I found myself having to split this up into two parts, because it became a little big again. Also, I wanted this to be a lighthearted update about just a birtday party, but it ended up brushing into some dark subject matter anyway, perhaps in particular right towards the end, though there is hope and cause for optimism...
- February 17th 2023 -
It was the night before Lise Veronicas 13th birthday, and everyone was sleeping safe and sound. Lise Veronica was sleeping in her parents bed, as Ivar had read her a bedtime story one last time before she fell asleep as a 12 year old child...
Rise and shine and happy birthday to you! ;) Her parents had the day off and could sleep in, but Lise Veronica had to get up and get ready for school on her last day as a 7th grader..
Lise Veronicas notes:
It should be forbidden to have kids go to school on their birthday! I'm not going to do my homework, and I'm so going to prank mom and dad when I get back home!
Now now, relax you.. I'm sure your parents will have a celebration for you..
The parents wake up a little closer to noon. After having breakfast and a little bit of flirting in between them, Monica sits down to watch TV. Ivar thinks it's a good idea to clean up around the house, only problem is they don't have a washing machine. Just the other day he went out and bought a tumble drier, but no washing machine.. so he has to go to the laundromat to get the job done, until he figures out that maybe it would be a good idea to get a washing machine at home, too. :P (Which basically translates to one of them is gonna need to roll a wish to buy one, or it won't happen.)
Once he enters the laundromat he finds a couple there, Jarle and Iselin Reppe, that are more concerned with each other than doing laundry.
He puts on his laundry and decides to enjoy the surroundings for a while, but the couples constant romancing and smooching sounds becomes to annoying after a while. After putting the clean, but wet clothes in the tumble drier, he goes behind the building to get some fresh air and watch some of the local art..
The 'art' doesn't impress him very much, and it really does sound like something hot and heavy is going on inside there, as their smooching sounds can be heard through the walls even..
He then gets a phone call from Bibi Sayed that helps him kill some time while waiting, and Iselin thinks it's a good idea to go dumpster diving right behind him.. Maybe there is a treasure there in the trash from the laundromat..
Well, finally the tumble drier had finished so he could go home and leave the turtle doves and dumpster divers to themselves. Where they even doing laundry at all? I don't think so..
While he was at the laundromat, Monica had been busy decorating the house for the upcoming birthday party, and it was now time to invite the guests over..
Just in time for Lise Veronica to return home from school. "Whoa, look at those balloons. Are they there just for me?"
Lise Veronica goes inside to start the celebration already by turning on the stereo, putting on her swimwear and begin dancing. All the decendents of Eirin, whether it's Ranveig, Monica, Oliver Freddy or todays birthday child has a thing for putting on swimwear almost no matter the occasion..
Trying to find the logic there, I suppose swimwear is practical as it never gets to cold in the near tropical climate of Sunset Valley. Also, if it should rain there's no need to change either and swimwear usually dries up quicker than other pieces of clothing.. and you could go for a swim at anytime, anywhere and you wouldn't need to go home to change first.. only drawback is how everyone else will always point and laugh at you for being, well, just weird...
Arrival of the guests.
The first guest of the party is cousin Kleopatra Motor-Karlsen, almost excactly one year older than Lise Veronica.
She greets Monica as she is the host of the party, before she walks over to talk to Monica about gardening to break the ice a little. Gardening and fishing has been important interests for Monica since she was a child and had to help her mother Eirin with her garden. This later inspired Monica to seek a career in science.
Aunt Ranveig is the second guest to arrive, making an unfortunate face as she had to fight a few voices that insisted she did not open the door and did not enter the house because there could be a trap in there...
Of course, the voices weren't real and there was no trap. Ranveig knew this, but she still had to fight the urge to simply tell them fuck off! This was supposed to be a festive event for children and young teenagers, so she had to do her best to not snap and keep her behaviour in check, no matter how much they would taunt her...
Petter Lande, standing to the left, was the third guest to arrive, completely uninvited... "Hey, I just, you know, casually walked by and then I saw these giant balloons, so I thought I would just, you know, check it out..."
