Dear reader, welcome back to The Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures, to chapter 34! If you are new to the story, I suggest you start from the beginning (you know, chapter 1), as otherwise I suspect what follows will make little to no sense. For those of us who are up to date, I believe we were at some fairly dramatic events in the Bookacy household the last time, weren't we? So let's dive right in.

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The afternoon following the disastrous wedding of her daughter, Marylena Bookacy was on the phone.

”Hi, Cyrus dear. Yes, we are managing, thanks for asking. All the guests have left, it's just us anymore, and the house is finally quiet. Thank goodness for that.”

”I can't deny this has been quite a shock for us all. As you know, me and your father weren't entirely happy with the engagement in the first place and had the feeling that not everything was right. But still...”

…

”No, no, we had absolutely nothing against Eric, he always seemed such a nice young man, although somewhat older than your sister, it was more... Well, Cho. We weren't convinced she was doing this for the right reasons, but no matter how we tried, we couldn't make her see our side. We were worried that if she was getting married mainly to 'make the family proud', she might later come to regret it. But we would never have imagined that he would leave her at the altar, no, neither of us...”

”Cho? I suppose she's as well as it's possible in these circumstances. Your father called his cousin Bailey, who is a doctor, and he came over to see to Cho. He assured us that there's no immediate danger, even though she was in a shocklike state and...” Marylena had to pause, fighting back tears, ”... and she didn't seem to... really pay attention to her surroundings.”

…

”No, no, it's okay. Bailey checked up on her, and said he would rather not order medication because of the pregnancy, but he estimated she should be ok without for the time being. If the situation gets worse, he said he'd order something mild. Right now she's sleeping, has been for about an hour and a half. It was amazing really, how she seemed completely unresponsive when me or Baudolino tried to get her to even come inside, but when Bailey told her in a firm voice, he got her to both eat and then sleep. We were so relieved.”

”So right now we're just waiting and taking turns to check up on Cho. So far she seems to be sleeping peacefully. Bailey said that the advanced pregnancy and the stress of the day have probably completely exhausted her and she'll probably sleep long. I promised him we'd call him immediately if something unexpected happened, and in any case we'll report to him in the evening.”

…

”He said that the baby should be perfectly fine. The pregnancy is so far along that there shouldn't be a reason to worry about that. In fact, his opinion was that the baby could be born at any time. Apparently the stress peak hasn't at least yet caused the labor to start, and it's good because Cho was exhausted to begin with and needs the rest. So also with that we're currently just waiting.”

…

”Okay, sweetie. Thanks for calling, say hello to Chris from me. Baudolino is currently having a nap, and George is putting away the wedding decorations so Cho doesn't see those when she wakes up. I think I'll check up on her one more time and then see if I could get a little sleep myself. We'll call you if anything else happens. Love you, sweetheart, bye.”

The family didn't have to wait long. After a couple of more hours of peaceful sleep, Cho was awakened by a sharp pain in her abdomen, and Marylena, who was napping on the couch, was awakened by her yelp of pain.

It was soon evident that it was time for Cho to go into labor. Marylena rushed to wake her husband, who promptly dialed Marsha and Bailey's number.

Bailey grabbed the car keys and left for the Legacy household at once, but he said that the birth seemed to be progressing fast and he would probably not make it before the baby would be born. He assured Baudolino that by his description this was a completely routine childbirth, and all would go just fine without a doctor present. He would come anyway, to at least check up on Cho and the baby afterwards.

Marylena was nervous, but she tried to remain calm for her daughter's sake. If nothing else, she would be there to support Cho.

”It's okay, honey, just remember to breathe. Take a long, deep breath.”

”Owww...”

”Hang in there, darling, not much longer!”

Marylena was right. Only moments later the pain was over, and Cho was holding her newborn son in her arms. Even at birth both of his parents could be seen in the boy's features: he had Cho's eyes and skin color, and blond hair like both Eric and Marylena. After a moment of thinking, Cho, who had been very silent since she had been left standing outside holding a ring, announced that the baby would be called Dirk.

Welcome to the family, Dirk Bookacy! You were named after Dirk Gently from Douglas Adam's The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul. The original Dirk Gently is a detective with a holistic detective agency. In Tea-time Dirk comes across a case where a check-in desk at the Heathrow airport disappears in an explosion, and the leads seem point towards the ancient Scandinavian gods. Meanwhile, Dirk also has a battle of wills with his maid on the topic of Dirk's fridge, which is quickly approaching the state of a biohazard. Many twists and turns are taken before the final solution on either matter is reached.

A few nights later, when the biggest fuss and stream of congratulations on Dirk's birth was over, it was time for some quite different action, action which few sims in Alphabetia were even aware of.

George and Sean were standing on the edge of a large forest on the outskirts of Alphabetia and waiting. It was a chilly night, and Sean kept rubbing his hands together to keep them warm. George didn't need to do so, but even his metallic interiors felt cold as he was thinking about their current mission.

