The height of summer had passed now for the people of Bewickton and the night had been a little on the chilly side, but the air should start to warm up again as soon as the sun would rise above the hills, as they rolled gently like the backs of green elephants wandering on their way to the watering hole... slowly, but surely... It was still summer after all...
Little Yumi had spent the night sleeping on the front porch, ready to bark and bite at whoever dared to trespass.. however, I don't think anyone would be to scared of her yet.. but she has potential to be a watch dog some time down the road. It might still be of benefit for Sofia and Palash to train her to control her more aggressive impulses, though.. while she's still just a little puppy..
Palash was still sleeping alone in the room with Rose Marie as Sofia didn't want to have her beauty sleep interrupted by a crying baby.. Palash wasn't to happy about Sofia leaving everything on him during night time, but he didn't want to start an argument about it. He knew Sofia had her issues with parenting, how much she had feared giving birth and how much she doubted her own parenting skills.. Parenting, what was that? How would she know what parenting was, when it was almost as if she never had any herself...
"No stretch marks, this is good...."
..and when Sofia woke up, she couldn't
avoid the mirror. Another thing she was anxious about was, of course,
what the pregnancy would do to her appearance.. Sofia always had to
be the best at everything, including looks. Not because anyone told
her so, because nobody did, but because one day she hoped to be seen
as a person... as a child, as a little human being... yet it was
always that way, looking her best, doing her best was just never
enough... she had to try harder..... then maybe one day it would
work...
Parenting.. having a parent that was actually
parenting.. what was that?
For Palash the parenting was almost instinctual, and finally having his first child was a dream come true. As the second oldest of his pack of siblings, he had always been surrounded by family, and he didn't want to live life any other way. Just one year ago was one of the happiest days in his life, when he married Sofia and his days of living in solitude was definately over, and just last month came another, when little Rose Marie was born... As he held her up to cuddler her he thought to himself that this.. this was just the beginning..
..or so he hoped. Sofia still had her moments where she could be a little sour. He didn't always understand why as she had the habit of becoming silent, shutting off all communication and sometimes even locking herself up inside one of their bathrooms...
It wasn't as bad this morning, as she briefly told him she was going to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them, but he still understood she was a little grumpy about something..
She didn't say much during breakfast either, as she finished it in a hurry to walk upstairs to their bedroom where Rose Marie was still in her crib..
Sofia had no real reason to doubt her
parenting skills the way she did – Sofia had no real reason to
doubt herself in any way the way she did – she was more than good
enough already, both taking care to cuddle, play with and feed the
baby almost immediately whenever she needed it.. It was almost as if
she had an instinct there too, one that told her to do whatever it
could to make sure the baby wasn't suffering or feeling lonely...
Palash headed upstairs to after a while to check up on the baby, but Sofia could assure him that the baby was just fine and she was resting calmly in her crib.. so why couldn't they go outside and enjoy the fine weather, throwing some good old foot-to-hand ball?
..and since the weather was so fine and warm and since they were only hanging out in their backyard anyway it made perfect sense for Sofia to not get dressed and just walk out there in her sleepwear.. ;)
Throwing ball in your underwear is
fun, and eventually Sofia felt good enough to share what was really
on her mind..
She was a little disappointed this morning because she had hoped Palash would serve her breakfast in bed. She had some vague memory of cuddling up in bed with her mom when she was still alive, and her father coming in to 'surprise' them with the best french toast she has probably ever had, topped with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and homemade apple butter...
Breakfast in bed wasn't something Palash was very used to, for him breakfast was a moment where everyone, mom, dad and all his siblings, ate together at the breakfast table taking their time and enjoying the family atmosphere that way...
He didn't know she wanted it any other way, he wasn't used to the bed as a place to eat, but if this was something that could bring them closer, he thought that maybe next time he would take the opportunity to make a good breakfast to be enjoyed in bed.. of course, this would also have the benefit of having the entire little family in the same room as it allowed them to be right next to Rose Marie in her crib as well...
