a very curious little girl

June 2080 - Cabe Deppiesse is 38, Ashlee is 40, Natalia is 10, and pet cat is Sake.

Cabe and Ashlee Deppiesse were surprised to see that their family was one of the richest in Lake County. They were also surprised to find that in the ten years since moving into their first home, the gorgeous lakefront home next to Ashlee's restaurant had now become within their price range.

(beach house here, by zaxis @ MTS2)

Natalia loves the house (who wouldn't!?!) but the first thoughts on her mind are her cousins, and will they still be close enough to walk over? No worries - they've just moved to Lakeshore Road, and Dallas, Dakota, and Delphie are just across the street; Fiona, Robert, and Connor just behind them. Even cousin Amelia is back in town again now, though she's too old to play with. Natalia has a LOT of cousins! Which is why she doesn't at all mind being an only child. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Seriously, how great is it living on the beach?

Ashlee turned 40 this year, and apart from a couple lines around her eyes, you might never guess it. She's fiery as ever. And Cabe learned a thing or two from their little rough patch a couple summers ago. He pays his wife plenty of attention, and these two are doing just fine lately.

Of course, the change in scenery definitely doesn't hurt! They often wander out back after Natalia goes to bed, and enjoy a chat under the stars as the waves roll in.

Cabe is enjoying his work, and happy to have been elected as Lake County Head of Defense, even if he was only elected by default. He can't really say much more about his job than that, you know, being confidential and everything.

Cabe actually enjoys scolding the cat. And later that evening, Ashlee also gets a small kick for scolding him off of their bed. Poor Sake! They're nice to him sometimes too.

Though Cabe doesn't really need the advice anymore, his big brother offers it just the same. "Women are like a microscope..." Orion says. "They examine every little thing!" Cabe is understanding women better on his own terms lately, but he has to admit, this advice makes more sense than the time Orion tried to equate women to advanced video game programming.

But then he gets just what Orion was talking about. Women are like a microscope! Even the pre-teen ones! And this very curious little girl does examine every little thing. Cabe has been dreading the day she might be old enough for this conversation. Next there would be boys and dating and things he doesn't even want to consider! Lucky for him, his Military chopper is just touching down and it's time for work - lucky for him, this conversation falls in the realms of motherly duties. Cabe says, "You're going to have to ask your mother about that one."

Deppiesse's Lakefront Bistro is doing well - so well, in fact, that Ashlee desperately needs to hire another server. Chandler Price answers the ad, and says he's going to college for business management, and he'd like to focus in restaurant management in particular. Who knows why he chose restaurant management, since he proves to be inept at cooking, but you know, there are always dishes to be done.

Summertime, again, means that Natalia spends the days at her mother's restaurant, though soon she'll be old enough to stay at home during the days. At least her mother finally got around to finishing the lounge room, and their bartender gets more work as a babysitter than he does pouring drinks. The restaurant is ranked 5 now, and with the money coming in, Ashlee finishes off the room with a pool table and coffee lounge.

The weather is beautiful this June, and the lakefront patio is getting lots of use. Natalia fills in some days on the piano - funny, nobody covers their ears like that when Patrick Nova comes in to play... Her parents have spent lots of money on Natalia to see what kind of hobbies she might pursue. Violin lessons were a flop. No interest in sports. Chess club? But she's always been most interested in the inner workings of things... blocks, blenders, garbage disposals, and you know, biology...

But one lazy summer afternoon, Natalia and her mom are just hanging out in their "back yard," working on their tans, watching the waves roll in, and she brings up the topic again. It was bound to happen. For years this little girl has been curious about the birds and the bees and the reasons her mommy and daddy "hug" each other so often. That, and she watched quite enthusiastically as Dr. Monif simulated a c-section procedure at the school science fair, and she thinks, what better job than to bring babies into the world? However it is they're made... Well, she knows where they grow, and how they come out, but she just has to know, "Mom, how do babies get in there?"

And well, since she was so intent on knowing...

***

notes: I am so jealous of their house! I wish I could live in it! The other beach houses by this creator are also beautiful, and highly playable (which is a top priority in my book!), and I plan on picking up one or two more to fill out the rest of Lakeshore Road. This will be the first family I've had actually live on the lakefront. So far, it's been fun! I've been meaning for a long time to have a family rich enough to live there :)

For the record, I don't normally know what my 10 year-olds will grow up to be, but everything just seems pretty fated with Natalia, and I can't imagine her doing anything else - the way she would just show up at her parents' bedside after they "you know"... and the way she watched that surgery at the science fair. She'll go into medicine and deliver babies when she grows up :)