Whatever happened when the book closed on the ending of Ugly Betty? What if Betty's publishing company with Mr. Dunn became a bigger success? What if Daniel stopped being stupid and settled down once more with Betty? Almost 30 years and two kids later, here they are. Maria Meade, Betty and Daniel's daughter, at the ripe age of 22 is setting out to find her own path alongside her brother Luis. What happens when her path collides with everything from not only her parents past, but her family's past in general?
Notes:
(I apologize in advance to anyone that liked Alexis. She's going to be a big old bitch in this chapter. I can't promise she'll get better in the next chapters. You'll just have to wait and find out. And yes, I did forget about Elena. Wasn't done purpose. See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
AVERAGE MARIA CHAPTER 2
Maria
“Maria, Luis, meet your Aunt Alexis and your cousin Daniel Jr.” Junior? JUNIOR?! That’s what the J in DJ stands for? I thought it was James or something like that! Is there something that dad hasn’t told Luis and I? I turn my head towards dad.
“Jr?” Dad lowers his voice a little.
“I’ll explain it to you two later.” Dad stares ahead at Aunt Alexis.
“Alexis, this is your niece Maria and your nephew Luis. Daniel, these are your cousins.” Daniel’s the only one that’s willing to hug Luis and I besides obviously dad and Grandma.
“Bonjour, Maria et Luis!” And seems to be the only one that’s happy to see and meet us unlike Aunt Alexis. His English is great, though I see that the accent is here to stay.
“Hola…” Daniel moves towards Grandma as Aunt Alexis moves a bit closer to dad. I watch her eyes shift between Luis and I before her eyes go back to dad. Looking at my aunt, it’s really hard to believe that she would have been my uncle if she didn’t transition. I applaud whoever was her surgeon.
“So, the rumors are true.” What rumors is she talking about?
“And what rumors are you talking about, my dear pain in my ass older sister?”
“That you ended up with Betty and became a teacher.” I thought she was at mom and dad’s wedding? Then again, mom did say that she got plastered.
The teacher part, dad only got his teaching degree four years after both Luis, and I were in school full time. Before then, dad had been a substitute teacher from the time he stepped down as Editor-In-Chief of Mode until about a week after my birth. From the time I was about a week old until I was 8, dad was a stay-at-home parent while taking classes in person.
“Alexis, you know that I married Betty. You were at my wedding to her. Grantly, you got drunk and had to be escorted out but, you were there.”
“Remind me again, is Betty your first or second wife?” Dad’s face tenses. Both mom and dad have told us about dad’s first wife, Molly before. Mostly because Luis found pictures of her and dad’s wedding when he was like 3. Apparently, that was a name that mom and dad agreed to not use when they were deciding on what to name me and what to also not use if they had any more kids after Luis.
“You sure damn well know that answer, Alexis.” Did she just smirk at dad? Yikes.
“You’re right, I did know that answer. I just never thought that Betty would have settled for someone like you.” Is she purposely trying to piss dad off?
“Alexis, that’s enough! I would like to get through this photoshoot of my grandkids without their parents ending up in prison! And believe, this family has already made their rounds into the Judicial system enough for a lifetime.” Grandma trying to separate her adult children from killing each other. This is weirdly entertaining, watching my father and aunt interact with each other.
“Mom’s right. I had to request today off for this a month ago anyway.” All I can say from this meeting is that my aunt’s a bitch and my cousin welcomed Luis and me with open arms.
“Good. Now move. Both of you are blocking the camera.” Dad and Aunt Alexis move away from the camera and to wherever Grandma tells them to be at.
“How much longer is this going to take, you old hag?” Aw fuck. Grandma’s least favorite person... Actually, the whole family except for Aunt Alexis’s least favorite person. Is Wilhelmina Beetlejuice? Because I swear, she appears every time her name is mentioned. Grandma turns her head.
“Assuming my children’s bickering doesn’t interfere with this, it shouldn’t take much longer.” Grandma turns back to look at us.
“Alright then. Maria, stand in front of the desk.” I set my purse down and walk over to where Grandma wants me to be.
