About Cassie (1.9)

Mortimer came in while I was on the computer, Toby being tucked into bed and the kids either playing on their Slablets or doing homework (well, realistically, only dear Sophy was doing homework) and sat down next to me.

"Juliana, can we talk?" he asked, gently. I nodded.

"I saw Cassandra again today. She told me...well, it was an accident, but..." He sighed, and leant against my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around him, and he began to tell me what had happened.

***

Mortimer has recently taken up walking all around Willow Creek. He says it helps him think about his writing, and one of his favourite places to walk past is the park, where he went today.

As luck would have it, he spotted Cassie, dressed up beautifully and texting someone on her phone. It's rare that she visits us nowadays, and so he walked over to her, happy for the chance to talk.

"Cassandra!" He smiled, ready to hug her, but noticed that she'd jumped in shock. He described it as the same expression she'd always had as a little girl when she was in trouble.

"Dad!" she stuttered.

"Honey, it's so nice to see you! How have you been?"

"I, um...Well..." She stopped, and closed her eyes, before looking at him in a determined way. "Dad, you're gonna find out now anyway, but I kind of have something to tell you."

A young woman shouted Cassandra's name, and rushed up to them, before stopping, looking between them.

"Cass, who's this?" the blonde girl asked, tilting her head.

"Allie, this is my dad. Dad, this..." Cassandra cleared her throat, nervously. "This is Allie. She's my girlfriend."

Mortimer froze for a split second, before turning to Allie.

"It's very nice to meet you. I, ah, didn't know Cassandra had a partner, but I'm pleased to meet you!" He smiled at her, and Cassandra breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"You're...not mad?"

"Why would I be? Honey, you've found someone you like. I'm happy for you, for you both." He hugged her tight, and Allie smiled sweetly at them.

"Thanks, Daddy," Cassandra murmured, caught off guard.

"Well, sweetheart, I assume you're on a date?" he said, letting go. "Don't let your old dad crash it, especially when I've got my own date with the woods scheduled."

"Oh! Yes!" Cassandra blushed, and Allie laughed.

"Mr Goth, it really was a pleasure to meet you. I'll whisk Cass off to Chez Llama and leave you and the woods to your business, if you don't mind?"

Mortimer nodded, watching Allie link arms with Cassandra and begin to walk. He himself headed towards the woods, and looked back to see Allie hand Cassandra a red rose.

She's in good hands, surely.

***

I looked at him, waiting for him to say more.

"I think she felt she couldn't tell me. I'm guessing Bella knows, but...she didn't feel she could tell me, and I could have cried over that, but I was happy for her, too."

"It's complicated, my love. Children...Children are always so complicated. You think you know them, and then suddenly you realise they keep a side of themselves hidden, I suppose. I mean, Elliott..." I stopped there, knowing it was important to keep talking about Cassie.

"She trusted she could tell you when she saw you. You know now, isn't that good? And like I say..."

"Everything happens for a reason." He finished my sentence, and kissed me very softly. "Yes, my love. I'll listen."

But would he still listen if I tried to tell him about Elliott? About how he's not been talking to me lately, about how he distances himself from Sophy and Caden, and refuses to be nice to his brother? What on earth am I supposed to do?

Juliana

Libby's Thoughts (1.8)

Hello, all.

Juliana told me that I should start a blog, as she says it helps her feel at peace, writing everything down. When I told her I didn't feel I could update it that much, or that I had anything to say, she said I could just use hers, as no one reads it.

So, here we are. I'm sharing a blog with my partner's sister. I'm happy that she mentions Primrose on her posts, and yes, she taught me the lullaby. Somehow, it works, when nothing else does.

As for my little daughter, she doesn't yet have many friends other than her cousins. In fact, her best friend is as near to a cousin on my side as she has.

Primrose and Reagan get along so well, and it's something that makes me smile and feel a little broken up, as well. They love each other in that honest way kids do.

Except I didn't love Reagan's parents for a long time.

When I was Primrose's age, I met a girl called Summer. We were both unsure at the first day of nursery, but we made quick friends! We liked mostly the same things, and we eventually became best friends. We went around to visit each other all the time, and Summer was the first person to get an invite to any parties I had.

