Epilogue

It should have taken two years to design and build the structure Caitlin and I drew the plans for, for the new company, as yet un-named, that would come into existence. But two things sped that process up. The first was that the funding was already there, and contractors could be told to begin work as soon as possible. The second was that, until that structure was completed, all of us were crammed in what had seemed like a fairly large house, before Kat and I got married. Now, with four adults, a child in his terrible twos, and a brand new baby in the house, the pressure to make progress was always there.

In some ways, though, it was easier, with all of us there. I had adapted to being the primary caregiver to Stephen, while Caitlin finished school. But she'd always wanted to spend more time with her child, and now she got to do that with Miranda. Stephen took a different kind of time and care by then. At that point, what was critical was just watching him more or less constantly to make sure he didn't get into mischief, or trouble of some kind. And now there were two more adults to supervise him, and change Miranda's diapers, and just do things that needed to be done.

Ashley, who had been the most frivolous of the three in the past, was very serious about the baby that kept stretching her belly further and further. She was assiduous in her attention to Caitlin, asking questions and learning as much as she could before she had her own baby. That included being with me during Kat's labor with Miranda, and watching the delivery.

The foundation was laid and the walls were going up when Emma, who had avoided watching Kat during labor and delivery, became Ashley's coach and stood by her all the way through the birth of Justin, a bouncing baby boy who came out at nine pounds, two ounces, and was twenty-one inches long. He looked like the baby Hulk, except he was pink instead of green.

The urgency to get our new abode complete only grew, now, with two babies and a two year old to care for in cramped conditions. Not to mention that Emma and Ashley had entertained some unreasonable expectations about how often they would get to relive those lusty days of my last summer in Oklahoma.

But we managed, in this odd and unusual situation.

Which is why, after five years, Full Circle Architecture and Design is getting a reputation for being the go to place if you want something edgy and exciting when you need a new home or business building. We're only as busy as we want to be, because none of the partners in the company are willing to get into an all work and no play mode.

That might explain why the brood that runs and plays in the common area where three private residences open onto, is noisy. It looks a little like a day care center, these days. There's Stephen and Miranda, who reign supreme as "the oldest". Then there is Justin, Stephanie and Curtis, all of whom bear the Paddington maiden name of their mother, Ashley. And, thrown into the mix are Emma's children, Paul, Eric and Franklin. They bear her maiden name, Wilkinson too.

As to who fathers are of all these children?

Well ... we don't talk about that outside the house.