EEValdes - November 2007

Edward Valdes is 44, Emerita ('Rita) Valdes is 44, Elmer is 18, Erline is 18.

Since you last saw the Valdes', they've moved out of Cedar Two Flat Apartments and into a house at 79 W. Cedar, across the street from CPS School.

Emerita loved the wrap-around decks and the different levels. She's always thinking about the entertainment factor. Edward loved that it had a basement and a garage. Elmer loved his new loft-style bedroom; he quickly converted it into an art studio.  And Erline?...Well, she just wished she could've taken Ray Wilsonoff with her.

Simyears ago, Ray lived downstairs from them at the apartment and she looked forward to seeing him everyday after school.  She believed he was the love her of life, when in truth, he was only her first love.  She's had a couple more loves since then but neither one of them affected her like Ray did.  In reality, it's hard to love someone that doesn't love you back. Ray recently got married and now she's having to let the fantasy of him go.

***
Emerita checks in on her daughter a lot these simdays.  Setting a glass of water down on the nightstand, the concerned Mom pulls the covers up over Erline.  Why does she looks so weak and pale?  Could she be on drugs?  It's really bothering her that her daughter has lost so much weight and is not eating like she should.  How many simdays has she missed from school?  Emerita thought.  This is her senior year.  She should be excited about her future!

***
"I'm taking Erline to the doctor tomorrow, Ed.  She's acting too depressed.  I thought she would snap out of it but it's going on 3 simweeks now.  She's missed school!  How the heck is she going to graduate?"

"I'm sure it's nothing, 'Rita.  She's only got two credits left to graduate.  She'll get those made up before June.  You gotta remember, she got dumped by Rashid and she's upset about it.  Erline will be alright. We both know that she's a drama queen."  Edward Valdes said with little concern.

"Aw naw...I know my daughter, and something's not right.  She's borderline cuckoo-dramatic, you know?!  How long are we gonna sit by and watch her have a major meltdown?  Did you see how loudly she cried over that movie we watched last night?!  She could hardly catch her breath!

"Aww hon, she was just feeling for the character of that love story."  Ed said.  "Believe me, she's alright...maybe a little embarrassed, the whole town is talking about her.  You didn't even go to the Anniversary party because of it. Maybe she's feeling like she's got nobody that understands her."

"I'd say falling out in the middle of the floor; beating your fists on the floor and sobbing your eyes out is a little way over the top, Ed.  Something's wrong."  Emerita pressed.

"Maybe she's getting into those margaritas downstairs?"  Ed chuckles.  'Rita glares at him like he's pushing his luck. 

"Well, ok.  Do what you think you have to, 'Rita.  I think Erline needs to get some ambition about herself and stop using sex as a means to love.  Where in the hell did she get that from?!" 

'Rita didn't answer but she remembered that time Erline walked in on them.  Maybe that sparked some kind of sexual curiosity in her daughter, and the explanation 'Rita gave them about the birds and the bees didn't suffice. 

Ed's rant interrupted her thoughts...

"Well, it's disgusting and we raised her better than that!   All that girl has ever thought about was finding some Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet!  For a few simyears now, I've been asking both the kids to consider working for me, but neither one of them has shown any interest.  BBV Motors could be theirs one simday. "  Ed sighed.  It's a serious concern for him to leave a legacy to his kids.

***
'Rita and Erline pull up to Simmington Hills Medical Center the next morning.  Erline could hear the pounding in her heart and wished the whole thing was over with already.

Dr. Trinity Dalton had talked with Emerita briefly over the phone when she made the appointment. That conversation, coupled with the rumors she'd heard around town, gave Trinity an idea of what the situation might be. She ushered Erline into the examination room for a quick consultation as Emerita waited outside her office.

"You're perspiring, are you okay? Do you need some air?" Dr. Dalton reaches over to the wall and turns the temperature down some, in the already chilly room.  

"So, what's your diet like, Erline? I noticed you've lost a considerable amount of weight since I last saw you." Dr. Dalton commented.

"Well...I can't keep anything down. I've been drinking Ginger Ale, but that only seems to help some of the time." Erline nervously fidgeted with her jeans.

"How long have you not been able to eat?!" Dr. Dalton tried not to alarm her patient but it was too late.

"A little over a month now. The only thing I can keep down is water. I just don't have an appetite." Erline fights back the tears. She sees the realization in Dr. Dalton's face and knows why she's sitting in that chair. She's not had a period since September.

"I'm gonna need you to get undressed and I'll be back in just a minute." Dr. Dalton left the room and hearing that door close, Erline never felt so alone in her life. Her body shaking all over, she carefully put on the gown that was hanging in the corner.

***
After the exam was over, Dr. Dalton led Erline to her office to have a sit-down with her and her Mom.

It was not surprising to see Tyisha Masters walking towards the steps as she was coming down. Can my life get any worse right now? Erline thought. The last thing she needed was for Tyisha to tell Rashid that she was at the hospital. Everybody knows she's not been to school...and now there would be more rumors to deal with.

Please SimGod, don't let my child be pregnant. 'Rita prayed silently as she waited for Dr. Dalton and Erline to come back from the examination room. Emerita Valdes has only been pregnant once in her life, so her daughter's weird behavior and symptoms just didn't occur to her until she was sitting there waiting in the hospital for what seemed like an eternity.

"I hope you don't mind, Emerita, but I'd like to talk to Erline alone for just a few minutes. Then we'll call you in." Emerita watched as her daughter went into Dr. Dalton's office with her head bowed. She didn't even look at her! Emerita felt as if she was going to be sick and headed for the nearest bathroom.

***

"I'm not gonna play games with you and sugar-coat this. You're pregnant, Erline. You're about to be in your 2nd trimester.  It looks to me like you're due sometime in late spring, early summer. You might not be able to graduate with your class, but I don't know. It depends on that baby you're carrying. But I have a feeling you already suspected what I'm telling you."

Hearing the words out loud hit Erline like a ton of bricks.

"Have you talked to the father at all about this situation?" Dr. Dalton looked carefully into Erline's eyes. She didn't like what she saw there.

"Do you even know who the father is?"

"Well, I've only been with two lovers despite what everyone's sayin'..." Erline tried to talk past the huge lump in her throat.

"You would've conceived either late August or early September.  That was only a few months ago."  Dr. Dalton said urging Erline along.

Erline rolled her eyes back in her head trying to conjure up the memories and remember the dates.  She thinks back to late August...

***

She remembers meeting Ray at the Lara Inn Motel one sunny afternoon. It was the last time they hooked up.

He left her there sleeping and when she tried to call him by phone repeatedly, he never answered her calls.

He never officially broke things off.  But Erline later heard through the 'grapevine' that he was marrying that red-headed woman he was attached to the hip with at Kent Camp.  Well, no wonder he looked so embarassed when she kissed him at the Fresh Market back in October! She had been trying to get him to pay for a pregnancy test then.

To make Ray jealous, Erline flew into the arms of Rashid Cunningham a couple weeks later.

***
"Umm...I don't know!" Erline admitted.  "I don't know WHO the father is!"

Emerita came into the office at this point and was told the facts straight out.

"Uhmm.  We have an issue with paternity." Dr. Dalton explained.

"What do you mean 'we have an issue'? Rashid Cunningham is the father, right?" Emerita looks at Erline wondering what the confusion is about. There's no puzzle pieces missing from this equation.

"I had sex with Ray too, Mama!!"  Erline blurted out, half-thinking her Mom should've known this by now.  It's been 5 simyears, off and on.

"Ray WHO??!" Emerita yelled, feeling the heat come to her face.

"Obviously, she means Ray Wilsonoff." Dr. Dalton tried to keep both the women calm.  "We can do a DNA test once the baby is one simyear old."

