Welcome back to the Literal Booker Legacy!!
Austen, the first generation heir, married her high school sweetheart, Cherry, and then discovered she was expecting the first baby of the second generation!
This chapter features two births so get buckled in for a wild ride!
The next day, Andrea
challenged Austen to a game of chess.
Austen: “I have pregnancy brain; you just want an easy win, don’t
you?”
Andrea: “Don’t assume things of your elderly mother, Austen.”
Austen: “I’m sceptical.”
Andrea: “Isn’t it time for you to go to work?”
Austen: “I’m on maternity.”
Actually…
Austen: “Why are you making me go to work when I’m pregnant!?”
Because, we have a
car. The only thing that stopped me from sending your mother to work when she
was pregnant was the fact we didn’t have a car at the time.
Come home with a
promotion!
Austen did in fact
come home with a promotion and immediately headed to bed.
And then at 5 in
the morning, she felt an odd sensation in her tummy.
Austen: “Hello! A little attention please!”
Austen: “CHERRY, GET OVER HERE! OwwwWWWww!”
Cherry: “Let me just make the bed first, sweet.”
Yvonne: “What on Earth is goin- Oh my goodness!”
Austen: “WHY DOES THIS HURT SO MUCH!?”
You’re giving birth,
Austen… Did you honestly think it would be easy?
Austen: “YES!”
Cherry: “My wife is in pain!”
You’re smiling.
Cherry: “I won’t deny that I’m excited to see my first child!”
And we’re graced with
the first child of the second generation.
A little girl!
I’m wondering if
we’ll ever see a boy at all…
Welcome to the
legacy, Bronte Booker! She is named after the illustrious sisters, Emily,
Charlotte, and Anne. The sisters are famous for the Romantic era novelists,
most notably Emily Bronte’s Wuthering
Heights, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane
Eyre.
Yvonne: “Oh, thank goodness it’s over!”
Andrea: “We have a grandchild at last.”
Austen, thinking: “I literally just gave birth, why do I have no
space here?”
They’re your parents,
what do you expect?
Austen: “Cherry, allow me to introduce you to your daughter,
Bronte.”
Cherry: “She’s so small! What if I drop her?”
Austen: “You won’t. Look, she looks just like you.”
How… How do you
know…?
The first thing
Cherry does upon receiving her daughter is to head straight to the nursery to
give her a bottle.
Cherry: “She must be hungry.”
She literally only
just came into the world. That must take some energy, surely.
Cherry: “Time to put you to bed so everyone can some breakfast,
little one.”
Cherry: “My goodness, I can’t believe you’re real!”
Amazing, isn’t it?
Cherry: “I want another one.”
Well, you better ask
Austen about that, not me.
Cherry: “Sleep tight, my precious one.”
Austen: “Will you be okay looking after Bronte today? I need to go
to work in an hour.”
Cherry: “But… You only just had the baby?”
Austen: “Duty calls. I had to carry that baby for two whole days,
I’m sure Cherry can handle a few hours.”
Cherry: “I guess it’s just me and you then, Bronte.”
Bronte blinked up at
her mother with her dark brown eyes. A small smile eclipsed on her face and she
reached out for Cherry’s hand. Cherry’s heart began to swell; she never thought
she could love another being as much as this. All she wanted to do was to
protect Bronte from all the evils in the world, to raise her to be the amazing
person she knew she could be.
Yvonne: “You look too young to be a grandmother, Andrea.”
Andrea: “Ooh, you’re such a smooth-talker, Yvonne.”
Can you guys believe
it! You’re finally grandmothers!
Yvonne: “We’re having a moment here, Gray.
… Alright then…
Speaking of couples
having moments…
Austen: “Whoa, what was that for?”
Cherry: “I want another baby!”
Austen: “Another one?”
Cherry: “Well, let’s not forget how fun it is to try for another
one.”
Austen: “Ah yes, how could I forget the fun of trying for a baby.”
Cherry: “What do you say?”
Austen: “Alright, you’ve convinced me.”
