"I hope you all don't mind that we have lunch together" Jaime said from the head of the table, "The party would have too many people for me to interact with you all like this."

 

"Of course not, mother" Ethan replied from her left, taking a sip of wine, "Having lunch before your birthday party has been tradition now."

 

"Mhm, and I bet you gave Ange a hard time at peeling you off your work."

 

Lilly laughed. She sat on her mother's right and across from her twin, "That's for sure."

 

Ethan gave her a glare, smiling without humor, "As I am sure that it had been difficult for my sister to leave her work on hold."

 

Jaime swirled the wine in her glass, "Why do I have such workaholic children?"

 

In her mind, she blamed her husband. Their argument had been about his work. He had an urgent business to attend to. It came at the last minute. He apologized but she didn't have any of it. Every year she tried her best for all of her family to attend. It would be that one day where they would be complete. There were other holidays but the others might want to spend them elsewhere. There would be no guarantee of a reunion.

 

Since it was her birthday, they wouldn't refuse to come. She had told them it was the gift she wanted the most.

 

While Lilly and Ethan continued to jab at each other, Jaime glanced around the table. They obtained a rectangular one, good enough for ten people. Two chairs for each end of the table and four chairs on each side.

 

Lilly sat with Hachi next to her. She listened to the twins banter about their work. Jaime sighed. Even when it was time to eat, they could never truly keep it at bay. After Hachi, Emily ate her plate of food silently. She tried to hide the scowl on her face. Somehow it would reappear again after a while. Jaime wondered if it had anything to do with the boy next to her.

 

'Jae Parker' was what Ange said wasn't it?

 

Ethan, of course, sat with his wife, Ange. She could never be more grateful for that woman. Her son was hard headed and aggressive. When she first met Ange, she couldn't comprehend how such an amazing woman fell for her son. Her first grandchild came next. Alex discussed the food with the person on her left. Never had Jaime imagined this day would come. They all hoped that Alex would be able to become close with others from her age group.

 

Who would have thought it turned out to be a boy?

 

Jaime placed her wine down. She interlaced her fingers and rested her elbows on the table. Her eyes focused on someone with disheveled dark hair and green eyes.

 

"So, Logan" she called out. Her voice overlapped her children's. Wide green eyes immediately met her gray ones, "You gave us quite the game earlier. Do you play for your school?"

 

Logan shook his head, a polite smile on his face, "No, ma'am. I play basketball for the school."

 

Jaime raised her eyebrows, "Really? Are you much better at basketball? Or do you like it better?"

 

"I like them equally but I only get to choose one and my father would be happy if I chose basketball. Not only for the sport but also it meant both of his sons would be in the same team. He liked seeing us play together."

 

Alex covered her face with a napkin and snorted. Then, she placed it back on her lap as if nothing happened. Logan nudged her knee with his. She glared sideways at him, making sure her grandmother didn't see. She stuck out her tongue quickly before taking a bite of her food.

 

"Wouldn't that cause rivalry though?" Jaime asked. Rivalry between children wasn't unheard of. It can root from the children themselves or from the influence of the people around them.

 

"No, ma'am. We don't have something like that between us."

 

"That is true" Jae backed up, mid-chew. He placed a fist over his mouth. There was still some food left in his mouth. He needed to swallow them quickly.

 

Emily hissed at him quietly, "Don't talk when your mouth is full."

 

"Yes, ma'am."

 

"I just said—"

 

"How nice" Jaime sighed both dejectedly and dreamily, "As a parent, I'd appreciate seeing my children work harmoniously like that."

 

The twins in question both looked at her accusingly.

 

"Sadly, that only happens whenever I insult them."

 

Angie laughed. She had also noticed the same thing. Only Jaime could get away with ridiculing the two. If it had been anyone else, they would have retaliated. Since it came from their mother, they could only pout and coo for praises.

 

Ethan and Lilly turned in her direction.

 

She merely shrugged her shoulders, "Well, it's true."

 

"It is true" Jaime said firmly, "Now, would you kindly stop talking about your jobs at this table?"

 

She could almost see droopy dog ears on top of her children's heads as they bowed their heads. Together, they mumbled, "Yes, mother."

 

Hachi and Angie exchanged a look. Each of them had a suppressed smile on their face. They had spent so many meals with the mother and her kids that it became their little game to watch how long before the children got scolded.

 

"Now, where was I?" Jaime thought out loud. She glanced at the ceiling for a second before addressing a certain young man again, "Ah, I wanted to ask. How did you take it when you found out Alex was a girl?"

 

Logan froze, all eyes on him now. He couldn't tell if they wanted a sincere answer or an entertaining one. He tried to find the answers in their stares—except for Ethan's.

 

"I was…" he began to say and cleared his throat, "I was in shock. I actually had a lot of questions since it was an unusual thing to do. At this point, I already gathered that Alex was a private person so I let her explain things to me at her own pace."

 

He only looked at Jaime since it had been her who asked about it. The old lady's beady eyes watched him. She didn't only listen but also observed his mannerisms. Then, she glimpsed at Alex. Her granddaughter didn't seem to show any sign that it was untrue.

 

Jaime nodded, accepting his answer. Someone like that was hard to come by. Ange had explained the deal between her and Alex about making one friend. When Jaime first heard about it, she was skeptical at how it would go. Choosing the wrong person could lead to serious consequences. 

 

Now, she felt like she could be at ease.

 

Jaime scrunched her eyebrows. She seemed to have forgotten something, "How did you find out about it again?"

 

"Oh, that is a long story, grandma" Emily spoke up. She felt a kick to her leg and met Alex's glare. Her cousin gave her a look that told her not to talk about it. The comment came out reflexively. It wasn't her fault it was true.

 

Across from her, dread clouded Alex's head. The last thing she wanted was for something like the slumber party to happen with the rest of the family. She really didn't need another episode like it. Not to mention, it would be a hundred times worse since it involved the grownups. The image they had of her would surely be ruined. Gone was the well-behaved Alex. It would be replaced by a clumsy one.

 

"Is that so?" Jaime mused. Her eyes lit up. She could use some good stories. The youth always had good ones even she had them when she was young.

 

"Yes, grandmother" Alex answered before anyone else could, "You must hear about how Logan thought I was actually lesbian."

 

Logan choked on his food.

 

"That is perfectly normal to think about," he defended.

 

"Wait, you're not lesbian?" Jae blinked innocently at her.

 

Alex scoffed at the twins. She pointed a fork at them, "Don't joke with me you two."

 

"Aw, I'm sorry, Alex" Jae apologized, "I totally forgot how you blushed during the contest at the mall when Logan held you."

 

Blood rushed over Alex's cheeks. The older Parker twin looked at her with a teasing gleam in his eyes. She gripped the fork tightly. Oh, how she wanted to jab it into them.

 

"What contest?" Ethan demanded.

 

Like clockwork, Angie rubbed his arm, "Oh, dear. It was probably an accident. No need to get worked up."

 

"Yes, Uncle Ethan. There's nothing to worry about" Emily reassured him, "They didn't even kiss."

 

"Kiss?!"

 

Alex sank in her chair. She was tempted to use the napkin to cover her face—but it would only catch even more attention. Not that anyone gave her any at the moment. She prayed to the heavens. They didn't answer her previous pleas to have the ground swallow her up. She hoped the reason was because she could only have one of it answered and they knew she would need it the most here at this table.

 

She couldn't wait for this weekend to be over.

===

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