Parenting is a challenge. Staying kind and patient is a daily struggle. Lynx has had to sacrifice selfishness, and laziness, and sleep. But it's all worth it, just for moments like these, where he can share his hobbies with three future gamers who hang on his every word.
Laurel loves the action games, Lydia's favorite is the roleplaying, and Solana... is a little min-maxer, of course. She approaches every problem like a puzzle to be solved with efficiency.
Unfortunately, all the roleplay campaigns in the world cannot prepare Solana for the weird moment when Mariposa returns to her life.
Mariposa has always had visitation rights... it's just that, up until now, she could not get over her hatred of Lynx enough to come visit.
"Dad said you didn't want to come see me because you were sick and people made you upset. Are you feeling better now?" Solana asks, suspicious.
Lynx stares nervously at his ex, waiting for her to challenge what he told their daughter.
"I'd feel better if he would leave the room." Mariposa smiles, all teeth.
"Ha! Not going to happen." Lynx has never bad-mouthed his daughters' mothers, having read somewhere that he should not, but now that he's face to face with Mariposa again he can't keep the derision out of his voice. All the sympathy he had for her after she lost custody of their child has slowly, slowly evaporated, as Mariposa didn't so much as send a birthday card or an email to Solana, in all this time.
"She's my baby and we deserve quality time together!" Mariposa screams.
"You get visitation. Not unsupervised visitation," Lynx replies. "And don't scream. You'll scare her. And her sisters."
Laurel and Lydia are on the staircase, just out of sight, trying to be quiet as they eavesdrop. They're embarrassed now, because they were so certain Lynx and Solana hadn't noticed them.
Mariposa glares. "Those twins are not her sisters."
"You want me to call them half-sisters? Really? Grow up." Lynx glares daggers at her. "Now you can be pleasant... or you can come back another time, when you're feeling better."
Solana, for her part, looks uncomfortable.
Mariposa makes a show of standing up and sitting down again closer to the confused child. "There are so many nice places I wanted to take you! But I'll get to know you here. That's fine. What are your favorites?"
"Well, um, math and science are my favorite subjects. I think I want to be an astronaut when I grow up, or maybe a scientist... um..." Solana shrinks a little in her seat, finding Mariposa's blank stare sort of imposing.
"What. Are. Your. Favorites." Mariposa demands, again.
Solana looks down at her shoes. "Latin music, green, and vegetarian lobster thermidor. I'm not a vegetarian though, I just like it that way. We ate it at one of my Dad's neat convention things..."
Mariposa continues to stare. Solana isn't sure if she gave the right answers.
"Why didn't you ever write me?"
The question seems to snap Mariposa back to attention. "Because your father would have eaten the letter. He's a lizard, you know."
"Haha... pretty sure he's a mammal..." Solana smiles nervously, imagining this is a joke she doesn't get. Perhaps one that will be explained to her.
"The jury is still out on you," Mariposa says coldly.
Solana glances doubtfully at her father.
Lynx says nothing.
"Are you going to live with Dad and me now?"
Mariposa pinches her daughter's cheek. "You are so beautiful... you'd be better without your father's face spots, of course."
At that, Solana's composure breaks, and she runs from the room, tears in her eyes.
"What the hell was that?!" Lynx hisses.
Mariposa seems genuinely confused by the question. "I don't know. I'm going to go get her."
"You have done enough for one night."
"Why is she crying? Have you been abusing my daughter?"
"She's crying because you just insulted her face, you biscuit brain!"
"I paid her a compliment."
"Now I have to run damage control and reassure her that mommy and daddy didn't split up because of her freckles."
"Why would she think that? Did you not tell her what a piece of shit you are?"
"You really can't see what you did wrong here, can you?"
"Whatever I can say, I'm sure she's heard worse from your filthy mouth."
"You don't know anything about me. You don't know anything about my daughters. You don't know anything about how I've raised my daughters. You can't strut into Solana's life and expect her to act like you never left. You have to earn that. Now get out of my house."
"I have rights, Lynx."
"You can come back and exercise them next week. But next week I'm going to have a camera in here, so the judge can see all the psychotic things you say, and maybe rethink their decision."
"She's my baby and you can't keep me from her!"
The strange woman leaves, and Lynx goes upstairs to comfort Solana.
Laurel and Lydia, frightened by the harsh language, whisper to each other about what just happened.
