Chapter 3.11: Mom?

"I wish we could run away together and leave all this behind. We could go live on a deserted island alone together. Or maybe go traveling with my mom."

Deric smiles and pulls Michele into a hug.

"With Vera? She doesn't travel. Plus, how would we get the money. I'm barely a sophomore, no one is going to give me a job. At least you're close to graduating."
Michele rolls her eyes before she answers. "Not my stepmother. My real mom has been all over the world. She's seen pyramids and castles and all the stuff. She loots tombs for money and gems. At least that's what she told me the last time she wrote to me."
"Oh yeah? I could do the looting thing. That would be fun, just snatching things in the cover of night," Deric chuckles. "Where's your mom now?"

Michele frowns and shrugs.

"Dunno. Haven't heard from her since I was little. Whatever," she sighs. "It's stupid anyway. Let's just go to the park and hang out."

Deric pats her shoulder and nods, "Sure, that sounds fun."

"I'd like to have another baby," Vera announces out of the blue.
Jude wrings his hands, "Do we have the simoleons for that? I mean with all the money. . ."
Vera cuts him off, "We'll save up. We can do it, Jude. I think it would draw us all a little closer."
Jude grabs Vera's hands and squeezes tight. "Okay. Let's do it."

Vera spends some time pampering Bodica. Sometimes the kitty gets forgotten and she feels bad about that.

Michele and Deric spend the evening busting their butts in the roller rink. Deric slips and falls hard. Michele laughs as she passes by. Deric grabs her hand she tumbles unceremoniously on top of him.

She grins, "Why did you do that?"
"Because I wanted to kiss you," he responds.
Michele grins and kisses Deric hard. "I wish you could stay over."
Deric grins and nods, "I'd like nothing more than to fall asleep next to you and wake up next to you." He tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and trails his hand down her back before continuing, "But your parents would kill me and then my parents would revive me just so they could kill me again."
"Maybe they don't have to know," Michele says.

Deric arches his eyebrows in question.

It's getting close to curfew but Michele and Deric start building an igloo in the park. Everyone else has gone home and the streets are empty. They're pretty sure they won't get caught out past curfew although Michele starts to worry about a stranger walking past.

"It's so cold out though," Deric reassures her. "Everyone is already nice and toasty inside their houses."
"You're probably right," she agrees.
Deric stops stacking ice blocks for a second, "We don't have to do this."
"I want to," Michele says nonchalantly. "I just don't want to get caught."

Michele forgets to worry when Deric drags a warm hand down her side and rests it at her waist. Oh jeez, she thinks as she feels her world turning sideways around her.

Afterward she pulls her phone out.

"I want a picture to remember this by."
"I don't think I'm going to need a picture to remember," Deric says through a smile.
Michele blushes and lightly pushes his shoulder, "You know what I mean!"
"You'll have to send it to me too."

Lindsay bakes tray after tray of baked good for her upcoming bake sale. None of the cupcakes seem to be good enough.

Varinia plays drums well in to the night. She's thankful the sound doesn't wake the rest of the house.

It's not the drumming that brings everyone running.

No one was expecting it to creep up on them like this. Varinia has lead a long, happy life but it still feels too soon to everyone else.

"Take me too," Claude cries as he watches his wife dematerialize before his eyes.

Bodica yowls for the sim she barely knew.

Michele is startled to find all the lights on at home. She sneaks in the backdoor anyway and slowly makes her way up the stairs to find everyone gathered in the music room.

"What's going on?" she asks before she realizes what she is seeing.

Varinia takes one last look at her portrait, remembers every year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second.

And then she's gone.

Mourning and intense sorrow follow.

"Why don't you take me too?" Claude asks. "I want to be with her."

Grim lays a cold, bony hand on Claude and shakes his head.

Dahlia hugs Claude.

"I'm sorry, grandpa. I'm so sorry."
"It's not fair!" he sobs.

"Where were you?" Jude asks after some of the commotion has died down.
"I was in the back, um, gardening."
"It's the middle of winter and the middle of the night, Michele. You were not gardening. Try again."

Jude crosses his arms and waits.

Michele sighs sadly and whispers, "I was at the park with Deric."
"Out past curfew? What were you thinking? You should have been here! Your grandmother and then no one could find you," Jude yells. "You should have been here with your family instead of running around town in the middle of the night doing who knows what, although I'm sure I can guess!"

He stalks off without another word. Michele wipes at her tears futilely.

Vera drags Michele away from the commotion and draws her into a hug.

"Shhhh, it's okay. He's upset. It's been an intense evening."
"I'm sorry, V. . .V," Michele hesitates, "mom. I shouldn't have worried you guys."

Vera buries a sob in Michele's hair and pats her back gently.

Amira arrives back from home after everything has settled down. She sheds silent tears for her mother. She should have been here. She wasn't. She feels lower than dirt.

The following morning Amira finds Michael in the kitchen. He wraps his arms around her before she can say anything.

