Hold my life

Round 32: October 2035 (Spring)

last update/Malcolm's next update/Adrienne's next update

Adrienne Novak is 28 and Malcolm is 25.
(Amar is 34, Miles is 32, Matilda is 29 and Hope is 24)

Narrated by Adrienne Novak

It's just me and Malcolm in the house now and I have to admit that he's really not so bad.

We both have Mondays off and seeing everybody else is at work, there's not much else to do during the day except hang out with each other.

Well, I don't, anyway. Malcolm is in his final year of med school, so he generally has plenty to do. And he hates it when I hang around while he studies too.

It's hard to believe my little brother is so close to being a doctor.

It seems far too adult a position for someone I caught jumping on the couch the other day.

Despite his questionable maturity, Malcolm has somehow managed to keep this thing going with Hope for two years now.

Hope is a little more relaxed this time around. Malcolm always said she was kind of high maintenance.

Even so, I think Malcolm has stepped up his game a bit. Hope was reluctant to take him back at first, so he had to.

Hope has ideas about getting married just as soon as Malcolm finishes med school. She hasn't actually said anything to Malcolm about it but she asked me if Malcolm had mentioned engagement to me.

My brother and I are getting along better than we ever have these days but I'm quite sure I'm still the last person he'd talk to about anything like that.

It feels like everyone is getting married or thinking about it these days. My best friend Matilda got married last year and she and Miles are still very much in the newlywed phase.

He's still doing all that romantic stuff like surprising her with flowers when he visits her on set.

She doesn't gush so much any more but they're definitely still very happy.

Despite the fact that I've never considered myself the celebrity worshipping type, I really love hanging out on the set with Matilda. Normally, you can't just stroll into the make-up trailer but when I'm with Matilda, no one blinks an eye.

They don't like to upset the talent, I guess. It's surreal to think of Matilda that way, even though she's starred in quite a few movies now.

I don't care how famous she gets; I'll always remember her as my best friend since grade 7, with the unrequited crush on my cousin.

Matilda hasn't changed at all since her career took off, so it's been easy for us to continue as normal. I miss having her living here but I still see her a lot. She'll come over and we'll hang out talking on the couch, just like old times.

Lately, the main topic of conversation is Amar and when we're going to "settle down".

I think once people get married, this must be what they do with their single friends. Try to get everybody else to get married too.

I should have expected it from Matilda. She's a total romantic at heart.

Somewhere along the line, this thing between Amar and I turned out to be pretty serious. Out of the people I've met since I gave Sylvia up for adoption, he's the only one who knows about her.

He was full of questions when I told him, which irritated me but I had to tell him. It felt wrong that he didn't know. I trust him.

Marriage though? It's not something we've discussed at all.

Sometimes, the thought terrifies me. I can see myself with Amar for the foreseeable future but some days, that big step seems just a little too scary.

Other times, it doesn't feel like a big deal at all and more like the next natural step in our relationship.

I have no idea what Amar thinks about marriage. The other night, he told me his brother Zane just proposed to his girlfriend Chloe.

Matilda thought he was testing the waters, to see how I'd react but I don't know. It's his brother. Why wouldn't he tell me about that?

Besides Amar is more direct than that. If he wanted to know what I thought, he'd just ask me.

Regardless, it's not the kind of thing I'm going to be up all night worrying about. If we ever decide to get married, then great. If not, then that's fine too. I'd be just as happy if we didn't get married.

I do think I'd like us to move in together though. Amar's place makes the most sense.

It's quite small but I like it a lot. It would be just the two of us, so we don't need a ton of space anyway.

We spend a lot of time there already. Amar lives alone, so we have infinitely more privacy at his place.

I already have some of my things over here, just because I so often spend the night and it just makes it a little easier.

Amar is totally fine with that but I hope he's just as agreeable to making this a more permanent arrangement.

Notes:

• Title is from Hold My Life by The Replacements.
• I think Malcolm might be my only Fortune/Pleasure Sim but it's such a weird combination. Half the time, he just wants to study for promotions (and sorry but you've been promoted as far as possible until you finish med school, buddy) and the rest of the time, he wants to jump on the couch and juggle the cups from the espresso machine in the kitchen. Hope's secondary is also Pleasure, so they're well-matched in that respect.
• So that's a tiny sneak peek of the first part of my film studio lot. It will probably be called Okapi Studios, as I was thinking of Fox Studios here in Sydney and decided to name it after a different animal. I didn't like it much until I actually took some Sims down there. It's the kind of lot that's a bit boring unless it's bustling. I should have a lot tour up soon.
• It's probably going to be advantageous for Amar if he lets Adrienne move in. He's in a little bit of debt and Adrienne has a seriously nice bank account going! I think they would have ended up moving in together anyway but I can see them making it a financial decision (being both Romance/Fortune Sims).
• This session, I noticed there's an issue with Amar's house. I haven't actually played him there properly yet, so I never noticed it before. When he tries to make a meal, I get a pop-up that the fridge is empty. He has no option to have any groceries delivered, by computer or phone. Even buying a new fridge didn't work. Adrienne and Malcolm can cook just fine, so I'm assuming it's not a hack issue. Gah. I really love how I have his house decorated, so I guess I'll use the Stay Things shrub and move him out and back in and hope that fixes it? Fingers crossed.