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(This was my Part Two teaser pic, and I guess it still is regardless of what I call these divisions. On with the rest...)
Continued from Part One: A
Virgie got up early to finish up some chores that she left last night.
"Good work with that elbow grease, Virg."
"Yeah, thanks Dad."
"I mean it. You've been pretty good about doin' your part like I told you. So why don't you go hang out with your friends after school today."
"Does that mean time served? I'm off restriction?"
"You still have responsibilities. They come first. But yeah, go have some fun today. Take Rocky with you."
A few months ago that might have seemed like another punishment or an unfair condition but Virgie didn't mind it now.
These days she was paying a lot more attention to her little brother all on her own. Like she told him, they were in this together.
Rocky'd had a want to be best friends with Virginia for quite a while himself and now that was fulfilled they were both aiming for BFF.
"You wanna go hang out at the lake after school? That thing you guys wanted is all finished."
He should be working on that homework first but she asked so, of course, he wanted to go!
"What's all this?"
"Mama, I told you. I boxed up Sandy's clothes."
"She ain't comin here to get it, I know."
"No, Mama..." Hamilton said, exasperated, "I'm going to take it to her."
"Hmph. Carpool's honking."
"I know. It can wait until after work."
If she didn't understand she at least needed to know he wasn't going to be deterred.
Instead of boxing it up Daytona thought he should've put that mess right outside for the trash pickup. Or made a show of donating it.
But now his star was on the rise and he was holding office, and holdin' court, himself, couldn't tell him a damn thing.
~
David had a line of customers to deal with so Goldie took Sharla with her when she met up with Ginger and they all came on to the lake.
(That's the Newson house right there, actually.)
The kids ran off to play and Goldie plopped down to hang out with her new friend. "What's wrong?"
"We gotta sit on the ground? Ain't no chairs around?"
"They're all the way over there by the wall. Just sit down."
And Dixie had thought she was prissy!
The new tree fort at the lake was Woody's handiwork, of course.
Rocky brought the idea to Virgie and it didn't take much cajoling from her to get Woody to agree but before
he knew it he had every little kid in town clamouring around to help out so he put them all to work and voilà.
Virgie didn't know if she was intruding or anything but she wasn't used to being left out so she sat right down.
Rocky smiled at the new kid havin' to get used to Sharla. 'Least it wasn't him! Rocky went about his business and climbed up to play with Gabriella.
In case you missed it: Sharla was in lo-o-ove!
She didn't leave Gallagher alone until Gabby stared her down.
"I finished up at the Manns' early, saw you over here, so I figured I'd come join you."
Virgie craned her neck backwards so she was looking upside-down at whoever was coming up. "Oh. Hi Scot."
Sandy didn't know what to say when she found Hamilton at the door, not even a hello would form.
"I probably should've called but I won't be long. The weather's changing and I figured you'd be needing
your clothes. Maybe not. But anyway I boxed them all up and they're yours so here you go."
"Thank you."
"Mm-hm," he nodded while walking away.
"Wait." She ran after him. "I, there's no one home, the box is heavy, I can't carry it in myself."
"I'm sure your strapping young buck will be more than happy to do it for you whenever he gets back."
"Hamilton."
"Sandra." Ham didn't have time for this. He did what he came to do. Now: places to go, people to see. "Is...that my shirt?"
"It was," she said.
"Hunh. But where'd you get it, I mean when?"
"I've been wearing it all winter. You've seen me. After you, after you kicked me out I needed something warm that, that fit.
Daytona didn't tell you? She knew I was there." That was a half truth, she wasn't exactly there with Daytona's permission.
"No, she didn't." Didn't matter though, except Sandy could've grabbed up all she could carry
back then, spared him the mortification of having to rifle through her underwear.
"Can we talk about the children? I'd like to see them."
"I'm sorry, Sandy, but they don't want to see you. You're their mother, I'm not keeping them from you, but I'm not gonna force them to...forgive you."
"They don't have to, only—"
"Sandy, I can't make them. I won't. You're just going to have to give it some more time."
The girls went back to talking after Scot came up. But it's not like there wasn't a spot there for him if he wanted it.
He found himself watching Ginger (a lot). She was hard to miss and definitely hard to ignore.
