Chapter 12

Olive wobbled on the kitchen floor, gently touched the counter with the tips of her fingers for support, and gracefully performed a plié for Pato.  Well, at least she hoped it was graceful.  Pato smiled supportively and clapped, but she could tell she hadn’t performed well.

“keep your rear tucked under and your chest up.  Pretend that your ribs are a birdcage.  If you stick your bottom out too far or you lean too far back, you’ll let it go.  If you slouch, you’ll crush it.” Pato advised matter-of-factly.

Olive just stared at him.  He could be really creepy.

“What do you think my brother’s doing in there, Pato.” Olive gestured towards her brother’s bedroom door.

“Probably trying to invent some miracle potion that will bring Suri to life.”

“He’s so dumb.” Olive rolled her eyes and practiced another plié.

“Better!  Just keep looking forward.  When you look at your feet it throws you off balance!” Pato smiled.

“Do you think he can do it?” Olive asked tentatively.

“I don’t know.”  Pato shrugged his shoulders.  “I know it’s possible, but I don’t know if a chemist of his skill level will be able to do it.”

A clatter in Turner’s room made them both jump.

“We should just… go play tag.” Olive suggested inching her way towards to door.  “I don’t want to be in here when he burns the house down.”

Several hours later, the doorbell rang, and the contractors bustled through the door.

Turner let them in.  The men chuckled at Turner's singed appearance resulting from another failed attempt at discovering the potion that would bring Suri to life.  He clenched his jaw, and closed the door behind them.

After a quick shower, Turner hit the books looking for clues about making Suri real.  It seemed like the older she got, the weirder it was.  The two sat in silence while Turner studied.  He almost just wanted to tell her to go away.

“I’ll leave if you want me to,” Suri whimpered.  It was as if she’d read his mind.

He glanced up for a split second before turning back to his studies.  In frustration, he threw the book down.

“If I wanted you to leave would I be trying this hard?  Would I be spending all my spare time on logic when I really want to play guitar?” Turner yelled. 

Suri just stared at him blankly before returning to her toy form.  That was it.  Turner was done.  After grabbing some money from his mother’s

He was the youngest one in the bar, but he looked old enough to get in without question.  He pulled out the money he had taken from his mother and bought a group serving of onion rings.  The first plate was gone in seconds.  As he wiped the grease from his hands, he took a good look around.

He was having a really great time.  The people watching was spectacular, and the onion rings were delicious.  Turner cocked his head to the side.  Was that woman with glowing eyes staring at him?  He almost said something to her until she disappeared upstairs.

Back at the house, Olive was eating in their newly remodeled kitchen.  She could hear Pato consoling Suri in the other room, but since Suri wasn’t her imaginary friend, Olive had no idea what Suri was saying.  The leftover spaghetti was delicious, but she was lonely.  Olive had no idea where Turner had ran off too, and frankly, she was worried about him especially since Suri seemed so distressed.

Eventually, Pato entered the kitchen and sat opposite Olive.

“So, is Suri okay?” Olive licked the spaghetti sauce off of her fingers.

“She is as good as can be expected,” Pato shrugged.  “She thinks your brother is getting ready to tell her to go away.”

“So?” Olive replied.  She was really annoyed at all of the melodrama lately.

“Olive, you don’t get it.” Pato sighed. “As imaginary friends, our life cycles constantly restart until someone makes us real.  Suri is… in love with your brother.”

Olive stared blankly at Pato.  This was a lot of information to digest.

“So, how many children have you been friends with?”

“Hundreds… Can we go play outside?  I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Pato stood up and took Olive’s plate to the sink.

“Pato?”

“Yes, Olive?”

“She’s in love with Turner?”

“I’m afraid so.  It’s a terrible thing to happen especially since the odds of an imaginary friend becoming real are pretty close to one in a million.”

Olive grabbed Pato’s hand and dragged him to the seesaw.

The two laughed and giggled until it was too dark to be outside anymore.  When Olive fell asleep, Pato tucked her in before he turned into his toy form.

Meanwhile, at the Watering Hole, Turner confronted the lady with the glowing eyes.  To break the ice, he figured he’d offer her a serving of his onion rings.

