Shortly after I returned home my brother Mario turned 18 and graduated from high school. Like several of my other brothers, Mario is super athletic and was drafted to play for the Appaloosa Plains Llamas. He moved into the “bachelor pad” with our older brothers and simbot Wall-E.
With my new degree I was able to get a job working at a local restaurant here in town as a pastry chef.
Not wanting to think about the possibility that I might be pregnant I threw myself into work and taking care of the garden.
I had a greenhouse built around it and am hoping to be able to harvest year round.
I also bought cows to go with our chickens.
Milking the cows is kinda fun.
And the fresh milk has been a great addition to our fresh eggs. I am learning how to make butter and my own cheese.
I also added a few bee hives to get fresh honey.
Like my sister Margaret, I am also eco friendly so I had a water wheel added to the pond out back. It is producing electricity which has drastically cut down on our bills.
After weeks of feeling nauseous morning, noon, and night I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer.
I finally took one of those home pregnancy tests and it was positive.
I went to doctor and she confirmed that yes I am in fact pregnant. I can’t believe I am going to have Gino’s baby.
“We need to talk!” *send*
“It is important that you text or call me.” *send*
I tried calling and texting him several times but so far I haven’t heard from him.
After I felt the baby move for the first time I figured it was time to tell my parents that I am pregnant.
“Mom, there is something I need to talk to you and dad about. Can we go sit in the living room and talk?”
“Sure honey. I think your father is in the garage. I’ll go get him.”
I had given Dad the ingredients to make the Mummy Elixir which thrilled him. He has been in the garage mixing elixirs ever since. I am not sure what he intends to do with it. I am not sure I want to know.
Mom and dad joined me in the living room.
“So your mother said you needed to talk to us. What’s going on?” dad asked.
“First I wanted to thank you both again for the wonderful opportunity you gave me to travel and try the cuisines from different countries. It was such a wonderful opportunity.”
“It was our pleasure,” mom said. “You worked so hard to get into culinary school and then you were top of your class. We are so proud of you.”
Stupid pregnancy hormones I was starting to feel chocked up by their praise.
“I am afraid what I am about to say now is going to disappoint you both,” I said. Then before they could say anything I quickly blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
Dad was speechless but after a brief silence mom asked, “Is Matthew the father?”
It took me a second to release she was referring to my former high school boyfriend. “No Matthew isn’t the father. In fact I haven’t seen him since I returned. When I was Italy I met a local restaurant owner named Gino Feerari. He was so handsome and would invite me to the restaurant after closing. He taught me how to make pizzas. The whole thing felt, magical, like it was out of a book or movie. We slept together.”
“Have you told him?” mom asked.
“I tried,” I said. “I have called him several times and left messages. I have also been texting him. He doesn’t respond to the texts and hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
At this dad jumped off the couch and shouted, “I SHOULD GET THE FIRST FLIGHT TO ITALY AND GIVE THIS CASANOVA A PEACE OF MY MIND.”
“Dad, it’s ok. You and mom raised me to be self-reliant. I am prepared to do this alone. I don’t need Gino Feerari.”
Dad pulled me into his arms and said, “You don’t have to do this alone. You have your mother and I to support you.”
That did it. I broke down and cried in his arms.
Since I am on maternity leave I am making the most of my time at home. I found the old wine maker and am using the various fruit to make wine.
I also got a canning station and started making my own Jams and Preserves.
While I wait for my wines and jams to finish I sit and read. Sometimes I read books on wine making.
Other times I sit and read baby books.
There is a consignment shop in town that has agreed to sell them for me. So far they seem to be coming off the shelves faster than I can stock them which is great.
We decided to have a party for Halloween. I am now 21 weeks pregnant and feel huge. I decided to go as a pregnant rock star.
Dad shocked all of us by using his mummy elixir to turn himself into a real mummy.
Mom and I were not pleased.
Mom quickly grabbed one of his potent cure elixirs and threw it at him.
Turning him back to normal.
Dad ended up going as a chef instead which I thought was awesome. Mom turned herself into her toy form.
My siblings came and we had a blast dancing.
Everyone’s costumes were great.
