lola: part two

We arrived late, and I was exhausted, but meeting Adelard could not wait. Great Uncle Adelard truly was on his death bed. His breathing was raspy, and I struggled to understand at times, but his butler filled me in afterward. Adelard did not want the great Palooza name to end here, with him. He had a vast fortune, and he wanted to see it enjoyed. He would not live to see another generation, but I would. So he would leave everything to me, his sole heir.

But there was a catch.

Adelard wanted the Palooza name to reclaim Riverview. Apparently my great, great, great, great, great grandfather had first settled here and eventually named the town Riverview. The Palooza family had been instrumental in not only creating Riverview, but in building what was now a thriving metropolis. Without my agreement, that would not continue. But if I agreed to Adelard's terms, I would have the potential to remedy that. Singlehandedly.

But how?

That's when the butler handed me the contract.

100 children? I'd inherit when I had 100 children, and all with different fathers?

That's when I fainted.

I woke the next morning in a strange bedroom, momentarily confused. Then it all came back. Adelard, the Palooza name... 100 children.

I had so many questions, and very little time. Adelard was growing worse by the hour, and the doctor told us he probably wouldn't last through the night. Not to mention I had less than two hours before I'd have to leave in order to make it back to Twinbrook by 5pm.

How would I be able to bear that many children? I was already 18, and I had, at best, 20 to 25 years of childbearing. Over breakfast, the butler explained. There was a secret family recipe for Ambrosia that enabled the recipient to live an exceptionally long time without aging. However, it required excellent gardening, fishing, and cooking skills. My great aunt Magnolia had been the last to possess this knowledge, but her infertility gave her no reason to use it.

Adelard would give me the use of a small 2 bedroom house with ample garden space, a few seeds, and five thousand simoleons to furnish the house as I saw fit. From there, it would be up to me to woo the town's eligible men. I would only be able to marry once I'd birthed all hundred children, and I was required to find a different father for each pregnancy. The potential fathers should not be engaged or married. That part was fine by me. I had no desire to be a home wrecker.

I'd make money by selling produce, fish, and my own artwork, and I would receive a flat sum of $1000 cash per pregnancy for living expenses, with $25,000 placed into a trust account per child at birth. For each child that graduated high school, I would receive another $25,000. Every 5th child, I would receive a bonus of $250,000, with 20% of that given to me in cash--that 50K would enable me to upgrade to a new, bigger home for my growing family. The trust would be accessible once I'd had my 25th child.

There was more. On the birth of my 50th child, I'd receive a $5,000,000 bonus, and a $50,000,000 bonus on the birth of my 100th child. I wasn't great at math, but I knew enough to know that even if I only managed to bear 10 children, I would be set for life, with a house I owned outright. If I made it to 100, well most of that money would go to my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, but that was a good thing. I wanted my children to have the world, to know their mother loved them and wanted only the best for them.

And as a bonus, my dying great uncle would get his wish. The Palooza name would be restored, with plenty of genetic variation.

So, was I up for the challenge? I had nothing to lose. Could I forsake the love of a husband and raise 100 children? I had always wanted children. Three, maybe a fourth. If I accepted, I'd be getting that wish, 25 times over.

I turned to the butler. "Where do I sign?"