Skylar

Baby girl is fourteen now and is going through the pangs of teendom.  She's also taking honors courses in school and carrying an A average.  So when Andy and I left on my speaking engagement for my latest book, baby girl decided she was going to throw herself a party...

Teens danced and generally had a good time...

...listened to someone play the bass...

Skylar herself even jumped in by playing the guitar.

While all that was going on, Kady had made herself at home in the book stacks.

She finally emerged a few minutes later, and Skylar gave a wave.

When I called Skylar to tell her that I'd be home in an hour, the music stopped.  Skylar got nervous.

I waded through the crowd of kids scurrying out of my dad's mansion to get to my daughter.  It took everything I had to resist the temptation to choke her.

"Skylar Rose Cheesman."

"Go to bed.  I'll deal with you in the morning."

I know exactly why baby girl did this.  She did it because she feels like I pay more attention to Sierra and now, Kaydence, than I do her.  It's like she's screaming, 'look at me, mom.' That's one reason I couldn't choke the crap out of her right then and there. 
But she'd definitely have to be punished - there was no way she could get away with what she did.  What I need to do is come up with a punishment suitable to fit what she did.  And something that would really, really teach her not to do this kind of crap again. 

Madison's Daughter

Remember I said that Kaydence had just enough of Sebastian's and Madison's genes to keep things honest?  Remember that I said that they were the most combustible set of genes I've ever seen?  Well I got evidence of that the very next morning.
The girls woke up to get ready for school.  Skylar was feeling particularly cheerful and decided to ask Kady if she slept well.

Kady glared at her with Madison's pout...

...then went off in the scariest rant I've seen since Sierra went off on me at the hospital.  "Oh, my gosh, Skylar, you've had it so great!"
Skylar looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"You've got two amazing parents who love each other, love your brothers and sisters, and love you. Right at this moment, I don't know where my mom is. Last I heard she was back in Starlight Shores. She hasn't called, texted, written, anything. My dad, ever since he got married, he's been MIA most of the time with his TV show. If I didn't have you guys, and Tasha, I'd have nobody. Wake up, Skylar! Not everyone has it as good as you. Not even close."
Kady's outburst had taken Skylar by surprise. She didn't know what to say or what to do. And when I first heard it, it had taken ME by surprise.  She's not as violent as Sierra is when she gets angry, raw earth-shakingly violent, but boy, Kady is plenty, plenty scary. 

She calmed herself down and went downstairs and ate breakfast with Sawyer like nothing had happened.  She's great with him and regards him as sort of the little brother she never had.  "Hey, little buddy," she said sweetly, "getting ready for school?"
"I don't wanna go to school," Sawyer replied.
"Why not?"
"It's boring!"
"Well, I hear you guys are going on a field trip today to the police station.  That might be fun."

Leave it to Andy, though, to diffuse the ticking time bomb.  He gave her a high-five and did a shaka bra with her...

After a chat about schoolwork, he then went into rare territory - even for him. "I understand how you feel, Kady," Andy replied.  "You feel like life has handed you a raw deal with your parents being who they are and what they did and are still doing, and you come here and you see this other little girl, same age as you, have two parents who love her and care for her. I get it, I really do.  Let me tell you something.  I haven't talked much about this.  I was adopted.  I was in an orphanage until I was eight years old.  I have no idea who my biological parents are.  But when I was adopted, I found someone who loved me and cared for me.  When I was fifteen, my adoptive mother and I moved in next door to this woman right here, your aunt.  I fell in love immediately.  We started dating, got married, and she gave me five beautiful children and the opportunity to give them what I never had.  Your aunt and I are going to try to do our best to give you what you never had, for as long as we have you."

Kady's talent?

It's official.  With Sebastian and Cherise gone to Watcher knows where with the TV show, Andy and I are now Kaydence's temporary legal guardians.
I knew that it could happen, but the fact that it did happen, is still a bit stunning to me. 
And Kaydence, look at her face.  She's thrilled.  She almost looks like she'd like to make it permanent.
How on earth did my brother let this amazing girl slip through the cracks?

