Fall 3002: Barnes household
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Dimitri Barnes is 28. Dominic Juarez is 32.
narrated by Dimitri
It’s been nearly a year since Amelia left me, and I think I’m finally moving on.
Well, I’m still a little upset.
I sat in the cemetery like I always do, reminiscing about our past and thinking about the future we should have shared. But this last time, it was different.
I continued to feel different when Dominic came over for coffee on the way to work.
It has been a routine with us, ever since Amelia died. It has helped with my coping with her death.
After I told him about what happened at the cemetery, he advised that it was my subconscious letting me know that I was finally over Mia’s death and ready to move on and start dating again.
I don’t know about all of that; I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over my Mia.
A couple of weeks later, I visited my alma mater, University of Rockport, for a lecture. One of my favorite places at URock is the campus bookstore, Books Gone Berserk, so I stopped by there to browse around, losing myself in their eclectic inventory.
The soft ring of the bell above the front door tinkled, before a confident voice followed, “Hey Rick, I’m returning those books you let me borrow. I owe you one.”
When I looked up, the beautiful voice was matched to an equally beautiful young woman. What stunned me the most was when our eyes met, I immediately felt the shock of attraction to this woman. All I could do was smile stupidly at her, as she went up the stairs to the second floor.
I made a split decision to introduce myself to her when she came back, but when she did, I was once again struck speechless.
I’ve never been a shy man; after all, my career is all about interacting with people every day. But I was tongue-tied with this woman, and as she neared the exit, I had a sudden fear that I was never going to see her again.
“Excuse me, miss?” I blurted out.
“Yes?” she replied, walking back towards me.
The sound of her sweet voice nearly made me mute again, but I forced myself to speak again. “I apologize for being forward, but is there anyway I could get to know you over coffee?”
She didn’t reply at first. She stared at me intently, fully appraising me. Just when I thought she was going to reject me, publicly humiliate me, she glanced at her watch and said, “Sure.”
Her condition, though, was that we go to the coffee stand on the second floor of the bookstore, which I readily agreed to. I went to retrieve our order while she secured us a table.
When we sat down, I immediately apologize for my communication skills, or lack thereof. “I’m not used to picking up women in a bookstore and was a bit nervous,” I explained.
I got the feeling that she didn’t believe me.
I felt that I was losing her interest, so I asked what she did for a living. She told me that she was a graduate student at URock, earning her master’s degree in psychology.
I had hoped that she wasn’t a student at the university, but at least she was a graduate student, which meant that she was at most five years my junior.
When she reciprocated, I told her that I was in politics, the mayor of Laurel Crossing.
I fully expected her to be impressed, but I was surprised at her frown.
“I’m sorry; I’ve got to run,” she said, rising to leave.
I panicked; what just happened? “Wait!”
“Was it something I said? Whatever I did to disturb you, I apologize,” I began.
She raised her hand to stop what I’m sure was me begging. “I have a firm policy in NOT dating politicians,” she replied. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
“Will you at least let me take you out to eat at the diner next door? Give me a chance to change your mind?” I asked. At that point, I didn’t care if it sounded like pleading.
She studied me again. After a long while, she agreed.
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Her name was Addie, more specifically, Adele Newman. Her father was Washington J. Newman, former mayor of Rockport and current governor of the Stone Province. From the stories I’ve heard about him, he was a formidable man with heavy influence. It was rumored that he planned to run for a ministry office next, eventually leading to prime minister.
She came from a family life of politics, filled with dull campaign fundraisers and long campaign trails, as well as absenteeism from her father; it explained her dislike of anyone in the political arena. She didn’t want her future children to be placed second after her husband’s career.
“Why on earth are you eating dessert first?” she asked me when our food arrived.
“Because I found that life is way too short to delay enjoying your rewards,” I told her, thinking of Amelia.
We talked some more, and two hours had past, way too quickly.
I offered to give her a ride home, but she insisted that she rather walk home instead. But we did exchange phone numbers.
“Thank you for giving me chance,” I told her.
She took my hand. “I’m glad I did.”
We shyly gave each other a kiss. I’m sure she felt the same bolt of lightning when our lips touched.
Addie started for home, and as I watched her leave, all I could think was how I just met my future wife.
It was time for me to move on, and I knew in my heart I was destined to be with Addie for the next 50 years and more.
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- The title is from Love Shot me Down by Night Ranger.
- Dimitri’s grieving for Amelia mirrored my own in a lot of ways. So when he didn’t spin any wants for her for three days straight and had a “Meet a New Sim” want, I realized that he was finally ready to move on. So it was time that I did as well.
- Dimitri was the one who rolled the CHANGE OF PLANS ROS. I had to re-roll his LTW, which changed to him wanting to celebrate a golden anniversary (hence the 50 years statement), which meant he had to get married. Since he obviously couldn’t get that with Amelia, as she had rolled a death ROS, I couldn’t change it until now. I mean, the death of a significant other can make you change your lifetime goal, right?
- I used the crystal ball to see if there were any potential matches out there. Most were elders or vacation townies; the only viable matches were Addie Newman and Summer Frazier. If you recall, Summer was Amelia’s nemesis in her career (and a big pain in the butt for Dimitri), so she was out. So the remaining contender was Addie, a dormie. I chose Adele for her birth name, as I was listening to Someone Like You at the time I wrote this update.
- To make myself feel better about Dimitri dating a college student, I made her a graduate student so the age difference wouldn’t be so much. Now I just have to figure out which career for her to enter. I have a good feeling about the two of them, even though she doesn’t like politicians (she has ZERO interest points in politics), she gets along well with Dimitri. They look good together and I can’t wait to see their romance unfold.
- Thanks for reading!
