Learn to Live

Sophia found the nest a tad empty now that her two eldest children were gone. The twins were proving to be a handful. Gabriel and Henri helped when they could but their little hands didn't provide much assistance. And Amin...bah! That man was useless! All he wanted was to throw frat boy parties in Sophia's beautiful manor! Really, she couldn't wait 'till he was gone.



But his eagerness to party did pay off. He had great knowledge of what make a good party. Sophia did not. So she left Amin in charge of planning Gabriel's birthday party. His planning was a success. Gabriel was so thrilled by it all. The party went off without a hitch. Sophia had to hand it to Amin. He made Gabriel's special day ultra special.



Of course, Amin also almost made it a disaster. He kept claiming to seeing ghosts or some such nonsense. Sophia had to drag him over to the corner, as her son began opening presents, and convince him to keep his mouth shut. "Can't have you scaring the children!" She scolded. The man tried to defend himself but Sophia's cold eyes made him silent.

It didn't stop there. While brooding in the corner, Amin's gaze fell on Roselle. He knew the girl, of course. But he failed to realize, prior to this, that she was a woman and not just one of Sophia's daughters. But my my! Young Roselle certainly filled out. So he decided to compliment her. Of course, little brother Daniel was watching like a hawk and proceed to ram him up against the wall, drawing in the attention of the partygoers.

Gabriel turned out well, though. He, like Roselle, was all about families. His help was muchly appreciated on the overworked Sophia. He took care of the twins while she rested, even spending weekends sleeping in the nursery to keep a better eye on them. He also fixed the family meals and Sophia noticed his talent for the culinary arts. It was no shock when he recieved a scholarship to college for it.

Sophia was glad for his help. Amin had since become too much of a bother. Something was seriously wrong with the man.

But his questionable mentality thankfully didn't jepordize the twins' birthday. The two of them grew into adorable little ladies, their paths clearly drawn. Eva was more of an outgoing tomboy while Vivian was more inclined to sport dresses and sip pretend tea. Still, they were twins and it could be said they were each other's shadows.

Vivian was no longer a handful. She kept busy by playing with Henri or studying. Unlike her sister, however, Eva had to have someone constantly watching her. She was a curious girl and often got into trouble because of it. Once such incident was when she set the smoke detectors off after trying to bake a shoe.

But with the twins old enough to fend for themselves, it left Sophia with extra time. She finally sat down and finished the romantic novel she had started when Daniel was just a tot. 'Lost in Snow' she called it. She was pleased when one of Roselle's artsy friends decided to publish it and wasn't at all amazed when it sold well. Of course, the first copy was given to Sophia herself.