Catching up

Most of you following this blog know a lot of my updates are being posted on my Facebook page. For those of you who are NOT regulars to my page, I’ll try to give a brief rundown of what’s been going on in Sunset Valley.

Mom got a new car! (Pastel pink of course) It’s one of those classic roadster type deals. Myself, I’ve been looking at another scooter to replace my trusty Kenspa, which I will give to Sety, who’s now a teen.

And she isn’t the only one with new wheels. This little ditty belongs to Bassy. He claims it has 140 horsepower, and Neil, he of the new dame on his shoulder, is the one he says souped it up.

I got new neighbors over on Pinochle. They moved here from Twinbrook and I have to say, they’re a bit … strange. I walked in to introduce myself (which, most of you reading this blog know, is tough for me to do!) and I must have caught her by surprise because she jumped. Apparently she had been doing some kind of upgrade or something because she had a wrench in her hand. We kinda looked at each other in suspicion.

Andy told me later she was Clare de Visser and she’d come to town with her parents and her girlfriend, Shana Jeffries. Shana was in the athletic track with him, that’s how he knew about it.

Andy went to the consignment store and picked up THIS little ditty. When he surprised me with it, he said it was a ‘metal box’ that I might be interested in. Oh Andy. Anybody with eyes could see it’s a time machine. Any man that buys his wife a time machine – knowing how crazy she is about history – is a keeper.

I hired Joyce Ann Ward, a famous photographer, to take pictures of my family, particularly my parents. I’m not sure how much time they have left so I’ll treasure them while they’re still around. She arrived ahead of schedule, catching my dad by surprise.

Dad was in the art room. “Who are you?” he asked with his sideways grin.

“I’m Ms. Ward,” began the redhead. “Your daughter hired me to come and take pictures.”

Dad laughed and shook his head.

Of course, this presented another problem. Since Ms. Ward arrived early, Bassy decided to make his presence known.

She asked if she could take a casual portrait of him in his bedroom, and he said yes, so he led her into his room. I asked him about this, and he swears up and down that nothing happened. Of course, this is my brother I’m talking about, so I don’t believe him for a second.

This is because he made his intentions plain the next day by openly flirting with her.

“I’d like to take a hot picture of you,” I overheard him telling her. Ugh. Seriously, Bassy, could you at least conceal your lasciviousness? I mean, I hired the woman to take pictures of the family. Talk about mixing business with pleasure. I still don’t know for certain if they slept together… but knowing my brother, I don’t doubt it.

The next day everyone gathered slowly in the courtyard for the family photo. Ms. Ward told all of us to find a place to stand.

Well this is all of us... except for Satis and AJ. Satis showed up 10 mins AFTER this was taken. I was pretty ticked.
Ok here's who's who. In the back row are Daisy Ramsey (Sebastian's GF), Bassy, my half-brother Noah, his wife Sadie, and their son Neil. In the next row are Dad, Mom, Andy and me. And that devil in the front is Imsety.
Of course, getting the pic taken was a major challenge, partly because it's hard getting everyone together with their schedules... and the other reason is because my brother made no secret about his affection for the photographer. Bassy could charm the pants off of a nun, seriously. It's crazy.

Birthday Blues

So, this is my not-a-kid-anymore brother, Sebastian Ryan Plumb, otherwise known as Bassy.  Except he wants to be called Sebastian now since he thinks he’s so grown, hehe. Mom wanted to go the full Monty and name him Johann Sebastian (after Bach) but Dad said no to that idea. They compromised on “Sebastian.”  I tease Bassy and tell him it could have been worse -- he could have been Wolfgang Amadeus (after Mozart) or Ludwig (after Beethoven).

First thing he wished for when he blew out his candles... was to go to Egypt!!! Oh and we did NOT invite that lady who showed up in the pink evening gown, lol.  Sometimes I wonder what I’ve done to that kid.

