The family took the Reichmanns to the park for an afternoon picnic the last day in Glimmerbrook, but they were approached by paparazzi who were around bothering all the time 😒
When Renee dropped off her parents, she watched the happy scenes of the old friends' reunion then greeted Leif and Daphne. However, Renee could tell her presence perturbed Leif and that a lot weighed on his mind. Up close she could see those tired eyes, so full of shame and despair. She never intended to disrupt his pleasant evening, but he should at least be reminded of his poor actions towards Jay. Thinking about it, when else would she get to speak to Leif again?
The following day, Bryce decided to go boxing at the gym with Robbie and release all the pent up frustration at his former company. He didn't expect to meet his good old friend Leif Pollock there!
I need to tell them. Those were the words occupying Robbie's mind throughout the afternoon with his parents. But why ruin a good day? Any parent would react badly hearing the news of their son quitting his career at a highly respected company. Robbie knew Leilani would react less severely, given her positive outlook on all situations, so when Bryce went to buy some food, he took the opportunity.
Having finally discussed the matter, Robbie felt an immediate sense of relief. "Oh come here, darling, you did the right thing quitting." It pained Leilani to hear her son struggling and concealing this information from her, "You must always prioritise yourself and that job wasn't doing you any good...I just want you to be happy and healthy Robbie." When Bryce returned, Robbie took a deep breath and said, "Dad, there's something you should know."
Bryce pressured Robbie to be successful without fully realising it. These were things such as comparing him to Renee, always asking about work research and setting high expectations given their shared love for biology and science. When Renee and Robbie secured good jobs, he boasted about them to friends and family, which undoubtedly unnerved Robbie anytime reality didn't meet expectations. Now that he quit his job, it was that fear of disappointment.
Faced with his dad, Robbie felt like he impulsively threw away his ambition, when he could've resolved the issues by dismissing them until things went away. Anger welled up in Bryce's eyes after the conversation and Robbie braced himself for the sighs and disapproval.
"Who are those co-workers Robbie??? I'm gonna teach those jerks a lesson cos no one messes with my son!" Bryce responded with an assertiveness in his voice, hinting he'd do anything to defend his family. As much as Robbie would've liked to see that, it wasn't the most sensible action. "T-Thanks Dad, but I've moved on from those events," Robbie admitted, still taken aback by his reaction. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better upbringing, I-I never meant to put that much pressure," Bryce explained after calming down, "I just want the best for you."
"Look, I'm proud of you. You don't have to reach the top of your career or earn the big wages-…hell you don't even have to prove anything to show me that. I'm already so proud of you every minute and every day, because you are my son."
Bryce felt pretty good. Music drifted through the air from Levi's guitar, and he was grilling his signature BBQ ribs. What more, he was in the company of his favourite people: his beautiful wife, sister, and best mate. "I still can't get used to this, I'm a grandad!" Bryce laughed heartily at the table while the parents engaged in animated chatter about their kids. Soon they were gushing over photos of Renee, Robbie, Kiana and of course the twins. "Honey, two more weeks and we'll meet the twins!" Leilani kissed her husband and smiled from ear to ear. They couldn't wait for the day to come!
Surprise @duusheen and @estah!!! I'm sorry that these guys have not appeared in my posts for a whole freakin year 😱 (esp Bryce and Leilani TERRIBLE IK!!!). I've slowed down my legacy for storytelling and once you move on a gen, the previous ones don't feature as much 🤧 I'm trying to include more sims that are relevant (e.g Uncle Billy 🫡) but unfortunately not everyone is involved. So I am here to say your babies Leilani and Levi are living their best lives in my game!!!
What were nerves at first, gradually turned into confidence. Vincent was glowing with happiness talking about Renee, first expressing his love and commitment to her, to ending with the big question. "I love your family and I love your daughter so much. And I wanted to ask for your blessing to marry her." He looked at his future father-in-law, whose face was brimming with delight , "Of course you have my blessing! Come here!"
"Oh and stop with this Bryce nonsense! Call me Dad," Bryce said giving Vincent's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "I mean I don't want to force you or anything, just know you can always lean on me." Given the situation of his own dad, addressing someone this way felt so foreign to Vincent. By all means, he saw Bryce as a father figure, but he didn't feel comfortable or close enough to call him that yet. "Thanks...Dad," Vincent smiled, touched by his words.
They spent the next moment bonding, with Vincent speaking from the heart about his respect for the Reichmanns and Bryce imparting some wisdom, cracking jokes along the way. When they heard the car outside, Bryce asked, "Anything I can do to help with the proposal?"
"Keep this a secret from Renee," Vincent grinned, just when she opened the front door. "What are you two talking about?"
"I was just asking Dad when he is going back to Sulani. You and I need a little break, a weekend getaway before work starts kicking our ass."
Knowing Leif Pollock, the famous artist, was here, Nancy could not miss the opportunity to serve her esteemed guest. "Hello hello!!! It's an honour to have you dine with us again Leif and Daphne! And your wonderful guests today," Nancy beamed at everyone and then made introductions with her new visitors.
Soon after, the table was making amiable chatter with the head chef, with Bryce in particular, relishing his surrounding atmosphere. "This place is beautiful chef! How long have you been running the restaurant?"
"Thank you so much! Oh not long actually, it's only been a month," Nancy recalled. "My fiancé's parents recently retired and have passed down the restaurant to us. We had plans to locate in Tartosa and start a business there, but we decided to stay here. To continue our legacy."
Nancy looked around the dining area, enthralled by yet another magical evening due to her supervision. Castillons was where she embarked on her journey as a professional chef after graduating from culinary school. And now she is its proud owner along with her love, Hugo. "It's my dream come true to own a restaurant…and this place, it's quite special to me."
After recommending some specialties for dessert, Nancy wished the party a pleasant night and returned to the kitchen.
Note: IT'S NANCY'S RESTAURANT!! 🤭 Did you see this coming? I thought it would be a clue to say Bistro here, which you could link to Hugo as he is French.
The lore is that Castillons is a bistro (first opened by Hugo's grandfather) turned restaurant by his parents! But this post was the first thing I thought of once completing the backstory (we got there in the end). I was like I need to introduce Nancy's restaurant in some way and what better opportunity than this ☺️ It was Nancy's dream to open/run a restaurant, so I wanted to make this a special place by building it myself. It took a while because I hadn't done the interior and lately, I keep on having a lack of motivation. I have so many ideas, just no mood or inspo to play. (I kept forcing myself to make the post or scroll simblr but it always tired me out, making me unproductive. But I gave it time and inspo came itself.)
