How bittersweet that Susan and Boyd are scaling back their research at their lab to focus on their favored projects.
I did enjoy seeing them delegate some of their responsibilities toward that aim.
Poor Ethan, yet another victim of Master Controller!
Iris just gets prettier and prettier--she looks more like Susan at every life stage. I laughed at her teasing Orion and his utter embarrassment about the whole family discussing Tara.
Happy birthday, Travis! He looks so much like Blair! And I'm still loving Blair and Cycl0n3 together! Makes me happy to see them going strong! <3
I feel bad for Ethan, too! I figured I'd write in him finally finding out about Kaylynn and Thornton's affair, since in game around this time, I saw his sim thinking the betrayal speech bubble. When I checked his relationships, sure enough, his and Kaylynn's had tanked due to him finding out about the cheating.
I'm glad you enjoy Blair and Cycl0n3 so much. They are cute. Wait until they're elders, one inappropriate and one childish. That should be fun!
Chapter 68
“I know she ordered three cakes from Emma. One for each of us.” Patrick and Orion discussed the party their parents were throwing that evening in honor of Patrick’s birthday and upcoming graduation, as well as Boyd and Susan’s birthdays. They still looked far younger than their chronological age, but time was catching up with them, and the age they were was too important a milestone not to celebrate.
“It’s raining on your birthday.” Iris came in from the patio, somewhat soggy.
Boyd looked over and frowned. “You shouldn’t let your school clothes get wet, especially in fall rain. You’ll get a chill.”
“I’m fine, Dad. It’s not that cold out.” She shut the patio door just after an autumn gust blew in.
“I think that’s up for debate.”
“Hey, it was sunny on our birthdays where guests dropped dead at the parties,” Orion pointed out. “Maybe the rain’s a good omen that it won’t happen this time.”
“I didn’t know you were so superstitious,” Susan teased as she got a bowl of fruit parfait. She glanced up at the clock. “And you two, don’t forget to eat. The bus will be here in half an hour, and you’ve got that field trip to the lab today, Orion.”
“Are you two leading the tour?” asked Patrick.
Boyd shook his head. “Afraid not. We’ll be holed up in our lab all day working on our plumbotics project.”
“We delegated it, but I promise we made sure your guides will show you all the good stuff,” Susan added.
The weather didn’t improve any by the time Orion’s class headed to Wainwright Innovations, but aside from having to hurry from the bus to the lobby, the students didn’t mind.
“Being that your parents own this place, I guess you’ve seen it all before, huh?” Tara said to Orion as they waited for the tour to begin.
“Some of it. Not as much as you think. They’re pretty busy. The last time they showed us around here was back when we were still in ballet together and my little sister was like four.” He gestured down a hallway that had a receptionist station through a counter window at the end. “Since then, I haven’t really been anywhere other than there, where you turn in specimens. When we came back from China, we brought in some of the stuff we collected. Patrick found a yellow band dart butterfly and some raw jade. He’s good at finding rare things. Chris and Iris had a couple of things and I had some space rocks and a piece of lapis lazuli they identified for me.” He left out the part about the giant octahedrite meteor he’d summoned, which had also been shipped there. It was being stored at the lab for now, until Orion decided where exactly to display it at home. It was too big to just put up in his bedroom.
They didn’t get a chance to talk more before the class was split into smaller groups for touring. Ethan Bunch started with the group that Orion was in along with Tara, Guillermo French, Corina Hart, and a new kid, Zachery Hoffman.
He brought them to the development shop and robotics labs. “This is where we work on new machinery and inventions. Some end up just being used here at the labs, like special equipment for experiments, and others end up being patented and sold.” He drew their attention to the white board. “Here, we’re working out tweaks to that brain wave analyzer.” He gestured to the machine next to Corina.
“You’re not, like, going to stick one of us in there and probe our minds, are you?” she asked, a little wary.