Except… if my brother is so grown, how come he still watches cartoons every morning, has a collection of toy planes, and listens to kids music?  Right now, though, he’s dead set on going to Egypt. He's so obsessed now that he's sleeping with an Egypt T-shirt on every night and I'm not sure WHERE he got that from. So far there's no talking him out of it and I can’t say I’m happy about it. Mom says it’s my fault because I’ve surrounded him with all the relics from Egypt throughout his childhood.  So, I'm going to compromise with him. I'm going to ask him if I can accompany him. Look at the guy. When it came time to hand out genetic blessings, mom and dad saved them all for him.

 

“Sebastian, what do you intend to do with yourself?” Mom asked over the birthday cake.  “I thought you were going to put out that album.”

“I actually think I’m going to move to Bridgeport.”

“Bridgeport?  That’s all the way down the coast.  Are you sure?”

Meanwhile, I ate in the kitchen with Daisy Ramsey, Sebastian’s sort-of girlfriend.  Truth is, they’ve been pals since they were children.  She’s like 3 days older than he is and, truth be told, I think she’s got a teensy little crush on him.  The other boy is Michael Falcon, who went to his high school. 

I feel kind of weird.  My own birthday is coming up in a few days.  Gosh I feel ancient.

Graduation Day

Just before going over to my parents’ for Bassy’s birthday bash, I decided to help Cheesebum out in his small veggie garden.  “I didn’t know you gardened,” he teased.  “Didn’t think you’d want to get your hands dirty.”

“Mom was big on gardening,” I reminded him, “everything Bassy and I ate from the time we were born until the time we’ve grown up, was made from ingredients grown in the garden.”

“Wow – so a special diet eh?”

“I guess you could say that.”

We got to the Community School at 5:30 and then took our seats in the auditorium.  Bassy showed up in his cap and gown, flashing his million-watt smile.  I swear, the kid could be so incredibly cheeky sometimes.

He’d asked me a couple times to help him with his valedictorian speech.  He didn’t need my help, he killed it on the podium.  In fact I don’t even think he used his prepared speech.  “I’d like to thank mom and dad, for being famous enough to hire tutors and choosing not to.  I’d like to thank my brothers for being way older than me and not being around to fight, and I’d like to thank my sister, for braving all those tombs and providing all those relics for the archaeology exhibit, thus giving me tons of extra credit…”  He sure stuffed the pomp down their circumstance.

      

We went to the park for the baccalaureate ceremony.  When I got there, dad was debuting his latest composition, and it was a treat to see him out and about again.  These days he likes to leave the spotlight to the younger folks, but he proves time and again that he’s still Sunset’s greatest performer and will be until he goes to the great beyond.   

Neil (yes that’s him in the orange tie) chose this occasion to debut his new GF, Noelle Hong (in the brown pants).  I’m betting she’s the one behind his new wardrobe.  The Neil I knew wouldn’t be caught dead in that outfit, that’s more Bassy’s taste.  The funny thing about him dating Noelle now is that Noelle was liking Bassy.    

When I sat down to eat, Celina Tripp joined me.  Now who is she?  She’s the daughter of Esther (Hick) Tripp and Antwan Tripp and the half sister of Billy Tripp.  I can’t say I know her well, since she’s a good deal younger than I am.  But she’s a cadet on the police force and has been my main source for Bassy and Neil gossip since I can’t watch them 24-7. 

“You know Noelle has already moved into the mansion?” Celina whispered.

“Really?  Which mansion?”

“The Alto mansion.  Where Neil and his parents live.”

“That’s quick.  How long have they been together?”

“Since they got out of school I think.”

I decided one of these days I need to have a chat with Ms. Hong.   I need to know if she’s true blue or a gold digger. 

Valedictorian

I can’t say I’ve been handicapping the valedictorian race over at the school very closely, what with AJ’s arrival and my own life unfolding, but a part of me knew that my youngest brother had the inside track on that honor. And I developed mixed feelings on that.

As most of you reading this blog know, I narrowly missed being valedictorian of my own high school class – mostly because at the beginning of high school, I was so insistent on doing my own thing, which meant skipping class, not doing my homework, and being brought home by the police instead of being in bed and getting ready for school – that by the time I did finally work my grades up, I missed out on being valedictorian by mere percentage points. I missed out on salutatorian as well, ending up ranking 3rd in the class.

