Chapter 6-6: Whatcha Say

                After Miles left, Flynn became cranky and ill-tempered. He was too young to understand that daddy had a job that meant he couldn't be there all the time. All he knew was that Daddy wasn’t there. Grandpa tried to take over the role of Miles though, making sure to spend time with Flynn at night and give him lots of kisses.

                The attention Flynn got from his grandpa helped sometimes. Grandpa loved him. Mommy loved him. So why didn't Daddy love him? The longer Miles was gone, the more infrequent the temper tantrums became.

                Renata couldn't believe that her little girl was already going to be a toddler. Life was flying by so quickly now that Gemma was born. She sat with her baby girl in the rocking chair upstairs, hoping that Gemma would still want to be rocked and cuddled as much as she did now once she grew up a little.

                With a cake and balloons set out to mark the occasion, Renata blew the candles out with her baby. They had decided to just throw a small get together for the household.

                Gemma was a good blend of her parents, with her father’s red hair and her mother’s green eyes. Now that she was old enough to crawl around on her own, Gemma would be able to play with her cousin. She didn't look too sure about it though.

                The morning had been rainy but the rain had evaporated as afternoon crept upon them and Flynn loved playing outside when it had rained. He loved splashing in the puddles and rubbing the fallen leaves together and hearing the sound they made. Gemma didn't like rain or wet very much so she and Renata had stayed indoors, coloring. As small rays of visible sun started to disappear completely, Evangeline scooped up her son and carried him upstairs for a bath and his bed time story. As her phone rang, she set her wet, wriggling son down so she could answer without dropping him. It was Miles.   

                “Hey you! You’re just in time to say goodnight to Flynn.”

                “You’re home? Early?” He had just gotten in from a long bus ride with his team mates. “Of course we’ll come over.”

                “Flynn, do you want to go see daddy?”

                As fast as his chubby toddler legs could carry him, he ran out of the nursery. “Dadda! Mama, go?” She laughed and scooped him back up. 

                She decided to take the stroller and walk there. She should have realized that, regardless of the walk time, Flynn would want to see his daddy as soon as possible. It didn't take long before he was showing signs of a temper tantrum so she hailed a cab and stuffed the stroller in the trunk. Donovan had warned her that giving in to Flynn’s tantrums was almost a guarantee that he would keep having them but she was just excited about seeing Miles as Flynn was so she told herself she’d be strong next time.

                “Hey little guy. You’re getting so big!” Evangeline sat on the couch and watched Miles play with their son. Even though he was travelling a lot of the time, when he was around, he was a great father.

                “I know you've missed each other but we should really get home and let him get some sleep. He’ll be extra cranky tomorrow otherwise." She sighed, getting off the couch to get their things and head home.

                “Well, I was hoping you guys could spend the night.” She watched Miles go to the small closet and pull out a travel crib. “I got this before I left but we haven’t had the opportunity to use it yet. We can set it up down here and we’ll still hear him in the loft.”

                They got Miles changed and ready for bed and she let Miles tuck him in while she went upstairs to wait for him. When he climbed the stairs a few minutes later, she threw herself into his arms.

                “You’re a wonderful dad, do you know that?”

                “I try. I wish this place was big enough for you guys to stay here all the time.”

                “I know. It’s okay though. My dad needs us at home and with you gone all the time and Emerson doing his own thing, Renata and I really rely on each other too.”

                “This works for you?”

                “Surprisingly, yeah. I’m happy. I love you and I love Flynn.”

                “And I love you both.”

                They climbed into bed and he wrapped his arms around her. Even though he was exhausted from traveling and spending hours training, he wasn't ready to fall asleep. He was content to sit and hold her.

                “Have you ever thought about us having more kids,” he asked, after laying in silence for a while.

                “You want more kids?”

                “Well, yeah. I always wanted siblings growing up. I want Flynn to have a brother or a sister.” She smiled deviously at him. “What?”

                “We could always stop trying not to have kids.” He frowned at her and she smirked at the confusion on his face. Suddenly, realization hit him and she gasped with a laugh as he pulled her to him, throwing the cover over them.

                The next morning, she gathered Flynn up and put the travel crib back in the closet. Miles pulled her in for one last kiss and then she and Flynn were off back home.

                Gemma was much more inquisitive than her cousin. When Renata read her books, Gemma sat and scrunched up her nose, trying to take in every bit of information she could. It seemed that the first word she had learned was why and constantly asked about things.

               

                “Why don’t we go for a walk today? You haven’t seen daddy in a while so let’s go over there before he has to go to work.” Gemma squealed and laughed, agreeing in her own way.

                It was a beautiful day, with just a hint of coolness in the air that indicated winter was just around the corner. Bundled in her coat and strapped into the stroller, Gemma hung as far out as she could, pointing at all the things she could see on the walk to her daddy’s house.

                “Dog!”

                “Berd!”

                “Weef”

                “Twee!”

                When they finally arrived at Emerson’s apartment, Renata was disgusted by the state they found it in. She didn't even want to put Gemma down but the little girl squirmed until her mother gave in.

                “Emerson, this place is disgusting.”

                “Wanna clean it for me?”

                “I’m serious! How can you live with mounds of dirty clothes on the floor. Even the poor dog has fleas, I can see them jumping on her from here.”

                “I don’t come to your house and tell you how to take care of it.”

                “No and you wouldn’t have to either. You need to get your sh…stuff together. I don’t want Gemma in this mess of a place.”

