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?!