The Three Amigos

"This is the place, driver."
"...It is?" Amelia said, surprised.
"Well, it's the address Alesha e-mailed me," Naomi responded slowly.
"I guess I was just expecting something..."
"Less girly?" Naomi snickered.
"Alesha's grasp must've gone further than just Brad's wallet!" Amelia laughed, rolling around in the backseat of the taxi.

Since high school Naomi, Amelia, and Alesha had been nearly inseperable... except for one thing: Amelia's older brother, Bradley.

Alesha Drudge and Bradley Kane had also been together since high-school, but he was a fair bit older than her so many were surprised that they managed to stay a couple until she graduated as well. Against all odds they had--and not long after her young-adult birthday Alesha moved into the house Brad rented, and not long after that they'd gotten engaged.

By that point, though, no one was surprised.

But, it had meant the 'end' of their little trinity; instead of joining her friends to go off to the big city, Alesha remained in Twinbrook in order to stay with her husband-to-be. It had been hard to say goodbye, but it was for the best--Alesha just wasn't made for the city... And it gave something for Amelia to look forward to, going home.

The second the front door opened to greet them, Alesha lept out and gave Amelia a strangling hug. "It's so good to see you! And--look at you!" Alesha sounded impressed. "You get prettier by the day, Mia."

"Oh shush up, Alesha, you practically look like you're glowing. Where is the man, anyways?"

"Brad? Oh, he got kidnapped by his coworkers at the Lab, they're keeping him hidden until the wedding apparently. It's just us three until tomorrow."

"Good!" Amelia said, her smile growing wider. "I don't wanna see that stinky brother of mine, anyways!"

After Alesha and Naomi gave each other their hugs as well, the trio headed inside where Alesha began to pour them some nectar. "It's from our trip to France," she'd said as she uncorked the bottle. "Been saving it just for you guys! Thought it was worth the occasion."

As she poured, though, the conversation quickly changed course. "So, Mia and I were wondering," Naomi began. "Is it alright if we stayed with you while we're in town? I know it'll be awkward and all, especially the day after your wedding, but neither of us really... well... have anywhere else we want to stay."

"Of course you guys can stay here," Alesha said, smiling, as she plopped down into chair. "Might actually be a bit more awkward for you guys than for us, since we'll have to set up something on the couches for you to sleep, but Brad's just as understanding as I am. I doubt he'll mind."

Amelia could feel a sigh of relief welling up inside her. Just knowing she had someplace to stay--someplace other than her parents'--made coming back to Twinbrook all that much more bearable.

Naomi, though, wasn't altogether as relieved. "Well, I don't like imposing... Especially not when Amelia's parents have about four spare beds they'd be more than willing to lend if she just got the courage to ask."

"Naomi, I'm not staying there. I'd rather sleep on a bench in the park than have to ask my father to stay under his roof, alright?"

"It's just that--"

"Yeah, I know you want me to make amends, Naomi... But could you just drop it? I honestly don't want to get into it right now."

Alesha winced at the tension, but her face still remained smiling in the midst of it. "Guys, really, it's fine. Besides, I don't blame Mia... Her dad gives me the willies, too."

Once the bottle of nectar had been finished, the gals piled into the kitchen to try and clean up; from there, the talk quickly turned back to the real topic at hand: the wedding.

"Well, we're doing it at night," Alesha explained, talking with her hands just as wildly as any Simtalian. "Because the lighting is so much better, and because it ended up fitting into everyone's schedules better. Brad and I don't really care too much about the whole ordeal, so it's going to be pretty short, not excessively formal..."

"But your dress," Alesha continued. "Is going to look killer on you, Amelia. I've still got to have you try it on to make sure I don't need to make any alterations, but you're such a string bean that pretty much anything would look good on you."

"Yeah, but I won't have anything on you, Alesha. You're the bride! No one's gonna be looking at me, anyways!"

"I don't know, Mia... I look a bit like a balooga whale, these days." If there was anything negative about Alesha, it was her incredibly low self-confidence about her appearance. "You could probably fit about two of you into my dress."

"Alesha, you don't know what you're talking about," Amelia began, her voice sincere. "You look beautiful. You don't have to be a stick to be gorgeous. Besides, most women would kill for your curves. I mean, the way Brad looks at you..."

Out of the corner of Amelia's eye, she could see Naomi snickering; yeah, they all knew full well how much Alesha had Amelia's brother wrapped around her finger.