                “I’m busting my ass here,” he ignored the look from Renata as she reminded him of ‘little ears’, “trying to get my name out there. I make crap money and, only with the help of Kieran, can I afford to live on my own.”

                “You chose to move out!”

                “That doesn’t make it any easier. I’m trying my best here.”

                “Your best is this,” she gestured to the dirty room. A scowl darkened his face and she realized how what she said would have sounded to him. “Wait, I’m sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just want Gemma to be able to visit without worrying about flea bites or anything else.”

                “Oh look! I used to watch that show when I was a kid.” Evangeline couldn't believe that the same cartoons she used to watch were still on TV. Donovan thought back to then, when he and Camille were still coping with raising twins and trying to find their way to each other. It had been a long road and, at one point, he had wondered if her stubbornness would ever relent enough to let her love him but it did. He’d not change any of the choices he’d made.

                “Moo!”

                “Cow moo! Baabaa sheep. Rabby no sown!”

                “Moo!”

                “No sown, no sown!” Flynn doesn't like his cousin pretending her rabbit is a cow. He knows that’s not the noise a rabbit makes. Why won’t she listen?

                When she and Miles had stopped using any form of contraception, Evangeline hadn't expected that she would get pregnant right away. She was surprised when she began experiencing morning sickness and other pregnancy symptoms but a home test confirmed that she was indeed pregnant.

                Even though he was retired, Donovan still looked over articles freelance for the newspaper and edited them, sometimes contributing to a small discussion column on the state of affairs in St. Claire. He was going through the latest news when the computer fizzled and started smoking. The laptop was years old and he should have upgraded it ages ago. All of a sudden, he felt a strange sensation.

                Renata was in the living room, playing with the kids while Evangeline made lunch when they heard the thump in the study. Both rushed in and stared at the floor. Donovan couldn't figure out what they were looking at until he too glanced down at his body. “Oh. That’s why they rushed in.” He saw the Grim Reaper arrive. Funny, he didn't remember seeing him when Camille passed away. “Maybe he’s only visible to those of us going with him.”

                Renata stared at her best friend, overcome with grief. The pregnancy hormones weren’t helping. Come to think of it, she had been pregnant when Camille had died too. She looked at her, trying to decide what to say and then decided to leave her in her grief and went to call the funeral home instead.

                Together even in death.

                After the death of his father, Emerson became a more regular visitor at his old home. Donovan’s kids had meant the world to him and Emerson didn't want to miss the chance to have a similar relationship with his own daughter.

                During one such visit, Renata, who usually busied herself with housework or other busy work found herself being approached by Emerson.

                “Renata, I’ve been an ass.” The corner of her mouth turned as she tried to hide a smile of agreement. “I want to give us a try, a real one.”

                “I don’t know Emerson. You hurt me.”

                Unbidden, Donovan’s last words of advice popped into her head. You’re just as guilty as he is of how your relationship stands. Emerson saw the hesitation and took both her hands in his, hoping to convey his sincerity.

                “I know I did. I’d like to make it up to you. Maybe we could go on a real date, be an exclusive couple and see where it goes.”

                “Let’s take it slow. A date is a good place to start.”

                Evangeline, off to work, wasn't very thrilled about the chance that Emerson and Renata were taking. She loved her brother and she loved her best friend but they’d proven, on more than one occasion, that they couldn't make it work. With two children in the household and a third on the way, the fallout, should the relationship take a wrong turn, might cause an irrevocable rift between the adults that would affect the children even more.

                “Miles, where are you guys?”

                “Last stop and the last game of the trip. I’ll be home Friday night.”

                “I’m due the middle of the next week! You sure you guys won’t be delayed.”

                “I promise baby. I’ll be there.”

                “Your brother or sister will be along very soon. Are you ready to be the big brother?”

                Flynn listened to his mommy’s tummy, feeling the baby move around in there. “Brudder,” he smiled up at her.

                The next night, Evangeline awoke with labor pains. She was only about a week early, nothing to be concerned about. She briefly wondered if they were false labor pains until the next wave washed over her. She breathed through the pain and swiftly got dressed, making her way out to the car. She knew she shouldn't drive while in labor but Renata was the only adult in the house with two toddlers and it was after midnight. No need to wake them up to all traipse to the hospital so she drove herself.

                As she entered the hospital, she wished that Miles could be there. He’d promised. Then she remembered that he’d promised to be there for her due date. It wasn't his fault his child had decided to come early. She would sure have a surprise for him when he got back.

Chapter 6.5                                                                                                                                                     Chapter 6.7

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Last roll revealed! Number of children for this generation is three so this will be the last birth for this generation. It made me really sad to realize that Donovan was the last member of Generation 5 still kicking around my neighborhood and now he is gone too.

This chapter should have been out a week ago but I was experiencing some super long load times and bad lag so I finally went ahead and cleaned up my files, got rid of some stuff, and then merged my CC. I went from having 4.35GB and 4,216 files to having 3.52GB and 393 files, mostly by combining with S3PE. My load time went from 15-20 minutes to 3 so I am quite pleased. I've not got my poses in my folder anymore so I'm going to have to try to be better about knowing what I want to shoot and then putting them in. My Poses folder is ridiculously unorganized though and I don't like the idea of needing to go through it. So it's being put off for the moment.

A small "outtake" if you will. Camille does this, usually every full moon. She comes out of her urn and then sits in the nursery until she has to go back in the urn. She doesn't wander the house, doesn't play with things, just sits and watches the babies for her time back in world of the living. It makes me super sad.