Chapter 8: The Distance Between Us

After decades of being an artist, Dakota decides that she's had enough. She no longer enjoys painting the way she used to, but before she retires she wants to create one last masterpiece. She paints a portrait of Phillip, the way he was when they first met. She tries to capture his gentle spirit in her painting, but in her opinion she failed miserably. She immediately sells the piece to the consignment store, happy to be rid of it.

And life drags on at the West household. The two women quickly find themselves falling into an easy routine. So long as Lily maintains straight A's in school, Dakota gives her full reign to do as she pleases, no questions asked. Likewise, as long as there are leftovers in the fridge and a tidy house to come home to, Lily leaves Dakota alone. The relationship suits both of their needs, so neither woman makes any effort to change it.

Dakota has become quite restless since Phillip left, and she finds herself frequently going out on the town. Tonight, she heads to the Downie, a local sports bar, to enjoy a few adult beverages.

As she stands impatiently waiting for her drink, she feels a pair of eyes on the back of her head. She turns around to discover Morty Roth, Lily's father, watching her. He grins at her and slowly walks over to say hello. She is surprised to feel a tingle of excitement in her stomach as he approaches, a cautious sense of anticipation.

They sit down at the bar together, and he orders her a drink.

"How've you been, Dakota?" he prods her gently. "It's been a while."

"I'm doing fine Morty. How about yourself?" She is shocked to hear a tone of tired defeat in his voice. He sounds much older than she remembers.

"Oh, I've been good as ever, I guess. Do you remember Stella?" he asks softly, referring to his ex-wife, Stella Roth.

Dakota nods. How could she forget? Stella was the reason Morty abandoned her, leaving her alone to raise their unborn child.

"She passed away last week, from old age." He sounds sad and empty as he tells Dakota about her death.

"I'm sorry for your loss Morty," Dakota responds. She doesn't really know what else to say.

After a few drinks, the conversation lightens up a bit.

"I heard about Phillip's marriage," Morty says.

Dakota laughs. "Who hasn't? Talk about wedding of the century. Well, for Riverblossom Hills anyway."

"I didn't go, but I heard it was very, uh, pink."

"It looked like a strawberry cupcake threw up on her dress," Dakota snickers. She doesn't handle alcohol well. She never has, really.

Morty finds it funny though and giggles at her snide comment.

"Dakota," he begins. "I want to see you again. Soon." Dakota abruptly stops laughing and looks up at him, searching his face for clues.

"Alright," she agrees after a moment.

"Really?" he sounds excited.

"Sure, why not? I'll come over tomorrow night, and you can cook me dinner."

"Done," he replies immediately.

The next morning, Lily decides to pay a visit to Phillip.

"Hey Phil!" she grins as she walks up to him.

"Lily!" He is always excited to see her, no matter how busy he is. "Come in! Come in!" he says as he ushers her through the front door. "The whole family's home today. Gina's upstairs doing God-only-knows-what but, ahah! Here's Matilda!" Lily can't help but notice how happy he sounds.

She picks up Matilda and gives the adorable toddler a little tickle. The child looks more and more like Phillip everyday.

"The house looks great Phil," she tells him earnestly. And she means it too. She finds the cheerful atmosphere in Phillip's home refreshing. The cold distance between her and Dakota feels stifling sometimes.

Next, Lily heads upstairs to say hi to Gina. Her mom may have issues with the woman, but Lily doesn't mind her so much. The fact that she's good friends with Gina's daughter Dolores doesn't hurt either.

"Wow, you're pregnant Gina?!" Lily's never been one to tiptoe around a subject.

Gina attempts a smile, but it looks more like a grimace. "Yes, pregnant one more time. We weren't really planning on having more children, but oops! Here we are again!" Lily laughs awkwardly, not quite sure how to respond to Gina's comment.

Gina proceeds to launch into a tirade about Lily's mother. Lily stands their patiently listening to Gina's rant, trying to figure out a polite way to excuse herself, when Phillip appears.

"Alright Gina," he laughs. "I think Lily needs to be heading home. Dakota might be worried about where she is."

"Oh, right." Gina stops, realizing she might have been a tiny bit rude.

Lily mouths "thank you" to Phillip, before hugging them goodbye and heading on her way home. Despite Gina's antics, she quite enjoyed her visit. She misses Phillip more than she could ever have imagined.

Dakota shows up for her date with Morty right on time.

"You know, I've never actually been inside your house before," she tells him. "It's a nice change."

He chuckles. "It's quite nice to have you here, darling."

Wasting no time, he grabs her hands. "I've missed you baby," he says smoothly. "I've been such a fool all these years, with you right under my nose."

