Chapter 18 - Of All People...

Stray animals everywhere.

As this kitty sulks away, Tiara watches it sadly. So many of these animals need homes. Is there a way that she can help? She rubs the back of her neck before she walks inside to take care of her own brood.

The brood get along rather nicely, actually.

Toulouse isn't really fond of dirty dishes, though. You never know when those sammich crusts are gonna attack!

Tiara gets a phone call inviting her to Jazlyn Parrott's party, and so she decides to attend. What better way to get some attention than to put on a slightly skanky dress and play your guitar at a party?

Tiara lets it rip.

Reactions are mixed. Everyone's a little afraid to get close to her slightly skanky attire in case it bleeds over onto them.

 

Cooking is not appreciated, Miss Firefighter Woman.

Even if Tiara isn't going to be getting any offers of promotion here, it still gives her a chance to catch up with Jazlyn, who has now had her baby and regained a super tiny figure all over again.

"So, what was wrong with my playing?"

"Well...nothing, actually. It was quite good."

"So why were you all being so...quiet?"

"It's just your...image. A country singer doesn't wear a dress like that to a party. And you dress more like a rocker chick than anything."

"...oh. Umm..."

"Also, you were keeping my baby awake."

Said baby is very upset that no attention is paid to him.

All in all, the party is a wash. Tiara does get some mac and cheese out of the deal, though, which is at least satisfactory. She heads home and changes out of her clothes with a sigh.

She doesn't expect the phone call from Athena.

"Oh. My Plumbob."

"Shut up, my ankles hurt," Athena murmurs sulkily, rubbing her belly.

"What did you DO?!"

"I fell in love, okay?! Thought I did, at least. I don't know. It all happened so fast."

"Oh Watcher. Can I touch it?!"

She can.

"What's the guy's name?"

"Booker. He's a politician. Very well-to-do."

"Are you...are you gonna marry him?"

"I mean, I hope to, if he stops being a jerk lately. He won't even rub my feet. Do you know how miserable that is?"

Tiara can imagine. "So why'd you come over at..." She checks her watch. "...midnight?"

"I just had to get out of the house. I'm not used to living with a man yet."

"Oh Plumbob, you're living with him?!"

"Shut up!" Athena sulks all the way to the chair. "Bring me a book!"

Alma belatedly notices the deer in her photo.

Athena doesn't stay long.

She needs to get home before she makes her politician boyfriend look even worse. He's got an election soon and all that.

P.S. Toulouse grew up too.

Yippie, I can reach the wall dancer now~!

Chapter 17 - Stepping Out

Tiara decides that just one kitten isn't going to keep her company enough. It's time to go meet the neighbors.

The kitty park seems like a good place to start~!

The first person she meets is very pregnant.

"Tiara Toft! Nice to meet you!"

"Jazlyn Parrott." She seems to be perpetually unhappy, but Tiara supposes it must be from being pregnant in constant hot weather like this.

"How much longer do you have to go?" Tiara chirps, studying the belly.

Jazlyn thinks about it for a long moment. "Another day or two, I'd say."

"Oh my gosh, you're going to have such pretty babies!"

This manages to bring a smile to Jazlyn's lips.

Within minutes, the two are fast friends.

Socializing is sweaty work out in the heat of the day, however, and so Tiara makes the public pool her next destination.

Fountains~! Whee!

Tiara distracts herself relatively well with the jets, giggling as she lets them shower down on her, but she's still alert enough to hear a faint chuckle nearby.

"Having fun?" the man asks when he realizes that Tiara notices him. His smile is teasing but not lecherous and thus Tiara has no problem with grinning back and heaving herself out of the water to better talk to him.

Zac Whipsnake is his name and he is almost frighteningly intimidating thanks to heavy eyebrows and a well-cut jawline. Once his first smile vanishes, it never seems to return.

Zac is a natural cook, and Tiara wastes no time in pulling kitchen secrets out of him.

"You see, you have to cube the cheese just so to release the latent flavors. And pair the plate with a good wine. Otherwise it will fall flat as a dessert."

"That is so cool! I never would've thought of that!"

By the time that the two of them have to race off to their respective careers, Zac to the bistro and Tiara to the theater, she has his number tucked safely away in her cell phone.

