Chapter 65: Aint Nothin' But a Hound-Dog, Crying All the TimeI'm not sure why it happened exactly...
But all of the sudden, Grandma Ariel got on a real gardening kick. She dug up and reorganized everything, just so she could plant a lot of new things being discovered in the area.
"I got a little carried away...But look how nice everything looks!""It does look nice... (But I don't want to know what all this does to our game speed.)""Oh, we'll fret the details later." She laughed uneasily.
But she's not the only one with a kick for changing things up.
"I can never stay away from that hair. It's just too me!"She only says that until she changes it again, you know. I guess when you're my mother, hair is another form of adventure.
Speaking of adventure...Grandma Ariel's picked up a new hobby that has Uriel in a tizzy.
"And you're alright, right? That thing'll protect you? There aren't and holes?""Oh, they're just bees, Uriel. I'm perfectly fine.""What if they're africanized?""They make very nice honey.""What if you're allergic?""I have a death-flower. I'll be fine.""AGGGHHHH!""...Anyway, I'm not sure Sims can have proper bee allergies."He didn't hear that part. His starts and yells echoed over the yard.
Anyway, I've been teaching my little Zinny to talk.
"Right now, Grandma Aster is painting your picture. It's very important for when you grow up."
You know, I've been thinking; I got told this kind of late...Would things be smoothier and easier for Zinnia if I told her about the dynasty earlier?
"Paint!"Well, I guess it's too soon now...
"But whatever you do, Zinny, it's important to go through your life with what makes you smile in it. And for me, that's cooking and my family your momma and you."
"And me! And me!""That's right."
Anyway, the days of her toddlerhood are full of training...
But when that's not happening, she's got a friend to play with:
"You know...I wish we knew where those come from. Not even Evanthe knew, and she came from there.""Now, now, Uriel. How would Evanthe know something that happened when she was a toddler? We'll just have to trust in this mysterious distant aunt.""Neither of us have aunts, though, Ariel. We are incapable of having aunts. We are auntless. Sans Aunts. As auntless as the ideal picnic.""If I had an aunt, I'd invite her to a picnic.""I was punning. Anyway, my point is that this is kind of creepy!""Well, anyway. I'll call him Chrisanto.""...You're not listening to my concerns at all!""Oh, I am, I am."When she's not playing with Christanto, we tend to keep her in her swing, but even that has...Troubles.
So of course I try and snuggle my girl and comfort her.
"There, there, honey. It's OK, Zinny-Zin. Daddy's here, and you've got generations of family to..."
It didn't help. I spent hours, soothing and whispering and playing peek-a-boo, to no avail. Whatever was wrong, I couldn't fix it, not with food or play or diaper changes or anything!
"...M...Make it stop..." Uriel whimpered.
"What lungs on this child! No one can get a wink of sleep, I'm saddened to report!" The axe has trouble actually sounding sad.
But it's true; as long as she's crying, none of us can sleep.
Her mother took over as the rest of us passed around the moodlet manager; her answer was to try the new mechanical horse we had on the lawn; maybe the fresh air would help?
"Please, Sweetie...Smile for mommy, huh? Plleeeeaaaase?"It worked well enough while she was on the horse...
But it was all crying when she came off.
Even Aster got in on the act; I don't know why, but she seems to really like Zinny.
Or maybe she likes the mechanical horse producing creepy carousel music...But I believe it's just that she cares about her great-grandaughter.
That....Doesn't help.
At last, to give the household some peace, I take Zinnia for a walk. And wonder where I went wrong as a father. I made sure she learned her skills, never wanted for anything...Should I not have trusted the swing? I was raised with the help of a swing, and I turned out OK...
My mind buzzes along in uneasy circles, trying to figure out what to do. Riverview isn't known for child therapists, but...It's an option. Maybe this is just a phase. A crying endlessly phase.
It's not until I'm well down the street that I notice the change in sound.
Laughing. Zinnia was laughing.
"Ah! It's a miracle!"
"Phh. I wish I could take credit."I picked Zinny up and spun her around, overjoyed that she'd finally stopped crying.
All was right in the world.
Also going very right was something in my sweetie's life: She was going out and making friends.
Her 20th friend, to be exact. That's right...She was now completing her wish to be super-popular. I'm so happy for her.
And she's very happy for Zinnia, too. Everything's back to normal here.
We've even gotten time to start her museum now. It's coming along nicely. All is well at last.
Heath's Requirements:Lifetime Wish: Culinary LibrarianCareer: Cooking
Supermax Skill: Cooking, 2/3 Challenges
Building/Property: Little Corscican Bistro, Banzai Lounge
LTR: Speedy Cleaner, Born to Cook, Fireproof Homestead
Best Friends: Linden Seraphim, Orchid Seraphim, Mildred Oakley, Zinnia Seraphim, Jerry Forman, Rigoberto Connor, Danica Levin, Shannon Mayes, Delvin Mckraken, Joline SherrodBlack Ops: Memorable Meal, Smooth like Verbal Butter, Catering Time!, Create-A-Crepe
Portraits: Toddler, Child, Teen, Young Adult
Sculptures/Photographs: Toddler (Sculp and Photo), Child (Sculp and Photo), Teen (Sculp and Photo), YA (Sculp and Photo)
Zinnia's Requirements:Lifetime Wish: Career: Supermax Skill: Building/Property: LTR:Best Friends: Aster Seraphim, Heath Seraphim, Mildred (Oakley) Seraphim
Black Ops:Portraits: Toddler
Sculptures/Photographs: Toddler (Both)