New Twins In Town Dd 1 Zoe

Welcome to the first NTIT Deep Dive. To anyone expecting this to feel like a normal chapter to the main story, I apologize. This should feel like a drastic departure from that in several ways. While the main story takes place over the course of a year and gives varying degrees of attention to multiple characters, each Deep Dive will instead focus on one character over the course of their life. I don't know if calling the Deep Dives "supplemental" is accurate, since events within them will have ramifications to future Main Story events. That being said, I'm still crafting the Main Story so that if you choose not to read the Deep Dives, you won't feel like you're missing key events.

As always, there is no sexual situation with characters under the age of 18.

Big thanks to AuroraIncident, adub, Boots, and B1084

Deep Dive #1

Zoe White

Age 5

"Daddys coming home?" I repeat.

"That's right," Mom is smiling. I've never seen her look so happy. "So, c'mon. We gotta look nice for when we pick him up."

"We always look nice," Miles brags. "Go tell Jason. He's the one who always complains."

"Nuh uh," our older brother says. "At least not this time. Gotta look nice for Daddy."

I look over at Miles. He is just as shocked as me. Jason always fights when Mom makes him get dressed up. Now he's going to behave? Because of the man from the pictures?

Mom said we've met him before. But Miles and I can't remember it. Jason says its cause we were too little.

I wish I were older, like Jason. He's seven. He can remember Daddy.

Mom pulls my brothers into their room to get them dressed. If Daddy coming home is important enough that Jason wants to look nice then this is more important than I thought.

"Does that mean this is a special 'casion?" I ask.

"Huh?" Mom calls back through the closed door. "Yes, sweetie. It's a special occasion."

"So I can wear my dress?"

"Yes, you can wear your dress."

I have a lot of dresses. But only one that Mom calls the fancy dress. She says it's for "Special Occasions". That's what this is. Miles and I are going to meet Daddy. And we're going to remember this time.

Every time I try to put on the dress I get lost. I'm pretty sure thats what makes a dress fancy. How difficult it is to put on. It can wait until Mom can help me with it.

I have to look nice.

I run to Mom's room. Into her bathroom.

I can't get the dress on. But I can make myself pretty like Mom.

I climb onto the toilet. From there I pull on the drawers hiding her makeup.

I'm going to look so pretty for Daddy. Mom is going to be so proud of me.

_____

Mom says she's not mad, but the way she's pulling me to the car, I can tell she's lying. Even Miles said she's pulling his arm too hard, and he's her favorite.

I don't even bother telling her she's squeezing my hand too tight.

I didn't mean to make Mom mad. I just wanted to look nice for Daddy.

I won't look nice now. Mom washed all the makeup off my face.

She helps Miles into his car seat. I know I need to stand by her leg so she can get him buckled up.

I bet if we weren't in such a hurry Mom would probably wait until Maw Maw and Paw Paw got home and make me stay with them. Maybe then I'd never meet Daddy.

The boy across the street is watching us through the window. Petey. He's weird. Mom talks to his parents sometimes. Petey never talks. He's so weird. He's our age but he never talks. And his parents never talk to him. I think his parents told him not to talk to us. Miles thinks its cause our Daddy isn't home. Miles says that on TV, interesting things alway happen to the kids with a parent who isn't home. That Petey is just waiting for us to get our superpowers or something.

This isn't the first time I've seen Petey staring at us. He watches. But he never talks to us. If he didn't stare, I wouldn't even know he saw us. He's always quiet. He never gets in trouble.

Not like me.

Not like Jason.

We always get in trouble.

Mom never has to yell at Miles.

That's why Miles is Mom's favorite.

Petey's parents don't have to yell at him. They don't even need to speak to him.

Petey has no brothers or sisters. I bet he'd still be the favorite if he did.

I raise my arms so Mom can pick up up and put me in my car seat. Mom makes sure my hands and legs are safe before she shuts the door. Even when she's mad at me I know she doesn't want to hurt me. She gets in the car and starts it. The smile hasn't returned to her face since she saw me wearing her makeup.

I just wanted to look pretty for Daddy.

As we pull out of the driveway, Petey is still watching us.

I wave as the car pulls on to the street.

He waves back.

_____

Daddy is taller than I thought he'd be.

He looks so small in the pictures Mom has. Now he looks like a prince out of one of my story books.

He's always smiling in those pictures too. But not like this. He seems real happy to be home. Mom is smiling again, too. I didn't even know she could smile that big.

Jason hugs him first.

He knows Jason.

"Those can't be the twins," he says.

We are the twins! He doesn't even know who me and Miles are. I knew he wouldn't recognize us.