After what seemed like ages of Amelia and Alesha bantering about wedding stuff, Naomi finally cleared her throat.

Although Naomi cared deeply about the wedding, she was mainly on the outside looking in; Amelia and Alesha had been friends since they were in diapers, and now they were going to be sisters-in-law. Naomi was their friend, yes, but not their Best Friend--she'd always been that 'third wheel'... And even as much as a loner as she tended to be, it was times like these when she wished she'd just stayed home.

"I--" Naomi began, a little dryly in the throat. Both of the other girls turned to look at her, which made her intrusion into their chatter feel even worse. "I was just thinking, since it's your last night as a 'Drudge', we should go out and celebrate... Give you a send-off, you know."

"That's a great idea!" Amelia squealed excitedly. "Like, a bachelorette party!"

"Weelll..." Alesha uneasily began, looking worrisome. "I guess we could, but..."

Naomi shook her head, her eyes flitting between Alesha's uneasy expression and Amelia's quickly falling one. "No buts. We're gonna party like there's no tomorrow, with or without you."

"I--Okay," Alesha said, giving in with a shrug. "But I'm gonna have to borrow some clothes. I don't have anything to wear."

---

"It's..."
"Dead."
"As a doornail."

There were only really two hot spots in Twinbrook if you wanted to party: the Red Rendezvous, and the Steel Stallion. It was always a gamble trying to guess which was going to be the more popular joint at night, but it looked like tonight they'd guessed the wrong one.

"Oh well," Amelia said, her voice still perky with excitement. "I guess we've got the whole place to ourselves!"

That wasn't really what any of them wanted, but, at least it was a 'bright side' to the situation.

It didn't take long for the trio to settle in and relax; the music was hot, the drinks were refreshing, and pretty soon Naomi and Amelia were showing off all the moves they'd learned back in Bridgeport. "See, you just gotta move your hips, Leesha!" Mia said, laughing as she and Naomi circled about each other.

Alesha watched them with a smile. "And pretend no one's watching, right?"

"No one is watching!" Amelia giggled. After a few more minutes, though, she swung Naomi towards Alesha and started to boogey towards the bar. "Show her how to move, I need to go get a drink!"

Amelia disappeared, leaving Naomi free to show Alesha just how to dance--and with Amelia out of earshot, it left Alesha free to do some snooping.

"So...You haven't told her yet, have you?" Alesha asked, concerned.

"I--Of course I haven't, Alesha," Naomi responded quickly. There was a pain in her voice, one that left her biting her lip and sending her gaze away from Alesha's. "She'd hate me if she ever found out. You know that!"

"I don't think you're giving Amelia enough credit, Naomi. She may not be able to forgive her father, but she forgave you. You. Don't you think she'd--"

"No," Naomi responded hoarsely. "She wouldn't. This is way, way different." She shook her head, looking now at the floor. "We're both happy like this. I don't want that to change, Leesha. I know you mean well, but... Things are just fine. She never needs to know, okay?"

"If that's what you want," Alesha responded sympathetically. "But I don't think it is."

Naomi quickly changed the topic back to dancing--and after a good swing-around, the two were laughing as if nothing had ever been said otherwise. But, it wasn't long after that they heard a voice calling from behind them.

"Guuuuuyyyysss, lookit me! I'm on top of the woooorrrllldd!"

"She's... table dancing, isn't she," Alesha asked, laughing.

"Yep.... she is," Naomi responded through gritted teeth.

The two stopped dancing in order to come over and watch--Alesha cheered, pretending to toss inivisble simoleans at Amelia's feet.

But Naomi... Naomi watched with a sick feeling in her stomach. Alesha just had to bring that up, didn't she? Now, that was all that was going to be on her mind, all night... Worrying about Amelia. Worrying that she'd discover the truth. Her secret.

"I... I need to go to the washroom," Naomi stuttered, panicked, to Alesha. "I'm not feeling too great. Make sure that Amelia doesn't fall and hurt herself, will you?"

"Mmhmm," Alesha responded, her eyes not leaving Amelia's dancing legs.

Once Naomi disappeared, Amelia took the opportunity to jump on stage and start making a fool of herself, there. Perhaps that was one good thing about the place being deserted--there wasn't a lot of folks around to start gossiping about how Amelia Kane was back in town, and making herself look like an idiot.

In a small town like this, news like that was even worse social suicide than back in Bridgeport.

