Gen 3 Ch 12: A Friendly Hot Dog

Clover liked keeping up with the extended family, meeting Liam and his daughter in front of the diner.

Clover's brothers were usually to busy to hang out with her, but sometimes she caught glimpses of them around town.

Cypress' love life still wasn't going too well, it seemed.

Darwin kept collecting rocks and turned them into profitable treasures with his gem cutter in the hallway.

Sometimes even in the middle of the night!

In nights like these, Dolores retreated to the stable.
"Dad is so annoying, making noise right in front of my room! I wish he'd stop already!"

Little did she know that in the meantime, Darwin had indeed stopped making noise with his gem cutter.

"Ludicrous...", Darwin muttered, pausing for a brief moment during the pie eating contest with his wife. The unwelcome memory of last night's strange dream haunted him. It still left him with a queasy feeling in his stomach. Or maybe it was all this pie.

Naturally, with Darwin distracted, Clover won the contest. She pulled her husband into an exuberant kiss when he congratulated her.

Clover's passionate embrace helped Darwin forget everything that would have normally bothered him. The pouring rain, the sticky pie filling running down their faces, and even that unsettling dream. Only the tingling sensation in his belly remained.
Yes. Definitely too much pie.

They continued their date in the warm, dry movie theater...

... and ended it at home, talking for hours.
The two of them had always shared everything, so Darwin told his wife about his dream. A convoluted nightmare about alien abductions, bright green lights, and probes in the most unexpected places. It seemed silly now, but still.

Clover listened patiently and once Darwin was done, she knew exactly the right words to make him feel better.

The two of them had always found comfort in each other.

When the doorbell rang, Bloom hurried to open it and greeted the friendly hot dog outside.
"Well, hello there, young man.", he said, smiling bemusedly, ignoring the elderly paparazzo hovering nearby. Paparazzi had been stalking Bloom since his Bridgeport days. They always skulked around the door, hoping for a scandal, or something, anything -- even after Bloom's retirement. But by now, they were as good as invisible to Bloom.
"I... uh... hello.", the hot dog stammered. "Uh... trick or treat...?"
"You're a bit early, aren't you? Spooky Day isn't until tomorrow."
"Uh... yes. I mean, yes, sir... uhm. Errmm... is--- ISDOLORESHERE?"
He had blurted out the last sentence as if it were a single word, but Bloom understood.

"I'm sorry, son", Bloom said in his kind voice. "She is out at the moment, and I don't know where. Should I let her know you were here? What's your name?"
"Oh, uh... no, that's alright sir. She wouldn't know..."
The boy looked startled when he saw Bloom's suspicious look. "Uhm, I mean... My name's Trent, sir. Trent Lum. I go to school with Dolores, but... but I don't think she ever..."
Bloom smiled, understanding.

Feeling sorry for the poor little sausage, Bloom invited him to come to Clover's Spooky Day party the following night. Seeing the distressed boy, Bloom was reminded of his own shy teenage self. The memories seemed so close as if they happened yesterday. Yet that shy, insecure boy that Bloom had once been was like a different person altogether.

Capturing a moment in time. Putting the brush to the canvas, quietly aware that each stroke could potentially be his last. Yet again.

That night, Darwin woke with a grumbling stomach.

"Maybe I shouldn't be eating this cake...", Darwin thought idly, as he glanced down his once skinny body. He frowned and continued shoveling the sugary sweetness into his mouth.

Running through the wilderness in search of gems was getting much more difficult than it used to be. This was annoying.

Maybe some exercise would do the trick...

In the meantime, Clover busied herself preparing a feast for the party. Pumpkin pie for Spooky day, and hamburgers because they were Dolores' favorite.

Darwin mixed drinks, following a recipe of his own invention. "Daredevil Dolores" and "The Unicorn" were served.

Clover had set an amazing table! Autumn salad, hamburgers and pumpkin pie, all of great - or maybe even better - quality. Darwin could feel his stomach grumbling again, but remembering his worrying weight gain, resisted the urge to dig in before the guests arrived.

It was a good party. Even the sulky teenagers had to agree.

Clover entertained the guests with some great tunes.

And as Bloom had secretly hoped, Dolores struck up a conversation with the friendly hot dog, who had since grown up and apparently outgrown his old costume.
"So, what are you supposed to be? A ninja or something?"
"Exactly! You're the first one to guess it, actually."
"Well, I can't blame the others. You obviously just raided your wardrobe for whatever black stuff you could find for this lame makeshift costume."
The ninja looked bemused. But to Dolores' surprise, unlike other Sims, he did not walk off after she insulted him. He laughed.

"You got me! Though I'll have you know that I had a badass hot dog costume, but I outgrew it last night. My birthday sort of snuck up on me."
"There's no way 'hot dog costume' and 'badass' should ever be uttered in the same sentence. Sounds like you got lucky, not fitting in that thing anymore."
And again, he laughed.

It was time to blow out the candles. As everyone cheered her on, Dolores stole another quick look at the unusual young man behind her.

And so Dolores became a young adult.