Chapter 3: Daddy Issues

Every time Jessi opened the front door to her home, her life was always about to change in some manner. Usually, this change was the creation of new children, but if she had known who would be standing on the opposite end of the door frame that very day, she probably would have never gotten out of her bed to begin with.

The frequent ringing doorbell forced Jessi out of bed at the premature hour of nine AM, her children off at a summer school program she had signed them up for and an unfinished painting of hers still hanging in the easel’s arms. She hoped that it wasn’t another nosy suitor – occasionally, a few particularly bold (or simply drunk) men would announce themselves at her doorstep without being called and demand that she bring them into the folds of her bedroom, ignoring the fact that she was either a) pregnant or b) simply not in the mood for procreation. It was these types of men that Jessi detested sleeping with, and as she made her way down the stairs, she contemplated the easiest way to let the lover down.

Opening the door, her first thoughts were of how unorthodoxly dark the morning had turned, until she realized the sun was being blocked by the figure of an imposing man, whose hefty weight filled the door frame.

“Hubert?” she gasped, stepping outside for a better look. “What are you doing here?” 

“I've come to visit my children, that’s what I’m doing here.” He answered swiftly, as if afraid for Jessi to finish her sentence. His face was all smiles, but Jessi couldn't help feeling as if something was dodgy.

“Right, well, it’s nine o clock on a Tuesday morning. Even if the kids weren't currently all away, don’t you think they’d be a little too tired to speak with you?”

“Yeah, just suppose I’ll wait here until they come back.” He attempted to push his way through the door, but his fat rolls wouldn't give way.

“And who gave you the authority to…?”

“Listen, are you really going to give me crap for this? I’ll stay out of the way, just let me stay to see my damn kids.”

She bit her lip, contemplating. There was a lot of work to do today, what with fixing the faulty toilet, regular cleaning, maybe the completion of a small painting or two along the way, and then again, it was pretty rude to demand to see her children without prior notice, especially the way that he was doing it – but did she really have the right to deny her children a visit with their father? Not wanting to be mixed up in an unnecessary family drama, Jessi merely nodded her head, admitting him entry to the house through the larger side door.

“And you promise to not be in the way?”

“On my mother’s grave. Now, where’s your fridge, again?”

She supposed that sacrificing a few cheap morsels was a fair price if it meant assuaging the man, though Jessi hated to lose the money. Funds were tight enough as they were, what with her love of online shopping – alas, why couldn't she have been born with a Frugal trait?

The hours seemed to drag by as she waited for the kids to arrive home. She was subjected to vicious questioning about Mars’ real father by the volatile Hubert, who she was planning to call to the house for breeding next (“Undecided, and don’t call it breeding”), how she could be a successful author if she couldn’t even leave her house (“Welcome to the wonder of the internet”), and if she still missed him (“Weren’t you supposed to be leaving me alone?”). Jessi supposed that she couldn't complain – after all, she did complete her day’s work, even if Mars, who was staying home on account of a fever, was attached to her leg the entire day (sometimes literally), afraid of being left alone in the same room as the hunkering Goliath. She supposed that she couldn't blame the child, though she wished Mars was capable of just sitting in his bed for an hour at a time so his sickness would be cured.

Eventually, however, the triplets shuffled their way into the house, rumors of parties and pop quizzes fresh on their lips. It was Axel who first stopped short, noticing the new house guest.

“Oh, uh, God, mom. Sorry. If we knew that you were, uh, entertaining a guest…” The children were now old enough to understand their origins, and Jessi shot her embarrassed son a sharp look.

“Axel, Petal, Lotus. I have some important news for the three of you, so let's just get straight to the point. This man is your father, and he’d like to talk with you.”

Hubert stood up and spread his arms wide, basking in the glow of the moment. “Hello, children. I'm Hubert Galatica, your father. I know that we've only known one another for a minute or so, but I’ve come here with an offer.”

Jessi waved her arms. “Whoa, whoa, Hubert. You never told me you were offering some sort of deal. Don’t you think that this is the sort of thing you should run by me first?”

He ignored her and barreled on. “See, I’m leaving this town shortly. I’ve had it with being a gas station attendant. The hours are long and the gratification is nada.” He shot the children his best charming look, the fangs he called teeth glowing softly in the kitchen light.

