December 2088. Colette Marin is 31, Jordan Graham is 29, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4, Felix and Milo Graham are 9.
previously: what if we had the most amazing life together?
Some angels on Christmas Eve. ❄️🌟❄️
Showing posts with label Milo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milo. Show all posts
bad girlfriend (B&S intermission book 5.5), part 2 of 7
December 2088. Lou Corelli is 29, Jamie Pendleton is 30, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4, Felix and Milo Graham are 9.
“Jess asked me what I’m doing with my place today,” Jamie said. Lou didn’t pause her typing to answer, “Why do you have to do anything with it?”
Jamie let out a small sigh. You will never get a proposal from this woman, she thought, and it was probably why she kept holding onto that apartment. “Since I’m hardly there. She wants to know if I want to rent it out to them. Like, officially.”
“Them? As in, they’re moving in together?”
Jamie shrugged. “It’s not so surprising. They’ve been dating over a year now.”
“Dating.” Lou snickered. “Remember all the months they made us keep it a secret? Ian-fucking-Thompson? It’s just so weird. We’ve known him since we were kids.”
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. How is it different?”
“Jess asked me what I’m doing with my place today,” Jamie said. Lou didn’t pause her typing to answer, “Why do you have to do anything with it?”
Jamie let out a small sigh. You will never get a proposal from this woman, she thought, and it was probably why she kept holding onto that apartment. “Since I’m hardly there. She wants to know if I want to rent it out to them. Like, officially.”
“Them? As in, they’re moving in together?”
Jamie shrugged. “It’s not so surprising. They’ve been dating over a year now.”
“Dating.” Lou snickered. “Remember all the months they made us keep it a secret? Ian-fucking-Thompson? It’s just so weird. We’ve known him since we were kids.”
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. How is it different?”
postcards from a fluffy moment of respite (and December birthdays)
December 2088.
What do we need a sister for?
Because taking sides in a heated snowball fight is no fun when there’s only two.
What do we need a sister for?
Because taking sides in a heated snowball fight is no fun when there’s only two.
boxes and squares #5.6: fuck you, thank you
November 2088. Colette Marin is 31, Jordan Graham is 28, Felix and Milo are 9, Maria Boone is 26.
Colette wouldn’t find them a better dad, because dating sucked and she was bad at it. That was what she tried to tell herself, anyway. But, if she really wanted to be honest, she wouldn’t find them a better dad because they adored him to the ends of the earth, and he was coming home, and there was nothing more these boys wanted in the world.
For two days, he wouldn’t answer her phone calls or texts. But at some point he answered the boys, and they filled her in on the news. She didn’t have any way of knowing for how long they knew before her. “Dad is coming home!”
She would never win against that, because their adoration wasn’t up to her. She thought she should have been mad about it, and yet, there was also some relief in losing that battle. It took too long to realize that maybe she never should have been trying to win in the first place.
Colette wouldn’t find them a better dad, because dating sucked and she was bad at it. That was what she tried to tell herself, anyway. But, if she really wanted to be honest, she wouldn’t find them a better dad because they adored him to the ends of the earth, and he was coming home, and there was nothing more these boys wanted in the world.
For two days, he wouldn’t answer her phone calls or texts. But at some point he answered the boys, and they filled her in on the news. She didn’t have any way of knowing for how long they knew before her. “Dad is coming home!”
She would never win against that, because their adoration wasn’t up to her. She thought she should have been mad about it, and yet, there was also some relief in losing that battle. It took too long to realize that maybe she never should have been trying to win in the first place.
boxes and squares #5.4: togetherness
November 2088. Colette Marin is 31, Jordan Graham is 28, Felix and Milo are 9, Maria Boone is 26, Jack Phoenix is 39, Sophie is 65.
“Whoa, look at all the bugs,” Felix said. “Mom, did you bring bug spray?”
“I’m hungry,” Milo whined.
“I told you to eat before we left the hotel. I paid for breakfast at the hotel. I’m not buying breakfast out here because you didn’t eat the breakfast I paid for.”
“Can we play on the playground?”
“We did not fly eight-thousand miles to play on playgrounds. Wow, thirty-dollars a night. I wonder what the ROI is on those?”
Colette got out her phone and browsed a few real estate listings. The apartments were small, but some of them were very stylish. Too colorful for Colette’s tastes, but she knew tourists loved color.
boxes and squares #5.3: hindsight is a bitch (3/3)
November 2088. Colette Marin is 31, Lorraine Marin is 59, Felix and Milo are 9, Gabby Roseland is 16, Sebastian Gilmore is 38.
previously with Colette's mother: backstory // Mother's Day
content warning: cancer, sims behaving badly, infidelity, little bit spicy, no nudity.
