Rose 2.74: Let us put our backs to the wind with caution

A/N: It's at this point that I finally have the NEW pictures to use! Oh, Donny! I've missed him! I had a completely free day, and I did it playing Sims 3. (shh! I totally ignored every other save and just had fun playing Donny!) It was all about fun and de-stressing, and Donny was perfect for that. :)

Oh, and warning! A pic of Donovan's adorably-bare bum is in this chapter.

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      Oh! I am singing to the fish and frogs again. This must be the last decent save the Maker has. We once again finish up our last hour in France and return to Monte Vista.

     I spend hours discussing it with Shauna, and she finally agrees to give having a baby another chance. This time, we will see specialist doctors in order to ensure she carries the baby as close to term as possible. I am worried, and I realize we may end up adopting anyway, but I want to try to give Shauna a child that is part of both of us.

     "So, let us put our backs to the wind with caution." I'm ready to make a baby. I've had lots of practice.
     Shauna giggles. "I think you mean 'throw caution to the wind.'"
     "Right." We have decided not to change anything we're doing, except for Shauna taking vitamins. We're going to relax and see what happens. If a baby comes, that would be wonderful. If not, we will figure out what to do.

     Time passes.
     Mama paints another painting she wants to keep.
     She sighs. "Pedro always said we'd never make any money if I wanted to keep them all. I don't sell all of them, but I want to keep this one."
     This catches my attention. I walk up behind her and remember some things my professors would ask. "Which one are you?"
     She pauses and thinks. "I'm the little white terrier in the foreground."
     I raise my eyebrows. This surprises me. I'd expected her to say she was the woman in pink in the middle. "And why is that?"
     "I feel like I'm doing nothing but yipping all day and constantly underfoot. I'm in the shadow watching what goes on, an observer."
     "Mama, you are not underfoot. You are the mother of a great family. You are the Rose of the Rose legacy. It is not the Robles legacy. It's the Rose legacy."
     She turns around and hugs me. "I'm so proud of the man you've become."
     Yes, we are keeping this painting.

     I worry Mama is depressed. She always leaps out of bed any time she hears the 'you're being haunted' music. I worry that she wants to die so that she and Papa can be together. This makes me sad, but I must say I understand. I live in fear that Shauna will die and leave me.

     This pic is here because the Maker missed my naughty fairy tattoo. She tried to install Sims 3 on her new Mac, but it takes up an enormous amount of storage space. She would have had difficulty getting all the CC right, so it's good that the game is staying on the sometimes-a-monster/sometimes-a-piece-of-crap computer.

     We have another snow day. The bus comes, and Arlen gets on. He's not allowed into the school, so he plays on the playground in the snow before flying back home.

     I am happy that at least Mama's paintings are of real, not abstract, things. Before, she was painting abstractly, saying it represented the dream world she lives in.
     Papa was much older than her. She has had a long time as a widow, and she's only recently entered the elder stage. For my sake, I hope she has a long life still.
     Speaking of ages... that day has come. My son Lorenzo will age to young adult. We throw a massive party.

     Giselle is the first to arrive--without Clifton. She too has aged to mature adult. She isn't married--still. I regret that I got so wrapped up in my own life that I didn't go and poke a hole in Clifton's ear about marrying my sister. They have lived together long enough. He needs to make it official. She needs to be taken care of should he die. For what little it's worth, he should give her the Mancini name.
     I will need to fix this, but at a later date.

     Little Milo is next. He will always be little Milo to me. He and his wife haven't had any children. For that matter, Skye and Carmen haven't either, but I think they've both lost their minds.

     Then I say hello to Link and Chasity.
     "Donovan, this is Caryn, our daughter. She recently aged to teen."
     My mouth drops. How can this be? She is a copy of her mother!

     More people arrive, but most everyone else is somewhere else (stuck) while the cake gets blown out.
     "Just blow out the candles already!" Arlen rants impatiently. "I want cake!"
     A stunning realization hits me: Arlen will age up too at this party. Where did the time go?

      (That is Chasity standing behind Lorenzo. The Maker is too lazy and doesn't care much to change her hair.)

       My adult son. He looks a lot like his mother, but he is also a Robles. He's looking forward to life as a street artist, murals. I am so proud of him. His mother would be too.

     I ask Arlen if he would rather have cake now or blow out his own candles. He opts for aging up.

     He ponders his wish a moment; then he laughs maniacally.

      Yes, that is Clark standing next to me. Fiona is expecting again.
      As the sprinkles surround my third and youngest child, Shauna leans over to tell me something in my ear. "I'm pregnant."

      My eyes widen, and I spin around to kiss my wife. While I do that, I'm also shocked how much Arlen looks like Abbie.
      (And what is UP with Antonio's shoulder?!)
      Arlen will break hearts.

      It really hits me: Shauna is pregnant!

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Sorry for the odd/different way to find out about a pregnancy, but I kept waiting for Shauna to show, and like Willow, that isn't really happening.

WOW Arlen looks like Abbie!

His eyes look almost werewolf with the default eye replacement. I think I like it.
He's just...beautiful.
Damn. I have to pick an heir?! And what if Donny and Shauna's kid is also a redhead? (I already know, btw, just saying this is what I was thinking at this point) It's hard enough to try to pick between Camilla and Arlen. I'd put it up for a vote, but almost no one reads this anymore. (If you do, I sure would like to hear from you! But I write this for me, mostly.)

-Lorenzo gained the vegetarian trait.
-Arlen gained the inappropriate trait.
I picked neither of those. The snow day thing meant their grades are not so great. C's I think. Anyway, if it really pissed me off, I could change it, but I think I'll keep 'em. :)

-Donny gets a promotion to lvl 7: Art Director
-Fiona is preggers (but that's mentioned in the chapter--just thought I'd put it here too)
-Milo and Giselle aged to mature adult before the party (ditto)
-Carmen ages to mature adult. I guess she and Skye are just not interested in kids. (almost a ditto)
-Willow is pregnant with Joaquin Spears' baby, making this #3 for her (that's a number, not a hashtag) including Camilla.
-Marcel gets engaged to Leigh Bianchi

I hope I get the baby in the next chapter. This one was getting a little long. :)

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