Huey, who had taken command at home while the others went shopping, ran into the room as soon as Mamee and the crew from the mall returned. "Mamee, I need you to sit down, please. Aunt Pet is on her way with your medication just in case we need it."
"And just why would I need medication, Langston Hughes Washington?" Mamee asked in her teacher's voice. "Someone in this family had better start explaining what is going on very soon." In response, her brother Josiah appeared in front of her. The angel was not wearing the clothes she had last seen him in the day Doug was reawakened though. He had on chaps over a pair of blue jeans, with a long sleeve western style shirt, a leather vest with a shiny star pinned to the front of it, and the biggest white Stetson hat she had ever seen. "Josiah Alvin Whatley, what ARE you wearing? What is going on?"
"Calm down, sis," Josiah urged her. He then tucked his thumbs into the armholes of the vest, puffing it out a bit as he strutted around the room with an exaggerated bow-legged walk. "I Been Dep-u-tyzed!"
"Daddy, he walks like you did the other morning after you and Papa Smurf made all that noise in the basement," Jules pointed out loudly. Nate impersonated a stop sign while the rest of the family laughed. They laughed more when they discovered that, angel or not, Josey could still blush.
"That was a cowboy walk," Josey pouted. "All the movie cowboys used to walk that way."
"Did they make noise in the basement with their boyfriends too?" Julie asked him.
Josey's Wild West deputy outfit disappeared and he was back in his normal white denim overalls and white shirt. "Never mind the walk, forget the walk," he pouted more. "And I do not need to know about noises in basements, thank you very much. I'm here for an official reason. I have been given extra powers temporarily because the recent battle had a much wider impact than almost anyone anticipated. There were consequences in many other dimensions and one of those required an evacuation that I was asked to handle." He walked up to his sister and smiled. "Aimee, I have a surprise for you, that I think you are going to really like, but it will be a bit of a shock for you. Come on in, oh brother in law of mine!" he called out.
Mamee sank into a chair gasping as her husband Daniel Kirby Wiggins, Sr. walked into the room looking nervous. His eyes lit up when he saw her though. He hurried across the room and sank to one knee in front of her, taking her hands in his. "My God, I was right. You do get more beautiful with every year. I told you, well my wife where I am from, just exactly that forty years ago just before I lost her to pancreatic cancer." He let go of one hand and wiped his eyes free of the tears that were forming. "I never dreamed I would get to see you again without joining you in the afterlife."
"Who... who are you? You aren't my Daniel," Mamee mumbled.
"Mamee? May I remind you that a person's sexuality is not necessarily constant throughout all dimensions?" Danny asked her, as he pointed to himself, Dixon, and David.
"OK, enough already!" another voice yelled. Everyone looked up to see a girl with dark blonde hair storm into the room. "I get that we're twins or quadruplets now, but get out of my head. My body is a no boy zone, and that includes my brain."
"Etienne, Emile, meet your Aunt Danielle," Dixon told his children.
"Wait, nobody told me anything about babies," Danielle said as she looked around the room.
"We not bébés, Tante Yeller, Vander and BB is the bébés," Emile explained to her.
"Aunt Yeller," David fell over laughing, "I'm loving it!"
"Well, I can tell you won't be my favorite brother," Danielle sneered at him. Etienne had pulled Georges forward who was holding the two infants. She looked at Georges and then noticed the other G-cat security in the back of the room. "Ummm Dad, I think Uncle Wingman over there messed with my head worse than I thought."
"Dad?" David whispered in shock.
"Well, well, it looks like you didn’t see everything you thought you did in my head, did you brother?" Danielle retorted.
"Danielle Karinna Wiggins, that will be enough of that attitude, young lady," Mamee snapped quietly. "You apparently didn't see what David went through before he came to this dimension either, or you wouldn't be so unkind."
"Yes, ma'am," Danielle said with her head down. "Dad, I think you're needed in here now," she called out.
"D.K. Wiggins, you get your grubby paws out of my pralines right now, boy," Annie Mae could be heard yelling. "I oughta take a switch to your backside right now, trying to steal them treats from your own children and grandchildren."
"I just wanted one, Miz Annie," a male voice replied. "You haven't been around for a while where I came from, so I. . . Did you say my grandkids?" D.K. walked into the room then. Well technically, he was pulled in by his ear by Annie Mae who had a big platter of pralines in her other hand.
