Back in Black (and Gold)

**Sunday February 28th, 2016 Max’s POV**

You’re shitting me. You have to be fucking shitting me. I got called into Don Sweeney’s office after practice and got told that I was traded. I couldn’t say I was overly surprised seeing that I had spent a lot of time this year in Providence. That’s when he told me who I had been traded to. “Max, You’re going to Pittsburgh.” My jaw dropped. The one place I thought I would never get to play for again and… “You have to be there for their game tomorrow night.” Well crap, Jassmine was going to kill me.

The conversation was wrapped up and I dashed back to the room to pack what was mine. There really was no one in the room, which I expected there was a game here tonight. All I found were the trainers and equipment guys. Apparently they had been told even before I had as my bag was packed and I had some extra gear ready to go. I was surprised and yet not. Keith Robinson, the head eq guy came over. “Well Max at least you’re going to somewhere you know. We’ll get the rest of your ordered gear shipped to them as fast as we can, but this should tide you over.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m kind of still reeling. I haven’t even told my wife yet.” I admitted. He chuckled. “She’s either going to kill me or, no she’s going to kill me.” I knew her temper, this was where we thought we would be for at least a couple years, but that wasn’t to be.”

“I don’t envy you. You probably need to get moving then. If you need help I’m sure the guys or the ladies will help.” I knew that would be the case as soon as they found out. That had been the case in Philly and again in Denver, the girls had helped Jass get everything ready to move. At least this time we knew people there already.

I got my car packed and called my wife on the way back to the house. “Hey babe.” I said as she answered. “Look I got some news and it’s not all good.”

Jass sighed heavily. “Give it to me straight Max. How bad is it?”

“I got traded again.” I said carefully. I heard her breath hitch and continued. “We’re heading for Pittsburgh.” She coughed. “I don’t know much yet except that they have a game at home tomorrow night and I have to be there for practice.”

I heard her sigh heavily. “I don’t want to move again without knowing what we’ll be looking for Max.” I heard the kids in the background and dishes. “Just, get home for now and we’ll go from there.”

My phone beeped saying I had another call on the line. “Of course I’m on my way now. I have another call, I’ll talk to you when I get home.” We said our short goodbyes and then I clicked over. “Hello?”

“Max? This is Jim Rutherford, the Pens GM. I wanted to welcome you back to the team and see what we needed to do to get you here as quickly as we can.”

I laughed. “Sir, I never thought I’d be back in a Pens uniform again. I can’t say I’m happy about having to leave my family for however long it takes them to get here but I am thrilled to be coming back.” I was getting close to home. “Um, honestly if I can get my number back I’d love that. Um, I know the coach has changed but a lot of the guys I knew before are still there so that won’t be an issue.” I was beginning to be really happy to be going where I considered my first second home.

He chuckled. “I can understand why you would want that and I had checked and we’re more than happy to have that happen.” I grinned. “Max, you _are_ wanted here. By me and the coaches. I know that you left thinking you weren’t but rest assured, you are. When you get here we can work with your wife to get your family here.”

I was now minutes from home and having to deal with the other end of this. “Thank you, not only for calling me but also making it clear that I am wanted. Have the travel people email me with my ticket info and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Of course. If you have numbers for anyone on the team, I’d suggest calling them, or at least Sid. You know how he is with trades.”

I laughed. “Oh I know. I’ll call him after I tell my wife what else I know now, if he doesn’t get me first.” I pulled into the garage and we said our goodbyes.

Coming in the house I heard Jass on the phone. “You’re kidding me?! Kallie I can’t ask you to do that!”

I greeted the dragons and picked them up. “Has mama told you what exciting thing has happened?” They both shook their heads. “Papa will be getting on a plane tonight to go to his new team.” Now both Jax and Nikki were confused. “Papa has been traded to a new team, but not really. You remember how fun it was to play with Alex and Estelle this past summer?” Heavily nodding heads answered me. “Well, now you might be able to play with them every day.”

Jass snorted. “Forget the might be, Kallie has told me that we’re more than welcome to stay with them until we find at least a place to rent.” I was surprised. “Apparently Estelle is just down the street too and is over a lot.”

I put the kids down and they ran off to the playroom. “I didn’t expect this Jass, really.”

She put her fingers over my lips. “Max, I know you still have a soft spot for the Pens and you always will. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for you. Kallie said she’d tell Vero and that they would get the WAG train going on their end. I’ll miss some of the girls here but I won’t separate this family anymore than we have to anymore.”

I pulled her close and held her. “Saying I wasn’t getting happy about going back would be a lie. I wish I could help with this move, but I know that’s not possible.”

Jass cuddled close. “I know you do. I do have to say that at least this isn’t a cross country move, just a few states. Knowing people on the other end helps a lot too.” I wasn’t sure how long we stood there before the doorbell rang.

Jass pulled away and went to answer the door. Behind it was Stephanie Bergeron. “Patrice and I heard what’s happened and I just knew I had to help somehow.” She and little Zach came in. “Max, we’re going to miss you too.”

I smiled. “Thank you Stephanie. Excuse me I have to find out if my travel plans are set and pack.” I went upstairs so that Jass could do what she needed to do with someone who understood a bit more.

**Jass’ POV**

Stephanie opened her arms and I couldn’t help it, I went into her shoulder and cried. “I don’t want to move again.”

She stood there letting me get everything out. “I know. We don’t want to lose you either. I know he’s leaving pretty quickly but what do we have to do to get you all to where he is going?”

I got myself under control and eventually sighed feeling better. I looked around and made a decision. “I think I’m going to of course hire out the actual move, but I’m going to need help packing and getting things ready to move.” I thought quickly and went out to the garage. We had stored the boxes we knew we would need, like for the dishes and electronics. Steph followed. “Oh thank goodness.” I turned back to her. “We were smart enough to keep a lot of the specialty boxes that could cost a lot.”

Steph smiled. “Good, those will help. I know tonight is kind of hectic for you 4 but tomorrow I’ll come over and help you formulate a plan to get packed and find a company. What are you doing with your appliances?”

I was struck dumb. We had gotten our own appliances for this place as it came without any. “Um, I’ll call my grandmother and see if she would store them at least until we can find a place to rent next season.”

Stephanie nodded. I think she was just trying to get me to think about what needed to be done. “Good, probably the best idea. Now you were smart to keep all the boxes you got things special things in so that will help in packing. You know what, forget starting tomorrow. Patrice isn’t going to miss us at the game and any help you can get will really help you.” She sent a text to I’m guessing Bergy. “There, he knows what’s going on now and we’re going to start organizing the packing so it gets done quickly.”

