2.45 – So Much Can Change

Thomas’s PoV

That first year was pretty hellish, if I’m being honest. Darlene got maternity leave, which was great! But we had bills. Loads added on with four babies to feed and hospital debt to repay. And there was still everything else as well. Dirty diapers. Missed bottles. Cries in the middle of the night. Sometimes it felt like I didn’t sleep for days on end. Actually, that probably isn’t too far from the truth.

My siblings were terrific troopers. Just like every other misadventure life had thrown our way, they pulled together. Chloe never missed a bottle in the mornings, right before running to work. Lucy and Medea took over every afternoon. Lucy loved cuddling the kids.

She often said how she couldn’t wait to have one of her own. Not exactly what I wanted to hear from my baby sister, but I’m glad she saw the quadruplets as a blessing rather than another chore.

Even Medea loved those babies! Despite how she might’ve declared otherwise. I think her main gripe was that there were four of them…instead of one or two.

Donovan made formula every night before he left for work, and tended to early morning cries so the rest of us could sleep until it was actually light out.

Shaye, once again, was the biggest help. Her only other time sink was Lucky and her garden. Every other moment was spent with the quadruplets.

Darlene got a bit softer and misty-eyed around the kids. I can’t say much though. Every time I held one of them, it felt like a little bit of a miracle made real just for me. I don’t know what I did to deserve these bundles of joy.

Or, for that matter, such a sexy wife.

But, somehow, we made it. New year’s day rolled around, and with it the quadruplet’s first birthday. It was a big milestone, not just for them, but for all of us. We’d made it! We took everyone down to Central Park just to celebrate.

Little Suzy. She’s taken a liking to any and all music I played. It’s soothed her to sleep many a night. Sometimes she tries to hum along. It’s amazingly adorable.

Jackie. Lucy swears up and down that he’s got an eye for color. I think it’s just that he likes all the green from outdoors. But I’ve been wrong before.

My fierce Bunny. It’s a pet name for Bernadette, which is a bit of a mouthful for such a small kid. She’s actually one of the strongest and most impatient babies I’ve ever seen. Forever yanking bottles away and grabbing earrings.

And Judas. He’s a bit more patient than the others, which’ll come in handy since he’s the youngest. He’s always watching everything with those big brown eyes. He reminds me a bit of Chloe, actually.

When they were still infants, I was forever mixing up everyone. Except Judas. He’s so much paler than his sisters and brother that he’s easy to pick out in the bundle of kids. Even so, Darlene and I decided right off the bat that we’ll be dressing everyone different.

Lucky’s reaction to the quadruplets was adorable. He’d scram when they were crying, but whenever they were quiet he’d come in and sniff and try to figure out what was up. Now though, he could actually interact with them. He sniffed and let Bunny grab his fur. Shaye and I watched over, but Lucky seemed really patient with everything.

After the party was what I’d been dreading. Medea was moving out to live with her boyfriend. He’d just graduated from med school and gotten an intern position at the Sacred Spleen Hospital in town. She’d been waiting until the quadruplets were older though. Always dependable Medea.

And Lucy…she’d been engaged for almost a year now. I’d screened Glen of course. Medea could take care of herself, emotionally and physically. Lucy though…I worried about her. But Glen turned out to be a good guy. It didn’t hurt that he was in the military, so I didn’t need to send Chloe out to dig up a background check.

We hosted the wedding at home on a clear spring evening. A very small affair, nothing like the family fiasco Darlene and I went through. But the bride was gorgeous. She’d made the dress herself.

I gave Lucy away, in place of Dad.

Not long after Lucy’s wedding, Donovan got that promotion he’d been hoping for.

With several service awards from the mayor and a nice bonus in his pocket, he too set out to live on his own.

It was hard, watching all my younger siblings move away and start lives of their own. God! What’ll it be like when the quadruples get older?!

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Medea’s Accomplishments:

Lucy’s Accomplishments:

Donovan’s Accomplishments:

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Every time a family member moves out or dies, I’ll include some pictures of their Accomplishment Wall, where all their awards and certificates are hung, as well as a photo of them and their significant other, if applicable.

The relic collections above are ALL complete.  Donovan explored every single tomb, finding every single sigil, and found many relics of other collections.  Shaye helped him complete the other collections by excavating dig sites.  The only thing we seem to be missing is a Cursed Sarcophagus.  All in all, I’m quite proud of the Mayfield Museum.

And in case anyone’s curious, Glen Steel is the son of Zelda Mae and Hank Goddard, not Christopher Steel.  He looks quite a lot like his mother, though.  Glen and Humberto have both been added to the downloads page.

Thanks for reading!  ^_^