"Daddy?" David whimpered as he ran to the man and hugged him tightly. He broke down sobbing as the surprised man held him.
Josiah walked up to them and placed a hand on his nephew D.K.'s head for a second. "Since David is incapable of telling you his story right now, he gave me permission to share it with you," the young angel told the man who nodded and scooped David into his lap in the nearest chair.
"David, sweetie," D.K. began. "I am not the dad you lost in that desert, but I swear to you I will be the best replacement I can be. I know he would be just as proud of you as I already am and I just met you."
"I'm sorry if I freaked you out," David whispered.
"Shh, don't you worry about that a bit," D.K. replied with a kiss to the boy's forehead. "You didn't upset me at all. Having grandchildren, now that is going to take some getting used to for me."
"We'll be really good, Grand-père," Etienne said softly as he walked up to the chair D.K. and David were in.
"Hush, Enny," Emile scolded. "Don't you member d'other grand-père? You not posed to spoke till you spoke toDon't you member d'other grand-père? You not posed to spoke till you spoke to ("Do you not remember the other grandfather?  You are not supposed to speak until someone speaks to you")."
"Well, D.K., I can see we are going to have educate these boys," Daniel said as he walked up to the Popsicle twins. "I'm his grandpa, and he's your grandpa, so that makes me your grandpa too, and that rule will just not work with me. You can always, ALWAYS, come talk to me anytime you want about anything you want. That's rule number one, but rule number two is way more important."
"What rule number two is?" Enny asked wide-eyed.
"Always be prepared for grandpa huggle attacks," D.K. answered, as he pushed David off his lap carefully and grabbed the two smaller boys, snatching them up and holding them one on each hip. "Now you boys grab the pralines and we'll go spoil our dinner in my special hiding spot."
"No, you don't, D.K. Wiggins," Mamee scolded as she stood up. "First of all, there will be no spoiling dinner around here, young man. Second, your hiding spot is not that secret and it belongs to Zemal and Nate now. And another thing you will explain young man is what those kind of magazines were doing in my house, for my great grandsons and their sons to find," Mamee said with her hands on her hips.
"Come on my Popsicle boys," Dixon said walking up to take the twins and walk toward the door. "Let's take Poppop up to the train room and show him the stuff we have been adding to the layout."
"Train room?" Poppop asked them. "I don't remember a train room."
"It's upstairs from your sitting room," Jessie told him as the rest of the family followed them out of the room. "Oh. We live in your room now. We can move out if you..."
"You will do no such thing," Poppop interrupted him. "Whatever room you have is yours now. I'm so happy just to be in this house and get to see all of you, that I won't care if you put a cot for me in the garage."
"Oh, Poppop, nobody ever deserves that kind of punishment," David told him. "Those two out there would drive you crazy before the first night was half over."
"Those two?" the old man questioned. "Who would be in the garage in the middle of the night?"
"Frankie and Ziggy are still... umm... working their relationship out," Dixon said with a laugh.
"Who are Frankie and Ziggy and why would they be working out their relationship in the garage?"
"Frankie is Daddy's car, and Ziggy is Uncle Huey's car," Emile answered.
"Your cars are in a relationship," the old man mused. "Josiah warned me that a lot of things would be different here, but I didn't expect that. Any place that has my sweet Amee still alive is worth the effort of getting used to though."
"I think Mamee is going to have to take some time to get used to you, too, Poppop," Dixon told him. "In this dimension, my Poppop was gay like me and he shared this suite with his lover, while Mamee had her room at the end of the hall," he added as they had reached the sitting room for his family.
"Well, where I came from, this was my parent's suite, and that room at the end of the hall was mine and Amee's. I gave this suite to my son and his wife after they were married," Daniel told them. He was stunned when Dixon showed him the secret bookcase door leading to the stairs to the attic train room. "This is incredible boys. I have to admit that this is something that I would have done if I had ever had the time and the idea. I will really enjoy helping you boys expand this if you want."
"Could we made it big as de whole attic?" Etienne asked excitedly.
"We sure can," Poppop told them. "You little ones and I can go to the nearest hobby shop tomorrow and start working on it."
"AAAIIIEEEEEEEE! Dis gonna been de most wondermous train set ever, PoppopDis gonna been de most wondermous train set ever, Poppop ("This is going to be the most wonderful train set ever, Poppop")," Emile squealed.