Alesha just kept sipping on her drink as she waited for Naomi to return, trying to block out Amelia's terrible singing with a little bit of drink of her own--but she'd barely even knocked back a few gulps with Naomi finally re-emerged from the bathrooms, her head hanging.

"I'm sorry, I just--"

"I understand," Alesha said, smiling. "I shouldn'tve said anything, and I'm sorry. But... I think, though, that I've got an idea. How's a change of scenery sound?"

"Good, I guess. Where to?"

"Well," she responded with her smile ever-widening. "I think tonight's the perfect night to go back to our old stomping grounds... Back to the way things were before everything changed."

---

The Ampitheatre had, once upon a time, hosted many amazing productions written by the townsfolk of Twinbrook. It's large open space made it ideal for holding so many people, and the large columns made the simplicity of the stage still seem grand compared to what the townspeople were generally used to.

Yes, once, it had been a place of plays and performances and poetry... But now, it's only legacy was a a trio of girls who came here--to tell stories, to connect with the stars, to connect with each other. It was nothing compared to what it once was... But at least they still had memories worth cherishing here.

"See, I knew this was a great idea," Alesha said as she smiled at the other two girls by the campfire. "I know you wanted to throw me a crazy last night of single-dom or whatever, but that's not really what I want. It's you guys I want to spend time with. I really have missed you both."

"It is nice, actually," Naomi responded, sounding surprised. "We've been in the city so long, sometimes it's hard to remember where we came from."

"See, it's not so bad," Alesha continued, turning to Amelia. "You've got bad memories here, I know, but... You gotta remember the good ones. Not everything about coming home should be bad. I mean, back then, the only thing any of us ever cared about was boys, remember?"

"Haha, yeah--not much has changed, has it?" Amelia laughed.

"No," Alesha smiled. "I guess not."

---

The campfire crackled and snapped. It was cold, but not so cold that the stone ground beneath them didn't feel a little bit comforting. There was something about it, about the way the flames lit their faces and smelled overly smoky, that warmed them more than even the most raging fire could--it was the ritual, the way they'd experienced it so often for so long that no chilling breeze could disturb the natural rhthym of their sleepout.

It was quiet, but not too quiet. Jon Lessen's guitar sounded sweet through the crackling speakers of their stereo, but his words could barely be understood at such a low volume. There was no need to crank it up higher; they liked it soft, so that their words to each other felt like whispers in a twisted graveyard. Their echoes were like the ghost they dreamed of meeting. Their shadows, the spectars they wished to haunt them.

You could imagine anything here in the place where stories used to be spun--but, most important of all, were the stories of truth they saved to tell only now, in their secret escapes from home.

It was Naomi's voice that created distant echoes now, as her eyes gazed into the flames. "I just don't get it, Alesha. You make it look so easy. You've been with Brad for how long now? Like, five months? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you, but Mia and I can't seem to get a boyfriend to save our lives... It just seems kinda unfair."

"Well, it's not really easy, Naomi," Alesha responded with a shrug. "Brad and I have our bumps just like anybody else. The difference is we're just willing to accept each others' faults instead of trying to change each other. That and we just got lucky, I guess... It's a small town, there really isn't much of anyone to pick from."

"Yeah, I guess," Naomi mumbled.

"Besides," Alesha continued. "It's not like you guys are totally optionless. I mean, Amelia's got the hots for Lamont, doesn't she?"

"I wouldn't say that," Amelia responded with a shrug, her eyes still gazing upwards towards the stars. "I like him, I guess, but... I don't know. It just feels weird."

"Because he's a nerd? You know we don't care," Alesha quipped. "I mean, I'm dating your brother, and he's gotta be like ten times nerdier than Lamont..."

"It's not just that, though," Mia sighed. "It just doesn't feel right. I don't know how to describe it. Maybe I'm just being picky... I don't know. I just haven't quite figured out if I like him yet, and I don't want to jump into anything until I'm sure."

"What about you, Naomi?" Alesha asked, turning to the other blonde. "There's gotta be someone you've got your eye on..."

"I... I guess," Naomi started slowly. "I mean--sort of. It's complicated. They have their eye on someone else--I mean, they're dating and stuff--and um... He's an upper-classman and probably doesn't even know I exist."

"Well, I'm not exactly an expert," Alesha tried to reassure. "But if you ever need any help, I'd be willing to try and give it a shot hooking you guys up."

"It's--it's not that easy," Naomi muttered.

