Chapter14
“Our children sure do aim far beyond the stars,” Nichole said as she pulled the covers over her sleeping offspring.
“I completely agree. I think Nicolette wants to be an architect,” Victor replied grinning from ear to ear.
“Miguel said he wants to be an animal trainer!” Nichole exclaimed as they made their way to the bedroom.
“I can’t wait to see what this one wants to be,” Victor replied. “There’s no telling!”
Nichole squealed. “We’re really great parents,” Victor said as he kissed Nichole.
“Yeah, I never expected us to be this great at it,” she replied.
“I did,” Victor admitted. “I told you, you were going to be a great mother. I knew it all along.”
“Oh, so this is an, “I told you so,” moment?” Nichole said with a smile and one eyebrow raised.
“Maybe.” Victor chuckled. They had a long day and they ended up falling asleep before they could finish watching their television show.
Nichole woke up in bed alone. She looked at the clock and figured Victor took the kids to school. She got out of bed and took a shower. She felt so refreshed. When she walked downstairs, Rita, the chef, had made her some French toast, bacon, and a side of fruit. “You’re glowing today, Nichole,” Rita complimented.
“Thank you, Rita. You’re too kind,” Nichole replied. She ate her breakfast and Terry walked in.
“Good morning, Nichole,” he said with a smile.
“Good morning, Terry. How are you today?” Nichole asked.
“I’m doing just fine. I heard the news, congratulations,” he replied as he sat down next to her.
“Thank you. Is everything okay? You don’t usually show up like this,” Nichole said with a frown.
“Yeah, it’s just that, um, Miguel’s being bullied in school,” he replied.
“What? By who?” Nichole asked.
“Some boys in his school. Do you want me to take care of it?” Terry asked.
“No, thank you, I’ll let Victor handle it,” she responded as she remembered what happened last time he took care of someone.
Terry nodded his head and headed out. Nichole picked up her phone and called Victor. “Yes, my love?” Victor answered.
“Miguel is being bullied in school.” Nichole sighed.
“Want me to go to the school and talk to his teacher?” Victor asked.
“That would be great,” Nichole replied.
“Okay, I’ll head over there right away,” he responded.
“I love you,” Nichole said.
“I love you too, baby,” Victor said before hanging up.
“My son is being bullied.” Nichole sighed as she spoke to Rita.
“It happens to the best of us,” Rita replied. “Those boys are just jealous that he’s going to steal their girlfriends in the future.” Rita smirked.
Nichole smiled and replied, “You are absolutely right. He is a lady killer.” The two conversed among one another until Victor came home.
“I talked to his teacher,” he announced.
“What did she say?” asked Nichole.
“She said she’s been trying to stop this for a while now and she guesses they’ve just gotten sneaky with it,” he replied.
“I wonder why he hasn’t told us,” Nichole admitted. “I feel slightly offended that he didn’t come to us about his problem. What do they do to my baby? How do they bully him?”
Victor sighed. “They call him names and they break his stuff. They ripped up a couple of his homework assignments and he would have gotten a bad grade had the teacher not caught them in the act.”
“That’s horrible!” Nichole replied. Before they could finish their conversation, the twins walked in.
“Hey Mom! Hey Dad!” the twins chimed.
“Hello my beautiful children!” Nichole exclaimed.
Miguel acted like his happy, usual self. He masked his situation so well. “Nicolette, can you go up to your room for a moment?” Nichole asked.
“Sure,” Nicolette replied and she headed upstairs.
“Miguel, you know you can talk to us about anything right?” Victor asked.
“Yeah, I know,” Miguel replied nonchalantly.
“Then why didn’t you tell us about those kids that bother you at school?” Nichole asked.
Miguel sighed. “I don’t care about that. In twenty years, those kids will still be below me. They just don’t like me because I have a lot of money and they want what I have so they break my things and attempt to make me feel low. I let them let it out. I would rather them bother me than someone who isn’t strong enough to take it.”
Nichole and Victor were shocked. They knew their children were smart but full of awareness too? This was an all-time high and they were proud of their son.
