Summer Special: As Children Grow, Part 1
Written by Rosey Collins
Additional material by Jake Collins
Additional material by Jake Collins
Carl and Beth came giggling and frolicking down the stairs in the middle of the afternoon and made their way into the kitchen. Beth started making coffee, and she looked at the clock on the oven at the same time.
'Oh good Lord – Jamie'll be back any minute!' she said.
'I guess we need to work on our timing,' Carl grinned.
Beth smiled at him. 'Really? You think we'll be overtaken by that impulse often?'
'I don't see why not, since we're both going to be around the house most of the day.'
'Well, maybe... but come September, is Jamie even going to be here at night? We still don't know where he's planning on living, do we?'
'I guess if he keeps living here, he'll be around most of the day anyway,' said Carl. 'Maybe he'll stay. It's not too bad of a commute to Queens when he does have to go, is it?'
'No,' said Beth, 'but nor is it so easy that it'd be pointless moving there.'
'If he does, I guess he could still come bursting in at any time with his dirty laundry over his back.'
'Now you're not being fair. Kevin always did his own laundry when he was a student... and before that, even. Eduardo did his own as well.'
'He did, huh?' said Carl. 'I can barely remember that – it seems like a lifetime ago.'
'It's even more than a lifetime for some people,' said Beth, smiling as the front door was heard to open, followed by the sounds made by three energetic teenagers in search of refreshment.
'Hi, Mom, hi, Dad,' said James, as he wandered into the kitchen and made his way to the fridge, followed by two girls. 'So, what do you ladies want? Go-Gurt? Fruit cup? Sunny D? A little of all three?'
The two girls dumped their school satchels on the breakfast bar.
'Don't you have anything more substantial?' asked one, going to look in the fridge with James, while the other girl went over to Carl and Beth.
'Hi, guys,' she said, embracing Beth and smiling at Carl, then waving a leaflet at them. 'This is some stuff about accommodation at St John's College they gave us – I thought maybe you'd like to look at it. We can live right on campus! Affordably, too, if we go for quad rooms... well, if I do.'
'I can't imagine this house without any kids in it,' Beth sighed, taking the leaflet. 'Thank you, Chita. It's not your responsibility to give these to us, you know.'
'I know,' Conchita said cheerfully, 'but Jim would've probably forgotten.'
'Quad room, huh?' said Carl, looking suspiciously at the leaflet over Beth's shoulder. 'I assume those are single-sex?'
'Of course,' said Conchita. Then she grinned impishly and added, 'Not that it makes a difference if you're worried about your boy's honour, huh?'
'I was actually thinking about you,' said Carl. Then he looked over to where James and his friend had begun chasing each other around with Go-Gurt, and said, 'Anyway, James is into Isabel, right?'
'I think so,' said Conchita.
Carl beamed and said loudly, 'It's nice to see you again, Isabel. I'm so happy you three are all going off to college together. I guess you'll want to get in on Conchita's quad room, won't you?'
'Well,' said Isabel, 'I'll probably have a single.'
'Good idea!' said Carl. 'Then you can have plenty of privacy for... whatever you want to do,' and he grinned at James. 'Maybe you'd like a single too, Jamie. Fewer distractions – keep you on track.'
'Don't worry, Dad, I'll stay on track,' said James, 'just so long as you repay me by remembering to feed Ralph and Felix. Talking of which, that needs doing. Do you ladies want to help me?'
'Okay,' simpered Isabel, while Conchita smiled knowingly and shook her head, so James and Isabel went charging into the hallway and up the stairs without her.
'Good girl,' said Carl, giving Conchita's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. 'I think she'll be good for him.'
Conchita raised an eyebrow. 'Better than Harry, you mean?'
'Not specifically,' said Carl. 'Harry was nice too. I never had a problem with Harry.'
'Well, good,' said Conchita. 'But, um... Uncle Carl, you know Isabel pretty well by now, right?'
'Of course,' said Carl. 'You two've been friends with her for years, haven't you?'
'Yeah,' said Conchita, exchanging a look with Beth. 'Longer than you might think, actually.'
'All right, enough about Isabel,' Beth said hastily. 'It's great that you're so excited about college, Chita. Are you going to use your psych degree to be a cop like James?'
'She's not cut out to be a cop,' Carl said at once.
Conchita laughed affectionately at him. 'Oh no?'
'You're too nice,' said Carl. 'Too gentle. You'd never have the heart to arrest somebody, never mind get the evidence you need to convict them. If you're going to have anything to do with criminals, it'll be to give them a cuddle and make it all better.'
'Well,' said Conchita, smiling, 'don't you think maybe that's a good thing?'
'It'd be nice if you and Jamie did end up working together,' said Beth. 'You'd make a good trauma counsellor, honey.'
'Maybe,' said Conchita, 'but maybe not in the same place Jim's being a cop, if we're sick of each other by then. Mind you, we'd probably have to finally part ways when he moves on to his master's degree – they don't do those in counselling and stuff at St John's.'
'He's doing a master's too?' said Carl. 'Jeez, maybe there really isn't enough in the kitty for him to have a single room all that time. What does he need a master's for anyway?'
'It's in criminology and justice,' said Conchita. 'You remember, Uncle Carl – you thought it was a great idea when he told you.'
'So I did!' said Carl, puffing out his chest. 'That's exactly what a cop needs these days. It'll do Jamie good to have something over all the other kids with normal, boring old psych degrees.'
'He and Isabel are a long time feeding those mice,' Beth remarked. 'I hope they're not getting up to too much up there.'
'Why?' said Carl. 'She's legal.'
'So's James,' said Conchita.
'Oh yeah,' said Carl. 'When I started on the force it only mattered for the girl, but... yeah.'
Just then came the sound of loud feet and voices descending the stairs. Carl beamed at this, and went charging out into the hallway, leaving Beth and Conchita exchanging an uncertain look.
'Mice okay?' he asked, clapping James heartily on the back as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
'Yes, for now,' said James. 'Be careful not to crush them, Dad – they're on me.'
'Oh,' said Carl, hastily withdrawing his massive hand.
'I don't know how you can stand it!' said Isabel, who was hanging back a little way up the stairs.
'Because I love them,' James grinned up at her, 'and because they tickle. I'll come back and entertain you in a minute while Chita plays with them, Iz.'
Carl watched his son make his way to the kitchen, with two bulges appearing in various parts of his clothing at intervals. Carl then looked at Isabel and said, 'Chita playing with the mice, huh? I thought girls didn't like mice.'
'You know Chita loves animals,' said Isabel. 'Haven't you ever seen her with James's mice? She's always liked them, ever since his first pair.'
'I guess I must've missed that,' said Carl. 'He got his first pair in elementary school, you know.'
'Yeah,' said Isabel, 'I know.'
Carl smiled approvingly. 'So you two have exchanged life stories, huh?'
'Well, I, er...' Isabel began to look uncomfortable. 'We know each other pretty well, yeah.'
Carl's smile widened. 'I think that's great.'
'You... you do?'
'Absolutely.'
'You, um... you don't know me very well, though, do you?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Carl. 'I know you better than I used to know Kevin's friends. I was a lot quicker to learn your name, for one thing.'
'Wow,' said Isabel, looking rather at a loss.
For the first time in the conversation, Carl picked up on something.
'Are you okay?' he asked.
'I just realised something,' said Isabel.
'Oh?'
'Yeah. I just realised I, er... I'm not really that afraid of mice after all. Excuse me, please.'
Carl stepped aside as Isabel finished descending the stairs and made her way back to her friends.
'Oh good Lord – Jamie'll be back any minute!' she said.
'I guess we need to work on our timing,' Carl grinned.
Beth smiled at him. 'Really? You think we'll be overtaken by that impulse often?'
'I don't see why not, since we're both going to be around the house most of the day.'
'Well, maybe... but come September, is Jamie even going to be here at night? We still don't know where he's planning on living, do we?'
'I guess if he keeps living here, he'll be around most of the day anyway,' said Carl. 'Maybe he'll stay. It's not too bad of a commute to Queens when he does have to go, is it?'
'No,' said Beth, 'but nor is it so easy that it'd be pointless moving there.'
'If he does, I guess he could still come bursting in at any time with his dirty laundry over his back.'
'Now you're not being fair. Kevin always did his own laundry when he was a student... and before that, even. Eduardo did his own as well.'
'He did, huh?' said Carl. 'I can barely remember that – it seems like a lifetime ago.'
'It's even more than a lifetime for some people,' said Beth, smiling as the front door was heard to open, followed by the sounds made by three energetic teenagers in search of refreshment.
'Hi, Mom, hi, Dad,' said James, as he wandered into the kitchen and made his way to the fridge, followed by two girls. 'So, what do you ladies want? Go-Gurt? Fruit cup? Sunny D? A little of all three?'
The two girls dumped their school satchels on the breakfast bar.
'Don't you have anything more substantial?' asked one, going to look in the fridge with James, while the other girl went over to Carl and Beth.
'Hi, guys,' she said, embracing Beth and smiling at Carl, then waving a leaflet at them. 'This is some stuff about accommodation at St John's College they gave us – I thought maybe you'd like to look at it. We can live right on campus! Affordably, too, if we go for quad rooms... well, if I do.'
'I can't imagine this house without any kids in it,' Beth sighed, taking the leaflet. 'Thank you, Chita. It's not your responsibility to give these to us, you know.'
'I know,' Conchita said cheerfully, 'but Jim would've probably forgotten.'
'Quad room, huh?' said Carl, looking suspiciously at the leaflet over Beth's shoulder. 'I assume those are single-sex?'
'Of course,' said Conchita. Then she grinned impishly and added, 'Not that it makes a difference if you're worried about your boy's honour, huh?'
'I was actually thinking about you,' said Carl. Then he looked over to where James and his friend had begun chasing each other around with Go-Gurt, and said, 'Anyway, James is into Isabel, right?'
'I think so,' said Conchita.
Carl beamed and said loudly, 'It's nice to see you again, Isabel. I'm so happy you three are all going off to college together. I guess you'll want to get in on Conchita's quad room, won't you?'
'Well,' said Isabel, 'I'll probably have a single.'
'Good idea!' said Carl. 'Then you can have plenty of privacy for... whatever you want to do,' and he grinned at James. 'Maybe you'd like a single too, Jamie. Fewer distractions – keep you on track.'
'Don't worry, Dad, I'll stay on track,' said James, 'just so long as you repay me by remembering to feed Ralph and Felix. Talking of which, that needs doing. Do you ladies want to help me?'
'Okay,' simpered Isabel, while Conchita smiled knowingly and shook her head, so James and Isabel went charging into the hallway and up the stairs without her.
'Good girl,' said Carl, giving Conchita's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. 'I think she'll be good for him.'
Conchita raised an eyebrow. 'Better than Harry, you mean?'
'Not specifically,' said Carl. 'Harry was nice too. I never had a problem with Harry.'
'Well, good,' said Conchita. 'But, um... Uncle Carl, you know Isabel pretty well by now, right?'
'Of course,' said Carl. 'You two've been friends with her for years, haven't you?'
'Yeah,' said Conchita, exchanging a look with Beth. 'Longer than you might think, actually.'
'All right, enough about Isabel,' Beth said hastily. 'It's great that you're so excited about college, Chita. Are you going to use your psych degree to be a cop like James?'
'She's not cut out to be a cop,' Carl said at once.
Conchita laughed affectionately at him. 'Oh no?'
'You're too nice,' said Carl. 'Too gentle. You'd never have the heart to arrest somebody, never mind get the evidence you need to convict them. If you're going to have anything to do with criminals, it'll be to give them a cuddle and make it all better.'
'Well,' said Conchita, smiling, 'don't you think maybe that's a good thing?'
