Jake stayed, and he and Grace soon started playing game of ‘Alien Monopoly Pursuit” that the families had invented. It was a cross between Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit. The twins were in awe of it and because it contained so much history of the clan’s early days, the teenagers got sucked into a game. It allowed Grace a chance to take her mind of her recovery and being home and trying to adjust to the fact she had her mother in the same house as her for the first time since she could remember, and it was easy to get to the know her sisters. Beth was so much harder. She was teamed with Carrie. While Jake and Alexandra were teamed together so the twins were novice’s in the knowledge base, they were playing in.
The twins caught on quick. “This is cool,” Carrie said in awe of the game. “Did all the questions really happen?”
“Yup,” Jake said. “Or at least according to family folklore. Of course, it’s a probably tamer version of what really happened because we’ll never know just how hazardous it got although we older kids got the warnings.”
“That’s for sure,” Grace muttered as she played her turn.
“Is it true that Max was captured by the bad guys just like Maria wrote in her book?” Alexandra asked Grace.
“Which time?” Grace asked.
“You mean there was more than one time?” Alexandra asked as her eyes along with Carrie’s went wide.
“Sure,” Grace murmured. “Our parent’s teenage years is a textbook example they say of what we the next generation shouldn’t revisit. Dad had several scrapes, and he got very lucky to escape them in the manner he did.”
“How so,” Alexandra asked they heard footsteps and then a voice.
“Let’s save that story for another time,” came Max’s voice as he stood by the doorway and looked in on the gathering.
Grace started to say but she looked up and saw her father entrance to the room. “Oh,” she murmured as she saw Max and her mother walk into the room. “It’s not like we really told them anything worrying…”
“But you were about to,” Max warned her daughter. “Carrie and Alexandra, you can hear all the horror stories in good time. So, Alien Pursuit I see…” he asked of the game he saw the kids playing. “Wasn’t there something else…”
“It’s fun Uncle Max,” Jake said. “And I am mere mortal here…” to laughter in the room. “It was just harmless fun.”
“The girls will get an eye opening to our history in enough time…” Max said as he didn’t want Alexandra and Carrie to be exposed to too much, too soon. “If you want to play the game, but don’t go into the nitty gritty of it.”
“But they might now be here much longer?” Grace muttered, and an immediate pall was placed over the room and Grace seemed to recognize it and was contrite. “Sorry…”
“As I told your father Grace, I am here now. So, are the girls. I can’t promise tomorrow or the future” Beth sighed as she thought of all the baggage that existed here in Roswell, and all the tenuous threads.
Grace nodded as her enthusiasm for the game was starting to wean and Max could sense it. “Okay, why don’t you finish the game another time. Dinner will be a in a little while. Grace has had a long day.”
“Girls, I am making lasagna so why don’t you come and help me…” Beth asked of her daughters, as she knew that there would be plenty of adjustments in the days to come as they all learn how to deal with living in the same home and she still didn’t know how much longer she would be able to stay as her rational mind was telling her that she needed to go back to Madison and figure out what she wanted, and then her rebellious side of her brain was telling her to throw caution to the wind and stay.
“Your homemade lasagna?” Alexandra asked interest piqued.
“Yes,” Beth nodded.
“Cool,” Carrie smiled. “I love your lasagna” as she thought of the tension in the room. “We can give Grace and Jake some space.”
“You make your own lasagna?” Grace asked of her mother.
“Yes,” Beth said. “With plenty of tabasco sauce, so I think you and your father will like it…” she smiled. “The girls have always wanted as much tabasco sauce in it as possible, which I gather now that I am filled in, it seems to be a family trait?”
“Anything with tabasco in it is good by me” Max smiled. “I am sure we will love it. You weren’t into cooking as much when we were younger because of our schedules but when you did, you were very good at it.”
“Same goes now I guess,” Beth admitted. “I work too much but when I do have time, I do like to cook.”
“Come on Alex, let’s go help out Mom and give Grace and Jake some time…”
“Sure,” Alexandra nodded.
“I have some work to do. So, we’ll give you two some time but Jake, your mother did call, and they expect you home soon.”
Jake nodded as soon he was left alone with Grace.
*
“Where is Jake?” Elizabeth as she walked into the kitchen as she got home from work at the boutique. She saw the bustling of her younger siblings, but not her older brother as she opened the fridge, and got out some orange juice and went about finding a glass to pour it in.
