Part 11 ******************** Michael looked down at Maria’s blonde hair, his eyes involuntarily closing as she stepped up to ring the bell at Kyle and Courtney’s. She smelled just like cypress oil, he thought amusedly. Jade tugged on his pants leg, looking at him with wide eyes. “You ok, Mikey?” Michael opened his eyes, blushing. He kneeled down, his fingers curling in Jade’s pigtails. “I’m good, kiddo. Why do you ask?” Jade held onto the edges of her skirt, twisting it as she swayed her body from side to side. “I dunno. You looked kinda funny smellin’ ‘Ria’s hair wit your eyes closed.” Maria shifted the box of coconut cream pie in her hands, looking curiously at Jade and Michael. With a grin on her lips, she turned teasing eyes at Michael. “You were smelling my hair?” Michael fidgeted under Maria’s sparkling eyes. He scratched the side of his eyebrow, standing up. “I wasn’t....I wasn’t smelling your hair....” He crossed his arms, trying to look nonchalant, but his stance was rigid, his movements jerky, as his voice stammered a little. “Why would I......why would I wanna smell your hair?” Jade opened her mouth to disagree with him, but loud thumps came from the other side of the door, and Courtney’s muffled voice yelling, “Dexter, Damian! Come back here, you two!” Michael and Maria just exchanged looks, both of them laughing when they heard a few more thumps, and a loud yelp coming from a guy. A guy who sounded a lot like Kyle. “Who’s Dexter and Damian?” Jade asked, as her eyes flew from the door to Michael and Maria. The front door opened with a breathless Courtney, and two little boys hanging onto her legs. “Sorry, I took so long.” She tried to step aside to let them inside, but Dexter and Damian had attached themselves to her legs, and had no intention of moving. Sighing, Courtney touched the tops of their ebony colored heads. “Boys, you gotta let go for a second.” Jade jumped up and down, tugging on Michael’s hand. “Lookie, Mikey! There’s two of them.” Her eyes turned wide with awe as she stared at Dexter and Damian. They were identical twins, and the only thing that was distinguishing them apart was the different colored shirts that they were wearing. The boys looked up at Jade, smiling at her. Damian waved at her. “Hi!” Dexter, being a little shyer than his twin, attempted to disappear behind Courtney. Courtney rolled her eyes in jest, doing her best to step aside to let them inside. “Come on in.” Maria smiled as she stepped inside, her hand gently touching Dexter’s cheek. “Hiya, cutie! What’s your name?” When he didn’t answer, Courtney spoke for him. “This is Dexter. He’s a little on the shy side.” She pointed to Damian, who had already let go of her leg, and was now holding Jade’s hand as he led her into the living room. “That over there is Damian.” Michael laughed. “Where’s Kyle?” Courtney’s hand flew to her mouth. “Omigod! He’s still in the kitchen. He kinda tripped when he tried running after the boys.” Michael put his hand on Courtney’s shoulder. “I’ll go get him.” Courtney smiled her thanks. She bent down, picking up Dexter in her arms. “So, where’s your sister and her husband?” “They’re at my parents. They were going to take the boys, but Kyle insisted that we would be fine taking care of them.” Maria shook her head. “That’s just like Kyle, thinking he can do it all. You know, he thinks he knows everything after dealing with Noah and Jade as babies, but....” her voice trailed off as she eyed Damian climbing all over Michael. She chuckled, her hand coming to rest on her stomach. “I’m thinking these boys will give him a run for his money.” **************** Liz sat back in her seat, gushing to the women about how Max had been taking care of her through her bouts of morning sickness. “He’s just been the sweetest. It’s like he just knows what to say and do to make me feel better.” Maria leaned her chin on her hand. “You sure lucked out, chica. You’ve got it all. Perfect marriage, a beautiful son, and a new baby on the way.” Her eyes flew to Michael. “Me?....I can’t even get Michael to propose,” she sighed. Courtney placed her chin on Maria’s shoulder, her hand rubbing Maria’s shoulder consolingly. “He really loves you.” Liz leaned across the table, her hand gentle tapping Maria’s. “She’s right, babe.” Maria nodded sadly. “I know he does. I don’t doubt that for a second. But it just makes me sad to think that out of everyone of us, Michael and I have been together the longest, and it seems like we’re going to be the last ones to get married.” She closed her eyes, her forehead leaning onto the wooden surface of the table. “That’s even if we get married.” After staying silent for most of the conversation, Isabel’s voice piped up. “Or you could propose.” Maria’s head flew up. She looked at Isabel as if she had grown another head. “What? This isn’t the 1800’s, Maria. Women propose to guys all the time. Heck, Liz did it.” Liz grinned. “You know Maria, I think Isabel has a point. You know what they say, ’If Muhammad doesn’t come to the mountain.....’