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Generation 1: Darcy and … Children (continued)
Life continued on. Darcy worked and replaced the bathtub that was stolen. The children continued to progress and grow before Darcy's eyes. She dated here and there, but no one seemed to be able to capture her heart. She vowed to have fun, but to be mindful of who she'd bring home around her children. It was very important to her that her sons have a strong male figure in their lives.
Before long, Xander moved into his teenage years. Aerissa was nearly done with high school as he entered into his freshman year. As Xander grew up, it became more and more apparent to Darcy just how alike Xander and Aerissa were. They were both intelligent, studious, and artistic. Aerissa and Xander would often go to the library, museum, and concerts together.
Caleb continued to develop his own interests, which were quite varied from his older siblings. He was confident and athletic. He'd also taken a liking to fishing and gardening. Darcy hoped some of Caleb's confidence would rub off on Xander. He seemed much quieter and shier than the others. Unlike Aerissa and Caleb, Xander rarely ever brought friends to the house either.
Although, the one day he did bring a friend home, Darcy wasn't sure what to make of him. He was fairly odd. He kept making faces in the mirror and spent most of the evening on the kitchen floor playing with an old rabbit from the toybox. Darcy tried not to judge him too much, but was curious about Xander's choice in friends.
Xander didn't say much about him and didn't bring him home again after that day. Darcy tried to talk to Aerissa to see if there was anything going on at school. Aerissa assured her mother that Xander was fine, just quiet and introspective. Aerissa also reminded Darcy that it can be difficult transitioning to high school, but Xander was doing fine.
At the end of the semester, Xander expressed interest in guitar lessons. Darcy thought it was a great idea and paid for them as a reward for his good grades. While Darcy knew Xander was creative and artistic, he'd mostly been painting until now. However, his interest in painting didn't match that of Aerissa's. It seemed like he'd been struggling with finding his own creative outlet.
Xander really enjoyed his guitar classes. He met new people and seemed to have some natural talent. Xander practiced at home a lot and Darcy could see his confidence growing. Aerissa helped encourage his new found hobby as well by bringing home guitar tabs from the bookstore.
Xander's confidence and self-esteem continued to grow from the first day he picked up his guitar. He started bringing more friends by the house. Darcy noticed he was more talkative as well. It didn't take long before he started to talk to girls. Most seemed to view him as just a friend, which was fine with Xander, but one day in the park… he met Dixie.