“Over at Grace’s” Maria said as she looked up from her manuscript as she got invested in writing a chapter, and knew she had to get to work on it as she got another summons from her publisher to send them a draft of it so they could begin the process of preparing for the next release and then she also had the publicity tour for her most recent release she was still to do coming up in two weeks.
“Is he staying for dinner?” Elizabeth asked.
“Nope, but he should be home in a little while. So how was work?” Maria asked as she used the diversion of her next oldest coming home to get her away from where the story goes now. Writer’s block was annoying and given everything else going in her life, it was happening too often lately.
“Fun, exciting” Elizabeth glowed. “It’s so much more exciting than I even thought possible. So many different clothes and learning the business stuff is cool. It’s definitely going to help me with school.”
“Is that a plug so I let you continue working?” Maria laughed.
“No, seriously Mom, it’s a lot of hard work and it’s a nice diversion from everything going on with our lives these past couple of weeks.”
“I guess a diversion is needed given the alternative” Maria allowed as she knew if anything could keep Elizabeth from exploring her deepest ‘Michael’ tendencies. “But honey, be careful okay.”
“Mom, I promise everything is fine. In fact, Aunt Isabel wants me to work at her store more, as much as my schedule allows.”
“No,” Maria shook her head. “You’ve already worked to many hours this week and have barely enough time to get your homework done if you did at all and took time at school to do it. Spending anymore time would be too much…”
“Mom, I promise I am not biting me off more than I can chew” Elizabeth smiled. “My grades are still way better than Jake’s. You don’t have to worry. I have plans for my future, and they are not letting my studies slide. I have attended every day this week, and I plan to do so again and plus with Jake and Grace out of the hospital. I have no reasons to want to go rogue, right?”
“You still found ways even before they found themselves in trouble” Maria reminded her daughter. “All I want for you is to be careful. And not to do too much. Grace working so much might be why she stumbled a bit these last weeks.”
“Working was the least of her problems, and plus it’s just Aunt Isabel’s boutique. I will be fine, and she’ll be keeping an eye on me…” Elizabeth reminded her mother as she took a couple of cookies. “Gotta go and do that homework you’re pestering me about” she quipped as she headed upstairs.
Maria looked down at her manuscript and silently cursed how complicated her life was as her little girl was barrelling towards adulthood with every day. “Why must she want to grow up?” she murmured.
“What” Michael asked as he walked into the kitchen and leaned down and kissed his wife who sat at the table. “You seem troubled about something?”
“It’s nothing…”
“Come on Maria, it’s something. What’s got you blue?” Michael asked.
“Just the reminder that our kids are growing up, and I wish they weren’t… Isabel wants Elizabeth to do more hours at the store.”
“That is great for her, because it helps out both of them…right?” Michael asked but got the sense his wife disagreed. “You don’t seem thrilled.”
“I just wish she wasn’t so bound and determine to grow up. I know she has a right to want to work and make money that she doesn’t have to save for university and can play with, but I don’t want that responsibility for her yet.”
“She’s still only fifteen,” Michael reminded his wife. “She still is at home for awhile yet. We still have ultimate control over her…”
Maria laughed at the thought. “I know, but the knowledge that someone like Tommy Ellis existed and how close our daughter could have been one of his victims. If she hadn’t been quick thinking, she might be looking at a changed life like Grace is…”
“Ah,” Michael sighed as he knew he was looking at what truly was troubling his wife. A subject they hadn’t talk much about since the discovery of what their daughter had gone through, and how close they came and for once he was thankful that his daughter was as talented as she was and with defences that the normal teenage girl would not have… “You’re thinking about what could have happened to Elizabeth, and the fact she didn’t come to us?”
“I can’t help it,” Maria muttered as she looked down at the manuscript. “All I do is have to look at Grace and see what might have happened, and how our daughter got lucky. And yet she was attacked, and we didn’t know, and having her out there in the world can only bring on more examples of that…”
“She’s strong and she’s proven she can handle any situation, whether we like the results or not. I wish she would have come to us, but at least she knew how to fight back…”
“I wish she didn’t have to fight back,” Maria murmured.
“Neither do I, but at least we know she has the defences to be able to and I think she knows to be careful. And Isabel will be there Maria, and she can keep an eye on her…”
“I know,” Maria nodded.
