#c: maryam yaldo

[thesimsblues]

Tso's Chinese, Newcrest.

A Winterfest dinner at Tso's, a Chinese restaurant in a neighborhood notably rundown, even by Newcrest standards. Nadia has bought out the restaurant for the night to evade any scandal mag photographers. The Tso family idles around the restaurant while Nadia and her party eat. There's very little said at the table after niceties are passed around. Normally the curator of conversation, Nadia has checked out completely. Had the restaurant been open to the public, perhaps the noise of other diners might've eased the awkwardness. But the restaurant is mostly quiet, and it's driving Neven insane.

NEVEN --We're pregnant!

If the table was quiet before, it is now dead silent. Neven surveys the table: Maryam, Nadia's best friend, is perversely delighted by the dramatics; Nadia is stunned; Ruthie, mortified. Marcus has his usual poker face, but his eyebrows betray surprise.

MARYAM (to Ruthie) Is that why you're wearing that outfit?

NEVEN (to Maryam, in Arabic) That's your takeaway from what I said, really?

NADIA You're pregnant?

NEVEN (relenting) Technically, we haven't confirmed it yet. But we have been trying. We're tracking Ruthie's ovulation cycle, I'm eating a lot of shellfish because men's magazines told me that they help with my spermy dudes--

RUTHIE --Nev, less detail, please. I'm begging you.

MARYAM (aside, in Arabic) I knew she wore that outfit for a reason. No one would wear such an ill-fitted sweater on purpose. (to Marcus) Don't act like you don't understand me, habibi. You agree with me.

Marcus has expertly reined in a smile. He turns his attention to the group.

MARCUS We should make a toast to the soon-to-be parents. (to Nadia) Jadda, would you like to do the honors?

NADIA (struck) Jadda...what a strange thought. (A pause.) When I was a young girl, my mother told me that one day I would give her grandchildren. At the time, I had no interest in babies or even a husband because I wanted to go to school to learn and be with my friends. But even then, I thought her words were odd: give her grandchildren, like I owed them to her. (She sighs.) I see now what she meant by give: all of your life, Neveen, I have provided for you. I never once thought you owed me anything. But this...a grandchild...your child will reflect all your best efforts, just as you have for me. It's a gift from you both.

MARCUS Everyone, if you would please raise your favorite dumpling in honor of Ruthie and Neven...?

[thesimsblues]

from The Oasis Springs Ogler, a gossip magazine-- A cougar has been spotted in Oasis Springs. Nadia Bahri of Nadia Bahri Realty, having recently surpassed Landgraab, Inc. in sales for the first time this summer, seems to have found an interesting way to celebrate. Recent photos of Ms. Bahri reveal she has been having a secret affair with her tango instructor, Apollinaire Dénis, a sim twenty years her junior. Very little is known about Ms. Bahri, despite her famous parties with celebrities, debutantes, and up-and-coming artists at her §25.5 million home in Skyward Palms. She rarely gives interviews, has no personal social media presence, and keeps a small but loyal house staff. Previous to her success in real estate, she earned a law degree at the Foxbury Institute and went on to be a star attorney at Laing, Long & Associates. Is Nadia Bahri a successful realty magnate seeking privacy or...is she hiding a salacious appetite for younger sims? According to an anonymous source, Ms. Bahri attends Mr. Dénis's classes at Fleet Feet Dance Studio religiously and has often been seen at competitions where Mr. Dénis is performing. Mr. Denis specializes in tango and hip hop dance styles. "Nadia is an intense, highly ambitious woman," one source close to Ms. Bahri confided. "Whatever she wants, she pursues relentlessly. I wouldn't want to stand in the way of something--or someone--she had her eye on. If pushed, I’d call her behavior predatory." [The news article goes on...]