Chapter 15 - The Unluckiest Romance Sim

Wasabi headed to work, casting an appreciative once-over as Sinjin walked past.  If the carpool wasn't here right now, she thought, trailing off.   She had to be the unluckiest Romance Sim!

Camryn had her hands full caring for two toddlers.  It felt like there was always a diaper to be changed or a bottle to be made. 

"Just a moment, Vito," she said soothingly. "Mama will be right with you!"

She finished changing Vivi's diaper and snuggled her for a moment.  She loved her niece so much.  It was such a shame her sisterinlaw never paid any attention to her!

"Mama!" Vivi said, patting Camryn's shoulder.

"MY MAMA!" Vito wailed jealously. 

"I love both of you so much!" she said, kissing the tops of each of their heads.  "We're going to play nice today," she reminded them. "No fighting over toys. We share in this house!"

The toddlers crawled off and became engrossed in their toys and Mama took a quick nap.

 Sharp Siblings brought home coworkers.

"Are you sure everything is ready?" Wasabi asked Ben.  They had scheduled her big speech today and gone over all her talking points.  She was ready to finally beat that pesky Joe!

She tapped the mic and greeted the people milling the room with a smile.  "Ladies and gentlemen," she began.  "Wishes do not magically come true."  She paused to let that sink in, noting that she had caught their attention. 

"Hard work towards a common goal is the way we make things happen!"  Her speech was inspirational and at the end there was a smattering of applause. "Vote for me! I'm Wasabi Sharp."  It didn't hurt that the Sharps were a household name.

"That was a wonderful speech," Peter said, greeting her afterwards.  "I'm with the town's newsletter.  I was wondering if I could get a statement about how you felt about Joe's campaign promise to tirelessly work towards maternity and paternity leave after the birth of a child.  He said recently that every person should be given the opportunity to care for their family."

"Oh, that jerk," Wasabi snapped.  He'd taken the very issue they'd argued about and turned it into his campaign promise behind her back. 

Unfortunately for her, the mic was still on and her voice reverberated through the room, causing several people to glance up at her.

"Are you against maternity or paternity leave?" the reporter asked, eager to get juicy details for his story.  "Or just Joe, in particular?" 

 "And then, I called him a jerk." Wasabi said, crossing her arms.  "The whole thing could have been avoided had you told me that he was going with maternity leave as a campaign promise.  You are supposed to know these things!"

"Oh plumbbob, Miss Sharp. I'm so sorry. I'd spoken with his staff and they didn't say anything about it," he trailed off apologetically.

"Do better next time!" she snapped, dismissing him.

 AH!

"She always did hate me," Camryn moaned.

It doesn't look like much, but that's the light bulb going off over Xerxes head.  He finally realized he loved Camryn! 💖

Wasabi gleefully worked hard on her counterattack against Joe's campaign.

Oh snap. I must still have Risky Woohoo in the game!

Xerxes had been trying to make it out to the updated Septic Tank Science Facility for many days, but there was always something at home that needed to be taken care of. 

 He headed inside the trailer and greeted his coworker, Andrea.  "Thanks for meeting me here," she told him.  "As I mentioned before. It's my belief that there is some sort of coverup at play here.  Why the need for the fences?

Head Scientist Allyn shook her head.  "Just a safety precaution," she informed the pair.  "As you can see, we have opened up the Science Facility for you to peruse.  There's no coverup here. "

"Then you don't mind if I check it out, do you?" Xerxes asked.

Allyn indicated the door. "By all means. I'll unlock the gate for you."

The steps were quite steep and covered with snow.  Xerxes cautiously headed down, amazed by how deep the crater was. 

When he reached the bottom of the landing, he kicked some snow around and looked for something out of place.  But, he could see nothing.

This was a bust, he thought as he headed back up.  Andrea was wrong about this place.

Xerxes got home late and slipped into bed beside his wife. 

 Ah, Vito's so cute!

The place was a mess, Camryn thought.  She'd been so exhausted recently, she hadn't been getting rid of the dirty bottles like she should be doing.  What if Vito or Vivi drank from one of those bottles? She really should be more careful!

It didn't take long and the house was straightened, if not clean.  

She made a simple breakfast and called everyone to eat.

 The first belly pop caught her off-guard.  Pregnant again? Where would she put the baby?

Her best friend was so excited for her.  "Pregnant again!" she said happily.  "I'm so jealous!"

Brittany's excitement was contagious.  "I do love the baby stage," she admitted. "They have such little hands and feet!"

 Over lunch, the two got caught up with each other's lives.

"Oh my goodness, but the ghosts here!" Camryn said, shaking her head.  "Some nights I think I'm going to die from fright!"

Finally, Brittany got around to saying what she'd been waiting to say the whole time.  "But still no wedding ring?" she asked pointedly.

Camryn shrugged.  "The time just hasn't been right," she said defensively.

"Mmmhmmm," Brittany said, her voice full of disbelief.

Wasabi greeted a stranger and started to give a speech about her campaign promises.

