1.8 Going Out

Dot has taken a part-time job after school. She only gets home late at night, but makes time for her brothers. It's tough, not seeing her dad, but at least she has her siblings. She isn't sure what to say when Aloiso asks about his own father, and wishes her mother could answer these difficult questions. 

"What is my dad like?" 

"I don't actually know, Alo," Dot answers truthfully. Damaris only told her a little bit about him- an old man named Juan who lived by himself before he passed away.

"I bet he's an astronaut!" 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Astronauts are in space, so they can't talk to people on earth. That's why he isn't here." 

Dot's heart breaks for her brother, "I wouldn't know..." 

For now, Aloiso is convinced by his explanation. 

Mark Stamp!

I have Damaris chat with Mark. I liked his name and moved him into a household. 

Yeah, pretty much inevitable. 

Penny Pincher eventually gets the hint and leaves the room. 

"You want to go out sometime?" Mark asks, "There's a club not too far away." 

Damaris sighs regretfully, "I have a show tonight. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Don't keep me waiting too long..." he enters his phone number onto her contact list. 

Romance is on Damaris's brain and she sings love song after love song for her audience tonight. 

The sing-o-grams she delivers afterwards are no exception. Shark Racket here is very happy with Damaris's performance. 

"Tell Bunny I say thanks," Shark breathes in the scent of the roses, "Especially for sending in such a pretty singer." 

Damaris quirks an eyebrow, "Sure, I'll tell her..." 

"Oh, it's you." Damaris can think of many sims she'd rather be performing for outside in the rain. 

"You think I wanted this?" Sinbad gripes, "My girlfriend send you or something?" 

"Julienne wanted to celebrate your anniversary, yes." 

"Though I can't think why, for a jerk like yooooou~" 

Sinbad sarcastically claps. "Wow, so moving." 

The things Damaris does for money... 

"Wow, old flowers? For me? You shouldn't have!" 

Damaris throws the bouquet in his face, "I really shouldn't have!" 

Sinbad throws the flowers to the field. 

"You're not going to get anywhere with such a bad attitude...doll." 

"Heh, someone tell you that before?" 

"Wow, such a witty comeback. Let me go treat my shattered ego. Have fun out here." He opens his umbrella pointedly away from her. 

Damaris calls Mark up for a date. There are still a few movies playing. 

"Wow, you alright?" Mark takes in her soaked clothes and her sour expression. 

"Hmm bad day at work, I guess. I can't wait to get inside." 

"Me too. You wanna watch Planet II? I heard it got good reviews." 

Damaris smiles, "Your choice, Mark." 

He offers his arm, which she takes, and they head into the theatre together. 

Dot comes home from a long shift at work and says goodbye to the sitter. 

"Hi mom!" 

"I'm not your mom, silly. That's...mom." 

Aloiso shrugs, "Wanna play with me? The castle still needs a queen." 

Dot has homework, but... 

She does a curtsy in her long skirt, "Of course, your majesty." 

"Yay!" Aloiso throws his arms around his sister, "Let's go fight the dragon!" 

Planet II was a fun animation movie, though Damaris feels like Aloiso would've enjoyed it more than her... 

(Also ignore the clothes change. Not sure what happened there). 

"Here, for you." Mark gives her a bouquet of white roses. 

Damaris can tell these aren't the cheap kind she buys in bulk for her sing-o-grams. "Thanks Mark, this is so nice of you." 

They chat about the movie for a little while, about the effects ("lame", according to Mark), about Planet I ("better than Planet II" he also concludes), and about the characters. 

Though when his eyes start to wander, Damaris impulsively suggests they find a backroom somewhere... 

She comes home past midnight. Seeing Dot still awake, waiting for her, and Pancho crying for attention causes her to feel a wave of shame. 

What was she thinking? She can't just leave her kids alone like that! I got too caught up in the moment... 

"I'm so sorry!" she bursts into tears, "I won't let this happen again!" 

Dot just shakes her head, "It's fine, I was studying anyways." Her homework still sits on top of the washing machine, halfway finished. She rubs her mom's back, "I'm going to go to bed. Good night mom." 

"Good night," she sniffs. 

Despite going to bed late, Dot and Quartz are up at 6 the next morning, woken up by strange sounds in the pipes below their shared room. 

"Seriously? The sink, the shower, and the toilet!?" Dot huffs in disbelief. 

"I know... I wish we could move somewhere else," Quartz moans. He doesn't have any idea on how to fix the leaky shower. He tentatively fixes the wrench to the shower-head and tries to screw it shut. 

"Is it working?" Quartz whispers to his sister. 

"No idea. Wrench faster!" 

Damaris fixes the broken plumbing when the kids leave for school. She only has time for a short shower before she has to be out the door and delivering sing-o-grams again. 

Notzo got a promotion at work and his parents wanted to congratulate him. 

Notzo recognises Damaris as Dot's mom. 

"Dot was in the year before me before I graduated," he explains as he shakes Damaris's hand. 

"Oh, it's so good to meet her friends! She doesn't go out a lot, you know." 

Notzo nods, "Yeah, she works pretty hard. I'm not sure how she manages going to the graveyard every night. That place gives me the creeps." 

Damaris casts her eyes downwards. "She's a strong person..." 

"Anyways, it was nice to meet you. Tell Dot I say hi." He eagerly pushes past the uncomfortable silence. 

"Of course! If you want to come over sometime, you're always welcome!" 

Her phone buzzes with another order before Notzo can reply. "I have to go. Congratulations on your promotion again!" 

It's true that the graveyard is pretty creepy. However, after working here for a while, Dot actually finds it peaceful. She spends her lunches with her many friends, and her free time with her brothers. It's nice to get some quiet every so often. 

Still, after about an hour, the silence does unnerve her. Being around people will always beat this. 

Damaris is soon at home full time again. Though she misses the income, she's excited to spend time with her kids. It's been a while since she was home with them like this. 

"How was school, sweetie?" she asks when Dot gets home from her graveyard shift. 

"Well, I got a B on my math test, I'm so happy! Oh, today at lunch, Pansy spilled yogurt all over Quartz," she snickers, "And she didn't even offer to clean it! He nearly threw a fit!" 

Damaris asks her son about the yogurt incident. 

"It wasn't yogurt. It was fish paste," Quartz shudders with disgust. "Just because I live in a swamp doesn't mean I have to smell like one." 

"Quartz!" 

"What? It's true! You don't notice it?" 

"It doesn't smell bad!" 

"Well, I disagree! Why can't we move?" 

"We can't afford to move," Damaris admits. She's thought about it a lot, given that it would cut down on her commute to and from her tipping spots. 

"Can't you ask dad?" 

"It doesn't work like that, Quartz. I can't just ask people for that much money." 

Quartz pouts, "I don't like the swamp." 

"Welcome to the club." 

Damaris sighs with frustration when her cell goes straight to voicemail again. For once, she wanted to call before going into labor at the hospital! But Mark has been ignoring her calls for ages now. 

"No news?" Quartz sighs.

"No. But it doesn't matter. We'll be fine."

They always have been before, right?

Ow. Still. It would be nice to have someone to help her when the labour happens. 

Why is it always in the middle of the night? She thinks as she orders a taxi on her phone, Why not during the day?? 

She gives birth to a healthy girl, Ume... 

...and a second one, Una. 

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AN: Of course. Last birth had to be twins. 

So finally generation one's total child requirement is fulfilled, which means I can reveal the heir for generation 2!

It's Dot! I love Dot. I like playing the other kids too, but I didn't feel any of their personalities as much as Dot's.