'It'd be nice if you and Jamie did end up working together,' said Beth. 'You'd make a good trauma counsellor, honey.'
'Maybe,' said Conchita, 'but maybe not in the same place Jim's being a cop, if we're sick of each other by then. Mind you, we'd probably have to finally part ways when he moves on to his master's degree – they don't do those in counselling and stuff at St John's.'
'He's doing a master's too?' said Carl. 'Jeez, maybe there really isn't enough in the kitty for him to have a single room all that time. What does he need a master's for anyway?'
'It's in criminology and justice,' said Conchita. 'You remember, Uncle Carl – you thought it was a great idea when he told you.'
'So I did!' said Carl, puffing out his chest. 'That's exactly what a cop needs these days. It'll do Jamie good to have something over all the other kids with normal, boring old psych degrees.'
'He and Isabel are a long time feeding those mice,' Beth remarked. 'I hope they're not getting up to too much up there.'
'Why?' said Carl. 'She's legal.'
'So's James,' said Conchita.
'Oh yeah,' said Carl. 'When I started on the force it only mattered for the girl, but... yeah.'
Just then came the sound of loud feet and voices descending the stairs. Carl beamed at this, and went charging out into the hallway, leaving Beth and Conchita exchanging an uncertain look.
'Mice okay?' he asked, clapping James heartily on the back as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
'Yes, for now,' said James. 'Be careful not to crush them, Dad – they're on me.'
'Oh,' said Carl, hastily withdrawing his massive hand.
'I don't know how you can stand it!' said Isabel, who was hanging back a little way up the stairs.
'Because I love them,' James grinned up at her, 'and because they tickle. I'll come back and entertain you in a minute while Chita plays with them, Iz.'
Carl watched his son make his way to the kitchen, with two bulges appearing in various parts of his clothing at intervals. Carl then looked at Isabel and said, 'Chita playing with the mice, huh? I thought girls didn't like mice.'
'You know Chita loves animals,' said Isabel. 'Haven't you ever seen her with James's mice? She's always liked them, ever since his first pair.'
'I guess I must've missed that,' said Carl. 'He got his first pair in elementary school, you know.'
'Yeah,' said Isabel, 'I know.'
Carl smiled approvingly. 'So you two have exchanged life stories, huh?'
'Well, I, er...' Isabel began to look uncomfortable. 'We know each other pretty well, yeah.'
Carl's smile widened. 'I think that's great.'
'You... you do?'
'Absolutely.'
'You, um... you don't know me very well, though, do you?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Carl. 'I know you better than I used to know Kevin's friends. I was a lot quicker to learn your name, for one thing.'
'Wow,' said Isabel, looking rather at a loss.
For the first time in the conversation, Carl picked up on something.
'Are you okay?' he asked.
'I just realised something,' said Isabel.
'Oh?'
'Yeah. I just realised I, er... I'm not really that afraid of mice after all. Excuse me, please.'
Carl stepped aside as Isabel finished descending the stairs and made her way back to her friends.
Some hours after all this, a weary-looking Kevin emerged from an elevator and started walking along a deserted hospital corridor. As he approached a glass-fronted door labelled Pharmacology Department, Lucy came out into the corridor and locked the door behind her.
'Hi, Luce,' said Kevin.
'Oh, Kev!' Lucy exclaimed, looking up and beaming at him. 'I'm so glad to see you; I hoped you'd come and find me before I had to leave.'
'Yeah, I read your text message ages ago,' said Kevin, 'but then I had to go out to an entrapment and that's where I've been for the past four hours.'
'Everything okay?' Lucy asked.
'Yeah, we got through it in the end,' Kevin said with a small smile. 'So, what's this thing you're dying to tell me?'
'Can't you guess?' said Lucy, grinning from ear to ear.
'I could guess,' said Kevin, 'but then I'd be really disappointed if I was wrong, so...'
'I took a pregnancy test this morning and it came up positive,' said Lucy. 'I'm pregnant with your baby, Kev.'
Kevin remained expressionless for a few seconds as he digested this news, then he beamed all over his face and gathered Lucy into a crushing hug.
'Hey, be careful with me,' Lucy giggled. 'I'm in a delicate condition, you know.'
'This is the best news I've ever been given, Luce,' said Kevin. 'You have no idea how much I love you right now.'
'Oh, I think I have some,' Lucy laughed.
'Let's do an ultrasound!' said Kevin, releasing Lucy but keeping his hands on her shoulders.
'You mean immediately?' said Lucy.
'Yes!' said Kevin. 'Let's do an ultrasound right now!'
'Can we do that?' Lucy asked uncertainly.
'Sure we can!' said Kevin. 'We just need to fetch a machine and find a free cubicle, which shouldn't be too difficult at this time of night.'
'Okay,' said Lucy, 'let's do it!'
'Hi, Luce,' said Kevin.
'Oh, Kev!' Lucy exclaimed, looking up and beaming at him. 'I'm so glad to see you; I hoped you'd come and find me before I had to leave.'
'Yeah, I read your text message ages ago,' said Kevin, 'but then I had to go out to an entrapment and that's where I've been for the past four hours.'
'Everything okay?' Lucy asked.
'Yeah, we got through it in the end,' Kevin said with a small smile. 'So, what's this thing you're dying to tell me?'
'Can't you guess?' said Lucy, grinning from ear to ear.
'I could guess,' said Kevin, 'but then I'd be really disappointed if I was wrong, so...'
'I took a pregnancy test this morning and it came up positive,' said Lucy. 'I'm pregnant with your baby, Kev.'
Kevin remained expressionless for a few seconds as he digested this news, then he beamed all over his face and gathered Lucy into a crushing hug.
'Hey, be careful with me,' Lucy giggled. 'I'm in a delicate condition, you know.'
'This is the best news I've ever been given, Luce,' said Kevin. 'You have no idea how much I love you right now.'
'Oh, I think I have some,' Lucy laughed.
'Let's do an ultrasound!' said Kevin, releasing Lucy but keeping his hands on her shoulders.
'You mean immediately?' said Lucy.
'Yes!' said Kevin. 'Let's do an ultrasound right now!'
'Can we do that?' Lucy asked uncertainly.
'Sure we can!' said Kevin. 'We just need to fetch a machine and find a free cubicle, which shouldn't be too difficult at this time of night.'
'Okay,' said Lucy, 'let's do it!'
'Thanks for walking me home, Beth,' said Conchita, as she fished a key out of her pocket and let them both into her home. 'You didn't have to – it's not even dark. I'd have been all right.'
'I'm sure you would've,' said Beth. 'I just wanted to see the family and catch up, really.'
They walked through to the kitchen where they found Eduardo, Kylie and their younger daughter Rose, who was sitting at the table being plied with sweet tea by her father and squeezed and patted by her mother.
'Oh, Rosy, what's wrong?' cried Conchita, rushing over to her.
'It's nothing, don't worry,' said Rose, swatting her sister away. 'Hi, Beth.'
'Hi,' said Beth, looking at the scene with concern. 'I'll, um... I'll be off then.'
'Oh, don't go,' said Kylie. Then she looked at Rose. 'We can tell Beth, can't we?'
Rose shrugged and said, 'Sure.'
'Tell Beth what?' Conchita asked anxiously.
'If you calm down, I'll tell you,' said Rose. 'It's no big deal, really. Mom just came home and found me levitating, that's all.'
'What?' cried Conchita. 'Oh my God – you're possessed or something! Daddy, you have to do something! What are you going to do? Will she be okay?'
'Of course she'll be okay, seashell,' said Eduardo. 'I'll get some Ghostbusters here, and we can probably get this whole thing fixed in under an hour.'
'Oh, good,' said Conchita, suddenly changing her tone and taking her attention entirely away from her sister. 'So, um... which Ghostbusters would those be?'
'The A-team, surely,' Kylie said at once.
'Is that a good idea?' said Conchita. 'What if something really bad and really complicated happens to somebody else, and there's only the B-team to deal with it?'
'Well, the B-team's very good too,' said Eduardo. 'I'd be happy with either one on call, or we could mix them up – bring a couple of each out here. They can handle that. Or did you have something else in mind?' he asked, looking at Conchita with a raised eyebrow.
'Oh, no, not really,' Conchita said nonchalantly. 'It's just that, well, if you got the two new guys it'd be good experience for them, wouldn't it? And you could, like, supervise and stuff.'
Eduardo sighed. 'I don't know...'
'Excuse me,' said Rose. 'Is anybody interested in what I want?'
All eyes turned to her.
'Let's have the new guys,' said Rose, looking at Conchita, who smiled gratefully. 'I don't want four of them barging in here, and I like Freya and, quite frankly, Josh needs all the help he can get.'
'Well,' said Kylie, 'we all like Freya.'
'And Josh isn't so bad,' said Eduardo. 'Not at ghostbusting, anyways.'
'That's settled, then,' said Beth. 'Would you like me to call?'
'No need,' said Eduardo, whipping out a cell phone. 'I'll soon bring them running.'
'I'm sure you would've,' said Beth. 'I just wanted to see the family and catch up, really.'
They walked through to the kitchen where they found Eduardo, Kylie and their younger daughter Rose, who was sitting at the table being plied with sweet tea by her father and squeezed and patted by her mother.
'Oh, Rosy, what's wrong?' cried Conchita, rushing over to her.
'It's nothing, don't worry,' said Rose, swatting her sister away. 'Hi, Beth.'
'Hi,' said Beth, looking at the scene with concern. 'I'll, um... I'll be off then.'
'Oh, don't go,' said Kylie. Then she looked at Rose. 'We can tell Beth, can't we?'
Rose shrugged and said, 'Sure.'
'Tell Beth what?' Conchita asked anxiously.
'If you calm down, I'll tell you,' said Rose. 'It's no big deal, really. Mom just came home and found me levitating, that's all.'
'What?' cried Conchita. 'Oh my God – you're possessed or something! Daddy, you have to do something! What are you going to do? Will she be okay?'
'Of course she'll be okay, seashell,' said Eduardo. 'I'll get some Ghostbusters here, and we can probably get this whole thing fixed in under an hour.'
'Oh, good,' said Conchita, suddenly changing her tone and taking her attention entirely away from her sister. 'So, um... which Ghostbusters would those be?'
'The A-team, surely,' Kylie said at once.
'Is that a good idea?' said Conchita. 'What if something really bad and really complicated happens to somebody else, and there's only the B-team to deal with it?'
'Well, the B-team's very good too,' said Eduardo. 'I'd be happy with either one on call, or we could mix them up – bring a couple of each out here. They can handle that. Or did you have something else in mind?' he asked, looking at Conchita with a raised eyebrow.
'Oh, no, not really,' Conchita said nonchalantly. 'It's just that, well, if you got the two new guys it'd be good experience for them, wouldn't it? And you could, like, supervise and stuff.'
Eduardo sighed. 'I don't know...'
'Excuse me,' said Rose. 'Is anybody interested in what I want?'
All eyes turned to her.
'Let's have the new guys,' said Rose, looking at Conchita, who smiled gratefully. 'I don't want four of them barging in here, and I like Freya and, quite frankly, Josh needs all the help he can get.'
'Well,' said Kylie, 'we all like Freya.'
'And Josh isn't so bad,' said Eduardo. 'Not at ghostbusting, anyways.'
'That's settled, then,' said Beth. 'Would you like me to call?'
'No need,' said Eduardo, whipping out a cell phone. 'I'll soon bring them running.'
Lucy made herself comfortable on the bed while Kevin wheeled the ultrasound machine into position and then drew the curtains around the cubicle. Lucy pulled her trousers down a little way, then she pulled her top up to her chest. Kevin immediately squirted a generous amount of cold gel onto her abdomen, causing her to squeal.
