Chapter 9.18: Caught in the cookie jar

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From Gaia's diary



Nico: Oh no, a thunderstorm!
Gaia: (from inside the house) Don't worry, if we all stay indoors the lightning won't hurt us!

Nico has always been a bit of a coward, but ever since that time Diego was struck by lightning and the entire region suffered various floods due to torrential rains, he's really terrified of thunderstorms.

The rest of us, on the other hand, aren't really worried about the rain this time. It's just a normal rain shower, and today we were planning to spend the day indoors anyway: it's Harvestfest, it's time to cook!


Diego: I had never thought of adding lemongrass to a roast turkey, how did you get the idea?
Techna: By cross-referencing the compositional data of various aromatic plants with the reported tastes of you humans, I calculated that 1,568 mg per kg of turkey would optimize the flavour.
Diego: I see… Let's try and put it into practice, then.

Diego's bakery was closed today, so he offered to come here early to cook us the traditional turkey. Even if his strong point is cakes, he does surprisingly well with other recipes too.


Gaia: Hey! Any news from Tommy and Vale?
Diego: They'll be here soon, just in time to eat the freshly baked turkey, I might add!

Techna took that information as a kind invitation to go back to the attic and recharge their batteries, while I and the kids set up the table. 


Diego: Lunch is ready!


Thomas: It tastes great! But the spices are a bit weird, what did you use?
Diego: There's a hint of lemongrass.
Valentina: That's what it is! But how did you think about it?
Diego: Uhm...

The question was unintentionally tricky to answer: he couldn’t say that Techna had suggested it to him, right?

Gaia: … It must have been a combination you tasted on some trip, right?
Diego: Yes, that's surely why, I just can't remember exactly when… Oh, right, that is it! Once, in Appaloosa, I had dinner in an old diner, and…

Once the food was finished, the kids quickly got tired of sitting at the table listening to our boring grown-up conversations, and ran off to their rooms to play. We, on the other hand, continued talking for hours and hours, with people like Diego and his sister Valentina at the table it's practically inevitable.


Valentina: The Evergreen Harbour area has improved so much since we were kids, what did you do with all that garbage?
Gaia: Most of it was recomposed, and the recycled material ended up in new benches and in the community areas!
Diego: That's really cool, isn't it? They've taken recycling to the extreme, it's crazy!


Valentina: Speaking of crazy things, rather, could you help me solve this mystery? You see, it's been weeks now that Diego talks nonstop about you, Gaia, how can you explain this?
Gaia: (Playing dumb) W-what?

Damn it, did she really start to suspect something so soon? I mean, there shouldn't be anything wrong with telling Vale and Tommy, but... But we have our reasons to keep it secret for now, we still have a lot to understand the direction we want to take, and we don't want to feel pressured by others. Also, having them ask questions about it is embarrassing, that's it, and I'm quite sure my expression told it too. 

Valentina: Okay, maybe we can talk about this another time, then. Anyway, we have other plans for dinner, right Thomas?
Thomas: Yes, actually we should hurry up and go home.


Valentina: See you tomorrow then, Diego! (Whispering) And don't think you can avoid my questions for much longer, okay?


So, within just a few weeks, Vale (and consequently Tommy) had already guessed (at least) something. I'm afraid keeping secrets is not our strong point... But we didn't get much time to really think about it, the worst had yet to come.




A few hours later, in the middle of the night...

Dear diary, last night we all had such a scare! Alec had just gone to the bathroom, when...


Alec: What the... fire! AHHH, HELP!


Diego: Don't worry, I took a fire extinguisher!

That's right, one of the toilets in the house suddenly caught fire, just when Alec was alone in the bathroom in the middle of the night. And it was Diego who ran into the bathroom with the fire extinguisher in his hand to save him. Apparently, since he works in a bakery he is required to take fire safety courses, and luckily I had installed a fire extinguisher in the corridor of that floor. 

Luckily Alec was just very scared, but with very minimal injury. At that point, however, the children had at least two very good questions to ask us.


Nico: (hesitant) How are you, Alec?
Neo: Not too bad. I think.

Nico seemed particularly worried about his twin, we are all sure that soon even the fear of fire will be counted among his many fears. Petra, on the other hand, was furious like we have never seen her, and demanded a good explanation for what happened.