“Excuse me, have we met?"

“I don't believe so," Hailey shrugged.

“Well, you can still have the onion rings,” Turner smiled sheepishly, “I don’t need anymore.”

“No thanks,” Hailey waved him off, and started to turn away from him, but then she changed her mind

“You wouldn’t happen be related to Gussie, would you?”

Turner nodded proudly, “that’s my dad!”

“Say, would you like me to buy you a drink?”

Turner nodded, and Hailey led him to the bar.

Chapter 11

On the bus ride to their first day of school, Olive was so nervous she couldn’t relax.  Would everyone like her?  Thanks to her parents, she wound up with the loser trait, and she was so sure everyone would know.

“Get a grip, Ollie” Turner rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything else, Olive had socked him in the shoulder.

“Ol-ive,” she pronounced, “Ollie sounds gross.”

Turner rolled his eyes.  He didn’t really have a lot of friends at school and he was worried his sister would think he was a loser… How was he supposed to be a good big brother if he didn’t have an entourage?

One thing was for sure.  She would be a way bigger loser than he was.

But Turner was wrong.  Suddenly, he had more friends at school.  Everyone was asking about his cute little sister.  Boys that hadn’t ever really been nice to him joked with him like they were old friends.

“Why didn’t you tell me your little sister was cute?!” they all seemed to ask in their own ways.

When Olive tried to sit with Turner at lunch, he just glared at her.  Olive looked at her plate and fidgeted under the table.

“So, how—“ She began timidly.

“Would you just go?  Gosh you’re such a loser.” Turner was hotheaded

Instead of crying like she wanted to do, Olive stood up quietly, looked fixedly at her brother, and walked away.  She ate lunch alone.

 Meanwhile, Gussie had taken an extra day off since he was an elder now.  Elynne and Gussie spent the day giggling and making jokes about how well he had aged.

“I really do like the grey hair,” Elynne purred.

“Oh come on, Elynne” he laughed and pulled her close.

“The kids are in school until this afternoon…” Elynne looked up at Gussie through her lashes, “So…”

“One step ahead of you,” they shared a knowing smile, and headed to the bedroom.

Later that day, Elynne decided that it might be good for Olive to get involved in an after school program.  She had been so nervous.  Maybe ballet would be a good activity for her to make some friends.

Turner worried about Olive when he didn’t see her on the bus that afternoon, but he kept a stern face.  He couldn’t believe all the boys his age thought she was cute.  His sister was gross.

He played with Suri until Olive got home.  She was at the table doing her homework, and Turner slid quietly into the chair across from her.  They worked on their homework together like nothing had even happened at school today.

After dinner, Olive got a surprise.

Pato, the doll she had had since she was a baby, was real!  She had always pretended he was her friend as her toddler, but now he was here!

When she tried to introduce him to Turner, it was instantly obvious that Turner could not see him.

“You’re just trying to be like me so you can fit in.  Suri is real.  Pato is not.” And with that, Turner stomped off to his bedroom.

“Now I know how he felt,” Olive sighed looking at Pato.  Pato shrugged.  “I know, Pato… not much you can do about it.”

Turner slammed the door to his room, and cried once he was sure no one had followed him.  It was his birthday today, and nobody had remembered

…except for Suri.  Oh well.  They’d get a good look at him in the morning.

Except they wouldn’t.

There was a note from their parents saying that they had been lucky enough to win a two day vacation.  It was the weekend, and there was food in the fridge.  They’d be alright.  Turner punched the wall…

Olive came up behind him wide eyed.  “Uh…”

“Shut up!  Shut up!” Turner hissed.

“Newsflash… they’re gone.  They don’t have to know.” Olive rolled her eyes.  “Remember how they’d been talking about remodeling the kitchen?”

Turner nodded.

“Well, they have the money, and they were going to remodel it this weekend, but then the trip came up.” Olive smiled.  Somehow her brother had gotten lucky.

“You’re a genius, Ollie,” Turner messed up her hair and then called the contractor that her parents always used.

“Oh yeah.  Mom and dad bought you a present for your birthday.  It’s in their room, but I can help you move it if you want.”

Suri’s eyes widened.  “Turner, this is exactly what we need!” She jumped up and down ecstatically.