“During my time I've collected a decent amount of money. I’m going to be gone for a long time. A long time. But then I thought, ‘Hey, before then, what a great time to bond with my kids’, right?”

“So you just want to say goodbye before you leave.” Lotus spoke up, out of character for her usually timid personality.

“Well, not quite. See, I was planning on taking you kids with me.”

“Wait, what?” Jessi interjected. “Wait a second, wait a second. These are my kids as much as they are your’s, Hubert. You can’t honestly expect to just bust in here and take them from me!”

He waved his hand nonchalantly. “Easy there. I’ll only take the ones that want to go with me. Nobody is forced to go.”

Jessi’s eyebrows arched. First he breaks into her home, then he eats her food, and now he tries to make off with their offspring! “And what about school?”

“Don’t try grabbing at straws, Jessi. It’s mid-July, and you know it.”

“But what about next year?”

“I’ll put them in the school of my new location.”

“And just where is that?” she asked, folding her arms impatiently. What a jerk.

“It’s the city.”

Upon the impact of the words, Lotus reeled, gripping on the edge of the table. The crowds, the people. All of it made her head spin. “I can already tell you that I’m not going then, Daddy Dearest.” The city was no place for a Loner like her.

“Fine. That’s one down, two to go. What about you two, uh…”

“I’m Axel, that’s Petal.” Axel offered, pointing at himself and his sister, who was lost in a quiet thought. A silence spread over the kitchen.

“Exactly how far away is this city?” Petal asked, breaking the spell.

“Well, we can reach it ten hours by plane, if that means anything.”

She lowered her voice to a haunting whisper. “Far enough away that people there won’t know who the Deliahs are?”

The kitchen restrained from noise, processing Petal’s words. Hubert struggled for an answer. This was obviously a question that he did not count on answering. “I can’t really guarantee anything to you, but…”

Petal cut him short. “I want to take a chance.” She turned to her siblings. “I mean, aren’t you tired?”

Axel tilted his head dumbly. “Of?”

Lotus shook her head, already aware of what was to come out of her sister’s mouth. “Not now. Not while Mom’s around.”

“Excuse me?” Jessi piped in. “What exactly is going on?”

But Petal continued, apparently either too invested in her tirade to take head to her sister’s words or simply ignoring them. “The adults of this town with their dumb traditions and their ideals and crap...I don’t care what the adults of this town say about us, the Deliah children, that we’re lucky to have such a large family, that they’re glad that the town’s still in touch with its roots, it’s all a bunch of bullshit. This entire ‘tradition’ is literally just a way for town hall to fund their luncheons and parties, and the high school knows it, goddamn it.” She stared at her mother, who at this point was on her feet. "They all know."

“Petal?” she asked softly, opening her arms as if expecting to receive a hug.

“They call you terrible things, mom, the students. They call you a showpony breeder, and a disgusting introvert, and the teachers do nothing about it. The kids graffiti my locker with all sorts of slurs, and a few weeks ago, they broke into the music room and destroyed Axel’s tuba.”

“You told me you dropped it.” Jessi said quietly. Axel looked at the floor, suddenly very interested in his shoelaces.

“And what about the time that Lotus came home with that black eye, huh? Did you really believe that she had walked into a door? Someone called you a slut and she just lost her mind. Got suspended for two weeks, and just pretended that she went to school during that time. Can’t you see that none of us can take this shit anymore?” Petal took a step closer to Hubert. “Come on, you two. Can’t you see that we can start new somewhere else?”

Axel began inching his way toward his father, but Lotus was steadfast. 

“Are you two really going to do this to me? To mom?” Lotus asked, but her words fell on deaf ears as her siblings smiled at their new guardian. She spun to her mom. “Can’t you do something?”

Still dumbfound from the new information, Jessi slowly shook her head. “If this is their decision, then I’m afraid that there’s very little that I can do. I just wish that everyone here had told me earlier.”

“Goddamnit, you two always do this to me!” Lotus suddenly yelled, forcing her retreating siblings back into the fray.

