Admittedly, the vegetable patch had been far from thriving for a long time. Only the hardiest plants had survived the prolonged neglect, but all of a sudden there were signs of deliberate destruction. Half-eaten fruit and bits of leaves were scattered amongst stalks that had obviously been pulled up by the roots.
Amy frowned when she noticed. „What happened to the garden?“
Icarus glanced at the window, then followed Amy outside. „Could it have been the horse?“
„Duchess wouldn‘t do that. She‘s a lady.“ Amy looked over at the barn and its tightly shut doors. „Besides, she‘s still in her stable.“
„Maybe it was zombies,“ he said, shrugging.
„Huh?“
„Oh Icarus, really.“ Amy rolled her eyes. Her husband‘s playful nature could be charming, but sometimes his immaturity was just too much. Enough to make one nauseous, even. In fact, she suddenly felt bile rising in her throat. Amy gulped.
Icarus finally noticed her discomfort. „You ok? My joke wasn‘t THAT bad, was it?“
But Amy had already rushed back inside. Icarus found her doubled over the toilet, retching.
*
They were going to have a baby! It felt like they had only just returned from their honeymoon.
Icarus fondly remembered their time in the hot air balloon, draining bottles of nectar, giggling and getting handsy with each other. And now all of a sudden, they were already going to be parents.
Then again, that might‘ve been exactly the reason why.
The grandparents-to-be were quick to offer congratulations and well-meaning advice.
Amy insisted she had to take Duchess to the equestrian center one more time. She needed to make the most of her impending hiatus from riding and spared no expense to pair her mare with a well-bred stallion.
Duchess was notably less excited than Amy about their simultaneous pregnancies, but no one asked the horse‘s opinion.
*
Icarus couldn‘t wait to share the good news with his best friend. Ralph had recently married Lena, Amy‘s cousin. They lived with Ralph's aging parents in the ancestral Riffin home. And as it turned out, the two of them were way ahead of Icarus and Amy in terms of family planning. Somehow, they already had a toddler and a set of newborn twins.
Lena gently felt her cousin‘s stomach. „You're huge! When I was at that stage, I was barely showing. And I was having twins!“ She gave a chuckle. „I suppose it has to do with your bigger frame.“
Amy smiled through gritted teeth at the not-so-subtle jab. There had been somewhat of a rivalry between the two cousins ever since they were girls. Amy consoled herself with the thought that Lena was probably still bitter after Amy‘s unparalleled wedding.
Icarus and Ralph were blissfully ignorant of their wives‘ covert bickering. Their own conversation meandered between the joys of parenthood and the newest expansion to their favorite MMORPG, with roughly equal levels of excitement.
„You‘ll see, the difficulty level is not so bad,“ Ralph assured his friend. „It‘s instinctual, I suppose. You just know what to do.“
Icarus nodded sagely. „I bet. Especially when you’re a solid team.“
„The tiny goblins can be a pain though,“ Ralph cautioned.
„Huh? I was talking about the baby!“
„So was I!“
The two of them could go on for hours and never run out of steam.
Meanwhile Lena showed off her herd of babies to Amy, who was instantly smitten. The twins in particular captured her imagination. A boy and a girl, how perfect.
*
Things at home were calm for a while until they suddenly weren‘t. Amidst much noise and panic, Duchess finally gave birth to a healthy foal.
Amy barely got to name him—Silver— before she went into labor herself and Icarus had to rush her to the hospital.
A few hours later, the proud parents brought baby Julius home.
There followed a blur of midnight feedings, dirty diapers and very little sleep. And somehow, the new parents found time to take care of the horses as well. Their little family was constantly exhausted, but happy.
Once they established somewhat of a routine, Icarus and Amy were eager to show off Julius to family and friends, starting with the grandparents.
Aidan was delighted to see that Julius had inherited the rich black hair that ran in his own family. He cooed at the baby while Hazel rushed around, preparing far too much food for their family gathering. Icarus was getting more comfortable around both his parents, but he soon learned to remain cautious about privacy.
Searching for a bathroom in the unfamiliar house, Icarus took a wrong turn and suddenly found himself in some sort of bedroom. He quickly shut the door again. Obviously Aidan and Hazel had a lot of lost time to make up for.
_________
Icarus' shock at finding that bedroom mirrors mine. I moved Hazel and Aidan into Gracie Loveland's old house because it looked so cute from the outside! Little did I know... XD
Life changes are certainly happening fast for Icarus. Hope he can keep up!
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