 

We explained to her that we expected exactly the same from her as we do all of the other children, that she's not exceptional just because she's not biologically ours.   We expected her to come in at curfew, do her homework, and do well in school.  We're really not difficult to please.  

"You mean there are rules?" she asked me.  "I'm glad, because my mom, she never had rules."

And we're still taking Sierra back and forth to her therapy appointments (no matter how reluctant she is to go and no matter how much she says she doesn't 'need' therapy).

 
Never mind that there are two other children still in the house - one of whom hates Kaydence with a passion.

Needless to say, this situation is nearing impossible.   

Back to Kaydence though.  I have yet to meet her new stepmother.  But I have found out a few new details.  Apparently she's a moderately successful singer (not on the level of Madison, but she's had some success) originally from Moonlight Falls.  Apparently she's related to a famous psychic there, named Helen Hall.  Also, she's apparently been married before, and she's also slightly older than Sebastian.

I suggested she make herself at home, and she picked up a guitar in one of the spare rooms.  She sure looked mighty comfortable with it.  She didn't look like sims do when they start out playing.  She looked like she knew what she was doing.  And she had a big, broad smile.  She was enjoying herself. 

I was about to do some editing of my next book when I heard the commotion, so I went upstairs to go watch her.  She's definitely a natural.  And she seems completely at ease. "You sound great, Kady," I said, while suggesting that she join the music club at school. 

Of course.  So patently obvious.  Her dad and granddad, both musicians.  Bassy plays, and he's very good at it.  He was trained as a musician but became an actor instead.  And my dad of course was a guitar maestro.  So it's not a coincidence that Kady has inherited this.  Apparently she can pick up a musical instrument like it's nothing.

There is one problem, though... and it's a biggie.  She and Skylar have to share a room.  And of course, they can't stand each other. 

House of Cards

Not so long ago, my baby brother Bassy made his not-so-triumphant return to Sunset Valley.   He returned home a broken man, broken in finances and broken in spirit, with the recent loss of our father.  He also recently married someone even he barely knows, someone he's getting to know as he goes along. 

I have wanted to meet his new bride, Cherise, but she has proven to be elusive.  Every time I arrange a meeting she's either working or otherwise unavailable. I do have several questions about this union - especially in light of the new information that I have learned from Kady.  Has she married the man - or his name?  Does she love him?  I guess the biggest question I have is, who the heck is she and what is her motivation?  I know nothing about her except that she is married to my brother. 

The next day was a Saturday.  Kady and I went over my brother's records with a fine-tooth comb.  Not only had he horribly mismanaged his personal life, but he horribly mismanaged his money, too. Ever since he's been born, I've been responsible for Bassy.  I've been the one who's been charged with taking care of him.  But I've been so wrapped up with dealing with my own family that I hadn't been dealing with him, and he's been adrift.  That's my fault. 

Right now he wants to take Madison back to court to try to get her to pay child support for Kady. He's flat broke now and unemployed and she's still earning money from concerts and her album sales.  When they met she was an aspiring singer and he was on top of the film world.  Who'd have thunk it?

The happy family that he'd made in Starlight Shores with Madison and Kady was, indeed, a façade; a house of cards that tumbled down as quickly as it was built.

Both he and Madison cheated on each other. 

Kady was caught in the middle, an accidental consequence of a web of lust and deceit.  Neither of them actually wanted her.  She was just 'in the way' of the lives they wanted to lead.  Being the type of girl she was - with her photographic memory and total recall of their indiscretions - certainly didn't help.  And to tell the truth, I agree wholeheartedly with the custody judge, neither of them deserve her.   

Even the life that he'd built with poor Kyra Foster in Bridgeport turned out to be a lie and a sham.  He'd never actually broken things off with his childhood sweetheart, Daisy, here in Sunset Valley.  By the way, I'm told he had to sell his Bridgeport penthouse. 

Make no mistake, I love my baby brother to death.  There isn't a thing on this planet or the next one that I would not do for him.  I would stand in front of a moving train if it meant that he'd live and I'd die.  But there are things that he's done and has continued to do that I do not approve of.  He's not a bad guy, but he's extremely impulsive and makes very poor decisions.  If he thinks that I'm going to bail him out of this situation financially, then he's got another thing coming.  He's not going to be crashing on my couch anytime soon.  I've already got his kid here. 

