Art of a Sun's Love Volume 1

A few weeks had passed after Lullaby's encounter with the mugger. Right now, she was in the doctor's office having an ultrasound. Her belly had gotten bigger, making it tougher for her to bend over properly. With her was Dr. Peter Morrow - a man in his early thirties with dark grayish tangelo hair and cerulean eyes underneath his glasses - and his young assistant Nurse Ashley Redheart - a girl of nineteen with light amaranthish gray hair and brilliant sapphire eyes.

"So how's my baby, doctor?" asked Lullaby.

"He's just fine," said Dr. Morrow.

"He?" Lullaby asked in surprise.

"That's right," said the doctor, "you're having a second son."

"Shouldn't you be excited about it?" Nurse Redheart asked eagerly.

"Well, I already have Flash," said Lullaby, "guess he's going to have a little brother. But that leaves me the issue with living with two sons and no father to care for them."

"Hopefully you'll be able to find someone," suggested Redheart, "your baby isn't due for another four months, so there's plenty of time to prepare."

"Well, that's a relief," said Lullaby.

Afterwards, Lullaby left the doctor's office and made her way to the Sparkle residence to pick up Flash. A lot was on her mind.

"I'm having a second son," she said to herself, "and I still don't have a husband/father to take care of them. Some mother I've turned out to be so far. But I made a promise and I intend to keep it."

Soon enough, she arrived at the Sparkle residence and knocked on the door. It was Twilight Velvet who answered the door; her belly was much bigger than Lullaby's, at least eight months in, and she was looking a little exhausted.

"Hello Lullaby," she said, "I'd have been here seconds sooner, but this belly of mine said I needed some more rest."

"I'm just worried about your safety, dear!" a voice called out to her.

Twilight Velvet rolled her eyes. "And my overprotective husband telling me not to be on my feet so much," she added.

"Guess he just loves you too much," chuckled Lullaby. Then she looked down and noticed little Flash behind Twilight Velvet. He was placing his tiny hands on her belly and looking at it with interest.

"So big," he said.

"He's taken interest in my baby whenever I'm with him," Twilight Velvet laughed sheepishly, "I read somewhere that when toddlers express interest in a pregnant woman's stomach, that means that the baby is the opposite gender."

"When'd you find out you were having a daughter?" asked Lullaby.

"Last month," explained Twilight Velvet.

"Looks like Shining Armor's going to have a little sister," said Lullaby, "and Flash is gonna have a little brother," she added, tousling his hair. "Right, Flash; it's time to go home." Lullaby picked up her son.

"Erm, Lullaby," said Twilight Velvet, "before you go, there's something I think you should know."

"What's that?"

"I'm afraid that with our new baby due soon this October, we won't really be able to look after Flash."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said Lullaby, "I'm not really sure who I'll ask to look after him when I'm away; I mean, several families I've contacted like Noble Shield already have a baby who isn't even a year old."

"Maybe if you're lucky," said Twilight Velvet, "you'll fall in love with another man and Flash will have a new father."

"As in... remarriage?" asked Lullaby, "Since Flame Barrier vanished, I... never... really considered it."

OCTOBER 4, 1996

Some days later, Lullaby was at the Rainbow Falls Flea Market. She was interested into seeing what the market had to offer.

"Maybe I can find something interesting," she said to herself. First, she went over to where they sold music CDs to see if there was anything she didn't have.

"Hmm," she said, looking at the titles, "I've already got some of David Bowie and Queen... got every last Beatles album... oh, look; there's Venus and Mars! Been looking for that for ages. What else do I not have...?"

After picking out a few CDs she didn't have, Lullaby went over to where they sold some used books.

"Let's see what they got here."

She looked through the sets of books, looking for something she didn't have or thought looked interesting. She eventually stumbled on some rather interesting titles.

"These should do nicely," she said. She took her books over to pay for them. Suddenly, something caught her eye. It was a glass cat statue with a little green jewel for the eyes.

"It's so pretty..." she whispered to herself.

Lullaby was so fascinated by the cat, that she walked closer to it without paying for her books first.

"Madam, you are paying for those books, right?" a man called out to her.

Lullaby turned to whoever spoke to her; there stood a man in his late twenties with golden blond hair and purple eyes. He wore a fine blue suit with a red necktie and overall looked very smart.

"Oh! I-I-I'm terribly sorry," said Lullaby, blushing in embarrassment as she brought the books to be paid for. Unfortunately, she also accidentally knocked over a stack of books, which caused them to spread out all over the floor. "Oh dear!" she cried.