“We are so proud of you,” Nichole replied, “but maybe it would be best for you and your sister to go to a private school.”
“That sounds fun,” Miguel replied. Nicolette walked downstairs and Miguel made the announcement, “We’re going to private school!”
Nicolette ran up to her parents. “Really! I don’t want to leave my friends!” Nichole and Victor explained to her that private schools would have cooler things and there wouldn’t be anyone there to bother her. She knew she didn’t have much of a choice and agreed to go through with the transition. When they went through orientation with the private school, the headmaster of the school had the twins take tests to see where they were academically. They were both placed in a grade ahead. At this point, they were in first grade and their birthdays were coming up.
“Now that I’m in first grade and about to be six, can I have a lizard?” Miguel asked.
“What kind of lizard?” Nichole asked.
“A bearded dragon?”
“We’ll see,” Nichole replied with a smile.
Nicolette asked for a tablet because all of her new friends at their school had one.
“How do you like your new school?” Nichole asked.
“I have friends now,” Miguel said with a smile.
“I have smarter friends,” Nicolette replied.
“Do you two want to have a party to celebrate? And you can invite all of your friends.”
“I thought you would never ask!” Nicolette screamed.
“Sure. Just make sure there’s pizza,” Miguel replied.
Nichole set up the party details and gave the kids invitations to hand out.
“I’m going to give these out to everybody!” Nicolette exclaimed.
“Do you want to invite Bryan and Todd too?” Victor asked.
“We have to! I haven’t seen them in years!” Miguel exclaimed.
“It’s only been a few months but I’ll still invite them,” chuckled Nichole.
Miguel ran upstairs to his room and Nicolette went out back to sit by the pool. “He seems a lot happier now,” Victor stated.
“I know, isn’t it great? He said he has friends!” Nichole exclaimed.
“I just can’t believe our kids got bumped up a grade. I should tell Melissa to put her kids in there!” Nichole replied, ecstatic.
“You should. Her boys are extremely witty,” Victor responded.
“I think the kids would love to see them there,” Nichole replied.
“I do too,” said Victor.
The twins’ birthday came and they had a big party. Melissa and the boys showed up. “Where’s Matthew?” Nichole asked before she hugged Melissa.
“He’s working today. It’s just me,” she replied.
“Did you look into the school I texted you about?” Nichole asked.
“Yes! It looks wonderful. The boys and I are going to get a tour of it tomorrow. How do the kids like it?” Melissa asked.
“They love it! It seems like there’s a little clique for all of them to enjoy. There’s Miguel and his animal crew and there’s Nicolette with her friends who love technology,” Nichole replied.
“I am so happy to see them having fun. I remember you telling me about Miguel’s bullying problem. The nerve of those kids,” Melissa snapped.
“Yeah, I know but he had such an amazing understanding of it all. He was so calm and collected. When I was his age and got bullied, I was a complete wreck!” Nichole exclaimed.
“Well it’s a new day and age. Our kids evolve faster than we do. They have the resources to do so now,” Melissa admitted.
“They’re growing up so fast,” Nichole said with a sigh.
“I know. I could just burst into tears!” Melissa exclaimed.
“They will always be our babies though,” Nichole responded.
Victor was manning the grill and talking to Larry. “The kids look great, Vic. How old are they now? Sixty-eight?” Larry joked.
“No, they’re eighty-six.” Victor laughed.
“Whoa, I wanted to speed up time, not kill us off.” Larry laughed.
“You don’t think we’ll be dead when my kids are sixty-eight?” Victor asked.
“Senile, maybe, but not dead.” Larry chuckled.
“It feels like just yesterday, I got the email from Nichole saying we needed to talk,” Victor admitted.
“Is that how that went?” Larry asked.
“Yeah, I flew here from Brazil and then she told me she was pregnant,” Victor responded.
“I never knew that. You never tell me anything anymore,” Larry pouted.
“Don’t be such a baby. You didn’t ask so I didn’t tell you.” Victor laughed.
Larry ignored Victor and jumped into the pool.