“What do you mean by ‘this’?” Petal asked coolly, stepping up to her sister. Axel remained in the shadow of his sister, feet pinned to the floor. He had always hated confrontation.

“You and Axel have always been so close, ever since you were kids. You guys always forgot about me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? You and Axel with your buddy-buddy painting skills, and your playing tag…you were the two who always left me in the cold!”

“We only did that stuff because you’d never stop using that damn telescope for hours at a time! And when you weren’t, you’d be teaching Axel to read better. There was never any room for me to do anything!”

Petal balled her fists, and Lotus, hardened by many a playground brawl, drew her arms up to her face. "Are you forgetting about how happy you were exercising on your own, isolated from the rest of us?"

“Petal, Lotus.” Axel's deep rumbling voice scared the two sisters, who stopped their scuffle to look at him. “I honestly have no idea what either of you two are talking about. I always thought that we spent some great times together. I remember painting with Lotus as fondly as I do remembering Petal teaching me how to read. And I’m truly sorry if something I said or the way I acted made you two think otherwise.”

“Do you really mean that?” Lotus asked with caution.

“I…I never thought of it that way.” Petal concluded.

“Look, this entire thing is heartwarming and all, but we really need to get this show on the road. It’s getting 

late, and I have a plan to catch,” yawned Hubert. “Which one of you is staying, and which one of you is going?”

Petal walked back to her sister. “Call it sudden, but it appears that I was wrong all these years. I can’t leave my relationship with my sister in this state, not after this. I’ll stay. C’mon, Axel.” But Axel remained by his father’s side, unwavering.

“Axel?” she asked. “Let’s go.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Wait, what?” the sisters said collectively.

“Axel, this isn’t funny anymore. Please, come back.” Lotus laughed nervously.

“No, I’m serious. I’m going. Look, I’m not interested in college, and I couldn't get the test scores necessary to get into one in the first place. I already know music theory like the back of my hand, and I’ve drawn more nude models that I feel comfortable admitting to. The city could be a great place to get my start, you know? Please, don’t give me that look. We’ll see each other again, definitely. I promise.” He twisted, meeting his father's pleased gaze.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"Immediately. The plane leaves in two hours."

“Axel–“ Lotus was about to start up again when Petal intervened.

“Lotus, I know it’s painful, but he’s right. I'm thinking that a big city is a perfect place for a guy of his talent. He’s old enough that he doesn’t need his sisters telling him what to do. Let’s let him leave with a good start, okay? Mom,” she wheeled, facing her mother, “you’ve been awfully quiet. This is okay with you, right?”

“Like I said before,” she sighed, “If he wants to go, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”

“Well, goodbye, Axel. And godspeed.”

The goodbyes were long and tearful. First to say goodbye was Jessi, who did not stop hugging her son until it was absolutely necessary to say goodbye. Mars was awoken from bed, and when he had stopped howling in the face of the news for long enough, he embraced his older brother in a teary fit. Pointing to the closest easel, he sniffed. "I want you to take my painting. To remember me by."

"That's gonna add a lot to my carry on fee-" Hubert began, only to be cut off by Jessi's nasty glare.

And as Axel left the front door, his sisters waving him off with forced smiles, Petal felt a great, heavy weight lifting off of her chest.

---

Note) Don't worry, no rules of the challenge were broken with this event. Axel was on the honor role, and I aged him up to a young adult before he left. Here's how he looks:

Shirt seems kind of fitting, due to his Virtuoso trait and all.

Aging Up Special, Chapter 2.5: Everyone's Aging, Something's Changing

When Mars aged up, Jessi felt as if something was slightly off. His irises had an odd habit of never quite lining up, and his attention span was shorter than Lotus' hair - abnormal even for a toddler of his age. To her best efforts, Jessi tried to teach the little boy how to speak, but he always seemed more interested in his shoes than her constant repetition of "caaaaat, raaaat". Sometimes, he'd stare at her as if he had finally understood, and Jessi half expected for him to get on his legs and say "Well, that was lovely, mother, but can you feed me now?" - but then he would just gurgle and stick his fist in his mouth, leaving Jessi at square one once more.

She knew that it wasn't right to be this frustrated with her gurgling son: after all, he was just a toddler. But she felt as if this process had sped along must faster with her previous three, and wondered if she was doing something wrong. But eventually, Mars got the hang of things, resulting in his growth from toddler to child.