"I'm so sorry, darling," he whispers.

Amira sobs openly.

"I should have been here."
He tries to comfort her, "There's no way you could have known."
"Still. She was my mother. I should have been here."

He tightens his hug and doesn't say another word.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I can't believe it finally happened. Varinia is gone and Claude is inconsolable. It is super sad.

Chapter 3.10: Questions

"Are you going to the football game this weekend? Is Deric playing?"
Michele sighs, "What? I've never been to a game in before, why would I start now?"
Vera smiles weakly, "I'm just trying to make conversation. I'm sorry if I was being intrusive."

Michele sets her jaw and stares at her pie.

Vera nods and stands up, "I'll leave you to your pie."

Michele tries to ignore the lump in her throat. She rolls her eyes and thinks, I don't need a mom. I especially don't need you as a mom.

Never too old to be affectionate.

EXPANSIONS! A play room has been added.

And an artist's loft. Claude is expanding his interests into sculpting in his old age. Something about working the clay soothes his brittle joints.

"So, my great-grandmother is pink skinned and my great-grandfather is green skinned, my grandmother has red skin and my grandfather is a healthy peach tone, my father is brown and my mother," Lindsay takes a split second to look at Vera before continuing, "is green, where did my yellow skin come from?"
Vera hesitates, "Um, are you sure this is homework? I don't remember this being in the science curriculum."
"Mmmoooooommm! Just tell me I'm adopted. I know I must be adopted."
"We should really wait for your dad."
"Ugh! Forget it!," Lindsay screams before storming off to her room.

Vera stares blankly at the wall and contemplates how to handle the situation. The answers do not come easily.

Varinia watches Lindsay cautiously. Lindsay bakes a plate of cookies. Hopefully they'll make her feel better. Hopefully they'll help her forget the bitterness of being lied to. They don't.

"Lindsay, I am not your real mother." Vera stops and stares at herself in the mirror, "No, that doesn't sound right."

She taps her chin as she paces across the bedroom.

"Lindsay I am not your birth mother," she shakes her head and tries again, "Lindsay, I did not give birth to you but you are my child entirely."

None of this sounds right, Vera worries. How do I tell her the truth without alienating her like Michele?

A new passion takes hold.

Meanwhile Varinia tries a different approach.

You're older than a ghost, Drew thinks to himself as he stares up at his great-grandmother.

"Lindsay, this is your second cousin, Drew. You met him when your parents got married."
"I was just a baby, I don't remember that!"Lindsay chimes in.
Drew laughs, "I don't remember it either. Want to have a snowball fight?"

Lindsay grins and nods. They take off like rockets running across the park.

Amira does pull ups. She's as strong as she's ever been. She doesn't understand why Michael should worry. Moira is so full of it.

A little foreshadowing from Varinia? Lindsay stops to catch her breath.

"Are you having fun?" Varinia asks.
"This is the best day!" she calls back as Drew drags her toward the carousel.

"Look it's a shooting star!" Drew cries. "Quick, make a wish!"

Lindsay squeezes her eyes shut, I wish everyday was fun like this.

Selma joins Varinia for a quick game while the children take their umpteenth round on the carousel.

Michele builds herself an igloo to avoid having to deal with all these relatives she never asked for.

Jude meets his fear head on. With the help of My Family, Your Family he tries to explain the idea of a blended family

"You're my biological daughter," he explains. "Vera is the only mom you have ever had. Your birth mother is very sick and couldn't take care of you. Does that answer your question?"
"Who is my birth mother?"
Jude presses his lips together, "I had hoped this wouldn't have to come up but you're too smart for that. When you're a little older we can talk about her."
"But I want to know!"
"When you're older," Jude says a little more forcibly. "It's time for bed."

Lindsay crosses her arms and humphs loudly before dragging herself to her room.

Vera kisses him in relief.

"I didn't know what to say," she admits.
"I should have talked to her about this as soon as she was old enough. I was hoping we had more time to be in denial. She wants to know who her birth mother is. I'm definitely not ready to cross that bridge."
"I don't think any of us will ever be," Vera admits.

Michael stays up waiting for Amira to return. He play tests game after game and still she is not home. This wait never gets easier. He heads to bed before she returns.

"I'm fine," Amira insists. "The heist ran late but I'm completely fine."

Michael frowns. Amira tries a love charm to lighten the mood.

"Don't use magic on me to change my mood," he says. "We're not as young as we used to be, Amira. The sooner you admit that the happier and safer we will all be."

He leaves without another word. Amira frowns and stares at herself in the mirror. Is he right? Should I quit while I'm ahead?

Roman comes over to visit his father and step-mother. He arrives too late to beat the reaper. Claude is devastated to watch his son pass.

It's a fresh wound. One that neither Claude nor Varinia were expecting to experience. Varinia is saddened to witness the death of another child.