Andrea, her
granddaughter sense tingling, headed towards the nursery whilst Bronte’s
mothers crept up to their bedroom with obtusely secretive giggles on their
lips.
Andrea: “Hello there little one. I’ll feed you, Bronte, whilst your
mamas give you a little sibling to rule over. Like your momma and her older
sister.”
The two impatient
mothers took their places on their bed, excitement thrumming through their
veins at the prospect of filling the house with small hands and feet.
Austen: “C’mere, love.”
No caption required,
but, there was a lullaby.
With Bronte in bed,
Yvonne and Andrea decided to enjoy a night to themselves.
After showering and
eating, Bronte required some attention from her doting mothers.
Austen: “I love you sooo much, little Bronte.”
Cherry, what are you
doing?
Cherry: “I’m threatening the people who want to hurt my baby.”
… Okay.
Yvonne, you’ll scar
the baby walking around in your underwear!
Yvonne: “Aww, she’s too young to remember this, aren’t you, little
Bronte?”
She might be, but I’m
definitely not. I’m scarred for life.
Cherry: “Why are my mother-in-laws walking around in their
underwear?!”
Austen returned home
from work sick to her stomach.
Austen: “Oh, God, I’m going to puke!”
She immediately went
up to the nursery to see her daughter.
Austen: “I have a feeling you’re going to be a big sister, Bron.”
Austen: “I know you’ll do great, baby girl.”
Austen: “I can’t wait to see you and your siblings grow and become
outstanding young adults.”
Cherry: “Wynne, are you free tonight? Bronte’s having her first
birthday.”
Wynne: “I am free; I wouldn’t
miss my niece’s birthday for the world.”
Just before the birthday
party, Austen decided to take a quick nap and awoke to discover that her
suspicions were confirmed. She was indeed pregnant again. A sense of maternal
warmth ran through her, glowing with the impending arrival of her new child.
Soon, the party was
just beginning. Wynne arrived a few minutes early, pulling a sister into the
study as they passed by the kitchen.
Austen: “Wynne! Your hair looks incredible!”
Wynne: “Really?”
Austen: “Hell yeah! You look so good! So, what’s the deal, what’s
with the change?”
Wynne: “I may be seeing someone new and he may just be the one,
Austen.”
Austen: “You’re joking!”
Wynne: “I rarely joke, my little sister.”
Austen: “Oh, Wynne, I’m so happy for you! Don’t forget to throw a
wedding party and invite us to it!”
Wynne: “Oh, don’t you worry about that. I’m throwing the biggest
wedding of the year!”
Aside from Wynne, the
mystery guest from Cherry and Austen’s wedding also came by for a visit.
Cherry: “You sound so damn familiar. Who are you?”
Mystery guest: “You don’t need to know that yet, okay?”
Cherry: “… Ookay…”
Andrea, ever the
doting grandma, took her first grandchild to the birthday cake with the biggest
smile on her face. Her two daughters, the girls she had raised with nothing but
love and understanding, watched as their mother would bring the new line of
Bookers to the next life stage.
Wynne: “Yay! Way to go, baby Bronte!”
Austen: “WHEW! That’s my baby!”
Everyone is just so
excited to see how Bronte will turn out!
Admit it, you are too!
Andrea: “Here we go, baby girl.”
Andrea: “A one and a two and a three!”
And here she is! A
perfect blend of Cherry and Austen!
Bronte is an Aries,
who is very neat, very outgoing, very active, a little serious, and very nice.
She beats out her
mother for nice points! Austen has six, and Bronte has seven.
Amongst the chaos, Yvonne decides to
confront the mystery guest.
Yvonne: “Gray, I appreciate that you would like to stay anonymous,
but you are spooking my daughters out.”
Gray: “Oh, alright. The next time they ask, I’ll come clean.”
Yvonne: “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
Yes, the mystery
guest was me all along! Who woulda thunk it!?
Austen: “So, tell me about this new guy you’re seeing?”
Wynne: “His name’s Ricky and he’s-
OH BOO! YOU SUCK BELLADONNA WITCHES!”
