Bebe Populous was having a mid-life crisis. Visibly ageing, and now destined to be known more as a grandmother than a mother, she decided it was time for a makeover…

…and a luxury new car.

Her children were growing up – even the family’s adopted puppy, Bouncer, was now a full adult dog.

Yeats was now a young man…

…as was Yabbie Creek.

The boys found an empty plot of land in town where they decided to set up their sanctuary. They took Harvey and Bob with them so that they could get things ready for more animals to come and stay there when the time was right.

Their grandchildren continued to age, too. Tiana was now a teenager…

…and brother David a child.

Wendy had a little girl, Cody.

They lived with Willow’s family, and Cody and Willow’s daughter Gwen were the best of friends.

Bebe adored her youngest granddaughter, Xenia’s little girl Kelsey. She knew she was fortunate to have such a large family, and if it meant she was ‘granny’, that wouldn’t necessarily stop her being ‘mum’ – only her role would be different, and now, instead of outliving her children and grandchildren, some of them would outlive her.

Asa, too, was experiencing a mid-life crisis of his own. He’d discovered a grey hair recently, and having made it to the top of the political career, he decided to suddenly announce his retirement.

Then the day came. The day that their youngest children were to fly the nest.

Zoe was excited about the opportunities they had to help their brothers at the sanctuary.

Zolga packed up the pet things, put Audrey and Bouncer into their cars…

…and with that, all of the Populous children had left home.

Not that any casual observer, who, on passing, would see Populous descendants in the garden…

…or seated to meals on any given night of the week would observe any difference between an ‘empty’ nest and a full one.

With the children now self-sufficient, and plenty of money in the bank, Bebe and Asa decided to make some phone calls. The first was to call a cleaning service in, to get the place tidy now there were no pets to clean up after.

And the second was to book a long-overdue honeymoon, to Champs les Sims.

Rosemary and her husband were considering moving here, and Asa and Bebe made sure they checked in on her and gave her their blessing to do whatever she felt important, but then the time was theirs and theirs alone.

Asa took his wife’s hands and reassured her that just because the children were grown didn’t mean her life was without purpose – as Rosemary had proved just that day, they, and their families, would always need her.

He would always need her.

Bebe looked into the eyes of this man, this wonderful man, and wondered how she had ever gotten so lucky that she could have met her soulmate and know him to be the most amazing father and grandfather, and her perfect partner.

Their relationship, and their family, may not always have been conventional, but she could not have done any of this, could not have achieved any of her dreams, without him.

Sitting out in the cool night air, lips warmed by wine, a breeze gently blowing through their eyes, they looked anew at each other.

They were going to grow old, but they would grow old together.

And going by the unmentionable suggestions Asa whispered in Bebe’s ear that night, they would have a lot of fun doing so.

As Bebe and Asa sat under the stars that night on their honeymoon, they gave silent thanks.

Thanks for their 41 children: Annalise, Brad, Cameron, Declan, Eddie, Fitzy, Gail, Henry, Ian, Julie, Katya, Lucy, Maria, Nick, Olenski, Pepper, Phoebe, Quinn, Rebecca, Rosemary, Scott, Todd, Udagawa, Vikram, Wendy, Willow, Xenia, Yabbie Creek, Yeats, Zoe, Zolga, Wilson, Sterling, Edna, Ruth, Shawanda, Natasha, Paige, Julianne, Cassidy and Loren

some of whom were still living, some of whom they had lost.

They gave thanks for all their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great granchildren…

…for the many jobs they’d each done…

…for all the skills they’d learned…

…and for all the happiness they’d found.

They gave thanks for Sunset Valley…

…a place where a little boy and a young woman had discovered one another…

…and realised their dreams…

And they looked at the stars, seeing in each one the blessings of their friends and family and a reminder that no matter how old they became, what they had created together would always endure.

–

<< 64. Running a sanctuary

Who’s Who >>

Final score >>

Reflections >>

The youngest Populous children continued to age at a rate Bebe and Asa thought was surely faster than their older children had done.  Xenia was now fully grown and flew the nest, excited about her new job at the lab, following in the footsteps of her mother and many of her siblings before her.

The boys were also teenagers now.  Yeats inherited his father’s dark hair and blue eyes.

He and Yabbie Creek were still determined to rescue some of the Valley’s stray animal population.

They persuaded Asa and Zoe to come out with them on a rescue mission when they saw a horse running past them one night.

But however many animals they or their sisters tried to befriend, none would come and stay with them.