”You do not believe he would suspect something?” he asked for what must have been the thirtieth time that night.

”Why would he?” replied Sean, but George couldn't help but notice that he looked worried. ”From what the Count said, Salahuddin Chamcha has no reason to think anything in particular about being contacted by an old acquintance, one who has successfully helped him in the past.”

”Rebecca's kidnap was not very succesful in my understanding.”

”But Salahuddin's turning into a vampire was. And in fact, without the Count's help, or alternatively a rather substantial amount of elixir, Salahuddin would be long dead of old age by now. He has reason to be grateful.”

”What will we do if he does not return?” asked George after a while of gazing silently into the forest, and not for the first time.

”Then we have a problem”, said Sean gloomily. ”The police are of course aware, and I would of course alert the forces, but... The forcefield around the house is very strong, as both Sunny and the count explained. It would take some extraordinary magic to break it, and without the count... I believe Sunny herself would be our only hope, and by the time she managed to lift the protection...” Sean realized where this conversation was going, and hastened to add: ”But there's still time.”

George nodded, unable to speak. Both men kept staring into the distance in silence.

After what felt like much longer than it probably was, both George and Sean jumped upon hearing a fairly loud ”puff” and seeing a cloud of purple smoke, in the midst of which stood Count Pao Howe, smirking.

”I take it you have been expecting me, then?” he asked, noting how George let out a visible sigh of relief and Sean looked much more relaxed than he had a moment ago.

Sean gave him a stern look. ”We're not exactly in a mood for jokes right now, count. Did everything go as planned? You aren't being followed?”

”No, no, we are completely safe”, assured Count Pao. ”Now if you will, I would like to disattach myself from these wires. They are fairly uncomfortable.” He reached for his ear and took out a small earplug. Then he started to strip off his skin a long, thin wire that had been barely visible if you knew where to look.

”Much better”, he said after several moments of untangling wires in silence. He saw the questioning looks on the other men's faces, and gave them the answers they desperately wanted.

”Very well. Everything went according to plan, I do not believe we have anything to worry about, when it comes to Salahuddin Chamcha's suspicions. He may have been slightly surprised that I contacted him after all these years, but he accepted my explanations. He did not show suspicion or desire to search me for hidden devices such as this”, the count said waving a small tape recorder he had taken from his pocket. ”I gave him the information we agreed on, and he seemed very interested. Due to the power field, a live transmission was not possible as you know, but everything is on tape.” He tapped the recorder.

Sean sighed, clearly relieved to hear this. ”Great. Excellent job, count.”

But Count Pao was not finished yet.

”There is, however, more”, he said, stressing each word. ”It would seem that Salahuddin Chamcha has become even more dangerous than he has been previously. He did not say so directly, nor do I know his exact motivation, but I have the impression that he is now planning...” he swallowed, ”the death of an heir.”

Sean and George merely looked at the count in horror. Finally Sean asked: ”So Cho's... Cho's in danger? Or the baby?”

”I assume it would be Cho. I do not believe that he knows about her son at this time. It may not be possible to keep the information from him, but it is strongly advisable to attempt all the same.”

Sean nodded. He had some difficulties to find his voice, but finally he spoke. ”If that's the case, count, then I think it's high time for direct action. We can't let him have a chance at Cho's life. I think I have an idea... It might be dangerous, but so far it's everything I've got, and it fits perfectly with the information you've given him...” He was speaking more to himself than to anyone in particular. Then he stopped. ”We'll need to alert a few others. And I need to hear that tape.”

Despite his worries about keeping the family – and Count Pao – safe, George didn't let his nerves get the better of him. Instead, he kept being an invaluable help around the house, and with little Dirk especially. He was afraid, but he trusted Sean, and kept his promise of not telling anyone what he'd heard, Cho herself in particular. Baudolino knew vague general ideas, but otherwise Sean, George and the count had agreed that the family had enough to deal with as it was, and it was best to proceed with only a few select and capable sims fully aware of the situation.

Capable sims were taking care of matters, and at the moment the best George could do, was to keep his single eye open, and attend to everyday matters for the family.

Meanwhile, it was celebration season all around Alphabetia. Now that generation C had returned from college and settled in, many of them were settling down as well. For a while, the family were at weddings almost constantly, applauding at this or that cousin's marriage.

Baudolino and Marylena were a little worried about Cho having to attend all these occasions right now, but she seemed to take it with grace, regardless of what her true feelings may have been.

And if it wasn't a wedding, it was a birthday, as many members of generation B were also becoming elders those days. And if it wasn't either a wedding or a birthday, then it was an engagement – there was news on engagements in the family practically every week. Also the first pregnancies among the cousins were soon celebrated.

Even Cho's cousin and best friend, Claire, surprised everyone and got engaged to her boyfriend Trevor. Claire, all-about-boys-Claire, committing to just one boy?

