1.9 - The Next Stage

Danisha did take advantage of her maternity leave to spend some more time with Nielson.  By this point the snow was so bad and it was so cold that going out was out of the question.  Nielson couldn't even go to school because of the cold.  This was definitely different from Riverview.  Still, the two of them enjoyed watching television inside.  Danisha tried to get the boy interested in some of her and Nielson's favorite shows from when they were kids, but he liked the action/superhero shows with lots of explosions and special effects.  Oh well.

Of course, she was also eager to get back to work.  So even though Romeo had offered her extra time she didn't take advantage of it.  Partially because she didn't want to feel indebted to him and partially because she was just eager to get back on the force.  She finally had her own uniform and felt like she was actually making a difference at last now that she wasn't stuck doing paperwork.

Of course, Erika was still so small so she felt a little bit guilty.  But burying herself in work helped get rid of those guilty feelings.

Although, her daughter's babysitter certainly didn't seem nearly as reliable as any of the ones who came to look after her son.  I mean, what was she doing wearing an outfit like that when it was below freezing outside?

It also seemed that her concerns were well-founded given what Nielson walked into when he came home from one of the few days it wasn't snowing heavily enough for school to be canceled.  Not that he could really blame the teen.  He felt the same way about his sister's constant wailing.

But it was necessary, given how much time Danisha was spending at work now.  She didn't even have much time to make dinners anymore despite that she enjoyed cooking.  Instead she'd taken up a diet of power shakes and fruit/vegetable juices while making sure that Nielson had enough premade food in the refrigerator to keep himself well-fed.

It was a miracle that Danisha didn't miss her daughter's birthday.  It was pure luck that Danisha had gotten home early enough that night, since honestly she hadn't remembered what day it was.  She felt a bit badly about that, but at least Erika had just been a baby so not having a cake or anything wouldn't be that big of a deal.  If she recalled, she hadn't done anything for Nielson's birthday either.

And she gazed at her daughter she felt a bit of relief.  Her daughter's skin was a much deeper tan than her own, something she'd inherited from her father, but the eyes looking back at her were her own, and those loosely waved violet locks were definitely hers.  "You're absolutely perfect," she informed the little girl as she picked her up.

And Erika's birthday wasn't the only one that was happening.  Nielson's birthday was coming up soon too.  Although when his mother was gone the morning of his birthday, the boy wondered if his mother hadn't forgotten his birthday too.  He'd hoped for some homemade waffles like he'd gotten on his last birthday... but it seemed he had to make do with cold cereal this morning.  Again.

He shouldn't have worried, though.  He soon spotted a paper crown sitting on the costume chest and happily dressed himself up like royalty for a change.  Sure, he wanted to be something like an astronaut when he grew up, but on his birthday being treated like royalty seemed only fitting.  Although he wasn't much of a king considering there were no subjects.

"Hey, Erika!  It's my birthday so you're my subject for today," he announced haughtily to the little girl.  She gave him a blank look and then chucked one of the blocks from the peg box at him.  As if he needed reinforcement for not liking her.

Just then, his mother got home.  She was carrying a couple of bags and a cake.  "Well, happy birthday honey.  It looks like you're all set to blow out the candles, huh?" Danisha prompted with a smile as she set the cake on the table for him.

"It's not 'honey' it's 'your majesty'!" Nielson protested with a pout.  Although the cake was highly tempting and made it hard to be really upset.

"Yes, yes.  Now, make sure you make a proper wish, your majesty," Danisha replied with a laugh as she stuck candles in the cake and lit them.  It would have been nice to have enough candles for Nielson's age, but as a result of a particular birthday present Nielson was going to get she had needed to save every penny she could.

"Hm... A wish, huh?" Nielson mused, looking thoughtful.  Well, the most obvious wish involved the return of a certain noisy wailing brat... but as an alternative, just having a separate room would be satisfactory.

Danisha pulled out a party horn and blew on it, trying to make it seem more like a party.  She'd wanted to throw a party for Nielson, but that would have been completely impractical in this tiny apartment.  Plus, she wasn't friends with anyone outside of work, nor was she aware of who Nielson's school friends were.  Although, given how few days he'd actually been able to go to school it wouldn't be surprising if he hadn't really managed to make any.  That thought made her sad, and made her redouble her efforts to make enough noise for an entire party.

"I got it!" Nielson announced before eagerly blowing out the candles.  Finally, he was going to be a teenager.  He was so excited.  He'd get to go to the high school now, and maybe his classes would actually be challenging.  That is, if he was actually able to go more than one day a week.

It felt like he grew ten feet in an instant.  He certainly needed new clothes.  Fortunately, new clothes was exactly what was in the bags his mother had brought with her.  He had to admit, she wasn't bad when it came to fashion.

"Thanks, Danisha," Nielson commented with a smile as he got dressed.  "And thanks for picking up reading glasses for me," he added as he slipped with white frames on.  He felt a little guilty as he did so, though.  The truth is, he didn't actually need glasses even though he'd told his mother that he was starting to have a hard time reading the board in school.  The truth was, he felt uncomfortable the way his mother would sometimes gaze so intensely into his eyes so having a barrier between his gaze and hers would be appreciated at a time like that.

