Then he stormed out, slamming the front door so hard it caused the whole house to shake. It was radical enough to cause Darren's husband, Kirk, to rush down to the living-room from his upstairs office. Kirk didn't have much patience for Dominic's behavior but he kept his thoughts and feelings to himself most of the time. But antics like slamming a door so hard the house shook was too over the top for Kirk and he began ranting to Darren about it.
Darren let Kirk speak his mind and when he was finished he told him about Nick's call and the news he had to deliver to Dominic. Of course Kirk relented in anymore rants about Dominic and genuinely felt sorry for his step-son but it only troubled him more to think about how Dominic would behave with this new grief on the pile of everything else. Dominic had a LOT of problems dealing with adversity.
Darren would have liked to stay and wait for Dominic to return but he knew he had to go tell Nicole about her mother. He explained to Kirk what he had to do and then headed out the door.
Kirk knows all about Darren's new-found friendship with Nicole, (Dominic does NOT). Nicole had Darren and Kirk over for dinner shortly after Ariel was born and they're good friends now.
Kirk went through a lot of similar set-backs and struggles like Nicole has and he's very supportive and understanding in her fight to do better with her life. His heart went out to her when he thought about the news Darren was taking to her.
*Don't worry, you'll be able to meet Kirk in a somewhat soon update
Nicole took the news about Ruby's death very hard.
Strange how Ariel, Alex and Ally also had a tough time with it when they'd never even met their grandmother. Nicole's obvious devastation was so strong and emotional they all crashed after getting the news so Darren had all four of them to comfort.
Ally pulled it together quickly and took Ariel and Alex under her wing to allow Darren opportunity to put all his focus on Nicole. He stayed the night, sitting with her on the couch, holding her while she cried, listened when she wanted to talk, wiped away her tears, brought her food, (she refused to eat), and covered her up with a blanket when she finally fell asleep. The whole situation totally exhausted him, stripping away every bit of strength he had.
After all, he loved Ruby too and had his own grief connected to her death to deal with. And then top that off with his deep worry over Dominic, it was enough to push anyone over the edge. But Darren kept it together and when he was finally able to leave Nicole on her own he went home and collapsed. Luckily there were no upsetting issues regarding Dominic waiting for him when he got home and most fortunate, Kirk was there to give him the TLC he so desperately needed, (and deserved).
The first couple of days were super tough for Nicole.
She stayed home from her new job, but the kids wanted to go to school so she let them. Afterall, they never met Ruby so their hard time with everything all stemmed on how Nicole was doing with it. When they were gone and in school she allowed herself to be an emotional wreck. When the kids were home she toughened up for their sake but also found out that having them around was a huge comfort and they also fueled her strength.
She'd had a gut-feeling when she visited Ruby in the hospital that it would be the last time she saw her. When she got the actual news it devastated her, but she wasn't shocked over it like Nick and everyone else was. She was also struggling against a ton of guilt along with the grief. She knew she'd hurt her mother beyond words with everything she accused her of regarding Hunter and then the aftermath of her lies to Darren being found out and losing Danielle to Hunter, all of it took a huge toll on her mother. Moving out in a fit of anger could have been what brought Ruby to such a weakened state.
Deep down Nicole blamed herself for her mother's death.
Of course it was Darren who told her that Ruby's tombstone had been placed at Grace Garden Memorial Park. He let her know right after Sammy called him with the news. He urged Nicole to go there and pay her respects. She agreed, she needed and wanted to go there.
On her day off of work she gathered up the kids and they walked there. It was a gorgeous afternoon and the kids hopped, skipped, jumped and chased each other the whole way there.
Upon their arrival their carefree giggles and grins met a somber state as they were reminded of why they were there.
Nicole had to muster up some heavy duty strength she didn't anticipate needing.
For some odd reason Nicole couldn't bring herself to lead the way.
She held back just enough for Ally to walk ahead.
Fear and sorrow swelled up inside her
and she began to feel weak and woozy against it.
She wondered if bringing the younger children
along was a good idea after all.
They found Ruby's headstone right away.
Just the sight of it tore Nicole apart.
And of course that was a sight that upset the kids
Ally made a good call and called the kids away
from Nicole and they spent some time over at the pond
which gave Nicole some privacy to grieve.
And then,...
It was right around 6:30 pm when THIS little girl entered the cemetery -
ALL BY HERSELF WITHOUT AN ADULT.
This is my Simself and Brad's youngest daughter, Journey.
Have to admit I was a little spooked to see her
roaming around the cemetery right before dark all alone.
Ariel spotted Journey right away
and went over to make a new friend.
By the time she reached her the sun had set.
They chatted for a bit and now the two girls are best of friends!
Right at 7 pm Journey wasn't "responsive" to Ariel any longer
and the game sent her home - Thank Goodness!
I didn't like seeing her in that cemetery by herself!
Nicole had a hard time looking at Ruby's headstone
and found a bench next to the pond to sit while the kids played
on the playground.
Might seem weird to have a playground at a cemetery
but it's a good way for kids to run off bad or sad feelings -
just like Ariel and Alex were doing.
Ally just chilled on the swing with them,
giving Nicole her space.
But Nicole didn't want to be alone with her thoughts
and she called Ally to come over and sit with her.
They sat for quite awhile talking -
mainly it was Nicole telling Ally all about Ruby.
Even Nicole was surprised at how many stories she
had to tell about her mother.
They seemed to pop into her head out of no where.
And they were all good stories.....
Ariel and Alex played off a lot of energy
And then they decided they wanted to play some chess.
When Nicole looked over and saw them
talking about ghosts she knew it was time to go!
She did NOT want to see her mother's ghost!!!
When they got back home -
so amazing how the sunny skies were waiting for them, lol -
there was someone Ariel and Alex's age walking by-
it was Tabitha Ngai, Melanie and Trevor's daughter.
All three of them played for a little bit
and then it was time for Tabitha to head home.
But not before becoming best friends with both Ariel and Alex.
So that makes TWO Simski kids that Nicole's children met in a day.
And you know how kids are,....
They CANNOT keep a secret!!
Right after Ariel, Alex and Ally left for school the next morning
someone came a calling at the front door!
Yep, it was my Simself,
who lives right behind Nicole,...
Nicole's secret was no longer a secret!!
It was time to face the music!