“No,” Ethan said with an easygoing laugh. “Contrary to what rumors might go around, we don’t do nefarious experiments on anyone here, and anyone who does volunteer for a study gets paid.”
“Could we volunteer if we wanted?” asked Zachery.
“Possibly, although with you being minors, I’d have to check that first. There won’t be any time for that on the tour today, though.”
“I’ve been in one of those before,” Orion volunteered. “It’s kind of neat. It doesn’t hurt or anything. It doesn’t feel like much at all, but afterward you feel kind of, energized? I guess that’s what I’d call it?”
“Ah, your parents ran a scan or two on you, huh?”
“Yeah. Research. For my, um, condition.” It still bothered him to call what he was—half-alien—a condition, but it was the simplest way to put it for people who couldn’t know the truth.
Tara side-eyed the machine. “Well, you’ll never get
me in one of those. I don’t want anyone probing my mind and learning all my thoughts and secrets or nuking my brain with waves or radiation!”
“I wouldn’t, either,” Ethan reassured her. “But that’s not how it works. It’s completely harmless. Certain settings are just for observation and have no effect on the subject, and the interactive settings just send impulses that temporarily improve brain function. We’re also exploring its potential for medical procedures that could help people recover from injuries and disease.” He looked at the clock. “And I’m afraid that’s all the time I have with you today. It’s time for the next part of your tour.”
Ethan took them to one of the lower levels where he passed the group on to Madison. “Welcome! I’m sure you’ve all heard stories about our friends the
Laganaphyllis simnovorii, or as they’re commonly called, cow plants.”
“Yeah, I heard they eat people,” remarked Tara.
“They do, although they’re not as aggressive as you might think. The plants get hungry, just like we do. But they don’t only eat us, or live prey. They do just fine with a large hunk of meat or fish. They’re carnivores and thrive best on a high protein diet. When they’re not hungry, they’re actually quite docile.” She went into the gated area and petted one on the nose. It made a mooing noise and nuzzled against her. “They also enjoy interaction and have an animal-like reaction to us, as you can see. This one here was just fed a swordfish a little while ago, so it’s not hungry at all and has no interest in luring us in to eat.”
Guillermo pointed to the one near Tara. “That one’s not. It’s waving cake. I know what that means!”
“Yes.” Madison came back out and stood by the railing. “The cake display behavior is a sign that it’s very hungry, and this is the point that they do become aggressive. This plant here was fasted for demonstration purposes. That’s why it’s important that anyone not trained in tending these plants does not go into the gated area. And you might want keep your arms on this side of the fence and not lean too close,” she said with a glance at Tara and Orion, who eyed it with fascination. Tara skittered back, but Orion stayed where he was.
“That is so cool.” He sniffed. “I can smell the cake. It smells good.”
“Orion Wainwright, you of anyone in your class should know that cake is a lie,” Madison said with a smile. “Your parents have been working with these plants since before you were born.”
“Oh, I do. It’s just, they’re really cool and I never saw one so close. Especially not with its cake out.”
“Watch out! That thing could bite your head off.” Guillermo shook his head.
“I thought as long as you don’t take the cake, it can’t eat you, though?” Corina asked.
“That’s correct. As long as you stay behind the safety fence, you’ll be fine. The plants have to lure their victims in close with the cake, which is made appealing to us by what we call the ‘bakery effect’ in layman’s terms. As you get near it, you can smell hints of vanilla and sugar, like buttercream frosting on a cake fresh out of the oven. What you’re actually smelling is the plant’s hormones. It gives off a scent that triggers our senses, to bring us around looking for the sweets we smell. Then when we go to grab it—” She brought her hands together in a dramatic clap imitating its jaws snapping. “—it’s got its meal.”
Corina made a face. “I don’t know about you guys, but that’s kind of put me off cake for a while. Guess it’ll make sticking to a diet easier, though!”
“Not me,” said Orion. “My parents are throwing a huge birthday party for my brother and them tonight. I’m going to have cake coming out my… well, a lot of cake.”
