A Landgraab Legacy Chapter 20: A Change is Coming
With a new baby on the way, I felt it was time to try and make peace with my step-father. He was a pretty decent guy, and treated my mom great. He was still trying to pressure her into having another child, but was starting to give up hope on that end.
It was also a relief to both my wife and I that he was currently the sole bread winner of the household, moving up the ranks to the special agent branch quickly. I mean, I made a lot from my books, and we were sitting comfortably on a large amount of money, but it was still nice to know he was bringing home something every day.
One afternoon while Titus was at work, Mom wanted to treat me and my lovely wife to lunch at the bistro.
It was a great afternoon, and we all enjoyed time outside of the house.
Mom finally got up the nerve to speak with Dad's ghost. He didn't seem to hold any grudges, and spoke fondly of us kids. He was very proud of us, and happy for Mom to have found love again. It helped Mom finally find some peace about that chapter in her life.
Since she complained often about a sore back, I insisted my wife visit the local spa for a special full body treatment, she left happy and wishing for more spa visits. Perhaps as a gift I may buy out the shop for her next birthday. I mean, if I have a best seller or two soon. It seems bike repair manuals are not as popular as my editor thought they would be.
Most of the time my wife is outside on the patio painting her lovely masterpieces. She currently has a job to create 10 paintings to sell to a local restaurant.
It was actually while painting that my wife went into labor. I did manage to get her to the hospital in time, even though we live so far away.
Everyone meet the light of my life, little Eleanora Landgraab. She is very friendly, even for a baby, and loves being outside.
It seems her babyhood passed in the blink of an eye, and before any of us knew it, it was time for a party.
Actually, there would be two celebrations that day. No, not that chap standing by the cake, he is a distant cousin that I am not familiar with.
My Mom was now going to be an elder. "The better to look the part of Grandma!"
My brother and sister showed, but both seemed uncomfortable. It was hard, even then for Glen to accept that Titus was now part of the family for good.
Though slightly surprised by the amount of wrinkles, Mom didn't seem to really mind getting older. Now Titus could stop expecting that late life child, it was impossible.
And now that she was older, and Titus was always working, she took it to start visiting all of the many grandkids. Mulan was happy to see mom, and let her in to spend the afternoon there.
Mulan's little girl Abrial had Dad's hair, which made mom very happy. At least a part of him still existed no matter how his life ended.
And little Elly? Not only did she inherit Dad's hair, she also got his amazing blue eyes. Everyone in the house loved her, and tried to spend as much time with her as possible.
The wife loved to play a word game with Elly, teaching her how to talk.
I made it my job to help her with her first steps. My little girl would have a bright future if I had anything to say about it!
There was another skill I loved working on with her too, but she would be embarrassed to know I showed this one to you. I can't help it, I love my little Elly!
I finished my latest non-fiction work, a study of local butterfly life, and decided it was time to take up the paint brush. My editor felt that with an understanding of the canvas, perhaps my works would be more successful.
So, my wife and I spent as much time together chatting while we worked on local scenery paintings.
She also shared with me the good news that another Landgraab baby was on the way. How things were changing so quickly in my life! I could only hope that it would continue to be for the better, but I had a feeling even that would soon change.