Claire herself, when she heard the surprised tones, just laughed.

Of course, those who knew her the best, weren't perhaps terribly surprised.

And soon enough, also Claire and Trevor celebrated their wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, the young couple were simply radiating and Claire's Dads, Bill and Ira, beamed throughout the day. Their little girl had clearly found happiness.

While all the celebrating and accompanying fuss was going on in the neighborhood, Cho tried to go on with her life. She may have been a little more quiet than usual, but otherwise she seemed to be doing reasonably well considering the circumstances.

Encouraged by her parents, she let her knowledge-seeking side take over. Whenever she wasn't playing with or cuddling little Dirk, she was studying. Charisma was something she had been interested in a long time, and now she perfected her skill.

She could also often be found stargazing on the chilly late autumn nights, especially when she couldn't sleep. Being outside felt good, and stargazing was a great way to take her mind off things.

But all things considered, Cho's favorite pastime was to lay down and hold her son in her arms. She could spend hours just laying there and watching little Dirk sleep, or playing with him, letting him reach for her hair and her nose, and hear him coo happily. That was when she felt the calmest.

It was really a miracle how something so beautiful, so amazing could come out of something that went so disastrously wrong. Her life might be a mess at the moment, she might have no idea what she should do with regard to... well, anything really, but she had a son. A beautiful, perfect, amazing son who could make her smile even in the midst of misery, simply by being there. Really, it didn't even matter that she now had an heir, the heir she had been so eager to produce or so long, longer than she could remember really. She might not have consciously admitted it to herself, but she had been worried about the possibility of not being able to produce an heir, to be able to continue the name of the family and bring it prestige. She now had that, but really, that wasn't what was important.

Cho had been worried about a lot of things, but suddenly, many of them didn't matter anymore. Not for the moment, at least.

One evening, when Cho was simply relaxing and enjoying the company of her son, there was a silent knock on the master bedroom door.

”Yes?”

”Honey?” said Marylena, looking into the room. ”Do you have a moment? I'd... I'd like to talk to you for a while.”

”Sure”, said Cho, looking curious. ”I suppose it's about bedtime for Dirk anyway, he's been seeming a little tired for a while”, she continued and pecked her son on the cheek, to which he replied by giggling and trying to grab her nose.

”Yes, I think it's bedtime for the young mister here. Let me just get Baudolino or George, I think either of them would be happy to put him to bed while we talk”, replied Marylena briskly and stepped back into the upstairs lobby to go look for either of the two men.

”So, what did you want to talk about, Mom?” asked Cho after Baudolino had delightedly jumped on the chance to read his grandson a bedtime story, and the two women were comfortably sat on the master bedroom bed.

”Well, I just wanted to... well, ask how you were”, said Marylena. ”You've seemed a little more cheerful to me lately.”

Cho smiled a little. ”I suppose I have been happier. It has a lot to with Dirk I think. He's just so...” she couldn't find the word she was looking for, but the adoring look on her face told Marylena everything she needed to know.

”I'm glad to hear that. And it's great to see you spend so much time with him, too. I think it's good for you both.”

”Well I know it's definitely good for me”, Cho said, this time with a warm, genuine smile. ”I do hope it's good for him too.”

”You can be sure of that. It's always good to be with someone who loves you.”

”How have you been... otherwise?” asked Marylena then. ”You haven't heard from... him, have you?”

Cho sighed. ”No. Not that I've expected to, either. Not after what... happened.”

”Well, Ihave to say I wasn't expecting it either. After he left like that, without a word of explanation, I wouldn't expect him to contact you, not any time soon in any case”, reasoned Marylena, happy that her daughter seemed to remain calm. Perhaps she'd even be in an open mood, to both talk about her situation, and to listen.

”Yeah. I suppose I have to learn to live with the fact that I might not ever get to know what happened there... I thought... I really thought that he loved me, but... Maybe you never really know.” Cho shrugged, biting her lip. ”I don't know, maybe he got cold feet, wanted to lead a life of a party. Decided he didn't want a wife – and son – after all.” She sounded bitter when she ended.

Marylena had thought of a few things to say about her daughter's side of it all, but thought the better of it. Now wasn't the time.

”We don't know his reasons”, she said instead, ”so better not make any assumptions, dear. Maybe it's best just to try to accept the situation for what it is, if you can. If you ever get to know what happened, what his motivations were, then good. If not, all you can do is try to live on the best you can, and raise your son.”

”I know, Mom. That's what I'm going to have to do.” Cho sighed. ”I only hope that when Dirk starts asking questions, I can give him some answers.” She seemed to make up her mind about something. ”Actually, Mom, I'm a little worried about him”, she said finally.

”About Dirk? Why?”

