The nouvelle Nouvel Legacy

Just a quick update to let you know what happened with the other Nouvels of generation 2.

Elder Bertram

Bertram and Anitra had twin daughters Petra and Ursula. They tried for many years to have another child and finally resorted to fertility treatments. When baby Brendon was born, they were thrilled until the doctors informed them that Bertram was not the biological father. There had been a mix up at the fertility clinic. Unfortunately there was no way to tell who was Brendon’s true father so Bert raised him as his son. He’s a very good looking young man and just graduated high school.

Petra followed in her grandmother’s footsteps by going into politics. She married her second cousin Dustin Lesson and they had a daughter JoAnna who is in school with Conrad.  Here is a picture of Petra. I think she is just adorable.

Ursula works at the theater with Clementine. She is very artistic and musically gifted as well. She is still at home and has a baby daughter named Lashanda. Ursula won’t say who the father is but we suspect that wild boy Timmy Mather, Oscar and Lulu’s youngest son. Ursula definitely has the look of Blythe and Babs.

Speaking of Blythe, she and Chris Crosby have two boys.

Elder Blythe

My oldest nephew Earnest was horribly affected by the toxic dump. His psyche is extremely damaged and he can be violent at times. He was in and out of therapy and institutions all through his childhood. Now as an adult he is homeless. We see him around town sometimes and take him to the diner for a good meal or invite him home for a shower and a warm place to sleep but he will never stay for long. Dmitri, the younger boy is working in journalism and married his high school sweetheart Malika Williams. They have a newborn son, Reinaldo Crosby.

Chris and Anitra have both passed away. They are missed by everyone.

Poor Conrad seemed to catch every new illness that came along, MRSA, H1N1, everything. It seems this was another effect of the chemical spill. As each generation went on the contamination became more and more pronounced. Now it was weakening our children’s bodies, even causing death in some  cases. So we spent a lot of time in the hospital with him as a young child. Even his sister’s birthday. It was just Clementine and Riley at home to celebrate her 18th birthday.

Clementine Nouvel: Virtuoso, Heavy Sleeper, Ambitious, Brave, Commitment Issues

Clementine knew exactly what she was going to do. Music was her life, her one passion. Even as a teen she had enjoyed playing for tips around town. So it was no surprise that she immediately took a job at the local theater. Clem hoped to eventually become a world class composer and she spent all her free time learning new compositions and working on her own tunes.

Her talent was obvious and she landed promotion after promotion.  She also began taking painting lessons from Babette after sitting for her portrait.

Clementine wasn’t the only one concentrating on a career. Riley was studying hard and had earned a couple of promotions as well.

And pretty soon he began to look like a distinguished doctor, until you noticd the bunny slippers under his scrubs.

Conrad had his big boy birthday in the hospital, but isn’t he handsome?

He did his schoolwork at home or in the hospital through tutors, but he did manage to make a homework buddy all the same. Bambi Rhodes was actually a distant relative. Her grandmother was Riley’s aunt Mary Kay Shallow. Bambi was another patient at the hospital. We saw her often during Con’s visits.

They were so cute. They usually requested to be in the same room and would spend hours working puzzles or playing chess together.

I think Conrad was getting used to being in the hospital on his birthdays. He was sick on his teenage birthday too. Riley had been working with the gene therapists on a breakthrough treatment that might strengthen the children’s weak immune systems. Conrad volunteered for the clinical trial and was finally sent home after his thirteenth birthday, hopefully for good.

Grumpy, Genius, Ambitious, Easily Impressed

Riley and me, we finally did it! Wait a minute, oh hell.

Okay I didn’t mean it like that.

What I meant was I finally became recognized as a professional author, earning over 4k simoleans a week in royalties. And Riley graduated from med school. He’s now a certified (and certifiable) MD.

