postcards from grad school

September, October 2088. Justin Nova is 28, Calvin Banks is 21, Amy Jones is 22, Natalia Deppiesse is 23, Andre Sylvester is 23. Cynthia Kim is 52. Selena Sosa is 25. April Hutchins is 25, Beau Jackson is 24.

#1: welcome to grad school

Grad school is happening at Magnolia Graduate College. 

Leading our group is Dr. Heather Thompson, Dean of Students. She specializes in biology. (Hi, Ingrid’s mom!)

Our students this year: 

Andre, Calvin, and Steven are all working on their medical degrees. 

The others are non-medical graduate programs. Justin (architecture), Amy (nursing), and Natty, (teaching).

my sweetheart #6: carve our names in a heart on a tree

August 2088. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 28. 

wedding song: “Ho Hey,” by The Lumineers

my sweetheart #1: it wasn’t funny after all

May 2088. Cynthia Kim is 52, Robert is 54, Justin is 28, Stephanie is 28. 

* this chapter takes place simultaneously with “why are you here? #2: little sparks catch fire” but from the Kim family's point of view

It was an ordinary summer morning. The children poured themselves some cereal. Probably most of it ended up on the floor, but who cared?

“Fine, have cookies. Fine, have ice cream. Dog food? What dog food? We don’t have a dog. Just be good. We’ll be out in a minute. Mommy and Daddy are just wrestling.”

It was a slow and sweet summer morning. Their wedding was imminent, finally, after all this time, and everyone was feeling playful and light. Both of them had to work today. Justin would pop over to the workshop for a few hours—he loved being his own boss and making his own hours—then Steph had dinner to serve tonight at the inn.

It was a charming summer morning that was about to take a terrible turn.

empire

February - July 2087. Justin Kim is 27, Stephanie Nova is 27, Willow is 5, Lily is 5, Benji is 11 months. 

previously: the damage, part 1 // the damage, part 2 // there you are // his parents moved up north

Justin wanted to believe that he might look back on this time, years from now, and recognize it as the launching point of the best part of his life. Doesn't every great success story have an absolute low from which a person can only rise? In twenty years, when he’d made himself a successful career as CEO of several companies and holdings, when he gazed out over the landscape of his success—a warm and spacious home, happy children, spoiled wife, a yacht, a vintage Ferrari 250 convertible in red, and another one in yellow just for good measure—he’d look back on this moment and feel humbled and proud that he made it so far. So much treasure built with his own two hands. That moment, if it ever happened, felt so very far away right now. 

Justin sat in front of his former boss, uneasy about the look of remorse on his face. “I’m so glad to hear that you’ve recovered,” Adam said. “But I’m so sorry to say, the job you had before doesn’t exist anymore.” 

postcards from the winning team

November 2086.

#1: strong enough to put hair on your chest


Nathan Lind was in Catalina this month for business, so he popped in to visit his sister and the kids. After much begging and pleading, and pleading and begging, Aurora finally agreed to let him take Zach to the Humor & Hijinks convention. She had worried it was too late on a school night and too adult for a little boy.

"Can I have some?" Zach pointed toward a glowing purple fountain.

"I think this is juice," Nate said. "Pretty sure, but you never know. Hey, how old are you now? Ten?"

"Almost nine," Zach said.

"Close enough!"

Drown #14: we go on, part 3

September 2086. Stephanie and Justin are 26. Willow is 5, Lily is 4, Benji is 3 weeks old. George McCarthy is 32.


Stephanie was terrified when Cynthia suggested that they take the girls out for the day. "Willow needs the distraction. She needs to feel like things are normal again."

But was that wise? Jeremiah could be anywhere. That was how this all happened. They let their guard down for just a moment and he showed up and tried to destroy everything.

"But you can’t lock yourself inside a hospital for the rest of your life," Cynthia said.

"I guess you're right," Stephanie agreed.

So the girls went out with their grandparents and they had a nice day.

Drown #14: we go on, part 2

September 2086. Stephanie and Justin are 26. Willow is 5, Lily is 4, Benji is 3 weeks old. Robert is 52. Jeremy is 70. Bryson is 64.  


Stephanie spent hours going through a cycle of hope and disappointment and hope again. She called out to his nurses, "I think he blinked!" But it wasn’t a blink so much as a muscle spasm of the eyeball or maybe even a burst of REM dreaming. Then she thought she saw him move his finger. A twitch. The nurse wouldn’t say yes or no, just, "It could be." Then she went on with her work. Stephanie wasn't sure whether she was hearing grunts or exhales or perhaps just a tummy rumble.

"Do you think he's hungry? How can he be getting enough nutrients through that little tube for this many days?"

She was driving herself a little bit crazy.

Her mother demanded that she step outside to watch the sunset. "Come get some air with me, sweetheart. If it was a blink, then he’ll still be doing it when you get back."

Drown #14: we go on, part 1

September 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Cynthia Kim is 50, Robert Kim is 52. Keri Riley is 25. Alice Nova is 65. Willow is 5, Lily is 4. 


I don't want to hear it. This isn't happening. 

"Swelling on his brain due to repeated blows..."

Remember when we were kids, when we used to camp out behind my house in the summer?

"... induced the coma to give his brain a chance to rest..."

You said if we slept with our backs to each other we could see in all the directions and the monsters could never get us.

helping out

August 2086. Cynthia Kim is 50, Robert is 52, Justin is 26. 