I don’t know if it is because I am “nesting” or not but I have been redecorating parts of the house. I finally moved out of the “girls” room and into the larger room down the hall. I then redecorated it to give it a homey country feel.
Next I redid the kitchen complete with pizza oven. It is my dream kitchen and I can see spending a lot of time in here.
Over the next several months I worked on my mixology skills.
Worked in the garden.
I milk the cow.
I collected eggs and feed the chickens.
There is still that one chicken that likes to give me a hard time.
I have been selling more of my wine and preserves at the consignment shop.
And my produce at the grocery store.
I think one of my favorite things to do is cook for my family.
I love when we can all site and eat together.
I have also been practicing my pizza making.
In the fall I through a big Feast Day Party.
I made pie.
I baked fresh dinner rolls.
And of course a giant stuffed turkey.
All my siblings and their families came.
Wall-E played the piano.
Everyone danced.
The guys watched the big game and of course we all ate until we were stuffed. It was a great day.
Later that night someone tried to break into the house. Fortunately the alarm went off.
And the police were able to make an arrest.
I know I am pregnant but I still have 4 months to go and I have already gained over 20lbs. I think some of the weight is because of all the food I ate over the holidays. I have started working out and I am trying to eat healthier.
I have also been studying nectar making and reading cook books.
I decided not to take a leave of absence from work while I was pregnant so after the holidays I returned to work at the restaurant.
I like to be busy but I think maybe I have been overdoing it. By the time spring rolled around my back hurt consonantly.
I have also gained even more weight and my chest is huge.
One spring morning I was out in the garden when I started having contractions. I was surprised as I was still a few weeks away from my due date.
I screamed for help and dad came running.
He called a taxi and we raced to the hospital.
By the time we got to the hospital I was fully dilated and ready to push. I was shocked when I delivered triplets. Even though Gino is not a part of their lives I wanted to honor their Italian heritage.
A beautiful baby girl that I named Natala.
A second beautiful baby girl named Nadia.
And a handsome baby boy named Nico.
My parents love their new grandbabies and are a big help. I don’t know how I would have managed three babies by myself.
Shortly after the triplets were born dad past away.
Mom and I were devastated when the grim reaper showed up for him. Dad was 114.
But dad wasn’t ready to go yet and he presented the grim reaper with a death flower.
The grim reaper was so thrilled with the flower he reset dad’s age back to 89 and brought him back to life.
Mom was so happy dad was back that she pulled him in for a big kiss.
Since then the two have been acting like newlyweds.
A few months later mom started getting sick a lot.
Turns out she is pregnant. I can’t believe I am going to have a new sibling. My brother or sister is going to be 9 months younger than my kids.
Dad is thrilled about becoming a father again.
Over the next several months I worked hard and I was eventually promoted to Executive Chef.
I have also started dating Dion Correa. He is the gardener we hired to help with the crops. He is so handsome and we have a lot in common.
We can spend hours just taking about cooking or gardening.
He is great with the triplets.
He encourages me to get out of the kitchen and/or greenhouse once and awhile so we went to the summer festival. It was fun holding hands while spinning on our skates.
That is until we fell down.
We hired a sitter for the triplets so mom and dad could come too. They participated in a hot dog eating contest with two of my cousins. I don’t know them very well as they are much older than I am. They are my aunt Lily’s kids.
Pregnant lady for the win! Mom was the hands down winner.
Mom is starting to show and it is so cute seeing dad follow her around so he can “feel the baby.” I really wish I could have experienced that when I was pregnant with the triplets.
I am trying out different cocktails. I made this fruity pink drink and for some reason it left me feeling very frisky.
So I called Dion and asked invited him to spend the night.
Before we knew it summer had turned to fall. I carved pumpkins.
We had another costume party. Everyone looked great in their costumes.
Dion came over and helped rake leaves.
Let’s just say we had some fun in the leaf pile.
It is time for fall harvest I also spend a lot of time working in the garden.
We hired a sitter and went to the fall festival. Dion and I bobbed for apples.
And toured a haunted house.
Mom and dad participated in a pie eating contest. Again pregnant lady for the win. Mom won by a landslide.
I started writing my first cookbook.