He smiled and hugged her tightly.  Everything was going to be just fine.  Turner worked at the chemist’s station for several hours that night, but the potions he concocted would only be good if he wanted to pull a prank on someone.  He sighed, and eventually gave up when he burned his eyebrows.

He peeked in on Olive before finally turning in for the night.  She was so smart.  He was really going to have to try to be a better big brother.

Chapter 10

Even with all of Gussie’s upward mobility at the hospital, he still found himself unable to make ends meet.  So, Elynne and Gussie made a pact to not buy anything new until they had 5,000 simoleons in savings even if that meant unclogging the bargain john every day.  The shower broke almost every week, and the water overflow was seriously affecting their flooring, but thankfully Turner was helping a lot with the cleaning.

Turner swore it was his imaginary friend.  Who knows why he didn’t want to take the credit for being well behaved.

After a long game of tag, Suri and Turner flopped onto the lawn breathing heavily.  They both giggled and made fun of each other for the silly things they had done that day.

“I wish you were real…” Turner sighed grimacing.  “My mom and dad act really nice about everything, but I know they don’t believe that you exist.”

Suri rolled onto her side and smiled weakly.

"That’s okay,” she shrugged pulling at the blades of grass in front of her.  Suri paused and studied Turner’s face for a moment before speaking again.

“You know,” Suri began, “there is a way.  I’ve heard of a potion.”

“How do I get it!” Turner sat up abruptly.

“I don’t have the recipe,” Suri flopped back onto her back. “But… your father is very skilled at logic.  Maybe he could show you a few things.”

“I’ll ask him tonight, Suri.” Turner nodded and looked fixedly at the stars.

Suri burst into laughter.  “You are NOT wishing on a star.”

Turner blushed and ran towards the house.

That night, Elynne and Gussie prepared dinner together… until Gussie had to stop and fix their broken sink.

“I can’t wait until we have enough money to give this kitchen a facelift,” Elynne sighed as she chopped the vegetables for her spaghetti sauce.

“Me either,” Gussie said as he tightened the final bolt on the sink’s hardware.  “Shall I call Turner in for supper?”

Elynne shook her head.  “He’s been in his room for a solid hour.  I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he won’t speak to me.”

Turner didn’t come out of his room for dinner until he knew his mom was putting Olive down for the night.  He wanted to talk to his dad privately.

He peeked out of his bedroom door, and quickly shut it.  Suri rolled her eyes at Turner, and turned back into toy form.  She was mad.  He shouldn’t have badgered her about making her real.  What would happen if he couldn’t.

Finally, Turner took a big gulp of air and he headed out to the kitchen to talk to his dad.

“Hey Turner,” Gussie said mid jumping jack.  He was feeling really pumped and at the height of his workout.

“Uhm… I want to learn about logic.” Turner mumbled.

Gussie furrowed his brow and stretched out his calves.  This was new, but Gussie liked the idea of Turner taking after him.  An heir needed to have a good solid head on his shoulders.  Of course, Elynne and Gussie hadn’t decided on an heir yet…  Gussie just knew that she’d come around.  Turner was a good boy.

“Sure thing,” Gussie took one final stretch, “let me just shower quickly, and we’ll go outside and talk about the telescope.”

Turner beamed and raced outside.  It took Gussie a while to make it outside, and Turner got super impatient.  He tried to use the telescope by himself, but he couldn’t quite get it right.

“Alright, are you ready?” Gussie called out to Turner on his way to the telescope.  Turner jumped up and down and clapped his hands.

“Yes! I have nooooo idea how to work this thing!  It’s too hard!”

“That’s alright Turner, you’ll get the hang of it.  Come to think of it, I had the same problem when I was your age.” Gussie patted Turner on the shoulder.  “Alright.  So the most important part is studying and making sure you know what’s a star and what’s a planet.  Then after a while, you’ll be able to report your findings to the science lab for money…”

Turner looked up at his dad with admiration.  How on earth had he missed how smart his dad was?  After an hour of tutoring, Turner finally got the hang of the telescope, and Gussie convinced him it was time to go inside.  It was, after all, a school night.

Once inside, Gussie remembered it was his birthday!

