The Villaloboses - Round 5

[[No Family Portrait - Sorry]]

Starring:

Santiago Villalobos, Elder Fortune Sim, LTW Own 5 Top Level Businesses


Roisin (Cleary) Villalobos, Elder Popularity Sim, LTW Have 20 Simultaneous Pet Best Friends


Vincente Villalobos, Adult Romance Sim, LTW Become Celebrity Chef


~*~*~*~*~

Last time at the Villalobos house, the three teens (Diego, Dorotea, and Catalina) went off to college while Vinnie moved back in with his abuelo Santiago and Santiago's new wife Roisin. The entire season was spent having lots and lots and lots of woohoo, both from the newlyweds and Romance Sim Vinnie. Let's see how they fare this round.

Roisin and Santiago remained as delightfully partnered as always. They were practically attached at the hip, going nowhere together, and doing little more than having dream date after dream date. There was, they knew, no better way to spend their golden years than right there together.

There was, along with excessive dream dating, excessive hot tubbing and snuggling.


And kissing.


And woohooing.

And more snuggling. The water soothed their old bones, and their affection warmed them even more than the hot jets. Santiago noticed that Roisin seemed especially attached to him in the last few days. More so than even their usual level of connectedness. "Are you feeling alright, mi amor?" he asked her gently. She shook her head softly, no. "I don't have much longer," she said, matter-of-factly, and though he tried to teasingly tell her that she would live forever, they both knew it wasn't so.



Roisin was right. She died the next morning, while she was asleep in bed. It was quick and peaceful, and she left behind a platinum headstone. Despite how happy she was when she died, everyone left was devastated...especially Santiago.


He immediately set up a little table in the bedroom with the last dozen red roses he'd sent her after one of their dates. The sight agonized him, but he wanted to make a nice place for her.


Santiago was nearly inconsolable, though that didn't stop Vinnie from trying.

It broke his heart to see his abuelo so crushed by the death of his late-life bride. Even Vinnie, who sometimes felt like his heart was still frozen after the betrayal of his parents, felt himself bleed for his grandfather.


Santiago could barely go about everyday tasks without bursting into tears. In the shower, in the bedroom, in the living room, no matter what he was trying to do, his grief frequently overwhelmed him.


Vinnie did his best - making healthy, filling meals and sitting down with Santiago to eat, so he could keep him company. Vinnie was worried about the old man, who seemed more haggard than Vinnie had ever seen him since Roisin's death.


It seemed any time Santiago wasn't distracted with something else, he was crying. Vinnie wasn't sure what to do, but finally, he got an idea.


Vinnie called the pound and asked if they had any pups that needed a good home. Santiago had always loved animals, but his house had been too crowded since all his grandchildren and then wife moved in with him. But now, there was no reason he couldn't have a dog. When Santiago saw the pup, he immediately fell in love. It was so tiny that he named it Pequito, a derivation of the Spanish word meaning "very tiny."


Pequito wasn't the smartest pup in the litter. In fact, he was kind of a dopey, happy little thing that bounded around without heed to much of anything. Santiago enjoyed his carefree innocence, and the cute little puppy face.


The little dog quickly grew attached to Santiago as well, and the two became inseparable. If Pequito could have lived in Santiago's pocket, they both gladly would have done it. Vinnie could tell he had made the right decision in deciding to adopt the pup. He hadn't seen Santiago smile so much since Roisin died.


Santiago liked Pequito too because he knew Roisin would have admired the little dog's friendly nature and playful side. He and Roisin had both shared that same quality with Pequito.


They even shared a new hobby together - digging in the yard. Exploration of one of Pequito's burrow holes netted Santiago a new sculpture for the house.



Since Santiago seemed to be happily distracted, Vinnie thought he could venture to go on another date. He happened to bump into Mrs. Ramirez as she was taking a walk around the neighborhood one day. She was undoubtedly a beautiful woman, and he was frankly a little bit surprised when she agreed to a date with him.


Apparently, her marriage to Checo wasn't as blissful as it appeared from the outside. She seemed to need the attention Vinnie bestowed on her.


