even been sure if they wanted one or if they would still be together by the time college finished.
But then she had missed her period twice. She had gotten nervous and bought a pregnancy test. When they found out she was pregnant, Maya had refused to get an abortion, saying that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did. Ray didn't think he was ready for a baby, but he wouldn't just abandon Maya. It took two to make a baby and this was just as much his responsibility as it was hers. Ray's parents tried to get him to just keep his distance and just pay child support, but he refused because there was another life attached to that.
Ray loved his wife and his children, but if he was given the opportunity it has the life he had now yet when he was older, then Ray would probably consider it.
Then maybe they could have better jobs that didn't require him and Maya to be away from Kai and Nya for so long. There were times they felt as though they had missed too much of their children's childhoods.
"Then why didn't you?!"
"I didn't want to move back in with my parents." He replied, trying to lighten the mood with some humor, but it wasn't very effective. "Look, would I have planned it this way? No! Nothing I ever plan works out! I never know what I'm doing! I would think you of all people would know that by now, but I guess I was wrong." He pouted and this got a weak smile out of her. "I don't know how it happened, or when it happened, but one day I realized that I was a lucky bastard to knock you up because otherwise, I would have never gotten a woman this good to marry me and give me two beautiful, amazing kids." He said with as much honesty and heart as he could.
Maya stared into his eyes and his soul, and when she saw he meant it, she smiled and they embraced.
They still had to deal with the fallout with their kids and with Maya's mother, but that could be dealt with in the morning. For now, they would stand in the living room, hugging and being thankful for the life they had...
NEXT CHAPTER: When Cole and Kai are caught arriving drunk late at night, Ray and Maya decide to ban alcohol in the house...