Dear reader, welcome back to the Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures. We're at chapter 20 already! Though, only in generation B - which needs to be fixed immediately!

When we last left off, my heir, Baudolino, and his newly wed wife, Marylena, were about to finish their honeymoon. Now they've returned to Alphabetia. Hey, you two!

"Yeah, C?"

The honeymoon's over!

Get to work and bring on generation C!

"With pleasure, ma'am!"

So, as I hinted in the last chapter, ever since Baudolino and Marylena were on their honeymoon, they've been teaching the sea chantey to everyone. Sims really do love to show off what they've learned on their holidays. Here Nicole has the pleasure to learn the chantey, so she can spread it on in turn.

So far it hasn't started to irritate me. I still get a laugh of it when they do it. But we'll see what I think after a few generations of this or so. It might be that I'll have to hack myself against this. But not yet.

"Is your Mother done with the painting draft yet? Can we move?"

"I'm sure we can. She's really quick. Come on here, honey, let's be cute."

"So this is a family tradition of sorts, then?"

"Yes. Each heir has their potrait painted together with their spouse. And, actually, so far it has been done sitting on this very coach."

"Oh, wow. That is fascinating."

"Legacy families often have some similar traditions. In our case, the portrait was in a bit of a hurry, as C wanted Mom to be able to start on it as soon as possible. So we had to start before your pregnancy starts showing."

Just to show off a little. After the honeymoon, Marylena wanted a sauna. So I thought why not, and built the family a little poolhouse with a massage table and a sauna.

Here's the sauna. I'm glad Marylena rolled the want, as I'd been wanting to give the family one of these myself. Soon she wanted a hot spring, too. That I had to deny, though - they're huge, where would I put one, Marylena?

Here's an outside view of the poolhouse. It's directly behind the main bedroom.

So, yet one thing for the record: this is when I completed my second collection of 30 elixirs. One point for me!

Nicole finishes the portrait of the young couple. Good work, Nicole!

"I suppose I can't sell this one, Creator?"

That would be a no, hon. But you can start painting a new painting to sell if you'd like.

"You really should take your grandkids to a vacation once they're, well, born and so. Traveling is great fun, and you'd get to know them all better."

"That is a lovely idea, Marylena. I'd love to see the world a bit. Not to mention taste if they have different ways of making grilled cheese sandwiches, of course. Thanks for eating mine, by the way."

"No problem. You make delicious grilled cheese, Adrian. In fact, I already rolled the want for a sandwich once."

"Umm... Creator?"

What is it, Marylena? Something wrong with the sandwich?

"No, not at all. It's just... I got my first pregnancy bump."

Ah. Well, actually, you can leave the rest of the sandwich anyway and start a new one. I'll have Adrian store the old sandwich in the fridge for later use.

"He doesn't actually need to eat leftover sandwiches anymore, you know."

I know. But he's not complaining, you know. Every now and then he can get a full sandwich, too.

Marylena may be pregnant, but the rest of the family is perfectly in shape to run a business. So, it's time to work on The Furniture Heaven again.

Which usually goes smoothly, thanks to numerous relatives, who come to the store to up their relationships with the main family - and be cute with their respective spouses.

"My zombie girlfriend is one hot romance sim!"

Good to see you too, Adson.

"Come on brother! You know you want this recliner!"

"Well, I kind of do, but didn't I buy, like, three already?"

"You did, but no matter! You're young forever, and on the lazy side, so multiple recliners are a must!"

"You've got a point in there, Adrian. And I eat Dazzles like they're candy. Hey Rebecca! I bought another recliner!"

"That's nice honey. I think I might want this nice armchair."

"Just a minute, one eager salesman coming right up!"

"Thank you for your interest for our store, mrs. Ramirez, but we are unfortunately just... eh... closing."

"Oh, that must be why the owner just rushed outside to greet some new customers?"

"Ah, indeed, mrs. Ramirez. Thank you and good night!"

"Wonderful! It's as if I hadn't changed at all!"

"I did my best, sir."

Thanks for serving us a meal, Gilbert. George really needs those 500 aspiration points for the influencing right now. And what's that I see? A star?

"It might be."

It is! We're half way through, Baudolino!

"Great. I guess it's about time to get George off the phone and head home, right?"

Back at home, life goes on as usual.

Baudolino maxes cleaning (I think) for his job in the Medical career.

Marylena sleeps on her food.

"Umm... C? Do something?"

Don't worry Baudolino hon. She's just a little tired.

"Honey, are you okay? If you're feeling tired, we should get you straight to bed."