I knew that she hadn’t done what we were doing, moved quickly to keep the family together. The last mid-season move was when the kids were very young, now they would be underfoot. “What I did the last time was pack the rooms that I didn’t need right away first and packed the kids rooms last. It helped by keeping them secure that they weren’t going to leave without them.”

She nodded. “Then that’s what should happen this time. Pack their rooms and the playroom last. What’s the room we can get together and pack right now?”

She took control and had me assign packing importance of every room of the house. She also took charge of making sure we had enough specialty boxes for everything we had. Since having to move from Philly to Denver I had kept every special box, from dish boxes to both TV boxes. She took stock of what I had and made notes on her phone. “How to do keep your winter stuff and warmer weather stuff? How do you store it?”

“Oh, how do we store them when they aren’t in use? Let me show you.” I led her up to what I had dubbed Gran’s room and opened the closet. On the top of the closet I had several storage boxes. I grabbed a box and brought it down. “In every closet I keep boxes like this.” I opened the box and inside were some of our space bags. “These happen to be for our linens and bedding. The kids have some in their closets as do Max and I. I’ve found that I can easily pack and unpack with these, changing holiday linens and all of that.”

I saw the sigh of relief escape her. “So you really can pack twice as much into a suitcase. That’s good.”

I chuckled. “I’ve done this twice already Steph. Mid-season moves suck, but at least I’m not pregnant this time.” I brought her into our room and showed her the closet. We had a couple trunks in there. I opened one and inside was a lot of our warm/hot weather clothes that were truly seasonal. “We store things in here and in our unused suitcases so we don’t have a lot of clutter.”

She took copious notes on what we had already and I could see her wheels turning. “Ok so we’ll start in your guest room and then move in here and pack Max’s stuff. From there we’ll pack the office and then start in the dining room. The great room and then the kitchen and finally the kids’ spaces.” She started texting around the ladies for who knew what.

Max came in and grabbed his largest case. “Be sure to pack my stuff so it’s out of the way. In fact, see if you can ship my car to Pittsburgh.”

I looked at him. “Why ship it when I can see if someone in the family would be willing to drive it with things in it that we don’t want the movers to lose?” I was already thinking of what should be packed into our cars for the trip. “If fact I’m gonna take Steph downstairs and call Gran. See if she’d be willing to store the things we just don’t have room for, like our appliances and some other stuff.”

Max pulled me to him and kissed me thoroughly. “You know I’m crazy about you right?” I giggled. “I am. I don’t know how I survived before I met you, but I will always be grateful for the night we met.”

He put his face in the crook of my neck. “If I could…”

“Stop.” I whispered. “You’re going where they want you, where the fans already love you. We’ll be behind you from here and as soon as we can, we’ll be back together.” I took a deep breath from his neck. “When do you have to be at the airport?”

“A couple hours.” It felt like he was going to say more but then his phone rang. “Hello?” He paused and I felt the smile spread on his face. “Hey Sid. Yeah, I’m shocked but I’ll be there soon.” He listened and then chuckled. “Oh she can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m not sure how long it will take her and the kids to get here, but when they do for sure I’ll bring them over. Hey can I put you on speaker so I can pack and talk?” Max pulled back and put his phone on speaker. “Ok man, you’re on.”

There was the unmistakable laugh of Sidney Crosby. “Man I had no idea we were trying to get you back, but damn am I happy about it. Do you know where you’re staying yet? I know you sold your old place.” Max rolled his eyes.

I jumped in. “Kallie has offered her unused rooms until we can find a spot. I think right now we’ll rent something that will do for now and next year look for better spot.”

There was quiet on the other end briefly. “Kallie and Tanger? You _do_ know what’s going on with her right?” Max and I rolled our eyes at each other.

“Sid, she offered. Besides our two like playing with Alex and Estelle so that will give them all more eyes and friends. In fact Monday I’m going to make sure to talk to the housing people to have them help us find something for now and look ourselves for something in the fall when we know more of where everyone is.”

The dragons came running in then rawring. Max just laughed. “Knock it off you two! Papa is on the phone with Uncle Sid.” Oh that got them quiet quickly. “Sorry man, 2 year olds are still learning indoor voices.”

“Maxime get your skinny ass home now!” shouted another voice from over the phone.

“Can my dragons at least bring me to the airport?” It took me a minute to figure out that voice was Aleks, Sid’s wife. Vero and Kallie has said nothing but awesome things about her. Jax inhaled quickly and ran from the room. I listened and heard the bathroom door close. “What’s the weather down there? I’m trying to pack for a couple weeks.”

Sid and Max teased back and forth a bit while Max changed a few things about what he was taking. Finally Aleks spoke up. “Max, please tell me your lady likes to get out of the house. I haven’t heard a lot about her and want to make sure she’s taken care of.”

I snickered. “I’m sure once Vero finds out you’ll hear all about me. To give you the short version we met in Philly and Max is the poor one of the two of us. I love getting out of the house for as much as I can, including just out to play with the kids. They got balance bikes for Christmas and Birthday combo so they really want a chance to get outside with those.” I said the magic words and Nikki went running for her helmet.

“That sounds like so much fun. Please tell me they like water too, cause I know Alex and Estelle are water babies for sure.” Jax was coming back in then and hearing that went and ran full on into his sister. It was all I could do not to outright laugh. Max went over and picked them up as I answered.

“Oh yeah, they got swimming lessons over this winter and have loved every second. And as to your husband’s question. I _do_ know what’s been going on with Kallie, she and Vero have been keeping me informed. I know that her Aunt is with them and while I hate to bother them I’m happy to know we have somewhere to stay hopefully for a very short while.”

The four of us chatted while Max packed for at least 2 weeks. “Ok Sid, I’m ready and want to go to dinner with the family before I get on the plane.” That got us off the phone and back down stairs.

We found Stephanie looking through our cabinets. “Jass? I know you guys are busy so I wanted to get a look for myself. The girls and I will call you tomorrow and figure out how quickly we can pack you guys.” She and I chatted quickly about taking things apart and such and figured out that it would probably take a week, 2 on the outside until the kids and I would join Max in Pittsburgh.

She and Zach left soon enough and that left the 4 of us. Max pulled the kids onto his lap. “Be good for mama until you see me again ok? Help her as much as you can.” They were unsure about what was going on really and I could tell.

“Come, let’s go eat and get papa to the airport.” That got them moving.

Later, after the kids were in bed, Max called. “Hey, how was the flight?” I asked as I began sorting through things I would need in the next week.

