Gen 7 Ch 3

Topaz's birthday party! Raven baked a wonderful lime cobbler for the occasion. Coal wasn't sure how she had come up with using limes in a cobbler, but it was actually quite delicious. Even more so since the limes had come from his own little garden.  As everyone cheered the birthday girl, Coal kept on eye on his Aunt Jade. He didn't like the way she was eying Jarvis dancing on the counter. He hoped she wouldn't do anything to embarrass him.

"Don't look now, Coal, but your Aunt Jade just hopped up on the counter to dance. Trying to imitate your cousin, and at her age!"

"Actually, he's my grandmother's cousin." Coal grinned at the surprised expression on Raven's face. "It's a long story. He used to be a vampire."

"Speaking of relatives, where's you mom and sister gone off to? They're going to miss the excitement."

"I think Mom went upstairs to fetch Tiffanie. She made a bee-line for the video games as soon as she walked in the door."

The gene for that dark red hair is incredibly strong. Happy Birthday, Topaz!

"Beebee!"

The first thing Topaz did was pull out her favorite doll. Coal was a little worried that she seemed so attached to the odd toy, but Raven pointed out that it made her happy. And she certainly was a happy child.

Later that night, Coal was still mulling over what he considered the 'doll problem' as he stopped to use the bathroom. He certainly hadn't meant to disturb his wife while she was in the shower, but now he couldn't take his eyes off her naked form only partially visible through the wavy glass.

"Hey, are you gonna stand out there staring all night, or are you gonna join me in here?"

"Um, I have a choice?"

"Hehe, come here, handsome!"

He hadn't know it was possible to have so much fun in the shower...

Not too long after, they were both overjoyed to discover they were expecting again.

This time around, pregnancy was harder on Raven, and Coal pampered her as much as he could.

'How's that, love? Feel better now?"

"A little. Thanks, hon. I was just thinking how long it's been since I've been able to get out. It seems like forever since I've had a chance to bar tend, and just meet people. But I just hate to leave Topaz with your aunt. I'm sorry to say it, but I just don't trust her with Topaz."

"The last time I went out for a little while in the afternoon, I came home to find your aunt downstairs in her pj's, throwing back drinks while Topaz played on the floor almost under her feet. If she would have stumbled a bit, who knows what might have happened?"

In due time, in the middle of the night, they welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their happy family. They decided to name him Agate. They were a little concerned about leaving Aunt Jade in charge of Topaz while they were at the hospital, but they really had no choice.

Raven was horrified to discover Jade skinny dipping in the hot tub as they arrived home with little Agate. She rushed upstairs to check on Topaz. Thankfully she was sleeping soundly, and totally unaware of anything amiss.

Crystal graduated with honors from her art academy, and arrived home showing off her graduation cap and gown.

"Thanks for encouraging me, Raven. It was everything you said it would be. I've already been offered a job at the film studio! And I've found an apartment, too!"

Crystal had left home an awkward teenager, and returned a confident young woman, ready to strike out on her own.

A baby and a toddler kept Raven too busy to even think about going back to bar tending. She was so thankful for Topaz's doll- it never failed to amuse her while Raven cared for baby brother. So she was thrilled when a similar toy arrived in the mail for Agate.

Coal tried to help as much as he could, but his work at the science facility kept him away more that he would have liked. Still, he always claimed the task of putting Topaz to bed each night. She loved the little art books he would read to her before she went to sleep.

"Time to sleep. Aren't you getting sleepy? Daddy's getting sleepy."

"Jus' a widdle more, daddee. Pwease?"

"Awww... night night sweetie."

"Ohhh.. there are so beautiful, hon. Thank you! What's the occasion?"

"I got a promotion! I'll be working with the government on top secret research. It's a huge pay raise!"

"So I want to take you out to celebrate. You pick the place. Anywhere you want to go. I already asked my aunt. She's been a lot better lately. Topaz is potty trained, and walking and talking now, so she'll be a big help in keeping Agate entertained. I think Aunt Jade will be fine for a few hours. What do you think?"
The thought of spending a few hours alone with Coal quickly overcame her qualms about leaving the kids with Aunt Jade, and so it was decided.

Raven gave Coal a quizzical grimace.

"What are we doing here? This is anywhere near Eugi's."

"Don't worry, we're headed there right after this. First, tell me what you think?"

"Um.. it's an overgrown field?"

"But think about what it could be.. did you know there is no community garden anywhere in Bridgeport? The people of this city deserve better food than what you can buy at the corner store. I've already been saving some of my best seeds, and my dream is to make this plot of land over into a garden for all of Bridgeport to enjoy."