*zZzZ*

Don't worry, Baudolino. See? She's making money while asleep and all! Your wife is one happy bunny right now!

"Well, if you say so."

Even though Baudolino is the heir, it doesn't mean the other kids are fully forgotten.

"You've got a mean game of red hands, Bill!"

"Thanks, Dad. I've had some practice, you know."

"Ah yes. Playful popularity sim. Forgot about that. I'm about to become a grandfather, did you know?"

"I guessed. Saw Marylena on her way to bed with that big belly. Congrats, Dad."

"Have you and Ira talked about the wedding yet?"

"We have. We would go and get married, if a certain someone would get done here with the babies she wants and come over."

Hey! I will get to it, Bill, I swear. I love weddings and I love you two but... Babies!

"How are you doing, Beth darling?"

"Me? Just fantastic, Mom. Me and Sean have a house and will get married as soon..."

... as I get myself to play you, I know, I know. I already heard the story once you know.

Yet one day, Marylena... Are you coping?

"Ooh, funny circles around my belly! I'm sorry, did you say something?"

I guess you're doing just fine, then.

"Now that you're about to have the baby, Marylena, it's important that you eat enough, and have a healthy, well-rounded diet."

"Of course, mrs. ... Nicole. I've been eating and sleeping a lot, and Baudolino says that's what I should do, too."

"Yes, yes, dear. That is part of being pregnant. But what I meant was... My husband means well, but..."

"But a grilled cheese only diet may not be good for the baby?"

"Yes, exactly. That's why I'm seeing that you eat pancakes every now and then, too."

"Thanks, mrs. ... Nicole. I appreciate your concern."

Speaking of Adrian... Even though Nicole may disagree with me, eat grilled cheese is not all he does these days. He also bangs the piano pretty much every chance he gets. And well, I don't object, it does sound good. Also George approves.

He's not the only one who loves music, either. Marylena, I haven't seen you play the drums before. Is this something new you wanted to try?

"Well that, and the piano was taken."

Adrian hasn't forgotten his old friends either. That in the llama suit is Laura, the ex-placeholder of The Bookacy Family Greek House Greek House, and generation B cousin Barry's fiancee. She decided to let herself in to spin on the dance sphere in the mascot suit. But she didn't object to hanging out and listening to Adrian describing the most delicious sandwiches he'd eaten, either.

Baudolino seems to miss his days on Twikkii sometimes. He occasionally rolls the want to fire dance. And well, I let him keep his skill from rusting. It looks cool and makes my heir happy.

And Nicole keeps painting. Congrats for the masterpiece, again.

"Thank you, Creator. I like creating them."

I think ever since she sold her first masterpiece, the want has probably never left her want panel. Not for long anyway.

"Can you believe we're about to be grandparents, Adrian?"

"Not really. It wasn't that long ago we met!"

"Yes. We two foolish teenagers..."

Aww.

The cheese diet seems to have made Baudolino a bit chubby. So exercise makes it all better. It also makes for pictures of one strong finger.

So, finally it's time then, huh?

"Hello! I'm about to bring on the next generation! Attention please? My husband please?"

Sorry, Marylena. I had to send him to work. We don't want him to lose his job now, do we?

"Owwwwww!"

But don't worry, George is here to watch and be completely helpless. Just as Baudolino would.

"Goodness, miss Creator, a baby! Should I perhaps stand here and panic, or would by the door be better?"

Actually, Marylena, I think George might be more useful than Baudolino in this situation.

And look, Adrian is there too! You don't have to worry at all.

"Oh dear, I'll be a grandparent! What to do, what to do? I wish I'd prepared more grilled cheese in advance – what if the poor thing is hungry when it arrives?"

Soon Marylena's pains are over and forgotten about. She holds her little baby boy and instantly adores him.

I'm content, too. Generation C is here, folks!

Welcome to the family, Cyrus Bookacy, firstborn of generation C. You were named after Cyrus Cama in "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", by Salman Rushdie. The original Cyrus Cama was one of the brothers of Ormus Cama, famous guitar player and song writer. Cyrus' birth name was, in fact, Khusro Cama, and he was one of unidentical twins, the other twin being Ardaviraf, aka Virus.

When Cyrus and Virus were young, there was an accident, and Virus got a cricket ball in the head in full force. Since then, Virus never spoke another word, but locked himself in his own world. The accident was the responsibility of the boys' father, but as Cyrus could not blame the father he deeply loved and respected, he blamed his baby brother, Ormus, instead. This lead to Cyrus, five years, attempting to kill Ormus and being stopped by the ayah just on time. Cyrus was then sent to a boarding school with strict rules, and this in turn contributed his development into a full-blooded psychopath.

