She smiled as she set Jack down, feeling the girl start to squirm in her grip. Besides, she knew she was only holding her with one arm and if she fell, she would not be pleased. She watched as the girl darted off to play around with Julian. Mel folded her arms loosely across her chest and turned back to her brother, smiling a little as she tilted her head to listen. Out of her peripheral vision, she kept her eyes on both of the children. “Yeah, we haven’t seen him in a while. He’s gotten so much bigger than the last time I saw him. These two act like they see each other every day.” She laughed, shaking her head. Jack and Julian saw each other at least more than twice a week, but definitely not every day.
Mel sometimes had days where she didn’t want to get out of bed, therefore didn’t want Jack to get out of her room. Keeping her in her room for the day was her way of bonding. There were other days that, surprisingly, her mother wanted to see the little girl. Her parents initially were very angry about her pregnancy. They had just about disowned her and ignored her. This had made her all but happy about having Jacqueline, especially with the loss of her semi-namesake not long before her birth. But Jack was like her best friend now and she never felt like she needed anyone else.
But, as always, she was excited that her brother was here. She gave him a proper hug once both of the children were out of the way. She squeezed him a little unnecessarily and smiled, kissing his cheek. Laughing as she heard his barrage of questions, she shifted a little and moved over to go sit on the sofa. “All right, let’s see if I can answer these. I’m holding up just fine, a little cold, but that’s it. Michael was here only two days ago. Work is fun and going well as it usually tends to be. And it’s okay! Just as long as I can pry into your life too,” she said, blinking prettily at him and motioning him over to the couch beside her. “I haven’t asked you about y our life in a while! What have you been up to? And don’t say nothing, or I will tickle you.” She said, wiggling her fingers and grinning at him suggestively.