27. Wednesday, August 1, 2012
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012
X imena and Zuri?e Ochoa-Quinn made their grand entrance only an hour later, and their whirlwind debut on the planet set the tone for next couple of weeks.
Julia, her parents, and William all pitched in to cook meals and clean house for Kelly and Pilar. Other times, Julia and her parents hosted dinner at their house.
Julia even spent a couple of overnights at the Ochoa-Quinns', giving William, Ann, and Delfina a night off. Feeding the boys, transporting them to and from their summer day camps, and tucking Zach into bed at night. Especially for Aspie kids like Xavier, Julia understood the importance of routine.
It was fun to watch the steady, solid friendship blossoming between Paige and Xavier, who shared a love of digital art, animation, and video games; as well as the one between Robert and eight-year-old Zach, who were just close enough in age to play well together.
After three days, the hospital discharged Pilar, but she still spent much of every day with the twins while Kelly returned to work. And a week after that, it was Julia’s turn to perform dinner duty at the Ochoa-Quinn house. After work, she picked up the kids, and together they walked over with their groceries .
As they approached Kelly and Pilar’s house, a car pulled up to the curb in front. When the driver emerged, Julia gave a start to recognize her.
“Pilar!”
Though she still sported a postpartum belly, all the puffiness had vanished from Pilar’s face. For the first time, Julia could really discern her delicate bone structure. Julia swept over to hug her. “Look at you! I haven’t seen you since you had the twins! How do you always look so beautiful?”
“Thanks,” Pilar said quietly, returning Paige’s wave and hugging Robert, her weary smile not quite reaching her eyes.
“But I’m sure you're exhausted,” Julia added, draping an arm around Pilar’s shoulders, gently ushering her toward the front door. “Get inside and put your feet up.”
“I won’t lie,” Pilar admitted as they walked. Xavier, apparently hearing their approach, flung open the front door, and both Paige and Robert darted inside after him. “I feel like some dystopian dairy-human, constantly pumping around the clock for a few milliliters of liquid gold.”
“Been there, done that,” Julia groaned, recalling when Paige was born with a poor latch. “Are you doing that finger-feeding thing? Like, where you have to tape a little tube to your finger and let them suck on your fingertip?”
Pilar shook her head, her eyes suddenly shiny. “It’s a full-fledged tube feeding. Down their throats.”
“Oh...” Mortified, Julia froze right there on the doorstep. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize...”
Pilar aimed another shaky, watery smile at Julia. “It’s okay. It’s just, when babies are born this early, there really is no sucking reflex.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Julia said hastily. “You don’t have to talk about any of this, unless you just want to. But I can imagine you’re sick of explaining it, eighty million times, to eighty million different people.”
“In a way,” Pilar conceded with a sheepish wince. “I know everybody cares, and that means so much to me and Kelly. But...”
“It’s exhausting,” Julia tried .
With a shaky laugh, Pilar admitted, “A little.”
“And when you get home, you just want to relax for a few precious minutes, take a load off, and not have to answer even more questions.”
“Yeah.” The look Pilar gave Julia was almost searching. Almost like she was seeing Julia for the first time.
“Voice of experience here,” Julia said, raising her hand. “I never had premature babies – clearly, since I asked you such a stupid, ignorant question – but Paige was in the hospital once. And so was I, with hyperemesis gravidarum.”
“Yeah; Will told us about that,” Pilar breathed. “That sounds awful.”
Julia waved a hand. “It sucked, but I survived. You, Kelly, and your girls will get through this, too. And we’ll all help as much as we can.”
“Thanks,” Pilar breathed, her eyes shimmering again. Julia wrapped her in a hug, and then Pilar wiped the tears from her cheeks as they passed through the front door.
As she deposited her purse, hat, and scarf on the console in the foyer, Julia peeked through the open door of the in-law unit to find found Xavier and Paige at the desk in the den. Thoroughly engrossed in Xavier’s latest animation, they were oblivious to anything else. With a wink, Pilar waved Julia upstairs, where they found William already prepping dinner in the kitchen. Zach and Robert, meanwhile, worked a jigsaw puzzle at the kitchen table.
Wiping his hands on a towel, William stepped away from the chicken he was cutting up and offered Pilar a peck on the cheek. “How are my nieces today?”