Alright alright, and we did it. And I got pregnant, OMG what? I thought I was too old for this, practically grandma age. Because of my advanced years, I spent my entire pregnancy in the hospital on bed rest. I saw Riley every day during his rounds and Clem came to visit several times a week. She took on more responsibility around the house too, and made it on the honor role.

Even with all the precautions Conrad was born early and had to stay in the hospital a few months. We were finally able to bring him home just before his first birthday.

We had to be very careful about exposing him to germs so we had a very quiet birthday party. Just the immediate family. Con grew up to be an adorable toddler with the Nouvel eyes and his dad’s coloring.

Conrad: Bold Counsel (genius, grumpy)

Con was a very smart baby but so difficult to please. It seemed like he was never really happy. I was sure that the difficult birth and long hospital stay were the cause of his fussiness. Riley and I both spent as much time as possible with him, hoping for a smile or a laugh.

Riley even took him outside for the first time to teach him to walk.

While I spent a lot of time reading with him and teaching him to talk. His first word however, was a complaint.

The pregnancy and caring for a baby at my age really took a toll on my body. My hair started to turn gray and wrinkles appeared almost overnight. I woke up one morning and looked like this. EEeeeek! Scary old lady.

At least I wasn’t the first to go gray. Babs seemed to age up before I did. I’m not sure whether it was her stressful occupation or my late pregnancy somehow held off the aging process a bit but for a short time we didn’t really look like twins.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures of Clementine’s childhood. Our home was burglarized one evening when Riley and I had taken Clem to the movies. The thief made off with our television and stereo as well as several photo albums with all of Clem’s birthday pictures.

We had never worried about burglars before, as our house was definitely the poorest in the neighborhood. And with Babs so high in the organization, we should have enjoyed a crime-free existence but apparently this young man was an upstart who was not attached to the organization. We purchased a security system and replaced the electronics but there is no way to replace the childhood memories.

Once Clementine started school I began to focus on my writing. I was often away from home doing book tours and cons, so Riley was the main caretaker.

He helped Clem with her homework and was always up for a good game of tag.

Riley’s childlike nature made him a natural with kids and soon father and daughter were best friends. He did get a little rough when they played video games, always talking trash.

I missed being with Clementine every day but as soon as I got home, I would give her a big hug and tell her all about my latest trip.

The years passed quickly. I was writing hits and best sellers nonstop and had almost reached the pinnacle of my career. Riley was doing well in the medical field. He was working hard and going to med school at night. Babs was becoming absorbed in her mission. She had not yet made it into the inner circle but was very close. It seems like one morning I woke up and Clementine was a teenager. How on earth did that happen?

Clementine: Virtuoso, Heavy Sleeper, Ambitious, Brave

After her party (why did the thief have to take the birthday album?), Clem immediately went to the city park to try out her new birthday present. Riley and I had bought her a guitar and Babs paid for a few lessons, although Clem seemed to be a natural.

She took to music like a duck to water. Her school work on the other hand, not so much.

Clem began studying with a couple of boys from school.

August Lobos was the grandson of mom’s good friend Carlotta. He was a sweet boy and I got the feeling he had a bit of a crush on Clementine.

Danial Newbie was in the school band with Clem. They had a lot in common. Clem didn’t seem to be romantically interested in either one though. She said she just wanted to get through school and work on her music. Boyfriends were a waste of time.  For the most part I was relieved that she wouldn’t be distracted by teenage boys, but I hoped she might change her mind as she got older. Clementine was the heir to the Nouvel legacy and I hoped she would not find it too much of a burden.

My pregnancy seemed to drag on and on. I was two weeks past due and still no baby so my OB decided to induce me. Riley and I drove to the hospital early in the morning in Dad’s old pickup. I drove because Riley could not get a license. Trust me, there was no way Riley was getting a license.

I felt so huge, like I was ready to pop. I was really hoping for a girl, because I did not want to have to do this again.