Dakota's no idiot. She realizes the timing of his renewed interest is quite convenient. Lily's almost grown up, and that means no more child support payments (not like he ever bothered to pay them anyway). Furthermore, she knows that he's feeling old and lonely, especially since the passing of Stella.

And to be honest, so is she. Her life has been so bleak ever since Phillip left, and at times, she's wondered what's left that's worth living for. She finds Morty's attention gratifying, and his flirtations make her feel young again. So what if he is just using her? Perhaps it is time she used him right back.

He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a kiss. She offers no resistance, loving the way his lips feel against hers. It's been a long time since she's been with a man, and tonight she is feeling passionate (*cough* horny *cough*).

Before long, she finds herself in a rather compromising position.

The sex is as fabulous as she remembers it being, better even. She ends up spending the night with Morty, only to wake up the next morning to an empty house.

As she gets dressed and leaves, she forcefully reminds herself that she was using him just as much as he was using her. Still, she can't help but wonder why it hurts so bad then.

She arrives home to find a very angry Lily waiting for her.

"Where were you last night?" she demands.

"I was out," Dakota replies vaguely. She is in no mood to discuss yesterday evening with her teenage daughter.

"You were out?" Lily repeats, her voice dripping with anger. "You were OUT?!" she says again, her temper rising.

"Lily! Calm down," Dakota scolds.

"You want me to calm down?! ME?!" Lily screams furiously. "You walk in here like nothing's the matter and then you tell ME to calm down?! I spent the entire night worried sick about you, wondering if you were lying dead on the side of the road somewhere," she shouts. "And this is the thanks I get?!" she asks incredulously.

Dakota has heard enough. "What the fuck is your problem Lily?!" she yells. "I have given you everything! The past 18 years of my life have always been about YOU! And this, this is the attitude I have to put up with?!"

Lily looks at her mom speechlessly, her face twisted with rage.

"You are the biggest mistake I ever made," Dakota spits. "And I'm through with it. From now on, you're on your own."

"Fine!" Lily shrieks, not wanting to let her mother see her cry. "I'm out of here!" And with that, she turns and runs out of the house, the door echoing as she slams it closed.

That day, the West household sits silent and empty, except for the murmur of Dakota's quiet sobs.

Broken and alone, Dakota ages into an elder at dusk that night. She reacted so condescendingly to Lily's concerns about her own safety, yet now that Lily has yet to come home the table has turned. Dakota's dark imagination torments her as she pictures all the horrible things that could be happening to her daughter right now.


Challenge Notes:

So, this is not at all what I had planned for this chapter! I really expected to focus on Dakota and Phillip's relationship and then end it with Lily aging into a young adult and generation 2 taking over. But then, story progression threw a wrench in my master plan (which was merely a rough idea of what I was going to do with my story), and Gina got knocked up HOURS after her wedding to Phillip. Which honestly baffles me as I have the marriage to pregnancy setting on 3 days. Plus, Gina had only 1 day left in the adult life stage before becoming an elder.

But it's all good, because I really like the way this chapter turned out. When story progression tossed up that notification that Gina and Phillip were expecting, I seriously cursed like a sailor. Then, I sat there for like 15 minutes trying to decide my next move.

But back to the story! This chapter is very personal to me, as it focuses on Dakota and Lily's tumultuous mother/daughter relationship. My relationship with my own mom has seen it's fair share of ups and downs, so it was interesting getting to write about the problems a mother and daughter deal with. Although, I will say that my mother is nowhere near as mean as Dakota was to Lily.

Oh, and sorry if the ending seems rather abrupt/unfinished. I am working on my cliffhanger skills (and failing miserably), and I just wanted to stop the chapter before it got unbearably long.

Chapter 7: Wedding Woes

Phillip takes Gina to her favorite night club to propose.

Sanjay Ramaswami looks on with disgust. Gossip spreads like wildfire in Riverblossom Hills, and by now the entire town knows about Phillip and Gina's illegitimate child. Most people also know about Phil's feelings for Dakota. How could they not? He's been ogling her for years. With hushed voices, they whisper about the scandal, wondering what Phillip will do next.

Apparently, Sanjay disapproves of Phillip's decision.

As expected, Gina is thrilled. She decides to postpone the wedding until after the baby is born as she doesn't want to look fat in her bridal gown.

Phillip hangs around the lounge after Gina goes home. Before long, he's completely drunk. He finds himself staring dejectedly into his glass, wondering how he could have gotten himself into such a mess.