Wynne: “His name’s Ricky and he’s a widower.”
Austen: “Oh, no, that’s so sad.”
Wynne: “Yeah, he comes with some baggage, and a child.”
Austen: “A child!? Wynne, are you sure you want to become a
step-mother?”
Wynne: “Honestly, what’s the difference? The girl lost her mother
and they’re lonely. I really like Ricky… In fact, I think I would say I’m in
love with him.”
Austen: “Wynnie! You’re in love!?”
Wynne: “He’s everything I wanted in someone. He’s kind,
considerate, he really likes me for me.”
Austen: “I’m so happy to hear it.”
Wynne: “I’m looking forward to having a fuller house soon.”
Austen: “Soon? Oh, so it’s serious?”
Wynne: “Yeah, it’s pretty serious.”
Austen: “Oh, I’m so happy!”
Austen, then
distracted by her wife, Cherry, left the room with a big beaming smile on her
face. Wynne shook her head, certain that Austen was forgetting that she was the
youngest sibling by many, many years but it didn’t feel bad to be looked after
like that.
A shuffling sound
came from across the room and Wynne looked over to see Bronte, glowing from the
smart milk, sitting in front of her with an expectant look on her face.
Bronte: “Auntie Wynnie!”
Wynne: “Heh, you’re pretty cute, aren’t you, Bron? I guess it won’t
be too hard having a kid around. It’s not like Ricky and I won’t end up having
our own.”
Ooooh! Broody, are
we?
Wynne: “Shut up, Gray.”
The party ended after
a long, festive evening. Austen, still feeling energised from her nap earlier,
decided to take her young daughter upstairs. She quickly sat her on the potty
and stroked her hair to encourage her.
She then quickly
changed Bronte into her sleepwear and tucked her into her crib with a kiss to
her forehead.
Austen: “Goodnight, baby girl. Momma loves you.”
The next morning,
Austen was awoken to the sound of Bronte sucking on her own fingers.
Austen smiled gently
as she climbed out of bed, eager to spend another day teaching Bronte new
things.
However, the tyke was
eager to learn all by herself and would spend a good amount of her day in the
nursery playing with her activity table.
I’ve been trying to
figure out her hobby again and so far, I’ve only discovered it’s not tinkering (thank God).
And another cute
shot!
Andrea: “Hello baby! Would you like to learn some new words today?”
Bronte: “Up! Up!”
Andrea: “Okay, Bron, say Grandma.”
Bronte: “No!”
Such a defiant face.
I can see she inherited Austen’s nose from this perspective.
Yvonne: “Bronnie!”
Bronte: “Gwandma!”
Andrea, in the distance: “Oh, come on!”
Let’s just appreciate
Yvonne as a grandmother for a second. It’s like she was born to be a grandma.
Yvonne: “You’re such a pretty little baby, Bronnie. You’re going to
look a lot like your mother when you grow up.”
Heh. Which one?
Yvonne: “Exactly.”
Oh, so because you
can’t tell who she’s going to favour, facial wise, you’re just going to
generalise.
Yvonne: “That’s how I live, baby.”
Learning life lessons
from Yvonne.
Austen: “Um hello! I’m
having baby number two over here!”
And so Austen is
another step closer to bringing baby number two into the legacy!
This feels strangely
nostalgic. Aah, I remember when the time you were bathing Wynnie and you
discovered you were pregnant with Austen.
Yvonne: “You pick weird times to be nostalgic, you know.”
… How do I? You’re
bathing Bronte and it reminded me of- You know what, never mind. You’re being
difficult again, aren’t you?
Yvonne: “Ha ha!”
Knew it.
After her bath and a
nap, Bronte was quickly whisked away by Cherry, who decided to spend her day
off teaching little Bron a nursery rhyme.
And in turn decides
to imitate Cherry by waving her arms around aimlessly as she sang wordlessly.
Cherry just smiled endearingly, Bronte was learning so quickly.
Austen: “So, has Wynne told you about her boyfriend?”