....” Isabel laughed. “You have definitely been Alex’s friend for way too long.” Liz shook her head, her hand covering her eyes as she giggled. “Yeah, well tell that to Max. He was the one that got me saying all of that junk.” Isabel looked at her brother in the living room, her eyes looking away when he looked up at her. *************** Max sat Dexter on his lap, smiling. He looked up when he felt someone’s eyes on him. He met Isabel’s gaze briefly before she looked away, pretending that she wasn’t looking at him. Alex sat beside Max, as he eyed his wife in the kitchen. “How long are the two of you gonna keep up this whole not speaking thing?” Max turned his eyes to Alex, feigning indifference. “Hey, if she’s willing to apologize, she knows where to find me.” Alex shook his head. “You guys really are twins.” “What makes you say that?” Max asked, trying his best not to sound too interested. Alex just laughed. “Well, she said exactly the same thing when I asked her.” Max scoffed. “I’m not apologizing to her. She was the one that sprung McKenzie on me like it was no big deal.” Alex just sighed, his fingers rubbing his temples. “Look, I don’t care who you think was right or wrong. All I know is that it’s eating her up, ok? She pretends like it doesn’t bother her, but it does. You know, however much you’re hurting right now, she’s hurting too.” Max pouted. “Why do I always have to be the bigger person? Why can’t she come to me for once and just apologize to me? Why do I always have to make the first move?” Alex sat silently, not knowing what to say, feeling torn. Max was his friend, and he understood what it felt like to always have to bow down first. But on the other hand, Isabel was his wife, and her feelings came first and foremost. Max wiped his palm down his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in the middle like that. I just.....can we talk about something else?” Alex nodded. “Fine, but can you just think about it?” Max titled his head, contemplating Alex’s request. He tipped his head, holding out his hand to Alex. Alex just smiled, shaking Max’s hand. Kyle’s voice drifted towards them, as he spoke with Michael. “This brings back old times. The three of us babysitting Noah for the first time.” He shook his head, laughing. The other three guys joined in the laughter as they remembered. ************* “Are you ever gonna talk to him again?” Isabel looked up from pretending to study her manicure. “Talk to who?” Liz scooted her chair closer to Isabel. “You know who. Look, I know that Max can be real stubborn, and it can be downright annoying, but if you could just overlook that, and be the bigger person...” Isabel crossed her arms, her long blonde locks flying around her shoulders. “No way. He yelled at me. He can apologize whenever he’s ready. He knows where to find me.” Liz sat up, intending to speak again when Isabel changed the subject. “Like I was saying, Maria. I think you should be the one propose to Michael.” The other three girls just silently exchanged looks, deciding not to push Isabel for the moment. **************** Jade stared at Dexter, watching as he sat quietly to himself. She looked down at her toys, then back at him. Making a decision, she picked up a few of her action figures, bringing them to Dexter. Offering a patented Deluca smile, she handed him the toys. “You can play wit these if you want.” Dexter just looked at her shyly before taking an action figure then running to the safety of one of the adult males. Jade smiled, proud of her good deed. She walked back to where Noah and Damian where building a fort out of pillows. Noah looked up from behind the pillows, pretending to scan the perimeter. He grabbed Jade’s hand quickly, pulling her into the safety of the fort. “That was close.” He said breathless, as he turned to Jade. Jade giggled, covering her mouth. She turned her head, noticing how Damian was knocking down their fort. “Damian is knockin’ down the fort,” she pointed. Noah stood up, shaking his head. “Damian, not again.” He walked towards Damian, hoping to ask him to stop, but