Descendants of Ornan 1.1
So, seeing as i love Ornan so much, i decided to do a separate story with him. This will be a perfect genes legacy
Remember me? Ornan Obel's the name. I'm the guy that got ousted from heirdom by my loser brother Izak. How that idiot can be more popular than me is ludicrous. For those of you that don't know me, i'm a brave, disciplined bookworm. So what if i can be mean spirited? I'm very much a dog person. Just keep cats away. Anyway. My story starts like this. After being thrown out of the Obel household, i got a job in science. I had been working there six months when i got a once in a life time opportunity. I was offered a job on a tropical paradise studying a new form of plagued seaweed that had been discovered. So i packed up my bags and moved to Sunlit Tides with my wife, leaving my past life behind me
And this beautiful lady here? This is my wife, Lolly. She may be a hopeless romantic that doesn't like to get naked (except when we...) but she is a natural cook. Her food is amazing. She's also easily impressed. That must be why she fell for me. Her schmoozing skills are exemplary.
And this is our dalmatian Max. The dog my parents never let me have growing up. He's extremely playful and friendly but seems pretty clueless most of the time.
I was so happy to be given the chance to start life afresh and settled into tropical life pretty quickly. All i needed was my wife and my dog. Lolly found it harder. She missed her family and hated the heat. But she tolerated it for me. She always said that love would conquer all
I quickly built up a close relationship with Max. He wasn't just a pet, he was my best friend. Whenever i was in a bad mood he would be there to make me feel better. In return i smothered him in attention and affection
Our house was situated on a strip with the sea around us on three sides. Even Lolly couldn't deny the views were amazing. She liked to jump on the trampoline so that she could turn and look at the views as she exercised
I set to training Max all the important commands he would need. He was a fast learner though it helped to give him frequent treats as encouragement
Lolly spent a lot of time in the bathroom practising speeches she would make if she ever succeeded as a politician. It was a dream of hers. I wasn't too impressed that my wife wanted such an upholding position in society but i kept it quiet. I may be an arse at times but i would never have shattered my wife's dreams
Max's favourite toy was his ball. He would spend hours every day chasing it around the garden. Sometimes i played with him but i was busy with my job and spent a lot of time knee deep in rock pools hunting down this mysterious seaweed to take back to the lab and do experiments on
When he was left alone too long though, Max enjoyed digging up the garden. I didn't mind too much, but Lolly hated the garden being so messy.
Even with our differences, Lolly and i still had plenty of passion for each other. Izak may have got the heirdom but i got the girl. I know Izak had a thing for her in high school. she was the most beautiful girl in my year. But she only ever had eyes for me
There were many romantic picnics at sunset in our garden. Who said romance is dead? I knew how to treat Lolly to keep her happy
When she wasn't practising speeches, she spent time thinking up new recipes. I didn't mind. Everything she made tasted like heaven in my mouth. She was the perfect cook
One day when were sitting at the table eating steaming bowls of mac and cheese i decided to bring up the topic of our house move with her. "Lolly, i know the move has been hard for you. Being away from your family, moving to the other end of the planet just for me. I just want to make sure you are truly happy" i said to her
"Ornan Obel!" She replied "I would move to the other side of the universe if it meant that we could stay together. Yes i found it hard at first. But it is really beautiful here and i have made friends with my job. YOU are my family now. I don't need anything else"
Even my heart warmed at her words. I reached across the table and grabbed her hand, stroking my thumb lightly across the back of her hand "Lolly, i don't say it often, but i do love you. You're amazing." Our eyes met across the table and she smiled. Her cheeks were flushed. You don't need me to tell you how the night ended
When i got the phone call from my boss i wondered if i had done something wrong. Contaminated experiments or something. But it was something much much more than that. He wanted me to go to China to study similar instances in their pond life. I dreaded telling Lolly
I went to find her in our large house. She was in the hall filling up Max's food bowl. "Lolly" i called. "I have something to tell you" She looked at me, a worried look flitting over her eyes before she quickly arranged her face into a smile
I smiled at her, trying to reassure her. "I need to go to China for two months for work..." I trailed off as she tried to hold her face still. Tried to be strong. "I wish you could come, but someone needs to look after Max"
She nodded and swallowed "I understand. Its fine. Just... behave yourself. And call me often" I pulled her into a hug and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Of course. And i'll be thinking of you every day" "When do you leave?" she asked. "In three days"
In those three days i made sure to give her and Max plenty of attention. I would miss them both so much while i was gone
Unknown to me, Lolly had even more to worry about. More than once while i was asleep or at work, she was ill with bad cases of sickness. Some times she was vomiting three or four times a night while i slept on, clueless. But she didn't tell me. She didn't want to worry me.
