household:  Nina (Caliente) Lotherio = adult

Neila Lotherio = teen

Fuzzy Lump = worm rat

“Neila, please take what ever you want from the house,” Nina said to her youngest child, “now that your father is gone, I want to redecorate the house, to my taste.”

“Sure mom, but I don’t think I need much.  And I don’t want to take much, you might need the money,” Neila replied.

“I’ve got enough saved, I’ll be fine, just me and Fuzzy Lump.” Nina laughed.

Neila spent the weekend packing up all the things she need for college.  She was planning on renting a small house on her own rather then moving to a dorm or moving into the house her sister was at. 

Nina could hardly wait for the teen to leave for Sim State.   It had been to long since she was on her own.  She’d been living with her sister Dina before she married Don.  It seemed so long ago.  After their little flings with the Kim family, they moved to the other side of Pleasantview.  They’d bought a Tidy Tudor on the last street over looking the river.  Their closes neighbor had been Kitty Crazy up till recently when she moved.  Now Nina was far from everyone else and her youngest of three kids was getting ready to move out. 

Sunday morning she brought in the newspaper to read the sports section, when the headline on the front page caught her attention: Cassandra Goth, The Princess of Pleasantview, She will be missed by many.

Nina started to skim the article.  Cassandra died at a birthday party for her brother’s twins.  Survived by 3 kids, 4 grandchildren, 2 siblings, 1 niece, 2 nephews and all her step brother’s families.  Nina laughed to her self to read about Cassandra’s daughter Sunday being married to her mother’s youngest stepbrother Gilly Broke.  She shook her head when she saw the parts of Cassandra’s life involving Don and the scandals within the Goth family involving the Caliente sisters.  She giggled over the scandal of the older daughter Bell marring one of her college professors.  When she got to the parts about Cassandra’s half sister, Brie being married to an outstanding police officer named Clyde Kim, she abruptly stopped reading.  She didn’t want to know anything about Clyde or his twin sister Claire. 

Nina was nothing like Mary Sue Pleasant had been.  Mary Sue had actually helped her husband’s mistress raise his child.  She had seen Mary Sue at Kitty’s house more then Daniel after the baby had been born.  Nina had asked her about it once and all Mary Sue said was, “it’s not the boy’s fault for what happened, and my daughter’s have a right to get to know their brother.”

Nina didn’t agree with that attitude, not completely, anyway.  Sure it wasn’t the twins’ fault that Don was a spiteful man and there were plenty of chances for the twins to get to know Nina’s kids, so long as Nina herself didn’t have to see them.  She didn’t object to Neila meeting them at her brother, Danny’s house.  She just didn’t want to know what they were like.

By Sunday evening Neila was about ready to leave for college.  She invited some friends over and told them to bring friends or family if they wanted.  Donella brought her house mate Sam Fancey who instantly became enchanted with Nina.

“Who is he to you?”  Nina asked her older daughter.

“Ugh, a lower life form,” Donella hissed, “after what he did to my sister, I can hardly wait to get out of that house.’

“What did he do to Neila?”  Nina asked concerned, ready to throw the charming young man out.

“Not Neila, my other sister, you know, Claire Kim..”Donella mocked.

“Oh, I’m sure whatever it is isn’t as bad as she probably makes it sound.”  Nina said waving it off.

“How can you say that? You don’t even know her.” Donelle protested to her mother’s back.

Nina found her self enjoying Sam’s company.  He stayed long after everyone else had left and Neila was  long gone to Sim State.

Nina wasted no time changing around the house.  She tossed some of Don’s old furniture into what had been the master bedroom.  She bought a heart shaped bed and created a smaller, but more romantic master bedroom out of Niela’s old bedroom.  She moved the weight bench out of the room where Fuzzy Lump’s cage was and turned it into a sewing room.  She sold Don’s kitchen table and replaced it with a smaller one.  She moved the bar and rearranged the living room.  She ever created a little reading nook behind the big screen TV.  She expanded the downstairs some by simply doing away with the landing.  She closed off the arch by hanging the front door there, and tore down the walls around it.  She repainted and changed the flooring.  The house finally felt like a home to her. 

Since Don’s death she noticed she had few friends.  She had spent most of her time working.  She had risen to the top of the military career while raising the kids.  Don had reached his goal to become a professional party guest.  Something Nina had wanted too.  Since Nina still had at least two seasons left till she became an elder, she switched jobs.  It was a huge cut in pay but Nina only had herself and a worm rat to support.

She spent a lot of time on the phone getting to know old and new friends.  She went on outings and she spent a lot of time with Sam.  Nina knew the two words to get Sam to come over; free food.

So Nina spent her fall keeping Sam well fed and Sam kept Nina feeling young and content.  All the times Nina had knocked back the Elixir of Life before it was regulated had paid off.  She was free.  No more working hard.  No more taking care of kids while Don goofed off.  No more ugly house because Don didn’t want to change it.  Nina was going to make the most of her new found life.  She even called her sister for the first time in years.