I am so sorry this took so long! The holidays sort of came around and just smacked me in the face and I couldn’t find the time (or energy when I actually did have time) to update. But Christmas is over now (the present opening part anyway) and I’ve put together an update for you! I'll include pictures of the house with the next update. If I'd put them in this chapter, it would have gone over the limit.
1.7 -- Supernatural InterventionAnd so, just like that, I was forced into the role of a single mom who works part time as the town pariah. With two children and another on the way, I knew I really had to get in gear. My books could maintain us for the most part---a humble living, but a living no less. And with Shep still faithfully by my side, I’d be able to have a little extra pocket change for emergencies. However, first, the Simoleons that came in from selling the Tiberium went towards rebuilding the thouse. After tearing down the old house and and getting rid of the old furniture, I had a little over a hundred thousand to work with. Plenty to build a nice spacious house with, right?
Wrong.
I got most of the house done, but somewhere along the road I overestimated a few costs and only got parts of the house done.
Settled into the new house (or what was built of it), I set back to child rearing. Antoine mastered the art of walking while his brother cried for me from the swing.
It should be noted thant Antone’s overall mood took a turn for the worst the day Shawnee left, and the renovations only made him more sour. Some say kids are oblivious, and I used to believe that. But thanks to my son, I quickly figured out that was not true. They are all to aware of what’s going on around them, and Antoine knew his father was gone and not coming back. But unlike Shep and Cinnamon who sensed my sadness and comforted me regularly, Antoine just fed off my emotions and cried. Our first attempts at potty training prior to the renovations ended miserably because of it.
His mood was always so bad! I tried to explain to him that Daddy had to go away, but I couldn’t really explain why in terms he’d understand. What was the dynamics of a relationship to a 2 year old? Life was slowly becoming less about my books and more about keeping Antoine from chucking toys across the living room in anger. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do with him. I was at a loss with no one to help me.
For Future Generations, let it be noted that this entry was written by Shawnee Delacour nee' FoxWatcher, had I messed up. Most of it was my fault, I’m aware. I made a few very poor decisions. But part of this entire ordeal was due to apparent insanity Giselle was harboring. I didn’t regret meeting her, and I didn’t regret the children that came of it. But I did regret the way I handled it, and how driven by fear I was.
Yes, fear. However weak an excuse it may have been, I was terrified at the prospect of Giselle realizing how strong she could be on her own. She could have 4 kids…8 kids…she could run a nursery all by herself and it was only a matter of time before she realized that. Where would I be after she plucked up the courage to man the stead on her own? Nowhere. And as a result, I used Cheyenne as a safety net. I didn’t know what Giselle wanted, I didn’t even know what was going on in her mind. Was it so wrong for me to have a bit of security? Giselle never said those words, you know. Those three words I said to her in the park. She never said them back to me. Can you blame me for being…skeptical?
Looking back on it now, it wasn’t the best way to think of it. In fact, it was flat out wrong. But at the time where I was struggling to support two families with one paycheck, it seemed very sound. I hated Cheyenne for cheating, but she still had my children. I loved Giselle and everything about her, but she was leaving me in the dark. There were two glaring issues and I had to deal with them both until one of them went away: Cheyenne or Giselle. I was banking on Cheyenne. Not Giselle.
Since moving out of Giselle’s, I did divorce Cheyenne. It was a relatively clean break. I got to keep a few of my own personal things, but Cheyenne was granted custody of the children and ownership of the house. I was, however, allowed to visit whenever I wanted. I ended up moving in with a friend who lived next door to Giselle. I got to watch the house grown, I got to watch Antoine grow, and I watched as Giselle’s stomach grew and I pondered a way to make things right with her.
It wasn’t until I went to the park one day that the answer made itself very clear.
Now, I’d never seen a man with blue skin before. Genies, Fairies, Werewolves, Witches; these were all things I’d read about but never believed to be real. Not until I met this man.
“How do you get used to that smell?”
When he spoke to me, I blinked and sat upright, “Excuse me?”
“That smell.” He repeated, waving his hand in the air as if he could somehow wave the smell away, “Smells like…animals.”
I laughed, “You’re in Appaloosa Plains, my friend. You get used to it after a while. Everyone here is an animal person. If you’re not, you should probably pack it up now and hit the road, or someone may send their horse to trample you.”
The genie laughed a little and leaned forward, “I would if I could. But I can’t---no way in SimNation can I go back there. But I also happen to have some business in town, so it worked out for the best.”
“Oh yeah?” I said, only mildly curious.
The genie nodded, his gaze moving away from me and across the park. A few dogs galloped around with their owners, and I noticed Bramble (mine and Cheyenne’s horse) trotting by.
“You sound like her.” I said with a sigh and a small laugh, “She ran too. Away from something, I don’t know what. I never tried to convince her to go back but, so many times she said she just wanted to pack up the kids and leave but I always told her that you can’t just run away from the things that scare you….” My voice trailed off a bit at the last part of the sentence, and the genie by my side just stared at me curiously.