"Oh, Coal. I think that's a awesome idea. It'll take a lot of work, but I'll be happy to help."

Coal's grin almost split his face in two as he replied.

"You're right. It'll be so awesome. I can't wait to get started! Now, off to Eugi's for our date!"

"So what do you think of this place?" Raven asked with a slight smile. "Have you been here before?"

"Nope, I only ever went to the Prosper Room, and that was only because you worked there. I like this place better. A cozier atmosphere, and it seems to be popular."

"The bartender's no good though - did you see how he almost dropped my drink while he was pouring? I could do much better."

"Coal, hon. I have to admit I had an ulterior motive asking to come here tonight. I wanted to see if you liked it, because, well.. it's for sale. I think I could do a great job running it. A lot better than the bartender they have now.  Topaz starts school soon, and Agate's almost a toddler.  It's always been my dream to own a bar. What do you think?"

Coal glanced around, then back to the hopeful smile on his wife's beautiful face.

He knew it would be hard, trying to plan his garden while Raven was busy here, but she had been so supportive of his dream. There was no way he could say no to hers.

"I'm sure you'll make an amazing bar owner, sweetheart. You could even stock the bar with fruit from our garden."

"Oh Coal, thank you, thank you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I can't wait to see what you do with this place."

Gen 7 Ch 2

Coal really hadn't wanted a bachelor party, but his cousin Orin insisted. It turned out to be not nearly as bad as he had expected.

"You were right after all, Cuz. Good times!"

"Heh heh, just wait 'til you see what else I have planned..."

"Oh good, looky here Coal, our special entertainment has just arrived!"

"Orin! You did not invite dancing girls, did you!?"

"Hey, hey, it's all cool, Cuz. We're gonna send you off in style!"

"Haha! got ya!"

"Got ya back!"

"Since we're all wet already, might as well finish off the night on the water slide."

After that wild night, Coal was glad they had planned the wedding for the evening - it gave him a chance to recover. Even so, he encountered a massive case of nerves right before the ceremony. 

"Come on, Coal," he whispered under his breath as he tried to work up his courage. "Raven's waiting for you, you can do this."

Little did he realize that Raven was experiencing her own pre-wedding jitters.

All his nervousness was forgotten as their eyes met under the wedding arch. He was vaguely aware of hearing his mom, and even his dad, sniffling in the background, and his mind began to wander, back to the day he had first walked into the Prosper Room and seen Raven there behind the bar. It had truly been love at first sight, at least on his part.

An encouraging smile from his beautiful bride brought him back to the present.

"I, Coal, take you, Raven, to be my loving wife....."

As their lips met for the first time as husband and wife, he was quite sure he had never been happier than at this exact moment.

There had been quite a discussion over the wedding cake. Coal didn't like the idea of serving anything that he or Raven hadn't made themselves, but Raven couldn't cook at all, and he wasn't much better. So they agreed to serve a purchased cake for their guests, and Raven agreed that Coal didn't have to eat it if he didn't want to.

Their wedding night was truly a night to remember.

A few days later, while Raven was busy writing thank you notes, Crystal interrupted her.

"Raven, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, hon, what's up?"

"Well, my mom wants to send my away to boarding school. She found this arts school that sounds fantastic, but I'm not sure I want to leave home. You went to boarding school, didn't you? What was it like?"

"I did. I learned so much, and met so many cool people. If your mom is giving you the chance, you should definitely take her up on it, you won't regret it.

"Thanks, that helps a lot. I better go get packed, I leave tomorrow!"

"I'm gonna be a daddy?"

Coal and Raven were both overjoyed when they found out they were expecting. They both agreed a baby girl would be wonderful.

"Are you alright, sweetheart? You look a little stressed."

"The baby's coming!"

Welcome home, Topaz!

Grandma Emerald and Grandpa William were thrilled about their first grandchild.

'Haha, I'm not too old to enjoy a slide or two!"

Coal was quite sure he had never seen such a beautiful little girl in all his life.

He was not quite so thrilled about the baby gift Topaz had received from Raven's great aunt.

"I think it's watching me."

"'Haha, don't be silly, sweetheart," Raven replied. "I think it's cute, and Topaz seems to love it. It's just a doll, nothing more...."

Gen 7 ch 1

It was a few days after his birthday, and Coal was hungry.

"Ewww, Aunt Jade, what is all this mess in the fridge? It stinks!"

"Sorry Coal. Looks like I forgot to clean out my leftovers. Your mom always did it before," he heard his aunt call from the other room.

Coal decided it was up to him to clean up the mess.While he was at it, he took a good look at the stuff his aunt had bought at the grocery store. He'd been doing some testing at work with various types of processed food, and knew what was actually in it.