”Well... I'm the only parent that the poor little kid's got and... I'm not sure if I'm up for the task. Especially right now, I mean. It's been pretty tough and...” Cho swallowed, ”I'm a bit of a mess right now.. I wouldn't want that to affect Dirk but... I don't know what to do, Mom.”

”I'm glad you are telling me this”, said Marylena, much happier about the conversation than she had been a few moments ago, ”and I understand completely.” She then said firmly: ”Cho, I need you to stop worrying about this. First of all, it's perfectly normal to be feeling like you do in this situation. Anyone would be upset, angry, sad. I'd be worried if you weren't. I also need you to remember that you may be Dirk's only parent, but you aren't the only adult he's got. Me, your father and George are always there if you need help with Dirk, and not only for taking care of the physical tasks, we'll do our best to help you answer the questions as well when the time comes.”

Cho nodded, wiping her eyes. ”I know. Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it.”

”You're welcome, sweetie. I have to say, even though I wouldn't wish your current situation for anyone, I can't help but think that in the end, it might be a good thing, or rather”, she corrected herself, ”it may lead to good things. Honestly, there are some things that I believe you need to think over, for yourself, and had... this... not happened, maybe nothing would have forced you to do so. Do you understand what I mean?” asked Marylena her daughter.

”I... I think I may have an idea”, Cho said quietly.

Marylena got up from the bed. ”In that case, I'm happy. I won't say anything more right now, but if you ever need to talk about any of this, you know I'm here for you.”

Cho got up as well. ”Yeah. Thanks, Mom.”

”You're welcome, dear”, said Marylena, pulling her for a warm hug, ”That's what mothers are for. Now, I just need you to remember that no matter what, me and your father love you very much. That's all that matters.”

”I love you too, Mom.” And they both knew just how much the other meant it.

After the worst celebration fuss was over, life was actually fairly quiet in the Bookacy family main. After the recent turns of events, everyone seemed to enjoy the peace and quiet. Cho in particular enjoyed the time alone, time to think, and the time to spend with her son. She might not have said it to anyone, but indeed what her mother had said to her, started to grow in her mind, to make sense to her.

Cho wasn't the only one who was enjoying Dirk's company, of course. Marylena kept her promise, and she and Baudolino were eager to help with the little one whenever they could. Not that they wouldn't have otherwise, but seeing their daughter's vulnerable state, they felt it was all the more important.

George was perhaps the greatest help of all. While the three others doted on little Dirk, he took the time to take care of tasks that would otherwise have been neglected, such as gardening. Of course, when all tasks were taken care of, George still found time to dote on Dirk as well.

And one of those days, when everything was so nice and peaceful, also the first snow of the winter calmly and quietly made its appearence in Alphabetia.

”Dad? Mom said you wanted to see me?” said Cho who'd just come to the living room after breakfast one day in the beginning of winter.

”Yes I did, sweetie”, said Baudolino, nodding. He got up from the couch on which he'd been resting while waiting for Cho. ”There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, but we've had other things on our minds.”

When Cho looked a little worried, Baudolino smiled and added: ”Oh nothing too serious. Or, yes, serious, but something of absolutely positive nature.”

”You see, now that me and your mother are getting older, and you are the reigning heiress, I thought it was about time you took over the family business.”

”The... the bakery?” asked Cho. ”Are you... sure?”

”Why wouldn't I be? It's the family business, and I've certainly had it for long enough. I'm proud and happy to be giving the bakery in your hands, Cho.”

”Thanks”, said Cho, still looking uncertain. ”I mean, I'd be very to happy to be in charge of the bakery, it's just that... I don't know much about business, I'm not sure if I can do this.”

Baudolino smiled again. ”Did you think your old man would just leave you in charge of a business you're not familiar with and leave it at that? Of course not. In the beginning it takes some work to learn the essentials of running the business, but I'll help you with that, and both me and your mother are more than willing to give you a hand also otherwise. It's the family business, and it's always been run together, by the family.”

Now Cho smiled too. ”Okay, Dad. Thank you, I really appreciate this.”

”You're welcome, sweetie”, Baudolino said, reaching to give his daughter a warm hug. ”You've been occupying yourself with knowledge-type activities a lot lately, and I thought you could enjoy learning some business skills too. And well, I'd like you to find out that you are well capable of running a business too if you want it, after some practice of course.”

Cho nodded. Learning new things was always nice, and she appreciated Baudolino's attempt to give her a distraction from what was currently going on in her mind.

”Now, if I remember correctly”, said Baudolino with his eyes twinkling, ”you don't have work until the late afternoon, and Marylena and George would surely be delighted to look after Dirk for a while. Would you like to go see your new business for yourself, together with your old man of course?”

Cho smiled. ”I'd love to.”

And so, in light snowfall, Cho and Baudolino soon headed for the Bookacy family bakery, to see how things were after a rather long while.

”Dad?” said Cho when they were parking the car in front of the bakery. ”It looks... different.”

Baudolino chuckled.

