Merit holds his newborn daughter, Tessa Blu-Banks, in his arms and watches as she hungrily devours her nighttime bottle. She’s the best thing that has happened to him, but even his love for her doesn’t erase the troublesome thoughts he’s been having lately. Although he prefers not to entertain them, they remain in his head like stubborn mildew in a shower that multiplies under the right conditions.
He puts Tessa back in her bassinet and heads downstairs to find Roni. She’s in the kitchen, once again sitting at her computer—the same place she’s been for hours. As he watches her type, the thoughts return. He’s promised Roni over and over again that he’d never leave her, but lately, he can think of nothing else.
He sits down beside her at the counter quietly. Roni doesn’t even bother to look up from her screen. Merit wonders if their broken relationship is beyond repair. One issue gets patched up, and three more pop into its place. He hoped their daughter would be the glue to hold it all together, but that’s a lot to ask of such a tiny sim. Cracks are forming all around sweet little Tessa, and if Merit doesn’t make a decision and fast, he’s sure that she’ll be the first one to fall through. He can’t allow that to happen.
Merit: Are you coming to bed? I just fed Tess, *cautious*, but she misses her mama.
Veronica: Why are you always trying to make me feel guilty for working, Mer? You know this project is important to me.
More important than Tess? Merit wants to ask, but he knows that simple question would cause an eruption that he’s not sure he can contain.
Merit gives up.
Merit: I’m going to bed. See you – eventually.
Veronica: *apologetic tone* Merit?
Merit continues out of the room and up the stairs while Roni stares at his back. She’s not oblivious to their problems, and worse than that, she knows she’s the cause of them. She realizes that she’s right on the brink of losing the love of her life, but she feels helpless to do anything about it.
Roni is feeling crushed under the weight of loss and disappointment. Her taking time off to have their daughter has quickly caused her to become a nobody within the entertainment world. She’s been skating on her mother and father’s fame so long that she never took the time to develop her own identity. Now that they are gone, she’s lost the only footing that she once had. Completing this book – a biography about her mother, Michelle Blu is the only hope she has of regaining some fame and climbing her way back up the celebrity chain.
But putting all her time and energy into it comes at a cost. Unfortunately, the two people she loves most in this world are paying the highest prices. She turns off the computer and finally leaves the room.
Merit will never completely understand all of this. He grew up a normal sim. He doesn’t get that she now feels like a ghost, left behind in a world where she no longer belongs – surrounded by walls built up by fame. She feels pressure to continue to hold them up. She’s afraid that if she releases the tension for even a second, they’ll come tumbling down around her.
The emotional bomb drops, and tears rattle her body. Deep down, Roni knows that her mother never intended for her to live with these fears. Michelle only ever wanted Roni to have everything she never had growing up. And here she is, ruining it, ignoring her daughter and Merit. And the only way she can fix it is to let it all go. Maybe fame was never for her. Maybe her little family needs a fresh start, somewhere where nobody knows the person she’s still pretending to be.
It’s the start of my next term, and I end up oversleeping and missing most of my first class. My professor is not very impressed with me, and I will have to work very hard to climb my way back up in her class. However, my second class goes much better. After dismissal, I head to Foxbury Commons to meet Me-Me.
I am just completing some homework when she arrives.
Melisa: I’m sorry I’m late. My class got out a lot later than I expected.
Kai: It’s okay. It gave me time to get some stuff done.
Melisa: Are you ready to go?
I’m excited and a bit nervous at the same time. But I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.
We arrive in Henford-on-Bagley, but I surprise Me-Me by taking her to the local diner instead of going to the house right away.
Melisa: I thought we were just here to check out the house.
Kai: We are, but I thought we’d have lunch first.
She doesn’t object to that, so I go inside to get us a table.
Melisa: This is a nice surprise. Did you plan this?
Kai: No, this is me being spontaneous. *pause* Actually, I’m a bit nervous about checking out the house.
Melisa: Why? You don’t have to keep it if you don’t like it.
I want to tell her why I’m nervous about it, but it’s something that I think I’ll keep to myself for now. It’s more than just a house. It could be my future, and I want her to be a part of that more than anything.
The waitress arrives to take our order, then steps away, giving us more time to talk.
Kai: I’m starting to like it here in Henford. I like the quiet small-town feel.
Melisa: I like it too. It’s picturesque – it makes me wish I were a painter.
Kai: You don’t have to be a painter to paint.
Melisa: Yeah, but art was never something I was good at.
It’s hard for me to imagine Me-Me being bad at anything, so I’ll have to take her word for it.
Melisa: So, have you looked this place up online?
Kai: The house? No, I want my first time seeing it to be in person.
Melisa: I get that. And I think you’re going to love it.
Yeah, but will you? That’s the question I’m asking myself as the waitress arrives with our food.
Me-Me takes one look at her pumpkin stew and sees that something is off about it. One sip confirms her suspicion.
Melisa: Ugh, there’s too much salt in this.
Luckily the waitress is still standing there.
Kai: Can we send this back?
Waitress: Sure. I’ll get you another serving.
Melisa: *lost appetite* No, it’s okay. I’m not very hungry anyway. So I’ll stick with the tea.
Waitress: I‘m so sorry about this. I’ll be sure to remove it from your bill. *walks away*
I apologize as well.
Kai: Sorry about the soup. This place had good reviews…
Melisa: It’s okay. It happens.
I quickly finish my food. Our lunch date didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but maybe something good is still to come. We leave the diner and make our way to the house.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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