Gen 8 Ch 14: Taking Chances

They laid Adam to rest on a beautiful plot of land on the cemetery, with enough space to bury his horse by his side. And, Grace thought with tears streaming down her face, eventually herself as well.

After the small and intimate ceremony was over, Hazel stayed behind to visit Aidan's grave.

Hazel and her father had been very close ever since she was little. Adam had always been there for her for as long as she could remember and had done his best to comfort her after losing Aidan, even if he had never understood her need to bring him back.

Still, the tragedy only renewed Hazel's resolve. Her son would not grow up without getting to know the wonderful man his father had been.

Wanting to have him closer to home, Hazel had Aidan's remains exhumed and put in a tasteful urn, which she placed on a shelf in her lab.

Every family member dealt with the loss differently. For Huxley, the loss of her chosen father reminded her of the way she had parted ways with her biological father Jamey so long ago.

Their conversation was brief, but pleasant. It would have been easy too fall into a hole of regrets over what was and could have been, but Huxley made it a point to focus on the positive memories instead. Whatever happened, whatever mistakes she or others may have made, the past was the past. It was still a new feeling to the once so tempestuous girl, but she felt only serenity when she hung up the phone.

However, there were other, more recent father issues to deal with.

Huxley had hoped Idris would turn out to look like her, but she'd had no such luck. Even if she kept his dull brown hair short and always tucked under various hats, his father's features were growing more distinct each day. There was no hiding it and soon Idris would be old enough to ask questions.

Huxley wondered if she was doing the right thing by not informing the boy's father. She didn't even really know his name. Had it been Rick? Robert? Whatever his name, she had no doubt that he was bad news. Then again, maybe this easy dismissal was depriving him of the chance to prove otherwise.

Many people in Huxley's life had come and gone, but there was one constant she could always turn to. They hadn't been on the best of terms for a long time, but since they saw each other regularly because of Ivy, a cautious friendship had begun to form again.

Theo wrinkled his brow as he listened to her predicament and thought carefully before giving his advice. "As a man I want to say he has a right to know, but after what you told me about him...well, you need to do what's best for Idris. Listen to your instincts, Hux. You're a great mom and I have no doubt that you'll always do what‘s best for the kids."

Grace hadn't overheard the conversation, but she entered the room just in time to see the two of them hug.

She smiled sadly and hoped that her daughter would realize what she had before it was too late.

Grace had finally baked the perfect key lime pie, but Adam was never going to taste it.

***

Icarus didn't have to look up to see who had opened the door to his room. There was only one sim in the house who continually refused to knock before entering.

"Ivy," he groaned, "I told you not to barge in like this! I could be doing anything in here."

"Ew, gross. Thanks for that image," Ivy sneered. "Anyway! Whatever you are doing, stop right now. I'm throwing a party at the public pool and I need you to come."

"I've got homework to do."

"Do it later. Copy it off of your dorky friend or whatever," Ivy said nonchalantly. "Oh, and while you're at it, bring him to the party too!"

"I'm sure Ralph doesn't want to go to a pool party any more than I do."

"Oh come on." Ivy sounded exasperated for a moment, but then she narrowed her eyes and purred, “If you come to the party, I won’t tell anyone at school that you have gummy worm bedding and kitty posters in your room.”

Now it was Icarus' turn to be exasperated. “That’s not a kitty poster; it’s a reference to a meme… you wouldn’t get it. And the thing on the sheets isn't a gummy worm, it’s the crystalline dragon from Adventuretopia 3 and—“

“Okay, okay,” Ivy interrupted as she sank onto the bean bag chair with a thud, “they’re nerd chic, whatever. Listen, Icky, I told everyone I'd take care of the annual cheer squad pool party. It's a really big deal! But now half of the boys in my year got detention because of a dumb prank, so almost none of them are coming. It's a disaster! If this party sucks, I'm going to look like a total idiot in front of the entire cheer squad!"

"You shouldn't care about what other--"

“Icarus, pleeeeaaase,” Ivy whined. She gazed at her cousin with puppy-dog eyes, her lower lip quivering. "Please help me out just this once, or I'll be the laughing stock of the entire school!"

Icarus looked at her and sighed. "All right, if it means that much to you."

"Perfect," Ivy said as she jumped up off the chair, all traces of pathos forgotten. "The party starts at two, don't be late!" And with that she was out of the room.