”You've... you've redecorated it?”

”Yes, yes I have”, admitted Baudolino, ”but only slightly. The place started to look like it needed some surface renovation, so I did some freshening up. I didn't want to change it too much right now, since it's your business and you may want to do something entirely different with it, but I wanted it to look inviting.”

Cho looked around. ”I think it does”, she agreed. ”And the old place really did need some touching upon.”

”I added a new line of products, too, said Baudolino, pointing to the left. Kitchen accessories, he needlessly explained. I think they go together with our bakery products quite nicely. But as I said, I decided to leave the next big decisions to you, as it's really your bakery now.”

Cho looked around again, and smiled. ”Thanks Dad. I think I need to think about what I want to do with the business a little bit. For now, I think it's perfect.”

The morning was spent baking products for the shop. Baudolino and Cho started by checking what the situation was, and then went on to bake those products that were most severely lacking. Baudolino was an experienced cook, and Cho got many useful tips from him. The task was quite enjoyable, really.

After the baking session, it was time to open the store and watch the clients stream in. Cho was amused to find that some of them were clearly there to see the new owner of the business. Some because they already knew her and dearly loved her, and some because they clearly aspired to know her.

Baudolino let Cho do most of the selling. She was a quick learner and the customers seemed pleased with her. She assumed that her previous knowledge of charisma was helping her quite much. In any case, Cho found that learning the sales skills all the while meeting new sims was a lot of fun.

She even met one particularly interesting customer. The man introduced himself as Bruce Bigfoot, and it turned out he was living together with a family named Thayer – Cho's second cousin Clyde, his wife Margaret and his parents Bonnie and Thomas. Bruce explained that Clyde and Margaret had met him while on their honeymoon to the Three Lakes, and as a knowledge sim, Margaret had been thrilled to meet an actual bigfoot. Clyde may have been a little terrified at first, but so it turned out that at the end of the holiday, Bruce moved in with the Thayers. So far; Bruce was liking it in Alphabetia very much. So many new someones to meet, he said and looked genuinely happy.

Towards the afternoon Baudolino took over selling, so that Cho could learn some restocking as well. She found that, too, quite fascinating to do. She was very content to have come to the bakery today, they'd have to do it again soon.

Before they left, however, Cho wanted to show off some of her newly acquired skills, and made some beautiful and delicious Baked Alaska to share. All in all, the day at the business was a very successful one.

Soon after the day at the bakery, Baudolino came to the conclusion that he had been in working life quite long enough, and now was as good a time as any to retire.

Of course, he couldn't just do nothing, so he decided to try out a new hobby. He found the old robotics bench in the basement quite interesting. And perhaps Dirk would like to play with a toy robot once he grew a bit, Baudolino thought.

And then one day, the phone rang. Marylena went to answer, and saw the call was coming from the gate, someone was there and wanted inside.

”Bookacy family residence.”

…

”Oh.” She was so surprised she even forgot to greet the speaker as she normally alvays did.

…

”Alright. Could you... Could you please wait for a moment? I'll come outside.”

”Hello, Marylena”, said professor Eric. He was shaking slightly, and rubbing his hands together.

”I wouldn't want to sound inpolite, but...What are you doing here?” asked Marylena, clearly reserved suddenly being confronted by the man who'd almost become her son-in-law.

”Not at all, perfectly understandable”, replied Eric politely. ”This may be an unsurprising answer, but I'd like to see Cho. Is she available?”

”Why?” asked Marylena, looking suspicious.

Eric sighed.

”I understand why you would not feel like welcoming me into your home anymore, trust me, I perfectly understand”, he said. ”I've done a coward's deed, and I deserve much more of your anger than you're currently serving me with. There's no excuse.”

”That's true.”

”However”, Eric continued, ”now that I've been able to have some time to think a little bit, to get past the worst myself, I feel that if Cho is willing to listen to me, she'd deserve an explanation, and an apology. I don't expect her to forgive me, certainly not now, maybe not ever, but I think she deserves to hear it all the same.”

When Marylena was going to say something, Eric added: ”If you don't want me near your daughter anymore, or if you think she's in no state to see me, I understand. In that case I only ask that you tell her I am terribly sorry. But if you think...” he trailed off, suddenly unable to find an ending to that.

Marylena was quiet for a moment, then sighed.

”Maybe I should hate you for what you did to my daughter, but apparently I can't. I might be acting against my best judgement, but I do think Cho deserves closure on this, so I suppose I'm glad that you came. Come in.”

She pressed the button that opens the gate.

”I can't guarantee that she's willing to talk to you, though.”

”I know”, said Eric, stepping through the gate, ”I'm willing to try either way.”

Marylena knocked on the small bedroom door, the room usually in the use of the household's children.

”Cho dear? Are you busy?”

”Well I'm trying to study a bit here”, said Cho, preparing to put her book down if needed. ”What is it, Mom?”

