Spring Arrivals

Once they'd moved inside the house, Royce and Kylie really began feeling settled, even though they still slept on a dirt floor!

Royce would rise with the sun and the birdsong and sneak out so he could get to the fishing pond for that good, early-morning fishing time.

Kylie would get up a short while later. She spent a lot of time creating recipes with the foods she foraged. Royce was always ready for her tasty treats when he got home from the pond.

And as the days went on, and selling the fish at the market brought in more and more money, the front yard was starting to get some attention. After fishing and marketing was done for the day, the pair would head out to the old garden area to pull weeds to clear some area for their first garden plots. They were able to purchase some seeds and fertilizer at the Finchwick market stalls. Soon, they had a decent little plot of plants filling up their icebox!

One day, after Kylie had spent most of the day at the community gardens, learning from the local ladies about propagating herbs and mushrooms that she found growing wild, she came home only to be met by a smiling husband.

"Come inside, Kylie! I have something to show you!" Royce exclaimed.

"Can it wait a second? I just want to plant these few berries I found..."

"Nope, can't wait! Get in here!" Royce grabbed her hand and pulled her along, through the front door and into the great room of their home.

Kylie gasped. The sleeping bags were gone. The carpet had been pulled to one side of the room, and on top of the carpet... was a real, live BED!

Well, THAT deserved to be celebrated! 😏😏😏

Life went on, more garden plots were planted, more weeds were pulled, more fencing was repaired, and the bed was a wonderfully soft spot to put their tired bodies each night.

Pretty soon, however, Kylie was up in the night making an extra trip to the icebox for more food...

And that's what got Royce really motivated!

As Kylie's pregnancy advanced, Royce patched walls in the main floor bedroom, repaired the fireplace there, and laid the stone flooring. Then he built some furniture for the living room to make it a "real home"!

Kylie took up knitting and cross-stitch, which saved her sanity in that third trimester. She found it too hard to work outside in the garden and with the chickens each day. And, while she felt badly that Royce had to do it all himself, she hoped some new sweaters would help make it up to him.

Royce didn't mind. His body was toned from working on their land now, and he was feeling pretty accomplished with a hammer and nails. Kylie often teased him that he was the one doing most of the "nesting" during her pregnancy.

Royce didn't have as much time for fishing during those months, but they did have quite a bit of produce to sell at the village markets now, so they were still bringing in enough money to live on plus some to keep renovating. He got the bedroom dresser done just in time...

"Royce! Royce, get up!"

Zzzzzz...

"ROYCE!"

That got him out of bed!

"Who? What? Where? What's happening?"

"What do you think is happening, you lunkhead???"

As it turned out, things went pretty smoothly. And soon, Felicia Renfield was born.

After that, the days literally flew past. Baby feedings, baby washings, baby cooing, baby cuddling. And Royce was busy building a new kitchen and scouring ads for some proper, albeit second-hand, appliances.

Then there was the endless laundry, the ever-growing garden, their four crazy chickens, and... a COW! It was the first time Kylie thought Royce had actually lost his mind, bringing a cow home in the midst of everything else they were just getting used to and trying to do.

"It's fine!" Royce insisted. "I can handle it! You knit - and look after Felicia. I've got this!"

But he was looking more and more tired, and Kylie worried. She helped whenever she could, but she knew it wasn't as much as he needed.

Which is why she sat at the breakfast table one morning, dreading the conversation she had to have with her husband.

She heard a splooshing sound followed by a muffled expletive through the open window over the sink. She winced. She knew he was out there by the back door attempting to scrub baby burp-up from his shirt. Again.

A heavy sigh left her as she got up. "May as well just do it," she whispered to herself.

A wet-down-the-front husband with a washtub full of clothing looked up as she stepped off the stoop. She took a breath.

"Royce, honey? Um, so, I took a test... and... well, there's other signs, too... um, I'm pregnant."

There. She'd said it.

"Whaat???" Royce's eyes bugged out. "Already? Now? But Felicia's still so little! How?? Really??"

"I know, I know!" Kylie waved her hands, trying to ease the situation by moving air around, apparently. "I know, but, well, it just happened! I don't know, these things do, you know..."

Much to her relief, after he took a minute, Royce smiled again. Not a big one, but it was a smile.

"Well, I guess we always said we'd want at least two kids," he admitted. "I suppose now is as good a time as any. I mean, it's not, but, well, I guess we'll have to make it be, right?"

Kylie smiled back. "Right!" she agreed. Sometimes, she wondered what she ever did to deserve Royce!

Somehow, despite everything, they managed to expand the garden and replace the fence. They bought bees to add to their menagerie of domestic and wild critters, and the boon to the garden was worth the few stings they experienced from time to time.

Felicia was old enough to move from the bassinette to the crib Royce had built for her just before the new baby arrived. Kylie marveled at how fast she was growing. And she was also grateful that her body seemed much more comfortable being pregnant this time around.

"I wonder, will you have a little sister or a little brother?" she asked Felicia as she tucked her into bed one night.

"Gooba baguff blursha," Felicia cooed. Kylie chuckled.

"Yes, you're right. Whatever we have, we'll have a very happy family!"

= = = = = = = =

Author's Note

I know, I know, these two are SICKLY SWEET, I tell ya! Well, that's usually how I play 'em. Haa!

While I haven't made a fuss over it in the story, Royce did found a dynasty. My own rule for this particular dynasty is that the heir has to be male. (I like to mix it up - my other dynasty family is just plain first-born becomes heir, and one day, I want to do a female-heir dynasty, too. 😊) So I'm really hoping Felicia gets a little brother! Because kids be hard, man! 😆

As well, this just struck me as really funny - not sure I've ever seen it in my game! I laughed my head off. The look on the kid's face. 

"Um, Daaaad? Like, what IS this? Can I maybe not be here right now? Maybe put me down somewhere first? Anywhere is fine, really... Wait, what's that SMELLL!?!?"