Chapter 1 - The First Two

You slung your legs over the old wooden porch and dialed the number of the Little Brook adoption agency, not wanting to wait another minute for your future to begin. The other line rang for about three minutes; you suppose that the agency hasn't been called for years, and therefore has no one stationed near the phone. it's almost tragic. When you do finally manage to hail someone, and make your request, the sound of shock in their voice is unmistakable. Oh, they're overjoyed, to be sure, but shocked nonetheless. They promise to send over a social worker as soon as possible, and a few hours later, you're holding Esperanza Lovings in your arms.

Actually, it's right about then that you realize you have no idea how to actually raise a baby. Still, she's your's, and you're sure you can bumble along your way to parenthood. Right? Maybe you should have thought about your choices a little more before calling the agency. Read up a little more.

You consider how nice it is to see another human being smile at you after so long. To see one that doesn't feel the need to point out how awkwardly your arms bend, or your hideous scar, and really, anything to do with your unorthodox body, period. People can be so rude, and you intend to raise Esperanza to avoid being that type of human. You just won't allow it. Your heart fills with pride as she grabs gently at your hair.

The happy days pass by quicker, quicker than any elation you've ever felt in your time, and before you know it, Esperanza has become a bouncing toddler.

It's a little difficult for you to teach her how to speak - it seemed like such a simple notion until it hit you that you were teaching another living being the very concept of communication. Heavy stuff! At least Esperanza seemed interested in what you had to say, even if she didn't completely understand it.

Still, as much as you told yourself that you would be prepared for it, your toddler's constant cries really do begin to chip away at your sleep time. Perhaps now was the time to invest in a espresso machine.

It seems that your days amount to nothing more than to take care of your child. It's fine with you, though; you've had more than enough time to yourself for a lifetime prior to Esperanza's arrival. To live for another human is a new concept that your find a simple pleasure in.

When you aren't taking care of your daughter, however, you're exploring the home. It came fully furnished, and at a steal of ten thousand simoleons only. You can't help but wonder the story behind this house; why all the doors were made out of a non-flammable titanium, the odd choice to decorate the empty space with dead cowplants, and the easel in the kitchen you can't seem to erase.

You opt to just trash it. Creepy.

And as if your life wasn't full enough already, apparently your reputation as a child care worker has caused shockwaves throughout town, probably by some action by the adoption agency itself. You walked out this morning to recycle yesterday's paper when you nearly stepped on a carefully wrapped baby on your porch. His skin the approximate color of dark chocolate, the child gurgled at you and waved its arms around, as if looking to grab your hair.

Bringing him inside, you briefly consider calling the police, until you realize that in this town, they probably won't be of much assistance. If they even picked up the phone to begin with. Ah, well. Looks like Keanu Lovings is a permanent part of the household now. And you're almost flattered that someone left you their child instead of opting for the agency's help.

Keanu ages gracefully sooner than you were expecting. This seems to be a recurring theme.

You take a different approach in raising Keanu and instead decide to teach him how to walk before anything else.

It takes a little stumbling, but he gets the hang of it remarkably quickly. A part of Jessi wonders if he'll become an Olympic runner, his feet tread the ground so quickly.

Keanu seems rather excited about this new development as well, if not a little surprised.

The concept takes a little longer for Esperanza to understand, but even she begins to walk soon as well. Maybe you're just a good teacher.

This new knowledge finally ushered your daughter into the child stage. She was a little pouty, to say the least, but, as she so fortuitously discovered at a school trip to a fish hatchery, she was a natural at fishing. You supposed that you shouldn't complain about the free food, but something about using your child for labor seemed kind of off to you. At least she enjoyed it, so you didn't feel completely terrible.

Speaking of discovering aptitude for skills, that telescope in your backyard was mighty handy. Discovering new stars gave you a nice bit of pocket change, and it was easy to keep an eye on your kids in the backyard this way.

You noticed that once you started looking out for your children outside, that's when Esperanza stopped going outside.

And since you were already on a role with teaching your children skills today, you decided it was as good an opportunity as any to teach Keanu how to speak. Your efforts were quickly rewarded when he called you "Mama" for the first time and promptly combusted into a child.

Yes, this day was going very well, indeed.

But could you keep it up for another few years?