How Green Becomes Wood

Zeinab smiled back at him, reaching out to ruffle his hair, "I'm grateful for you too, habibi. And I'm glad to see you're all so happy together, I really am."

Dark took a sip of his coffee, watching his daughter dump her puff cereal to the floor, "I think Ivy is happy to have more people around to play with her. She may not understand what it means, but I can tell she has been enjoying herself."
 
Xander caught some of the cereal before it could hit the floor and put it on her tray for her. "It means there's more people to fetch her things for her. Right, Mini? And you are very good at feeding Enkidu."
 
"She is good at that," Daizi chuckled, reaching down to pat Enkidu on the side, "He'll be crushed when she's not so messy anymore."

"But I will be delighted," Dark sighed, lowering his head to look at Ivy's bright and happy face.

Almost immediately after breakfast, Dark went to pick up the fresh carp for the masgouf, muttering as he grabbed his coat and shoes about how Americans love to call carp a 'crap' fish, but it is not a crap fish, Americans just don't know how to cook it properly, but they will learn. As soon as he returned home, he began the arduous process of preparing it, butterflying the fish and removing the spines in fluid motions before marinating them and returning them to the fridge. Around the time the party began, he would begin to grill it, because it took up to four hours, and as soon as it was finished they needed to eat. In the meanwhile, while the fish was marinading, Dark asked Alec to help him with the remaining decorations, including a Happy Birthday banner, written both in English and Arabic, Ivy's baby book they had been recording memories in besides a lovely frame showing one picture of her from each month of the year and a second frame with Dark's favourite picture of Ivy as a newborn (the one where she was curled up in the palm of his hand) beside a picture of her he had taken and printed that very day, and finally a tasteful but not overwhelming number of balloons.

About an hour before the party began, Cooger's truck pulled up outside the house. From the backseat, he took out a cute little red wagon which he had added blue and purple streamers to (they weren't in quite the right shades, but he had clearly done his best), but then, more importantly, he brought in Ivy's birthday cake. It was primarily light blue with lavender accents, and of course it read in bright, happy letters, "Happy 1st Birthday Ivy!" Her full name didn't fit.
 
"Are you sure there are enough balloons?" Alec asked Dark doubtfully. For the third time. "I think there could be more balloons."

Xander went out when Cooger's truck pulled up and eyed the cake and the wagon. "Nice," he said. "Want me to hold something or get the doors?"
 
Dark looked around the house, "I do not want to kill turtles with too many balloons. Anyway, we do not want to make it difficult for people to move around and see. My head is closer to balloon level than yours is." Still, he did commit to the giant, mylar 1-shaped balloon. It was their right, he thought.

"The wagon can stay outside for now, but if you can get the door so I don't accidentally drop this cake and make your folks cry on their big day, that'd be grand," Cooger replied, "I also got the little one's present in the car, but that don't need to come in yet."
 
"Hmm, we could get non-floating balloons," Alec remarked.

Xander pulled the wagon up close to the house, watching it trundle along behind him with a pleased expression. Then he left it behind and went to hold the door open for Cooger. "Come on in. Mama, Ba, Cooger's here."
 
"No we cannot," Dark said hurriedly, "We do not want Ivy to accidentally bite into one and pop it. It could asphyxiate her."

"She survived a year, you're doing just fine," Cooger said, setting the cake down on the counter and patting Dark on the back, "The place looks great. Where's the birthday girl?"

"I have her," Daizi said, coming downstairs with Ivy dressed in a little pastel dress decorated with bows and skulls, little pink shoes, and a bow in her hair, "Let's go say hi to your uncle! He brought you your birthday cake!"

"Aw hell, ain't she precious," Cooger grinned, taking Ivy from Daizi and lifting her up, "Happy Birthday, Kitten! Look at you, a full year old!"
 
Alec wanted to challenge Dark on the physical possibility of that actually happening, but Cooger came in and completely derailed him. Probably for the best, he figured. After all, it wasn't like Dark's irrational fears were keeping him from allowing any balloons at all in the house. Just floor ones. And maybe something might possibly happen. At least there were still balloons. And streamers.

"She's not a kitten, she's a Mini Mouse. A Mini Them," Xander protested, gesturing to Dark and Daizi. "She couldn't be any more like the pair of them."
 
"I don't know, mice don't curl up like kittens do," Cooger pointed out, "And she could be a little more like 'em. Could you imagine your dad wearing these colours?" He paused for a moment, then held Ivy up against her father, a grin breaking out across his face, "I mean. Except for that one time."

Dark inhaled sharply, "It was for a wedding and it was against my will."