The three days passed quickly. I took Max for one last walk then went to find Lolly
I took her in my arms as i said goodbye. I thought she would cry but there was no sign of tears
We kissed goodbye then i got into the taxi and watched the scenery of Sunlit Tides pass me by as i headed to the airport
It was only once i was gone that Lolly let the tears flow. She hadn't wanted to cry in front of me
China was an experience. It was a beautiful place but i missed my family. I immersed myself in my work. But at the store i met this rude woman. Well, thinking back, maybe she wasn't so rude. I just wanted someone to take my frustration out on and she was in my way
Either way, i felt much better after shouting at her
In my spare time i saw the sights. The first place i visited was the terracotta army. It was magnificent. I just wished Lolly was there to enjoy it with me. I took plenty of pictures, hoping that would be enough to share the experience with her
One day i found this injured bird. It was a Catalina macaw i found out later
I was able to catch it. I took it back to the hotel and nursed it back to health. It helped to ease my loneliness and we struck up some kind of friendship. It wasn't as deep as my relationship with Max but we tolerated each other
I also had the chance to practice some martial arts while i was there. It was very intense but gave me something to take my frustrations out on rather than passing chinese people
At times it was very trying and i felt like the dummy was fighting back
But i soon gained my first belt. It gave me a sense of achievement and i decided i would spend the rest of my spare time in China practising the arts
One day, driving my car through the muddy roads i came to the realisation that i hadn't seen any other cars on the roads, ever. Everyone else used bikes or ran everywhere. Well not to matter. There was no way i was going to cycle anywhere. Not when i could hire a car
The food at the hotel was mediocre at best. Every meal time i longed for Lolly's food but of course i could only pretend. As the days went by i longed more and more for the sights and tastes of home
I called home every day just to hear Lolly's voice. If i'm honest i sometimes spoke to Max on the phone too, though all i heard from him was a panting or his tongue licking the earpiece of the phone and then Lolly scolding him in the background. It always bought a smile to my face
One day i decided to train on the board. Ok so i started with foam boards, but i didn't want to injure myself. Not now it was almost time to return home.
I quickly advanced to being able to chop through four foam boards at once. A small achievement but i knew i would be ready for wood by the time i arrived home
Finally! I was home! As i got out the taxi i placed Rin - as i had called the parrot - on my shoulder and walked in through the front door looking for my wife and dog
I placed Rin into the cage i had asked Lolly to buy, as my wife ran down the hall towards me, tears of happiness streaming down her face
She threw herself in my arms and i hugged her close. "I'm so glad you're back" she said, sounding muffled as her mouth was pressed against my shoulder
She pulled away and looked at me nervously. "I'm pregnant, Ornan" We hadn't discussed having children and my stomach dropped. Was this really what i wanted? But looking at her, seeing her nervous hope at my response i knew this was exactly what i wanted. A grin spread over my face and i pulled her back into my arms. "That's great news" i murmured, brushing our lips together in a gentle kiss
I was aroused from my sleep one night by a suspicious character creeping around our garden. I quietly shook Lolly awake, pressing my finger against my lip to tell her to stay quiet. Climbing out of bed i pulled on my pyjama bottoms and whispered for her to phone the police
As quietly as i could, i crept outside and ambushed the burglar. I rugby tackled her to the ground and taught her a lesson not to mess with me and my family
In the bedroom, Lolly phoned the police, voice shaking as she hurriedly whispered that there was a burglar
After beating up the burglar i sat back, pleased with myself but she threw me off and ran away before the police could arrive. I was annoyed she got away but at least she didn't take anything and i was sure she wouldn't come round again
I wondered why Max hadn't barked when he'd detected the burglar, but i found him fast asleep in his bed. He hadn't even stirred. "Some guard dog he makes" i muttered under my breath
Lolly was really taken with Rin and took it upon herself to teach the bird to speak
I had soon got used to the idea of becoming a dad and i read through every pregnancy book i could get my hands on. Lolly laughed at me but i told her i wanted to be ready when our baby arrived
She spent a lot of time watching the cooking channel on tv as she was on maternity leave from work
I spent a lot of my spare time in the basement working on my martial arts. I wanted to be the best, but i had a long way to go
I was pleased that Lolly seemed a lot warmer towards Max since i had returned from China. She spent a lot more time with him, playing and cuddling him. More than once i found them curled up together asleep on the sofa.
The pregnancy was hard on Lolly, she was always riddled with back pain. One day i gave her money to go the spa for a massage hoping it would make her feel better
She was there barely an hour when i received a panicked phone call "Ornan! The baby's coming!" she gasped then started screaming in pain down the phone. "I'll be right there" I yelled then hung up and hurried to my car
When i got there and saw her in pain i started panicking more than she was. It was a terrifying experience
I somehow managed to get her into the car and we rushed to the hospital
After nine hours of labour, our daughter was born. We named her Faylen
Back at home, Lolly was a natural mother. She loved Faylen dearly and lavished her with attention
I tried too but it didn't come so easily for me. I loved my daughter but i felt awkward holding her and i hated changing her nappies
Having a baby didn't but a stop to our passion and we were soon tumbling back into bed at every opportunity
Faylen loved the baby swing me bought her. She would spend hours in it laughing before falling into a contented sleep
Lolly seemed so much happier with her life once Faylen was born. She continued to look after Max while i was at work for long hours
Max was very interested in Rin. He liked to watch her in her cage. If i didn't know better, i would say they were plotting something together
Months went by of this happy life when lolly started getting ill again. she had her suspicions but didn't say anything to me
After being sick for the 22nd day in a row, she couldn't deny it any longer
She was pregnant again
She found me in the garden with Max. "Ornan, we're going to have another baby" She came straight out with it, not even thinking to say hi first. I looked at her. Faylen was still a baby. Could we really cope with two of them at such a young age?
Of course we could. And it would be great for Faylen to have a brother or sister. I wrapped my arms around Lolly and kissed her. "That's great news" i said, genuinely happy. She didn't reply, just hugged me tighter. I couldn't see her face, but i could tell she was smiling
Faylen's birthday soon came round
She aged into a cute toddler with her mum's hair and my eyes. I felt a pang looking at her
We discovered during her first bath that she was absolutely terrified of water. She screamed the house down. She was also a very light sleeper. Even if Max barked at the other side of the house she would wake up