37. PRIORITIES

Laura took matters into her own hands and renovated the entire house (plus she hung up some new photos). First up: the entryway, kitchen, and living room:

Their bedroom, as well as Ollie’s new room, which was moved all the way to the top floor so she could have more privacy and wouldn’t have to share a room with her sister anymore. A small bathroom just for her was added as well.

A new kids’ room, plus a space for Bastian. Bas had to give up the robotics workstation and the fabricator. There simply wasn’t any room for them anymore, and besides, he has access to both machines at work and at a nearby recreation center.

Laura must have had a hunch with this renovation. It turned out the bigger kids’ room would come in handy, because Antonia is going to have a new sibling! Heh, heh, heh.

Antonia is such a calm child. Even when she’s sad, tired, and dirty, she doesn’t cry. No wonder Laura is looking forward to another little one :P

They don’t know it yet, but very soon their lives will be turned upside down—because two little kids are a completely different story than one calm child. And on top of that, a teenager in the house too… heh heh heh xD

Bas was so happy that he even discovered a new trait - Family-Oriented. And Laura is constantly charmed and head over heels in love with him.

Ollie is happy about the new sibling. And about how happy Dad and Laura are. And about Nettie unlocking new milestones all the time. But still… she also feels a little pushed aside. Like the fifth wheel.

Thankfully, she’ll be heading back to the ranch soon and will see Wren again. And for now, at least she has Elena and Diego here.

Unfortunately, Bas received another bad news. Maria died. Most likely, she took her own life, unable to come to terms with Orion’s death. Inspired by Karmine’s death, she too became a victim of the Cowplant.

Laura decided to start therapy, because this time she couldn’t handle it on her own.

Olimpia: I’ve had enough of studying. Let’s do something interesting, I’m dying of boredom.

Elena: Give me a moment, I just need to finish this essay.

Olimpia: I’m skipping it. I’m a perfectly average student and that’s enough for me.

Elena: Done!

Olimpia: OMW, how boring. Maybe we could watch a movie?

Elena: I have a better idea. Antonio is playing at the Laguna del Abrazo today. It's our Mom’s ex.

Olimpia: You’re kidding, right? We’re supposed to listen to some street busker scraping away?

Elena: Let’s make a bet. If I win, we’re going.

Olimpia: Fine! You win!

Elena: You’ll see, it’ll be fun. Antonio is actually pretty good—maybe he’ll even become a rock star someday.

Olimpia: Yeah, sure. But whatever. It’s not like we have anything better to do.

Olimpia: This is the place? I think I’ll be going after all…

Elena: No, wait—let him warm up. People are just starting to gather.

It turned out that Antonio really did know a thing or two about good music. Before long, everyone was having a great time.

Diego: He’s really good!

Elena: I told you!

Olimpia had to admit it wasn’t as much of a waste of time as she’d expected, and she actually had fun.

The next day, Rob received a call from Olimpia’s school saying she had been involved in a fight. She was lucky it was Rob who picked up…

Rob: What to do? How should I know?! I’m still only at Parenting Skill Level 1. Maybe they should just talk it out.

At work, Bas and Mikołaj were developing the latest weapons patents. Bas was especially lucky lately, the prototype robotic arm turned out exceptionally well. The ExoMech helmet and suit too. He was particularly fond of the levitation function.

Partners took a commemorative photo and then carried out a test fight.

Mikołaj: This patent is worth a fortune! You’ll see - companies will be bidding against each other to offer more!

At home, Laura was introducing Nettie to new flavors. She didn’t like the baby cereal, but she absolutely loved sweet potato purée. But seriously, do all children have to make such a mess while eating??

Nettie can already do more and more. Her birthday is coming up soon. Laura can’t believe how fast time is flying.

The second baby is growing too, and soon will meet their parents. This time, Bas and Laura decided on a home birth. They also chose not to find out the baby’s gender, so it will be a surprise.

Bastian received a job offer from Atlas as an astronaut—Low-Orbit Specialist. The offer was very tempting, but Bas couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off… Maybe the competition had learned about the prototypes and wanted to exploit his knowledge in space?

Bas approached the situation cautiously and declined, for now. Besides, he has different priorities at the moment. Much more important than his childhood dreams of exploring space. The most important things in the world.

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