Around middle school, we became a trio, as we met a funny guy called Travis. Summer had found him crying and said she knew where he needed to be, and as he was lost, he followed her, but instead, she brought him to me, so I could cheer him up.

We were inseparable, and I thought nothing could change that! I was in chess club, Travis liked IT, and Summer was a cheerleader. We were still friends. Even though we knew we both liked Travis, we didn't do anything about it.

I didn't, anyway. That was the problem, it was why I ended up not talking to them for a while. Back when I still liked Travis, Summer and me made a promise not to go after him. Unfortunately for me, Travis liked Summer, and ended up kissing her just as I came back from work.

After that, I moved to San Myshuno, near my parents. I was heartbroken! But I met Orson soon after, and after a year, he asked me out. Willow Creek had the perfect house for us once we were looking for a better place than just either of our flats, and by then, I was already pregnant. People were under the impression I'd never moved once I got back there, or that I'd been on holiday.

My friendships with Summer and Travis are still strained, but it doesn't matter as much anymore. I don't care for Travis in that way anymore, but it still hurts that it happened.

But we're becoming friends again, through our children. Reagan is three, and is their firstborn, although Summer is expecting again. She's a very sweet little girl, and Primrose says that she's her best friend. Seeing them together brings back memories, of course - they look so much like Summer and me.

And Travis is so kind to Primrose. He's always got time to spend with her, when she's over there, and  she's taken to calling him 'Uncle', same as with Mort.

He even plays dolls with her when Reagan decides not to! He's a fantastic father to his own little girl, but it's weird seeing how much of a dad he's completely become.

I guess I've just been thinking about things a lot recently, what with...well, Summer's new baby on the way. It brought everything back.

Liberty, signing off.

After All These Years (1.7)

Hello again, World! It's been some years since I last spoke. Oh, dear! I should definitely have updated this blog sooner, but we have been so busy!

We now have four children, myself and Mortimer. Three now attend elementary school, and one is a toddler. Our eldest three are all in second grade, and out of them, our little Sophy is the eldest. She's grown into quite the little lady! She is always very kind towards her siblings. I couldn't be prouder of her, although the same goes for all my children.

Our absolute youngest, my little bean sprout, is Tobias. Like Elliott, he has his father's hair colour, and is an absolute cutie-pie! I love him to bits.

Our second youngest, who is adopted by both myself and Mortimer, is Caden, who's definitely the most creative of our children! He's a bit of a bookworm, but he's doing well in school socially as well as academically now. The first year, I have to admit, he spent almost entirely in the library.

And of course, the second eldest, my little Elliott. He's doing extremely well academically, but neither he or Sophy seem to want to try making friends like Caden does, and are content to be friends with each other. I don't quite know what to do, frankly.

He also recently started being angry with me, because he apparently doesn't want a little brother. At all. Not Caden, no, but our youngest. He says he has enough siblings, thank you.

Sophy confided in me that he's angry because Tobias' old bed became a little too small for him and we brought out Elliott's old bed for him. Well, there was no use buying another bed when we had such a good one in storage, but now I feel extremely guilty!

As for the rest of our family, I can tell you that Cassie is no longer a teenager, and that Alexander has become a teenager, and also that Bella's allowed that her daughter can meet my children, given that her other two are half-siblings to mine and she doesn't want her darling feeling left out. Her pretty little girl is called Genesis, and is such a sweet little toddler.

Primrose is now four years old, and although still very much a toddler, she will soon be ready for 'big school'. She's very sweet! She's very like her mother, too.

We've been seeing more of her recently, as Orson has been bringing her around while Liberty is at work, during the days she isn't at nursery school. The children adore their little cousin, although she can be quite shy around them. Caden especially likes spending time with her.

As Liberty and Orson's garden is practically a play park, whereas ours is pretty much the swimming pool, we often arrange playdates where I drop off Tobias and Orson keeps an eye on him and Primrose. Tobias likes spending time with 'Wose', and she seems to take care of him, but my sweet little peapod doesn't like me leaving.
I promise to be back, of course, and tell him I love him, but it's very hard. Soon he'll be going to the same nursery school as Primrose for three days a week, like she does, and he needs to be prepared (as do I, quite frankly). And it's also the same one that Alice's twins attend, so I'm hoping they might end up becoming good friends.