'You might've warned me, Kev!' said Lucy.
'Come on, Luce,' Kevin grinned, 'you know how this goes. Okay, let's take a look here...'
Kevin moved the scanner around until he found what he was looking for. An enormous smile split his face, then he turned the machine so that Lucy could see the screen.
'There's the gestational sac,' Kevin said in an awed voice, pointing to a tiny part of the grainy image.
'Oh my God...' Lucy breathed. 'Um... you can't tell how many babies are in there yet, can you?'
Kevin laughed. 'Are you thinking about Phoebe from Friends?'
'Yeah, I am.'
'You've already given birth to two babies at once. Surely moving up to three would be the next logical progression!'
'Moving down to one would be the next logical progression, Kev,' Lucy said firmly.
'Well, that's probably what'll happen,' said Kevin. 'There's only the one sac, so...'
'Tom and Jon only had one sac.'
'Yeah, I can't make any guarantees.'
They both stared at the image on the screen for a while longer, then Lucy let out a particularly deep breath.
'I really should go home now,' she said. 'I might be in time to kiss the boys goodnight.'
'I have my mom's car today,' said Kevin, as he started to pack up the ultrasound machine. 'I'll give you a ride.'
'Thanks, Kev,' said Lucy. 'You really are a diamond.'
'Hey,' said Kevin, 'it's the least I can do, right?'
'You might've warned me, Kev!' said Lucy.
'Come on, Luce,' Kevin grinned, 'you know how this goes. Okay, let's take a look here...'
Kevin moved the scanner around until he found what he was looking for. An enormous smile split his face, then he turned the machine so that Lucy could see the screen.
'There's the gestational sac,' Kevin said in an awed voice, pointing to a tiny part of the grainy image.
'Oh my God...' Lucy breathed. 'Um... you can't tell how many babies are in there yet, can you?'
Kevin laughed. 'Are you thinking about Phoebe from Friends?'
'Yeah, I am.'
'You've already given birth to two babies at once. Surely moving up to three would be the next logical progression!'
'Moving down to one would be the next logical progression, Kev,' Lucy said firmly.
'Well, that's probably what'll happen,' said Kevin. 'There's only the one sac, so...'
'Tom and Jon only had one sac.'
'Yeah, I can't make any guarantees.'
They both stared at the image on the screen for a while longer, then Lucy let out a particularly deep breath.
'I really should go home now,' she said. 'I might be in time to kiss the boys goodnight.'
'I have my mom's car today,' said Kevin, as he started to pack up the ultrasound machine. 'I'll give you a ride.'
'Thanks, Kev,' said Lucy. 'You really are a diamond.'
'Hey,' said Kevin, 'it's the least I can do, right?'
'Good luck,' said Beth, hugging Kylie in the hallway. 'Let me know how it goes. Ah!' as the doorbell rang. 'I guess I'll answer that.'
She was at the stage of reaching for the door handle when Conchita appeared, barged in front of her, hurled the door open and then said bashfully, 'Hi.'
On the threshold stood two young people, a man and a woman, in full ghostbusting gear.
'Hi, Chita,' said the woman. 'How are you?'
'Okay,' said Conchita, who was looking only at the male Ghostbuster. 'Come on in.' She stepped to one side.
'Oh, hi... um...' the young woman said, smiling uncertainly at Beth.
'Beth,' said Beth, smiling back. 'Hi, and now bye – I'm just leaving.'
'That's a shame,' said Josh, smiling at Beth's retreating form, then turning back to the hallway to see Eduardo standing there looking at him. He smiled sheepishly. 'Here's your proton pack, boss.'
'Thanks,' said Eduardo, taking the proffered item and sliding it onto his back. 'I appreciate you both coming out here at this time.'
'No problem,' said Freya. 'What's the trouble?'
'Kylie found Rose passed out and levitating over her bed.'
'Poor kid,' said Freya. 'We'd better check her out first, hadn't we?'
'She's in the kitchen,' said Eduardo, so Freya made her way to the kitchen.
Josh, meanwhile, hung around in the hallway saying to Conchita, 'Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to your sister while I'm around.'
Conchita raised an eyebrow and said, 'Oh no? Superhero, are you?'
'Of course not,' said Josh, looking a little cowed. 'But I'll do my best.'
Conchita's smitten look was fading, but it returned the moment Josh placed a hand on her arm and smiled at her, saying, 'Seriously, Chita, I know the feeling. I worry about my kid brother.'
'Come on, Josh – time's a-wasting,' said Eduardo, stepping into Josh's personal space and then chivvying him into the kitchen.
Freya was already taking PKE readings from Rose, with Kylie watching the screen of the meter over her shoulder. When Eduardo came in, Kylie looked up and said with deep concern in her eyes and her voice, 'This doesn't look good, Eduardo.'
'Well, that's reassuring,' said Rose.
'Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry!' said Kylie, giving her a hug. 'Obviously you'll be all right – I didn't mean that you wouldn't. I just hate having to see you go through anything stressful.'
'Let's deal with it as quick as we can, then,' said Freya. 'We'd better sweep the whole house, hadn't we, Eduardo? Rose is giving off strong readings, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's all hiding inside her, does it?'
Rose looked down at her feet, scowling.
'You need to work on your bedside manner, Freya,' said Josh.
Freya looked at Rose and smiled reassuringly. 'Sorry, Rose. If it is all on you, we can deal with it, no problem. But maybe it's not. Mind if I check your room?'
'What do you mean?' asked Rose.
'Just with my PKE meter,' said Freya. 'I won't go rummaging in your drawers and stuff... well, unless I have to. There's always a chance I'll have to take a little peek, isn't there?'
Rose looked displeased for a moment, then shrugged and said, 'If somebody has to do it.'
'I'll show you where it is,' said Eduardo, leading Freya from the kitchen. Josh watched them go, apparently unsure of whether to follow them, then decided to stay put.
'Where's Merida?' Conchita asked suddenly from the kitchen doorway.
'I don't know,' said Kylie. 'I haven't seen her since this morning. But she had her dinner, didn't she, Rosy?'
'Yes,' said Rose, 'but she didn't meow and try to trip me up while I was giving it to her. In fact she waited until I'd left the room, and then she sniffed what I put down very suspiciously when she thought I wasn't looking. But she ate it in the end.'
'And nothing else seemed wrong at that point?' asked Kylie.
'No,' said Rose. 'I told you – I started to feel weird while I was upstairs reading.'
'How do you feel now?' asked Josh.
Rose looked at him guardedly. 'All right.'
Just then Freya came scampering downstairs and back into the kitchen, saying, 'It seems to be in your closet, Rose.'
'My closet?' said Rose, looking alarmed. 'But that's private!'
'That's what we figured,' said Freya. 'Your dad refuses to go near it, so I thought I'd better come down and get your permission to open it.'
'Why don't I open it?' said Rose.
'You're staying down here with me, Rose,' Kylie said firmly.
'Well...' said Rose, looking at Freya. 'Okay, I guess you'd better do it.'
'Thanks,' said Freya. 'We'll be very careful, I promise. Come on, Josh – time to earn your overtime.'
Josh took one last look at Conchita, then went trailing after Freya as she made her way back into the hallway and up the stairs. When they were out of earshot, Rose looked at Conchita and said dubiously, 'You really like that guy?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Conchita. 'I don't really know him yet. I think he's hot, though.'
'He thinks the same thing about you, sweetie,' said Kylie. 'But I'm sure you won't rush into anything, even if he wants to.'
'He wants to,' said Rose, as the sound of proton fire became audible from upstairs.
'Don't worry about me, Mom,' said Conchita. 'Worry about Rose!'
'You're right,' said Kylie, and she reached out to stroke Rose's hair. 'Don't worry, sweetie – it'll all be over soon.'
'Yeah, about that,' said Rose. 'I didn't want to tell you in front of Dad, and then I didn't want to tell you in front of Josh, but it might be significant. In between feeding Merida and going to my room to read, I started my period.'
'You did?' said Kylie. 'Oh, baby, you're becoming a woman!'
She flung her arms around Rose and kept them there for a long time. When she finally let go, Rose found herself pulled straight into another crushing embrace, this time by her sister.
'I went into your room and took some of your stuff, Chita,' said Rose, her voice muffled in Conchita's chest. 'I know where you keep it – I didn't poke around.'
'Are you wearing a tampon?' Conchita asked loudly, much to her sister's consternation. 'Be careful about that. No one told me how painful it is taking one out the first time. Don't you even try it until you're sitting in a warm bath.'
'I'm not wearing one,' said Rose, pushing her away with a small smile, 'but thanks for the warning.'
Suddenly there came a loud clunk from upstairs and Rose looked at the ceiling above her, clearly alarmed. Out in the hallway, a spidery shape that glowed a brilliant white was floating down the stairs, with Josh and Freya in hot pursuit. As the entity was about to phase through the front door, Josh sent a blast of proton fire at it. He succeeded in frightening the thing off-course, but he also blew the window above the door to smithereens.
'Oh no!' he cried in dismay, as Eduardo appeared on the stairs behind him. 'Eduardo, I'm so sorry!'
'Don't worry, Josh,' said Eduardo. 'Absolutely everybody does that.'
Freya, meanwhile, had chased the entity into the living room and managed to secure it in a proton stream. Eduardo and Josh ran after her; Eduardo added his proton stream to Freya's while Josh produced a trap from the equipment strapped to his body and threw it underneath the ghostly shape. Seconds later, the entity was contained.
There was a moment of silent stillness, then Rose mooched in from the kitchen, asking, 'Is that it?'
Eduardo went over to her, ran his PKE meter over her and said, 'There's still... well, traces on you.'
'Just residual, surely,' said Josh. 'I mean, we trapped it, right?'
'Yeah, we trapped it all right,' said Eduardo, looking at the trap, but he didn't sound too sure.
'So what was it?' demanded Kylie, appearing in the doorway behind Rose. 'What did it want?'
'I guess Egon's the man for that,' said Freya.
Eduardo let out a sigh and said, 'We're really gonna notice a difference on that side of things when Egon retires.'
'Sure we can't persuade you to come back, Kylie?' asked Freya. 'Egon's really talking about it now, you know.'
'I don't think so, Freya,' said Kylie. 'But maybe I could hook you guys up with one of the eager young scholars at the Parapsychology Foundation.'
'Yeah?' said Freya with a grin. 'Like one you want to get rid of, maybe?'
'You mean one of the many who don't know how to use the Harvard referencing system?' said Kylie. 'What a good idea.'
'Now, where the heck is Josh?' Eduardo asked suddenly.
He, Kylie, Rose and Freya looked around them. Then Freya said, with a facetious grin, 'More to the point, where's Conchita?'
Eduardo tutted with annoyance and went off in search of them. He ended up in the back garden, where Conchita was down on all fours with her backside in the air, peering into a space underneath the shed.
'Merida!' she said. 'Here, kitty! It's okay – the ghost's all gone now!'
Josh, who had been standing there watching, stood to attention when he saw Eduardo frowning at him and said, 'We found your cat. She doesn't seem to want to come out, though.'
'What's wrong with her now?' Eduardo asked, concerned, and he went to crouch down beside Conchita. 'Maybe there really is something still here.'
'But you trapped it, didn't you?' said Conchita. 'Maybe she's just picking up on some leftover atmosphere or something. I wish she'd come out – I'm worried about her.'
'Me too,' said Eduardo. 'But she doesn't look hurt or possessed or nothing – just freaked out.'
'Hey,' said Josh, taking a step nearer, 'can I take a look at her? I like cats.'
Eduardo turned round and looked at him suspiciously. 'You like cats?'
'I genuinely do,' said Josh. 'I'm not trying to impress anybody, Eduardo, I promise.'
