(Athena's POV)
Athena King is no great scholar, but with her family's encouragement she's got her first ever A+ on her report card. She crows about it for days!
Noriko did miss Nathaniel, but he called home frequently and her mind was wrapped up in looking after her new little girls. Liliana was getting bigger day by day, and Miranda had just started school.
Soon Liliana had reached that age where she was no longer just a cuddly little baby and could toddle around and cause trouble. And that she did - she was extremely excitable and demanded hugs and general companionship all the time. Miranda was not convinced. She was an introverted soul; a little sister who would get into all her things was not on her wish-list!
Still, somehow she couldn't resist her baby sister's cute little face. Despite Miranda's initial protests they grew very close and she even let Liliana play with her dollhouse!
Miranda had met Maya Darwin at school and despite her usual shyness she was keen to make a friend that wasn't her parents or her baby sister. Thankfully Maya was on much the same wavelength as her, although Miranda made a slight faux pas in going on about how great new additions to the family were. But how was she supposed to know what was going on with the Darwins?
Adrian had a blow to his self-esteem when he made a bad decision at work and was demoted. How was he supposed to pay into the girls' college funds now?!
In a blink of an eye, Liliana had started school too. She was very different from her big sister - they were both kind and playful, but Liliana was messier and MUCH more outgoing, preferring finger-painting and running around with her friends to those musty old books and silly animals...
Little Miranda King was growing bigger by the day - now she was a toddler and into everything. Noriko didn't mind; in fact, she rather wanted another baby...
Of course, one of the reasons that having a toddler around the house and maybe getting pregnant again was appealing to her could have been the fact her first child, Nathaniel, was old enough to fly the nest. She kept back her tears as she waved him off.
Adrian tried to be as excited about looking after Miranda as Noriko, but he found it difficult. Of course he loved his little girl and of course he did his part in keeping her clean and safe and teaching her basic life skills, but it was hard to play with a kid who kept throwing up on him.
Still, when Noriko announced that they should have another baby he jumped at the chance. He did love his wife and children, he just wasn't a warm-and-fuzzy person.
Soon Noriko was feeling the pangs of morning sickness and the test confirmed she was pregnant again. Her fertility had gone up drastically since moving to Serenity Hills!
Her baby bump steadily grew larger and larger but she didn't let it get in the way of looking after Miranda.
Noriko went into labour while watching her favourite cookery show. Unfortunately Adrian was at work so she had to call the cab to the hospital on her own and get hold of him from there, but he rushed over as soon as it was appropriate.
Their third child was another girl, Liliana. It was too early to tell precisely which one of them she most looked like but so far she looked a lot like Noriko with her pale skin and dark hair, and Noriko was delighted.
Miranda started school shortly after Liliana's birth. She was a quiet, introverted little girl. Other children might have spent their time after school and homework were done playing with friends but she preferred sitting in her bedroom and daydreaming.
She also loved books. Her parents gave her a bookcase of her own and a little armchair to read in and she spent hours at a time escaping into literature. She preferred non-fiction to stories, though, especially books about nature. Maybe she could be an explorer when she grew up!
"Pregnancy suits you," said Adrian cheerfully. "You've got a glow about you."
His brother Duncan's romantic escapades were going a little better. Alima had really come round to the idea now her kids had expressed their approval, and they celebrated by heading off to Sim City and hitting the clubs downtown.
After a soak in the hot-tub (what kind of a club has a hot-tub, anyway?) Duncan mustered up the courage to do something he'd wanted to do for a long time. He grabbed his jeans, rooted around in the pockets, and produced a diamond engagement ring.
She hugged him tightly. "I love you, Duncan. I know I've not been as warm as I could have been, but - "
Noriko was nearing the end of her pregnancy but her appetite hadn't diminished one bit. Even when she wasn't "eating for two" she LOVED food - it was her second great passion in life after raising children. It was a wonder she kept her slim figure, but she was apparently blessed with a fast metabolism.
True to form, Noriko gave birth just as she was preparing lunch (still in her pyjamas). Adrian was at work and Nathaniel was at school, so it was up to Duncan to rush her to the hospital.
Noriko gave birth to a healthy baby girl she and Adrian named Miranda. Miranda took after her parents equally in looks so far and was an easy and pleasant child to look after.
Nathaniel was excited to have a baby sister and helped out whenever he could. It was a shame he'd be heading off to college soon and missing out on Miranda's early years.
Duncan made time to help out too. Looking at his newborn niece made him realise how much he wanted kids of his own, but considering how skittish Alima had been about the proposal he was worried it wouldn't be any time soon...
"So what's all this talk about you and Alima Bhalli?" Nathaniel asked his uncle. "Do you like her?"
It hadn't taken long for Noriko to conceive at all - apparently the fresh air of the suburbs worked wonders! She brushed up on all the latest ideas in parenting... she'd done it all before, of course, but that had been a long time ago.
Duncan may have been keeping his relationship with Alima quiet but it seemed to be working out really well. They'd rocked the nearby karaoke joint like pros - she shared his all-consuming love of music and they were both naturals! Or they were too smitten with each other to notice that they sounded more like cats in heat than pop-stars. Either way...
"Thanks for taking me out," said Alima, giving him a goodbye hug that was considerably less platonic than he'd feared. "It's great to finally be getting out of the house and having fun again!"
Nathaniel was doing well at school - of course, with his drive and academic dedication it would have been more of a surprise if he wasn't getting top grades. Of course, Noriko pressuring him probably had something to do with it... but getting her children (both already present and merely prospective) into college was extremely important to her. A life ambition, in fact.
It wasn't all hard work though. Nathaniel had befriended Jace Bhalli and met his sister Petal. They were his uncle's romantic interest's kids, which made things a little awkward, but they had similar goals and interests. Nathanial couldn't help notice that Petal was beautiful... intelligent, too. Wow.
Unfortunately his skills with girls didn't quite match up to his skills in the classroom or on the soccer pitch, and he managed to gross Petal out more than impress her.
Noriko's due-date was getting closer and closer, and she'd progressed from reading pregnancy books to obsessively joining parenting forums on the web. Adrian had jumped straight into the workplace, earning money so they could afford to build a little nursery, and even Duncan was chipping in with a job in dance, so she didn't mind that she was alone a lot of the time.
Of course, not all of Duncan's wages went to preparing the house for his newest niece or nephew. He'd put a bit aside so he could take Alima out on a really great date to the fanciest restaurant in the area. She seemed very impressed.
The meal went perfectly. In fact, everything between them was going well, and even though they'd only been dating a few months Duncan was pretty sure he was in love. He'd been taking things slow, sticking to kissing her on the hand or polite romantic kisses, but he decided to move a little quicker. Hey, making out in a restaurant after a romantic date wasn't TOO weird, right?
Unfortunately for him, Alima did NOT agree.
Thankfully by the time the cab arrived Alima had calmed down. "I'm so sorry... I don't know what came over me. It's just been so long and things are moving so fast... I've got the kids to think about. I don't want to let a guy into my life unless he can make friends with them and they approve of him."
Duncan King didn't want to move out to the sticks, but his wife Noriko wanted somewhere peaceful where she could become pregnant and fulfill her dream of having at least three intelligent, successful children, and he had to comply. Their teenage son Nathaniel seems like a pleasant enough boy, mostly concerned with sports, school and college applications, but who knows what could happen... and worst of all, in Adrian's opinion, is the fact his pleasure-seeking little brother Duncan has come along for the ride. But maybe he can change now he's away from the big city. Adrian would settle for him moving out.
