Chapter 2-11: Almost Grown

                THAWCK! Vesper hit Uvie with a pillow as hard as she could. Uvie quickly grabbed another to retaliate and defend herself but something caught her eye and she stopped mid-swing.

                 “Uvie, what is it,” Vesper asked.

                “I…I thought I saw someone outside our window.” Upon closer inspection though, no one was there.

                 Carrie went birthday shopping early this year. She knew how important this “coming-of-age” party would be for the twins and, with the leftover money from renovations, she had enough to get some nice presents. 

                  She started with Vesper because she knew exactly what her daughter would want. Some art supplies and a new camera were at the top of the list. 

                  Verne was a little harder to shop for. He hadn’t shown much of an interest in anything. Rather, he just wanted to be inside and close by his family, celebrating their successes alongside them rather than having his own. She might have to think on his gifts a little longer.

                 Rump was getting bigger too. Not quite out of the puppy stage yet but he was getting close. Shane hoped that Uvie would finish housebreaking him before he got any older though. Thank goodness we don’t have carpet! The family would sit around and laugh at the dog, who loved to howl along with the radio. Even though he had been against a dog in the first place, Shane had to admit that breaking down and getting him had been good for the whole family.

                 “Hey Daddy, did you catch anything this morning,” Uvie asked before heading to school that morning.

                “Um…catch anything? Honey, I just woke up,” Shane was rather confused at his daughter’s behavior.

                “You weren’t out catching fairies? They told me in my dreams that if you caught them that I would be taken as hostage until you released their kind.”

                “Honey, that was just a dream,” Shane tried to convince her.

                “No, no daddy. They took me in the forest and explained. I woke up with a flower as a reminder.”

                 Shane shook his head and changed the topic. “One of my friends asked if you would like to do an internship down at the business plaza. It will look good for both your school and any jobs you might be looking into after you finish school.”

                Uvie agreed to head there after school. Of course she wore her fancy dress as she wanted to make a good impression. Regular clothes would just not do!

                 After being informed that she had earned another promotion, Carrie headed out to treat herself to lunch. She put on the dress she had worn when Shane proposed and headed across town. She hadn’t worn the dress since then and was pleasantly surprised that it still fit, even after some years and three children. She even got a rather approving look from another customer. She decided to wear it to Vesper’s ballet recital that Friday as well.

                 Unfortunately, Shane was unable to make the recital due to some work conflicts. The rest of the family came and cheered on their feisty sister. She plied across the stage, pirouetting and leaping like it was the only thing in the world. Sure, she wasn’t quite as technical as the other girls but her exuberance more than made up for that.

                 Without really being ready, Shane and Carrie were about to have three teenagers in the house. The twins birthday had finally arrived, regardless of how their parents felt about it. They decided to do just a small celebration with immediate family. Uncle Tanner was out of town with the team for a game series so the 5 Avendales gathered around the kitchen.

                As always, Vesper was the first to blow out her candles. She knew just what she wanted and so she quickly blew out her candles and waited expectantly for her wish to come true. 

                 She felt tingles down her spine and couldn’t wait to look in the mirror. She felt beautiful and, to her, beauty was an imperative part of her life.

                Next, Verne took to his cake. He was a little more serious and thoughtful. He didn’t know what he wanted or what would make him happy. He knew his parents had high expectations for both him and his sisters and each of them seemed to have found a niche in the world. Maybe, a wish to just figure things out before he was old and gray. “Yeah, that’ll do it” he decided and blew out his candles.

                Carrie and Shane passed out the presents. It had been hard to decide but since Verne had shown no specific interest in anything, they had finally come to the conclusion that a gift card would be the best option. Vesper looked rather excited about the small gift that her parents passed over to her. 

                  When she finally opened the box, she couldn’t believe her eyes and couldn’t wait to start snapping pictures around town!

                The family sat around the new dining room table and talked about everything that had been going on their lives. Shane had finally been promoted to a head surgeon position and his work had been published in some of the best medical journals in SimNation. He looked around the table at his family and felt blessed to have everything that they had. 

                 He had come a long way from an abandoned teenager with no home and a younger sibling to raise.

Chapter 2.10                                                                                                                                      Chapter 2.12

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a side note, I am posting the heir vote now. You can find it here or you can click the tab at the top to take you to the corresponding page. However, I suggest waiting until next chapter as that will focus more on each of the children so you can get to know them a bit better. The poll won't close for a week, so there is plenty of time. :)