Bebe and Asa couldn’t stand the disappointed looks on their children’s faces any longer, and so they agreed that, if the children were willing to take care of the animals themselves, they could temporarily care for animals from the local shelter until permanent homes could be found for them. Buoyed by this news, Yeats registered their household as animal foster carers immediately.

Their first pet was a cat named Tazzle…

Despite themselves, Bebe and Asa couldn’t resist buying cat toys, bedding and feeders.

Tazzle was soon joined by fellow kitty Cat and little puppy Bouncer. The pets all played together – they may have been a random assortment of creatures, but they soon became family.

If there were any family such an assortment would fit into, it was this one.

Bebe was promoted to a five-star chef’s position and decided to go back to working at the science lab, sharing her findings from the gastronomical world with all her old colleagues.

The family continued to grow. Wendy was expecting her first child…

…and their many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren continued to grow, from Paige’s sons Harry…

…Caleb…

…and Siddhartha

to Elisabeth’s daughter Bree…

…to Barbara’s son Jerry

and daughter Kendra…

…and Natasha’s son Gavin.

The teenagers were regular visitors, playing with their young aunts and uncles, nurturing the pets or doing their homework.

And the family continued to gather for birthday celebrations.

On their teen birthday, the twins continued to display very different ideas about how they wanted to look.

Now Zoe…

…and Zolga were teens, they were allowed to adopt another pet.

Harvey joined the Populous family and immediately ingratiated himself with Tazzle and Bouncer.

Cat seemed a little left out though, and when a new home came up, she was sent to live with a family where she’d be the lone pet.

The teens were quick to offer another space for a pet in need though.

Bob soon joined the fold.

Tazzle was the next pet to be adopted out…

…but Audrey soon arrived to take his place.

The pets were making themselves very much at home…

…and the furniture was much the worse for it.

Bebe was sure this was ageing her. She’d looked in the mirror and started to see wrinkles emerge.

The sight of a heavily pregnant Xenia only served to reinforce how much older she felt.

In preparation for the boys’ birthday, she took herself off to get a makeover. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she pondered. The boys would leave home, and the girls would follow shortly after. What, then, would she become?

–

<< 63. Raising a Last Generation

65. Bidding a Farewell >>

With their family complete, Bebe and Asa began to work hard at rising to the top of their latest careers. Asa found that he had a real talent for politics and local residents had really warmed to him having a position of power.

Bebe, meanwhile, found she was really enjoying working in cookery and experimenting with new dishes.

Xenia had become a teenager, which Bebe and Asa were grateful for.

Whilst they loved all their children, four infants were incredibly demanding, and having Xenia able to help provided a huge relief.

The babies did not stay babies for long, though, and before they knew it, there were four toddlers in the household…

…Yabbie Creek…

…Yeats…

…Zoe…

…and Zolga.

The children, whilst all close, operated in pairs. The two boys were best friends, as were the girls.

Xenia loved being able to take care of her siblings, just as her elder siblings had cared for her.

Trying to juggle home, school and her part-time job in the supermarket was proving very difficult though. Bebe and Asa told her she didn’t need to take on so much, but she was determined both to be a scientific researcher and to be able to stand on her own two feet when she left home.

Sometimes, though, it was all a bit too much.

Bebe and Asa decided that, seeing as they were not planning on having any more children, it was time to pack away some of the cribs. They opened up the living area and installed new toys like a dartboard. Bebe was reluctant to let everything go into storage, so they left the smaller nursery as it was so the grandchildren could stay over. Still, the new toys meant that Xenia could let off steam and learn that life could be about fun as much as responsibility.

It wasn’t long before the little ones were also old enough to appreciate the new things they’d been bought. Yabbie Creek loved to ride his bike around town, looking for wild deer.

As soon as Yeats was old enough, he wanted to help his brother.

Yabbie Creek had a dream. He knew that when he was a baby, his mummy and daddy had adopted him, and he wanted to adopt as well, and give a home to creatures without one. He knew his parents had said no more babies, but they hadn’t said anything about animals. He’d seen lots of stray animals in the Valley and he wanted to rescue some of them and help them find a home. He shared this dream with his brother, and Yeats agreed to help.

The boys saved their pocket money to buy a special feeder and a pet bed in the hope that they would entice some strays to come and stay. Every night and day they would stay outside, hoping animals would come.

Occasionally a wild animal would cross through their garden…

…but they would never stay. The boys wished they knew what to do.

They refused to be defeated, though, and spent every day planning for one day when they would own their own pet sanctuary.

It wasn’t long before the girls grew up to childhood as well.

