I got home from my trip the next day and immediately went to Elliott's room. I'd had time to calm down about the whole incident but I was still pissed. If there was one thing I hope I'd instilled in my son it was honesty. To find out he was cheating felt like I'd failed at parenting.

He was laying on his bed, earbuds in. Elliott saw me and sat up, taking out his buds.

"Mom..." he started.

"I don't want to hear it right now," I told him. "Cheating? Have you not listened to anything I've ever taught you?"

"Mom, it was just a one-time thing," he explained, standing up. "You don't have to worry about me cheating on the SATs or anything."

"Well that's comforting to know," I said, crossing my arms. "What was going through your head?"

He sighed, looking down. "I just really wanted to play," he said. "I've been working so hard and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get a B-."

"You were almost there," I countered. "You'd brought your grade up to a C+. If you'd just worked a little longer..."

"I had to get my grade up in time to play!" he reminded me.

"Well, now you won't be able to play for much longer," I told him. "If you play at all."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm thinking of pulling you off the team altogether," I told him, knowing it would kill him.

"Mom, no!" he protested. "Basketball is, like, the only thing keeping me sane right now."

"It seems like you can't handle the responsibility," I countered.

"Mom, I swear," his tone was desperate. "It won't happen again. I promise you."

"Make sure it doesn't," I told him sternly. "If you slip up any more, you're done with the team. Don't try me."

"Yes, ma'am," he said quietly. I opened his door and walked out, going out to the living room where Lin was finishing up a phone call. He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead as I went to the fridge for lunch. A few minutes later he finished up his call and sighed.

"Flight okay?" he asked me.

"Fine," I told him, still amped up from talking to Elliott.

"You okay?" he asked, sensing my intensity.

"I can't can't believe Elliott sometimes," I told him, shaking my head as I found ingredients for a sandwich. "He has much better sense than that."

"I know," he agreed. "Joey too. Did you just talk to him?"

"Yes," I said. "I threatened to take him off the team if he fouled up any more."

Lin nodded, his arms crossed. "I was meaning to talk to you," he said. "What do you think about Elliott staying at his dad's for a while?"

I glanced at him, surprised. "As punishment?"

"Well, for both kids," he said. "If they're using their relationship to cheat then maybe they should be apart for a while."

I sighed, thinking. Steven wasn't known for his parenting. If I sent him there as a consequence I don't know how well a grounding would be enforced.

"Steven will let him do what he wants," I told Lin.

"Well, he might not be as strict, but it would keep the kids apart more," he said. "Just an idea. We don't have to."

"Let me think about it," I told him and he nodded. He walked over to me and kissed my temple, then wrapped his arms around me.

"I missed you," he said, his hands resting at my lower back.

"I missed you too," I admitted, smiling a little.

"I'll show you how much later," he promised, kissing my forehead just as the front door opened. Luis and Luz walked in with Alex and Jack in tow. Alex was apparently mid-story, talking about what some kid had done at the park.

"But I told...I told him butterfwies have to sleep sometime," she told Luis.

"Well, they don't exactly sleep," Luis told her. He had a plethora of random knowledge. "But they do rest."

Alex saw Lin and immediately ran to him. He grinned and picked her up, kissing all over her face. She giggled and wriggled in his arms. "Stooooop," she laughed, pushing at his face.

"What's the magic word?" he teased her.

"Pweeeeeaaase!" she laughed.

"Okay," he agreed, pressing one last kiss to her forehead. "Did you have fun with Luis and Luz?"

"Uh-huh," she reported. "They wet me get two scoops of ice cream!"

Lin gave his parents a surprised look and they immediately looked guilty. "That was supposed to be our little secret, mi amor," Luis told her, tickling at her neck. She squirmed and Lin set her down.

"Who's ready for lunch?" I asked everyone. There were affirmative sounds so I got out bread, meat, cheese, and other condiments for people to help themselves. I made Alex a grilled cheese sandwich, her favorite.

"Luz, would you go get the two jailbirds?" I asked her. She smiled and nodded, heading down the hallway to the teenagers' rooms. They all returned a few minutes later and they fixed sandwiches as well. Lin had apparently told his parents what had happened because Luz was lecturing her granddaughter in Spanish. Joey looked sorry, nodding meekly, knowing it wasn't wise to argue with her abuela.

The whole Miranda family slipped into a Spanish conversation so I had no idea what was going on. Luis started talking to Alex in Spanish and I wondered how fast she would pick it up. Lin talked to her in Spanish sometimes and I thought it was adorable how she could switch back and forth. He did it with Joey too just to keep her brain sharp.

