New Beginnings

It was very evident that the house was getting crowded. Molly knew that both she and Sandi had been given a leg up in being offered a place to stay rent-free until she'd reached the highest position in her culinary career. but it was time to fly on her own. She was making good money as a five-star chef and she was ready to move out on her own and raise Sandi to the best of her ability. So she talked to Fiona and told her just how grateful she was to Fiona and to the Chikamori family for giving her and her daughter a place to stay and grow and time enough for Molly to reach the pinnacle of her career, but for the Chikamori family to grow, it would mean that Sandi and Molly needed to find their own place in the world. So...she found a new position as a five-star chef out-of-town and she and Sandi moved out.

Meanwhile Bert the fish...was inevitably swimming around in circles in his fishbowl. If Bert could communicate he'd be telling everyone what a miserable life he had. Sure the bowl had an 360 degree all glass view, but it still sucked for space. If only they could afford to give him a fishtank.

It must have appeared as though the deity had heard because it was that exact day that a large fishtank appeared...and Yasunobu picked him up, while Bert was gasping for dihydrogen monoxide laced oxygen and was promptly plunked into the fish tank. Bert's response once he had caught his breath was. "OMG SPACE!!!"

Yasunobu was cultivating some wonderful plants, garlic for one and they were gradually increasing in quality.

Meanwhile, now that there was room for the Chikamori family to grow and to give Yasunobu his life-time wish...it wasn't long before poor River (nee McIrish)Chikamori was making her morning run to heave up her guts yet again. It wasn't pretty.

And once again Haruo was slack-jawed amazed at the prospect of becoming a father for the second time. It was definite that he was happy about it.

Yasunobu gardened, River played the piano and Haruo worked out to increase his chance of completing his lifetime wish and all were happy with the exception of Mayumi who contemplated revenge...and thinking of getting a hold of the crucial Inventing 2 book whcih was all that was keeping her from her from administering a comeuppance to those who would seek to thrwo her out of her own home.

Pregnancy came to an ubrupt halt with River's water breaking and a frantic run to the hospital ensued. But at the very end of it was a blessing in the shape of a little girl named Alanna.

It was a culmination of new beginnings...