16 - Life Goes On

Though everyone had been shaken up by the fire, life returned to almost normal.

David was still more reserved than usual, but having Buddy to lean on made him less brooding than he might otherwise have been.  They started making plans for their life together after graduation, which was coming up soon.

In the meantime, despite Aashif’s quick clean up of the house, the smell of smoke still lingered on Maia’s clothes.  It was time for a new wardrobe, and that meant a call to Jesse Kerns, her personal stylist.

Besides helping her make some additions to her wardrobe, Maia was pretty sure he also helped her make another addition to her growing family.

Shortly before graduation, David and Buddy shared a birthday party.

Despite the difficulties David had faced, he still was named Class Valedictorian, and he and Buddy both graduated with Highest Honors.

When Maia questioned David about what he and Buddy planned on doing for work, David told her that he wanted to start over in a new town where no one knew him or who his father was, so he could lead a normal life without all the gossips and tabloids around.  Twinbrook was looking for commercial fishermen, so the boys decided to move there together.

But before they did, David and Buddy had a private wedding ceremony on the bridge over the pond with only the family in attendance.

As much as Maia hated for them to leave, she wanted her son’s happiness more than anything, and she hoped he and Buddy would find it together in Twinbrook.

After David and Buddy moved out, Erin, Cuddles and Natalie aged up.

Maia taught both Erin and Cuddles to drive, although the girls ended up spending more time on horseback than they did behind the wheel.

Natalie loved going with Maia to Simfests, which was something none of her other kids had ever seemed very interested in.
  

Shortly after the girl’s birthdays, Maia welcomed two new members to the family.

The first was her newest daughter, Kimberly.

And the second was Natalie’s IF, Peaches.

Since her house was already up filling fast, Maia hadn’t planned on looking for another man to father her next child just yet. But she ran into Terrence while running errands, and they ended up going out to dinner together... and then back to his place... and then, well...

It wasn’t too long before Maia was welcoming yet another daughter, Alisha, into her family. 

Now that Maia had a houseful again, she could wait awhile until she had to go through the difficulty of finding the next baby daddy again.

But in the meantime, poor Aashif! Maia thought he must feel incredibly out of place in a house full of females, but he was so good with all of them.

He assisted her with Alisha’s feedings

and some of Kimberly’s diaper changes.

He helped Erin with her homework,

pushed Peaches on the swings for hours,

and scolded Cuddles when she tried to get away with cutting class.

And when Natalie would run to him screaming about the monsters under her bed that were going to eat her, 

Aashif would read her a cookbook until she fell asleep, showing her all the recipes monsters found far more delicious than little girls.

Aashif was more than just a protector; he was, well, like a real parent. Maia couldn’t help but wonder what a child of theirs might look like.
  
Maybe she wouldn’t have to look so hard for the father of her next baby, after all.

Author's Note - Obla Di Obla Da...Life Goes On