Brilliant Minds: The Wainwrights of Sunset Valley – Chapter 40

Brilliant Minds: The Wainwrights of Sunset Valley

Chapter 40

Shortly after Orion’s birthday was Snowflake Day.  When Blair and her family arrived for the gift giving party her parents threw, she hoped that it would be a merrier occasion than Orion’s birthday had been.  Although she was no longer upset by her parents’ deception and had forgiven them, she looked forward to a cheerful family celebration with no drama.

Not that it was only family at this gift giving party.  Her parents invited several family friends as well, including the Bunch family, an older woman she didn’t recognize, and an elder man she only knew was Simis Bachelor because she’d given him a ticket for running a stop light earlier that week.  Cycl0n3 whispered to her that he was “mouthwash girl’s cheap dad, the one I used to work for” from his first P.I. case so long ago.  Blair had no idea how her parents knew Mr. Bachelor, but he and Boyd were amused at something that had her father almost doubled over laughing.  Blair was somewhat surprised the Goth family wasn’t there, too.  Regardless, her family seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Patrick was chatting it up with Penny Bunch, while Susan enthused about their expensive stereo to Penny’s older sister, Lisa.

“Oh, the sound quality is exceptional with this system.  You can’t go wrong with this brand.  It’s expensive, but totally worth it.”

“I’ll have to have VJ get me one, then.”  Lisa smiled in that superior way she’d always had about her since she was a young girl.  Now, she was grown, and her usually slim build had changed with the roundness of the second trimester of pregnancy.

Jack Bunch scoffed at that remark.  “I’d like to know how he can afford it, on a shipping clerk’s pay, when you two have that baby to think about.  Did he even help you with your house payment this time?  Maybe he should put his money toward that instead of expensive speakers.”

“Don’t start, Dad.”  Lisa rolled her eyes.  Jack had never liked her boyfriend, VJ, and if it was the same VJ that came to Blair’s mind when she heard the name, she couldn’t blame him.

Susan decided to end the awkward conversation by calling everyone to open presents.  “So, who’d like to get started on this big pile of gifts, huh?”

A cheerful mood spread throughout the room, while the kids bounced with enthusiasm.  Everyone took their seats so they could get started, and the adults agreed that the children could go first.  They passed a gift to Penny, who started it off.  Patrick was a little disappointed he didn’t get to, but Susan whispered to him that it was polite to let guests go first.

“Your mom’s got dumb rules,” Buddy grumbled next to him.

Penny was very happy with the toy she got, and said thank you for it while clapping happily.  Next it was Patrick’s turn.  When he opened the box, there was a cute white holiday bear with a bright red ribbon around its neck inside.  “Oh, a snow bear!  Thanks!”

“You don’t like him more than me, do you?” asked Buddy.

“‘Course not.”

“Good.”

Susan saw Patrick talking to himself and gave him an odd look, but didn’t say anything as she opened a gift for Orion, who was still too little to participate.  It was a stuffed bear that looked a lot like a robot.  “Oh, how adorable!” she exclaimed.  “He’ll love it.”

Blair opened Chris’ gift next, a toy truck.  “So cute!”  She made a “vroom” noise as she pushed it on the floor.  “He’ll have fun with this.”

“So will you,” teased Cycl0n3.

The adults began opening gifts next.  When it was Boyd’s turn, he was thrilled to see a brand new Maxoid Game Simulator 2 ½ in the box.  “Yes!  Thank you!  I was planning to get one of these!”

“I’m kind of surprised you didn’t have one already,” remarked Cycl0n3.

“I have the last gen console in the rec room upstairs, and the GUGA Joy Toy 3 down here.  But I can’t wait to see how the upgraded graphics look on the big screen over there.”

“You have a lot of video games, don’t you?” asked Judy.

“I’ve got a decent collection.”

“By ‘decent collection’ he means everything from his original Simtari 2600 to this and about twenty different systems in between,” Susan pointed out.

