A Lot of Love and an Abduction

The fact that it wasn't Love Day didn't seem to bother the Chikamoris a bit. After all, Alanna had grown up into young adulthood and was ready to strike out and start her own family. Although Haruo and River would have liked her to take her time and meet someone nice. She had met someone whom she was extremely interested in and like her dad, he was 100% Asian of Japanese descent. She invited him down to the Festival, which he readily accepted. But the first chance he got, he went off to start a riot at City Hall. That didn't bode well for him.

But Alanna, gentle and good as her trait was calmed the situation down and extracted her friend from the riot he caused without him getting arrested for causing a disturbance. If Haruo heard about this, he'd have whooped his behind so he couldn't walk for a week and considering that Haruo is a Sim Fu Master, it won't be any skin off his back either to do it too.

By the time she got him extracted (and distracted) from in front of the City Hall, they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Man she works fast. And hopefully he becomes more responsible before they get hitched.

HOLD ON...WAIT A MINUTE!!! ALANNA!!!! (creator mutters: Oh, great now, I get to see them "stride of pride"ing all around town for the next two hours...couldn't you...have...no...evidently you can't..." *grumble*)

And...then they went for dinner...(shaking my head) Haruo is going to go nuclear.

OMG...she went and did it...Well...she's now an engaged woman. Hopefully her father is too engrossed in his own wife to notice the new bauble on his daughter's ring finger...oh...you got lucky this time, Alanna Grace Chikamori. (Ever notice how parents always use ALL your given names when they're giving you what-for...)

Yes, Alanna, your dad was entirely too engrossed with Mom. But then again, River had to give him a massage after that spill he took on the rollerskating rink. "Geez, act your age, Dad." "Watch your mouth, squirt, you're not old enough to not spank anymore." :p And just before bed, there were a bunch of twinkly lights over head. River was wondering "hmmm, what are those lights outside, maybe I should go investigate..." Wait...WAIT...DON'T... Why do I bother, they don't even listen to me anyways.

Yep...

A Day At The Park

Well...School was out Friday and Leisure Day would be the following Monday (Man, I'm loving Seasons - can't wait for all the "weather" to start). While the kids were at work and school, River and Haruo took the opportunity to head down to Central Park to visit the wonderful little extravaganza that had popped up in preparation for Leisure Day.

Their first stop was the sno-cone machine. Haruo mentioned to River that they needed to get one for home which would be a quick cool-down on hot days.

There appeared to be a lot of things to do at the Leisure Day Fair.

...including playing soccer (football - for you Europeans)...which Haruo ventilated a Sunset Valley sim with three consecutive goals while River cheered on from the sidelines.

And they had a water-balloon fight where River and Haruo were on opposing sides. Of course, there were no hard feelings about getting pegged by water-balloons and emerging from that contest soaking wet.

River got an opportunity to go teach a class at the spa, so she went off to do her own thing and Haruo spent some time at the food vendors partaking of their wares. Then he went off to do some rollerskating while waiting for River's return to the park.

He did eventually get the hang of it.

River returned around dusk and got entirely too interested in an ice-cream cone...hmmmm...metaphor? It looks like she's enjoying it a little TOO much.

After a round of pairs roller skating and a spill or two, they went home: happy and full of chili cheese fries.

You Can't Go Home Again

The old saying is true: You can't go home again. There are too many people gone from the town. Nobody that the Chikamori family remembered. But everybody including Satoshi and Michael Bachelor headed back to Sunset Valley. They even brought the remains along so that they could be reburied in a newly built family cemetery in Sunset Valley.

When the house was built, Haruo and Brayden took advantage of the driveway to build in a little place for the basketball hoop.

They also got some good display areas set up for their Al Simhara/Shang Sim La and Champs Les Sims trinkets

And they really got even more use out of the basketball hoop. Of course, Brayden owned his father. Youth and vitality definitely is a strong point in sports. And as said before, Haruo was no spring chicken.

River enjoyed sculpting and mastered it quite readily, her arts background helping her quite considerably. However...using a chainsaw on topiary probably was not the best idea with a headless giraffe as the end result. And being Level 10 in sculpting certainly helps when one deals with applying soldering to metal sculpting. You are less likely to set yourself on fire. This is probably not the best outfit to be using to sculpt metal with.

Haruo did a lot of fishing...with the lake that he dug out of the back yard.

Brayden didn't care much for the prom. After getting rejected by his crush, he came home and did his homework and went to bed.

River played the piano taking the opportunity to enjoy the sunset as it cast down a orange hue upon her keyboard.

And it is also true when they say that love is blind. Because Alanna met someone new and was so smitten head over heels that she was blind to the fact that they were conversing in the middle of the road in mortal danger of getting run over by the next distracted Sim who drove past in a Margarite Vaguester. Well...at least she won't go alone if that happens.

Can anyone tell me why Keri Cantina-Chikamori and Brady McIrish-Bachelor are sitting out in the Bistro's outdoor tables unattended doing homework at 7PM at night? WTH, Satoshi and Michael?! Jeez look after your kid for heaven sakes.

Meanwhile River and Haruo looked deeply into each others eyes. 27+ years of marriage and they were still as in love with each other as the very day they got married.

And Alanna was writing a love-letter to her new romantic interest. Ah...but it's still an year before Love Day. But even with all that, there was an undercurrent of sadness as they recognized no-one. Everyone had moved out of Sunset Valley that they had remembered.