After dinner, we returned to the rental to gather our things and say goodbye. Leaving was harder than expected; I grieved more than just the fun and relaxation. I felt like I was leaving a piece of myself behind. Shadows of my family history were all over these islands, looming over me, begging me to turn around and face them. Maybe I could find an old social media account my gammy had or something. Mama said she was a pretty big deal in the fashion industry, so her online presence had to be pretty strong. That sounded like a good place to start. She’d always been such a mystery to me. I needed this woman who loved me so much to be more than a ghost; I needed her to be real.
We arrived back home late with just enough time for Desi to get a fair amount of sleep before sports camp in the morning. She awoke, brimming with energy and excitement, revving to go. When she left, me and Sophia spent the morning packing our photos and other knickknacks we brought with us. We always planned to return to our original home someday, so we left most things behind, especially since the duplex was furnished. It didn’t take long to empty the walls. Just as we were doing our final walk through that afternoon, Chi Chi called and invited us to her house. I thought to take a rain check, but I wanted to meet the man who whisked her away and married her. I trusted her judgement, of course, but some things you just needed to see for yourself. Besides, I thought she’d appreciate knowing we’d be back in the neighborhood, so we set our boxes aside and headed to Hopewell Hills.
“OooOOOhhh,” she squealed. “Looks like you guys came straight from the beach!”
“Yeah, we just got back late last night,” I said.
“We had a great time,” Sophia said.
“I can see that! Nixi baby,” Chi Chi yelled into the hallway. “Come meet my best friends!”
Best friends, huh? I knew we were close, but I hadn’t realized we were her absolute favorite sims. It begs the question, though. Who does she love more? Me or Sophia? Ha!
“How’s it going?” he said. “I’m Nixon Ross. It’s good to meet you two. I heard so much about you. I feel like I already know you!”
I shook his hand.
“I’m Luca. This is my wife, Sophia. It’s good to meet you too.”
Chi Chi ushered us all into the living room, anxious to hear about our trip. As soon as her husband heard the word Sulani, he was even more eager than she was. He adored his hometown; his face beamed as we recounted our trip. I think we gained 500 bonus points for participating in Beach Cleanup Day, heh.
After our debrief, Nixon shared with us a few things about himself. He was born and raised on Lani St. Taz and is a lawyer. I was so used to Chi Chi calling him “business guy,” it never occurred to me he might not actually be in business. But given his polished style, I could see why she’d call him that. As he spoke, I felt so incredibly happy for Chi Chi, and the story she told me about him never giving up on her, and his surprise proposal, made complete sense. He struck me as someone who was very content with life. He had a great job, so he likely had a lot of money. I’d guess he had a great apartment in the city since she didn’t move in with him. He seemed very capable and independent. That’s how I knew he loved her. He didn’t need Chi Chi. He wanted her.
Somewhere in the middle of me falling in love with Nixon, I realized there were no babies in the house, so I asked Chi Chi about Karmine and the boys. Her face went from bright and sunny to dark clouds and rain in three seconds flat, and I braced myself for the incoming hurricane of words that were about to assault me. As I retreated into my proverbial bunker, I realized there was no incoming storm. Chi Chi sat quietly, staring at me but not really looking at me. Something went on inside of her that she managed carefully.
Finally, she said, “Karmine eloped. Guess she takes after her ol’ mama, ha ha.”
Her laugh lacked joy. I was so shocked. That may have been the shortest story she ever told me. The part of me who is very much my mother’s son wanted to know the rest of the story while the part of me who knew Chi Chi understood she must have been processing some pain still. Hopefully the guy is more decent than the jerk who left her with three babies. I mean, he has to be, right? He married her knowing full well he’d be involved with another man’s children. Since there was no story, I took the hint and changed the subject to make way for our escape. I told her we were moving back to our house, and we were getting ready to leave when she called. That cheered her up exactly as I expected, and to my surprise, she let us go. I was glad we didn’t have to cancel the move. We’d been hyping up the house to Desi all weekend. I hope she liked it.
