Grandchildren

When Charlie came over the next time, it was my turn to surprise him. I let our conversation go on until he casually sneaked in his suggestion. Honestly, I wish I could have captured a picture of his face when I agreed with him. He was either thinking that he was dreaming, or that he had gone crazy. Charlie had to ask me three times to repeat myself because he couldn't believe it. I almost changed my mind then. How many times was he going to make me say the words that ripped my heart apart more every time they were spoken?

When the words sunk into him, we began to prepare the plans. I did have concerns for Lothi living with Charlie, of course. My biggest was that Charlie and Seamus' house only had one bedroom. I was already curious as to how the men shared it considering Seamus' behavior, so where would Lothi end up sleeping? Charlie got embarrassed then. Apparently, that period where he had been so busy earlier was because he had actually been in the middle of moving to his own place. Charlie apologized. There had been so much going on that he forgot to mention it.

I asked him if he and Seamus had gotten into a fight. Charlie said it wasn't anything like that. Seamus had promised to keep his exploits to a minimum, but the room was too often occupied when Charlie got home. Thanks to his job he could afford his own small house where he could enter his bedroom without having to walk in on anything. It's a bit further away than across the street, but no more than a couple minutes walk. It was small, but Lothi would have her own room. After that, we talked about my other concerns. Charlie was able to show that he could take of all of them.

By the time the children arrived home from school, there was no further complaints that I could raise. The last thing was to explain our decision to Lothi. I knew she would most likely be upset, but since she loved Charlie so much, I didn't think it would be hard to convince her. Neither Charlie nor I were prepared for how angry she became when we told her. We tried to sit her down and explain everything properly, but Lothirien wouldn't have it. I've never seen her so adamant about anything before. She absolutely refused to leave.

I looked towards Charlie to see what we should do. That's when I saw the withdrawal in his eyes. Charlie told Lothirien that he understood. He wouldn't make her leave here if she didn't want to. I was afraid Lothi had deeply hurt him, but it seems he really does understand. In the end, we agreed Lothi would go stay with him every other weekend and the occasional weekday. Charlie also said that he would give me some space. I think he's realized that he needs time apart from me as well.

Somehow everything has worked out. Lothi will be staying, and Charlie and I can remain friends.

But now I am faced with the issues I was worried about before. With Ureliel's help, we were able to teach Aravilui, Arluwen, and Amadrie everything we needed to. That meant it was finally time for Ureliel to take her leave. Since I had been so busy going through everything with Charlie, she had made her plans all by herself. Ureliel had applied for a job at the local hospital, and had gotten it. She didn't have much money of her own, and I had none to give, so Elrunamir was allowing her to stay with him.

I'm glad my children are able to stay together even after they leave the house. I really hoped Ureliel would never leave, but I know it's time to let her go. Unfortunately, even with her gone, the space issue in this house is still drastic. I don't even know if there will be enough room for everyone to have a place to sleep. I've been so stressed and stir-crazy that Elaril forced me to go out and take a break. I went to see a symphony at the theater. It helped momentarily, but the triplets' birthday was here before I knew it.

The day did not start out well at all. I don't even understand how it happened, but the candles from the cake started a fire. We were able to get it under control and put it out, but the money it cost to replace everything certainly took more money out of my pocket than I would have liked.

Aravilui, Arluwen, and Amadrie were able to have a small birthday party despite the chaos. They grew beautifully. It's heartwarming to watch all four sisters play together. Hopefully, now that they can rely on themselves more I can get some sort of control in this house again.

Now that I was able to put the cribs into storage, I've managed to squeeze in just enough beds for everyone. Lothi took Ureliel's in the older children's room, and we had just enough room for Arluwen's to fit in there too. I had to put one in my bedroom for Aravilui, and Amadrie will have to share mine with me. It really isn't the best situation, but everyone will at least have somewhere to sleep. I also spent some money in order to have a second bathroom added onto the house. With seven people in the house, one shower and toilet was not cutting it. Unfortunately, it set me back even further from buying a new house like I want to. I can't hold back on the necessities though.