Meanwhile, the triplets faced obstacles of their own.

Petal was facing serious stress at school, where she overexerted herself tremendously to reach the top of her class. Soon, her siblings found her sleeping in the oddest of places, usually the carpet of the living room floor, too burnt out from her workload to drag herself to a proper bed.

She was a regular Sleeping Beauty.

And things could only get worse for her health, as the triplet's teenage years loomed around the corner, meaning high school was now coming into the picture for the three triplets. Before they could age up, however, Jessi insisted on some individual photographs. "You'll thank me when I'm older," she insisted as she forced them into position.

Axel was first on his mother's insistence, always a Momma's boy. He forced a smile, then lumbered back to his easel.

Lotus gave her best, passive smile into the lens. "I wish you'd grow your hair out again, like when you were a toddler." Jessi sighed.

"Leave me alone, mum. I like it this way."

Jessi supposed it was miracle enough she had gotten her to pose for a photo to begin with, and took what she could get.

Last was Petal.

"Babe, are those bags under your eyes?" she asked, worried.

"What? Oh, no. Don't worry." Petal lied, yawning.

Later that night, their transformations started. Jessi could have sworn that the air grew heavier with the addition of raging teen hormones, but she guessed that she couldn't complain: aging meant new sources of income, and as much as she hated relying on her children for money, it was a necessary part of their lifestyle.

Being the oldest, Axel reached teenagehood first.

He was very excited for this event, too much of a Daredevil to be nervous about the turmoil of his teenage years. Though it was doubtful he'd even realize that he was in turmoil once it caught up to him - he was a great artist, sure, but he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Jessi sometimes worried for his safety, as any good mother is wont to do.

Axel's baby fat carried over from childhood, and his face still retained its childish innocence. While he wouldn't be getting on the honor role soon, he was constantly bringing home artistic and music based awards: age had made him quite the Virtouso, as it proved.

Lotus had made the decision to grow her hair longer, partly to appease her mother and partly to try out something new - it was only by her mother's pleading that she didn't dye it an outrageous color, like orange. Though she still kept the coloring in a secret package, hidden in the bathroom's uppermost cabinet. She at least kept it in a boy-like cut, staying true to her tomboy personality and in an attempt to break out of her shell a little more. People seemed to be drawn to her spunky, yet to-the-point personality, and as she discovered this little by little, it made her want to explore her world more. Large groups still made her uncomfortable, but she soon made friends willing to work around this barrier.

As for Petal, her hair began to reflect her personality: somewhat hidden from the rest of the world. If possible, age had made her even more withdrawn from the family, spending her days either in the backyard or the local library, rarely returning to the inside of the Deliah household until after midnight. Her eyes grew tired and sunken, and her childhood interests largely remained the same.

 

Her tradition of lurking in strange places continued.

All in all, Jessica was pleased with the growth of her children, albeit a bit worried that the day they would have to leave her nest was approaching too close for comfort. But on the bright side, she still had Mars - whom she quickly discovered had picked up the Insane trait, possibly attributing to his eccentric behavior - and an uncountable amount of suitors at her beck and call, so the excitement of her life was far from over.

Just how excited things would get in the Deliah family, however, was unpredictable by even Jessica herself.

Chapter 2: Skills and Strawberry Seeds

(Click on the images to see them larger; a lot of them have been cut short)

Recently, Petal had taken a keen interest in the world around her. She might have been growing, but the world around her had just been getting larger as she read and absorbed more and more of her environment. It was only a matter of time until she noticed the telescope in the backyard, solitary and beckoning to her cause.

While her brothers and sisters played tag in the distance, Petal spent many a day and night staring through her telescope, content to be watching the stars above. She often kept a notebook at her hip, for recording the position of various stars and comets. As much as she enjoyed her new hobby, however, it also made her feel even more removed from her siblings. Axel, who had used to look up to her so dearly, was growing away from Petal and closer to Lotus, and the diversion of their interests only deepened the split between the two.

