Stories from the Savvy Simmer - Chapter 5: Wedding Bells

Stories from the Savvy Simmer

Pinups' Place: Emily Doll

Chapter Five: Wedding Bells

It took Emily a few hours to return to the house; she went for a jog around Pinups' Place to clear her head. She couldn't believe Norman could just invade it like that. Even if she was marrying him, she should be privy to her own private thoughts just like anyone else. What couldn't he understand about that? He was asleep by the time she finally came back, and she was glad of it. She had so many things to sort out mentally, and she just didn't want to hash it all out anymore. Emily fell into an exhausted sleep on the couch, and woke up to Norm standing over her the next morning with a slightly apprehensive look on his face. "I bet your back hurts," he greeted her softly.

"I've never felt better," she snapped. Her back was screaming, but he wouldn't have the satisfaction of knowing that. 

"You're mad at me again," he said with a heavy sigh. Human women turned out to be so much more than he'd expected - in ways that were good, bad, and ugly. And judging by Emily's seemingly random triggers and behaviors, it didn't matter how long Norman had lived in Sim Nation. He still had a whole lot to learn.

"You're used to that telepathic link thing, Norman." Emily sat up wearily and tried to explain. "It's normal for you, but it's not normal for me. Humans have private thoughts that are all their own, all the time. I need solitude in my own head, it's important to me. Maybe one day I'll get used to that mind-reading stuff, but in the meantime...just don't do it, okay?" She paused, frowned, and then added, "It really freaked me out. If you need to do it for some reason, then I need you to ask first."

Norman nodded. She hadn't been prepared for what he'd done, and he had just done it without asking if she was okay with it. "That's fair," he agreed. "I'm sorry. You're still gonna marry me, right?"

Emily pursed her lips. Her favorite shade of bright red had smeared off onto his couch in the middle of the night, but he said nothing about it. He could hire a maid to have it steam cleaned. "Yes," she said. "I'm still gonna marry you."

He was wearing his human skin, getting ready to go to work, and she saw his normal human smile blossom brightly over his face. He put on his hard hat and gloves, bent down to kiss her cheek, and headed out the door whistling a tune. The assurance of her love was all he really needed, and Emily was beginning to feel a little strange and hollow for needing so much more. The house was beautiful, but she didn't need things. Her soul thirsted for answers, and she was starting to realize she had more questions than Norman wanted to answer. Maybe more than he was capable of answering. Still, that didn't make her love him any less. Em sighed, wishing she could talk to Cherry about all this. They were becoming pretty good friends; they often called each other to chat and Cherry stopped by a lot. Emily didn't visit Cherry and Jackson's house much, but in a House Beautiful like Norman's, she had everything she could possibly want or need. 

Norman was late coming home that night. He was so late, in fact, that Emily began to worry about him. 

She found Norman passed out on the sidewalk in front of the house.

She found Norman passed out on the sidewalk in front of the house; he'd overworked himself into a sort of exhausted torpor. It took awhile for her to wake him and lead him back to the house, but once she did, he promptly fell asleep in bed, and snored so loudly that she had to sleep on the couch again.

Emily was sore again the following morning, but she didn't complain. Norm was awake when she got up, staring down at her again. Emily experienced a brief but keen feeling of deja vu. 

"I don't remember coming home," he said.

"You passed out on the sidewalk in front of the house," she informed him groggily. "I woke you up and brought you inside." 

"Thanks," he said awkwardly, yawning hugely and rubbing his eyes. "Guess I just ran out of steam last night."

Emily sat up and frowned with disapproval. "Your boss overworks you like that?"

"I overwork myself like that," he gently corrected her, taking a spot on the pristine white sofa by her side. She was always terrified she might spill something on it, but she was starting to understand that Norm was the type who wouldn't have cared. "I'm ambitious, I'm a go-getter, Emily. I wouldn't live here otherwise." After a pause, he said with determination, "I want that basement. And I got promoted again yesterday, so I'm going to get it!"

Norman has been promoted to Technician!

 

"Did you go out drinking again?" Emily asked, keeping an accusatory note out of her voice. 

Norman shook his head, though. "No, I didn't. I just came straight home, and I guess I passed out right in front of the street. Maybe I need a few days off."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think so. What were you promoted to?"

"Technician," he answered, his chest puffing up with pride. "They said they 'value my expertise' over at NASSA." 

"That's great, Norm!" Emily smiled. He really was moving up, and she thought she might be just as proud as he was. "Maybe I'll bake you a 'congrats' cake and invite Cherry and Jackson over!" 

"I love when you bake," said Norman with a grin.

"Does Cherry know? Does Jackson know?"

"Know what? That I got promoted?"

"You know. Do they know that you're an alien?"

Norman was silent for a second. Then he said, "Y'know, has it ever occurred to you that to me, you're the alien? That to my race, humans are the aliens?"

"Yes," she shot back without missing a beat. "It has. But when you don't tell me what your people are called, what else am I supposed to call you but 'alien'?"

"No," he replied, somewhat forcefully. "They don't know. And you'd better not let it slip, either."

He turned to walk away, but Emily got up and followed him. "You don't trust Cherry and Jackson with your secret."

"I don't trust anybody but you," he answered bluntly, hoping like hell she'd just leave it at that. He poured himself a cup of green tea and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He was going to use a couple of his vacation days. "Wanna get hitched while I'm off work?" he asked hopefully. She seemed to want the wedding to be a quiet, simple affair anyway, so he hoped Em wouldn't be offended by his hasty suggestion. He was surprised again and reminded of why he was so attracted to her when she simply said, "I do."

"I do."

 

The wedding was unassuming, simple, and quietly elegant, just as Emily wanted it to be. Norman kissed her under a beautiful, flowering arch, in the sort of scene she'd always pictured since she was a little girl. Their friends Cherry and Jackson were there to celebrate their love with them, and when the couple broke apart from the kiss that signified they were finally husband and wife, Emily finally decided that she was content. For now.

Emily finally decided that she was content. For now.