Some much time has flown by since then. Things are always so busy here. This weekend was no exception. After Elaril and Sildor went off to prom, a heavy rain came pouring down. The girls were so excited to go and play in the puddles. Since there was no lightning, I told them they could. I did not think of the mess they would track back in though. The floor was covered in water and mud. The girls thought they could sneak to their beds, but I made them stop to clean up the mess they had made. They're perfectly capable of cleaning up after themselves now.

The next day marked the start of the Summer Festival. It was still raining, but my children begged me to take them. The weather has little effect on me, and they have a much stronger resistance to the elements as well because of their elf blood, so I agreed. Unfortunately, the rain kept back everyone else. We were the only ones who came. Elaril and Sildor instantly had a hot dog eating contest. I was absolutely terrified that they were going to choke themselves. Thankfully they didn't, and Elaril ended up winning.

The girls spent their time rollerskating. It was their first time, and with the rain making the rink slippery, it certainly took them a while to get their balance. They got a couple scrapes on them by the time we decided to head back. Even though the festival was somewhat disappointing, we all managed to have a good time. I tried to take a relaxing bath afterwards, but I had to quickly get out when Elaril started banging on the door. Both he and Sildor had gotten nauseous from the hot dogs, and I had to help them as they threw up and fought with their stomachs all night.

The day after, Monday, was Elaril's birthday. That wretched time had come again. I asked Elaril if he wanted to wait for his siblings to get back from school, but he told me he wanted a quiet party. It really was quiet with just the two of us. We spent the next couple hours finalizing his plan for the future. As you might assume, Elaril wanted to make his living as a painter. However, he also wanted to learn how to play the guitar and make music for everyone to listen to. Some of his friends from school were renting a house together, and they had told Elaril he was welcome to join them.

He waited for the others to get back from school before he left. It will never get easy to say goodbye. After Elaril walked out the door, I stayed in my room for some time to compose myself. Then I decided to invite Elrunamir and Ureliel over to make me feel better.

You can imagine my surprise when Ureliel walked in heavily pregnant! I've talked to her almost every day since she left, but never before has she mentioned anything about having a baby. I asked her if she was seeing anyone, which she said she wasn't. When I asked who the father was she couldn't answer and looked horribly ashamed. I didn't push the matter further. I hope she knows that I won't judge her. Considering how she was conceived, I have no right to get upset at her for what she has done. I do worry much more about her though, but I can't forget she has Elrun to help look after her.

My shocked settled off after a while, and the three of us spent hours talking. Elrun has been promoted multiple times, and it well on his way to becoming an astronaut. It makes me so proud to see how accomplished they are both becoming. Although Ureliel has time off from work because of the baby, she is able to do some tasks from home on the computer.

I can't believe so much time has already passed. It's been too long since I've seen my first child. He looks so much older than he did before. I have to have them over more.

Now that Elaril has left, I am all alone in the house when the children are gone to school. Despite it only being a couple hours, I still cannot stand the silence. I tried to bear it for a couple days, but I couldn't take it. I decided to make a trip to Elrun and Ureliel's house. As soon as I arrived, I found Ureliel struggling to get into her car. Elrun was at work and she had gone into labor. There was no time to make it to the hospital like Ureliel wanted, nor even time enough to bring her into the house. Thank goodness none of the neighbors were home for I had to deliver Ureliel's children in the shelter of the car.

Yes, children. Ureliel gave birth to twins- a boy named Forrest and a girl named Amelia. After I got Ureliel situated, I rushed back home to grab an extra crib for her. I cared for my grandchildren while my daughter got some rest. When she woke up, she finally revealed to me who the father was.

It was Benjamin Schmidt.

It took a long time for her words to sink in. Ureliel had slept with her brother's father? Sildor's nephew and niece were also his siblings? The man who fathered my son now fathered my grandchildren? It was too much to comprehend. Ureliel gave me some time to try and process it all. She told me she had made a big mistake by sleeping with him, and she has no idea why she did. Ureliel was on the verge of tears.

It's shocking news. Absolutely dumfounding. However, I am not angry. I told her that and then told her this- she might have made a mistake, but no matter what she does or how badly she messes up, she is and always will be my daughter that I love with all my heart......