Part 21A ******************** Maria breezed through the double doors of the Crashdown, placing her sunglasses on the top of her head as she made a beeline for the back booth that the girls had occupied. “Ladies, ladies, ladies.....let the fun begin, cos Maria Deluca-Guerin is back home!” She slid into the booth, practically glowing. “Look at you, don’t you look gorgeous.” Isabel picked up a strand of Maria’s blonde hair, noticing how it had seemed to have a richer color. Maria grinned wildly, exposing all of her teeth. She held out her arms, tilting her head to the side. “So whatcha guys think? Does married life agree with me?” All of the girls giggled, nodding their heads. “Oh, most definitely.” Maria reached over the table, squeezing Courtney’s hand in hers. “Three down, and one to go.” She winked, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “How cool is it going to be that you’re gonna officially be part of the family in less than a few weeks?” Courtney was just a ball of giddiness as she let out a breath. “I can’t believe that Kyle and I are finally gonna get married.” She sighed. “Gosh, it seems just like yesterday that I would watch him with you guys and wished that he would even look my way once.” Liz shook her head. “Yeah, well I don’t know how you went through all that time, not knowing that Kyle had this huge crush on you. He was so obvious about it,” she laughed. Isabel made a face at Liz as she chuckled. “Well if I recall correctly, you and Max had that whole not realizing that you guys were madly in love with each other thing when you guys first met.” She made a hand gesture, letting out a dramatic sigh. Liz stuck out her tongue at Isabel, making everyone laugh.   Maria drummed her fingers against the table, looking each girl on the face. “Ok, first things first. How are the munchkins doing?” Courtney’s eyes lit up as she started telling her story. “Oh, Kyle has been trying to teach the boys the teapot song.” Her soft laughter echoed, as she continued. “They can’t quite do it, but they love making Kyle do it, and you know how he’s a sucker for little kids. All they need to do is work the lower lip and he’s a goner.” They all chuckled at the sight of Kyle continuously doing the teapot song for the boys. Liz slapped her hand down, laughing. “Well, Noah’s been getting really impatient for Leah to get here. He’s started doing this thing, where he like sits next to me, and wraps his arms as far as they’ll go around my waist and has this whole conversation with Leah.” She gushed as she recalled the scene in her head. “He tells her stories about everyone, but you know, they all eventually lead back to Jade.” She waved her hand in the air. “It’s always Jade this, Jade that.” She almost doubled over in giggles as she continued. “I told him that he always talked so much about Jade, that I was starting to get jealous. And my little baby just blushed. He looked at me with those big round eyes and said, ’Don’t be jealous momma, I still love you lots.’” Maria’s mouth turned into an O shape. “Aww.....that’s just so sweet. You know those two are like a match made in heaven.” Isabel grinned as she spoke up. “Well Alex came home from work early the other day, and he got me these.” She dug into her purse, pulling out a pair of baby sneakers. “I didn’t know whether to laugh, or gush at how cute he was being. I actually had to remind him that we have nine months to go- Maria’s eyes widened. She held her hand up. “Hold up....Back the truck up...” She started moving her hands back and forth as if she were guiding a truck that was backing up. “Beep...beep....beep....” Liz’s face was a mixture of horror and laughter as she stopped Maria. “Why are you beeping?” Maria rolled her eyes. “It’s a metaphor of sorts.” Isabel nodded thoughtfully. “You know, Alex does that too.” She waved her hands around in the air. “You know the whole beeping thing and actions.” Courtney and Liz leaned their heads against each other as the laughed loudly. Maria just dismissed them with a wave of her hand. “Okay, enough of that. What’s this thing with baby sneakers and nine months?” She raised an eyebrow at Isabel, as she crossed her arms. “Miss Isabel, is there something you’re not sharing with the class?” Isabel tugged on her bottom lip, shrugging her shoulders. “Well....” Maria scoffed, pretending to be hurt. “I can’t believe you. Why didn’t you call me?” Isabel laughed. “What on your honeymoon? I could see that going real well.” She held her hand up to her ear, pretending it was a phone. “Hello, Michael? Yeah, this is Isabel. I know it’s your honeymoon, but it’s imperative that I talk to Maria and tell her the important news, that I am with child.” Maria couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore. “With child? Girl, where did you even come up with that one?” Before Isabel could get out a word, Jeff came out of the kitchen, balancing four plates in his arms. “Alright, we’ve got a Sigourney Weaver for Courtney with Saturn rings instead of fries. A Will Smith for Maria. Blood of Alien Smoothie, and a space dog with Space fries for Isabel. And lastly, a double Sigourney Weaver, a Men In Black Cherry pie, and a glass