Chapter 55: Epiphany

Alder stared in dismay at the dumpster.  It was so...dirty.  Filthy really.  Miss Hibbards had been quite clear though, the Senior Project this year was to start up a blog and make it successful.  To fail meant you didn't graduate.  Everyone had drawn a piece of paper from a hat, on that paper had been their subject matter for the blog.  To keep things even and fair, Miss Hibbards had said.

 

  Ryder groaned.  He had picked Dumpster Diving, could there have been a worse subject to get stuck with?  No, there were a few others that recieved a worse subject than him.  Arlo Bunch for example, he had to blog about what it was like to get hit by lightning, over and over and over.  Or Jake Pax, he had to blog about being an alien test subject.

  Compared to those choices, the dumpster was a breeze.  He grimaced.  It smelled horrific though.

  He held his breath, and dived in.

 
  It was worse than he thought it would be, and he had imagined it to be pretty bad.  It smelled like putrid vomit, and the little rice things wiggled.  He didn't think rice was supposed to wiggle.  He jumped out of the dumpster and shuddered.  This was going to be a long year.

 
  He pulled his phone out.  It was time to make his first post on what it was like to be a dumpster diver.

  

  Alder had lost his heart.  To a girl even.  A pretty girl with pink hair that clung on to him and called him Da da.

 

    Boys were great fun, and he loved his boys.  He found Reagan mystifying, she blew hot and cold towards him all the time.  But Cori, Cori just looked at him and said, "My Da da."  as she raised her arms up, wanting him to pick her up.  And that had been it.  Little Cori had stolen his heart.

  He vowed that he wouldn't let any one hurt her, and if any guy tried to...he paused in his thoughts, then he froze.  If someone like him entered Cori's life, he would have to kill him, no doubt about it. 

  And all those women he had been with, including Spring, they were someone's little girl, like Cori was his little girl.  So what did that make him?  And could he change?  He looked at his daughter's face, and he decided that it was time for him to stop running, and maybe, just maybe, even get married.

  "You hear that pumpkin?"  He grinned at his daughter, who giggled back at him.  "I'm gonna do it, become a Dad you'd be proud of.  Bite the bullet, and all those other cheesy cliches.  I'm gonna get married!"

 

  "So what do you think punkin?  Maybe your Mom would even let you be the flower girl?"  Alder couldn't see any reason why she wouldn't.  Cori was going to be her flower girl when she wed his brother, Puck.  Alder still couldn't get over the fact that his brother was not only engaged to Esther, but they were expecting a baby.  Puck had come over to talk to him about it, all worried about what Alder thought. 

  Puck said it had been a one time thing, and he felt horribly guilty about it.  Especially after Alder had refused to sleep with Jamie, but instead had let Puck know that his girlfriend was sleeping around.  Alder didn't see what the big deal was, and he told his brother so.  Esther wasn't his girlfriend, and he had never loved her.  Esther was not Spring.  If Puck had slept with Spring, well, now, that would have been different.

  "But he didn't, did he baby girl?"  Alder kissed the top of his daughter's head.

 

  "Now all I have to do is convince Spring that she still wants to marry me.  She's rather pissed, uh, I mean, mad at me right now.  I can't say that I blame her, she's put up with a lot over the years."  Alder smiled again at Cori.  "Your Mom should be back soon, how about I play guitar for you and your sister?  You girls seem to like that."

  Cori clapped her hands.  "Moosic Da da!  Moosic!"

  "Moosic it is."  He set Cori down on the living room floor and opened up his guitar case, and pulled out his guitar.  He strummed a few strings, checking to make sure it was still in tune.  He noticed Reagan come into the room, he pretended not to see her.  If he acknowledged her, she would disappear faster than he could say her name.  If he ignored her, she would stay and quietly listen to him play.

  "How about a little bit of the King baby?"  He curled his lips back in a fake Elvis imitation, as he started playing the tune Blue Suede Shoes.  Cori was crazy about the King.

 

   "Boo shoes!  Boo shoes!"  Cori giggled.

 

    "What about Ghost Riders in the Sky?"  Reagan asked quietly, almost hesitantly.

  Alder stopped playing and stared at Reagan.  "You like old country!?"  He wasn't sure how successful he was at keeping the horror out of his voice.  His daughter liked old country!!??  Had he really heard those words come out of her mouth?

