It's Daddy's and Marigold's birthday! Mom, of course, is throwing a huge party. When Rayne asked her if he could invite his friend from the theatre, she totally freaked out when she found out who it was.
"Heath Lessen, as in Jon Lessen the rockstar's son? Oh my goodness, Rayne - Jon's band was my favorite when I was young! The family has kept to themselves for years now since Jon died - do they still live accross the street? I'll be so nervous if he comes to the party, do you think he'll give me an autograph?"
Rayne kind of rolled his eyes at this. "NO, please don't ask him. And please, please don't embarrass me, Mom."
Make a wish, Daddy! Aunt Doreen and Uncle Travis cheered him on.
Mom and Daddy are so cute together!
"Happy Birthday, my sweet Max. Look what I got us - tickets to China! We can have a second honeymoon."
"We'll leave right after the party, it's going to be so much fun! I can't wait."
"I love you so much, Sunny."
I hope Gustave and I are still in love like that when we are that age. Mom was so focused on Daddy she didn't even notice Heath Lessen standing behind her. I'm sure Rayne appreciates that.
Next it was Mari's turn. "Blow out your candles, Mari!" Mari wasn't to sure about the whole thing.
"Like this Mari!" Mari wasn't buying it. She just watched while I blew out her candles.
Mari is finally getting used to this party business. "Happy Birthday to Me," She clapped and sang.
Mari is growing into a lovely child, don't you think? She looks more and more like her grandpa every day.
Once the candles were blown and the cake was cut, Gustave went to our new nectar cellar to choose one of his best bottles of nectar. Our nectar business is slow getting off the ground; I didn't realize it took so long to make good nectar. Anyway, Gustave is hoping to get some good press, and show off our new blend, by serving it at the party.
Meanwhile, Daddy and Mari celebrated with giant pieces of cake.
"Happy Birthday, Mari!"
'Happy Birthday to you too, Grandpa!"
I see my niece Judy is wearing a pretty green sundress, and has decided that having wierd looking hair is not an asset.
It looks like Heath is enjoying himself. Mom needn't have worried about impressing him, I guess. He seems like a nice guy. Maybe Rayne's "making contacts in the music industry" is a viable strategy after all.
Gustave's nectar was a big hit. Everyone declared it was the best they had ever tasted. Of course, good nectar is extremely hard to come by in Riverview. But we hope to change that!
For a long time after everyone left, Mom and Daddy sat outside and drank Gustave's nectar. Mom already had their bags packed, and they quietly left for the airport.
I hope Mom and Daddy are enjoying their trip. They are missing my big moment - the one I've been working toward since I was in highschool. This is it, I'm facing off against the Chess Tournament Champion. If I can beat her, I'll take her title! As you can see, I'm pregnant again, but that isn't going to stop me from kicking some serious chess butt. I stared her down before the match started.
I was at the top of my game, thinking farther ahead than I ever had before. Finally I saw my opening.
"Checkmate!" I was triumphant.
We are both excited about the new baby, but I think Gustave is more excited than I am. He has always wanted a big family, seeing as how he is an only child, himself.
"Hey, little one, your mama is the smartest person I know; she is the Chess Tournament Champion!" Gustave is so proud of me; he brags about my title to everyone he meets.
With Mom and Daddy still in China, and my due date getting closer, I've been sending Mari over to play with her cousin a lot.
"Now, Mari, remember, Leonard doesn't want to hear about all the minute details of your shaman's epic resto gear," I warned her. "And don't you dare bore him to death with all the math behind why its better to stack haste over spellpower." I don't have the least idea what any of that means, I just know it by heart because I hear it all day long.
Mari doesn't listen very well, however, especially when it comes to endless recitations of trivia.
My brother called to inform me of what happened next.
"I'm really sorry, Uncle Raven, I think I bored Lenny to death. Mommy told me not to, but I couldn't help it."
Raven sent them both outside to play tag, and Mari says they had a great time after that.
"Not as much fun as naming all the scientific names of all the insects in Riverview, but close." Mari has quite different ideas on what is fun.
Okay, I changed my mind about Heath; he is really starting to annoy me. It seems like he is over here all the time. He has that giant mansion across the street all to himself, I don't know why he is here every day. I think he is taking advantage of Rayne's good nature, and I mean to have words with him.
I had worked myself up into a rage. "You are over at my house way to much, I think it's time you went home and left my little brother alone."
"Huh?" Heath was speechless.
"Just stay out of my business for once, Sis. Please?" Rayne was ever the calm one.
"Just ignore my witchy sister, she likes to blow off steam somtimes."
"Grrrr..." I threw up my hands. "Just wait til Mom and Daddy get back, I'm going to tell them about this."
"You do that - I can't wait!" he called after me as I went into the house. I don't think I've ever heard Rayne so angry. Am I really that witchy? Did I just make an enemy of my little brother?
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