After lunch, Luz and Luis said goodbye to everyone, then it was the six of us. The teenagers were pretty much banished to their bedrooms. Lin played with the little kids quietly on the floor while I started some laundry and finished unpacking my suitcase. It was always nice to come home.

It was the second day of the kids' suspensions and they were already getting stir crazy. Even though they couldn't get credit for their work, Lin and I were making them do it all so they didn't miss any content. This did not make them happy and we were getting push back.

"Dad, what's the point?" Joey argued with her father the next morning. "I'm not doing all that work just to get a zero."

"If you don't do the homework you're gonna miss the content and get behind," Lin told her firmly.

"I make straight A's, Dad," she pointed out. "It's not like I'm gonna fall behind."

"You're a smart girl, but you're not spending these days on a vacation," Lin said. "You're doing the work."

She rolled her eyes and Lin gave her a warning look.

"Uggghhh, you suck sometimes, you know that?" she said.

"Love you too," Lin said as she stormed off to her room.

That night, Lin and I laid in bed talking about what to do about Joey and Elliott. All day they'd both had attitudes and argued. They really weren't taking their punishments well. That made me want to reconsider sending Elliott to his father's.

"It's like they're feeding off one another," I said, both of us laying on our sides.

"Total teenage angst," he agreed. "They're insufferable."

I nodded in agreement. They still had one more day of suspension and they were driving us crazy.

"Have you asked Steven?"

"No," I said. "I think I will tomorrow though. You do realize Joey will hate you?"

"She already hates me right now," he said. One of the joys of parenting a teenager.

___

Joey, being the overachiever she was, finished all her work for her 3 day suspension mid-morning. Lin wasn't about to let her lounge around and be lazy so he put her to work doing extra chores. He had her clean out the hallway closet, do laundry and vacuum. She pouted the whole time.

"What's the point of working hard and getting your work done early if I just have to do more work?" she asked her father as she folded a load of whites.

"You're building character," Lin told her and she rolled her eyes some more.

I went to my bedroom to call up Steven later in the day. He was on board for having Elliott for a month or so full-time. Lin came to check on me and I told him I thought we should try it. When the little kids were down for a nap, we called them both to the kitchen table.

"As you know, we're both really disappointed in what you did," I began, sitting across from them with Lin. "This was major. Cheating is a big deal."

"We know Mom," Elliott moaned. "We're sorry."

"Good," I told him. "But Lin, Steven and I decided you need some time apart. So, Elliott, you're going to live with your father for a month."

"What?!" he almost yelled, incredulous. He stood up from his chair.

"Don't wake up the kids," I told him firmly.

"That's ridiculous!" he told me, gesturing wildly. "We did one thing and we've apologized. We've been grounded and suspended from school. Why would you do this?"

"You need time apart," I told him.

"Dad?" Joey looked to her father for help, but he was backing me up.

"I agree," he told them. "Living together is a totally different situation. You need some time apart."

"No we don't!" Joey argued. "You guys are crazy."

"You'll still see each other at school," I reminded them. "And just like any other high school couple you'll go back to your own house."

"And Dad agreed to this?" Elliott asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes," I said. "He's backing us up fully."

Elliott rolled his eyes and began to stalk off. I didn't call after him. We'd given him the news and he just wanted to sulk. Joey, though, had more to say.

"Dad, why are you doing this to us?" she asked him tearfully. "You know I've been helping him with his homework. We leave the door open like you told us. Come on."

"And helping him with homework turned into cheating," he pointed out. "Joey, this isn't forever. It's just a month. You'll be fine."

"Can I go visit him?" she asked hopefully.

"No. You're grounded, remember?" he said.

She sat back in her chair and put her hands over her face. "This isn't fair!"

"I'm coming down hard on you for this," Lin told his daughter. "I do not want it happening again."

Joey sighed heavily and crossed her arms.

"Alright," I said. "Elliott, you'll go this weekend. Until then, you better be on the straight and narrow. Any questions?"

They both glared at the table, arms crossed.

"Great," I said. "Go to your rooms."

After their doors had shut, Lin sighed and kissed my head. "You did good."

I hadn't known I'd needed the encouragement. Lin stood behind my chair and worked at my shoulders a bit with his hands. Just as I was relaxing we heard a cry from down the hallway. Alex.

"I'll go," he whispered to me, then bent down to kiss the top of my head. More and more, I was leaning on Lin, and he was leaning on me. Being in charge of these four kids made it feel like we were partners. We were in this life together.

As I watched him walk down the hall to comfort Alex, I wondered if I'd finally found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.