[Everyone soon settled into dinner, again swapping stories n getting to knw each other as they ate. Their chat continued all the way to the living room n slowly one by one they all retired n left Mrs Dingleberry n Sylvia doing the final clean up of the dishes n stuff]
Mrs Dingleberry: U reli don't need to help. Ur our guest. I'm OK with cleaning up on my own
Sylvia: Well, like my little buddy says, never hurts to help.
Mrs Dingleberry: [chuckled] U definitely hv a good friend there
Sylvia: He can get into a lot of trouble but he means well.
Mrs Dingleberry: I reckon he does. So if u don't mind me asking... That hubby of urs, Shelly's real dad? Where is he now?
Sylvia: (grips onto the cloth she's holding) He...that...
Mrs Dingleberry: I hope he's not gonna be a problem. I mean it seems like ur doing fine with a new life n a new bf, but u knw, I'd hate to hv ur past catch up with u
Sylvia:...I'd rather not speak about...HIM...
Mrs Dingleberry: Right, sorry to bring it up. I just worry abt Shelly first n foremost, that's all
Sylvia: Mhm...
Mrs Dingleberry: I'm glad Shelly is staying with me. I've grown quite fond of her, tho I tend to get attached to all my adopted children. I'd be lying if I said I'm happy wen my adopted children choose to go with their birth parents. I mean, I'm happy for the reunion, but I still feel a sense of loss, u knw, like leaving the nest feeling kinda thing
Sylvia: Yeah...can be hard when kids have to leave the nest.
Mrs Dingleberry: I miss my own kids sometimes [looked at the big family portrait photo at the main mantel piece of the house] There they are, all 10 of my flesh n blood btwn Jim and I. They come to visit every end of the year n during special occasions n holidays, n one of their birthdays once in a while, but after I started adopting, they only come bk once every few yrs. I don't blame them, they got their own lives now. At least they send me their photos every mth to update me on things
Sylvia: Wow...
Mrs Dingleberry: I think maybe its bcoz the last time they came wen I started adopting, the house was jammed packed with their families n ours [chuckled] Had to clear out the barn n make make shift beds to accommodate everyone :D Can u imagine 10 of my kids n their wives n their kids AND my first 3 adopted kids, all crammed in one house?
Sylvia: ^^;; That would be pretty crammed.
Mrs Dingleberry: Yup, so I guess its fine if I see them once every few yrs, as long as I knw they're alright n they come home, I'm happy
Sylvia: (nod)
Mrs Dingleberry: Would u like me to tell u their names? My 10 kids, that is
Sylvia: Okay, sure.
Mrs Dingleberry: [points at each one clockwise] Tht one is Sacha, my eldest. He's a music teacher on Planet Redrum and also part-time hotel lounge musician. Got a Salarian wife n 3 kids
Sylvia: (nod) Mhm.
Mrs Dingleberry: This one is Helga, my second. She's a business Mogul on Planet Tertra 56, has a weird idea abt family tho. Says she doesnt need a husband to hv kids n hv a happy family. She relied on this gigolo she often hired whenevr she's horny n made him father 5 kids for her, n she raised all 5 of them on her own without needing his involvement. She allows visitations tho. Poor guy, I think he's feeling the attachment, bt Helga doesnt want to hv anything to do with him
Sylvia: (listening with interest)
Mrs Dingleberry: This one is Hilda, my third. She works as a secretary to her lady boss, who's the same species as us, n they somehow fell in love. Ah, office romance btwn superior n subordinate, isnt tht romantic? They got married 30 yrs ago, now they're want to try to hv a baby. Most likely sperm banks involved
Sylvia: Wow...big family.
Mrs Dingleberry: Heh, see wat I mean abt us being cramped in one space? Having Sacha n Helga's family ALONE takes up the whole dining room
Sylvia: :o whoa.
Mrs Dingleberry: There's my fourth, Timothy. He used to work as a door-to-door salesman selling kitchenware, then one day went to Planet Agra n somehow caught the eye of the local ruler there n became BFFs. Their planet practices polygamy, n the guy has 4 daughters, so yeah, u get the gist
Sylvia: (nod) Mhm.
Mrs Dingleberry: Timothy is the most tedious one to handle when it comes to family reunion. Can u imagine him lugging ard 4 wives n 12 kids? Heavens help me |-(
Sylvia: ^^;;... Wait, four wives?? o.o
Mrs Dingleberry: Yeah, like I said, the planet he's in practices polygamy, n the ruler has 4 daughters. I thought u got the hint
Sylvia: He couldn't choose, huh?
