Comfortable, 2007

Patar, summer, 2007

Bradford is 43, Suzanna is 42, Laci is 8, Lilly is 3, Lora is 2 and Lesia is 1

Mother Nature hadn't quite gotten the message that summer had arrived. The air was still chilly which required pants or at times a light jacket.

Laci was older now and Bradford had a strong suspicion that his little girl had a crush on Abel Wilsonoff.

Bradford wasn't a fan of his baby growing up. He relished the times when it was just the two of time sitting on the couch. Laci would smell like litter after taking care of Ms. Kitty and she would be full of questions.

"Tell me about mama again," she would whisper as they flipped through the box of photos Bradford had found.

"Your mother was amazing.We got married after I had graduated from law school,"

"Before you were a lawyer?"

"Before I was a lawyer. After we got married I helped out in the county office. We moved from the city to the country were the only sounds at night were crickets and howling dogs."

"No sounds of people walking and laughing or music playing or trains?"

"No, it was so quiet. Your mama was a vet for the county, did you know that?"

"She took care of animals?"

"She took care of all the animals in the county."

"I'm going to be a vet when I grow up,"

"You'll be a great vet."

"As good as mama?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about when mama was having me."

"Your mama and I were so excited when we found out that we were going to have a baby.

We had your nursery all decorated with lots and lots of pink and lots of stuffed animals.

I remember when it was time for you to be born.

We were getting ready for bed and feeding the animals in the house when her labor started. You came so fast, you were in a hurry to get here."

"I was?"

"You were, the midwife barely made it in time to deliver you, but thankfully she did and you were the prettiest baby in the county. You looked just like your mama, still do."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do."

Whenever Bradford wasn't reminiscing with his oldest daughter he was taking time to care for his younger girls.

Lilly and Lora were walking and running all over the place while thankfully Lesia was still crawling...for now.

Lilly was starting to be a bit defiant, her favorite word was no and Lora had started the dangerous habit of dropping things down the toilet.

Bradford's favorite time with them was bedtime and watching them drift off to sleep.

---

"I can't believe we have two simweeks to move."

"I know, but it's for the best, leaking sewage isn't something to play around with."

"I know, but I love our home, I don't want to move."

"But the new place we picked out is even better. A direct view of the coast, closer to the park and a rooftop terrace, what more could you want?"

"A smaller mortgage?"

Thankfully the move went well, Ms. Kitty managed to not only survive the move and the toddlers, but even grew into an adult cat.

However, the stress of the new move was compounded when Alan died. Suzanna was beside herself with grief over losing Alan whom she had for several simyears. Bradford tried everything he could think of to make her happier. He contacted his brother in New Eden to get in touch with Suzanna's family and he was able to secure a few prints of Suzanna when she was younger as well as photos of her family. The photos did make Suzanna happier and she was thankful to have such a caring husband.

Bradford also made sure to hire an interior designer to tackle remodeling the new home.

Suzanna was sure that Erika Moore was used to dealing with more upscale clients, clients who didn't have toddlers tossing cat food all over the foyer or a cat that hissed at the company or a bird that insisted on repeatedly saying "It's twelve o'clock and all's well!" every few minutes even though it wasn't twelve o'clock and sometimes things were not all well.

Erika handled herself like the professional she was and quizzed Suzanna about her wants and desires for the downstairs.

"I need space for the girls' toys and that crazy cat will need a place to lay, but not on my furniture."

"What about colors?"

"I love reds and Bradford loves greens. I guess we're a mix of contempory and modern, we need something comfortable and wipeable-we do have three sticky fingered toddlers, but we like it to look nice as well."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, I can show you the kitchen as I prepare lunch for the girls."

"How was your day?" Bradford asked that evening trying not to gag as the collective smell of dirty diapers and roasting onions and garlic tickled his nose.

Suzanna gave him a look and pointed at the three screaming girls. "Lilly refused to take a nap and instead threw toys and pillows and kept the other girls up, then she somehow managed to climb to the top shelf of the pantry and pull down all the cookies. You should have seen them, stuffing cookies in thier mouths. Oh, then Lora managed to toss my favorite bra down the toilet and flushed it as well. Lesia then decided that playing in the overflowing toilet was more fun than torturing Ms.Kitty and Ms. Kitty managed to tear a hole in the rug."

"I take it your day off wasn't the least bit relaxing?"

"I can't wait to return to the peace and quiet of the hospital and being on call," Suzanna laughed.

A few days later, Erika had finally finished the living room and kitchen remodel.

Suzanna and Bradford were beyond pleased with the results, they agreed that it was worth it to hire a designer.

"I'm getting as big as an elephant. I can't seem to get rid of Lesia's baby weight." Suzanna moaned. "I need to go on a diet, only salads and water from now on." She vowed before retreating upstairs to check on her patients.

She had three babies due so far this year and another couple desperately trying to get pregnant.

She looked over the records and took a few phone calls while

Laci washed dishes before bed and

Bradford bathed the girls and

tucked them into bed as well.

"You do know that I love you, right?" Bradford whispered as Suzanna slid onto his lap.

"Yes,"

"Just the way you are. You're so beautiful to me," he whispered kissing her neck and nibbling her ear.

"But I'm not in the same shape that I was when we got married."

"No, you're better."