Chapter 72: Double Trouble

“Oh yeah,” Lance said aloud to himself. “I’m the MAN! By the time this house is mine officially, I’ll be serving up gourmet meals!”

Amira walked in and was startled to see her son in front of the stove.

“Ehhh…you’re….”

“Cooking! Yes, I cook now. I cook, I’m funny, and the girls love me.”

“What girls,” an alarmed Amira asked.

“ALL of them! I’m awesome, mom.”

“You’re not funny,” Allen chimed in. “You’re funny looking!”

“Allen! Be nice.”

“It’s ok, mom. If I’m the king of this castle, then he’s the court jester. He’s just doing his job!”

“Hey! I’m not the jester!”

“And you’re not the king,” Amira added. “Are you trying to get rid of your father already?”

“Of course not, mom. You know what I meant.”

“Watch yourself, young man,” she said and left the room.

Things had been pretty quiet at the Pruett Estate over the past couple weeks. Everyone kept pretty busy either skill building, trying to complete aspirations, or just enjoying each other’s company.

Kolby came by for a quick visit the day before the twins’ birthday. It had been a while since his last visit, but he had a very good reason. While he went to greet everyone else, Amira found herself staring at Brandon and she didn’t know why. All she wanted to do was bend him backward and kiss him passionately…but there were children present.

“Baby, I know I’m cute and irresistible, but why are you looking at me like that?”

“I don’t know…you just look soo…I don’t know! You look different somehow.”

Kolby came back to the living room and sat next to the kids on the couch.

“I know, right?! I lost 25 pounds! Ain’t I pretty?”

“Whoa,” Kolby said. “Twenty five pounds, dude? That’s great!”

“Oh yeah! I think I look better now than I did when I was in high school!”

“You sure do,” Amira flirted.

Shortly after that news, Bianca joined the conversation and asked Kolby about his own news.

“So, Kolby, I hear you and Taylor have a son now!”

“Oh yeah! He’s great. He started kindergarten today, actually.”

“Word?? You’ve been holding out lil’ cuz! Congrats, man! So, what’s his name,” Brandon asked.

“Brett. He looks just like me! I’m gonna bring him by this weekend to meet everyone.”

“That would be great, Kolby,” Bianca said.

“Yay,” Melody cheered. “Another cousin!”

“Well, actually, the twins’ birthday is tomorrow…why don’t you bring him to the party,” Bianca asked.

“I would love to! I’ll talk to Taylor about it, but I’m sure she’ll say no. She’s very orderly and scheduled. Poor kid has to be in bed by 8:00!”

“Mom…I’ll be a teenager by then, right,” Melody asked.

“You sure will, honey!”

“YES,” she screamed and ran off.

After school, all the kids got off the bus and ran into the house to begin preparing for the big party. It was an all hands on deck affair. Lance cooked dinner so no one would be hungry before the party–although there would be a caterer. Everyone else cleaned up and made sure the house was in order before the guests began to arrive. The girls were super excited about the next phase of their life and couldn’t wait to blow out those candles.

“…and we can wear cool outfits and make-up,” Melody said as she recited all the great things they’ll be able to do as teens.

“And boys,” Cadence added. “We can hang out with boys!”

“And make them fall in love with us!”

“And make them carry our books!”

“And buy us flowers!”

“YAY,” they screamed simultaneously.

Bianca and Giancarlo were beside themselves as well. They pulled out all the stops with this party. Not only did they hire the caterer, but also a mixologist and Kolby as the entertainment.

The guests–basically that means the entire Pruett clan–arrived and everyone was having a good time. Giancarlo decided he needed to spend time with his little angels and treasure these last moments of their adorable innocence before the raging hormones and attitudes came.

“So, little lady…this is a nice shindig! What brings you here?”

“It’s my birthday!”

“OH! Yours too? I met this other little girl earlier, and she said it’s her birthday too.”

“She’s my sister, silly!”

“Ohhhh, so you’re twins. I see. So…what are you most excited about tonight?”

“Boys!”

So much for the innocence! Giancarlo wasn’t expecting to be dealing with boys and having woo hoo talks so soon. He felt like it was only just yesterday that they brought her home from the hospital, and now she was talking about boys.

He went and found Cadence outside talking to Theresa.

“Hey there, sweet pea. What are you ladies talking about?”

“What’s the biggest thing a cow plant can eat? Theresa says a llama.”

“And she says a bear,” Theresa said.

Ahhh…there’s the innocence I was looking for, he thought.

“Well, sweet pea…just don’t stand next to one because you’re so yummy it just might eat you!”

Cadence giggled and said, “You’re soo funny daddy!”

“It’s getting late. Let’s go inside and wrap up this party. You get to blow out the candles first!”

“YES,” she screamed and dashed inside.

She was so excited, she didn’t even wait for anyone to join her. She took a deep breath, and blew as hard as she could, but they didn’t go out.