The long life they had once considered a blessing is slowly becoming a curse.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Gen 3 Goals are COMPLETE

Marital Status: Step-Children ACQUIRED
Number of Children: 2 ACQUIRED
Primary Career: Education ACQUIRED
Secondary Career: Equestrian ACQUIRED
Generational Goal: Expansionist ACQUIRED
Miscellaneous Fun: Half-Siblings ACQUIRED

When I found out Jude was going to have another kid I almost cried thinking it would break the half-siblings rule and finding another bachelor with children was damn near impossible in this fresh town. Thank you, Jude, for being such a bed hopper!

I think building the entire 2nd floor of the house in gen 3 should count for expansionist but I also made the art studio over the garage.

This gen still has a lot of things coming though. 😉

Gen 2 is still working on some goals.
Gen 1 goals have been done but I recreated the AWESOME! music room in the new house. YAY!

Totally random sidenote: All my babies are girls by chance. What is HAPPENING?!

Chapter 3.9: Crawling in my Skin

Jude is still off making deals with the devil when Lindsay ages into childhood.

Vera is annoyed that her husband has had to miss out on this important moment in their daughter's life. Lindsay is completely unfazed by her father's absence and more interested in inspecting her new longer limbs and shoulder length hair

This has never been Varinia's forte but in celebration of her great-granddaughter's birthday she tries to make some mac and cheese. She manages to not light the house on fire but her mac and cheese is harder than a rock. No one eats it.

As soon as he arrives back from his meeting with Rebecca, Jude fries up a drumstick. The bowl of mac and cheese on the counter has Varinia written all over it and he's not about to risk his health just to appease his grandmother in law. Nope.

Lindsay moves in to the big girl room. With Jolie gone this bed has been empty for a while. Her side of the room gets a make over appropriate for a child and Lindsay loves it. Even her stuffed unicorn and duck have a place. Just because she's a child now doesn't mean she has to leave her best friends behind.

Amira and Michael share some alone time in the snowfall. It's so hard to find a quiet place in this house anymore. There's always someone in every room doing random things.

"I missed you tonight," Michael whispers.
"I'm here now," Amira replies.
"Have you thought about," Michael takes a pause before continuing, "retiring at all?"

Amira frowns.

"I thought we talked about this, Michael. I like working. I like my job. It's exciting! I'm not ready to give that up yet."

Michael raises his hands in surrender.

Snowflake Day sneaks up on everyone. Claude and Vera insist on throwing a gift giving party. Everyone is invited. Jolie and Rickey are back in port for a few nights and they are happy to have a family get together to attend while they are in town.

"Do you plan on retiring soon?" Amira asks Moira. "Michael has been pushing for me to retire but I'm not ready."
Moira shakes her head and says, "I enjoy playing with the quartet for now. I don't plan to retire until it gets to be difficult for me to play. However, playing an instrument and remembering music is hardly the same as what you do. I understand why your husband wants you to retire."
"What exactly do you mean?"

Moira rolls her eyes and sighs.

"Amira, c'mon. You know your job is dangerous. You can't seriously be oblivious to the fact that your family worries about you every night you go out there."

Amira crosses her arms and sulks refusing to believe that maybe her sister is right.

Despite all the open seating, everyone decides to sit on the floor. Vivian is the first to get to open a present. Dion hovers over the presents waiting impatiently for his own turn.

Michele is excited when she receive a Snow Cone Machine. It's the gift she didn't even know she wanted!

After everyone has left, Lindsay takes a mental tally of all her relatives. There were a few green sims, including her mother. A bunch or red/pink sims. Her sister and father are brown. Yet, somehow, she is yellow skinned. She doesn't know a whole lot about genetics but she's pretty sure green + brown does not make yellow. It plants a small seed of doubt in her mind.

Lindsay invites her grandfather to a game of chess.

"Are you yellow?" she asks.
"I'm white." Michael answers nonchalantly.
"No no," she continues, "I mean are you yellow like me?"

Michael looks up startled.

He responds slowly, "Why?"
"There's no one else in the family with my skin color. Why am I yellow if no one else is? It doesn't make any sense, grandpa. Am I adopted?"
"Hhhhmm, you're not adopted."
"Then why am I. . ."
Michael cuts her off, "Honey, sometimes things just happen. Poof, surprise! Just like that. It's your move."

Lindsay shrugs and wonders if he's telling her the truth.

Jude is completely focused on training with Cameo and totally unaware of Lindsay's growing suspicion. All he can think about is replacing the missing money from the family's funds. It's the least he can do.

Varinia enjoys her newly refurbished music room. Just because they have moved doens't mean she can't have this AWESOME! room again.

Even in dreams she wonders.

This gnome is far too thrilled by the dirty toilet.

I used to be young, Varinia remembers fondly. She thinks back on days when her joints didn't hurt and she could drum for hours on end. She thinks back on running after her children instead of hobbling behind her great grandchildren. She sighs. It's been a good life, she assures herself.