So now, when I visited the mansion (it’s so strange calling my house “the mansion” – Andy and I and the kids now live clear across town, by Pinochle Pond), I ended up analyzing my brother’s chances to do something I didn’t – yet again. And they were very, very good – better than even money.

Bassy came up to me after work that night and spilled the beans to me. “Guess what, Vanna?” he began excitedly. “I’m valedictorian!”

“Wow that’s terrific, Bassy, congrats!” I said to him, giving him a big hug.

“Don’t tell mom and dad yet,” he whispered conspiratorially.

“You mean they don’t know?”

“It’s not supposed to come out till next week.”

I called the school and yes it’s true. My darling not-so-little-anymore brother, Sebastian Ryan Plumb, was just named valedictorian of this simyear’s high school class! And I’m the first person he told, even before he told mom and dad. Another thing, unlike my situation, where there were 3 good candidates, in his case it wasn’t even close. He blew them all away.

Valedictorian! Gosh things just came so easy for him. Everything. He was not only the smartest kid in the class but the most popular as well. He wasn’t much of an athlete but he was first chair in the school orchestra, he played Romeo in the school play, in addition to being in the honor society. It was just so smooth and effortless. He didn’t break a sweat at all. I can’t help but be a little bit jealous.

Dad dropped out of school, Noah was a B student, I barely missed valedictorian, and now he’s actually valedictorian. See a pattern?

I found this old pic of him and Neil while I was going through some things. How time flies, Neil is already YA while Bassy has a couple days left before his graduation and his birthday.

Now that Bassy is actually valedictorian – he wants to be a rock star??? Seriously, with that head on his shoulders, he could be a doctor or something. He’s selling himself way short.

I love my brother, in fact there isn’t anything in the world I wouldn’t do for him. He’s now beaten me at 2 things – first kiss and valedictorian. My brother has more talent in his pinkie than I have in my whole body. When it came to handing out genetic blessings, mom and dad saved everything for him. There’s a part of me that’s just a little bit sore. But there’s another part of me that’s proud as hell. I’ll be the crazy lady in the front row, clapping the loudest at the graduation ceremony.

Bassy's day at the gym

"I tried out for football today," Bassy announced yesterday evening during dinner. "And, ya know, I sucked. Coach told me I had to lose twenty pounds if I wanted to play."

"So -- do you really want to play football?" I asked him. "I thought you were going to cut that CD."

"I still am -- but I think I have to get in shape first."

"I just wonder if playing football is the way to do it." Dad asked. "Could you find something -- less dangerous?"

So I offered to take my adorable kid brother to the gym. It went pretty good at first, as Bassy and I got on treadmills.

After awhile, though, it became apparent that he needed -- um, a lot -- more work than I thought he did.

Meanwhile, I tried to keep my heart rate up while staying steady on a machine I set to go faster and faster.

Then, in the middle of my workout, the cell phone rang. It was, of course, Sim Weekly magazine. They've been trying to get an interview with me since I FIRST went to Egypt and I've denied their requests. Now that I'm attempting to adopt Satis and Imsety, they've been following me around, everywhere. I feel like I'm being watched all the time, in some kind of warped virtual-reality show.

I thought back to dad's convo the other day, about wanting to hire a personal assistant for me. At the time I told him it was foolish because I'm a grown woman and don't need to be baby-sat. But I can't possibly fend off all these interview requests by myself. I'm tired of it all, really.

Bassy's musical dreams

Now that all the sentimentality is out of the way....

Bassy appears to be dead serious about cutting a CD.

He and Neil have suddenly got it in their heads that they're going to form a band and become famous rock stars. Actually, I think Bassy is the main culprit, he's just taking Neil along for the ride.

Just the other day at dinner I heard him broach the subject to dad. "Boys," dad said, "you know how much work goes into releasing a CD?"

