Gen 1 - Chapter Sixteen: Fulfilled

I had become a homebody. I was so glad to be home, even though I had enjoyed myself in China. But even though home was wonderful, it still didn't feel complete. I waited a day before doing it, but as soon as morning came, I grabbed out my cell and called the adoption agency and made plans to adopt another child.



Only a few hours later, I heard a knock on the door and I hurried to the living room to answer it. Before I could though, because it was unlocked, my new adorable new blond son rushed in, and hurried over to me, hugging me. "Are you my new Mommy?!" he asked excitedly, and I was practically beaming.
"Yes, I am. And what's your name, honey?"
"I'm Anthony! People call me Tony though."
"It's wonderful to meet you, Tony! I can't wait to get to know you better. Like you noticed, I'm your new Mommy, and my name is Sean. Your new Daddy is Jett, but he's at work right now. Two of your big sisters are here, Deirdre and Naomi, and your little brother is here too. His name is Feliks. Your other sister and brother are at school currently, they are Lyric and Rhett.." the next little while was spent showing my new little boy around his new home, and showing his room - an upstairs that we had added while we were gone in China and Feliks was with Estiu. Yes.. I did leave him with her. I trusted her far, far more than any of the babysitters that got sent to our house. Though it was pretty weird that she hadn't aged at all since she gave me this 'gift'..


After I'd shown him around the house, Anthony decided he needed a new wardrobe, so we bought him some new clothes. I think he's a dashing young man, with a great personality. He loved anything athletic, was good with computers, and loves music. Almost any girl's dream guy, and he wasn't even old enough to think about girls yet.



Speaking of girls, my two eldest were working hard at becoming good future mother material. Naomi decided to help with potty training Feliks, since he was going to be having a birthday soon and we didn't want him still in diapers when he started going to school. Dee, still obsessed with cooking, had been practicing her cooking skills. Though, I don't know how much making a salad can count as cooking..






When Jett, Lyric, and Rhett got home from school, it was time for a family-only birthday party. Dee and Naomi planned to move out as soon as everyone had aged up, so we wanted to wait a little while, but we knew it was inevitable, so, it was best to get it over with. Like a band-aid, just rip it off and get it done. We all piled into our tiny kitchen. Jett went first, next was Rhett, and finally was little Feliks, who was going to be the last toddler in the house. I didn't want that.. my last toddler? I wanted another toddler. It was ridiculous of me, I know, but I still wanted another..


Rhett.. ah, my little boy. He wasn't so little anymore. In fact, he was practically a man. Unlike his sisters, he looked more like a mix between me and Buster than specifically one of us.. but he still reminded me so much of Buster that, when I saw him, I had to have a moment to recompose myself.


Feliks looked quite a bit like his brother, Anthony, and I had to wonder if they were actually blood-related too. If their coloring was closer, I would really think they were. Poor Feliks had problems with his sight, like Lyric and myself, and so he decided to stick with a "nerdy" look. I, personally, think he looks adorable.



It turns out.. it really was a good thing that we'd decided to have the party when everyone got home. Dee and Naomi already had it all set up to move, that night. As soon as everyone had aged up, Dee called the man who was helping them move in, to find out if their apartment was ready, and it was. It broke my heart that they were planning to move out so soon, but they did need to have their own lives. I knew that. I did. But it had always been hard for me, when my children grew up..
It also seemed to be difficult for Naomi to accept that they were really leaving home. "Dee.. can't we stay one more night?" she asked as I was leaving the kitchen, and I stood just outside the door for a moment, listening to hear if they were going to possibly stay a little longer. I'm clingy, what can I say?
"Nao, you know we can't," I heard Dee say, and I peered back in, seeing her gently grab her sister's arm, as Naomi watched Jett, Rhett, Lyric, and Feliks eat their cake (Tony was somewhere else, I'm unsure where) sadly. "We set this up yesterday. We're all packed, all of our stuff is at the new apartment! If we don't go now, our landlord may not believe we really want it and give it to that newlywed couple."
Naomi sighed, and nodded her head. "You're right, and I do wanna be independent." With that, they both said all their goodbyes, and I blubbered as I gave them goodbye hugs, then walk out the door.