Robert didn't get to see the baby in the hospital, so he and Cynthia took a drive up north to meet his new grandson.

little love

August 2086. Stephanie Nova and Justin Kim are 26. Willow is 5, Lily is 4. Welcome, baby Benji. 


In Stephanie's condition, a natural birth would be more taxing on her body than a c-section, but Stephanie insisted that she wanted to try. Her doctor wouldn't have let her do it if she didn't stand a good chance. So they did it. Her doctor ordered the induction at 38 weeks, estimating the baby's weight at a healthy seven pounds. Stephanie's blood pressure remained stable throughout the labor and her spirits were strong.

the baby shower

July 2086. 

* half commentary style just because I didn't want to spend an eternity on this. But I did give Stephanie a baby shower in my game, so I thought I'd share the pics and chatter here. 

The baby shower event is thanks to this mod by BrittPinkieSims. 


At thirty-six weeks, Stephanie's nesting instinct kicks in. Justin and the girls are fast asleep, but she's on a mad cleaning spree.

Drown #12: hand in my pocket, part 3

June 4, 2086. 12:00 pm


"ID's please," the reception attendant said. "We have you in courtroom 1B at twelve o'clock for session one, and one-thirty for session two. The judge will be with you shortly. Please have your paperwork ready."

Drown #10: the mouse, part 6

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25, Willow is 4, Lily is 3.


Now, after all those times Stephanie swore she didn't need a restraining order, she finally realized that maybe it was time. Jeremiah was in the military and she didn't want him to get into trouble over it. "I just want him to go to South Carolina," she said. "And if he’s in trouble here, he can’t go to South Carolina."

"Well, Ma'am," the officer said, "You can file it or not file it, but I'm pretty sure it's his own fault if he gets into trouble."

Drown #10: the mouse, part 5

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25, Cynthia Kim is 48, Willow is 4, Lily is 3. Jeremiah Day is 29.

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #10: the mouse, parts 3, 4, & 5

But she told Justin about the messages. She asked him to read every single one. Because she wasn’t weak or stupid, and she did believe that he loved her. Because he promised her, before they were lovers, that nothing could ever change them. He was her best friend first and nothing would ever change that.


"So tell me the truth and I'll believe it," she said. "Tell me anything and I'll believe it because you were the little boy who used to bring me two birthday presents because my birthday was nine days before Christmas and you didn't want me to be sad."

Drown #10: the mouse, part 4

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25. Willow is 4, Lily is 3. Jeremiah Day is 29.

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #10: the mouse, parts 3, 4, & 5


Justin said not to even think about the messages, but Stephanie thought about them all night. She felt weak in her heart and they'd hurt her there. She should have been stronger. She tried, but she wasn't stronger.

happy new year, 2086!

Happy New Year, 2086! Stephanie is 26, Justin is 25, Jeremiah is 28, Willow and Lily are 3. Alice is 64, Jeremy is 69, Bryson is 64. 


It's New Year's Eve and Stephanie feels terrible. She won't be able to drink anything tonight and she doubts that she'll even make it to midnight before she passes out.

Does Justin feel a little bit guilty? Maybe. Proud, too? Probably.

Drown #9: the best laid plans, part 5.5

December 2085. Stephanie Nova is 26, Jeremiah Day is 28, Justin Kim is 25, Willow and Lily are 3. Cynthia Kim is 49, Robert is 52.  

* sensitive content advisory for Drown #9: the best laid plans, parts 1-5

A couple of days after Christmas, Jeremiah stopped by the house.

"I saw your car in the driveway," Jeremiah said. "Stephanie, I feel like we got off to a bad start. We're going to be co-parents now, right? That's what they call it? It's not what I wanted, but we'll just have to put aside our grievances and make the best of it."

Stephanie had the girls corralled behind her, her elderly father in front of her, and she didn't know what to do. Jeremiah wasn't supposed to show up like this, but she didn't want to tell him that there were rules now. Not like this, not today. He'd get the paperwork in days, but he didn't have it yet and she didn't want to be the one to break it to him.

"So, do you think I could chat with my daughter for a couple of hours?"

"If you stay here with her," Stephanie said.

"Great, we'll watch some cartoons or something."

Cynthia

summer 2086 — age 50

Cynthia Rose (Bergen) Kim, “Cindy”

story tag
simblr tag

born: February 20, 2036 — Pisces

toddler trait: fussy
child aspiration: social, achieved
aspiration 1: family, successful lineage
aspiration 2: popularity, friend to the world
traits: domestic, good, serious, squeamish, lazy, socially gifted, geek, outgoing, antiseptic
MBTI:

religion: believes in God, doesn't make it to church most Sundays
politics:

loves: TV game shows, puzzles, gossip
hates: cleaning

education: high school graduate
career: grandmother/lazy housewife
career history: none
skilled at: logic 4, charisma 4, cooking 3, comedy 3, video games 3

wanted to be when she was a child: Vanna White

orientation: straight
IFS: 1

romance: widowed

romantic history:

Robert Kim, married since October 2059, widowed June 2088

parents: none local
siblings: none local
children: Justin Kim
grandchildren: Lillian Nova, Willow Nova (step), Benjamin Nova
friendships: Robert (husband), Justin (son), Stephanie (daughter-in-law), Lillian (granddaughter), Willow (granddaughter), Benji (grandson), Alice Nova, Nessa Phoenix, Violet Deppiesse, Sloane Martin.
enemies: none

DNA: hair, dark brown // eyes, dark brown // adult height: 5'6"
weight: +23
fitness: -35

health history:

legal history: