Ottomas Family Values

One: “No strings?”

“I can't believe you cheated on me while I was pregnant with your twins!” Samantha Ottomas yelled in disgust.

“What did you expect, sweetie? It's happened every time you fell pregnant.” Peter shrugged. This wasn't the first time he had been caught.

“Who needs soap operas when you can interfere with family life for free?” Joe Graham decided, watching the family as he slouched.

The arguments continued for days, and Peter truly could not see what he had done wrong. He tried to beg, he tried to plead. But it was all in vain.

Samantha had her mind made up.

“Peter, I want you out of my house!”

“Say please.”

She lost her temper. He lost his home.

Samantha sent their children after him, though it pained her to give them up. She was going to have her own family, one she could trust. Twenty-six children would be enough company.

Samantha started her new life as a bachelor with some elixir and a visit to the Matchmaker. She was young, she was single, and she was looking for baby-daddies.

Not necessarily commitment.

That's how she met Juan. He didn't like her at first – cost her almost all of her money and he was unimpressed by her.

“What is wrong with you? We have three bolts!” She cried.

“I know what you want. Marriage, three kids, a dog and a family car.”

“Actually, I want an afternoon of no-strings-attached woohoo.”

“No strings? I'm so the man for you! Well...for this afternoon, anyway.”

He wasn't a keeper, but that wasn't what Samantha was looking for.

By the time the clock ticked past midnight, Samantha and Juan had fallen into bed together, and the first of Samantha's twenty-six children was on their way.

Having already been through four pregnancies, Samantha was not new to morning sickness.

She coped with being pregnant much better than a lot of other people she knew from the neighbourhood.

In addition to her desire for twenty-six kids, Samantha was keen to be Captain Hero, and was slowly climbing the career ladder.

She got home from work one night to find out her pregnancy was beginning to show.

With a larger amount of free time on her hands now, Samantha spruced up her garden, and invited the Garden Club to come and have a look.

A wishing well, afterall, would make looking for potential fathers much easier.

The fellows from the Garden Club were an odd bunch. Some of the statues she had decorating the yard impressed them – like her stone fairy – while they talked rudely about other statues.

Since when were flamingos frowned upon?

Either way, her plants were in excellent shape, so they left her the wishing well.

Samantha was grateful to have it, because not only did it look nice, it was useful.

Samantha tried the wishing well out immediately, which is how she met Jason Menon.

They spent a short amount of time together before she put his number aside, mentally noting that he would be the father of her second child.

In the evenings, Samantha took to stargazing.

It gave her something to do when she couldn't sleep, and earned her a little money on top of her wages when she discovered constellations.

The neighbourhood was still awake at night anyway.

It was the time when Peter was mostly likely to wander past, usually to knock the bin down.

Because if you're angry at someone, you attack their bin, of course.

Juan occasionally stopped by at night, too. But only ever to deliver bouquets. Clearly, he hadn't forgotten his time spent with Samantha.

He didn't know she wasn't planning on calling him back. Ever.

“I know she said no strings, but I wouldn't protest if that changed.”

The night activity was sometimes helpful. Peter was there when Samantha went into labour with the first baby of her new life.

“A baby that isn't mine! This is such a large crisis I walked in off the street to help out!”

Despite all of the arguments and problems between them, Peter still cared about her.

He left shortly after Annabelle Ottomas was born, and didn't return afterwards, not even to knock the bin down again, or steal the newspaper.

He left Samantha with her fresh start.

Annabelle was a cheerful baby, blissfully unaware of her unusual family situation.

Samantha hadn't gone back to work, opting to take care of the infant herself, but she did have some money saved up so Annabelle could have the latest toys – toys that no other baby in the neighbourhood had.

It wasn't long before Samantha was expecting her next child.

And unlike Juan, Samantha saw Jason on a frequent basis.

By the time Annabelle's birthday rolled around, Samantha was already sporting a baby bump.

Annabelle grew into an adorable little girl, of the Cancer starsign, with a personality of 6/5/6/4/6

As far as toys were concerned, Annabelle was once again spoilt for choice.

However, she didn't play with all of the toys, nor did she appear to become a bossy and spoilt little girl.

Annabelle also showed an interest in building with her blocks, despite the fact it wasn't her favourite thing to do.

She spent her toddler years learning skills from her mother and her toys, more so her toys because her mother was pregnant.

Samantha continued to keep in touch with the father of her second baby, and continued to ignore any phone calls she received from Juan.

