A Crazy Old Thing Called Love

On her way home from work one afternoon, Rimley popped in to see Latonia and her adoptive grandson. The little boy had already grown somewhat since his arrival in the world, not that long ago, and was becoming quite a handsome kid.

However Rimley is still not sure about the name Latonia had given him… Lavar!? (Nemm: What could possibly have been going through her head when she came up with that one?! Perhaps childbirth took away some of her brain cells…). Latonia was very happy though and Lavar was a good kid. Rimley was informed he slept at night right the way through till it was time for breakfast. He never woke up in the middle of the night, not even to sudden loud noises.
Latonia had not had much time in the past few months to visit the Newbrook family, so she asked Rimley how each of her own children were doing. Rimley gladly updated her on their news…

Lando continues to make friends at school. He brought one of them, Tyson Bagley, home with him one day. The pair had heard a rumor about a golden octopus which (supposedly) someone had seen in the lake to the east of Riverview. When they got home, Lando asked his mother if she knew anything about the creature.

Nemm: “These two are a bit gullible aren’t they?!”
Rimley: “My youngest son does get easily excited about most things.”
Nemm: “I know. Wonder where he gets that from..?”

Rimley (using a bit of imagination) told the boys that to see the golden octopus they would need to stand in the lake with their bare feet in water beside someone they really care about, and then kiss them on the lips, as only true acts of affection will draw the creature to the surface of the water. (Nemm: “Like I said… EXTREMELY gulible! And typical of this hopeless romantic sim to use romantic interactions in a made-up myth… even just to entertain her son and his friend!”)
This caused a problem for the boys as neither had a girlfriend. They thought about it during dinner. Both of them wished they could go back to school the next day, able to say they’d seen the golden octopus. Finally Tyson decided to share the only solution he’d come up with.

Tyson: “You and I are good friends… so in a way we care about each other. We could stand in the lake together! That might make the golden octopus appear!”

With that Tyson puckered his lips and glanced at Lando…
The awkwardness of the moment was almost unbareable. Lando cast his eyes to the ground and scratched the back of his head whilst explaining he just didn’t like his friend in that way… or any other male friend! He is only attracted to girls. Tyson was so embarassed, he excused himself and went home. The boys remain friends, but never speak to each other about kissing. And they never mentioned the golden octpus ever again.
On the other side of town, Yana pays a visit to her friend John Broke. She and John have been good friends since they were children and always keep each other up to date on what is going on in their lives. On this day, Yana wanted to tell John about her new job at the stadium and how her coach seemed impressed with her abilities so far.

John was happy for her, but at the same time was eager to find out if there was any possibility of getting free tickets to the next big game.

He liked to get free stuff whenever he could… heck! he probably came over to the Newbrook house extra often for the free food!.. But he really did like spending time hanging out with Yana. He asked if she would like to meet up the following afternoon to take a stroll alongside the river. Of course Yana was happy to go, as she’d often tried to encourage her friend to do more exercise (…not that John is a couch-potato but he’s just not as interested in fitness as Yana is).
After work the following day Yana walked to the river where John was waiting for her. As she got nearer she noticed he was rubbing his arms in a nervous manner.

When she arrived to within a couple of strides of him, John turned around. His nerves were getting the better of him, so he knew he must say what he needed to say straight away. Looking Yana in the eye, he smiled and took hold of her hand. Then John began expressing how much he loved and adored her and felt it was time they should move on and be more than just friends.

Yana’s jaw dropped in shock! She had not anticipated this situation and did not know what to say. She had never thought about John in a romantic way, as she’d always concentrated on her swimming and career. Having the concept sprung on her unexpectedly left her lost for words. At length all she managed to say was “We’re friends…“.
John let go of her hand, nodded his head once to suggest he understood her meaning, and then walked away in the direction of home. Still somewhat confused Yana eventually hailed a taxi from the side of the road and went home. As usual the Newbrook house was filled with noise from her family going about their lives… but all she needed was space to clear her mind and to understand what had just happened by the river.
Making a quick change into her gym clothes, she headed out for a long run. Out in the open air, whilst running through fields, Yana’s mind gradually focused on John. She felt sad knowing she’d brought him pain by not responding to his outburst of love and affection with similar feelings. He had been her closest friend for so long, sharing their secrets and biggest dreams with each other.

She could not imagine her life without him.
As these thoughts and feelings juggled around in her mind, Yana suddenly thought about John marrying some other girl and losing him forever. This idea brought unspeakable pain. She abruptly stopped jogging (she was miles away from town now) and cried aloud

“What have I done?!! I am in love with John!”

Next: Restoration