”Well, there's... there's someone here who'd like to meet you”, said Marylena, keen to observe her daughter's reaction.

”Oh.”

That was all that Cho had time to say, before Marylena hastily continued: ”I'll leave you to it, I think I... I need to talk about the household tasks with George.” And with that, she turned on her heels and left the room. But behind her, someone entered it.

”Hello, Cho.”

”You.” Cho simply stared at her ex-fiancé, unable to think of anything more to say. She'd apparently forgotten that she was still holding the book, and gazed at Eric over it.

”Yes, me.” Eric took advantage of Cho's apparent surprise and confused state, and said: ”I... I think we should talk.”

”Talk?” That got Cho moving. She got up and put the book away. ”What is there to talk about?” she asked in a cold tone. Eric noted that as he'd expected, this would not be an easy discussion.

He sighed. ”I'm here to apologize to you”, he said. ”I...”

But he didn't get further than that.

Cho had seemed relatively calm before, but now she released all of her rage, seemingly out of the blue.

”Apologize to me? Apologize to me?!?! Do you really think you can just... just walk out on me like that, leave me at the worst possible moment, disappear without a word for weeks, and then just apologize?! Well I don't think so, mister! If that's all you have to say, then you can...”

”Cho, I don't expect you to forgive me, not at all, but I just wanted to...”

But Cho wasn't done yet.

”If you didn't intend to marry me, you could just not have proposed! You could have said so earlier! But no, you have to do this the worst possible way! You leave me standing there under the arch, holding the ring!” Now she was positively shouting. Eric tried to say something, but she went on.

”You've DISGRACED me! HUMILIATED me!” she screamed. ”You've made me look absolutely RIDICULOUS! Me AND THE FAMILY! HOW DARE YOU EVEN COME INTO MY SIGHT AGAIN?!?!” Cho yelled on top of her lungs.

”Cho, listen”, said Eric. His voice was quiet but firm, and it worked, if only because Cho was badly out of breath.

”Cho”, started Eric calmly, ”first of all, yes, you've got every right to be angry, heck, one could say you almost have an obligation to be angry. There are more reasons for that than I can count, it's perfectly justified and I accept that fully. If you choose to never forgive me, I accept that too. I've earned it.”

Cho was hardly listening, still steaming with rage and only waiting for an opportunity to launch it towards Eric again. But he went on.

”But. But if those are the reasons why you're angry, then I'm sorry to say but... That only confirms my suspicion that actually, I made the correct decision in the end.”

That silenced Cho entirely. The anger that had been visibly boiling under the surface was gone, like washed away. All she could do was stand there and listen.

”Seems that I've got your attention, then”, remarked the professor drily. He sounded almost amused, as much as you can sound amused in the situation given. ”So it has crossed your mind too.”

Cho didn't answer.

”Yes, it's all true. I left you at the altar, and I can imagine it must be humiliating, as you said. And I'm sorry for that. And I know that you're the heiress of a Legacy challenge, and you're thinking about the reputation of the family; which I'm sure I didn't exactly help either. But should those be the things you shout in the face of the man who left you at the altar, the first things you think to accuse him of?”

Eric could see from Cho she was beginning to understand, or perhaps, rather beginning to admit to herself what she had understood for a while.

Cho was clearly out of the will to fight. All she could say to that was a quiet, frustrated: ”Why?”

”Why did I leave you at the altar?”

”No. If you thought... thought marriage would be a bad idea, why did you propose?”

Eric sighed. ”Because I was in love with you, Cho”, he said earnestly. ”Because I was really, honestly head over heels in love with you. Maybe I still am, I don't know if I can figure that out any time soon. It made me blind and oblivious to things I should have understood, or maybe it was that I didn't want to see them.”

”Such as?”

”Such as the fact that as much as you obviously liked me and enjoyed my company, and as much as you might like to claim otherwise, you didn't love me. Or, maybe you did, but that was not the reason you wanted to marry me.”

”But...”

”It's the truth, Cho. In this whole time we've been talking, have you once accused me of breaking your heart? No. Why? Because it is not broken. Have you shed a single tear? No. And why? Because you're angry, not sad.”

Eric sighed. ”Of course, I realize that doesn't mean I didn't hurt your feelings, too. I know that I did, and I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have let things go that far, I shouldn't have let my own feelings blind me the way I did. And last but not least, I shouldn't have just disappeared. It was the coward's way out, and I was a terrible, terrible coward for not at least explaining to you how I felt, not even afterwards.

”My only excuse is that it was only at the wedding that I realized how things were. Something about how you looked at me told me that you were getting married for the wrong reasons, and perhaps I, too, was getting married for the wrong reasons. For wanting to please someone else rather than to genuinely, really, myself wanting to get married. I realized that being romance sims, it is not a given that either of us should be getting married. Maybe it is the right thing for me, maybe it is the right thing for you, for both, or neither. But we shouldn't take it for granted, like I think we both did.”