Icarus quickly found out why Ivy had been so set on having that pool party. It was the perfect chance for the cheer squad to flaunt their bodies--or at least that's what seemed to be happening.

Not that Icarus was complaining...he'd stolen a glance or two, especially at Lena Bird in her one-piece swimsuit, who'd given him a cute wave before turning to talk to the other cheerleaders again.

But with the rest of the invited boys all being on the football team, Icarus felt pretty out of place.

That's why he really appreciated that Ivy had insisted he bring Ralph. With his best friend by his side, Icarus could never be bored. The two of them were deep in conversation about a new MMO they had started playing together when they were interrupted by Ivy.

"It's your lucky day! Well, for one of you at least," she announced.

Icarus furrowed his brow, wary of anything that made Ivy smirk like that, but Ralph immediately asked, "How so?"

Ivy's grin grew even wider. "Annie Wells just broke up with Brian Marshall and she is desperate for a date for homecoming. She'd say yes to just about anyone right now. And that's where you come in!"

Icarus frowned. "That sounds like a terrible--"

"Aw man," Ralph cut in, "it's too bad I already have a date."

Both Icarus and Ivy's heads spun to look at him. "You do?" They asked in unison.

Ralph shrugged. "I asked Lena Bird yesterday." Then, in a mildly offended tone he added, "Don't look so surprised!"

"So it's up to you then, Icky," Ivy went on, ignoring Ralph and turning back to her cousin. "Annie really wants to go to homecoming."

"She should just go by herself if she wants it so badly," Icarus suggested.

"And look like a complete loser? Come on! The point is to make her boy-- I mean, the point is to show her ex-boyfriend that she's fine without him."

"Why not ask one of those guys from the football team then?"

"Duh! They're all on the team with her ex, of course. None of them would go for that!" Ivy shook her head, annoyed at her cousin's slow uptake. "So, are you going to ask her?"

"Sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me," Ralph chimed in.

Icarus was just about to offer a resounding no when the girl in question approached them. Before he could stop them, both Ivy and Ralph made quick excuses, leaving Icarus alone with Annie Wells.

He'd seen her at school before, strutting through the hallways with the rest of the cheer squad, but they'd never exchanged words. All of the cheerleaders were pretty, but Annie was undeniably the cutest (though Ivy was loath to admit that). And if that wasn't enough, Annie was always impeccably dressed, making her the most popular girl in school.

While his cousin was deeply entrenched in the who's who of their school and all the drama that came with it, Icarus couldn't care less about who was popular or not. He always did his own thing and was usually left in peace, flying just beneath the notice of girls like Annie.

That's why Icarus was bewildered when she knew his name, let alone details about his family life.

"Hey Icarus, I heard about your grandfather," Annie said gently, "I'm really sorry."

Icarus tensed when her fingers brushed his shoulder in a vague gesture of consolation. "Uh, thank you," he managed. He wasn't sure what to say next, so he settled for the truth, "I really miss him."

"I understand. My grandpa died last year and I still get sad sometimes. Every time I watch Whimsifamily I can't help but think of him."

"Whimsifamily?"

"It's this sitcom about a family--"

"I know what it is," Icarus cut in, "I love that series! I'm surprised you know it--they cancelled it so long ago."

"I know! But it's on Simflix now," Annie beamed. Then, somewhat sheepish, she added, "I watch a lot of Simflix. Too much, I suppose."

"Don't let anyone tell you something that makes you happy is bad because they don't like it," Icarus said before he could stop himself.

Annie cocked her head and gave him a quizzical smile. "I like that," she said. She stood and looked at him for a few moments, apparently mulling something over. Then she took a deep breath and asked, "Anyway, I was wondering... if you don't have a date yet, would you like to go to homecoming with me?"

Icarus froze. There it was. 'She's desperate', Ivy's words echoed in his mind. Annie didn't really want to go out with him; she just needed a prop. Way to make a guy feel special, he thought dully.

Then again, they actually had some things in common, it seemed. And with the way Annie was smiling at him now, Icarus simply couldn't turn her down.

"Alright," he said. "Sure, why not."

Ivy had meanwhile secured her own homecoming date: Wesley Chandra, captain of the football team and school heartthrob. Nothing less would do for Ivy.

It didn't take long for Icarus to question the wisdom of his decision, with Brian Marshall glaring at him across the pool for the remainder of the party.

But it was too late to back out now.

