Just as Rodney walked into the police station front door, he heard his boss shouting his name.
"Brisbane! Are you sleeping on company time?" shrieked his high-strung boss Harold. "I know you probably aren't getting much sleep what with a newborn and all, but I really can't have my workers falling asleep at their workstations. Code needs to be written, man!" Harold gave a sly little look around to see if anyone was watching, sided up to Rodney, smiled a devilish smirk and produced a small brown glass bottle with what appeared to be white powder in it. "Here, take a hit. How do ya think I get through the fuckin' long ass days?"
Rodney declined the offer and got right back to work. "Whew! It was just a dream." Rodney realized. The whole scene of him going home early and witnessing his wife and brother-in-law conspire to kill little Kate and him was just a freakin' bad dream.
So, in fact, things did go well for Rodney in the coming years. Katherine was a beautiful and gifted child prodigy and excelled at math and science especially. She played for hours on end with the home chemistry set Rodney and Melina and luckily didn't blow the house up with one of her formulas.
And it wasn't long before Katherine had a new baby brother. When he was born, Rodney and Melina decided to name him after Rodney's dearly departed dads. They chose the name Wendon which was the first three letters of Rodney's dad Newton, spelled backwards as WEN and combined that with DON, Rodney's other father. The one Melina remembers the most since he lived a few years longer than Newton. And because she and her brother killed him. No!! That was just that bad dream!!
Wendon wasn't even two when he started to draw and soon the walls were filled with such colorful artworks. Here in Wen would be the family's next great artist.
And champion pizza eater, too!
Now with two kids and with both parents working, it was tough to get things done but they did manage to get in one family portrait. Melina just wouldn't smile that day, she'd had it rough at work.
Just as for the kids homework was priority, for the adults getting promoted was their priority in the workplace. Melina found it especially difficult as she had chosen the criminal's path and she'll likely (one would hope) be the last Brisbane to follow down this road because it really does lead to nowhere. Low wages, constant risky decisions with no logical payoff and a slow climb up the crook's ladder. Plus, it's almost always late night hours. Bad for a mother of three. Three!? Wha? That's right, before long our feisty couple was trying for a trifecta and came up a winner just before Katherine was to enter her teen years.
Colin was such a quiet baby it was a total surprise that he became such a rambunctious and active kid. He was a terrific compliment to his brainy and aloof sister and his creative and dreamer brother. Colin was a ball of energy and could run circles around the others. He too had a flair for fashion and flamboyantly colored clothes. Don't pop those Homocils yet though, One never knows.
There were some sadder years to come though. A tragic house fire that nearly consumed half the kitchen. Difficulty with school once Katherine and then Wendon entered high school. They being gifted children were teased as being odd by the other kids and their emotions and studies suffered for it. Then there was the divorce.
Yes, around the time Wendon was born Rod and Mel were starting to fall out of love with one another. The stresses of work tore at both of them. Money was always coming up short. The bills would be in the mailbox and it was a constant struggle to pay them before the utilities would be cut. Mel's mental illness was worsening too. Oh yes, she was crazy. And, she had a life-long trait of hating children. Great wife and mother material, huh? Colin came about merely by accident after a night of make-up WooHoo following one of their epic fights. So soon after Wendon became a teen, Rodney asked Melina for a divorce. Melina went back to live in Oasis Springs with her never-married brother Mathias.
So now our saga brings us to today. A sunny day and perfect for our new Brisbane family portrait. Weldon looking like a big version of Mr. Roarke's Tatoo to the left and Katherine, sneering like her mother (oh, let's hope she's not crazy like she was) to the right with gracefully graying Rodney in the middle all up staged by the little tyke Colin.
"Brisbane! Are you sleeping on company time?" shrieked his high-strung boss Harold. "I know you probably aren't getting much sleep what with a newborn and all, but I really can't have my workers falling asleep at their workstations. Code needs to be written, man!" Harold gave a sly little look around to see if anyone was watching, sided up to Rodney, smiled a devilish smirk and produced a small brown glass bottle with what appeared to be white powder in it. "Here, take a hit. How do ya think I get through the fuckin' long ass days?"
Rodney declined the offer and got right back to work. "Whew! It was just a dream." Rodney realized. The whole scene of him going home early and witnessing his wife and brother-in-law conspire to kill little Kate and him was just a freakin' bad dream.
So, in fact, things did go well for Rodney in the coming years. Katherine was a beautiful and gifted child prodigy and excelled at math and science especially. She played for hours on end with the home chemistry set Rodney and Melina and luckily didn't blow the house up with one of her formulas.
And it wasn't long before Katherine had a new baby brother. When he was born, Rodney and Melina decided to name him after Rodney's dearly departed dads. They chose the name Wendon which was the first three letters of Rodney's dad Newton, spelled backwards as WEN and combined that with DON, Rodney's other father. The one Melina remembers the most since he lived a few years longer than Newton. And because she and her brother killed him. No!! That was just that bad dream!!
Wendon wasn't even two when he started to draw and soon the walls were filled with such colorful artworks. Here in Wen would be the family's next great artist.
And champion pizza eater, too!
Now with two kids and with both parents working, it was tough to get things done but they did manage to get in one family portrait. Melina just wouldn't smile that day, she'd had it rough at work.
Just as for the kids homework was priority, for the adults getting promoted was their priority in the workplace. Melina found it especially difficult as she had chosen the criminal's path and she'll likely (one would hope) be the last Brisbane to follow down this road because it really does lead to nowhere. Low wages, constant risky decisions with no logical payoff and a slow climb up the crook's ladder. Plus, it's almost always late night hours. Bad for a mother of three. Three!? Wha? That's right, before long our feisty couple was trying for a trifecta and came up a winner just before Katherine was to enter her teen years.
Colin was such a quiet baby it was a total surprise that he became such a rambunctious and active kid. He was a terrific compliment to his brainy and aloof sister and his creative and dreamer brother. Colin was a ball of energy and could run circles around the others. He too had a flair for fashion and flamboyantly colored clothes. Don't pop those Homocils yet though, One never knows.
There were some sadder years to come though. A tragic house fire that nearly consumed half the kitchen. Difficulty with school once Katherine and then Wendon entered high school. They being gifted children were teased as being odd by the other kids and their emotions and studies suffered for it. Then there was the divorce.
Yes, around the time Wendon was born Rod and Mel were starting to fall out of love with one another. The stresses of work tore at both of them. Money was always coming up short. The bills would be in the mailbox and it was a constant struggle to pay them before the utilities would be cut. Mel's mental illness was worsening too. Oh yes, she was crazy. And, she had a life-long trait of hating children. Great wife and mother material, huh? Colin came about merely by accident after a night of make-up WooHoo following one of their epic fights. So soon after Wendon became a teen, Rodney asked Melina for a divorce. Melina went back to live in Oasis Springs with her never-married brother Mathias.
So now our saga brings us to today. A sunny day and perfect for our new Brisbane family portrait. Weldon looking like a big version of Mr. Roarke's Tatoo to the left and Katherine, sneering like her mother (oh, let's hope she's not crazy like she was) to the right with gracefully graying Rodney in the middle all up staged by the little tyke Colin.