“Hey.  They all still work.  Besides, someone still likes having her classic Plumtendo Tetris game to mess around on,” he pointed out.

Susan smirked knowingly.  “That’s because no one can beat someone’s high score at it, to this day.”

Buddy leaned over to Patrick and whispered in his ear.  “Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks.”

Patrick giggled.

Next it was Susan’s turn.  Her box was small, but there was a note inside telling her what the true gift was, with a picture: a brand new premium chess table with hand-carved pieces inlaid with gold accents.  The actual chess set was in the garage, still boxed and stored safely to be brought in and opened later, after the party.  “Wow!  This is amazing!  I can’t wait to put it up and try it out.”

“Just the thing for someone so close to the fourth rank.”  Boyd was glad to see her so happy.

Blair grinned.  “Now you can trounce your opponents in style, Mom.”

“And I shall!  Oh, I shall!”

After everyone was finished opening gifts, Boyd and Cycl0n3 wasted no time setting up Boyd’s new video game system.  Cycl0n3 had the same system at home already—he had ordered it the day it came out—and he’d gotten a new game for it as a gift, so it was new for both of them.  Once it was hooked up, they put in Cycl0n3’s new game and gave it a try.

“That looks cool.  Can I play, too?” asked Patrick.

“Sure.  As soon as I finish kicking your dad’s plumbob, you can have my controller,” Cycl0n3 replied with a grin.

“I’d like to see you try.  Bring it,” Boyd taunted back.

Patrick sat down to watch while Buddy wandered off.  “I’m bored.  I don’t want to watch grown-ups play.”

Soon it was time for the other main attraction of the Snowflake Day party—the yummy treats.  Unlike at Feast Day, where they served a huge meal, at this party there were all sorts of yummy appetizers and desserts to fill up on.  Susan made several herself, but some of the guests also brought dishes to share.  Everyone had their decadent fill before it was over, and with full bellies and happy faces, they all wished one another a happy Snowflake Day at the end of the night.

After the holiday, Boyd and Susan got more good news.  Just before they left work, the board officially granted each of them a new title of Top Secret Researcher.  Since they were the lab owners, it was only a formality, but it felt good to have the official promotion and salary on paper as well.

It was still not the highest they could rise, however.  There were two higher ranks in the system, but no scientist in their lifetimes had ever held them.  They were not positions that someone could attain simply by owning the company or having the favor of the board, but reserved for individuals who made breakthroughs recognized outside of the company and in the scientific community as a whole.  Both of the Wainwrights aspired to that status, and for Boyd, doing so would mean the achievement of a lifelong dream.  With what they’d already achieved, it was within reach, and Boyd and Susan were very excited.

Making such progress at work motivated them to work on their personal goals on the home front, as well.  Susan invited more challengers to ranked chess matches and officially achieved the fourth rank.  Her skill and confidence rose with each victory, and she was excited to imagine that before long, she might achieve the high and prestigious fifth rank.

“An international champion,” she mused dreamily after winning her latest match.  “That would be amazing.”

“You’ll make it.  I have no doubt.”  Boyd smiled at her from where he’d put Orion in his walker.

Their alien son was growing strong and fast.  He had already learned to walk; the walker was more for his own entertainment and protection than actual need.  Orion was not as accident-prone as his nephew Chris, but he was fearless, and that made Boyd anxious.  A toddler with no concept of danger was a catastrophe waiting to happen, and the walker made it harder for him to get anywhere unsafe.  Little Orion also liked the buttons and shapes.  “Star!  Star!” he would say, in a baby voice that had a slight reverberation to it, while he pushed it to make it light up.

“There’s a championship gathering in Champs Les Sims soon,” Susan said as she watched Orion play.  “I’m considering signing up for it.  I think I’m ready, and if I win, I’d make rank five!  Even if I lose, the experience against players on that level will make me a better player for next time.”