"I just thought about what Nielson might wear when I was buying your clothes," Danisha admitted.  Nielson paused a minute before realizing his mother was referring to his father, not him.

"Now, eat up.  I wasn't sure what type of cake you'd like, so I figured getting one that had both vanilla and chocolate would be best," she explained as she dished both of them a piece of cake.  She then sat across from him and enjoyed her piece.

"Thanks.  As long as it's sweet I'll enjoy it," Nielson assured with a smile as he started in on his piece.  He wondered if his mother had gotten him anything else for his birthday aside from the clothes.  It didn't seem so, since the bags were now empty, and he didn't want to ask and seem ungrateful.  But he couldn't pretend he wasn't disappointed.

"Excuse me a moment, honey, I'll be right back," Danisha assured once she finished her piece.  She quickly ducked into the bathroom, as if she needed to use it, but once inside she instead stifled a sob.

She shouldn't be so depressed over her child's birthday, but she couldn't help it.  She'd finally come to the realization that this child wasn't her beloved Nielson returned to her.  He might have Nielson's hair color and his eyes, but looking at his features Nielson looked far more like her than he did his father.  His father had been slender all throughout his life while this Nielson had inherited Danisha's rounded features.  She'd been coming to that realization that this Nielson wasn't her Nielson, but seeing it put before her so plainly was hard to cope with.

Still, she wasn't going to ruin Nielson's special day because of her stupid emotions.  She gathered herself and emerged from the bathroom again.  "Nielson, would you pick up your sister for me.  There's someplace we need to go," she announced, trying to seem cheerful.

"Why do I have to carry her?" Nielson grumbled, even as he bent down to pick up the little brat.  She started to cry because he was taking her away from her game, but a simply coo and kiss from her mother settled her down.  Nielson sighed, but exited the apartment with the toddler still in his arms.

Danisha hesitated a moment as Nielson left, looking around the apartment.  The bed that she'd shared with Nielson... the dining set from her grandmother... all of these things would be sold with the apartment to its next owner.  It was a bittersweet departure, and she felt tears well up in her eyes again.  But once again, she wouldn't let them fall.

Once they got out, though, Danisha led the way.  They took a taxi to the edge of the city, stopping in front of a smaller apartment building.  As Danisha headed inside, Nielson paused and looked up at the building.  He was starting to get the idea of what was happening, but he didn't want to get his hopes up too high.  They might simply be visiting one of his mom's friends for a surprise party or something...

"Welcome home," Danisha announced when Nielson got inside.  His wish really had worked!  "Your room is the first door on the right," she informed him, smiling as she saw Nielson grin.  "I'll be in my room if you need me.  Erika's crib is in there too if you want to put her in there," she added before disappearing into the room farthest to the right.

"You hear that, brat?  We've finally got separate rooms.  You know, in this new light you almost look cute even," he commented with a smile as he tickled her stomach.

Of course, the moment swiftly passed as Danisha immediately began wailing again.  Nielson just sighed.  She seemed determined to annoy him at every possible opportunity, even when he was finally willing to bond.

Hoping that she was actually crying for a reason and not just to annoy him, he carried her over to the dining room and placed her in the high chair that he found waiting there.  It seemed that his mother had been saving all of that money so that this place would be properly outfitted for them when they finally moved.

"There, this should make you happy," he commented as he set a dish of baby food in front of her.  He supposed he should feed her too, but he wasn't too keen on that idea.

Fortunately, that didn't seem necessary as Erika eagerly began shoveling the food into her mouth.  He guess she really was hungry... and grimaced at the disgusting display.  "You need to learn manners," he informed her with a shudder.

When she was finished with her food she began crying again.  Nielson sighed and gagged as he changed her out of the soiled suit into her nightie and took her into his mother's bedroom.  Danisha was already sound asleep and Nielson didn't want to wake her, knowing how hard she'd been working.  So he placed Danisha into her crib himself, hoping she wouldn't kick up a fuss loud enough to wake their mother.

Finally, Nielson headed to his own bed.  Happy that it was his own bed and, not only that, was in his own room.  The wallpaper was rather obnoxious, but he could deal with that.  After a little while when they'd recover from the financial impact of moving, he'd ask his mom to replace it.  But one thing was for sure, this was the best birthday present ever.

He even was able to sleep in the next morning, with no obnoxious brat to wake him up.  The walls in this apartment were definitely amazing, if they could keep out the noise of that wailing banshee.


--------------------------------------------------

Here's the new chapter up!  We got to see two birthdays.  I was very happy when Erika aged up.  If she had inherited her father's hair color, I would have had her dye it as a kid or teen at the latest.  I also finally had to put a high chair into my game.  I've never used the high chair before because I've always felt it was easier to just feed on the floor, but apparently in this apartment there isn't good routing because when I tried that, my sims took the elevator downstairs to feed the baby.  So a highchair it is!