Time passes faster than it should, and after a while, we were all used to the idea of Dee and Naomi not living in the house. They hadn't visited us yet, so we all missed them, but at least we knew they were happy, because they called sometimes.
But then, something distracting came - I'd been in my band since before I was a mother, but nothing had ever happened with it. But now, finally, something had; we got a gig. Jett was the one that actually got the call, but I don't mind, he's better at the business stuff than I am. Our gig was at Waylon's Haunt, and we were supposed to play for two hours. It was a weekday, so Jett had to take time off work, but we certainly didn't mind! We ended up making more money from our little gig than he did from a day's work. Not to mention, it was much more fun. I barely got out anymore, since we'd gotten back from China. I was too busy being a stay at home Mom/photographer.




After the gig was over, Jett decided to stay around Waylon's Haunt and have a drink or two, and some onion rings. I would have stayed with him and had some fun with my husband, but I realized suddenly that I'd forgotten to take the picture of the Dragon Cave to the woman who'd asked me for it. I called her up, and asked where she was, then headed over to Eugi's. She was currently the bartender there.
When I got there, I approached her and gave her the photo, and she thanked me, then looked like she wanted to ask me something. "Um.. can I get a cell phone photo of you? To show to my friends, you know."
What kind of a question was that? I found it strange, since she seemed to be about my age and that sounded like a teenager sort of question, but I nodded. "Sure." Then I got in my typical pose, and got my picture taken. It felt weird. That hadn't happened in ages.. it felt good, actually. I felt young again! I almost wanted to be, actually. To be young again, and stay that way. I would get more time with my family, that way! And maybe I could actually fully learn my musical skills, like used to be my life goal.



Somehow, I got myself stuck in a weird sleep pattern. During the day, while everyone was at school or work, I slept. During the night, while everyone was asleep, I was awake. When had that started? Probably when Feliks was a toddler, but I didn't quite know. Whatever the reason though, it got rather boring, and I had to think of things to occupy my time with. For some weird reason, I never thought of playing on my instruments. I think it has something to do with senility.. I'd like to think I just forgot though. I don't wanna be senile! But, anyway, instead of that, I worked on cleaning the house up and working out, see if it could help me last long enough to see my first grandbaby.


Often times, while I was working out was when everyone would wake up and go to do their homework or get breakfast. They'd wish me a groggy good morning, then sit at the kitchen table. One morning, I heard a funny conversation between Feliks and Tony.
"Hey Feliks.." Tony started, as he stared blankly at his homework.
"What?" Feliks asked tiredly, scooting in to the table with his salad in front of him. Why does that boy insist on eating salad for breakfast? I hope kids weren't making fun of him in school for being chubby..
"Is Mom a vampire?" I nearly stopped in my working out and broke into giggles, but I kept myself from doing so.
Feliks looked at him, then blinked. "Why do you ask that? She's old, and I don't think vampires get gray hair.." Jee thank you, Feliks. Even though I sometimes refuse to admit it, I guess I am old..
"I ask because she sleeps during the day, and does stuff at night. That's not human behavior!"
"It's not necessarily vampire beha.. bu... be-hive-or, either! They sometimes hafta go into the sun, to go to work and stuff."
"How do you know?"
"I met one once!"
"Pffff, you couldn't have, you're only eight! I'm much more likely to have met one, I'm almost a teenager."
And the conversation continued like that for the rest of the time they were at the table.


I forgot to mention a conversation that Lyric and I had had a while back.. shortly after we got back from our trip to China. She seemed to have noticed that everything she ever wanted happened eventually, if not always in the way she wanted it to, and mentioned it to me one day. I then told her about Estiu Calent, and everything about our wish-granting abilities, and how, years after the fact, Estiu had finally told me that one child out of each generation would have the ability much stronger than the others. It seemed that she was the one, because she was the only one who'd noticed it.
That meant she was the second generation 'heiress', as Estiu had put it. It took Lyric a bit to understand what I meant, but I gave her Estiu's number. I don't know exactly what happened, but the next time I saw Lyr, she believed me. Ever since, she'd taken her 'heiress' duties very seriously, and started acting like a second Mom to everyone, cleaning up their dishes and everything. Even when the pile of dishes was as long as her forearm.





