February

February 2044 - Peter Ottomas is 61, Samantha Ottomas is 60, Sheila and Tommy Ottomas are 33, Katie is 9, Sean is 6.

February is a quiet time for the Ottomases. With the holiday rush over at the robot store, Sheila finally has time to spend with her family again. She still has to work on the weekends, but with a later start time they can share a pancake breakfast before she leaves for work.

Over the holidays they spent a lot of time with Tommy's parents and siblings and their families, but lately they've been spending a lot of time at home alone. The kids love playing with the new video game system they got for Christmas.

There's been a lot of snow this winter.

Katie and Sean spend a lot of weekends playing outside making snow angels and snowmen.

Sean is too little to put the head on his snowman, so Katie helps him finish it.

Tommy's mother has been calling frequently. Their dog just died, and it seems like their pretty lonely. They loved seeing their kids and grandkids over the holidays, but now it's just them again.

"We'll get together soon," Tommy promises. "How about next weekend?"

A few days later, Tommy gets another call from his mother and has to rush to the hospital. Sheila tries to remain calm, but the kids can tell she's worried.

"Where's Daddy?" Katie asks.

"He's with Grandma and Grandpa," Sheila says. "Grandpa is sick."

It's late by the time Tommy gets home. The kids should be in bed, but Sheila let them stay up.

"How is he?" Sheila asks, but Tommy just shakes his head a little and looks away.

Tommy sits on the couch next to Katie and turns off the TV. "Kids, I need to talk to you."

"Is Grandpa okay?" Katie asks. "Mommy said he's sick."

Tommy takes a deep breath. "Your Grandpa had a heart attack today," he explains. "The doctors did everything they could to help him, but Grandpa passed away."