Why is Solana's mom here now?
Why did Solana's mom say their father is a piece of shit?
Why did Solana's mom say Solana wasn't their sister? Is Solana adopted? Are they adopted?
Their father always told them they weren't adopted, and that Lydia and Laurel had a different mother from Solana, that's all, but he has never shown them a picture of their mother... meanwhile, the stranger lady was clearly the woman in the photograph on their father's dresser.
When Lynx comes back downstairs, an hour later, he is bombarded with these questions and more. A tearful Lydia asks him why her mother has not visited.
Lynx hugs the twins, one at a time. "I don't know, Lydia. I don't think she's going to."
"Does she not love us?" Laurel asks.
"I'm sure she wants you to be happy and safe," Lynx answers.
"Why do you have a picture of Solana's mom and not ours?" Lydia whines.
Lynx sighs. "I told you before... I just do."
He never wanted to take the risk of them recognizing Brooke around town. He hasn't run into her since the last time she was in his house, but he knows from office gossip that she remained married to Chen Ahere, and they have their own toddler now, a daughter named Adrienne. The twins would of course be heartbroken if they knew. They would not understand.
Luckily Brooke's family made it easy for him. They respected her wishes not to contact the twins.
"Why was Lana's mom so mad at you?" Laurel wants to know.
Lynx cringes. "Solana's mother doesn't get along with most people, me included. I was young when we got together and I didn't understand her very well."
Lydia's lip quivers. "Does our mother hate you too, Daddy?"
Lynx pauses. The thought that Brooke might hate him no longer brings the familiar stab of pain. "I don't know, Lydia. But I guess we didn't get along very well either."
Laurel frowns harder. "Are we ever going to meet her?"
Lynx tries to smile. "It's possible, but... don't wait up, you know?"
"Okay," Laurel says glumly.
"Hey. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."
Lydia hugs him again. "What about Solana's mom? Is she coming back?"
"We'll see," Lynx says warily. "But speaking of... I need to ask you two something."
"What?" Laurel perks up.
"You remember to be cautious around strangers?... Well, I want you to treat Solana's mother like a stranger. Don't ever go anywhere with her when I'm not there. Okay?"
After that evening, things did not quite ever go back to the way they were.
Mariposa visited Solana at a scheduled time every few days. She never wanted Lydia or Laurel to be there, and Lynx was happy to keep them away from Mariposa's insanity, but the twins couldn't help but to feel excluded and jealous.
Solana doesn't particularly enjoy her mother's visits. They make her feel sad. It's obvious to her that Mariposa is delusional, and paranoid, and looking for a friend, for any human connection really, but she can't accomplish that through normal means so instead she has barged back into Solana's life as an authority figure.
"If I had custody, you wouldn't be playing with this dangerous stuff. You can't trust what's in the textbooks, Solana. You can only trust what's in front of your eyes. The government lies. It lies and lies and lies and cuts your legs off." Mariposa begins to pace around. "I'm glad you got to keep this room. I made this room for you. Are you sure your favorite color isn't pink?"
"Pink comforts me," Solana admits. "I kind of like every color. Green is my favorite but they're all nice."
Mariposa shrugs. "Irish green is my favorite. I have more refined tastes. Probably because I'm older. You'll grow into it."
Solana's shoulders slump. No matter what she says, Mariposa seems to think it's wrong, or misguided.
Worse, her siblings will barely speak to her now. Playing beside them feels like playing alone.
Solana used to be content playing at home with her sisters in the evenings, but lately finds herself spending more and more time next door with the neighbor's kid.
I thought I got better pics of Arne Oss, but as it turns out I didn't.
He has the shy trait, but also the genius trait, giving him something in common with Solana.
He's easy to talk to, and she assumed he was that way with everyone, until they had a class together and she noticed him trying to hide from other students.
Solana can relate. Sometimes she just wants to hide from everybody too.
Tonight they watch crime documentaries, while Arne's dad makes mac'n'cheese.
Ah, yes, truly the peak of culinary achievement.
No wonder Valter and Lynx are friends.
I didn't even realize until this chapter that Valter moved his little family in next door.
"I got Arne to make a character to play with us," Solana explains, on Mariposa's next visit. "Maybe you can play too?"
"With Lynx?" Mariposa balks.
