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“Daddy?” Jeremy tugs on Caractacus’ waistcoat.
He turns around, “Hmm?”
Jeremy holds up a picture of a little girl with long blonde hair with bangs. “Is this a picture of Mummy as a kid?”
He concurs, “Yes.”
Jeremy turns the picture around and looks at it. “She looks like Jemima!”
He stands behind his son and looks down at the picture. “She does.” They both look over at Jemima, who was going through a box of pictures.
“Do I look like her too?” Jeremy wonders, trying not to frown.
“I’m afraid you look more like me, Rem. But you have her eyes.”
“Neat!” He touches his own eyes.
Jemima stops digging through a box and looks up. “Did you know her at our age?”
He shakes his head, “Sadly, no. Met her while attending university.”
“Oh!” She clasps her hands under her chin. “Like in a class?”
“No. At my work.”
“Aw.” Jemima grabs a picture of Caractacus as a child and places it next to Mimsie. “Now we can pretend you and Mum met as kids.” She faces them at angle, “See?”
“I do.” He admires the pictures.
Jemima rubs her chin. “Does Mr Nevada have a picture of himself as a child?”
Jeremy’s eyes go wide and then smiles, “I wonder if he wore a leather jacket?”
She looks over at her brother. “I bet he was born in one.”
“Children, children,” Caractacus laughs. “We’ll have to ask him about the picture when he gets here.”
“Ok,” they both say.
Jemima queries, “When will that be?”
“Don’t know, Dove.”
“Oh.”
Caractacus pats their shoulders, “Please don’t bombard him with too many questions.”
“We won’t,” Jeremy declares before he nudges Jemima.
She tries not to giggle. “Yeah, we won’t.”
There is a knock on their door and Caractacus answers. “Nevada.” He greets him with a kiss on the cheek.
Nevada enters the apartment, taking off his sunglasses and sticking them in his coat pocket.
The twins greet him with a “Hi, Mr Nevada.”
“Hello, Things 1 and 2,” he smirks.
They laugh as Caractacus shakes his head. “Hope you brought your appetite. We’ll be making dinner in a few.”
“With that crazy machine?” Nevada thumbs back to the kitchen.
“Yes, with the Dinner Machine.”
The twins interrupt, “Mr Nevada?”
Nevada turns his head, “Eh?”
Jeremy inquires, “We need something from you.”
He peers down at them, “Like what?”
Jemima inquires, “Do you have a picture of yourself as a kid?”
Nevada was a little suspicious. “Why?”
Jeremy replies, “We placed bets you wore leather jackets.”
Jemima adds, “And was born in one.”
“You two can keep speculating.” Nevada rubs the bridge of his nose.
“Children, please.” Caractacus’ cheeks burned.
The twins grimace a little, “Sorry!”
“Actually, we need a picture so you can hang out with Dad and Mum as kids,” Jemima clarifies.
Nevada’s interest was piqued. “This I have to see.”
The twins lead Nevada over to the fireplace mantle. “Over here!” They show him their pictures.
He does a double take between the twins and the pictures. “Looks like you guys.”
Jeremy responds, “We promise it’s our parents!”
“I believe you.” He looks at the picture of Caractacus and back at him. “No plaid suit, Crackpott?”
The other man explains, “School uniform.”
“And neat hair too.” Nevada was quite amused.
Caractacus runs a hand through his hair. “Just for the picture,” he chuckles. “One thing Mum stipulated.”
The twins exclaim, “Wish we got to meet grandma!”
“I do too. She barely met Mimsie,” he murmurs.
The twins pout, “Awwww!”
“No need to dwell on the past.” He kneels down to hug them. “I’m 100% certain she would have spoiled you two like Grandpa does,” he says as nuzzles them.
Jeremy looks at his father, “Do you have pictures of her? We can put Grandma next to you and Mum and Mr. Nevada.”
“Somewhere in the boxes over there,” Caractacus nods his head to the box. “And if Nevada wants to.”
Nevada reassures him, “I can give them something.”
“Yay! Thank you!” They run off to the hallway and back to the boxes.
Nevada whispers as he looks at the pictures. “You sure you don’t have a cloning machine?”
“Very. I’m a mechanical inventor, not biological. Had to settle for the old-fashioned way of having children.”
Nevada smirks, “So that’s what you call it.”
Caractacus clears his throat, “And besides, they don’t exactly look like us. They have my nose and her smile. Remy has her eyes and Jem has mine. And their hair is straight like Mim’s.”
“Never noticed.” He looks over to them and then to Caractacus. “I kinda see it.”
“Mmm,” Caractacus wraps an arm around his shoulder.
The twins come back holding pictures of both their grandmother and Grandpa. Jeremy exults, “Found her!”
Caractacus smiles, “Brilliant. Put them up with me and Mimsie, please.”
“Yes, Daddy!” After the twins finish rearranging the pictures to their liking, Jemima announces, “We still have enough room for Mr Nevada. His will be right next to Daddy’s.”
“Persistent,” Nevada grins.
“They are,” Caractacus agrees as he goes to his bedroom. “Will you help us unpack?”
Nevada shrugs his left shoulder, “Sure, got nothin’ better to do.”
Jeremy jokingly asks him, “Where’s your boxes?”
“They’ll be coming at the end of the week, kid.”
“Wait?! Really?!” Jeremy beams. “Mr Nevada is really moving in here with us?”
“Yes. Remember I told you?” Caractacus peeks his head out of the room, “And you two will be helping.”
Jemima confirms, “We will. We like him.”
Nevada raises both eyebrows, “Good to know.”
“For now.” Jemima points two fingers to herself and then to Nevada, which makes him smirk.
Caractacus exits out of his bedroom, wiping his hands together, “Now, who’s hungry?”
“We are!” The twins and Nevada rejoice. Caractacus takes them to the kitchen to prepare dinner.