Chapter 19: Another Offer

          Sasha was eager for not one, but two baby sisters. Soon, they would grow up and follow her every whim. She’d shape them like clay, creating perfect angels who’d play with her forever and ever. Each morning before school, she asked her mother if today was the day they’d age up. And the answer always seemed to be no. Sasha was beginning to run out of patience!

          Finley had her reasons for not aging up Ana and Nancy yet. Foremost, Nancy had only come into the world a short while ago, and she didn’t want to miss out on the bonding that came from feedings. She could simply have Ana’s birthday, but then there was the bed shortage. Finley had yet to purchase the additional beds her family would soon require. Money wasn’t an issue. Her hesitancy stemmed from laziness; she’d have to rearrange things upstairs, and she just didn’t feel like it yet. Sure, this might not be the most motherly reason, but at least it was honest.

          Of course, then there was Malcolm. His father passed soon after Nancy’s birth. Finley had never met him, but she had attended the funeral, bringing his only grandchild along. There, she met the woman her child was named after. Nancy Sr. wasn’t exactly friendly, but Finley hadn’t expected her to be at such an event. However, their subsequent meetings hadn’t gotten any warmer. Now that the head of their family was gone, Malcolm and his mother were pushier towards getting time with Finley’s youngest. She’d gotten them to concede to allowing her full custody while she was an infant, the only tradeoff being that her last name was now hyphenated. Nancy Harper-Landgraab. This wouldn’t appease them once she aged up though. Finley still wasn’t sure how she felt about her child spending nights over at that mansion with that family.

         

          Having had two births so close together again, Finley had allowed her body to get a bit out of shape. It wasn’t horrible though, and she was content to work on it at a leisurely pace. While it’d been great—almost empowering—to have a hot bod and an almost sexy look, Finley realized that she wasn’t exactly proud of the decisions she’d made since her makeover. She wouldn’t change any of them, since they had resulted in her daughters, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t readjust her image once again.

          Finley didn’t only want to change her outside though. Ana and Nancy left her little time to herself, but, when one of her older kids were kind enough to volunteer babysitting services, she decided to use this time to improve herself. She enjoyed jogging over to the library and filling her mind with poetry. Sure, most of it went right over her, but she always felt a bit better upon leaving. More enlightened perhaps, or maybe just satisfied from having to use her noggin.

          During one of her trips to the library, she decided to conquer her computer illiteracy. Finley had never used one of those machines, but her children all did at school. They teased her about needing to get with modern technology, and she supposed that yes, she was a tad bit behind. Who needed a computer when there was a whole world outside to explore? Not to mention a creator who eagerly awaited more kids.

          Finley had only figured out how to make the monitor come to life when she was interrupted by someone taking the seat next to her. They tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she needed any help. It took her a moment to place him. He was that guy that she always seemed to cross paths with. What was his name? Bob?

          Accepting his offer of help, Finley expected him to help her understand what was so great about these computer things. Instead, she got relentless flirting, which seemed to be the only thing he knew to do around her. The man had a strange way of doing it too. Bob liked to compare her to his wife, pointing out numerous reasons why Finley was better. It didn’t leave a good taste in her mouth to be hit on by a blatantly married man, and she had to wonder why he didn’t just get a divorce if he was so miserable. Still, there was something about him. He was almost…adorable? Like a grumpy old man who is obviously just a big softie.

          Before letting her go, Bob took her hands into his own. “There’s something I’ve always liked about you. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give me a quick reprieve from my hellhound wife sometime?” Finley didn’t know what to say to that. If she were any other woman, she would have immediately turned him down, maybe with a slap. Alas, she was on a mission in life and could always use a potential father in her back pocket. She was surprised as well; she didn’t think the man actually wanted to cheat on his wife. Bob seemed like the type to passive-aggressively flirt with another woman, not let go any further.

          To keep things open for a time when she might need to consider such a thing, Finley politely bid farewell to the man before going on her way.

          Quinn had his hands full when she returned home. He was handling it much better than when he was a teenager though. “Has she been crying this whole time?” Finley asked. Ana was proving to be a very vocal baby. It made her nervous that she always seemed to wail whenever any attention was being paid to Nancy.

“It’s fine,” Quinn passively said. “I just don’t think she knows me very well.”

“Nonsense! You’re her big brother; she must know you.”

Her son kept his eyes on the crying baby. “It’s a bit odd when I think about it. Here I am, an adult man, and yet this infant is my sister. I realize the logistics of it work fine, but I can’t shake the feeling that there is something strange about this.” Finally he looked up at his mother and offered her a small smile. Quinn handed Ana over, who quieted immediately. Before leaving the room, he gave one more comment. “You look very nice, Mom. Strangers would probably imagine we were siblings.”

          Finley didn’t know whether Quinn had been getting at something or just being himself. He could be so serious and quiet, sometimes casual observations came off as though they had deeper meaning. The case probably wasn’t so simple though. She’d told all of her children about her unusual awakening into life, but she couldn’t be sure they believed her. She hadn’t gotten around to speaking of the rules yet. Not to anyone. Perhaps it was time that she had.