Baby 81: Part 2 of 2 - Loss and Love

ISABELLA'S POINT OF VIEW

Liam and I set out on our adventure as soon as I'm ready.  I was tempted to waste more time but had I done that, Liam would have had a cow.  He is as excited as a jittery chipmunk and I swear his pulse is too high for him to be alive right now.  Yet he is, bouncing around me as we walk to the humane society.  Yes, we are getting a new cat.  My twin, Ash, is busy cleaning up the trash.  My nose twitches up as I thank the lord that I am not in his position.

After constant indecision and much walking back and forth between the cages and cages of cats, we finally decide to get a female.  It takes another hour to figure out which female out of the hundreds that are there.  I feel so bad for all of these homeless strays and wish we could adopt them all.  Anyway, Liam seems pretty happy with our choice and I hope mom is too.  Alex is the first person we see as we walk into the house.

"Kitty!!"  He screeches.  The high pitched noise that came out of Alex's mouth is what causes out new cat to jump out of Liam's sweaty grasp and run to the back of the house.  After dropping Alex off with his sisters, Liam and I go to find Aquamarine.

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CALISTA'S POINT OF VIEW

Ahh, the joys of pregnancy.  Finally, the constant vomiting and cravings are over.  Granted, I still get cramps but those are always going on so I've pretty much become immune to them and never feel the normal cramps.

As I'm cleaning myself up in the bathroom a foreign cat comes rushing in.  She immediately spots the litter box and instantly uses it.  It's as if she's been so scared she just needed to go.  And I mean go.  

My privacy is invaded once again as Liam enters the bathroom.  He is panting but there's a look of excitement on his face.  His eyes light up as he spots the cat.

Izzi soon joins the bathroom party and she and Liam glance back from me to the cat, and back again.

"So, what do you think of her?"  Izzi asks expectantly.

"Oh, she's gorgeous.  A bit jumpy but as soon as she gets used to the house and us, I'm sure she'll be friendly and calm as the other cats," I reply.

Aquamarine, as I soon find out is her name, is a beautiful black cat with splotches of color.  She looks a lot like an artist's palette except for those spectacular blue eyes.

After a short time, she is adjusted to the household and the other cats take to her well.

Brite is the exception.  He seems to know that she is his girlfriend and has upgraded his status to "in a relationship."  The pair are inseparable and I suspect kittens in the future.

One night, I decide to paint.  Luke comes into the room carrying his look-alike, Sindy.

As if he is a magnet, the other two triplets come into the room bringing in their toys.  Alex sets the mood of the room by playing an abstract version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  I overhear a conversation between Sindy and Luke as Luke teaches Sindy to talk.

"Daddy?"  Sindy asks.  "Are you my real daddy?"

I peek over my shoulder as I see Luke's face in a distorted and puzzled look.  I silently laugh to myself.  I force myself to continue my painting as I await the answer to Sindy's question.

"Well sweetie, you have a biological daddy who is your birth daddy.  Then there's me and I'm your real daddy."

"Why are you my real daddy and my birth daddy isn't?"  It's impressive to me to hear Sindy's questions.  They're full of depth and she actually pays attention to what Luke says.

"I'm your real daddy because I take care of you, I teach you things, and I love you so much.  Your birth daddy loves you too but not as much as me."

Sindy still looks at him strangely but she seems satisfied with her answer.  I'm impressed, Luke handled that so well.

Later, Liam comes in and paints beside me.  After about ten minutes, the teens come in and amp up the music with their piano skills.

As if missing out on the party, the cats filter into the room as well.  It's definitely a fun time, everyone in the household is there.  It's an amazing feeling of togetherness and bonding time.

It's rare that we have nights like like that and so we all relish the time we have together.

I am nearing the end of my pregnancy and I find Aquamarine staring at one of the ever-so-popular vampire gnomes.  I've never been a big fan of them but the kids have searching for them so we let them stay.

As soon as she sees me, Aquamarine comes up and rubs against my feet.  Her fur is silky and long.  It's a good thing she has so many willing hands to tend to her luxurious coat.

Picking her up, I feel her stomach bulging out a bit and call Luke in.

"Do you suppose she's pregnant?"  I ask.

"Hmmm," Luke juggles Aquamarine in one hand.  She's become so tolerant of the kids that she doesn't even lift a paw as she bounces up and down in Luke's strong grasp.  "I'll say she is, judging by the fact that she and Brite have gotten exceptionally close."  Luke winks at me and I roll my eyes at him, something I've been doing a lot lately.  We laugh and share a quiet moment with the cats.  My bladder calls out to me which causes our intimate time to end.

It's the day of my due date and I spent it watching the many drama movies that have accumulated over the years.

It's a well known fact that they make me cry every time but I love them so much.  It's during Atonement that my water breaks and I go into labor.

I give birth to a baby boy, which Luke and I had agreed to name, Harrison Braden Smith.

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FAMILY UPDATE

Cyan married one of his fellow colleagues, the tenth grade biology teacher, Isla Dyar.  She may not look like a teacher but she's one of the very best in the school.

Together, they had the triplets, Maylie, Calla, and Serena and of course, they're all excellent biology students, spitting facts out as fast as Liam can count to 100 in Greek.

Coincidentally, Spring married one of her colleagues also.  His name is Landon Salines.

They had twins, Lorelei and Everett.

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NOTE

Yay!  Thank you Megs and Sarah Goodfellow for all of those names!!!!  They came in handy and helped me so much!