2.11 The end of an era

When our therapy sessions finally ended I was relieved. We had gone over so much in just a year. It had truly taken a long time, but now we were stronger than ever.
Robi turned out to be quite the romantic, bringing home roses and caressing my cheek whenever he could.

I simply melted by his touch. Even sex was better than before.

I still had strange dreams though, Though i wouldn't call them frightening. They merely consisted of Nicolas standing at the end of my bed, looking down upon me. It was like i floated out of my body and watched him from above watching me.
Little did i know that he actually was making frequent visits while i was sleeping.

When i just couldn't take it anymore, i visited his grave stone at the back of the house and tried talking to him. I felt silly doing it. This is silly. He obviously can't hear me, I thought, though i felt tears run down my cheeks as i mourned him. I thought back to when we were children. He had always been kind of geeky and loved computer games, technology and everything logically. He was quite shy and didn't talk to people, he was unpopular in school, getting teased by the other kids. I felt sorry for  him. He definitely hadn't had an easy life. I cried silently as i stood there remembering  him.

I was slowly but steady getting my slim figure back, as i worked out four times a week in our home gym we had set up in Nic's old room.

Beside me Kala would work on some of her moves on the boxing bag.

She had a dream of becoming the best in sports and so she never wanted children, since they could ruin her figure and her workout process. I felt sad for her that she would never experience the joys of having children, but she insisted that she didn't want to carry a child inside of her. I thought that it was a strange comment, and i started feeling there were things i didn't know about her. Like she had some big secret she kept to herself.

I would often get calls from Kylie's teachers saying that she was not focusing in her class and that she met up in school unprepared. I found out that she had not done her homework in a while and when i asked her about it she would just give me some far out story about how the trolls in her room had told her that doing her homework would kill her entire family. I was shocked that this was still going on. She had been to several doctors and they all said the same thing: She was a healthy young girl, but had concentration problems. So there were actually nothing wrong with her, according to them. But i had a feeling that this wasn't just some made up stories she gave me. Something deeper and much darker lay behind it. And i feared that it was something that was too much for me to handle.
I started tutoring her with her homework so she would get better grades, but also to see her reaction.

It went quite smoothly. She did her homework and i was satisfied. That was until i found her outside of the house, burning her homework with matches.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at her. She stood with tears in her eyes as the burnt homework lay beside her, turned into ashes.
"I'm sorry Mom, but the fairies told me that if i didn't do it, the trolls would burn you." She started crying uncontrollably and I hurried over to hug her. That's it! I thought. We have to get her help. 
I spoke with Robi about it later that night when everybody else had gone to bed. I had sung Kylie to sleep that night, as she was still very upset.
"We have to do something Robi. This can't go on."
"Mhm. Are  you sure it isn't just a phase darling? We don't want to make a bigger deal out of it as it is."
"Do you really think it is a phase to sit in your room singing happy birthday to fairies and burning your homework because fairies and trolls told you to? She truly thinks that those beings are going to hurt us! We have to get her help!" I felt rage boiling up inside of me, but then i used the techniques i had learned at yoga and by the therapist and calmed myself again.
"Okay, if you really want to get her help, i think you should take her to see our former therapist. If something is wrong, i'm absolutely sure that she will find out and help her."
"I'll make an appointment for Wednesday. That's the day after tomorrow." I kissed him on his lips. "I'm so glad you retired. The girls are sure happy too that they get to spend more time with their Dad."
He smiled at me and said: "I'm actually quite happy about it too. I like being home when the kids come home from school. And watch television with them before they go to bed. It means a lot to me."
He pulled me down for a kiss. It heated up and we started ripping our clothes off. I really did enjoy the new and improved version of Robi. He was so energized all the time and was never cranky anymore. He didn't stress about the smallest problems and we were able to just enjoy each other completely in all the ways possible.
We had decided that because he was getting so old now, we didn't want any more children. I was satisfied with having two children and Kala living in my house, and honestly, with the new gym equipment, we didn't have enough rooms for another baby.
I had gotten a promotion at work not long ago to Canvas Creator. I loved my new position as i was now moved to a different section of the art gallery. It was more open and it was where the less important people arrived which meant more people bought paintings as mine weren't that expensive. Not yet anyway. I still needed a lot more training before i could make a name of myself. But it payed well and I always came home with a smile on my face.

We sent Kylie to the therapist and she confirmed our greatest fear. Little Kylie were schizophrenic.  This explained so much.
That's why she had been able to talk to fairies and trolls and thought that they said things to her. They mainly told her bad things and she would act out from it, not knowing they weren't real.
Now that she knew they weren't real, she promised never to act on it again. She was given medicine to dim the symptoms and we all went back to a bit more normal life. She started doing her homework more often, and she went from a D- to a C+ in just two months. I couldn't have been happier.

As Robi was now retired from work, he had started tending to my mother's old garden plants. Most of them had died over the years, and i had thought about getting rid of the rest of the plants as well because i simply didn't have time take care of them, but thankfully Robi did.

It was now time for Skylar's birthday. I baked the famous Chocolate Cake, which i had gotten pretty good at, i might add.
We all gathered around, singing happy birthday to her.

She grew into a beautiful teenager. I felt so proud to have given birth to these two young wonderful girls that i started crying silently.
"Mom, don't cry," Skylar said shyly as she grabbed a piece of cake.
We all sat down together and ate birthday cake. Knowing it wasn't good for my figure, i only took one piece this time.

