Chapter 23: Not Depressed, Just Sad

The Hands have purchased a Sim Gnubb set. Shanti recaps the events of last chapter to Alexander over a game.

"Ida is struggling, emotionally," she tells him. "She's no longer delusional, but with what happened with her and Marlin, coupled with her over-emotional trait, she's become depressed. I'm sure Marlin would love to get back together, and I told her that, but she wouldn't listen." Shanti is frustrated with her daughter for refusing to see reason.

"Ultimately, it's her choice," says Alex. "She may want to be alone, after such a traumatizing experience. And it's Marlin's choice, too, whether he wants to be with someone with... difficulties."

"How can you even say that? Now that she knows how to breathe deeply and cope with feeling out of sorts, she won't have any trouble with instability in the future. What she needs now is the support of her loved ones. I'm actually quite angry with that boy for not coming back, not even to see if she's all right."

While her parents bicker, Ida holes up in the basement. Bot-building is the only thing that can capture her interest these days, so she's thrown herself into it with all her might.

It's not the same as before, though.

But Shanti is underestimating Ida's ability to bounce back. She's not depressed, only sad, and if she's a bit sluggish and tired recently, it's only because she's starting to feel the effects of what Shanti suspected last chapter.

Once it's confirmed, Ida breathes into a paper bag like her mother showed her. She doesn't know if she's feeling strange because of the pregnancy or her instability, but she's decided to be as safe as possible to avoid another episode.

She also decides that the house needs an upgrade; the spare room is cramped and the nursery/laundry room is unbelievably cluttered and impossible to navigate.

She demolishes Rain's old room to make space for an expanded kitchen and open dining area, and builds a nursery on the second floor, so the laundry room can be used as a spare room and storage for the beds and things the family doesn't use anymore.

House pic spam:

The exterior gets some half-hearted landscaping, too:

Next up is to break the news of her pregnancy to her family. Shanti already knew, and only wishes Ida could have married Marlin first. She's also very happy that she is going to live to see her grandchild be born. Alex is happy as well, and paints little pictures for the new nursery.

Ida calls Rain and tells her over the phone. Rain's already heard about Ida and Marlin's fight; Marlin is still one of her best friends, after all. It's putting Rain in an awkward position, but of course her loyalty is to her sister first, always. Rain insists on coming over right away to see her sister.

"If you need anything at all, just let me know," Rain tells her. "I've got your back."

"Well, there is one thing you could do. You don't have to! But I'd like you to consider it." Ida takes a deep breath. "I want you to tell Marlin about the baby. He has a right to hear it from me, of course, but.. I'm scared, you know? I know he'll want to see the baby, and be a part of its life, he's a good guy, but I'm scared to see him again. I don't know how he feels about me right now, and... well, could you just talk to him for me? Please?"

Rain sighs. It's a difficult spot she's being put in, but she can tell Ida needs her now. "Of course, I'll tell him. And I'll let you know how he reacts."

"Thank you!! You're the best sister ever."

"I am, aren't I?" Rain laughs.

The girls catch up a little more. Aubrey and Rain have just gotten engaged, and Rain wants Ida's advice on whether or not to take Aubrey's last name.

"I don't know, Rain, don't talk to me about marriage, you know it freaks me out!"

"Why, though?" Rain doesn't understand. "If you love someone and want to be with them forever, is it so bad to get married?"

"I don't know, really," Ida admits, "I just don't think it's for me, you know? Like, with Marlin, I wanted to be with him forever, but look how that turned out. I'm not saying it's impossible to be with one person for your whole life; I mean, look at our parents. I'm just saying that I can promise myself to a person without all the messy drama of marriage and stuff! And then if things go bad we can just break up, it doesn't have to be something traumatic and horrible as a divorce."

Rain pities her sister, a little. "I'd say your breakup with Marlin was a little bit traumatic and horrible," she says quietly, but Ida's done with this conversation.

Out of boredom, she tries to cook for Rain.

Oops! Mac and cheese really doesn't like her. Luckily the new fancy stove is practically fireproof.

While Ida is burning food, Rain takes a moment to catch up with her parents.