He loved Virginia, there was no doubt about that but Virgie, and Goldie too, they were 'good girls'.
Good girls were the ones you married, and happily, but...
Babies or no babies, something else told him Ginger wasn't a 'good girl'. It was just...her.
Not that he'd ever do anything to find out for himself but Scot felt like if he did try Ginger's that type, she might let him.
Anyway, Scot figured he didn't have a whole lot to contribute to girl talk. (He wasn't intimidated, no way!)
He called out to Rocky and they tossed the ball around for a while. A good manly activity, though they are neither particularly athletic.
But, boy, was Scot glad when Gavin showed up. He was starting to feel both superfluous and outnumbered!
Maybe it wasn't ideal but from where he stood starting a family early didn't seem like the worst thing that could happen.
Scot knew Virgie wouldn't be happy without financial security so the plan was to wait. A little while. But if a baby did come early?
These guys were managing and they had 2, well, 4! With him and Virgie joining forces how could they go wrong!
It was easy to forget about the babies cuz it was so weird that they had them.
Gavin and Ginger explained that brother-sister thing, kinda, and they all mostly believed it,
while none of their parents did, because they hung out with them and they saw how they were.
It made sense when they were together or with the kids from Rocky's class,
Virgie believed it completely then, but not...not whenever she saw them with the babies.
And that one was staring right at her.
"Awnj!" she 'said'. Georgia pointed at Virgie and turned around to Ginger and 'said' again, "Awnj!"
"Take your bo-bo out and talk right. Garrett, no, that's dirty. Come over here," Ginger said.
The little girl popped out her pacifier and, as clear as a bell, she said, "Orange!"
Ginger looked over when she pulled Georgia onto her lap before lying back. "That's right, she got red hair like Garrett, right?"
But Georgia knew her colours and that was not red like an apple. "Awnj," she garbled again.
"It's cute how you two have the same shoes," Goldie said, "Hel-lo Garrett, you comin' over to play..." She shoulda
brought Poochie today, all the kids woulda loved him. "She can walk with it like that, without the laces done up?"
"Can't walk. Not yet. I tried to teach her but the l'il monkey wasn't havin' it, she still wanna be carried everywhere."
Virginia was not interested in children.
And there she was, still starin' at her. Stop it!
(Virgie may be intent on not acknowledging that she's got a sister but if she does manage to become better friends
with the Newsons, she might yet get a taste of The Proxy Experience™ (and it's something), by proxy, with that one.)
Hamilton was a few minutes late to his 'appointment' but it was okay, Penny waited.
Once they got inside, though, she could barely wait until they got up to his room. She probably didn't
even notice that it was different. He'd taken some of what she said to heart. Mostly. The picture stayed.
But Penny had her hands full. She could notice stuff later.
Daytona's meeting stalemated early so she came home.
What was that? Did she just hear...?
Daytona pressed her ear to Hamilton's bedroom door and sure enough she heard a woman's voice.
She told him not to take that stuff over there! She had half a mind to rush in there and break this up!
David finally got rid of everybody and closed up the stand. He only stopped off to get Tommy so he could hang out, too.
Georgia popped out her bo-bo again. "Kiss-kiss," she said at Goldie and David.
It was part of their family lingo, something Gloria started but they all still puckered up when they heard it.
"I know he's not your boyfriend or anything so it might not sound as fun but the six of us could meet up again at the
Makeout Spot tonight after we ditch the kids, and the rest of us pacify the 'rents, and make it like a party. Maybe a bonfire."
(Good plan. Nobody'll see a big bonfire blazing. But perhaps she assumed they could pass that off as the truckers' doing.)
"I don't know," Ginger said, "I don't think so."
"Why not? I could—"
"Cuz it sounds hella boring."
"—call Woody? Boring? Hmph."
And to think Virgie was gonna give Woody to her! (She's generous like that.) But fine, if they're too boring for her, fine.
Ginger wasn't feelin' this small-town, small-time stuff. And she was not about no cornball country boys, ok.
She was on to Scot checkin' her out all the time, starin' an' cheesin'. Like, dude, what? Like he would even know what to do wit' her.
He wasn't gonna even be able to hang on to Virginia.
And, as far as she was concerned, there was nothin', like, nothin' no country bumpkin boys could do for Ginger.