“Eh, it was. Flower was there to meet me so that was fun. Man has Scarlett grown, you’ll be surprised.” That told me where he was at the moment, or had been. “When are you going to start packing?”

I smiled. “I can’t lie, I’m looking at what kitchen stuff I’m going to need in the next week and what I can pack. I got the linens vacuum packed and am working on the clothes trunks. I have the boxes from the garage in the house and…”

Max laughed and cut me off. “Careful there chicken, don’t cut your head off.”

I sighed. “I’m just glad I learned a lot in the last 2 moves. Gran is willing to store whatever we need her to for however long we need her to. Nate is going to come up and help pack and drive your car. The movers, don’t ask how Gran pulled those strings I don’t want to know, will be here Monday to give us the estimate.”

“Don’t overwork yourself love. I did get in touch with the housing people and let them know the bare bones of what we needed. 3 bedrooms at least 2 ½ bathroom.” I sighed. That was the bare bones of what we needed. I didn’t want to go without a playroom but I’m sure we would have lots of offers if the weather was bad.

I laughed loudly. “Are you kidding me? Once the word got out from Steph, I’m being told I will have a team on Tuesday to start packing. We’re going to do it room by room, stacking things up in that room so we have a spot to put things when we’re done with other parts of the house.” It was true too. I already had Marchy text me telling me that he and the guys would help as much as they could, they had discussed it. We said goodnight and hung up. God I hated moving, but at least this time I had more help than I knew what to do with.

**Monday February 29, 2016 (Trade Deadline Day)**

After a hectic morning of kids trying to find papa but not being able to, I was happy to open my front door and find someone from Allied Movers standing there. “Morning, I’m Jeremy and I’m here to do your estimate.”

I smiled. “Hi, I’m Jass please come in.” I turned to find two sad kiddos behind us. “Hey guys, why don’t you go play in the playroom while mama and this nice man talk.” They trudged up the stairs. “Sorry about them, Papa left yesterday.” He nodded. “So, let’s go into the kitchen first.” I lead the way and he was looking around. “Um, I guess the first thing is that these are our appliances and they will be going at least halfway with us.”

“Halfway? Can you explain that to me a bit better?” He said as I offered him some coffee.

Feeling like an idiot I explained. “Sorry, Some of our stuff is going to be stored in Philly. All of the guest room furniture, our appliances and some of my office furniture.” He nodded, making note of that. “I won’t know what furniture is going for sure until move out day, but it _will_ be marked on that day.”

He nodded at the table which was stacked with the special boxes we had. “I see you already have a lot of the boxes that things originally came in. Those will help a lot.”

I smiled. “Oh I know. I learned that lesson moving from Philly to Denver in 2013. I’ve got all of our glasses boxes, dishware boxes and electronic boxes. I’m planning on starting to pack the things I won’t need right away like our china and most of our stemware. Tomorrow we start disassembling furniture in spots we won’t need and getting a staging area for things that will be going to Philly.”

He nodded and made a note of that in his notebook. “That’s a good idea. Don’t forget to unplug your appliances and get them ready to move a few days before too.”

I smiled. “Already on my list of to dos. Calling someone to have it done professionally for safety.” We walked through the Great Room and he made note of what furniture was in there and what possible knick knacks were there, only a handful and all out of toddler reach. In my office he looked around nodding. “Really I’ll be taking most of this. I don’t know yet if I’ll have room for the chairs I have in here but as I said I’ll know more on move out day.”

He then headed upstairs. I directed him into the guest room. “This is going to be where we initially staging things as we empty them and get things broken down to move. I’m sure as we get further along we’ll switch it and the playroom to have more room.” He looked around and in every closet in the upstairs aside from our room.

“What doing?” Jax asked Jeremy as he was looking in Jax’s closet.

He looked down and smiled. “I’m helping your mom get ready to move you all.” Jax looked confused, so Jeremy got down on his level. “You know how your house is full of stuff and it’s great?” Jax nodded. “Well it’s my job to help pack your house, move it to another house and unpack it so it’s _just_ as great as this one.”

That I guess was what Jax wanted to hear. That moving this time wasn’t scary but fun. We got into the master bedroom and I thanked him. “Thank you. This is the second move they can remember and we get to do it without their dad being able to help.”

Jeremy nodded. “I heard Talbot had been traded. I can’t say I’m happy about it but I am glad he’s going somewhere that he’s already loved.”

I smiled as I went into the closet. “You have no idea how much that helps, we already have friends and a temp place to stay until we find a place. Anyway this is the Master Closet and I don’t honestly think you guys will have a lot to do in here. It was already organized when we got here. Right now the plan is to pack both cars with things we don’t want to be parted with and clothes.”

I went out to see how the kids were doing and let him get a better sense of what we would need for moving day. “Hey dragons.” They both grinned at me. “This is kind of scary isn’t it? Moving without papa.” They both nodded. “Yeah it is for me too, but we won’t be away from papa long and on our way there we will see all of your cousins and Gran and then Alex and Estelle!”

“Bike mama?” Nikki asked as she pointed to it over in the corner.

I hugged her close and nipped playfully at her ears. “We are leaving nothing behind, not a bike nor a little dragon!” She giggled. “Uncle Nate will be driving papa’s car and you two will be in mine. Your bikes will be in one of the cars along with toys and clothes.”

In a bit they were playing happily again and I found Jeremy downstairs again. “Mrs. Talbot, I think for ease you need two trucks. One of which will be smaller and only for things you will sending to Philadelphia and the other will go on to Pittsburgh. Um, I don’t know yet the exact numbers but right now it’s looking to be about $8,000 for the move and that covers everything you don’t manage to get packed, disassembly of those things you don’t get done and reassembly of everything in your new home.”

Marchy knocked and just came in, along with a few other friends. “Hey the house!”

Jeremy’s jaw dropped and I giggled. “Hi guys, if me a moment and we’ll get started.” They all nodded and I got Jeremy back on track. “So everything we can’t get done, how fast of a move though?”

That helped. “Um, looking at the schedule it probably won’t be until next week, probably the end of it or the start of the week after. I have to talk to a couple people for sure.”

I nodded. “When you do, please call me. We’ll do our best to be as ready as we can be. As you can see I have cheap labor.”

“Who you calling cheap?!” Marchy balked.

“Those who will work for cheat day foods are cheap!” I said calmly and he nodded in embarrassed acknowledgement. “We do have a few tricks ourselves having to do this so often. Will the movers be upset if I use some of them? Like packing drawers of things I won’t need right away so that I can use my space bags for things I will?”

