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Jaz’s day started as most of their days had lately.. with some good food and family time. Jaz tried not to think about how the good food was still a novelty, which inevitably led to wondering what sort of foods their brothers might be eating this morning. Sighing and almost physically shaking their head to rid themselves of the morose thoughts, Jaz jumped back into the breakfast conversation – which seemed to be centered around teasing Carlo about his crush on Sophia. … Which led to teasing Layla about not having any crushes at the moment … but Jaz didn’t mind the teasing, because it all seemed to be good-natured. Nothing like the teasing and bullying that had happened to them.

Once Jaz finished breakfast, they ran upstairs to finish dressing for school, and the next wave of hungry Sims had descended upon the dining room. Mornings always seemed to buzz with cheerful activity in this household, and the cheer in the vibe always put a smile on Jaz’s face. By the time Penny and Jaz ran for the bus with the rest of the kids, the sad thoughts about their brothers had completely vanished.

After school – which went by quickly for Jaz, who threw themselves into every bit of the learning they could get – the grade schoolers all gathered in the dining room for another reason. Homework. It was so much easier to do it together, and it seemed Wendy was always ready and available to help with any questions they had.

In the office, Carlo (who was supposed to be doing homework, as well) was playing a muted game of Blikblock, keeping his homework book close in case someone walked in and caught him. He really wasn’t into classes per se – but to him, it was a necessary evil. Because if he wasn’t going to school, how would he ever see Sophia??

After finishing homework, Jaz picked up their phone to check their voice mail messages, then started to dial the number they’d been given for their mom. Feeling very self-conscious with the others sitting so close, Jaz put the phone away again and went to find a more secluded spot.

The only spot they could find on short notice was a chair on the back porch, but it seemed like a good quiet place for the time being. The sun was just starting to set, casting glowing shadows over the porch, and warming the area with the evening sunrays. Jaz sat for a moment, working up the courage to call… and then finally, deliberately, dialed Marnie’s number.

Marnie answered, sounding as short-tempered as always, and Jaz cringed a little as she replied, “Hi.. Mom, it’s me, Jaz. Kayla said it was okay if I called to see how you were doing?”

“Oh. Jaz. Hello. Sorry, it’s been a crazy couple of days.” Marnie replied with a sigh.

Immediately worried, Jaz tried to figure out how to ask what might have happened. Finally, Jaz decided that it was better to just ask. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. It was just a long night in labor, and making all the arrangements.”

“Labor? Arrangements?” Jaz replied, confused.

“I gave birth last night. You have two new brothers, and a new sister. They’ve all been taken to new homes. I have no idea where they are or anything about their new homes, but I’m sure Kayla has found somewhere for the little monsters. I’m just glad I didn’t have to stay up the rest of the night with the screaming wriggly little worms.” Marnie explained gruffly.

A little stunned, Jaz sat for a moment, just listening to Marnie complaining about the pain from the night before, then broke in, “Triplets? And they’re already gone?”

“Of course they’re gone. I don’t want anything to do with them.” Marnie bit out.

“Um.. What are their names?” Jaz asked, still in shock.

“I don’t even know if they’ll be able to keep the names I gave them.” Marnie replied with a sad little sigh, “Nicole, Tyler, and Eric. Who knows who they’ll be in coming years, but I’ll have nothing to do with it. It’s not like I was all that good with the kids I already have. Hell, my perfect little Benji is in jail for the conceivable future, and won’t be getting out anytime soon.”

“Oh! Benji! Is he okay?” Jaz replied, glad to have something to talk about other than the sad fact that Marnie didn’t appear to be all that worried about her newest children.

“Heh. Who knows. All his letters ever say is how angry he is at Shaylee for betraying him, and then marrying his enemy. He doesn’t even seem to care that he’ll be in jail for years and years.” Marnie replied grimly.

Jaz hesitated, then finally asked, “You write letters to him? And.. he writes back?”

“Isn’t that how letters work?” Marnie said, with a note of sarcasm, “If you’re that worried about how he’s doing, how about YOU write the brat.”

“Really? I could do that?” Jaz replied, incredulous.

“Sure. You have a paper? I’ll give you the address.”

“Am I allowed to? Did Kayla say?” Jaz asked.

“Ah, who cares what that bitch says.” Marnie replied, “Here. Here’s how to contact your awful brother.”

Jaz quickly wrote down the address that Marnie rattled off, and let Marnie beg off of the phone call when she said how very tired she was.

Glancing around, Jaz decided that the backyard dining table was as good a place as any, and that they were still alone – and got out a piece of paper to write to Benji. They tried to push the questions of whether or not they might actually be allowed to write him out of their head, and just wrote a pleasant, short letter, asking him how he was doing, telling a bit about the family Jaz found themselves in, and then asking whether he was getting enough to eat. Jaz then told Benji about their new penpal, and a little bit about how school was going well, and that they had their first Violin lesson in a couple of days.

Jaz then sat there for a long while, chewing on the end of their pencil, wondering what else they could say. It seemed sort of unpleasant to ask how long, exactly, Benji had to stay in jail. It also seemed like a bad idea to bring up Benji’s ex-girlfriend. Sighing, Jaz signed the letter, and went to ask Wendy for an envelope and stamp to send it.

While Jaz headed to the mailbox to deposit the letter for their brother, inside the house, everyone else was super busy with their own lives. Matt had gotten home from work to find several things broken again, and since his Handiness was improving, he decided to fix things himself instead of calling the repair company.

Layla was practicing their cheerleading, Carlo was in the living room talking on the phone to his crush, and the other kids had all scattered to find something fun to do after finishing their homework. Jimmy was, apparently, down for a nap, and Jaz noticed that the office was empty.

Closing the door tightly behind them, Jaz sat down and quietly check their mail and the pen pal site, but there were still no new messages. With a sigh, Jaz decided to write Colin a message with all the news that was rattling around their head.

After sending off the email talking about their new brothers and sister, the fact that Marnie didn’t seem to care anymore, and the letter Jaz had just sent to their eldest brother, Jaz carefully signed out of all the sites, and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

Laying there in the semi-dark room, however, Jaz quickly found that they couldn’t actually fall asleep. There were just too many thoughts in their head. Glancing at the sleeping Penny, Jaz snuck out of bed and crept over to the book case. Grabbing something that looked interesting, Jaz took a flashlight and climbed back into bed to read.

It didn’t take long for Jaz to find the fantasy book about castles and Princesses and the ideal life was .. just too weird for them. They crept back to the bookcase, and found something a little more bloodthirsty.

With flashlight in hand, Jaz was immediately transported to a pirate-y world full of adventures and swashbuckling. An hour or two later, Jaz finally felt tired enough to sleep, and hid the book and flashlight under the nightstand, and curled up to sleep. The morose thoughts and musings about their estranged family were finally chased out of Jaz’s young head, and they were able to sleep peacefully in the light of the nightlight.

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