Chapter 7.17: Rowan

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I want to start with a small justification this time. I did it again, I decided to change the skin colour of the newborn sim in the legacy out of boredom.  

As you saw at the end of the last chapter, Rowan was born with the same light blue skin colour as Alba, but I found that idea very boring. If you think about it, I played that shade of aliens with Misty (gen 4), Cassy (Gen 5), Sirio (Gen 6) and Alba (Gen 7), and I really wanted some more variety. So I decided to cheat his skin colour to make it match with Olivier's as soon as I was able to modify him in CAS (i.e. when he turned into a toddler).

Also, I want to point out that also this generation was played well before the infants update in the game (early 2021!). Actually, the only generation where you'll see infants is the last one, because the save is just that old.

This said, let's go back to the chapter!

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From Alba's diary

Despite the years we spent taking care of Iris and River, the first weeks with Rowan had been quite an adventure for us. We had never taken care of a newborn before, after all. Objectively it takes a lot of energy, considering that little Rowan wakes up every few hours and that we're still learning to interpret the meaning of his every cry.

But, after all the effort and sacrifices we had to face to become parents, we certainly won't let a few sleepless nights stop us. 

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A few days after the birth of little Rowan, it was also time for Olivier's birthday. We were too busy with other things to throw him a proper party, but we were just too tired to feel sorry about it.

Alba: Hey Nacho, hi! I didn't notice you!

Nacho: Meow!

Alba: Happy birthday!

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The months pass, and little by little we are managing to enter this new routine.

The more time passes, the more little Rowan seems to resemble his father. He seems greener and greener, don't you agree, my dear diary?

I heard it sometimes happens with sixamians, probably I don't have to worry too much about it.

Olivier: Ehy, good morning!

Rowan: Daddy!

Olivier: Breakfast is almost ready, don't worry!

Alba: Ehy, that smells good! Are you preparing French toast?

Olivier: Yes. They're almost ready, actually.

Alba: Thank you very much!

Like every morning now, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, fed Rowan, put on our work clothes and rushed to bring the little one to the nursery before going to our offices.

Alba: When did you shave the last time?

Olivier: I don't remember exactly, you know? It could have been three days, or maybe a week...

Alba: I think it suits you. Even if it is a bit ticklish.

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Rowan is a very curious and energetic child, always asking to play something new or listen to stories.

Sometimes it's more tiring to keep up with him alone than with Iris and River together, Rowan just never stops for a second.

And, as time passes, we're more and more convinced that he is very intelligent. He learned how to speak very quickly and immediately started bombarding us with questions about how this and that other object work.

Everything would seem perfect, as long as we manage to forget about a certain person still periodically showing up at our place...

Drew: His growth seems regular to me, excellent.

Olivier: (tense) Good to hear...

I really don't understand why he's still keeping an eye on us, it's now clear that the pollination machine worked properly and that Rowan is a healthy child, what else does he need to study?

Yet Drew continues to come to us practically every week, always asking us the same questions.

Alba: (worried) Do you think something could still go wrong? Is that why we continue to keep an eye on us?

Drew: The parameters of you all seem perfectly normal, I really don't see how anything could go wrong. This is simple scientific punctiliousness, you have nothing to worry about. The only thing that was still puzzling me was your headaches actually, but if they are getting less frequent it most likely means that everything is going as expected.

Alba: Uhm…

Drew: By the way, is it normal to see so many bees in your garden?

Alba: Well, I put a hive in the garden, that must be why.

Drew: Stupid insects, I've never liked bees...

Maybe we really don't have anything to worry about, just like he says, but since I still don't perceive any nuance in his voice that could confirm to me that he's telling us the truth, I just can't avoid worrying either.

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Time passes, we have now reached the end of the year. When we were younger we always celebrated with our friends by attending some party, but at the moment we don't seem to have the time or the energy to do that.

So we just played and sang together a little while Rowan was sleeping in his room at the other end of the house.

… and then followed the midnight countdown on the small TV upstairs.

Olivier: (ironic) We're really getting old.

Alba: Yup...

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Living in a place like Sulani, little Rowan certainly couldn't ignore the sea. Now it's winter and it's too cold to enjoy a nice swim, but that doesn't mean we can spend entire afternoons playing with the sand, which is certainly not lacking on these beaches. 

Actually, to be totally precise, Rowan tried to jump in the water ignoring the high waves and the cool water at least three times, it took quite a lot of persuasion to convince him to build a sand castle instead.

Rowan: (curious) What is it?

Alba: Um, let's see... That's a coconut palm, I'd say.

Rowan: It's big!

Alba: Yes, it's really big, you're right!

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The following week, Lily decided to surprise everyone. Without telling us anything she managed to give all of us a temporary visa to enter Sim City for one day, so that the whole family could visit the city with her together at least once. I never thought too much about it because I've a double passport anyway, but I have the impression that this is also a symptom of a softening of Sim City's foreign policy, in the past it would not have granted us access so easily.

So Lily took the opportunity to take us to the flea market. Mom used to talk about it so often that it was almost strange to see that little square in person, even though we had never been there before it all seemed so familiar...

Olivier: Hey guys, I haven't seen you for a while, you're grown a lot!

Iris: Hey, it's all because you've stopped visiting us in Tech Sixam since the little brat was born!

Alba: Well, maybe it's partly true, but it's not nice to call him that, don't you agree?

Rowan: Hi!

River: But it's true, he's so little!

Alba: And he's also a great listener. So please be careful, he quickly learns everything he hears!

Rowan: Rino!

Iris:… And now what does he want?

Alba: I think he wants to show you his favourite toy.

River: Oh, okay… Um, nice puppet. I guess.

Rowan: He's Rino! 

So we had fun wandering around the stalls and kiosks selling foods with names I can't really pronounce, and also playing music at one corner of the square.

I haven't had this much fun in a while. This city is the exact opposite of Sulani, for better or worse. Here life goes by so fast that it seems impossible to get bored.

Olivier: (cautiously) Are you okay, Helios? Is that too spicy?

Helios: What? Ah, no, sorry, I was just thinking about a few other things...

The thing that worried me the most was seeing my brother, he still seems so sad... When River and Iris are around he always avoids talking about it, but he and Kate are still working together looking for whoever erased his memory. However, from what he tells us, I'm quite sure they haven't found any clues yet.

In these moments I feel so guilty, because Olivier and I now know many things we're obliged to keep secret, but which could also help him so much. Above all we know of Drew's involvement: if it wasn't him to personally wipe my brother's memories, quite surely it was someone close to him. But we can't afford to say anything, especially considering that Rowan is at least as involved as we are.

These dark thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Iris jumped up to say to us:

Iris: Hey, I heard that Sim City is famous for karaoke, and that aunt Alba and uncle Olivier are very-very good at singing! Come we go, can we?

Helios: Well, why not?

So Olivier and I continued to hide behind that calm face, to follow the others towards the next place.

Of course we missed singing like that, I couldn't say we didn't have fun. Olivier also won the karaoke competition of the evening, I was sure he would have succeeded. However, deep down, now when I am together with the rest of our family and our friends I can't help but feel like I'm living inside a huge lie: essentially, we are now playing the part of innocent people unaware of everything, when the reality is the exact opposite to. We did all this just to be able to become parents, and we couldn't imagine our lives without Rowan now, but will this guilt ever go away?

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