Chapter 9.17: Family time

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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!

Chapter 9.16: Rebuilding

 <-- Previous Chapter

From Gaia's diary

Petra: Ugh, is it still raining?

Gaia: A little bit, but the worst has passed. I don't think there's anything to worry about anymore.

In total, we were stuck indoors because of that exceptional rain storm for three and a half days, but for the kids it felt like forever. The sky then remained mostly cloudy, not to say drizzling, for days, but at least the water was starting to drain from the flooded areas and we were slowly able to resume our normal activities.

I had gone back to work and Petra to school, while Diego retrieved what he managed to from his flooded house and then went spending some weeks at his sister's place, in New Sixam, waiting for his house to be renovated. 

Gaia: Rather, how was your day at school?

Petra: Can't we just focus on my homework? It wasn't very fun.

Gaia: Why, did something happen?

Petra: (very annoyed) It's all Marc's fault, he's such an idiot!

I'm quite sure she wanted to vent a bit about it, because I didn't have to say anything else to make her explain what was bothering her.

Petra: All right, I'll tell you... That idiot keeps giving me notes during class, or he leaves them in my locker. He's always writing I'm so cute and he'd like to play together, yuck! 

Gaia: I see... And what did you answer him?

Petra: I just made sure he saw me tearing apart every single one of those stupid pieces of paper! (Frustrated) Why are boys so stupid?

At that point her expression was clearly disgusted. I know that boys and girls her age often don't get along, but isn't this a bit too much?

Gaia: Well, this boy's behaviour sounds quite inappropriate, why don't you just tell him to stop? 

Petra thought about it for a while before nodding at my suggestion. She always thinks a lot before making any decision, sometimes I think she's already more responsible than I am. But I was still the adult, and I still had something to point out to her.

Gaia: I don't see why you should avoid all boys though, people aren't all the same. Who knows, maybe you could find some other friends among your classmates, right?

This time her expression seemed particularly sceptical, but with a bit of reluctance I finally saw her nod again. Then she took her homework notebook and went back to her room to play with Techna and Nacho.

Thinking about it, I've never heard her talk about friends, nor has she ever asked me to go to the playground or to any playdate at some other kid's place. I don't want to interfere too much with my kids' choices, but is it really fine not to have any friends at all? Who knows, maybe I should try to encourage her a bit and see what happens...

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Like it or not, the return of good weather also means going back to my job. It's not like me to complain about it, after all I've always enjoyed what I'm doing, but after that flooding we have so much to do around the neighbourhood! 

I usually work on the redevelopment of the neighbourhood, but in this situation I was asked to take my matter recomposer and use it to remake objects and parts of buildings damaged by the disaster. I'm really giving it my all, it's heartbreaking every time I see the rubble and debris piled up on the sides of the streets again, and it's demoralising to see how slowly we're advancing. 

We had so many great plans for these months, and instead we ended up using our resources to fix what we already had. Not to mention the costs, the insurance companies (which, incidentally, have been reaching sky-high prices in recent years) are all refusing to cover the expenses to repair the whole damage. How long will it take us to get back to the pre-flood situation, and how much will it cost us?

Diego's house reparations are on our company's to-do list too, and I don't think need to specify I immediately volunteered for that job. I admit that at least in part I was looking for an excuse to spend some time with him, but on the other hand I wanted to be sure that his house was renovated quickly and nicely. He has already been through a lot because of this flood, I wanted him to be able to turn the page and go back to his travels.

Gaia: How deep was the water at the end? Judging by the mark on the wall, it seems like knee-level or something like that!

Diego: Looking at the state of the kitchen, I fear that the level may have been a little higher...

He was trying not to show it too much, but at this point I know him enough to say the moment was very hard for him. How could it not be the case, when all his belongings were ruined or lost?

Diego: I think I'll have to replace the floor, repaint the walls, redo the kitchen...

Gaia: Don't worry, by using the matter recomposer everything will be as good as new. Actually, this could also be a chance to improve the furniture a bit, did you have a specific style in mind?

Diego: Well… I don't really care that much, after all I'm not here often... For me, this is mostly a point of arrival for my travels, you know?

Gaia: I see…

Gaia: Leave it to me, then.

Recomposing the walls and floors to remove the water and restore the original colour wasn't difficult, it took just a few hours. And also the furniture, his appliances, or his precious kitchen equipment, had been restored in a very short time. No, it's something else that gave me a real headache trying to find a solution.

Diego said his house is just the point of arrival of his travels, but I don't think this is actually a full description: it is also the place where he cumulated all the memories he collected while exploring the world.

Over the years, he has accumulated tons of photographs, postcards, souvenirs and so on. Recomposing a table, even if turned in wood dust, is not difficult because I know its original shape and composition. But how can I restore a photograph or a letter now erased by the water?

Seeing these piles of memories now destroyed by the flood, I realized that this was the most difficult part for him. I felt so helpless, but what could I do?

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Within a couple of days, Diego's house was ready to welcome him again, more beautiful and modern than ever. He immediately took my suggestion to renovate his house a bit, and then started sending me a ton of messages about the materials to use, how to arrange the furniture and so on. Needless to say, his suggestions about the kitchen were particularly detailed.

I tried to integrate as many of his ideas as I could into the project, I love the result and I really hoped he would have liked it too.

Diego: Wow, is this really my house?

Gaia: Just like in your draft! It's much cooler now, isn't it?

Gaia: We also started working on the river that caused the flooding, we are cleaning it up to prevent it from happening again. Here instead, I tried to follow your ideas as much as I could, especially for the kitchen! For example, did you notice-

Diego: - the vertical planter? I noticed it right away, it will be perfect for basil!

Gaia: Good, I'm glad you like it!

I wasn't surprised, all the opposite. What worried me the most was his reaction to what I still had to tell him, unfortunately I had some bad news too.

Gaia: (cautious) About the smaller objects instead, well… As for the clothes and other things like that, I think I managed to put everything back together. At most, the colour could be a little different from the original, but that's not too bad, right? About all your photos, and your souvenirs, and your paintings collection instead… I'm so sorry, but the water has erased a lot of images and texts, and I haven't been able to reconstruct much.

Diego: You don't need to apologize, really. It just means I'll have to take many new photos on my next trips, right?

Gaia: …

Diego: (whispering) Thank you very much, really.

Now that I'm writing this, I realise I may have judged the situation in the wrong way. Or, actually, it may be fairer to say that my ability to judge the situation totally disappeared.

In my defence, he was the one who stepped in for a surprise thank-you-hug and who started whispering nice things to my ear. For a moment, I forgot why we were there, and then, well...

... I ended up kissing him. Now, brain, explain this to me: why do you always reflect on things and their consequences a second after I act, instead of a second earlier?

Because it wasn't hard to realise at all, that wasn't what he meant, nor the right moment. 

He was trying to accept the fact that from then on he would live in that house that, no matter how beautiful, for sure seemed so foreign to him, and he was also trying to resign to the idea that so many of his old memories had been destroyed in the flood. In that hug he was just looking for a little comfort, how could I misinterpret it?

Gaia: … Sorry, it wasn't the right time, I don't…

Diego: (confused) Sometimes it isn't easy to understand you, you know?

Gaia: …

Diego: I mean, it's that... But I also thought that you, I mean… (Shaking his head) What a mess... Maybe I should prepare something for lunch, it's getting late anyway.

I think that preparing lunch was just an excuse to gain some time and think about what to say, and I wasn't complaining because I desperately needed that time too. So, pretending nothing happened, I started absentmindedly scribbling down some plans, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"What to say" was definitively something I should have thought about in advance, what could I say at that moment? Was I supposed to just improvise and hope for the best?

Diego: I hope you like onigiri. I mean, you always talk about your trips to Komerebi, and I thought that-

Gaia: Yes, I love them!

It was clear that I wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed, he was also struggling to find the words to start that conversation as well. But we couldn't talk about onigiri all afternoon, someone had to break the ice.

Gaia: Listen, I'm really sorry. I know that today is already a complicated day for you and that I've been totally inappropriate. We don't have to talk about this, if you don't-

Diego: (interrupting her) Gaia, do you really think I wasn't thinking about it too? But I was convinced that you wanted to focus on your family, and that you weren't interested in a relationship with someone like me!

Gaia: Wait, are you kidding? I was the one who was convinced that it was you who didn't want to mess around with someone who has three children like me. I mean, you saw me first, it's obvious that I like you!

I clearly saw him blush, while he was hiding behind an onigiri to think about how to answer me. After a couple of bites, he finally decided to say:

Diego: … It's not that I mind spending time with your children every now and then, but… Well, by now it should be quite clear that I like travelling. Recently I've been staying here more often than usual to work at my shop, but I have a lot of new trips planned for the next few years. It's obvious that you want to stay here, but I don't intend to give up my travels.

Gaia: …

Diego: If I have to be completely honest, I've been single for so long for this very reason, because I was stubborn and I need gave up my culinary exploration trips. But they are important to me, they really are. And, of course, your family is very important to you, instead. 

He never said it out loud, but reading between the lines I also think he doesn't wish to become anyone's stepfather. I mean, he made it clear he's not really a kids person, and he's used to leaving at random moments for his travels. Settling down and taking responsibility for a family is quite the opposite of that kind of life, instead. 

And I was also avoiding asking a lot of questions out loud. For instance, would I really be able to give both the children and him enough time? And how would the kids react if I told them that I'd started a new relationship with someone who isn't their dad? Rationally, I'd think that my priority should be the three of them, but... I mean, after what happened earlier that day, I don't think I can rely solely on logic anymore. Is there really no better compromise that can make everyone happy?

After all, I've already made a lot of unconventional choices in my life. Why should I reason about this in conventional terms, then?

Gaia: To be honest, I don't even know what the kids would think if we told them... Petra in particular, considering the way she talks about boys in this period I'm afraid she would be very upset. No, I don't think they need to know.

Diego: (surprised)  Are you serious?

Gaia: Well, yes. I mean, we both have a teleport device. Even if you travel, how hard can it be to find some time to spend together?

Diego: You take me by surprise. I mean, it never crossed my mind this was an option... But it sounds great, I think we could give it a go! 

And that's how my relationship with Diego began. We often see each other in the evening, when the little ones are already asleep: sometimes I go to his house, sometimes we meet at the bar, and other times I teleport to reach him wherever he is in the world. Never before have I felt so grateful to the inventor of teleportation, together we are visiting so many places that I never even thought I could see.

For example, today I joined him during his trip to Hendford-on-Bagley, and we spent a fantastic evening at the village pub.

Diego: Welcome to Hendford-on-Bagley!

Gaia: (cheerful) Thank you for the invitation!

I'm happy like a stupid teenager in her first relationship, I really hope not to do anything dumb...

For the moment no one else knows. Most likely they would think that ours is a strange relationship without a future, but maybe we are weird enough to make it work. 

Next Chapter -->

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§HermioneSims§ corner

Hello again in my little corner! 

This time I'm here for two quick comments on this chapter:

1) Gaia didn't really realise it, but she reminded me a lot of Juno in this chapter. Like mother, like daughter, or just recurring lazy writing on my side?

2) Why is Diego smiling so much, all the time? Making serious chapters with him is almost impossible!