Andrea: “Is this about Jace or Ricky?”
Austen: “Ricky.”
Andrea: “Ah, Ricky. Yes, she’s told me a few things. I quite like
the sound of him. He’s a sensible man, perfect for her.”
Yvonne: “I have to disagree, Wynne’s a free spirit. It doesn’t seem
right for her to just settle down for anyone.”
Austen: “Mom, I don’t think she’s settling… I think she’s found the
one.”
Yvonne: “So… Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Austen: “I’m just going to say there may be wedding bells ringing
very soon.”
Andrea: “Well, thank God for that!”
Cherry decided to
spend her afternoon playing with Bronte and her new doll house. She had decided
it was best to spoil Bronte with as much affection as possible before her new
sibling arrived later that night.
Bronte, forgoing her
serious points, began to chew on her doll, earning a chuckle from Cherry.
Cherry: “You’re so big, Austen. I want to carry the next one.”
Austen: “Next one? Are you mad?! Two’s more than enough!”
Cherry: “No way! I want a big, big family!”
Austen: “… You are mad.”
Cherry: “Mad about you.”
Austen: “… Give over…”
But she was smiling
as she said it, pulling Cherry into a sweet kiss.
The two decided to
take a mid-afternoon nap but were rudely awoken when Andrea yelled up to the
two.
Andrea: “Austen! You’ve got a phone call from Wynne! It’s some
exciting news!”
Austen: “Hey, Wynne, what’s up?”
Austen: “Sure. I can get the Moms to babysit… What’s going on?”
Wynne: “Well… I asked Ricky
and Charmain to move in with me and they said yes!”
Austen: “Wynne, that’s excellent news! You sound so happy!”
Wynne: “I am happy! We’re
going to Londoste to celebrate, and we’d like for you and Cherry to accompany
us.”
Austen: “Wait… I thought you were inviting us to your house…”
Wynne: “No… That wouldn’t be
much of a celebration.”
Austen: “Well, I suppose not…”
Wynne: “So, will you be free
to come this Saturday at 7?”
Austen: “That sounds doable.”
Wynne: “Excellent! I hear
you’re close to your due date. You be careful with my nephew.”
Austen: “What makes you so sure it’s a boy?”
Wynne: “Call it an aunt’s
intuition.”
Austen: “Alright, very funny. See you this weekend. Bye, love you.”
Wynne: “Take care. Bye, love
you too!”
Later that evening,
Austen felt a familiar pain rip across her stomach. She emerged from her bed
and waddled over to the wall to prop herself up before the pain became
unbearable and she began to clutch at her sides.
Austen: “Cherry! Wake up! I’m having the baby!”
Cherry, always the
heavy sleeper, began to rise as Austen’s labour came to a close.
She spun and into her
arms fell a beautiful baby boy!
A boy she loving
named Hardy, after Thomas Hardy. Thomas Hardy is a Victorian author, famous for
creating Bathsheba Everdene from Far From
The Madding Crowd, as well as crafting Tess
of the d’Ubervilles.
Austen then decided
to do me a favour by giving the legacy two boys! She quickly handed Hardy off
to Cherry and gave birth to Lawrence.
His namesake is D.H
Lawrence, a modernist writer who is infamously known for his scandalous book: Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which lead to
an actual trial as well as a sexual revolution that the modernist movement is
well known for. He also wrote the semi-autobiographical novel, Sons and Lovers, as well as Rainbow and its sequel: Women in Love.
D.H. Lawrence also
happens to be my all-time favourite novelist.
The two mothers
quickly rushed their precious sons to the nursery and watched as their
inquisitive brown eyes quickly began to close, exhausted from the energy
exerted from their birth.
In the steep
quietness, Cherry pulled Austen into a loving hug.
Cherry: “Well done my love, that’ll do, I think.”
Austen began to cry
happy tears against Cherry’s shoulder. Her twin boys had been the hardest
labour she’d ever been through but it’d all been worth it. Finally, at last,
she’d been the one to bring the first boys of the Booker family into the world.
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