Over the next few months, day to day life around the West household becomes practically unbearable, especially for Lily. She knows that Phillip will leave as soon as the baby is born, and she feels like he's abandoning her. A typical teenager, Lily blames her mother for everything, insisting she's ruined her life.

Lily always assumed that Phillip and Dakota would wind up together. She grew up amidst the tension, the constant back and forth of their relationship, and she knew that her mom loved Phillip long before Dakota even knew herself. This unexpected change of plans infuriates her. Between her father's absence and her mother's tumultuous personal life, Lily no longer believes in love and romance. To her, it's just a bunch of crap.

"Hi Lily." Leo Blanche, the most popular boy in high school, walks over and sits on the swing next to her.

"Hey Leo," Lily responds casually. He may be one of the "cool kids", but so is Lily. He doesn't faze her one bit.

"So," he says, trying to sound relaxed, "I heard your dating Ryan Yokel."

Lily makes a face. "I was," she replies. "But I'm so over it. I dumped him yesterday when I found out he was flirting with the entire cheer squad behind my back."

"Really?" he asks enthusiastically. He clears his throat, realizing he doesn't want to seem too excited. "I mean, uh, really?" he says in a more subdued tone.

"Yeah. Can you believe what a jerk he is?!" she exclaims. "I should have guessed. He's a man after all."

"You know Lily," he says carefully. "Not all guys are like that. Some of us treat women with the respect that they deserve."

She glares at him. "Oh yeah? Like who?"

"Like me. If you gave me a chance."

She snorts her disapproval. She should have known where this was going. "Leo," she begins, the why-don't-we-just-be-friends tone in her voice.

"Come on Lily!" he persists. "Just one date. Please?" He casts her a pleading look, his big eyes full of hope.

She giggles at the goofy expression on his face. "Oh, alright Leo. But just one date!"

That Friday night, Leo takes her to the Reserve Tavern. They immediately hit it off over a game of darts.

"I'm totally going to whip you," Lily tell him.

"You wish," he counters, a big grin on his face.

Leo ends up throwing the match and letting her win. It was worth it to make her happy.

"I really like you Lily," he confesses as the evening comes to a close.

Lily is surprised by how much she enjoyed herself tonight. She always figured that Leo was just like all the other teenage boys she knows, selfish and stupid.

She kisses him in reply.

Over the next few weeks, Lily and Leo spend all their free time together. To the dismay of the many other girls at their high school, they become an exclusive couple.

In what seems like no time, Phillip's daughter Matilda is born. He immediately falls in love the little girl, despite his mixed feeling about her mother.

They set a date for the wedding, and Gina gets to work planning the event. She decides to have the wedding outdoors at the local park.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Lily quietly asks Phillip. It's the day of the wedding, and the whole town is abuzz with gossip about the big event. Phillip looks pale and anxious as he silently stands around watching the guests arrive.

Phillip nods his head, resolute in his decision.

Lily persists, "Because, you know I could totally whisk you right out of here if you wanted." He smiles at her tenacity, but shakes his head no.

"Well, alright," she sighs. "But, just so you know, Leo has the car ready and is standing by just in case."

The ceremony goes off without a hitch. They exchange rings, say their "I do's", and become husband and wife.

Despite Gina's harsh objections, Phillip makes sure that Dakota is invited to the wedding.

Dakota surprises even herself by attending. "I must be a masochist," she muses. Or perhaps, just perhaps, she wants to be there for a friend who has always been there for herself.

After the ceremony, Leo finds Lily standing alone crying. He comes over to comfort her.

"I didn't realize I would be this upset about losing Phillip," she weeps.

"It's alright Lily," he consoles her as he strokes her back. "You've got me now, what more could you ask for?"

She attempts a weak giggle but ends up hiccuping instead.

As the party winds down, Dakota decides to talk to Phillip one last time. She catches him right as he is about to leave.

"Congratulations Phil," she tries to sound sincere but is afraid she came across bitter instead.

"Thank you Dakota," he smiles. "That means a lot coming from you."

"The wedding was beautiful," she tells him.

"It was a bit pink if you ask me," he laughs.

Dakota looks shocked. "But you love pink!" she insists.

"Yes, but you can always have too much of a good thing." He pauses, and choosing his words carefully he says, "Listen Dakota, take good care of Lily, okay? I know she can be such a handful sometimes, especially now that she's a teenager. But she needs you. Now more than ever."

Dakota pulls him into a hug, trying not to let him see the tears forming in her eyes. "You really are the best friend a girl could ask for," she whispers to him, her voice thick with emotion. "I only wish I'd seen it sooner." She squeezes him tightly one last time, and letting the tears roll down her cheeks she turns around and walks away.


