Gen 2-Chapter 4: Moving On...Growing Up

Although the house was quiet for a few days following Pepper and Bridget leaving, not much had changed. Honeydew became even more quiet and to herself either playing the guitar in her room or hanging out at the theater with her friends. She and I were working at the day spa together and that was the only time we ever really got to talk.

However, with Pepper gone, Bubbles and I had started to become a little closer. Even though we were twins she and I had not been really close as children. She's always been shy, quiet, studious and a bit of a loner. I on the other hand workout at the gym, teach an aerobics class there, am loud and kind of  crazy at times. So when I started to notice how good she was getting at sketching I told her as much and things kind of kept getting better from there.

I had repeatedly sent e-mails to Pepper and left a few voicemails on his mobile but had not heard anything. I was truly saddened at the thought that my big brother might have totally abandoned us. So when I saw that I had a new e-mail about 2 weeks after he had left my heart soared!

Candy-my sweetest little sister,
I am sorry I haven't been in touch with you sooner and I can only imagine how angry with me you must be right now. We just got interwebz set up here. Bridget and I have finally found a small house here in the sugardocks. Lol. But at least we managed to stay in town. We got married the night we left so I expect congratulations when I see you next. Bridget's belly is growing. And we both send our love to you and the family, I'm just not ready to send it in person quite yet, hope you can understand.


-Love and chocolate kisses,
Pepper


P.S. Enclosed is our new address, expect to see you here this weekend!

Yay! Pepper stayed in town. I have to tell everyone!

Mom and Dad seemed a bit relieved when I told them that Pepper and Bridget were doing well and that they had found a house here. I kept to myself the fact that I had their address. Well almost to myself. Bubbles and I were still sharing the same room for the time being (mom is redoing Pepper's room for me) and that night I asked her as we were laying in bed if she wanted to go with me the next morning to see Pepper's new house.
"Of course Candy! I hope Bridget won't mind."
"I don't think she will Bubbles, she's mad Mom, not us."

***

We called a taxi to take us to Pepper's because we didn't know where the address would take us. The taxi driver made catty remarks at us and by the time we got out of the taxi I was a little disgusted with him. I sent him an ugly stare as he pulled away. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed some guys across the street but I didn't pay too much mind at the time.

I knocked and knocked on Pepper's door but no one answered. I was a little aggravated but Bubbles and I didn't have to be at work for quite awhile. I looked again across the street, the guys looked like they were nice enough and the younger one looked about our age. I turned to Bubbles
"What do ya say we make some friends?"
"I..I..don't know about that Candy"

"Oh come on sis" I turned on my heels and headed in that direction.

As I got closer I realized that they were actually all 3 pretty nice looking.

"Hi! I'm Candy, have any of you three seen the fellow that lives across the street?"

"Why is he your boyfriend?" the younger one asked a little annoyingly.
"No, my brother and his WIFE live there you silly boy" I said but I smiled at them.
"Well I'm Banana Foster Breeze, I go by B. Foster for short. The tall red and blue guys over there are my brothers. Believe it or not they're twins."

"Oh that's funny, this shy girl behind me is my sister Bubbles, we're twins too." Bubbles introduced herself to B. Foster and then the two became engrossed in conversation. Apparently he is very eco-friendly and likes talk about recycling and renewable energy sources.

 I decided to talk to the other to guys so I walked a little closer. The red guy was looking at a book so I approached the blue guy.

"Hi I'm Candy"
"I'm Juniper, Juniper Breeze" He said smiling at me. OMB at those eyes and that accent it had a bit of a twang...it was so, so....sexy. I can't think that, he's much older than me!

I ended up talking to Juniper Breeze for so long that I was almost late for work. When I got to work Honeydew was there and I guess I had been smiling to myself because she finally asked me what I was so happy about.
"Oh nothing, Bubbles and I went over to see Pepper but he wasn't home." But I was thinking ...those eyes.
"And that made you happy?" she said, looking a little puzzled.
"Honey, how about you take me to go see your stylist after work?"
"Sure, but eventually you'll have to tell me what the deal is you know" she gave a little laugh, "I think I already have an idea but I can wait, I'm sure I'll meet him eventually."
"How did you..? Oh you little heffer....if you didn't know, you do now, huh?" I went back to work. I was NOT going to the stylist over some guy...I just needed a...change. He's too old for you...I kept telling myself despite the fact that my encounter with Juniper had been on auto-replay since I met him. *sigh*  The clock ticked by soooo slowly. When it was time to leave Honey told me that she actually needed to go by the theater but that she would drop me off at the stylist.

