Chapter 3: New Life

Captain’s Log, Day 7

Last night was a big night, after finally putting Leila to bed, Ruby and I got to trying and making another baby. I must admit, even though we partly do it because we want more children and neither of us are getting any younger, we also do it because we are somehow even more in love. Everyday here, I find myself adjusting more and more into the lifestyle of this place. I find that strange concepts no longer elude me as much and I even have started using them as if I knew them my whole life. The stubborn part of me insists on following my dream however, and getting the promotions I need to be able to go home. However, I doubt that I’ll be able to do it after all of this.

This morning, Ruby woke to an upset stomach and before she was even able to make breakfast, so was at the toilet “worshipping the toilet gods” as she called it.

Because she was so sick, we had leftovers for breakfast today, which were delicious because Ruby made them. If I step even close to the oven, everything burns. I somehow even burnt pasta, supposedly the easiest thing to make. It is a good thing that Ruby enjoys cooking. As we were eating, Ruby said that she had some news, she told me that she thought that her morning sickness was a sign of pregnancy; I was very excited to hear this.

Even though it was my day off from work today, I needed to go off to visit the library to study some mechanical skill. We did not want to leave the child alone so Ruby stayed with Leila and caught up on some books that she had wanted to read. We don’t have a huge selection because we cannot afford one right now, but we have enough for a little light reading every now and then. Hopefully soon we will be able to afford other forms of entertainment other than books.

Ruby also spent much of the day taking care of Leila. Those two were practically best friends from the start. Even though Leila is still very young and I have not met many babies, she seems to be extraordinarily friendly. We even got her a little stuffed bear in a rabbit suit for her to play with and make friends with since we can’t be holding her all the time, but I think she would have enjoyed that attention. I also see something in her eyes that reminds me of myself. I have a feeling she will go far in life and I can’t wait to see how she grows up.

After reading, I went to the local garden again, it seems like we visit this place everyday. This time though, I made sure to store all that I harvested in a neat container to keep the freshness in as long as possible. It was nice to get back into gardening. I had learned a lot of new things from the books I read, but they just don’t seem as effective as actually going out there and learning for yourself.

After I had gathered everything, I grabbed the extra harvests from home that we would not need and headed to the local grocery store. They had told me that if ever I had some extra produce, they would love to buy it from me because that allows them to support local growers, something that is big in this town I guess. Anyway, the money was decent and we really needed all the extra we could get especially with Leila and another baby on the way.

When I got home, Ruby showed me how to change Leila’s diaper. I was amazed and there really aren’t words to describe exactly what happens or how it does, but she tells me that the same basic principle is used when changing a toddler’s diaper too. I was then put on baby duty so that Ruby could relax a little. Somehow she pulled a guitar out of her back pocket, laughed at my astonished face, how did it fit there?, and started playing some soothing music to put Leila to sleep. Ruby is not very skilled at guitar playing right now, but she still plays much better than I would.

Before going to bed, Rub changed into her maternity clothes again because she knew that she was pregnant for sure. This time around I did not care what gender the baby was, but Ruby still secretly was hoping that it would be a boy.

Leila does not sleep though the night, it seemed like every few hours we would hear a high pitched wail coming from the kitchen and Ruby would go off to take care of Leila. We had decided that since she did not have a job, she would get up in the middle of the night to take care of the children so that I could be well rested for work. She really enjoys getting up and taking care of Leila too, so I do not feel too bad about forcing her to lose sleep.

Captain’s Log, Day 8

We seem to be eating a lot of leftovers recently because with taking care of Leila, Ruby does not have as much time to cook. I cannot complain however since if I even mention her cooking more, she snaps at me that if I want hot food, I should “go burn it yourself”. I can tell already that this pregnancy is going to be a little worse if for no other reason than she is taking care of a baby full time and getting less sleep as she does it. But she puts on a brave face too and tells me and anyone who asks that everything is fine.

I had today off from work again. I decided to stay home today and take care of Leila so that Ruby could get out of the house because she said she was getting a little stir crazy from being kept in the house all the time. In between feedings and diaper changes, I decided to put my mechanical skill to good use and upgrade some things around the house to make Ruby’s job easier. It really was like what I do at work, but it helped my skill with mechanical objects improve. First up was making it so that they toilet would be self cleaning.

Since Ruby basically had the day off, she decided to go to the library herself. She seems to agree that it’s a great resource, but one that will never change, I don’t know why though since it makes no sense economically. Anyway, she wanted to read a book about pregnancy and child-rearing. I think she is doing a great job as a mom, but she is afraid that she won’t do it right.