"Oh, allow me, madam," said the man.

"I'm so sorry about this," gasped Lullaby as she slowly bent down onto her knees, "this is what happens when I get distracted."

She then went to pick up a few of the spilled books when suddenly, she and the man grabbed the same book, their hands touching.

"Oh dear," said Lullaby, blushing and letting go, "I'm sorry about that."

"No, no, it's alright, madam," said the man, before clearing his throat, "the name's Page Turner. And you are...?"

"I'm Lullaby Strings."

"What a beautiful name."

"Thank you," smiled Lullaby.

"Say, are you available tonight?" asked Page.

"I've no plans tonight," said Lullaby, "why?"

"I was wondering if you would be interested in joining me for dinner," said Page.

"Oh, I love the idea," said Lullaby, "but there's a minor problem; I've got a two-year-old son and I don't know who to hire for a babysitter."

"My niece is staying with me for a while and could use some extra spending money," explained Page Turner, "maybe she could look after him."

"I see," said Lullaby, "what's her name?"

"Her name is Roseluck."

"Alright then," said Lullaby. After she purchased the books she wanted, she then gave Page Turner her phone number and address.

"See you tonight," she said, walking away.

Later that evening, Lullaby Strings got herself prepared for her date with Page Turner.

"There we go," she said, examining herself in the mirror, "a bit tight thanks to this belly, but still good."

Presently, she heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," she called. Lullaby quickly walked up to the door - making sure not to trip on her feet - and opened it. There stood Page Turner with whom Lullaby guessed to be Roseluck. She was a girl of fourteen with moderate raspberry hair with lighter streaks and pale, light grayish green eyes.

"I'm so glad you could make it," said Lullaby, "oh, and is that your niece Roseluck? Oh, she's so pretty!"

"Thanks," giggled Roseluck, "where's your kid at?"

"He's napping right now," said Lullaby.

"Alright," said Roseluck, "I'll be sure to take care of him until you get back."

"A few things you should know," said Lullaby, "for one, Flash shows more attention towards girls, especially if he thinks they're pretty."

"Reminds me of a friend of mine," giggled Roseluck.

"And when he gets sleepy for his nap," said Lullaby, "he sometimes likes to hear guitar music played with a lullaby."

"Got it," said Roseluck, "although I'm not very good with playing the guitar."

"Well, it never hurts to practice," said Lullaby.

"Have a fun dinner, you two," said Roseluck, "but not too much fun," she added cheekily before giggling.

"Roseluck, behave," said Page.

"What, I was just kidding."

With that, the two adults headed out.

Page Turner took Lullaby to an Italian restaurant.

"It's quite beautiful here," said Lullaby, "I heard from my friend Celestia that they've got some of the best food in Rainbow Falls."

"Did she really?" remarked Page.

"Indeed," said Lullaby, "she took the family here once when they had a little house fire incident."

A waiter brought the couple to their table and seated them.

"Good evening, sir and madam," he said, "what would you like to drink?"

"I fancy a scotch and lemon," said Page Turner, "what about you, dear?"

"I'll have just water," said Lullaby, "I'm pregnant, so I can't have alcoholic drinks until after the baby's born."

"Very well," said the waiter.

While the waiter fetched the drinks, the couple started chatting.

"I'm actually curious, if you don't mind me asking," said Page, "you're a single mother; why did your husband leave you?"

"It's a long story," sighed Lullaby, "I found out I was pregnant with my second child, but I didn't tell him."

"Why not?"

"I was afraid of how he would react, and because I hid it from him and little Flash, he's left me, and when he went on a boat trip, he disappeared..." Lullaby hung her head in shame. "If I hadn't been so stupid and told him when I found out," she said sadly, "he would still be alive."

Lullaby almost looked as if she was about to cry, but Page held her close and comforted her.

"Don't you worry, Lullaby," he said, "I know what it's like to lose a lover. I was dating a nice girl named Copper Jewel, but she was hit by a drunk driver and didn't survive. I was in grief for months after her death."

"I'm really sorry to hear about that," said Lullaby, "She must've been a wonderful girlfriend you had..."

"Yeah, she was..."

Soon enough, the waiter came back with their drinks.

"If you're ready, may I take your orders?"

"Oh, yes, sir," said Lullaby Strings, "I'll have the spaghetti. Oh, and would it be possible to have ranch dressing with it instead of tomato sauce?"

The waiter was surprised, but he agreed to it anyway. "What about you, sir?"