There was another man there in an Allied uniform. He took the clipboard from Jeremy and nodded to me. “Hey! Oh hey Jack.”

“Hi Jeremy, I thought I’d see how you were doing. Ma’am you have space bags?” I nodded. “I thought I heard you right. Our movers are professional enough to like it when people make moving easier.” He read the board. “So some things will be staying in Philly and the rest will be going on the Pittsburgh.” I told him what I guessed and what I planned and watched as he nodded with wisdom. “Now that is a good idea. I’m guessing that’s why you need a date. I’m gonna go take a look upstairs and in the garage just to double check his estimate.” He took Jeremy and went through the house again.

I took the box for our china and opened the cupboard it was in. I began packing while everyone else was looking around. Jack and Jeremy didn’t take long before they were back. “Mrs. Talbot. Jeremy did a good job, but he forgot to take into account what packing you might need. Seeing that I’m guessing you’ve done this before will this be a partial pack job or a full one?”

I sighed and stopped. “Honestly, probably a partial one. I’ll work my hardest to get as much done as I can but I need to warn you that I’m leaving my kid’s rooms and the playroom for last.”

Jack nodded. “I don’t blame you and your honesty is appreciated. Looking at the calendar the very earliest we would be ready to move you is the 8th, so next Monday.” I signed the estimate and promised to let them know how I was doing on Friday by close of business.

Once the Allied guys were gone I found myself hugged by everyone who was there. “You come back and show off those kids.” I promised and then Steph took over. She directed the guys up to the guest room and told me to go through my office and get it ready to pack. Someone took over packing my china. Within hours Gran’s room was broken down and ready to move, complete with all the screws with the correct piece of furniture.

I got to choose the colors of tape that went to what bedroom and such which really wasn’t difficult and then got told that they all would help as much as they could. I packed what I could of my office and got told not to worry about the upstairs. Someone was watching the kids and they would leave the bed and my clothes alone in the Master bedroom.

I did get asked if they could move the playroom sooner than later so that the kids could be safe and the rest of them had more room to pack things. Of course I said yes and reminded them about the retractable gates we had. I wanted to save them for sure.

**Friday March, 5th, 2016**

I had every night spoken with Max and told him what had been going on. Today was D-Day for finishing 90% of the packing, fortunately everyone who could help, had done so. The appliance uninstall went smoothly and they even made sure to wrap all of them appliances with the moving blankets I had gotten.

Rugs were rolled and ready to move. Everything that could be broken down safely was and I knew where the screws and directions were for them all. I had even packed all the dishes but the stuff the kids had gotten from dad for Christmas. I walked through the house, the kids were playing upstairs. We had just come back from breakfast when there was a knock at my door.

Opening it I found my brother Nate standing there. “Nate!” I was expecting him on Monday, not today.

He came in and hugged me. “Hey Jass, we thought having me here sooner than later would be a good thing.” He looked at me and didn’t look happy. “You look really tired sis.”

We went into the great room and sat on the couch. “Oh I am. Nothing quite like having to pack and move in about a week.”

He sighed. “Well, then maybe you need to take the morning off and tell me what you want us to take in the cars.” I went blank and he laughed. “How about we figure out what we have room for and go from there?” That helped. We went into the garage and Nate nodded. “Ok, can we move the child seats to the front and lay the back flat to load more stuff in at least Max’s car?”

Slowly my brother guides me through packing all the important things into Max’s car. Including both TVs, my vacuum and my steam mop. We found that with the back being flat we could fit a lot more things I didn’t really want the movers to pack into the car, including our countertop wine fridge.

Once that car was stuffed, we took in what we had left to take apart and cover. I knew I wanted our first night supplies and as many of the kids newest toys, including the bikes, in my car so that the kids would know where those were. Of course that’s when the bell rang again. It was about half of the team and families.

At 3 pm, I called the moving company to let them know that we were as ready as we could be and got a surprise. “Mrs. Talbot I was going to call you. We have a cancellation for tomorrow. Would 8 am be too early for you?”

I laughed. “Too early? Oh no! My two get me up at 7 most days. I guess we’ll break down the final things that we can and pack up the last car with most everything we’re taking tonight.” That swung heads in my direction.

“Well then we’ll be there at 8 am.” I thanked him and hung up.

I laughed semi-hysterically. “They’re going to be here at 8 am tomorrow, they had a cancellation.” Zee took control of the chaos that breaks out and set me on the couch.

“Ok, we need someone to help the kids pack what that they want to have travel with them. We need to break down their beds. Jass do you know where their travel beds are?” This was from Nate. I had never had travel beds for the kids, only play yards and those I had donated to the church we went to.

“Um, they don’t have travel beds. Did we leave their beds intact?” I was overwhelmed by how fast this was going. I had expected more time.

Zee sat down. “Yes their beds are just fine and the step stools too. They both watched with fascination as we broke apart everything else in their rooms and then yours. The mattress covers are ready to be put on tomorrow.” That helped.

“If I had known I would have brought the kids’ beds. They were gifts for Christmas from mom.” There was an unspoken question in there but I ignored it for now.

“Well your two are older than mine. We’re getting night time potty training down here not riding in our first competition.” I knew for a fact that mother was in contact with Nate. She had tried with me but I wanted nothing to do with her, I found out from Chris that she was trying to work on Angie too. My niece and nephews were happy to have their granddame (as she insisted on being called by them) in their lives but they were also more wary of her after what they had seen her do at my wedding and the kids baptism.

Was my comment biting? Probably but I truly wanted nothing to do with that woman. She wouldn’t control me anymore, I wouldn’t let her. Nate apparently didn’t like the connotation that my kids were just as good as his only younger. “You do realize she is trying right? She goes to every appointment I ask her to come to.” I took a deep breath carefully. I had missed the last one he had wanted me to call into due to sick kids and needing sleep.

“This isn’t a good conversation for right now Nate, let’s get done what we need to and talk more after everyone has gone.” He nodded sharply and headed upstairs to work some more. I sighed. “Sorry guys, I hope Max warned you that my family can get messy.”

Marchy shook his head. “Yeah but I didn’t expect Habs Bruins when I wasn’t playing.” That broke the silence and we all went back to finish what we could.

After the guys had left that night and the kids had gone to bed, Nate tried again. “She does want to know these two Jass.”

I sighed. “I know, but it’s not like she has done anything but be horrible to me during my life.” I leaned forward towards him. “What changed in the last couple years that makes you think she can change?”