Challenge Notes:

I didn't really know where to take my story after the last chapter, so I decided to let the game decide. If Phillip's baby ended up being a girl I would let him go through with the wedding and if his baby ended up being a boy I would let him break off the engagement. When little Matilda was born, I knew it was fate's way of saying that Phillip needed to be with his daughter. And to me, it makes sense. I can't picture sweet, kind Phillip abandoning his only child with a woman like Gina.

So, yes, I technically broke the rules. It was a single parent with help roll, and I moved Phillip out before the generation was over. But Lily only has 5 days before she becomes a young adult, so I don't think it's that bad.

Also, I cannot tell you what a pain in the ass that wedding was. I had to play it three times through because of issues. The first time, I put the ceremony off so long that it was too dark to get any good photographs. The second time, Gina showed up and then left within five minutes. And then, when I called her to re-invite her to the party, she refused to come back! It's like, I know your fickle woman but come on! It's your freakin' wedding! I finally got it the third time through though.

If you don't mind, let me know what you think of Leo. I know everyone talks about the terrible plague of vanillas, and I'm not 100% sure what that means. Do you think he looks a bit too vanilla? Feedback on this issue is appreciated!

And here is a reminder of what he looks like as a teen...

Chapter 6: A Cold Day In July

With her art becoming quite popular and bringing in serious simoleons, Dakota gets it in her mind that they need to move. While Lily's at school, she takes Phillip to see a house that she's interested in purchasing.

"What do you think Phil?" she asks him earnestly. His opinion has always been important to her, but she finds herself relying on him more and more these days.

"It's really nice Dakota," he attempts a weak smile. It's not that he doesn't like the house. In fact, he thinks it's perfect. He's just had a lot on his mind lately. Gina has been pressuring him to get more "serious" about their relationship. Translated, that means she wants to get married. But Phillip doesn't want to leave Dakota alone with a teenage Lily. He loves the girl like his own daughter, and he wants to see that she makes good grades and graduates. He wants her to have every opportunity in life, and he is nervous about leaving her in Dakota's hands.

Lily and Dakota have always been distant at best. Dakota never seemed to take an interest in Lily when the girl was a child. Now that Lily is older, Phillip can tell that she feels unwanted. He is the only link between the two of them, and if he leaves he doesn't know what could happen. And he doesn't want anything bad to happen to his girls.

Lily calls her realtor and let's her know that she wants the house.

Phillip decides to take out his frustration by doing some cool Sim-Fu karate moves.

Gina makes herself at home in the new house.

"Why are you still living here?" she persists.

"Lily needs me..." Phillip explains.

"Lily is a teenager now. She can fend for herself."

Phillip shrugs and goes quiet. Gina's been dating him long enough to know when to drop it, but she can't help but wonder about Dakota's role in all of this.

However, the topic continues to come up during their day-to-day conversations. Gina just can't seem to let it go.

One evening when Dakota and Lily are out of the house, Gina brings it up once again.

"Why can't you just move in with me?" she nags. "The whole town is talking about what a chump I am to let you live here with her! Everyone thinks I am such a slut, dating a man who lives with another woman!"

"Gina," Phillip says exasperated. "There is nothing going on between Dakota and I." He grits his teeth and tries to force himself to be patient. "Why do you listen to what everyone else says anyway? You know I've only got eyes for you."

Gina snorts. "Yeah, right! I see the way you look at her. If only you would look at me that way, maybe then I wouldn't have such a problem with this arrangement."

Usually so patient, Phillip feels himself snap. "What is your problem Gina?!" he yells. "I've done everything I can to prove that I love you, and you only! Why can't you trust me?!"

They stand there for a minute quietly staring at each other, the air thick with tension.

With his frustration released, Phillip feels exhausted all of a sudden. He just wants Gina to leave so he can go crawl into bed and cry.

Finally, he breaks the silence. "Gina," he says quietly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

"Get away from me," she shrieks furiously. "I'm out of here!" She storms out the front door, leaving Phillip alone with his thoughts. Resigned, he heads upstairs to his bedroom to brood about the evening's events.

It's 4:00 in the morning, and Phillip can't sleep. He tiptoes down to Dakota's room, knowing she'll be home by now.

"Dakota?" he whispers. "Dakota, are you awake?"

He hears a groan from under the covers. "What do you want Phillip?" she responds groggily.

"Dakota, can we talk please?" he asks quietly.

"Right now?" She turns over to look at the alarm clock. "Phil, it's 4 o'clock in the morning..."

"I know, but it's been a bad night. Dakota, I think Gina and I broke up."

With that news looming over her head, she immediately pulls herself out of the covers and walks over to comfort him.