"Duh," Bassy retorted, rolling his eyes, "I've only heard this story from you, like, a hundred million times." He was half grinning as he said it though.

"Here's what we're gonna do," I heard Bassy say in Dad's study, with Neil hanging on his every word. "We're gonna go over to the theater and check out the equipment..."

So, the next morning, I confronted Bassy about it. "You sure you want to do this?"
"I've never been so sure about anything in my life."
"What's going to be on the CD? Can't have a CD without anything on it. Are you going to write songs or do covers of others?"
"Well," he told me, "I've got one song written and Dad has given me permission to do modern-rock covers of three of his --"
I let out a deep breath. His mind was already made up. Come hell or high water, even if he falls flat on his face, he's going to do it, no matter what anyone says. Hmm, sounds damn familiar doesn't it?

I am in no way saying that he will fall flat on his face, heck, he has more musical talent in his pinky than I have in my body. There's no way he can. I mean, the girls fall all over him and they haven't heard him play a note yet.

Neil and Bassy

I'm headed back to Egypt in a few days. As soon as I'm done with my next book. You see, I'm under contract with my publisher for 3 novels. Since Interview with a Mummy is flying off the shelves, I decided on another Egyptian-themed novel. I don't have a title yet, but it's kinda, sorta, a sequel to "Interview."

I’ve also been poring over legal documents on the internet, trying to study international adoption law.  The process is so agonizingly slow, I wonder if the children will be grown before a decision is made on the case. 

 

 
You know, while I was working on my book, I heard the strangest thing. 

Neil's laughter.

Seriously, it's the first time since he got here that he actually allowed himself to laugh out loud. He's always been so withdrawn, quiet and keeping mostly to himself. It's good to see the two of them, Neil and Bassy, hanging out together. You'd never guess, though, that Neil is the one who is 4 days older than Bassy is.

 

 

 

Bassy appears to be the tonic that Neil needs. I've seen how he hangs onto every word Bassy says.
But given who Bassy’s father is.... I really don't think it's a good idea having him as a 'role model.'  I mean, all Bas has to do is just flash that killer smile of his, and girls swoon and bat their eyelids. Although I've noticed how Neil still stays in the background, hanging back and letting Bassy steal the limelight.

 

I am apprehensive though, when those two are together. They could get themselves into all kinds of mischief. Although I did tell Noah that Neil never once broke curfew, he and Bassy DID sneak off to the theatre one time. But hell, boys will be boys. They need to let their hair down at some point.

I was a teenager once.  Hell, I did worse things than those boys. I practically lived in the back seat of a cop car.   Mom and I were at each other’s throats almost every day. 

 

It's something we always seem to neglect.... feeding the fish.  But Neil took it upon himself to maintain the aquarium, diligently feeding the fish, cleaning the tank.  Even the maids conveniently ‘forget’ to do that, even though we pay them $125/day to do it. 

 

Let’s not go there about the boys’ appetites.  

Mom fixed a pipin' hot plate of burgers last evening, the boys ate them all by themselves.  Nobody else had any, not even dad. Then again, they are teenage boys, they’re supposed to eat to ballast those growing bodies (and out of control hormones). 

It was good to see Neil eating too.... he was so thin, his skin was in poor condition from snacking on junk food, and now it has a healthy glow.  At first he was merely picking at his food, staring at it as if it was some alien thing from another planet, then we realized why..... he’d been living on bread and jam and ice cream, and the only time he'd get 'decent' food, was at school, or the leftovers from a meal that Sadie would bring home, after she'd finished work. 

I thought dad was off his rocker, agreeing to take in Neil, but now, I see that he did the right thing. My nephew is flourishing. He's growing up so fast.

Dad was right.  Again.
One thing about my father that folks just don't seem to understand, is he may seem like he's 'out there' or his head is in the clouds. But he has his finger on the pulse of situations like no one I've ever known.

Now I understand why he's been so supportive of the adoption. Not once has he ever disagreed with my decisions but simply nodded his head..... he knew.... he's always known...but that's just dad… That’s just who he is.