*

As per her request, Icarus met up with Annie outside the school, rather than picking her up at her house. He'd been a few minutes late, so when the two entered the school gym, the dance was already in full swing.

Icarus' eyes were immediately drawn to a familiar pair. He felt a strange pang of jealousy seeing Ralph dancing with Lena. He watched them for a while, but the two of them only had eyes for each other.

Annie's voice tore him from his fixation. "Should we dance?" she suggested.

Icarus had never danced with a girl before, but he was aware that a school dance provided plenty of opportunity to embarrass oneself. A lame dance move, sweat stains, or worse yet, stumbling and falling could all be death warrants for a teenager's social standing.

Luckily Icarus couldn't care less about what his schoolmates thought of him. He never talked to most of them anyway and knew that his true friends, namely Ralph, would never turn their backs on him over something this trivial.

So he moved with the music, not worrying about whether he looked silly or not. Annie was obviously more concerned with appearances. She danced beautifully, a pretty smile plastered on her face, but from up close Icarus could see the tensed muscles in her neck.

Icarus wasn't sure what compelled him to do it, but suddenly he broke into his most ridiculous dance move yet: He reached both his hands to his ears and spun around in circles, all while hopping from one leg to the other. Annie gaped, then broke into laughter. Icarus grinned. She'd understood the reference to the crazy old neighbor from Whimsifamily!

After that Icarus could tell that Annie was finally relaxing a little.

They danced, they talked and they laughed, but despite the fun they were having, Icarus noticed that Annie kept glancing over her shoulder at another couple.

Brian Marshall and Shelly Miller were tearing up the dance floor, moving so suggestively that Icarus, along with everyone else in the room, couldn't help but stare. Meanwhile Annie's fluid dance moves had become stiff as she tried very hard to keep her eyes averted.

Across the dance floor, Ivy and Wesley were watching just like everyone else.

"Oh man, Brian is laying it on thick," Wesley chuckled, "He must really be mad that Annie is here with another guy. I wonder which one of them is going to flip out first."

Ivy gave him an appraising look. She'd picked her date based on looks alone, but now it seemed that Wesley was a lot more interesting than she'd initially thought.

She moved towards him, took both of his hands and placed them on her hips. "Let's dance," she demanded and Wesley obliged.

Meanwhile, Annie had stopped dancing altogether.

"I think I need some fresh air," Annie breathed when Icarus gave her a questioning look, "Can we go outside for a bit?"

The cold night air was like a slap in their flushed faces.

Icarus followed Annie towards the football field and up to the top of the bleachers, where they both sat down without saying a word.

Icarus finally spoke up. "You didn't really break up with your boyfriend before asking me out, did you?"

Annie stared at Icarus, but he wouldn't meet her eyes, keeping his own fixed on his shoes. So she too turned her gaze straight ahead and said flatly, "He was being such a jerk... I hoped that if he saw me with someone else, he'd finally come around."

"And how's that working out for you?" Icarus said, perhaps more testily than he'd intended.

There was a brief flash of indignation in Annie's blue eyes. "I don't think I'm the only one here that was trying to make someone jealous tonight."

"What? What are you saying?"

"I noticed the way you were looking at Lena earlier."

Icarus was about to protest, but then he halted. She was right, he thought. He had felt... something seeing Lena and Ralph together. He wasn't exactly sure what, but he had to admit that Annie had a point. Slowly, he said, "It's not... like that. We're just old friends. And she's here with Ralph, so..."

"These things get messy sometimes, don't they?" Annie sighed and leaned back to gaze at the stars. "It's true that I asked you out to make Brian jealous," she finally admitted. "It was a stupid idea and I'm not proud of it. Especially now that I got to know you. You're... really sweet. I'm sorry if I made you feel used."

Icarus took a moment before he answered. "It's alright. I always kind of knew it anyway, and I still said yes. So it's my own fault." He turned to look at her then, smiling. "Besides, despite everything, I actually had a great time with you."

She beamed. "So did I!"

Just at that moment, they heard the sounds of distant voices and car doors slamming, followed by roaring engines.

"I guess it's curfew," Annie concluded. "We should probably go too before we get into trouble."

They walked down the bleachers in silence again, but once they reached the bottom, Annie grabbed Icarus' arm and he turned to look at her.

He was met with her soft lips pressing against his, briefly, but very tenderly.

