When Hate Turns to Love- Part 2

Ch. 15

Today was the day. Today Nini met her surrogate father's new bride. David had invited her and the twins to dinner.

"So this lady is our aunt?" Connor asked from the backseat as Nini drove to David's house.

"Sort of. She married your Uncle Dave but you need to ask her if you can call her aunt." Nini answered unsurely.

"Why didn't Uncle Dave have a wedding like you and Daddy?" Charlotte asked.

"Well sweetie, some people like small weddings." Nini answered.

"Why didn't we go?" Connor asked.

"Because Dave wanted it to be private." Nini said.

"Why?" Charlotte asked.

Nini sighed. The twins were playing Ping-Pong questions.

"No more questions." she said, pulling into the familiar driveway.

She could tell the twins were confused, but luckily they remained quiet as Nini knocked on the door.

"Nini! You're here!" David said, grinning, "Hey kiddos'."

"Hi Uncle Dave!" Charlotte and Connor exclaimed, wrapping their arms around their Uncle.

Nini hugged him and kissed his cheek before following her kids into the house. The twins ran to their stash of toys.

"Laura's in the kitchen making dinner. She is an incredible cook."

Nini nodded. She really could tell how happy Dave was ever since he returned from his trip.

"Come meet her." Dave said with the 'come here' gesture, "Laur?"

Laura was a petite woman with a short blonde bob and delicate features. Her eyes were a bold green and they seemed to be lit with something akin to mischief. She smiled and offered her hand.

"Nina, it is so nice to meet you." she said very bubbly.

Nini shook Laura's hand. From what Nini could tell, she seemed sincere.

"I bet you have a lot of questions." Laura laughed, it was a pretty sound.

"Well, um, yes." Nini responded with her own smile. "And please, call me Nini."

"I would too." Laura said, "You can ask all the questions you want and I'll answer them."

They all sat down to a delicious dinner. Nini found herself easily warming up to Laura. She was kind, funny, and made Dave smile in a way that Nini had only seen when he looked at photos of his late wife. Laura took to the twins easily, laughing when they asked questions that were often less than tactful. She told them she would happily be their auntie.

"When do I get to meet your husband?" Laura asked as they took at seat on the couch once dinner was cleaned up.

"Ricky's on the road for another week, then he'll be home for a few days." Nini answered, "It's tough, but it's his dream."

"And Dave said you are pregnant?"

Nini smiled. This topic always made her feel good.

"Yes, almost 11 weeks."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you. It was definitely unexpected but we couldn't be more excited. The twins are excited about having a new baby brother or sister." Nini told the woman happily.

She left that night content. She had a feeling that Laura was going to be a positive addition to her life.

LINE BREAK

Kourt, Brooke and Nini were having a good old fashioned sleep-over. They had gotten into their pajamas and popped popcorn. They were currently on their stomachs on Nini's bed watching a chick-flick marathon. They were watching The Notebook at the moment. Nini hated the movie, but she was out voted.

"I don't get why you hate this Nins." Brooke said, crying at a certain scene.

"It's overly dramatic and long." Nini said with a shrug, "I get to choose the next one."

When The Notebook was over, they watched Legally Blonde, Nini's choice. After that, they shut out the lights and talked in the dark.

"So you met Dave's new wife today?" Brooke asked.

"Yep. And she's actually really great. I could see why Dave likes her so much. I still don't understand the whole marriage thing but it's like I've said before. If he's happy then that's what matters. I know how hard it was for him when Karen passed away." Nini said.

They talked for a couple more minutes about the other two girls day when suddenly the doorbell rang. They froze.

"What the hell?" Kourt asked as they got up from the bed, "It's two in the morning."

"What if it's a robber?" Nini whispered as the trio headed down the stairs.

She yelped when Kourt pinched her.

"Yes Neeners, it's a robber. Because they always politely ring the doorbell before ransacking a place."

"Shh." Brooke said, picking up a large umbrella.

Kourt grabbed a frying pan.

"Really?" Brooke said, "Don't you think that's a little cliché?"

"Shut up. If it's good enough for Rapunzel then it's good enough for me." Kourt told the blonde. "Plus, yours isn't any better Marry-Poppins." She continued, pointing to Brooke's choice of weapon.

"Both of you-"

The doorbell rang again. The girls let out a scream. Nini shakily opened the door. A man she didn't recognize stood there. She shrieked as something furry passed by her feet. It took her a second to realize it was Pudge.

"Landon?" Brooke said.

Apparently somebody knew who this guy was.

"Oh hey, Brooke?"

"And I'm Kourtney. Who the hell are you?"

"Kourt!" Brooke scolded, "This is Landon Jacobs."

"Jacobs?" Nini paused, "Any relation to my neighbor? Alice Jacobs?"

"My mother." the tall brunette answered, "I'm Parker and Avery's uncle. Somebody left the back gate open. Pudge got into our yard and into the house through an open window. I'm just returning him."

"So scare us to death." Kourt huffed under her breath.

"You'll have to excuse her." Brooke said, "We do."

"That's it Blondie!"

Nini stepped between her friends.

"Thank you for returning him." she said.

"No problem. I'll lock the gates on my way out. Bye." he said, "Nice to meet you, Kourtney and I'll see you around Brooke."

"Bye Landon." the blonde said.

Nini closed the door.

"Well, that was exciting." Nini said, then eyed the frying pan in Kourtney's hand, "I think we can put down the deathly weapons."

"Bye Landon." Kourt mimicked Brooke, "You totally like that guy."

"No!" Brooke protested, "I've only seen him once before."

They bickered all the way up the stairs. Nini sighed.

"Can we go to sleep now?" she said as they settled back on the bed.

"Fine."

"Fine."

Nini rolled her eyes. They'd be friends again in the morning.
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Do I smell... drama?!