"Moooommm!!" Abby's excited squeal shattered the quietness of the morning. Jessica groaned as she lazily got up from her sweet sleep.
"What the heck, Abby?!"
Abby bounced on the bed again and again, waking not only Jessica but Gabby as well.
"Wake up, wake up. We're traveling today, remember?" She jumped down from the bed and raced to Angela's room.
Jessica could hear her muffled but excited voice as she shouted for Angela to wake up. Jessica shook her head. The kids were always a handful.
"Mom, c'mon. Let's get ready. The plane is waiting too!" She announced excitedly. Gabby rolled off the bed to the floor. That was all it took to have him wide awake.
"We are traveling today?" He asked again. "Oh, mom. You didn't repack our bags?"
Jessica scowled at him. "So you do know you scattered it? Well, go and repack it yourself!"
"Come on, come on! Gabby, let's go and pack it all again." Abby squealed excitedly. She pulled her brother along to the closet. They carefully packed the clothes this time around. They didn't allow it to be scattered like before.
Their excitement made them act well behaved, they didn't want to annoy their mother, thereby ruining their own joy as well.
Angela poked her head into the room. "Jess, where are the kids? I can barely hear them shout anymore."
Jessica sighed and pointed to the closet. "I sent them to repack their clothes. Their excitement must have hit the behave well button."
Angela giggled at her friend's mom-speech. "Being a mom must not be easy."
"It's fun. Come on. We need to prepare breakfast, and we need to shower as well. The flight will be leaving soon. I want us to arrive on time so we can settle in and still have time to visit my parents." Jessica explained, fetching her clothes from the table beside her.
"What's the rush? California isn't that far away." Angela shrugged.
"I want Abby and Gabby to resume school tomorrow. Gabby is excited because there is no school today. One more break and we would have to resume explaining to him why school is important."
Angela chuckled lightly. "Alright mom. I will go and prepare breakfast, you prepare the kids. After that, we can both shower. Deal?"
"Deal."
An hour later, they were seated in their seats on the airplane. The twins were so happy, they kept their faces pressed to the window, looking outside at the clouds.
"Wow, mommy, the clouds are so near," Abby said.
"Yes. I want to be up forever! I don't wanna come down anymore." Gabby said as well.
Jessica laughed at them. Seeing them happy brought a smile to her face.
The moment they landed and got out with their luggage, she sighted Gary waving at them. The kids went to say hi, while Jessica and Angela pulled the luggage behind them.
"Hello, Gary. Angela greeted him. She placed the trunks carefully in the boot of the car. Then she got in the backseat with the twins while Jessica sat up front with Gary.
He drove them straight to the apartment. Jessica was in awe of the place. It was a bungalow and it looked simple yet elegant. Exactly what she would have gone for.
"Do you like it?" Gary asked with uncertainty.
Jessica nodded. "Of course! It's beautiful."
"Thanks. I was almost worried you wouldn't like it at all." He scratched his head nervously.
"What?! This is cool. Thanks, Gary."
With his help, they moved their luggage into the house. The kids chose their rooms. Jessica loved the painting and the designs. After taking the boxes to their respective rooms, Angela went down to make food.
"I have to return to the company now," Gary said slowly. He handed Jessica all the keys to the house.
"Thanks. I will call you later." She replied. Once he left, she went to arrange the kids' clothes in their respective rooms. She hung the clothes, placed the shoes, their books and every other thing. By the time she was done, she went to eat.
"Alright, go and shower first, then wear something more comfortable. We're going to see grandpa and grandma." Jessica announced. As if their earlier excitement was not enough, the children let out a very loud squeal.
"Race you-"
"Nope, no racing. Both of you are having different bathrooms now. So, no racing at all. Go to your bathrooms. I have prepared the bath for you." Jessica warned lightly.
"Aw." Gabby frowned a little. Staying away from his sister wasn't exactly his plan. "Let's go." He held her hands and they went in together.
"It might just be hard for them to stay apart," Angela commented. "They seem to be close."
"They are twins," Jessica stated like it was the most obvious thing on earth. "They have to be alike."
Angela shrugged. "I will just go and check on them. Making sure they aren't wasting anything."
"Sure. Thanks. I'll just quickly eat them." Jessica sat to eat her meal. Angela was really a good cook and it was good since she wasn't mostly around for cooking sake.
While she ate, she heard the sounds of laughter coming from the bathroom. She smiled subconsciously. She knew how happy they were to finally meet her family. Their grandparents. They didn't have many memories of their grandmother. They were still quite little when she left. Now, she could see that their joy couldn't be contained at all, and somewhere she was pretty excited to see the reaction when her parents met her children.
She finished eating, cleared the table, and did the dishes. Then she went in to check on them. Angela had dressed them up nicely and comfortably as well. Exactly what she would have done.
"Alright guys, are we ready to go?"
"Yeah!" They chorused.
"Then, let's go."