Chapter 2.1: And so it begins...

Welcome to Chapter 2! In this chapter we're going to play around with a plot! Oooh, muy exciting. :D We're telling this chapter from Skane's perspective. Let's get on with it!

I grew up in the beautiful town of Sunset Valley. I was born into a well to do family that lived on the shores of the clearest ocean there was. My parents were odd, but oh so loving.  They decided to have a family that would last for ages. They wanted at least 10 generations of Thiels to remember where they came from. When I was old enough they told me that they wanted me to pass on our heritage to the next generation. It was a great honor to be picked as their heir and I look forward to passing it on to one of my own children.

My father was a famous sports star and my mother was a local chef. When Dad got injured during a game he was forced into retirement. It was rough for him, but it was probably the best for our family. When he retired, my family opened up their home to two additional children, Brook and Charlotte. They were orphans from Twinbrook. Growing up in the house with 4 girls and only me and Dad to represent the burlier gender got a little dicey a few times, but Dad always took the time to talk with me man to man. He taught me to treat women with the utmost respect and care. Everything I learned about being a father and husband and all around good guy, I learned from him.

That's not to say that life didn't have its issues, of course it did. No one's life is perfect. Mom was a local chef and when her restaurant went out of business we were forced with the decision to leave Sunset Valley and salvage our finances, or downgrade our mode of living and declare bankruptcy. Well, Dad always believed that a man paid his bills and took care of his family, so he ruled out bankruptcy and decided that the family would move to Bridgeport.

We had a lovely house in Bridgeport. Of course, it wasn't as scenic and never felt as much like home as Sunset Valley, but it was nice enough. That's where I spent the last few years of high school and quite a few years after.

Mom found another job in Bridgeport, though not as lucrative, and we learned to live in our means. At first it was hard to get used to clipping coupons, but after a few months I really got into it! No one clipped coupons like me and Dad.

I had always been adventurous and curious about the ins and outs of the world. During school Science was one of my favorite subjects. I found the order and laws soothing to my somewhat chaotic mind; after I graduated I joined the local science facility and became a test subject. Being a test subject was hard work, but it was worth it, especially when I started moving up the ranks. Of course, that wasn't the only thing in my life that I loved.

There was Charlotte *sighs dreamily*. We grew up in the same home, and some people might consider that odd, but she was my everything. We were very close in age and growing up we did everything together. We fished, hiked, did our homework, played outside, etc. She was a huge tomboy and she taught be how to be brave.

Not too long after we graduated, I realized that she was the girl for me and asked her out. Although she was a bit skeptical at first, she agreed. In no time at all we fell madly in love and got married. Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life, and I didn't think it was possible to love her more than I did. I was wrong, though, and every day since I've kept falling.

We started a family early, as Charlotte wanted to have at least 5 kids. We named our first born, Aria. She was a handful, let me tell you! We weren't quite sure what to do with her. I think firstborns are always like that, though. We gave her as much of our love, time and energy as we could, and figured out some things along the way.

We didn't take much time to add twins to our family. We had Mahogany and Delli before Aria turned three. Aria seemed to enjoy being an older sister, she constantly peered into their cribs and she loved to play with them when either me or Charlotte were around. 

We were grateful that my parents were still around to help us out. They loved their grandbaby, she was the apple of their eye. Mom and I had to work a lot to support the family, but Dad was always there with the kids when we needed him. He was a lifesaver!

It still surprises me how quickly time flies. Before we knew it the twins were toddlers! Mahogany refused to take off her panda suit. Eventually we gave in and let her wear it all the time. She never did like to listen too much to us, but I prefer to think that she was just expressing her love of the animal kingdom. Either way, we called her our little Panda.

Delli became a very loud toddler. She loved to scream and often for no apparent reason. She kept us busy running around and trying to figure out what was wrong, that's for sure! I think she just wanted attention, which was understandable. With three small children, even with the help of my parents, we were spread a little thin.

We could hardly believe it when Aria started school. I can still remember holding her in my arms just after she was born! She was a smart cookie, though. Her grades were always excellent and all of her teachers said she played very well with the other children. I like to think that we raised our kids to be good kids and not overly entitled. I was so proud of my little Aria, she was such a good kid.

As our kids grew up they spent quite a lot of time together, which pleased me and Charlotte to no end. It was wonderful that our kids were so close. Even if a car can't really have 3 drivers, they were adorable when they pretended that it could.

As the kids were older and didn't need us quite as much as they did when they were younger, Charlotte started to get more into a hobby, namely working out. She was always an active woman, but she really took it to another level. She became very talented in martial arts and worked out for at least 3 hours every morning as the sun came up. I didn't mind, though, it seemed to make her happy and whatever made her happy made me happy.

I wish I could say that I had been around more as the kids grew up. Living in Bridgeport became costly, though, and I had to work a lot to pay the bills. I know it's no excuse, but it is what happened. Charlotte was wonderful through it all, though. She never made me feel like I was an absent father and she went the extra mile for me. She even made me a separate dinner after I came home when I had to work late. It would have been better if I had been home eating with the family, but I still appreciated it. She would sit down with me as I ate and tell me what the kids had been up to that day. At the time I was so caught up in work that I thought hearing about the kids was sufficient, but it didn't take me long to realize the error of that thought.

My lovely Charlotte, though, never guilted me about my long work hours, in fact one evening she brought up the subject of more children. She had always wanted at least 5, but after the twins, I really thought she was done having children. 

I could never say no to her. When she wanted something all she had to do was ask, and I'm pretty sure she knew that. Within no time number 4 was on its way.

Sadly, not long after finding out that she was expecting again, my mother passed away. It was a really dark time for the family, and we coped the best we could. She was the one that started this whole thing and life never was the same without her. I missed her terribly.