“Good. They both gained an ounce over the last twenty-four hours.”
“Are they still under the bili lights?”
“Yeah, and they will be for a while.”
To Julia, William explained, “The girls have jaundice, so they have to be under these special lights.”
Julia hummed sympathetically. “Robert had to be on a bili blanket when he was born, for the same reason.”
Zach hopped up from the table to hug Pilar and demand to see the latest photos of his new baby sisters. While Pilar scrolled through her cell phone, William gave Julia a chaste kiss on the lips before returning to his chicken. Kelly, freshly showered and changed from work, strolled into the kitchen to look on with a contented smile, like a queen surveying her realm. Julia caught Kelly’s eye and waved, and Kelly answered with a jerk of her head, beckoning Julia into the living room.
“I just wanted to say again how grateful Pilar and I are for all your help since the twins were born,” Kelly said in a low voice once they were alone.
Relaxing into a smile, Julia waved her hand. “Of course, Kelly. I'm glad we’re nearby.”
“I wanted to let you know that I got in touch with the special education attorney you referred me to. Xavier will be starting at the same school as Paige this fall.”
Nearly giddy with excitement, Julia actually found herself clapping before forcing herself to stop. She didn’t want to overwhelm Kelly too soon with her natural exuberance. “I’m so glad it worked out. And I know Paige will be thrilled, too,” she added with a wink.
Kelly chuckled knowingly, and then, after glancing awkwardly around the room, she jerked her thumb toward the staircase. “Speak of the devils, I’d better go check on them…”
As Kelly headed downstairs, Julia returned to the kitchen, still laughing. She gave William a quick kiss before nudging him out of the way with her hip. While she arranged the chicken pieces into William's marinade and trimmed green beans, William ordered Pilar from the kitchen so she could grab a quick nap. Occasionally, as he walked Zach and Robert through their puzzle, his gaze snagged on Julia’s, and they shared a private smile.
Just as she was ready to dump the seasoned green beans into the sauté pan, Paige burst into the kitchen, gasping for breath as if she had run the whole way, and waving what Julia recognized as her work cell. It buzzed insistently in her hand.
Paige didn’t even wait for Julia to speak. “OhMyGodMomHaveYouSeenItYet?!”
At the table, William’s eyes snapped to Paige in alarm, and Julia quickly wiped her hands. “Paige, what’s wrong?”
“ Wrong? Are you serious? ”
“Paige,” Julia ground out, “cut the dramatics and tell me what’s going on.”
Paige gave a scoff of dismay, shaking the still-buzzing phone, as if that explained everything. “You’re Instagram-famous!”
“I’m... what?”
“Instagram, Mom! You’re famous on Instagram!”
Frowning, Julia excavated the darkest recesses of her memory. “Okay, I give up – what is Instagram?”
Paige scoffed so loudly that Julia flinched.
“It’s a social media app,” Xavier chimed in from the kitchen entrance. Julia hadn’t even noticed him there, wrapped up as she was in Paige’s theatrics.
Julia stared at him. “You mean like Facebook?”
Paige’s resounding groan ricocheted off the walls. “Mom, I swear to God...”
“Instagram is way better than Facebook,” Zach declared matter-of-factly from the kitchen table, snapping a puzzle piece into place.
William stifled his laughter behind his hand, and Julia stuck her tongue out at him playfully. “Okay; so I’m old and out of touch.”
“You are," Paige agreed, “but since you mentioned it, I’m sure Marisa has a Facebook page, too.”
Julia stiffened, and her smile evaporated. “Marisa?”
“You don’t have to download Instagram or anything; just look it up on your browser.”
With a jolt, it finally dawned on Julia: “Wait – how do you know about my alleged Instagram fame?” After all, Paige did not have her own phone, and was not allowed unsupervised time on computers.
“I was downstairs when your work cell started blowing up. You left it in your purse, on that table in the foyer. So your phone was blowing up, like, massively, and that can only mean one thing: something about you has gone viral on the Internet. So I told Xavier to find out what it was.”
Julia looked to Xavier, who nodded in confirmation. “Okay, so how do I see this Instagram notoriety for myself?”
