The Way We Were

The Way We Help

Marcy threw the dirty clothes in the laundry room and rubbed her hands over her jeans. Mal and the twins were taking naps while she unpacked them from their trip and she was nearly finished.

She went upstairs and put away their luggage then began opening up the room. They hadn't been in her room since before they left for Christmas so it was a bit stale in there.

She opened all the windows and curtains and sprayed Febreeze everywhere. It was smelling better already.

She decided to lie down next to her husband and take a nap, too. Nobody was home. Her siblings were still at camp and her father was at work. They'd gotten in early and didn't tell anyone. They figured they'd rest up then spend time with their parents.

An hour went by before noise woke Marcy. She didn't know what it was but she got up anyway. Maybe Mrs. Parks was back?

She exited her room then closed the door behind her so her family could rest before walking down the steps.

Mercedes looked up. "Marcy?!"

"Mercy! You guys were getting in today?" Marcy came to stand in the foyer.

"Yeah." Mercedes hugged her sister and rocked. "You look so good! When did you get in? Why didn't you tell us, Daddy?"

Marcus blinked. "I didn't know. Why didn't you tell us, Sweetpea?"

"We wanted to surprise you." Marcy shrugged. "Surprise."

He hugged her. "Where's Jr. and the kids?"

"Sleeping. Jet lag."

"I can't wait for them to wake up!" Mercedes rubbed her hands together. "I haven't seen them all summer!"

"Can I hug my sister?" Marc elbowed Mercedes gently.

"Nobody's stopping you!" She hit his arm.

Marc pushed her out of the way and picked up Marcy. "Missed you, Moppet."

Marcy hugged him tightly for a few seconds before letting him go. "I missed you all, too. I'm really going to miss you when you leave."

"I'm not leaving for a few more days so we can spend time together." He put her down.

"Not now. Now is my time." Mercedes picked up one of the many bags littering the entry way floor. "Help me unpack, Marce."

"Okay." Marcy shrugged before picking up a bag and following.

W.W.W

Mercedes knocked on Marcy's door. "Hey, Marce?"

Marcy opened it. "Yeah?"

"You're still trying out for the Cheerios, right?"

"I guess."

"Then you need help like Laura helped us. We can teach you a few routines so you already know them."

"Who's we?"

"Me, Quinn, Britt and Tana. I already called them and they're on their way."

"What if I had said no?"

"We would have trained you and made you do it anyway."

"How can you make me do something? I have a photo shoot in a few days. I'm busy."

"What's the shoot for?" Mercedes completely missed the point.

"Lip gloss."

"I want to do Skechers. I'm going to ask Mrs. C to contact them and see what they say."