Alex became a teenager and became very interested in painting. He loved the outdoors, and would often spend hours staring at scenery in order to paint the perfect landscape. When Katie was born, he was old enough to help with her care. He was a very good older brother, and adored his new little sister.
Katie was very much a child of sugar and spice. She was very affectionate with her family, but was also spunky if she needed to be. She loved music, and she also loved physical pursuits such as dancing.
As a teenager, Shirley became very interested in gardening. She wanted to have perfect garden and spent all of her free time caring for her plants. She had also become very romantic and longed for love, but since she had not met any suitable men, she dedicated her time to cultivating the garden.
Colin, too, became a teenager, and still had a passion for the arts. He spent most of his time practicing the violin, but also enjoyed cooking. Katie was his favorite sibling because he felt like he could be an older brother to her. While Alex had been Shirley’s older brother, Colin did not have a younger sister to dote on until now. He tried to be an older brother to Timothy, but Timothy always preferred to be alone, so with Katie, Colin was excited to take on his role as an attentive older brother.
“I promise to come to your dance recital, Katie” Colin said, giving her a reassuring hug. “I’ll be in the front row cheering you on!”
“Thanks, big brother,” Katie said throwing her arms around his neck.
“Don’t mention it,” Colin said happily.
Life got busier and busier, and Tyler had less and less time to spend with his family. He worked a lot and spent a lot of time programming or playing video games to improve his job performance. His time with his family was precious to him, but between work and family, he was stretched very thin.
Allyson, tired of playing bored, loveless housewife and mother, found other opportunities for romance.
“You can make me a drink anytime,” she purred to the bartender.
“So saucy for such a golden-haired angel,” the bartender said, taken aback, but very pleased.
“I’ll show you saucy,” she said, grabbing him and started kissing him. The bartender looked a little shocked, and was dazed for a few minutes afterwards, but was very into it. It wasn’t long before Allyson was frequenting the club just to see her new flame.
One night, while Allyson was visiting the bar, Tyler saw a strange light. He had just come home from work, so had not noticed his wife’s absence. He went to investigate the eerie light, and was shocked by what he saw. A UFO sucked him off the ground and took off with the reluctant passenger. Tyler never remembered what had happened on that horrible night, but knew it couldn’t have been good.
It wasn’t long before Tyler’s body started to change in weird ways. Although he had become quite fit and muscular, his stomach began to grow larger by the day. Allyson, who originally thought it was a rather unattractive beer gut, was startled when he admitted to having had morning sickness and pregnancy cravings. Nonetheless, it seemed as though another child was on its way, and the couple braced themselves for whatever it was.
One day after a long workout, Tyler noticed a strange glow emanating from his enlarged belly. It was the same eerie glow of the UFO, and suddenly, he knew it was time.
Allyson brought Tyler to the hospital, and he had to maintain his good humor as the interns, who had come to see the medical anomaly, whispered and laughed at him. The hospital staff had never seen anything like it, but successfully delivered the baby.
Despite the baby’s strange blue, scaly skin, Tyler loved his new son very much, and finally understood the feeling of giving life to another being. He loved to make silly faces at his son and talk to him about what it was like to be human. He and Allyson named him Astro and hoped that he would manage to enjoy his life on earth with his loving family.
Allyson was a bit taken aback by her new blue alien son, but she promised herself that she would be just as loving to him as her other children.
“You’re so...scaly,” Allyson cooed, unsure of how to compliment the baby.
“Now, children,” Tyler began, addressing the room. “Astro is not like us; he’s an alien. But that is all the more reason for us to show him love and understanding. I want you all to welcome him and treat him as if he were human, with love and respect.”
And all of the McEntire family treated Astro as if he were every bit as human as they were - although they did have to explain some things about being human to the curious alien child.
“Why do humans’ stomachs growl when they’re hungry?” Astro asked inquisitively. Alex looked down at his rumbling stomach with embarrassment.
“I guess it’s nature’s way of telling us it’s time to eat!” Alex explained, trying to decide what he would have for lunch.
“That’s weird,” Astro replied. “When we’re hungry, our stomach’s change color to remind us that we need nourishment.” Alex laughed.
“Your kind is much more sophisticated than ours, Astro,” he said smiling at his alien brother.
Everyone in the family treated their alien brother with kindness. He and Katie were especially close since they were the two youngest. Allyson tried her best to love Astro as if she had given birth to him, and always tried to show him understanding. Tyler adored his son all the more for his uniqueness, and tried to be extra supportive of him. He wondered sometimes if Astro wanted to go to his planet of origin, but hoped he had found a happy home.
At school, Astro wore his disguise and went by Carl. He felt quite smug that he was so convincing, but the other children seemed to sense that something was different about him, even though they couldn’t figure out what it was. They poked and prodded him and teased him, but Astro didn’t really understand what they were doing and was a happy “typical” little boy who sometimes asked weird questions. He wasn’t very good at acting human, but he was so oblivious to his blunders, that no one suspected him to be anything other than a weird kid.
So life was hectic in the McEntire household with the several children, but life continued. Tyler continued to work and try to be the number one dad, and Allyson continued to crave excitement and romance and stray to other men. Tyler was unaware of his wife’s indiscretions, and tried to please her, but was still wondering if he was capable of being the man she wanted him to be.
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