The Lassiters Ch. 9 Senior Summer

Most of the summer Lori and Trey lazed around by the pool but then John decided to take Trey and David on a 3-day fishing trip up to Three Lakes. Melora said “Yay, no cooking”. She and Lori had a beauty day when they gave each manicures and pedicures, used masques and  moisturizing facials, and Lori colored her mother's hair. Then they rented some DVD’s and ate pizza that night. The next day they left early to go shopping and bought more clothes for Lori for school. While there they ran into Elle and her mom, Bobbi Jo, and joined them for lunch. On the last day, Grace came over to visit and swim. 

While Grace was there Lori tried to casually mention Brian to see what kind of reaction she’d get.

“I really don’t think you should be asking me about him,” Grace complained, “I think Mom and Daddy want you to try to forget him.”

“Fine,” Lori said calmly. She’d expected as much.

Grace continued to look stern, “Why would you ask me anyway?”

Lori waited a beat,

“Because I heard you went with him when you were a teenager.”

“What’s going on,” Melora asked as she sat down. She’d been at the other end of the pool helping herself to nectar.

“She wants to know about Brian Ottomas and me,” Grace told her.

“Then tell her, unless you just don’t want to talk about it for reasons of your own. It’s natural that she’s curious,” Melora smiled at her youngest daughter, “She has really tried hard this last year to put it aside. We’re proud of her.”

Lori felt guilty when her mother praised her. She hadn’t talked about Brian to anyone over the 15 months, except very occasionally to Melanie. But she still thought about him, she still kept his photo in a tiny cubbyhole of her desk and more importantly, she still had plans to be with him somehow one day. She had tried to put Brian in a cubbyhole in her mind as well, like the photo in her desk, but she had not succeeded entirely. She didn’t want to forget him. Not ever.  She was going to school soon and she hoped she would be too busy to think about him as much. That, of course, remained to be seen.

So Grace relented and told her that she had merely had a crush on Brian and they went steady for all of two weeks when they were 14.

“Long ago,” Grace pointed out needlessly, “Okay I gave him his first kiss—at least he said it was his first kiss.”

“You gave everyone their first kiss,” Melora teased, “Or so it seemed at the time.”

Grace grinned and shrugged, “I like to make people happy. But that’s all I gave anyone...kisses,” and she looked pointedly at her sister.

“Hint, hint,” Lori sulked, “Well that’s all I’ve given anyone, too. And at least I’ve kept it to one or two boys, not a whole herd of them! And if you’re wondering, I never kissed Brian—unfortunately.”

“Girls, perhaps we should change the subject,” Melora jumped back in to the conversation. Lori and Grace practically never argued, obviously this was a touchy issue for both of them. They both became silent until Melora asked what they should eat for supper.

“Remember, I’m not fixing anything,” she told them, “I planned not to cook this whole weekend, and I’m sticking to it. How about for fun and old time’s sake, we go up to the drive-in. I’d love to have a “set-up” and a Double Snappy-burger with fries. I’m ready to pig out.”

That brought both girls back to life, everyone loved Sam’s.

Meanwhile the men in the family were doing some male bonding in the mountains. Plenty of fresh air, flapjacks, log-rolling, competitive axe-throwing and most of all, fishing. John and his two sons, David and Trey.

Trey and John had a great time with the log-rolling although they both would get mad when they fell in.

They stayed at the campground where fishing was good and they could enjoy the campfire although Trey managed to get overheated.

David was just like Nicky Ferguson and preferred to sleep in the hammock:

 The next day they tried out the hot springs and sauna.

Axe-throwing and fishing rounded out the day. Some girls wandered along and decided to stand right next to David to fish.

"Do you mind if we fish here?" one of them cooed and David shrugged, 

"Fine by me." 

Adult women made Trey nervous so he went over to the other side of the little lake. When the women giggled annoyingly and flirted with David (scaring the fish in Trey's opinion), he went over to throw some axes and John joined him.

The last morning before they left John and Trey learned the slap-dance, a local tradition.

They returned looking pretty scruffy.

“Why did I pack all those clothes if you were going to wear the same thing for three days?” Melora groused when she was emptying out their suitcases.

“In case it rained and we got soaked,” John told her, “Anyway, we changed on the third day when we were on our way home.”

Melora shook her head. Fastidious John wearing clothes for over two days, it was nearly unbelievable

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Genie.