Santiago, meanwhile, wasn't feeling up to snuff. True, Pequito helped soothe the pain, but when it came time for bed, and he had to go by himself, the loneliness and sadness for Roisin set in. He wanted to buy a bar, and so he did, and he occasionally took a swig of drink from the bottled stored under the counter.


One morning, after he woke up with a somewhat splitting hangover headache, he went outside to find a strange lamp on the front lawn. "What have you dug up now, Pequito?" Santiago murmured to himself, bending to flick some dirt off the top of the lamp. To his immense shock, a genie popped out and hovered in front of him.


The genie said he would grant Santiago three wishes. "Ay, dios mio," Santiago said. "Am I still drunk?" But no, the genie was still there, and Santiago pondered what his wishes would be. At first, he thought of wishing Roisin back to life, but she had gone so peacefully, and he knew he wouldn't be around that much longer anyway. They would be together soon enough. So instead, he wished for what would make his remaining days happy: peace of mind.


His mind instantly felt cleared. True, he still missed Roisin, but the pain wasn't as sharp, and he was at peace with the fact that she was gone...and the fact that he too would soon be gone.


That night, Vinnie made a quiet call to his siblings and encouraged them to come visit since Santiago wasn't doing very well. He didn't think the old man was long for this world. Later in the evening, Diego, Catalina, and Catalina's son [spoiler!], Guillermo [about whom you will hear more at the end of this round!] all came over to spend time with Santiago.


It was the first time that Santiago had ever met his great grandchild, and he found the little boy charmingly polite and straightforward, much like his mother at that age. They talked for a few minutes, but as the night wore on, Guillermo eventually fell asleep on the dog bed with Pequito nestled in the curve of his lap.


Vinnie cooked a big meal, and they all sat down the way they used to when the young adults were still children. Santiago had never looked better than he did that night, or happier with all of his grandchildren surrounding him.


They even took time to enjoy the hot tub that was a new addition since they'd moved out.



The grandchildren stayed late into the night, hugging one another tightly goodbye and promising to see one another again soon, though Diego and Cat wondered if that would be true.


Vinnie and Santiago stayed up a bit later, playing chess, until finally Santiago was sleepy and decided to turn in. Vinnie fitfully slept that night.


The next morning, after peeking in on his still-sleeping grandfather, Vinnie headed out to the new job he'd just managed to acquire the day before. He hated to leave when Santiago seemed so exhausted and ready to go at any moment, but he'd waited for months for this job and couldn't afford not to go. Still, he worried, so he called Catalina and asked her to come over and stay with Santiago, not wanting the old man to be alone.



She came and, at Santiago's request, brought along Guillermo to spend time with his great grandfather.


Again, the boy greeted Santiago with great gusto, and Santiago laughed to see the verve for life in this youngest generation.


Santiago spent a wonderful afternoon getting to know his great grandson, and understood well enough from their interaction and from knowing his granddaughter Catalina, that the young man would turn out just fine.


Unfortunately, Santiago wouldn't live to see him grow up. He passed away that afternoon, peaceful and knowing that he was loved by his grandchildren and great grandchild.


The children got their inheritances, but they would have rather had Santiago than his money. Nevertheless, Catalina was intensely happy she could be there for him in his last moments.


When Vinnie got home, he and Catalina decided to turn Santiago's bedroom into a little sitting room of sorts, where both the ashes of Santiago and his wife Roisin could sit together and share the space that was once theirs.


Up next, the Tanakas.

~*~*~*~*~

Scoring:

2 Platinum Headstones: +2

[[Author's Notes: Noooooooooooo!!!! Santiago and Roisin, RIP! Man, I loved them together, and it was sooo hard to let them die. It sounds awful, but I wasn't that attached to Aisling, who was my first CAS elder to go. These two, though, were so adorable and sweet. It was nearly impossible not to give them both massive swigs of the elixir to keep them alive forever. They had to go though, and if they did have to go, it was good they both went in the same round. I played a little bit past this point, but I thought this was a good narrative stopping point. Guess we'll see how Vinnie does on his own next round.

This Entry's MP3:
TBA

Bloopers:
Pequito doesn't like the alarm clock any more than Vinnie does. // Ghostly Roisin is dirty, apparently. // And she also likes to have both the television and the radio on at the same time. >:O]]