Although they were twins, Zoe and Zolga couldn’t look more different.

However, like their brothers, they did everything together, each looking out for the other.

The wider Populous family continued to grow. Elisabeth’s daughter, Bree, was a good schoolfriend of the boys, whilst Paige’s youngest, Siddhartha, was friendly with Xenia. Barbara’s middle children, Jerry and Kendra, were also at school with Bebe and Asa’s young ones, and she had recently given birth to baby Antoine.

Willow also had her first baby, Gwen…

…whilst Asa’s daughter Natasha had a little boy named Gavin, and Edna now had two children…

…Tiana…

…and David. Both of them had unusual eyes, much like Edna herself, and Asa felt a chill down his spine, although he couldn’t articulate why.

Even the family gnomes had a baby!

The boys finally thought all their hopes had come true when they bought a Christmas doggy basket and found a pooch sleeping in it.

But as soon as they came out to see it, the dog ran away.

Would they ever find a pet to adopt?

With the children growing up, Bebe and Asa found they had much more time for one another. They stayed up late and watched the stars, went to the cinema and ate together much more. It was nice to simply be together, although each found it strange not to be worrying about attending to night feeds or nappy changes.

Bebe even found time to tend to her long-neglected garden. She wondered what life might be like with no children to nurture. She felt a huge pang of sadness hit her as she realised she would never again feel the fluttering of a child in her womb, or hold one of her own babies in her arms for a feed. But then she thought of her newly born descendants, of the baby that was newly growing in Wendy’s womb and of the babies there might yet be from Xenia, Yabbie Creek, Yeats, Zoe and Zolga and she smiled. Her work in caring for her family would not be done for many years to come.

–

<< 62. Welcoming a final child

64. Running a sanctuary >>

Bebe Populous felt nauseous. Not yet the famliar nausea of morning sickness, though she was sure that would come. This was the nausea of guilt. What had come over her the day before, sleeping with a man who was practically a stranger, willing herself to bear his child? She had promised Asa that Xenia would be her last. He had kept to his side of the bargain, why couldn’t she have done likewise?

Xenia was now the eldest child at home, and she wanted to be a responsible big sister. She remembered how Vikram always fixed things and Wendy and Willow would always clean. She didn’t know how handy she would be, and she didn’t think her mum or dad would let her use any tools yet, but she could clean. Nichola was last in the bathroom and it smelled really bad, like sick. She hoped Nichola wasn’t poorly.

After her bout of sickness, Nichola crept into the baby’s room. She supposed if she was going to have one of these, she’d better get used to how they worked. He smelled unpleasant though, so she held him at arm’s length. One of his parents could deal with whatever was going on in his nappy.

Besides, she had a hairdresser’s appointment booked, and then she hoped to visit the spa again. If she was going to become huge and pregnant and swollen, she might as well do it with as much style and comfort as possible.

Asa Populous groaned as he showered. How could he have been so stupid as to sleep with another woman? He’d promised Bebe, and now he’d let her down, even though she’d kept her side of things. Nichola had said she would keep things secret, she’d said she loved him, and he wanted to believe her. He wanted to keep experiencing that love. But loving more than one woman at a time had not always caused him joy. He was racked with guilt – should he tell Bebe, or keep it secret? They’d said no more secrets… but he’d asked Nichola to stay here, and Bebe would blame him for bringing temptation to the house.

Unfortunately for Asa, when Nichola returned from the salon with her new hair extensions and some fancy designer glasses (Asa wondered how she could afford such luxuries, but didn’t dare ask), he received some news he did not want to hear.

The evidence of his encounter with Nichola was all too visible.

Perhaps it was the pregnancy hormones, but Nichola found herself increasingly drawn to Yabbie Creek. Still, it would be good practice for when her own child was born – and, knowing how important family was to Asa, if she could get to know his children, then it would make it easier for her to persuade him they should be together. After all, she was to be a new mother. She needed Asa more than Bebe, and she was giving him what Bebe no longer would.

Bebe’s body clock was out of sync. Night feeds with Yabbie Creek, hormones raging – she found she needed to sleep a little in the day. And as she slept, her body stirred and she dreamed of the life inside her. However much she regretted sleeping with Dark, however difficult it would be to tell Asa, she did not regret this child.

After she woke from her nap, she and Asa sat down to eat. She took a deep breath and was ready to speak when Asa blurted out that Nichola was pregnant. With his child.

Bebe choked on her lobster. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She didn’t know whether to be hurt, angry or relieved; whether to cry or laugh.

