Thursday, July 18, 2013

Chapter 2.31-Tiny Bit of Happy



          “Sally!” Layla exclaimed a little breathlessly into the phone. The birthday guests were long gone, dinner dishes had gone into the dishwasher and Layla was getting ready for bed. Her stress over the day had left her far more tired than she was used to. Tiburcia was still up riding the rocking horse for all it was worth and she had no idea what Ignacio was up to.







          “What’s-” Layla began to ask, but Sally interrupted her.

“Oh no, honey. How-” Again, Sally cut her off.

“Well, are-” Layla could barely get a word out of her mouth, she hugged herself with her free arm. Sally was obviously still very upset with Layla, and this was probably not an event that could fix that relationship.

“Thanks for letting me know, yeah.” A sentence finally. But that would be all.

          “I’m so sorry,” Layla said, then looked at the receiver in her hand for a sad moment before replacing it on the cradle.







          “Who was that?” Ignacio’s voice behind her surprised her, but for once, she didn’t startle or jump. Her heart gave a tiny leap that maybe things could go back to normal between the two of them if he was taking interest in her phone call.

          She dipped her head a little that she could feel any hope when she had such news. But she couldn’t handle repressing that tiny bit of happy.







          “It was Sally,” she said, turning around. “She called to say that Uncle Trigger passed away today.”

          Her words were only just louder than the extremely noisy dishwasher and Ignacio had trouble distinguishing them at first. When they sank in, his stomach sank a little. Another death, and they’d all been so close together. At least Trigger’s passing was merciful. The entire town knew how hard he’d been grieving about losing Estella.







          “I’ll have to call Daddy to tell him about it,” Layla continued, making Ignacio very seriously think about opening the door of the dishwasher so he could get it to stop it’s racket. “I really doubt Sally will remember to call and tell him. He should know his brother is gone, even if they’re still not really speaking.”

          Ignacio nodded. More grief. Buck would still mourn, and that would hurt Layla even more.

          “At least it is the third death, right?” he finally asked her. “As death always comes in threes?”







          Looking blankly at him a moment, Layla jerked open the dishwasher unleashing a cloud of steam and the hiss of falling water before walking to stand in front of him.

          “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said,” she said sadly.

          For a long moment, Ignacio just looked at her. It had been a while since she had stood so closely to him and he was surprised at the dark bags under her eyes, and the haggard look of her cheeks.

          “I said that at least this is the third death, since death always comes in threes,” he repeated.

          “Oh,” she said. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”







          Deciding he’d had enough of their tiff his shoulders relaxed.

          “Look, thank you for having my family over for Tibi’s birthday,” he said. “It meant a lot to her and it was nice to have everyone over. We do not get together as a family nearly enough. It was nice.”

          Nodding, Layla attempted a thin lipped smile. She was just so tired of it all that she could hardly focus on his words, or the apology implied in them.








          “Ah, Mi Llamita,” he said quietly, reaching for her and crushing her against him. “Things have been very hard for you lately, huh?”

          Not trusting her voice, Layla, again, nodded. Her heart pounding and the relief she felt at his touch caused a well of emotions to rise within her causing a lump in her throat. Too much was happening all too quickly. She’d give anything for a break and it was nice that Ignacio recognized it.







          Allowing herself to be cuddled for a little while was probably the most relaxing thing she’d done in a while, and with a shock she noticed how light it still was outside while she contemplated going to bed. Was she really that tired? Winter was just around the corner, she knew. So the days were much shorter, night falling earlier each day.

          “I have something I want to talk to you about,” she said finally. She hated to break the embrace, but she needed to tell him this. She’d needed to tell him this for a while.







          “I’d like to hire the custody lawyer Ned hired for you,” she said. “I’ll pay for them. Don’t worry about that. I just want to make sure Tibi is well taken care of.”

          Almost unable to believe what she was saying, Ignacio took a minute, blinking, to formulate his response.

          “She asked me today if she could call me Mom,” Layla continued shyly. “Because she says she doesn’t know her mother. I told her that was okay, but only if it was okay with you.”

          “It is fine with me,” Ignacio said. “That is wonderful, really. Tha’s- Tha’s great. And thank you.”