Grandfather Ingmar came as the fourth guest that had emerged from his cave for his granddaughters birthday. "I usually don't like these events with many people gathered, but she is my granddaughter, so of course I would be here..."
Bebe Hart-Bunch came as the sixth guest, also uninvited. "I think it's important to show support for the young members of our community, so I thought I would bring myself and this salad.. a very simple, delicious and nutritious meal made completely without the use of any kind of advanced technology! And it's all locally grown, too!"
Kristina Reppe came as the seventh guest, and she loved these kind of events, where lots of family members could gather to celebrate. ;) Monica had focused on inviting the closest family members and kids that were around Lise Veronicas age.
The invited children, in order of them arriving from top left to bottom right. Morten Kråke-Karlsen, the younger brother of Ingrid. Leni Wennewold, a resident of Vaddelmyra. George Alnuman, Amenas nephew. Bjørn-Yngve Kråke-Motorsen, a cousin of Lise Veronica and last, Robert Bråge Motorsen, Ranveigs youngest son. The last two didn't arrive until a while later, but I still included them in this picture as they belong to the group of kids.
There was also one more important guest that had yet to arrive, but let's get the party started! As music was already playing from the stereo, Ivar and Monica decided to begin dancing, as did grandpa Ingmar and Bebe. Morten had found the gaming console and was playing video games.
Then the doorbell rang as the last three guests arrived. Grandma Eirin had forgotten time a little, so she needed an extra reminder.. The person standing next to her is just a paparazzi, because Ivar, since he works in the music industry, is of course a bit of a celebrity.. The kid is Bjørn-Yngve, one of Lise Veronicas cousins, and he was shortly followed by Robert Bråge, Ranveigs son.
-----
Now all the guests had arrived, and it should be time for the birthday child to blow out the candles, but she seemed to be gone. Monica tried to.. umm, or wanted to call for her, but it seems she got distraced and lost control of her hands there for a while.
"I noticed I was getting smelly, so I had to take a shower. It would just be so embarassing if I would be smelly on my birthday! I'll be downstairs in a minute.."
Woohoo, alright! Well, everyone gather around, and let the celebration begin!
Petter Lande: Mm, this soup is delicious.. you can't have a good party without free.. umm, I mean good food..
Bebe Hart-Bunch: You do know that this is a birthday party, right?
Everyone else was making quite a lot of noise cheering for Lise Veronica, and then there's Ranveig, lost in her own world reading a book. Well, she's got near 40 years of experience blocking out unwanted sounds and voices, but it's still amazing she can sit there reading while almost everyone else is being festive..
Oh well, even if your aunt isn't completely with you, blow out the candles and make a wish!
Lise Veronica: I want a dog! I want many dogs! I want an entire kennel of dogs! And cats too! And birds! And fish! And snakes! And a horse!
Whoa, hold on there.... I said a wish.. or one wish, that's not one wish... well, I suppose this will be up to your parents how many animals you'll get, if any, until you're old enough to live on your own. ;)
Ranveig appears to have finished her book and gets up from her chair to join the celebration from the sideline when it begins..
Lise Veronica: Oh, oh, I feel strange...
Lise Veronica: Oooh, oh, I'm stretching out.. and surrounded by sparkles..
Lise Veronica: Oh, hehehe.. this could take some time being used, suddenly being this size..
Hmm, well not bad I would say. She's got a bit of her grandmothers/mothers face, her fathers nose and hair colour and her mothers eyes and hairstyle.
Welcome to teenagehood!
It shows even better on this picture where she keeps a neutral face that she looks a lot like her grandma.
Time for cake!
Ranveig (concerned thinking): Oh no... I see she is doing the exact same thing I did when I became a teenager, celebrating in her swimsuit.. I hope she's not hearing what I sometimes hear...why is this thing so pervasive in our family? I know mom won't listen and that she will do everything she can to pretend it's normal, but I think it's time I break the ice with Monica about this.. this has to stop...
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