#luca winston murillo

I showed Alessia how to dice vegetables and what not, thinking she’d grab a cutting board and try it herself. But she stood next to me, smiling. Maybe she thought she’d grasp it by osmosis or something. At least her heart was in the right place…I guess.

Luca sauntered into the kitchen and joined her in spectating. What was I? Pre-dinner entertainment?

As soon as we sat down to eat, her mood changed dramatically. She went from being inspired to mortified in two seconds flat. I’d never seen her so upset before, and I went into a mild panic trying to see what happened. She said she got an awkward text from a classmate. The girl wanted Alessia’s advice on how to tell someone she liked them. At first, the message excited her because she thought the girl was referring to Luca since he’s always making googly eyes at her.

PAUSE!

My son had a crush on someone??!!! How exciting was that?! I wondered why he never told me, but then again, these first crushes could be quite sensitive, so maybe he wasn’t ready. I hoped he’d tell me all about her soon.

Resume.

Alessia thought the girl was asking about Luca, but it turned out she was referring to Alessia.Yikes. I saw where this was going.

My poor baby was so conflicted on top of being embarrassed. Should she tell Luca about this? She didn’t want his feelings to be hurt, but if his crush wasn’t interested in him… Both my children were great catches, and the girl had excellent taste. She’d be lucky to end up with either of them, but Alessia wasn’t into girls and felt weird about that interaction. She didn’t know how to respond without hurting her feelings and giving her the impression she was interested. I wasn’t quite sure what to suggest, as I’d never been in a situation like that before. But I tried. I suggested she be honest and tell the girl she didn’t know the answer. She would either go away and ask someone else if she genuinely wanted her opinion or come straight out and tell Alessia she was the crush. Alessia could then let her down gently…or something.

She seemed to appreciate the advice, and I saw an opportunity I probably wouldn’t get again. I asked if she had a crush on anyone, and she said yes! The mid to late teen days were so exciting, and I was happy for my youngsters. Even if nothing came of these crushes, watching them go through this phase was so fun for me. I asked her to tell me about him, and of course she began by saying how cute he was. He had brown skin and blonde, curly hair, she said. Apparently, he was mixed, just like her and Luca. He kept to himself a lot, which, of course, made her even more curious about him.

She lit up like Winterfest lights as she spoke of him, and it was the cutest thing. I had to find out more but also see where her head was as far as relationships went and everything that came with them. The last thing I wanted was for my children to make the same mistakes I made. But I didn’t want to just dive in and make it all about woohoo, especially if she wasn’t there yet, so I told her about my first crushes, Laurant and Devonte. She was so intrigued when I got to the part about me and my friend Diamond, both liking Laurant but also completely smitten by her twin, Devonte. She asked if I ever kissed them, and despite wanting to know where her head was, I was still surprised.

“Is that something you think you want to do? With Rene?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. I was just curious, I guess.”

An idea fell on me, and I knew how to have The Talk with her.

“Can I tell you a story?” I asked.

She nodded.

“I had my first kiss and first woohoo on the same day within minutes of each other.”

Her eyes were so large, I could see all the follow-up questions incoming.

“It was Devonté. On Love Day.”

Her eyes lit up even more. Maybe we should have moved to the living room. I felt like this conversation needed a cozier environment, but we were already into it.

“He was giving me mixed signals, and I wanted to know once and for all how he felt about me, so I invited him to my house to talk and hang out. At least, that’s what I told myself. What I really wanted was to kiss him, but I guess I wasn’t ready to admit I wanted physical intimacy with someone. My parents were very…loving toward each other, and I wanted that with someone, too. So when he kissed me, I let it happen. And when I realized we were going to do more than kiss, I didn’t say no.”

She looked all kinds of uncomfortable, and we definitely should have gone to the couch.

“Oh, I hope I didn’t scare you. He didn’t force me or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking. But I wasn’t honest with myself about what I wanted, and when it happened, I guess I was a little surprised even though I wanted to do it…if that makes sense.”

She nodded, but still looked uncomfortable. Maybe talking about woohoo for the first time shocked her system. I wasn’t too fond of it either. But it paved the way for my friendship with Mommy I cherished so much. I hoped Alessia would feel the same way later.

Talking about being honest made me think about more recent events.

“Thinking about it,” I began, “I wasn’t honest with myself about the guy I cheated with, either. I told you I had feelings for him for a long time, but I didn’t realize it until too late. I think I knew, but I couldn’t admit it. Especially after I got married. So what I wanted to say is…always be truthful with yourself. Even if it’s something bad, like having feelings for someone else when you’re in a relationship. You can’t do anything about it until you face it head on. Lying to yourself has consequences.”

The uncomfortable look melted away slowly, and I was glad. Maybe that meant she learned something. Her new expressed looked surprised, probably that I admitted to all that.

“Maybe if I would have admitted it long time ago, I wouldn’t have met and married your dad. I mean, I’m glad I met your dad. I loved him. And I wouldn’t have you if I didn’t. But look what happened. I hurt everyone and destroyed my marriage. So…yeah… Be honest with yourself. And think about what you do and who you do it with. And don’t give yourself to jerks. You’re not doing it yet, are you?”

“UUUUGGGGGHHHHH!! Why’d you have to ruin it?!”

I have teenagers. Like the emotional, hormonal, smelly, pre-adult people. But one thing about them is, whatever they go through, they go through it together. I’m not sure if they’re just sympathetic toward each other’s moods or if they just felt the same things at the same times because they are so close in age, but I get double the trouble. If Luca is mad, Alessia is too. If she’s embarrassed, so is Luca. It’s kinda cute, actually. I’m so glad they have each other.

The best part about them navigating wild emotions together is they usually get over it together too. Luca has been very keen on staying centered and controlling his emotions with yoga. When I’m not home, he gets Alessia involved. Whether she simply enjoys spending time with him or it actually works for her, I was very surprised to find out she liked yoga. Like, the words actually came out of her mouth! One night, after a rather inspiring session with yoga, she came into the kitchen and offered to help me prepare dinner.

I halfway believed my ears. I’m not saying my children aren’t helpful because they are, but they only come into the kitchen to eat. No more, no less. At first, I thought I was getting played. I remembered when I began doing extra chores so Mommy would get me a dog. But Alessia said she was inspired and wanted to learn to cook. Even though I was still mad at her for making me send Tofu away, I was so happy to hear that. My baby was FINALLY taking an interest in something! I was so proud. But as much as I wanted to take credit for that moment, I couldn’t. It was all Luca. My precious son was changing lives and didn’t even know it. I hope he sticks to this yoga thing. He might be onto something.

The kids were due back soon, and I had been sitting at the computer all day. I got dressed and went for a stroll to process everything I’d seen but also to have one last moment of peace before the minors returned. A little white dog scurried past me and smelled worse than rotten eggs. I knew she’d gotten into with some skunks. But it wasn’t the foul stench that caught my attention. Ok…it was because she was pretty rank. She had the saddest expression and whimpered like she was scared, maybe even lost. Whatever the case, she tugged at my heartstrings something fierce, the same way Hunter did when we met the first time. But I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I had a connection with her. If she felt the same way about me, I’d bring her home without question.

I kneeled to her level and held out my hand so she could check me out. When she decided I was ok, I reached out slowly so I could pet her, letting her know I cared and she could trust me. My touch freaked her out at first, but after a few pets, she melted into my hands. The anxiety she had expressed previously disappeared. The stench was almost unbearable, but I enjoyed the moment just as much as she did. It had been way too long since I had puppy love in my life. We had only just met, but we were such fast friends just like me and Shiloh. I asked if she wanted to have a bath. Her expression was the absolute cutest thing I’d ever seen and all the answer I needed.

It’s so crazy how dogs seem to understand exactly what we say to them. I didn’t notice how hairy she was until she was soaking wet. Alessia and I needed to brush her every day, or we’d be living in a wig factory. I really hoped she’d liked my new friend. It was totally possible this dog could be crazy, or really aggressive, but that was a risk I was willing to take to give this precious creature a home.

“I think I want to name you Tofu,” I said, snuggling my skunk-free friend.

She was white, but not white enough to name her Snowflake or whatever else white dogs were named. And we ate so much of that stuff living with Ali; I was quite familiar with its color. Tofu was a perfect name for her.

The kids came home, interrupting our snuggle time, and Alessia ran straight for the kitchen. She said she had cake on the brain. Her craving must have been quite serious for her to miss our new family member in my arms. When she returned to the living room with cake in hand, I introduced them.

“EWW,” she yelled. “I don’t want a street dog! Make her go away!”

I was stunned. I just knew she’d be happy about this. She couldn’t have been serious. “But you wanted a dog, and Tofu is so sweet.”

“No, Mommy! She could have diseases!”

“So we’ll take her to the vet. No big deal.”

“I don’t want it!”

I couldn’t let Tofu go back out there. Not after the way we bonded. I had to try a different approach. One way or another, I was winning this argument! “But I thought you wanted us to have a thing. Just you and me.”

“Not like this! I’ll pick something else.”

I panicked. She was even more strong-willed than I was at her age, and it looked like I finally met my match. “Alessia, please! She was so scared! I can’t send her back out there!”

I hated begging her like that, but I didn’t know what else to do.

“I. DON’T. WANT. IT.”

My eyes stung from the pressure of tears building up. Part of me wanted to put my foot down and do the whole “I’m the parent and what I say goes” bit, but I knew in my heart of hearts that would have been the most selfish thing I’d done in a while. I had more than just myself to think about now, and this could drive a wedge between us. The decision boiled down to choosing between my daughter and my new friend, and I knew I had to choose my daughter.

I gathered Tofu in my arms one last time and squeezed lovingly. I whispered into her ear, “I can’t keep you. But if you find me again, I’ll let you stay. I promise. Please find me.”

I couldn’t send her away on an empty stomach, so I brought her into the kitchen. She ate that food like her life depended on it, breaking my heart even more. When she finished, I picked her up, placed her outside the gate, and told her to remember what I said. She ran away. I went upstairs and cried.

We all changed clothes and brought our mats out to the upstairs balcony that never got used, and Luca lead us through an easy routine he had learned from SimTube. I think we all felt a little better afterward but not 100%. What we needed was relaxation and mindless activity. I rarely allowed eating in the living room, but the season premiere of Peach is the New Black was about to start, so I told the kids we could watch it while we ate. That was a pleasant change of pace. Alessia started clowning Luca again, so I knew she was all better.

I had gotten heavily invested in the episode and tuned them out. But I heard Luca say something to me, so I tuned back in.

“Why are you looking like that?” he asked.

“Because you smell like cowplant breath,” Alessia said.

That one was kinda funny, as my dear boy was quite ripe.

In the morning, I awoke a brand new sim! Between the yoga and chill time with my babies, I was walking on sunshine and Spin, Snap, Swayed my way out of bed. I was so energized and full of life, nothing could kill my spirit. Good thing too, because I had the type of morning that could bring back those tense feelings. It began with Luca telling me the toilet had broken.

As I was fixing it, Less came in complaining about her stomach hurting and claiming she needed another day off from school. Heh, I may have created a monster with that vacation day. It was cool, though. I allowed her to dupe me before, but not that time. I gave her some medicine and sent her to get dressed. But then the most amazing, magical thing happened! As I finished repairing the toilet, BOTH children came to help me clean up!

When I say I have the best kids on earth!!

Time grew short, and all of us needed to get dressed. But it occurred to me they wouldn’t come home that night and would be at Ali’s for the weekend, so I got my hugs and kisses. I told them I loved them and I’d miss them a LOT.

Thursday was not our day. Not one of us came home happy. I’ll start with me. First of all, the adoption person didn’t show last night. We waited for them until about 9:30 before they called and told us they weren’t coming. Something had happened at the adoption center around the time I made our request, and they had already canceled all pending adoptions. I supposed ours got lost in translation. Needless, Alessia and I were pretty bummed.

Second, my CEO is also a jerk and didn’t appreciate anything I did for him. Some kind of way,Iwas nominated to be in charge of getting him a gift from the office. All the regional managers knew him way better than I did, but noooo. They wanted the new girl to do it. I got him a gift card because one could never go wrong with gift cards. Or so I thought. I realized work wasn’t always fun, and sometimes difficult things make way for great things. But I shouldn’t be miserable all the time. Literally everything I’ve done at this job has blown up in my face! I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to do it anymore. One of my coworkers said I just needed a vacation, but I wasn’t so sure that would help. I had never enjoyed my time there, so maybe it was time to call it quits. But that was a much bigger decision than I could make during my lunch break. I needed a plan. Quitting without another job lined up felt irresponsible, even though I would be just fine financially. But was another job what I needed? I made almost as much money per week making candles super part time as I brought home from work. Imagine what I could do with more time to dedicate to my business! When I was less emotional, I planned to think about it more seriously.

Luca had brought a friend from school home, but they weren’t having a good time from what I saw. I wasn’t sure if they had argued, but whatever the problem, I blamed the boy. I’d never seen my sweet son’s face wrinkled like that ever! But I also had a plummy day and couldn’t bring myself to ask what was the matter. The boy went home shortly after I arrived, anyway.

I retreated to my room in attempts to gather myself and be a bit friendlier to my children, but it was futile. My problem was deeper than just a bad day. It was more like a crisis. I hadn’t seen Alessia yet, so I went to her room to say hello and found Luca instead, doing homework at her desk. My kids were so weird. They each had their own room with a desk to do their work, yet they preferred the other one’s room.

He was in a slightly better state than earlier, but still not the even-keeled boy I was used to. I asked him where was his sister, but he appeared startled by my tone. I apologized for it and said I didn’t have the best day. He replied saying he and Alessia had rough days too, though he didn’t go into any detail.

“Maybe we should all do yoga together,” he said.

He was really into this yoga thing! I was both surprised and proud. Some adults, including myself, didn’t figure out what made them emotionally mindful until well into adulthood. But my brilliant son already knew what did it for him. That was such a proud mom’s moment. I only wish I were less irritable to enjoy it.

No one was more shocked than I about how well the kids took my news. If I had known there would be no tears or yelling, maybe I could have let them go to school and talk after dinner. Either way, I was glad it had gone well and took full advantage of my free afternoon by taking care of as many chores as I could before someone called my name. I was sitting at the computer getting ready to pay bills when my eyes fell on the picture of Luca and Alessia on the beach. They were so little! That was such a good night. Not only was it the first weekend we spent together, but also the beginning of my journey toward my best self.

Alessia interrupted my nostalgia with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

“Uh oh,” I said. “You look like a cowplant about to put out cake.” And I was the sucker about to eat it.

“I know what our thing should be,” she said.

“Oh! Let’s hear it.”

“We’re supposed to get a dog. It can be yours and mine.”

I snickered at the idea of sharing joint custody with my daughter, but hey, if that’s how she wanted to connect with me, I was more than willing to accept those terms. “Just so you know, I didn’t forget! There’s just been a lot going on. But, yeah! We can do that. You wanna pick some out right now?”

She gasped. “Can we really??”

“Why not? We were going to do it anyway, right?”

She pulled up a chair, grinning from ear to ear, more excited about this task than I’d ever seen her before. Even more than the prospect of pancakes for breakfast. I immediately looked for Cleveland, the dog I had previously decided to adopt if given the chance, but he wasn’t there. I was happy he’d been adopted, but disappointed I wasn’t the one to do it. Some puppies I saw, however, were still available. Alessia and I selected three dogs to meet. I got lucky with Shiloh, and we were instant BFFs, but I wanted to make sure we didn’t get stuck with a dog we didn’t click with. Dogs had personalities just like we did, and like sims, sometimes our personalities just don’t mesh.

We made our selection and waited for the confirmation email before we officially got excited about meeting our potential new family member. In the living room, we waited for the adoption representative to arrive, and I told Alessia about the day I met Shiloh. It was Winterfest morning, and I used to wake up early just like she did. I heard Mommy talking to someone in the kitchen, so I went to see who it was and walked in on her finalizing the adoption process. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Mommy had been so adamant about not getting a dog, yet a cute little puppy sat right there in my kitchen. That was one of the happiest days of my life.

Luca finally came downstairs, dressed and ready for the day at 6pm. He said he’d been doing yoga since waking up from his nap. That made me smile. I was so happy to help him find an interest!

A half an hour passed by, and the adoption rep still hadn’t showed, and I got antsy. I casually paced the room to mask my joy. It had been so long since I had a fur baby to love. I kept my cool, but internally I was 1000 times more excited than Alessia could ever be. Dogs were my first love. I didn’t want anything else. Then I grew up and added babies to the short list of things I needed to feel complete. In just a few short moments, I’d have both. Could life get any better?