Riley stayed with me the whole time. The inducement went well with no complications and the baby was immediately given the special vaccine that Babs had promised. There was no way to know for sure at this early stage, but everything looked promising. So the next morning I was released with my daughter Clementine.

Riley could not come home with us. He had missed one day of work already for her birth and dirty bedpans wait for no man. Clementine slept heavily all the way back home in the cab.

I hoped she would continue to be such a good sleeper. Since I worked from home, I would be the primary caregiver. Thankfully she was. Of course she had her moments like any baby.

But for the most part, she was content to sleep and listen to her classical lullabies in her crib.

Riley adored her. As soon as he came home every day, he would stop to see his daughter.

Clem’s first birthday was the same day as my 30th birthday. Babs was in prison again and Riley was working long hours as a paramedic so we didn’t bother with a party.

Clementine (merciful, gentle) - Virtuoso, Heavy Sleeper

She looked a lot like me, with Dad’s gray eyes. But I was rather surprised at her soft buttery blond hair. Riley said it came from his mother Lydia Pearl-Shallow.

I updated my look a bit to go with my more mature age. Plus it was easier to take care of Clementine in jeans and tennis shoes.

Now that she was a little older, her personality was really starting to shine through. Clementine loved her xylophone and other musical toys, but she also liked to play dolls with Daddy.

She also loved to pull out all her books and read them over and over again.

And of course we didn’t neglect her basic skills. Riley and I both worked on the potty training. He taught Clem to talk.

While I helped her learn to walk.

Our little girl was growing up so fast.

Riley was thrilled to move in with us. He did not really fit in with the rest of his family. The Shallows were old money and very cold and snobbish. Riley was a genius but very childish and had been hurt terribly by his parents’ neglect and condescension. Now living with us he was free to be himself. His alien contacts wanted him to get a job in the medical field. They were gathering research on different aspects of Sim life and had given him a mission to become a surgeon. So Riley woke bright and early the next day and trotted off to become a doctor.

I was a little worried about the sleeping arrangements. I couldn’t bear the thought of sharing a bed with another person all night. Having someone that close for that long made me really nervous. Luckily, Riley was not inclined to share a bed either. He was worried that when the aliens came to beam him up for testing at night, they might miss and take me instead. So he took over Mom and Dad’s old room.

Speaking of Mom and Dad, we soon felt their presence among us again. They apparently had not broken all their earthly ties. It was almost as if they were still alive.

Dad spent his time working out.

And Mom spent hers just working.

I have to wonder how the other world leaders felt, receiving correspondence from beyond the grave.

Babs and Riley weren’t fazed at all by our incorporeal visitors. It freaked me out at first but my life was already so weird that hanging out with two ghosts was really not much stranger than hanging out with a crazy crook and a demented doctor.

And it was good for my career. My new novels Back From the Other Side and Ghosts of My Parents were flying off the shelves.

With Riley moving in and the baby coming soon, we needed more room. We extended the first floor, adding a bedroom and studio for Babs downstairs.

Babs was rising up the ranks of the organization and working long hours at night. We didn’t see much of each other any more. So it was nice that Riley was there to help while I was pregnant. He was so excited to have a child to play with soon and could not wait to be a daddy.

The choice was taken out of my hands. Riley’s alien contacts may have prohibited him from getting married but they evidently had no problems with the physical act that goes along with marriage.

As a matter of fact, I thought it quite likely that they had increased his potency during one of their probing session. It only took the once, and very soon after I was sending tribute to the aliens myself.

My pregnancy was confirmed a few weeks later. Riley had come over to visit and I was so not ready to deal with it yet. I hadn’t even told him that it might be possible.

Desperately I snuck around behind him and cornered Babs in the bathroom.

“Oh my gosh, Babs. I’m pregnant. Riley’s in the kitchen. I don’t think he noticed. Please, you’ve got to get rid of him for me. I don’t want him to know yet.”

Babs was not happy about my request but she did it. Once Riley was gone she made me tell her what was wrong.

