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Jean looked slightly relieved until he noticed his mother's expression and realized that she had heard. Her bottom lip was trembling, and tears had welled up in her eyes. "See what I have to put up with?!" she suddenly wailed, covering her face with both hands before, with a few choked sobs, she rushed out of the kitchen and into the next room, her son looking on with stunned silence. |
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Devi's eyes widened in concern as she watched Jean's mother dash out of the room. She looked to him, raising a brow in silent question. Jack merely sighed, shook his head, and cursed under his breath. Slumping his shoulders, he heaved an exasperated sigh and groaned, "Great...here we go again..." |
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"Whaddaya mean?" Jean asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. He knew his mother had rather... turbulent emotions, but it had never gotten this bad. |
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"It's here," Jack cringed. "...Menopause..." With another sigh, he turned around to follow after her. Confused about what she just saw, Devi turned towards Jean and tugged on his arm, asking, "Um...what's menopause...?" |
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Suddenly, a horrible thought occurred to him. What would he do when Devi hit menopause? He eyed her warily, a slight horrified expression on his face. Sure, that was a far stretch into the future, but he wasn't sure how he would be able to deal with it. Then again... Devi was a hell of a lot calmer than his mother, who had always been rather... well, crazy. |
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"Hm, really? Well, then I'm lucky that I won't have to worry about that happening to me for a long time," Devi replied, glancing nervously to the empty doorway before looking up at Jean once more. "I think. You know, seeing as how I don't...well...age...normally," she added quickly. |
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"Oh... right. I didn't think of that," he told her, wondering curiously what age he would be when her body finally matured to that of a fifty-year-old woman. Since it was something he had no way of knowing, however, he gave it little thought. "Well, seeing as Mom isn't here to play host right now, I guess I'll have to do it," he then said, glancing over at her and smiling. "Would you like some pie? Or a drink?" |
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Devi brightened at the question. She smiled back at him and replied, "Sure, I'd love some." |
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Setting a fork onto each of the plates, he passed one over to her before plopping down in a chair, waiting for Devi to pour her glass of lemonade first (the pitcher was setting on the table) before he got his. His mouth watering, Jean took a small bite of the pie before giving a slight nod and saying, "Yep... there's no way in hell my mom made this." |
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"Now, now. Be nice," Devi giggled, amused to see his reaction to the pie. She poured a glass of lemonade for herself before deciding to pour his as well. Handing his glass over to him with a smile, she took a seat as well. She took a bite of pie and sighed happily at the taste. "It's delicious...!" |
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Devi looked up at him, smiling sheepishly before shaking her head. "No, I've never tried it before," she replied, still slightly embarrassed about her inexperience with things. She had gotten better, tried more, but there were still things she had never experienced. She then looked back up at him and added, "But they sell it at the diner sometimes, so I've seen it. I've just never had the chance to try it yet. It's very good." |
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"This is pretty great," he agreed, casting a grin in her direction before taking another bite of the pie. He glanced up at the sound of light footsteps to see that his mother had entered the kitchen, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. "Oh... I see that you've already started eating. Good," she said, straightening out the wrinkles in her apron. "Do you need anything else?" "Nah, we're good," Jean told her, smiling warmly at her. "The lemonade's delicious, Mom..." |
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"Yes, it's delicious," Devi agreed, still somewhat unnerved from the woman's earlier escapade. |
After awhile, Emilia found herself left alone in the kitchen with Devi while the men went outside to bond or some nonsense like that. She finished wiping clean the last of the plates and cups, setting them in neat rows onto a towel beside the sink.