“Hopefully they don’t make the guests get it off of the plants,” Tara joked, but Orion didn’t find it all that amusing.
“Come on, my parents aren’t crazy mad scientists. Sure, they’re a little eccentric, but they’d never do anything like that.”
Tara felt bad when she realized her quip had offended him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was just…” She sighed. “Sorry. It was stupid.”
“It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.”
Madison was about to say more about the plant when it snapped loudly behind her. Although she was correct that it couldn’t reach past the fence, as hungry as it was and with as many bodies as there were nearby tempting it with their flesh, it was motivated to try anyway. She jumped, startled. “Yikes! Okay, okay. I got the hint. I’ll get you a fishie soon. I guess we should move along before someone gets too hangry on us.” She wagged her finger in the plant’s direction.
After they were done with the cow plants, they were turned over to Christopher for the final leg of the tour. He showed them the aquatics labs, with all of their tanks of rare and unusual fish on study, and then he brought the students outside to the pond in the back. The rain only fell in a light mist now, but it was still wet and a bit chilly out.
“Here are our grown semi-wild specimens of robot fish,” Christopher told them. “They’re part of an ongoing study where we see how well they can survive in natural conditions without our intervention. We released healthy specimens in the pond when it started, and since then, we’ve gone hands-off aside from regular observation and measurements. We keep tabs on the water conditions—temperature, pH, oxygenation, bacteria count—but don’t tamper with it because we want to see how they’re managing in natural fluctuations. We catch them only to tag them and keep track of the population, and to keep an accurate count. They feed and breed completely independently of us, just like a wild fish would.”
“Robot fish that can get it on and make baby robots? That’s some wild sci-fi stuff there,” Tara said, and Orion grinned.
“I know! Isn’t it cool, though?’
Corina didn’t agree. “I don’t know. What if they’re the first step in replacing us with robots or something? I think it’s kind of creepy.”
“Sounds like the plot for some sci-fi movie, call it ‘Robot Fish from Neptune’ or something,” said Zachery.
“I’d watch that,” Guillermo said, and then pointed out where a metallic-bodied fish leapt out of the pond to snap at an insect on the water. “Whoa! That was one of them, wasn’t it? But huge!”
Christopher nodded. “They get quite large in a natural body of water compared to the tanks. Some have nearly quadrupled in size since they were released.”
They stayed out there while Christopher explained more about the fish, and the students spent a few minutes watching them in the pond. There were some smaller robot fish in the shallow water by the deck that were easy to see, and Guillermo and Zachery both had questions that Christopher was happy to answer for them. Orion peered down into the water while Tara came up beside him. “They’re pretty cool.”
“Yeah. I wonder why my parents never put those in our aquarium at home. The dragonfish we have are pretty cool, and the angelfish are pretty, but these are amazing.”
“Dragonfish? I’ve heard they’re super rare.”
“They are. Dad caught them in Shang Simla.” He looked over at her. “If you come over sometime, I could show them to you. They’re not robot fish, but…”
She met his eyes. “Yeah, sure. When?”
“Uh, well… we’re kind of having a big party tonight, like I said earlier. For my parents’ and brother’s birthday. You can come, too. Consider yourself invited.”
“I would, but I can’t tonight. I’ve got to with my parents over to Wilbur’s for dinner. He said he’s got something important to tell us. I think he and Penny got engaged.” She smirked. “Hopefully not because he knocked her up or anything, like I heard Gretchen was. But I’ve got to go there tonight. Sorry.”
Orion was disappointed, but he tried not to let it show. “It’s okay. Maybe another time then?”
“That would be cool.”
“And maybe we could even, you know, get coffee or dinner or something together first? Or after?”
Tara gave him a coy look. “You mean like a date?”
“Yeah.” He met her gaze.
“Sure.”
Their moment was interrupted when Corina cleared her throat loudly by them. “Hey, you guys. In case you didn’t notice, everyone’s heading back inside.”
