Part 111
It was still dark when a shrill cry pierced the peaceful quiet of the Hunter-Green household. Neo opened his eyes, hearing his grandfather barking to know what that sound was. His curiosity quickly got the better of him and he put on his slippers and went out to the living room.
Johnny was racing to the fridge and getting into a grocery bag on the counter. Ryan was holding something while Klaus looked on at them in confusion.
"What? Where did you two get a baby? You didn't have a baby last night," Klaus asked, not seeing Neo.
Ryan laughed. "Where do you think? We think she's Neo's sister. What else could we do? We had to adopt her. I mean, she's his sister. They should be together."
"My sister?" Neo asked, announcing he was awake.
Ryan and Johnny both turned. "Neo, I'm sorry," Ryan apologized. "We didn't mean to wake you up."
He shook his head. "I have a sister?" He asked again.
Johnny nodded. "Yeah. She was left at the home a few days ago. Ms. Treble offered her to us. Because we thought… we all thought… is this okay? I know we usually involve you in things like this but we didn't have time."
"Can I meet her?" Neo asked as he went over to Ryan.
The tiger sat in a dining room chair, bringing the baby down to his level. "What do you think?" He asked as the boy examined her. "Should we keep her? I mean, if you don't want to, we can take…"
"No! No!" He cried out with alarm, earning a teasing smile from his sillier dad. "She can stay. What's her name?"
"Noelle," Ryan said. The cub looked up at her brother with awe, forgetting her needs for a brief moment. Until Johnny brought the bottle of lukewarm formula. Then she started shrieking again.
Neo covered his sensitive ears. "She's loud."
The three men laughed in unison while Ryan took the bottle and offered the tip to Noelle. She took the nipple and started sucking, her eyes returning to her brother.
Johnny hugged Neo. "Yes, she is very loud. But it'll be alright. We got an idea to muffle the sound. We're going to go baby shopping later. How do you feel about helping us pick out the stuff for her nursery?"
"Okay, I can do that," he said. He watched as the baby ate, her eyes locked with his. "I have a sister. I can't wait to tell Sarah!"
Ryan nodded. "We could invite her to come with us. We were already thinking of asking Rosita and Meena. Meena might like to start looking at stuff and Rosita will know what all we need." He saw Neo yawning. "But it's only 2:30. You should go back to sleep."
He shook his head. "What if Noelle needs me?"
They laughed again. Johnny smiled. "She'll definitely need you tomorrow but it would be better if you were well-rested. So let's go back to bed." He took his son's hand and led him back to his bedroom. "Where were we?" He picked up their book.
"They had just gotten to Rivendell. Frodo was hurt," Neo said and Johnny nodded.
"Yes, you're right," he sat back in his chair. "'What happened at the Ford?' said Frodo. 'It all seemed so dim somehow; and it still does.'"
Neo closed his eyes and let his father's voice put him back to sleep, dreaming of elves and hobbitses.
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The next morning, Eddie was up before Gunter. He kissed his sleeping lover gently before getting up to get dressed.
Downstairs, Jerry was already in the kitchen making coffee and breakfast. He purred when he felt Eddie pet his head gently in greeting. "Good morning."
Eddie smiled at him. "Good morning. What's on the schedule for today?" He asked.
Jerry opened an app on his phone. "Until the meeting at the theater at 3, nothing." He said.
Eddie helped himself to a cup of coffee. "Great. I saw a text in the group chat when I got up. Johnny and Ryan invited all of us to go to the mall. Apparently, they have a surprise."
The cat nodded. "Sounds good. I wonder what it could be?" He dished up some eggs and turkey sausage on a couple of a plates just in time for Gunter to join them.
The affectionate hog kissed Jerry on the forehead and Eddie full on the mouth. "I wonder what it could be. But it'll be a great time to get Sarah some new clothes. Thanks for breakfast, Jerry."
He smiled at them. He liked the guys. They were very kind and affectionate. They made him feel special. It just… wasn't quite what he wanted for himself. But he would enjoy it until he found what he did want.
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"They did what?!" Meena all but screamed when Ash surprised her the next morning.
Ash nodded. "We weren't home for five minutes and they were there. They know where we live and they were obviously watching for us to get home! Thanks, Alphonso." She said when a cup of hot coffee and a freshly-made stack of waffles appeared before her. The twins were already eating a small mountain of waffles each. They had been confused upon waking but just accepted that their mommy knew best.
"That sounds pretty scary. Are you okay?" Alphonso asked.
She nodded again. "Yeah, and we called the police and reported them for stalking and harassment but we clearly can't go back there… I'm not going back there." She looked over at Tyler. "I guess… it's time to find a new place. I mean, eventually they're going to need their own rooms anyway."
Tyler thought about it. "My condo is only a one-bedroom… I'll be there for you no matter where we go."