          “Don’t thank me,” Layla said. “There’s nothing to thank me for. I just, kind of want to keep this odd little family we’ve got here safe and sound.”

          “Family?” Ignacio raised his eyebrows. He figured she’d hold him at arm’s length until he told her whatever it was she wanted to hear. Neither of them had even said those big words to each other, just in case either wanted to walk away. Just so they could pretend they wouldn’t be terribly hurt. So ‘family’ was a big step between the two.

          “If that’s okay, if not-” her words rushed out in a tumble.

          “Shhhh,” he shook his head, grabbing her arms. “Shhh. Family. Our family.”







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Baby steps between these two you guys. And Sorry that was so short, but like I said: baby steps (also, the next chapter is a monster.) That was a big deal for them to come to a type of understanding about anything. And Layla’s energy bar really was low for that time of day. I kind of think Nalleli or Raul tried to cast some spell on her that lowered several of her motives. Lol. Oh well.

So if you will all kindly cast your eyes to the right I have a little announcement. Layla and I don't get along. Really. Between the two of us we cannot agree on a name for the heir and so we came up with what we hope is a workable solution. There is a poll up consisting of two names for a girl and another poll up with two names for a boy. If you would all kindly cast a vote I'd really appreciate it so I can stick it to the incredibly pigheaded girl who lives in my head. Er... So I can move forward a little with what is going on. *shifty eyes. The poll will be up for one week at the end of which I hope to be able to make an announcement in story. Thank you to those who participate! I really appreciate it.

A final note: Sally had also just given birth to a boy SP named JJ. Roughly 6 sim hours later she was expecting again.  FYI.

18 comments:

  1. I'm glad that Ignacio decided to give in a bit and take the first steps :)

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    1. I am too. I'm not really sure Layla was ready to approach him with any of it, no matter how much she wanted to. Someone has to be the first to move.

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  2. The Sixkiller extended family is really down on their luck right now! I know Iggy sais death comes in threes, but Buck can't have long for this world by this point either. So unfortunately, I think it'll be a foursome :( I hope now that she and Iggy have made up a little, Layla won't break completely!

    Tibi is soooo cute!! I mean her asking if she could call Layla 'mom', obviously, as there are no pictures of her here.

    It is an odd little family, and by the big words I assume Iggy means "I love you"? I guess they haven't said that yet, wow, I hadn't noticed O.o Do they love each other? Maybe they're just afraid to say it?
    I guess saying they're a family is as close as they'll get right now.

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    1. Nope. Buck's notification has come back up in game so his time is nigh.

      Tibi is a lot of fun. She's pretty genuine and gentle, but don't forget that she's the only child and the only grandchild too, so spoiled rather rotten. lol.

      Yes. No they haven't said that. They're both terrified to say it as 'saying it' might open themselves up for greater hurt. They're both incredibly guarded, or think they are anyway. ;)

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  3. Tiny Bit of Happy is the perfect title for this chapter, loved it.

    I always LOL about how you work their thought bubbles into the conversations--Iggy and the dishwasher for instance. Death comes in threes--but how long will Layla's security last? So much death around her, it'll only take a little more to break her down, as Iggy seems to be realizing.

    It made me happy that Iggy decided to set aside their differences...this is not the time to fighting, with so much grief on her shoulders. It was nice that he acknowledged that she'd tried to do something good by bringing the family together for Tibi's birthday too.

    D'awww that she wants to keep her 'odd little family' safe. I felt like buying the house was a step in that direction sort of. Hiring a custody lawyer is a really good thing, and acknowledging herself as a bit of a mother is too. Tibi needs stability, however little or much Layla can offer.

    Now, to decide on names...tough choices!

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    1. It's always easiest to look back and go 'okay, that wasn't so bad.' But, yes at least he acknowledged that she had taken steps to reach out to his family.

      It was a sort of direction, but they're both holding the house against each other too. And yes! Tibi needs some stability from someone in the household. Let's hope she finds it.

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  4. Good for Layla and Iggy for working through things (sort of). I cringed at Iggy's "deaths come in threes" line since they really don't. I now fear for Buck's life.

    I feel bad for Sally. I know she has her significant other (who's name I forgot), but it's still sad that she's lost both parents so close together.