The next day, right after breakfast, Poppop took the Popsicle Twins as well as Jules and Julie to the hobby store and started picking out things for their expanding model train world. They also came home with bicycles for Emile and Etienne and tricycles for Jules and Julie. Dixon and Jessie met them in the garage when they got home and watched as the Popsicle Twins immediately brought their new bicycles over to Frankie and Ziggy.
"Dis my new bicycle, Antoine," Emile said proudly showing off his new purple ride. "Dat Enny's new bicycle, Antoinette," he added pointing to Etienne's bright pink one.
"Antoine, Antoinette, dis you Papa Frankie," Etienne told the bicycles. "And over here, dis you Maman, Ziggy."
"Mama? Did he just say I'm the mama?" Ziggy sputtered. "You put them up to this, didn't you, Frankie?" Frankie couldn't respond because he was laughing too hard.
"I am NOT a mama, Etienne," Ziggy fumed.
"But you said you be de one what took care of de bébés," Etienne replied innocently. "You said you would change dey tires and fix de chains."
"He's got you there," Dixon giggled.
"Etienne, I'm curious," Ziggy said a little too calmly. "Who changes most of little Evander's diapers?"
"Daddy do de diapeys cuz Poppa he get sick when he try," Etienne answered honestly.
"And who gets up in the middle of the night when he is crying?"
"Dat Daddy too," Emile announced.
"Well if Dixon is changing the diapers and taking care of stuff the most, does that make him a Mama?"
"OOOO, we never thought it that way," the twin boys squealed. They turned and ran up to Dixon hugging him tightly. "MAMA!" they yelled.
"I will get you back for this, Zigfield," Dixon growled at the car.
"My tires are shaking, Mommy Dearest," Ziggy retorted.
"They should be because I have a baby in need of a diaper change, and I'm not afraid to use your passenger seat," Dixon smiled back.
"You would not dare! That's. . . that's. . . I'll tell Cory on you," Ziggy stammered.
"Somehow I think the patriarch would approve," Jessie added.
"You guys are just mean," Ziggy pouted. "I was just teaching the boys to think logically."
"Sure you were," Dixon said as he walked towards Ziggy while holding Evander. At the last moment, he turned and walked into the house.
"Oh thank goodness," Ziggy sighed.
"Umm Zigster, was that a bit of an oil leak I just saw?" Frankie asked with a giggle.
"No it was not," Ziggy snapped. "And don't call me Zigster, you you you. . . I can't think of what you are right now, but when I do I'm gonna let you know."
"I know what you are," Frankie replied calmly.
"I'm afraid to ask," Ziggy mumbled.
"You're my flower powered little bundle of awesomeness," Frankie replied happily.
"Awww do you really mean that?" Ziggy cooed.
"Time to leave the garage now boys," Poppop told the twins. "I think the cars need some private time."
The last thing the twins heard as they watched the garage door close was Ziggy saying, "Wait a minute. What do you mean little bundle?"
"Could we rode our new bicycle to de park down de street, Poppop?" Etienne asked sweetly. "We took Jean-Paul and Jean-Pierre wid us."
"Maybe we took Georges and our bébé's wid us too," Emile suggested. "Vandy and BB could watch us on the swings and slides so they learned how to did it when they got big enough."
"We could go too?" Julie asked shyly.
"Where I'ma go I don't took my best friend wid me?" Enny told her as he hugged her tight.
"Let's go get Georges and the babies," Jules said and ran to the nursery.
Thirty minutes later, the six little ones were all enjoying the park with their G-cat friends and their Grandpa D as they were calling D.K. Daniel admitted to being too worn out after the shopping trip to join the park excursion. The whole family also knew that he wanted to spend some more time with Mamee so they could get to know one another better. The two sets of twins wanted to ride around the park a bit, but D.K. thought the little ones might enjoy their bottles better if they were sitting still, so he and Georges sat on a bench as he fed the little ones in their double stroller.
Back at home a few minutes later, Dixon's heart just about stopped as he heard Jean-Paul's voice over the communicator. "Hostiles in the area, imminent attack, requesting backup."
I really should call these notes Be Careful What You Ask For, I made a comment about more Popsicle Twins, or Popsicle Quadruplets and he gave us quadruplets!!! He did twist my request around a bit, so I will be more careful this time. This chapter made me laugh and cry and sometimes at the same time. Keep up the great work Boudreaux, now as to that Cliffhanger. . .
TSL