The morning after Zachary, Caroline, and Kendall heard the statue of the knight speak, Caroline woke up and felt compelled to visit the golden statue. Everything seems normal, she thought as she turned to go back inside. As soon as she opened the door, she heard the statue hiss.
“You are the chosen. You shall continue the legacy.” Caroline shuddered.
“Why me?” she asked, not knowing quite what a legacy entailed.
“Random…” the statue hissed. Caroline wasn’t sure what the statue meant by “random,” but she was slightly disappointed because it seemed that she wasn’t chosen because she had earned it. She wondered if someone had randomly chosen her to be the heir, but she pledged that she would not let it bother her. Even in not being sure exactly what was expected of her, she was determined to succeed.
Caroline took after her mother, both in career choice and hobbies. She spent a lot of her time playing chess, but managed to exercise frequently as well. She hoped that increasing her logic skill and her athletic skill would help her advance on the astronaut career track. She wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to manage to become a Friend of the World and achieve her dream career, but she was determined to try.
When Caroline wasn’t playing chess or exercising, she still tried to meet people. After spending about half of her young adulthood meeting people and waiting to find the right man to settle down with, she was getting antsy. Luckily, one day when she was visiting the museum in an effort to meet people, she met a handsome, yet unusual man that caught her attention. Admittedly, it was his strange sideburns that first caught her attention, but she had seen her other prospects, so she decided to at least talk to him.
“Hi, I’m Caroline McEntire,” she said shaking the man’s hand in her usual outgoing way.
“I’m Ronaldo McDonald,” the man replied, seemingly unaware of his amusing name.
“Ronaldo McDonald?” Caroline asking stifling a laugh.
“I promise, I don’t sell burgers,” he said with a smirk. At least he knew his name was weird, she thought, although he had tried to pass it off as normal. “Actually I’m more of an artist,” he said trying to sound modest. “A starving artist,” he said, actually being modest. Caroline giggled.
“I hope you’re not too hungry!” Caroline said with concern.
“Oh no, I’m really not starving. In fact, I just ate dinner!” Ronaldo said matter-of-factly.
“But it’s mid-morning,” Caroline said puzzled.
Ronaldo looked up at the sun that was shining through the courtyard of the museum. “So it is…” he said, his voice drifting off as if he was in deep thought. This was when Caroline started to suspect that Ronaldo was not quite normal - aside from his bizarre facial hair and weird name. But she found something about Ronaldo strangely intriguing.
“Oh - I’ve gotta go! I’ll be late for my pet chicken’s grooming appointment!” Ronaldo said, standing up suddenly.
“You have a pet chicken?” Caroline asked quizzically as she stifled another laugh
“No. What makes you think that?” Ronaldo asked. “Hey, can I call you sometime?” Caroline smirked. She didn’t usually give her number to strange men who claimed to have pet chickens and then denied that that was the case, but she thought, Why not? and scribbled her number down on his hand with the purple sharpie he produced from his pocket.
Ronaldo called the next day and invited her to brunch at 9:00 that night. Caroline was puzzled, but found that the address was for a lounge. Well, why not? she thought to herself again.
Caroline found Ronaldo sitting at the bar.
“This is brunch?” Caroline asked amused.
“Brunch? Who said anything about brunch?” he asked. “This is a pool party!” Caroline laughed in spite of herself. She wondered what she was doing being out with a man who was clearly out of touch with reality. She had to admit though, that he looked very handsome.
“You look radiant tonight,” Ronaldo said, sliding her a drink across the bar.
“I didn’t even dress up!” Caroline said, surprised but flattered. “I actually feel underdressed!” She looked at the drink Ronaldo had bought for her. It looked like orange juice, but she assumed it had alcohol in it. Well, at least this has something to do with brunch, she thought taking a sip of the orangey beverage.
I was strange; with Ronaldo, it felt like she was talking to an old friend. The two talked and laughed, and there was never an awkward moment. Even when he said something that seemed insane, she simply laughed. Sometimes he would laugh with her even though he didn’t know the joke. She found that she was becoming very fond of this seemingly-insane artistic man, and even though he wasn’t what she had imagined for herself, she hoped their relationship would progress.
Caroline continued to work hard, and the McEntire house was finally renovated. It was much more spacious, and had luxuries that Zachary, Caroline, and Kendall had never had as children.
Zachary, too, had found someone; a librarian named Christina North. Nobody in the family quite knew what to think of her hair, but Caroline found that she was very likeable.
Even Kendall had found someone, although their relationship seemed to be mostly one of flirtation. His name was Alvaro Ahmad. Surprisingly he was the one that had made Kendall very angry in the park one afternoon when she was a teenager. Kendall had taken a liking to him, and Alvaro had taken even more of a liking to Kendall. He had fallen under her spell of seduction, which she enjoyed using to attract unsuspecting men.