Daytona didn't stand around this whole time, she did have better things to do
(and she wasn't quite so overinvested in her son to be listenin' to his bedroom business once she confirmed that's what it was).
But she'd kept an ear out for any doors creaking open and when she heard Hamilton's she most certainly did come back out and stand
by to waylay that wench cuz if she thought she was 'bout to screw her way back into this family she sure had another think comin'!
"Penny?!"
Hamilton heard his mother's voice and turned on a dime to go get out there before she said another word!
"Hey Daytona."
Daytona chuckled to herself. It was Penny!
"Mama?" He was surprised to see her smiling. "Mama, what are you doing home?"
"I live here," she said. "And so do Virgie and Rocky, so y'all better go on and, uh—"
"Yeah. We, um, we were..."
"—wrap this thang up."
They had already...finished, but Hamilton walked Penny to the stairs and gave her a peck on the cheek, trying not to look too sheepish.
Daytona made no bones about watching them.
"Could've sent the girl off with a real kiss. That's the least she should expect when a man's standin' around in his drawers."
"Mama, please. Don't start with me."
Daytona left him alone. (For now.) But she turned into her room chuckling away.
"Your sister thinks I'm boring," Virginia seethed under her breath, talking mainly to herself.
"No she doesn't. It's just this town. You gotta admit, there's not a lot to do in Widespot."
"Yeah, well we find ways to make our own fun."
Gallagher is like a double helping of cutie pie!
He's sweet and attentive, even to sisters. No wonder Sharla's so besotted.
Tommy has never paid the slightest attention to their twins, except to make sure they didn't
break his stuff, and he can't figure on any reason why he should start. Maybe when they're bigger.
"Come on, Gallagher, the cootie girls tooks the fort and stoled the treasure! We needs to steal it back while the pirate king's away!"
The pirate king being Sharla (who doesn't want to be queen).
"Nooo. No go. Uppy!"
The pirate king was off trying to steal some attention. When she kept getting in the way between David and his Gold-ie,
in flagrant violation of the little sister rules, David decided enough was too much. He pulled her aside, "what's your problem, yo!"
(to which she may very well have responded "yo ho ho...Arr!"), before he banished her back to "little kid" island.
It didn't dampen her spirits for long.
Rocky wasn't unhappy, but he was struggling a bit, and keeping it to himself.
New competition on the horizon, his clothes didn't all fit anymore, and his grades were in the toilet.
He does, however, always make his bed, and only his bed, every morning. So there's some emotional progress.
Hamilton made his bed, too. Once.
Still looking pretty fit, Mista Beech, he thought. Things were looking up for him. Better go check on Rocky.
Hamilton had offered to help redo Rocky's room, too; get rid of the kiddie wallpaper, maybe dig up some posters, but he didn't want to.
From his perspective, things were arranged just the way he wanted to see them; even when the door was open his view was perfect.
It all seemed a bit claustrophobic to Ham but looking around he'd be remiss not to ask, maybe he was ready to start meeting with Sandy.
As soon as he got out the words "your mother", though, Rocky shot that down. It wasn't even about him not wanting to break rank with Virgie.
In those pictures she was their mom, he'd even rescued a shot of them with baby Virgie, but now she was somebody else's mom. "No thanks, Dad."
"But—"
"I'm sure."
Well, like he told Sandy, he wasn't going to stand in the way but he wasn't about to force them into a visit either.
But he was going to insist on making a dent in this homework! D+...Rocky doesn't have to compete with Virgie,
if he's a B student that works hard that's fine but there won't be any more of this bringing home Cs and Ds.
~
Virginia wasn't one to give up quickly. Friends or enemies, take your pick.
But Ginger seemed to be willing to give a go at friendship. She's the one that
came talking to her at school and they were getting along so Virgie invited her over.
Damn, somebody 'round here thought she was the shit. Capital S. H. I. T! And it wasn't only that lady in the big ass picture neither.
But Gavin liked her. He liked all of 'em, wanted to blend in or whatever, so Ginger was tryin' to be nicer to Virginia.
Cuz she could tell. She could always tell.
Some 'o the ways that girl had about her, though, like she ran shit all the time didn't make it easy to, like, like her but maybe, maybe, they could be cool.
