Landgraab Legacy Chapter 14: The Plot Thickens
Life continued around the family homestead. Moonbeam watched television between gardening, fishing or reading skill books. Mom kept going to work, and now that she was an International Super Spy, she was bringing in lot of money. Not that we really needed it.
Even though we were so well off, better than the old Landgraab family before my ancestor Alabaster moved and started over in fact. After buying a home for Teddy, and sending Bear off with a good starting sum, the family still had over $300,000 in the bank.
Because she was going to be the true heir, Zappa picked up cooking. She enjoyed cooking lots of new dishes, usually after taking a break from playing chess or doing homework.
I didn't have the heart to tell her that it tasted kind of plain next to some of the dishes Dad would whip up, she was so proud to feed us.
Moonbeam, on the other hand, had no trouble.
While both Zappa and Moonbeam had someone to talk with every night over the phone, I usually found myself either playing chess or going to bed early. There really wasn't anyone at school that was interesting to me, and there were hardly any girls around town.
Late one evening, Mom finally joined Dad in being an elder.
She was not impressed with the new look though.
Mom fixed her hair to how she liked it, and then called up Father and retired. She felt it was best that now she had reached her dream, and was an elder, she should retire and have nothing more to do with Phillipe.
Dad was very pleased, and the two couldn't keep their hands off each other.
Well, most of the time anyway.
Dad went over to visit with Bear and his new wife.
He and his wife were doing fine, but hadn't even tried for kids yet. Seems Annilynn was too busy taking care of her mom to even think about kids at the moment. Bear didn't seem to mind, he loved having a house without kids. I guess one can feel that way after growing up in a house with six kids.
This was probably the last happiest day for me. And entire era of my life over.
Dad threw a big party to celebrate Zappa and Moonbeam growing up. I would be the last Landgraab teenager in the house, and in the local school. It made me sad, and I realized that perhaps Zappa and I may drift apart a little bit now that she would be so focused on finding a 'baby-doner' as she put it.
I was pretty darn sure I knew who she had in mind. She had always liked Bryan Anchor, no matter how much she pretended otherwise.
It was at this party that Moonbeam tried her hardest to make Brent Undergrove notice her. He had been in class with Teddy and Bear, so was no longer in school, but I now realize Moonbeam had always had a crush on him.
Uncle Geraldo had strong opinions concerning the Undergrove family.
She went to the cake first, in a rush to make Brent notice her as a grown-up.
I think anyone would notice her with that outfit on!
And then Zappa would grow up. I would always think of this day with dread. While we will always be friends till the end, I think what we shared in our teen years was now over.
She grew up just lovely.
It was also at this party that someone noticed me. I mean I always knew I had other siblings, but I never really thought about them. They belonged to a part of my life that was too painful to talk about with my Mom, so I just never asked.
Now that she was an adult, Moonbeam did two things she had been dreaming about for years. She got a job at the Landgraab Science facility first.
She then visited Brent at the old Landgraab estate, where his family was living.
She got her first kiss, and made it clear to him her intentions. While he had some commitment issues, he would learn that when a woman was determined, nothing would stop her. At least the women in my family.
She invited him over to the pond behind our house, and continued to pressure the idea of marriage on him.
I think he never really had a chance. It was obvious he was smitten.
He willingly came home, and allowed himself to be seduced.
And when she proposed the next morning...
He accepted.
They then had a quiet ceremony upstairs. Moonbeam then moved in with him at the old Landgraab estate. She liked to say that it seemed that at least one Landgraab should live there.
After much fighting with herself, Zappa finally admitted her feelings for Bryan. She also made it very clear to him how she felt. I guess Moonbeam and Zappa were alike in that way.
And not wanting to lose him, Zappa proposed. I have to admit I was a little bit hurt. We had made plans, she and I. It would be up to us to continue the family line, raising any kids we had together.
I guess when you put it that way, it sounds kind of gross. But as a teenage boy, I didn't view it that way. I didn't love my sister 'that way' if you care to know. I just believed her after all those years of talking about how evil marriage was. How emotions would always get the better of you, so why do that to yourself?
Because of our plans, I had never bothered even trying to find a girlfriend. Why bother? I was pretty sure I could adopt if I ever wanted a kid, it was Zappa who needed a blood child to carry on the name.
But, because I loved her, I accept Bryan even if it kind of annoyed me when he moved in.
The two had a quiet ceremony at the park, and then came home without a word to anyone.
It wouldn't take long for Zappa to get things moving in the baby department either. Bryan didn't seem to mind, especially since he was so much older then her. He was now a full fledged adult, while she was still a young adult.
I was none the wiser. I thought our plans were still in play. That's me, the clueless brother.
Nor did I realize that someone else was taking an interest in me.