Petra: This is absurd, how did the toilet catch fire? And it's not even the first time I've seen it make sparks, it's very dangerous!
Gaia: You're absolutely right, I-
Petra: But how could this even happen? There shouldn't be anything flammable in there, right?
Gaia: Well, this could be my fault... I recently tried to install composters under the toilets around the house, but I guess something went wrong...
Techna: Considering what's left of the toilet in question, I'd say that there was a build-up of methane gas that ignited following sparks created by the metal mechanism of the flush.

If the concentration of gas had been just a little higher, instead of catching fire the toilet could have exploded, I can't even think about it! At first glance, the composters seemed like a good idea, but now I'm more determined than ever to dismantle them as soon as possible.

Gaia: ... I'll dismantle them right away, it's too dangerous.

But Petra still didn't seem at all satisfied with the answer, the second uncomfortable question was about to arrive.


Petra: Rather... But what is Diego still doing here? It's five in the morning!

That question was absolutely legit, yet we didn't know how to answer it.

I mean, for us adults it's obvious what happened, right? Diego had been with us all day, and since we hadn't seen each other for a while, I suggested spending the night together. According to our plan, we would then have woken up before the children so that he could sneak home without being noticed. Sounds easy, right?
But we certainly didn't expect to be waken by a burning toilet, nor to have to give any kind of explanation at that time of morning.

Gaia: Well... You see, Diego was very tired last night, after cooking for us all day and everything… So he asked me if, please, he could stay here and sleep a bit.

Alec and Nico seemed to be satisfied with the explanation, but I was sure that Petra would have needed much more. My explanation had so many flaws, she was certainly wondering why Diego hadn't simply teleported back home, for example.

But then Petra had come out with a comment I wasn't expecting at all, saying:


Petra: If he's your boyfriend or something, you can just say it!

She had then shrugged her shoulders, and with a yawn went back to her bed. Once again, Diego and I were too stunned to say anything. It was Alec who brought us back to reality, by timidly rising his hand to ask:

Alec: My hand hurts a bit here, I think I need a band-aid…
Gaia: Sure, darling, I'll take a look right away!

So I jumped up to help Alec wash away the ash and check again he didn't have any serious burns. Once I'd established that going to the hospital probably wouldn't be necessary, I grabbed the wrench to dismantle the explosive composters from the toilets throughout the house right away. There was no way I could go back to sleep after what happened, anyway.


Gaia: Oh, you're preparing breakfast?
Diego: It seems like the least I could do, we were all so scared... We need something sweet to lift our spirits a bit, right?


In fact, the hearty breakfast had calmed our spirits a bit, but one thing was clear: we had to hurry up and decide what to do.

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A few hours later, at Diego's bakery...


Diego: Whether we like it or not, I think everyone's figured it out by now. You should see how many messages Vale has already written me, if I step in her place today it will sound like a police interrogation...

Why does it take so much effort for us to share the news of our relationship with others, anyway? We are independent people, and we don't want the constraints of a traditional relationship to prevent us from cultivating our passions, but would it really cost us that much to make the news official? Are we just afraid of other people's judgment, or is there something else underneath?


Diego: ... and here's also a message from my aunt, fantastic...
Gaia: From your... aunt?
Diego: Well, yes. I mean, I don’t really care if Vale knows about this, I’m sure she’ll be happy. But she’ll certainly let something slip to Mom and Dad, who’ll tell my uncles and aunts, who’ll tell to the grandparents, and then their cousins… And they’re already constantly asking me why I’m not married yet, when the first grandchildren will come, and so on. If they knew we were together, they wouldn’t leave me alone. They already do the same with Vale, she always says to be patient with our relatives, that this is the way they're used to, but...

If everyone in her family is as talkative as he and Vale are, I can easily believe that news always travels so quickly between them. However, from those few words, I could already tell that he was part of a large family with high expectations of him. Not an easy situation, in short.


Diego: … I think it’ll be a lot of work, but I can’t do much other than explain to them how things are, right?
Gaia: While I will have to explain the situation to the children...

Let's be honest, my dear diary, the main fear I have right now is to upset my kids. What if I can't find the right words? Or if they felt neglected because I'm spending some time with someone who isn't their dad? Or...

Enough, my dear diary, even if it's scary and difficult, at this point I have no choice but to be honest!


Gaia: Petra, can you come downstairs? I have to talk to you about something important!

I have to remember my children are growing and surprising me with their maturity day after day, they'll understand. I hope. 

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A few hours later

Now that I talked with them, I'm starting to think I was overthinking this a lot for no reason. All three listened to me with a perplexed face for a while, and the moment they realised not much will change for them they simply went back to their homework and toys. 

I guess I was worrying for nothing, don't you agree, my dear diary?