Ginger knew there was that rich guy with the crazy big house but she didn't know they was rich, too. Maybe not rich rich but they had some nice shit.
Virgie wanted them to be cool. She really did.
"So, my dad doesn't lock the bar or nothin'. You want?"
"Nah, I don't drink."
"Oh?" Virgie stopped in her tracks. "You don't?"
"Nope. Drunk bitches be too—" then Ginger remembered, 'clean cut'. Clean cut.
That was Gavin's voice in her head, harpin' on her all the time, like 'watch your fuckin' mouth already'.
Ginger talked Virgie into changing up her look, that's why she was here. Like those shoes? What was she thinking?
So they headed upstairs to her room.
"That's Dixie?"
"Yep. You know Dix?"
"Oh yeah, she's mad—I mean, she's like totally cool," Ginger tried to imitate the tv people and the way they talk so she would, y'know, sound less, like, hood.
But it didn't come out right, she didn't know how to make it not sound so fake. Gavin did it so why not her? Him and Gloria were good at what she had
called code-switching. They could blend in with whoever and even use different kinda words without losing the real them. Ginger didn't have the knack.
Virgie went and changed into the outfit she found (while Ginger rifled in her jewellery box,
wasn't jack shit in it but some chapstick and coins from some foreign place).
"Well?"
What the hell was that? Where was she even tryna go like that, to play Bingo?
"You don't like it?"
"Umm, there's like a way to do old lady chic and have it be, y'know, almost like somethin' new and cute. But that ain't it."
Virgie kinda liked this dress! And she didn't know what she had in her wardrobe that Ginger would approve.
Not to worry. "Lemme run back to my house and grab a few things."
"But?"
"No for real, I don't mind. I can't wear it anymore so why not you? I'll be back."
Virgie didn't ask why Ginger couldn't wear her clothes anymore. She should have.
(It's not that she couldn't fit them. But with the Clean-cut edict in effect a lot of them didn't pass muster.)
Ginger made a pitstop on her way out. She only wanted to look around and see the kinda stuff people
bought even though it was ugly just cuz they had the money. The case was locked anyway, okay?
Virgie looked out and saw Rocky out back with Delta.
It was almost like déjà vu.
Virgie told her to leave the door unlocked so Ginger just came on in and back upstairs.
"That Gavin?"
Virgie nodded. "He says—"
"Tell him I'll be back in like an hour. Relax."
"You heard that?"
"Whoa. Your mom look so different now. Like...wow."
Gavin woulda said it was the money, changes everything, but she didn't know. Ginger didn't think you could separate the family from how
they livin'. Moms there lost both in the divorce. All Ginger knew is the woman they met looked like shit compared to that lady up in the picture.
(At least she didn't say that last part out loud.)
Ginger noticed the kids outside when she set the bag down.
"Look like your brother got himself a girl. That's cute."
"Rocky? No, Delta's just his BFF, almost like me and Dixie."
Virgie never came out here, not anymore. The only thing to see was the Harts' house anyway.
"What?" Ginger could feel her staring. "I don't dye my hair," she said, "I mean, I do, but this is my real colour. Don't ask me why
I got named Ginger. I never even thought to go red. Maybe a KoolAid kinda red but I can't see me as, like, redhead red.
Orange, like Georgia said. So with her and Garrett...I know people gonna talk, just cuz, but if you hear 'em goin' in..."
Virgie did want to make an ally out of Ginger but she wasn't about to take up that mantle.
"I don't hear anything. Not like that. But it's like, my dad's hair is black, too, but my colour still comes from him. It's recessive."
That was basic sim science and 'even in Widespot' folks understood that so if she didn't want them in her business she was gonna need a better deflection.
"Gene expression's funny like that. Me, I'm all Beech. Basically."
"Yeah..." Ginger could believe that.
"You're the one who shoulda been a Ginger. Maybe I could pass for Virginia." Ginger burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Nah, nothin', just, the idea of me bein' called any kinda virgin, like as part of my name, it's funny when you think about it."
Virgie didn't think so since it actually was her name.
"Not that there's nothin' wrong wit' it, if you and Scot ain't got it poppin'. Only, I didn't know they still, like, made virgins, that's all. It's not like it's a
bad thing," she said, looking at Virgie's face like it was about to fall off. "Hell, I'd still take your name in a heartbeat, and let 'em laugh if they gotta."