Early one morning, Lori went out to get the newspaper when she noticed a golden lamp on the ground nearby. She picked it up and on closer inspection saw that it was slightly tarnished so she began to buff it a little with her long loose over-blouse. Wait until Mom sees this; it must be an antique. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and the lamp trembled in her hand and then fell to the ground. A strange purple mist rose out of it. With that, a magnificent genie in an ornate brocade waistcoat appeared.

“For heaven’s sake, you scared me to death!” Lori cried, “And you made me drop the lamp!”

“I am the genie of the lamp and I am here to grant you three wishes!” he roared, his voice majestic and echoing. He seemed quite unapologetic.

“Really? Well, I wonder what I should ask,” Lori considered. As the moments ticked by the Genie cleared his throat genteelly and suggested,

“Many people ask for wealth or beauty, a long life or even the power to defeat or put off death.”

“I don’t know, seems like I should wish for world peace or a cure for cancer.”

“Madame, this is the not the Miss America Pageant and anyway, we don’t grant those worldwide wishes, strictly personal ones,” the Genie pulled out a watch on a chain and looked at it rather obviously. He hummed to himself, but in a dignified way.

“Hmmm, can I make for a wish for someone else?” Lori now contemplated asking for a long life for Brian, after all he was 16 years older than her; it couldn’t hurt.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way, either, no second-hand wishes.”

“Well, if I ask for beauty, what will happen?”

The Genie sighed, “You’ll either attract lots of men, if it goes well, or, if it goes wrong, you’ll have townies ringing your doorbell night and day.”

“What! They should have a disclaimer on that!”

The Genie whipped out a legal looking paper and passed it under her nose and then quickly tucked it back into his waistcoat.

“Well, now I don’t know what to wish.”

There were a few more moments of silence as Lori pondered and then the Genie, becoming irritable, muttered,

“Kid, do you mind? I’ve got other customers, you know.”

“Okay, long life. I wish for long life. Surely that can’t have any bad effects.”

The Genie started to say something in regard to that. Then he looked at Lori and abruptly shut his mouth. Vrooooosh! He twirled about impressively calling out something in another language. The first wish was granted. Whoa! She felt healthier already. Lori suddenly got a kind of a starry-eyed look in her face, remembering the story her mother had read to her the night before they went to Twikkii the first time. (Author's note: the children's story was mentioned in the November 7 post The Lassiters in Winter Ch. 2)  So she just had to ask,

“This might sound silly, but I don’t suppose in all your travels you might ever have met a golden crab who grants wishes and takes children on adventures? I’m sure he’d be very friendly.”

“I do not number magical crustaceans among my friends, even if they are golden!” he snapped but as her face fell he relented, “Okay, let’s just say I’ve seen Gilda around--she’s a female, by the way--and we’ve said a few words from time to time.  But it’s not like we hang out or anything! And don’t even ask about the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy,” he warned.

“I knew it!” Lori was rapturous, “She DOES exist!” Lori was surprised to know that the golden crab was a she, but then she had heard that she-crabs made the best soup. She certainly hoped Gilda did not end up in such dire circumstances. The Genie almost whined,

“Kid, the second wish?”

“Oh, well, I don’t care about wealth; I guess I’ll take the beauty,”

“A wise, but unnecessary choice, lovely lady,“ the Genie solemnly intoned. Again, he made an ostentatious display of magical grandeur as he granted the second wish. Lori looked down at herself but she didn’t see her bust plump out dramatically, nor did she see the long lovely legs she’d always envied and wanted.

“Hmphh!” she sniffed, “Big deal.”

The Genie prompted her,

“And the third wish?”

“I wish that I might marry the man of my dreams.” Of course, that would be Brian.

“That’s not one of the wishes we offer.”

Lori shrugged, “That’s dumb, but, okay. Well, that’s all I want then, you can keep the third wish.”

The genie was dismayed at this news; his composure gone at last.

“But you have to choose a third wish!”

“Why?”

“Well, it just isn’t done, leaving a wish unmade. Here, let me remind you of the suggested wishes that can be used…”

“No, no, no, I don’t want any of those other wishes. I told you what I wanted to wish and you said you can’t do those things.”