Eric lifted his gaze from his shoes, to which he had been talking for a while, to face Cho. ”Cho, I need to say yet one thing. It might be that getting married is, in the end, the right thing for you to do, or it might not. I can't know that, only you can, and really, I don't think even you know that right now. If it is the right thing for you to do, I only know one thing. I'm not the guy you should be marrying.”

Eric was surprised to find that Cho suddenly looked, of all things, insecure. He felt a surge of guilt. Had he misjudged her? Had he maybe hurt her more than he thought he had?

”Eric”, she said quietly. ”I'm not sure what to say.” She seemed to shrink a little bit. ”Yes, I... think I've started to realize that you're right, and had we gotten married, it would've been a very stupid, for us both.” She swallowed. ”There, I said it.”

”It's not that I don't care for you, because I do. Maybe I was in love, even. I... I can't tell right now. But you're right, it wasn't the reason I was going to marry you.”

”I felt that as a Legacy heiress, I was obligated by tradition to get married. And I sort of... sort of saw marriage as just a practicality I needed to take care of. With all that's been going on lately, I don't think I can hold on to that view anymore. I mean, what I didn't realize was that by getting married to you out of obligation, regardless of whether I actually loved you or not, I would have done wrong towards you. Very, very wrong, and... and I was going to go through with it.” She held a long pause. ”I'm so sorry.”

”Apology accepted”, said Eric quietly. ”I get at least some comfort from the thought that we were most likely headed for a disaster and barely avoided it. It doesn't make my actions any more justfied, of course. I should never have let it get this far, or rather I should never have started it at all. I should have realized... I mean, although we even talked about your feeling of need to get married, I didn't properly realize your state of mind and your vulnerability. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but all I can do at this point, is apologize. I'm really very, very sorry.”

Very slowly, almost a smile slipped on Cho's face. ”And I should never have convinced myself, or you, that I have to get married, that we have to get married. I'm sorry, too. So I guess we're even.”

”I suppose.”

”So, what now?” asked Cho after a moment of slightly awkward silence.

Eric slowly reached out a hand. ”Well... I'm not sure really. I think it's probably too early to go for 'friends?', so maybe we should settle for something a little less drastic for now. So... Ceasefire?”

As small as the change was, now Eric was sure that Cho was definitely smiling. She reached for Eric's held out hand with her own.

”Ceasefire.”

At that moment, it became apparent to both Eric and Cho that Marylena had gotten tired of eavesdropping.

”I thought I heard you reach an agreement”, she said, and when Eric turned around, she saw her enter the room holding someone he was almost certain he knew.

Marylena glanced at her daughter, and she immediately nodded her approval.

”Eric, there's someone who'd like to meet you.”

Eric couldn't but smile at the baby. ”Well hello there, little buddy. I'm very happy to meet you too.”

Without waiting to be asked, Cho told Eric: ”It's a boy, he was born in the afternoon when... that day. We named him Dirk.”

”That's a very nice name, I like it.”

”Would you like to hold him?” offered Marylena.

”I'd love to, if you allow me”, replied Eric, looking happy. ”I'm not sure how exactly this goes, so just tell me what to do.”

”Now just nice and easy, have a steady grip, and try to seem confident. He'll notice if you don't and won't be happy about it.”

”Like this?”

”Yes, exactly.”

”Remember to support the neck.”

”Oh yeah, okay.”

”There. Now you're doing just great.”

”Well hello, Dirk”, said Eric, smiling at his son. ”Here's Daddy. Things may not have been ideal, but now I think we can get to know each other. Wouldn't that be nice?”

Dirk cooed, and the three adults simply smiled at each other. Nothing else needed to be said.

From then on, a real feeling of peacefulness settled in the Bookacy family main. Things had been fairly quiet before, but nevertheless there had been a tenseness in the air. Now it was gone, and the family could concentrate on their regular lives, and catch up with friends and family again.

On occasion, the friends and family also paid a visit. Those who could be torn away from admiring Dirk may even have spent some time together with the adults of the house.

One of the regular guests was Count Pao. He was often there to see George, both on official matters, and otherwise.

Now that Cho and Eric were in speaking terms again, and Eric would frequently stop by to meet Dirk, the old couple of the house could also spend some time alone. Eric happily helped with the baby, and of course, there were still Cho herself and George. In fact, had everyone always been ”taking care of Dirk” any time they felt like it, the poor boy probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all.

”I'm really happy that they could settle things between them”, said Marylena to her husband one winter night when they were just relaxing in the hot tub.

”Me too. Even if Eric doesn't live here, Dirk gets to see his father often, and everything's easier if his parents can come along”, said Baudolino. ”And it seems our daughter feels less obliged to do things the traditional way these days. Maybe a full-blown disaster was what was needed to make her see things differently.”

