Maia and Tambara return home from their day at the salon with fresh braids and pretty nails. They can’t resist a selfie or two.
Tambara: *taking a selfie* I look like a big girl, mommy.
Maia: You are a big girl.
Maia pulls out her phone.
Maia: Say cheese, Tami!
Tambara: Cheese? Why?
Maia: It’s what you say when you smile for a picture.
Tambara: No thanks. I think I’ll go find Luna.
Maia takes the selfie anyway before Tami walks away to find the cat.
Tami checks Luna’s usual places downstairs but doesn’t see her. She can only find Hiro, who’s alone in the garage.
Tambara: *to Hiro* Do you know where Luna is?
Tami considers playing with Hiro instead, but his loud barks and sharp teeth sometimes scare her. She leaves the garage to tell her mommy that the cat is missing.
Tambara: Luna is gone, mommy. I don’t see her anywhere.
Maia: Did you check your room, the kitchen, and the backyard?
Although Tami didn’t check anywhere but the garage and foyer, she still insists that Luna has gone missing.
Tambara: She’s not anywhere!
Something suddenly occurs to Tami.
Tambara: Mommy, if Luna died—can we get two cats?
Maia: What! Why would you think she died?
Tambara: Because she’s not anywhere.
Maia: Don’t worry. She’s somewhere around here. Luna was a stray cat before I adopted her. Sometimes, she likes to wander off. She’ll be back soon.
Tambara: *sad* But I don’t want her to wander off. I want to play with her!
Maia isn’t worried because she knows Luna will be back, but she does her best to reassure her daughter.
Maia: Don’t cry Tami. The last time Luna went missing, I sent out a neighborhood alert, and she returned immediately. Do you want me to send one now?
Tambara: Yes!
Maia: I will. And in the meantime, do you want to go upstairs to see your presents and the big surprise in your bedroom?
The thought of gifts and surprises cheers Tami up. She hurries up the stairs to see what’s waiting for her.
First, she enters the living room and smiles at the gigantic pile of gifts. But she’s too excited to see what else she has to open them. She turns and enters her bedroom instead.
Tami walks in and sees that almost everything in her bedroom is different. Her little toddler bed is gone and replaced with a big girl’s bed.
Tambara: Ooh! Nice try!
Maia enters the bedroom behind her, excited to see the new designs.
Maia: So what do you think of your new bedroom?
Tambara: It’s a nice try, mommy
Maia: *confused* What do you mean, ‘nice try?’
Tami sits down on the pillows in the corner to get a different view of the room before she responds.
Tambara: It’s giving cute, but not princess.
Maia: What?
Maia is not pleased with Tami’s reaction.
Maia: Come here Tami!
Tami gets up and watches as her mommy walks over and sits on the bed. Maia pulls out her phone and scrolls through the pictures.
Maia: *pats the bed* Sit down next to me.
Tami obeys her mommy.
Maia: Do you know the word gratitude?
Tambara: *shakes her head*
Maia: It means being happy with the things that you have because not everyone gets those same things.
Maia shows Tami the picture on her phone.
Maia: This is where you slept when you were first born. Your crib was in Mommy and Daddy’s room because our house only had one bedroom. We moved here so you can have your own bedroom. But imagine if we did not move, and you still had to share a room with us. There would be no room for toys, and you’d have to listen to Mommy and Daddy snore all night. It would sound like a giant scary monster, and you’d never get to sleep.
Tambara: Oh no!
Maia: Do you want us to move back to that house?
Tambara: No
Maia: Then you need to be happy to be here, no matter what your bedroom looks like. You should have gratitude. Okay?
Tambara: Okay. I’ll have grat-tatoo, mommy!
Maia: Good girl.
Tambara: Can we change into our Spooky Day costumes now?
Tami is in the living room opening her gifts when I complete my SimTube video and join her and Maia upstairs. Maia enters the hallway dressed in a fancy dress, reminding me it’s Spooky Day today.
Wade: What’s going on here?
Maia: Costumes. We stopped by the costume shop after we left the salon. Don’t worry, there’s one for you too. Tami picked it out and insisted that we wrap it and give it to you for your birthday.
Tami picking out my costume almost certainly means it’ll be as over-the-top as Maia’s. I dread seeing it.
Wade: Oh no
Maia: Yep
I see Tami dressed as a princess, so I’m guessing Maia is supposed to be the queen. My stomach sinks even more.
Tambara: Daddy! Open your gift and put it on.
I open the gift that Tami points out to me, and as soon as I see what it is, I know that my dread is justified, but I change into it to make her happy…
Now that we’re all dressed up as a royal family, with me as the knight, we go outside to take Spooky Day pictures in our costumes. After the pictures are complete, Tami insists on going somewhere to show them off. But Maia, luckily, has an excuse to leave.
Maia: I can’t go with you, tadpole. I promised your grandfather that I’d help him pack.
Maia reenters the house to remove her costume. So, it’s just me and Tami.
Tambara: Let’s go daddy! But first, you need to put on your helmet!
Wade: *deep sigh* Do I have to?
Tambara: Mommy says we should have grat-tatoo, daddy.
Wade: We should have what?
(Generation 4 Chapter Summaries)
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