She's barely walked in the door that night when Toulouse tackles her and mewls pathetically. The scratching post is already worn to shreds and there are claw marks on the couch as well. Tiara huffs...but really, she reasons, she can't be mad at Toulouse. She's the one who left a kitten alone all day and expected him to entertain himself.

It's really not a chore to call up the adoption center and adopt another kitten.

Meet Hitle- I mean, Dizzy!

Dizzy and Toulouse are both extremely hyper kittens. They take two seconds to sniff each other...and then they are running around the house like madmen.

Tiara can only watch those kittens for so long before she sighs and feels that weird urge to go out and be around actual people. Cats are incredible, but they're no replacement for human beings.

The Watering Hole seems like a decent place to check out.

Tiara's never actually had a drink of alcohol. It might be a fun night to do so.

She doesn't quite expect the person at the end of the bar to look so familiar.

"Tiara?" he says, quirking one of those impressive manly man eyebrows at her.

"Fancy meeting you again!" she chirps, shaking his hand. "How was work?"

"About the same as always." He scoffs, looking away. "Got passed over for a promotion. It's bullshit."

She's familiar with these things from her own mother and thus knows how to give the perfect sympathetic nod.

As the two chat, time seems to fall away. More recipes are shared. Tiara chatters about her family and Bridgeport and how Appaloosa Plains is so different from it and how she misses Naomi and her mom...and eventually she realizes that Zac is looking a little overwhelmed with all of the information.

She wracks her brain. WWRD: What Would Rhiannon Do?

"Want a drink?"

Zac nods, looking relieved, and Tiara heads over to the bar.

As she waits for the drinks, however, she makes little peeks over her shoulder at Zac, admiring the strong build of his face and the darkness of his skin. She saw so few people back in Bridgeport that weren't as pale as if they'd never seen the sun in their lives. Meeting Zac feels...like home.

And then there are the times where their eyes meet during those peeks and that a little spark shoots through Tiara's veins. She shivers every time, staring at the bar counter with a giddy smile.

By the time that she turns to bring him their drinks, she can actually feel when Zac's eyes are on her, burning into different parts of her body. It's addicting.

The intensity only builds in his green eyes as they drink and drink and drink, until he's talking in vaguely slurred tones and Tiara's more than delighted that she shunned the alcohol after the first glass for some juice instead. "Wanna dance?"

They dance.

If Tiara is using the excuse to get closer to him, then there's no harm, no foul.

But before she can pull any moves on him, the bar is shut down.

"Guess I'm going," Zac murmurs. "I'll call you sometime?"

"Oh, please do!"

Sleeping isn't as fun when you have a kitten to sit there and screech at you every five minutes for more food instead of a boy to cuddle with.

Chapter 16 - A New Life

 

Tiara and elevators don't get along. At all. She's decided that when she grows up tomorrow, she's going to go somewhere where there's no high rise buildings that force her to use elevators.

"Oh, uh...hi, neighbor. No, don't mind me! Just doing some planking!"

Broaching the subject with her mother isn't as easy as it should be, though. Tiara paints to get out her frustration just in case Rhi will notice the licks she plays.

She actually doesn't notice much of anything tonight. She calls Matthew, who is doing a little freelance work as an actor in a really bad B-movie just for kicks. He plays the part of the mad scientist that gets eaten by the platysnake.

He figures he might as well leave on the outfit just to make Rhiannon giggle, but she's far too nervous to really notice.

when she rounds on him in the living room, she lets out what she's been thinking on for the past several days.

"Matthew, I...look, I don't know what the hell I'm saying, I really don't. But you need to know that..."

Matthew waits patiently, eyes widening behind his goggles.

"...that the days I wasn't around you, when I was hiding from you...those were the worst days of my life."

Matthew opens his mouth to speak, but Rhiannon presses onward. "I'm not saying that I want you to marry me. That'd freak the both of us out. But...I want you to stick around. I don't think anyone else can get me like you do."

Her paramour smiles at her happily. "Rhi, you don't even need to ask."

He stays the night. He needs to get up super early in the morning to head back to the set, though, and Rhi allows it.