'You'll have to get right down to take a look at her,' said Conchita, getting to her feet, 'and even then you won't see her too well.'
Josh bent right down, just as Conchita had been doing, and peered into the space. As he did so, she looked at him in almost exactly the way that he had been looking at her.
'Oh yeah, I see her,' he said. 'Poor thing – she's obviously shaken up. Wow, she's real pretty.'
'She's not real friendly, though,' said Eduardo. 'I'm afraid you won't be able to bond with her, even when she's feeling better.'
'She adores the four of us,' said Conchita. 'Anyone else, she can't see the point in them even being alive.'
'Well,' said Josh, laughing, 'it's smart to know who your friends are. I guess I'll leave her alone now,' and he got to his feet. 'Don't worry – I'm sure she'll be back to herself real soon.'
He gave Conchita a smile, and she blushed and dimpled at him in return. Then Freya appeared on the scene, saying, 'Come on, Josh – I'm waiting to drive you home!'
She was at the stage of reaching for the door handle when Conchita appeared, barged in front of her, hurled the door open and then said bashfully, 'Hi.'
On the threshold stood two young people, a man and a woman, in full ghostbusting gear.
'Hi, Chita,' said the woman. 'How are you?'
'Okay,' said Conchita, who was looking only at the male Ghostbuster. 'Come on in.' She stepped to one side.
'Oh, hi... um...' the young woman said, smiling uncertainly at Beth.
'Beth,' said Beth, smiling back. 'Hi, and now bye – I'm just leaving.'
'That's a shame,' said Josh, smiling at Beth's retreating form, then turning back to the hallway to see Eduardo standing there looking at him. He smiled sheepishly. 'Here's your proton pack, boss.'
'Thanks,' said Eduardo, taking the proffered item and sliding it onto his back. 'I appreciate you both coming out here at this time.'
'No problem,' said Freya. 'What's the trouble?'
'Kylie found Rose passed out and levitating over her bed.'
'Poor kid,' said Freya. 'We'd better check her out first, hadn't we?'
'She's in the kitchen,' said Eduardo, so Freya made her way to the kitchen.
Josh, meanwhile, hung around in the hallway saying to Conchita, 'Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to your sister while I'm around.'
Conchita raised an eyebrow and said, 'Oh no? Superhero, are you?'
'Of course not,' said Josh, looking a little cowed. 'But I'll do my best.'
Conchita's smitten look was fading, but it returned the moment Josh placed a hand on her arm and smiled at her, saying, 'Seriously, Chita, I know the feeling. I worry about my kid brother.'
'Come on, Josh – time's a-wasting,' said Eduardo, stepping into Josh's personal space and then chivvying him into the kitchen.
Freya was already taking PKE readings from Rose, with Kylie watching the screen of the meter over her shoulder. When Eduardo came in, Kylie looked up and said with deep concern in her eyes and her voice, 'This doesn't look good, Eduardo.'
'Well, that's reassuring,' said Rose.
'Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry!' said Kylie, giving her a hug. 'Obviously you'll be all right – I didn't mean that you wouldn't. I just hate having to see you go through anything stressful.'
'Let's deal with it as quick as we can, then,' said Freya. 'We'd better sweep the whole house, hadn't we, Eduardo? Rose is giving off strong readings, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's all hiding inside her, does it?'
Rose looked down at her feet, scowling.
'You need to work on your bedside manner, Freya,' said Josh.
Freya looked at Rose and smiled reassuringly. 'Sorry, Rose. If it is all on you, we can deal with it, no problem. But maybe it's not. Mind if I check your room?'
'What do you mean?' asked Rose.
'Just with my PKE meter,' said Freya. 'I won't go rummaging in your drawers and stuff... well, unless I have to. There's always a chance I'll have to take a little peek, isn't there?'
Rose looked displeased for a moment, then shrugged and said, 'If somebody has to do it.'
'I'll show you where it is,' said Eduardo, leading Freya from the kitchen. Josh watched them go, apparently unsure of whether to follow them, then decided to stay put.
'Where's Merida?' Conchita asked suddenly from the kitchen doorway.
'I don't know,' said Kylie. 'I haven't seen her since this morning. But she had her dinner, didn't she, Rosy?'
'Yes,' said Rose, 'but she didn't meow and try to trip me up while I was giving it to her. In fact she waited until I'd left the room, and then she sniffed what I put down very suspiciously when she thought I wasn't looking. But she ate it in the end.'
'And nothing else seemed wrong at that point?' asked Kylie.
'No,' said Rose. 'I told you – I started to feel weird while I was upstairs reading.'
'How do you feel now?' asked Josh.
Rose looked at him guardedly. 'All right.'
Just then Freya came scampering downstairs and back into the kitchen, saying, 'It seems to be in your closet, Rose.'
'My closet?' said Rose, looking alarmed. 'But that's private!'
'That's what we figured,' said Freya. 'Your dad refuses to go near it, so I thought I'd better come down and get your permission to open it.'
'Why don't I open it?' said Rose.
'You're staying down here with me, Rose,' Kylie said firmly.
'Well...' said Rose, looking at Freya. 'Okay, I guess you'd better do it.'
'Thanks,' said Freya. 'We'll be very careful, I promise. Come on, Josh – time to earn your overtime.'
Josh took one last look at Conchita, then went trailing after Freya as she made her way back into the hallway and up the stairs. When they were out of earshot, Rose looked at Conchita and said dubiously, 'You really like that guy?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Conchita. 'I don't really know him yet. I think he's hot, though.'
'He thinks the same thing about you, sweetie,' said Kylie. 'But I'm sure you won't rush into anything, even if he wants to.'
'He wants to,' said Rose, as the sound of proton fire became audible from upstairs.
'Don't worry about me, Mom,' said Conchita. 'Worry about Rose!'
'You're right,' said Kylie, and she reached out to stroke Rose's hair. 'Don't worry, sweetie – it'll all be over soon.'
'Yeah, about that,' said Rose. 'I didn't want to tell you in front of Dad, and then I didn't want to tell you in front of Josh, but it might be significant. In between feeding Merida and going to my room to read, I started my period.'
'You did?' said Kylie. 'Oh, baby, you're becoming a woman!'
She flung her arms around Rose and kept them there for a long time. When she finally let go, Rose found herself pulled straight into another crushing embrace, this time by her sister.
'I went into your room and took some of your stuff, Chita,' said Rose, her voice muffled in Conchita's chest. 'I know where you keep it – I didn't poke around.'
'Are you wearing a tampon?' Conchita asked loudly, much to her sister's consternation. 'Be careful about that. No one told me how painful it is taking one out the first time. Don't you even try it until you're sitting in a warm bath.'
'I'm not wearing one,' said Rose, pushing her away with a small smile, 'but thanks for the warning.'
Suddenly there came a loud clunk from upstairs and Rose looked at the ceiling above her, clearly alarmed. Out in the hallway, a spidery shape that glowed a brilliant white was floating down the stairs, with Josh and Freya in hot pursuit. As the entity was about to phase through the front door, Josh sent a blast of proton fire at it. He succeeded in frightening the thing off-course, but he also blew the window above the door to smithereens.
'Oh no!' he cried in dismay, as Eduardo appeared on the stairs behind him. 'Eduardo, I'm so sorry!'
'Don't worry, Josh,' said Eduardo. 'Absolutely everybody does that.'
Freya, meanwhile, had chased the entity into the living room and managed to secure it in a proton stream. Eduardo and Josh ran after her; Eduardo added his proton stream to Freya's while Josh produced a trap from the equipment strapped to his body and threw it underneath the ghostly shape. Seconds later, the entity was contained.
There was a moment of silent stillness, then Rose mooched in from the kitchen, asking, 'Is that it?'
Eduardo went over to her, ran his PKE meter over her and said, 'There's still... well, traces on you.'
'Just residual, surely,' said Josh. 'I mean, we trapped it, right?'
'Yeah, we trapped it all right,' said Eduardo, looking at the trap, but he didn't sound too sure.
'So what was it?' demanded Kylie, appearing in the doorway behind Rose. 'What did it want?'
'I guess Egon's the man for that,' said Freya.
Eduardo let out a sigh and said, 'We're really gonna notice a difference on that side of things when Egon retires.'
'Sure we can't persuade you to come back, Kylie?' asked Freya. 'Egon's really talking about it now, you know.'
'I don't think so, Freya,' said Kylie. 'But maybe I could hook you guys up with one of the eager young scholars at the Parapsychology Foundation.'
'Yeah?' said Freya with a grin. 'Like one you want to get rid of, maybe?'
'You mean one of the many who don't know how to use the Harvard referencing system?' said Kylie. 'What a good idea.'
'Now, where the heck is Josh?' Eduardo asked suddenly.
He, Kylie, Rose and Freya looked around them. Then Freya said, with a facetious grin, 'More to the point, where's Conchita?'
Eduardo tutted with annoyance and went off in search of them. He ended up in the back garden, where Conchita was down on all fours with her backside in the air, peering into a space underneath the shed.
'Merida!' she said. 'Here, kitty! It's okay – the ghost's all gone now!'
Josh, who had been standing there watching, stood to attention when he saw Eduardo frowning at him and said, 'We found your cat. She doesn't seem to want to come out, though.'
'What's wrong with her now?' Eduardo asked, concerned, and he went to crouch down beside Conchita. 'Maybe there really is something still here.'
'But you trapped it, didn't you?' said Conchita. 'Maybe she's just picking up on some leftover atmosphere or something. I wish she'd come out – I'm worried about her.'
'Me too,' said Eduardo. 'But she doesn't look hurt or possessed or nothing – just freaked out.'
'Hey,' said Josh, taking a step nearer, 'can I take a look at her? I like cats.'
Eduardo turned round and looked at him suspiciously. 'You like cats?'
'I genuinely do,' said Josh. 'I'm not trying to impress anybody, Eduardo, I promise.'
'You'll have to get right down to take a look at her,' said Conchita, getting to her feet, 'and even then you won't see her too well.'
Josh bent right down, just as Conchita had been doing, and peered into the space. As he did so, she looked at him in almost exactly the way that he had been looking at her.
'Oh yeah, I see her,' he said. 'Poor thing – she's obviously shaken up. Wow, she's real pretty.'
'She's not real friendly, though,' said Eduardo. 'I'm afraid you won't be able to bond with her, even when she's feeling better.'
'She adores the four of us,' said Conchita. 'Anyone else, she can't see the point in them even being alive.'
'Well,' said Josh, laughing, 'it's smart to know who your friends are. I guess I'll leave her alone now,' and he got to his feet. 'Don't worry – I'm sure she'll be back to herself real soon.'
He gave Conchita a smile, and she blushed and dimpled at him in return. Then Freya appeared on the scene, saying, 'Come on, Josh – I'm waiting to drive you home!'
As Lucy entered the front hallway of her home, she saw Jandro coming down the stairs.
'Hey, Luce,' he said, fixing her with a smile. 'I just got the boys off to sleep.'
'I'll have to give them both an extra kiss in the morning, then,' said Lucy. 'I didn't mean to get back so late, but...'
'Were you telling Kev you're pregnant?' said Jandro.
'Yes, I was,' said Lucy.
'I bet he's over the moon!' Jandro grinned.
'Yes, he is,' said Lucy. 'We did an ultrasound. I guess it was kinda selfish of us to do it without you and Oscar there, but we just couldn't help ourselves.'
'That's okay,' said Jandro. 'I completely understand, Luce, and I know Oscar will too.'
'Jandro, I'm going to ask you a really stupid question now,' said Lucy.
'You are?'
'Yes, I am. It's stupid because it's much too late in the game for me to ask it to you, and I already know the answer anyway, but I still feel like I need to do it.'