"Let's start over," she said as she gazed up at him through her long lashes. "Please ask me out again, Icarus. For real this time."

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If Annie Wells looks familiar to you, that's because she is the spitting image of her mother Fiona Bowman, aka Becky's Finley Archer! Fiona Bowman made her appearance as a movie stylist when Grace first came to Appaloosa Plains and later proceeded to marry the much younger Josh Wells (that cougar!). Besides Annie, Fiona has an older daughter from a previous relationship named Ann and a younger son whose name I've forgotten (though doubtlessly, it's yet another variation of my name.)

Anyway, I thought long and hard whether Icarus should date what is pretty much a clone of another person's sim, but he is on a Perfect Match/Opposites Attract roll, so his choices are limited. Plus, Annie is heartachingly gorgeous! Can't pass up those genetics. And her name just had to be some kind of sign! I hope you don't mind, Becky <3

Gen 8 Ch 13: Old and New Friends

Ivy's dad Theo was really nice, Icarus thought. He'd often pick up Ivy to take her somewhere fun and sometimes he just came over for a few hours to help her with homework or play. And when he did, he always made sure to include Icarus too. So it was that one sunny afternoon Theo asked Icarus if he wanted to play catch with them.

"NO," Ivy cut in, "Icarus sucks at playing catch!"

Theo gaped at his daughter in shock. "Ivy! That's not nice! Apologize to your cousin."

"It's true though." Icarus shrugged. "Thanks for asking, but I don't want to play."

Before Theo could say anything, Ivy had grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

It was true, honestly. Icarus had never been good at ball games. He much preferred video games, but the old game console and the tiny TV were in the living room, which unfortunately was where his grandmother spent most of her time painting ever since she retired.

With her it was always either play outside or do your homework. She hated it when Icarus watched TV or played video games and would absolutely not allow it while she was painting in the room, even if he'd already done his homework.

That's why Icarus was delighted when he looked through the spyglass in the treehouse and saw his grandmother get in her car and drive away.

With the living room empty, it was his time to strike!

Icarus had barely started up the game when someone entered the room.

"Ah!" he squeaked, "I mean, hey aunt Hux. I was just... my homework is, uh, almost done, so..." He sighed. "I'll turn it off."

"What for?" Huxley dropped heavily on the couch beside him. "Man, that screen is tiny. We should get a real TV in here sometime."

"Grandma won't like that," Icarus warned.

Huxley chuckled. "If I let that stop me, I'd never do anything." Then her tone grew more serious. "Hey, Theo told me what happened. Are you ok? I know Ivy can be a little shit, but she doesn't mean it. They'd be happy if you joined them."

"Um, is it okay if I stay here just a bit longer? I know video games rot your brain and all but--"

"Psh, did grandma say that? Typical. Listen, don't let anyone tell you that something that makes you happy is bad just because they don't like it." She smiled at Icarus and he grinned back. "Now pass me that second controller. I'll show you how it's done!"

*

The next day Huxley made her way into town to the tattoo parlor. As she had done after Ivy's birth, she wanted to get a tattoo to represent Idris. And while she was at it, she got another that was long overdue.

One feather for each of her babies, and in her heart she knew that included Icarus.

When Huxley left the tattoo parlor it was pouring outside. She looked at the time on her phone. The school had set up a free basketball game as an extracurricular activity and the two children had ridden their bikes to the stadium earlier that day. They had planned to ride them home too, but with the weather like this, Huxley decided to go pick them up by car.

She was exactly on time--Ivy and Icarus came running towards her as soon as she arrived.

"MOM! Mom, that was so awesome!" Ivy was practically bouncing with excitement. "I'm going to be a famous basketball player when I grow up. AND a cheerleader! AND a referee!"

"Oh yeah?" Huxley grinned. "Did you have fun too, Icarus?"

Icarus was too distracted to answer, however.

Huxley turned to see what he was looking at and frowned. Hazel had just parked her bicycle and was walking towards Icarus, but Huxley moved to intercept her.

"I was just about to drive the kids home," Huxley said in a clipped tone. It was the first time the sisters talked since their falling-out and the atmosphere was predictably icy.

Hazel pursed her lips. "I'm taking Icarus to the cemetery."

"It's raining."

"A little rain never hurt anyone." This might have seemed like no more than a banal phrase to most, but Hazel's disapproving glare told Huxley so much more: How typical of her to choose the easy way out and drive a car, contributing to the destruction of the environment, just to avoid a minor inconvenience like rain.

