rockabye baby

And here’s a second baby here, the ever elusive Ellis. Here are a few pertinent details.

Ellis was born and raised in Seattle. The fourth of eight children, he was born and raised Catholic. The oldest took care of the youngest, but they were pretty spread out, so he’s really only close to his immediate siblings.

That includes his twin sister, who he’d easily die or kill to protect.

He never really had direction in his life, and never knew what he wanted to do, except for own something.

That’s the problem of having so many siblings: you have to share everything.

Ellis got out of Catholicism as fast as he could. He stopped going to mass when he was sixteen. His parents didn’t approve, but with wrangling so many other children, it was hard to follow up.

He went to college for business, because it seemed like a pretty basic thing to do. He graduated with relatively good grades and easily got accepted to UCLA’s business school for grad school.

Once out, he began working in restaurants, managing them; he’d worked as a waiter to put himself through school, so it was easy to jump into the business.

But the restaurant industry was sucking his soul.

The one thing it gave him was an introduction to one of his regulars, who was a gorgeous younger thing.

When he left the restaurant in pursuit of a managerial job at a nightclub, he left her his number, and she called him.

She called the next day. He took her out that night. They fucked in his car.

He fell head over heels with her. He gave her the world. And then, one day, after over a year together, she left.

After weeks of calling, with no answer, he finally went over to her place. She was there, packing. He demanded an answer. She refused.

But. Then.

She finally admitted that she was pregnant. Yes, it was his. No, she didn’t know how to handle it. He promised her the world. She accepted. They moved to San Francisco with a job opportunity for her.

But she was scared. Ellis understood. He didn’t know what he was going to do with a child, but he knew that he was going to make her the happiest woman in the world.

She had their baby girl, who they named Fallen, when Ellis was 30. She was the world to him.

Farren was two when Ellis put a down payment on a nightclub space. He named it Farren’s Hideaway, as she liked to go into the club and hide underneath the booths.

One day, after working on renovations of Farren’s Hideaway, Ellis returned home to a note. I’m sorry. It’s all too much. There were divorce papers. Papers signing over full custody.

Ellis didn’t argue this time or chase after the woman he’d sworn himself to. Why? What was the point, if she’d only be miserable? He gave her what she wanted.

Their day in court was the last day she ever saw him or their daughter.

Farren is now eight, in a fantastic private school, and Farren’s Hideaway is incredibly successful. Ellis prides himself on making it an open and inclusive nightclub.

Sexually, he’s disconnected. He has trouble committing. He does get out; his twin sister  lives in the area and babysits for him when she can, which is nearly every night.

And when he needs escape, she’s right there. Farren is incredibly close to her Auntie.

Ellis couldn’t be more grateful.