Chapter 3.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.5
Generation Three: Red Appearance: Red hair, scandalous clothing style Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Art Lover Aspiration: Serial Romantic Occupation: Art Critic House Goal: 30,000 worth
It was just another morning, working from home and enjoying my solitude. After checking in to work, I decided to go for a swim... only to be rudely interrupted by morning nausea. Now, that wouldn't normally be too bad - I usually have a very strong stomach, so I figured it would pass soon - but this time, things were a bit more worrying. There was a definite pooch to my belly that really shouldn't be there with how much I swim.
Unless... of course... there had been a little accident during one of my nightly romps under the covers. So, I took the day to go into the city, and stopped by a clinic to check for sure. One that wasn't in my hometown and knew my entire family tree.
By the time I left their office, one thing was for sure. I was starting on the next generation way earlier than I had planned. I had NO idea who the father was, either.. so this should be interesting. On "the way" home I met up with a nice older man named Cameron, and we seemed to get along rather well... so I invited him home with me for the evening. At least there wouldn't be any more accidents while I was already pregnant.. right?
While chatting with him by the beach, however.. I noticed a familiar figure at my front door. Dad. Sigh. And the way he was staring at my body in profile, I could tell he already knew. There was no hiding that belly in this swimsuit. Letting loose a huge sigh, I quickly changed clothes, and invited everyone in for some granola.
Dad bemoaned the fact that I didn't have a life partner to share the raising of my "first baby" with. (And my first thought was.. first baby.. you mean only baby??) Cameron quickly excused himself.. and there went my idea of comfort for the night. I got out of the conversation with Dad as quickly as possible, told him to have Mom give me a call when she found out the news from him... because he certainly couldn't be expected to keep a secret from her. And once she knew.. the whole town would know. She would be crowing about her first grandkid from the highest roof.
The next day was Spicefest in the city, and I excused myself from Sulani for the day. Of course, I found a handsome man nearly right away, and he was definitely amenable to my flirting, even though he could clearly see that I was pregnant.
We hung out for most of the day, and I tried the Curry Challenge - but of course I failed. Then, I ordered something that sounded good from the food stall - and that turned out to be spicy, too. Thanking my stars that my stomach could handle everything, and brushing off my new friend's laughter at my predicament... I dug in anyways. I ended up staying the night at his place in the city... avoiding Sulani and the fact that Mom was probably keeping an eye on my front door from some local bushes or something. I'm sure she was more than ready to mother me while I was pregnant, but I was going to have no part of it.
The time passed much quicker than I expected - and I did manage to avoid most of Mom's antics by going into the city a lot "for work" most days - but my "condition" was certainly noticed by everyone in town. Including my dolphin friends, who were unconcerned about me not having a partner, and joyous that I was bringing forth new life. I couldn't stay away from home forever, though, because my scales were always desperate for the saltwater... so I had to bite the bullet and be at home at least a little bit each day.
Then... one morning, after breakfast and my usual swim, I was taking out the trash when the pains hit. Ugh. I was NOT ready for this. In fact, not even my HOUSE was ready for this. I was going to have to figure out what, exactly, I was going to do with a bassinet when I got home from the hospital.
And, yes, it was definitely time for that trip to the hospital. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had the same doctor that Mom had when she gave birth.. only now he was a ghost. Rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth against the pain, I followed the nurse back to the operating room. ... A place I hadn't been to since I was born... and that I certainly didn't remember.
They stuck me into this horrible machine, and proceeded to seemingly rip out half of my insides. I could have sworn I even saw my heart at one point.. but things were a bit hazy from the pain of labor.
By the time they announced my daughter.. DAUGHTER! .. I was exhausted, and more than ready to be done with this whole procedure. They requested a name for the birth certificate.. and I went with the first one I could think of. It was a boy's name.. but I hadn't exactly started planning out names. In deference to her being born a girl... I changed the spelling.. but she was forever going to be Charlie Naiades, now.
We got home from the hospital, and it was a beautiful afternoon. Which, I suppose, was a good thing, because there she was, in her bassinet.. outside the front door because there wasn't much room inside the hut. Oof. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I called the local builders, and they approved an emergency afternoon build just to add a few feet to the dimensions of my house so poor Charlie could go inside. By the time the sun was falling, there was finally enough room for her. But neither of us got much sleep. I had called Mom and Dad to let them know the news, but adamantly refused to have either one come over tonight. I was sure I could handle things just fine. "Just fine" ended up being a long night of feeding, diaper changing, and cuddling, but the sun still came up the next morning.. and Sulani had her next heir.
I let her sleep in, and went out to relieve my itchy scales... glad for the smooth coolness of the water .. because I definitely needed that little "pick me up" this morning. With as close as my hut was to the beach, I was definitely in range to hear her cries should she wake up, so I enjoyed my time cavorting in the waves.
Nothing lasts forever, though, so she did wake up... and my computer was the cause. I was going to have to turn off the sounds from incoming mail while Charlie was tiny, apparently. Work was calling. But being a Mom now came first. I took care to get Charlie back to bed and rock her back into a blissful (although probably short) sleep, and logged into work on a now-quiet computer. Life goes on.. and I had work to do.
Author's Note: Yeah. Risky Woohoo strikes again. I swear, I don't have the percentage up very high, either! I was as surprised as Kali when the pregnancy notice popped up.. and for reference, the Dad is Rua. And he wants NOTHING to do with Kali anymore after seeing her with someone else. 0.o Oops. I guess she really is on her own now! On another front, Charley was the first name the game suggested, so I took it. ... And while Kali was pregnant.. so was half the rest of the world. (See below for proof.) .. Hehe.
Chapter 3.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.5