Her death made me reflect a lot on my life and how I was raising my kids. Both of my parents were extremely involved in my upbringing, and mom only started to work long hours after we were already grown. That's when I made the hard decision to cut back my time and be with my family more. It's been said a lot, but I'll say it again, life is too short to waste. My kids grew up so quickly and I was determined not to miss so much of our next child's life. I only wish that it hadn't taken losing my mother to bring me to my senses.

With shorter hours, the family had to do everything we could to supplement our income, so I expanded the garden and started working on it with the kids and my father. We had a very nice garden for a while, and it was wonderful spending so much time outside as a family.

Charlotte was the most beautiful pregnant woman I had ever seen. During the first two pregnancies she was, too, but the third time she really glowed. It was probably because we were at one of our happier points there, despite losing Lottie. She was happy to see us coming together into the close nit family she'd always craved.

Charlotte's back always seemed to hurt during her third pregnancy. We suspected that it could be due to her age, she wasn't as young as she had been since the first two, after all, over 10 years had passed since the twins were born.

Mahogany had taken to making kid-safe potions on the lab set that I had brought home from work. It was nice to see her enjoying what I did for a living. She had some skill, too. She shared my love for science, but took it to greater heights.

Even though she was just barely in junior high she was quite the tough chess opponent.

Delli was definitely the more artistic twin. She had a real talent for painting and sketching. It was nice that our twins enjoyed different hobbies. I think it helped them to avoid the competitive spirit that so often develops between twins.

In the middle of the night, Charlotte woke up in labor. It progressed a thousand times faster than her first two, and before we knew it we were parents again.

Aaron Thiel was the fourth addition to our family. We were thrilled to finally have a little boy. He was perfect.

Aaron had come at just the right moment, which just goes to show how well Charotte planned his birth. Aria had just started high school and the twins were growing faster than weeds, so having a baby around was just the thing we needed to keep us from feeling too sad about our older children growing up.

Speaking of growing like weeds, Aaron did just that. I hate to be biased about my own children, and as much as I tried to not play favorites, I just couldn't help but love Aaron more than all the rest. It really wasn't fair to the other kids, as I had missed so much of their lives. I did my best not to show it, and to spend time with all of them, but they couldn't help but feel a little jealous of him. After all, I didn't miss his infancy like I had missed the others.

Enough of delving into my guilt about working too much, though. I made up for it the best I could, and I was there for my kids. I got the very great privilege of teaching Aaron how to walk, even.

We all knew this time was coming. When mom died I thought Dad wouldn't last very long without her. He ended up passing away just before Delli and Mahogany entered high school.

Delli became a 'tortured artist'. She dyed her hair and wore way too much makeup. My parents had always let me express myself however I wished, so me and Charlotte let her as well. Sometimes I do wonder how she would have turned out if we had reigned in her appearance, but I suppose we'll never know.

Mahogany kept her looks a little more mainstream, except for the lipstick. She acted out more than her twin, though. My dad had been there for my kids when I wasn't, so his death really hit the kids hard. I felt bad for them, and I tried to be lenient when they acted out. When Mahogany egged the house, she did get grounded for a week, though. It was not acceptable to vandalize someone's property, it went against all the respect and neighborly love that I had tried to instill in my children.

 Her pranks didn't stop there, though. She was quite the troubled teenager. For a while she hated everything and everyone. She never was the same after Dad died. Charlotte and I had a hard time putting up with it, I mean having our hair dyed some ridiculous color every morning was a bit much.

So we ended up moving back to Sunset Valley. I had been happy growing up there, and we felt that the kids needed a change and a family friendly town to live in. Bridgeport had way too much to offer to young rebels. The garden had paid very well and so had Charlotte's martial arts, so we were able to afford a comfortable home for our family. We did our best not to spoil our kids, but we had the money to do so, if we had chosen to.

The Valley had a calming effect on the family. Mahogany stopped pranking so much and me and Charlotte got to focus more on the rest of the children.

 Aaron continued to be delightful. No matter how rebellious and angry our older kids got, he was always the happiest child. Not long after moving to Sunset Valley I decided that he'd be my heir. Of course, I had always wanted to make him the heir, but it wasn't until then that Charlotte and I talked it over and made the decision.

 One of our relatives had sent Aaron a doll when he was born. He didn't play with it very much before we moved, but after we moved he was constantly pulling it out. He called it "Cuddles".

That's not to say that he didn't have other interests, too, though. In fact, he seemed to love everything!

 He would happily play for hours with any toy we gave him. He really was every parent's dream.

 Before long Aria graduated high school and entered law enforcement. At work one day she met a nice young man named Christopher Steele. It was hard to see my little girl fall in love, but Chris was a good guy and they got my blessing to marry.

 Thankfully Mahogany straightened out before she graduated high school. When she graduated she had brought up her grades and seemed to be hanging out with a better crowd of people. She worked at a warehouse in town, and to be honest, I never really knew what she did, but it seemed to make her happy.

 Delli's looks never came back into normal, but that was alright. She was our odd little artist, and I wouldn't have wanted her any other way. She joined her sister at the warehouse and the two ended up moving out together. I'd be lying if I said that Charlotte and I didn't suffer from an empty nest. Of course we loved being together and having more time together, but with only Aaron around, it got a little lonely. Plus, Aaron was going to enter school soon, and after that happened the house would be very empty.

So we decided that we would have another one. Charlotte always wanted five kids, and we were very pleased that she was still young enough to have another.

~~~~~

That's where I'm ending the first chapter of the second generation. I'm sure it was a little odd, but I couldn't really come up with that much of a plot for this generation. They were a really happy family and aside from the rebellious teen years, there wasn't really anything interesting going on.