Chapter 4: The Birthday Madness!

Life at Oakenstead was flowing peacefully and steady. Everyone around the house seemed to mind his own bussiness.

Adrian was not slowing down, despite his age. He was working out regularly, every day.

He had his doubts, of course. He was not getting any younger and he knew that he’d never make it to the team. But being a mascot wasn’t so bad. It was a great way to stay active and to be a part of the game, at least a little. He was lucky  enough to see every goal and every match, every victory of his team – it was like being a sport fan and getting paid for it!

A: “The truth is – I love my job, Damon.”

Damon nodded. He was only pretending that he listened. In his mind he was far, far away. Specifically on yesterday’s date with Katie in the park. Since they’ve decided to become a couple, they went on a date every single day. They played chess, cooked together, ate together, read books or just watched the clouds – whatever activity was perfect for Damon, as long as he could do it with her.

D: “Look, that cumulonimbus cloud with cirruses over there! It looks just like…”

Together: “…like an Appaloosa horse!”

(Oh, my, she might be the one for him.)

And even if he was supposed to do something without Katie, he had to share it with her. So yeah, naturally, he ended up talking on the phone constantly and missing out on most of the important events ( Like family dinners. And brunches. And snacks.)

But luckily, the rest of the family was already used to that.

Eudora: “Someone should have told him that cooties are transmitted through phones, too!”

D: “Come on, Dory. Try to be more open-minded…”

E: “Open-minded? But that would make my brain fall out, wouldn’t it?”

Yes, even without Damon participating, lives of the Rossinis remained the same – playful and effortless and so full of love and good time.

Especially Eira loved this new era. She was no longer a representative of the family. And with all the responsibility on Melia’s shoulders, she had plenty of time for all of her children and so she tried to make the most of it.

She read to her little know-it-alls as often as she could (both Camilla and Eudora were aspiring Whiz Kids and Evander was an Artistic Prodigy and needed something to fuel his creativity.)

“There stood a strange cottage, with a tiny door, tiny windows and a tiny chimney pot. Everything about the cottage was much tinier than it ought to be…”

She also decided to buy them some new toys. And to make sure the kids would also  educate themselves while having fun, she went for a chemistry table. For Dory’s mischievous personality, it was like a dream came true.

“Now I can finally produce Fainting Fancies and Nosebleed Nougat like I always wanted!”

Eira also took her time to give Devi a woohoo talk. According to Eira, it went great. According to Devi…not so much.

Devi: “Don’t ever say the word ‘tongue’ in my presence again!”

Devi was trying to not act so immature about it. She already knew everything about those things, but hearing it from her mama was somehow weird. She wanted to forget it as soon as possible, so she decided to wander around the shore. Maybe she would find another frog or a fossil!

She ended up taking a nap. (Which is still good as far as I’m concerned! 😀 )

And so, the days were passing by in a calm, stereotypical manner. Until one day, too many birthday notifications showed up.

But luckily, Mel was ready and so were the cakes!

“I’m such a pro!”

First, it was Camilla’s turn. She was not able to complete her childhood aspiration, but she didn’t mind. She cared about push-ups and monkey bars much more than she cared about chess. She actually couldn’t wait to grow up and to try dad’s boxing bag.

Dory was there to celebrate with her.

Dory: “On my birthday, I’ll wish for enough confetti to make a confetti angel in it!”

…or pretending to be celebrating, just to have an excuse to throw confetti all around the place.

But even without assistance, Camilla grew up beautifully. With her glowing complexion and flowy red hair, she was a real charmer. But a picture is worth a thousand words so have a look:

Her obligatory bad trait is Hot-Headed (as you’ve probably guessed) and her new aspiration is Chief of Mischief.

Next day, it was Damon’s turn. As a teenager, he wanted to have a birthday party. But since he was a polite, nice teenager who never experienced the wild phase or the urge to rebell, he was perfectly okay with a small celebration with his family and friends.

Melia: “What are you waiting for, Damon?”

Damon was a little afraid. It would be his first time being an adult, after all. But then he looked around and he saw happy faces of his siblings and friends. And of Katie, of course. And in that moment he knew everything would be alright.

So he spinned into the adulthood bravely.

“Whoa! I feel great!”

And judging from blondie’s reaction, he also looks great 😀

But Damon didn’t really care about her. His eyes were on Katie as she approached the cake, ready to follow him into the next life stage.

D: “You can do it, babe!”

Damon grew up a Goofball (random roll) and Katie grew up Gloomy. Which are quite the opposites. But opposites attract, right? And this way, Damon can be her sun on rainy days and she can be his voice of reason when things will get serious (since she’s also Neat and a Genius).

“Don’t worry babe, we are still perfect for each other.”

And since Devi was born just a few days after Damon’s adoption, soon it was her turn to grow up. But she was not alone.

Ev: “So, Dad. It’s my birthday today. Any advice?”

Adrian cheered. He’s always wanted to share his fatherly wisdom with someone.

“I’ll give you the advice my father gave me when I was a little boy,” he said very seriously, “it goes like this: ‘If you can’t say anything nice…”

Adrian: “…at least say something clever but devastating.”

A: “Plum, I’m so good at this parenting thing.”

Evander was a little confused but he knew the time was up. His childhood was over and not even Dad’s advice could change that.

So he joined Devi in the kitchen.

“Happy Birthday, Sis!”

“Happy Birthday, baby bro. I’m gonna miss your cute little face.”

And here they are:

Devi got Music Lover as her last trait and with the traits she already had (Loves the Outdoors and Lazy) I felt like she was a hippy in her heart. So she suffered a little makeover.

And Evander…well, he’s a teenager, so I let him wear whatever he felt like wearing. His teen trait is Loner and he currently looks like this.

I wonder what’s the matter with teenage boys wearing eyeliner these days….