My computer rang then with Skype. I answered it and found my sister on the other end. “Ang?”

“Hey Jass, is Nate there too?” I nodded and turned the comp to face us both. “Sorry to call unexpectedly but I just got off the landline with mother.” This surprised both of us. “Nate, she all but told me that she’s going to get back into the family through you.” Ah, that explained things.

The confusion on Nate’s face was clear. “Ang, do you have any proof?” I asked tentatively.

She held up a hand and then her phone. “I recorded the call.” She pushed the play button and lo and behold she had been right. There was mother telling Angela that she would get our dad back for every humiliation, including turning her children away from her.

When it was over Nate’s face was white. “I thought… Why would she do this to us? We’re adults with kids of our own.”

I exchanged looks with Angie, we both understood why she’d do this for power. I gestured at her and she shook her head so I went ahead. “Nate, what is the one thing mother has always wanted?”

He looked at me and noted my serious face. “Um… to be seen as one of the elite?”

I held my fingers close together. “Close. She’s always wanted power. Power over us because she’s our mother. Power over dad also because of us. She’s always wanted people to look on her and know she had power, even when she might not have.”

He held up a hand, making me pause. “I know Dad divorced her, I know that she deserved it. She treated you like trash because you wouldn’t fall in line with what she wanted, but she’s never treated me like that.”

Angie barked out a laugh. “Nate, she was _positive_ that you would inherit the Trust after Dad got it when Gramp died. When his will named Jass as his heir, I’m ashamed to say this even now. The rest of us treated her just like mother did. We looked down on her for doing something that she,” Angie put air quotes around her next words. “Wasn’t qualified for.”

I snorted. “Wasn’t qualified for my ass. Business degree, learning how to run it from Gramp and Gran from a young age and making Bastion the premier runaway shelter in the city.”

Angie laughed at me. We had talked about how qualified I was and how well I really was doing making it all run smoothly. “And then you gave Bastion up for love. Speaking of, How’s Max doing?”

Nate slumped into the couch. “That lucky rat isn’t here right now. How do you think he’s doing?”

I scoffed. “Nate, he’s away from us and working technically. Of course this means that the family loyalty will have to change and you’ll have to become outcasts.”

They both looked at me oddly. “I know you guys know he’s been traded, but did you not know where?” Both heads shook no at me and I giggled. “He’s been traded back to the Pens. That’s why we need a spot to store our appliances, we’ve decided to just rent something small for the rest of this season and look for something bigger for next year.”

“That explains it.” Nate said.

I chuckled. “Yeah, so we already know some people there which makes all of this a bit easier. I’m not thrilled with having to move again but at least he knows he’s wanted there and already has friends.”

Nate shook his head in disbelief. “4 teams in just a few years. How do _you_ handle it?”

“Did you notice how many of the team was here today? Not only the guys but kids who weren’t in school and those girls who could be here. That’s how I handle it. I know that I have an immediate family waiting for me. Vero and Kallie already are trying to decide which house we’ll be staying in until we can find a spot. The kids are thrilled to be able to see friends which will help them settle.” It was true too. I knew that I would be warmly welcomed by both ladies who would in turn make sure I was in the inner circle quickly.

Soon enough Ang said goodnight and left just us talking. It took a while but I finally got Nate to truly understand just what mother had done to me and how Gran and Gramps had saved me. “That’s why I won’t let her back in Nate. She would try and take over how I do everything and I can’t allow that. _I_ need to raise my children, not nannies or some such. Heck it’s the reason I love Skype so much. The kids can see the rest of the family and know that they are loved by all of them. I can join in on meetings without leaving my kids too. The girls here don’t understand how I can work with these two, until they watch me. I do a lot when the kids aren’t going to be underfoot. When they are napping, which they are starting to only do in the afternoons or after their bedtime. Sometimes, if Max is in town, he’ll take them so I can do things if they can’t wait.”

Nate and I talked through how I ran our life around Max working. “I love what he’s done for you sis. You’re an awesome mom and an executive and you don’t really seem to work at either.”

“Oh I work at them.” I took him upstairs to look at everything that had been done in the last week. “Last week this was their playroom. Right now it’s stuffed with everything from the boxes of holiday decorations to broken down furniture ready to go on the truck. Every night after they have gone to bed I continue to pack and get ready. My office space is also full of things, mostly to be put in the Philly truck.” I motioned for him to come with me into my room. True to what Zee had said all that was left intact was my bed. “I’ve worked in here a lot too. I know you were wondering about all the large totes, that’s the trick I learned when we had to move here from Denver. This way, I can keep the totes and use them as storage totes and when it’s time I can pack most of our lives into those totes and be ready to go easier.”

“What about the kids stuff? Things they will want right when they get there.” He asked looking at all the opaque totes.

I smiled. “I use clear totes for the kids stuff. This way they can see where stuff is. It’s also why I use space bags for everything cloth.” I moved us into the closet and opened the trunks. They were full of clothes in space bags.

“Wait, the trunks I’ve seen in every room like this are full of clothes and linens? That’s ingenious.” Then I showed him how to put on the wheels. “And you can move them even just one at a time by yourself. Wait what did the kids use theirs for?”

I smiled. “Toy boxes. They work great for those. I packed 2 weeks of clothes into luggage bags that are now in my car and then everything else into space bags and the trunks. The wheels will go into a bag once packed which will go with me so I can keep track of them. I even have the rest of Max’s suits in them.” I showed him the pack I had. “There’s I think 8 suits in this one alone. In case you were wondering, I purge clothes I don’t wear every year, I do the same for the kids as they outgrow something unless it’s truly sentimental.”

After noticing that it was nearly 10 pm, and knowing the kids would be up at 7, I let Nate choose if he got a semi-bare mattress or the couch, he chose the mattress. The next day would be a whirlwind and we would need the rest.

**Saturday February 5th, 2016**

As I expected the kids were up at about 7 am. I heard the toilet flush twice in succession. Then little feet came pounding into my room. “Mama! Mama!” I sat up and smiled at them both. “We see Papa today?”

I smiled sadly, oh how they missed Max. “Not today little dragons. Today we will pack the house, turn the keys over and go see your cousins in Philadelphia.” That made them excited. “But first, we have to get ready for people to help us move!” I got up and the kids went in and got dressed. It was a ritual we had developed since Christmas that we picked outfits the night before. It saved a lot of time and whining in the morning.

Coming out of my room I saw Nate going into Jax’s room. “Morning.” He kind of waved. I stuck my head in. “I’m going to go grab something for all of us for breakfast seeing that we don’t have a lot of time. How do you take your coffee?” Oh the look of joy on his face. He told me and I ran to Victoria’s Diner.

