Diary of a Mad Hippie ~ Greg’s Story (Ch. 4)
This is part four of my “Diary of a Mad Hippie”/”Wrong Side of the Tracks” Dueling legacies.
You can find the past three chapters here:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Yep, it’s me again. Attempting to purge myself and my conscience from all my wrong doings. I guess I’ll just start off where I left off the last time, which was years ago, really.
I’f I’m really feeling brave, I’ll let my mind go back….way back to when my life was a little bit more pleasant, if not downright perfect.
Chase and Chance were just normal toddlers, learning their skills and having fun all the while.
Then, before I knew it, the twins were growing up. First Chase…
And then Chance.
They were as close as two siblings could be.
“Best friends forever”, as they told their mom and me.
Jazz and I were getting along pretty well, too.
Well enough to bring another child into our family even.
But that didn’t last, of course.
I have a habit of hurting those that I care the most about. Everything I did just offended her in some way, it’s not like I intentionally pushed her away. I just did.
Thankfully, the kids never really felt the tension between their mom and I. We took yearly vacations, just like other families do.
Chase became quite a fisherman, getting her silver badge at a very young age.
And she has always been so inquisitive, she has to check out everything there is to know about everything!
Now Chance, Chance is our daredevil. He didn’t say “no” to anything, that kid.
For all outside appearances, we were just a typical, normal family.
But I definitely felt the tension.
Although I did try to find ways to cast it out,
I obviously wasn’t doing enough. Sigh.
Months passed, and Jazz was still a wonderful, caring mother.
I tried to be a good parent too, there was nothing in the world I loved more than my kids.
But after a while, Jazz and I were just like two polite strangers.
She often acted very secretive around me, but the sad thing was, I didn’t even care.
I knew Chase was starting to worry about us, because she began spending a lot of time alone in her room, and that just wasn’t like her.
One beautiful spring day, Jazz went into labor. We didn’t have time to get to the hospital, she delivered right there in the kid’s room.
I know I don’t deserve it, but I got a blessing when Jase was born. I was just so happy, and proud.
But it wasn’t long before his mother and I were at each other’s throats again, fighting over the littlest things.
She told me I was cold and heartless, and she was right. My heart had been irreversibly broken years before, but that wasn’t Jazz’s fault, after all.
She began to slide into a depression, so she went to the pet shop and bought a pet to cheer herself up.
She brought home Sizzle, who soon became a much beloved member of the family.
Although I’m not sure how much he likes us!
Before I knew it, the twins had become teens. Man, where did their childhood go? We quickly outgrew our little trailer, and built a small, Ranch style house. It was still quite modest by any means, but it was a step up, and that’s all that mattered.
Chase was beautiful, just like her mother.
And Chance, well, let’s just say I got deja vu just looking at him. Took me back to my teen years, not that I cared to relive them.
Of course, with the passing of time, my baby Jase had to age too. He is the nicest member of our family, completely maxed!
Even though her children were growing up so wonderfully, Jasmyn still wasn’t happy. And honestly, I had no desire to placate her. She began acting quite dangerously, even going so far as to run with scissors.
Which eventually was her final and fatal downfall.
Of course, the kids were heartbroken, not to mention traumatized.
Even little Jase knew something bad had happened, although he recovered pretty quickly.
Chance may not have as many nice points as his siblings, but he was still sensitive enough to feel the pain of losing his mother.
In his grief however, he became much closer to his baby brother. A snuggle and a tickle was all it took to cheer up Jase.
I had taken Jazz for granted, and now I had all the responsibilities of raising three kids myself. I tried hard to teach them everything I could.
I even managed to climb my way up the ladder at work, which by this time was in the SCIA.
One day I achieved my dream, I became The Head of SCIA!!
For the first time, I had enough money to hire a nanny for Jase. I know his older siblings could help out, but I wanted them to enjoy their teen years as much as they could.
Somehow, I even managed to impress the Headmaster at the local private school, and the twins got in. That was a load off my shoulders, I’ll tell you.
Once our lives began to get back to normal and we settled into a routine, I decided to write my memoirs, for my kids to read someday. Heck, I was supposed to be doing that all along, a “suggested” requirement from my counselor years ago, when I had all my trouble with the Law. I guess now would be as good a time as any to go back to those days. I am in hopes that it will help my kids understand me some day, so they will know why I’ve hardened my heart so.
Just a few short years after my painful break up with Tara Howle, I was working as a Foot Soldier for a small-time mobster. The same man who had threatened and then followed through by beating up my old man. It was through these ties that I got to know Audrey Shibata, the Mafia Princess.
At first I was just hot for her bod, I had been living like a priest for so long, and the attention Audrey started givng me just blew my mind. We got hot and heavy pretty quickly.
But then I caught her out with another man, and found out she was married to him! I didn’t want anything to do with her, and left in quite a huff.
She called me in tears and said she could explain everything. Like a sap, I believed her.
She showed me the shiner she had gotten from her husband,Tonio, and told me that it definitely wasn’t the first.