Colette had sworn off dating forever after her last terrible failure. But the line for coffee today was absurdly long, and having no other idle interests than to browse the faces of desperate men, she opened up her dating app. There was something casually entertaining about swiping left, swiping right. Hot or not, like a game. She didn’t plan to connect with any of them. Lately, this app was only full of college boys. The only mature men were bald with beach balls for bellies. Not that a bald head couldn’t be very attractive on the right man, but these men weren’t attractive at all.
The line was still five people deep, all of them moaning about the places they needed to go.
Colette’s phone rang. At a glance, it was her mother, and Colette had no desire to answer it. She probably wanted money, or to turn her alliances against her brothers for some unearned sympathy, or maybe even a kidney. Colette wouldn’t be surprised if that ask came along someday.
There would be some ask involved in this conversation and Colette didn’t have the spirit for it today. She let the call go to voicemail, but her mother didn’t leave one. She called again. Then she called a third time.
Nobody calls three times without leaving a voicemail unless there’s something urgent to say. Oh, damn, it was going to be the kidney, wasn’t it? And there was no way Colette wanted to have that conversation with her mother in a line full of impatient people with nothing better to do but eavesdrop.
boxes and squares #5.3: hindsight is a bitch (1/3)
November 2088. Colette Marin is 31, Audrey Roseland is 48, Vicky Garth is 24, Darwin Hadley is 35, Felix and Milo are 9, Gabby Roseland is 16.
previously: so, I have been seeing someone… // going on a date with a doctor, she said
optional background music: “fake plastic trees” as covered by Phoebe Bridgers
* warnings: long (as it goes lately...), bad decisions, briefly NSFW: obscured toplessness, spicy memories (text-based), and obscured self-pleasure
The boys were in school for another hour or two, and they had their activities after. Colette had no showings booked, and neither did Audrey. Nobody wanted to buy or sell a house a week before Thanksgiving.
Colette liked this swanky lounge by the water. She liked the smell of new renovation overlying its aged frame. The place served coffees and croissants and an assortment of music. By now, even Colette was tired of pumpkin spice everything, but peppermint wouldn’t be on the menu until after the holiday, so she ordered a frothy plain cappuccino. Audrey took one last pumpkin spice latte in her to-go cup. “Thanksgiving is next week,” she excused herself.
“You do you,” Colette said.
“Friend,” was a loose term for Colette, as in “keep your enemies closer.” But Colette didn’t think of Audrey Roseland as an enemy, either. A competitor, sometimes—there was only so much premium real estate to go around—but they tried not to step on each other’s toes. And that Colette tried at all for this woman probably made her more of a friend than Colette ever had before.
“I really loathe that he’s fucking someone before I am,” Colette confessed.
previously: so, I have been seeing someone… // going on a date with a doctor, she said
optional background music: “fake plastic trees” as covered by Phoebe Bridgers
* warnings: long (as it goes lately...), bad decisions, briefly NSFW: obscured toplessness, spicy memories (text-based), and obscured self-pleasure
The boys were in school for another hour or two, and they had their activities after. Colette had no showings booked, and neither did Audrey. Nobody wanted to buy or sell a house a week before Thanksgiving.
Colette liked this swanky lounge by the water. She liked the smell of new renovation overlying its aged frame. The place served coffees and croissants and an assortment of music. By now, even Colette was tired of pumpkin spice everything, but peppermint wouldn’t be on the menu until after the holiday, so she ordered a frothy plain cappuccino. Audrey took one last pumpkin spice latte in her to-go cup. “Thanksgiving is next week,” she excused herself.
“You do you,” Colette said.
“Friend,” was a loose term for Colette, as in “keep your enemies closer.” But Colette didn’t think of Audrey Roseland as an enemy, either. A competitor, sometimes—there was only so much premium real estate to go around—but they tried not to step on each other’s toes. And that Colette tried at all for this woman probably made her more of a friend than Colette ever had before.
“I really loathe that he’s fucking someone before I am,” Colette confessed.
boxes and squares #5.2: come down from the clouds (2/2)
November 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4, Felix and Milo are 9, Nessa Phoenix is 38, Colette Marin is 31.
previously: climb club family // the plain-looking plucky friend // the blonde photographer // the boys always know first // they made vows
warnings: little bit saucy, additional spice linked elsewhere
Jordan had been distracted since Maria and JoJo came to join his adventure. He had skipped more climbing sessions than he wanted to admit. But now that they were settled, it was time to pick up the slack. “Go climb, my love,” Maria told him. “You’re not quitting this thing on my behalf. Isn’t it the whole reason we’re here?”
“So you guys check out the park. Nessa will show you everything, and I’ll meet up with you later for dinner.”