of milk for Liz and Leah.” Liz scratched the side of her head. “Thanks, dad, but I didn’t order milk.” Jeff winked at her as he ruffled her hair like she was still a little girl. “I know, but I couldn’t help myself.” He kissed the top of her head. He tipped his head to the girls. “Enjoy lunch!” Part 21B **************** Kyle handed Alex a copy of the brochure, holding his breath. “So, whatdya think? You think Courtney will like it?” Alex grinned. “You’re kidding me right? You didn’t just ask me that question, right?” Michael reached over the picnic table, looking over the information. His lips turned down, as he nodded. “Wow, this is some honeymoon.” He scratched the non-existent stubble on his chin. “I didn’t realize that you were making so much at the police station.” Kyle took the brochure back, stuffing it into his shirt pocket. “I’m not. I just figured that Courtney and deserved to have a few weeks of fun in the sun without having anything to worry about.” “So where are you guys leaving the twins?” Alex asked, trying to be nonchalant. Kyle smirked. “I know how much you and Isabel wanna test drive being parents and all, but Court’s parents are gonna be taking them. Although I don’t know how Courtney and I are going to go through days on end not being with them. They’ve been with us since.....since everything, well, it just feels like something’s missing when they’re not there.” Michael nodded thoughtfully. “Well it isn’t like you guys are going away forever. You and Courtney will have your fun in the sun.” He winked. “Trust me, the chicks dig it.” Alex laughed, as he slapped Michael on his shoulder. “My friend, you’re a married man now. Talking that way is a big no-no. If you do, you’ll gain a new friend in your couch.” Michael made a face at Alex, his laughter rumbling from his chest. “You seem like you know that from personal experience, Alex. You telling me that Iz’s hormones are off-whack already?” Alex grinned, wagging his finger at Michael, his head shaking back and forth. “Nice try, but you ain’t kicking me off my high.” “Darn!” All eyes turned to Max as he continued to fiddle with his knitting sticks. Looking perplexed, Kyle tilted his head to the side, his lips curled into a smile. “How’s the knitting going, Max?” Max let out a heavy sigh as he held out the mittens he was trying to knit. “Well, I can’t get them to be the same size.” He held out the uneven sized mittens, frowning. “Hey, maybe you’ll start a trend. If not, you know that Leah can always grow into the bigger one.” Michael joked. The deep rumble of Max’s laugh filled the air around them, causing the other guys to laugh with him. *************** Damian was practically swimming in the sandbox. He took a handful of sand, holding it out for Dexter. “For you, brodder.” Dexter grinned his thanks, taking the sand in his hands before throwing it up in the air, both of them laughing. Noah stuck his foot in the circle, as Jacob began counting off. “Inie meenie, minie, moe. Catch a tiger by it’s toe. If he hollers, let him go, inie meenie, minie, moe.” Jade pushed her way into the circle, sticking her foot in. “I wanna play, I wanna play.” Jacob scowled at her, his arms coming to rest across his chest. “You can’t play, you’re a girl.” Jade’s hands came to rest on her waist, her eyes boring into Jacob’s. “So, doedn’t mean I can’t play. Anytin’ you can do, I can do betta!” Jacob rolled his eyes. “Tag is a boys game. You should go and play with your barbies.” He turned to his friends, making silly faces, pretending to imitate how girls played with their dolls. Jade’s head swung from side to side, her soft curls bouncing around her face. “Yeah, well I don’t even got barbies.” Jacob held his hand to his stomach, pretending to roll over in laughter. “Then what kind of a girl are you?” Jade could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as the boys mocked her, but she stood up taller, nonetheless. “Oh yeah? Well- Noah pushed Jacob away from Jade, his handsome little face marred by a deep frown. “Leave her alone, Jacob.” Jacob’s scowl deepened, as Noah stood up for Jade. He shrugged his shoulders. “Noah, you wanna play with that girl instead of us?” Noah stood up straighter, nodding his head. “Yeah.” He took Jade’s hand in his, pulling her away from the group. “Let’s go.” Jacob stood there, stunned to the core as he watched Noah walk away with Jade. He never figured that he would leave and play with a girl instead of them. “Well fine, go then! We didn’t like you anyways.” He held his hands to his ears, his head flopping from side to side as he began calling out to their retreating forms. “Noah and Jade, sittin’ in a tree. K, I, S, S, I, N, G!” Jade was about ready to turn around and give Jacob more than a piece of her mind, when Noah pulled her back. “Forget about them.” He gave her a shy smile as he led her to the sandbox where Damian and Dexter were playing. “You’re more fun to play wit anyway.” Jade’s eyes widened before she smiled. She quickly leaned over, giving Noah a peck on his cheek before jumping into the sandbox with the twins. “Ick!” Noah wiped his cheek where Jade had kissed him, but the smile on his lips betrayed his actions.