"Sure it is. Honestly, Naomi... You never know until you at least try. If you never do, then you'll never know--and then you'll regret wasting the opportunity."

"I kinda doubt that, Leesha. To be honest... I think it's better this way."

---

"I mean, see, look!" Alesha laughed. "Here we are... I'm still hopelessly in love with Brad, and you two still are in the same boat as you used to be."

Naomi shrugged. "I wouldn't say that's totally true. Amelia here's made quite a reputation of herself in Bridgeport, she's pretty much sampled every piece of the buffet that was up to offer--"

"Hey!"

"Well, it's the truth!"

"That's not a bad thing, though, Amelia. I mean, think about it," Alesha began with a slight tap of a finger to her chin. "This way you get a better idea what you think you want, then when the time comes you don't let the right person slip through your fingers."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, if that was the case, how come you didn't do it that way? You just sort of... Jumped on the first person that gave you the time of day."

"Amelia--"

"No, Naomi, Amelia's right," Alesha said with a sigh. "I didn't try any other options. But that's not what I wanted. I was happy. He was happy. It took a lot of work to get to that point, and it's work I wouldn't throw away just to see if there's something better."

"Yeah, but you could've at least gotten out of this town to see something more exciting, instead of reconciling yourself to a life of monotony," Amelia groaned with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, Brad? C'mon. I know he's my brother, but he's... He's boring."

"Amelia," Alesha began, her voice stern but unperturbed. "Just because that's not the way you want to lead your life doesn't mean that it's not perfect for others. There's nothing wrong with being 'ordinary'. I don't want to be a rockstar like you. I just want a husband. A part-time job. A family. That's just who I am, and I'm fine with that. Do you have a problem with it?"

"No, it's just--" Amelia suddenly felt stupid. Great; she'd just insulted her best friend without realizing it. But there was something about this, the fact that Alesha was so happy with her life, that made Mia unhappy with her own... And she hated that. "--I just want the best for you. I don't want you to settle for less than you deserve."

"Amelia, you don't settle for happiness. Settling is when you give up happiness so that someone else can have it," Alesha said, briefly sending a glance at Naomi. "And that's not what either Brad or I are doing."

"Okay. I guess I just worried a little, because of his old fling with Emerald, that he might not--" But suddenly, Amelia cut herself off. Her eyes dropped from Alesha's gaze, down to Alesha's legs... Alesha's pants.

"Hey... Aren't those mine?"

Alesha's expression changed quickly from one of sympathy to one of a deer trapped in the headlights. "I--I--"

"Leave off, Amelia," Naomi slowly retorted. "She's probably just borrowing the--"

"No, Naomi. Those went missing before we even moved. I thought I'd just forgotten them, but..." If Amelia had been dramatic and morose before, now she was doubley so. "I can't believe you, Alesha! You stole them, didn't you?"

"Look, I just..." Alesha tried to laugh, trying to play it off as a minor misunderstanding. "See, I borrowed them the night I stayed over before you left, and... I just kind of forgot to put them back in your suitcase."

"You 'kind of forgot'? Whatever, Alesha." Amelia rolled her eyes. "Just keep them. They probably won't fit me anymore now, anyways."

The words stung, but far more than Amelia could comprehend, and far more than Alesha was willing to show. Her eyes closed, shielding back any revelation of what she might be thinking. She could express herself, but it wasn't worth it. She was already too ashamed.

"I'm--I'm sorry," she replied softly, without a trace of emotion in her voice. "Thanks for letting me keep them."

"Look, I'm feeling a little tired," Alesha said, feigning a yawn. "I think I'm gonna tuck in. Got a big day tomorrow, I need all the rest I can get." She forced on a smile and winked at each girl, before unzipping the canvas tent and climbing inside.

It wasn't long after the zipper closed up the gap that Naomi turned to Amelia, her expression one of complete confusion. "What... What was that, Amelia? I have never seen you talk to her like that before..."

"I'm just feeling a little off, okay?"

"A little off?" Naomi rolled her eyes. "That was pretty unacceptable, especially with how nervous she probably is about tomorrow..."

"Yeah, well, I don't really care what you think right now, okay, Naomi?" Amelia hissed quietly as she stood up. "You're always trying to interfere with my life, my relationships, my choices... And I'm getting kind of tired of it. I can say whatever the heck I want to whoever I want."

Naomi stared blankly at the ground in front of her. "I didn't realize you felt that way."