“I did NOT say I can’t do them; I can DO anything. I simply said it was not allowed. There must be some rules or you have anarchy. You are a very foolish girl not to want money or to ask for—“

Lori eyebrows flew together and she cried impatiently, “Oh, Genie, I wish you would just leave me alone!”

Vrooom! The Genie disappeared in a puff of purple smoke and the golden lamp seconds after him.

“Oops,” Lori bit her lip.

Well, she thought as she picked up the newspaper, that had certainly been mind-blowing, but she had to admit she'd been quite disappointed in the wishes that were allowed. And those possible side effects were scary and unfair. Imagine, townies harassing you by ringing your doorbell night and day? Her father would most certainly be furious if that happened. Then Lori smiled to herself with some satisfaction; so Gilda was the name of the golden crab. She really existed. Too cool.

Lori’s mind quickly changed course, only three days until the big pool party to send off her and Trey and all of their friends to college. She had carefully planned the couples that would be together and the still unspoken for friends she hoped to introduce to each other. She felt sure she could use her matchmaking abilities to turn single people into new couples. Her choices, she believed were excellent. Confiding her plans to Harvey, who was still her close friend, she naturally did not tell him that he was one of the people she hoped to get with someone new. That would be Melanie. He shook his head, 

"Okay, Brat, but you can't shove people around like men on a chessboard you know." 

Brat was his unlovely nickname for her.

"You'll see," she smiled like the Mona Lisa, "Everything will go like clockwork."

AS the last few people arrived at the Lassiters the music was on full-blast and people were already in the pool. Lori noticed that Melanie’s eyes were always on Harvey. That was good. After Christmas Lori and Harvey had agreed to be just friends. They still went out together sometimes, but no kissing or making out. Harvey was not enthusiastic about it, but when Lori explained she had to concentrate on schoolwork and did not want to date anyone at the time, he went along with it, biding his time. This way his feelings were not hurt, at least Lori hoped not. Of course, Holly and Gareth were still a couple, and so were Trey and Chelsea, but most of the others were free agents, Elle, Melanie, Corky, and their kid brother Andy, were among them. Maybe now Melanie and Harvey could get it together.

Holly and Harvey’s older brother, Nicky, drove them over to the Lassiter home and was talking to Melora.

“I just happened to come by the house and wasn’t sure what the chaperone situation was so thought I might be of help. Of course, if I’d known both you and Mr. Lassiter would be here, I would just have dropped them off and been on my way.”


“Don’t be silly, Nicky. In fact your parents would have been welcome to come as well. So come on out and mingle,” Melora assured him. 

Nicky, always attracted to older women, flashed her a dazzling smile and went out to the backyard.

At some point in the day, Lori’s schemes started slip-sliding away as Holly struck up a friendship with Andy Lomax; who was only a junior and had not figured into Lori's scenario. And Gareth, who had never known Melanie very well, decided to go over to where she sat and began talking to her; thus distracting her from Harvey. 

Meanwhile, Nicky was joking with Melora; trying to charm her. Lori looked around for her father, who was not the most tolerant of men, but he must have been in the house. Probably loading a shotgun, Lori fretted. That would be all she needed. Homicide had definitely not figured into her plans, either.

Elle danced with Andy for a while but then turned her charms on his brother Corky. Well, that was better; Lori didn’t want Elle dating an underclassmen, any more than she did Holly. I mean, if Holly did become fascinated by Andy what would happen when they all went off to University? She’d be pining away for someone not there. It did not occur to Lori that she was doing that very thing with Brian. Melanie and Gareth seemed to be more and more enthralled with each other, Lori could see that. Really it was too annoying. She was treading water in the middle of the pool, turning this way and that, watching her carefully laid plans going horribly awry. If Melanie didn’t take up with Harvey and got interested in Gareth, Harvey would be alone, and so would Holly. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, actually, except for Lori.

By the time they sat down to cheeseburgers, Gareth was at the end of the table right next to Melanie. Lori was on his other side and gave him a dirty look but he seemed to miss it completely. She thought of pinching him hard to get his attention, but she'd known him since they were in diapers and he'd probably just pinch her back without even thinking about it. Andy was sitting next to Elle but watching Holly at the other table. Harvey kept sneaking anxious glances at Lori because he could see nothing was going the way she wanted at all. He'd actually been hoping to convince her they should be together again and not just as friends. If she was in a bad mood because of this he'd have to wait until another time, and there was no time left. They left in a couple days for University.