"I'll have the lasagna," Page said.

"And would you want a dessert afterwards?"

"A piece of your chocolate peanut butter pie would sound nice," said Page.

"And for the lady?"

"Ooh, I'll have the same," said Lullaby.

"Splendid," said the waiter, "I'll be back with your orders." With that, he left for the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, he returned with their food.

"Enjoy," he said.

The first thing Lullaby did was roll up a large ball of spaghetti (not the whole thing, of course!) on her fork and them ate it in one bite.

"So delicious," she said. Page looked at her with an odd look.

"What? This is what happens if you're pregnant," Lullaby shrugged. Page decided to say no more and ate his lasagna.

A half hour later, their meals were complete.

"That was a wonderful meal," said Page.

"Thanks for the meal, honey," said Lullaby. She was resting on his shoulder when she looked up and gave him a kiss. Page blushed at the kiss. When Lullaby realized what she did, she blushed too.

"I'm sorry," she said in embarrassment, "it was just so sudden, wasn't it?"

"No, actually, I enjoyed that," said Page.

Lullaby giggled. "I rather enjoyed it too," she said, "I was just worried you thought I came on too strong."

The waiter soon came with the check and two mints.

"I hope you two enjoyed yourselves," he said.

"Oh, we did, very much," said Lullaby.

"Please come again," said the waiter as he walked away.

"We will," said Page, paying for the bill and leaving a tip.

Fifteen minutes later, Page walked Lullaby back to her home.

"I had a wonderful time, Page," said Lullaby.

"I'm glad you did," smiled Page, "cause I did too."

Lullaby then pulled out her key and unlocked the door.

"Would you maybe like to meet again sometime?" asked Page.

"Oh, I'd love that very much," said Lullaby as she opened the door. Roseluck was on the couch when the door opened. She got up to welcome her uncle and his date inside.

"Did you have fun?" she asked.

"Oh, we did," said Lullaby, "how's Flash?"

"He's in his bed," said Roseluck, "he was an angel while you were gone."

"Ohh," Lullaby cooed.

"He even called me pretty," said Roseluck, "well, it sounded more like 'pwette', but you got the idea."

"Well, thank you for looking after him, Roseluck," said Lullaby.

"Oh, the pleasure was all mine."

With that, Roseluck headed out the door while Page wished Lullaby a good night. After he left, Lullaby closed the door, leaned back on it and sighed, placing a hand to her heart. There was no question that she'd fallen in love again.

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As Page and Roseluck walked away, they started talking.

"I think she likes you, uncle," said Roseluck.

"I noticed that, thank you," said Page, "although..."

"Although what?"

"I'm not so sure dating a pregnant woman would be a good idea."

"Why not?" asked Roseluck.

"I'm afraid of losing another lover like I did with Copper Jewel," said Page.

"You can't always expect things to go that way all the time," said Roseluck, "give her a chance. Please? One day, I might get two step-cousins."

Page went red at that comment.

Later that night, Lullaby had gotten ready for bed after putting Flash to sleep.

"Page was a really wonderful guy," she said to herself, "I never imagined that a flea market, of all things, could bring us together... but I can't get too attached to him. I might lose him too. But then," she considered, "if we were to get in a serious relationship, Flash might have a second chance of having a father. And if that were the case, then my second son will have a father to care for him when he's born."

A couple of days later, on the morning of October 7, Lullaby was at home teaching Flash how to read when the telephone rang.

"Oh dear," she sighed, picking up the receiver, "sorry, Flash, but reading time will have to wait for a bit. Hello?" she called, speaking into the receiver.

"Hello, Lullaby. It's Page Turner."

"Oh, hi there, Page!" she exclaimed, "I was kind of expecting you to call again after a couple of days."

"Were you interested in another date?" asked Page.

Lullaby paused for a moment or two. Flash looked up curiously.

"Hold on a second," Lullaby told Page before turning to Flash, "you want to see Roseluck again, don't you?" Flash nodded happily, and Lullaby turned back to speak to Page. "Then it's a date," she said.

"Wonderful," said Page, "same place as before?"

"Sure," said Lullaby, "I'll see you later."

"Alright, dear, goodbye."

Lullaby blushed a little and then hung up the phone. She smiled big as she hugged Flash.

"Things are about to get better for us, Flash," Lullaby said, "maybe you might get a new daddy."

Little Flash squealed in delight. Maybe there was hope for Lullaby Strings, Flash Sentry, and the yet-to-be-born child.