“I’m sure it would.  When is it?”

“That’s the thing.  It’s only a few weeks away, and it’s in France.  An international trip.  I know our passports are still valid from when we went to Isla Paradiso, and we got one for Patrick a while back, but—”

“We probably couldn’t get one for Orion in time.”

Susan nodded.  “And I’m not sure taking him on such a trip would be a great idea.  Exposing him to strangers from all around the world?”

“No.  We don’t want a lot of curious eyes on him, especially on a trip where we’d have a higher profile than an ordinary vacation.”  Boyd considered their options.  “We could ask Blair to watch him while we’re gone.  There’s no one he’d be safer with than with her.”

Susan stood and smiled.  “All right, then.  I’ll apply and see if I’m accepted to compete.  If I am… we’ll plan a trip to France.”

While Susan and Boyd discussed their plans inside, Patrick played outside with Buddy.  They’d been out in the snow all afternoon.  First they built an igloo by the greenhouse, and after playing in that, they made snow angels and built a snowman by the pool.  Buddy giggled mischievously.  “Hehehe!  Think he could swim?”

“There’s ice on the pool.  Besides, he’d melt if he got wet.  You’re so mean sometimes,” laughed Patrick.  “What’d Frosty do to you?”

“He just has a funny face.”  Buddy tweaked the snowman’s carrot nose.  “Besides, he’ll never be as cool as me.”  He struck a dramatic pose.

“Nah, but he’d be colder.  ‘Cause he’s made of snow.”  Patrick shivered.  He was getting cold from being outside so long.  “So, want to go in and get some hot chocolate or watch TV?”

“Okay.  Maybe I’ll put a whoopee cushion on the couch!  It was really funny when the babysitter sat on it.”

Patrick laughed with him.  “I know!  She tried to blame Orion for the farting!”

“She turned redder than your mom’s shirt.”

“Too bad she didn’t believe me when I said you did it after she found it,” Patrick said as they went inside.  He hadn’t gotten in trouble, but the babysitter had complained for what felt like forever about it.

The next day was the weekend, and the Wainwrights used the time to work on their hobbies.  Although it was still icy cold outside and snow was still falling, winter was almost over.  They’d been able to keep their established plants healthy in their greenhouse, but in the dead of winter, the days were too short for efficient growth.  Now that the days were getting longer again, they had some experimental seeds they wanted to plant.

One was a beautiful golden-toned seed that had a very rare strain of plant DNA matching what their lab records identified as a money tree.  Although there was a saying that it didn’t grow on trees, the truth was that there was a tree that produced leaves valued as currency to collectors that could be sold for a good amount of money.  The plants required high skill to keep alive and grow, and thus were quite rare, but Boyd and Susan had become expert botanists over the years.  Now that they’d obtained the seed, they were certain they could grow it, especially after successfully growing plants like the wild flame fruit, life fruit started from seed, and the crystal flower from Oasis Landing.

After that, they planted one of their experimental spliced seeds.  A while back, Boyd successfully put sim DNA into a seed that they hoped would grow into a rare forbidden fruit.  Those plants were notoriously unstable, prone to rot and damage, and required expert knowledge to bring to maturity, so a viable specimen was priceless from a scientific perspective.  It was said that consuming the fruits could genetically alter someone to the point where they became part plant.  Obviously, neither Boyd nor Susan wanted any part of that, but they were both curious about the nature of the compounds that could cause such a transformation.  If their seed produced a viable specimen, they could re-plant it at the lab and establish formal research on it.

Later that day, their neighbor Nick Alto stopped by to visit.  Susan played a game of chess with him while Boyd indulged a whim to paint.  Patrick had been spending a lot of time in front of the easel lately, and his enthusiasm for it inspired Boyd to give it a try.  He was far from the natural artist his son was, but he had fun swishing bright neon colors all over the canvas anyway.