"I guess I should've asked if you could imagine your mom wearing these colours," Cooger grinned, knowing as long as he was holding this baby, Dark couldn't do a darn thing to him, "Because we know how much your dad loves his lavender suit."

"Lavender suit?" Amty Zeinab asked, coming around the corner, "What do you mean, lavender suit?"

Cooger chortled, turning brightly towards her, "Amty Zeinab! It's been too long, I missed you! How are you holding up? They didn't tell you?"

"Oh, Jasper!" Zeinab replied, hurrying over to him as quickly as her old body allowed, "It is so good to see you! You're eating? Good. Good. Oh, I'm doing fine, you know, I was worried about my knee, but they told me that it's fine. They tell me I am just old, if you can believe that?"

"You? Old? Never," Cooger bent down so she could kiss his cheek.

"Now." She clapped her hands together, "Lavender suit?"
 
"Baba looked absolutely fabulous in a lavender suit at a friend's wedding," Alec said cheerfully, staying far away from Dark. "He pulled it off so beautifully."

"We've got the pictures, if you want to see them," Xander smirked.

"Mama also looked absolutely beautiful," Alec agreed.
 
"I was part of the bridal party," He grumbled, rubbing his hands over his face, "I did not choose to wear it, it was forced upon me and I acquiesced so I could help my wife."

"I would love to see the pictures!" Amty Zeinab said cheerfully, walking over to the twins while Daizi walked to her poor, distressed husband and rubbed his back. He always looked perfectly spooky and alluring to her.

Cooger followed after Amty, "I have a video, Amty, I was at the wedding too!"

"Cooger, the moment you set down my daughter, you are dead."

"Guess I won't be setting her down then!"
 
"He didn't fight very hard to not dress like that," Xander confided to Amty Zeinab in a very low voice.

Alec had the pictures up first and showed her. "Don't they look so incredibly lovely, Amty? Look at how it lightens him up so beautifully!"

"The video is really good, too," Xander said, moving over so Cooger could show her the video.

"Cooger looked good, but he wasn't in the party and chose not to dress up too fancy," Alec informed her. "He still looked nice."
 
"Why would I fight them, it was not my wedding!" Dark argued, going over to see the video. He had never seen such a video. Then, looking over Cooger's shoulder, his face burned and he felt so. So much regret.

"Zalmi!" Zeinab cooed, immediately pinching his cheek, "You look so handsome! And so happy! Why do you dress so glum all the time when those colours suit you so well!"
 
"They really do," Alec said with a nod. He pointed to Dark and Daizi dancing. "Look at his smile! He's precious."

The doorbell sounded. It was Lex, hands in her jeans' pockets as she waited. She was wearing a loose, long-sleeved red shirt that hugged certain curves in just the right way but was still in no way inappropriate for a kid's birthday party.
 
"He is precious," Amty Zeinab cooed and then smiled at Cooger while Dark scowled and walked away, "And speaking of weddings, Jasper, when are you going to get married?"

When Dark opened the door, a uniquely dangerous light came into Dark's eyes, "Hello Lex, please come inside."
 
Alec giggled at Amty Zeinab's question. "He's married to his pickup truck and his cat rescue, I think."

"At least he can cook for himself," Xander pointed out.

Lex cocked her head at Dark's friendliness. She was learning to catch his micro expressions, but she was not always accurate in interpreting them. She was fairly certain he was happy to see her, that or angry. Maybe the tracking tags had been too much. "Thanks. Am I too early?" she asked, stepping inside and toeing off her sandals.
 
"Alec is right," Cooger said awkwardly, "I am more than happy living on my own, Amty, I already have all I need."

"Nonsense, you're a handsome boy, you could easily find a woman wanting to marry you! You know, my great-niece Aya's husband has a sister---"

"You are right on time," Dark replied, shutting the door behind them, leading her further inside the house, "Amty Zeinab, this is our neighbor, Lex Sims. Lex, this is Daizi's great-aunt Zeinab." As he said this, he looked directly at Cooger, wordlessly reminding him Ivy could not protect him now.
 
"Hi, Lex!" Alec greeted her as he and Xander moved out of the way. "Glad you could make it."

"It was a long walk," Lex smirked. Then she turned her attention to Zeinab. "Amty Zeinab! I have heard so much about you! May I call you Amty? Or should I call you something else? I don't want to offend what I hear is the best grandma and aunt in at least half of the world if not more." She held out her hand to shake Amty Zeinab's.
 
Lex glanced between Dark and Cooger, instantly clocking what was going on. She had brothers, after all, and older female family members who wanted babies in the family. She weighed her choices, and, with a quiet wink at Cooger, told Zeinab, "Right. Cooger's been telling me all about you and how you've basically enveloped him in the family."
 
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