With another grunt of dismay, Paige said, “Just search for ‘Marisa Zunino Zeneize Instagram.’ ”
The call on Julia’s work cell had gone to voice mail. She accepted the phone from Paige and pulled up a browser window. Sure enough, there was Marisa’s public Instagram page. Ignoring the prompt to download the app, Julia said, “Okay, now what?”
“Now, just look. It’s right there, front and center.”
Frowning, Julia brought the phone screen closer, and froze. “Wha...?!”
Paige squealed. “I told you! You're famous!”
William, Zach, and Robert all sprang from the table and came to see what the fuss was. “That’s the aquarium at Dunphy’s,” murmured William, pointing to the most recent photo on Zeneize’s page.
“But how...?” And then it hit Julia – the photos Marisa had taken of her aquarium on July Fourth. “Why?”
“Click there,” Zach suggested, then went right ahead and did it for her.
The caption expanded, and Julia read it aloud. “Beyond psyched to announce I’m teaming up with @stellarproductionsla and @reallylivechannel for Season 1 of IN THE WEEDS, a new reality show! Each season, I’ll give one lucky, crappy restaurant a complete makeover! For Season One, I’m staying close to home and reimagining Dunphy’s Restaurant as Zeneize at Fisherman’s Wharf! And this INCREDIBLE, sustainable aquarium by Julia Beale of Castro Aquarium Service is the only thing that stays! @intheweedstvshow and @zeneizeatfishermanswharf for updates – you know what to do! Pound reality TV; pound restaurant life...’”
“Those are hashtags, Mom,” droned Paige.
Julia looked helplessly to Zach, mouthing, “Hashtags?”
“Welcome to 2012,” Zach quipped, flashing his dimpled smile before returning to the puzzle, trailed by a thoroughly unimpressed Robert. Snickering, William still lingered over Julia’s shoulder.
“Did you know about any of this?” she asked him. “That they picked Dunphy’s? Or about this post?”
“Nope.”
She grunted in frustration. “It’s just like Dad to forget to tell any of us. Or conveniently forget, as the case may be.”
“Mom,” Paige broke in, “you missed a huge business opportunity by not already being on Ins tagram. Marisa could have tagged you in her post, and that would have driven millions of people to your Instagram profile.”
“Millions?” Julia echoed skeptically.
“Yeah, Mom. Check out how many followers she has.”
“Three-point-two...” Julia’s jaw nearly hit her chest. “Does that mean three-point-two million? ”
“Yep.”
“Maybe you could set up a profile right now,” William suggested. “You can comment on her post under your new profile. I can send her a quick text and ask her to tag you in it.”
Julia gaped up at him. “How do you know about this stuff when I don’t?”
“I have a teenage nephew, remember?” He glanced at Xavier, still in the kitchen doorway.
“You have to do it now, though, Mom,” Paige insisted. “Opportunity is knocking, and time is of the essence in the social media world.”
Julia couldn’t help snickering. “If I let you borrow my phone for thirty minutes, could you and Xavier set one up for me?”
“In a heartbeat.” She beamed over at Xavier, whose face flushed as he quickly blinked down at his shoes.
A tiny misgiving niggled at the back of Julia’s consciousness. She had restricted her daughter's tech access for a good reason – it was how Paige connected, in the past, with the boys she ran away from home with. But after all, Julia would be supervising.
“Okay; but it has to look professional, Paige. I’ll text you my business logo and headshot. Keep the colors consistent with my brand."
“I’ve got you, Mom.” The excitement in Paige’s voice further stoked Julia’s worries.
But again, this was temporary – and supervised. Julia shoved aside her concerns. After unlocking her work cell and handing it over to Paige, Julia watched in dismay as Paige stalked to Xavier and snatched him by the hand. William vacated his seat at the kitchen table so Paige and Xavier could sit there, opposite Zach and Robert. While William took himself to the living room to catch up with his sister, Julia, thoroughly flustered, returned to the stove to finish dinner .
For the next twenty minutes, Paige and Xavier conferred over their task, serious as a heart attack. Paige periodically interrupted Julia, prompting her to approve the creation of her Instagram account, asking a question, or showing her progress so far.
Right as Julia served dinner, Paige bounded up to Julia. Xavier, her ever-present, ever-silent shadow, trailed close behind. “Check it out!” exclaimed Paige, her enthusiasm palpable as a text notification pinged on Julia's personal cell.