“I think you’re getting more paint on the drop cloth than you are the canvas,” Susan quipped when she glanced over.  “And is it on your shoes?”

He bent over and wiped off a splotch of green with a rag.   “Just a little.  It’s fine.”

Susan shook her head; she had long since given up trying to break Boyd of his sloppy habits.  “Well, be careful about tracking it off the cloth.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Don’t think I won’t ground you, too.”  Susan raised an eyebrow at his cheekiness.

“Oh, believe me, I know.”

“You’re brave, risking her ire.”  Nick looked at the board.  “Especially considering what she just did to my army in her last two moves.  That’s checkmate, isn’t it?”

Susan smiled.  “It is, but I didn’t want to rub it in.”

“I see.  A gracious victory, not something I’m used to.  Not in my line of work.”

“Ah, yes, business can be quite ruthless,” Susan remarked.

“Yes.  Business certainly can.”  That wasn’t quite what he had meant, but there was no need for the Wainwrights to know that.  “Speaking of which, are you looking for investors by chance?  Vita and I have been talking about diversifying our interests, and a scientific research venue not owned by Landgraabs could easily be a consideration.”

“Well, we’re not going that route yet, but if we do, I’ll let you know.”

“Fair enough.  Good luck with it.  I’ve heard good things about the place under your ownership.”

“You have?”  Susan beamed with pride.  “I’m so glad.  We’ve worked hard at it.”

Orion began to fuss, so Boyd abandoned his painting to take care of him.  “I’ve got you.  What’s the matter?”  He bounced him to calm him down while Nick came over to the playpen.

“Is that the little boy you adopted?  Vita told me about him.”

“Sure is.  Can you say hi to Mr. Alto?”  Boyd prompted Orion to wave, and he stared at Nick.

“Hi!”

Nick gave the toddler a warmer and more genuine smile than he normally showed.  Despite his ruthless reputation, he had a soft spot for children.  “Hello there.”

It was then that Patrick came into the room.  “And you must be the older boy.  Patrick, right?”  Nick glanced at Susan, who nodded.

“Patrick, this is Mr. Alto, our neighbor.”

“Hi,” Patrick greeted him cheerfully.  He noticed the chess board.  “Did my mom just beat you at chess, too?”

“Patrick!”  Susan was a bit taken aback by his bluntness, but Nick didn’t seem to mind.

“Quite soundly, I’m afraid.”

“I figured.  She beats everyone.  She’s gonna go beat everyone in France soon, too.”

“In France?”

“I signed up for a competition on the chess circuit in Champs Les Sims.”  Susan couldn’t hide her pride.  “But I haven’t heard if I’ve been accepted or not.”

“Oh.  Well, in that case, good luck.  Champs Les Sims is a lovely town.  You’ll like it.  Vita and I vacationed there when Holly was in grade school.  Several historical sites, fine dining and music, and the nectary’s got some vintages you can’t get anywhere else in the world.”

“What kind of music?” asked Patrick.

“French music,” Nick said with a chuckle.  “I’m not a musician, so I can’t get more technical than that.  My daughter loves the arts, and she had a wonderful time there.  She was, well, probably about your age at the time.  She enjoyed the museum quite a bit, too.  There are works from some of the finest artists in the world there.”

The thought excited Patrick.  “Cool!  I can’t wait!”

---

 

That evening, the Wainwrights gathered at Blair’s house to celebrate Chris’ birthday.  It seemed to Susan and Boyd like it hadn’t been that long ago that they’d attended his first birthday party.  Time had flown, and soon Chris would be off to his first day of school.  This time, Blair and Cycl0n3 decided to keep it casual, a quiet gathering with just family, a relaxed atmosphere, and yummy cake.

“Don’t choke on your cake,” Cycl0n3 teased Chris as he wolfed it down.  “I wouldn’t want to have to Heimlich you on your birthday.”