She was right. Christopher, Guillermo, and Zachery were already off the deck and Corina had her umbrella out. The rain had picked up again, but Orion only then noticed it. “Oh. Yeah. Guess we’d better go.”
“Yup.”
“So where and when?” Orion asked as he and Tara hurried down the sidewalk behind the others.
“The diner? They make a mean lobster roll there.”
“I’m good with that. Tomorrow?”
Tara smiled back at Orion in a way that made him feel fluttery inside. “Tomorrow,” she confirmed.
After school, Maria came over before the party to spend some time with Patrick before the guests arrived. “Happy birthday!” She handed him a gift box. “I wanted to give you this when it was just us.”
“Oh? Don’t tell me there’s something naughty in here I shouldn’t open in front of a crowd,” he teased flirtatiously.
“Yeah, you wish! Besides, if I was going to do that, I wouldn’t hand it to you in your living room!”
He grinned as he opened it. “And if you did, I hope you know I’d much prefer to see you in a skimpy outfit than myself.” His expression changed as he opened the box and saw three musical composition books. “Wow! I’ve wanted to get the music for these for a while.” He held up one. “I’ve always loved this song! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks! I’m going to learn these as soon as I can and play them for you.”
“A private concert, huh? I look forward to it,” she said sweetly as he set the box down and drew her into his arms.
“There’s nobody I’d rather play for.”
“Happy birthday. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Patrick kissed her.
“Maybe you should take it to your room,” Buddy quipped from over by the television. “Get a little birthday action!” He made a joking lewd movement.
Patrick would have liked to fire off a comeback, but with Maria there, he ignored him. Although Patrick had confided in Maria about Buddy to a point, she did not truly get what it was like for Patrick when he was around. They had been involved a while before he even told her. Given how his own parents acted about it, and how jerks like Julius still brought up his childhood mentions of Buddy to mock him, Patrick had wondered if Maria would still want to be with him if she knew. But he supposed if she didn’t, it was better to find out sooner rather than later, so he eventually told her.
To his relief, she’d been understanding when he did. Even though she could be dramatic and overly concerned with appearances at times, she was not the type to walk away from someone she loved over “a weird little quirk” as she put it with a reassuring smooch at the time. Maria had never heard or seen anything at Patrick’s house, but she had to admit that when she looked at the Buddy doll, it did seem to stare back sometimes. She chalked it up to his artistic imagination run wild, and as an artist herself who often got lost in fantasy worlds, especially when reading, she could accept that. It wasn’t any weirder than what her father had once told her and Tad about their distant cousins in Moonlight Falls, at any rate. Since she wouldn’t want to be judged on that, she wasn’t going to throw stones about Patrick’s doll spirit or whatever it was.
Still, Patrick was not inclined to react to Buddy when anyone else was around, except for perhaps Orion or Iris, so he simply pretended not to hear him when he was with Maria. Eventually, that became a game of sorts to Buddy. When Maria visited, he would follow them around, leer, and make comments until Patrick either gave some sort of reaction, or he got bored trying to get one. Then he’d just revert to doll form and sleep until Patrick’s girlfriend went home.
Soon, the guests started arriving and the party kicked off. “Happy birthday, Captain! You made it. Legally an adult today. Wow. Congratulations! I wasn’t much older than you are when you were born. I guess that makes me pretty darn old now, huh?”
“Nah, you’re not that old. Maybe Cycl0n3, but not my favorite big sister.” He grinned. “He’s just far enough ahead of you that he keeps knocking back the old threshold a year every time.”
“I like your logic,” Blair replied with a grin. “Although being I’m your
only big sister, I’m not sure how much of a compliment ‘favorite’ is.”
“You know I mean it.”
“Yeah. I know that. I also know you’re almost as big of a smart llama as Chris. But not quite.”
