Chapter Twenty Four: Frosting and Frolics

Dillon spent as much time as possible with his little girl, he knew that they grew up fast, and he wanted to cherish every moment of her infancy.

He would miss having a baby to hold.

But soon enough it was time for Isla to grow up, and Dillon was there by her crib when she did.

She was immediately hungry and rushed off to the kitchen to eat. She must have picked up some of Rosalie’s glutinous genes! It was amazing that she didn’t need to be weaned from the bottle.

In the midst of all the madness, poor Ethan aged into a teen unnoticed by the rest of the family.

He mooched around the house for days before finally getting over it.

Even if he constantly looked as though he were contemplating revenge.

Lee was finding he had more spare time as he was becoming less relied upon in the house.

He was finally able to ask his crush Lily Nichols over for the afternoon.

They were biology lab partners and had bonded over dissected frogs and cow’s hearts. He had desperately wanted to ask her out ages ago but with him being second-in charge at the house for a period he hadn’t had time to see her outside of school. Since he couldn’t be away from the house for too long, he eventually decided to just ask her over, even if he knew he would be teased mercilessly after.

Rosalie was instantly impressed by Lily, she was a smart girl who seemed very kind. Rosalie also knew her parents and they were decent folk.

Had she not being, Lily wouldn’t have lasted thirty seconds, instead Rosalie gave the kids some space.

Lee wasted no time and surprised Lily with a full-on kiss. Luckily for Lee, she responded favourably!

They spent his now mostly free evenings exploring the gardens and grounds around Lee’s house. And kissing, lots of kissing!

Rosalie was delighted to have much more time with her family, doing all the tasks she never got round to before. Her cooking still left quite a bit to be desired but she enjoyed the novelty of it all the same.

Dillon was working on his photography skills and took a few lovely photos of the kids sitting together after school.

He and Rosalie had taken a few well deserved days off to spend more time at home and catch up on all that lost sleep. They had grown apart a little with the madness of the last few years but were happily rediscovering each others company.

The time quickly came for Aaron’s birthday. He requested a blue confetti cake and Rosalie attempted a version three times before finally giving in and buying it from the local bakery.

But it was worth it to see the smile on his face as he blew out his candles.

Rosalie was also contemplating her own upcoming birthday, she couldn’t believe she would soon be a fully-fledged adult, where had all the years gone?

She took another well deserved day off on the day of her birthday to celebrate. She had the house to herself so she ate Bolognaise for breakfast and lazily sat watching daytime tv.

She eventually got so bored at home that she baked her own birthday cake. Luckily this one was much more successful than Aaron’s cake and when everyone got home she blew out her candles.

The full weight of the loss of her younger years didn’t hit her until she came home from work the next evening.

But luckily Dillon had a wonderful surprise present for her planned…..

Her own art studio!

It was a beautiful room with an unbelievable view and Rosalie quickly forgot her worries and started planning all the paintings she would create.

All was well.