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Chapter Thirty Two

Meredith Tanner

"I'm home, Mom, Papa!" I called out, letting my parents know I came back.

After coming home from a day with Lukas, I went out for a walk at the park with Ryan and Stephanie. We had a lot of a fun, with Ryan offering to buy ice cream for both Stephanie and me after a few minutes of walking and growling stomachs overheard. As I took off my shoes, Papa walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands with a towel, to see me.

"Ah, you're finally back," he said with a smile.

I looked around, hearing nothing else in our normally loud house, "Where's Mom? She's usually watching TV."

"She's going out shopping for some groceries," he replied, walking back into the kitchen, "So while she does that, can you help me with something?"

"Of course! What's up?"

I followed him into the kitchen, only to find a mess of flour everywhere. It was practically on every single counter we had in the kitchen, and I almost coughed, as if I inhaled some of it. My eyes widened, and Papa laughed nervously at my reaction.

"I was, uh, trying to make a pie for your mother, because she made one for me before, and I never got to thank her." He peered around in the kitchen, a little upset by the mess. "Uh, least to say, it didn't quite work out."

I walked into the kitchen, hesitating to say something and grabbing a dusty pan by the side. "I thought you were great at cooking, Papa."

"Cooking, that is," he responded, emphasizing the first word. "Your mother is more of a baker than I am."

I turned to look over my shoulder and smiled at Papa, handing him the dust pan while saying, "Lucky for you that Mom taught me how to bake pies when I was younger."

Papa sighed heavily at the tools in his hands, a frail smile on his face, "That's what I was hoping for."

~~~

"Mom's home!" I exclaimed suddenly to Papa, scrambling into the kitchen after peering out the living room window.

Papa turned to look at me, his eyes wide. "What?!"

I quickly began putting back the utensils that were strewn about the dining table and counters of the kitchen. Papa grabbed a pair of oven mitts and pulled out the pie, dropping it on the counter quickly before he burned himself. I heard Mom's boots thumping against the stairs outside, and almost like an instinct, my green eye began glowing brightly. Time slowed down, and Papa noticed, a small grin on his face. I shoved the rolling pin back in the drawer, closing it, and grabbed the pie off the counter.

"Ow, that's hot!" I squeaked, quickly placing it in the middle of dining table. It was surrounded by other foods, where platters laid out with different delicious contents.

"Don't burn yourself!" I heard Papa warning me as he pulled off the apron. "I'll go greet your mother by the door before she opens it. On my word, resume time!"

I folded the towels and placed them where they belonged. "Got it!"

I heard Papa rushing towards the door, and it only made me smile when I realized what we were doing. Times like this where Papa and I work together on surprising Mom are always fun. I love seeing Mom's eyes sparkle when she sees what we did. I sat myself down at the dining table, tying my hair up quickly.

"Now!"

My green eye stopped glowing, and immediately, the door was swung open. I leaned back to see what was happening. Mom looked up from her feet at Papa in confusion, bags of groceries in her hands. Papa leaned down to place a kiss on her head with a small smile on his face.

"Welcome back, Cheryl," Papa greeted her, his hand on her back.

"H-Hi?" Mom stuttered out, confused by why he was suddenly greeting her back from shopping. I tried to hold in a giggle at how confused she appeared to be. A small blush was on her face, and she asked, "Is something happening?"

Papa's gaze traveled, trying to think of something to say. Quickly knowing he needed to stall, I walked towards them. "You're finally back, Mom!" Mom turned to look at me. I leaned over and took the bags from her hands, saying, "I'll put these away for you while you talk to Papa."

Mom was about to say something, only for me to walk away into the kitchen. "O-Oh, um, okay."

"So, remember that time we didn't see each other for a while during college?" I heard Papa ask as I shoved the food in the refrigerator.

Mom pulled off her coat and hung it on the rack, nodding. "Of course!" A small smile was on her face as she added, "I baked you a pie..!"

Papa's eyes melted, and he had the same frail smile on his face from earlier. I snickered. He's such a sucker for innocence. Clearing his throat, he grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen. "Well, I decided to finally pay you back for it!" He exclaimed with an idiotic grin. "In all honesty, Meredith helped me out, but we did it together for you."

As Mom approached the dining room, her eyes began sparkling brightly at the food laid out upon the table. She peered between the two of us. "Y-You guys did this?"

I nodded brightly. "Mhm!"

Immediately, Mom punched Papa's arm, making him inhale sharply as I squeaked at how hard it sounded. She hugged him tightly, hiding her face in his shirt as her hands clutched the fabric loosely. "Oh, you're such a stupid idiot, Tristan! That was so many years ago!"

Papa hugged her back, laughing. "But, did you like the surprise?"

Mom stood up straight, her flushed cheeks puffing out in extreme annoyance. She sighed heavily, as if exploding, and smiled lightly at us. "Ah, I guess I do," she responded, almost shy with answering.

Turning to Papa, she leaned over, standing on her toes, and kissed him, making him blush furiously. He practically melted every time Mom kissed him, making me giggle. Mom then walked over to me, where I sat on my seat at the dining table, and kissed my cheek, making me blush as well.

A pretty smile was on her face as she poked my red cheek, saying, "It's a wonder that you're both so alike in so many ways." Papa walked over and sat down in his seat, and Mom followed his actions.

"She's just as similar to you as she is to me," Papa responded, starting to eat.

"I'm your daughter, after all. I'm glad I am too, because you guys are the best," I replied brightly. I cut open the pie, gesturing the slice towards Mom, "Pie?"

I didn't know if I was imagining, but I thought I saw joyous tears in Mom's eyes as she said, "Gladly."

A/N

More love for the Tanner family!