Her Last Plea✨

Chapter 29

Entering the very spacious kitchen, Delphina saw that Faith had Marvin perched on her hip while Mira sat on top of the island, licking chocolate cake batter off of a mixing beater.

"Certainly there's a more suitable place for you to sit, Mirabelle," Delphina chastised, disapproving of her daughter's current position.

"Uh....no," Mira replied offhandedly. "This is my spot."

"Excuse me?"

"My spot," Mira repeated. "I always sit here. Right, Nana Faith?"

Nodding fondly, Faith walked around the island to greet Delphina. "Hi, I'm Faith," she said, smiling warmly. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you, Delphina."

"Likewise," Delphina replied politely.

Faith tilted her head towards Mira and said, "When my Alexis was little I'd place her over there whenever she'd want to watch me cook. And when Mira first came over, she herself  used a chair to climb up there, claiming it as her spot thereafter."

Delphina smiled for a lack of anything else to do. She walked over and sat on the sole armchair in the room that was brought in for her. She willed herself to calm down for the hundredth time. She knew before she came here that today she'd have to hear stories about her children that she didn't know, she knew she'd have to hear little details about her daughters that would be oh so similar to Alexis's childhood. She knew this! She just had to get through it somehow!

"Pa!" Marvin exclaimed suddenly, reaching for Will who had just entered the kitchen. "Car, Pa! Car!"

Laughing, Will took Marvin from Faith and hoisted him up in the air. "Is that all I'm good for? Just a car?"

"See car," Marvin giggled. "See car, Pa!"

"Ahem!" A voice coughed from the kitchen entrance.

Everyone turned around to see Ara dressed as Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, plastic pearls around her neck along with a plastic tiara on her head for the full effect.

Mike shook his head, smiling at his younger daughter while William faked a gasp that Marvin mimicked hilariously.

"Oh my!" Will pretended to exclaim. "Faith, did you know we were gonna have a real princess in the house today?"

"What? A real princess?" Faith asked, playing along. "I don't think I've made a royal enough lunch fit for a princess! Do princesses eat mac n cheese with chicken wings?"

Ara laughed, tearing off her tiara as if that was the piece of disguise that kept her identity hidden from everyone. "It's just me, Nana! See? Just your Ara!"

Delphina watched with a smile as Faith fawned over Ara, twirling the girl to properly inspect her dress. Beside Faith, Will made funny noises at Marvin, tickling the kid as he continued to chant the words 'car' and 'pa' religiously. And Mira.......Mira sat at complete ease as she laughed at her siblings's antics, her face devoid of any stress that had been there even this morning. It was hard not to notice her children, and how they seemed so much more carefree and comfortable here then they were at their own home.

"So, I guess I'm gonna take this one here to the garage," Will said after a few minutes, gesturing to Marvin. "Mike, you wanna join us?"

Mike nodded and walked towards the door, but stopped in his tracks at the last moment. He turned around towards Delphina, wondering if it would be wise to leave her here with the girls and Faith. God only knew what she might end up saying without him around that would end up intentionally - or unintentionally - hurting the others.

Delphina seemed to notice his hesitation as she gave him an irate look and said, "Go on Michael, I'll be fine."

"Uhh.....I don't know," Mike stalled. "Maybe, I'll just wait till Miller wakes up and comes downstairs."

"She looked dead to the world last I checked on her," Faith said with a concerned look on her face.

"She should be waking up soon, actually. Lex doesn't sleep for long in the daylight," Will pointed out.

"If she doesn't wake up on her own in the next half hour, maybe our Royal Highness here could do the honors," Faith proposed, kissing the top of Ara's head after fixing the tiara back in the middle of the girl's blonde curls. Looking at Mike, she added, "Unless, of course, if you wish to wake her instead."

Mike wasn't sure how he felt about how Faith raised her eyebrows at him as she spoke, or how his own wife smirked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Yes Mike, unless you wish to wake her," Delphina repeated.

"What are you playing at?" Mike asked his wife, frowning in suspicion.

"Nothing," Delphina replied innocently, although there was a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Will looked at the two women and scowled. Clapping a hand on Mike's back, he led him in the direction of the garage, giving his wife a slight glare as he shook his head. "You're awful, Faith," he mumbled.

"Love you too, honey," Faith quipped, laughing.

"Come on," Will said to Mike. "Let's take Marv to the car."

"Car!" Marvin exclaimed, clapping his hands as he chanted the word on their way to the garage.

Faith looked over at Delphina and gave her a grin. "Funny how oblivious men can be. Wouldn't you agree, Delphina?"

Delphina nodded with a small smile. "Some men more than others."

"Okay....what am I missing?" Mira asked, looking between Faith and Delphina, somewhat confused. Ara, on the other hand, had completely tuned out of the conversation as she happily licked a beater that Faith had set aside for her.

"Nothing sweetheart," Faith replied, tugging on a lock of Mira's hair.

Mira looked at her mother. "Mom?"

Delphina let a wry laugh slip through her lips. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"You both know that I'm going to figure it out eventually," Mira retorted, slightly annoyed that she couldn't get it out of them.

"I have no doubt that you will," Faith answered, with an affectionate roll of her eyes.