However, out of the three children, it was Caroline’s relationship that blossomed the most. Caroline and Ronaldo had grown very fond of each other over the past few months, and soon enough, Caroline invited him to live with her. She even set up an easel for him in the newly renovated study.
Over the next several months, Caroline and Ronaldo grew closer. Caroline advanced in her career, and Ronaldo stayed home and painted. Eventually, Ronaldo decided to get a job as a painter and found himself constantly inspired. Things were a bit hectic with all of the McEntire offspring and Caroline’s boyfriend living under one roof, but everyone managed to make it work most of the time.
There was a time when Kendall decided to create some trouble by flirting with Ronaldo. She was not interested in him, but after coming home from her job as a Minor Crimelord one day, she decided to make a little extra mischief.
“Do you like my outfit, Ronaldo?” she purred, posing in her mob-wife inspired work clothes. She tilted her hat down and smiled seductively.
“I like the hat,” Ronaldo said, not taking her signal. “Can I wear it?” Kendall smirked under the brim of her fedora at Ronaldo’s childishness that resulted from his lack of touch with reality.
“I think you know what I’m getting at,” Kendall said softly, moving closer. “Do you want me?” Ronaldo was confused for a minute, but finally understood when Kendall pulled him closer to her by the collar of his sweater. Her lips were almost touching his, and he felt very uncomfortable.
“I’m Caroline’s boyfriend!” he said, pulling away. “I love her!” Caroline entered the room beaming.
“I love you too,” she said looking at Ronaldo with tears forming in her eyes. Then her gaze shifted to her twin sister.
“How could you?” Caroline demanded, pointing to Kendall. Caroline and Kendall had been best friends since birth, and although she knew that Kendall had a streak for mischief, she did not think her twin sister would ever betray her trust.
“I’m sorry!” Kendall exclaimed surprised at her sister’s sudden entrance. “I was just having a little fun!”
“Find some other way to have fun!” Caroline retorted.
“I’m not interested in your boyfriend, Caroline. I was just playing around.” Kendall replied defensively.
“You’re my sister!” Caroline shouted angrily.
“Look I said I was sorry,” Kendall said, pushing back her bangs nonchalantly. Caroline’s face softened. She couldn’t stay mad at her twin sister for very long, and no harm had been done in the long-term.
“I accept your apology,” Caroline said crossing her arms. Kendall dropped her attitude and smiled.
“Thanks, sis. It won’t happen again,” Kendall said sincerely. Caroline moved forward and hugged her sister. Kendall hugged her back and resolved to find other ways to make mischief.
“Look I said I was sorry,” Kendall said, pushing back her bangs nonchalantly. Caroline’s face softened. She couldn’t stay mad at her twin sister for very long, and no harm had been done in the long-term.
“I accept your apology,” Caroline said crossing her arms. Kendall dropped her attitude and smiled.
“Thanks, sis. It won’t happen again,” Kendall said sincerely. Caroline moved forward and hugged her sister. Kendall hugged her back and resolved to find other ways to make mischief.
The next day, Caroline and Ronaldo were in the dining room, which was the one unfinished room in the house. It still needed wallpaper, but it was a large, elegant and spacious room where they were alone. It was after breakfast, and Caroline had just finished washing the dishes.
“I want to eat cereal with you every morning for the rest of my life” Ronaldo blurted out suddenly, dropping to his knees. Ronaldo’s proposal was not very graceful or romantic, but Caroline laughed.
“Ok,” she said taking the ring happily. “Every morning for the rest of our lives.”
Before Caroline and Ronaldo knew it, they were exchanging vows at the altar. Caroline wore a stunning blue dress in lieu of a traditional white one. She was surprised that Ronaldo actually wore a normal, handsome-looking tuxedo.
“Grimple frib,” Ronaldo whispered to Caroline as they stood together. Caroline giggled. She knew Ronaldo was insane, but she loved him none-the-less.
“Grimple frib to you too,” she whispered back.
Ronaldo kissed Caroline on the cheek before pulling her into a long romantic kiss on the lips. The two shared their first married kiss and were overcome with joy.
The festivities were wonderful, and the couple enjoyed cutting the cake and eating with their guests. Kendall tended the bar, while the newlyweds thanked the guests for coming. Everyone had a great time at the wedding, and Caroline and Ronaldo could not have been happier.
Only a few days after the wedding, Ronaldo suggested that they should start a family. Ronaldo had always cared very much about family, so he did not want to waste time. Caroline was happy and agreed. After several tries, and the couple were still not seeing results and were starting to worry about the future of the family and their legacy.
“Grimple frib,” Ronaldo reminded Caroline gently. Caroline laughed and decided that the translation was “It will be ok. We will find a way.” Caroline took Ronaldo’s comforting words to heart and waited for the conception of their child.
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