She then dropped her own bombshell.

Nichola, meanwhile, was enjoying another spa package. These things could get addictive – especially know she was living in a house where money grew on trees. She wouldn’t need to save anything – Asa would be able to provide her with everything she wanted. She knew how much he was on as mayor, and that was without the income from his garden.

Before returning home, she put in a call to her contacts at the paper. She had a story she thought they would want to hear.

As her pregnancy progressed, however, Nichola began to feel slightly nervous about her plan. She was beginning to get fed up of the endless parties with Bebe and Asa’s family. The ghosts in particular set her on edge. There was something unnatural about them. And Vikram and Rosemary were weird as well – what was up with the way they walked?

She still had a soft spot for Yabbie Creek, but his constant crying in the night meant she had little sleep, and she permanently found herself straining to keep awake.

Her belly was swollen larger than she’d ever imagined, and all the massages in the world couldn’t quite put an end to the pain her ankles and back felt from the strain.

The worst thing, though, was that, somehow, Bebe was pregnant again, despite Asa saying they wouldn’t have any more children. And this had seemed to make Asa even more in love with his wife than ever. Every time she walked past them, Asa was seranading his wife…

…or talking to her in that goooey way people who are infatuated with each other do.

Bebe and Asa were constantly hugging and kissing…

…and he seemed far more interested in his wife’s belly than hers.

Worse still, Bebe wanted to offer her motherly advice. That was something Nichola could really do without. Was she never going to be rid of this woman?

When her waters broke, she silently took herself to hospital, allowing a few tears to fall as she sat in the taxi – realising she could never compete. If having a child couldn’t make Asa turn his head towards her from his wife, then nothing would.

She wondered whether or not to ring her friend at the newspaper and ask them not to run the story. Was it worth ruining her son’s life, now she knew Asa couldn’t be hers? She sighed.  What was done was done, and part of her wanted to hurt him for not looking at her the way he looked at Bebe, for not wanting to be with her the way she wanted him.  She would let the newspaper do what they wished with the information she had given them, and only hoped her son would be spared too much pain in the fallout.

She returned home to a note saying Asa had taken Bebe to the hospital. Eddie was babysitting, and seemed engrossed in a game of chess with Xenia.

Nicola quietly laid Yeats in his cot, with his hospital name tag still on his wrist. She had specifically asked that he bear Asa’s surname and not her own.

She stroked her son’s head and kissed him, and silently, Nichola Paparazzi collected her few belongings and walked out of the Populouses’ lives.

Bebe was tired from labour. She was overjoyed to be a birth mother once more, but now she had her alphabet of children she was happy.

Zoe and Zolga had made their family complete.

But as they entered the house and heard Eddie reading a story to Xenia upstairs, a piercing cry filled the room – and it wasn’t Yabbie Creek’s cry.

They found newborn Yeats in his crib, in need of a hug. Nichola was nowhere to be seen. Bebe cradled him to her. She was, unexpectedly, a mother yet again.

–

<< 61. Gaining a Lodger

63. Raising a last generation >>

Bebe Populous needed some fresh air. Nichola was moving into the house, and Bebe felt it wiser to give her some space to settle in. Some new neighbours had moved in next door to Udagawa, and she offered to go round on Asa’s behalf and canvass votes for him.

Hans seemed an affable, if eccentric, chap.

And his housemate Dark was something else entirely…

Bebe spent a long morning chatting with Hans and Dark, and when Hans had to leave for work, she offered to show Dark around town.

Some of her family were there, and she took great pleasure in introducing them to Dark. They all played a game of tiggy together – something he seemed to take a lot of enjoyment in.

They spent the whole afternoon talking about family. Bebe gushed about Yabbie Creek, the little boy from Twinbrook she’d adopted. With Dark, she felt something of a kinship. She told him about all her children and grandchildren and great (and great-great) grandchildren, about how she’d arrived in Sunset Valley with a vision to populate the town, and now, wherever she turned, she saw family.

Dark was stirred by what Bebe said – was it fate that they had met? He too had a vision to have many descendants, and he had volunteered to help in the Twinbrook relief effort. If he was accepted, he hoped to go out and help those poor souls – and to make that the place where he would hopefully establish his own legacy.

Whilst Bebe and Dark were at the park, Nichola was settling in very well to her new home. And when she heard Asa’s car pull up as he arrived home from work, she decided to put her plan firmly into action.

Asa came through the door to hear Nichola asking him for help with her unpacking. Happy to oblige, he made his way to her room.