"I'm sorry Phil," she tells him softly. "I know how much you loved her."

"That's just it," he says. "I thought I loved her, but now I'm not so sure."

"What happened?" she asks him.

"She wanted me to move out of here and in with her," he replies nonchalantly.

Dakota breathes in sharply. "An- And what did you say?" she stammers.

"I told her no." He pauses and scans her face for a second, searching for something, anything. Looking her directly in the eyes, he says "She thinks I'm in love with you."

Dakota feels her heart pounding a mile a minute. She swallows hard, and, trying to sound light and effortless, she asks, "And do you?"

He takes a deep breath, and without breaking eye contact he quietly replies, "Yes. I do."

Phillip takes Dakota's hands in his and a bit louder this time declares "I love you, Dakota West."

Dakota exhales. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath. "Oh," is all she can manage to say.

They stand there for what seems like hours staring at each other. The silence between them is practically unbearable when Phil suddenly asks "Is it hot in here?"

"Yes, I'm a bit warm," she says faintly.

Phillip grabs one of her hands and leads her out the backdoor.

They sit in a patch of grass in the backyard.

Dakota has never felt shy a day in her life, but tonight it's all she can do to look Phillip in the face. Instead, she stares up at the stars, watching as their twinkling lights fade in the dawn's early sunshine.

Phillip can't keep his eyes off of her. He feels a sense of relief. And joy. The burden he's carried around all these years, the fear that has held him back for so long, is gone.

He reaches over and holds her hand, surprising her out of her thoughts.

Their eyes meet. He smiles encouragingly.

Dakota relaxes, and together they watch the sun rise. In this moment, everything is perfect. They are together at last. What more could they ask for?

Blissfully tired, they get up. It is morning now, and neither of them have gotten much sleep.

He gently strokes her cheek. "I love you Dakota," he says again. She smiles contentedly.

"I love you too Phillip," she whispers in reply.

They spend the morning sleeping late. Phillip wakes up around noon to the sound of his phone ringing.

"Phil?" Gina's voice resonates loud and clear.

"Yes?" he responds sleepily.

"Phil, we need to talk. Now. It's urgent."

From the tone in her voice, Phil knows something is wrong. He immediately gets up and dressed and heads over to her house.

When he arrives, he realizes that Gina is dressed peculiarly. Somehow, she looks different to him too, but he can't put his finger on it.

From the way she's staring daggers at him, she's obviously still mad.

"What do you want Gina?" he asks, getting right to the point. He is still tired from last night, and he really wants to get home to be with Dakota.

"Phil, I'm pregnant," she announces abruptly.

Phillip feels like he's been winded. "W-W-W-What?" he stutters.

"I found out this morning," she explains. Her tone is bitter, and she glares at him unsympathetically.

Phillip can't even breathe. A million thoughts run through his mind, and he stands in front of Gina frozen in panic.

"It's going to be okay," he says more to himself than Gina. "We will be okay." He looks up into her face, and all he sees is overwhelming anger.

"What do you mean it's going to be okay?!" she screams. "It's NOT going to be okay!"

Blindsided by her rage, Phillip tries to calm her down. "Gina, we'll figure this out," he tries to soothe her, but he sounds hollow and unconvincing.

"I do not want to be a mother Phillip!" she shrieks. "I am single and alone, and I do not want to go through this whole thing again!" Phillip knows she has a daughter from a previous marriage, but he didn't realize she hated being a parent so much.

After arguing with Gina for hours, Phillip wanders around the town aimlessly. He arrives home late that night to find Dakota painting in her PJs. He was honestly hoping she would be asleep by now.

Drained and emotionless, he tells her everything. She quietly listens, and with a sad silence she accepts their fate.

He is going to marry Gina. He will go live with her and help her raise the baby.

That night, Dakota cries the hopeless tears of a broken heart.


Challenge Notes:

The beautiful house that is displayed in the first photo was created by calisims (yangthecat) and is available here at Mod the Sims. It is a wonderful home, although I redecorated the interior to fit the personality of my family. It is fabulous though right out of the box.

I know I didn't spend much (alright, any) time on Lily this chapter. She had a ton of stuff happening during this time period as well, but due to everything going on with Phillip and Dakota I figured I would tweak the time frame a bit and blog about her a little later.

The chapter title is from a Dixie Chicks song by the same name. I thought it was appropriate, as I'm writing this on the last day in July. It's been about 105 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas this month (I do not exaggerate), which is causing my plumbob to fry (lame joke, I know). Anyway, when I was writing this chapter it made me feel cold and sad, even though it's so hot, so I thought the title fit perfectly.