Oh, well. I'll update again soon with any news!

(Author's Note: After the Grand Aging Up of this storyline, I've turned off aging in order to have this be a good story! Expect a good amount of episodes from now on!)

Cassandra's Thoughts (1.6)

Okay, so real talk. Mom's new boyfriend creeps me out slightly.

Look, it's nothing against him. I think it's just that...I don't like him, or something.

It's not like he's nasty! Nothing like that. He really, honestly tries, and he's always paying attention to Alexander, and they go walking together. He's a good person, I know.

I guess I feel kind of like he's trying to replace Dad. Like, he's stepping into the father role, like Dad's dead or something. Sure, Dad isn't around 24/7, but he's nearby, and we're always welcome! He's not dead.

And Noah always calls me 'champ', like he's the freaking soccer coach. He doesn't really talk to me much about anything except what he thinks teen girls talk about. Super duper wrong! I don't want to talk about if I've got a crush on someone, or what happened at Mal's party. The whole point of going to a party is not talking about it. Otherwise it's like you didn't go!

And he's always teasing me about any boy I mention. Plumbobs, grow up! I only mentioned Mal because I got invited to his party by his friend Rob, not because I know him.

Mom, of course, doesn't notice. She's happy, flying on a cloud of hormones above everything. She's so chilled, it's freaky - she even went around to see Juliana to tell her all about Noah and the baby. Juliana! Mom used to hate Juliana. I'm pretty sure she'll hate her again once the baby's born.

I tend to spend a lot of time on my Slablet these days. Things have just gotten too much for me, even with Alexander around - he's an elementary school kid, after all, and he's beginning to like Noah, of course.

So that door stays locked most of the time. I'm just not ready to think of Noah as part of the family, I guess. Not when he's like that. I don't want to be teased, and called 'champ'. I don't need a new dad, I've got one already.

I can't say anything to Mom. She's so happy, it just wouldn't be kind. She loves Noah, even if I don't.

And it's not like I'm posting this up for the world to see or anything. Nobody even reads my blog.

C.

Family Times (1.5)

Hello again, world!

It's certainly been a while since I last posted anything! Sorry about that, but it's been interesting times here in Willow Creek, and no mistake!

Liberty and Orson's daughter was born a month ago, and they've named her Primrose. She's absolutely beautiful, and I've passed on some of Sophy's old baby clothes, as well as buying some lovely new ones. It really took me back, shopping for baby clothes again. I've been to visit a lot, of course, but I've had to stay at home with the children quite a bit.

Also, I am now Juliana Forrest-Goth! That's right, we tied the knot! We got married in a private little ceremony, although I will need to go and visit my family at some point, because weddings are a really big thing for my family, and they won't be pleased to have missed mine, especially as Liberty, Orson, Cassie and Alexander were all there.

However, I have to admit that me and Mortimer have our differences, and sometimes I've been a little irritated, as awful as that is, by how he deals with the children. He really is a doting father, but sometimes that's not good for them. For example, yesterday was horrendous.

Instead of waking me up, Mortimer decided I could use the rest, and fed the children breakfast. Sophy was happy enough to eat in her highchair, but Elliott decided he didn't want to, and started throwing a large tantrum.

Instead of telling him off, or anything even remotely close, Mortimer put him down on the little couch the children have, letting him eat breakfast there.

Well, as we're currently dealing with Tantrum Central anyway with both of the children, that set the tone for the rest of the day. By the time I got down to the nursery, Elliott was already in a horrible mood, and Sophy didn't understand why Elliott had been allowed out of his highchair when meals are eaten in the highchair.

As I walked into Elliott's room, where Mortimer had brought both the children after breakfast, I noticed him tearing up one of the books on the shelf, and immediately had to sit him down and make him stop. How had Mortimer not noticed?!

"Elliott, stop." I took the book out of his hands, and put it back on the shelf. "We don't rip books."

I also noticed that while Sophy was already dressed, Elliott was still in his pyjamas. I tried not to sigh as Mortimer headed back upstairs.