 

  Reagan nodded, and then smiled shyly at him.  "You play really well, I just don't care for rock that much."  She smiled apologetically.  "But I really love country, the classics like Johnny Cash and Kris Kristoferson.  Do you know any of their songs?" 

 

  He saw the expectation in her eyes, the hope, and he sighed inwardly.  Today was a day of growth, not only had he decided to get married, but he, he, the lead guitarist of Excaliber, which most definitely was not a country band, he was going to play country.  On his guitar.  It was like, like sacrilege.  But he would do it, because he was a sucker and he loved to see the smile in his girls' eyes.  It was the first thing Reagan had ever requested of him, so like it or not, he was going to suck it up.

    He knew the tune well enough, so he closed his eyes and he began to play.

 

   

****
 
 "Are you finished yet?"  Alder asked Spring calmly as he washed the dishes.

 

   "No!" she hollered into the megaphone.  "I'm not done yet.  I need to practice before my big protest at the Park.  I'm going to let all the women in this town know that you are a heartless, self centered jerk!  That they should stay far away from you.  You'll break their hearts and leave them as single Moms!  You're a troll!"

 

    "I'm going to do this town a favor!  I'm going to let them all know just what kind of guy you are!  A user of women, a heartbreaker!  A gigolo!"

  "Hey now," Alder said as he walked over to her.  "I was never paid for having sex, therefore the label of gigolo would be a lie.  Would you put that megaphone down, so we can talk?"

 

  Spring reluctantly put her megaphone down.  "Talk about what?  If you think you can persuade me to cancel my protest, well, forget about it."

  "No, no, I was going to tell you that I think you're so hot when your all fired up and passionate.."  He edged a little closer to her, and Spring felt her insides flutter.  It was so unfair that she found him so attractive, that just the look in his eyes as he came closer to her made her swoon.

 

  "Alder..." she said warningly.  "You stay away from me, you hear?  I'm ticked off and hurt and..."

  "I'm sorry."  Adler said sincerely.

 

   Spring stared at him in confusion.  Had he just apologized?  "Did I hear you right?"

  Alder nodded.  "I think you should make an honest man out of me Spring.  Our kids are nearly grown, and you still haven't married me yet."

  Spring glared at him. "If that is your idea of a joke Alder, I am going to take a meat cleaver to your stubborn thick headed, ooomph."  Her rant was cut short when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, a long slow melting kiss that made her all soft inside and made her forget why she was so upset with him.

 

 
  When he finally released her, he stepped back slightly.  "That wasn't a joke."  Alder said seriously.  "I'm serious Spring.  I love you, I have for a long time.  I probably would have come to this conclusion a whole lot earlier if not for my mother pushing me." He said sheepishly.  "I love her dearly, but she gets on my nerves, and then my stubborn side kicks in, and," Alder sighed, "I'm a jerk.  I wouldn't blame you for saying no but..."

  "You haven't asked me yet."

  "I didn't?"

  "No, you said I should make an honest man of you.  That is not a proposal Alder."

  "Hmm, well, I should rectify that." He gave her his cocky smile, the one she loved so much. 

 

   "Spring, I love you, would you be crazy enough to take me on for life and become my wife?"

  Spring squealed.  "Yes!"  He grunted a bit at the impact as she threw herself into his arms.  "Alder I swear, if you ever sleep with..."

  "Thing of the past Babe."  He assured her with an easy smile.  "Don't you know, I'm reformed now?  Though I can't say for certain that we won't have any other kids knocking on the door looking for me.  I was a bit, uh, careless before my reformation."

  "I can deal with kids from your past, I won't be happy about it, " she said honestly, "but I'm willing to set it all aside.  I love you Alder, I always have."

  "I know." 


  ****

  Alyssa was so excited!  Paeris parents had to go out of town for a really important medical conference, so he was going to spend the night at her house. 

   It was also her birthday!  She shared her birthday with both Paeris and Niall.  The night couldn't get any better, she got to spend her birthday with her best friend, and also would get to spend her first few hours as a teen with him.

  Niall was older than both of them, so he had his birthday first.

 

    Followed by Alyssa.

 

  And finally Paeris.

 

  Once the birthday sparkles went away, Paeris and Alyssa shyly looked at each other.  Suddenly things seemed different, and yet the same.  He was still her best friend, but she also felt the stirring of something more.

   She felt a little too shy to come right out and tell him so, so she whispered it in his ear.

 

  She was overjoyed to find out he returned her feelings.  They grinned stupidly at each other, both feeling equal parts awkward and  happy.  Her mother spoiled the moment by opening the door and announcing it was time to go to bed.  Paeris unrolled his sleeping bag and crawled in, Alyssa followed suit.