"You guys are so big. Let me get a better look at you," he says as he kneels down. He scoops Miles up into his arms. Miles looks tiny.

I look up at Mom.

You're not going to let him pick me up like that. I don't know this person. He's so big.

"How was your flight?" Mom asks.

Isn't she going to tell him I was bad? That I ruined her makeup? Maybe she forgot?

"I got to wait for it to land before getting out, how can I complain about that?" he asks as he looks Miles over. Way more than he looked at Jason. I knew he'd never seen us before. "I can't believe how big you've all gotten."

"What do you mean?" Miles asks.

"You were so little the last time I saw you," Daddy says. "Now you're almost as big as Jason."

Jason? No. Jason is seven. We're only five. We're so teeny tiny next to Jason.

Daddy sets Miles down next to me. "And is this Zoe?"

He does know who I am!

He lifts me into his arms and I can see over Mom's head.

It was so easy for him. Not like when Mom, or Maw Maw, or Paw Paw lift me. Daddy is so strong.

"You're so beautiful," he says softly to me. "Just like your Mom."

"No, Daddy," I giggle at having to correct him. "Mom is the most beautiful woman on the planet."

"Well, I think you're every bit as beautiful as she is," he says to me before turning to Mom. "And we'll have a devil of a time with that in about... five years?"

"Ten," Mom rolls her eyes and smiles.

Daddy sticks his tongue out at me and I do the same back to him.

He chuckles, looks over at Mom and says quietly, "If we're lucky."

"What's a devil time?" Miles asks.

"Don't worry about it," Daddy is so strong he can hold me with one arm and reach down to tussle Miles's hair with his other.

He sets me down next to my brothers.

"Hey, Jace, mind keeping an eye on your brother and sister while I get a hug from your Mom?"

How does he know we sometimes call him Jace?

I always knew Mom was beautiful. But when I see the way she looks with Daddy's arms around her, they both looked like the heroes in my favorite fairytales.

What beast did he have to rescue her from? Or maybe Mom rescued him.

_____

The lights are on when we get home. We never leave the lights on.

Mom opens the door without trying the lock. We never leave the house without locking up.

I wasn't expecting Maw Maw to be there waiting for us. She smiles and goes over to hug Daddy.

"Mom," he says as he wraps his arms around her. Mom already explained to us that even though they didn't raise him, Daddy would call her parents Mom and Dad too. Weird.

"Where's Dad?" Mom asks, her voice sounds worried.

Maw Maw points to the backdoor. She doesn't talk anymore. She goes to see the doctors but they can't fix it. It makes Mom and Paw Paw real sad to talk about, so we don't bring it up.

"Dammit," Mom shakes her head and heads for the back. "Last thing we need is him catching pnemonia."

When she pulls the back door open the smell of warm meat fills the room.

"He's grilling!" Miles says excitedly. "But-"

"Mom said it was getting too cold to grill," I finish for him.

"It's plenty cold," Paw Paw says as he steps inside, in his hands he's got a plate full of food. "But I figured this was a good enough reason to make an exception."

"Not sure Nicole would agree," Daddy chuckles.

"Were those..." I'm scared to finish my question in case asking it causes it to become untrue.

"Steaks?" Miles finishes for me.

They can't be steaks. We never have steaks. Mom says they're too expensive and we'd want them every night if we could. She's probably not wrong but I think it's still nice to have them every now and then.

"Yes," Mom sighs as she follows Paw Paw to the kitchen carrying more food. "And baked potatoes and corn. Which you

are

going to eat."

I like the potatoes. But corn on the cob is hot and it makes my fingers hurt. I like it better when Mom slices off the pieces for me, but Paw Paw says thats not the way to eat it, so we can't do that when he's over.

"How come we're having steaks?" Jason asks. He must have had the same thought as me.

"Like I said," Paw Paw says as he comes back into the entryway, his hands now empty. "It's a special occasion."

"Cause Daddy's home 'cation?" I ask.

The adults chuckle at my question but don't explain.

"They're Daddy's favorite," Mom tells us.

"We're having steaks because there Daddy's favorite? What else is Daddy's favorite?" I ask.

"Hmmm," Mom's cheeks go red as she thinks. "I bet we can watch some of his favorite movies."

"The Incredibles?" Miles asks, glancing at me. Ever since we saw it, we haven't been able to stop talking about it.

"Is that the one with the guy dressed like a bat?" Daddy asks.

"No. You're thinking of Batman," Miles corrects.

"Oh, then it has to be the one with all the kids and their dog traveling around in a van to solve mysteries."

"Daddy," Miles grumbles. "You're thinking of Scooby-Doo."