Todd and Bryan walked around with Miguel and his other animal loving friends.
“This is my red panda, Zap,” Miguel explained. “He’s older than me.” Everyone gasped and tried to pet Zap but he ran away and hid in Nichole and Victor’s room.
“Tashka!” Miguel yelled. “This is my dog.” All of the kids admired the giant dog that really appreciated their attention. She played with the kids and allowed them to pet her. When she got tired of the attention, she jumped into the pool and splashed everyone in the area. Nicolette sat with her friends at a table talking about their favorite piece of technology and why they chose it.
“I really like the tablet because the graphics on it are really clear,” Nichole announced.
“I prefer desktop computers. The monitor allows you to use two of them at once if you want to,” replied one of her friends. Their conversation escalated multiple times.
Miguel finished his tour of the house by ending it in the game room. All of his friends were surprised. A lot of them had never seen that many games or game devices in their lives. They thought they were in heaven for a moment. They looked around and saw things ranging from air hockey to mancala, to connect four, to Nintendo, and more.
Their minds were blown and they already thought Miguel was a really cool kid but to them he was a king now. Most of the boys ended up staying in the game room. A lot of the girls joined the conversation about technology, or they got their faces painted then jumped in the pool.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when it was time to blow out the candles in the cake. Half of it was covered in blueprints for technology and the other half of the cake was covered in animal sculptures. When it was time to blow out the cake, the twins each blew out a half of the cake. The crowd cheered for them and told them both, “Happy Birthday!”
When it was time for everyone to leave, Nichole handed out goody bags to all of the children. They thanked everyone and assured them they hoped everyone had a good time. Nicolette and Miguel fell asleep before they had a chance to open their gifts from their mom and dad.
Nichole left Miguel’s new bearded dragon in his room and Victor left a tablet on Nicolette’s desk. He knew she would love it. The kids woke up the next day and shrieked as soon as they saw their gifts. Their parents waited for them in the kitchen. Miguel understood the responsibilities of taking care of a live animal and walked carefully with his bearded dragon on his arm. Nicolette was already using her tablet to video chat her friends.
While Nichole smiled at how much fun her kids were having, Melissa called her. “Hey! The boys got in! They’re going to start their new school on Monday!” Melissa exclaimed.
“That’s great!” Nichole screamed. “They are going to have a blast there. I know they’re going to love it, one-hundred percent,” Nichole added.
I can’t wait to see them in their uniforms!” Melissa said.
Nichole chuckled. “They will look mighty spiffy, I tell you that.”
“My boys have to look spiffy. If they look spiffy enough, they can get jobs tomorrow!” Melissa joked.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, I’m already trying to get rid of my freeloaders and I have one on the way.” Nichole laughed. The two chuckled at their jokes. “Do you want to hand out with me tomorrow? I have absolutely nothing to do,” Nichole asked.
“Sure, I don’t think I’m busy but if I am, I’ll just drop it.” Melissa laughed.
“Great, you were probably planning on doing that anyway.” Nichole laughed.
“Hey, worry about yourself, ma’am,” Melissa joked.
“I already knew you were. You always take off this day for some reason. You even did it when you were my assistant,” Nichole admitted.
“I do?” Melissa asked.
“Yeah, you didn’t notice that?” Nichole asked.
“No, never,” Melissa admitted. Then she laughed. “I learn something new every day.”
After dropping the kids off at school, Nichole and Melissa met for coffee at a small shop nearby. “This is a beautiful day,” Nichole said as they sat at a table and looked around.
“I know, right. I’m glad we decided to come out today,” Melissa agreed.
“How are you?” Nichole asked.
“I’m okay. I don’t see Matthew much anymore because he’s always at work but whenever I do see him, we always talk endlessly and the great part is that we still don’t fight. I’m just glad we still have a great connection and sense of conversation. He’s been back and forth from work for months,” Melissa admitted.
“I know, with all of the projects Victor has been working on, he’s always away on business. I’m working a lot and even I’m home more often. The kids barely see him too but when he’s home we make love, we go to sleep, he kisses me goodbye, then he’s off to work again,” Nichole admitted.