It had started to take a negative effect on her. Petal would often stand alone in the bathroom, sometimes staring out the window while contemplating several mysteries, things that made her head hurt and wanted to make her scream for reasons even she did not entirely understand. What had happened between her and her brother? Did Axel and Lotus secretly laugh at her behind closed doors? Sometimes, she'd anxiously check on the state of her telescope, half expecting to find her siblings smashing it to the ground just to see the look of hurt on her face. She was prone to constant headaches, and concentration in school became even more difficult. And another ever prevalent question: who was her father? All the other children had them. Why not her? Nothing was fair, and everything hurt. Yes, Petal was developing into quite the Neurotic.

As for Jessi, her preparation for a new baby was underway. Strawberry Lemonade was long gone, even before she had woken up the day after their procreation. She supposed he was too embarrassed to even say goodbye - after, he didn't seem like the type to just walk out on a girl after using her up, or was he? Only having a few hours to get to know the father of your future children was difficult sometimes. Jessi wondered how her mother managed to go through with this tradition so smoothly.

First, Jessi examined the playroom. Against her better judgment and goaded on with the little extra weight in her pocket due to a few successful book releases, she splurged on a little play stove. It would be great to raise a Natural Cook. Or was Strawberry already one? So many questions that she'd never know the answer to.

She then decided to examine the play tables individually. Axel had organized his table neatly, which shocked Jessi, as she recalled Hubert Galatica, her son's father - more specifically, how he had rooted through her fridge without her permission, left the dishes on the counter for her to clean, and then asked rather rudely why she wasn't in bed with him yet. "Hopefully," Jessi sighed to herself, "he won't be inheriting his father's slob trait." After all, there was enough to do without constantly cleaning after her rowdy little boy!

Axel, meanwhile, had began to paint, the easel oddly empty as Lotus refined her Athletic trait to the tune of Kid radio. It was here that he discovered his Artistic trait coming to fruition. The brush had felt just so natural in his hand, almost as if it was specially made for his fist.

And Lotus, valuing her privacy, which was obtained only every so often with two siblings and a nosy mother, was exercising passionately in a half-room.

Jessi often enjoyed watching her children's furious work from afar. "They grow up so fast." she found herself saying. And then regretting, because oh my god, she couldn't have said the most cliched parent line of all time. Her creativity was dying before her eyes! Panic!

Fortunately enough, she didn't have to feel so sentimental, because soon, she could do it all over again. On Monday night, the pains once again started. The babies were coming.

The first contraction had arrived as she made her way to the kitchen, in search of another round of french toast topped with peppers and sauerkraut. At first, she thought that it was a rather cruel baby kick to her spleen. It had only been two days. But as her knees sunk to the linoleum floor, she knew that it had to more, and the rupture of her water only convinced her further. Strawberry's child was rather intent on coming into the world with a bang: sure, child birth was usually painful with no anesthetics or doctor assistance, but this child was practically dragging out Jessi's intestines along with her.

Worried, she turned to the side. All three children weren't home: Axel was most likely off traversing the art museum, Lotus was cleaning off the school's bug cage after school (as punishment for snipping off a girl's hair with a pair of safety scissors during craft time, naughty thing), and Petal, bless her heart, was visiting the home of a school acquaintance - who she largely ignored to do her homework. Well, wouldn't this be a surprise to come home to? Jessi rather liked the idea of giving birth in a quiet home: no anxious children to stress her out.

Well, of course, that was a calming idea until Axel walked in, home from his trip. She tried to play it off cool, casually wiping away her broken water with a dishtowel Lotus had left on the floor. Maybe it was her Jessi had to worry about developing the slob trait.

Of course, what with a baby or two dripping from her loins, she couldn't exactly keep the facade on for long.

His jaw dropping, Axel immediately panicked. "Oh, God, mom! What do I do? I'm too young to be an older brother!"

Jessi didn't know whether to admire or detest that at a time like this, the only thing Axel was considering was his own wellbeing. Or be worried that her none-too-bright son wasn't exactly making sense. But eventually, she managed to get him to stop crying long enough to walk her to the nursery/guest room, where she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Mars; it was the most punk rock name she could think of giving him without embarrassing the poor kid for the rest of his life, in memory of his father.