"Scooby-Doo!" Dad says excitedly. "I love ol' Scoob."

"I love Scooby-Doo, too," I state proudly.

"Good taste," he smiles at me. "So now we're gonna watch Scooby?"

"No," Miles groans. "The Incredibles."

"The Incredibles?" Daddy frowns. "Never heard of 'em."

I giggle. Daddy is silly.

"And unfortunately," Mom always has to ruin our fun. "It's no longer in theatres and hasn't come out on DVD yet. So no Incredibles for us tonight."

My siblings and I all groan even though we knew we didn't have a copy of it.

"We'll get it when it's available," Mom says. "Then you can watch it until your eyes bleed."

"It'll be your favorite too," I whisper to Daddy.

"Maybe," Mom laughs. "But it might not. His favorites are a little older."

"Like Paw Paw?"

"Older," Daddy laughed. "Tell ya what, after dinner we'll sit down and watch Citizen Ka-" a look towards Mom caused him to change his plan. "Rebel without- uh... Casabl- ah... Back to The Future?"

Mom rolled her eyes and nodded. Usually when she gets that look she doesn't smile. She smiles so much when Daddy is around.

_____

Daddy chooses good movies.

This was probably the best movie that wasn't a cartoon. We all loved it.

Miles dances to the music when the words scroll up the scene.

"And there are two more?" Jason asks. "They must be amazing."

"Uh..." Daddy sees the excited looks in our eyes. "I like the first one best, but we can watch the others before I ship out again."

"Ship out?" I ask. These words don't usually go together like that.

"Sweetie," Mom says in a tone that means she knows I won't like what she's about to say. "You know Daddy works on a ship. Well, soon he has to go back to work."

That voice always means I won't like what she says.

"But," Daddy says before the tears have a chance to form. "I plan on spending as much time with each of you until I have to leave."

He just got here. And he's already going to leave again. That's not fair. I sob at the thought.

The doorbell rings. As Mom goes to answer it, Paw Paw whispers to me.

"Hey, your Dad loves you. No matter what. Even if he's on the other side of the planet, he loves you."

Maw Maw places her hand on my back and rubs gently.

"And," Paw Paw continue. "He's going to have to leave no matter what. No matter if you cry, or I cry, or your Mom cries, he'll still have to leave. So how about, instead of crying, we try to have the best time with him while he's here?"

I stop crying and think about it.

"Having the best time with him sounds like a much better plan," Paw Paw states.

It does.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom says from the front door.

I look over at my brothers, unsure of who she's calling. Instead, Daddy walks over to join her.

"These are the Jacksons, they have the house across the street," Mom introduces him to the neighbors. "I didn't realize when I told them you were coming home, they took that as a request to bake you a 'Welcome Home Cake' but apparently that's how it came across."

"Not a request," Mr. Jackson says. "But we know how long you've been away. And what you do for a living. We just thought this would be something nice for your time off, and also a 'Thanks for your service'."

Petey isn't the only weird one in their family. The whole time Mr. Jackson stands there, he can't stop moving his hands.

The adults keep talking, but my eyes go to Petey. He's hiding behind his Mom's leg, but he's watching everything in the living room.

"Hey," Miles whispers to Paw Paw. "What's a Welcome Home Cake?"

"It's a cheesecake," Mr. Jackson announces.

I don't know what that means, but I picture mice drooling over a cake with holes in it.

"Hmmm," Daddy smiled at the neighbors. "I suppose, along with telling you I was coming home, my wife also mentioned cheesecake is my favorite."

"Nah," Mr. Jackson laughs. "She told us you were a SEAL, and I said you must be crazy. She assured me you weren't. That was all I needed to hear to know you'd like cheesecake, since any normal person would prefer that to another type of cake."

"Sans ice cream," Mrs. Jackson said.

She says words strangely. Does Petey say words strangely too?

His eyes are locked on the TV. It's done scrolling through the words. It's back to the menu. I wave to get his attention. He waves back then points at the screen.

"If you folks have already eaten, would you mind helping us enjoy the cheesecake?" Daddy asks. "The more you eat, the less I can, and the less I have to work it off to keep in shape."

"Darn," Mrs. Jackson snaps her finger. "The only way I know to a man's heart is through his stomach. Now how am I supposed to seduce the hunky neighbor if he turns down all the food I was planning on offering?"

"Sweetie," Mr. Jackson puts his arm around his wife and kisses her forehead. "You'd be a terrible surgeon."

The adults laugh at the comment.

Petey tugs at his Mom's pant leg and points to the TV again.

"Right," she smiles and nods. "He recognizes that menu screen. It's one of his favorites."