When she finished the book, she happened to find a male child who was also in the library, probably doing a school project, and tried making friends with him in hopes that the things she learned would help her with our child and future children. He tried to teach her how to make silly faces for the babies, but she looked a little confused and I’m not sure how much she understood.

When she got home we just had a relaxing evening of more leftovers and some cuddling before going to bed. I was too tired from working around the house all day, who knew it could be that much work?, and she was tired from the pregnancy. Once again, whenever we heard a cry from the kitchen, Ruby was the one who got up to take care of Leila.

Captain’s Log, Day 9

I calculated it and today is Ruby’s due date. When I got up early, I told her to take it easy today, but she insisted that it was not necessary. I had to leave for work right away and against her protests, I made sure she stayed in bed at least until I left.

However she did not stay there for long. Ruby spent the morning in the garden even though she looks absolutely huge now. She says that it’s relaxing and she really enjoys it now. She’s almost constantly wanting to get better at her gardening skill. However, taking care of Leila takes most of her time and she can’t leave the house to go to the community garden anymore.

I did not get a promotion at work today like I was hoping. I think the baby is due today and we can barely afford another crib but we’ll make it work somehow. I know that I am so close to a promotion that if I had stayed just another ten minutes I would have gotten it, however that’s not allowed so I will have to wait until tomorrow.

I arrived home to find Ruby rubbing her tummy and smiling down at it. She does this fairly often when she has a chance and I think she is just amazed at how much it means to her to be a mother.

I brought home a cake from the store today because it is Leila’s birthday. She is turning basically three years old today, I think, and Ruby said that I would finally get to see how people transitioned from age to age. As excited as I was for Leila, I was also pretty excited to see yet another part of this strange world. I think Ruby was equally excited to see my reaction to this transformation.

Earlier today we had bought some toys and necessities for when Leila would be a toddler, so we were not able to afford having a party for her birthday even though Ruby really wanted one. We celebrated the best we could though and I’m sure that Leila would not have noticed since she would not have known anyone there anyway.

After we blew out the candle, Ruby placed Leila on the floor and backed up. I was amazed as the same sparkles that surrounded Ruby when she gave birth now came out of and swirled around Leila as she was lifted into the air a little and spun in a circle.

As she came to rest she was suddenly no longer a baby, but instead was a toddler. The change happened so fast I was unable to see it. She immediately examined her hands almost as if she was making sure everything was there.

Then she looked up at me and smiled. My heart instantly melted and I pledged my life once again to this family. How could I not when the most beautiful toddler in the world stared up at me and motioned that she wanted me to hold her. I dominated most of the time with her that night. I just couldn’t let her go because I was afraid I would miss something important.

Eventually Ruby assured me that I would miss nothing and sent me to bed. I guess I was wrong about her giving birth tonight, and I needed rest for work tomorrow. I reluctantly left Leila in Ruby’s capable arms and settled down for the night.

Ruby decided that with a baby on the way, things may become too hectic soon so she started teaching Leila her life skills right away, starting with how to walk.

Leila learns very quickly, it’s almost as if she’s already a step ahead of you, but is nice enough to wait for you to catch up.

In the middle of the training session however, Ruby had to stop because the baby was indeed coming tonight. Leila stared at her mother for a while, very confused, before wandering away to her toys. It’s too bad that Ruby had to have the baby in the same room as our daughter, but I guess since the births here are so different from the ones I used to know, it’s not as traumatic an experience.

With a quick spin and some glowing sparkles, Ruby gave birth to our second child.

It was another girl which I was very happy to find out. We decided to name her Maria.

However, a second later Ruby welcomed into the world a second girl! We had twin girls. We named the younger, by a few minutes, girl Hilda.

Having three daughters was a joy and a curse at the same time. I loved them all dearly and could not imagine life without them, but we just did not have the money to take care of them. After careful thought we decided to sell our counters, sink and stove just so that we would be able to afford another crib. Now all we have is a refrigerator again, but it does have some leftovers still in it so hopefully after tomorrow I will get a promotion and we will be able to buy back some of the things we had to sell.

Ruby was exhausted after the long day so she gave Leila a bottle of milk and left her to entertain herself since Leila still had plenty of energy.

Leila soon found the toys and fell in love with the xylophone. I am really glad we decided to keep those because I think they will really help the girls develop skills they will need later in life. I just hope that with time we will be able to continue to provide the things they need to develop into beautiful young women and help them achieve what it is they desire in life.