Nicky regaled everyone at Lori’s table with funny anecdotes about the fishing trip he’d been on with Harvey and their Dad. But he kept peering over at Melora whenever he thought he could get away with it. John had gone inside; as he got older cheeseburgers no longer agreed with him and he was fixing himself something else to eat in the kitchen. He came back out to help clear the tables because he noticed Nicky was again talking to Melora while clearing. The kid was getting annoying, John thought. The two men got into a slight traffic jam around the tables, but that was all. 

As the sun set Lori gave up on her matchmaking and ended up sneaking in to the library with Harvey, her trusty sword and shield. She cried on his shoulder over her failure as a matchmaker. Harvey was sympathetic and one thing led to another. As they kissed in the quiet room, Lori had a feeling their 8-month break from romance was over. Really she was glad; she'd missed Harvey--and his kisses--much more than she realized.

 

One of the new couples, Melanie and Gareth, were making out on the love seat in the game room upstairs. They had both, evidently, forgotten about Harvey and Holly.

Elle Broke gave Corky Lomax his first kiss. And his second, and his third and...

Out around the pool were two other couples, Holly and Andy, and Trey with Chelsea, also cuddling on in the semi-darkness. Holly did not seem to notice or care that Gareth was off somewhere with someone else.

Actually it had worked out well, if not the way Lori planned, and no one had become jealous or got in a fight. That was a miracle in Pleasantview, where holding hands with the wrong person could get you slapped silly.

Nicky had been talking with both John and Melora. It was finally obvious to him that she was not interested in any romantic tryst and was oh, so happily married to John. Besides, Nicky reasoned; he knew he wanted kids, so he’d better start looking at women his age or younger. He called for Holly and Harvey who finally emerged from the pool area and the library and took them off home.  The rest of the kids began to head to their cars calling out their goodbyes to each other.

Later on Melora snuggled up to John and said, “Doesn’t it make you feel sort of romantic, all these kids we’ve seen grow up and now they think they’re madly in love with each other?”

“Actually it makes me sort of nervous as to how we’re going to get them through four years of college without several of them eloping or getting themselves into trouble, if you know what I mean.” John was cynical as usual, but he put his arm around her and admitted, “We’ll sure miss them all of them though; it’s going to be way too quiet in Pleasantview for the next four years.”

 Next blog update: Sim State U Ch. 1: Mike Lomax and Lucy Burb Pt. 1

Lori at University HERE

Trey at University HERE

Next installment of the Lassiter family (but read the university chapters first to stay in chronological order) HERE

 

Bobbi Jo Cooke aka Brandi Broke Ch 2 Her New Life

Updating from Oct. 21 post. Bobbi Jo Cooke was formerly known as pre-made Brandi Broke in Sims 2.

Author’s note: I’m sorry this update was so long in coming. Frankly I got tied up with certain of my first families and their stories leading up to several teenagers leaving for University. I hope now to be able to continue some of the threads I started and then dropped. So this is the story of Bobbi Jo’s new life with Julian Cooke and her daughter, Elle.

As was mentioned in the last update on Bobbi Jo, Julian Cooke asked her to marry him and he would make a home for her and Elle. Julian was an important chef at an exclusive restaurant in the big city and had moved in next door only a year ago. In fact, that was how Bobbi Jo and he had met. Once they were officially engaged he built a second floor to his house with a bedroom for Elle right next to their bedroom.  He knew it would all be a big change for a little girl who had only been with her new family for about four years. He also wanted to build an art studio for his soon to be wife, an artist. 

Just before the wedding Julian and Bobbi Jo moved all of her things (including most of the portraits she had done of her kids) and all of Elle’s things to the new home. It was comforting to Elle that her big brothers Jody and Leonid would only be next door.

The Cooke home with Bobbi Jo's former home on the right of the picture. (It is now owned by her youngest son, Jody).

Julian and Bobbi Jo took only a weekend honeymoon, leaving Elle with the boys. Bobbi Jo gave them the lecture on keeping an eye on their sister as men tended to get tunnel vision and had been known to ignore or simply not notice children getting into trouble, or even getting into danger. 

When Julian and Bobbi Jo got back late Sunday night the old house was still standing and Elle looked to be well-fed and safe although she was up way past her bedtime and not in her pajamas. They had planned to leave her there for the night because they thought she’d be sleeping. Bobbi Jo just had to check on her though and Elle was so excited she was hopping back and forth as she gave her breathless report.