Hearing his footsteps on the landing, Nichola laid back and smiled. Everything was working out perfectly.

She asked Asa for his opinion on a painting she’d hung opposite the bed. He stood and tried to assess if it was straight or not. She patted the side next to her, saying that he would get a better view if he sat down.

Asa was a little nervous – he hadn’t expected Nichola to be wearing quite so little, and it had been a long time since he’d been in close proximity to a woman other than Bebe… but his body was remembering what that felt like, and it made him uncomfortable.

Leaning over him, Nichola asked Asa if he liked the view. Asa started to back away slightly, trying to fight the urges sweeping through him… but as Nichola pressed in towards him closer, he couldn’t help but respond.

Nichola whispered that there were no strings attached here – Bebe need never know what the two of them got up to in private.

She whispered to Asa that she really did love him.

Asa Populous had never been able to resist a woman’s love.

As evening fell, Asa had to go and give a rallying speech at the town hall, and took the baby with him. Nichola took the opportunity to head to the spa for a facial.

Bebe returned home with Dark to find no Asa or Nichola, and a note saying Xenia was playing with Caleb at Paige’s house.

Dark asked her about her children being named alphabetically. Bebe blushed and admitted that when she was younger she’d once wondered if she could get through the alphabet. A longing stirred inside her and she tried to choke it down.

Dark whispered in her ear that it would be a shame to stop one child before the letter Z. Didn’t she want to complete the set, he asked. And with that, she could hold back no longer. Bebe melted into his arms, and they shared a passionate embrace.

Something primal overtook Bebe, something that went beyond her heart or her head, something instinctive. This was right.

This was her destiny.

Meanwhile, Nichola rushed out of the spa, feeling sicker than she’d ever felt.

Normally, as a politician, she’d be mortified at throwing up on the pavement in case someone saw. But this was different. This was a sign that her plan was working out. She was living in his house, and now she was carrying his child – Asa Populous would be hers.

–

<< 60. Adopting a Baby

62. Welcoming a final child >>

Nicola came home one evening after work with Asa to discuss business while Bebe was at work. Asa noticed that she seemed a little down, and over a coffee, Nichola revealed that she was being kicked out of her lodgings, and she had nowhere to stay. Asa looked around his home – with only Xenia using one of the three childrens’ bedrooms, there was plenty of room. He told Nichola he would speak to Bebe.

Bebe was surprised at the request – she knew Nichola was a good friend of Asa’s but she barely knew the woman. However, she had a request to make of Asa too, and so she acquiesced.

She told Asa about the devastation the flooding had left in Twinbrook, about the children left orphaned, and how it was really on her heart to offer a home to one of them, to adopt a child into their family. Asa knew as a father and as a politician, there was no way he could refuse to help out, and he told Bebe he’d be delighted if they could become parents once more.

And so it was that Twinbrook social services dropped round a very special delivery to the Populous household.

As Bebe held her knew son, Yabbie Creek, she felt a rush of love for him just like that she had for her own children, and like that she felt for Asa’s children. Their unconventional family meant they were each used to caring for children who were only biologically related to their partner – that Yabbie Creek was neither of their biological relation made little difference. He was their son.

Bebe took her son into the nursery and told him of all his wonderful brothers and sisters. Of Annalise, Brad, Cameron, Declan and Eddie, born so long ago, before Asa and she were married.

She told him of Fitzy, Gail, Henry, Ian, Julie, Katya, Lucy, Maria, Nick…

…Olenski, Phoebe, Pepper, Quinn…

…Rosemary, Rebecca, Scott, Todd, Udagawa…

…Vikram, Wendy and Willow. Bebe’s heart was filled with a strange mixture of total joy and utter sadness as she thought of her beautiful children, this lineage that Yabbie Creek would be joining. She smiled at the thought of those still living who would love their little brother just as they loved each other, and wept silently as she thought of those he would never meet.

She told him of his other brothers and sisters – Wilson, Sterling, Ruth, Edna, Shawanda, Natasha, Paige, Cassidy, Julianne and Loren – some of whom he would never meet either, and she choked as she thought of those of Asa’s children who had died so very young.

And she told him about his big sister Xenia, who would be so excited to meet him when she came home from school, who would look out for him as he grew, who would be the best big sister in the world.

Xenia had been a little put out when her parents told her they were adopting, but Wendy had reminded her of how much she loved being a little sister and having big brothers and sisters to talk to. Surely she should want the same for little Yabbie Creek, especially as he had lost his biological parents?

