Chapter 24 (Vivi) - A 3 Bolt Love

 Vivi squeezed Melissa's hand and called out.  "You can come to sleep on the couch, dear!"

Melissa whispered, "We really should get the upstairs room walled in!"

Tesira cautiously came back into the room, clutching her fairy bear.  Since her moms were blatant Romance Sims, she had seen and heard a lot of things other girls her age had not. 

Somehow, in the middle of the night, she'd been moved to the bed.  It was common for one of her mom's to move her when they woke up in the morning.

"Wake up, dear," Vivi said, gently shaking her.  "It's your first day of school today!"

 Tesira bolted awake, eagerly anticipating her first day.

 And the chance to see Benito again!

Despite her occasional dalliance, Vivi was still madly in love with Melissa.

 A love like theirs was hard to beat, a 3 Bolt Love!

Melissa was first struck by the Zombie's beautiful red hair.  Over a game of chess, she was surprised to learn all the things they had in common.  Soon, it was time for her to get her daily workout done and she asked

She was sure Vivi would keep her in good company!

Apparently Zombies palette for regular food was much altered.  Only brains delicacy tasted good!

Melissa had waved goodbye to her new friend as she lurched down the stairs and kept working out.  She was going for that extra body skill today!

"Whew! That was a good workout!" she said as she jumped onto the bed next to Vivi.  "How'd you like her red hair? Cute, huh?"

Vivi nodded.  "Very!" She paused a moment. "You know, we still have an hour before Tesira gets home," she noted coyly.

Melissa grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for?" 

Tesira waved goodbye to Benito and hopped off her bus.  It was so much fun being able to see her new friends every day!

Since her moms were sleeping when she came in, she played quietly, not wanting to wake them up.

Melissa frowned. Another extortion attempt, she thought with irritation.  These kept coming, week after week, with the mastermind charging more and more money. 

 She pulled out her fingerprint scanner and tested the mailbox.

 Rats, only her prints appeared!

Another visit from their friendly neighborhood Zombie.

 Melissa got more than friendly with her for a short time.

Reluctantly, she said goodbye and pumped up the stereo for her daily workout.  Sometimes it was inconvenient timing, but it was important in her line of work to be in good shape!

Melissa was fast asleep in bed and Vivi was feeling bored.  Since she couldn't leave the lot alone, she would do the next best thing.

She'd invite a distraction over to her place.

Vivi got out of the care and fixed her hair, surprised to see a nice mail lady walking by at 2 in the morning.  Her natural curiosity, and let's be honest,  her sex drive, led her to introduce herself to the lovely woman.

 They chatted for what felt like hours.

Melissa fumed as she stomped roaches.  Someone had apparently kicked over the trash can.  She glared at Vivi.  And her wife just sat there and let the trash molder!

"I don't care that you're talking to this random chick for plumbbob knows how long!" Melissa snapped, barely giving the female any attention.  "But, would it have killed you to clean up the trash before hitting on her?"

Dagmar looked between the two angry females. "I'll just be going," she said cautiously, then hurried away.

"I would have cleaned it up if I'd seen it!" Vivi said grouchily.  "And how dare you take that tone of voice with me!" she added indignantly. 

"There are ROACHES all over our lawn now!" Melissa raged.  "I HATE ROACHES!

Vivi stomped upstairs and Melissa slammed her door car, huffing with irritation when her seat was once again pushed all the way back.  "Who keeps doing this?" she growled as she readjusted her seat.

 Since she had the house to herself, Vivi decided she was in need of a little pick-me-up.

Melissa wasn't the only one in the house that hated roaches.  The first thing Tesira did when she got home from school was to start stomping.

Thankfully, a friend came home with her and the two quickly got distracted playing cops & robbers, Tesira's favorite game.

 Melissa came home, pleased with her newest promotion and her new partner, Katy.

 Katy was quite pretty!

Tesira was kind of disappointed there was no cake or celebration for her big, teen birthday.  Her moms seemed busy with their own secret romances.  She tried to understand, but never really got it.  She knew her moms loved each other, so why did they need to flirt with other women?

 She called up her best friend and invited him over.

 "Happy birthday, pipsqueak," Benito told her, handing her a small box wrapped up in newspaper.  "Sorry about the wrapping," he said, embarrassed.  "I didn't have anything else."

She opened the present carefully, and found a small plush freezer bunny.

"I love it, Benito!" she said, giving him a quick peck on his lips.

Benito shuffled his feet nervously, flustered. "It was just something I picked up," he told her with a shrug.  "I gotta go. See you at school tomorrow!"

Tesira sighed, sure as she could be that she loved Benito.

Ew, she really needed her own room, Tesira thought when she walked in on her moms snuggling in bed.

David Ottomas happened to be walking by and Tesira greeted him.  You could never have too many friends.

"Oh look, Melissa found someone to talk about grilled cheese with!" Vivi said light-heartedly.

Melissa laughed.  "Tesira, I approve. David is welcome over anytime!"

Tesira mumbled something about David just being her friend.  Plumbbob, her moms were annoying!

 "Scoot to the back, Tesira," Vivi said as she got in the car. 

It had been awhile since the family went down to the justice compound.  But Mom said something about wanting to talk to an attorney.

"Thank you for seeing me," Vivi said in greeting, slightly surprised the attorney on staff was a Zombie.  She supposed she more than anyone would be able to help her with her request.

Meanwhile, Melissa took the opportunity to work on some cold cases. 

"Why did Mom need to see an attorney?" Tesira asked, worriedly.  She'd heard about some Sims whose parents stopped loving each other and wanted to get a divorce. 

 Melissa frowned, avoiding her daughter's gaze.  "It's nothing to worry about," she simply said.

Tesira might have stayed outside in the cold a little bit too long.

Thankfully her mom was there to help her out.

Tesira wasn't surprised when her Moms asked her for a moment of privacy.  That was a good sign they weren't getting divorced, right?

 "Is everything taken care of?" Melissa asked over a quiet lunch.

Vivi nodded and patted Melissa's hand. "Yes, I signed all the paperwork."

Melissa nodded, a sad look in her eye.

"Don't frown so, my love," Vivi said, dropping to her knee and serenading Melissa.  

 "What will I do without you?" Melissa asked, a tear in her eye.

"Psh, think of it as a beginning, not as an end!"

 Vivi wasn't sure what had woken her.  She sat upright and rubbed her eyes.

 The snowstorm raged outside as she padded to the windows and peered out into the darkness.

The moment Melissa had been dreading had happened.  Her dear, sweet, larger than life Vivi had passed away.

She wasn't sure if she could handle this.  What would Vivi do?

 Tesira made breakfast by force of routine. 

 "I'm not hungry, sweetie. I'll pick something up a little later."

Tesira worried about her Mom.  She didn't seem to be handling Vivi's death well.  She thought she couldn't hear her cry in the bathroom, but the walls were super thin.

As per the will Vivi filed with the attorney at the justice compound, Melissa and Tesira invited all the family over for a wake.

Vivi had said she wanted her family to celebrate her life, not mourn her passing.

It was an amazing day with her all her family members, old and young. 

Even Benito dropped by unexpectedly  to give his condolences. 

 We'll miss you Vivi Fancey!