Reunited Dynasty

Previously...

Now back in the car, after telling Melanie that she, Terry and Jack were welcome to visit everyone else if they so pleased, Sam had just ignited the engine and his head was resting on the steering wheel, looking to the side at his two special girls. Molly was snoozing in Gluntz's arms, exhausted from the long day.

This very thought was running through Sam's mind after seeing Mel's wedding photo. In fact, to be honest, it sat in the back of his mind since he found out he was gonna be a dad: Should Gluntz and I tie the knot? As he said back in Madame Vaneau's house during circle time, "At least Guy and Michellee got married before having Junior", that's when he figured he was at least ninety-five percent sure he should go for it.

However, that remaining five percent was quite the vocal minority. But he had to realize that the only thing truly holding him back from popping the question was himself.

Then again, you never know until you try...

"What're you thinking about, Sam?", Gluntz asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"Huh? Just about...how much I love you. And how much I love being a dad." He smiled. "Come on, let's go home."

And he backed out of the driveway, with Melanie waving goodbye from the front porch.

——

A week later, when Jack returned from Da-Dake, Melanie was going to bring him and Terry to the Weebie-Am-I house to officially meet everyone else.

Sam had driven himself, Gluntz, Molly, Pam and Grinch to the house. There they all made small talk with each other. Guy Jr. waved to Molly from his mother's arms. Molly, in the meantime, was too little to know what waving was. She just looked on with curiosity.

When Pam called Melanie a while back, she mostly asked standard questions like "How's life?" and "Everything's alright?"; they hadn't really talked since their forceful parting all those years ago. But one thing for certain: Pam was going to be surprised to find out that her stepdaughter is married and a mother. So far, Sam and Gluntz had been tight-lipped on the fact.

E.B. helped Guy make cookies in the kitchen for their guests. Thankfully they were the soft, gooey kind and not the overly crispy ones. And they may or may not have left some for everybody else.

Just like a few weeks ago when she was waiting for Molly to be born, Pam anxiously drummed her fingers on the arm of the couch and tapped her foot. Grinch sat beside her with his arm draped over her shoulder.

"Everything all right?", he asked.

"Mm-hm", Pam mumbled and nodded. She took his hand that was around her shoulder into her own, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb. "It's just...talking on the phone is one thing. Actually seeing my stepdaughter in person is another."

"But you are still excited to see her, right?"

"Oh, of course! It's been so long." Pam remembered the last time she saw Melanie, and to say they parted on bad terms would be an understatement. She tried to explain why things were the way they were and even knowing how perceptive the little girl was, Pam had a bad feeling that the reason was lost on her. But Melanie seemed okay while talking on the phone. Maybe she let bygones be bygones. "I loved Mel like she was my own. Pretty much the same way Guy treats E.B."

"Plus, she wouldn't have agreed to meet the rest of us if she was still angry."

"No, I guess not." Pam looks behind herself, out the living room window, hoping to see a car pull up.

Over at the other side of the living room, Michellee and Gluntz were chatting with each other, their own babies cradled in their respective arms. Guy and E.B. came out of the kitchen, plates of freshly baked cookies in their hands.