We redecorated Skylar's room from childish to teenage-ish with her favorite colors, pink and white. She insisted on having those lamps that lighted green in the room. She said they inspired her to focus on her computer games and programming, which she had started getting really into.

Then the day arrived that i had dreaded for a while. I woke up at night to the cries from Robi. I slowly opened my eyes and was about to ask what was going on, when i heard a thud against the floor. I raised myself quickly onto my elbows, but i couldn't see him anywhere. I got out of bed and found him lying on the floor motionless next to the bed. I shook him, yelling his name. "Robi! Robi! Wake up. God damn it, don't do this to me!" I started crying and shook him harder.

It was the worst night in my life. I lost the love of my life to old age, and i swore I would never love another man again. The time that followed was tough on everyone.
Kylie's illness took control again and she started talking out into the room, even when she was alone, like someone was there. I later found out she hadn't taken her medication for a while, after which i checked every time i gave her it that she actually swallowed it.
Somehow Skylar managed to become even more introverted than she was before. She could be social in school, but when she came home she went right for the computer. After she started gaining weight from sitting at the computer all the time playing her favorite game of World of Warcraft, which she had played now for years, buying each expansion pack that was released, and eating chips, i dragged her down to our workout equipment and forced her to work out. She complained as she walked mile after mile with me standing next to her, coaching her.
After a while she actually started enjoying herself and would go work out on her own.
Kala had never been very close to Robi, so she wasn't as affected by his death like the rest of us were. But she was still sad, as she had lived with him her whole life, eaten with him every night and watched television together.
I took it hardest of us all. I would start sobbing uncontrollably at work or while cooking dinner for the family, realizing that Robi wouldn't join us for dinner.
It went on for a while, until Kala gathered us all together.
"I have a surprise for you all," she said with a careful smile on her lips. "I have rented a cottage in Granite Falls for all of you to go enjoy this weekend."
Robi had left Kala a good sum of money after his death. Apparently she had spend some of it on us. It touched me very deeply that she cared so much about us.
"But aren't you joining us?" Skylar asked, and i turned to look at Kala. She looked shyly at us all, saying that this was for us and she didn't want to intrude on our grief.
"I really wish you would join us, though," I said to her. "But thanks a lot Kala, this is exactly what we all need." I hugged her tightly, already starting to look forward to a weekend together with my kids.

Kala's Pov

"Is it safe?" Elaina asked over the phone.

"Yes, just come on over." I answered. Thirty minutes later she knocked on the door. 

"That took you long enough," I said slightly reproachful, but then smiled at her. "Come here you," I grabbed her around her waist and kissed her hard.

"Wait," she mouthed while i was kissing her, but i didn't let go. "Wait," she said again, pushing me away.
"What?" I asked a bit annoyed. Couldn't she just kiss without interruption? "I haven't seen you for so long. Can't we just make out?"
She smiled at me playfully. "Just a minute honey, we don't want to rush things. Have you spoken to your family yet?"
"About us? No not yet," I looked down at my feet.
"Would you please do it soon? I can't keep this up. Sneaking into your room every other night, sneaking back out in the morning. I mean it isn't exactly easy. One time i swear your mother saw me going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Thank god you have more than one bathroom. Otherwise things would have turned quite ugly."
"She's not my mother."
"Who?"
"Phoebe. She's not my mother. She's my Aunt."
"Oh, i'm sorry."
"No it's fine." I brushed it off. "I should have told you. Come inside with me and i'll tell you everything you want to know."
We had approximately dated for 4 months. Nobody knew i was gay. I was sure that they would understand, but i just wasn't ready to tell them yet.

"So, why is it again that you are living with your Aunt?" she asked me after we had made love. We lay in my aunt's bed, as it was the only double bed in the house. I made sure to change the sheets before and after, though. Otherwise it would be disgusting.
"Please don't smoke inside the house," I said, wrinkling my nose at the smell.
"Sorry babe, i forgot." She walked over to the window and opened it wide. "Better?" she asked and stuck out her wonderfully sexy butt.
"So, to answer your question." I sat up straight in the bed, enjoying the fresh breeze of wind touching my face. "My mother abandoned me when i was a child. She saw me as an attention seeking little brat that took up all of her time. Even though she never spend any time with me. My Aunt Phoebe and her husband Robi has taken care of me like forever."
"Huh. I've never seen him around."
"Well, he died a few months ago, so that might be why." I said with a slight sneer.
"I'm sorry honey i didn't know." She stubbed out the cigarette against the wall outside the window, closed the window and crept back into bed with me.
We spend the rest of the night making love, and slept all day.
On Sunday afternoon they all came back from their little vacation and they had seemingly enjoyed it.
"Kala! Kala!" Kylie yelled out for me as she ran up the stairs.
"What is it sweety?" I smiled at my little cousin.
"Guess what?" she was clearly very happy about something as she couldn't stand still on her two feet. She hopped up and down, looking earnestly at me.
"Ehm, did you find a bug in the forest?"
"No silly. Guess for real!"
"I honestly don't know what i'm guessing for. Can't you just tell me?"
"Mommy made me heiress!!!" She screamed and jumped around the floor.
So, i guess this means there is going to be a new head of household soon. I sighed as i watched with a smile how she jumped up and down on the floor. There were no controlling this child.

This is the end of Generation 2. There will be a chapter full of Bloopers Photos that just didn't make it in the other chapters ;)