“Babs I just don’t think Riley is ready to be a dad.”

“Tell the truth Bry. You’re really worried because the father of your child thinks he’s been abducted by aliens in rocket ships. You are ashamed that you have brought the chance of insanity back into our family, that Riley is affected just like me.”

“You don’t have to worry for the baby, though. With the information I’ve been able to uncover so far, the science lab is working on an experimental vaccine. Hopefully we can prevent any new cases.  And your baby will be one of the first patients to test the drug.”

I had a lot to think about after my conversation with Babette. I don’t think I had ever realized just how differently we all treated her. She was my sister, my twin, the other half of me and I saw her as a burden. She pushed her body and her broken mind to the limit, sacrificing the chance of a real relationship or children of her own in order to prevent other innocents from suffering her fate. I accepted her wisdom, swallowed my fear and told Riley.

He was so happy to be a dad. I apologized for not telling him sooner and all was forgiven.

I also asked him a very important question.

“Riley, I know the aliens don’t want you to get married. But do you think they’d mind you moving in with us?”

The legacy charge lay heavy on my mind. Mom’s passing had finally softened the last of my resistance. I knew that our family should continue on, the foundation laid by my parents needed to be built upon and that I must do it. My own insecurities could not stand in the way any longer. I took small steps at first. I began to meet with a writer’s club at the library a couple times a week. I made friends with a young man there, Riley Shallow.

That's my nephew Earnest Crosby in the background.

Riley was a neighbor across the street but we weren’t well acquainted with his family. They had a reputation as a cruel arrogant clan and it was rumored they were connected to the Mob as well. Riley was a sweetheart though a bit naive and childlike. He loved fairy tale stories of monsters and knights in shining armor.

He was there for me after both Dad and then Mom passed away.

I felt comfortable with Riley and so very nervous about meeting other people. So I tried to find out if he was interested in me as more than a friend. After all, he was a bit younger than me and so innocent that maybe he just didn’t think that way.

I was so shy and worried how he would answer, I couldn’t even look him in the eye.

He asked me “Does this mean we’re going steady?” and I replied “Yeah, if it’s ok with you.” Real smooth I know, from the romance writer no less. But it seemed like it was ok with him and we had our first kiss.

I think I got a little ahead of myself at that point, because I kind of blurted out

“Will you marry me then?”

He turned me down, stating that he could not tie himself so strongly to the earth when the aliens would be coming for him any day now.

Oh no! I thought. He was like Babs, one of those seriously affected by the toxic chemical spill. What was I supposed to do now? I really liked Riley and we were steady boyfriend and girlfriend. I couldn’t bear the thought of betraying him, not for all the money in the world.

But could I have a child with him and risk those defective genes being passed on to the next generation of Nouvels? My mother had chosen me partly because of her concern about the toxic affects on future generations. Who can I turn to now?

Everything can change.

Bert earned a promotion. He was now upper management and started to dress like it.

With his bonus and raise, the work on the new house could be finished sooner. Bertram had no idea how necessary sooner had become.

Anitra was thrilled to have her pregnancy confirmed. She was so excited to tell Bert. But while she was getting the great news, the rest of us were dealing with tragedy.

Dad and Bert had just come home from a jog and were headed to the frig for a cold drink. Anitra heard them come home and raced into the kitchen to deliver the news when Dad suddenly passed out. His strong athletic body could not defend him from the sudden stroke. Somehow Mom knew something was wrong. She stopped short in the doorway when she saw Dad fading away.

Her grief was heartbreaking but not enough to sway the Dark One from his grim task.

Grim left us there without our father, our rock. The strong gentle man that had loved and nurtured us was gone too soon. And we could not hide our loss.

We buried Dad in a small memory garden at the edge of the property. We all wanted to feel that he was still close to us.

Our sweet sister Anitra took it upon herself to comfort the rest of us. Starting of course with Bertram.

