I led them around to the side door, and let myself in.
“HELLO?” I called. Beth, Nick’s adorable four year old half-sister, came running.
“ALYYYY!” she yelled as she came crashing into my open arms. Then she caught sight of Charlie. Even little kids noticed how truly beautiful he was. Then, she saw Mandy. “What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing, Bee. Please go find your mommy, okay, princess?” I sweetly asked.
“Yeee!” she yelled as she bolted for her parent’s room, calling, “Mommmmmyyy!”
In a few minutes, Nick’s stepmother emerged.
“Hi, Alyse!” she said when she saw me. “Who do we have here?” she inquired about Charlie and Sam.
“Hey, Stacy.” I replied, “This is Charlie and this is Samantha. But-” I pulled Charlie out from behind me, exposing Amanda, “you remember Amanda?”
“Oh Dear Lord,” Stacy said, rushing over, “What happened to her?”
Charlie gave me a ‘be quiet’ look. “She got a little.. overexcited..” Charlie smoothly replied.