And there went his fashion sense.

Chapter 9

On her last day of vacation, Elynne was ready to go.  After playing a little guitar, she headed off to the airport.  The flight was very long and she had a layover in Bridgeport, but when she got home that night it was all worth it.

Elynne bounced in her seat during the whole cab ride home.  She couldn’t wait to see her family even though it was two in the morning.  When she got home, she lugged all of her baggage inside, and crept into first Turner’s room and then Olive’s room.  Oh, she loved her babies!

Exhausted, she shuffled to her room where Gussie lay fast asleep.  He looked so serene!  She kissed him gently on the cheek before climbing under the covers.

Regardless of how little sleep she got, she was up before the sun the next morning fixing breakfast and tidying up the house.  The only person who wasn’t in bed was Gussie, but Elynne figured he must have had to work.

She got a little painting done before Turner charged in and wrapped her up in a bear hug.

“Mommy! Mommy!” He jumped up and down in front of her.

“Oh! I’m so happy to see you Turner, but shh!  Let’s not wake Olive yet.” Elynne smiled.  “Now, what have you been up to while I was gone?”

“Well, Suri and I have been playing all kinds of tag, and we even found a deer and a wild horse and –“

“Oh?  And who is Suri?”

“My imaginary friend, Momma!  But I promise you she’s real!”

Elynne chuckled while she tried to formulate an appropriate response, but Olive was crying in the other room.

“Sounds like someone is awake!  Shall we get her together?”

Turner nodded and raced Elynne to Olive’s room.

She had truly missed her babies!

It turned out that Gussie had been on call this morning, but hadn’t had to go in for very long.  When Elynne brought Olive into the living room for breakfast there he was!  He smiled lovingly at her before squeezing her into a bear hug.

“Alright… Suri and I are going outside!” Turner screeched, and before they could say anything, he was out in the back yard… playing tag by himself.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

“Well shoot… I guess I’m needed back at the hospital.” Gussie pecked Elynne and the kids each on the cheek before dashing to work.

Elynne’s cheeks burned.  Hailey.

“So, mommy…”

Elynne looked down at Turner.  He was twisting his fingers behind his back and looking around nervously.

“What’s up, baby?” Elynne was confused.

“Have you picked an heir yet?”

“…An…an heir?  Honey, where did you get that idea?” Elynne already knew.  Gussie had asked her when Turner was born about what they planned to do with their legacy.  They needed a plan just in case.

“Daddy said it’s supposed to be me because I’m the eldest!” Turner stood up straight and pointed at his chest.  Puffing out his chest he marched off to the kitchen to hold court.

Elynne carried Olive to her bedroom, and flopped onto the floor next to her.

“One steps foreward, and two steps back,” Elynne muttered under her breath.  She didn’t want to deal with the imaginary friend issue or the legacy issue right now.  What had gotten into Gussie?  What was he planning?

Hailey.

Did he think that once he got everything in order here with her and the children that he could leave and be with her?  Was that what he was doing?  Was that why he spent all his time at the hospital.

“Mama mad?”

Elynne turned to Olive.  Olive’s brow was furrowed, and she was visibly concerned.  Elynne never meant to let her children see her upset.  She had to get over this quickly so she didn’t ruin Olive’s day.

“No, baby.” Elynne scooped her up and tossed her into the air, “Mama’s always happy when she gets to be with you.”

Olive squealed in response.

Once Olive was down for her nap, Elynne checked on Turner who was outside making faces at Suri.  Elynne didn’t think she was going to be able to get used to Suri.  To Elynne, it just looked like he was making faces all by himself… He looked like he had real problems.

After Gussie finished at the hospital, he brought home a surprise:  a new kitchen table!  Elynne was so pleased because now the whole family could eat together.  Well, all except Olive.  She would be eating on the floor until her birthday.

“Why doesn’t Suri get a plate?” Turner frowned.

“Imaginary friends don’t need to eat food like we do,” Gussie chimed in before Elynne could think of an appropriate response.

“That’s right,” Elynne nodded in approval, “they also don’t need to sleep like we do.  They just go back into their toy forms.  That’s when mommy and daddy can see her.”