“What can I say? I’m talented,” Chris quipped as he headed past them into the kitchen. “Happy birthday, Patrick!”
Patrick had invited his friends from school and music club to the party, including Jamaal and Gretchen. He hadn’t seen either of them in a while since they’d been in the previous graduating class, but he was surprised when she came and he did not. “Hey, Gretchen. How are you?” Like Tara, he and Maria had heard the rumor that she was pregnant, and when she got there, it was obvious it was true. She was already showing a bit.
“Eh, hanging in there.”
“I heard about your mom. Sorry for your loss.” Another bit of news that had made its way around town was that her mother had passed. The obituary had been in the paper and online that day.
“Thanks. It’s been pretty rough. I miss her a lot.”
Maria joined Patrick’s side. “I’m sorry, too. So, Jamaal didn’t come with you?”
“Oh, Mr. Maturity refused to come if I did. Not speaking to me. Yeah, we broke up and he’s all mad, but seriously! It’s your birthday and he’s supposed to be your friend, too. You’d think he could manage to be in the same room with me, but whatever. I’m not missing your party because he’s being a llama.” She rolled her eyes. “And he’s going to have to get over it by the time the baby comes.”
Patrick was glad she brought that up first. He and Maria were both curious but couldn’t figure out a polite way to ask about the spicy rumor going around. Supposedly, Gretchen and Jamaal had gotten serious, she got pregnant, and then he found out she’d slept with Julius behind his back around the same time and dumped her. “Ah, wow. Well, congratulations on the baby, I guess?”
“Thanks. It was kind of unexpected, but not bad, really. I’ll figure out the Mom thing. Mine did.” She patted her stomach. “I’m more bent out of shape about having to wear all this frumpy loose stuff because nothing else fits. And Jamaal being such a pain doesn’t help.” She looked from Patrick to Maria. “And yes, it
is his. I’m sure you both heard the crap he’s been saying about it being Julius’.”
“Yeah, we heard,” Patrick admitted.
“I was honestly surprised he could say that. No offense, but why
Julius? Ugh.”
“Aw, come on, Maria. I know you and Patrick here are, like, totally in love and only have eyes for each other and have been together forever now, but there was a time you dated ol’ Jules. Probably for the same reason. Sure, he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer and kind of a llama, but he’s got a couple things going for him. He’s not hard on the eyes and he’s got a big—”
Patrick snorted derisively. “More like he
is a big—”
Gretchen laughed. “Won’t argue that. But whatever. It was just a bad decision on a bad night and now it’s over again.”
Patrick’s phone beeped with a text. “What do you know? That was Jamaal. He told me happy birthday and he’s sorry he can’t make it, but he doesn’t want any scenes at my party so he’s staying away from the ‘drama factory’ and hopes I have a good birthday and you don’t ruin it.” He looked at Gretchen. “He’s definitely still pretty steamed at you.”
“Not surprised. Sorry he wouldn’t come because of me, though. I wouldn’t have caused a scene. Happy birthday, Patrick. Nice seeing you again. You too, Maria.” She went to grab a handful of chips and talk to other guests.
When Christopher and Madison arrived, their daughters came along with them. Orion hadn’t realized that Rachelle was going to be there, although he supposed it made sense. His parents worked with the Steels, and Kristal was in Iris’ class like Rachelle was in his. “Hi,” he greeted her. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. When my parents had me come with them, I wasn’t sure who’d be here that I know, other than you. I don’t really know your brother or your parents. I didn’t even see them on the lab trip today. Though I saw mine. That was a little weird. Having them running parts of the tour and everyone knowing that’s my mom or dad talking about cow plants or robot fish.”
Orion laughed. “You’re not used to that? My parents talk about that stuff all the time.”
“I guess, but you know what I mean. I felt a little self-conscious about it.”
“I get what you’re saying. Your mom mentioned how my parents own the lab and Ethan brought up stuff, too, so… yeah.”
“Are we the only ones from our class here?”