Their parting is a little more tender this time.

"I'll be back tonight," he murmurs a breath away from her lips.

"What? Why's that?"

"Because there's no way I'm letting you live in this hellhole any longer. Come stay with me. You can have your own bedroom if you want." He chuckles. "The house is so big you don't even have to see me if you get angry."

Rhi is quiet for a moment. "Can I...let you know?"

Matthew agrees and kisses her goodbye for the day.

The next morning is the twins' birthday.

Athena in particular is ridiculously excited about it.

Hot librarian look: accomplished.

Tiara follows right behind her.

The time's come, she decides. There's no more waiting, not when she's legally out of school and on her own.

"Mom? I need to tell you something."

"What's that?"

"I...I want to move out..."

"Well, yeah, I expected as much."

"...to Appaloosa Plains."

"...what?"

Tiara backpedals a bit. "I mean, you see, big city life, it's really not for me, you know? I've never felt really at home at Bridgeport. I only really liked going to the parks or whatever. Other than that I just...stayed inside all the time." She pauses. "And I hate elevators, that too."

"But couldn't you just move to the suburbs?"

"That's...the fun part. I sort of want to be a country artist."

"You what?!"

Eventually, everything gets worked out. "I'm gonna miss you, kid. I'm gonna miss you a lot."

"Also, I'm coming too." Athena appears behind them with a suitcase.

"You're WHAT?!"

Matthew generously gives the two young adults just enough money to buy tiny starter homes in Appaloosa Plains, since he might as well be their father anyway. After a lifetime of being inseparable, the twins decide a little breathing room might do them some good.

Tiara never really realized just how alone it could feel, though, being in a lonely place like this.

Her first impression is to call Athena and beg her to sell her house and to move in with her immediately. But then she remembers that half of this gig was that whole independence thing...and she's never going to learn that if she can't be by herself for three seconds.

She realizes suddenly that she's never actually been in a place by herself before. Never totally and completely alone. Even when she showered, someone was always chilling in the living room. The thought is awkward and even a little scary.

Alone isn't going to work. She gives in and calls a local pet shelter and asks to adopt a kitten. They promise to bring him over in a few hours.

She redecorates with the money left over from the house until she's ridiculously poor all over again. Designing's never been her specialty, but...eh, maybe one day. For now, she's just glad to have stuff. And room to put it in!

It's the simple things in life, though, that keep her happy and entertained.

And then the doorbell rings and she gets ridiculously excited.

Meet Toulouse!

Toulouse is a very hyper kitten. He runs around the house like a madman and meows happily at just about every moment of the day.

Chase!

The hijinx continue long into the night with owner and cat bonding very well. Toulouse has only just laid down for a nap when Tiara hears a loud banging noise outside. What the hell?

The culprit isn't very hard to guess.

"No! Bad dog!"

The dog looks up at her sleepily, skinny from malnutrition, and Tiara doesn't have the heart to chase him away. "...hey there, little guy. Are you hungry?"

Even though she's more fond of cats than anything, there's still something extremely adorable in the dog approaching her slowly and sniffing her hand.

When she reaches to pet him, however, he shies away.

The dog darts away, and Tiara is left staring after him with a frown. There's so many creatures here. So many strays. She was a fool to think that just by adopting one from the pet store that she would be satisfied.

Something has to be done about these poor critters.

-----

Generation 2 is on!

I didn't feel like letting Tiara move out on her own with nobody around her that she knew. She's a social creature, and she legitimately has never been alone before in the game, haha. I figured Athena wouldn't want to be too far away from her either. So I moved them into town together.

Gen 2 Rules:

Status: Single Parent
Number of children: 4
Primary Income: Music (Rock Star)
Generation Goal: Change of Scenery
More Fun: Half-Siblings

Very similar to last time. I'm counting the move to AP as the Change of Scenery because I'm a spoilsport like that. I shall dearly miss Rhi, Matthew, Glynnis, and Naomi. And Octavio, I suppose, even though he got a sort of bit role, haha.

Rhi got lucky. She got to the top of her career (which was her LTW) the day before the twins had their birthdays. I still have no idea how. So much Work Hard. SO MUCH.