As I walked up to the Sugar Rush Salon and Tattoos I felt a little nervous, but I knew I needed a change...I needed to look a little more...........adult.

Gen 2-Chapter 3: Tribulations

Well it didn't take me long after I crawled underneath the covers to have curiosity get the best of me....that and my father's and Pepper's voices creeping in from underneath the door frame. I cracked open the door and saw them arguing in the living room.

I don't know if my mother ever told you but Pepper and I have always been close even since the days when I was a toddling terror. It's harder for me to be as mad with him because I feel both upset with and protective of Pepper at the same time. I have to say he's the closest thing I've got to a best friend. Even though I tried to trust Pepper's judgment, unlike mom and dad, something bothered me about Bridget. Maybe it was that she was causing an uproar at my house.
The arguing back and forth continued for a while. I caught snatches here and there.

"I cannot believe you...engaged to this girl...who you really don't know...Pepper!"

"I love her.....I do know her....we are getting married..........like it or not"

"Your mom and I.....just don't....see you hurt.....I'm going to bed"

The next few days weren't any better and it seemed to be that every time Dad and Pepper were in the same room it turned into an argument. I could tell Dad was loosing steam. Mom didn't say anything...to anyone, especially Bridget. It was as if she were giving us all the silent treatment in order to keep her cool.

Bridget was trying to fit in the family. So much that she got a new, more colorful, hair style and a more colorful wardrobe. She really wasn't all that bad of a person.

The silent front mom was putting up wouldn't last much longer though. A few weeks after the engagement I walked by Mom and Dad's bedroom and saw that Bridget was pacing back in forth by the computer, biting her nails. Of course I watched. She heard that all to familiar ding that she had a new email and sat down.
When she stood up she started rubbing her belly and it hit me,

"Oh...my...berry, you're pregnant!" She turned in my direction. Oops, I said it out loud.
"Please don't tell anyone yet. I need to tell Pepper."

That evening she announced her pregnancy in the living room. Dad and Pepper had been trying to have the first civil conversation in weeks about Pepper's work at the time. When she told everyone, I pretending to look surprised but no one was paying me much attention anyway.

Pepper was thrilled, Dad was quite and mummered "congratulations".

 Mom stood up, walked over to Bridget and said:
"Is it Peppers?"

The smile was off of Bridget's face immediately."Excuse me?"

"Are you sure the baby is my sons?"

OMB this is about to get ugly.
"You have got to be kidding me? You haven't said anything to any of us in WEEKS and you choose to say that first? To accuse me of being dishonest? I can't believe you!"

"I...didn't mean for it to come out like that....I...."

"You've been nothing but disapproving of me since I came back from school. You haven't even bothered to find out anything about why I came back or anything."

"I understand that but you need to understand that I have to protect my son. You'll understand sooner than you realize" Mom said looking at Bridget's midsection.

"I'm through with this conversation." She left and went to Pepper's room. He followed suit and we didn't see either of them that night. I did hear quiet sobbing and Pepper speaking to someone on his cellphone when I walked by the room though.

The next morning when I woke up, I felt like something had changed in the house. Apparently that night, Pepper and Bridget had gathered their things and left. I felt a sudden surge of panic mixed with sadness in my chest that morning. I knew he wouldn't be coming back and I was a little disgusted that he had left this way.

Gen 2- Chapter 2: A New (Welcome?) Addition to the Family

At first Pepper just stared at her. We were all holding our breath trying not to steam up the windows or give ourselves away as we peaked outside. I was half-expecting Pepper to throw a tongue-lashing Bridget's way. A "How could you 'Dear John' me" kind of monologue, but what he did was more shocking to me.

He hugged her! The relief on her face when she realized he wasn't attacking her was actually kind of amusing and when I snickered, mom who had been extra stoic while looking at the woman who had broken her son's heart, lost it.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she declared. Every head in the house shifted to Mom.

I was a bit taken aback at first thinking she was referring to my snickering but then, on second thought, due to the fact that my mom almost never gets angry.

"I can not believe she just waltzes back up to this house and rings the doorbell like its nothing and he just hugs her like she didn't just leave him desolate and broken-hearted a year ago! And he's gonna forgive her, I know all she has to do is ask...I can not believe this....*mumbles incoherently*"

After the initial shock had worn off from him, Dad quickly put his arm over Mom's shoulders and guided her out of the kitchen to the bedroom where I could still hear her muttering at him about "that girl".

