The Bloomer Legacy: 4.19 Favourites

Olivia was determined to make friends with as many sims as she could. Eventually, she even managed to befriend Malakai, the boy who had an accident over at the playground.

Turns out Malakai is a hoot when he’s not uncomfortable, he kept cracking Olivia up. She loved spending time with him.

But her best friend was definitely her cousin Newton.

Newton: “I wish I had a bike to ride around!”

Olivia: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those…”

Newton: “Of course you have, there’s a picture of one on my t-shirt!”

Olivia: “Oh, right! You mean those thing really exist?”

Newton: “Hmm… I’m not sure!”

Olivia: “Why is your dad always dancing in his pyjama bottoms?”

Newton didn’t really have a good answer to that one, but he didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, his parents were the best parents ever. They were the smartest people he knew, but also incredibly funny and very loving.

Of course, the downside of his parents caring was that his mom always insisted on him doing his homework as soon as possible. At least she’d always help him (in another life, Chell would be a teacher).

As a senior manager, Keiko often worked overtime at the office, so she couldn’t care less about her daughter’s academic success. She needed to have a big Americano every evening just to keep herself from collapsing as soon as she got home.

This often left Olivia doing her homework on her own in the middle of the night, since she’d put her homework off till the last minute. She liked to fill up a cup with soda and pretend she’s like mommy, working on her reports with an extra strong cup of coffee.

Booker arrived home, feeling rather pleased with himself: “Guess what, I got a promotion!”

“Uh-huh,” Keiko’s head was still in the office. The targets were so steep this month!

“So there’s this big shot celebrity player that I’m going to be training now,” Booker continued excitedly. “I’ve had one session with him so far, and he’s so…”

“Cool,” Keiko glanced at her husband. “Wanna woohoo?”

Sure, Booker didn’t seem as enthusiastic about it as he once had been, but woohoo helped Keiko keep her stress levels down.

What did her husband now about stressful work? He spent his days training famous athletes and lifting heavy things. (Note: This is true. Every time I get one of the work opportunity pop-ups for Booker, it’s something along the lines of: “There’s a heavy thing, should Booker lift it?”)

Meanwhile…

“There you go Knox, that should relieve the tension in your back,” Chell finished the massage. “You’ve got to stop reading in such awkward positions though, or this will never stop!”

“I just can’t help it,” Knox replied. “I stop paying attention to everything when I get into reading!”

“I know the feeling,” Chell laughed.

“I know you do, that’s why you’re the best wife,” Knox smiled and kissed his wife on the cheek.

“Eww, guys, that’s so gross!” Newton loved his parents, but they sure needed to be more careful when it possible cootie tranfers!

***

“I knew you’d score the winning goal uncle Ethan,” Newton exclaimed.

The boy idolised Ethan so much; while he was interested in both of his uncles’ athletic jobs, team sports sounded a bit more intriguing to him than heavy lifting.

“Oh did you, little man? I sure didn’t! I’m not as quick as I used to be,” Ethan remarked. Not getting any younger, he thought to himself with a sigh. He noticed Olivia’s sad face next to him: “What’s wrong, bumble bee?”

“Neither mommy or daddy don’t have time to teach me how to swim,” Olivia pouted. “I’ll be the last in my class not to know how to do it; even though we have a pool right in the house!”

Yenn appeared out of thin air, overhearing Olivia’s concerns: “Perfect timing, Liv! It just so happens I was going for a swim anyway. I can teach you!”

“Can I come too?” Newton jumped in, “And uncle Ethan? I mean, I know how to swim, but…”

“No bragging, little man,” Ethan interrupted. “But we should definitely join, let’s make a day of it!”

Ethan and Yenn smiled at each other.

The four of them spent the day splashing around in the family pool.

“This looks like fun,” Chell joined in, “How is it going, Newton?”

“Awesome!“ the boy enthused. “I’m gonna be the best swimmer, just like uncle Ethan! Livvie’s not bad either though, I guess.”

Yenn and Olivia were soaking up the sun after their swim.

“Aunt Yenn, can I tell you a secret?” The little girl asked.

“I think I can keep one,” Yenn smiled softly.

“You’re my favourite aunt,” Olivia whispered.

“Aww,” Yenn was surprised at the warmth that overcame her. “You shouldn’t have favourites though, Liv. And aunt Chell is pretty cool, don’t you think?”

“She is,” Olivia agreed. “And I know I shouldn’t have favourites. That’s why it’s a secret!”

Later that evening, Ethan examined his mirror image in his jersey.

“I’ve been thinking, Yenn,” he turned to his better half. “Do you think I should retire? I’m getting a bit old to still be an active player…”

“Let’s see,” Yenn sat on the bed beside him, “Do you still enjoy the game?”

Ethan’s mind went back to when he scored the deciding goal earlier. “Immensely,” he answered.

Yenn swept aside a loose lock of Ethan’s hair that fell out of his bun and smiled: “Well, then what are we even talking about?”

In another part of the house, Keiko was getting jumpy after her routine evening coffee: “And you wouldn’t believe what my boss said to me…”

“Sure thing,” Booker replied mindlessly. He was exhausted after his extensive training. Did Keiko not realise his whole body was aching?

“Are you even listening to me?” Keiko snapped. Another migraine hit her. Must. Sit. Down. The pain was piercing through her skull.

Booker watched his wife drop onto the futon, bemused. What is she playing at, pretending to be all tired. She doesn’t have to lift a thing all day!

“That’s rich,” Booker frowned. “When do you ever listen to me?”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Finally, Keiko stood up: “I’m going to bed.”

“Whatever,” Booker mumbled to himself. He leaned back on the futon and fell asleep within a few minutes.