"Saturday we went ice-skating and Jody ordered pizza afterward. The good kind with mostly cheese and pepperoni. Then today we went to the Arcades and to the movies and afterward we went to the drive-in, but we ate inside. Leonid let me have a cheeseburger and a banana split! I almost couldn’t finish them. And Jody was talkin’ to the waitress all the time, she liked him a lot.  Mom, she has to wear skates to work there!”

Bobbi Jo nodded, “Goodness, it certainly sounds like you had a marvelous time.”

She looked up at Jody and Leonid with a somewhat accusing look in her eyes.

“Well, she said wanted two of them,” Leonid pointed out. Elle looked back and forth between her mother and her brothers.

“I only threw up a little bit on the way home, honest,” Elle helpfully informed Bobbi Jo, hoping to rectify the situation she was starting to think she had caused.

Bobbi Jo put her hand on her daughter’s forehead, testing how warm it was.

“I’m better now. And I had a marvelous time!” Elle repeated her mother’s phrasing (she often did that) and then asked, “Are we going to Julian’s house now?”

“It’s your house now, too, Little Bit,” Julian told her.

“I think we’d better take her with us, but I’m going to call her in sick tomorrow,” Bobbi Jo said.

“Mom, I guess we got carried away,” Jody said.

“It’s okay, Jody, you heard her; she had a ‘marvelous time’,” Bobbi Jo finally smiled, “And she has no fever, but she definitely won’t be able to get up in the morning being up this late.”

“She can stay here again,” Leonid spoke.

Elle looked anxious, she loved her brothers but she wanted to go with her mother now that she was back.

Bobbi Jo shook her head, “No, I’d just have to come over and wake her when you two left for work.”

She looked down at Elle, smoothing her hair which was in disarray with one ponytail lower than the other because it was slipping out of the elastic, “Anyway, I think she wants to be with us tonight.”

She thanked the boys for keeping Elle and assured them she really did appreciate it and Elle would be fine.

Elle loved her new room right away. It was in her favorite colors; light pink and dark pink. It was also a little smaller than her old one, but everything had its place and she loved the new canopy bed. Bobbi Jo kissed her and tucked her in saying she should sleep in the next morning.

Elle was just too excited, though. She woke up before dawn, turned on the lights and began playing with her beloved dollhouse. Her mother still kept her home that day and, in fact, Elle began yawning around lunch and fell asleep on the couch for a couple hours.

The following weekend Julian fished and her mother spent a lot of time playing with Elle in their pool. Elle liked to go down and see how long she could hold her breath, but her mother was not fond of her doing that in the deep water. So they played Marco Polo most of the afternoon until Bobbi Jo wanted Elle to get out of the water for a while. Julian grilled ribs and they ate in the kitchen. 

Time passed, Elle continued to do well in school, and Julian treated her like his own little girl. She had become friends with some other children, but her closest friends were Holly Ferguson, Lori Lassiter and Melanie Flynn. A new girl moved in, Chelsea Lomax, and she became a part of this circle of friends, too. She had bright red hair just like Elle.

It was getting to be time for her birthday and Elle knew that her childhood days were nearly over; it was time for new and different adventures.

On the day of her birthday she wanted to play with her dollhouse one last time. It would still be there, in the corner of her room, but somehow she knew she would never play with it the same way again.

Around 6 p.m. Julian called up the stairs, “Little Bit, it’s time to come down and have supper.”

After supper they would celebrate her birthday with a big cake and Elle could make a wish. When she stood in front of her cake Julian starting blowing a horn and her mother began swinging a noisemaker. They certainly were excited, Elle thought.She very calmly made her secret wish and blew out the candles. And just like that Elle was a teenager. She looked in the mirror and liked what she saw. She knew she had unique looks and that suited her just fine.

The next morning she was off to high school. She was eager to learn to cook as well, starting out with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Meanwhile, Bobbi Jo had some news for her beloved Julian. She’d been nauseous that morning after breakfast and barely made it to the bathroom. She’d had three children already and she recognized morning sickness when she experienced it. She knew Julian would be happy and she loved him, there was no doubt, but when she had her head in the toilet, her thoughts of him were temporarily less than convivial.

