Chapter 1.17

Chapter 1.17- The Most Surprising Thing

Before Phedra walks back in the house-

                If Helen had known she was carrying twins she might have taken it a bit easier during her pregnancy. As it is, she’s more than worn out by the events of the last two days. So worn out, in fact, that she can almost swear that she just saw Phedra as she left the hospital. But that can’t be. Can it? Surely she was seeing things under the influence of after-birth hormones. 
                Cyrus is just excited to get a new brother AND a new sister. Phedra can play with the girl. He gets the boy. He’s always wished that Phedra was a boy, and now he has a brother! *Fist Pump!

                Buck bends over his tiny daughter, who waves her little fists at him as she coos. Helen let him name her, and even offered for him to name Galen 'Buck' instead to carry on his family’s tradition. It was a tradition he was all too glad to let drop. 
                Right now, though, Layla is all he has eyes for. Her full name is Layla Anna-Clare. And if he squints just right, he can even fool himself into believing that this little angel girl looks like his long dead sister.

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                Helen went to make arrangements for another crib to be delivered tonight, (twins meant they were one short), leaving Cyrus to his victory dance. It was a real shock to him when he heard the front door close behind him. 
                It was most puzzling when he turned around to see his little sister enter, and sit on the floor.

                Scratching his head in confusion, he thought.  
                Hadn’t he seen Phedra recently? But then when did she manage to get outside? And how? He’d been a great big brother and kept an eye on her. He’d promised his mom.

                But, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Phedra in the last few hours. He and the babysitter had been having far too much fun licking all the silverware and putting it back in the drawer to notice if Fay was there or not.  
                Bending over, Cyrus gave Phedra a hug. 
                “Just don’t tell mom,” he whispered. “Ok?”

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                Buck had loved cuddling Layla, but he was determined to get to Galen sooner rather than later. He’d been waiting for this boy for a long time now.

                He was playing with the gurgling Galen when Buck turned and noticed the photograph that hung near the crib. It was a photo of Buck playing with Cyrus. Cyrus had adored playing with Buck, still did. And Buck couldn’t quit on the boy now. Cyrus had been his boy as a toddler and that wasn’t about to change.

                He had replaced his sleepy son in his crib and turned to find Phedra sucking on a bottle behind him. 
                “Well, now,” Buck said. “Well, now little darlin’. If I hadn’t been walkin’ on sunshine earlier, I’d say I saw your twin at the hospital!”

                Buck scooped her up, cuddling her close. 
                “Made me miss my Fuzzy little girl all the more,” Buck didn’t even pause to think it might have actually been Phedra he had seen. That was more than he could have handled.

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                Helen managed to push through her exhaustion long enough to make dinner for everyone. She was disgusted when she discovered exactly what the babysitter and Cyrus had been up to in her absence. Helen had washed her set of silverware but was too hungry and tired to do any more. 
                “We’re not hiring that sitter again,” Helen said the moment Buck had set his plate down. 
                Cyrus wouldn’t look up into Buck’s eyes. His mother had already scolded him for the prank.

                “Those two licked all the silverware!”

                Coughing and sputtering, Buck got up and washed his utensils. Why couldn’t she have told him sooner?

                “Maybe missing dinner would be a good way for you to understand that all actions have consequences,” said Helen.

                Cyrus didn’t look up and didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he started shoveling his food in his mouth as fast as he could. He was hungry, darn it.

                Taking note of what he was doing, Helen continued.

                “Then maybe it would be a good idea for you to think about what you are doing before you do it,” she said sternly. 
                “Maybe he gets it from ‘is MOM,” Buck added under his breath.

                “Don’t get smart with me!” Helen exploded at Buck. “He needs to learn to consider other people’s feelings and to think about the consequences of his actions.” 
                Cyrus hated it when they fought. Helen could be really loud.

                “And you are NOT off the hook young man,” Helen said over her shoulder as she gathered dishes. 
                Cyrus was sorry. Really. He was just having fun. His mother’s words wouldn’t have gotten through to him, but Buck wasn’t looking at him now either.  
                It was supposed to be harmless. And it certainly wasn’t supposed to get his Mom riled at Buck.