We didn’t go there every day, more like once a week, but it was enough. I came in and Mary greeted me like she always did. “Hey hon! Where are your dragons?”

I laughed. “At home with Uncle Nate waiting for the movers. Can I get breakfast for us to go?” She nodded and I quickly ordered 3 Rehab meals which are: two eggs any style, two buttermilk pancakes or French toast with your choice of meats, I got the pork sausage, French Toast and made all the eggs scrambled. Knowing that the kids would be splitting one of these Mary made sure that it was noted. The kids both got milk while Nate and I got coffee.

I was back quickly and we sat and ate. The kids were thrilled that they each got a tray that was already perfectly cut for them. Nate couldn’t speak at first but when he cleared his mouth. “My god Jass, this is incredible!”

“It’s Victoria’s Diner. We found it on our first morning here and have tried to go every week since. They love it when the kids come in. This is called the Rehab and I love it.” He grinned at me. “I thought it was fitting for our last morning here.” He nodded as he ate.

After eating dishes were easy to do. I had made sure to park away from the driveway so that the movers would have a clear path through the house if need be. At 8 am they were there. I showed them where we had stores the things going to Philly first. It was pretty much what I expected to be storing in Gran’s house so they were happy to see them in one easy to access location. I told them that most everything was either in original boxes or totes that were already to be checked and zip tied for security. I thought the head mover was going to kiss me.

“Mrs. Talbot, you have already made our day. We’d been warned that things were going to Philly and then the rest would be going to Pittsburgh and you’ve made sure that we knew exactly where those items are. Have you gotten everything broken down or not?”

I looked at Nate who shook his head. “All that’s left to break down are the kids beds and the basic frame for mine. We can go upstairs and I can show you.” He nodded and I led the way. While the mattresses were mostly in the covers we had for them, the smile on the movers face when he saw those was even broader than it had been before.

“We had to leave these rooms for last for obvious reasons.” He nodded. “Um, really that’s all that has to be broken down. Oh I do want to show you about the trunks.” I showed him that they had removeable wheels.

“Is there a color code system you have?” I nodded and grabbed the code.

“It’s really easy. I have signs for the other end to make things easy there too. Anything from the Master bedroom is in navy blue, the kids rooms are green and purple. Regular silver tape is just miscellaneous stuff we’ll need in Pittsburgh. On the first floor the aqua is from the great room and Red is kitchen/dining room. If it doesn’t have color coded tape on it, it goes to Philly.”

“Well. let me get the guys and we’ll load up the truck for Philly first and then we’ll get these beds broken down and start packing the Pittsburgh truck. You know this has been bugging me since I saw it on the ticket. Why two locations for things?”

I grinned. “Oh that. That’s easy, I’m from Philly and my Gran is willing to store what we don’t have room for, like our holiday decorations and our appliances until we find a better rental in the fall. I knew it would be a smaller truck too.” He nodded and we both went to start the day.

Keeping the kids out of the way turned out to be easier than I expected. Nate went upstairs and started taking the beds apart. I helped by taking the kids outside to watch them move our appliances into the truck. I didn’t bother trying to keep them overly busy, they watched everything like little hawks.

Soon enough the truck for Philly was mostly packed. I brought the kids in and made sure that the movers all got some of the bottled water I had gotten. They appreciated those for sure. “Thank you so much. Most people don’t think about even something this simple.” Jose said as he drank.

“Please, it’s human nature to need things to drink and stuff. I won’t deny my kids the same, why should I not give you the same consideration?” Jax handed me his cup again and I refilled it from the sink.

It took a total of 5 and ½ hours to get the entire house packed. In that time both Nate and I had kept the kids entertained and out of the way. As the movers pulled away, who pulled up but the realtor we had rented it from. “I hate that you’re leaving.” She nearly wailed at me.

“I don’t have a choice, the kids need their dad as much as I need my husband. I have done everything I could to make sure this place was ready though. Shall we do the final walkthrough?” She nodded and we started upstairs.

Another half hour later we walked out and I handed her both sets of keys. Nate had come behind and gathered the few things that we hadn’t packed yet, like toilet paper and the kids potties. She signed off that the house looked as good as it did when we got it and after telling us that we would be getting our deposit back, left.

I sighed heavily and looked at the house I had made a home for such a short while. No one was around but us anymore and it felt like a let down. “Come on sis. Let’s figure out where we want to eat and from there get on the road.”

As we slowly corralled the kids to my car, up pulled Stephanie Bergeron. “You aren’t leaving yet!” She said firmly as she helped Taika out of her car. “We have some parting gifts!”

Those were magic words to the kids who perked right up. “You guys don’t have to do this.” I said, trying to protest.

Taika laughed. “Yes we do. First off we promised the Pens ladies that we would make sure you got the things they sent and I refuse to let your kids get hungry while you are busy driving.” She all but pulled me to Stephanie’s car and showed me what they had done. Inside was a bench seat organizer. “Steph and I put together some of their favorite snacks and a spot to keep them.” I looked inside and found 2 tackle boxes decorated with the kids’ names and colors full of snack foods they loved.

Steph grinned as I tried not to tear up. “That’s not all, Vero and Kallie she said, both knew you had busy bags to keep the kids happy and playing while you were moving but they weren’t sure you had somewhere safe for the kids to do so on the road, so they got these.” In the box were two in car lap trays in the correct colors. “She said to be sure to look in the cup holders under the board there.”

Sure enough there was a whiteboard/chalkboard combo as a firmer surface and underneath was a cup holder. Inside said cup holder were bottle straps in the right colors. “God I’m gonna kill them, right after I hug them a lot.” The girls snickered and Taika leaned over and stuck a magnet to the dual board. They were magnetic too!

“This board is so wicked smart I might have to steal the idea. It’s made from a cookie sheet cut to size and ground smooth on the edges. They then covered one side with whiteboard contact paper and the other with chalkboard paint. I have to say, it’s a wicked idea for car trips.” I always forgot that Taika was Finnish unless she got really excited like she was now. Her accent came through on the word wicked all the time.

I took a closer look and it wasn’t paint and contact paper it was Clingboard material and edged in either green or purple Duck Brand Tape. You wouldn’t be able to peel up the clingboard without disturbing the tape but it clearly marked which board went with which tray.

