Deanna's Crisis

"What does it matter?" Deanna replies bitterly.


"So what if my grades slip? So what if I don't want to be the rock every one in this family relies on?"

"Deanna, I had no idea that you felt this way." Ben replies quietly, realization dawning that maybe his quiet resentment at not being the favorite was misplaced.
"No, you don't, because no one ever asks me how I feel with any sincerity. No one asked me if I even want to get married and have kids. All I hear now is 'wow, you're suddenly such a drag to be around'. Well, being in this family is a drag sometimes."

"What brought this on?" Ben wondered aloud, taking a seat at the chess set.
Deanna was trying to hang onto her anger, that righteous anger that she felt. But Ben was not making it easy on her. He was not being accusatory like Felicity or wounded like her parents. He actually seemed to... care about her feelings.

Seeing him sitting there looking up at her, it took out some of the anger in her. She sank into the seat opposite of Ben, massaging her temples.

"I didn't mean to blow up at you, Ben. But all the expectations this family places on me aren't the ones I want. No one wants me to get good grades so that I can have a good career- my life is going to be spent right here in this house. Changing babies and playing house and never having a choice to have a career or make my own decisions."

"What are you talking about?" Ben marveled. "Our heiresses never 'stayed home and played house'. Mom was a doctor, Deanna. You know that."


"No, I know that she went to school, became an intern and then stayed home for nine years having and raising kids."

"Stayed home on maternity leave," Ben reminded her. "- not for nine years, solid. Yeah, she got days off to be there for the big milestones- teaching us to walk, the first day of school and our first big dance- but don't you remember that she had to work a lot of other days, late into the night? Or that she caught up on medical tomes in the office?"


Deanna screwed up her face, trying to remember. "I - I don't remember her not being there."
"That's because she and Dad worked very hard to provide us with a stable house and a good life."

"A good life?" Deanna mocked. "Stacey's going to Simlorida to go to Simworld with her family this summer. Zeke and T.J. are taking a trip to Smance. Heck, even Yvonne is going upstate to a camp. But we can't afford that because there's so many of us!"

"Can't afford that?" Ben stood up, an edge in his tone. "Get up, Deanna. Come on."
He led her into the entertainment room next to the study.
"Three years ago this was full of toys for you, Felicity and Fredrick. Then Mom and Dad renovated it with stuff so that we could all have fun. Do Stacey, Zeke and T.J have a huge T.V, a virtual reality set and a Wii?"


"Um... a Wii, but I don't know about the other stuff..."
"Come on," Ben wasn't done yet. Her older brother led her upstairs to the second study. "Heres the easels for you and Felicity," He pointed out. "- and the two new lap top computers that you do your homework and do other stuff on. That's in addition to the 'kid' computer down in the other study. Three computers aren't cheap, but we never had to fight to get online, did we?"

"No..."

"We might not be going to Simlorida, Deanna, but Mom and Dad invested in this house. It's worth over 100,000 or something. We have every thing that we need here because we are what they love most- not fancy vacations and careers.

You can have a career, Dea. Grandma worked for twenty years before getting married and having kids. Great Grandpa stayed home with the kids- like Dad did- so that Great Grandma could keep working. Whatever you want, Dea, we can make it work. I mean, I'm here because I want to see who you're going to become.

Anything you need- a boyfriend 'is he the one' adviser, a baby sitter or a study buddy for exams, whatever. I'm here. So are Mom and Dad. Elliot, Tobias, Dean, Davis- well, every one else is too. We're on your side."

"Ben, I feel like such a bitca. I guess I never remembered what the other hieresses did do besides have kids."

"Well, you were pretty young- and maybe you didn't hear every thing over every one running around and being so chaotic." Ben grinned back at her.

"You're a great brother, Ben. Right now, I need a chocolate chip cookie taste taster. You in?"
"Oh, it will be hard, Dea, but I'll grin and eat it. Bear it. Whatever. "