Flowers Legacy Saga

With a new baby in the house, some routines changed a bit. Anna and Neil sometimes had to wake up in the night to feed Beau and change his diaper. And they had to spend more time with Basil to make sure he didn’t get jealous at his younger brother.

But these were only minor changes. Anna still liked spending time with her kids and Neil only spend time working and painting. All he seemed to talk about was earning 100K and getting his next promotion. He was very close to becoming a Business Tycoon, so Anna didn’t say a thing until he had fulfilled that want.

Basil was doing very well at school and he had already made a friend too. Orlando Bertino became a regular visitor at the Flowers home. Basil and Orlando would play chess for hours or just do MaryMack. Sometimes Anna was wondering how quickly Basil had grown up and had his own world.

One thing she didn’t get left out by Basil was his homework. He was always thankful when Anna offered to help him. She had a way of explaining difficult things in a very simple way. Everytime she helped him, he would come home with an A+ the next day.

The next day, Neil came home with a helicopter. Anna rushed out to see what had happened. Neil stepped out with a big smile on his face. She could tell he had finally become a Business Tycoon and thus fulfilled his lifetime want. She was hoping things would change for the best.

Next time Beau had a dirty diaper, Neil was the one to change it. But that had been something he already used to do from time to time. Anna was just hoping Neil would start spending time with Basil and pay attention to her.

When he came back to the living room, he told Anna that he had decided to become a professional artist, since he had this huge experience with painting. He would have to start the next day and he would probably soon reach the top of that career too.

Neil went to his easel, just like that, leaving Anna disappointed and sad. She decided to call her best friend Felicia to ask for advice.

“Hallo?”
“Hi, Felicia, it’s me, Anna.”
“Anna! Good to hear you. How are things going in Flower Valley?”
“Well, Basil is getting good grades at school and has already made a friend. Beau is the cutest baby you ever saw and as calm as his brother used to be. Oh and Neil has just been promoted to Business Tycoon. Things couldn’t be better, right?”
But Felicia could sense something was wrong. “How are you, Anna? You haven’t told about yourself yet. Are you doing fine?”
Then Anna broke down in tears. “No, Felicia, I’m not alright. Neil is so obsessed with money and property, he forgets about me and the boys all the time. On occasion he helps me taking care of little Beau, but he hardly pays attention to Basil.”
“And you, does he pay attention to you?” Felicia asks.
“No, not at all. We haven’t been intimate ever since I became pregnant with Beau. All he does is going to work and paint. It drives me crazy. I mean, I have a career too. After making it to the top of the Natural Science department, I switched to the Science department, because I didn’t feel like becoming an ecological guru. But that doesn’t mean I can’t look after the kids and everything. And that is what Neil does. He doesn’t pay attention to me at all.”
“Oh Anna, I’m so sorry to hear that. You were such a lovely couple when we were living together in the Greek House. I mean, Neil had this thing with money back then too, but not as obsessive. I really feel terrible for you and the boys. How are they reacting to Neil?”
“Beau is just too small to notice. As long as he can sleep, gets his bottle and a clean diaper, he is one happy child. But Basil is asking me sometimes why daddy has to paint again. And why he has to go off working again. And I find it harder and harder to answer his questions without being mean about Neil.”
“Have you tried discussing things with Neil?”
“Sometimes I tried, but everytime he talks about the next promotion, the next painting or the 100K he wants to earn. To be honest I really stopped trying to talk to him, because I have a feeling he doesn’t really listen.”
“I can imagine that. Your marriage is at stake here and there are 2 young children involved. You have to try something or else, this marriage will be over. Do you really feel like you have tried everything to make him understand how you feel about your life together?”
“Maybe not, I never told him it depressed me. I never told him I feel unattractive now that he never holds me again.”
“I imagine it is hard, but maybe you should give it a try, talk to Neil, again and try to make him understand your point of view. Maybe this time he will wake up.”
“I sure hope so, Felicia, I really do. You know, I still love him.”
“I bet he loves you too, he’s is just too stupid to show it. And you are a wonderful woman, Anna, don’t keep yourself down. Why don’t you go to the hairdresser and buy some new clothes. Maybe that will get Neil’s attention too and it might do you good.”
“That’s a good idea, Felicia. Thanks for listening.”
“You’re welcome, dear Anna. Take care. Oh by the way, are you planning a birthday party for Beau?”
“Yes, we will have it next saturday. I would love you and Houston to come.”
“Count me in! And keep me posted on how you and Neil are doing.”
“I will. Thanks again Felicia.”
“Bye Anna!”