Kady makes a discovery

My beloved baby brother, who I've talked to on the phone numerous times but I haven't laid eyes on since Snowflake Day, took off again for an unknown locale.  Kady says he's gone to shoot a TV series.  Seriously?  My baby brother has never done TV before in his life, not even when he started out.  He's a film star. 

I think she's got a little bit of me in her.  So to uncover the truth she snooped around in my brother's financial records.  I about died of laughter when I heard this.  What she found, she says, was deeply, deeply disturbing.

"My dad's broke," she told me matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean, he's broke?" I asked her.  "He made a fortune with his films -"
"He owed people in Bridgeport and Starlight Shores so he used part of his inheritance from Grandpa to pay them.  And once the money stopped coming in from his movies, he couldn't sustain his lifestyle."
The more I listened to Kady, she sounded more like an attorney than my teenaged niece.
"He took the TV show because he needs the money to pay bills.  I've got a commercial acting job to help -"
"Listen, Kady, you're just a kid, you shouldn't be worrying about these kinds of things."
"From now on, Aunt Savannah," Kady said, "since I have access to his records, I think I'm going to be taking a second look at what he's doing."
I couldn't help but think that a teenage girl shouldn't be managing anyone's finances.  Not even one as precocious as my niece.

And Kady was dead serious about it, too.  Early in the morning she was writing her dad's checks and mailing them off.  "Hey, someone's got to," Kady said.
If Kady decides to make herself my brother's personal accountant... I pity my brother. 

Little Girl Lost

Fresh on the heels of a balls to the walls attempt to save my daughter is coming an attempt to deal with my darling little niece.

Kaydence is now a teenager and she's a highly unusual girl, in a lot of ways. 

Kaydence, as most of you following this blog know, is the daughter of my beloved baby brother, Bassy, and his ex-fiancée, the pop singer Madison Avenue. 

Bassy is as much to blame for Kady's situation as is his ex-fiancée Madison.  When he was awarded full custody by a magistrate up in Hidden Springs, he was handed an amazing, incredible little girl on a fucking silver platter and he managed to screw it up.  I cannot believe how badly my brother messed this up.  And then he compounds the problem by marrying some woman he met on vacation in Sunlit Tides...

Here's what's going on with my niece right now.  Got to tell you, this girl is a handful of her own. 

For starters, she clearly has Madison's face, all the way down to her pouty lips. 
She stays up all night and sneaks alcohol from the juice bar.  Reason #1 why we don't keep juice bars in our house. 

My youngest daughter, Skylar, cannot stand her.  In fact, the two are sworn enemies.   I have asked Skylar why she dislikes her cousin and she can give me no answer, just, "I hate her."

 

 

Ironically, she adores Sierra - Sierra, of all people.  And Sierra doesn't really like anybody yet she's taken a shine to Kady. 
And that's not even all... Kady's talking about building bots.  That's a scary thought.

In fact, Kady seems to prefer being around older people rather than with her peers.   Her best friend is her father's butler, Tasha.  I'm told it's the same way at school.  She eats lunch at school with the teachers. 

Besides my niece being more comfortable around adults than people her age, she spends her nights watching the history channel, she loves homework, (she LOVES homework!),

Oh, and Bassy said that the butler caught her in the house late at night pretending to have a concert in the living room, hitting pretend high notes and even going as far as blowing kisses to a pretend crowd. 

She's got just enough of Bassy's and Madi's genes, though, to keep things honest.  And, as you well know, that is easily the most highly combustible set of genes I've ever seen.   That set of genes is just asking for trouble.  Seriously, do you expect anything less from these two?  Really?

 

Yep, THAT is the fruit of their labor.  That is my darling little niece, in a nutshell.  My youngest daughter can't stand her.  My middle daughter adores her.  My oldest daughter, well, has only seen her once but she likes everybody, and my baby boy - I think he likes everybody too.