Daffodil - Gen 8 Ch 1

Yeah, I have to admit I was surprised when my mom gave me her pendant the night that our little Cypress was born. I thought sure it would be Song with his boring girlfriend turned fiance, and his boring job at the newspaper, and his boring TV shows. Not the wayward pregnant daughter with a wanna-be Master Thief for a boyfriend. But then, my life has been full of a lot of surprises lately.

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Probably the biggest surprise was the abrupt about face from my dad, that occurred immediately after I made my big announcement. I guess maybe I had hit a bit of a nerve when I reminded him of how he had missed mom's first pregnancy, and a good chunk of Song's babyhood. While my mom fussed over my barely visible baby bump, dad did his best to make amends with Denis.

My dad can be easy to talk to when he wants to be, and Denis ended up telling him his whole life story, practically - how he was raised by his poor elderly mother, and how he was forced to "borrow" things occasionally, just to survive.

 Before I knew it, Dad had invited Denis to move in with us. Knowing dad, he always wants to believe the best about everyone, and he thought he could be a good influence, and mom of course was pleased as punch. Like always, I just tried to ignore her odd 'framing' of the moment, as I welcomed Denis home.

Song and Jenny bought a house and moved shortly after his graduation, and Mom set Denis and me up in his old bedroom, and let me decorate it in my favorite colors.

It was amazing to me how excited Denis was about this baby. While I chafed at not being able to be involved in my sports team any more, he couldn't keep his hands off my tummy.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you, Dilly?"

I giggled. "Only about five minutes ago."

*sigh* He is just so adorable, isn't he? It was love at first sight, that night at the prom when he asked me to dance.

But enough of that silliness. I bet you are just dying to know how this all happened, right? Well, the truth of it is, I'm not really sure.

It might have been that night we went out drinking...

...and ended up in the hot tub at the club. Don't worry, the place was empty except for the mixologist on duty, who pretended he didn't see a thing.

Or maybe it was the time I stopped by his house while I was out jogging, and caught him in the shower...or it might have been... well, I'm sure you get the idea. We thought we were being careful, but I guess we weren't careful enough.

However it happened, I know we never would have made it without the complete support of my mom and dad. After the initial shock wore off, they were both thrilled to realize they were going to be grandparents.

And they were also thrilled to find out they were going to be parents again. Yep, that's right. My baby is going to have a little aunt or uncle to play with. How weird is that? No weirder than the fact that mom decided that clothes were way too bothersome to wear while she was pregnant, I guess. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole situation at first. 

But after I came to grips with the shock of it all, it turned into a great mother-daughter bonding experience.

Somewhere between all the momentous events - Song moving out, Denis moving in, and two babies and a wedding to plan for - we managed to sneak in a small birthday celebration for Lotus.

Lotus didn't mind the small family party, as she has always been a little shy, and uncomfortable in crowds. Yup, there's my mom in her bikini again. I rarely saw her in anything else the whole time she was pregnant.

At least my dad talked her into throwing on a shirt and pair of sweatpants for our wedding.  We decided that under the circumstances, we would make it a small family affair. Song and Jenny were there, and my Aunt Hyacinth and cousin Pierre, who were still here on their extended vacation. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment for everyone. Daddy especially bawled his eyes out.

As we said our vows at the edge of Sunflower's Pond, like so many of my ancestors had done, I could feel the joy that emanated from that small patch of earth, that somehow mingled with my own happiness, amplifying it to the point I was almost in tears as I placed the ring on my beloved Denis' finger.

As he repeated his own vows, I could see in the depths of his beautiful violet eyes all the love I could ever wish for - for me, and all our children and grandchildren to come.

And as we shared our first kiss as husband and wife, I could fee the love and happiness in that place growing exponentially, until it seemed to coalesce into one coherent thought. I was being called, by who or what I didn't know, but I could feel it as clearly as I felt Denis' lips on mine and his arms around me.

Suddenly the spell was broken, the moment was past, and I was clutching my belly and yelping in pain.

What is it about men and childbirth, anyway? One tiny shriek and they go into conniptions. At least my mom had her head together. She had tried to convince me to have my baby at home, but Denis and I had decided on the hospital.

I almost changed my mind when I saw how freaked out he was as he raced for the car, but it was too late at that point. I called to him to wait up, I couldn't run in my condition, but it didn't register at all.

Meanwhile, my big brother was oblivious, still clapping as I waddled on by. I wonder how long it took for him to realize the ceremony had come to an abrupt end.

We arrived home later that night exhausted, with our little bundle of joy.

Early the next morning, mom found me in the nursery with Cypress.

"I wanted to give this to you last night. You know the story behind it, I've told you many times before. Last night out at the pond, I felt it calling you. I can't keep it any longer. It's yours now."

She even wrapped it up with a bow for me!

"Was that what I felt last night when I kissed Denis? I felt it too! I felt it calling me!"

The whole experience came rushing back to me as I opened the little box and set the pendant around my neck.

"It's up to you now, to find the third figure, the serpent. Just let the pendant guide you."

"I will, mom. I love you."

'I love you too, sweetheart. You're going to make a great mom, I just know it."