                It wasn’t until nearly bedtime that Helen decided to ease up a bit on her son. 
                Cyrus had been tiptoeing around the house and had avoided her.

It hurt a little that as she approached Cyrus he looked away from her. She didn’t want to be mean, she just wanted to do right by her son. Neither of Helen’s parents had really been very good parents. They were wealthy and gave her and her siblings everything they had wanted, but they paid little to no attention to who they really were.

                Bending down, Helen hugged Cyrus tightly. 
                “Look,” she said. “Just because I’m upset doesn’t mean that I don’t love you.”

                She pulled back just far enough to look him squarely in the eyes. 
                “It just means I want you to be the best person you can be,” Helen wasn’t used to talking to kids like this. It felt weird. “What you did with the babysitter was mean. Next time, think about it first, ok?” 
                “Yeah, Mom,” Cyrus ducked his head to hide his blush. If he thought about it, he did feel bad about it. And now, he really wished he hadn’t done it.

                “Can I go to bed now?” Cyrus asked. 
                It was the most surprising thing Helen had heard that day, and she’d heard a lot of surprising things that day. 
                “Are you feeling alright?” Concerned. 
                “Yeah, I just think this day has been long enough. So can I go to bed?” 
                Smiling, Helen nodded, letting him go. 
                Over in the corner, by the tv, unknown to Helen, Buck had been listening to every word.

                Slowly, he approached her. As he did, both looked around for signs of the kids. Maybe, they’d been caught in awkward positions one too many times, or maybe Cyrus’ constant complaining about their behavior had made them much more cautious lately. 
                “I think the coast is clear my way,” Buck breathed. 
                “Mine, too,” Helen answered.

                “What you did there was the right thing,” Buck pulled Helen close. “Bein’ a parent won’t always be easy, and today was hard for you. But good for you for settin’ it right before he slept.” 
                There was no response she could give that wouldn’t sound cheesy or trite, and so Helen said nothing, only squeezing him a little tighter.

                “Picked somethin’ up for ya the other day,” Buck said. “I want ya to see it. Jus’ a sec.”

                “Buck…” Helen’s heart had leapt to her throat. 
                “Buck, what are you doing?”

                “Nothin’ much,” Buck pulled the box out of his pocket with a flair. “Jus’ proposin’.” 
                Helen’s jaw dropped when she saw the little box.

                “Helen Blue, Will you marry me?” Buck loved the look on her face.

                Sliding the ring onto her finger gave him almost as much joy as bringing home two children who carried his name.

                However, the look on her face and her reaction were what topped it all. He had had no idea that she would react this way. She acted like a little school girl, her tough-girl routine forgotten in girlish glee.

                Honestly, he just wanted a hug from the jubilant girl in front of him.

                The giddiness was a surprise. A sweet surprise, but still a surprise.

                “So,” Buck asked. “So what do you say we go on down to City Hall in the mornin’ and make this official?” 
                Helen continued to hang on his neck, but she said not a word.

                Slowly, Helen stood on her own and wouldn’t meet his eyes. It worried Buck. She had been a skipping schoolgirl the moment before. And though the smile was still on her face, she wasn’t speaking.

                At last, Helen spoke. 
                “Well,” she said. “Well you see, I’ve always dreamed of a big fairy tale wedding. I know that we can’t afford that right now, not after redoing most of the house, but I still want that big wedding. If that’s ok?”

                Buck grinned at her. 
                “Anything you want, Princess,” Buck said. “Anything you want.”

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Notes: Helen is a typical sim female. There is nothing really too tough about her in game to differentiate her from any other female sim in her world. So my surprise that she rolled to have a wedding party was unmerited to say the least. But, I’ve gotten so used to writing her as a brisk, head-strong, rusher-in that it truly caught me off guard for a bit. Now I’ve got a wedding to plan and I was really hoping to renovate my wedding park before I had another wedding there. Oh well. Sorry for the length, but but but... It's all important.