Chapter 127

“Oh! Shouldn’t our little darlings do some kind of talent show later?”

“Oh! That’s right! It’s our darlings’ birthday party! This is the perfect opportunity to show the whole world how brilliant they are!”

“I agree entirely! But what should they show? There’s no shortage of things to boast about!”

“Exactly! Singing? Dancing? Drawing? Oh, they’re wonderful at everything — I can’t possibly choose just one! What do we do!”

My parents-in-law’s voices were rising with each exchange.

Hm. I suppose it’s finally time for me to step in.

I handed Bella over to my husband, rose with great solemnity, and lowered my voice to a commanding register.

“Ahem. If I may — shall I be the one to decide today’s talent show?”

“Of course, dear girl!”

“Yes, yes! What is it, what is it! I’m dying to know!”

I strode purposefully to the center of the drawing room, my expression set with the gravity of someone about to deliver a declaration of war. I swept my gaze across the assembled audience and spoke.

“Today’s talent show will be a dance routine.”

“Ohhhhh!”

“Eeeek!”

My parents-in-law practically shrieked with delight. I nodded at their enthusiasm and continued.

“Very well. We will now commence Ivelina Hardeion’s crash course in dance.”

“A dance performance from our daughter-in-law! I’ve been waiting for this!”

“Me too, me too!”

Buoyed by their fervent cheers, I straightened my back, clasped my hands behind me, and stood in the posture of a drill instructor.

“Our Bella and our Cutie-pie — come stand in front of Mama, right now.”

“Understood.”

“Yes! Cutie-pie Chloe is coming right now!”

In moments, numbers two and three had formed a line in front of me.

I bent down to meet the twins’ bright, eager eyes in turn. Then, in a low and solemn voice, I said:

“This crash course is about to begin. It may be a little strict.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

“From this moment on, Ivelina Florence is not your Mama — she is your strict teacher.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

“Depending on how well you behave, she may be an angel — or a devil.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

The twins’ eyes glittered as they answered with tremendous enthusiasm.

I caught Kai’s eye where he stood nearby, and tilted my chin toward the sofa.

“Now. Our number one darling — go sit beside Papa, quickly.”

“Yes, Mother!”

Kai scurried over and settled himself beside Kael. My husband promptly caught him by the scruff of the neck like a mother cat retrieving a kitten and deposited him onto his lap, resting his chin on top of the boy’s head. It seemed Kai had been selected as my substitute.

That was when it happened.

“Mother! Sister-in-law! My lessons are done too!”

Kayrin came bounding into the drawing room.

“Kayrin! Come here and sit down right now! Your sister-in-law is about to give a surprise performance!”

“Are you serious?! Sitting down immediately!”

Kayrin promptly took his seat beside Kael. I looked at the three of them — identical faces in a row — and cleared my throat.

“Ahem. Then let us begin in earnest.”

I assumed my most formidable expression and took my position. Then, summoning the image of a very determined little tadpole swimming energetically through a stream, I composed my face and body to match, and launched in.

“By the babbling brook, one little tadpole, wriggling, wriggling, swimming along!”

“By the babbling brook, one little tadpole, wriggling, wriggling, swimming along.”

“Tadpole! Wriggling!”

The children followed along gamely with their chubby little arms and legs. Bella replicated the movements with impressive precision. Chloe’s version was a little rough around the edges, but she threw herself into it with tremendous effort.

Then I launched into an elaborate sequence — a tadpole dramatically sprouting its hind legs, then its front legs — with all the flourish the moment demanded.

“Back legs, pop! Front legs, pop!”

“Back legs, pop. Front legs, pop.”

“Pop! Pop! Eek!”

Chloe flung out her front legs and promptly sat down hard on the floor.

“Dummy.”

“Chloe is not a dummy! I’m a cutie-pie!”

Chloe huffed indignantly and hauled herself back upright with great determination. She dusted off her round little bottom and immediately resumed following my pose.

I swung my arms in wide circles, throwing my whole body into the finale — a frog leaping in perfect, exuberant hops.

“Boing, boing — now you’re a frog!”

“Boing, boing — now you’re a frog.”

“Boing! Frog!”

“Ohhhhhh!”

“Eeeeek!”

The audience erupted.

“Incredible! Our darlings are born dance prodigies, without a doubt!”