'Go ahead, Luce,' said Jandro. 'I promise I'll give you the fullest and most honest answer I can.'
Lucy smiled and stroked Jandro's cheek. She led him into the living room, where they sat down together on the couch.
'Jandro,' said Lucy, looking into his eyes, 'are you absolutely, one hundred percent certain that you're okay with me carrying this baby?'
'Yes, Luce,' said Jandro, meeting her gaze squarely, 'I'm absolutely, one hundred percent certain that I'm okay with you carrying this baby. It's something I really want you to do for Kevin and Oscar... I mean, it's something I really want us to do for them.'
'So... so you're really not going to mind the sight of my belly swollen with someone else's kid?'
'I'm going to love that sight, I just know it.'
'And after the baby's been born,' Lucy pressed, 'when I'm expressing several gallons of breast milk every day and taking it over to Kev's place in a coolbox, what will you do then?'
'I'll carry the coolbox,' said Jandro.
Lucy laughed, threw her arms around Jandro and started crying onto his shoulder.
'We're all one family, Luce,' said Jandro. 'You remember that time I got drunk, right at the end of seventh grade?'
'Of course,' said Lucy. 'It's the only time I ever got drunk as well... and that's certainly not the only reason I remember it so vividly.'
'When I came into the living room the next morning with my soiled linen, and I saw you and Kevin sitting there eating pizza together,' said Jandro, 'I knew for certain that the three of us would always be family. Like I said at the time, friends are the family you choose for yourself... and you, me and Kevin chose each other because, very simply, we love each other.'
'You really are wonderful, Jandro,' said Lucy, pulling away from him slightly and drying her eyes. 'And you're absolutely, one hundred percent right.'
'We should go out to dinner one night to celebrate this wonderful news,' said Jandro. 'All six of us, I mean – Mike and Ella too.'
'Kev had the same idea in the car just now,' said Lucy. 'He's going to tell Mike and Ella about the baby as soon as he can pin one of them down, plus he's going to tell his family – his biological family, I mean – and of course he'll be telling Oscar all about it right now, and Oscar will certainly want to tell his family, but Kev doesn't think anyone else should be told yet, just in case... well, you know.'
'Yeah, I know,' said Jandro, 'and Kev is totally right as usual. But it's all going to come off without a hitch, Luce – I can feel it in my water!'
Lucy smiled, nodded and then cuddled up to Jandro on the couch.
'Hey, Luce,' he said, fixing her with a smile. 'I just got the boys off to sleep.'
'I'll have to give them both an extra kiss in the morning, then,' said Lucy. 'I didn't mean to get back so late, but...'
'Were you telling Kev you're pregnant?' said Jandro.
'Yes, I was,' said Lucy.
'I bet he's over the moon!' Jandro grinned.
'Yes, he is,' said Lucy. 'We did an ultrasound. I guess it was kinda selfish of us to do it without you and Oscar there, but we just couldn't help ourselves.'
'That's okay,' said Jandro. 'I completely understand, Luce, and I know Oscar will too.'
'Jandro, I'm going to ask you a really stupid question now,' said Lucy.
'You are?'
'Yes, I am. It's stupid because it's much too late in the game for me to ask it to you, and I already know the answer anyway, but I still feel like I need to do it.'
'Go ahead, Luce,' said Jandro. 'I promise I'll give you the fullest and most honest answer I can.'
Lucy smiled and stroked Jandro's cheek. She led him into the living room, where they sat down together on the couch.
'Jandro,' said Lucy, looking into his eyes, 'are you absolutely, one hundred percent certain that you're okay with me carrying this baby?'
'Yes, Luce,' said Jandro, meeting her gaze squarely, 'I'm absolutely, one hundred percent certain that I'm okay with you carrying this baby. It's something I really want you to do for Kevin and Oscar... I mean, it's something I really want us to do for them.'
'So... so you're really not going to mind the sight of my belly swollen with someone else's kid?'
'I'm going to love that sight, I just know it.'
'And after the baby's been born,' Lucy pressed, 'when I'm expressing several gallons of breast milk every day and taking it over to Kev's place in a coolbox, what will you do then?'
'I'll carry the coolbox,' said Jandro.
Lucy laughed, threw her arms around Jandro and started crying onto his shoulder.
'We're all one family, Luce,' said Jandro. 'You remember that time I got drunk, right at the end of seventh grade?'
'Of course,' said Lucy. 'It's the only time I ever got drunk as well... and that's certainly not the only reason I remember it so vividly.'
'When I came into the living room the next morning with my soiled linen, and I saw you and Kevin sitting there eating pizza together,' said Jandro, 'I knew for certain that the three of us would always be family. Like I said at the time, friends are the family you choose for yourself... and you, me and Kevin chose each other because, very simply, we love each other.'
'You really are wonderful, Jandro,' said Lucy, pulling away from him slightly and drying her eyes. 'And you're absolutely, one hundred percent right.'
'We should go out to dinner one night to celebrate this wonderful news,' said Jandro. 'All six of us, I mean – Mike and Ella too.'
'Kev had the same idea in the car just now,' said Lucy. 'He's going to tell Mike and Ella about the baby as soon as he can pin one of them down, plus he's going to tell his family – his biological family, I mean – and of course he'll be telling Oscar all about it right now, and Oscar will certainly want to tell his family, but Kev doesn't think anyone else should be told yet, just in case... well, you know.'
'Yeah, I know,' said Jandro, 'and Kev is totally right as usual. But it's all going to come off without a hitch, Luce – I can feel it in my water!'
Lucy smiled, nodded and then cuddled up to Jandro on the couch.
It was very late when Eduardo went downstairs wearing men's pyjamas and found Kylie in the living room, sitting on the sofa and hunched over her laptop. He frowned slightly, then went to sit next to her, saying, 'Aren't you coming to bed? You can't still be trying to find someone who'll fix our window.'
'Of course I'm not,' said Kylie. 'Finding someone to fix the window, I mean – I did that hours ago. I'm just debating with myself whether this article on ESP is really ready for the journal.'
'You normally decide that kind of thing in two minutes flat.'
'Yes, but I'm not normally worried out of my mind. I know I couldn't sleep if I tried. You weren't sleeping, were you?'
'Not well,' said Eduardo. 'But it's okay, isn't it? You saw us trap it, and you'd have to expect some residual PKE on Rose. We don't have any real reason to think it's not over.'
'Okay,' said Kylie, 'but we both know from past experience that trapping something isn't always the end of it, and I saw what you were like – you're not sure either. Actually, it's Merida more than anything, making me worry. I haven't gone to check, but I'm pretty sure she's still under the shed.'
'I wonder if she's possessed or something,' said Eduardo. 'Nobody actually ran a PKE meter over her, did they?'
Kylie laughed. 'I'd like to see anyone try. But if anything has gotten into her, I kind of think she can handle it. It's Rose I'm worried about.'
'Hey,' said Eduardo, nudging her playfully, 'never underestimate a Rivera.'
'Yeah, I know,' said Kylie, sounding somewhat reassured. 'It's just, when I went upstairs and saw her floating four feet above her bed, I nearly had a heart attack!'
'I nearly had one when you told me,' said Eduardo. 'Thank goodness we're equipped to deal with that kind of thing. I mean, it's less awkward to find your child levitating than masturbating, right?'
Kylie gave him a look of absolute astonishment. 'What on earth makes you say that? Oh my God – you never have, have you?'
'Of course not,' said Eduardo. 'You know I'd never let that happen. I guess I said that because I, well...' He seemed to consider for a moment, then finished weakly, 'I don't know.'
'You're weird,' said Kylie, suddenly slamming the laptop shut, 'and that article is a load of crap. I'm gonna tell Simon he has to do it again, and if he's lucky it might make the September issue.'
'Feeling better, then?'
'Oh, I don't know. I still wonder if what happened to Rose has any connection with the other thing.'
'What other thing?'
'Oh, I didn't tell you, did I?' said Kylie. 'She got her first period today.'
'Oh, wow,' said Eduardo. 'Well, I guess that's not surprising. She's fifteen... and a half! It was to be expected, really.'
'Kind of sobering, though.'
'Yeah. There goes the last of that generation, all grown up.'
'Well,' said Kylie, smiling wistfully, 'not quite yet. But it's easy to forget how mature little Rosy's growing, isn't it? Whereas Chita was taller than me by the time she was thirteen – it was very unnerving.'
'What I found unnerving was that she was already interested in boys back then.'
'Yes, well, she's never going to be taller than you. Anyway, I think it was more that boys were interested in her.' She smiled wryly at him. 'Or is that worse?'
'I just worry about her,' said Eduardo. 'She puts herself out there so much. She's been hurt before, and it could be a lot worse next time. I don't understand how she can wear her heart on her sleeve like she does. But I don't think I'm unreasonable about that kind of thing, am I?'
'I don't know, maybe,' said Kylie. 'What about when Josh was here earlier? Don't you think you might be taking the overprotective dad thing a little too far with him?'
'Oh, that,' said Eduardo, scowling slightly. 'I'm not overprotective, Ky – just protective. What you don't know is that in the six weeks I've known Josh, he's hit on every female client he's met between the ages of eighteen and forty. Maybe even sixteen and forty-five.'
'Oh,' said Kylie, flashing him a facetious smile, 'you mean he's the Venkman character.'
Eduardo gave her a look. 'If you want to oversimplify it like that, sure.'
'Maybe it's oversimplifying and maybe it's not,' said Kylie. 'None of us really knows him yet. He might be a horrible philanderer or a really great guy.'
'Probably something in between,' said Eduardo. 'It seems he likes cats, anyway.'
'Well in that case,' said Kylie, 'I'd like to shake him by the hand. Okay, come on – let's go to bed. It doesn't seem like anything else is going to happen tonight.'
No sooner had she said this than there came the sound of a door bursting off its hinges somewhere upstairs, and through the living room doorway they could see the hall filled with a brilliant white light. Kylie and Eduardo both sprang to their feet and rocketed up the stairs, where they found Rose standing in her bedroom doorway with the light source emanating from her eyes and mouth, her bedroom door lying on the ground, and Conchita hefting Eduardo's proton pack along the landing.
'Oh my God!' she said, on catching sight of Rose. 'Daddy, you're going to have to shoot her!'
Eduardo hurried to retrieve his proton pack, took aim, stood there for a few seconds and then said, 'I can't.'
'You have to!' said Kylie. 'I certainly can't do it!'
'I certainly can't do it either!' said Eduardo.
'I guess I'll have to do it, then,' said Conchita, taking control of the weapon, carefully adjusting the setting with the help of the light provided by Rose, then taking aim and firing at her sister, who immediately began to writhe and scream.
'Oh God,' muttered Kylie, turning away and shielding her eyes.
The light began to die, and Conchita stopped firing. Rose at once began to glow again, so Conchita took a deep breath and directed a long, low, steady beam at her sister until the light had quite vanished. Then she looked at Eduardo and said, 'I thought a ghost would fly out of her or something.'
'Yeah, me too,' Eduardo said helplessly.
Conchita looked blankly at him for a moment, then turned her attention to Rose, asking, 'Are you okay?'
'You blasted me!' said Rose, glaring at her.
'I had to!' said Conchita. 'You were, like, possessed!'
Rose then turned her glare onto her father. 'I thought you said you'd trapped it!'
'Well,' said Eduardo, 'we trapped something.'
'Oh, great,' said Rose, rolling her eyes. 'And it broke my bedroom door!'
'That's the least of our worries, sweetie,' said Kylie.
'Why?' Rose demanded. 'What's happening? Why didn't trapping that thing fix it? Why didn't Chita blasting me make something else happen? What's going to happen to me now?'
'Nothing is going to happen to you,' said Conchita, going to put her arms around Rose.
'We need Egon!' Kylie announced suddenly.