So Xenia decided to welcome her little brother in style and made a few phone calls…

…The Populous family welcomed their new arrival in the best way they knew how – a family party.

Yabbie Creek Populous was part of the biggest, happiest family in Sunset Valley.

After the party, Bebe and Asa slept soundly, overjoyed with their new son. In the morning they would welcome their first lodger into their home. Something in Bebe caused her to hold her husband extra tightly that night.

–

Author’s note: Bonus geek points if you work out why I called Yabbie Creek that.

–
<< 59. Having a Stalker

61. Gaining a Lodger >>

If there was one constant in the Populous household, it was children’s parties. This time, it was the turn of Vikram and Xenia.

Having fulfilled his ambition of acquiring a high skill level in logic and handiness, Vikram set up his own tinkering business. He was excited to be making his mark in the world. Bebe worried a little about him, being the only human-simbot hybrid in town, but he seemed self-confident, and she had to admit that knowing his birth father had done him a lot of good.

Even if she wanted Xenia to know her birth father (which she didn’t), though, he was nowhere to be found. Since Bebe decided having a butler wasn’t for her, he seemed to have skipped town. Kurt’s colouring was so much like Bebe’s, so it was hard to tell what, if anything, of his genetic material the little girl carried, for which Bebe was grateful.

Being the youngest, and the last child Bebe was going to have, made Xenia extra special. Bebe couldn’t help but indulge her in ways she hadn’t always been able to with the others when there were so many children to attend to. She read Xenia stories every night and even bought her a new toy box and bed.

Wendy and Willow were thriving at school, with Wendy joining the debate club, and Willow working on the school newspaper. They were still determined to forge careers in science, but Bebe encouraged them to develop these other interests to keep their options open.

Although Bebe and Asa found the house somewhat quiet with only their three youngest girls at home, their family kept growing and maturing. Barbara’s eldest, Lorenzo, was now a striking young man. Although his father had died when he was very young, Barbara had since remarried a gentle man named FortA, and they had two children:

Jerry, who could make his great-great grandmother melt with just one glance from those big blue eyes…

and baby Kendra, the youngest member of the family.

Natasha also had a son. She and Cassidy were raising him – Asa didn’t feel it appropriate to ask where the boy’s father was.

But he knew his grandson was much loved. He saw a little twinkle in the boy’s eye that, just for a second, reminded him of Seona, and he felt a fleeting sadness. It had been a long time since she died, but he still missed her from time to time.

Elisabeth had been struggling to adjust to being a new mother now that her husband Deshawn had passed away. Bebe was worried about her granddaughter, so beautiful yet much less confident and self-assured than her mother Julie had been.

However, Bebe was delighted to hear that Elisabeth had asked Vikram if he wanted to lodge with her and little Bree, and he’d accepted. She always loved to see her children and grandchildren supporting one another.

Whilst Asa was relishing his role as Mayor, he couldn’t help but worry sometimes about the pressure of the job. He so wanted to do a good job for his town, for his family, but there was a lot of work, including more paperwork than he’d anticipated. Paperwork had never been Asa’s thing – although he’d learned to read and write, his skills were still nowhere near those of someone who’d had a proper education, and with him working days and Bebe working a lot of night shifts, she wasn’t always around to help him.

He found a lot of support from his co-worker Nichola, though. She was eager to help – for the good of Sunset Valley, she said, and so they started to have regular post-work meetings in the bistro where they could taste Bebe’s latest concoctions and go over the latest work documentation.

He wasn’t aware of the paparazzi from the local rag snapping their meetings, saving them for the next round of elections when they could splash with something juicy about their mayor and councillors and increase circulation.

He also wasn’t aware that the good of Sunset Valley wasn’t really the motivating force behind Nichola’s helpfulness.

He didn’t spend every week night with Nichola, of course – he had a huge family he wanted to see. One night he was babysitting for Paige and her three sons…

…Harry, Caleb…

…and Siddhartha. His grandsons (whom he had to pretend where great-grandsons, because Paige still didn’t know that it was he, and not his son Fitzy, who was her biological father) had inherited his dark colouring and were each developing very strong personalities.

As Asa chatted and played with the boys, there was a knock at the door.

Nichola, out canvassing support for the council, expressed her surprise at seeing Asa in the Williams household. She hadn’t known he was related to them. Asa wasn’t sure if this was the time to point out he was related to pretty much everyone in town.

Nichola was very keen to talk election strategy, even though it was months away. Asa found it difficult to ask her to leave, so he could spend time with the boys, and instead, she ended up staying and talking until Paige came home.

