Harwood and Julienne had a daughter shortly after, though Vega was far too focused on the Jones-Brown girls to want to consider the prospect of Screwtape marrying a Knack.
In spite of doctor’s orders telling Julienne to hold off woohoo for a bit after giving birth (said doctor was her father, Nick, who also followed with the orders of “please stay away from that dirty old man”), they decided it was time for another.
Vega blew out the candles to her own birthday cake, cheered on by Eva, who was holding off on dyeing her hair.
For once, Vega felt an odd wave of confidence after she put on a new shirt. Her wrinkles weren’t very apparent, and in terms of dynasty requirements, she was doing pretty well. And heck, if the stress was too much, she could scream it all away. She told herself that life could be worse.
Then time felt like it was slipping away, as it was Screwtape’s turn to grow up.
He seemed mesmerized at it all happening, though it might have been four adults instantly cooing over him the moment they took off the blankets.
As a toddler, one would doubt that he was accurately named. Screwtape was a happy little boy without many schemes or grudges. He just wanted his toy rocket.
Wei ended up taking a week off to teach Screwtape his toddler skills. Even though he was unclear on the scope of Vega’s mission, even without any notions of immortality, he was already so close to his elder birthday and his time as a father was limited by that virtue alone. “Don’t you love daddy?” he asked Screwtape.
He was too young to understand, and had his doubts.
Vega got the dirty work of raising Screwtape. She loved nooboos, but she didn’t like changing diapers. She had a future full of them with six more immortals to raise, so getting it out of the way with Screwtape was a must for her sanity.
How could she hate it, though? He was her son, and the most adorable thing when he looked up for reassurance.
Meanwhile, Wei tried to catch up with an old friend in between reading cookbooks in hopes of becoming a culinary librarian. He was never close to Justin, but it was nice to see that they were doing well apart.
That was broken up by the fact that it was Wei’s elder birthday. Clarissa Jones-Brown tried to cheer him on, but between a newly-aching back and an even more scrawny frame, Wei just hoped that there was something more flattering for him in the dresser back home.