But Nery was not impressed at all.  He continued on his way.

 She saw Xerxes brought his buddy Peter home with him.

She headed over and greeted him with fake cheer, kissing his cheek and exclaiming over how long it'd been since they last saw each other.  "And how's your wife and kids?" she asked pleasantly. 

"You're fishing for votes, aren't you?" Peter asked nonchalantly.

"Come on, little man," Xerxes said, lifting Vito from his crib.  "Today's the big day!"

 "Oh joy, a kiddie birthday party," Wasabi said as she came inside with the annoying Peter.

Xerxes and Camryn sang happy birthday to Vito and clapped and cheered while he blew out the candles.

 "Make a wish!" Camryn called out.

"I wish I can eat as much cake as I want to!" Vito said hopefully.

"Nice try, buddy," Xerxes laughed.

Camryn woke up, starving.  

Xerxes, trying to be more attention and helpful, hurried downstairs to prepare omelettes.  They were delicious and filling!

As they ate, he reached across the table and held her hand.  It was the little things he had started doing that showed how much he cared, she thought happily.

 Camryn took a bottle to give to Vivi. 

"I don't want milk. I want real food!" Vivi pouted.

Camryn had completely missed her niece's growing up!  "Let's go see what's in the fridge."

Camryn had later gently suggested that Vivi share the bed with her mother, Wasabi.  Neither mother nor daughter was very interested in that scenario.  So, Xerxes threw together a bunk above Vito's bed.  The kids would share the little alcove for the time being.

 Roaches finally caused the flu to sweep through the house.

Camryn finally gave birth. She was so tired and hungry all the time, it had been a truly miserable pregnancy!

"Look! My baby brother!" Vito told his cousin Vivi.  

Exhausted, Camryn immediately passed the baby boy to Xerxes and climbed into bed.

Welcome to the family Urias Lee!

Xerxes was happy to greet his teen friend, Ivy.  It had been so long since they'd fumbled through their first kiss together.  It seemed almost another lifetime ago.  He happily told her all about his newborn son.

Camryn tried to befriend Ivy, as well.  But, Ivy rudely blew her off.

 "There's no need to be rude!" Camryn said, hurt. 

She headed inside and left Xerxes' in Ivy's company.  She wasn't going to tell him who he could hang out with.  But if looks could kill, he would not be hanging out with Ivy because she would be dead!

Wasabi had always known this day would come, she thought as she stepped from her carpool.

She waved a greeting towards the father of her child.  Jason.

 "I have a dad?" Vivi asked, overwhelmed at the tall man standing in front of her.  Her mom, not big on explanations, introduced the pair and then went to her room.  "Are you going to take me to live with you?" she asked, semi-hopefully.  She would miss Aunt Camryn and her cousin, Vito.  But, sometimes she hated living here.

"No, nothing like that," Jason assured her, hoping to set her mind at ease.  "I just wanted to meet my little girl."

 GASP!

Vito?! What do you have to be so mad about?

You're only supposed to move the urn once in this challenge.  But since this is the THIRD time a kid has gotten mad and broken it, I'm moving it outside to the family graveyard.  No urns are allowed inside!

 I found the kids outside stomping on roaches.

When Vito finished stomping, Vivi yelled that she'd picked up a roach and chased her cousin, tormenting him.

"BOO!" she said, laughing at his reaction.

"That's so mean, Vivi!" he cried.

"You're no fun," she said, heading back and stomping roaches.

"Kids, what are you doing inside. It's bedtime!" Camryn said as she came out.  She eyed the scattering roaches and shuddered.  "Inside with the both of you!" she said firmly.  "Stop playing with the roaches!"

The kids trudged after her. "We're not playing with them Aunt Cammy, we're trying to KILL them!"

 Progress of the exterior siding going up. Lol.  And poor Wasabi and Vito stomping roaches again.

It was entirely unplanned & spur of the the moment.  But it was something Xerxes had been thinking about alot lately.  He wanted to finally make Camryn his wife.  It didn't matter that it wasn't fancy to them.  It was more about the promises they'd made to each other.

Just before sweet little Urias became a toddler!  Better late than never!

It caught Wasabi completely off-guard.  But somehow, she'd developed some sort of crush on her assistant Benjamin.  She thought about him alot, curious about what it could be like between them.

Then again, maybe it was just because she hadn't woohooed since before Vivi was born.

She called him in the middle of the night, not surprised that he nervously said he'd be right over.  He always jumped to her bidding!

She invited him inside and thanked him for his hard work on her campaign.  "You know I would be nothing without your hard work," she said, charming him. 

Ben basked under the praise.

 She invited him to her room and apologized for not having any seating anywhere else. 

"There was the dining table in the kitchen," he pointed out. 

Wasabi laughed, playfully hitting his chest.  "You say the funniest things!" she told him, working her arm around his shoulder.

 But when she made move to kiss him, he pulled away indignantly.  "Miss Sharp! This is wholly improper!" he protested

Wasabi frowned.  She was definitely the unluckiest Romance Sim in all of history!