“Zachery’s here. I invited him on the bus ride back. He doesn’t really know a lot of us here in town yet.”
“Oh, yeah.” She noticed him dancing by the stereo. “I haven’t talked to him much. I’m surprised Tara’s not here. I thought you two…”
“Oh. She couldn’t make it tonight. Family obligations.” Orion felt odd about her mentioning Tara. While he was glad it was apparent to their classmates that he and Tara had a thing going, it being Rachelle of all people to say it nagged at him. Was it because a part of him still couldn’t help but notice her eyes and her smile? But he was seeing Tara now, and Rachelle was happily with someone else, so why would he think that? He dismissed the thought. “Hey, would you like something to drink or eat?”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
“Sure. No problem.”
After giving the guests enough time to mingle, they brought the cakes out. Patrick was first to blow out his candles.
This is it! he thought. Adulthood. Freedom. No more curfews or parental crackdowns, and he’d be able to do whatever he wanted from here on out. He blew out his candles and imagined all of the things ahead of him.
Boyd and Susan were proud to see their son now grown up. Their cute little later in life surprise baby that used to sit in the “Captain’s Chair” watching TV for hours with them in their old home on Maywood Lane was now a young man. He was bright and talented, and even though he’d become a bit impulsive and volatile at times, they imagined his passionate nature would serve him well in his pursuit of the arts. Soon he would be going to Sims University to major in music, and they had no doubt he would succeed and create great works someday.
Blair looked over at her parents. “Mom, Dad, you’re up next! Who’s first?”
“Don’t wait too long to decide. That many candles going at once might set this whole place ablaze,” Cycl0n3 quipped.
“Well, I know whose direction to blow the smoke in now,” Susan retorted.
“Masterful as he is at blowing smoke, I’m sure he can take it,” Boyd remarked before turning to Susan. “You want the honors first, or do you want me to get old before you?”
“It’s not like either of us is technically any younger before or after cake, so I’ll get it over with and own my age.”
Boyd kissed her on the cheek as she stepped up to the cake. “Happy birthday, honey.”
“Happy birthday, Mom!” Patrick waved a party favor, while Blair did it with even more enthusiasm.
“Happy birthday!”
Although Susan wasn’t in denial about how old she was, blowing out the candles on that cake really brought it home. She’d had a lot of extra time thanks to Emit’s treatment, but she and Boyd were in their twilight years now. Unless they decided to use their still-experimental formula on themselves, they only had so long left. That was more apparent day by day, as they saw others their age old and dying, and even some younger than them, like Gretchen Ursine’s mother and their neighbors, Nick Alto and Nancy Landgraab, succumb to old age themselves.
Still, despite the vanity of not liking to think of herself as old, Susan accepted it gracefully enough. She did not plan to give up and not live what years she had left to the fullest. She would stay invested in their lab and their life’s work until the day Grim came for her. She wanted to be there to see Blair’s children grow up, to see Patrick graduate University and hopefully start a family of his own, and see Orion and Iris grow up. If they were lucky, she and Boyd would make it to seeing their children, too, before the inevitable. Whatever her fate was, Susan was determined to make the most of it.
After Susan blew out her candles, it was Boyd’s turn. “So this is it, huh? Admitting I’m old?” He looked over at Cycl0n3 before he could say anything. “Yes, I know. I’ve always been old, ancient, and decrepit as far as you’re concerned. Beat you to it.”
“Happy birthday, Space. You are ancient, but I’m glad you and Susan are still around and kicking with us. Now blow out that fire hazard so we can have cake.”
“Happy birthday, Dad!” Blair cheered and blew a party horn, and Susan joined her.
“Happy birthday! Come on and symbolically join me in our old age.”
Boyd smiled. “An invitation like that? How can I turn it down?”