Meanwhile I quickly turned my attention outside. I "shushed" everyone so that we could hear what was going on.

Apparently they were getting along pretty well out there. Pepper had told Bridget about his new job that he was to start at the science lab and she was congratulating him on it.

I don't know how I feel about this situation as of yet. I'm kind of happy for Pepper that she bothered to show up at all but I'm also concerned that it's not going to go well. Pepper and Bridget talked for hours out on the porch that night getting caught up on family and life.

He actually finally invited her inside. Everyone else left or went to bed, but I stayed up pretending to do some homework and what happened next was even more shocking.

"Bridget I never want us to be apart again, I know you had your reasons for leaving so suddenly but I forgive you and well, will you marry me?" Pepper got down on one knee. He took off his State Championship ring and held it out to her.

Holy sugar-honey-ice-tea! I muttered, gapping at the two of them.

"Yes Pepper, of course I'll marry you!" she squealed.

OMB! This is not going to go over very well at all.

Pepper then told Bridget she could stay the night and gave her his bed and told her he would sleep on the couch.

They were both beaming from ear to ear.

"Well congratulations I guess" was all I could say. I turned to leave when I heard the door to Mom and Dad's room open and saw Dad emerge.

I quickly ran up to Dad to see if I could try to brace him for what was about to happen...

Just as I was starting to tell him that my brother was a bit of an idiot, Pepper told Bridget to please excuse herself so that he could talk to his dad. She obliged and I got the heck out of Dodge myself before Dad exploded at Pepper.

At least it's never boring here I thought to myself as I got ready for bed.

Gen 2- Chapter 1: Bitter-Sweet Suprises

I'm Candy Tea and I'll be taking it over from here. The family, yup, that's right. You all know Thistle, that fun-loving goofy mom of mine. Well a few days ago I was helping clean up the kitchen after breakfast when mom pulled me aside.

"Candy, Dad and I have been meaning to talk to you about something lately...you see I've..." Mom was interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell phone. "Excuse me a minutes honey, we'll talk about this later" she said as she opened the cellphone and put it towards her ear.

Not thinking much of it, I continued to clean up from breakfast and then went to get ready for school. However I noticed as I was turning to leave the kitchen that mom's mood had been replaced from bright and cheerful to a much more melancholy one.

***

After I got home from school I changed into my gym clothes and started my workout. I love to workout. That burning of the muscles...it's all just the weakness leaving the body ya know?

Pepper was at his after-school football practice, Honeydew playing with her new band in someone's garage, Bubbles at an art class and Mom and Dad still at work. The Tea household can often be a loud and noisy one so I was very much enjoying my solitary workout time when Mom walked in, home from work a little early.

"Hi sweetie, working out? I was half afraid I'd come home early and find you smooching with some boy on the couch"

"Mom you know I don't have a boyfriend" I rolled my eyes at her. "Why are you home early?"

"Well, you see Candy...I had to go to a doctor's appointment and I also figured that you would be home alone so I wanted to see you," she took a deep breath and continued, "That phone call I received this morning was from Dr. Butterscotch. He was calling because I had some abnormal results on my yearly check up a few weeks ago and I had to go back in to have some more test run. He was calling me to ask me to come in to see him to go over the results. It looks like everything is okay but this little health scare has reminded me that life is short."

Mom must have seen the concerned look on my face because she reached for my hand and held it between hers. "So Dad and I have been talking about it and we really need someone to make sure that this house and family that we have put much love and work into continue on." She smiled at me, "We want that person to be you Candy"

****

As I showered and got ready for dinner, I replayed the conversation I had just had with my mother over and over in my head. Heir to the Tea family, heir to my mother. A lot of responsibility laid on my shoulders now.
I was kind of in my own little world when I sat down at the table to eat dinner.

I smiled and made casual conversation but I was lost in thought. When I told everyone I would do the dishes Mom even looked a little worried. I will help but I never actual volunteer so I could understand her reaction.

As I stood over our counter and looked through the kitchen window at the sunset, I knew I would take the responsibility. I loved this home. I loved my family.

After the initial shock had worn off I guess you could say that things went back to normal. School ended for the summer, Pepper graduated and his 18th birthday was coming up and Mom was planning a big dual party.

No sooner than Pepper had blown out his candles, the doorbell rang.

"Oooh, maybe it's a suprise" Pepper joked as he ran to open the door.

He was right.....

Much to our surprise, Bridget stood in the doorway.

Oh Boy.