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    1. His 'Death comes in threes' line is part of his superstitious side. And lol. You shouldn't fear for him. He's lived a long full life and he really hasn't moved on from Helen, even in game. Trigger actually had a new girlfriend the night after Estella passed. Ha!

      Yeah. Sally has a lot on her shoulders even with Ottawa's help. And I'll mention it further, but by that point they'd just had a baby too. Shoot. I really should have put that in the notes since there is an amendment to that next chapter.

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  5. Ignacio and Layla taking baby steps is perfectly within reason and I think you have done a great job writing it.

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    1. Aw! Thank you! Awesome seeing you here! Those two are awfully scared of getting hurt and it's forcing a mature decision onto them both. But sometimes you take what you can get and what you can handle.

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  6. Aw, this was a sweet chapter. I could actually feel Layla's exhaustion, there.
    And I'm happy for her that she's come to accept Iggy and Tibi as family. That's pretty big deal.
    Okay, off to go check out this poll.

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    1. Which is why it was short. Ha! Yeah, she's really been pushing herself lately and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon either.

      It's a really big deal for her (and him) to open herself up in a way that could possibly lead to someone getting hurt. Layla will go pretty far to make sure her little bubble is secure, adding someone (or two someones) to that bubble means there is a lot more potential for that bubble to pop.

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  7. Short, but sweet. =)

    I'm glad that Iggy and Layla are at least taking baby steps, and it's good that Iggy stepped forward and ended their stalemate.

    Poor Sally, that's tough losing both parents, and so close together too. And now Buck has lost his chance to reconcile with his brother.

    I loved Layla's brightly colored sleepwear! There's all this brown and grey, and dark green behind/around her, and then there's Layla's clothes, lol :D

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    1. Yup. Sally has lost both parents, had a baby, expects another (and in game we're already baking number three.) She's really pushed her life forward quickly even if she wasn't ready.

      Buck had at least talked to Trigger when he helped arrange for Layla to go to Appaloosa Plains. So there was an opportunity that both brothers ignored. Sometimes the rift time creates is just more than can be overcome. And while it would have been nice, it just didn't work out.

      Lol. You're the first to notice that! This kind of gives it away, but the colors used in decorating are really specific for scenes I had planned throughout the rest of this generation. Also, how Layla is dressed compared with how the people around her are dressed is also sometimes a clue for what is going on. For instance the date scene with Ned where Iggy showed up? Ned blended in with the sidewalk, with the road, with the buildings surrounding while Iggy's shirt was the same color as her dress and lips. And I love her Pj's too! I had a ton of fun playing with patterns to come up with that eye-watering rainbow.

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  8. Too short too short. Sad that Trigger died, but he's with Estella now.
    Ignacio and family. So important to him. I wonder if losing everyone has pushed Layla even further towards wanting one of her own, even a patchwork-style one. I'm so tempted to look at the tabs up top (thinking what the roll could be), but I don't want any spoilers. I don't even go look at the bloopers for fear I'll look too far. Something to look forward to, I guess.
    Sally preggers again. Oh boy. Baby machine. Didn't she figure out the last time how that works? Lol.
    And that was rude of her to snap like that when telling Layla.

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    1. Yup. When she was a kid there was always family around. Even if they weren't acting as a unit, they were family and at least in the same place. I'm not sure Ignacio and Layla would be as compatible if he weren't as family oriented (without that particular trait, lol) as she feels she is. So creating her family this way is a step toward what she wants. LOL. That's gotta be tough not to peek. xD Don't blame you though. You'll get to pat yourself on the back once you get there.

      Yup! I ended up turning off her ability to get preggers so the town wouldn't be taken over by one family. Yes. And grief is no excuse for Sally's behavior. She was worried Layla would butt in and try to sell it back because Sally has been just as neglectful of Layla as Layla's been to Sally.

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  9. Aww, and here they go surprising me again! Good to see them acting a bit more reasonably now. And Layla wants to be Tibi's mom now, how sweet!

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    1. Those two can be sweet when they want to be. They can also do their very best to tear the other apart if they feel the need. However it's always some calamity that brings Layla round. And a need for Ignacio to be the one sheltering her that allows him to calm down.

      It was time for her to finally figure out that being a mom wasn't some horrible life ending choice. Haha.

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