"Hey, there's a condo, in the building next to ours, that's for sale," Meena suggested. "It's a three-bedroom. And Tyler could sleep at his place and still help out."
Ash looked at Tyler who only gave a small, halfhearted grin. "Yeah, that could work…" he said. He could stay in his apartment again and be more accessible for helping Alphonso develop recipes.
"You're always welcome to stay with us," she said. "Spend the night, move in… if you want to." Maybe he would want his privacy again. She was doing well and she was more comfortable with parenting the kids then she was when she first adopted them.
His smile became a little more genuine. "Yeah… you know… we could almost go ahead and make my apartment into our work space, Alphonso. Test kitchen and home office."
His best friend chuckled. "That would work well. I certainly won't want to be taking up our home kitchen when the baby comes. We could also just leave the ice cream makers out." As it was, the elephant was constantly putting them away just to get them back the next day to make more ice cream for the truck. It was too late to keep Tyler from getting in too deep now. He was already in over his head. He just wished the orangutan would realize it and do something about it.
Ash nodded. "Hey kids, would you like to move down here? It would be more room, you'd have your own rooms. We're close to the beach."
Raquelle and Lancey exchanged a look. "Because of your mommy and daddy?" She asked, showing that she had been listening to the adult conversation. "Do you not like them?"
She sighed. "Raquelle, not everyone is lucky enough to have parents that really love them. Some don't have any parents at all, some have parents who… only see them as a burden. I was a burden on my parents. And they threw me out as soon as the law said they could. Now that I'm successful with a starter family of my own, they're suddenly, mysteriously interested in being my parents. I am certainly not letting them anywhere near you." She promised. "But would you be okay living here? We'd be closer to Aunt Meena and Uncle Alphie."
Lancey clapped. "And I can help Uncle Alphie in the kitchen." He said eagerly.
The elephant laughed. "You certainly can. But you have to promise that you won't come over by yourself. An adult should always be with you." He advised.
Ash nodded. "Agreed, especially until my parents stop harassing me. I don't trust them not to try and take you away from me."
Tyler smiled. "Don't worry, kiddo, I'm happy to walk with you."
The porcupine was about to thank him when her phone and Meena's phone both beeped. "Hey, it's a group chat from Johnny. He and Ryan are inviting us all to come to the mall this morning. They have a surprise."
Meena read the rest. "Meet at the food court on the second floor at 10. Wonder what's going on?"
Ash shrugged. "No clue but it's a good chance to do some shopping. We didn't bring anything except for a few changes of clothes. But I'm afraid to go back. They're not acting rationally."
"Don't worry, they won't come near you," Alphonso promised. "You should tell Clay. Bet he would know what to do."
She shook her head. "No. I appreciate him and everything. But I'm 25 years old now. I want to handle this myself. I don't know why I'm so afraid. I know any one of you could easily throw them across the parking lot." They all laughed. "I'll call the Sales office though. See if they can point me in the right direction."
Tyler nodded. "Maybe we can go at night to get the rest of your belongings. Maybe the landlord can arrange a police patrol so we can get in and out without dealing with them." He took her hand. "It's okay to be afraid. Like you said, they're not acting rationally. You kind of have to be wary because you have no way of knowing what they're going to do."
Meena nodded. "Tell Clay and Mr. Green too. We should all go. I know you want to deal with them yourself but they're not acting like normal people act." She took Ash's hand. "Please, tell them, be safe."
Ash could understand where her best friend was coming from. Meena was the sister she always wanted when she was younger. "I'll think about it."
Alphonso looked up as his phone began ringing. He looked at the caller ID. "It's Pastor John, I promised that I'd have a decision for him…"
Meena nodded. "Do you?"
He nodded. "I think I do…" He thought about his dreams from the night before.
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He sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, reading his Bible. Except he wasn't sure when he'd gotten up and came down. More importantly, the words in the book seemed almost fluid.
"Always reading that Bible of yours, even when you're dreaming," a gentle voice asked with amusement.
Alphonso jumped and looked beside him at a koala with mirth shining in his blue eyes. "Who? Mr. Moon?" He asked.
Buster nodded. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. You know, when we first got to Redshore last year, Meena was terrified of singing a love ballad and even having a kiss onstage. She told me she'd never even had a boyfriend before. Who could know that she would meet her soulmate?" He chuckled.
The elephant-bull smiled at the memory. "She talks about you. A lot. She misses you."
"Meena is… she's like a daughter to me. I miss her too. I miss all of them. But… anyway, the reason I'm here…" He looked at the big book, redirecting the conversation. "I sense you're having a bit of a conundrum and you need some guidance."