“Then let’s be understanding and be there for our daughter as she tries to go out there in the world and know she’s not out the door tomorrow, and we still have plenty of time with her unlike Jake…”
“Jake… right, how could I have forgotten” Maria murmured as she knew she hadn’t forgotten how close he was to graduation. “Has he gotten any acceptances or rejections back, yet?”
“I haven’t checked the mail today, have you. He hasn’t mentioned them, but I heard around town that some schools have sent them out…”
“Great,” Maria murmured quietly as she maneuvered the conversation back to something that didn’t make her depressed. “I am making Homemade Spicy fried rice for dinner and I will start it in a little while.”
“Cool,” Michael nodded. “I am going into my office down the hall, if you need anything just reach out…”
Maria nodded as she glanced down at her manuscript and found a burst of inspiration because at least she could forget her life’s realities in the pages of fiction, as she worked her story through a tricky subplot. She was so submerged in the writing.
*
“Wow, thank you Jake” Grace was saying as she stared down at the small package in her hand as she had opened the box Jake had given her once the room had all emptied out and she and Jake were left alone. “Where did you find them?” she asked as she took out the earrings. “They are perfect.”
“Aunt Isabel’s boutique” Jake murmured. “I guess she doesn’t have only clothes there…”
“No, she doesn’t…” Grace smiled as he saw the beautiful stone earrings. “They are gorgeous, wow, thank you.”
“I guess they are mood stone earrings. They look blue now, but I guess as Aunt Isabel explained, they change depending on your moods or something like that…”
“They do,” Grace nodded. “I have seen them there before, and I did want them, but I always had other stuff to spend my money on… So, thank you.”
“You are very welcome,” Jake smiled.
“But why… It’s not my birthday, or Christmas… So, why?” Grace asked as she looked down at the earrings and took them out of the book and tried them on. “How do they look?”
“Fantastic on you,” Jake smiled. “And about why… well, you’ve had a confusing and very painful last couple of weeks, and I wanted to get you something that makes you happy…”
“I am happy regardless Jake,” Grace assured her friend. “I admit the last few weeks have been trying but it’s not getting me down as I want to focus on what the future holds and not sink because of may have happened.”
“Anyways, I wanted something nice for you to welcome you home” Jake smiled.
“Just having you here is good enough for me,” Grace smiled as Jake took her hand in his, “I just wish life weren’t this hard.”
“You will make it,” Jake assured Grace as they hugged as both knew he had to be going and join his own family for dinner as they enjoyed the embrace and before they knew it, they were exchanging a sweet and yet passionate kiss…
“Grace…. Oh, sorry” came a surprised tone in a voice coming into the room as both of the teenagers broke from their kiss and looked and saw Beth who was surprised to come into the room and witness what she did.
“I better go,” Jake said as he saw the awkwardness in the room.
“I only wanted to say dinner would be in a half hour…” Beth tried saying but stopped. “I’ll go back…”
“No, wait…” Jake said as he used one of his crutches to get up before grabbing the second one and leaning against them “I do have to go. Grace, have a good night okay. I’ll call you later… or tomorrow if we don’t connect.”
“Sure,” Grace smiled as Beth awkwardly stayed in place as she didn’t know what to say nor did Grace know what to say as she rolled her chair to the door and watched as Jake grin at her and leave her house.
Turning her chair back to face her mother. Beth watched softly. “Sorry again…”
“It’s alright,” Grace nodded as they heard footsteps and saw Max coming out of the kitchen as when he saw the tension between his daughter and Beth he stopped and frowned as he assessed both women.
“What’s up.”
“Nothing,” Grace sighed as she rolled her chair back in the direction of the living room and left her parents.
“What did I miss?” Max asked Beth.
“It’s just I interrupted a moment between Grace and Jake before he left for home” Beth said. “So, it was weird…”
“Oh,” Max said shaking his head. “I know the feeling. It’s happened to me before,” he sighed as he thought of the part of his life that he wasn’t prepared to handle.
His sixteen-year daughter’s love life he mused to himself. “Welcome to parenting a sixteen-year-old through teenage hell…”
“How do you handle it?”
“Simple, I don’t” Max laughed. “Come on. I came to tell you that the girls say that the lasagna is almost ready, and they need your help.”
Right,” Beth smiled at the easing of tension as she followed Max to the kitchen as she viewed Grace watching the two of them with a frown on her face as she sensed all of them had a lot to adjust to in the days to come.