“Daniel, go on Maria’s left. Luis, go on Maria’s right.” Daniel and Luis go to their spots. Grandma walks over to us and fixes into how she wants us to pose. She fixes Luis’ hair a little, messes up Daniel’s a little, and moves my hair off of my shoulders.
“Perfect.” Grandma turns and walks over to where she made her children go.
“Photographers, you’re on.” And so, begins the photoshoot. Many, many poses. One that involves Daniel holding both Luis and I which he gladly does. Throughout the photoshoot, I notice that one of the janitors is in here. Slowly, he’s made his way to dad and Aunt Alexis. Grandma’s too busy arguing with Wilhelmina to notice. He has a notepad. I wonder why he has a notepad.
“Jim”
It’s impressive how fast gossip passes in this building when you’re one of the janitors here. I’m surprised that no one has caught on to me yet, but I need to focus on the important matters at hand.
“Hello.” Daniel turns to me. I hold out my hand to shake his.
“Name’s Jim. I’m one of the janitors here.” Daniel takes my hand.
“Well, nice to meet you, Jim. This is my older sister, Alexis.” I shake her hand next.
“Hello.” I pull out my notepad and write down their names.
Alexis Meade
Daniel Meade
“So, um, who are those three over there?” Pointing to the two men and one woman over there.
“Oh, those are our kids. The eldest being Alexis’ son, Daniel Junior.”
“It’s actually Daniel Jermaine now.”
“Since when?”
“Since he was 20.”
“He was able to change it?”
“Yea.” Another name to the list.
Alexis Meade
Daniel Jermaine Meade
Daniel Meade
“And the other two?”
“My beautiful daughter Maria Rosa Guadalupe and my handsome son Luis Manuel Alexander.” Very ethnic.
Alexis Meade
Daniel Jermaine Meade
Daniel Meade
Maria Rosa Guadalupe Meade
Luis Manuel Alexander Meade
Surprising that Daniel’s willing to unload all of this information onto someone he doesn’t know, but no one ever said that Daniel was the sharpest tool in the shed.
“So, who are their other parents?” A raised eyebrow.
“Why do you want to know that?”
“Just curious, that’s all.” This time, Alexis answers.
“Daniel’s mother was a French woman named Lucie Chainet.” That explains how he’s French.
Alexis Meade
Lucie Chainet
Daniel Jermaine Meade
Daniel Meade
Maria Rosa Guadalupe Meade
Luis Manuel Alexander Meade
“And your children’s mother?” Daniel actually shows me his wedding ring.
“My beautiful wife of 27 years, Betty Suarez. The same woman who runs her own publishing company in London. She’s currently there, helping out with the layout for their Christmas and Halloween issues. Otherwise, she works from home here in New York.” Seems like Daniel finally did something smart for once in his life.
Alexis Meade
Lucie Chainet
Daniel Jermaine Meade
Daniel Meade
Betty Suarez
Maria Rosa Guadalupe Meade
Luis Manuel Alexander Meade
I put my notepad away.
“Well, I should really be getting back to work. It was lovely to meet you both.” I turn and walk out. I walk to the elevator, get in, and press the button to the first floor. Once the doors open, I walk through crowds of people back to the janitor's room.
I get to the table where I left my bag. I open it and take out my laptop. I place it down, take out my notepad, and lay it down next to it. I sit down and open my laptop. I turn it on and try to remember my password. Only came back to the grid a couple of months ago and I’m still adjusting to it. I finally remembered my password and got in. I open a document tab and split it into three separate tabs. The first tab:
Daniel Jermaine Meade
Parents: Alexis Meade & Lucie Chainet
Siblings: None
I shift over to the second tab:
Maria Rosa Guadalupe Meade
Parents: Daniel Meade & Betty Suarez
Siblings: Luis Manuel Alexander Meade (Brother)
I copy and paste the information into the third tab but correct it for the right person.
Luis Manuel Alexander Meade
Parents: Daniel Meade & Betty Suarez
Siblings: Maria Rosa Guadalupe Meade (Sister)
It’s not much yet, but it’s a start. It’s enough for me to start my research into these people. Specifically, the people that my children had decided to have children with.