The founder in this legacy story, Adam Slade, arrived in Sunset Valley to create a name, not just for himself, but for those that would come after him.
In this chapter, the legacy starts in earnest with the birth of the first heir in the Slade dynasty.
The day was almost over. River was doing a final clean up around the house and Adam was bringing in the last few gems from his latest mining spot when River cried out. “It’s coming! Baby is on the way!”
Within minutes they were on their way to the Sacred Spleen Memorial Hospital. It seemed to take all night but within a few hours a beautiful baby boy was born, the most precious gift of their relationship.
As the second generation of the Slade dynasty to be, their beautiful child would need to be strong and focused on building on the simple foundations that Adam and River would create. He needed a strong name to reflect this ambition. They called him Brandon. Brandon Slade.
If part of his future would be to demand the best of everyone around him, baby Brandon certainly got off to a good start! He craved attention from his parents and kept them busy constantly – thank goodness for parental leave!
As much as he wanted of them, though River and Adam were only too pleased to give – this boy would get all the love and attention he needed.
It seemed like only yesterday that he had become a father, and now Adam was definitely getting older!
A simple celebration with River was all he needed, and he knew that should his faculties fade Brandon was safe in the hands of this remarkable woman.
Baby Brandon may be demanding of attention but there were still moments when Adam and River could express their love and affection for each other.
Actually, it was probably even more important now that they had the baby!
He wasn’t quite sure why he had waited so long, and
certainly River had never made a big deal about it … but it really was time to
make their relationship properly official.
It would never happen, of course, but Adam also wanted to make sure that baby Brandon would always carry the name “Slade” and continue the legacy that would be left to him.
So now was the time … “River, will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?”
Only days after his proposal of marriage accepted, Adam Slade nearly lost it all. A stray spark, the unlikeliest of accidents, started a terrifying fire in the middle of the family home.
With River trapped in their bedroom and baby Brandon only in the next room his whole family were in terrible danger. Thankfully, the fact that Adam had invested in a good fire alarm system meant that the fire service were there in good time to save his loved ones. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened …
It also taught him that a fire alarm is good but plenty of escape routes is better – just in case!
Adam knew that the first years of a child’s life were the most important so he decided that to devote as much time as he could he would quit his little job at the bookshop so that he, and River, could concentrate on preparing little Brandon to meet the world.
That job was only a small part of his income anyway, Adam had a great reputation for garden produce and his paintings were now getting recognised, so he was happy that they would not be short of money.
Now they could concentrate on coaching their child through walking, talking, reading and those other things a kid has to get to grips with!
And they could tell, from the way he picked up these skills, Brandon was going to be a genius.
Simple, but perfect. In the grounds of their own small house, overlooking the beautiful bays of Sunset Valley and with their own, wonderful, son, River and Adam became Mr and Mrs Slade.
This was turning into one heck of year!
Their first child, getting married, nearly losing everything in a fire and now some low-life thief!
As with the fire, Adam had taken the precaution of installing a first-rate alarm so the police were on the scene within minutes of the intruder breaking in and nothing was lost.
Actually, more impressive is that baby Brandon slept through the wailing of the alarm and the police officer’s struggle with the thief!
No longer a toddler, Brandon’s birthday sees him turn into a handsome young boy ably equipped by his parents to take on all that the world will throw at him and, hopefully, continue his father’s legacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment