Focus, Azalea. You’ve been training for this. You can do it.
PERFECT SHOT
Finally, my crowning achievement.
Horseshoe
Faster than Mom
I somehow had the brilliant idea of buying and bringing with us a little moped for Hannah. I thought it would amuse her, and I was right — her little adventurous soul loves it with all of her heart.
I thought there wouldn’t be any safer place for her to play with it than the vast empty clearings of Granite Falls, and I was mostly right about this, too. I was just very wrong to think that this would stop me from being terrified down to my socks.
Hannah, you see, has no notion of what fear is at all.
“So we’re agreed? It’s going to go fast, baby, you have to be very careful!”
“Hannah, wait!”
“Okay, little monster. You know what you’re doing.”
The Angler
Hugo goes straight back to his favorite Granite Falls hobby. He missed it, apparently, but he didn’t lose the touch he acquired last time.
Before long he catches a fish, and he cooks it outside on the grill, with a touch of lime and, more importantly, without burning the house down.
And it’s actually really, really good. Again, never before has Hannah had the chance to eat something fresh; and it doesn’t get fresher than that.
Though both Hannah and I could have done without her slob of a dad burping his heart out at the dinner table, no matter how good the food was or how proud he might have been…
It’s okay Hugo, I still love you, you disgusting sim you.
Return to Granite Falls
Here we are again, back where we went on our honeymoon, It’s every bit as beautiful as we remember.
And this time, we’re not alone! We came back as a family.
Hannah discovers a whole new environment — and we’re both glad she gets a chance to finally see something that is neither concrete nor glass.
And she has the cutest little hat for the chilly Granite Falls morning.
Hugo’s thrilled to be able to share this place we love with our daughter.
Nounou is not entirely convinced about this weird new environment, and isn’t quite ready to leave my shoulder.
Ready?
We get out of bed hours before the first ray of sunshine breaks through the San Myshuno sky.
It’s time for my Love Day present.
It requires a solid breakfast, first. We’re excited, but clearly still sleepy-eyed.
Playdate
This, my friends, is the face of a man who realizes he’s made a mistake.
In other news, Hugo volunteered to watch over a handful of toddlers when all the other parents dropped out of the scheduled outing.
He’s braver than I, I spent this whole afternoon behind my computer, hiding behind the excuse of three deadlines to meet before the end of the week.
Oh, the deadlines were very real, and very scary, and a lot of work, but at least I didn’ t have to clean up anything or break a fight between to four-year-olds.
They’re not even through the park gates and it’s already begun.
Hannah is making friends.
Hugo has bravely taken on the role of father to every kid there. Since Hannah is ignoring him like the teenager that she’ll eventually become, he is teaching Shanti, my great-uncle’s grand-daughter, to go down a slide.
I don’t know what three little tots can find to gossip about, but apparently they found topics to have deep conversations on.
The woman in the background is actually my aunt. I wish I could have been there to talk to her at least.
Hannah is unafraid of a hamburger that’s bigger than her face.
Not all of the kids want to make friends.
Little brats. Don’t they know my daughter is perfect?…
And then finally, at the end of the day, the little angel collapses, exhausted.
You know, I’ll take back what I said. I wish I could have witnessed some of the cuteness first-hand.
Cuteness Interlude
Because Hannah is just too cute.
Doctor’s Appointment
Now that we’re both better, I finally have the strength to do something I should have done years ago — but that is much easier to see in hindsight.
So I head back to the Willow Creek Health Clinic for an appointment with our trusted doctor. Once to figure out what’s been wrong with two of my three pregnancies.
And a second time, to attempt to maybe, do something about it.
This clinic has a stunning outdoors waiting “room”. It would almost manage to ease down my anxiety.
Then again the whole clinic seems engineered to ease down anxiety. Grandma would love all of the greenery.
Surprise
Little did I know the Love Day surprises weren’t over.
As soon as we’re home — the very second we get home in fact, Hugo kicks off shoes and dress suit, and I double over with laughter as his body visibly relaxes once he’s free of the dreaded bowtie. In a minute he slips into his most comfortable pajamas, and he’s his usual self again.
I’m less of a slob, I tell him, so I go and take a bath in one of our bathrooms. Not the en-suite, as I want to go for one of the more sophisticated ones. So I leave Hugo alone in our bedroom, even though I strongly hinted that I wouldn’t mind him accompanying me.
But when I come back I understand that I had played right into his plans.
And I also understand that if he had time to set all of this up, I take way longer than I thought in the bathroom.
Our little home among the stars.
Hugo did what he does best — he transformed a common floor into a romantic nook.
We spend hours there, watching the stars, and the city, and talking.
And eating the cake.
How can you lift me up so easily?
Love Day at the Opera
It’s Love Day, and Hugo has a whole program in mind.
I gave him my surprise later that day, as soon as we woke up, in a pink envelope, but he wouldn’t tell me his. When the clock rang 3, he only told me to get ready with the fanciest attire I could find, and he drove us to the Newcrest Opera House.
The Opera House is a gigantic building surrounded by a hedge maze, and it somehow manages to be more imposing than any Uptown building — it has this majestic feel that only centuries past can give a monument.
He leads me, not to the pit where most of the seats are, but to the box of honor, facing the orchestra, except several feet above the stage.
And then we hear the most beautiful piece of music; it rings through my bones and vibrates against my shivering skin.
I am in awe.
But really, none of all of this mesmerizes me as much, as the simple yet unique — absolutely unique — sight of Hugo in a full dress suit and bowtie. Not only because he did not wear a tie even for our own wedding; but because he looks absolutely stunning.
Posing on the steps. There’s a millennial building behind me, but I really only have eyes for Hugo.
My dapper husband. Never thought I’d use these two words in the same sentence.
When we walk inside, I do have to stop and take in the beauty around us. It’s all so grandiose!
Clearly, Hugo has visited before, or he’s much harder to impress than I am.
Our private box, far from the crowd.
Stolen kisses before the show begins.
And then when the show is over, sweet whispers on the Opera House’s balcony.
The Stewarts Family (and other shenanigans) 