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>_<
Grandpa enjoys an adults-only snowcone. When Caz asks why he can't have one that way, Dustin responds 'trade secret'. Apparently you have to work at the fairgrounds to understand.
Casimir eats breakfast alone in the new house.
Jyoti wakes up alone in the new house.
Dustin learns new recipes in the den. Not exactly alone but not really together, with Leila.
He decided on dim sum. At least the family still gathers for dinnertime.
Jyo's voice interrupts. “How do you like the new place, Jiraya?”
“My room has a nice view.” He comments, eyes on his plate. Then she presses further, and finds out that he hates all the décor as it feels unfamiliar.
“It's a new house, it'll take a while to settle in...” Jyo tries.
Jiraya avoids any further conflict by pretending that his mouth is too full to speak. Moves are excruciating, and he had just begun to feel settled into the other place. He can't explain it now, but it feels like a betrayal. Positives like the fact that he still goes to the same school and doesn't have to make all new acquaintances and friends are not registering for him yet.
Caz comes in just in time to ignore the resulting uncomfortable silence. “What got him all hot under the collar?”
“People don't wear collars anymore, mom.”
“In this town? Yes they do. Starched and everything.”
Casimir also happily leaves the table, as quick as he can. Jiraya gives him a look as he cleans up the plates and shrugs.
Sometimes it's better not to say anything.
Jyo is happy to leave for work today. The skies are wet with million of tiny raindrops, there is a warm breeze and birds call in between the light rain as if to say to her, 'hang in there'. It's nice, it's not stuffy, it's not lonely, like it is inside right now.
Dustin and Meghan decide to have a nice day out together.
Meg stops to pretend to be Leila, of course, as Leila just ran off to find rocks or something else. It's too bad they aren't allowed to make money off of the things she brings home, she explores the town diligently every day.
Meanwhile, Caz stays home. He has yet to discover anything great about this variable and mostly wet weather. So he makes a study date.
Which starts out as a blog reader may expect.
For some reason Caroline likes him even though he still calls her dumb every single time he sees her.
Clearly, he's trying to keep some distance.
The flattery is nice...
...but there is something off-putting in how Caroline's been behaving lately. She used to talk about all kinds of things, and now it's more guarded, as if she doesn't trust his reactions. He hasn't treated her any differently since they were kids. Except for the constantly insulting her part, which may just be hormones. Testing boundaries, and all of that...?
He starts trying to figure her out by saying things that are on his mind. “Did you hear about the senior who barely graduated and has two kids already? The decorator my mother hired for this place is fresh out of college. Look at how bad this room is! Next time, we'll study art the cafe or something. Did you want to see something gross?”
I hope some of these topics are based on her personality because what even are you talking about?
“Bleeehhh...”
...and Caz laughs his butt off at her appropriate reaction. The things sims will do to get clicks...
Caroline has no idea what's going on anyways, so she nods absently while he goes on about other funny videos from that series he could show her.
...and mutters out an awkwardly placed 'you're lucky you're cute' at the end of his rant that he pretends not to hear.
...is she insulting him? Which adolescent young man wants to be called cute? Caz would like to meet him (it would be Emir, probably).
She wants to look at the night sky together, so they do that for a bit. “The view's not bad from the new place.” He comments.
But she's done beating around the bush. “Do you have anyone you like, more than being friends?”
“I don't know...”
This is becoming harder to navigate, and easier to figure out.
She has to head back home before he can draw any sort of conclusions from this.
Which is just as well, because she doesn't witness an immediate tragedy.
Dustin's time is finally up.
Andrea, clearer headed than Meghan, knew that something about him had been off.
Dustin only knows that something is calling him.
It's going to take Meghan a lot longer to understand.
“It's not that bad, Meg. Tingly.”
As often happens during tragic events, the whole family gathers...
So that even Death can't fit into the room.
And a familiar rumbling voice fills Dustin's mind. To the others it sounds more like a low thunder. “Dustin. Spar-row.”
“You can't trick me with this false gravestone.”
“Or this pleasing entrywayyyy.”
Unlike decades earlier, Dustin holds no flower this time, and does as he is bid.
Jiraya, before now, had thought that all of his worst pains were something else.
Even somewhat cynical Casimir can't keep it together.
“I've done all I could, here.” Dustin's voice echos as a soft noise. His family may later even say that they heard it.
Meg's voice echoes behind him as the strength leaves her arms. “Get back here you traitor...”
He shakes one of death's fingers and pretends it disappears. “Got your finger.” He quips. His last words on this plane are a joke.
...and then he's gone.
The new house is christened with the tears of many Sparrows. Hopefully Jyoti can carry on some humor in the house after this, or things will all become far too serious.
Leila howls when she realizes that she's come back home too late to beg for his retrieval.
Jiraya tries to numb his brain right away.
Jyo has resolved that she will try to cook real food on occasion. She makes her dad's favorite.
Meg has her own way of coping.
...by researching ghosts. They have one as a dog, maybe Leila holds a clue that can be utilized. There must be a solution to the problem of not having Dustin. He didn't want to be like Leila, he didn't want to cheat the way Loki did.
Did he mean to leave her behind like this?
She soon realizes that she can make a mimicry of a spirit, not craft a real one.
Caz closes in on himself for a while, not having anyone over for company.
Jiraya, not used to trying to comfort others, makes his best attempt. “At least he got to see the new house before he died.”
“But who's going to feed us now?”
“Shut up, Jiraya.” Casimir mumbles. Clueless as ever.
...what was I mad about again? Oh yeah, everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Relatable.