Sofia definately thought that their one
year anniversary of being married should be marked somehow, so, in
spite of not getting breakfast on bed this morning, she wanted to
take Palash out on a date to enjoy a few drinks together..
Palash was a little unsure at first, if they should go out now and leave the baby in the house like that, but Sofia did her best to reassure him that it would be just fine if they called a babysitter to watch after the baby... she hoped..
Sofia had taken them to the Red Rendezvous for some drinks, and later had plans to maybe dine out somewhere or go to the cinema to watch a movie.. Palash was tagging along for now, but wanted to set her in the mood for romance and chose to strip down to his swimwear as soon as they were inside, which may just have worked given Sofias instantenous reaction.. ;)
Palash couldn't really hide his
excitement either as he heard her order a round of Sanguine Slush
drinks from the bartender., after reading the bar menu a few times
over to find the perfect drink... this was right on track, just as it
should be...
Palash thought he could already smell
the sweet smell of strawberry as the drinks were being mixed and
poured, and he thought it looked both good and promising..the
bartender didn't even break a bottle or spill a single drop!
Sofia hoped for a perfect and rewarding date as she handed the drink to Palash.... not just for tonight, but also perhaps some other time down the road...
..after enjoying their drinks, so sweet and good, they had to talk about the one thing right now that seemed most important to them, their latest pride and joy in life.. the hills were green, and it was still summer.. after all...
"Just so you know... I'm a fire fighter." The age old trick. Palash knew what Sofia wanted almost everytime she mentioned her profession... The morning dew had yet to evaporate from the strands of grass, the hills were still green and there were no lions in sight...
..and even if there were lions.. or even hyenas around.. there's a high chance that they might've gone by unnoticed...
..but certainly, the bartender noticed Palash and Sofia as they hung around behind his watering hole station a little to long, a little to much, but just enough to wear out their welcome...
Palash takes the hint and leaves the watering hole area, but Sofia stays behind a little while longer to talk about the upcoming rainy season...
..until she suddenly feels a jolt, like a lightning strike her stomach. Yumi! The poor little dog was left at home, all alone without anyone to talk to her, to play with her, to watch after her!
"Palash... we have to go home, now! We forgot about Yumi!"
"..but didn't you say the babysitter would watch after..." Palash responded, trying to calm her down..
"We have to go home.. now!"
"I'm so sorry Yumi! I'm so sorry... Mommy is here now! Everything will be ok! Mommy is here now...."
"Hush, hush.. everything is ok now. Oh my poor little girl... have you missed
mommy? Everything is ok now..."
Palash takes a different approach to the dog however, and reprimands her for chewing up all their furniture again while they were away...
..while Sofia had gone upstairs to the bathroom..
"So so little one.... Mommy is here now...."
Palash orders pizza since their night was ended so abruptly and they didn't get to go to a restaurant for a meal...
Sofia calms herself down by making sure the baby gets her meal, though...
..and can finally let loose and feel happy again now that all of the poor little girls needs have been met...
..but the meal Palash ordered for some reason never arrived, so they had to finish their date with a simple canned soup instead.. but Sofia didn't care to much about that right now. She didn't need simtalian pizza or juicy simtexan steaks right now, as long as her little baby girl was doing fine... Palash need not worry...
..everything was just fine and under control, as Sofia once more headed upstairs after their meal to gently rock the little baby girl to sleep...
..but it's only temporary when he sees how well she takes care of their little treasure.... so now that the baby is asleep all tucked up and warm - and without Palash needing to lift a finger to get it done- he thinks it's the perfect time for them to spend some time out on the balcony, watching the stars...
Having a baby was far from the worst thing that could've happened. It was such a joy, even Sofia had to admit this to herself...
..on the one year anniversary of their wedding. This was a near perfect night to watch the stars... there were a few clouds in the sky here and there, but they were just thin enough for the stars to mostly shine through anyway...
It had been quite a year for them already since they got married, with it's ups and downs, dry periods and rainy seasons.. warm summer days and cold winter nights.. literally so, but they had passed all the tests and managed to ride it all out..
..and they still wanted each other, just as much as before.. if not more...
Good night.. ;)
