A Different Way To Finding Each Other

Across The Border

Lena packed the kids luggage, minus her three oldest since they are soon to be fifteen and already sixteen. Her five youngest boys whined over the fact that she was still packing their suitcases and Caleb was the most vocal and the whiniest of the five.

"Mama why can't I not pack my own suitcase?" Caleb asked for the tenth time in five minutes as Lena sighed. She loved her first born son and child, but she was losing patience and she bit her lip and counted to fifty.

Callie signaled her brother over silently as he came to see her. "What?" he asked.

"Let mama pack your suitcase. She might feel that we don't need her."

"I do need her. We all do," Caleb added. "But we are going on twelve."

"Please!" the girl whined as she stuck her lip out and gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"That works on everyone, but me," he replied.  She began to fake cry and he sighed since he knew she had got him. "You suck, but we do love you."

"Mama I'm sorry I just feel like I need to do more and all, but it's fine," he added.

She eyed him and felt his forehead. "No temperature," she joked. 

"Better for me. I can go play my video games," he added as he left as Lena rolled her eyes and heard him go up the stairs to his shared room with Callum.

"Boys!" Lena replied as Callie came near.

"What about boys mama?" Callie asked. "I know they have cooties."

"So do girls," Jack cried out.

"I don't get your brothers sometimes. Take Caleb for instance. He fought me a whole week not to pack his suitcase and all of  sudden he changed his mind."

"Better at least you know he won't be wearing the same underwear," Callie replied as Lena laughed as she remembered two years ago when she let Caleb pack his own suitcase and he forgot to take underwear and the moms and dad found out and Robert went to buy him more underwear.

Ever since that day almost two years ago, Lena went back to packing Caleb's suitcase and he wasn't a happy camper at all, but expected it.

"Well I like when you pack my suitcase. When you get old I will pack yours," the girl replied.

"I'm not old," Lena added as Callie bit her lip. "What? Do you think I'm old?"

"Well?" the girl replied. "Maybe just a tad bit."

Lena raised her eyebrows and Callie bit her lip as the mama took off after her daughter and easily caught her and started to tickle her. "Who are you calling old baby girl?"

"Your not old mama," the girl replied. "I surrender."

"Whose old baby girl?" Lena asked as Callie could hear her mommy and see her.

"Mommy's old," the girl replied. "Mommy is. She's like eighty."

"WHAT? EXCUSE ME?" Stef asked with her packed suitcase and set it near the couch.

Callie smirked as Stef came to get her baby doll who was still in her mama's arms as her mommy started to tickle her too. "Mommy. Stop," the girl cried out in hysterical giggling.

"So who is old?" Stef asked.

"Grams and Grandma!" the girl added since neither of them were there to hear her.

"As it should be," Lena added. "Baby girl go play in your play room since your homework and chores are done."

The girl nodded and ran off to her playroom and took out her soft Barbie dolls.