Rodrigo Leopardi-Chapter 5 I do

Rodrigo (27), his finacee Cole Tan (27)
City: Downtown

We buried my brother and it was devastating for all of us. Cole held me up because I was weak from crying so much. It was sad when we saw our parents grave. We found some comfort knowing that my brother is with our parents.

Now there are portraits in all of the grave sights. We added portraits to our parents so all of the upcoming generations will be able to see what they looked like.

Cole has been my rock during this time of grief.

Most nights I spend it out looking at the stars and wondering if one of them is Ivan looking back at me. Cole gives me space but tells me that when I am ready he will be there waiting for me.

I finally got back to work and things were getting back to semi-normalcy. We have even decided to get married finally. We were going to but with Ethan getting married and Ivan getting sick we decided to postpone it.

The ceremony was held at home. Ethan really tried to push a church ceremony but we were not up to it. The cake was fantastic.

It was wonderful to know that Cole and I were married. I decided that I would take his last name so now im Rodrigo Leopardi-Tan.

Before we left on our honeymoon, I made a toast in which I mentioned a special thank you to all of my relatives present. It really meant a lot to me that everyone made the effort to come downtown to celebrate with us.

As a wedding present everyone pitched in to get us a limo ride to the airport. We had booked a flight to Tikki Island for our honeymoon.

We got some rays.

We also made lots of love. It felt good to feel alive.

But before we knew it, it was time to head back to the real world. Madeline surprised me by bringing her new boyfriend William to finally meet me. Another shocker was Cole calling to tell me that we were expecting.

"I think its awesome that both of you have decided to have a baby. Aww your going to be a daddy."said Madeline.
"Easier said than done. But im glad. I needed this after Ivan passing."

Cole rested and started painting portraits to pass the time.

Before we knew it Troy was born and completely changed our lives from quiet to noisy.

Troy has Cole's skin color but my light eyes. I am glad to have a son.

Rodrigo Leopardi-Chapter 4 To the Far east we go.

Rodrigo (25), his live in boyfriend Cole Tan (25)


Cole and I have been really working hard in getting our Master's done. No matter how much we try we can't get it together. So we sat down and came up with a plan. God willing in a little over a year we will be done. This means sacrifice from both of us which includes no unnecessary trips to Viramontes or even Paradise cove to visit my sister Madeline.

I guess our hard work paid off because we both had submitted our final paperwork for our master's degrees. I still could not believe that we had done it! Cole told me that we did so good that we should reward ourselves with a little mini vacation to the far east. I know we have loans to pay but im game for a trip anytime so off we went.

We had tea once we arrived to the Far East. I have to admit that one can get used to this lifestyle. Cole suggested that we should buy a tea set to take back home. I am still contemplating it because these things are expensive!


Of course you know I needed to wind down from all this stress so I booked a massage as soon as possible.

Cole asked me to book him one as well. I just wanted us to be as comfortable as possible.

We were told that we could visit this old man that tells fortunes among other things. I decided that we should go. He told us that we would have a good life together as long as there was harmony. I thought it was a little cheesy fortune but whatever.

Then he told us a legend and we were both so involved. It was the best story I had ever heard. Cole told me that he almost fell asleep twice ha ha!

Our last day there with me being all sunburned...we decided to go and have some more tea. Cole insisted on going back to the original tea room we went to. He told me that he was proud that we achieved everything we had planned.

We were about to leave to get our things in the hotel when Cole proposed marriage to me. I mean we never discussed it. I knew we would be together but the whole marriage thing was a surprise.

Of course I said yes. I hugged him so hard. I could never imagine my life with out Cole in it. From the moment I saw him back in college I knew he was the one for me. I still can not believe that were getting married.

Back home I begged Madeline to come and visit me and she did right away. I worry about here living all alone with Kayla in Paradise cove. She tells me its fine and that I should relax a bit.

Cole and I bought a gift for my niece Kayla. I know I am bad, I have several more nieces and nephews but Kayla is my favorite. She is the one I know and held since birth. Cole says I should start paying attention to my other nieces and nephews too.

Madeline was ecstatic to hear we were going to get married. She even suggested we get married in Paradise Cove. That is not going to happen. For now we may just get married in Viramontes. We havent made up our minds but we will.

Rodrigo Leopardi-Chapter 3

Rodrigo (23) Cole Tan (23)
City: Downtown

Narrated by Rodrigo.

By the time I got home from vacation, Cole was ready to start looking for an apartment to live in. I was rethinking the idea about moving to Downtown. I wanted to be closer to my family but at the same time we needed to start our lives. We finally found an apartment that we both loved and we moved in immediately.

It was nice sitting in our kitchen which belonged to us. We were done with the cafeteria food. We also talked and made the decision to pursue our master's degree. It would be hard especially since I am a medical intern.

I had my quad brother and sisters come over. Cole is still amazed that I was born with three other babies sharing my womb space. He is scared if I ever get someone pregnant that I have quads myself. For now I told him to not worry about that.

I love the piano. I have always been surrounded by musical instruments since I was a kid. My mom really stressed for us to play the violin. She never did buy us the piano but the violin made learning to play the piano a breeze.

I am still not as great as Cole.

We are in the Master's program and its really kicking out butt. I don't know how the program director told us that most finish in two years. There is no way. We barely have less than 2 of the required 6 classes needed.

I decided to take a break and begin my painting again. My mom also was a visionary painter. Maybe some of her talents are in me? I hope so. Cole says that I am taking too much on. I disagree.

We both decided to get serious with our Master's degree and decided to pull an all nighter. We finally fell asleep after studying A LOT.

Cole was awakened by our neighbor and he was pissed. He told me that he went over and yelled. So much for being neighborly.

Rodrigo Leopardi-Chapter 2

Rodrigo (21) Junior year in college.

Vincent and I were still hot and heavy in my Junior year. I tried my best to keep our relationship growing.

As much as I wanted to party like Vincent, well I couldnt. My main goal was to graduate in time and try to move back to Viramontes and begin my medical career.

Vincent claimed that I was ignoring him and he was upset that we didnt do much together. We both agreed that it would be best for us to split up. We didnt want this big scene so we did it quietly but eventually the whole dorm found out that we were no longer an item.

Senior Year

Every night you could catch me in the lab trying to hone my surgical skills. I knew what I was doing but I needed to make sure that I was at the top of my game. Graduation was near and time was running out for me to practice.

Everything was not labs, I also had to do my college term papers. I was so into my paper when I looked up and saw a strange yet familiar face. Staring back at me was Cole. I had not seen him since freshman year. I thought he had transferred out. I guess he was still on campus. I pushed this aside because I needed to finish this paper.

I bumped into Cole several times and we finally gave up and started talking to each other. It was strange to have so much in common with one person. We began dating for what little was left of our senior year.

When we graduated Cole was by my side and we were happy. We finally got out of college and were ready to face the future. Cole surprised me by saying that he was moving to Viramontes and wanted to know if I would oppose living with him. I didnt know what to say but before I could even think about it my mouth said, "yes".

My whole family came out for my graduation. Here I took pictures with Ethan, my older brother Otani and my quad Ivan.

Here we are the awesome quasome. Its hard to believe that we four were born together and we ended up so differently. I am headed to become a surgeon where as my sister Madeline is still deciding what to do. Beatrix is working in a restaruant and Ivan is a lobbyist. Ivan thought that I was moving in with him but I can't say he was saddened when I told him no. The one thing that I noticed is that although the talked things out, Ivan and Beatrix still have tension among them. I don't think they will ever truly get along.


I packed up my stuff and Cole packed his up too. He said he couldnt wait to see Viramontes and to start our surgical career together.