"So..." she started, wiping her hands on her apron as she turned to face the young woman, an impish smile crossing her features. "Would you like to see some of Jean's baby pictures?" |
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Devi's expression brightened, an impish smile making its way onto her features as well. "Sure," she replied with a hint of deviousness in her tone. "Sounds like fun...." |
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--- Jean leaned back lazily in one of the rocking chairs on the back porch, a lax expression on his face as he looked out over his surroundings. "So..." He tilted his head toward his father, his lips pulled back into his trademark grin. "What do you think? She's pretty great, right?" |
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"Oh, okay," Devi smiled and nodded, taking the seat beside Emilia. She eyed the elaborately decorated albums with wild curiosity, anxious to see what lie inside. She had seen photo albums in other homes and knew what was inside, but she hadn't seen the contents of one before. The fact that they were photos of Jean made that all the more enticing. --- Quote:
Jack looked back at his son and arched a brow, letting out a low whistle as a similar grin graced his own features. "I'll say," he replied. "Now how did you happen to find such a pretty young thing, son?" |
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"Aww... look at him," she sighed reminiscently, tapping a picture of a tiny baby in a crib, clad in pink pajamas, complete with a little hat and a pair of booties. "Jean was such a good baby. Hardly cried. He threw some nasty fits once he got a bit older, but Jack and I learned that if we just ignored him, he'd stop eventually." --- Quote:
"With my good looks and sophisticated charm," Jean replied in a serious tone, trying hard to keep from grinning as he waited for his old man's response. |
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Devi leaned over to look at the photo and her expression immediately softened as she looked at the child, chuckling somewhat at the pink attire. Although she was slightly uncomfortable around children, Devi had what must have been a maternal instinct to care for them. "Aww...he was cute," she replied softly. She then looked up at Emilia questioningly and asked, "But was it really okay just to leave him alone?" Quote:
"No, really," Jack said, his voice sober and unwavering. "How'd it really happen. 'Cause I know that can't be it," he laughed. |
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Turning her attention back to the book, she flipped to the next page, which had a picture of the poof-balled little boy sitting outside in a steel wash tub, looking displeased. Quote:
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"My own baby...right..." Devi replied, trying her hardest not to allow her dismay show. The possibility of her having a child was out of the question. After all, she wasn't completely human anymore. She quickly diverted her attention to the picture of the baby in the tub and smiled at his expression. Laughing, she commented, "He doesn't look too happy to be taking a bath, now, does he...?" Quote:
"Luck. That must be it," Jack replied with a smirk. "Ain't no way you'd land something like that over the phone otherwise. Boy, wipe your chin. You're drooling," he teased, secretly pleased that his son was so happy. Then, as another thought popped into his head, Jack grinned and added, "We'll see just how lucky you are--lucky if she sticks around. I saw your mama pulling out all your baby albums the other day." |
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"Not at all," Emilia said grimly. "Then again, trying to get him to take a bath was like trying to... well... pull teeth." She giggled. "Speaking of that, there's a picture somewhere in here..." Quote:
What the hell is it with Mom and her photo albums? I really need to burn them... he thought darkly. This wasn't the first time she had pulled out the albums to show a girlfriend. He should have expected it, really. At the very least, if Devi made it through this week and still wanted to date him... well, that would really prove how perfect she was for him. |
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Devi smiled at the idea of Jean fighting a bath. He seemed to have grown out of that phase. He even seemed to embrace the idea of them nowadays. Suddenly something alerted Devi to an approaching presence. Her head shot up slightly and she quickly turned to look over to Emilia, whispering hastily, "Jean's coming." Quote:
"'Cause that wouldn't have been nearly enough fun, son," Jack called as he watched his son book it into the house, a wry smile crossing his features. Quote:
Devi resisted the urge to giggle as Jean burst into the room. She stood still, looking slightly surprised at his sudden appearance, but said nothing at first. She adorned a warm, caring look of worry as she asked, "Jean? What's wrong? Are you alright?" |
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"Yes, dear, is something wrong?" she asked, a look of motherly concern crossing her face. "Is it your father?" "No... everything's good," her son finally said, giving the room a once-over. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he glanced over at Devi, knowing that if he was going to catch anyone lying, it would be her. "So... what are you guys doing?" |
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