2.13 Good thing I didn't bring flowers

When Gina called and asked to go to a party together, Angela was surprised to say the least.



"I just thought it would be nice to get to know you a little better, Angela. After all, we're something like family now, aren't we?"
Angela chuckled.



"Oh, so a family meeting, not a date, gotcha. Good thing I didn't bring flowers!" Angela joked.



"Well, I...erm..."
"Relax, I'm messing with you! You want to go dance or what?" and Angela ran off into the field where the organizers had put up turntables and an impromptu bar.



It was a good party. A lot of people showed up and the lightshow was pretty amazing.



Angela couldn't shake the feeling that Gina was trying to flirt with her the whole night though.



They goofed around and had a great time together.



"I got to, Angela. Let's do this again sometime, you really know how to have fun!"
Angela didn't now what to make of the abrupt ending of the evening. She knew she needed to cool off and clear her head though.

2.12 Adultery is a whole other level

Angela couldn't stop thinking about Alex. When he called and asked to go for burgers and drinks to talk, she was glad.



She kind of got the feeling he knew exactly what effect he had on her and he was enjoying it immensely.



"What was that kiss in the kitchen the other night, Alex? What are we doing?"
He just shrugged. He probably had no idea either.



"If you weren't married to my brother, this wouldn't be as bad a problem. Dealing with sexual identity issues is bad enough but adultery is a whole other level", Angela explained.
"Why do you have to put labels on everything, Angela? Gay, straight, bi...isn't the important thing what feels right and what doesn't?"



"How are you doing financially? Do you get by with the child support? Do you need more? You know I'm giving you as much as I can but I have to be careful Willi doesn't notice."



"No, it's fine, don't worry. I'm getting some money from Otto's mother Hannah as well. She donates to the orphanage on a regular basis."



"Good night, Alex, take care."
"You too, Angela."

2.11 A good thing or a bad thing

Maja wasn't thrilled at all at the idea of Angela making friends with her new wife Gina. In fact she wanted Angela out of her life completely at this point. Gina on the other hand was curious to finally meet Angela as the kids had been talking about her a lot.

The opportunity rose at Maja's 65th birthday party to which she had begrudgingly invited Angela to please the children. Angela tried to be very friendly to everyone. 

"Heeeeyyyyy, so you must be Gina, heard so much about you! Nice to finally meet you!" Angela exlaimed. 

"Hi", said Gina.

"You look nice in that shirt!" Angela winked. She couldn't help it, she understood why Maja was into Gina.

"Th-thanks...I guess?!" This wasn't how Gina had imagined their first meeting.

"Angela, would you please stop flirting with my wife and come in to eat cake?!" Maja started to regret inviting Angela immediately.



Angela and Gina talked a lot during the party. They shared stories about Maja and the kids and to their mutual surprise found out they actually really liked each other.



Maja was still unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. 

2.10 Brother from another mother

Otto was only a couple of months younger than Johannes. They slept in the same room, ate the same food and played with the same toys. Still, sometimes, Otto felt left out. 

Everybody loved Johannes so much.

He wanted to be a part of that. 

But Angela always had this sad look on her face when she held him and he didn't know why he made her so sad.

He tried to ask Johannes about it but he didn't seem to know either.

The most important thing was that the two of them would always be brothers.

2.9 Maja remarried

"What do you mean, she remarried? Our divorce just came through. And it's not long ago she implored me to take her back. Are you sure you're not getting this wrong, Willi?"
"I'm so sorry, Sis, but it's true. She moved out, took the kids with her to live with her new wife Gina."



"I don't believe this. She takes my kids to live with someone else without asking me."
"Relax, Angela, it's not like she forced them to. Dominik is 18 now, he can decide for himself anyway. Maybe you should talk to him."



After talking to Dominik, Angela was at least half-convinced that it was as bad as she had originally thought. Maybe it would be a good idea to get to know Gina as Dominik suggested.

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2.8 Alex to the rescue

"Alex, I can't anymore. It's just too much. The bathroom looks filthy as hell and I can't bring myself to do anything about it", Angela cried into her phone.
"Don't panic, I'm on my way. You're going to be fine."
Angela sighed in relief. She would feel better soon.



Alex came and did what had to be done.









"You really need to hire someone to help you, Angela!"
"I know, but I don't have the money right now. I have to feed four kids."
"You know I pay as much as I can. Call me anytime you need me."

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2.7 Story time

Johannes loved stories. His favorite nights were when Angela read him fairytales before going to sleep.

The next day, he often tried to paint pictures from the stories on the tablet, but nobody ever recognized what he wanted to show.



He also told the stories to his best friend Monsta. Monsta always understood.

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2.6 Good Charlotte

Her morning run was the only time of the day Charlotte got to clear her head.



Between teaching Johannes to walk and use the potty, feeding and bathing him, she rarely got time for anything else nowadays.

She was happy, Ben stepped up and helped out more and more now, too.

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2.5 Otto

There was someone else who was deeply impacted by Viljo's death.

When she had found out she was pregnant, Hannah knew she couldn't keep the baby. Not without losing her NASA career. But she couldn't bring herself to terminate the pregnancy either because of how much Viljo loved children. She was planning on telling him but kept putting it off. She knew he would be a good Dad and raise her kid with the others at the orphanage. When she heard about his death, it was already too late for an abortion. The first thing she did was get drunk because now it really didn't matter anymore. The kid would be miserable anyway. She immediately regretted it the next day and never touched a drop of alcohol again for the remaining months of the pregnancy. When her son was born, she dropped him off at the orphanage, explaining to Angela that she was in no position to care for the boy whom she had named Otto.

 

Little did she know that Angela was in way over her head already as it was. Thankfully she had Charlotte and Ben to help her with the new arrival. 

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2.4 The most charming toddler

Johannes grew into the most charming toddler you could imagine. You couldn't help but love him. And he just loved everybody. His big sister Charlotte...



...his mother Angela who he called "An" because he couldn't pronounce the rest of her name...

...and his big brother Ben who had matured quite a lot through the grieving process.

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