The show must go on … Part 2

 

“The morning after Erin told me she was pregnant, um, my half-sister Maggie came to my mom’s place.  And she wasn’t happy with me.  Who could blame her?   What she was upset about, though, um, were rumors that Holly Alto was pregnant with my baby. ‘Holly’s MY age,’ Maggie had said matter-of-factly.  She spoke in a monotone, never raised her voice ever.  Much like my father. 

That was all she would actually say to me on the matter.  My sister was a woman of very few words.  What words she did have were poured into her books, twenty-six of them in all.”

Ms. Howe interrupted again.  “So your sister became a successful novelist.”

“Very.  Very successful.”

“But it came at a price.”

My father sighed again.

So I went back to my mother’s place and I devoted myself to my music and my painting while waiting for the babies to be born. 

I remember vividly the night Holly and I brought Noah from the hospital.  I remember standing in the garden and in the foyer and wondering, ‘what the heck have I done?’

‘What the heck have I gotten myself into?’

So I picked up Noah and I held him for a few seconds.  And I was bawling like a baby.  I think I did more crying than he did.

The day after Noah was born, Erin told me that Nicholas had been born the same night.  And we had an argument … I don’t even recall what was said … but at any rate, Erin and I broke up.” 

-- to be continued --

Growing Pains

 

Remember I told you guys there was this huge downtown revitalization project going on now? 

This is Mirabello Road.  You can see the new grocery store and the new school.  The theater hadn’t yet been built when this pic was taken.

Another shot of downtown with the new theater.  The new park is in the middle.  Clockwise, you can see the new school, the new laundromat where the police station was, and the new bookstore. 

Closer-in view of the new park. 

Nighttime view.  Clockwise, the new Mirabello Plaza, with the new grocery store, theater and bookstore; the new school; the gym (they haven’t decided on that yet), the consignment store, the new library, the new café. 

Ok that’s what downtown looks like now.  I’m not real happy about all these changes and all our landmarks being gone but I’m not at City Hall making these decisions. 

Speaking of growing pains, Andy and I (well mostly Andy) have taken on the herculean task of potty-training Sierra.  Truthfully doing anything with Sierra these days is a big fat chore.  She cries all the time and the boys have her completely spoiled rotten. 

Speaking of the boys… I have to tell you what my sons did THIS time.

 

It all started when Andy and I were invited to a couples’ retreat.  On the day we decided to go, we got a call saying the rooms were going quickly.  I didn’t really want to leave but Andy convinced me that it might be a good thing to help me relax.  I had a funny feeling all day that something was going to happen.  And it did.

Yep, Satis, it’s enough to make you puke.

Apparently while Andy and I were gone the boys decided that it was a good idea to throw a party.  They invited a few of their friends and completely trashed the house.

And on top of that, the paparazzo showed up, meaning the details of the party are going to be splashed across every gossip magazine known to Simkind. 

I told Andy let’s go back.  I had a funny feeling that something was going to happen.  Sure enough, Andy and I walked in, and we were just completely flabbergasted.  The house was full of hormonal teenagers, the music was loud, and there were pizza boxes everywhere. 

Andy was positively livid. First he went after Sety, who apparently was the host of the party. 

Then he tore into AJ.

But he saved his strongest words for Satis, who wasn’t even home during the party and who walked in pretty much when we did.  “Where were you when all this was going on?”

“I—I was at newspaper.  My staff meeting ran a little late.”

“I trusted you to keep an eye on things while we were gone, and this is what happens.  I’m extremely disappointed in you!”

“I—I’m sorry.  I – I lost track of the time.”

“You’ll know next time.  You and your brothers are grounded!  You go to school, you come home from school.  That’s it!  You understand?”

I told Andy we would have a family meeting the next day to decide our next course of action.  We can’t go on like this. 

Current events around town

Hey everyone, it’s me, Savannah. 

A couple of blurbs in this morning’s paper caught my attention:

The Sunset Valley City Council, by a three-to-one margin, overwhelmingly approved a 20 million simolean downtown revitalization project.  Sunset Valley Mayor Christina Gustafson was pleased with the vote.  "The council felt, as I did, that in order to serve the changing needs of our growing population, we needed to modernize and revitalize the center of the city," she said in the city hall press room while announcing the project. 

I know I’m completely apolitical, but, revitalization project???  What, are they kidding???  What the heck do they plan on doing with downtown?  It’s fine as it is.  It’s funny they make this kind of decision without asking US about it. 

Seriously, I see nothing wrong with downtown.  That’s Mirabello Plaza, with the Everfresh Supermarket, the Nathan J. Plumb (formerly Wilsonoff) Community Theater, and the Divisadero Bookstore. 

That’s the charming Little Corsican Bistro, where Dad took me to celebrate my teen birthday. 

I wonder what the heck are they going to do to downtown??  Are they trying to turn it into Bridgeport lite?  No. freaking. way.  Not. going. to. happen.

I’ve even heard they’re trying to get a movie studio built here.  This is Sunset Valley, not Bridgeport.  Nothing against those folks, but we live a certain way, and they live a certain way.  I mean, I’m totally all for progress and change… but not at the expense of our lifestyle. 

The City Hall and the Papyrus Memorial Library are two more buildings rumored to be under the gun.  Seriously, those are ICONIC buildings.  Sunset Valley isn’t Sunset Valley without those. 

And then there was this blurb … really shook me.

Seriously??? Noah is DEAD???? Are you fucking kidding me??? And we find out like everyone else does, with an article in the paper.  I would so love to know who is handling his affairs.  I know Sadie isn’t, she’s dead, and Neil isn’t either.  I know that his wife Sadie passed a few days earlier, but, like the article continued to say, he apparently couldn’t live one day without her in his life.  “In lieu of flowers,” the article continued, “the family asks for donations to be made to the Community School for the Gifted’s Music program.” 

At the same time, there was this:

"Neil Plumb and Noelle Hong welcomed their first child, Nolan Grant Plumb, into the world on yesterday afternoon.  He weighed 7 pounds, three ounces, and was twenty inches in length.  His paternal grandparents are the late Noah and Sadie Plumb, and his maternal grandparents are Tabitha McHugh and the late Grant Hong. His paternal great-grandfather is Nathan Jolina-Plumb.”

I’m not happy about the fact that Neil is a dad way before he is ready, and I’m certainly not happy about the fact that his parents are both dead.  But what can I do. 

I found out there is a Jolina Family Mausoleum in Twinbrook.  Apparently someone related to my grandmother was an undertaker.  I’m not sure who, but I suppose that’s yet another mystery for me to solve.  As if there aren’t enough, especially regarding her family.