“Aw, I’m fine.”  It was one of accident-prone Chris’ most oft-uttered phrases.  Luckily, he’d never been seriously injured, but Cycl0n3 and Blair joked that they should buy stock in the bandage company for all the minor scrapes he got.

“You should join Sim Scouts with me,” Patrick said.  “We could go on trips together even though I’m in an older grade.”

“Speaking of trips, I have a favor to ask,” Susan said while she and Blair enjoyed their cake.  “I’ve got an opportunity to get to the fifth chess rank, international, if I compete in the upcoming tournament in Champs Les Sims.  If they accept me, would you mind having Orion stay with you while we go?  Patrick will be coming with us.  One little brother is enough to ask you to take care of, and I think the educational experience will be good for Patrick if he comes along.”

Blair laughed.  “Sure.  But wow, I wish I could go, too.  Lucky you!  A vacation to France sounds fun.  Unfortunately there’s no way I can work that into our schedule on short notice.”

“I figured as much, otherwise you know you’d have been welcome.”  Susan gave her a rueful smile.  “I know we never got to take such lavish vacations when you were Patrick’s age.”

“It’s okay.  I’m glad he’ll be able to.  And you and Dad, too.  Don’t worry.  One day Cycl0n3 and I will get our chance to travel and all that stuff if we want.”

“Yeah, assuming they let you use your vacation time,” Cycl0n3 groused from over on the couch.

“Anyway, of course we’ll be happy to have Orion over.  Just let us know when.”

“So is it true you get a lot of homework every night in school?  Penny said it gets worse every grade.”  Because they were neighbors, Chris often played with Penny Bunch.

“It’s not that bad.  Especially when you first start.  As long as you’re smart, anyway.  Buddy says we’re smarter than most of the other kids, though.”

“Buddy?  You mean your doll?”

“Oh, he’s not just a doll!  He evolves like a Voidcritter.  He gets big like us, and I can talk to him.  But he’s invisible to everyone else.”

Chris made a face.  “What?  I never heard of that.  You’re making that up.  Toys can’t do that.”

“No.  It’s true! I’m serious.”

“None of my toys ever evolved and talked to me.”

“That’s because you don’t have an imaginary friend,” Cycl0n3 pointed out from the couch.

Patrick shot Cycl0n3 an indignant look.  “He’s not imaginary.  You just can’t see him.”

“Well, how come none of mine did, then?” asked Chris.

“Maybe you just don’t have the same kind of doll Buddy is.”

“What kind of doll is he?”

“He was a present.  One of our relatives sent it to him when he was a baby,” Boyd said.  “I think we asked you two about it back then.”

Cycl0n3 remembered.  “Oh, the creepy doll!  Yeah, Chris, I didn’t think you needed your own Chucky.”

Both Chris and Patrick looked at Cycl0n3 confused.  “What’s a Chucky?”

“Something from a movie neither of you should be watching at your age,” Blair said before changing the subject.  “Speaking of which, time to open your presents!”

Chris was thrilled with his birthday gifts, and got several toys he’d been wanting.  He and Patrick played together for a while, and they even let Orion hang out with them in his room for a bit before it was time to go.  Boyd gave him a hug.  “Happy birthday, kiddo.  I still can’t believe how big you are.”

“Thanks, Grandpa.  And thank you for the video game.”

“You’re welcome.  Have fun with it.”

“Thank you, too, Grandma,” Chris said as Susan took her turn to hug him.

“You’ve very welcome, sweetie.  You deserve the best.  Happy birthday!”

The doorbell rang, and Blair let Judy Bunch in.  “Susan, Boyd, hello.  We just brought over a present for Chris.  Penny will be right over.  She’s still getting her boots on.”

“Okay.”

“See you at school,” Patrick told Chris as he, his parents, and Orion got their coats on.  “Bye, Blair!  Bye, Cycl0n3!”

“Bye!” Blair called back, while Cycl0n3 waved.