Despite the somewhat gloomy story of his namesake – I actually thought I'd named him after the twin that got hit by the ball until I checked, oops – Cyrus was the center of the family's attention from his birth on.

Very soon after Cyrus' birth, both Baudolino and Marylena top the Medical career. The hours are reasonable and the same for both, so I think they can stay in that career for now. At least Marylena might change to something that pays better at some point, so she can get permaplat faster. We'll see.

Nicole quite likes the new sauna. She rolls the want to use it pretty much daily. Well, I'm just glad somebody uses it.

Feeding Cyrus again, Marylena?

"Oh yes, Creator. The boy's stomach seems endless!"

Well, technically, all of you have endless stomachs.

"Oh. That. But I also have to take care that my father-in-law doesn't get to do the feeding too often. I suspect he puts cheese in the bottle."

"Who is grandpa's little cheesinator, who is?"

I kind of get her point, you know. Adrian, can you at least wait until the kid can eat solid food?

So, in the midst of all this, what does George get to do?

Well, his energy goes down slowly, and at night there's often nothing to do when the cleaning is done. Except an occasional diaper change. So, whenever I don't turn George off for the night, he gets to bake. Bake until the fridge is empty, and then I replace it and he gets to bake some more.

It's good to be prepared for the next session of running the family bakery, you know.

Alright then, you two. Babies, please! I need two more. And then no more this generation.

All doesn't always go as planned. Not even when you're a machine.

Well, on the plus side, we met a firefighter. Unfortunately, he seemed less than impressed when George told him the smoke was like in a factory. He's probably seen worse. Overall he was quite nice, though.

"These 'baby' things are quite fun, C."

Well, I'm glad you like them, as you'll be having a couple more.

"They giggle when you play with them and all!"

I know. It's fun until something makes them cry. Usually me. Then I just hand them over to their parents again.

These ones grow up a lot faster than real ones, though.

Hey, there! Stop discussing the wonders of the world and come watch the birthday!

"Alright, little Cyrus. Gramma thinks your stocks are rising."

"Let's get you all bigger now. Come on, blow out the candles with Gramma!"

"Would you have thought Mom would ever use the word 'gramma'?"

"Not really."

"Times change, kids. Now, concentrate on the birthday boy here, will you?"

"Here we go, young man!"

Sparkles, yay!

Well, hello there little man. You sure are cute.

"Gagagoo!"

Nice to meet you too. Though we kind of already met. Don't worry, I'll get you out of the bear suit soon. I'll just announce your personality for the readers, okay?

The tradition of not matching one's namesake continues. So far we've had the man who made the promise to never love (Adrian), roll romance, as well as a monk (Adson) with the same aspiration. Not to mention the friendly and painfully shy girl (Beth), who in fact has zero nice points and the popularity aspiration. Now we continue our collection with a murderous psychopath with seven nice points. So, Cyrus' personality is as follows: 8/8/4/4/7.

Yeah, no offense, kid.

"Creator?"

Yes, Marylena?

"Is Adrian alright? He's gaining aspiration from eating pork chops!"

Indeed. Don't worry, Marylena. I'm sure your father-in-law just wants a bit of change after all the grilled cheese.

"I can hear you, by the way. But yeah, I just suddenly felt like a meal of pork chops. It is delicious. Now I'd like to flirt with my wife. And a grilled cheese sandwich would be nice, too."

See? He's fine.

The whole family participates in taking care of Cyrus and teaching him what he needs to know. Baudolino takes care of the talking, and "Daddy" is among Cyrus' very first words.

Cyrus must be happy. Instead of "WAAAAAAAAAAH!" he can now call "DAAAAADDDDDYYYY!" when he's bored in his crib.

Adrian may also be bored, but he's old enough not to go all "WAAAAAAAH" on me when potty training a toddler.

"It's not that bad, actually. I can spend the time thinking about what new cheeses I want to try out this week."

Marylena takes care of the walking. Especially for a fortune sim, she rolls a good amount of wants about her kids.

It's while she was teaching Cyrus to walk when two things happened: they both suddenly felt as if happy, smiley green faces were floating above their heads, and Marylena also found out that she was pregnant again.

Nicole slowly continues working on her makeover badges on random walkbys. It doesn't always go super well. But at least she gets more practice that way. And she gets her silver badge, too.