'Egon can help us in the morning,' said Eduardo. 'In the meantime, we can probably come up with some pretty good ideas to be going on with.'
'You mean guesses,' said Rose.
'Educated guesses,' said Eduardo. 'There've been a few times when we actually managed to trap something but there was still more to do. A couple of them happened way back when you were there, Kylie, not long after we started.'
'Right,' said Kylie. 'The vampire clowns spring to mind, then Leonard Bates and his wishing well bride, obviously.'
'Wow,' said Rose. 'He sounds like some kind of sicko.'
'He gave us a very reasonable explanation,' said Kylie, 'but never mind about him now. So Eduardo, what you're suggesting is, there's some kind of larger entity that's either in charge of the one you trapped, or that actually created it.'
'So what does that mean?' Rose demanded. 'Can we find it right now? You left a trap somewhere around here, right? And a PKE meter?'
'Of course we did,' said Eduardo. 'I'll go ghost-hunting with them right now.'
He picked up his proton pack, collected some more equipment from another room and made his way downstairs. Kylie went over to Rose and took over hugging duties from Conchita, who then decided to turn on the landing light.
'I'm really sorry I blasted you, Rosy,' she said.
'That's fine,' said Rose. 'I'd have done the same thing to you. Especially if you were possessed.'
She grinned, and Conchita grinned back. Kylie stood there looking anxious and stroking Rose's hair, until Rose said, 'I have to go to the bathroom.'
'Oh, of course,' said Kylie, taking a step back, and Rose went padding off down the landing.
Conchita took a step towards Kylie and said quietly, 'I wonder if she's going to get any pain.'
'It's fifty-fifty, I guess,' said Kylie. 'You didn't get any the first few times, did you?'
'No, not for a couple of years.'
'Was I right not to warn you? I mean, not everybody gets it, and we don't want her to expect pain, do we?'
'She already knows it might happen, Mom,' said Conchita. 'She knows what's going on when you or I have to go to bed and curl up in a ball.'
Kylie sighed and said, 'Why does she have to go through both these things at once?'
'Maybe they're related,' said Conchita. 'That can happen, can't it? Like if it's a poltergeist or something?'
'Oh yes, absolutely,' said Kylie, as Eduardo came back up the stairs.
'Well,' he said, 'I can't find anything downstairs, and the good news is, Merida's clean. Still freaked out, but let's not worry about her unless she refuses her breakfast.'
'Maybe I should try again with her,' said Conchita.
'I think she just wants to be left alone,' said Eduardo, 'and I think you need to get some sleep.'
As he was saying this, Rose emerged from the bathroom looking distinctly put out. She seemed about to say something, then noticed Eduardo and decided against it.
'I'm sorry we didn't get it, queridita,' Eduardo said to her.
'Esta bien,' said Rose. 'I guess this one isn't so easy, huh? So, come on – you haven't pointed that thing at me yet.'
She held out her arms and smiled bravely so, with a look of great apprehension, Eduardo ran the PKE meter over her.
'Well,' he said, with a thinly disguised grimace, 'we already knew it was most interested in you. I think the first thing to try is getting you out of the house.'
Rose raised an eyebrow. 'Right now?'
'Well...'
'Surely it's easier to stick it out for the rest of the night,' said Rose. 'I'd rather do that.'
'All right,' Eduardo said uncertainly. 'In the morning, we'll throw ourselves on the mercy of Carl and Beth. You can stay with them too, Chita.'
'What about Merida?' asked Rose.
'She can go with you,' said Eduardo. 'Oh no, wait, she can't – she'll get one sniff of Ralph and Felix and then she absolutely will not stop, ever, until they are dead.'
'I'm sure Kevin would be happy to take her,' said Kylie.
'Right,' said Conchita. 'And I'm sure Oscar will be fine to put up with her.'
'Of course! It's so obvious,' said Eduardo. 'Okay, chicas, volver a dormir. Buenas noches.'
Rose smiled dryly. 'Eso espero. G'night, everyone. Love you, Mom. Te amo, Dad.'
She departed with a reassuring squeeze to her mother's arm, and Kylie looked mortified at this. Rose went back through her empty door frame as Conchita kissed both her parents goodnight, then she too trotted back to her own room, where she voluntarily left the door open.
'Did you see that?' whispered Kylie, dragging Eduardo further down the landing, away from Rose's room. 'She just comforted me! It's supposed to be the other way around!'
'She can see you're shaken up,' said Eduardo, putting his arm around her.
'I'm not supposed to let her see that!' said Kylie. 'Oh, Eduardo, I can't handle this!'
'Of course you can.'
'No I can't! I couldn't even handle it when Pagan got into situations like this!'
'You handled that the best you could,' said Eduardo. 'I'll never forget the time Egon and I found you suffocating in mummy bandages to protect him.'
'Exactly,' said Kylie. 'Just imagine what I'd do for Rose! I would... anything... if there was even the smallest chance it would help her.'
'Of course you would,' said Eduardo, 'but you won't have to.'
'You don't know that.'
'Okay, well then, we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Now, what time is it? I wonder when I can reasonably call Beth and tell her she has to take in refugees.'
'You know you can call Beth at three in the morning if necessary,' said Kylie.
'I do know that,' said Eduardo, 'but this time, I don't think it's necessary.'
'Of course I'm not,' said Kylie. 'Finding someone to fix the window, I mean – I did that hours ago. I'm just debating with myself whether this article on ESP is really ready for the journal.'
'You normally decide that kind of thing in two minutes flat.'
'Yes, but I'm not normally worried out of my mind. I know I couldn't sleep if I tried. You weren't sleeping, were you?'
'Not well,' said Eduardo. 'But it's okay, isn't it? You saw us trap it, and you'd have to expect some residual PKE on Rose. We don't have any real reason to think it's not over.'
'Okay,' said Kylie, 'but we both know from past experience that trapping something isn't always the end of it, and I saw what you were like – you're not sure either. Actually, it's Merida more than anything, making me worry. I haven't gone to check, but I'm pretty sure she's still under the shed.'
'I wonder if she's possessed or something,' said Eduardo. 'Nobody actually ran a PKE meter over her, did they?'
Kylie laughed. 'I'd like to see anyone try. But if anything has gotten into her, I kind of think she can handle it. It's Rose I'm worried about.'
'Hey,' said Eduardo, nudging her playfully, 'never underestimate a Rivera.'
'Yeah, I know,' said Kylie, sounding somewhat reassured. 'It's just, when I went upstairs and saw her floating four feet above her bed, I nearly had a heart attack!'
'I nearly had one when you told me,' said Eduardo. 'Thank goodness we're equipped to deal with that kind of thing. I mean, it's less awkward to find your child levitating than masturbating, right?'
Kylie gave him a look of absolute astonishment. 'What on earth makes you say that? Oh my God – you never have, have you?'
'Of course not,' said Eduardo. 'You know I'd never let that happen. I guess I said that because I, well...' He seemed to consider for a moment, then finished weakly, 'I don't know.'
'You're weird,' said Kylie, suddenly slamming the laptop shut, 'and that article is a load of crap. I'm gonna tell Simon he has to do it again, and if he's lucky it might make the September issue.'
'Feeling better, then?'
'Oh, I don't know. I still wonder if what happened to Rose has any connection with the other thing.'
'What other thing?'
'Oh, I didn't tell you, did I?' said Kylie. 'She got her first period today.'
'Oh, wow,' said Eduardo. 'Well, I guess that's not surprising. She's fifteen... and a half! It was to be expected, really.'
'Kind of sobering, though.'
'Yeah. There goes the last of that generation, all grown up.'
'Well,' said Kylie, smiling wistfully, 'not quite yet. But it's easy to forget how mature little Rosy's growing, isn't it? Whereas Chita was taller than me by the time she was thirteen – it was very unnerving.'
'What I found unnerving was that she was already interested in boys back then.'
'Yes, well, she's never going to be taller than you. Anyway, I think it was more that boys were interested in her.' She smiled wryly at him. 'Or is that worse?'
'I just worry about her,' said Eduardo. 'She puts herself out there so much. She's been hurt before, and it could be a lot worse next time. I don't understand how she can wear her heart on her sleeve like she does. But I don't think I'm unreasonable about that kind of thing, am I?'
'I don't know, maybe,' said Kylie. 'What about when Josh was here earlier? Don't you think you might be taking the overprotective dad thing a little too far with him?'
'Oh, that,' said Eduardo, scowling slightly. 'I'm not overprotective, Ky – just protective. What you don't know is that in the six weeks I've known Josh, he's hit on every female client he's met between the ages of eighteen and forty. Maybe even sixteen and forty-five.'
'Oh,' said Kylie, flashing him a facetious smile, 'you mean he's the Venkman character.'
Eduardo gave her a look. 'If you want to oversimplify it like that, sure.'
'Maybe it's oversimplifying and maybe it's not,' said Kylie. 'None of us really knows him yet. He might be a horrible philanderer or a really great guy.'
'Probably something in between,' said Eduardo. 'It seems he likes cats, anyway.'
'Well in that case,' said Kylie, 'I'd like to shake him by the hand. Okay, come on – let's go to bed. It doesn't seem like anything else is going to happen tonight.'
No sooner had she said this than there came the sound of a door bursting off its hinges somewhere upstairs, and through the living room doorway they could see the hall filled with a brilliant white light. Kylie and Eduardo both sprang to their feet and rocketed up the stairs, where they found Rose standing in her bedroom doorway with the light source emanating from her eyes and mouth, her bedroom door lying on the ground, and Conchita hefting Eduardo's proton pack along the landing.
'Oh my God!' she said, on catching sight of Rose. 'Daddy, you're going to have to shoot her!'
Eduardo hurried to retrieve his proton pack, took aim, stood there for a few seconds and then said, 'I can't.'
'You have to!' said Kylie. 'I certainly can't do it!'
'I certainly can't do it either!' said Eduardo.
'I guess I'll have to do it, then,' said Conchita, taking control of the weapon, carefully adjusting the setting with the help of the light provided by Rose, then taking aim and firing at her sister, who immediately began to writhe and scream.
'Oh God,' muttered Kylie, turning away and shielding her eyes.
The light began to die, and Conchita stopped firing. Rose at once began to glow again, so Conchita took a deep breath and directed a long, low, steady beam at her sister until the light had quite vanished. Then she looked at Eduardo and said, 'I thought a ghost would fly out of her or something.'
'Yeah, me too,' Eduardo said helplessly.
Conchita looked blankly at him for a moment, then turned her attention to Rose, asking, 'Are you okay?'
'You blasted me!' said Rose, glaring at her.
'I had to!' said Conchita. 'You were, like, possessed!'
Rose then turned her glare onto her father. 'I thought you said you'd trapped it!'
'Well,' said Eduardo, 'we trapped something.'
'Oh, great,' said Rose, rolling her eyes. 'And it broke my bedroom door!'
'That's the least of our worries, sweetie,' said Kylie.
'Why?' Rose demanded. 'What's happening? Why didn't trapping that thing fix it? Why didn't Chita blasting me make something else happen? What's going to happen to me now?'
'Nothing is going to happen to you,' said Conchita, going to put her arms around Rose.
'We need Egon!' Kylie announced suddenly.
'Egon can help us in the morning,' said Eduardo. 'In the meantime, we can probably come up with some pretty good ideas to be going on with.'
'You mean guesses,' said Rose.
'Educated guesses,' said Eduardo. 'There've been a few times when we actually managed to trap something but there was still more to do. A couple of them happened way back when you were there, Kylie, not long after we started.'
'Right,' said Kylie. 'The vampire clowns spring to mind, then Leonard Bates and his wishing well bride, obviously.'
'Wow,' said Rose. 'He sounds like some kind of sicko.'
