Chapter Three: Starting a New Tradition

 Narrated by Caroline Masterson

... what?

"Twins, Peter. Two babies."

I know what twins are, dear. I'm just surprised, that's all.

"So I gathered. They're both girls."

Ahhh, that's lovely! Right, I'm coming right now.

Still wearing his smart work clothes, he quickly arrived in the nursery and quickly picked up the baby I'd given birth to first.

"Awww, you're beautiful!" he cooed. "What are we calling them?"

"Well, when I was browsing the Simpedia summary of the Twelve Labours of Hercules, I came across 'Erytheia' which happens to mean 'red'," I explained. "I thought it sounded beautiful, and also quite funny to name a red-headed child. And then I've always liked Xanthe, which just so happens to mean 'yellow'. You're holding Erytheia."

"It is a beautiful name," Peter said. 

The next day, whilst Peter was working, I received a shock when the lights suddenly switched off. Not long afterwards, a man who I recognised to be our landlord entered.

"Oh God, I forgot the bills!" I muttered, grabbing my phone. "I'm so sorry, I do have the money, but I gave birth yesterday and completely forgot."

"That's understandable," he said kindly. "But please try not to let it happen again. Congratulations, by the way."

It felt like no time at all before the girls became toddlers. I had read that one good way of telling twins apart was to dress them in different colours, so I decided that it would be easiest to dress them in the colours that matched their names. 

I loved picking the girls up and feeling them cuddle close, particularly when they were tired. 

"Come on baby, you need to go to bed now," I coaxed.

"Sleepy," Erytheia agreed.

I could hear Xanthe throwing a tantrum in the bedroom, likely from being too tired. 

When Peter came home, we had a chat on the sofa.

"It's supposed to be the Summer Festival tomorrow, but there's supposed to be a storm here tomorrow," I said. "Why don't we go to the beach?"

"Good idea," he nodded. "It'll be fun to swim in the sea. I haven't done so in years!"

"The girls would love it too," I smiled. "Building sandcastles is a childhood rite of passage."

The next day, we headed to Ohan'ali Beach. The weather was lovely and warm, and the water was a beautiful blue colour, lapping invitingly against the shore. 

"Ok girls, who wants to go and swim in the sea?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Me! Me!" they chorused. 

"Alright then," he laughed. "Let me help you put your swimming costumes on and we can go swim."

Once they were ready, he offered to carry them over, but they insisted on walking themselves. So, whilst I went over to a nearby barbecue to grill some food I'd brought along, the girls toddled over to the sea, eagerly following their dad.

Of course, the girls didn't actually swim; they spent most of their time sitting in the shallows whilst I kept an eye on them. They then decided to build a little sandcastle together; it was a sweet image for me, watching them working together. I hoped they'd have a strong relationship for the rest of their lives. 

The fun of the day was slightly cut short when I had to go off and film an episode of "The Urbz". Filming began at around 7pm and lasted several hours; as there was no coffee machine on set (an odd oversight which I didn't understand), I had no way of keeping my energy up. When I returned in the small hours, I was absolutely exhausted, and barely made it through the front door before passing out. Still, I had at least been declared a "notable newcomer" now that I had moved away from commercials and into daytime television. 

Once I'd had enough sleep, I went into the living room where Peter was watching the television; we'd enrolled the girls in a nearby preschool which they enjoyed. 

"So, the beach was pretty fun," I said. "It's a shame I had to go to work, but at least I'm getting more well-known now which is exciting."
"It is," Peter replied. He'd enjoyed a brief period of fame following his whistleblowing, but it had soon died away. "And yeah, the beach was awesome. Erytheia and Xanthe seemed to love it, although I think they'd get more out of it if they were older."
"Yeah, me too," I said. "Maybe we should go every year for the summer festival. Even if we moved to an apartment with outdoor space, there wouldn't be very much."
"That's the one downside to living in the city," Peter sighed. "But there are pros and cons to wherever you choose to live."