All time is also business time for Baudolino. And an especially good time to go is while his wife is pregnant – if she's feeling a bit moody, he can get out of the house for a while, and she can rest.

Aunt Rebecca seems to be considering buying a new table there. Various friends and relatives do make excellent sales targets.

Not all aspects of running a business are equally easy, though.

"How hard can it be to find the enter key? I've been waiting for 15 minutes!"

"Please don't ruin my concentration. I'm just a bout to find it... Just about to..."

Nicole usually joins to help with the business. She, too, is an excellent saleswoman, and is very excited to help her son out. Especially if it means some new badges for her.

"Thanks for keeping me exactly as I was before! I look so great! Here's a little tip for you."

"Well thank you, Marsha. My experience as a stylist has taught me that most sims like looking exactly the way they did before."

"Well, it sure works for me, so thanks again!"

Thus we conclude that gaining the umpteenth customer loyalty star would be a very beneficial choice indeed, and an important further step towards reaching the permanent platinum state for Baudolino Bookacy.

Yes, I had to use that.

At home, Cyrus is being friendly with everyone. With Mommy, Daddy, Gramma and Grandpa. And Jack in the Box as well.

And it's not only Cyrus who enjoys Jack in the Box, either.

"Hooray! This is such a wonderful device!"

Well, to be fair, you made it, Nicole.

"Ahem... I didn't think anyone was watching me. I think I am going to... eh... paint some more."

Meanwhile, Marylena gets bigger again. The second baby is almost here, hooray!

I've lost count how many times I've taken a picture of Nicole selling a masterpiece. Well, that is constantly in her want panel, so besides badge building and babysitting, that is what she often does.

The siblings are invited over for a family dinner. This is also a chance for Adrian and Nicole to get to know Sean, Beth's to be husband, better.

"In fact, I've always wanted to be a cop, mrs. Bookacy. There's just something magical about it. Or well, was when I was a kid. Now I know it's just a job like any other. But it's still something I want to do more than anything else."

"That's fascinating, Sean. I like a young man with goals. And please, call me Nicole."

It's time for family members to catch up. Adrian is happy to discuss grilled cheese with Bill, who doesn't mind the topic, unlike most others.

Also, despite her nice point deficiency, Beth does come along with sims. In fact, she has quite a few friends. After tonight, Marylina may count as one of them. Beth was curious about traveling, she had all kinds of practical questions for Marylena, who already had a little experience on the matter.

The next morning, right in the middle of Marylena's piano practice, it's time. Hooray!

"Hey, what happened? My wife was just playing the piano and it sounded good."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!"

"That doesn't sound too good. What is it, honey? Are you okay?"

"OWWWWWWWW!"

"Honey?"

Men. She's having the baby, silly.

"Oh. So that's what it's like. I wasn't here the last time, you know."

"Is this the time to panic?"

Well, I guess this is the time when sim spouses generally do it, if you insist.

"Okay!"

Not that the rest of the males of the household are any more helpful. Or the staff.

But luckily Marylena already knows how to handle these "baby" things. All goes well and a baby girl joins the family.

So, welcome to the family, Cho Bookacy. You were named after Cho Chang in the Harry Potter series. Cho was Harry's first girlfriend when the two entered teenage. It didn't last, but she and Harry managed to come in speaking terms again later on, and Cho stayed a somewhat important side character until the end of the series.

Everyone was excited about the newest arrival. Especially the grandparents.

"Look, she has my red hair! Such a beautiful little girl!"

I'm happy about the red hair, too, Nicole.

"Oh honey, isn't this wonderful? We're now grandparents twice over!"

"Indeed, dear! And a little girl! Would you get down, by the way, you are a little bit on the heavy side?"

"Who's Mommy's little darling, who is? Don't puke on Mommy, okay?"

"Hooray! I was quick with the cheering, and I made it to the piano first!"

So you're enjoying your grandparenthood then, Adrian?

"Oh yeah, C! Babies are fun. You can feed them..."

"... cuddle them, play with them..."

And change their diapers.

"Well, that too. But that we can let George do. Feeding and playing is more fun."

Soon enough, it's time for another important event in the household.

"Who's Mommy's big boy?"

"I am!"

"Aww, sweetie, time sure does fly! Let's get you to the kitchen, okay? For cake."

"Cyrus want cake!"

"I'm sure you do. Just a moment, okay?"

So, sure enough, it's Cyrus' birthday! The family is there to cheer, and so is some of the extended family, too.

"I can't believe Cyrus is growing up already, C! It feels as if we've just had him!"