“Exactly! Blood will tell — they’ve inherited every bit of their mother’s gift for dance! Eeek!”

My parents-in-law were beside themselves, bouncing in their seats before turning to slap their palms together in thunderous applause.

“Mother! That was absolutely magnificent! I got goosebumps, it was so wonderful!”

Even Kai couldn’t contain his admiration.

My husband, too, gave a deep, satisfied nod.

“Indeed. Quite fitting for someone who held the title of First-Year Dance Captain at the Academy.”

“Right? And the competition for that position was a hundred to one that year. There were an extraordinary number of candidates.”

“Impressive, as always.”

That was when it happened.

“Peek-a-boo! Our little darlings!”

A booming voice rang out, and two familiar faces appeared in the gap between the drawing room doors.

“Grandma! Grandpa!”

Chloe, who had been standing in place, took off at a dead sprint toward my father. He caught her, swung her up, and spun her around.

“Ha-ha! Our youngest darling just gets cuter every time I see her! How on earth did she end up looking this much like my own daughter!”

“Mm! Because Chloe is a cutie-pie just like Mama, who is a cutie-pie!”

“That’s right! Our Chloe is the mightiest cutie-pie in all the world! But it looks like our little crybaby has been at it again today — those eyes are simply swollen!”

Chloe’s lip immediately began to tremble again, fresh tears threatening to spill.

My father, utterly lacking in tact, had just pressed the crybaby’s tear button.

“Waaah! Chloe is not a crybaby! Chloe didn’t cry! Waaah!”

“Oh dear, oh dear! This old grandfather made a mistake. Our Chloe isn’t a crybaby at all — she’s a cutie-pie!”

“That’s right! Chloe is a cutie-pie!”

My father was thoroughly occupied with their reunion. But my mother was no less busy. She had already swept Bella up into her arms and was shaking with the pure joy of holding her granddaughter.

“Oh, our lovely Bella. You seem to get more beautiful every time I see you! And you look more and more like our son-in-law with every passing day!”

“Grandma is pretty too. Grandma, give Bella kisses. Lots of them.”

“Of course, of course! Whatever our princess wishes!”

Kiss, kiss, kiss. Bella, who had clearly inherited the family weakness for affection, received her share with enthusiasm — and promptly turned as red as a berry. Her tiny little ears looked as though they might burst.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline materialized like a ghost and hovered in the distance, shifting from foot to foot as he regarded the twins.

“Uncle, kiss here too. The other cheek.”

“Naturally!”

One word from Bella was all it took for Jacqueline to crumble entirely. He was soon buried in her cheek, smothering her in kisses.

“Uncle! Give Cutie-pie kisses too!”

Jacqueline sprinted over to Chloe, still nestled in my father’s arms, and launched another volley of kisses at tremendous speed.

Giggle, giggle, laugh, laugh.

It looked rather like a family reunion after a long separation.

“Dear in-laws! If I had known you were coming so early, I would have gone to meet you at once!”

“Not at all. We wanted to surprise the little ones, so we crept in quietly.”

“How wonderful! They’re absolutely delighted, as you can see!”

“Ha-ha. Though I must say — out in the corridor just now, I heard something about a tadpole and what sounded like an extraordinary amount of cheering. What was that about?”

“Ah, well! Our daughter-in-law staged a surprise performance — she gave the twins a crash course in the dance routine they’ll be performing at their talent show!”

“Good heavens. Blast — I should have arrived a little earlier.”

“It’s not too late! There’s still the encore to look forward to! Ha-ha!”

“Is that so! My dear, let’s hurry and take our seats!”

My parents and Jacqueline arranged themselves with military efficiency and settled beside Kael.

I had had no intention of giving an encore — and yet somehow I found myself giving one anyway.

Numbers one and two materialized beside me at once, falling into formation.

“Boing, boing — now you’re a frog!”

“Boing, boing — now you’re a frog.”

“Boing! Frog!”

The moment the dance ended, applause and cheering erupted.

“Oh, our girl is the absolute best!”

“This is the daughter who turned the Academy upside down with a single dance at the school recital! She hasn’t lost an ounce of her talent!”

And so the lively performance came to an end.

Then, all at once, the corridor outside the drawing room began to shake with a heavy, rhythmic sound. A great clamor of noise and dozens of footsteps grew steadily closer.