"Ugh, you would not believe how bad this junk food is for you, Aunt Jade. I'm gonna replace it all with stuff from my garden."

"Whatever, sweetie. Just don't expect me to cook it. I don't do cooking from scratch."

As the days passed, Coal fell into a routine, getting up early each morning to work in his garden, then heading off to his job at the Science Facility.



He stopped by frequently after work to see his mom and dad, and his new baby sister.

"How is little Tiffanie today, mom?

"Wonderful as always," his mom would always answer with a huge smile on her face.

And after the usually chit chat, he would head home and spend the evening reading up on mechanics. There would be a promotion soon if he could master a few of the principles.

One evening as he passed by the Prosper Room on his way home, he had a sudden whim to stop in for a drink. He watched in fascination as the bartender flung bottles around, and finally lit the surface of the drink on fire, just before she served it.

He stared in awe as she placed the fizzy drink in front if him. He was quite sure that he had never seen such a gorgeous woman before in his life.

He had never had a girlfriend, or even a date for that matter, when he was in high school. He had always been known as 'that science nerd,' and girls had pretty much steered clear of him. So he was amazed when the bartender listened attentively when he attempted to start up a conversation.

He discovered that her name was Raven, but beyond that, she would share no personal information. He was happy to tell her all about his job and garden, however, and by the time he left, all he could think about on the way home was the way she smiled at him.

The next day, he again found himself stopping by the Prosper Room on his way home. He soon became a regular there, and it was the highlight of his day when he slid into his favorite seat at the bar.

"Are you going to give me your number today?" he would always ask.

It became a standing joke between them as the answer was always, "Not today, hon."

He figured she was way out of his league, but it was fun to flirt a little anyway.

Coal was nothing if not persistent, though, and soon discovered that if he came on off-nights, he could sometimes convince Raven to come out from behind the bar and dance with him - as long as there were no other customers in the bar. He was not very good, but she didn't seem to mind.

It was at the close of one of those special evenings, where they had spent hours dancing and chatting about random topics, that everything changed.

"Bye, Raven. See you tomorrow."

"Wait."

"I get off work at 5 this morning. Would you like to hang out, maybe hit the diner for breakfast?"

"Oh.. um.. sure, that would be great!" Coal could hardly believe his good fortune.

"Wonderful. I'll see you then. You've become such a good friend."

She pulled him into a hug. He could tell it was not meant to be romantic, just a friendly hug, but he was thrilled. She had agreed to see him outside of work, and that was a huge breakthrough!

Coal picked her up the next morning, but instead of heading to the diner, he had a special surprise planned - a homemade breakfast outside on his patio.

"Mmm, these are delicious! I've never tasted such wonderful pancakes. What's your secret?"
Coal blushed with pride. "I grow the fruit right here."

He didn't eat much, preferring to sit and watch Raven.

"Um... would you like to scoot a little closer?"

"Don't mind if I do."

They sat for a while, his arm around her, holding her close. Would she let him kiss her? It seems she would....

It was now or never.

"So, um.. Raven.. I really really like you. As if you haven't figured that out by now. Heh heh. Um..would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Aw Coal. You are just too cute, you know that? And persistent. When I first met you, I thought you were just one of the players that I see every night. But you proved me wrong. Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

He could hardly wait to tell his mom. Little Tiffanie loved the park, so he met them there on his lunch break.
I think she's the one, mom," he exclaimed as he tickled his little sister into fits of giggles.

Today was a special day. Coal and Raven had been dating for some time, and Coal had something different in mind for this date. Since she worked every evening, their dates always took place in the morning. On this occasion he took her to visit the new park that had just opened near the school.

"I.. uh.. have something for you." He held out the red roses with a giddy grin.

"Oh, Hon. They are so beautiful! Thank you!"

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Oh, Hon, look! Hopscotch! Come play with me. pleasssee? I haven't done this in years!"

She was so sweet, how could he resist. Even though he was sure he would look ridiculous.

Coal had other things on his mind than hopscotch, and eventually led her over to a nearby park bench.

It took him a while to work up the courage, but finally he managed to drop to one knee, and heart pounding, show her the ring he had picked out.

I love you, Raven. You make me so happy. Marry me?"

"Oh, yes! Coal, yes! Oh my." For the first time in her life, she seemed at a loss for words.

"I love you Coal."

"I love you Raven."

I wasn't long before Raven was running to explore the park again. Coal just watched in delight.

"Come on, Coal. There's no one here. Let's check out the tree house!"

"Um, Raven? Are you sure about this?"

"Hehe...totally.."

"...."