I know, Baudolino, I know.

Yeah, Ira's there too. He and Bill come in a package deal, you know. And what's a birthday without a random college professor that someone wanted to invite over?

"Very well, young mr. Bookacy. Allow me to assist you with the candles."

"Cake!"

"Yes, young mr. Bookacy. You may have cake, after we have blown out the candles."

So, there you go, kid. Now go on and grow up well. I'm right here watching you, okay?

Where did he go, where did he go? Oh yeah, this happens when toddlers grow up. Maybe positioning myself under the table wasn't the best choice, after all.

There you go, that's better! How are you feeling, kid?

"I'm feeling great! And look, C, I have nice points, I can do the creepy smile!"

Indeed you can. You can have your cake now.

"Cake, yay!"

Everyone enjoyed the family gathering. Especially these two.

"Ah, young love, Kendra. It reminds me of when me and Adrian were young."

"Yes indeed. The golden times. How about we leave the young couple here in peace and go, say, bowling? If I remember correctly, you have an alley dumped at the back of your yard."

"Oh yes we do. Why not, bowling is a fun activity. I wholeheartedly approve of fun activities."

Well, Cyrus. Now you're a kid. And the first thing kids get to do in this house, is get a head start in studying. Just in case they need it later in life.

"This is boooooring!"

Too bad. You'll thank me later.

See? I'm not an awfully bad person. I even had George keep you company while you study.

"It's still boring."

"Hey Marylena."

"Yes, honey?"

"What do you say if we meet someone new?"

"Meet someone new, honey?"

"Yes. Someone new who can get into private school, get A+ report cards and later on, gain scholarships, go to college..."

"You've got my attention. Tell me more."

"Well, there's the part where this someone new is kind of tiny and you have to change diapers... But you can overfeed them and play and cuddle. And a little bit later you can teach them stuff. It also includes this fun part..."

"I like the sound of that."

"You don't have to settle for the sound, you know. I could show you."

"Come on here, Marylena."

"So let me just recap on that a bit. There's this part where there's someone new. They're tiny, you can play, teach... Then they grow up, and there will be private school, scholarships, college..."

"Yes."

"And then there's this 'fun part'."

"Yes."

"I like your thinking, Baudolino Bookacy."

"I can so ride faster than you, Gramma!"

"We'll see about that, kid."

Just to prove that I'm not a complete slave driver.

"Hey! You made me study until I had no fun at all!"

Ahem. Where was I again...

Oh, yeah! Cyrus comes along just great with his parents and grandparents. Well, Adrian is easy to bond with. You just sit by him at the dining table and grab a sandwich.

"Are grilled cheese sandwiches your favorite food, Grandpa?"

"Oh yes, Grandpa loves grilled cheese very much. How about you, kid? Do you like grilled cheese?"

"It's okay. It's fun eating grilled cheese with you, Grandpa. But I do like spaghetti, too."

"You know what, Cyrus?" broke Nicole in.

"What, Gramma?"

"I think that when you are a little bit older, me and Grandpa will be taking you on a vacation with your siblings and cousins. Gramma and Grandpa have never been abroad, and I think it would be good for you too. What do you think, Cyrus?"

"A vacation??? Cool! When can we go?"

"Not quite yet, honey. I think your sister has to be a little older first."

"Okay, Gramma!"

"Nicole, honey", said Adrian, "I'm really glad you liked Marylena's suggestion. I'd love to get to spend time with all of my grandchildren!"

"Well, I always thought it was a nice idea from her. I am already browsing some traveling magazines", said Nicole, smiling.

Well, as Nicole said, little Cho needs to be just a little bigger to be able to vacation with her grandparents and big brother. So Baudolino helps with that.

"She may not be the only one who'll want to come and who needs to grow up, though."

Yes, I know, Marylena. But let's not tell that to Cyrus quite yet. Let's concentrate on the birthday at hand, shall we?

And here comes the birthday girl, in a bear suit just like his brother. Don't worry kid, we'll fix that.

So here is our little Cho princess, in something a little more ladylike. Her statistics are 2/8/9/7/4. Taking after her mother at least in the nice point department, I see. But the sloppiness and outgoingness are all Baudolino. So a good mix. Yay.

And with this adorable picture of a toddler, I am going to leave you this time. Not for long, though. As per usual, I have taken way too many pictures for a story. And as per usual, I will solve the matter by making my chapter two chapters. So, look for chapter 21 on a Dreamwidth account near you, very soon! Thanks for reading, and see you soon!