Fruit Parfait: Chapter 1.5

I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of a spoon scraping against a bowl; Dub was cooking in the kitchen.

In the middle of the room, Charlotte played with the son I had only two days ago discovered I had. It was nice to wake up to food and laughter instead of a blaring horn outside my house for once.

I took a long, hot shower to wash off all the traces of dirt and grime that had collected over the course of the week. Being a firefighter was no clean job.

Dub and Charlotte had already eaten, presumably a fair distance away from each other, by the time I got out. A plate of waffles had been left on the table for me, and I enjoyed a nice, large meal by myself.

When I got up to go wash my dishes, I nearly ran into Dub.

"Hey, Zane... Why don't you go hang around town today? I mean, you've been working all week and you kinda deserve a break..."

"Uhhh... I kinda have to be here for when the new counter gets here," I said awkwardly, motioning to the soiled counter next to us.

"No, no, I'll stay here for that - you go out and have fun. Bring Charlotte with you, too, because she needs to get out of the house."

"But Bennett-"

"I'll watch Bennett," Dub said reassuringly.

It was completely out of the blue and slightly strange, but I wasn't going to turn down a fun day out on the town. "Um... Okay..."

I went over to talk to Charlotte, who became immediately suspicious.

"Dub? Watching Bennett? ...I don't know, Zane."

I shrugged. "I think we're going to have to learn to trust him eventually, Charlotte. This could be a good thing."

Charlotte sighed, avoiding my eyes...and then smiled. "All right."

I grinned. "Where to first?"

There was a little pond near the house that we had never been to. Charlotte figured that we could enjoy ourselves there knowing that our son was just up the road. We found some fishing rods laying around the wooden deck near the water and decided to try our hands at fishing, even though neither of us had ever attempted it before.

Charlotte was lucky enough to catch a tiny fish, whereas I left the pond empty-handed.

We stopped for some drinks at the bar on the deck, mixing together packets of artificial drink ingredients, water, and some alcohol that was shockingly found in the bar's supply. I wasn't sure what was more surprising - that a public park had tequila laying around, or that a bunch of wild teenagers hadn't ransacked it already. I know that's what I would have done.

We somehow ended up playing a partially intense and partially silly game of chess. Neither of us really knew how to play, but we had agreed hours ago that today was a day for trying new things.

Sexy concentration.

Charlotte won the game (much to my dismay, as thus far I had been getting shown up by a girl at just about everything), and as a reward demanded that I play a song on guitar for her. There was a crappy acoustic guitar conveniently present on the deck, and I picked it up and started strumming chords to improvise a goofy song as I played. It got us both laughing in the end.

Charlotte had this look on her face that I hadn't seen in a long time - almost like the way she used to look at me back in high school, but not quite. It was strange... The line between friendship and romance was blurring. For her, at least; I was still quite sure that I wanted to be single and free to hook up with girls with no strings attached. Sure, I was a father now, but that didn't mean I was going to immediately elope with the girl and ruin all the fun of being young.

Charlotte stepped closer to me. "Zane... I just need to know... Do you forgive me for what I did? For...cheating on you?" Shame clouded her eyes.

I found myself forcing a smile. "Charlotte, don't beat yourself up too much over it. I've forgiven you."

Wait...what? What did I just say? Oh, crap. Oh, no. I was leading her on now, wasn't I? No, no, I couldn't do this, I didn't like her... Did I like her? Or was it just the alcohol getting to my head? I couldn't think straight. I didn't even realize I was drunk until now.

"Good." Suddenly, Charlotte's face twisted. "Oh God, I have to throw up."

Charlotte bolted for the bathrooms while I contemplated the idiotic words that had just come pouring out of my mouth. I wanted to forgive her, but I knew that I shouldn't. Not after cheating on me. Even if Bennett was my son, she still slept with my best friend. And I still did not want to settle down with someone.

I met her outside the bathrooms a few minutes later. "Hey Charlotte, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe head to the club?"

Yes, the club. The club could get my mind off of things. I could hook up with some random girl and forget about all my troubled thoughts. That was what I wanted, right? To forget?

"Um, actually I was hoping we could head back to your house. I have a horrible headache and I kinda just want to sleep right now..."

I blinked. "That's all right, I guess... Charlotte, when was the last time you drank?"

Charlotte blushed. "Two... Maybe three years ago. It's been awhile. I didn't get my hands on any alcohol when I had to spend every waking minute with Bennett."

I nodded; that made sense. She looked ready to pass out at any minute.

When we got home, we saw Dub talking on his cell inside. We slipped inside quietly; Dub didn't notice us enter.

Charlotte and I shot each other a suspicious look as we listened in.