Alphonso sighed. "I've been asked to be the Youth Pastor for our church. This is something that I've wanted to do. Ever since… but… I would have to leave Meena for twelve weeks in order to get the degree I need. I just… don't know. Maybe I'm being selfish. She's pregnant and… She's so supportive but…"
Buster nodded. "Twelve weeks is a long time but at the same time, Meena knows all about having a dream. She knows what it is to want something like this. And she'd never forgive herself if she was the reason you didn't take this chance. This is an investment in your future which means it's an investment in your family."
"But… if something happened to her or the baby while I'm gone, I'd never forgive myself," Alphonso argued.
"Meena has a lot of friends here to help take care of her. And I'm always watching over her and your baby," the koala promised him. "The only thing you really need to ask is… do you feel called to be a youth pastor? Do you WANT to do this?"
Alphonso thought about it. "I made some terrible mistakes in my teens. Mistakes that… cost a little girl her life. I want… to be a Youth Pastor so that I can reach other troubled teens and children."
"To prevent it from happening to others if it's in your power," Buster clarified. "Meena will be alright. If you want to do this. Trust me. If this is your dream, then say yes." A small hand reached out to touch his shoulder. "We have a motto in the New Moon troupe. Dream big dreams…"
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Alphonso sighed and answered the phone. "Hey Pastor John. Oh, it was a lovely trip, thank you for asking. And thank you for helping Miss Tibault to get settled. Yes, I have made my decision…. I will take the course in Arizona. Yes, thank you. Thank you so much for this opportunity and I'll do my best." He hung up the phone. "Dream big dreams." He smiled at Meena.
Ash and Meena both gave him a shocked expression. "Where did you hear that?" Meena asked.
He went to refill his coffee. "It's crazy but I had a dream last night. I don't know if it was real but he told me that if it's my dream then I need to go for it and he promised that you and our baby would be alright while I'm gone. And he said 'dream big dreams'."
Ash felt her lip wobble. "That's his motto. Our motto. One of them, we have two."
Meena smiled through teary eyes. "It has to be real. Where else could you have heard it?" She asked, hugging him. She wanted the dreams to be real. To take comfort that he wasn't really gone. "He's right. I'll be alright here." She promised him.
"Yeah," Tyler said. "We'll be here for her."
"The twins and I could help Meena while you're gone if we're going to be living here," Ash pointed out.
Meena nodded. "And I can call Mom, Grandpa or Grandma."
Alphonso hugged her close. Tyler and Ash shared a chuckling glance. "Come on, kids, let's get ready for the mall." Tyler said. "Bet I can beat you to the tub." He teased, inciting the twins to run for the door.
Meena looked at Ash. "So have you told Tyler that you like him?" She asked.
The porcupine's mouth fell open. "What? What do you mean?"
"Ash, you're my best friend. I can tell you have feelings for him," she pressed. "You should tell him."
Ash blushed. "What? I don't like him in that way… I don't think I do…"
"So why'd your face go white when the possibility of Tyler living in his place again?" The elephant smiled.
She bit her lip. "Well, um, the kids… They just lost their daddy. Tyler helps fill that void for them a bit… They'd be upset if he wasn't there."
Meena tilted her head. "And you wouldn't be? Besides he'd be just a building away. Are you sure that's the only reason?"
Ash thought about it, blushing even brighter. "I mean, he's a great guy. He's been there for me since Lance died. He's so sweet and… maybe… maybe I do have feelings. And I know I'm ready to move on, it's what he wanted but… I don't know. What if I'm just rebounding? Rebounds rarely last. And then if it goes wrong, I've lost a really good friend and they lose their uncle."
"Or… and hear me out, it goes right and he gets promoted from Uncle to stepdad. He could even adopt them and become their legal dad, if they wanted that," Meena reasoned. "Look, this last year has taught me something. Life is short. We are not guaranteed tomorrow."
Thinking back, Ash realized she was right. She could have been married to Lance for much longer if she hadn't been so overly-cautious. "I guess part of the issue is the kids. For one, it's hard to get time alone and… what if they're not ready to see me dating someone else?"
"You need to talk to him about it but then you should maybe talk to them," Meena suggested. "See what they think, you might be surprised. Why not let them stay here tonight. You and Tyler can go out and have his apartment to yourselves."
Ash nodded. "Maybe I should… you're right… I have to seize the day, carpé diem." She hugged her best friend.
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In the hardware store, Glenn was helping his dad to stock the shelves when his cellphone beeped a few times. He opened the text and smiled. "Hey, Dad… would it be okay if… if I went to the mall with Porsha this morning?"
"Going out again?" The staffordshire terrier asked with a chuckle. "Alright. Would you mind taking Lia with you? The two of you can pick out a gift for your mother." He offered the boy his card.
Glenn nodded. "Sure, Dad. Is there anything else you guys need since we'll be out?"
He shook his head. "No, son. You and Lia just have fun."
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AN: Sorry this one took so long. I was trying to figure out how to work-in a request. I do take requests if the request fits into the story.