Time continued to march on, and the twins had their birthday.

Willow was confident that they’d be able to afford their own place and was eager to move out as soon as possible.

Wendy was a little more nervous about leaving the family home, and Bebe and Asa said she could stay a while longer if she chose, but Willow was insistent that her sister move with her.

The house had only one child in it for the first time in a very long time – probably, Bebe realised, for the first time since Annalise was a baby. She would have to get used to it – it wouldn’t be long before Xenia, too, was grown-up and wanting to forge her way in the world. Xenia seemed happy enough to be the only child at home, but Bebe made sure she spent plenty of time chatting to her brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. She didn’t want her to feel isolated from the others, but to enjoy being in a big family despite not living with them.

The hunger for another child never quite went away though. Bebe had been thinking for a while about how to ease that longing without actually having another baby, and one evening, watching the news about the devastating floods in Twinbrook and the number of children that had been orphaned by them, she knew she must help. She was going to have to talk to Asa.

However, Bebe’s plans were likely to be the least of Asa’s worries…

–

< < 58. Having a Routine

60. Adopting a Baby >>

With no more babies on the horizon, little Xenia quickly became the centre of everyone’s attention in the Populous household, as the whole family entered into a more ‘normal’ routine of work, school, chores and childcare.

Wendy, Willow and Vikram loved taking care of their little sister as much as Asa and Bebe did, and the little girl was never short of food, hugs or someone to play with.

Bebe’s thoughts were never far from family, and whilst she felt a sadness at her own decision to have no more children, she thought of her and Asa’s wonderful extended family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Asa’s daughter, Natasha, was pregnant with her first child, whilst Paige was expecting her third…

…as was Bebe’s great-granddaughter and Asa’s granddaughter, Barbara.

Barbara’s eldest son, Lorenzo, was a teenager now, and although he called Bebe his grandmother, he was technically her great-great grandson. Bebe wondered if Lorenzo would one day make her a great-great-great-grandmother.

However, whilst their family was welcoming new arrivals, they also had to say farewells. Olenski and Maria passed away, and Asa was leaving work one day when he witnessed his son, Sterling, being welcomed into the afterlife.

Bebe’s grandson Isidro, Cameron’s boy, also passed away, meaning she had now buried four of her own grandchildren.

Their home was always open for their extended family (even though they didn’t all always see eye to eye!). Now Asa was rising up the political ranks, he used these gatherings to help garner support for his campaigns.

Asa was delighted when the townsfolk elected him mayor. He resolved to do his best to keep the citizens of Sunset Valley happy (after all, the majority of them were family!)

He made sure he spent lots of time with family, hearing their concerns…

…and he got to know the few residents of the Valley he wasn’t related to. Asa wasn’t averse to using his well-defined body to garner the female vote…

It had been a long time since he and Bebe had been intimate with anyone other than each other, but he was pleased to know he still had his charms.

Vikram was still working hard on his dream to become a tinkerer. He played many games of chess with the twins…

…and insisted on applying an upgrade to every item in the house.

Bebe hoped her son would take his love of upgrading and use it at the Bistro instead. She was fed up of the shoddy old ovens always blowing up in her face.

Despite occasional equipment malfunctions, Bebe’s scientific gastronomy was proving a hit and she was actually enjoying the work. However, one thing was never far from her mind – there was a painful void inside her at the thought of not being a new mum again…. and Bebe realised that there might be a way of keeping true to her vow and yet filling that void…

—
<< 57. Accepting a decision

59. Having a Stalker > >

Bebe Populous’s twenty-fourth pregnancy had been a successful one in many respects.  She had rarely suffered from sickness, tiredness or soreness.

And yet it was bittersweet.  For Bebe had decided this should really be her final pregnancy.  She had buried three of her grandchildren now and she had long ago fulfilled whatever intentions she had for a huge family.

She cherished every moment of this pregnancy, and from time to time shed a tear as she thought this could be the last time she would ever experience the familiar swelling in her tummy.

As she left the hospital with baby Xenia, she ran, afraid she might break down in tears on the ward she had grown to know so well.

She resolved that if Xenia really was to be her last baby, she would tend to the little girl carefully and enjoy every moment of raising her.

As Bebe welcomed one child, it was time to bit farewell to another, as Udagawa’s time to move on had come.

She had become a striking young woman, and took up a post at the science facility as so many of Bebe’s descendants had done.

Before she left, though, Udagawa insisted on being the one to put her baby sister to bed.

