Sims In Bloom: Generation 3 Pt. 53 (Thinking About Lavender)
In San Myshuno, the man behind the shipping robots was always hard at work. Whether working in the lab with his coworkers, under the ever-discerning eye of his grandmother, or at home, Ash Landgraab was becoming something of a robot savant.
While his wife, Pearl, practiced routines in front of the mirror, Ash spent hours at home tinkering on utiliti-bots to help with cleaning and repairs. He named them Sparky and T.O.B.O.R., like members of the family. He was even working on his very own personal servo bot.
Ash's second cousins, Noemi and Cristal Zest, married their high school sweethearts in a double ceremony and reception at the Stargazer Lounge in Uptown SanMy. Noemi's husband was Ash's childhood friend, Arun Kalani, and Cristal wed Pearl's pro athlete younger brother, Darrell Richards.
(bottom two photos l-r: Felicia Richards, Pearl's little sister, is a teenager now, parents Dylan and Gavin Richards, Cristal, Darrell, and Cristal's parents and younger brother, Eva Capricciosa, Deven, and Johnny Zest; l-r: Dustin Broke and his boyfriend, Xavier Kalani, Eva, Arun's parents, Mitchell Kalani and Zoe Patel Kalani, newlyweds Noemi and Arun, Johnny, and Arun's brother-in-law, Roman Holiday, and his wife, Xavier's twin sister Isabelle Kalani Holiday.)
Roman Holiday might be Scotti Holiday's younger brother and Ash hadn't seen him since high school, but he didn't spend much time talking to him at the wedding. (Thus he still doesn't know Scotti lives in EH, not far from his younger sister, because he still has that restraining order and he hasn't cared less about her since he realized Pearl was the woman of his dreams.)
When Pearl wasn't home, she was with the company. They'd just started learning choreography for their next production, The Princess and the Pauper, so Ash usually found himself alone with his workstation on weekend afternoons.
Sometimes, he'd head across the Uptown plaza to visit his father's side of the family, where his youngest sister, Catherine, usually harangued him into reading him a story or practicing flashcards.
But the Landgraabs were always happy to see him, and on today's visit, his stepmother, Miko, asked him about Lavender.
"I haven't heard from her in a while," he admitted. Ash didn't know how his inventions harmed the environment half a world away in Evergreen Harbour, that they'd be mortified to know his shipping robots had names like family pets. But the sister he knew was rarely so quiet. "I think she might be ignoring my texts..."
"Maybe she's just busy. It probably takes a lot to get situated alone in a whole new town."
"You're probably right."
"I'm asking about Lavender because I wonder if she's kept playing her violin."
He shrugged. "Not that anyone would ever know about it."
"The new Simflix show, Buzz of Desire, is looking for composers to submit for soundtrack consideration. It'll be an anthology with different artists, just like the books themselves, and Bridgette's hard work on Idolized has me inspired to throw my hat back in the ring. I've been working on commercial jingles for so long, I want to prove to myself that I can still write something with a little more depth."
"Sounds cool."
"It is, until you have to listen to all the baroque music she's been playing for inspiration," noted Malcolm with snide laughter.
"I've asked Layne Coffin to work on a demo, but having more than one violin could really push my bid over the line. And Lavender's playing is just so...pleasant. Effortless. Layne's work is good, and his name has cache, but I could listen to your sister play her violin for hours."
"I doubt she'd be interested. She's usually too anxious about her perfectionism to perform for anyone - let alone for a TV show that seems destined to be a hit. But you can ask her if you want. I'm not sure she'll even respond if I say anything about it."
"Ash, read me a story," suggested four-year-old Catherine, all but ending the discussion between him and her mother.
"Say please," insisted Miko.
"Please, Ash. Please!"
Ash grinned as Miko set Catherine down, but he'd already pulled out a copy of his mother's children's book, Gord and the Time-Traveling Pirate.
"I'll reach out to your sister and see what she says. I'm sure Layne wouldn't mind sharing the load if she says yes."
"Big if," Ash insisted, before launching into Heather Gordon's Starlight Accolade-winning tale of time-traveling pets.
"You invenn-ed time travel so your mom could win award," Catherine pointed out with a giggle.
"There were other reasons, but that probably is the best one," Ash admitted. "But robots are an invention we should actually use; time travel should just be for stories."
"Good stories, like Gord and the pirates!"
While Ash and stepmom, Miko, went about their day in San Myshuno, Lavender's best friend, Brea, returned to sunny Brindleton Bay after travelling the world with her godmother, Hayley.
She greeted her dads, Brent and Brant, with smiles and hugs, regaling them with details of her trip and all the places she and Hayley had been.
"Nordhaven was my favourite, and we even got to go to EdgewaveFest to see Ziggy Skint live! That was amazing! Then we went on to Del Sol Valley, and I met a curator at DELSOMA who said she'd consider hanging some of my work in their 'Future Artisans' wing, as long as she gets first consideration for new pieces."
"Aren't you already an artist?" wondered Brant.
"Just not a known one, Dad. I couldn't believe it when she offered; I thought Hayley put a spell on her or something, but Hayley promised she'd never have to coerce anyone to like my work."
"We've got plenty of your earliest works to sell when you do make it big," joked Brent. "We'll retire on it."
"Did you decide where you want to set down roots to make all your artwork?"
Brea smiled thoughtfully. "I think so. But before I make a final decision, I want to visit Lavender in Evergreen Harbour to see how she's doing."
"I heard from her mother at the clinic the other day that the air our there is pretty polluted. She's worried about her daughter's health."
"I probably won't stay that long," Brea insisted. "Just long enough to make sure she's okay after everything she's been through in the last little while."
"I'm sure she'll be excited to see you, but if pollution really is that bad out there, be careful. We don't want you getting sick."
"And if you stay-"
"Who said anything about staying? It's just a visit," Brea insisted.
"Sure it is, for now..."
"Lavender loves being alone. She won't need me to stay forever."
Her dads exchanged knowing grins and dropped the subject. They knew their daughter's feelings for her best friend well, and they knew Lavender was single again.
"Just don't be afraid to finally admit your feelings if it comes up," Brant encouraged as he leaned in for a hug. "It'll be a lot easier, one way or another, once that's been addressed between you."
Brant nodded with a supportive smile. "For better or worse, it's better to know. That's how your Dad and I fell in love after becoming friends."
"Maybe all that was just easier a million years ago," Brea cracked.
"How would you know if you keep not saying a word?"
"Because it's easier not losing my best friend."
Her dads dropped the subject and left Brea to change and unpack some of her things. but heading into the heat of Evergreen Harbour in the summer, she only needed to unload most of her jackets and sweaters, and debate with herself how many changes of clothes she needed to bring.
If Brea wasn't staying that long, she could keep her suitcase light. But what if she did confess her feelings? What if...? ->
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Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary | RIP Neal
Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary | Gen 2.2 Summary | Gen 2 Finale
Brea Hecking transformed by her godmother, @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants