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§HermioneSims§ corner

I'm opening this corner for a very brief game-related warning: if you haven't ever seen a toilet catching fire and want to prevent it, be extra careful with the "Composting Container upgrade" to the toilet (I think it's one of the eco-updates coming with Eco lifestyle). Apparently, making compost out of your "toilet organic wastes" can accumulate flammable material and trigger spontaneous combustion.

When playing this part I didn't know it, I had to learn the hard way!

Chapter 9.17: Family time


From Gaia's diary

I'm in a great mood these days, and also my job is contributing a lot to this. 


It's been a few months since the flood, the reconstruction is over and we can finally get back to new and more interesting projects. This place is almost unrecognizable from the old industrial port where I moved in, now it's full of greenery and solar panels.


I even managed to put some grass on the roof of the small neighbourhood bar, don't you think it livens up the atmosphere, my dear diary? The stellar core plant behind the hill, the one wanted and financed by my parents to fuel the growing energy demand due to the spread of teleporting, is now working at full capacity, and the neighbourhood has been completely redeveloped. More and more people are now deciding to move here from the city right now, isn't it incredible?

I still have so many ideas about this place, but I think that Tommy and my other colleagues have started to consider the renovation plan for the area as concluded by now. They will probably soon relocate me to some new project, who knows what it could be...
In the meanwhile, I'm very proud of what we managed to do, and I'm confident we'll do great also with the new work challenges we'll face in the future!

And of course work isn't the only reason why I'm so happy, after the kids went to sleep I had a great date tonight!


Diego: Well, see you in a week, then!
Gaia: I can't wait!


Diego is heading off to Tomarang, he's been waiting for this journey for months now. This is the first time since we started dating that our schedules don't allow us to see each other for a whole week, but I'm not too worried. The kids and I have a lot in the program, when Diego will be back we'll have a lot to tell each other!

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Petra: Hi, mom!


Gaia: (surprised) Oh, hi Petra! Is school over already?
Petra: (perplexed) You seem more distracted than usual, did something happen?
Gaia: What? No, of course not! I was just, ehm... Counting the beetles!
Petra: What, were you counting them? How boring... Sorry if I don't help you, but I rather do my homework.

Well, I guess Petra wasn't wrong, dating someone after so many years is certainly quite distracting... But I also think it's still early to talk about it with her and her brothers, so I preferred to change topic very quickly.


Gaia: Rather, I was wondering... By chance, are you bored being always alone?
Petra: A little bit, but it's not too bad.
Gaia: You see, I was thinking you could try to invite some of your schoolmates to our place, after school. You could play a bit, or do your homework together, or whatever else.
Petra: What, inviting a schoolmate? Uhm... I'm not sure, I don't like playing the same games as them. I think it would be boring. 
Gaia: Are you really sure they don't want to try something new, though? I don't think it can be that hard to convince them to play video games together, for example.
Petra: Well...

Petra doesn't really like her schoolmates. In part I suspect it isn't easy to be her friend, surprisingly she gets bored easily with many childish stuff. If we add that the neighbourhood school is pretty small and with few kids, it's not so surprising she isn't making any friends. 

She seems to have given up already, but I haven't instead. How hard could it be to find some other kids willing to play a bit with her?


The following day...


Petra: Can't we finish our homework before playing with the Simstation?
???: C'mon, I could have done my homework at my place too!

Well, today I went to pick up Petra in front of her school, chatted a bit with another mom, and tried to arrange a playdate with her daughter. Petra wasn't really impressed, from the dirty looks she gave me I'm already sure she'll complain about it for days. It's not easy to find someone who gets along with her, today I can admit I lost this battle, but I'm not ready to give up yet. 

At least, Petra didn't seem too mad at me, and ended up proposing to that girl she didn't really like to help me with some preparations. Indeed, today we are setting up a bit party: it's the twins' birthday, and it's gonna be fun!


I'm sure the cake will be perfect, Diego insisted on giving me one before leaving for his travel. This time he decided to play safe and make one full of chocolate, I couldn't wait to eat it either!


Gaia: Ready to blow the candles, Alec?
Alec: Candles, candles!



It's incredible to think they grew up so much already. They are so cute, don't you agree, my dear diary?


As it always happens at birthdays, they were covered in presents. They can't wait to play with all their new toys, but their favourite one happened to be made by Techna.


A drone, how cool! Alec, Nico, and even Petra played with it until they fell asleep, it's been a while since the last time I've seen them so focused on a new toy.