Apparently Alexander's paintings in Doo Peas Tower are the talk of the town, and Rain congratulates her father for finally putting some of his work out there. As an artistic Sim, Rain has always appreciated her father's talent.

Shanti congratulates her oldest daughter on getting engaged."And does this mean more grandchildren?" she wants to know.

Rain giggles. "Maybe!" she says coyly.

Ida's second attempt at macaroni comes out Great.

After lunch, Ida teaches Rain to play Sim Gnubb.

She gets tired pretty quickly, and her stomach is unsettled, so Ida takes a nap to soothe the baby.

Meanwhile, Rain and Shanti bond over their shared hobby.

The days pass by slowly. The Hands play a lot of Gnubb, and Ida works on creating a Sentience Trait Chip. She's about halfway done with the blueprints for the chip; the project is going faster than she expected.

Shanti gets a request from work to befriend the mayor, Tori Steel. It turns out they have a lot in common, and Tori offers to let Shanti move in.

She has to refuse, of course, but Tori insists that her house is open to Shanti at all times, so Shanti takes advantage of this and makes use of the pool.

This week's book club novel is a fascinating read.

Ida attempts to make her mother's favorite meal, Stu Surprise, and absolutely no one is surprised when she burns the first attempt.

Try again, my friend.

Hey, that actually looks pretty good!

Rain and Ida eat together at the huge new dining table. Rain, who has been spending a lot of time at her childhood home lately, has finally tied the knot with Aubrey, but she is still not pregnant. "I can't believe my little sister is going to have a baby before me," she grumbles.

Ida wants to know why Rain didn't have a huge party. Rain shrugs. "I wanted to," she says, "but Aubrey didn't want to have to see his mother and her fifth husband there, and even if we didn't invite them they'd crash, so we just had a private ceremony. It was okay, I would have preferred something more romantic, but you know, I'm very happy now so it's all okay."

"By the way, I talked to Marlin," Rain says carefully. "He says he wants to come over and see the baby once it's born. He also said he wished he'd heard it from you, and to be honest, I kind of agree."

Ida nods. "Was he... was he upset?"

Rain thinks. "He wasn't upset about the baby, but he was unhappy in general. I don't think he likes how things are between you now. You were friends before you got together, you know, and I think he misses you."

"He was never just a friend to me, though." Ida sighs, frowns, and doesn't speak for the rest of the meal.

Shanti and Alex choose to take their meal into the little garden table. Shanti wants to know when their daughter learned to cook. "This is incredible!" she exclaims. Alex just grunts. Stu surprise is really not his favorite dish.

As soon as Ida is big enough, Shanti offers to determine the gender of the baby. Ida agrees excitedly. She hopes for a boy, but is disappointed.

"But girls are wonderful!" Shanti says, beaming at the thought of a tiny granddaughter to mentor and nurture.

"It's fine, of course I'll love her no matter what," says Ida. "I just thought a boy would be more interesting."

"By the way, that meal was fantastic," Shanti adds. "I hope you continue to cook for us often."

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Notes -

So Ida is doing quite well despite the breakup. I didn't want her to completely, like, break down and stop functioning without Marlin. It's just not in her nature. She still loves her bot-building and is enjoying learning a new skill with the cooking. Marlin would be glad to hear it.

I'm pretty happy with the house improvements, but I accidentally deleted a wall that had a picture Rain painted, Shanti's portrait (seen here), and a few small decorations from a mail admirer attached to it, and I didn't realize until much later. So I guess I kind of failed the challenge, since those items were never supposed to be sold. I'm going to pretend it didn't happen though, because it's not as if they were worth much, probably less than 300 simoleans together, and that's like a drop in the ocean when it comes to their household funds. It's not cheating if it isn't done intentionally to help ease gameplay, right? (he tells himself). Lol. I'm pretty bummed about losing the portrait, though. :(

Also, Ida's thoughts on having a girl are mine too, lol. I wanted a boy for gen 3, and I had her eat a bunch of apples, but its seems my sims are determined to only have girls lately. My Sims 4 family has had seven girls in a row over three generations. /sigh