by Kendra Riley
“Wake up!” screamed Miguel.
The couple jumped out of their sleep and looked around.
“What? What is it?” Victor exclaimed.
“You guys have been asleep all day!” Nicolette complained.
“Where’s Grandma?” Nichole asked.
“She went to the wine thing,” Miguel answered.
“What time is it?” Victor asked.
“It’s almost three o’clock,” Miguel answered with a frown.
“We’re hungry,” Nicolette whined.
“Did you ask Rita to make you something to eat?” Nichole asked.
“We don’t know what we want to eat,” Miguel added.
“Do you want pizza?” Victor asked as he rolled his eyes.
“Yeah!” Miguel exclaimed.
“Why didn’t you ask Rita to make you one then?” Victor asked.
“She’s out sick today,” Miguel answered.
Nichole picked up her phone and ordered two pizzas for everyone.
“Since you’re both here, there’s something Mommy and Daddy want to tell you,” Nichole admitted.
Victor’s eyes grew wide and he looked like he was holding his breath.
“What is it?” Miguel asked.
“Is it another dog?” Nicolette asked.
“No, sweetie, it’s not another dog.” Nichole sighed.
“Is it a new video game?” Miguel asked.
“No, it’s not a new video game.” Nichole sighed again.
“Then what is it?” Miguel asked.
“How would you feel about a baby brother or a baby sister?” Nichole inquired.
Nicolette raised her eyebrows.
Miguel was still confused.
“I wouldn’t really mind having another little sibling but it’s not as cool as a new video game,” Miguel responded.
Nicolette was speechless.
“Son, Mommy is going to have a baby,” Victor replied.
Miguel looked at Nicolette and then looked at Nichole and Victor.
“When?” Miguel asked.
“In seven months,” Nichole replied.
Nicolette was still speechless.
“Nicolette, honey, what do you think?” Nichole asked.
“Depends. Is it a boy or a girl?” Nicolette asked.
“We don’t know yet. We find out in a couple of months,” Victor replied.
“Where do babies come from?” Miguel asked.
“The stork,” Victor replied quickly.
“No, they’re too smart for that stork nonsense,” Nichole replied. “You tell Miguel how it goes in another room and I’ll tell Nicolette in here.”
Victor agreed and took Miguel into his room.
“Now, Miguel, having a baby is a big responsibility. When taking part in the action it takes to make a baby, you have to know the risks,” Victor explained. “When a man loves a woman, they have sex. Sex is when a man inserts his member into a woman and they make love. Then he plants his seed inside of her and the baby grows inside of her.”
“We’re like plants?” Miguel asked.
Victor sighed. “No, we’re not like plants. We just plant seeds inside of the woman we love.”
Miguel nodded his head and said, “Oh, okay. I get it now.”
Victor guessed he didn’t but allowed his confirmation to end the conversation.
Nicolette’s reaction was different. “I already know where babies come from,” Nicolette explained.
“You do?” Nichole replied.
“Yeah. A guy kisses a girl and she gets pregnant,” Nicolette continued. “Then the mom poops out the baby.”
Nichole felt like her daughter’s understanding was missing a few steps and elaborated. “Something like that. A daddy puts his male parts into the mommy’s female parts and they make love, resulting in a baby,” Nichole explained.
“Oh, okay,” Nicolette, responded.
Miguel and Victor walked back in and got back onto the bed. “Everything good?” Nichole asked.
“Everything is good and understood,” Victor replied.
The twins laughed and complained about their hunger.
Moments later, the doorbell rang and a security guard brought up their pizzas.
Nicolette and Miguel walked over to the door and took the pizzas.
“Thanks, Marcus,” Nicolette replied.
“She’s so mature for her age,” Nichole whispered.
“I know, and Miguel will mature as he grows up.” Victor chuckled.
“They’re so beautiful,” Nichole replied.
“I agree. Nicolette looks just like you and Miguel looks just like me. We are beautiful people and we make a beautiful family.” Victor smiled.
“They’re so smart,” Nichole replied.
The kids got back to the bed and Nichole and Victor helped them up. “I love pizza!” Miguel exclaimed.
“You’ve always loved pizza,” Victor replied.
“I mean look at it! I think everyone loves pizza!” Miguel screamed.
Tashka and Zap walked into the room and laid on the bed Nichole bought them.
“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Nicolette admitted.
“Oh yeah, why is that?” Nichole asked.
“We get to play with play dough tomorrow and I’m going to make a house,” she responded.
“You can do that here, too, can’t you?” Victor asked.
“Yeah, but I want everybody to see it,” Nicolette added. “I want them to see me in action.”
“That’s my girl.” Victor smiled.
They each grabbed a slice of pizza. Miguel grabbed the largest slice. “You’re small but you eat so much!” Nichole exclaimed.
“I have a big stomach.” Miguel laughed.
“What do you guys want to do today?” Victor asked.
“I don’t know,” Nicolette replied.
“I want to go to the zoo!” Miguel screamed.
“Then let’s go to the zoo!” Nichole screamed.
After they ate, they got ready, and headed to the zoo.
Miguel ran from habitat to habitat and admired the animals he witnessed.