For some reason, the gypsy Matchmaker was also keen to keep in touch. If only she knew she had been replaced by a wishing well.

When Samantha went into labour this time, there was no one around but her toddler daughter, who wasn't much use, dancing to the music playing from the stereo.

Samantha had to bring in the next baby on her own.

Samantha welcomed another little girl into her life, and named her Buttercup.

Samantha wasted no time, and called up the Garden Club fellow again.

By the end of the day, she was expecting again.

Also at the end of the afternoon was Annabelle's birthday, which Joe decided to hang around for.

“I absolutely love dancing!”

Annabelle appeared to having taken most of her mother's features, though she did have her father's jaw. If there were more of his genetics in her, there wasn't enough evidence to tell yet.

Soon, Samantha decided she had to talk to Annabelle, “You're already a big sister, but how would you feel about being a big sister to another baby as well?”

“How many babies?”

“Well, one at the minute, but twenty-five eventually.”

Annabelle's eyes widened, “Twenty-five is a big number, mum.”

“It is, but I don't want to change my mind about the number,” Samantha pulled her daughter close, “can you handle being the big sister?”

“I can! Twenty-five means lots of people to play with!”

“It does indeed! There are good points to this as well, aren't there?”

“A daddy would help, mum.”

Samantha didn't reply to that, and instead, continued to watch a film with Annabelle.

The next day, Buttercup grew into a toddler. She was reasonably cute, but she definitely had her mother's nose. Her red hair, however, must have come from her father somehow.

Buttercup is an Aquarius, with a personality of 4/5/6/6/5

Samantha had an important meeting happening in the kitchen that evening, and so Annabelle was in charge of keeping Buttercup busy.

Luckily, they had a drawing table in the nursery, so Annabelle could teach Buttercup how to draw crocodiles.

“I don't understand, Samantha,” Jason laughed a little, uneasy, “we hardly see each other since you told me that you were pregnant, and out of the blue, you ask me to come over.”

“Well, I've had a lot of thinking to do.”

“Like what?” Jason eyed Samantha's baby bump, “Is that mine...?”

“No, no. Your daughter's in the nursery. But I didn't ask you here so we could talk about her.”

“Oh?”

“How would you feel if I said I was planning to have twenty-six children, each with a different father?”

“I'll admit, I'm a little intrigued. Why?”

“Just to prove that I can. But, Jason, I really like you. I don't want to let you go.”

“So have the remaining twenty-four and marry me anyway?” Jason grinned, “I'm telling you, I'm a great father!”

“Well, I'm going to take what you said literally, Jason. Let's get married, and I'll sneak around with twenty-three other guys in order to fulfil my life dream.”

“Is that little velvet box what I think it is?”

“Absolutely, Jason. Marry me?”

“Help me raise twenty-six kids, Jason, I don't think I can do it on my own.”

“As warped as our marriage will be, I can't help but stand by you,” Jason replied, admiring the ring, “I will marry you, Samantha. And I will help you raise children that aren't mine.”

The couple got married right away, in the privacy of their kitchen.

Jason Menon became Jason Ottomas, and welcomed the family values of the Ottomas family into his heart.

Even if it meant letting his wife have children with other men.

Jason changed his hair back to red, and took care of his wife while she was pregnant.

He was the perfect husband for her.

Buttercup becomes the first toddler to play in the toilet – Annabelle was completely oblivious to its existence as a toddler.

“Why there no ducks in pond?”

Annabelle, meanwhile, started to complain because her grades were a little less than perfect.

Samantha went into labour with the third child.

This time, Samantha gave birth to a boy, whose name is Cinna.

In all of the excitement surrounding Cinna's birth, the family completely missed Buttercup's birthday.

She grew into a slightly-less awkward-looking child. Her father's genetics are visible now.

Annabelle and Buttercup get along really well.

“We're like sisters because we sort of are!”

When Jason went to work the next day, Samantha headed out to the wishing well to find the father of her next baby.

After much talking with Jason, they had agreed it was better for them both if Samantha met with the other fathers when he wasn't home.

Neil Chalmers became the next father, after spending the afternoon in the house with Samantha.

Cinna also grew up that day, into an odd toddler. He was an interesting mix of his parents, but his connections to Samantha were clear – he, like Annabelle and Buttercup – had her nose.

Cinna has a personality of 2/3/10/10/8

And I'll leave you here, with a picture of the newly-weds.

I love them as a couple!

Join me next time for baby D and more!

Thanks for reading!