Emerita had to take a deep breath.  Her thoughts drifted to all those times she had found Erline down in Ray's apartment.  She never thought there was anything more going on than him helping her with her homework.  She felt so stupid.  Even moreso, she felt like she had once again dropped the ball.  Just like that time when the social worker almost took her kids away.

Erline asked, "Why so long?"

"We have to wait that long because of SFDA regulations.  There's nothing I can do about that.  If you'd like I can notify both men when the time comes."

Erline nodded in agreement.

"In the meantime, I'm gonna prescribe some prenatal vitamins and suggest that you start drinking organic juices.  Strawberry Juice will keep your blood pressure down and stabilize your body temperature.  You really should be wearing warmer clothes right now, Erline.  The Vegetable Cocktail will help keep you focused on the school work your teacher sends home."

Looking at Emerita, Dr. Dalton says, "I'm gonna write a note to Maxine Wise and Steve VanHouten to let them know Erline will not be attending class for awhile.  She can go back when and if she feels comfortable in doing so." 

Dr. Dalton stood up and shook both their hands. 

Now to break the news to Ed and Elmer.  The whole way home, Emerita kept wondering how she was ever gonna have the strength to cook a Family Thanks Day dinner, but somehow she managed.  There was no big party, no friends over this simyear...all Emerita needed was her family.

And at the dinner table all the anxiety and disappointment from earlier in the simday vanished. All the tears had dried up. All the anger put away for now.

Her husband and kids rallied together to rejoice their strength as a family and talk about the new life coming into their fold.

They had a lot to be thankful for even if it seemed hard to be thankful...Erline told her Dad at dinner that she will consider working at BBV Motors.  Her Dad needs help with the business now that he's basically starting over since the hurricane.  It made Erline feel relieved to finally have some kind of goals for her life.  She'll take business classes at WilTech to help prepare herself.  And another good thing, she'll be able to stay at home and get the help she needs with her baby.
---
First off, I have to explain Erline's "weight loss".  I am preparing her for next month's preggie bump, and the fat mesh I use for her doesn't have pregnancy clothes. I am really not sure how this stuff works.  So to be safe, she 'lost weight' this round.  Don't pregnant women sometimes lose weight in the beginning? 

Elmer and Sierra Spencer went on their first date since they started going steady (see CPS - October 2007 Fall School Session).  I'm really proud of him for becoming an honor student at CPS.  He's ready to graduate and will be going away to Sims State to study art.  He's the older twin by a few minutes and he acts like it too.

Ed Valdes' BBV Motors was once the most successful business in Simmington Hills at a Level 9 and numerous Best of the Best Awards and Great Reviews.  But, since the hood was reinstalled, he's having to start over from scratch.  Hopefully, he'll get back up there again.

Here's some examples of how this game mysteriously played into my storyline:

Tyisha Masters just happened to appear at the hospital.  My jaw dropped on that one.  You best believe that Rashid is going to find out about it.  She later showed up at Ed's BBV Motors too!  I could've gone somewhere with the interaction she had with Ed, but decided not to.  I'm a little perturbed with her for buying a car.  (I still like my playables shopping on their own, despite my irritation, it makes things more challenging.  Plus I like to see what they buy.)  But, I have to say that Cameron and Stacy don't have simoleans to throw around like that, nor do they have the room for another car on their lot. 

Steve VanHouten, Erline's high school teacher, called the house AND BBV Motors to speak with her.  Like he was wondering how she was doing, or why she's missed school.

And lastly, get this...Emerita went shopping for those organic veggies/fruits at the Fresh Market (I want Erline to get rid of that furious bit with Rashid, I'm tired of the trash cans being knocked over.)  Anyways, Emerita ran into Lydia Wilsonoff at the store.  Talk about putting me in a predicament!  Do I have 'Rita tell Lydia what's going on?  Or do I leave it alone for now?  I decided to leave it alone for now.  It was Family Thanks Day, afterall.  That's my excuse.  LOL!  Emerita has never liked Lydia for some reason.  Her daily relationship with her is in the negatives.  I am hanging onto the pics I got of them arguing, though.