I Could Rest Beneath Your Smile

Brooklyn sat in the living room playing with the twins, waiting on Max to get back from practice. His family was supposed to arrive sometime today, but Brooklyn wasn’t sure when exactly. She couldn’t wait for them to get there, though. She had always loved his family, and they had always been so inviting, including Brooklyn in everything.

The doorbell rang, and Brooklyn got up off the floor, running to the door, while keeping one eye on the twins. She opened it up to see Max’s mother, Lucie; his father, Serge; and his two brothers, Francis and Will standing there. Lucie immediately engulfed Brooklyn in a hug, followed by the rest of Max’s family. “We’ve missed you,” Serge told her.

“I’ve missed you, too,” she admitted. “Come on in. Max is still at practice, but I think there’s two other little people that would love to see you,” she told them, directing them over to the twins. “This is Noah,” she said, picking him up and handing him to Serge. “And, this is Elise,” she said, handing her off to Lucie.

“Oh my goodness, she’s adorable!” Lucie gushed. “She looks just like you,” she told Brooklyn, who smiled in return.

“How are you two doing?” Brooklyn asked Francis and Will, who were standing off to the side, watching their parents play with Noah and Elise. As she listened to their answers, the door opened, and Max came walking inside, a grin spreading across his face when he realized his family was there.

Max immediately went to Brooklyn, giving her a kiss before greeting the rest of his family. After they had all gotten their initial hellos out of the way, the six of them sat around the living room, with Francis and Will each taking one of the babies. “Wow,” Francis, who was holding Noah, said. “He looks exactly like you, Max.”

“Thanks, Frank,” he said, using Francis’s old nickname. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“Well, let’s just hope that these two got their brains from their mother’s side,” Will said.

“Hey!” Max exclaimed, acting offended. Brooklyn simply laughed at him, and he sent her a playful glare.

“What? He said it,” she insisted, pointing at Will. The doorbell rang once again, and Brooklyn stood up to answer it, revealing Jocelyn on the other side. “Hey, Jocelyn, come on in,” she told her, stepping aside to let her sister walk inside.

“Brook, bad news,” Jocelyn began before she saw everyone sitting in the living room. “Hi,” she said, giving them all a wave.

“Jocelyn, it’s nice to see you again,” Serge said, and Brooklyn smiled at the fact that he still remembered her sister. Yes, they had met at Brooklyn and Max’s wedding, but if you asked Eve who even Serge or Lucie was, there was no way she would remember them.

“You, too, Serge,” Jocelyn smiled. “And, you, Lucie, and of course Will and Frank,” she added, not wanting to leave anyone out. They all reciprocated her reply before Brooklyn moved them into the kitchen so she could talk to her in private.

“What’s going on?” Brooklyn inquired quietly, not wanting everyone else to hear if it was something extremely bad.

“Mom’s coming,” Jocelyn told her.

“What?” Brooklyn exclaimed loudly, causing Max to run into the kitchen to make sure everything was okay. “My mother’s coming,” she told him.

“When?” he asked, and Brooklyn looked to Jocelyn for an answer.

“I don’t know for sure,” Jocelyn replied. “I just talked to her on the phone, and she said she was heading over here. She didn’t tell me why, but she hung up with me to get ready to leave. So, I drove over here as fast as I could so I could warn you.”

“You know you could have just called,” Max said with a laugh.

Jocelyn glared at him. “Shut up,” she said, realizing he was right. “But, I figured you’d need all the help you can get with my mother. And, I forgot that your family was coming in, so you already have some backup.”

“Please stay,” Brooklyn begged.

“Of course,” Jocelyn told her just as the doorbell rang. “I’m assuming that’s her.”

“I’ll get it,” Brooklyn told them walking out to the living room and towards the door, while Max and Jocelyn sat down with the others. Brooklyn opened the door to find her mother standing there. “Mom,” she stated. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you obviously,” Eve replied rudely, pushing Brooklyn out of the way to get inside. She saw Max’s family sitting on the floor playing with the babies, and she whipped her head around to Brooklyn. “Who are these people?” she questioned.

“Mom, don’t you remember?” Brooklyn asked, knowing she had met them at the wedding. “These are Max’s parents, Serge and Lucie, and his brothers, Frank and Will,” she introduced.

“Oh,” Eve said dismissively.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Brooklyn repeated.

“So, now you can’t even be bothered to take care of your own children?” Eve questioned, ignoring Brooklyn’s question.

“What are you talking about?” Brooklyn asked, as Max and Jocelyn stood up and Max’s family all watched on from their seats, wondering what Eve was going on about.

“You claim that you’re this great mother, and yet, you can’t even be bothered to take care of your own children right now. You have to have your in-laws watch them! And, you wonder why I say you’re a terrible mother!” Eve exclaimed.

“Jocelyn, can you show my parents where the twins’ room is?” Max requested. Jocelyn looked over at him, but as soon as she saw the intense expression on his face, she knew that he wanted the children out of the room. Jocelyn immediately obeyed, taking Max’s family down the hall to lay the children down. Max turned to look at Eve, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I am not letting you talk to my wife that way,” Max told her.

“She’s my daughter. I can talk to her any way that I want,” Eve countered.

“And, she’s my wife,” Max repeated.

“From the husband that is hardly ever home.”

“Mom!” Brooklyn exclaimed as Jocelyn along with Max’s family walked back into the living room after putting Noah and Elise in their cribs.

“What?” Eve questioned. “It’s true. You married a man that’s barely ever around.”

Brooklyn went to argue, but Max spoke up first. “Listen, I know that I’m gone a lot. But, Brooklyn being the amazing person that she is, understands that it’s my job. And, I don’t understand what my job has to do with you putting your daughter down every chance you get.”

“Because you’re worthless as a husband, and you’re worthless as a father,” Eve stated.

Everyone’s eyes went wide. “Do not talk about my son like that!” Serge cried. “I don’t know who you think you are to speak of anyone like that!”

They could hear the twins crying, and Brooklyn assumed it was from all the yelling that was occurring. Jocelyn started to go back to their room, but Brooklyn stopped her, telling her that she would go check on them, as the others continued fighting.

Max saw Brooklyn go back to the twins’ room, and Eve started in again on what a terrible mother she was. Max opened his mouth to argue when he heard Brooklyn let out a high pitched scream, and then he heard her scream at the top of her lungs, “Max!” He immediately forgot about everything that was happening with Eve and ran full speed back towards Brooklyn and the twins.