  They talked and laughed in hushed whispers until the early morning hours before they finally fell asleep.

 

  Her mother woke up them up with the announcement that school had been canceled due to the snow.  Alyssa rolled up her sleeping bag, her thoughts whirling around in her head.  She had the whole day to spend with Paeris.  She smiled, happy inside.  She had the whole day to spend with Paeris.

  "Morning."  His voice was a little huskier, and deeper now. 

  She liked it.  "Good Morning." she said softly.  They stared at each other some more, both wearing stupid grins on their faces.  She couldn't get over how handsome he was; she could just look at him forever.  He seemed to enjoy just looking at her as well.

  They spent more hours, just talking.  Talking about school, other friends, family, their plans, and their plans for their futures.  They both wanted the same things.

 

  Alyssa really enjoyed talking with Paeris, she loved the sound of his voice, the way he spoke.  But she couldn't stop herself from thinking about his lips and kisses.  She really wanted to kiss him, but as of yet, neither one of them had made the first move.

  "Aaaand, you're not listening to me again.  Alyssa!  Hello!"  Paeris waved his hand in front of her face.  "Where did you go?  It must be an interesting place because you keep blushing."  He looked at her quizzically.

  "I'm sorry Paeris, but I just can't stop thinking, well, thinking about, er, kissing you."  she finished in a rush, then blushed even more.

  His eyes lit up.  "I've been thinking about kissing you all day!"  They smiled shyly at each other.  Paeris moved in closer to her, and put his arms around her.  They giggled and laughed, not the least bit embarrassed as they bumped noses and tried to figure out angles and whether they should close their eyes or keep them open.  One kiss led to two, which led to three, and then more and more, and Alyssa felt the slow fire burning in her blood, then it threatened to consume her as their kissing grew more and more passionate.

 

    "Ahem."  Alder cleared his throat.  "Time to come downstairs kids."

 

______________________________________________________________

  Notes: In case it wasn't obvious, lol, Ryder is my Gen 6 heir.  He has to perfect a skill, and I have chosen the Social Networking one.  He actually rolled one of the new career rolls as well, Dumpster Diving.  It took me a long time to try to figure out why he would even go dumpster diving.  He is not the type, lol  In fact, he has the neat trait, and he hates every single moment of being in the dumpster.  I have never seen hygiene go down so fast!  Or his mood.  It's a good thing he always has his phone on hand---he can go stream some videos, lol   Help raise his fun.  As to the household roll, I won't reveal that one quite yet.

  Alder and Spring.  They really cracked me up, and I laughed a lot while playing through all of that.  Spring discovered she had a megaphone in her backpack, and she decided to use it.  She ranted about love and romance and all of that EVERYWHERE she went, lol  All autonomously.  She'd finish with the task I gave her---she'd start ranting about love again.  Priceless.

  I sent Alder over to spend some time with Cori, and get pictures.  For the first time he rolled the want to marry Spring.  So Spring is ranting about love, and Alder finally decides he wants to get married! LOL  Cracked me up.  Reagan loves country music, that amused me as well, as Alder is in a rock band!

  And yes Puck is engaged to Esther.  Unbelievable.  And he is having a kid with her.  I just had to shake my head.  Silly Puck.

  The birthdays started as a fail on my part.  Alyssa had been wanting a slumber party for quite a while, so I finally set one up, totally forgetting it was her birthday.  I wasn't sure if the birthdays would mess up the slumber party or not, but thankfully it was a not.  As soon as Alyssa aged up, she rolled all these love wants.  She wanted to kiss Paeris, she wanted to go on a date, etc. etc.  I decided they were just so cute together that I let her have her wishes.

  The heat of the moment kiss was autonomous, and so was Alder appearing in the room, he was going to have a *chat* with Paeris.  That made me laugh too.  Ha!  The look on Paeris face, uh oh, we've been caught.  Priceless.

  Gen 5 has been passing quickly, mostly because they had kids earlier than I had originally planned.  Within the next chapter, maybe 2, Gen 6 will be in charge, as they are all almost young adults.  My Monty is getting older too (he's an adult now, while Lia and Alder have barely aged at all), he is not a fairy. :(  He and Lia keep rolling wants to have more babies, and I feel so mean because I can't let them have any more while they are part of the active household. :(

 
  Thanks for reading! =)