"Well," Amelia sighed, though she sounded unsure. "I do. Every step of the way you've pushed me to mend things, and... And, well, I just--" Amelia cut herself off, throwing her hands up in the air before stalking away from the fire, and away into the darkness.

---

Squeeaaaaaakk... Squeeaaakkkk.... The metal rings holding the two girls suspended above the ground made teeth-grating noises as they drifted slightly about in place, turned loosely towards each other so they could talk, freely, under the gloomy midday light of Twinbrook's sun.

"I'm glad that you and Alesha are finally getting along," Amelia said, looking sidelong at her friend. "She really is a keeper. That girl would forgive pretty much anything you'd ever do to her. Not sure how she does it... Guess she's a stronger person than both of us."

"I wouldn't say that," Naomi said with a smile. "You forgave me, didn't you?"

"That's different, Naomi. So... You pushed Alesha away from me to get close to me, so that you could steal information from my Dad for your parents, right?"

"Er... Right," Naomi said sheepishly.

"And you came clean. You admitted it and you apologized, and now you're practically attached at my hip because you feel so bad about it. It's way, way easier to forgive someone that actually feels bad than it is to forgive someone that doesn't."

"Like... Your dad?"

"What about my dad?"

"Amelia... I did all these terrible things to your family, to you, and yet you forgave me. And now here you are, crazy mad at your dad, despite the fact that... Everything he did, I'm okay with. My family deserved what was coming to them. I deserved it. But you still can't forgive him."

"Yeah, but--"

"But what? I lied to you, he lied to you. What's the difference? Why is it so much harder to forgive your dad than it was to forgive me?"

"I... I don't know, Naomi," Amelia said, pained, her eyes looking across the lake. "I really don't know. But what I do know is that he deserves this. He deserves all the hatred in the world for what he did to you... And you'll never change my mind about that."

---

Naomi considered this memory for a moment as she stood next to the fire, away from Amelia. It was an old memory, one she hadn't even known she had... But it made something very clear to her.

This realization pressed her towards the pillars of the Ampitheatre, where Amelia stood, out of the firelight, looking up at the stars.

"Amelia... Amelia," Naomi began, her throat so dry that her words sounded disjointed on her lips. "Please, talk to me. Just look at me."

Amelia obliged, though her face still looked annoyed.

"Look," Naomi began. "I know. I've been pushing you to fix things with your father. And I know that's why you're upset with Alesha. You're pissed off that she's got everything perfect and you don't, and... Here I am, continually reminding you they aren't perfect by trying to get you to talk to him..."

"Yeah..." Amelia sighed, toeing the ground. "Guess that's about right."

"Look, I'll stop. I'll stop completely. I won't push anymore. I just need you to understand something, before I do."

"What's that?"

"The reason... The reason I keep pushing you so much to fix everything is--it's my fault. It's all my fault. You're upset at your father about what he did to me. You're upset that he lied to you. Those things wouldn't've happened if I'd never come into the picture. I've wanted, so badly, since everything happened to feel like I've made amends with everything that I've done, but... I can't. Not until the wedge I drove between you and your dad comes loose."

"Naomi..." Amelia extended her hand to brace her friend's shoulder, where she gripped it tightly. "There is nothing to forgive. The problems between my dad and I, no matter what part you had in them, are my responsibility. I chose this. I chose to be angry."

"But if I hadn't--" Naomi began, hanging her head.

"Don't say that. You're one of my best friends and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Not even for a good relationship with my dad. It's his fault this happened, not yours... And you need to stop blaming yourself for it. Otherwise you'll never be happy."

As Amelia dropped her hand, Naomi looked at Amelia with eyes that had not known tears in quite some time--but for once, they threatened to cry. They didn't, but it showed enough in Naomi's voice when she finally responded with a simple, "Thanks, Mia."

"Don't mention it. Besides, you're going to have to help me smooth over that epic fail of mine with Alesha, in the morning... I can't believe I said that to her..."

"Well, we might as well get some sleep then," Naomi said, pointing back towards the tents. "Because if she doesn't kill you for acting like a snob, then she sure as heck is gonna kill you for sleeping through the wedding."

With a laugh, the two finally walked back to put out the fire and--with heavy hearts--headed off to sleep.

---

That's the end of the post, but I wanted to post up this image just to say one final comment:

Curvy sims are freaking SEXY! Give me that little bit of roundness over a stick-thin Sim any day. Gotta love people no matter what shape they come in, I always say. :) Alesha may not be the figure of perfection, but I love every bit of her.