She dried his tears and then shared her bittersweet news, offering to honor Dad by naming their child George if it was a boy.

Bert was overcome by this joy in the midst of sadness as were the rest of us when we heard the news.

Anitra’s presence was a true blessing to our family during this time.

I know she was the one carrying the baby, but all of us were expecting.

Babs chose to mourn alone. She really felt lost without him, with everything that they had worked for together to finally bring down the local mob and ensure that no future children were endangered by their practices. Babette spent her time in front of an easel, finishing the portrait she had begun the day he died. It was really amazing, her best work so far. You could almost see what he was thinking.

Mom took it the hardest. She refused to be comforted and actually retired as Leader of the Free World to be near Dad. We all worried about her. She would spend all day in the garden near Dad, never changing out of her ratty gym clothes.

I think the only thing keeping her alive was the thought of her new grandchildren. She was quite certain Anitra was having twins and mentioned several times that she would live long enough to see them.

She did, barely.

Mom caught a chill after spending the night in the garden, having fallen asleep on the stone bench. She was in the hospital suffering complications from pneumonia when Anitra went into labor. Anitra bore two healthy beautiful girls by ceasarian section and insisted that they be taken immediately to Mom’s ICU room. Little Petra and Ursula were placed in Mom’s arms before either of their parents held them. She kissed them both and then closed her eyes and joined Dad at peace.

We buried her next to Dad, together forever. Anitra and the babies were still in the hospital but Blythe and Bert were both at the funeral, as well as some of Mom’s closest friends.

Bert and Anitra’s new house was finished. They left the hospital and settled in there, taking comfort in each other and their new lives. Now the family house was empty, just me and Babs and the legacies we had been entrusted with.

Bertram made peace with his loss over the next year. We still had no sign of Taryn and Bernadette and they were finally declared dead. We held a small remembrance ceremony. I think that was really the turning point for Bert. He began to take more interest in his work and was soon earning promotions and raises again. He also started to work out with Dad as his trainer. You could really see the resemblance between them now.

He even started going out in the evenings with some of his coworkers. The Watering Hole was the oasis of choice for the business crowd. It was no surprise to us that Bertram’s good looks and friendly nature attracted some attention.

Anitra Lin was Shirley Lin’s daughter with Buck Broke. Her mother’s feud with her sister Roxie was famous around town, but they eventually both found mates and the animosity between them settled to a slow boil.

They had a lot in common, from their favorite foods to their friendly natures.

Anitra was one of the lucky few children born after the chemical spill that escaped all signs of contamination. She had a real fear of televisions and computers but that was because her father died of electrocution, tying to fix the family tv. She also had no appreciation for art, but neither of these was a potentially dangerous flaw.

Anitra healed Bertram’s broken heart and he decided he couldn’t live without her.

He wanted to do things right and took his time. They dated for almost a year before he popped the question.And boy did he go all out.

On a beautiful moonlit night, he proposed outside the Bistro.

She accepted and my newest sister moved into the house. She had the deed to her mother and aunt’s old house. Both Shirley and Roxie had passed away and Anitra’s older sister, Gillian was married and lived with her husband. Anitra declared that the past was done and it was time to erase the horrible feud that had divided her family for so long. She and Bert decided to bulldoze the old Lin residence and build a new home together, just as they were building their new lives together. She also made a real effort to mend relationships with her extended family. One of her first acts upon moving into the house was to walk across the street and introduce herself to her cousin, Rashad Lessen.

Roxie and Jon Lessen’s son was continuing the family business. He was an up and coming young rocker with a heart of gold.

The two of them quickly buried the family hatchet and so the Nouvel clan grew again, welcoming our musical cousin and his new family.

Anitra was not finished there. After that, she decided to take a more hands on approach to enlarging our family.

She tried to casually mention it Bertram. I think she was a little concerned about how he would feel, having another child after losing his daughter.

It turns out that her news could not have come at a more welcome time.