Mrs Dingleberry: Nope, n besides, a man with a single wife is quite unheard of in tht planet, so he'd look weird n out of plc if he did tht. I just hv to be proud tht my Timothy is such a ladies' man (giggle)
Sylvia: Heh, kinda funny.
Mrs Dingleberry: This here is my fifth Ashley. She joined the paramilitary under Planet Ilkan 0.9 Special Forces for a while, then aftr yrs of fighting for ppl's causes across the galaxy, decided to settle on something tame n became a president's bodyguard on Planet Polox 5.2, n they somehow fell in love n got married 10 yrs into her service. They got 2 kids, heard she's currently pregnant with a 3rd
Sylvia: That's a lot of relatives.
Mrs Dingleberry: Tell me abt it. This is my sixth, Robert. Has a knack for kids like I do, so he decided to go work dwn at Planet Yokel to look aftr orphaned babies n kids. He's by far the closest of all my children in terms of location. In fact he was the one who brought Shelly to me.
Sylvia: He was, huh?
Mrs Dingleberry: Yup. Ironically for someone who has a knack for kids, he was not blessed with it. He couldn't hv any coz of chemotherapy wen he had Stage 2 cancer 15 yrs ago. His wife left him bcoz of tht. She couldnt stand the idea of not hving her own flesh n blood n didnt want to adopt
Sylvia: Hmmm...
Mrs Dingleberry: My seventh here, Ambrose. A bit of a spitfire, tht guy. He wanted to go pro on fighting, so he decided to join the MMA team n travel ard the world to beat ppl's lights out. Won some, lost some, bt he's hving fun. Married a human species frm the planet Earth n she joined him to travel. Has 2 kids
Sylvia: Okay. (nod)
Mrs Dingleberry: My eighth, Bedelia. She said she has found her calling n decided to be a nun. Picked the furthest planet in this galaxy she could find n join the nunnery there. Other than the usual video call, she doesnt come home n I dont hear frm her much. My only other child tht is single n no kids like Robert
Sylvia: I see.
Mrs Dingelberry: N finally my ninth n tenth, Nelly and Norman. A vry rare identical twins tht are boy n girl. They're like the genderbender of each other (giggle) They did almost evrything together, evn went on almost the same profession together: she a doctor n he a nurse in the same hospital on Planet Bergusia. In fact her husband n his wife r twins, tho the twins r both male. Lucky for Norman, his wife is born intersex, so yeah, their kids are 2 pairs of twins each
Sylvia: Interesting.
Mrs Dingleberry: Yeah, like I said, big family. N I wouldn't hv it any other way [turns to Sylvia] Wat abt u? Planning to tie the knot with ur little munchkin bf there n hv a family of ur own?
Sylvia: Perhaps...we're still taking it slow for now.
Mrs Dingleberry: Yeah, slow n steady wins the race, bt not too slow. Ur only gonna be young once. He's such a nice young man to help u find us n come all this way just to keep u company while u brave thru this hurdle. He's a keeper, Sylvia, dont let him slip away. ;)
Sylvia: I know. (nod)
Mrs Dingleberry: [look at the clock] Oh my goodness, look at the time! I'm SO sorry to keep u up like this, me jabbering on like nobody's business. U must be super tired
Sylvia: Well... (yawn)
Mrs Dingleberry: So so sorry. Better head off to bed then. Goodnight, sleep tight
Sylvia: (yawn) Night... (heads up to where she's staying for the night)
Peepers: [was in bed reading while waiting up for her] Hey, zbornak. Enjoyed ur conversation with Masha?
Sylvia: Yeah, pretty long one but it was interesting. (gets in her own bed)
Peepers: Wat did she talk abt?
Sylvia: Mostly about her kids and their families.
Peepers: I see. I knew she said she has actual kids, bt I nvr got to ask her how many. So...how many kids exactly does she hv?
Sylvia: (tells him)
Peepers: O_O 10?? Wait, seriously, 10 kids??
Sylvia: Eeyup.
Peepers: Wow... Tht's... a handful. N I thought ur furball's litter was too much
Sylvia: Heh, most people out there probably have bigger families.
Peepers: True tht [read a few pages more, then yawned] (yawn) I better hit the hay. Its been a LONG day
Sylvia: Yeah, it has been. (yawn)
Peepers: [turns off his side of the lights] Night night, zbornak
Sylvia: Night, Pipsqueak... |-) zzz
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