Soon after Chris’ birthday came another: Cycl0n3’s.  He didn’t want a big party, though, and decided to celebrate with Blair and Chris over dinner at the lounge where he and Blair had been married.  “I don’t need a bunch of people to get together and tell me how old I am.”

Blair recalled all the jokes he’d cracked at the expense of their older friends on their birthdays.  “Afraid of payback?”

“Maybe a little,” he admitted.  “Besides, I don’t like to think of myself as old.  Old is for, you know, old people.  Old people don’t do the fun stuff I do.”

“What?  Watch TV and play video games?” Blair retorted with a laugh.  “Yeah, I don’t know any older people who do that.  I’m definitely not related to any.”

“Well, your parents are old geeks.  That’s different.  They’ve always been old and geeky, haven’t they?”

“And now, so are you.”  Blair giggled.

“Thanks.  I love you too, babe.”

What Cycl0n3 didn’t know was that his friends weren’t going to let him get away with not celebrating such a milestone so easily.  Tamara, Emma, and Stiles had conspired with Blair to surprise him with a celebration at the lounge when they got there, cake and all.

“Surprise, you old nerd!” Tamara teased with a grin.  “Happy birthday!”

“Aw, come on!  I said ‘no parties,’” Cycl0n3 grumbled good-naturedly.

“This isn’t a party.  It’s a small social gathering of select friends who happened to bring a birthday cake for dessert after dinner,” Blair said cheerfully.

Emma looked around.  “Not a balloon in sight, so definitely not a birthday party by my definition.  Blair didn’t say that you said ‘no celebrating,’ right?”

“Oh, so you’re pulling technicalities on me?”

“Same way you did all the time back when you lived with us,” Emma replied.  “Now blow out your candles before we start a fire here, geezer.”

“You do have a point.  Stiles is here, and we know his luck with birthday cakes.”

“Man, that was the worst birthday ever.”  Stiles shook his head.  “Don’t remind me.”

“That’s all right.  You’re not far from your next one, anyway.  We’ll make your sendoff to the retirement home better.”

Stiles chortled.  “Thanks.  Now shut up and blow out your candles, Cycl0n3.”

“Yes, sir, Grouchy Old Cane Shakin’ McGraw.”

Everyone cheered as Cycl0n3 blew out his candles, and even though he hadn’t expected his friends to surprise him, he appreciated the gesture.  “Okay.  It’s official.  I’m old.”  He glanced at the clock.  “You may indulge in the appropriate mockery for a brief and festive time, while we consume sugary cake that my doctor will probably start lecturing me about eating now that I’m old and have to take care of myself.”  He took his cake and headed for a table.

Chris took his slice.  “Don’t worry, Dad.  You were always old to me!”

That got a laugh from everyone, and Emma gave him a thumbs-up.  “I love this kid.”

“So, Tam, got any tips for me on this middle age thing?  You’ve been there a while now, rocking those ‘silver highlights.’  Got more of those, I see.”

“You know, Cycl0n3, I’m not too old or mature to not give you a face full of frosting.”

“There’s precedent for that here if you want to,” giggled Blair.  “Remember how I got him on our wedding day?”

Cycl0n3 smirked.  “Come on, now, Tam.  No one ever said you were mature.”

“You should talk.  But since it’s your birthday, I’ll be nice.”  She took a bite of her cake and smiled.  “I’ve got one tip for you.  At your age, you should know how to use a razor.  But if not, full beards are distinguished.”

“But then I really will look like a boring old dad, and the family’s already got one of those.  Space wouldn’t appreciate the competition.”

Blair giggle-snorted from the next table over, where she was eating cake with Chris and Emma.  “That, and Cycl0n3 says he looks like a twelve year old when he shaves.  ‘Cause he’s got that cute little baby face.”

“I do,” Cycl0n3 argued, making a face.  “Except now I more like an aging twelve year old with wrinkles.”  He sighed.

