The Journey to Freedom: Path to WW3

Chapter XL

Having a baby changes the way you view your in-laws.

I love it when they come to visit now. They can hold the baby and I can go out.

Matthew Broderick

I call Marcus, AB, and Daniel and tell them to go to the house in an hour. They tell me that they'll be there with their families. I tell them ok and that I would be getting the tables and chairs ready for everyone.

"What's the big occasion for everyone going to your mother's house Nicholas?" Ruth asks me.

I tell them that we just got back from a mission and my was mom celebrating our homecoming and also celebrating them coming to Dallas to get to know my family and also there's a surprise involved.

"Oh, I love surprises." Says Ruth.

We get into the elevator and head downstairs. Once down there we get into the truck and drive to my mom's house. Fito was at the house getting the grill ready. Lawrence and Drew weren't back yet from renting the suburban. We get out of the truck and tell Fito that I would help him in a minute, that I just needed a few minutes to take Eve's parents inside and meet my mom. Fito walks over and introduces himself to Eve's parents. They also introduce themselves to him and shake hands. I walk inside the house, Eve follows me and her parents come in last. My girls come running to me and I pick them up in each arm. I introduce them to Eve's parents.

"Jonathan and Ruth, these are my twin girls. This is Ayeka and this one is Melfina."

Ruth looks at the girls and moves past her husband and Eve. "Oh my god, they are adorable! Nicholas, twins, oh my god, I've seen twins before but never knew anyone that had them! Can I hold one of them?" She asks.

I tell Melfina to go with Eve's mom and Melfina goes to Ruth. "You have pretty eyes." Says Melfina.

Ruth smiles and replies, "And you are adorable, I could just eat you up. Look at your pretty shirt and pretty pants, they are pretty like you."

Melfina then says, "Evelyn bought them for me as a present."

Ruth looks at Eve and then Melfina says, "She also bought a present for Ayeka."

Ruth looks at Eve and tells her that she did a good job dressing them up. "You have a good sense of style for kids. I think you would make a great mom one day." Ruth tells Eve.

My mom comes out of the kitchen greets everyone and introduces herself to Eve's parents. "Hello, I'm Patricia but you can call me Patty."

Ruth introduces herself and then her husband Jonathan. "You have a beautiful house Patty, I love the decorations and the furniture. I love how you have all the pictures on the wall, I also noticed the one with the little girl on the stand with candles next to them." Ruth says.

My mom gets a sad face and then proceeds to tell Ruth about Genesis. "That's my oldest granddaughter. She was Nicholas's oldest daughter. She died recently."

Then Ruth puts her hand over her heart while holding Melfina and tells me that she is sorry for my loss. I tell her that I am still trying to get over it but that it's still fresh. And Eve somehow made me feel alive again.

"I don't think that without Eve I could've handled myself any better. Honestly, I think it would've gone worse for me. I probably would've gone into some suicide mission and thrown my life away without even thinking about my remaining girls." I tell Ruth.

Ruth tells me that it will get better. I smile and tell my mom that I am going to get the tables from the back and set them up because I invited everyone and that they were coming here, that was why I sent Lawrence to get me about $100 worth of fajitas. Then my mom says that it's too much and I tell her that everyone always takes plates home anyway. The food won't go bad. She tells me ok and I hand Ayeka over to Eve. Ayeka goes to Eve and hugs her and puts her little head on Eve's shoulder. Eve holds her firmly so Ayeka can see that Eve truly loves her. I go outside and tell Fito to help me with the tables and chairs.