"Umm... he's the DM, and my sisters also play."
"Half-sisters. They are your half-sisters. They aren't mine."
"I understand... but there's no reason to make that distinction, because we all know. So. Dad says I don't have to call them halves. Unless I'm mad at them." She pauses, then makes the mistake of confessing, "Which I kind of am. They'd being mean to me since you came back."
"Two-faced, is what they are," Mariposa says, with confidence. "They come from that lying cheat Brooke, so it's no surprise."
Solana blinks. "They come from a stream?"
"Brooke Ahere. She used to play this game, with your father, and me, and that bastard Valter Oss. I bet Valter knew about everything. I bet he knew and kept quiet."
Solana glances back to her father. He tends to hover around, when Mariposa is here, but right now he's absorbed in a phone call with one of the junior developers. He nods at Solana but isn't really within earshot. She looks back at her mother. "Quiet about what?"
"About the LIES."
"Arne's dad is really nice..."
"He's a snake and I don't want you around him or his spawn."
"Arne's my best friend... please don't be unfair."
"I'm not being unfair! I'm your mother and I'm trying to protect you!" Mariposa glares at her daughter. "Who am I kidding? Your father will just override my parenting decisions. It's because he doesn't love you. He's going to turn you into a soulless lizard too, probably, no matter what I do."
"Your mom loves you more than anything, kiddo... she's just confused about a lot of things, and irrationally worried about a lot of things." Epiphany spends some one on one time with each of her nieces, and this one in particular seems to need a sane adult female voice around.
"I don't mean to make her worry."
"She's not worried about things she should be worried about. She's mentally ill. She believes in some things that aren't true..."
"Yes. I know what irrational means." Solana stares hard at the chess board. "What if I'm mentally ill when I grow up?"
Epiphany's frown deeepens. "Well that's not very likely, sweet one... but if you get sick, we'll do our best to take care of you and keep you on the right track. Your mother didn't have her own family to do that for her when she was your age, so she's a lot worse than she would otherwise be."
"I know. I feel bad for her."
"If she's making you sad, you shouldn't see her any more."
"Dad says he can make that happen, but he's not going to if I don't want him to. I know my mother would be upset, and I don't think I can be mean to somebody who didn't mean to be mean to me."
"You have a big heart, Solana."
"I try to treat people how I'd want to be treated."
"That's admirable... but if you were bad to people, how would you want them to treat you?"
Solana blinks, not looking up from the rook piece as she considers this angle. "I'd want them to stop me."
"First she gets her mom back, and now she's hogging Aunt Pippy," Lydia complains quietly to Laurel, as their father's dozing attention is focused on a cooking show.
"Yep," Laurel says.
Lydia looks like she's about to cry, again. "She must think she's so much better than us."
"I bet our mom's dead," Laurel says.
"No, I don't think so. If she was dead, Dad would have told us."
"Well I'd feel better if she was dead. Then at least I'd know she didn't abandon us on purpose."
"That's why he would tell us," Lydia reasons.
"Well maybe he was crazy in love with her, and he doesn't want to admit she died because it hurts."
"Hmm," Lydia is doubtful, but not completely closed to the possibility.
Epiphany takes Lydia aside later that night.
"Are you and Laurel not getting along with Solana?"
"No, we're okay," Lydia lies, with a big frown on her face.
"I just wanted to see what was up. Your sister is going through a pretty tough time right now, and she sounds very lonely."
Lydia places her hands on her hips. "Why doesn't she just talk to her mom?"
"Her mom isn't very mom-like, Lydia."
"I guess she doesn't have much practice," Lydia says.
"Exactly. But Mariposa is also... a very troubled person. Being around her makes your sister feel sad. She could really use your support. And Laurel's. You're making her feel isolated."
"But... but she's got a mom and our dad. We only have one."
"Yes, well... Lynx can hug Solana as much as he likes, that won't make her feel any better about how you and Laurel are behaving."
"...Oh..."
"Yeah. People aren't interchangeable. When our friends leave us, it hurts, even if we have other friends."
Epiphany feels good about that Very Special Episode, so now it's time to lighten up. She lets Lydia play music for her — Lydia is discovering a new favorite band just as often as Laurel discovers a new favorite sport — and sits down to sketch her niece as the girl chatters and dances.
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Etc.: I'm jealous my sims can go outside.