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Alec and Nico would spend all their afternoons playing in the garden, since I taught them some climbing holds to use on the monkey bars there is no way to make them come down until it's dark.


Petra, on the other hand, is spending more and more time with Techna. The first likes to learn and the latter likes to teach, so I probably shouldn't worry too much about this.


What does worry me, however, are the topics they talk about all the time. Is it really appropriate to talk to kids about the doomsday scenarios related to climate change, the lack of resources and so on?

It was time to discuss it a bit with Techna, just to be sure.


Gaia: I've noticed that you and Petra have been spending a lot of time together. But what do you talk about, all the time?
Techna: (vague) She is a very curious child, she mostly asks me questions about how much she studied at school that day, what she hears on TV, or how we robots work.
Gaia: I see… However, the other day I heard you discuss in detail about extreme rain events, with collateral damage and all. Do you really think that it's a good idea? She's still a kid, I don't want her to have nightmares!
Techna: I admit I didn't consider this aspect. Actually...

I have always trusted Techna. I mean, they literally helped me raise my children, why would I start doubting them now? And yet, even after all these years, I still know so little about what they really think, what their plans for the future are, why they bother helping us, and so on.

I'm probably overthinking this a bit. However, keeping an eye on them doesn't cost me anything, so...

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Today it's a great day, my dear diary. There is great news, the ski plants at Mount Komorebi reopened last weekend!

So that the ski season is officially open again, why not take this chance to teach the kids how to ski?


Nico: This snow is so slippery... Do we really have to go up there, and then slide down? 
Gaia: Yes, doesn't it sound like a lot of fun?

Alec can't wait to try skiing, Petra was indifferent as often happened when I suggested any activity to distract her from her experiments, while Nico seemed terribly scared.
I'm not surprised, Nico has always been the most scaredy-cat of the three, but in the end (usually) he doesn't hold back when he has to try something new. So we went ahead, with his twin trying to cheer him up.


Nico: No way, it's way too high! I'm not going down!
Petra: Well, then I'm going first! 



Petra and Alec did very well for their first attempt, they managed to slowly go down the slope and stop without falling. Nico, on the other hand, continued to refuse to go down, and the only proposal that could change his mind came half an hour later from his brother, who suggested sharing a sledge instead.


I thought we were having a fun afternoon, but I guess the little ones didn't really agree. A couple of hours later a small festival started at the bottom of the slopes, and at that point it was impossible to convince them to ski again.



I mean, I'm happy they enjoyed the snow festival, but I'm a bit sorry they don't really seem to enjoy skiing as much as I do. 

Still, I don't intend to insist: I still remember all too well how much I hated it when my father did it with me, when he wanted to teach me to swim at all costs. If they enjoyed this day, they will be the ones to ask me to go back.

But this didn't mean I couldn't go skiing a bit on my own on the serious slopes, as they have fun at the festival. I didn't try that slope in a while, I wanted to see if I was still able to complete it or not. 



Wow, what a jump! It's impressive that I'm still capable of doing such acrobatics!


…even though I keep falling at the end of the slope, I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.


And so our first time on the snow all together passed. I think it was a lot of fun, I hope I'll snow a lot this winter so we can return back soon and play together!

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Back to Evergreen Harbour, Petra couldn't wait to get back to work on her experiment table, but I decided to suggest something different. I still think that there must be some kids her age that she can get along with, I just need to convince her to come out of her room and meet new people. So, pretending nothing had happened, I suggested that we go to a playground that I know to be very frequented at that time of the day, and hoped for the best.


Gaia: There's a whole pirate ship over there, why don't you try to play in there? I'm sure you'd have fun, like at the snow festival!
Petra: But I don't know those kids, I don't want to...
Gaia: Why don't you at least try? If they aren't nice, we'll go home right away, I promise.
Petra: ... if you insist...


So I sat on a nearby bench and observed, while Petra looked around suspiciously. Her attention was soon drawn to another boy nearby who had just started doing his homework, I bet she wanted to ask him what he was studying.


It's pretty clear by now that Petra is a bit of a nerd, and from what Petra later told me that boy is even nerdier than she is. If I remember well, his name is Michael. Soon another little girl with her hair tied on top of her head joined them too (I'm quite sure her name is Emma instead), and the three of them played pretending to be boarding pirates until sunset.


Eventually, I was the one who had to say it was getting late and that we had to leave for dinner. I really felt proud this time, I was so happy seeing Petra having fun with someone other than Techna and her brothers.
I'll ensure Petra will remain in touch with these kids, this could be the start of a long friendship!