“So, how are things with you, Emma?” asked Blair.  “We haven’t had a chance to talk in a while.”

“Pretty good.  I got promoted to Pastry Chef last week, and catered some big events.  My sheet cake for the holiday staff party at Doo Peas got a personal compliment from Nancy Landgraab herself.”

“Wow.  I’ve met her.  She’s hard to impress.”

“Yeah, it felt pretty good.  Jared helped me out a lot with that one.  Did I tell you we’re together now?”

“I saw it on Simbook.”  Blair tried to be happy for Emma’s sake.  She hadn’t interacted with Jared Frio in a long time, but the impression he’d left back during that child support case had been a bad and lasting one.  Blair hoped he’d changed for the better since.  Emma deserved to be with someone with as warm and generous as she was.

Emma picked up on Blair’s reaction.  “I know he never gave you the warm fuzzies.  He’s done some messed up things for sure.  I’ve given him hell for them when he has.  But that’s also why we get each other.  We’ve got a lot in common, we’ve known each other for years, and been friends for most of it, even when we don’t agree.  I don’t put up with his attitude.  Never have.  He respects me for that.  And I know you get what it’s like to be friends with someone and then have it turn into more.”

“Yeah.  I do.”  Blair looked over fondly at Cycl0n3.  “I hope you and him will be very happy.”

“Thanks.  Me, too.”  She chuckled.  “It’s looking like things are finally working out for all of us that way.  Tam’s happy with Parker, and Stiles even found someone after so much bad luck.  He was pretty mopey for a while.  Even his music got depressing!  But he and Agnes are happy together.”  Emma finished her cake, set down her fork, and turned to Chris.  “Oh, you poor kid.  Listening to us gossip like old ladies ourselves about boring mushy love stuff.  Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”  Chris grinned.  “Mom didn’t even notice that I had two pieces of cake.  Thanks for keeping her busy being boring.”

Both Blair and Emma were amused.  “You are your father’s son, no doubt about it.”

“Don’t worry.  Despite that, he’s still cute,” teased Emma.

“I see they’ve got a domino table over there,” said Blair.  “How about we play a game?”

Emma got a drink to wash down the frosting-rich cake while Cycl0n3 and Stiles joined Blair and Chris for a game of dominoes.  “How have you been?” Blair asked Stiles.

“Same old, same old.  Aside from selling some albums and getting bigger gigs out of town.  We played in Bridgeport last month.”

“Nice.  I heard your latest album.  Good stuff,” Cycl0n3 said as he played his turn.  “It always amused me how you have such a country name but your music has such a strong electronic sound to it.”

“Well, Pauline and I have both always been into that, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.  This might be our last album, though.  She hasn’t made any formal announcement yet, but Zelda found out she’s pregnant, and, well, she’s my age, so the doctor doesn’t want her on stage much, and definitely not touring.  Not that I don’t have plenty to do at the theater and managing other stuff, and I’ve even got a few solo projects, but still.”

“Wow!  Congratulations to Zelda, then.”  Blair made her move.

Cycl0n3 laughed and placed his piece.  “Having kids while old seems to be trendy these days.  Your move, Chris.”

“Thanks for calling me old again, by association, on your birthday, by the way,” Stiles said dryly.  “Nice to know age hasn’t changed you.”

“I’d never want to be old and boring.”  He looked at Chris as he placed his piece.  “What do you say, youngest one at the table?  Am I old and boring?”

“You’re not boring,” Chris replied with a gleam in his eye.

“Plum,” laughed Cycl0n3.  “The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Blair set her piece down and giggled.  “Not at all.”

---

Author’s Note:  I wanted to have this update posted sooner than a month after the last one, but a recent job switch to 12 hour night shifts has wreaked havoc on my free time.  Now I know how vampires feel keeping these hours!  Anyhow, this chapter encompassed a few game days, so with that came more birthdays, and thus, an update to the Children of Sunset Valley post.