One winter day mom and dad were playing chess when her water broke.
And she started having contractions.
She gave birth to an adorable little girl named Melissa after Melissa Franklin an experimental physicist.
The next few months flew by and before I knew it the triplets were turning 1 years old.
I baked three cakes.
My family all came to cheer on as the triplets blew out their candles.
Nadia’s cake caught on fire.
The maid grabbed the fire extinguisher and had the fire out before the fire department arrived.
Nico has my blue hair, green skin, and turquoise eyes.
Natalia has my green skin and turquoise eyes but her grandpa’s redish hair.
Nadia is the only one to get any of her father’s features. She has his brown hair. But like her siblings has my green skin and turquoise eyes.
As the executive chef I don’t have to be in until 3 pm which leaves me a lot of free time in the mornings. I get the kids up and fed.
Then we play, read stories, or work on skill building. Mom and dad are great help with them.
I only have to be at the restaurant four days a week, which gives me three days off to spend with my family and Dion. We recently went to the Spring festival were we skated.
And tried out the love machine. We got a top score.
I asked Dion to move in with me and he happily said yes.
I love him so much.
I think my favorite moments with him are when we are working side by side in the garden together.
In the summer we had a pool party. I added a pool side bar and it was fun making drinks for everyone.
My sister Margaret surprised everyone with the news that she is expecting. She is very hush hush about who the father is.
The party was a hit. Dad had a blast having a water balloon fight with my brother Mitchell and nephews Niel and Nolan.
Everyone swam and played on the water slide.
Later that evening I grilled salmon for everyone.
That fall I was promoted to Chef de Cuisine. I am now in charge of the kitchen and pretty much run the restaurant for the owner.
For my little sister’s first birthday I baked her a cake and we had a big party.
Dad said she looks exactly like his mom Kaitlyn. She has the same green skin, blue eyes and blonde hair.
We also celebrated mom’s birthday. She is now an elder like dad.
During the party Margaret went into labor.
I took her to the hospital and she had twins.
A baby girl named Nancy.
And a baby boy named Nigel.
“I need to tell you something,” Margaret said. “It is about the twins father.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Their father is Matthew ?.”
“As in my ex-boyfriend from High School? I didn’t realize you two were dating,” I said.
“Oh we aren’t,” she said. “We are both on the City Council and after a meeting a bunch of us went out. Matthew and I both drank way to much and the next morning woke up together. We both thought it was a HUGE mistake and promised never to talk about it again. That is until I realized I was pregnant. Matthew is engaged to someone else and neither of us wants a scandal. I told people that I decided I wanted a family so went with a donor. But you dated Matthew and I wanted you to know the truth.”
I gave her a big hug and told her to let me know if she needed anything.
The next several years flew by in the blink of an eye. Soon Melissa and the triplets were all walking, talking and potty trained.
One day after the kids were in bed mom, dad and I were watching TV when we saw that my favorite cooking competition show was going to be filming in Bridgeport.
“You should audition,” mom said. “You could win that competition.”
“I would love to audition but what about the kids. They are going to be turning 6 soon. I can’t just leave them for 4 months,” I replied.
“I think you should do it,” dad said. “Sure you would be leaving your kids for a few months but your mom and I raised 12 kids and for part of that time she was a ghost. I also spent a lot of time visiting the future. I think we can handle a couple of six-year-olds for a few months. Plus your siblings are close by and can help too. Dion loves the kids so I am sure he will pitch in as well. Just think, you would be showing your kids how important it is to go after their dreams.”
They convinced me and I got to work making my audition tape.
“I’m Chef Marjorie Equidae but everyone calls me Maggie. I am a graduate of the Bridgeport Culinary Institute and currently work as the Chef de Cuisine at a Steakhouse in Appaloosa Plains. I would love to open up my own restaurant some day specializing in Italian cuisine. I am a single working mother of triplets but I have a very big and supportive family. It is my dream to be a “5 Star Chef” and while I hate to be away from my kids I want to show them that their mom went for her dreams.”
I sent the tape off in the mail.
A few weeks later got an email that I was one of the 16 finalists for the show. Looks like I am headed back to Bridgeport.