Elynne had to force herself to say those words.  She was so sure that Turner just hid toy Suri under the bed whenever he pretended she was real, but the advice on all the mommy blogs was telling her to go with it.  So she did.

After they cleaned up the dinner mess and all of the children were in bed, Gussie asked Elynne to come to bed early.  She cocked her head to the side because it had been a long time since he had.

Elynne sat next to him in bed awkwardly for a while, and the two of them talked about the kids, school, and money.

Elynne was just about to get up and find something else to do until Gussie started serenading her with the cheesiest pop love song Elynne had ever heard.

“Good grief!” Elynne giggled, “Don’t quit your day job!”  She whacked him in the side of the head with a pillow before the both started laughing.

And before Elynne could say woohoo, Gussie had gathered her into his arms.

Chapter 8

Since Gussie was climbing up the corporate ladder, he was often asked to come speak at the local school to inspire children to work hard at their studies.  Gussie loved hanging out with the children, and every once in a while, he’d recognize the same fire that he had in the eyes of a student.

He was surprised by the sheer amount of money that the school was willing to pay him.  Elynne would be so pleased!

When he got home, he was happy to see that Turner had aged up into a child!  Gussie was so excited to have someone he could show the ropes.  Maybe Turner would even want to play chess with him!  Gussie was a master of the logic skill after all.  Hopefully some of his knowledge would rub off on Turner.

Gussie startled suddenly.  It was time to start thinking about the family legacy.  He certainly wasn’t getting any younger.  Elynne wouldn’t want to talk about this yet, but he knew they would need to choose an heir.  She hadn’t been in the best of moods lately, and who could blame her. 

Gussie had put her through the ringer, and he was ashamed of himself.  So, instead of using the money he received on something for himself or the kids, he was sure he wanted her to go on a vacation.  Her clients were asking for more unusual fruits and vegetables, and she was out of inspiration for her painting.

He called her on his way home to let her know he had a surprise for her.

When Gussie finally told Elynne about his idea, she glared at him.  Was he joking?  She half expected him to burst into laughter, but Gussie had never been the type to joke about something like this.

“So, let me get this straight, you want me to go off and leave you with two small children and a demanding job?” She questioned.

Gussie smiled and nodded.

Elynne could barely hide her excitement, but her rough life had aged her.  Instead of jumping for joy, she turned and grinned.

That was when Gussie noticed how much she had aged.  Her eyes had dark baggy circles underneath, and her skin was speckled in age spots, but the twinkle in her eye was visible.  She was happy, and Gussie couldn't remember the last time he had seen her truly happy.

Finally, she leapt into his arms, and almost knocked him off of his feet.

“Oh Gussie!” She cried, “thank you so much!  I have been needing this for so long, and you knew!”

Gussie cried too, and held her tightly.

“I love you, Elynne.  More than anything.”

Even as he said the words, he couldn’t help but think about Hailey.  He still missed her.  Would they ever have a chance to be happy as friends?  Probably not.  He ruined any chance of having any real honest relationship with her the night he cheated with her.

The next afternoon, he loaded Elynne into a taxi, and waved her off.  They could only afford three days of travel, but it was enough for her.

As Elynne’s plane flew in for a landing, she got a good look at Champs Les Sims.  She sighed deeply and pressed her nose to the window.  Elynne wouldn’t have enough time to do any real sight-seeing or exploring, but she would have plenty of time to try some nectar, look into some new fruits for her clients, and maybe sneak in some painting.

The first day was full of misunderstandings because she had no idea how to communicate with the locals.  People found her boring and frustrating, so she eventually retreated to the Nectary.  Instead of trying to pronounce the names of the nectars, she just pointed.  The clerk behind the counter nodded, and only smiled when he gave her the wrong amount of money.  He politely took the correct amount of money, and sent her on her way.

The nectar was delicious!  Inspired, she decided to start harvesting some new fruits immediately.

After spending an evening harvesting grapes, she decided to call Gussie.  It was expensive, but she missed him so much!  She told him about the nectary, and how confusing trying to communicate with the locals was.  He laughed and told her not to worry.

“Elynne, I’m a little worried about Turner,” Gussie whispered.

“Why, hun?”