'He gave us a very reasonable explanation,' said Kylie, 'but never mind about him now. So Eduardo, what you're suggesting is, there's some kind of larger entity that's either in charge of the one you trapped, or that actually created it.'
'So what does that mean?' Rose demanded. 'Can we find it right now? You left a trap somewhere around here, right? And a PKE meter?'
'Of course we did,' said Eduardo. 'I'll go ghost-hunting with them right now.'
He picked up his proton pack, collected some more equipment from another room and made his way downstairs. Kylie went over to Rose and took over hugging duties from Conchita, who then decided to turn on the landing light.
'I'm really sorry I blasted you, Rosy,' she said.
'That's fine,' said Rose. 'I'd have done the same thing to you. Especially if you were possessed.'
She grinned, and Conchita grinned back. Kylie stood there looking anxious and stroking Rose's hair, until Rose said, 'I have to go to the bathroom.'
'Oh, of course,' said Kylie, taking a step back, and Rose went padding off down the landing.
Conchita took a step towards Kylie and said quietly, 'I wonder if she's going to get any pain.'
'It's fifty-fifty, I guess,' said Kylie. 'You didn't get any the first few times, did you?'
'No, not for a couple of years.'
'Was I right not to warn you? I mean, not everybody gets it, and we don't want her to expect pain, do we?'
'She already knows it might happen, Mom,' said Conchita. 'She knows what's going on when you or I have to go to bed and curl up in a ball.'
Kylie sighed and said, 'Why does she have to go through both these things at once?'
'Maybe they're related,' said Conchita. 'That can happen, can't it? Like if it's a poltergeist or something?'
'Oh yes, absolutely,' said Kylie, as Eduardo came back up the stairs.
'Well,' he said, 'I can't find anything downstairs, and the good news is, Merida's clean. Still freaked out, but let's not worry about her unless she refuses her breakfast.'
'Maybe I should try again with her,' said Conchita.
'I think she just wants to be left alone,' said Eduardo, 'and I think you need to get some sleep.'
As he was saying this, Rose emerged from the bathroom looking distinctly put out. She seemed about to say something, then noticed Eduardo and decided against it.
'I'm sorry we didn't get it, queridita,' Eduardo said to her.
'Esta bien,' said Rose. 'I guess this one isn't so easy, huh? So, come on – you haven't pointed that thing at me yet.'
She held out her arms and smiled bravely so, with a look of great apprehension, Eduardo ran the PKE meter over her.
'Well,' he said, with a thinly disguised grimace, 'we already knew it was most interested in you. I think the first thing to try is getting you out of the house.'
Rose raised an eyebrow. 'Right now?'
'Well...'
'Surely it's easier to stick it out for the rest of the night,' said Rose. 'I'd rather do that.'
'All right,' Eduardo said uncertainly. 'In the morning, we'll throw ourselves on the mercy of Carl and Beth. You can stay with them too, Chita.'
'What about Merida?' asked Rose.
'She can go with you,' said Eduardo. 'Oh no, wait, she can't – she'll get one sniff of Ralph and Felix and then she absolutely will not stop, ever, until they are dead.'
'I'm sure Kevin would be happy to take her,' said Kylie.
'Right,' said Conchita. 'And I'm sure Oscar will be fine to put up with her.'
'Of course! It's so obvious,' said Eduardo. 'Okay, chicas, volver a dormir. Buenas noches.'
Rose smiled dryly. 'Eso espero. G'night, everyone. Love you, Mom. Te amo, Dad.'
She departed with a reassuring squeeze to her mother's arm, and Kylie looked mortified at this. Rose went back through her empty door frame as Conchita kissed both her parents goodnight, then she too trotted back to her own room, where she voluntarily left the door open.
'Did you see that?' whispered Kylie, dragging Eduardo further down the landing, away from Rose's room. 'She just comforted me! It's supposed to be the other way around!'
'She can see you're shaken up,' said Eduardo, putting his arm around her.
'I'm not supposed to let her see that!' said Kylie. 'Oh, Eduardo, I can't handle this!'
'Of course you can.'
'No I can't! I couldn't even handle it when Pagan got into situations like this!'
'You handled that the best you could,' said Eduardo. 'I'll never forget the time Egon and I found you suffocating in mummy bandages to protect him.'
'Exactly,' said Kylie. 'Just imagine what I'd do for Rose! I would... anything... if there was even the smallest chance it would help her.'
'Of course you would,' said Eduardo, 'but you won't have to.'
'You don't know that.'
'Okay, well then, we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Now, what time is it? I wonder when I can reasonably call Beth and tell her she has to take in refugees.'
'You know you can call Beth at three in the morning if necessary,' said Kylie.
'I do know that,' said Eduardo, 'but this time, I don't think it's necessary.'
In the morning, a medium-sized family car pulled up outside Carl and Beth's house. At once James, Beth and Carl all piled out of their front door, while Kevin appeared from the apartment above the garage and made his way down the stairs.
'Madre de Dios – did they really have to form a welcoming committee?' muttered Rose.
She and Conchita were sitting on the back seat with a cat carrier between them, and from this emitted the most pitiable mews anybody could imagine. Conchita got out of the car, took out the cat carrier and placed it on the roof, while Eduardo and Kylie got out of the front of the vehicle.
'Thank you so much for taking her, Kevin,' said Conchita, as he came to retrieve the carrier.
'It's the least I can do,' said Kevin, smiling reassuringly at Rose as she climbed out of the car. 'She'll be fine with me – don't you worry. So long as you brought some food.'
'We did,' said Conchita, going to the back of the car to open the boot.
'I'll take your bags,' said Carl, going over to her.
'They're not exactly heavy,' said Rose.
'No, I can see what you mean,' said Carl, looking at the two small backpacks beside the tins of cat food. 'You're expecting to deal with this thing fast, then?'
'Hopefully it'll only be for a night,' said Kylie. 'Jim, I'll give you a ride to school. Chita's going, even though nobody thinks she should have to after the night we had.'
'I like school,' said Conchita, 'and there isn't very much left now.'
'You're ridiculous,' said Rose, rather nastily.
Beth smiled warmly at her and said, 'Just a quiet day in front of the TV for you, hon?'
'I don't know,' said Rose. 'Depends what's on, I guess.'
James looked at her and said, a little awkwardly, 'You can play with my mice if you want to, Rose.'
Rose scowled. 'Not everybody wants to play with your mice, James.'
'Rose, come on, he's just trying to be nice,' said Eduardo.
'Right, right, I know,' said Rose. 'Sorry, Jim.'
'No problem,' said James. 'I hope you feel better, or... y'know, it's all fixed real soon.' He looked at Kylie. 'Shall we go to school now?'
'Sure thing,' said Kylie. 'Come on, Chita.'
'Okay, Mom,' said Conchita, who had been peering through the bars of the cat carrier in Kevin's arms. 'Bye, Merida. Be good for Kevin and Oscar.' She looked at Rose and Eduardo. 'Maybe one of you should go up and help her settle in.'
'Right,' said Kevin. 'You know she hates me, and she hates Oscar even more.'
'You do it, Dad,' said Rose. 'She's scared of me.'
There was real pain evident in her voice, and for a moment everyone was silent. Then Kylie chivvied James and Conchita into the car, Beth put her arm around Rose and led her into the house, and Eduardo with the cat food ascended the staircase behind Kevin and Merida. Carl stood awkwardly outside for a moment, then made his way into the house.
'Madre de Dios – did they really have to form a welcoming committee?' muttered Rose.
She and Conchita were sitting on the back seat with a cat carrier between them, and from this emitted the most pitiable mews anybody could imagine. Conchita got out of the car, took out the cat carrier and placed it on the roof, while Eduardo and Kylie got out of the front of the vehicle.
'Thank you so much for taking her, Kevin,' said Conchita, as he came to retrieve the carrier.
'It's the least I can do,' said Kevin, smiling reassuringly at Rose as she climbed out of the car. 'She'll be fine with me – don't you worry. So long as you brought some food.'
'We did,' said Conchita, going to the back of the car to open the boot.
'I'll take your bags,' said Carl, going over to her.
'They're not exactly heavy,' said Rose.
'No, I can see what you mean,' said Carl, looking at the two small backpacks beside the tins of cat food. 'You're expecting to deal with this thing fast, then?'
'Hopefully it'll only be for a night,' said Kylie. 'Jim, I'll give you a ride to school. Chita's going, even though nobody thinks she should have to after the night we had.'
'I like school,' said Conchita, 'and there isn't very much left now.'
'You're ridiculous,' said Rose, rather nastily.
Beth smiled warmly at her and said, 'Just a quiet day in front of the TV for you, hon?'
'I don't know,' said Rose. 'Depends what's on, I guess.'
James looked at her and said, a little awkwardly, 'You can play with my mice if you want to, Rose.'
Rose scowled. 'Not everybody wants to play with your mice, James.'
'Rose, come on, he's just trying to be nice,' said Eduardo.
'Right, right, I know,' said Rose. 'Sorry, Jim.'
'No problem,' said James. 'I hope you feel better, or... y'know, it's all fixed real soon.' He looked at Kylie. 'Shall we go to school now?'
'Sure thing,' said Kylie. 'Come on, Chita.'
'Okay, Mom,' said Conchita, who had been peering through the bars of the cat carrier in Kevin's arms. 'Bye, Merida. Be good for Kevin and Oscar.' She looked at Rose and Eduardo. 'Maybe one of you should go up and help her settle in.'
'Right,' said Kevin. 'You know she hates me, and she hates Oscar even more.'
'You do it, Dad,' said Rose. 'She's scared of me.'
There was real pain evident in her voice, and for a moment everyone was silent. Then Kylie chivvied James and Conchita into the car, Beth put her arm around Rose and led her into the house, and Eduardo with the cat food ascended the staircase behind Kevin and Merida. Carl stood awkwardly outside for a moment, then made his way into the house.
In the apartment, Oscar was in the kitchenette trying to put on his socks and eat cereal at the same time. Eduardo took in the sight with a knowing smile, saying, 'Hi, Oscar. Sorry about this.'
'Hi,' said Oscar, 'and, no problem. I gotta go. Bye!'
So saying, he threw his empty cereal bowl into the sink, stepped into a pair of shoes, gave Kevin a kiss goodbye and then hurried out of the door.
'I'm not keeping you, am I, Kev?' Eduardo asked.
'No,' said Kevin. 'My shift doesn't start until this afternoon. I was hoping to go see Ella first, but she won't be around 'til lunch hour, so I guess Merida has my undivided attention until then.'
He placed the cat carrier on the floor, opened it and took a step back. Merida remained hunched at the bottom, staring up at Eduardo and Kevin with huge, yellow eyes.
'Come on, Merida,' Eduardo said coaxingly. 'You know Kevin.'
Merida wouldn't move, but only looked back up at the two men with fear and reproach in her face. Eduardo frowned.
'Well, now I feel bad!' he said.
'Don't feel bad,' Kevin said with a laugh. 'She's just being silly.'
'Well,' said Eduardo, 'I guess there's no harm her staying in there all day if she wants to, but I guess she'll come out eventually.'
'I'd rather have a scared cat to take care of than Jimmy's mice,' said Kevin. 'I never did like rodents as pets.'
'Still, huh?' said Eduardo, with another wistful smile. 'Do you remember when tu abuelo tried giving you a pair?'
'No,' said Kevin, laughing at the very idea.
'You hated them. They ended up living in my room. I thought you'd remember them a little – they lived for about three years.'
'What were their names?'
'Oh, you had to ask,' Eduardo said, rolling his eyes in self-reproach. 'I called them Teela and Marlena.'
'I have no memory of that,' said Kevin, laughing again as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
Eduardo looked at him curiously. 'You're in a good mood.'