Nicolette held her dad’s hand and followed their lead. Nichole followed closely behind Miguel to make sure he didn’t get too far away.
He called out all of the animals he knew and told his mom to describe the ones he didn’t. Nichole happily explained every animal he asked about.
Nicolette looked around and asked, “Daddy, how long did it take them to build the zoo?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a year or two,” Victor said.
Nicolette smiled and replied, “I want to beat that record.” Victor smiled at his daughter and knew what path she was planning to take.
Miguel continued to run around and look at all of the animals. “What is this?” he screamed.
“That’s a sloth. They move very slowly, and their long claws help them hang from tree branches,” Nichole answered.
When he saw the red pandas, he went ballistic. “Dad they look a lot like Zap! They’re lazy like him too!” shouted Miguel. “I want to be an animal trainer,” Miguel said to Nichole and Nichole looked at him and smiled.
When their zoo trip was over, Nichole and Victor were sure they knew what their kids wished to be when they grew up and their choices made them happy. They grabbed a bite to eat and they headed home.
Chapter14
“Our children sure do aim far beyond the stars,” Nichole said as she pulled the covers over her sleeping offspring.
“I completely agree. I think Nicolette wants to be an architect,” Victor replied grinning from ear to ear.
“Miguel said he wants to be an animal trainer!” Nichole exclaimed as they made their way to the bedroom.
“I can’t wait to see what this one wants to be,” Victor replied. “There’s no telling!”
Nichole squealed. “We’re really great parents,” Victor said as he kissed Nichole.
“Yeah, I never expected us to be th
is great at it,” she replied.
“I did,” Victor admitted. “I told you, you were going to be a great mother. I knew it all along.”
“Oh, so this is an, “I told you so,” moment?” Nichole said with a smile and one eyebrow raised.
“Maybe.” Victor chuckled. They had a long day and they ended up falling asleep before they could finish watching their television show.
Nichole woke up in bed alone. She looked at the clock and figured Victor took the kids to school. She got out of bed and took a shower. She felt so refreshed. When she walked downstairs, Rita, the chef, had made her some French toast, bacon, and a side of fruit. “You’re glowing today, Nichole,” Rita complimented.
“Thank you, Rita. You’re too kind,” Nichole replied. She ate her breakfast and Terry walked in.
“Good morning, Nichole,” he said with a smile.
“Good morning, Terry. How are you today?” Nichole asked.
“I’m doing just fine. I heard the news, congratulations,” he replied as he sat down next to her.
“Thank you. Is everything okay? You don’t usually show up like this,” Nichole said with a frown.
“Yeah, it’s just that, um, Miguel’s being bullied in school,” he replied.
“What? By who?” Nichole asked.
“Some boys in his school. Do you want me to take care of it?” Terry asked.
“No, thank you, I’ll let Victor handle it,” she responded as she remembered what happened last time he took care of someone.
Terry nodded his head and headed out. Nichole picked up her phone and called Victor. “Yes, my love?” Victor answered.
“Miguel is being bullied in school.” Nichole sighed.
“Want me to go to the school and talk to his teacher?” Victor asked.
“That would be great,” Nichole replied.
“Okay, I’ll head over there right away,” he responded.
“I love you,” Nichole said.
“I love you too, baby,” Victor said before hanging up.
“My son is being bullied.” Nichole sighed as she spoke to Rita.
“It happens to the best of us,” Rita replied. “Those boys are just jealous that he’s going to steal their girlfriends in the future.” Rita smirked.
Nichole smiled and replied, “You are absolutely right. He is a lady killer.” The two conversed among one another until Victor came home.
“I talked to his teacher,” he announced.
“What did she say?” asked Nichole.
“She said she’s been trying to stop this for a while now and she guesses they’ve just gotten sneaky with it,” he replied.
“I wonder why he hasn’t told us,” Nichole admitted. “I feel slightly offended that he didn’t come to us about his problem. What do they do to my baby? How do they bully him?”
Victor sighed. “They call him names and they break his stuff. They ripped up a couple of his homework assignments and he would have gotten a bad grade had the teacher not caught them in the act.”
“That’s horrible!” Nichole replied. Before they could finish their conversation, the twins walked in.
“Hey Mom! Hey Dad!” the twins chimed.
“Hello my beautiful children!” Nichole exclaimed.
Miguel acted like his happy, usual self. He masked his situation so well. “Nicolette, can you go up to your room for a moment?” Nichole asked.
“Sure,” Nicolette replied and she headed upstairs.
“Miguel, you know you can talk to us about anything right?” Victor asked.
“Yeah, I know,” Miguel replied nonchalantly.
“Then why didn’t you tell us about those kids that bother you at school?” Nichole asked.
Miguel sighed. “I don’t care about that. In twenty years, those kids will still be below me. They just don’t like me because I have a lot of money and they want what I have so they break my things and attempt to make me feel low. I let them let it out. I would rather them bother me than someone who isn’t strong enough to take it.”
Nichole and Victor were shocked. They knew their children were smart but full of awareness too? This was an all-time high and they were proud of their son.
“We are so proud of you,” Nichole replied, “but maybe it would be best for you and your sister to go to a private school.”