Damian just grinned at him, continuing his task of knocking down the fort. “No more!” He held up his hands, laughing. Noah laughed, kicking a pillow out of the way. “No more fort.” ************ As everyone gathered their things to leave, Max headed towards the door to grab his family’s coats, when he ran into Isabel. They both tried to step out of the other’s way, but ended up moving the same direction as each other. “This isn’t going to work.” Max simply nodded his head, stepping aside to let Isabel pass. He didn’t offer anything more, not feeling up to having another shouting match with his sister. Isabel sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging when Max wouldn’t even look at her. She wished that the floor would just open up and just swallow her. She hated fighting with Max. She wished she wasn’t so stubborn, and just admit that it probably wasn’t the best idea to spring McKenzie on Max unexpectedly. She stepped forward, almost letting her pride get the better of her. Almost. She turned back around, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” Max’s head shot up as he heard Isabel’s words, definitely not expecting her to relent. “What?” Isabel’s voice trembled as she spoke. “I said I was sorry.” She nervously twisted her long hair in her hands, letting the strands fall across her back before repeating the process. It was a nervous habit that she possessed. “I’m sorry for bringing McKenzie to your house unannounced. It was wrong of me to assume that it would be ok with you.” Max was stunned speechless. “And most of all, I’m sorry for being such an ass and not apologizing sooner.” Max smiled. “Thank you” He shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. “And I’m sorry too. I was an ass myself.” Isabel returned his smile. “Apology accepted.” The two of them just grinned at each other. “So, are we okay now?” she asked. Max shook his head, pulling Isabel to him as he gave her a noogie. “Max!” she wailed. She elbowed him in the stomach, getting him to let go of her. Having a hard time keeping a straight face, she tried in vain to glare at him. “You are such a jerk!” Max just laughed. “Sorry, couldn’t resist....What can I say? It’s a big brother privilege.” Isabel stuck her tongue out at him, while stomping on his foot. “Ow!” he yelped. Isabel laughed heartily, running to Alex as a means of protection from Max’s retaliation. Liz linked her arm with Max’s as she laughed at their antics. “So, is it safe to assume that all’s well in the land of the Evans twins?” Max grinned at her, kissing the top of her head. “You could say that.” ************** Courtney and Kyle helped Carrie strap the twins into the back seat. “Are you sure you guys are going to be ok to drive tonight? You’re more than welcome to stay with us and just drive back tomorrow.” Chris smiled at Courtney and Kyle. “Thanks for the offer, but we’ll be fine. I wanna beat the early morning traffic.” Carrie reached out to Courtney, pulling her into a hug. “Thanks for everything, sis.” Courtney patted her back. “Call us when you get in. No matter how late it is, ok?” Carrie squeezed Courtney one last time before hopping into the car. She waved as they drove away, heading down 285 South. ************ Damian shifted in his car seat, whimpering loudly. Dexter woke up at the sound of his brother’s cry’s. He followed his twin’s footsteps, his own tears falling as he too began to fuss. Carrie slipped off her seat belt, turning around to comfort the boys. “It’s okay, boys.” Chris tugged at Carrie’s shirt. “Carrie, sit down. I can’t see.” Carrie nodded, intending to sit down, when Damian let out a wail. She turned back around, her hand soothing his leg. Chris took off his own seatbelt, trying to get Carrie to sit down. When he turned back around, he was blinded by oncoming headlights. He swerved the steering wheel, the sound of tires screeching, his family’s crying, ringing in his ears before everything went black. ************ Kyle rolled over in bed, his voice raspy when he answered the phone. “Hello?” The sound of sirens in the background filled his ears, as his dad’s voice registered over the phone. “Kyle, I need you to head down to 285 South.” Kyle sat up, rubbing at his sleep filled eyes. “Dad? What’s going?” “There’s been an accident. An SUV swerved off the side of the road trying to avoid a head on collision with a truck.” Kyle felt his heart pounding, his body finally waking as he dreaded the information he was about to ask for. “Dad..... “Just come down here, Kyle. And don’t say anything to Courtney.”