Something Unexpected

NINE: Baby Bop's Wish

We walk into the living room to find the Queen family sitting on the living room couch. Maya smiled happily introducing herself with ease. I quickly observe how they react to Maya's hype.

The woman, who I assume is Mrs. Queen looked sharp with her hair in a neat updo and petite body dressed in an expensive looking pantsuit. Meanwhile, Mr. Queen sat back casually with his hands clasped together. His blue eyes roamed around for a while until they landed on me and my sister. He smiles warmly, silently inviting us to come and introduce ourselves.

"It's nice to meet you!" The woman says nicely. She grins at Maya, no doubt noting how much more adorable she was in person.

"Oh and these are my sisters!" Maya runs over to me and Serena and practically drags us in front of the Queens. "This is my sister Serena and this is my sister Alana."

Maya jumps onto the couch squeezing herself between the man and woman sitting on the couch. It was cute, but she wasn't giving our guests any personal space. "I'm sorry, sometimes she gets really worked up and excited."

"It's fine. She's adorable." The woman says.

"Super." Serena and I look at the young girl who sat next to her father looking bored out of her mind. It was pretty clear that she would rather be somewhere else.

I offer my hand to Mr. Queen and shake it politely, "It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Queen and Mr. Queen."

Serena looks at me strangely for a moment, probably wondering why I made it seem like we've been waiting to meet them for more than just two weeks. I had known that the Queens were interested in adopting us for two weeks now, but I wanted Penelope to make sure that they were serious about us first. The last rejection was too fresh, and I wasn't sure that either Maya or Serena could handle another right now. But looking at Mr. Queen's daughter I could sense that everyone was not on board with our adoption.

"It's nice to meet you too. Oh I have so many questions!" Mrs. Queen rambles excitedly. I had to admit that Miranda seemed like a grown up version of Maya. 

"Honey, I'm sure they'll be plenty of time for all of that later." Mr. Queen says as he rubs her back.

"You're right." She says softly as she gazes into her husband's eyes dreamily. I don't know how long they had been married but it was nice to see that their relationship was still warm and full of deep affection.

"Well I just put dinner on the table. I hope you guys like chicken."

"Eww no, I'm a vegetarian." The girl's face scrunches up in disgust and I could tell that she was annoyed. She didn't eat meat, maybe that was why she was so thin.

"Sarah! Don't be rude!" Mrs. Queen looks mortified as she looks back and forth between Sarah and Mr. Queen.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. There's umm broccoli? And there might be some veggies in the fridge, I can make you a salad." I offer.

"If it's not organic then don't bother." She mutters. She pulls out her phone and began to mess with her long brown hair.

"Excuse me ladies, my daughter and I need to speak outside for a moment." Mr. Queen stands and gives Sarah a get-your-ass-up-right-now look. I had only known him for five minutes and I could already tell that he was not the person you wanted to piss off.

Sarah sighs and stands before being escorted outside by her father.

"Well I am definitely not a vegetarian." Mrs. Queen says. I felt bad for her, she was trying hard lighten up the mood but it was definitely going to be awkward now.

"That's great. I'm sorry I should have asked if you all had any allergies or special diets. I wasn't thinking."

"Oh no, no. This is Maya's party; the birthday girl should always be able to eat what she wants on their birthday." She smiles at Maya who was already sitting at the table waiting patiently to be served.

I nod in agreement and gesture for us to all go into the dining room. Not long after we took our seats Mr. Queen walks back in looking a little flustered, but as soon as he enters the dining room he relaxes his face.

"Smells good in here." He rubs his hands together and has a seat next to his wife. I didn't even bother to ask where Sarah was because at the moment I could honestly careless. It was hard enough to act pleasantly as it is. Her foul attitude would only make my sour mood even worse.

During most of the dinner me and my sisters asked a lot of questions. Mr. Queen's family owned a chain of 3 dining establishments called Queen's Ice Cream and Pastries, one of which Mr. Queen ran on his own. Meanwhile his wife worked in real estate selling houses as well as renting out the few properties she owned. Sarah was a junior in high school who was planning on becoming a veterinarian. All the Queens seemed like they were very accomplished and driven. It was like they had it all figured out.

They seemed nearly perfect, but then again everything wasn't always what it seemed. Was it?

Finally it was time for cake and ice cream which was Maya's favorite part of every birthday party.

"Please sing LaLa." Maya asks sweetly. I sigh before clearing my throat and trying my best not to make everyone's ears bleed.

Maya grins happily and claps along with everyone else just as I finish. "Alright, alright. Make a wish Baby Bop."

She looks thoughtfully for a moment, tapping her chin with her little index finger. "Okay, I know what I want!"

She scrunches up her face for a moment, and I know she was concentrating hard on what she wanted. Then she blows hard extinguishing the dancing flame on her candles. We clap and I start serving the cake while Sally dished out the ice cream.

"Where did you get the cake? It's delicious." Mr. Queen asks.

"Alana made it," Serena answers as she hands Mrs. Queen a plate with a slice of the marble cake.

Mrs. Queen's eyes widen before she points to the cake with her fork. "You did all of this yourself?"

I nod and take indulge in my delicious pastry.

"I'm impressed. Who taught you how to do this?"

"I learned a lot from my Grandma Nana and her friend Mrs. Lincoln. They were baking buddies. I used to watch and sometimes help them so I picked up on a lot of things. Everything else I just YouTubed."

Mr. Queen nods and cleans his plate. I look down and watch Maya as she ate her cake and ice cream happily. There was a little cake smudged in the corners of her mouth, which I'm pretty sure she would lick off when she was finished.

She seemed really happy, and in the end that was really all that mattered to me. As I observed her and how she interacted with the Queens, I didn't have to guess what she had wished for. She wanted to be adopted and have parents, and I could tell that she really liked the Queens. So yeah, I wouldn't have been surprised if Maya had wished for us to be adopted by the Queens.

Secretly I wished for the same. Mr. and Mrs. Queen seemed like nice people, and Serena and Maya could thrive under their care. As for me, I wasn't sure if I would fit in anywhere let alone with people like the Queens.

Not that it mattered much, since Maya and Serena were the ones who really needed a father and mother figure in their life. 

♡ V o t e ♡

           ☆ C o m m e n t ☆

                                ♡ S h a r e ♡