As Bebe prepared and ate her next portion of ambrosia, she wondered if this would be her last, too.  If she wasn’t going to have any more babies, maybe there was no point in prolonging her youth. She would have to speak to Asa so they could decide together what their future should hold.  Bebe couldn’t help but feel things were never going to be the same again.

Vikram was still working hard at building up his skills.  He saw Glenn on a regular basis and was learning to appreciate the best of both his human and his simbot sides.

It wasn’t long before the twins had their birthday.  Both wanted to be scientists and were excited about all the new things they’d be able to do as teenagers.

Wendy went straight to help clean up the kitchen

Whilst Willow took in the stars on the gorgeous warm night.

Bebe and Asa sat silently, children and grandchildren around them, in deep contemplation about what their future might hold.

Time seemed to fly by and soon Xenia was a toddler.

Bebe held her youngest child close and secretly willed her to stay this young for a long, long time.

—

<< 56. Confronting a Reality

58. Having a Routine >>

After a lot of hard work fishing, Todd, Scott and Udagawa finally realised their collective dream.

All three of them felt a huge sense of accomplishment at creating a perfect aquarium, as the older brother and sister they’d never met, Cameron and Annalise, had done before them.

Bebe and Asa cleaned out the tanks Annalise and Cameron had once used to display their children’s new collection of perfect fish.

With their mission accomplished, it was time for the boys to leave home.

They decided to move in together and resurrect Cameron and Annalise’s business.  Udagawa vowed to join them once she’d left school.

It wasn’t just the boys’ birthday, though, it was also time for Wendy and Willow to grow up.

Inspired by her elder siblings and her mother and their dedication to the natural world, Wendy vowed to one day become a scientist…

…and Willow made the same decision.

As always, the various members of the extended family were present.  Asa and Seona’s youngest, Cassidy, looked much more like a combination of both parents than older sister Natasha ever had.

Like her half-sister Edna, Shawanda was showing strange signs – glowing eyes, a pallid skin colour and a fondness for odd-shaped fruit.  Bebe half-wished she was still based at the science lab so she could experiment.

The same idea was forming in the minds of Bebe’s youngest children, as they plotted a future career in which they could explore all the strange beings in Sunset Valley – being unusual themselves, they wanted to know more about people like them, people who were somehow different to the majority.

Vikram, meanwhile, was still enjoying experimenting with handiness and building his logic skill.  He occasionally saw his father, Glenn, who helped him to understand a little more about why he was the way he was and why wanting to eat metal sometimes was actually a biological urge he had, and didn’t make him weird.

The Populous family were incredibly well-off financially, thanks to their large crop of money trees and omni plants and so Bebe decided to look into employing a butler.  She called the agency to send some candidates for interview.

The first candidate who arrived was Kurt Woodruff.

He offered to demonstrate his superior massage skills… and before long…

…he was demonstrating some of his other skills as well.

As Bebe bid farewell to Kurt, she decided that maybe she’d gotten all she needed from a butler and wouldn’t be employing him after all.

Part-way through her pregnancy, Bebe got a call from her son Nick.  He and wife Meghan had made Bebe a grandmother once again.

Dexter had inherited his father’s skin tone and Bebe thought he was just the most adorable little boy.

She delighted in caring for him, as she did for all of her grandchildren.

Her great-great granddaughter, Barbara, was pregnant again, and she asked Bebe and Asa to babysit her son Lorenzo while she went for a checkup.  The boy was full of questions – if Bebe and Asa were his grandparents, why did Barbara call them Granny and Grandad as well?  Were they really Barbara’s parents or not?  Why did they look so much younger than his friends’ grandparents?

Bebe and Asa found it difficult to explain to the boy, Bebe’s great-great-grandson, and Asa’s great-grandson how such a thing was possible.  Their use of ambrosia, though a common source of local gossip, was still something they felt reluctant to explain in too much detail.  They told the little boy it was ‘magic’.

Lorenzo was unimpressed that his ‘grandmother’ was still having a baby when she must, in reality, be really ancient.  He couldn’t understand why Bebe and Asa didn’t seem to want to grow old, why they kept using magic.

As he left, Bebe was full of doubts – doubts that had been raised by Annalise’s ghost some time ago and that she’d never really been able to shake. She’d wanted a town full of her offspring and their descendants – but now she had that. Her initial dream had been fulfilled a long time ago. Maybe it really was time that she stopped having children and learned to grow old. She touched her stomach and felt a tear form as she realised that this might genuinely be her last baby.

—

<< 55. Meeting a Father

57. Accepting a Decision >>