"Listen, Mama is going to play Flashcards with you, Elliott, and then we're going to get dressed. Sophy's dressed, so we'll get dressed, too!"

Well, that was fine, up until Mortimer called down that he was heading off to work, and went without saying goodbye to the children. I suppose he was just forgetting that that's what he usually does, or he was in a rush, but that was that.

                                     

Sophy had been watching the flashcards with a lot of interest, and repeating what she could to herself, and had been very happy to do so, from what I could tell.     

                                     

However, the second the door went and Mortimer shouted a goodbye, her little face puckered and she ran out of the room crying.

     

                                     

In fact, she so tired herself out that I had to put her back to bed once I'd calmed her down. Meanwhile, Elliott didn't think much of Mama stopping playing Flashcards, and threw a huge tantrum once I was able to go back into his room, Sophy being settled down to sleep.

   

Well, luckily I can sort that out quickly. I picked him up and smiled, and began playing Airplanes with him. It's a trick that always stops him throwing a wobbly or crying.

And even luckier, after that, I persuaded him to get dressed, and took him off upstairs with me to watch 'The Adventures of Bobby'. It's a new children's show with a little bunny in dungarees as the main character, and both our little ones love it. Elliott sleeps with a little Bobby plush now, although Sophy still likes her old bunny plush.

   

The main point of this is, I could have slapped Mortimer at that point. Oh, yes, I calmed both of them down, but if he hadn't done all that, my day wouldn't have been so stressful! But when he got home, I couldn't bring myself to say anything, because he looked so downtrodden.

                                    

"Juliana, I..." He stopped, and his expression nearly broke my heart. I hugged him tightly, and he moved back slightly after a few moments.

"They took the work, but they haven't paid me. They say it's in the post, but...The newspaper decided not to pay me, Green Bean."

That was why he had been so stressed, he explained. He was waiting for a payment, and it hadn't turned up, and he was thinking of us so much that he hadn't managed to think about us.

I took him by the hand downstairs, where the children were playing.

                                     

"Mortimer, help me with the children tonight. You get Elliott into his pyjamas, and I'll give Sophy a bath." I kissed his cheek, and whisked our little daughter off to the bathroom. Sophy can take a little persuasion to get in the bath, unfortunately.

                                    

However, she was worn out again, so I managed to bathe her, and dress her in her pyjamas, and together Mortimer and I tucked her in. He looked on softly as our precious flower settled down to sleep, her bunny clutched tightly in her arms.

 He'd already tucked in Elliott, but I went to kiss him goodnight as he was settling down to sleep, and then went back to where Mortimer was waiting.

 We went back upstairs together, somewhat shyly, and Mortimer took my hand.

"Juliana, I love you." He looked into my eyes. "And I will never, ever stop loving you."

"I love you too, eternally." I smiled softly at him.

 Our differences can always be settled.


That night, the baby monitor went off, and I went downstairs sleepily to find Sophy out of bed, tears running down her face. I rushed towards her.

"Little flower? What's wrong?" I asked, and she shook her head, hiccupping slightly. I realised that it must have been a bad dream, from the way she clung to me.

"It wasn't real, darling. It wasn't real." I held her close, and started to sing the song my mother had always sung to me and my siblings when we had had nightmares.

"There is a tree, far away,

In the land of Lullaby

There is a child, in that tree,

In the land of Lullaby

And the child is dreaming there,

In the tree in Lullaby

So close your eyes and you will be,

In the land of Lullaby."

 It always works. I should teach Liberty to sing it, for Primrose.

 As for today, we've had some fantastic news! Bella of all people dropped by to visit, and I was very nervous. The last time I saw her, it ended pretty badly.

 She was happy to see me, however, and has let me know that she's pregnant. Pregnant! It turns out that the man Cassie told us about before is her boyfriend, and he's going to be moving in with them. Bella is very excited to be a mother again, and even spent some time with Sophy and Elliott! It's like she's a completely different person!

 Wonders never cease!

Juliana

New Growth (1.4)

As it turns out, I didn't need to go and visit my brother, as he had somehow heard of our place of residence (probably from our mother) and walked in, bold as brass, while I was trying to teach Elliott some more words with flashcards.