Through gritted teeth Huxley hissed, "What, you want him to catch a cold?"

"He's my son and he will know his father."

Their voices had remained quiet, but both sisters were breathing heavily at this point. Huxley shook with unexpressed rage.

"It's fine, I don't mind the rain," Icarus piped up, trying to dispel the tension. "I'll see you later aunt Hux."

He followed his mother, half-running to keep up with her long strides.

Matching her pace on the bike was almost impossible.

When he caught up with her at the cemetery, she was already standing in front of a grave stone, weeping.

The last time his mother had taken Icarus here he'd been very confused. His daddy was a slab of stone and his mommy was sad about that somehow? It had made no sense.

Now Icarus was older and knew better, but he still didn't like being here one bit.

 

As far as Icarus was concerned, he had no father and that was fine. How was he supposed to miss someone he never knew? But his mother's unrestrained grief always made the absence feel like a fresh wound.

Back at home, another sim was mourning the loss of a loved one.

Adam's horse Jumper had passed away during the night. No one had noticed until the morning, which only added to Adam's grief.

Idris was still too little to understand it all, but Adam told him stories of long afternoon rides and the boy listened attentively, which lessened the pain a little.

Adam kept the horse's remains in a wooden box in the living room, unwilling to let go of his friend.

At night Adam often lay awake, remembering the day he'd brought Jumper home. Hazel had only been a toddler back then, and now she had a child of her own.

Sometimes he dreamed that Jumper was still here, just waiting for him in the stable. But no matter how real these dreams felt, the morning light always washed them away.

The spirited stallion had grown old and died. And if Adam thought himself still in his prime, the aches and pains he felt each morning told him otherwise.

Eventually Grace sensed that her husband's mood was finally getting better again. She had no doubt that her cooking was largely responsible.

It had taken her a long time to perfect the recipe; weeks in which the family had eaten nothing but French toast for breakfast. But this payoff was more than worth it. Grace savored every bite and was already chatting excitedly about which recipe she should tackle next.

"It's delicious, love," Adam said kindly, "now that you nailed this, I wouldn't say no to some key lime pie for a change. It's my favorite."

"Too much pie isn't good for you, darling," Grace replied and shoved another bite of fluffy deliciousness into her mouth.

That day after school, Icarus got off the bus at what was known around town as The Bird House. His classmate Lena Bird had invited him over so they could work on a school project together.

Lena was a bubbly girl, always giggling and smiling, and her house was just as fun as she was. In addition to the friendly horse outside there were several colorful songbirds and two cats that were always at each other's throats.

The noise was maddening, but Lena didn't seem to notice the chaos. She simply sat down on the kitchen floor right beside the two screeching cats and started doing her homework.

Icarus liked Lena, but he was really glad when his grandparents finally came to pick him up.

The play date his aunt arranged for the weekend was much more to Icarus' liking. Ralph Riffin was the son of one of Huxley's old bandmates. He and Icarus became instant friends.

Ralph's dad Ethan sat perfectly still as he watched the two boys play. At first Icarus had found the man scary, with his dark makeup and constant frown, but in the end he turned out to be just as nice as Ralph.

The boys quickly grew inseparable and from then on, Ralph was rarely missing from any family outing.

 So when Huxley took the children to the county fair one summer afternoon, she found herself wrangling four kids instead of three. Miraculously, everything went fine.

Were the children better behaved when Huxley was around? Maybe, but perhaps it was simply due to the fact that she believed in letting the children make heir own mistakes.

Even Ivy was surprisingly docile--just as long as the boys let her have her way with everything, of course.

With Huxley taking care of the children, Adam and Grace had the day to themselves and went out for a long overdue date night.

But the night ended before it had even begun. Grace gasped in horror when Adam let out a long sigh and sank to the ground.

"...but my family," Adam croaked feebly.

Grim had heard them all already. All the reasons, all the excuses; all the most outrageous pleas and attempts to bargain. None of them had ever swayed him. "You've prepared them to be fine without you," he said, "That is all anyone can ask for."

Adam nodded slowly and took Grim's outstretched hand.

Grace saw none of this, but she felt her heart break.






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Some cute bonus pics that didn't make it into the chapter:

R.I.P. Adam :( Even after 8 generations losing sims is still sad every time!