His eyes were a little on the huge side, a trait definitely directly from his father, but at least he hadn't inherited that sickly yellow skin. Only time would tell just how much like his father little Mars was.

Chapter One: Strawberry Lemonade

The frantic knocking of the front door indicated that Jessi's guest had arrived. Already, she could tell that the man was nervous, simply by the uncertain pattern that the knocks had followed. She had heard from her own mother that the men summoned by the Deliahs often were, and supposed that it was a sign that things were unfolding as they should. Drifting into the doorframe, she approached him with a smile. He excreted apprehension.

"Strawberry Lemonade, I'm guessing?"

"Uh, yeah. Hi. Really nice to meet you." He reached out to shake her hand, surprisingly enough a real gentleman.

Jessi twirled her hair softly, examining the strange looking fellow while trying to keep a look of judgment off of her face. Sure, his sense of style was a little strange, and those lip piercings would make giving him signature kisses extraordinarily difficult, but it was easy to tell that beneath his rough, punk interior was a heart of gold. Even if she was positive that those eyelashes weren't his own.

"I like your jacket," she smiled, searching to end the awkward pause that had ensued, "It's very...original."

He flinched as if she had slapped him. "Oh, jeez, I wasn't even thinking!", he apologized. "Should I have dressed up or redone my hair or..."

She shook her head, cutting him off. "No, no. I like seeing who people really are before I...well, you know. I feel like it makes me expect what to look for in my children." She wanted to move things along quickly; all of a sudden, she was feeling rather annoyed. She had no reason to, she knew - Strawberry seemed to be a very kindly man. But the emotion persisted, and she attempted to at least seem polite. "Anyway, shall we go to my guest room? I'd like to get to know your personality a little more."

Strawberry looked at her confusedly. "You mean we're not going to...?"

"Hey, don't I have a right to know about you before we get to the baby making part? It'll make things less awkward." Typical men, always expecting that she was only interested in Woohooing. Well, then again, it was her job. Kind of.

"Right, right." His hands slunk into his pockets, as if he was trying to retreat.

"Follow me."

Meanwhile, the three children of the Deliah household were delightfully unaware of the siblings in their future. Though unaware of it, they were the first of many children to come, their father an obese gas station attendant who proved to be good practice for their mother's flirtation skills.

Lotus Deliah carefully brought her brush across the surface of the canvas her mother had ordered online for her, blissfully unaware that such an expensive gift would be uncommon in the household for quite some time. Recent money issues had forced Jessi to throw herself into novel creation, whose royalties only came once a week. Lotus was deadset on winning her school's art contest, sure that her refreshing, thrilling depiction of her household was sure to win the judges' hearts.

Axel "Pudge" Deliah was busy neglecting his homework for the blocks table. But even sweeping down carefully stacked blocks with the back of his hand over and over again became old hat after a while, and as it got progressively darker he joined his sister Petal on the couch, book in hand.

"Hey, Petal, what's this word say?" Axel asked, motioning to the beginning of a paragraph.

"Giovanni. Gee-oh-von-knee. It's a name." Petal, who was practically born with a book in her hand, far outpaced the two when it came to her ability to read.

"Oh, okay. And what's this one?"

Petal placed her copy of Logic and Bishops to the side, and scooted closer to her brother. "And."

"And this one."

"What, the one next to 'his'? Brothers."

"And the next one."

"Bonded."

"Okay, okay, and this one?"

"Why don't I just read this to you, okay?"

In the meantime, things had steadily progressed between Strawberry and Jessi, who were doing a little "bonding" of their own.

"Are you ready?" she teased, draping a finger across Strawberry's shoulder and giving him a smoldering stare. Strawberry's face merely turned into the exact shade of the fruit in response to the question. God, she felt a ridiculous prick. This entire flirting business was something she would never be able to get down. Anyway, her donor had changed into something a little more comfortable, and she intended to get him out of it as quickly as possible.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Let's begin, okay? Nice and slow."

A few hours later, Jessi excused herself for the bathroom, making it just  in time. She was an absolute mess, her lips pursed in an unladylike shape and her eyes dark. It was beginning.

~*~*~

NOTE) Since it was pretty difficult to get a good look at Strawberry's face (stupid punk hair), here's a facial shot.