Re-Arranged

Chapter One

There would always be things that changed. Five years was a plentiful time for it too.

Titles at the jobs changed and restructured. Jobs themselves changed and reorganized. Homes changed and got redecorated. And as for the people living within –

"Okay, okay, I got this. I am telling you I am somewhat of an expert at it now."

Ben Lark walked towards the changing table with both arms raised over his head, his expression serious to a fault. With a quick tug on both sleeves, he pulled them over his elbows and brought the arms down. Slapping on a toothy grin, he made gurgling noises as he looked at the baby and began to undo its diaper.

Behind him, two adults cringed their noses and pulled away from the scene as the stench of well-digested food filled the room.

"You guys are lucky I am around. You better begin to appreciate it too! I graced you with my presence and I aid you in your time of need – I am basically your angel! I –!"

"Is that your secret to facing the smell? Keep talking needlessly?"

Kelly's voice sounded nasal. Her fingers pinched her nose firmly and refused to let go till they saw the dirty diaper being wrapped appropriately and tossed into the bin. Just as she breathed in proper air, which still contained trace amounts of the previous smell, she sensed Darian beside her breathe in deeply as well.

"Of course! Brilliant, isn't it? When Maisley and Paige were born, it had to be all hands on deck, especially on the many days Dad went on tour. If not for my stupid school, we would have set up tent here as usual. Ma and me alone with the twins – we had our hands full, but still – there! All done!"

Kelly and Darian both tilted to the right to stare at the baby around the figure of Ben. He looked happy, giggly and sleepy.

"I guess that's my cue." Darian picked him up, one hand under his head and neck, while Kelly draped a piece of cloth over his shoulder.

She checked the other two cots in the room, its occupants least bothered by the happenings around them. Paige looked peaceful and deep in sleep while Maisley had kicked off her blanket and rolled over them. Kelly put another one over her before she and Ben quietly exited the room.

She sighed. "It wasn't so bad in those demos Lyn did. You'd think I'd know better after three weeks."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Mom was at a severe loss with the twins too. I wouldn't say it was handled expertly this time round either, but much better than before."

"That's kind of... comforting, I guess?"

"Eh, take it or leave it," Ben said as he slumped into the couch and picked up the remote, which was snatched from him almost instantly.

"Go and study."

"What?! Why?! It's summer vacation!"

"Lyn's orders trump your arguments," Kelly replied over her shoulder as she headed for the stairs. Unlike before, the first floor landing did not directly lead into a single bedroom. Neither was there only one bedroom on the ground floor of the house. It was a crowded affair when she and Darian talked about expanding the house. Not only were her parents, Julia, Katie and Evelyn present for the consultations, Allison had dragged in a reluctant Carl into the mix too.

"I protest!" Ben yelled back and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyebrows drawn together and his lower lip jutting out.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Get to your books now."

While the original bedroom on the ground floor had been renovated into a kids' room (kids below 10 years of age, that is, as Ben insisted), the wall adjacent to it right under the foot of the stairs, now had a sliding door that led into the newly added bedroom. Along with it, there was a curtain divider that separated the two rooms and the staircase from the living room and its extensions of dining area and the kitchen. This was easier to get round to compared to the first floor plans. They could manage to start on it almost a year after the ground floor was done, unable to decide for a long time which would be the best route to go about it.