Although Boyd was a rational scientist, he was still superstitious enough to make a wish at the birthday cake, even at his age. He wished that his time left would be the best he could make of it. That meant achieving the things he wanted to finish most, seeing his children and grandchildren thrive and succeed, and Susan being there with him for all of it. He blew out his candles to the cheers of his family and friends, grateful to have so many there and wishing a few others still could’ve been. He and Susan had accomplished a lot in their lives, especially in the later years, and he was glad they’d have such a strong legacy to leave behind when the time came.
Not that he wanted that to happen anytime soon. There was a reason he kept a supply of death flowers in the greenhouse. One never knew when a terrible accident could happen, and while he had pondered the moral implications of living too far beyond a natural lifespan by artificial means, he did not feel like he was there yet. Especially considering all the things he still wanted to do, see, and discover.
While Boyd went back for a second slice of cake—joking that if it hadn’t killed him yet, some extra junk food wouldn’t do any harm now—Chris couldn’t resist ribbing Patrick a bit. “I can’t tell if you’ve gotten taller, or if it’s just the four inches of gel in your hair.”
“Hey, don’t hate. You wish you looked this good,” he teased back.
“Yeah, okay. Whatever.” Chris laughed. “And who’s hating? I didn’t say it looked bad. Besides, there’s at least a year of job security for me at the spa with all the product you must’ve put into that.”
“You know, it was one of your pals down there that gave me this haircut.” He preened. “I think it looks cool. Goes with my guitar look. Besides, Maria likes it.” It was true. She had complimented him earlier.
“Ah.
Much becomes clear.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Chris just grinned and made a whipping sound and gesture, then went back into the kitchen to sample one of the other cakes himself.
“This has been a wonderful party,” Lisa Bunch complimented Susan. “And I have to say, you look
amazing for your age. What’s your secret?” She leaned in close. “Even if it’s super expensive, let me know, because I want to look as good as you do when I get so old.”
Susan tried not to let Lisa’s phrasing rub her the wrong way. “Oh, I take care of myself. Speaking of which,” she changed the subject, “you’re positively glowing. When’s your baby due? Jack told me he had another grandchild on the way.”
“Yeah. VJ and I decided to give Kristian a little brother or sister. I think this one’s a girl. At least I hope so. One of each would be great.”
“I’m sorry your son couldn’t make it. I imagine he’s gotten big since I last saw him.”
“You’re telling me!” Lisa sighed dramatically. “He’s out on a date with his girlfriend Corina. Girlfriend, can you believe it? Already? I swear Kristian was just a baby himself yesterday.”
Susan looked over at Blair, chatting with her father, and then Patrick. “They grow fast. Faster than you can believe sometimes.”
She noticed Patrick grab yet another party drink from the bar while Maria kept dancing. “I know you’re of age now, but you might want to take it easy on those. They’re a little strong.”
“Uh-oh. Old person lecture incoming!” Buddy made a face at Susan while Patrick tried to reassure her and head off said lecture at the pass.
“I’m fine, Mom. I’m good. I can handle it.”
His answer did not sit well with her. If he was just bragging, he would have a heck of a hangover in the morning if he wasn’t careful. If he was telling the truth, it made her wonder just how often he’d sampled nectar and juice that she and Boyd didn’t know about. “All right. But remember, Maria’s still underage. I know her birthday’s right around the corner, but legally…”
“She hasn’t had any. She drove over and has to drive home. Don’t worry. You know I’d never let anything happen to her. Even if I get a little… crazy!” He flashed a cheesy grin and pumped his fist.
“Yeah, Grandma! Stop being such a buzzkill! It’s our birthday!”
Even without hearing Buddy, Susan was not reassured, especially as she saw Patrick’s eyes dart briefly toward the empty space she suspected that to him, Buddy occupied. “Just take it easy. I may not worry like your father, but I’d still rather not see you learn your limits the hard way, okay?”
He nodded. “I got it.”
“All right. Have fun.” She moved on and joined Boyd chatting with Blair.