"Kid's got taste," Daddy chuckles. "If we hadn't just watched it I would suggest we put it on while we dig into the cheesecake."

The Jackson's look at each other and laugh quietly.

"What?" Daddy looks around, the other adults are also laughing. "What'd I say?"

"You spend too much time with adults," Mom pats his arm. "See, watch. Anyone want to watch Back to The Future again?"

"I do," Miles says first.

"Me too," Jason says.

"Uh-huh," I'm always last.

Without waiting, Jason hits the button on the remote to get the movie playing again.

"AH! Right," Daddy laughs.

"You all choose your seats," Mom says. "Mom, you wanna help me section this cake out and get it to everyone?"

Mom and Maw Maw take the cake to the kitchen.

Miles and Jason take their seats while I run over to get a spot next to them on the couch. Mrs. Jackson and Petey sit in the remaining free space.

Daddy and Paw Paw return to the dining room chairs they'd put behind the couch earlier.

Mr. Jackson and Daddy whisper before he takes one of the dining room chairs and puts it near the TV.

Why not behind the couch like everyone else? Weird. At least he's not blocking anyone's view.

When Marty flies through the air, we laugh just as hard as the first time we watched it. Even Daddy laughs.

But when Marty answers the phone, Mr. Jackson starts making shapes with his hands again. It's distracting.

It's hard to pay attention to the movie when he does that. It only takes seconds before my siblings and I are annoyed.

We fidget on the couch, unable to understand why Mr. Jackson is being so rude.

"Is everything okay?" Mrs. Jackson asks when Jason lets out a frustrated sigh.

"He's making it hard to watch the movie."

Mr. Jackson's eyes go wide and he looks at Mom and Daddy who both rush to grab the remote and pause the movie.

"I am so sorry," Mom says once the movie is stopped. "I never realized they didn't know."

"Know what, Mom?" Miles asks.

"Well, y'see sweetie," she frowns. "Petey and Mrs Jackson... they're deaf."

Mr. Jackson nods, his hands keep moving.

"Like Daddy's parents?" I ask.

"No," Mom quickly says. "Daddy's parents are... dead. That means they're not around anymore. Petey is deaf. Which means he can't hear."

"Do we need to turn up the TV?" Miles asks. "That helps when I can't hear."

"It's a bit different than that," Mr. Jackson explained. "Petey hasn't been able to hear anything since he was born."

Miles gasped, "That's awful."

Petey grunted something. It was the first sound I ever heard come out of his mouth. Then he copies the hand shape his Dad is making.

Mr. Jackson sighs, "He wants to know why it's 'awful'."

"You can understand him?" I asked.

"He doesn't talk with his mouth," Mr. Jackson said. "But with his hands."

We didn't start up the movie again. Knowing people could talk with their hands is way more interesting than time travel.

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson show us how to use our hands to make words. It's easy. Soon, we can understand what Petey is saying too. He looks so happy at how fast we're learning. It's exciting. Like a secret language.

I look over at Miles and know he's thinking the same thing as me. We're going to have so much fun doing this at school.

_____

"What do you mean it's not the ocean?" Jason complained.

"It's not," Mom giggled. "It's just The Sound."

"The ocean makes a different sound?" I ask.

"Yes," Daddy answers quickly. He smiles at Mom. It must be one of their secret jokes. They have a lot of those. "But it's not just that. It's... this is... it's almost like an inlet. Think of how a bay is different than the ocean."

"They're five and seven, dear. They don't know about inlets or the difference between a bay and the ocean."

"Do too!" Jason insists.

"Oh, really?" Mom has that smile she gets when Jason fibs.

"That doesn't mean I know how to explain it," he huffs.

"The ocean is bigger than this," Daddy finally explains.

"Bigger?" Miles repeats. "How much bigger?"

"Lots," he takes his hand off the steering wheel to point to something far away. "You can't even see land if you keep going in the same direction for days."

"Wow," my siblings and I all say together.

"I can barely see land right now," Miles says. "It's still lots bigger?"

"However big you're imagining it, it's bigger," Daddy laughs.

"Is it bigger than the whole universe?"

"Okay, maybe not that big," Daddy shakes his head.

I stare off the side of the boat and think of what Daddy's job must be like. He says he spends weeks and weeks on huge boats. We've taken a few trips on the ferries before, but Daddy had to explain to Mom that it's not the same as something. I'm not really sure. They both got real excited when they came up with the idea to get a boat for a week. There's no way paw paw's van would have fit on this thing. Not like the ferries. Even though the boat doesn't look all that big, it has floors. It has separate rooms. Even bathrooms.