"...waited almost twelve hours for you to show up here and help me get the kid! You dragged me along on all your stupid robberies back in Riverview, and I went along with it and didn't complain, and now when I ask you to do this one tiny favor for me, you don't even bother to show up! No, don't make excuses. When we talked yesterday, you said you'd do this for me. You said you'd come pick us up and drive us to your apartment in Bridgeport and let us hide there. You said you'd help me, you stupid little-"

"Dub?" Charlotte whispered.

Dub turned around with a shocked face, the phone still pressed to his ear. "Let me call you back."

"You have ten seconds to get out of my house."

"Zane, I can explain."

"Can you really?" I hissed, wondering how he'd get out of this one.

"Please, just hear me-"

"NO!" I roared. "I'm sick of hearing you out and buying your stupid lies and excuses for everything! Bennett is not your son, and you are not my friend! Now get out of my freaking house."

I watched over my shoulder as Dub stormed out of my house, his head in his hands, and I knew I wouldn't miss him one bit. I'd also be locking every window and door from now on.

I turned back to little Benny, who was sobbing on the floor.

I picked him up in my arms and hugged him close to me, my eyes tearing up at the feel of his little head on my shoulder. "It's all right, Daddy's got you. I'll never let anyone hurt you. I promise."

~

Told you Dub was up to no good.

This was just a short chapter. I literally crammed photography, writing, and editing into about an hour today, whereas I normally spread it out across two days. My creative juices weren't flowing as much as they usually are, which is why this chapter wasn't as good as the others were, but I promised myself I would get out a chapter of Fruit before school starts. My first day is tomorrow, and I've had freshmen orientations and schedule pick-ups and appointments and a haircut and everything else all just stacking up. But I promised myself, and here it is.

To be honest, my liking for Sims is kind of fading. I go through phases of loving it, and right now I'm not in one of those. Maybe it's because my game is lagging yet again and I have no clue how to fix it, maybe it's because I haven't had anything new in my game for awhile, maybe it's because my interests have shifted and I have instead become a total music junkie. (I've been listening to music a lot and I've got a mile-long list of favorite bands, I taught myself electric guitar over the past two weeks, and I've been playing Rock Band a lot. :P) I suppose that's sort of good, because it means I won't have to suffer from Sims deprivation when I go back to school. Hopefully Supernatural and Seasons spark a new phase of Sims love.

Anyways, here begins another short hiatus during which I shall get adjusted to my new school and the homework load, and then I will return to post again. I'll estimate anywhere from a week to a month for this hiatus, so please bear with me and be patient once again. Thank you all for being such wonderful, supportive readers - you're the reason I do this. :)

See you soon!

-Siminoid

Fruit Parfait: Chapter 1.4

I stared at Charlotte, not sure how to react. "...Son? Charlotte, what are you talking about? Bennett is Dub's-"

"Zane, I'm not crazy. Come outside and I'll explain."

"From the moment Bennett was born, I knew there was something up with him."

"He had these unnatural orange eyes, unlike anything I had ever seen before. Then the hair grew in, and I was sure I had been wrong. He has your family's strange genes, Zane. Benny isn't Dub's baby - he's yours."

She smiled at me like the way she used to, and she suddenly looked years younger. It was almost like we were back in high school, standing on her front porch after prom ended...


No. She cheated on me... Things could never be the same between us. But...this was Charlotte, and suddenly I had a son.

"This is...great!" I said quietly. I looked at her son - my son - with his little thumb in his mouth and couldn't help but crack a smile. "But...how are we going to tell Dub?"


"Tell Dub? What do you mean?"


"Well, he's kind of-"

"Tell me what?" Dub stood in the doorway, his eyes on Bennett.

Charlotte's mouth opened and closed as she tried to find the right words. She was clearly shocked to see Dub here. "Um, Bennett's...not your baby. I got genetic tests done and-"

"What? But...of course he's my baby. There has to have been some mistake!"

"There is no mistake, Dub," Charlotte said through gritted teeth. "And frankly, I'm glad he has a father better than you."

Dub turned on me. "So what, now that Bennett's supposedly your son she just gets to stop by here whenever she wants? Is she staying the night now?"

"I-I don't know! I don't know what's going on, I don't know what's going to happen next..."

"Zane," Charlotte said quietly, not meeting my eyes. "I got kicked out of my apartment today. I couldn't pay the bills."

"But... What happened with your writing? I thought you almost had a book finished?"

"I couldn't finish it. I gave up again."

"Well, I don't know, I guess you could maybe stay the night, but there's nowhere for the baby to sleep..."

"I have a crib in the trunk of the taxi. I had to sell all my other furniture so I could pay off my debt, but I kept that. Please, Zane, let me stay. Let Bennett stay."

"This is bull," Dub growled. "Why did you kick me out? I could have helped you! I had a job in Riverview, I could have provided for the both of us."

"The people you worked for did nothing but hurt others. I wasn't going to let my child grow up in a house where the only working adult was a criminal."

Dub didn't reply.