“Mommy,” she yelled. “Somebody put the trick candles on my cake!”

“Just keep blowing, dear,” Bianca yelled as she ran to join her before her big moment.

She took another deep breath, and finally, like a strike at a bowling alley, all the candles went out. The magical birthday powers enveloped her and spun her around. Out of the glowing, fiery mist came a taller and even more beautiful Cadence who inherited her father’s romantic side.

“Oh yeah…smokin’!”

She heard Melody racing down the hall, and so she replaced the candles quickly.

“Me next! Me next,” she exclaimed, practically pushing Cadence out of the way.

“I wish for lots of cute boyfriends!”

“Don’t you want to wish for something else, dear,” Bianca asked. “Like, good grades…more friends…a pony??”

“Nope. Boyfriends will do!”

And with that, she took a deep breath and attempted to blow out the candles but succumbed to Cadence’s fate and tried again.

“Oh yeah! I’m sexy and I know it!”

Interestingly enough, Melody also inherited her father’s romance. How appropriate! The girls hadn’t even had a slice of their cake before they ran off to their bedrooms to style themselves. Here are their new looks!

After the party was over, and all the guests left, Giancarlo found himself alone in the living room thinking about his last years and what they would be like.

He was blessed with two beautiful daughters who, up until this point, were no trouble at all. He was fascinated at how fast they grew and only hoped that they would remain good girls. He wished that he would live long enough to see them graduate high school, fall in love, and get married, but he knew that was not in the cards for him.

Cadence and Melody could barely sleep a wink that night for they were excited and anxious about their first day of high school. Amira was up early and made breakfast for everyone. Cadence decided to get some insider tips from her.

“Hey…Aunt Amira…we’re going to go to the park after school and hang out. What do I say if a boy talks to me?”

“I’m flattered, but shouldn’t you be asking your mother about this?”

“Well, yeah, but she’s a sleep, and you’re really hot so–”

“And your mother is really hot too,” Amira interrupted. “Just be yourself.”

“Myself? What if he doesn’t like ‘myself?'”

“Then you move on. Breakfast will be ready in a minute. Why don’t you go call everyone to the table.”

After school, the children were barely in the house a half hour before they all retreated to the park. They didn’t even greet anyone. They just relieved themselves, ate snacks, and left. Meanwhile, Bianca and Giancarlo were trying to process the next four years of their lives–if they lived that long.

“Did you have any boyfriends before me?”

“What?”

“I know we didn’t technically date until way after you graduated, but we met when you were 17. Did you have any boyfriends before then?”

“No. Why?”

“I guess I’m just trying to figure out if our daughters are normal.”

“Ohhh. That. Yeah. Aren’t they something?”

“They’re something all right! What do we do??”

“I don’t know. Teach them everything we know and hope for the best I guess.”

“Hmmm, I guess. I should email their manufacturer and tell them they forgot to include the manuals!”

She looked at him amorously and said, “Aren’t we the manufacturers?”

“[gasp]You’re right!!!”

She loved that his humor did not diminish with his youth.

“You are indeed a nut case, and I love you,” she laughed and continued scrubbing the grill.

He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and said. “Hey…we could go upstairs and do some manufacturing….”

“Oh no no, dude. Our quiver is full. This factory is closed.”

“But…but I’m a union Sim, and I’m out of work now,” he said, kissing her neck.

“Well…I’ve always had a soft spot for Sims who work with their hands. How about a special project just for you?”

“Oh thank you, Miss! What is it?”

“Come with me,” she said and led him upstairs.

Meanwhile at the park, the teenagers–naturally–left Allen to himself while they scoured the park for some other teens to talk to. Luckily, a couple of the little cousins were at the park for Allen to play with.

Lance found some girls to charm and left the twins to fend for themselves.

“Hey there, ladies. My name is Lance Pruett, and I’m going to be very famous one day….”

Melody spotted a boy entering the park and ran up to meet him.

“Hey doll face! I’m Melody. What’s your name?”

“Paxton Churchill. It is your pleasure to meet me!”

“Oh! Well, you’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you!”

“That’s the only way to be, sister.”

“I like that…I think.”

While Melody chatted up Paxton, and Lance now had a crowd around him trying out some of his jokes, Cadence wasn’t so lucky and played chess alone. She would have loved to have someone to hang out with, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. She knew that Melody’s life’s mission was to find “the one,” so she expected her to be crazed. All Cadence wanted to do was be a freelance botanist.

All of the children lost track of time, and by 9:00 they decided to gather themselves and get home.

“So,” Melody began, “how many guys did you talk to? I talked to this one guy named Paxton and he was sooo cute and sooo self-assured…”

She went on and on and on about what they talked about and how nice he was. Cadence wasn’t concerned about it before, but seeing her sister so excited and happy changed all of that. All of her life, she had been very happy. At times she was playful and a few times she got embarrassed, angry, and bored. But, for the first time in her life, she experienced a new emotion:  jealousy.