“That sounds fun,” Miguel replied. Nicolette walked downstairs and Miguel made the announcement, “We’re going to private school!”
Nicolette ran up to her parents. “Really! I don’t want to leave my friends!” Nichole and Victor explained to her that private schools would have cooler things and there wouldn’t be anyone there to bother her. She knew she didn’t have much of a choice and agreed to go through with the transition. When they went through orientation with the private school, the headmaster of the school had the twins take tests to see where they were academically. They were both placed in a grade ahead. At this point, they were in first grade and their birthdays were coming up.
“Now that I’m in first grade and about to be six, can I have a lizard?” Miguel asked.
“What kind of lizard?” Nichole asked.
“A bearded dragon?”
“We’ll see,” Nichole replied with a smile.
Nicolette asked for a tablet because all of her new friends at their school had one.
“How do you like your new school?” Nichole asked.
“I have friends now,” Miguel said with a smile.
“I have smarter friends,” Nicolette replied.
“Do you two want to have a party to celebrate? And you can invite all of your friends.”
“I thought you would never ask!” Nicolette screamed.
“Sure. Just make sure there’s pizza,” Miguel replied.
Nichole set up the party details and gave the kids invitations to hand out.
“I’m going to give these out to everybody!” Nicolette exclaimed.
“Do you want to invite Bryan and Todd too?” Victor asked.
“We have to! I haven’t seen them in years!” Miguel exclaimed.
“It’s only been a few months but I’ll still invite them,” chuckled Nichole.
Miguel ran upstairs to his room and Nicolette went out back to sit by the pool. “He seems a lot happier now,” Victor stated.
“I know, isn’t it great? He said he has friends!” Nichole exclaimed.
“I just can’t believe our kids got bumped up a grade. I should tell Melissa to put her kids in there!” Nichole replied, ecstatic.
“You should. Her boys are extremely witty,” Victor responded.
“I think the kids would love to see them there,” Nichole replied.
“I do too,” said Victor.
The twins’ birthday came and they had a big party. Melissa and the boys showed up. “Where’s Matthew?” Nichole asked before she hugged Melissa.
“He’s working today. It’s just me,” she replied.
“Did you look into the school I texted you about?” Nichole asked.
“Yes! It looks wonderful. The boys and I are going to get a tour of it tomorrow. How do the kids like it?” Melissa asked.
“They love it! It seems like there’s a little clique for all of them to enjoy. There’s Miguel and his animal crew and there’s Nicolette with her friends who love technology,” Nichole replied.
“I am so happy to see them having fun. I remember you telling me about Miguel’s bullying problem. The nerve of those kids,” Melissa snapped.
“Yeah, I know but he had such an amazing understanding of it all. He was so calm and collected. When I was his age and got bullied, I was a complete wreck!” Nichole exclaimed.
“Well it’s a new day and age. Our kids evolve faster than we do. They have the resources to do so now,” Melissa admitted.
“They’re growing up so fast,” Nichole said with a sigh.
“I know. I could just burst into tears!” Melissa exclaimed.
“They will always be our babies though,” Ni
chole responded.
Victor was manning the grill and talking to Larry. “The kids look great, Vic. How old are they now? Sixty-eight?” Larry joked.
“No, they’re eighty-six.” Victor laughed.
“Whoa, I wanted to speed up time, not kill us off.” Larry laughed.
“You don’t think we’ll be dead when my kids are sixty-eight?” Victor asked.
“Senile, maybe, but not dead.” Larry chuckled.
“It feels like just yesterday, I got the email from Nichole saying we needed to talk,” Victor admitted.
“Is that how that went?” Larry asked.
“Yeah, I flew here from Brazil and then she told me she was pregnant,” Victor responded.
“I never knew that. You never tell me anything anymore,” Larry pouted.
“Don’t be such a baby. You didn’t ask so I didn’t tell you.” Victor laughed.
Larry ignored Victor and jumped into the pool.
Todd and Bryan walked around with Miguel and his other animal loving friends.
“This is my red panda, Zap,” Miguel explained. “He’s older than me.” Everyone gasped and tried to pet Zap but he ran away and hid in Nichole and Victor’s room.
“Tashka!” Miguel yelled. “This is my dog.” All of the kids admired the giant dog that really appreciated their attention. She played with the kids and allowed them to pet her. When she got tired of the attention, she jumped into the pool and splashed everyone in the area. Nicolette sat with her friends at a table talking about their favorite piece of technology and why they chose it.
“I really like the tablet because the graphics on it are really clear,” Nichole announced.
“I prefer desktop computers. The monitor allows you to use two of them at once if you want to,” replied one of her friends. Their conversation escalated multiple times.
Miguel finished his tour of the house by ending it in the game room. All of his friends were surprised. A lot of them had never seen that many games or game devices in their lives. They thought they were in heaven for a moment. They looked around and saw things ranging from air hockey to mancala, to connect four, to Nintendo, and more.
Their minds were blown and they already thought Miguel was a really cool kid but to them he was a king now. Most of the boys ended up staying in the game room. A lot of the girls joined the conversation about technology, or they got their faces painted then jumped in the pool.