Needless to say, I was irate! I got in my car and went after the punk immediately. She didn’t even try to stop me.
I called Tonio and told him to meet me. I wasn’t planning on doing anything more than scaring him, and of course, roughing him up a bit.
But after he refused to acknowledge what he did to Audrey, I just lost my cool. I hurt him allright, and he never recovered.
I think I blacked out, but when I came to I panicked. I left the body in the alley and I ran!
Audrey had followed me,and she had seen everything. She was understandably upset with me.
She let me take her home though, and it wasn’t long before we both heard the sirens. I left out the back door and went home to shower and hide the gun.
The officer told Audrey what had happened to her husband, and asked her if she knew anything.
The next thing I knew, the same officer was at my door.
He took me into the station, and interrogated me for hours.
I guess it does pay to have friends in low places, because my bail was paid, and I was called in to see Audrey’s father. I told him everything his daughter had told me, and he seemed to take it all in. I don’t know if he believed me or not, but he ended up paying for the best lawyer in town for my defense.
My counselor was a good man, as far as crooked lawyers go. He managed to get me off due to a technicality, but he knew my actions would haunt me forever if I didn’t somehow come to terms with them. I keep trying to write about it all in my journal, but I never seem to keep up with it. I tried pushing the memories to the darkest recesses of my mind, but they always popped back up again.
I never saw Audrey again, although I heard through the grapevine that she had been shoved out of the Family, and that she never saw a penny of her husbands quite substantial life insurance policy.
I was so young, and I had had my heart broken twice already. I wasn’t ready to ever get close to another woman again. So, that’s it. That’s my dark, sordid past. Now I need to concentrate on the present, and the future. No more looking back.
I really wish Jasmyn was here to see this, her youngest child was no longer a toddler!
He was quite a handsome little dude, too.
And he is bright, like his sister. You couldn’t put an instrument in front of him without him picking it up and learning how to play it right away.
When he crashed and fell asleep, he looked just like his brother Chance did at that age.
But it wasn’t long before he too, was a teenager. And what a romantic he was!
Somehow our home ended up being the local hangout for teens, but I didn’t mind.
Chance starting hanging with some hippie chick he met at the private school. He changed the way he dressed, the way he talked, everything!
I was worried he was becoming too close to this girl, but what could I do about it? Her name was Nutmeg, what kind of crazy name is that? I hope I never have to meet her parents, they sound like a bunch of loonies.
Yep, Chance was closer to her than I thought. She started coming by nearly every day, often bringing her brothers with her. Apparently they live on some kind of a commune or something. I don’t even want to know, so I didn’t ask any questions.
I though Chase was showing her intelligence by rejecting the advances of most of the rebellious types that stopped in to hang out. However…
I can’t say that I was exactly thrilled when she did choose one to date. His name is Cumin, if you can believe that. Damn hippies.
And he isn’t even a “manly man”, he’s quite effeminate, even with that facial hair. Not what I imagined my baby girl to end up with, that’s for sure.
In spite of their choices in mates, I was extremely proud of my children, all three of them.
Chance had grown into quite a Family sim, only dreaming of becoming the next Education Minister. I believe he can do anything he sets his mind to.
Jase is Romance, through and through. Although being as nice as he is, a career as a Celebrity Chef suits him far better than 20 loves or some such nonsense, so I’m happy that’s what he’s decided on.
My youngest son may have the most sense of all of them, falling for a nice girl of a self sim, who lives next door. Atleast Carly has normal parents who don’t name their kids after spices, for goodness’ sake.
And my little girl? She is Knowledge, so serious and smart. She decided to take the same career path as her brother, so I guess there will be some competition for the next Education Minister!
One day I had a blast from the past when I got a visit from a member of the Family. I told them I wasn’t interested in working for them ever again, and to stay away from my children.
The guy didn’t give me a hard time, but just having him in the same house as my kids shook me up pretty badly. I decided the kids and I needed a quick vacation before they all headed off to college and left me behind for good.
Jase had never been to the beach before, so it was about time I let him experience more of the world than Simriver.
Chance and I just enjoyed the water. It was our first vacation without their mother, and that had been years ago.
But being a man, I soon had other things on my mind.
I decided to invite over my old friend, Sandy. She and I had hooked up years ago, but nothing ever came of it once Jasmyn came along. Sandy was a Romancer, too, she knew I wasn’t looking for any long term relationship, just a little companionship.
Afterwards I just felt so dirty. Who knows how many men had been there before me?
I decided I needed to think about my life, I wasn’t getting any younger after all, and one night stands weren’t really what I wanded with my life.
Sandy caught me checking out some chick at the hotel and freaked out.
That was when I knew I had to stop seeing her.
If she wasn’t the woman for me, then she was keeping me away from the woman who was.
So I got to thinking, what was my plan for the rest of my life? My kids were all moving out any day now, and although they may move back in with me when they graduate, chances are they won’t.
Thanks so much for reading! XD