“So what did the boys think about the school?” Nichole asked, attempting to change the subject.
“They love it to death. They have something there for both of their interests and it just amazes them. It amazes me too! I just wish we would have had the money to go to schools like that when we were younger. But boy, those were the days we have so many great memories. I’m just glad we made it big so our kids would have better lives than we did. I remember working those teenage jobs just so we could go out and have fun, but we were always working and could never actually go out and have fun,” Melissa ranted.
“Today is a new day, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new light,” Nichole replied.
“Did you just quote a song?” Melissa asked.
“You weren’t supposed to notice. You were just supposed to say, “Wow that was insightful,” and leave it at that.” Nichole laughed.
“That’s plagiarism, young lady,” Melissa joked.
“What are you going to do? Give me an F?” Nichole rebelled.
“Oh wow. I remember when that happened in eighth grade! We had those journals that we had to write poems in and you used the words to Humpty Dumpty and ended up getting an F for the whole class!” Melissa laughed.
“I brought the grade up though!” Nichole exclaimed. The two reminisced and before they knew it, it was time to pick up the kids. They planned their next day together and parted ways.
Nichole picked up Nicolette and Miguel from school. “How was school you two?” Nichole asked.
“I got an A on my test.” Nicolette smiled.
“I got an A on my quiz.” Miguel smiled. “Now let’s hurry up and get home so I can see Plod,” Miguel added.
“Plod?” Nichole asked.
“My bearded dragon,” Miguel replied.
“I like that name Plod. I think I have a Plod shirt with a Plod skirt. My favorite pattern is Plod.” Nichole laughed at her own corny joke but neither Nicolette or Miguel thought it was funny.
“Fine, I’ll get you home so you can see Plod,” Nichole said dryly. “Did you guys see Bryan and Todd?” Nichole asked as she stopped at a red light.
“I told you that was them!” Nicolette exclaimed.
“I thought they were just boys that looked like them!” Miguel replied. “We only saw them for a second because we’re in different classes. I knew they looked familiar but I didn’t know it was them,” he finished.
They finally got back to the house and saw Victor’s car outside. “Dad’s home!” Miguel screamed. The twins got out of the car and ran towards the house. Nichole turned off the vehicle and also headed inside. Victor was inside of the house already hugging his children.
“Are you going to be here for a while, Dad?” Nicolette asked.
“I don’t know yet. It all depends on how things go with this new project,” Victor admitted.
Victor looked up at Nichole and he had a big smile on his face. “I missed you, my queen,” Victor said as he held his arms open for Nichole. She walked into his hug and wrapped her arms around him.
“I missed you too, my love,” she responded.
“How’s the baby?” he asked. He put his hand on her stomach.
“We’ll know the gender in about a week or two. Everything is fine. I just wish you were home more.” Nichole sighed.
“I know and I will be soon. The building in New York is having some issues. The workers are terrible but I work with what I can get,” Victor replied.
“Is this one of yours or one you’re helping with?” Nichole asked.
“I’m just helping with it. I would never let one of those workers touch my buildings,” Victor growled.
“I’m glad to know you still have standards.” Nichole chuckled.
“What have you been up to?” Victor asked.
“I’ve been taking care of the kids and spending time with Melissa.”
Victor began making sandwiches. I know you’re probably hungry, huh?” he asked.
“Yes, I am starving!” Nichole exclaimed.
“Daddy! Come look at Plod!” screamed Miguel as he ran down the steps. “His spikes are getting longer and he’s turning more of a tan color than an orange! Isn’t he cool?” Miguel asked.
“Yes, he is the coolest. Did you say his name was Plod?” Victor asked.
“You can question the name but it won’t change it,” Miguel replied before turning away and going back upstairs.
“Feisty, just like someone I know.” Victor laughed. “I have missed you all so much. I really need to come home soon before my head explodes with blueprints. I really should let these people get the blueprints and work it out themselves.”
Nichole walked up behind Victor and wrapped her arms around him and said, “Maybe you can.”