The twins were up in their rooms doing homework, which gave Nini a bit of a chance to be alone. She went out to the back patio and sat on the tiny couch. Her hands were shaking with anticipation as she pressed call on his contact.
It only took a moment before a voice came through. "Hey."
"Sorry if this is a bad time-"
"Don't worry. It's not like I have a full schedule."
"Yeah," she chuckled to herself. "Anyway, I wanted to ask when we'd be doing the whole... meeting thing."
"Oh, uh... I'm not sure."
"Are they up for it?"
"Yeah, I think so. I've talked about it with them. And the twins?"
"They've also said yes."
"Perfect then. When?"
"I don't know. They're kinda slammed with homework, so maybe on a weekend."
"Ok, that works."
"So... which day?" Nini didn't want to be the one to make this kind of decision.
"Whatever works best for you."
Fuck. "Um... next weekend?" Her heartbeat was echoing and growing louder in her ears as she waited for an answer.
"Yeah... yeah, I think that works."
"Ok... I'll tell them."
"Great. Me too. See you soon then."
"Bye." What the hell did I just sign up for?
*Next Week*
Nini felt like she was going to vomit. Two days; they had two damn days to prepare, and she didn't know where to start.
The twins weren't any better; it's not like they had a real idea of what they were about to get into, but meeting strangers in general was always stressful, especially since their life is so hectic. To be fair, it's not like they had any experience with this type of... ordeal.
What stressed them out the most: their mother. Nini's frantic fearfulness scared them that much more about this whole shebang. She was jumpy and panicking a lot more, which did no favors for their nerves.
Nini had many questions rampaging around her head. How the hell do I do this? How the fuck do we do this? Will everyone hate each other? Is he going to introduce them as his wife and son already? Or is that for a different time? This is all happening so fast. Am I the only one freaking out? She felt like she was just going to explode soon.
She has ranted to her friends and mothers about this during the time leading up to it, but it's not like they could give her any advice, only reassure her that this would go smoothly (not that she believed any of it).
"Can you guys come down here for a second?!" Nini shouted up the stairs.
"Yeah!" they both answered.
Nini was sitting on the couch as she waited, listening to their footsteps pounding on the stairs. "What'd you need?" Jayden asked, plopping down on the couch.
"I just wanted to check up on how you're... preparing."
"Well... what do we need to be ready for?" Lauren asked.
Nini shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. There are so many different ways this can go. I know this is nerve-racking... especially with the circumstances, but all I ask is that the bickering is kept to a minimum. And if you start to feel uncomfortable, just tell me."
They nodded, not sure how else to respond. "Yeah, we got it," Lauren answered.
"How many was it again?" Jayden wondered.
"People?" Nini asked. He nodded. "Um, two. And one of them is close to your all's age."
"By how much?"
"Um..." Nini thought back to that night and how Ricky had said he'd be nine in August. "About five years. So it's like the gap with Aidan."
"Ok, that doesn't seem so bad," Lauren said.
I certainly hope not. "Any more questions?"
They look at each other then back at Nini. "No, I don't think so," Jayden said.
Nini nods, and the three of them stand up. "Well," she sighs, "if that's it for now." She hugs both of them and kisses them on the head. "I love you guys." I hope this goes well.
"Love you too," they said at the same time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the other side of town, Ricky and Nia were practically pulling their hair out. Noah was wondering why they were so anxious if they had already met these people before.
"Dad?"
Ricky looked up from his phone. "Yeah, bud?"
"Are you ok?"
"Of course. Why?"
"You seem scared."
"Come here." He pats his knee and picks up Noah. "I'm not scared of meeting with them. It's more that I hope everyone gets along."
"I think it will."
Ricky smiles at his son's optimism. "What makes you think that?"
"We've had pretty good luck so far."
He didn't know what Noah meant by 'we.' "What are you talking about?"
He shrugs. "I don't know. I guess that everything seems to work out."
Ricky smiled and kissed his head. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Do you feel better?" he asked, turning towards his father.
Ricky looked at the floor and clicked his tongue. "I don't know. If you're ok, then I guess I will be too."
"Is Mom ok?"
"Um, I think so." Nia obviously didn't have as much to worry about with this because personally, she didn't have as many people involved. "She always finds a way to get through tough situations."
*Two Days Later*
Ricky was planning how this was going to go; every minuscule detail was trying to be thought of, which was just driving him madder.
He wasn't sure how to explain the whole... three children thing. He knew he was going to have to tell the twins almost the moment they walked through the door since Noah was going to call him dad at some point during the visit. It might look strange to pull the twins away the second someone opens the door, but it'll be better to hear it anyway. He wishes he had mentioned that sooner.
Noah and Nia were getting dressed, but Ricky knew that clothing was the least of his worries.
"What do you think?" Nia asked Ricky. He looked down at their child. Nia had put him in dark jeans and a light blue polo, which was of course nicer than his usual wardrobe.
"Uh, it looks nice but a little too formal for this thing."
"This is a solemn occasion."
"See, that sentence in itself was far too sophisticated."
"Fine, then what would you suggest?"
"Um, keep the jeans but change the shirt. It's just not him."
"I'm right here," Noah finally chimed in.
The parents chuckled. "Yes, yes you are," Nia said.
"What do you want to wear then?" Ricky asked.
"My blue Under Armor shirt," he said simply. "And not jeans."
Ricky bent down to his height. "How about we compromise?"
"How?"
"If you wear these pants, then you can pick the shirt? Deal?"
Noah shrugged. "Sure." Ricky smiled and ruffled his hair. He ran back into his room.
"I didn't agree to this," Nia said once Noah was gone.
"Hey, you have to let children have a little say in some things. Besides, he already said which shirt he was picking, so we shouldn't worry about it being something that would make him look like he just got out of bed."
"He sleeps in that shirt all the time though."
"Yeah, and I slept in the same hoodies I wore to school. It's no big deal as long as there aren't any wrinkles in it."
"Fine."
"I already know what you're wearing."
"And what would that be?" she said, putting her hands on her hips.
"A turtle neck even though it's summer and a jacket as a just-in-case mechanism." Nia squinted her eyes at him, not liking it when he was right.
"And you are going to go in the darkest t-shirt you can find with dark almost black jeans and the same vans that have been around for years," she counters.
"Look at that; we're arguing over things that don't matter. We're a standard married couple now," he said with a faux smile.
"Ugh, this is why I can't handle men." Ricky chuckled at her.
"You've managed to deal with me for how long now? Fifteen years?"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Hey, shouldn't you tell him about... you know?"
Ricky knew what she was getting at. He sighed heavily. "Yeah, probably." Ricky slowly trudged to Noah's room, fearful that he was about to make his day a whole lot harder.
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If you haven't seen it yet, I posted my reaction to a bunch of Olivia's fairly recent interviews (pt 13). This also includes her Jimmy Kimmel appearance and performance.