Seeing those motivated my two to get into the car and into their seats. I took the trays and made sure they were buckled correctly. Nate carried and buckled in the organizer which both kids loved as well. I pulled a few of the things I had planned for them to do and put them on top of the snacks. I then made sure the bottle straps were carefully attached to the correct car seat and then put the sippy cups in them.

With an ever heavying heart I hugged Steph and Taika. “You have to let me know when this little one comes.” I said giving her belly one last rub.

“Are you kidding? We’d be lost without all the ways you have helped us this year. Of course I’ll let you know!” We said goodbye and the two of them left.

Nate rubbed my back a bit. “If that’s how you get treated when you leave, how bad is it when you are just here normally?” He said kind of chuckling.

“Fewer tears and more I’ll see you tomorrows, but nearly the same. Come on, let’s go eat something bad for us and then get going.” We agreed to meet at a nearby McDonald’s for lunch, which was late but the kids had been so busy they hadn’t noticed. From there we decided on a route to Gran’s house.

After a good hard play and lunch (not to mention going potty before we got back in the car) we were on the road. I looked back to see both kids zonked out before we even made it to Norwood. Checking the time I noticed that it was about the time that Max would normally be getting up from his game day nap. So I called him. I had my hands-free headphones on so I wouldn’t wake the kids, hopefully. “Hey pretty lady.”

“Hey handsome. I thought I’d let you know that the kids are napping in their seats after lunch and a good hard play and we’re on our way to Gran’s finally.” Did I miss him? Of course who wouldn’t miss their husband and partner. It probably showed too.

Max exhaled in relief. “Oh good. Vero asked me to see if you got the coming home gifts for the kids.”

I laughed. “If she means the bottle straps and lap trays, yes. The kids already love them and that board combo is genius!” I heard him tell someone what I said and then clearly I heard Flower’s laugh.

“Look babe I gotta go, it’s an early game. Warmups are in a few minutes. I do need to tell you that I won't be here when you get here, road trip for a week. The girls are happy to have you coming though.” I could have screamed in frustration. Another week without seeing Max, the kids were going to go nuts!

“This is not going to make the kids happy.” I said tersely, I knew he could tell I was unhappy about it. “I can only hope that seeing Estelle and Alex distracts them long enough.” Too soon he had to get off the phone so we said our goodbyes and I heard a few whip cracks from his new “old” teammates.

To forestall any tears that were threatening I called Vero. “Hallo?” She said as she answered. I could heard chaos around her and then it stopped. “Jassmine?”

“Hey V, yeah I just got off the phone with Max briefly. Another week really?” I sighed and prayed my kids stayed asleep.

“I know Jass, he felt the same way when he saw the calendar. Just think though you already know people here and that will make things easier. Did your dragons like their surprises?” I know she was trying to make me smile and of course it did.

“Oh yeah. Those boards alone are genius! Right now they are asleep with full tummies and empty bladders. Right now the plan is to stop in Bridgeport, or wherever the kids wake up and let them get out for a little bit and then drive until we get to Gran’s house. Not our first long car trip, just the first one since we began potty training.” I looked in the kidview mirror and saw that Nikki had her jaw open as she slept.

She and I talked for a little longer than Max and I had before she sighed. “I have to get going Jass. Text me when you get to your Gran’s house and when you figure out what time you’ll be leaving.” I promised I would and hung up.

An hour and a half later I got a text from Nate asking if the kids were awake yet. I called him back. “Not yet, but I expect within the next 45 minutes they will be. We should see if we can find a gas station and park for them to run in for a bit.”

Nate chuckled. “Hold on sis. I’ll find one.” He hung up on me and shortly called back. “Got one. Darien.” That told me he was using his phone as his GPS, even though both cars had it built in. I punched it up and saw that it was about where the kids would both be awake and needing to get out of the car.

“Looks great. See you there.” He laughed and hung up.

30 mins after we had agreed on our rest stop and refuel place I heard Jax wake up. A big yawn came from my left. I just smiled and kept on driving, all of us knew it was better if we let Nikki wake on her own lately.

Sure enough about 5 minutes out from the rest stop Nikki gasped and was awake. “Hey sweetheart. Can you wait about 5 minutes to go potty?” I was praying so as I had limited their liquid intake while they played. They both nodded and I felt as if I had dodged a bullet. Yeah I had protection under them but if they couldn’t wait, they couldn’t wait.

We pulled into the rest stop and found Nate already there. He came over and took out Jax. “Come on big boy, let’s go potty.” I handed Nate the Be Quick that had Jax’s potette potty in it and got Nikki out. “What’s this?”

Jax piped up. “Potty chair! Hurry Unca Nate!”

Afterwards Nate was laughing. “Wow Jass, he’s a real character. Knew just what to do with that chair and everything.” The kids were running in a safe area away from traffic.

“He might have been slower to be fully ready but he got it quick once he was ready. Those chairs have saved us from accidents more than once.” They had too. Both kids knew that if they couldn’t make it for sure that I would pull over and let them use the chairs.

“How long do you think until we get to Gran’s?” He asked, bringing up the map on his phone.

“Probably 2 or 2 ½ hours, unless we hit a lot of traffic.” We enjoyed the chance to not be moving, took turns gassing up the cars, made sure we both had another jolt of coffee and that all of us went potty again before we hit the road again. Nate and I had synced the GPS systems, once I showed him how to, and would no matter the traffic be on identical routes to Gran’s house.

2 hours and 35 minutes later I pulled into Gran’s driveway. I was tired, hungry and most of all ready to kill my kids. They had tried hard to be good but they were only 26 months old. Gran met us quickly outside and hugged me tightly. “Come dear, let’s get you guys fed and let them wind down a bit.” Both Angie and Kim were there to take the kids without me even asking.

By 8 pm the dragons were well and truly out for the count and I could fully relax. Nate sighed and handed me a glass of wine. “Halfway sis.”

I saluted him and took a drink. “If only Max would be there when we got there.” That started a conversation which I told everyone what was going on.

Gran patted my leg. “I know it’s difficult but you are stronger than you think. Now, let’s figure out the rest of your trip. When do you want to get there?”

Nate held up a hand. “Better idea. Let’s find a good spot to stop for lunch for the kids and figure it out from there.” Chris nodded in agreement. Nate had already told me that Chris was going to come with us and bring him back.

Chris brought up the PA Turnpike website and we started looking at places. It didn’t take a long time to figure out that there were Burger Kings in 2 locations. One in Lawn and the other in Sideling Hill. After much discussion about kids appetites and toddlers. We decided that Sideling Hill would be a better choice. We then broke the trip into pre-lunch and post-lunch with Sideling Hill as the lunch spot. Doing some math with Google Maps we figured out that to have lunch where we wanted at the rough time we wanted we would have to leave here at about 9 am. We would have to leave there at about 1:30 pm to make it to Castletown Court by about 4.