"Actually," she said, "some people say there's evidence the Virgin Queen wasn't any kind of virgin either, not the way we mean it."
What queen? Last she checked they didn't have no queen. What the hell was she talkin'?
"Virgin was basically a title. It meant she wasn't married so no man was above her, no king to override her power."
"Back it up, I'm confused. Who is Queen Virgin? Virginia is a state, right?"
"So I'm told. I say it's a state of mind."
"No, that's Georgia, bitch," she let slip before thinking, but she meant it playfully so hopefully Virgie took it that way. "And New York. But wait," Ginger
said, kinda catching on, "so who was George? The queen's husband—I mean her son? Oh. Yeah. Virgin all around. Never mind. I don't really care."
They went back in and Ginger pulled stuff out for Virgie to try on.
"I...cannot wear this."
"Why not, it fits. Turn around."
"Yeah. Booty looks right. What's the problem?"
"It does? I don't know, it's just a lot showing."
"Duh, that's what it's there for, to show off. That's why girls have curves. And if you got that extra jiggle in the back
what's wrong wit' puttin' a l'il wiggle-wiggle wit' it?" Ginger stepped back and danced out her emphasis as she said it.
Virgie didn't think she could do that.
"I feel like I'm about to fall over in these shoes."
They were wedges, how could she not know how to walk in wedge heels? But whatever, Ginger wasn't even gonna sweat it.
"Fine, give 'em back."
"But...Maybe if I practice?"
"Nah. If you feel like you're gonna bust your ass just give 'em back. Here, try these," she said rifling through the bag, "And this."
Gabby and Gall were at the park (that is, the lake) and Ginger knew he wanted to run to the store (everything closes
dumb early around here) but she took her sweet time coming back to relieve him with the babies anyway.
"Here." He tossed the magazine he picked up at the post office onto her lap.
"What's 'at. Oh cool. Oh, but it's crazy old. I wanted to check out the new one."
"You get what they got. And you're welcome."
"Thank you, Gavin," she sang out.
"You found the part to fix it?"
"No, but I found a screwdriver. I don't even know how you broke it."
"It fell. Hey, check it, I found out today why they call the queen a virgin..."
"What queen?"
"Queen Beech," she said, "And you know why? It's cuz she is one. Seems like your man Scot's been slackin' off. Or just jackin'—"
"Ginger."
"So it's obviously not that serious with them. If you still want your l'il Virgie the Virgin it ain't even no competition."
"Ginger, get off me. And grow up."
"Wha-at-ever. Don't even try to act like you ain't happy nobody beat you to tappin' that."
Daytona hung up with the call she was on and saw somebody (didn't look like nobody she knew) walking by from the corner of her eye.
She spun around. What the hell?
Before Ginger left Virgie had found an outfit of hers that she liked. A lot.
Virgie had never really thought before about whether her butt 'looked right' in clothes but now she knew that, apparently, it did she couldn't stop
checking out the rear view and smiling at herself in approval. She even winked at blast-from-the-past Grandma looking over her reflection.
Matter of fact, her mirror was telling her that the whole view was lookin' good!
She felt so different in these clothes. Like she was a different Virgie. She was hot!
And this Virgie would take no prisoners, every boy she saw would be beating down her door...
She looked away from the mirror and there was her grandma in-the-flesh to snap her out of that reverie. Let her know that, for one thing, she was a Beech.
"Virgie. Where on earth do you think you're going lookin' like that?"
"Duh, Grandma, I'm gonna put on a jacket."
"Jacket? I don't care about a jacket. You can't be walkin' around in no cheap rag,
look like a towel, with half your tail hangin' out. What's wrong with you?"
"But...you really don't like it?"
"Like it?"
"I mean, you hate it that much?" The other outfit was way worse, she thought, the pants were like painted on
but Grandma probably woulda liked that better just cuz it was pants. "I don't see what's so wrong with it."
"We have actual towels got more thread count than that so-called dress," Daytona said.
"And I know you don't want to end up like your new l'il hot-in-the-pants friend with that
house-full o' babies to take care of so get on upstairs and go put on some real clothes."
"I didn't realise the odds of getting pregnant were inversely related to how many clothes you have to take off first."