How stupid was I? I told Giselle so many times the thing I should have told myself the day she kicked me out.
“Things get scary, but you can’t just run away. Because one day it’s going to come back and find you…and it’ll be bigger and badder than ever. You face up to it. You divorce the safety net and marry the girl you love.” I let out an exasperated sigh and tilted my head back. I was an idiot.
“You sound like you have a personal tie to this.” Said the genie.
I scoffed, “Can you tell?”
The genie laughed and crossed his legs at his ankles, setting his hands on his lap, “Well. I’m sure if you told Giselle about this new epiphany she’d understand. But like you said, divorce the safety net first.”
“I thought you were new to town.” I said, crossing my arms and looking at him in slight disbelief. But in my state, I was willing to listen to anyone. Do anything to make things right. So normal amounts of wariness flew out the metaphorical window. I was looking for answers, and I was willing to get them from anyone, “How do you know about Giselle?”
He nodded, “I am. But I know Giselle. I know she came here and I know what happened. Secrets can be kept from boyfriends, but usually not from family.”
Where in Giselle’s family tree a genie fit in, I didn’t know. But it was then that I realized something: Giselle was strong, but not unshakable. I could imagine the phone call she must’ve made back home to bring this man here. Guilt twisted my insides painfully and I pressed my lips together in a thin line.
“You can’t just run away from Giselle. Or let her push you out of the house. She doesn’t know I’m here, so don’t tell her I said any of this, but she needs you. She’s going to need you whether you divorce Cheyenne or not. I think you just weren’t prepared for her.”
I got up from the bench, a little baffled by the man’s words, “I-I know. There’s some mysterious ‘her’ she never told me about and I wasn’t prepared for the paranoia. Who is this her? Do you know who ‘her’ is?”
He smirked, “Yeah. I do. She’s a ‘her’ to be afraid of and it’s a level of paranoia that’s never going to go away. But she’s nowhere near. In fact, she wants nothing to do with Giselle.”
I wanted to protest and ask another question, but the Genie cut me off before I could even form the words.
“What you weren’t prepared for was taking on the responsibility of being with or around a Morae woman.”
“Morae…?”
He nodded and leaned back on the bench, “Giselle changed her name. It’s actually Giselle Morae, but she’s cut herself off from the rest of the family, save for me. Morae women are beautiful and vivacious, but also cunning and very stubborn. They get so caught up in their own beliefs and thoughts and feelings that they start to work in a very…self-centered manner without realizing it. They think they’re helping others, but they aren’t. Giselle thinks she’s saving her kids and you from some greater evil, but in reality she’s just protecting herself. It’s a Morae woman’s natural instinct to protect
herself above all else. It’s an ingrain tendency that, over the generations, they become less and less aware of when they’re doing it. It’s like a self-defense mechanism.”
“She’s not that selfish…”
“She is. She just doesn’t realize it.”
“And how do you know all this?” I said in disbelief.
“I spent my entire childhood with one. The key to overcoming that selfish tendency is to fight back. Don’t let her be selfish and don’t let her do what she thinks is right unless it is. Don’t let her get manipulative. And the easiest way to do that? Love her. And don’t hurt her. Afterworld hath no fury like a Morae woman’s wrath.”
I nodded, turning around and moving back over to the bench where the genie sat, “Fine. I’m going to, for a brief moment, trust a perfect stranger. Let’s pretend for a moment that I now know everything I need to know about the inner workings of Giselle’s brain and am prepared to deal with it---I’m supposed to just go back to her and tell her she’s wrong?”
“No. Don’t tell her she’s wrong. Tell her that you messed up and you’ve divorced your safety net and now you’re going to be a proper family. It won’t be hard. Especially since she has 5 children she has to deal with.”
“Giselle has two kids…”
The genie smirked a bit and for a moment I just stared at him. Then all at once it hit me like a wrecking ball, “Oh, my Watcher…”
“You should go.”
“I should---Oh, Watcher, I should go.” I jumped up from the bench, clenching and unclenching my fist “You…I don’t know who you are and I don’t know if I trust you or not, but if all of this is true then I owe you one. It’s not like I have anything to lose at this point”
He just laughed at my frantic behavior, “You don’t owe me anything. Just don’t let the kids grow up without a father. Trust me, it’s not a fun experience. And don’t tell Giselle I’m here!”
“I don’t even know who you are.”
“Let’s leave it that way.”
====
The genie lifted his hand up, a small smile on his face as he recognized the person's touch, "There you are. How'd it go at the safety net's house?"
"Perfectly. How else would it have gone?"
"I don't know. Don't hate me for meaningless small talk."
"I don't hate you. And try as I might, I'm not able to. Did you get Shawnee to go back to the house?"
"Easily. He's definitely not a Morae. Any sane family member would have been at least a tad more wary about a random Genie."
The woman scoffed, "I know men well enough to know that he was looking for an excuse. Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Let's get a move on."
