35. SLICE OF LIFE

Morning greeted them with a bit of a surprise.

Bas: I don’t really know how to tell you this.

Laura: What happened?

Bas: The condom broke last night. I only noticed now.

Laura: Hmm… I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what comes of it.

Bas: You’re not mad?

Laura: We’re adults, Bas. Things like this happen sometimes. Better now than back when we were still in school.

Bas: That’s true.

Eventually, another moment of truth arrived—introducing Olimpia to the current situation. They decided not to mention the potential half-sibling just yet, since nothing was certain. To the relief of both, Bas and Laura, Ollie reacted quite positively to the news of their engagement.

When Laura went to the bathroom, Bas took the opportunity to double check Ollie’s attitude.

Bas: You really don’t mind?

Olimpia: Laura seems pretty cool.

Bas: But…?

Olimpia: But you know, Dad, you could’ve said something earlier. I’m not a little kid anymore.

Bas: Eh… you’re right. I just didn’t want to complicate things.

Olimpia: Yeah… you did reaaally great, didn't you... You adults are super naive.

Bas: Naive?

Olimpia: Yeah. You think kids don’t notice anything.

Olimpia: And I figured out a long time ago that something was going on. I understand a lot already. Wren explained it to me.

Bas: Wren…?

Olimpia: Yeah, Wren. My friend. Just don’t bring some drooling baby into the house, okay?

Bas: …Excuse me, what?

Olimpia: Oh wow, do I really have to explain everything to you?

Bas: Maybe start with what exactly Wren told you.

Olimpia: Uhh… well, Wren has a horse, Starbrite, and when I met them, Starbrite was a foal, and Wren explained where do foals come from...

Bas: I think I need to talk to your mother.

Olimpia: I’d better go to my room now...

Bas: We’ll come back to this conversation later.

The following days brought news, both bad and good. First, Laura received a call from Maria. Orion had died in a fire. It was shocking. Their marriage lasted such a short time. Just recently, they were all celebrating at their wedding.

However, another piece of news quickly overshadowed the first. That very same day, Laura discovered she was pregnant.

Saying the future parents were happy would be an understatement. They were over the moon. Even Oreo seemed to sense that something important had happened.

Ollie genuinely grew to like Laura and sincerely wanted them to become friends. Laura, for her part, tried very hard to win Ollie over. She cared just as much about making it work. Olimpia’s final verdict was that Laura was actually really cool!

But it wasn’t all roses. One time, Ollie wanted to touch Laura’s belly, but Laura happened to be in a bad mood and reacted very impulsively. In response to the outburst, Ollie didn’t hold back either… Laura was still upset, but she knew she had provoked that reaction.

After all, it wasn’t the child’s fault. How could she have known Laura’s mood swings would take that turn? Laura sincerely apologized and eventually let Ollie feel her belly after all. Ollie was delighted. Despite her earlier worries about a drooling baby, she couldn’t wait to have a sibling.

Laura truly felt guilty about how badly she treated Ollie earlier, so she wanted to make it up to her and gave the girl a bicycle. At first, Ollie wasn’t very impressed with the gift. Only over time did she gain confidence while riding it.

Meanwhile, Bas had some trouble at work. He made a few bad decisions, upset his boss, and his rivalry with Mikołaj was still ongoing. Eventually, he swallowed his pride and came to an agreement with his rival, which resulted in a promotion for both of them! Now they work together on a new patent.

Laura didn’t slow down either. She received a new project from Nadya Kishki. Nadya listed art deco as her favorite style, and pink as the favorite color, of course. After finalizing the details, Laura sent her client away and got to work.

It wasn’t easy to remodel the dining room so it fit the art deco style and still matched the vibe of their home. Laura wasn’t completely satisfied with the result, but she couldn’t do any better while sticking to the client’s wishes. Before and after:

Her worries turned out to be unnecessary. Nadya loved her new dining room. Laura received a large payment for the job and a promotion. And from all the joy and pride in a job well done, she even discovered she was a Cheerful Sim.

The pregnancy was a time of genuine happiness for both of them. It was completely different from previous experience, and Bastian couldn’t believe how calm and blissful this time was. They didn’t even mind reading the children’s book upside down! ;)

They also decided to leave a message on the lovers’ wall. They’re so happy that I’m almost afraid the game might come up with something.

In the evenings, Laura liked to paint city landscapes. Such a pity that all her paintings will fade into blank white canvases over time (I forgot this bug is still a thing...).

Ollie, despite being such an adventurous girl, is actually quite fearful! She’s afraid of everything, unlike her dad at her age. She had barely overcome her fear of the dark when a monster under the bed started waking her up every night. Luckily, Rob is on guard!

Just to be safe, Laura had all the necessary tests done. The ultrasound showed a strong, healthy baby girl!

Guadelupe finally decided to put her cards on the table and directly invited Bastian on a date. Apparently, the latest revelations hadn’t reached her yet. Oh well… it was never meant to be. Bastian politely suggested they remain friends.

Laura received another tragic piece of news. This time, Karmine Luna had been eaten by a cowplant… I guess, her macabre trait finally caught up with her.

Laura: Bas, I’m starting to get scared. What if this is something like Final Destination? Maybe it’s because of those spirit-summoning games we played as kids? What if we’re next?

Bas: Hey, calm down. It was just an accident. Nothing more.

Laura still didn’t feel reassured, so when she received a message from her doctor the next morning about a serological conflict, she immediately went to the hospital for more tests and medication—just in case, to make sure nothing was overlooked.

Paul surprised Bas by inviting him on a trip to the Romance Festival.

Bas: Man, I know you’re grieving Karmine. I know you’re probably feeling really confused right now, but trust me, this isn’t the way. Give yourself some time before you start dating someone.

Since Ollie improved her grades to C’s, Bas had a surprise for her for Kids Day.

Olimpia: Uh… a sleeping bag?

Bas: That’s just part of the gift, you’ll need it later. Your mom and I talked, and we agreed you can go to a summer camp.

Olimpia: NO WAY! A CAMP??? WOW!! THANK YOU!!!

Kids Day was very successful. 

The labor caught them by surprise, ekhm... Laura was a bit scared, while Bastian didn’t panic at all. Then again, he wasn’t the one about to push a new Sim into the world…

That day, little Antonia was born.

Antonia instantly stole her parents’ hearts.

Ollie really wanted to meet her baby sister. But not everything went according to plan. The baby started crying loudly, and Ollie got scared. Luckily, Laura quickly took control of the situation and calmed both girls with truly maternal instinct. Ollie truly trusts her now.

Little Antonia grew quickly and soon went from a newborn to a full-fledged infant. To her parents’ relief, she rolled the Calm trait. And you can already tell, she’s just like her mom 😄

<<<Previous chapter: 34. STARS OF DEL SOL VALLEY