”Maybe. Or well, seeing to the result, it wasn't really a full-blown disaster.”

”No, not really. It seems everything is turning out just fine”, said Baudolino, flashing a happy smile as Marylena wrapped her arms around him.

The arrival of the winter and snow meant that it was time to enjoy some snowy activities. Dirk was unfortunately yet too small to understand the joys of snow, but it was something that all the older members of the family enjoyed from the bottom of their hearts.

And indeed, this included quite old family members as well.

After all, a well-made snowman cannot fail to bring a smile on the face of an adult, either. Or that was Cho's firm opinion in any case.

And really, who says grown women can't enjoy snow angels, too, while they are at it?

After an enjoyable but cold day in the snow, the family quite appreciated having a sauna in the poolhouse.

And before anyone knew it, it was time for the family to gather and enjoy catching up...

… as well as some fun and games...

… as it was time for Dirk's toddler birthday. Cho was firmly of the opinion that her son deserved as much as his doting family around him as the house could fit, for his birthday.

And in fact, the house did fit quite a few guests these days. The kitchen was bursting with friends and relatives, all of them having come to cheer little Dirk into toddlerhood.

”Alright buddy”, said Cho, bending closer to the cake, ”Are you ready to blow out the candles?”

Apparently she took her son's happy eager look as a yes. The family cheering on the background, she took Dirk closer to the cake and blew the candles out for him.

The cheering may have been loud, but no one was cheering louder than Professor Eric Dallas.

And with the guests watching on, Dirk Bookacy spun from infant-age...

… to toddlerhood, all in a burst of confetti. While the guests helped themselves to the cake, Cho gave the little man to Marylena for a change of clothes.

While the birthday boy was being gussied up, the guests had some cake and caught up.

”So how's married life treating you, Claire?” asked Baudolino his niece.

”Oh, not too bad”, replied Claire, grinning. ”I know I wouldn't have believed it when I was younger, but this actually suits me. I'm such a lucky girl to have found Trevor.”

Baudolino smiled. ”That's very good to hear.” He continued a little quieter, so that Cho, who was just collecting some empty plates, wouldn't hear. ”I'll trust you to take care of your cousin a little bit okay? She's doing a lot better now, but having a good friend like you never hurts.”

Claire nodded. ”I'll do my best. She'll be alright, uncle Baudolino.”

”I know she will. With us all supporting her, there's no way she won't.”

Elsewhere, George was chatting to someone new, who'd been brought home from work.

”So you're all related basically?” the lady asked, stunned.

”Well”, explained George ”I am not, naturally, but the rest, more or less, yes.”

”And soon”, interjected Chloe, who was passing by, ”we'll be a good many more.”

”I can see that”, said the lady, trying to count all the obvious pregnancy bellies present in the party.

George laughed a little. ”It is, indeed, baby season in Alphabetia.”

Chloe grinned. ”And we're only getting started. Now if you'll excuse me, me and my twin sister have more havoc to cause”, she said and left looking for Calista. She silently chuckled to herself when thinking about all the confusion they'd already sparked by wearing each other's usual colors during the pregnancy.

Right then Marylena and Dirk made a final appearence for the guests, to show off the new style and socialize a little before bedtime.

There was a little bit of debating over who Dirk resembled the most, but the consensus was that he was cute as a button, and had features from both his parents.

When Dirk fell asleep being held by Claire, tightly clinging onto a lock of her hair, the adults decided it was time to call it a day and thank all the guests for giving Dirk such a succesful birthday party.

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For those interested, Dirk's statistics are: 7/9/8/1/4, which makes him an Aries.

The next day, Marylena found Cho in the nursery with Dirk.

”Who is tickled easily, who is?” Cho teased the little boy, who squirmed with laughter.

Marylena smiled. ”Here you two are, I've been looking for you. Cho, you should start getting ready. Your father is now getting changed and we'll have to leave in less than an hour if we are to pick up the Rileys as we promised.”

Cho turned to look at her mother. ”Oh, it's that much already. I guess I have to, then”, she said looking slightly stressed, holding on to Dirk tighter. The boy didn't feel distressed at all, he was now curiously examining his grandmother's formal dress. It was a nice, bright color, and it glistened a little bit. It was a nice dress.

”Honey, I know you wouldn't want to leave him, but he'd only get bored at the wedding, and George will manage with him just fine today. And in the evening we'll be back again.”

”You're right, Mom. He'll be fine”, Cho said and sighed. ”Alright. I'll go find George and then I'll get changed.”

”That's the spirit my girl”, said Marylena smiling, ”You wouldn't want to miss your brother's wedding now would you?”

”Not for the world. Besides, I'm pretty sure Chris would kill me if I did”, said Cho, grinning.

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And dear reader, this adorable picture of little Dirk is where I leave you this time. I hope you have enjoyed chapter 34 of the Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures. Thank you for reading, and welcome back on board next time. Happy simming!