CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and THIRTY

(part one)

Saturday afternoon—2:35 p.m.

Delphie wandered through the Castle.

Their afternoon video game tournament gearing up, the teenagers were arguing and laughing over video games in the small office off the main Castle living room. Delphie looked in the room and was surprised to see Honey getting ready to play with them. Unafraid to express herself, Honey voiced her preference which caused the kids to express that they were glad that Honey wasn’t hogging “their” WiFi bandwidth with her work.

Delphie’s niece, Ivy, came over to give Delphie a hug. Ivy was a little young to be hanging out with the teens, but she was where she wanted to be. She, Charlie, and Tink had been through so much together that Delphie couldn’t imagine Ivy anywhere else. Not wanting to disrupt the fun, Delphie kissed Ivy’s forehead and left.

Delphie continued through the Castle.

There was a satisfying “pat, pat, pat” coming from the kitchen where the tweens and older kids were learning how to make tortillas with Noelle, and Maresol. Maresol was speaking in Spanish so that Noelle could practice her translation skills. When Delphie wandered by, Noelle got flustered.

“Slow down,” Maresol said in English. “Back it up. What do you remember the last thing said?”

“Esta textura proviene del uso de este tipo de maíz,” Joey Hargreaves-Drayson said.

“This texture comes from using this type of corn,” Máire Hargreaves-Drayson said.

“That’s exactly right,” Maresol said in English. “Joey and Máire have been studying Spanish this year. You should practice with them.”

Noelle nodded and looked at the twins. They both gave her beautiful smiles. Noelle blushed.

Smiling, Delphie left them to their cooking.

There was a loud “Ha! Ha! Ha!” in high pitched baby voices coming from the sunny backyard lawn where Nash and Teddy were teaching martial arts to the smaller kids. Not ten minutes ago, this diapered crowd was sound asleep, sprawled out on the Castle living room floor. Every adult changed at least one diaper before these toddlers ran outside. Now, they were exuberantly playing this new game. A few more exuberant ran squealing around the group until they fell over.

The kids looked so cute in their masks that Delphie had to smile.

In a shady corner of the lawn, Valerie was reading a chapter book to the kids that needed a little quieter entertainment. Because Valerie was so near to her due date, her own kids — Jackie and Eddie — stuck to her like glue. Little Chase Hargreaves-Klaussen was leaned up against Valerie. There were a couple of kids that she didn’t recognize. But Alexander Walters and Kallyn Tubman were helping with the kids and listening to Valerie.

Delphie grinned at the budding love that was growing between the two teens and the serenity of the scene. She turned to go and nearly ran into a woman. The woman was shorter than Delphie and thicker.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...