“Well, ever since his birthday, he has been talking to himself.  I’ve asked him about it, and he tells me that he isn’t talking to himself.  He’s talking to his imaginary friend, Suri.”

“Oh…” Elynne was speechless.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to do about it either.” Gussie sighed. “I’ve looked online, and everyone seems to say that we should stay out of it.  Don’t say anything negative to him.  He has to work it out on his own.”

Elynne shook her head.  It would have to wait.

After they hung up, Elynne headed back to the hotel.  She had a hard time describing the hotel because although a large amount of people could stay there, it had a very cozy environment... Almost too cozy.  All the beds were in the same room, and she had the hardest time falling asleep.

She didn't sleep very well that night because people constantly bumped into the foot board of her bed, and there was a rumor that the blonde woman on the other side of the room was a celebrity.  A few people even snapped a few sleeping shots of her.

She wanted to paint, but couldn’t afford to bring her easel with her on the plane.  The charged a boatload of simoleons to check an extra package.

She checked the clock.  It was still well before 6:00 am, so she decided to try her hand at fishing.  There were plenty of poles in the main lobby closet, so she snagged one and headed across the street to fish in the river.

At first, nothing bit.  Not even a nibble.

But after a while, she managed to catch some minnows!  There were a couple of people on a fishing boat downstream that laughed at her antics, but it didn’t bother Elynne.  She was so proud of catching her first fish even if it wasn’t any bigger than her hand.

Chapter 7

After Gussie surrendered sleeping in their bed without a fight, Elynne was uneasy.  Wasn't he going to try?  Elynne sighed and crept to the living room to paint.  She didn't realize how long she had painted until Gussie passed her on his way to the kitchen.  Elynne bit her lip.  This was the first morning she hadn't made Gussie’s breakfast.

Oh well.  He’d live.

Gussie ate leftover grilled cheese, and it made him sick.  He couldn’t believe he’d started that huge argument over pesto!  Basil, cheese, and pine nuts… really?  All he really wanted to do was go into the living room, wrap his arms around Elynne, and forget everything… They needed a vacation.

Gussie’s thoughts were interrupted by two crying children.  After he realized that Elynne was not going to get them out of bed, he shuffled off to the room the Olive and Turner shared… They deserved separate rooms.

Elynne finally tore herself away from her painting when the thought of all the housework she had to do cut off her flow of inspiration.

Elynne sighed.  In a few days, she could no longer be considered a young adult.  Her days were numbered, and there was no way she was going to spend her time on this planet unhappy.  Was that the message she needed to send to her children?

The rest of the day, she went about her chores and took care of the children in a daze, and that daze caused her a lot of problems come lunch time.

There was one thing Elynne was sure of—she needed some help.  She started to call the maid service, but quickly shut her cell phone.  There was no money for a maid.  She was going to have to suck it up until something changed.

Instead, she called the local appliance store, and ordered a newer stove.  She knew she should have waited for Gussie, but she would fix his favorite meal for dinner to make up for the whole ordeal.

Gussie was in good spirits when he got home.  He had just gotten a promotion!  He was an intern now which meant no more ambulance rides, but it also meant a lot more on call shifts.  Gussie didn’t mind though.  They needed the money, and Elynne had been hard to handle lately.

Gussie did not expect to be surprised with Goopy Carbonera after the way things had gone the other night, but there Elynne was.  She was all cleaned up and pretty as a picture smiling at him over a plate of his favorite meal… he noticed the new stove out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t want to ruin the moment.

They talked and played footsie under the table like old times while the children played.  Instead of heading to bed directly after supper, Gussie offered to deal with the children.

After everyone was bathed and put to bed, Gussie noticed that Elynne had also turned in early.  Looking out the window, he noticed that her garden hadn’t been tended to in a few days.  That was so unlike Elynne.  The kids must have really been putting her through the ringer.

He was tired, and he had to be at work in 6 hours, AND he was on call, but he wanted to surprise her.

When Gussie finished with the garden, and after he took a shower, he started to unroll his sleeping bag, but instead of zipping himself in, he crept over to the bed.  Elynne either had no idea what was going on, or she was starting to forgive and forget.

But you know what they say about a woman scorned…