Rhett.. didn't talk to me much. It was disheartening, but he didn't talk to many in the family. Though, it seemed that he'd gotten over his avoiding kids his own age thing, judging by how often I found him talking on the phone. One time, I just stood there watching him, though just out of hearing range. I didn't want to eavesdrop. Stalker-stare? Now that was a whole other thing. Lyric came up beside me, and chuckled. "He's talking to a blonde, super-popular senior girl, named Mildred Nair. He's become obsessed with girls, Mom. He's a romantic." she said, before turning and leaving. I knew he'd be a charmer one day. I beamed, before turning and leaving, heading to our newly-appointed 'art room'. It was Rhett's room, but since Dee and Naomi moved out, Lyric and he moved into their old room, since it was bigger. We had also turned Lyric's old room into a 'library'. So far, none of us had actually used it to sit around and read yet.
So.. I got a confession. I really had taken to stalking my oldest boy a little bit. He and I used to be so close, but since he hit puberty, he didn't seem to have time for his old Mom anymore, so I had to watch him from afar. And long for the times when he begged me to play catch with him. I also paid attention to Anthony, when he wanted me to watch him work out. I wasn't neglecting any of my kids, don't worry, I was just obsessing over the one that reminded me of my first love. It made me happy to see that he was doing his homework, not just flirting with girls from school, though.



Poor Lyric, despite how much she wished to understand it better, she just seemed to always need help with her homework, even from her younger brother. That part seemed to embarrass her pretty badly, and so of course, he teased her about it for a week. Not at school, just at home, though.


The family agent called, one day. I had a chance to cameo in an up-coming play, and so I actually had to be awake during the day. My first appearance out in the city in the day-time in days, and of course, as soon as I got to the theater the paparazzi went nuts. I just stood there blankly for a few moments, before heading inside. The cameo was alright, but what made it great was the fact that I got a whole $10k out of it! And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this money. There'd been something I had been wanting, that Jett also mentioned he really wanted..


.. a hot tub! I was so excited to get to use it!



It seemed that Lyric was just as excited as Jett and I were, but she only got to use it for a little bit before her carpool came. Her teacher had given all of their students an assignment to get a part-time job, and she'd decided on working at the cemetery. Why? Probably because it fit her 'style'. After she left, Jett and I decided to take advantage of the kids all being either asleep, or at work, and cuddled in the hot tub. No, no woohoo. We felt more like keeping it simple, and sweet. Like our romance.




Tony's birthday came up sooner than I would have liked. We celebrated it the morning after we got the hot tub. We would have waited later in the day, since it was a Saturday, but we all had plans for later in the day, including Tony himself (though they mostly consisted of painting). It was a small gathering, as usual, and we didn't invite anyone over. He didn't seem to mind.
I had two young adults, three teenagers, a child, and I felt fulfilled. Even if I didn't feel like the best mother ever, they still loved me. And I adored them all. I still couldn't completely relax, but I could much more so now. My life wasn't perfect, but it sure was close.
I don't think I have much else I need to say. I've gotten most of my thoughts on life out.. I will pass off the torch to my 'heiress', Lyric, to carry on the telling of the Parodi family legacy.

(A/N: The end of generation one! As soon as Rhett became a teenager, I almost wished he'd been voted heir, because I gave him 'hopeless romantic' as his last trait, and he became OBSESSED with romance. His first want the second day he was a teenager was to have his first kiss. Then his first romance. Then to kiss someone. He is seriously obsessed. Tony's new trait is 'hot-headed', and Feliks' traits altogether - since I don't remember if I mentioned the first two - are clumsy, light-sleeper, and friendly. Oh, and I totally forgot to mention, from the previous chapter! When I had the confrontation between Dee and Jett, it was kind of funny. I had been completely focusing on Naomi, then decided to check on everyone else. Dee had Jett's relationship was in the red, and I figured since Jett is a complete sweetheart and Dee is hot-headed, it had to be her fault. Then over the course of the next several days, they did EVERYTHING together and became best friends. It was weird, but cool. XD So anyway, next chapter is the first chapter of Generation 2! And the officially official end of Generation 1...)