The morning after Snowflake Day was Mama's final acrobatic show. She said that once she was an elder - which would be before the next morning - she'd have to hang up her acrobat-kini and her fire batons. She posted on her blog announcing her impending final show and retirement to her fans, and seemed fairly content that the end was nigh.
I think she's sort of right. You see an elder half dressed, bent over backward in the park, and you're more likely to call the police than to give a tip. In any sense, for this final show, she FINALLY agreed to let me come watch her perform.
I'll tell you what, she finally saw what she'd been missing. I was the supportin'-est son on the face of the simverse.
Or at least the second most supportin'-est.
I might have shouted "GO MOM!" a time or twenty. Sansa couldn't come because she had the school play, which Dad went to for support. It was pretty crap luck that Mama's final show and Sansa's rendition of Shakespeare's Katharina fell on the same night.
Only one of them was really performing though, after all. Sansa really is a shrew. Both girls, it turns out got standing ovations. Seeing the tears glisten in Mama's eyes while she took her final bow almost choked me up. Almost. Bran the Man don't cry.
Petyr does, though. He's all up in his emotional comfort zone. He gathered Mama up in his arms when she stepped off the stage and told her she was amazing. It's possible everyone there was crying. Funny how I've been conveniently cropped out of the photo.
You'll have to trust me that I was all macho and stoic, standing cross-armed to the right. It's possible a bald eagle landed on my shoulder and I was too manly to notice. You'll never know. The photo was poorly framed.
We got home and Sansa and Dad already had the cakes set up.
Mama went first, with a big toothy grin.
Her sparkles swarmed around her and lifted her up.
Now, I am NOT supposed to show you this. But she totally had old lady abs before dashing off to the dresser for a quick change.
She went and put on some fabulous old lady yellow.
Dad said he wished he looked as good as Mom and then took a deep breath.
Mom and Sansa used a bunch of noisemakers and stamped and cheered.
He looks pretty okay! Both parents opted out of hair dye.
For some reason, the celebrating sent me spinning back into my Spooky Day costume. I'm not sure why. While I was having cake with Mom, I decided to tell her about my little encounter.
She chuckled into the cake. "How did you like my mother?"
Well, I thought she was pretty ghost-tastic, honestly. She made me a skill drink and took me snowboarding. The seasons like to crash out the Watcher's window into our world, so there are no good screenshots of it, but man, it was super cool.
She also told me not to worry about girls so much. She said my parents had the advantage of growing up together, but that she didn't meet Grandpa until she was almost to her adult birthday.
"And kid," she'd said, her cold, ghost hand tipping my chin up, "you are going to do juuust fine with the ladies. I have it on good authority that you'll be meeting a VERY special girl tomorrow night."
I didn't tell Mom any of that, though. I'm still waiting for Claudia Schiffer to show up and throw herself at me, and I don't like to spoil surprise. "I liked her, I mean ... you know, loved her. Being my grandma and all."
"Good, because she wasn't done with you," Mom said, standing up. "There's something for you under the tree."
She took Dad's hand and walked upstairs, leaving me to figure out this surprise for myself. And then I heard a squeak.
Dear Brandon,
You don't know me, and likely never will. Think of me somewhat as the guardian of your family. An ever-present eye on your welfare ...Rhaella? No ... this was a dude's handwriting.
This little pup is Summer. She is and has always been meant to belong to you.She's a friendly little dog, but will require training and love. In return, she will be your constant companion and your best friend. Take excellent care of her.
Regards,
Doctor Wyles
P.S. I am well aware of your career plans. Please be careful.I picked her up but was entirely unsure of what to do with her. She was so small and ... I dunno, helpless. Cuddly, though. Super cute. Within a few minutes, we were playing like old chums.
Gran showed up and showed me where the bed was. Petyr was all, "holy crap a ghost!"
"Take a photo, son. Show your friends!" Gran encouraged.
I think the experience may have traumatized my Summer.
The next morning was the first day of Spring and Petyr's wedding day. The parents constructed a wedding gazebo at Verde Park. Later, they would realize putting it on a foundation that required the invited Sims to act moderately intelligent when filing to their seats was a huge, huge error.
It was also the day that Doreah arrived. Petyr and Charlie's adoptive daughter. Now, this was a total surprise to all of us. But Petyr had been expecting her since even before the proposal. She's got a great sense of humor, just like him, and if you didn't know better, you'd think she was a genetic combination of Charlie and Petyr's looks.
She dashed into the house and hugged Petyr super tight, squealing. Mom started squealing too. "I'm a grandma, I'm a grandma!" She kept saying excitedly.
Doreah, or Dora for short, came to us wearing a hideous watermelon-themed orphanage outfit. She and her new Grandma fled to the bedroom to set her up with a nice set of new clothes in her favorite color.
She also brought her kitty, Quaithe, from the orphanage.
The day was almost too hectic for words. By the time we got to the park, the wedding was already an hour late, and half the party had left. The couple got to the arch and someone promptly died in the bathroom.
Not many people were left by the time vows were finally exchanged.
Once the rings were on and the love announced, it was almost 3 in the morning, Dora had fallen asleep on a bench, and it was snowing. But that's okay. True love prevails.
