#scatterfield legacy

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Nanda settled into Cosmo’s life astonishingly quick. She was the listening ear he’d needed but hadn’t known and the perfect mother to Khai though he was still wary of her at times. 

Cosmo felt like she had always been part of the family, so when she announced her pregnancy two months into their relationship, Cosmo snuffed out his worries and asked her to be his wife.

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Nanda had been feeling some familiar symptoms for a while. The nausea, tiredness and weight gain all pointed to one thing. A new baby was on its way.

Nanda dreaded sharing the news with Cosmo. Things had been so perfect recently, the children were finally getting own and Cosmo wasn't avoiding them as he usually did. Nanda feared that the news would upset this harmony.

However, she soon started showing and hiding the pregnancy was no longer possible. So when the kids had all gone to bed, she shared the news.

To her surprise, Cosmo took it quite well and he also had some of his own news to share. He was going to start going to something called a rap group with other men who'd served in Vietnam. He didn't share much else with Nanda but he seemed hopeful for the first time in years.

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Saffron and Meadow were barely a year old when Nanda began to experience the tell-tale signs of pregnancy. She was delighted at the news- she'd always wanted a big family and so eagerly shared the good news with Cosmo.

Unfortunately, Cosmo couldn't hide his disappointment. He already felt overwhelmed with just Khai Tri and the twins but with one tearful look from Nanda, he silenced his concerns. Nothing could be done to change things.

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As the twins grew into their teen hood, their differences became more apparent. Meadow was normally holed up somewhere with a book while Saffron was the social butterfly.

In fact, Saffron had recently met her first boyfriend, Andre and she was absolutely enamoured with him. She was so in love that Meadow's constant grumbles about having to do all the chores herself couldn't wipe the grin off Saffron's face.

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A letter came in late summer bearing the bad news of Colt’s death. Dawn and Cosmo had missed the proper funeral; living in such an isolated community had its cons,  but Pam was more than happy to have a ceremony with just the family.

After they had all paid their respects, the family settled down for a quick lunch. The food and drink flowed easily as they shared memories of Colt and what he had meant to each of them. Colt, though he wasn’t Cosmo’s biological dad, was the only father Cosmo had had and treated him just like his own.

Towards the end of the lunch, Pam suddenly stood up with an announcement- she and Rita were together. 

Cosmo felt a wave of anger, how could his mom sit and speak about his father like she wasn’t betraying him all this time. He had loved Linh, in fact, he still did and he couldn’t imagine betraying her like this

He couldn’t stand to be near his mother anymore and so he grabbed Khai Tri and headed back, much to Dawn’s anger and his mom’s disappointment.

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With time, Cosmo had grown accustomed to his role as a double agent and it seemed that the resistance had also gotten used to him. 

They were much less careful around Cosmo so he often listened in on their meetings and some of their ideas had got him thinking. He had started to reconsider his role as a soldier. Was he was doing good like his general told him or causing harm like the resistance said.

Feeling troubled by this realisation, he shared his ideas with Jack, one of his closer friends. Jack was no help- “soldiers are for fighting not thinking” is all he said. But Cosmo had never been a good soldier.

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A life in pictures- Rest in Peace Pamela Jean Wallace🎸

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Khai Tri was now in his senior year of high school and the only thing that mattered to him was college. He and Terrie had started spending more time together as he helped her with her applications and all his time at home was spent studying.

Meadow often looked at him with resentment. While Khai Tri got to spend his time as he pleased, she was often pulled away from her books either by the littles or her chores.

One night, after Khai Tri refused to blow the lanterns out so she could sleep, Meadow's resentment spilled out. Insults were exchanged left and right and both siblings left the argument with a much poorer relationship.

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Now that the family's complete, Nanda thought it'll be best to get some photos taken.

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The 1980s

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The summer of 1979 brought with it Khai Tri's high school graduation. Cosmo eagerly watched as his son collected his diploma, and gave his valedictorian speech. He was incredibly proud of Khai Tri, however, he couldn't help but notice how out of place he looked amongst the other families.

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Mr and Mrs Wallace

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At five years old, Basil was quite the same as he'd been as a baby: quiet and obsessed with his Daddy. He spent most of his time on the farm with Cosmo and couldn't wait to grow up and be just like his Dad.

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As the years went by, Khai Tri and Terrie's friendship grew stronger. They spent all their time at school together and at weekends he was often over for dinner; on Sundays he even went to church with her family. Khai Tri was certain that he loved her but he knew she couldn't love him back. And so he was content with loving her from a distance like a loyal subject to his queen.

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With the kids growing older, the Wallaces were struggling to support the family with just the commune farm and so Nanda got a job at the local fast-food joint.

Mom working meant that Saffron and Meadow had to step up and look after the house as well as the littles. To no one's surprise, neither twin liked the new responsibility. Saffron would rather spend her time playing with her new kitten Patches while Meadow wanted to do nothing but read and write her stories. Both girls felt that the change wasn't fair especially when Khai Tri got to spend all his time away at Terrie's.

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Spring on the commune was marked by two celebrations: a good harvest and the youngest Wallaces birthday.

As she watched her children play, Nanda couldn't help but reflect on her life. Petal was no longer her baby and she knew it wouldn't be long till the twins and Khai Tri had families of their own. It felt just like yesterday when she decided to marry Cosmo and move to the commune. Her life really did fly by and now she had no idea how to feel.