I only noticed he had entered the room when Elliott began to giggle 'Geen! Geen!' and point. I assure you, my jaw dropped when I saw my baby brother standing there.

"Hey, big sis. How's it going?" He grinned down at me.

"Orson! You never even told me you had moved here!" I scolded, as Elliott shakily stood up. He laughed.

"You seemed like you were having a lot of fun here, Jules! Anyway, let me introduce my girlfriend, Liberty." He held his hand out to the beautiful woman who had walked in with him.

"It's a pleasure!" she said, smiling at me, and I didn't miss how softly Orson's gaze rested upon her when he thought no one was looking.

"Hey, this must be little Elliott, right?" Orson said, crouching down so he could pick up his nephew. "Dang, you should have brought the kids to visit, Jules! Sophy must be about his age now, too, yeah?"

"Geen?" Elliott asked, and Orson laughed.

"Yeah, little man, I'm green like you. Green as the grass, man!" He booped his nose with one finger. "But man, I've never seen anyone in our family with hair like yours. Looks cute, though, don't you worry."

Elliott stared back at him with a blissful look of incomprehension.

"I'm your uncle, little man. I'm your Uncle Orson. You've got some other aunts and uncles, but I'm the coolest."

Liberty stifled a laugh, turning to me. "I think Elliott's in safe hands, Juliana. I've heard all about you, by the way. You're his bossy big sister, apparently."

She said it in a joking way, and then shook her head. "He calls me bossy, too. I think it's how he shows affection."

"That and dropping water balloons over the bannisters, as I recall." I smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, although I must admit, he hasn't told me anything about you, really."

"I thought as much. He gets embarrassed being romantic in public. I know he told your mother, though. We've talked on the phone. She's a lovely lady, isn't she?"

I decided then and there that Liberty, with her peaceful nature, was exactly the sort of girl who suited Orson down to the ground. I liked her immensely.

"Does he still kick his socks off in the living room?" I asked, in a whisper.

"Not if I can help it!" she whispered back, eyes sparkling.

We chatted while Orson and Elliott played about with the flashcards, until Liberty nibbled her lip, nervous.

"We've actually got some news for you, Juliana. Orson and I...well, I'm pregnant, and we wanted to let you know that you'll be an aunt." Her eyes met mine, apprehensively.

I let out a shriek of joy. "You're going to have a baby? Oh, Liberty, I'm so pleased for you! Oh, that's wonderful!"

She shyly placed my hand on her stomach. "I'm only four months in, only just, but the baby's starting to move."

I rested my hands gently there, and thought I felt a very faint something, but couldn't feel much more. Liberty flushed.

"The baby...they really only move a lot when it isn't the time for it, you know? Late at night, early in the morning, when I try to relax..."

"Oh, Elliott was quite a quiet baby, but he had his moments, I assure you. I think it's just in the nature of babies. But I'll see if I can find you some nice baby clothes, if that's alright?"

She smiled widely, as though I'd offered her a million dollars. "Of course! Thank you so much!"

"That'd be really great, sis." Orson stood up, and Liberty immediately switched places with him, carefully sitting on a chair so she could pay attention to Elliott.

"Oh? What would have been really great would have been letting me know where you were, Oz. I could have helped with the move, couldn't I?"

He hugged me tightly. "Oh, shut up, Jules. I missed you, you know?"

I laughed, and hugged him back just as tightly. "I missed you too, Oz, you stupid head."

They had to go soon after, of course - but not before I got their phone numbers, so me and Liberty have been texting back and forth for the past couple of days. We're starting to be really good friends! She's told me that for a girl, they've picked out Ceres, Lobelia, and Primrose, and for a boy, Orsino (of course), Alexander, or Toby. I can't wait!

And things are starting to get better with Bella, too, although she's too proud to tell us that she's met someone. Cassandra told me she's been dropped off home by the same guy ten times, and - here's the kicker - he's coming to stay for the weekend this week! So hopefully, that may improve things between Bella and Mortimer.

What can I say? Of course Bella deserves happiness, too.

Juliana