Julia retrieved the phone from her pocket and clicked the link Paige had texted. It led her to the new Castro Aquarium Service Instagram page. William and the younger boys gathered around her at the dining table to look over her shoulder.
“Wow,” Julia blurted, unable to conceal her surprise. “This is really good.”
Her profile picture was her logo. The bio was professional but snappy, almost as if Julia had written it herself. Plus, it included her contact information and a link to her website. She already had several posts up, including three pinned to the top with high-quality photos of both her and her aquariums. Every caption included an enticing call to action.
“Gen Z to the rescue!” crowed Paige.
“You’re really good at writing,” Xavier remarked, his tone more expressive than usual.
Flushing with pleasure, Paige beamed up at him. “Thanks,” she said breathlessly.
For once, Xavier didn’t avert his eyes as she studied him. One corner of his mouth hooked up in a rare smile before he noticed Julia watching, and suppressed it.
Another spike of worry chafed at Julia, witnessing their rapidly-growing puppy-love. But after a long pause, Julia discovered everybody was watching her. Overcompensating a bit, she practically squeaked, “Thank you, Paige!”
“You’re welcome.” Paige was tapping on Julia’s work cell again. “Plus, I commented on Marisa’s post for you.”
Julia’s personal cell pinged again. The new link Paige had texted opened to Marisa’s pos t. Sure enough, Marisa had already pinned a comment from @castroaquariumservice.
“’THANK YOU, @marisazuninosf, for spotlighting me and @castroaquariumservice!’” Julia read aloud. “’So excited to be part of the magic that makes @zeneizeatfishermanswharf the hottest new destination in Pound San Francisco! Pound Castro Aquarium Service, Pound Fish Dish–’”
“ Hashtag ,” chorused Julia's entire over-the-shoulder entourage.
“Right. Hashtag.” Julia frowned over at Zach. “What are hashtags, again?”
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Paige sighed, “I’ll get you up to speed.”
Xavier pointed over Julia’s shoulder at the phone screen. “Marisa already edited her caption, too.”
Sure enough, Marisa had changed Castro Aquarium Service to @castroaquariumservice .
“Now her three-point-two-million followers can actually find you,” Paige explained, followed immediately by, “Oh my God, Mom, look! You already have two new DMs!”
“What?” said Julia, and as Paige shoved her work cell in her face, Xavier reached over her shoulder again to poke the screen, opening her DMs.
Julia read the first one aloud: “’Hi Julia, I saw the pics of your work on @marisazuninosf’s post and I know this is probably a long shot, but are you accepting any new clients?’” Julia snorted. “He actually thinks it’s a long shot.”
“Well, duh, Mom; you’re the best aquarist in the city, and you’re environmentally friendly, too,” Paige declared.
At that moment, Julia’s work cell lit up with another call, and tears pricked at Julia’s eyes as yet another message popped up in her DMs. “Paige, I’m speechless! I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it, and get ready. Instagram is a visual platform – perfect for what you do. Now, for the love of Flying Spaghetti Monster, download the freaking app on your personal cell, too!”
“Yes ma’am.” Julia gave a snappy salute. “And also? Thank you.”
“All in a day’s work,” quipped Paige .
“Now give me my work cell back,” Julia ordered with mock sternness.
“Yes ma’am,” Paige echoed, actually laughing. “But first, I’ll send your log in and password. You should change those right away.”
“Okay. Thanks for the reminder.” Julia glanced in wonder at William. Out of Paige and Xavier’s line of sight, he silently pretended to clap. “That’s very responsible of you, by the way, Paige.”
In a coy tone, Paige replied, “How am I ever supposed to get a phone of my own if I don’t earn your trust?”
Julia grinned. “We’ll talk it over with Clio, but at the very least, consider this a hefty deposit. If you keep up the good work, that is.”
Later, after everyone sat down to dinner, William leaned into her ear and whispered, “Speaking of deposits, are you ever going to redeem your voucher?”
“For what?”
“Your voucher for a coucher, of course.”
Julia swatted him, snickering, and they nuzzled their foreheads and noses together until Paige gagged and Kelly teasingly admonished them to control themselves. When Julia smiled at her, Kelly returned it with a subtle, conspiratorial wink.