Anna took the advices of her friend at heart and tried to talk to Neil about this. Finally he seemed to grasp something was going wrong with their family and he promised he would change, starting from now. He immediately decided that it would be a good idea if Basil went to a private school and invited the headmaster for an interview the next evening. It wasn’t exactly what Anna had been hoping, but this was better than his neglect.

The next day Neil took care of the tour around the house, that seemed to be a standard procedure. In the meantime, he tried to schmooze as much as possible with the headmaster, while Anna was making dinner.

The tour had been a success: Neil could tell the headmaster was impressed with their big house and the fine furniture. The lobster Anna had prepared was delicious and the headmaster said he never had something this tasteful in his life. As a result he accepted Basil at the private school of Flower Valley. Neil was glowing with his success and didn’t stop pointing out to Anna how much the nice furniture had helped.

Anna heard his talking without responding very much. Apparently Basil and Beau did get more attention from their dad and that was already a success. Tomorrow, she had an appointment with the hairdresser. Maybe then, Neil would start giving her more attention.

The rest of the week flew by with school and work and it was saturday, Beau’s birthday. Anna was up early and couldn’t sleep anymore. So she decided to take a shower, get dressed and go out into the garden. The sun was shining and the weather was excellent for her new summerdress. However, the sun couldn’t really make her happy and she just sat down on the swing. While going to and fro, she thought about the days before.

Neil had given some more attention to the boys. He hadn’t noticed her new hairdo though and didn’t seem to give her more attention than before. He had helped with the invitations for Beau’s birthday, but the groceries were all left to her. It made Anna feel desperate. She was glad the kids could enjoy more of their father, but she was only human too, with desires and such.

All of a sudden, Anna realized what time it was and she rushed inside to prepare the cake. The guests would be here within 15 minutes. Fortunately, she was dressed already. Apparently, Neil had helped Basil put his clothes on, so they both looked festive too.

Then the guests arrives. Felicia softly asked to Anna how things were going, but she chose to ignore the question and invited everyone around the cake.

Then she picked up little Beau from his crib and brought him to the cake. With loud applause from the guests, Beau grew up to be a charming toddler. All the guests were saying how cute this little boy looked.

Name: Beau Flowers
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Personality: 6 Neat - 7 Outgoing - 2 Active - 10 Playful - 6 Nice

The party then started to get going and everybody was talking together and gathering around the swing and on the terras. Felicia managed to corner Anna and repeated her question. Anna told her that Neil paid more attention to the boys, but that she still didn’t get Neil’s attention to herself. Felicia tried to comfort her and told her not to give up hope too soon. And then the two friends left the subject.

When dinner time was ready, all the guests were going home. Beau was really tired, so he went to bed immediately. Basil followed soon after dinner. Then Anna and Neil were alone. Anna sat down on the sofa and started to talk to Neil about the party. But he muttered something about a painting that had to be finished the next say and went to his easel. Anna felt very alone and went to bed early.

In the next few days, she concentrated on little Beau and tried to help him learn to talk. Being as stubborn as toddlers can be, he didn’t want to go to the nursery, so Anna stayed with him in the bathroom. Despite his playfulness, Beau learned to talk as easily as his brother.

When Beau had done his afternoon nap, Anna was very surprized to see Neil teaching Beau to walk. He had never done any such thing with Basil and Anna was thankful Beau learned this from his dad.

The next day, her surprize became even greater when she saw Neil taking Basil to the surgical traning station and giving him some basic lessons about mechanic. With tears in her eyes she saw how much Basil enjoyed spending time with his dad and how eager he was to become just as good.

“Maybe, he will start paying more attention to me too from now on,” Anna said to herself.