"Oh, that's it now, fresh mouth. If you thought this one was staying between you and me
you just bought yourself a whole lotta 'think again.' Soon as he gets home I'm telling your father."
"Grandma, no...Please? I didn't mean it. I mean, I didn't mean anything by it. C'mon, Grandma..."
"You should've thought that through before you decided to be so flip at the lip. Like you forgot who you were talking to. Uh-uh.
We won't be havin' that. Now I'd suggest you get yourself on upstairs and out o' those hoochie-coochie clothes before he sees you."
Or anybody else does.
Virginia stomped off, muttering to herself and carrying on about who was "not my mother."
Daytona overheard her but she didn't stop her again because she was too right about that.
Like she told that wench gave birth to her, she was only the grandma around here.
Daytona did not have time to be wrangling with any headstrong teenagers, she was more than happy to step back and let her daddy handle that.
Virginia did do as she was told, she changed her clothes and stayed up in her room.
*The fact that she was angry with her grandma and her very first thoughts jumped to Rich Mann (Daytona's sworn enemy) is a bit worrying.*
That's the guy Penny was dating, ain't it?
Hamilton didn't think Penny had told him about their meetings but from the way the guy was starin'!
But better that he knows that she was, uh, keepin' her options open so he could make his own choices instead of finding out the hard way later.
Hamilton nodded acknowledgement at the guy, grabbed his stub, and kept it moving.
"What's it gonna be?" Valentine asked him when he headed for the bar.
Hamilton didn't know. He didn't really have a preference tonight.
" 'Sup, Pop!"
It wasn't likely that he was losin' the taste for it. But he could take a break.
Hamilton stepped back and let Candy and her father chat.
He watched her, watched them together; she was a pretty girl but, Ham didn't know why, he had never fallen for the Candy act.
Even when he was married he wasn't blind but she just didn't do it for him. Meanwhile the woman from the post office came over (he had noticed her
noticin' him but didn't think anything of it). She said she'd overheard that he was a rising star in politics and how that was impressive, so on and so forth...
Fortune sim, no doubt, but...maybe not.
Hamilton didn't stay out too late at The Dugout tonight. He had a few things on his mind.
As he headed off to bed his eyes scanned something different around here but it didn't register right away.
What the—what the hell?
How did that...?
*Don't think too hard, Ham.*
"Virginia!!"
She couldn't believe Grandma really ratted her out!
"Daddy, I can explain."
"Don't 'Daddy' me. Look at this—What were you thinking!"
"Oh." Oh that. Virgie shrugged. Looked better that way to her. "But why're you assuming it was me? Could've been anybody."
"Oh yeah, like who, Virginia?"
"Like Rocky. Or Grandma," she said, "she can't like having to look at that lady who
betrayed us every time she comes outta her room. Not after everything she did for her—"
"Just cut it out, Virgie. Cut it out right now."
Hmph. Looks like someone already did, and good riddance!
"You had no right to take scissors to that picture. None! I don't know what got into you but
you crossed the line. I don't even know if we can replace it, there might not be another copy."
So what?
"Go to your room."
"But...?" He couldn't have heard that.
"I said go to your room!"
"Fine."
"Don't you slam that door," he warned. "Where's the rest of the picture?"
She turned up her head and refused to answer. (On the grounds that it might incriminate her.)
"I swear, Virginia, if I find out you even thought to do up any sort of makeshift voodoo doll or something...You might never leave this house again."
"I don't have that picture," she huffed.
"But that's actually a really Good IDEA!!" Virginia yelled and slammed her door as hard as she could.
Whuh?
~
Well! Now that took a lot longer than expected. First to get to it and then to get through so I do hope that you enjoyed it!
Thanks for Reading!
~
Mediafire kept hanging on the upload and I still don't know what that's about but it prompted me to check the file sizes. They were rather large, most likely owing to my trying to keep the images still crisp and clear in-game. Ran them through the compressorizer (but didn't re-test them so if there's a problem, let me know) and all was well, uploaded to mediafire lickety-split. Except the new rar is actually somehow bigger than when the files were 3x their current size. Eh, whatever works.
(I have no idea how the file ended up with a privacy setting enabled but should be fixed now.)
There is a "proper" Part Two but I'll be crisscrossing again so the Harts are up next.
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