'I'm always in a good mood,' said Kevin. 'I have a wonderful life.'
'Well, that's good to hear,' said Eduardo. Then he looked reproachfully into Merida's carrier, saying, 'You have a wonderful life too, y'know. You don't know you're born.'
'I'm sorry about Rose,' Kevin said suddenly. 'I didn't mean to be so cheerful while she's suffering.'
'It's okay,' said Eduardo. 'You're doing more than enough for us.'
'Am I?' said Kevin. 'I'll have a talk with Rosy if she wants one. She seems to like me, and I have been through something similar myself.'
'Thanks, Kev,' said Eduardo, giving him a hug. 'And she doesn't just like you – she loves you.'
'Yeah, well,' said Kevin, 'she loves all of us, but I think she likes me more than maybe one or two of the other members of our family.'
'Good point,' Eduardo said wryly. 'Now I'd better go down and check on her before I see about exorcising the house.'
'Exorcising, huh?' said Kevin. 'Isn't that more what the Catholic Church would do?'
'Dios te salve, María,' said Eduardo. 'Bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús etcetera. I'll see you later,' and he swept out of the door. He then let himself into the main house, where he met Beth as she was coming downstairs.
'She's decided to go to sleep,' said Beth. 'I guess she didn't get very much last night.'
'I won't disturb her, then,' said Eduardo. 'Thanks for taking care of her, Beth. And Chita too, when she gets here.'
'Oh, don't be silly. I still owe you for all those times you took care of Kevin.'
'Beth, come on – you must've paid that all back before Rose was even born.'
'I don't just mean babysitting hours, Eduardo,' said Beth, smiling warmly at him. He smiled back.
Carl popped his head out of a doorway just then, saying, 'Coffee and a catch-up, Eduardo?'
'Okay, Carl,' said Eduardo, and followed Carl into the kitchen. Beth smiled at the sight, then went off to another room.
'It's only instant,' said Carl, as he began boiling the kettle and spooning instant coffee into mugs.
'Okay, fine,' said Eduardo, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
'So,' said Carl, 'has Chita shown you her stuff on student accommodation?'
'No,' said Eduardo, looking surprised and a little downcast.
'Oh,' said Carl. 'Well, she and Jamie only brought it home yesterday. Of course she didn't show it to you last night – that was a stupid question. Sorry.'
'Is she definitely going to live at college?' Eduardo asked.
'I don't know,' said Carl. 'I'm sure she won't decide anything without consulting you and your bank balance. Hey now, don't look like that – it's not like you'll never see her again.'
'I know,' said Eduardo. 'It's just sad when your kids grow up, isn't it?'
'Sadder if you haven't made a real connection with them,' said Carl. 'You'll be okay with yours.'
'Yeah, I guess so,' said Eduardo, as Carl turned his back to pour boiling water onto the instant coffee granules. 'So Jim's thinking of moving too, huh? If he goes, he'll leave a big piece of his heart here with you.'
'I think you're right there,' said Carl, putting the coffee mugs on the breakfast bar and taking his seat. 'It's funny, isn't it? I never said a word to him about becoming a cop, and now look.'
'It's not so funny,' Eduardo smiled wryly.
'I was fine with him seeing Harry too, wasn't I?' Carl said proudly. 'I said fine, you be as bisexual as you want, and now he's interested in a girl again.'
Eduardo raised an eyebrow. 'And that's better, is it?'
'It's easier for me,' said Carl. 'Maybe I'm wrong to say that, but I said it anyway, so... there it is.'
'You've come a long way,' said Eduardo. 'I know that. But look, what girl are you talking about, anyway? Chita said she thought James was starting something with Isabel.'
'Yes, she's the girl,' said Carl, as though he were talking to a simpleton.
'Oh!' said Eduardo. 'So, um... so you're okay with that?'
'Well, yeah,' said Carl. 'Why wouldn't I be? What's wrong with her?'
'Nothing's wrong with her,' said Eduardo. 'It's just... well, to be honest, I'm a little surprised you see it that way.'
'Why?' asked Carl, looking completely blank.
'Well, because she –' but he stopped when Beth suddenly appeared in the doorway, out of Carl's view, making frantic gestures at him to stop. 'She, um, she, she doesn't like mice,' he finished weakly, then drained his coffee mug. 'Look, I gotta go – my daughter has ghost trouble, don't forget.'
'I haven't forgotten,' said Carl, frowning. 'What are you talking about mice for? Something funny's going on here!'
'Yeah, hilarious,' Eduardo muttered, sliding off the kitchen stool. 'Thanks for the coffee, Carl. I'll see you later.'
He made his way out of the house with a blank look on his face, and waited on the front steps as if expecting someone to join him. Seconds later, Beth appeared.
'How in God's name,' Eduardo said to her, quietly but shrilly, 'did he miss that?'
'Oh, I don't know!' said Beth.
'Well, don't you think somebody ought to tell him?'
'Probably somebody should... but I just don't want them to.'
'I can understand that,' said Eduardo, giving Beth's arm a squeeze. 'I'll, um... see you later too,' and he went on his way.
'Hi,' said Oscar, 'and, no problem. I gotta go. Bye!'
So saying, he threw his empty cereal bowl into the sink, stepped into a pair of shoes, gave Kevin a kiss goodbye and then hurried out of the door.
'I'm not keeping you, am I, Kev?' Eduardo asked.
'No,' said Kevin. 'My shift doesn't start until this afternoon. I was hoping to go see Ella first, but she won't be around 'til lunch hour, so I guess Merida has my undivided attention until then.'
He placed the cat carrier on the floor, opened it and took a step back. Merida remained hunched at the bottom, staring up at Eduardo and Kevin with huge, yellow eyes.
'Come on, Merida,' Eduardo said coaxingly. 'You know Kevin.'
Merida wouldn't move, but only looked back up at the two men with fear and reproach in her face. Eduardo frowned.
'Well, now I feel bad!' he said.
'Don't feel bad,' Kevin said with a laugh. 'She's just being silly.'
'Well,' said Eduardo, 'I guess there's no harm her staying in there all day if she wants to, but I guess she'll come out eventually.'
'I'd rather have a scared cat to take care of than Jimmy's mice,' said Kevin. 'I never did like rodents as pets.'
'Still, huh?' said Eduardo, with another wistful smile. 'Do you remember when tu abuelo tried giving you a pair?'
'No,' said Kevin, laughing at the very idea.
'You hated them. They ended up living in my room. I thought you'd remember them a little – they lived for about three years.'
'What were their names?'
'Oh, you had to ask,' Eduardo said, rolling his eyes in self-reproach. 'I called them Teela and Marlena.'
'I have no memory of that,' said Kevin, laughing again as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
Eduardo looked at him curiously. 'You're in a good mood.'
'I'm always in a good mood,' said Kevin. 'I have a wonderful life.'
'Well, that's good to hear,' said Eduardo. Then he looked reproachfully into Merida's carrier, saying, 'You have a wonderful life too, y'know. You don't know you're born.'
'I'm sorry about Rose,' Kevin said suddenly. 'I didn't mean to be so cheerful while she's suffering.'
'It's okay,' said Eduardo. 'You're doing more than enough for us.'
'Am I?' said Kevin. 'I'll have a talk with Rosy if she wants one. She seems to like me, and I have been through something similar myself.'
'Thanks, Kev,' said Eduardo, giving him a hug. 'And she doesn't just like you – she loves you.'
'Yeah, well,' said Kevin, 'she loves all of us, but I think she likes me more than maybe one or two of the other members of our family.'
'Good point,' Eduardo said wryly. 'Now I'd better go down and check on her before I see about exorcising the house.'
'Exorcising, huh?' said Kevin. 'Isn't that more what the Catholic Church would do?'
'Dios te salve, María,' said Eduardo. 'Bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús etcetera. I'll see you later,' and he swept out of the door. He then let himself into the main house, where he met Beth as she was coming downstairs.
'She's decided to go to sleep,' said Beth. 'I guess she didn't get very much last night.'
'I won't disturb her, then,' said Eduardo. 'Thanks for taking care of her, Beth. And Chita too, when she gets here.'
'Oh, don't be silly. I still owe you for all those times you took care of Kevin.'
'Beth, come on – you must've paid that all back before Rose was even born.'
'I don't just mean babysitting hours, Eduardo,' said Beth, smiling warmly at him. He smiled back.
Carl popped his head out of a doorway just then, saying, 'Coffee and a catch-up, Eduardo?'
'Okay, Carl,' said Eduardo, and followed Carl into the kitchen. Beth smiled at the sight, then went off to another room.
'It's only instant,' said Carl, as he began boiling the kettle and spooning instant coffee into mugs.
'Okay, fine,' said Eduardo, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
'So,' said Carl, 'has Chita shown you her stuff on student accommodation?'
'No,' said Eduardo, looking surprised and a little downcast.
'Oh,' said Carl. 'Well, she and Jamie only brought it home yesterday. Of course she didn't show it to you last night – that was a stupid question. Sorry.'
'Is she definitely going to live at college?' Eduardo asked.
'I don't know,' said Carl. 'I'm sure she won't decide anything without consulting you and your bank balance. Hey now, don't look like that – it's not like you'll never see her again.'
'I know,' said Eduardo. 'It's just sad when your kids grow up, isn't it?'
'Sadder if you haven't made a real connection with them,' said Carl. 'You'll be okay with yours.'
'Yeah, I guess so,' said Eduardo, as Carl turned his back to pour boiling water onto the instant coffee granules. 'So Jim's thinking of moving too, huh? If he goes, he'll leave a big piece of his heart here with you.'
'I think you're right there,' said Carl, putting the coffee mugs on the breakfast bar and taking his seat. 'It's funny, isn't it? I never said a word to him about becoming a cop, and now look.'
'It's not so funny,' Eduardo smiled wryly.
'I was fine with him seeing Harry too, wasn't I?' Carl said proudly. 'I said fine, you be as bisexual as you want, and now he's interested in a girl again.'
Eduardo raised an eyebrow. 'And that's better, is it?'
'It's easier for me,' said Carl. 'Maybe I'm wrong to say that, but I said it anyway, so... there it is.'
'You've come a long way,' said Eduardo. 'I know that. But look, what girl are you talking about, anyway? Chita said she thought James was starting something with Isabel.'
'Yes, she's the girl,' said Carl, as though he were talking to a simpleton.
'Oh!' said Eduardo. 'So, um... so you're okay with that?'
'Well, yeah,' said Carl. 'Why wouldn't I be? What's wrong with her?'
'Nothing's wrong with her,' said Eduardo. 'It's just... well, to be honest, I'm a little surprised you see it that way.'
'Why?' asked Carl, looking completely blank.
'Well, because she –' but he stopped when Beth suddenly appeared in the doorway, out of Carl's view, making frantic gestures at him to stop. 'She, um, she, she doesn't like mice,' he finished weakly, then drained his coffee mug. 'Look, I gotta go – my daughter has ghost trouble, don't forget.'
'I haven't forgotten,' said Carl, frowning. 'What are you talking about mice for? Something funny's going on here!'
'Yeah, hilarious,' Eduardo muttered, sliding off the kitchen stool. 'Thanks for the coffee, Carl. I'll see you later.'
He made his way out of the house with a blank look on his face, and waited on the front steps as if expecting someone to join him. Seconds later, Beth appeared.
'How in God's name,' Eduardo said to her, quietly but shrilly, 'did he miss that?'
'Oh, I don't know!' said Beth.
'Well, don't you think somebody ought to tell him?'
'Probably somebody should... but I just don't want them to.'
'I can understand that,' said Eduardo, giving Beth's arm a squeeze. 'I'll, um... see you later too,' and he went on his way.
