New Neighbors

Leliana made sure to capitalize on Sundays as it was the only day the entire family could spend together. Devan, of course, would have preferred that they all spent time together within the comfort of their home, but Leliana ensured that Aria didn’t stay cooped up inside all of the time. There was a very nice park just a few blocks away, and they walked there every Sunday. One particular Sunday, as they were on their way back home, they saw people standing on the sidewalk in front of the house adjacent to theirs. There was a man, a woman, two teenage girls, and a little girl and boy. They must have moved in, she thought. The man, the little girl, and one of the teens went inside. Leliana went to meet the woman.

“Hello! I am Leliana F—Holmes! My family and I live across the street. Have you just moved in?”

The woman was a bit taken aback by Leliana’s assertive greeting, but she appreciated it. “Yep. We’re just about settled in now. I’m sorry…I’m Jayda Pollard! And, this is my baby…Sylas!”

“Moooooom!”

“Shhh! Don’t be whiny in front of these nice people.”

By then, Devan and Aria had caught up, and Leliana introduced them. “Here they are! This is my handsome husband, Devan, and our oldest daughter, Aria! The baby is in the house.”

“OH! I do enjoy a cute little baby! I bet she’s adorable! Hi,” she said extending her hand to Devan, “I’m Jayda. It’s nice to meet you folks.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Devan said. “Ummm…I’m sorry…you probably get this a lot, but you look very familiar to me.”

“Ha! Yeah, people say that all the time,” she said. “You might know me from TV…” She waited to see if his memory would jog. “…Crazy Brady’s Boot Camp?”

“OH! For real? You’re Jayda Pollard? Oh this is crazy! You look so different in real life…you look great!”

“Awww shucks, aren’t you sweet!”

“Brady is my uncle!”

“You have an uncle, daddy?”

“I have two.”

“Shut yo mouth! You’re a Pruett? This is crazy,” Jayda shouted.

“Uh huh! Him, my mother, and my uncle are triplets.”

“What a small world!”

“So,” Leliana interjected to get herself back into the conversation, “what have you been up to since leaving the show?”

“Girl, too much! I was so inspired by everything, I wrote a book! Then people started asking me to come speak at things, and I even started teaching fitness classes a few times a week.”

“That is amazing,” Leliana said. “I am quite sure Brady and Viv are proud of you!”

“I hope so. Do you keep up with them much?”

Devan and Leliana looked at each other awkwardly. The Pollards are the first neighbors they’ve had, and the first people to know of their former life. They hadn’t anticipated having to explain or make something up.

“We only recently moved here ourselves,” Leliana finally said. “We haven’t called anyone yet.”

They stole awkward glances at each other again to make sure the other was ok, but luckily they were saved by Jayda’s son and Aria. He came back outside and joined his mother again.

“Hello there. I like your hat,” Aria said.

“Thanks,” Sylas said.

“Isn’t this great, Devan? The girls have children to play with now!”

The adults engaged in a conversation among themselves while the children got to know each other.

“I bet I’m faster on the monkey bars than you,” Aria said.

“Prove it,” Sylas said. “Come on.” He led her around to the other side of the house where they commenced an epic monkey bar showdown. Sylas didn’t know what he was in for. Aria recently completed the rambunctious scamp aspiration!

Jayda felt bad for Devan and gave him permission to go inside and meet her husband, Cedric, while she and Leliana stood outside swapping mom stories.

Naturally, after talk of wifedom and motherhood, they ended up at the Holmes residence cooing over the baby.

“Sophiaaaaa,” Leliana sang. “Our new neighbor has been dying to meet you!”

“ACK! She’s so precious! Look at those fat little thighs! I just love babies with fat legs.”