Julian was not happy; he was ecstatic. When Bobbi Jo’s tummy popped out and she really looked pregnant, he was always patting her mid-section. She too began to be really excited about the baby now that the morning sickness had passed. He told everyone that he did not care whether it was a boy or girl, as long as the baby was healthy. Bobbi Jo was more pragmatic; she was not likely to have another pregnancy after this; she was getting on. Julian said not, but she knew he would like a son to carry on his name. She’d had three boys, perhaps she would again, and she secretly worried that Elle would feel displaced by a baby girl. When they found out the baby was definitely male, she was content.

Since she did not want to work outside the home, Bobbi Jo began to work on her memoirs. “Her memoirs”, she thought with an inward smile, they’ll have to be published in a boxed set, like the Twilight Saga.  So many things had happened to her already.

 

As Bobbi Jo reviewed her life she realized that one of the best things, after her children; was Julian. She’d thought she’d loved Skip as much as anyone could love someone, but it was so long ago it was hard to remember the intensity. And they'd been so very young. Bobbi Jo had to be honest with herself; Julian was a kinder, nobler man than Skip had ever been. She’d actually never been happier in her life.

One morning they woke up and Julian headed for the downstairs bathroom while Bobbi Jo was going to use the master bathroom. She barely got in the door and went into labor. Julian freaked, but Christopher Julian Cooke arrived safely that morning. Julian couldn’t wait to get his hands on his son, who responded happily to both his parents.

As for Elle, since she often rose earlier than Bobbi Jo, it became her habit every morning to check on her baby brother and change him if needed. She didn’t seem jealous at all; instead she doted on Christopher, right from the beginning.

Now that she was in high, Elle could go out with friends by herself. Trey Lassiter was one of her favorite escorts. They weren’t involved romantically, really, but he was funny and he didn’t seem to mind squiring her to basketball games, roller-skating, or just to Sonic or Sam’s for a bite to eat.

Sooner than seemed possible, it was time for Christopher’s birthday.

What a little doll of a toddler he was, too, everyone said so.  It was plain to see he had his father’s nose and his mother’s eyes.

Bobbi Jo took time to enjoy her son; things had been so stressed and money so tight with Dustin and Beau and then she'd only recently become a widow when Jody was born. So she wanted to savor every moment of Christopher's childhood. At times he reminded her of Jody when he was small, but mostly he just looked like a stamped out miniature of Julian. He was as affectionate and sweet-tempered as Julian, too.

It was getting near to the time when Elle would leave for college. She was so excited, but she dreaded leaving Christopher behind. She cried about it to Bobbi Jo one night,

“He’ll be all grown up by the time I see him again!”

Bobbi Jo hugged her daughter, “I don’t think he’ll be all grown up by Christmas, sweetie.”

“You know what I mean, I’ll miss everything!”

There was one last party to attend, the send-off pool  party at the Lassiter’s. They always gave great parties and there was so much to do at their house. That was only three days before Elle left for the University.

The last day before she left she spent most of her time with Christopher, but in the evening she talked on the phone with Holly about their exciting future. She would miss her little brother, but she was very excited now about starting school. All her friends would be going with her, Lori and Trey Lassiter, Holly and Harvey Ferguson, Melanie Flynn, Chelsea Lomax, Colby Goth and especially Corky Lomax, whom she thought was hot.

Bobbi Jo actually dreaded Elle leaving, although she did not tell her. She was so much help around the house and with Christopher for one thing. But also Elle had hardly been out of her sight since she arrived from the Children's Home at six years old. She was extremely close to her daughter and they talked all the time, she would miss her terribly.

She was very glad she had Christopher and she knew he would keep her busy. Besides Elle was so smart, Bobbi Jo wanted her to have every opportunity to continue her education. In reality, she knew Elle was not prone to trouble and she would have many of her friends around, but even so, it is hard to let your child step out into the world without your protection. So Bobbi Jo kept her qualms to herself and assured her daughter they would always be there for her. Only Julian knew how hard this was for her and how she worried at times. Thank goodness for Julian.

That was the last installment on Bobbi Jo Broke, news of her will appear from time to time in the Lomax thread...you'll see why in the Lomax thread if you read the University stories from Pinenut Plaza. But her daughter Elle's story will continue through University and beyond.

Next update: The Lassiters Ch. 9 Senior Summer

To read about Elle at University go HERE