The party broke up and sleep was headed for. Before I could get there though Gran stopped me. “Jass. I know they were trying your patience when you got here.” I sighed and nodded. “Just know that you have friends on the other end and they won’t let you be alone anymore than we will.”

“I know Gran. I have to text Vero and let her know about what time we’re aiming for and see if Max sent anything.” She kissed my cheek and left me be. Once inside my room I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up my phone. Sure enough there was a message from Vero asking so I called her. “Hey V.”

“Hey yourself. Got a time for me?” She sounded like I felt, wrung out.

“Yeah we’re aiming for about 4 on your end. How’d they do?” We traded information and of course the last game was a loss, but when Max was introduced in his first game back Vero chuckled.

“Oh you should have heard the CEC blow up. The fans are very happy to have him back. Of course only Kallie, Aleks and myself knew that you were coming so some of the younger ladies were wondering if he was going to need a new lady.” I coughed. “Relax, we shared pictures from this past summer and you should have seen the relief come off the ladies who knew him before. There is a tentative plan for lunch with a few of us either Wednesday or Thursday. It will be planned further once you are here and we can talk more.”

I yawned then and she giggled. “I can’t wait for this trip to be over. We found a spot in the middle to have lunch and let the kids run for a little while after so we’ll leave at like 9 from here and about 1:30 from the midway stop.”

“That sounds good. We will wait until your call to tell our kids who is coming to stay. This way all of them will be happy all at once.” We said goodnight and hung up.

**Sunday, March 6th, 2016**

After breakfast we got the kids back in the car. They were unhappy with this idea until I told them that today would be the last long day in the car for a while. I traded busy bags out for fresh ones and we hit the road, caravan style.

It wasn’t until the stop for lunch that I found out that my niece and nephews had begged to come along. “You guys know that Oncle Max won’t be there right? He’s on the road.” I hadn’t told my two that papa wouldn’t be there so I saw their faces fall. “Although you will get to meet Alex and I hope you remember Estelle.”

That excited all of the kids. Mine cause they knew Alex and Estelle and the other 3 for meeting new people. The upside of having all of the kids here was that mine didn’t look to me to play with them, they had their cousins to play with. I texted Vero a picture of all the kids playing and got a phone call back from Kallie. “Woman, you told us you were bringing your two not the entire family!”

I laughed and put her on speaker. “They surprised me I swear! The cousins will run mine out so they will hopefully sleep and wake up close to when we get there.” My brothers were looking at me oddly. “Kals, I’ve got my brothers here too. I think they want to make sure that I really will be taken care of.”

Kallie snorted. “Please woman, we’re pooling dinner between 3 houses. V, Aleks and us. We’ll warn Aleks and we’ll all go away well fed. We’ll find a bed for everyone too.” Just then I heard a screech from a baby. “Oh and Scarlett can’t wait to see you again either.” Kallie said laughing.

“Wow, you really do live close don’t you.” Vero had said they were very close but I hadn’t expected to be in each other’s pockets.

“Three houses apart, far enough that the older kids make sure to tell someone when they leave one house for the other. Hey did you bring the balance bikes for yours? We love to walk the neighborhood and let the kids go as fast or slow as they want as long as they are in sight.” I told her I had remembered them and that they were _not_ on the moving truck.

Soon enough the kids were all tired and ready to see everyone. Mine, as I expected, fell asleep in the car soon after we left on our final leg. Once again I called Max. I got his voicemail but I didn’t let that stop me. “Hey babe, we’ve started the final 2 hours or so of the drive. Kids and I got a surprise of the cousins coming along. They all ran and played after lunch and are now conked out. I’ll call again after we get there. Love you.”

I was lucky and my kids didn’t do what they did yesterday and push every button I had. By agreement I was the lead car as we pulled onto Castletown Court. I pulled up in front of Vero’s address for ease of parking for all of us. The kids had woken up about 10 minutes ago and were looking out the windows with fascination. “Come on you two. Time to go see Tante Vero.” I got them out one at a time. The cousins came up and then forget it, they were off and running down the driveway.

“These are nice places.” Nate said as if he was impressed. Chris was nodding along.

“Hey our place in Denver was as nice and you saw the place in Boston Nate.” I wouldn’t say we lived in bad places, just that these homes were more permanent than what we have had.

Chris chuckled. “This is more in line with your place near Montreal or Gran’s house.”

Vero came up and hugged me tightly. “Nous sommes heureux de vous avoir ici en toute sécurité. (We are pleased to have you here safely.)”

I gave her the same hug back. “I’m happy that we’re here finally and not so much in limbo.” Stepping back I saw the happiness in her eyes.

“Aleks wants to come over and meet you. As Kallie told you she’s adding stuff for dinner tonight. I don’t think she’ll be bringing Cocoa but she will bring Mikhaila, her 3 month old.” We were moving into the house and from the pile of shoes the kids were already in here somewhere.

Coming through the family room I saw Kallie for the first time since this summer. “Oh wow, you look so great!” I gushed. She grinned.

“That’s not what you almost said and we both know it.” We hugged and yeah she was right. She looked like I did with my pregnancy. “I love you for it anyway. They can’t seem to decide if we’re having a boy, a girl or even more than one. We’ve prepped for one and a half right now.”

Vero showed off Scarlett who was getting to be big now at 7 ½ months. Afterwards Chris sighed. “I hate to do this but if we’re going to get home at a semi-decent hour we need to get going.”

Nate checked his watch. “Yeah you’re right.” He got up and went to the stairs to get their kids.

Chris sighed. “Kev has Space Camp this weekend and I know he hasn’t packed yet.” All the kids came down the stairs when summoned. We all got hugs from those leaving and soon it was only the Pens families in the house.

“You can go play upstairs again.” Vero told the quartet that was left and they went back up with joyful abandon. “So, you have options to stay here or to stay with Kallie.” The two of them got into the friendly argument I’d seen a lot of in the past few years. Finally Vero came out the winner. “Bon, tomorrow we will go and start looking for places for you all but tonight we celebrate that you are all here and safe.”

Aleks was over soon after and the gossipping and bonding began. Vero’s landline rang once and it turned out to be Carol-Lyne Dupuis. Soon she and her brood of 4 were over and my two were over the moon with so many kids to play with without having to speak English. The girls were right, Monday was soon enough to find a place.