"Look, guys, we can work this out in the morning," I said. "It's 1 AM; why don't we all just get some sleep. Charlotte, set up your crib somewhere. You two can stay for a little while until you figure things out. We have an extra single bed for you, Charlotte, and...Dub and I will take the double." I sighed.

"Thank you," Charlotte whispered.

That night, I watched as Charlotte put her baby - my baby - to bed. And even though the crib didn't match the rest of my lime green house, it was a beautiful sight.

...

The next few days were a blur of repetition and quiet observation.

I worked. I know, I look pretty heroic in this picture. It only took me a day to put out the tiny fire.

When I wasn't working, I was brushing up on my guitar skills. The funny thing was, the more I played, the worse I sounded... Or maybe my ears were just plugged from the smoke.

But hey, I managed to pick up a fan or two around the workplace. Or well, she was watching me play at least... I think... Or maybe she was just passing by...

And when I got home every day, I found Charlotte with Bennett - teaching him to walk, playing with him, tickling him. I wanted to have a relationship like that with my son, but something kept me from asking Charlotte. Maybe I was still mad at her for cheating on me, and that was why I couldn't talk to her. Or maybe I was over it all, and I was afraid of moving forward.

By the third night, I had earned enough money to buy a replacement stove. I decided to have another go at mac and cheese; salad after boring salad was seriously beginning to get on my nerves. Who cares if mac and cheese isn't green? I could become a pro chef and make all these super awesome dishes for dinner... Mmm, my mouth watered just thinking of all the food.

Okay, so I used a box mix. But hey, pro chefs have to start somewhere.

I worked my magic on the food.

It looked pretty delicious in the bowl. Stirrin' noodles and cheddar, stirrin' noodles and cheddar... Hey, I could have made a song out of that.

Please don't erupt into flames this time...

SUCCESS!

That night, Charlotte and I shared the mac and cheese together. Dub was nowhere to be found, and according to Charlotte he had been gone the whole day... His absence made the food taste that much better.

"You're a great cook, you know," Charlotte said. "Better than I am."

"Watching you burn water in cooking class was a pretty funny sight."

Charlotte flicked a noodle at me. "Shut up! You can't burn water, I just boiled it for too long."

"Oh, I beg to differ. That water was one hundred percent burned."

As I collected the plates to go wash the dishes, Charlotte stood up and cleared her throat.

"Um, Zane... Do you want to teach Bennett how to talk? It's just, he won't respond when I try to get him to say something, and Dub couldn't get him to say a word either, so maybe you could try..."

My eyes widened. "O-Of course!" I glanced over at my son, sitting in his crib sucking on this thumb. Maybe...if I taught him how to talk...we'd be able to bond and make up for all the time he didn't know me.

I picked him up cautiously, having never held a baby before and not wanting to drop him. I set him down on the floor and sat down, Charlotte beside me.

I looked around the room, trying to think up a word. "Can you say...green?"

Bennett stared blankly off into the distance.

I tried boy, orange, cheese, and house but to no avail. Why won't the kid say anything?!

It was quite frustrating. I now understood why Charlotte had asked me to teach him.

Then, an idea popped into my head. The word shouldn't have made any difference - I mean, either the kid wanted to talk or he didn't - but I had to try.

"Can you say...daddy?"

Benny giggled. "Da...ddy!"

Charlotte gasped and threw her arms around me. "Oh my gosh... I can't believe it!"

I smiled and closed my eyes, lingering in the moment. My life had changed drastically over the past few days... But maybe it had been for the better.

Yet beneath the layer of warmth and happiness, there was a strange, unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. I almost felt like I was being watched... Or maybe I was only imagining it.

~

Zane's bonding with his son now! <3 And hey... He might even be healing old wounds with Charlotte. (Hint hint...) But Dub is up to something, and it's nothing good... You'll find out soon enough. ;)

I had a heck of a time getting the pictures for this chapter. My game kept getting stuck lagging, so I'd have to force quit and restart and get caught up to the right time of day. Right now I'm actually two days behind in-game from where the story's at, since I had to keep quitting. I'm kind of happy though - I'll be able to get in some photo-free simming with this family. It does get kind of annoying having to stop constantly to take pictures when something happens, but hey - it's worth it. :)

So far this summer, this blog has been my only writing outlet. I've hit a creative rock with my novel (similar to writer's block, except I can still write but with no passion or style or creativity), so I've set that aside for awhile to give myself a break and come up with new ideas. This blog is the only thing keeping me sane! Arg, I want to write my novel so badly but every time I try to I get stumped and frustrated. Good thing I have Zane's story. :)

By the way, for anyone who's wondering, Meet the Parfaits will be updated to add Bennett when he reaches young adulthood.

Leave your feedback in the comments! Another chapter down, and many more to unfold... Let the fun begin. ;D

-Siminoid