Jordan was quite proud of the skewers he’d grilled for the group tonight. It was his turn to make dinner for climb club after hours.
boxes and squares #5.2: come down from the clouds (1/2)
November 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4, Felix and Milo are 9, Lou Corelli is 29, Dom is 58, Judith is 54.
previously: a freeloading loser // that money is not for spending on your boyfriend // this beach is for dancing
Go ahead and live this fairytale for just a little bit longer.
You could almost fool yourself that it could last forever, like you can just forget that fairytales aren’t real.
boxes and squares #4.5: home is wherever you are, part 2
October 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Felix and Milo are 9, Colette Marin is 31, Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4, Lou Corelli is 29.
With Maria on the train and dashing back to her daughter, Jordan had a date to keep of his own. He told the boys he’d be a little late for their usual 4:00 chat.
“Hey guys, I’m here now.” In the background of their image, the normally sterile counters were cluttered with pans and bowls. “Oh, hey, did your mom cook?”
“She tried to make mac and cheese,” Milo said. “But the water kept bubbling over and she almost burnt the kitchen down, so she got really mad and dumped it all down the sink. But then it clogged the drain, and now she has to call a plumber. You should have seen the veins in her head.”
“Oh, no. So what did you eat for dinner?”
“Ok. Well, sorry I was late. I had a visit from a friend. She just got on the train.”
“Was it Maria?”
boxes and squares #4.2: then have some faith
October 2088. Maria Boone is 26, Johanna is 4, Lou Corelli is 29, Jordan Graham is 28, Milo is 9.
The community arts center in Evergreen Harbor was a popular destination in the neighborhood, but Maria had never found the time to go. There was always some excuse to claim for why she was too busy. She worked four days a week, and she obviously had Johanna to care for all on her own. Nobody could claim that she wasn’t busy. But her sister suggested that she should experiment with some new hobbies and try to find something more than work and motherhood (and pining over her man) to do with herself.
So they went to the arts center one morning. There was a children’s program for Johanna, and Maria browsed through some of the adult offerings.
She really had high hopes for the wine-making class. Wine was delightful, and Maria had Italian heritage and culinary inclinations. Surely this should be a good fit!
But then she remembered that she was also squeamish. Somehow she never thought very deeply about how wine was made. But now, flat on her ass in a barrel of sloppy fruit, she didn’t think she’d ever see wine the same way again.
She finished making the bottle. It was terrible—her butt was in it, after all—but at least she could say that she tried something new.
She really had high hopes for the wine-making class. Wine was delightful, and Maria had Italian heritage and culinary inclinations. Surely this should be a good fit!
But then she remembered that she was also squeamish. Somehow she never thought very deeply about how wine was made. But now, flat on her ass in a barrel of sloppy fruit, she didn’t think she’d ever see wine the same way again.
She finished making the bottle. It was terrible—her butt was in it, after all—but at least she could say that she tried something new.
boxes and squares #4.1: first fall apart
October 2088. Jordan Graham is 28, Colette Marin is 31, Felix and Milo are 9, Maria Boone is 26.
previously: wouldn’t we be the sweetest thing to ever not work out?
Okay, maybe it was for the best that you didn’t fall in love with this. There were a whole lot of people back in Wisconsin who would prefer that this didn’t work out.
previously: wouldn’t we be the sweetest thing to ever not work out?
Okay, maybe it was for the best that you didn’t fall in love with this. There were a whole lot of people back in Wisconsin who would prefer that this didn’t work out.
The first week of classes, Jordan might have easily said to hell with it. He was ready to call it quits and crawl back to his family in utter shame, because this wasn’t working. It was harder than he thought it would be. His arms felt like jello. He felt his muscles burn in places where he didn’t know muscles existed. His fingers gripped rock after rock until they could only tremble. To top it all off, he looked like such a shrimp next to these other beefy guys.
“But let me tell you a secret,” Maya told him, “We have less body weight to pull up. Just focus on your technique. Newbies always slip a few times. That’s why we have you on the short wall.”
“But let me tell you a secret,” Maya told him, “We have less body weight to pull up. Just focus on your technique. Newbies always slip a few times. That’s why we have you on the short wall.”
Jordan and Colette: a history
This timeline was meant to be a little freewrite for my own purposes, but since it’s written, I thought I would share. This is what inspired “the boys“ flashback story. And it also inspired another adorable little flashback drabble that I posted on Tumblr. There’s not much shockingly new information here—most of this has been mentioned or discussed in one place or another over a long long saga, but some of it may have been easily overlooked or lost in the mess. Maybe somebody might find it interesting to read?
Can you even imagine a time when Colette was carefree and happy? They were such babies. 💔
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