Patrick sipped at his drink. “Nothing makes you feel more grown up than Mom doing the mom thing to you at your own party,” he muttered when it was just him and Buddy by the bar.
“Wonder if she nagged your dad like that back at that infamous keg party. Or if she made him sleep it off on the couch.” He sniffed the drink. “Ooh. Those are strong. How many did you have?”
“Just a couple. This is my third, I think? Not that much.”
“That’s cool, but remember, if you do pass out, I’m not hauling your butt up those stairs to your bed. The farthest I’m willing to drag you is the couch.”
Patrick laughed. “Thanks. You’re a real pal, Buddy.”
When the party was over, Blair gave each of her parents a heartfelt hug. “I just wanted to say again how glad I am that you’re both still here with us and healthy and happy.”
Boyd hugged her back. “We’re not planning on kicking off anytime soon, I promise. I’m in no rush to meet old Grim.”
“You better not be. I love you both. I want you around a long time. So, don’t work too hard, and take the time to do lots of fun stuff. Especially you.” She gave her mother a meaningful look. “I know you still can’t go an afternoon without checking in.”
“Yes, but sometimes a quick check-in is all I do now.”
“She’s been working at not working so much,” Boyd said wryly.
“That’s progress, I guess. Happy birthday, both of you! Good night.”
Despite Susan’s concerns, Patrick hadn’t over-indulged on the party drinks and was fine when it ended. He walked Maria out, but they lingered on the porch for a good night kiss. “Thanks for being the best part of my birthday.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it. Next we get to celebrate mine.”
“I’d better get busy learning those guitar songs, then, so I can play them for you at your party.”
“I don’t know.” She met his eyes. “I think I like the idea of that private concert better. Where you play just for me and only me. A romantic serenade.”
“I can do that. Play a birthday party of two.”
“I like the sound of that.” She smooched him again. “Love you. Good night.”
“I love you, too. Good night.” He stayed out there until Maria’s car left the driveway, and then went to bed, imagining how nice it was going to be when she could just stay over and curl up next to him on a night like that.
Boyd and Susan unwound in their room after cleaning up the worst of the party mess. The maid was coming the next day and Boyd would have just left it all for her to take care of, but Susan insisted on at least piling the dishes in the dishwasher, putting the food away, and disposing of any half-eaten food or drink. When they got upstairs, Susan shivered a bit. The chilly autumn rain had brought in a cold and damp fog and it had started to seep into the house. “Time to turn the heat back on,” she murmured as she adjusted the thermostat. “My old bones are feeling the cold.”
“Old bones? I don’t see any old women here. Just a mature, respectable, and might I add, quite attractive lady.”
Susan couldn’t help but smile. “You know just what to say. Angling for a little birthday love, are we?”
“Wouldn’t turn it down,” he replied flirtatiously. “Besides, at my age and after all our years together, it’d be pretty sad if I hadn’t learned how to charm you at least a little.”
“You’ve got a point.” She put her arms around Boyd. “So how about you give me a kiss to warm these cold,
mature bones?”
He drew her into a close embrace and met her eyes with warmth and affection as their lips touched. “Yes, dear.”
Author’s Notes: Sorry for the inconsistency in some of the screenshots in this chapter. The aging mod didn’t kick in for Boyd and Susan’s age-ups when they blew out the candles, so they went straight to default EA elder until the mod fixed them a bit later. I was only able to fix their wardrobe right away.
Also, Orion’s friend Zachery completely changed in appearance between the trip and party, which were the same game day. I have my NRaas mods set to re-roll the genetics of all game-generated sims using genetics of sims from my bin so I don’t have a town full of the same-looking 0-slider faces. When Orion came home from school, he had a wish to be friends with Zachery, so I invited him to the party in the save I play. When I staged the scenes at the lab for this chapter, I pulled him out to be in the group, but the mod hadn’t gotten to him yet in the older save I used for that. So that’s why he’s got a totally different face and skin tone at the party compared to the field trip.
