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4.16 The Butler Did It

Apr11

Charles came strolling into the house with a string of fresh caught fish to fry and was stunned at what he saw.

“Hello!” Ada called as she walked down the stairs. “I want to talk to you!”

Charles grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the office and out of sight. “Ada!” he hissed. “There’s a guy cooking in our kitchen!”

“I know, silly,” Ada said. “That’s Kirby Hawkins. He’s our butler.”

Charles blinked. “We have a butler?”

Ada beamed. “We do now! I called up the service and hired him yesterday.”

“Why on earth did you think we needed a butler?”

Ada shrugged. “They wear monocles, and monocles are really neat.”

So the Samples had a butler. It took some getting used to, but after a while even Charles had to admit that there were some advantages to having live-in help. Kirby eagerly learned recipes for Charles’s fish, and the house was always filled with the delicious scents of fresh gourmet food. The family had never eaten so well.

Fabian was a little put out, though. He loved to cook, and now there was no reason to.

After a while, though, the leftovers were piling up in the fridge. Kirby began stacking plates on top of plates. Food began to go bad.

“I think we really have enough to eat,” Charles said pointedly when he found Kirby in the kitchen making yet another delicious batch of poached salmon. “There’s water pooling up on the back deck. Would you, um, mind cleaning it up?”

“I’ll do that immediately, sir!” Kirby said, and he meant it. It dropped the platter of salmon on the counter and dashed out the door.

And he scrubbed. And scrubbed. And scrubbed.

The back deck was certainly a lot to clean, and it seemed like no sooner had Kirby made it spotless before the garden sprinklers came on and showered more water on it to mop up.

Kirby took to roaming around the back yard at all hours, muttering about cleaning supplies.

He stopped bothering to put on his suit and monocle, which disappointed Ada to no end.

One morning, Charles woke up to Veronica shaking him. Her face managed to look both delighted and terrified all at once.

“I couldn’t wait to tell you,” she said breathlessly. “I took the test, and it’s positive. We’re going to be parents!”

“Oh, wow,” Charles gasped. “I don’t know what to say. I think I need a drink. Would you like, um, a glass of water.”

Then he froze. “What is HE doing here?”

“Who?” Veronica said.

Charles stared across their bed at Kirby Hawkins.

He looked like he’d been sleeping in the back yard again, and Charles could smell him from across the room.

“What the heck were you doing?” Charles demanded. “Watching us sleep?”

Kirby gave him a twisted smile. “There’s water on the back deck again,” he said. “I have to mop it up.”

“You are one heck of a creepy bastard,” Charles said. “You’re fired! Get off my property or I’ll get you off!”

And that was the end of the Samples’ experiment with live-in help.

———-

Ada got a high-value wish to hire a butler, so I gave one a try. OK, I don’t see the point. He cooked about 4x the food the household actually needed and did very little cleaning, which we really did need. And there’s an interaction to ask the butler to cook, which I never needed to prompt him to do, but not one to ask him to clean!

Once he did do some cleaning, it’s like he never even tried to go back to his bedroom to sleep.

I wish I’d taken more pictures of him cooking, so there would be more photo continuity for the first part. But I had no idea how messed up he was going to get. I did include the closeup, though, because I thought his eyes were awesome.

At least ours didn’t set the house on fire like DragonWife’s. Charles tried to fire him, and it failed, just like it did for her. I had to use the Dismiss option, which worked.

4.15 Girl Talk

Apr9

True to her word, Veronica honeymooned with Charles on a backcountry hiking and camping vacation. She didn’t have a lot of experience roughing it, but she met it with the same enthusiasm she met any new experience.

One night, as they cuddled under the stars, she admitted, “You know, I really hate the military.”

“Why on earth are you working there, then?”

“I don’t know. I hated my last job, and I wanted to try something really extreme.”

“The dojo is bringing in enough money these days. Mom and Fabian make a ton. We hardly need your paycheck. Find something you like and do that.”

“You really don’t mind if I just quit and coast for a while?”

“Absolutely not! Why should you be a slave to The Man?”

As soon as they made it back to civilization, Veronica gave leave to Gnome Military Base and began exploring her Eccentric side.

This meant she spent a lot of time with Zahra. The most logical place to set up a chemistry station was next to Zahra’s inventor’s workbench.

After Veronica stepped in it a few times by trying to make jokes, she and her mother-in-law got along swimmingly. To Charles’s taste, they almost got along too well.

“You know,” Zahra said with a sort of forced casualness one day, “Maternity leave can really crush your career. If you and Charles are thinking about kids, you might want to do it now while you’re between jobs.”

“We what?” Veronica choked.

Meanwhile, Ada was spending a lot of time with her muse, either writing or painting. She loved to hang out at Second Chance Consignment, where the every-changing odds and ends gave her inspiration.

 

She was selling more and more paintings these days, and she was getting higher and higher fees for them. It was exciting to get a sense that her name was out there.

Unfortunately, though the shopkeeper appreciated her art, he didn’t much appreciate her musing about life. After a couple of conversations, he made sure to keep the counter between them.

One day, she ran into Jabari’s mom, Justine Keaton, stopping by on her way home from work.

“I just wanted to tell you that even though I’m sure you’re thrilled that your son is married and happy, Latisha is always going to be a tramp in my imagination, even if it isn’t true. I prefer to think that she’s making Jabari miserable. She can’t possibly deserve him.”

“You what?” Justine said, stunned.

“Thanks for listening!” Ada said, her face brightening. “I just needed to get that off my chest!”

She went home feeling much more relaxed and had a bit of fun.

Zahra’s scientific research had reached international attention. It was certainly going to her head.

 

She began dressing and acting more eccentrically. She kept a note pad with her at all times and interrupted conversations to write down ideas for experiments.

She was growing some strange fruit in the garden that kind of looked like beating hearts. Better not to look at those fruits too closely.

Still, there were some definite advantages to all her hard work. She Did Science to all sorts of things around the house.

She found a way to make the beds float.

She invented this amazing new automated way to harvest the garden. It was ten times faster than the normal hand-picking, and it only upset your stomach most of the time.

She didn’t know when to stop, though. Fabian and Charles found themselves carrying her to bed plenty of times.

Good thing she had less single-minded loved ones to look after her.

———-

Basically an interlude piece to show how the girls are doing!

So the big news here is that my husband has taken a job with Google in Boston, Massachusetts. We’re going to be moving in mid-May. Before then, we need to get our house in Albuquerque, NM ready to sell (with a toddler), and we have to go on at least one house-hunting trip to Boston! We are going insane over here, and I don’t know how much I’ll be around.

We moved to Abq from Boston 10 years ago, and we have some very close friends there that we are looking forward to living near again. Still, it hasn’t really sunk in yet, and moving is front-loaded with suck. Lots of goodbyes and lots of stress. Aaaagh!

4.14 Vows Beneath the Trees

Apr2

Charles insisted on an outdoor wedding. Veronica, however, drew the line at his first choice of location, which was a woodland campsite at the end of a five-mile hiking trail. “Save it for the honeymoon, my love,” she said. “I’d like a few guests to come.”

They compromised on a small park at the edge of town with a huge, lovely canopy of old trees and a fishing pond.

Shanni had just given birth, but Agnes insisted she come anyway. Agnes stayed home to watch new baby Garry while Shanni came with Jeanette.

Adjo was the sharp and sophisticated family man.

He and Toya brought with them their ever-growing clan.

Charmaine

Starr

Darrin

Toya looked ready to give birth to baby number four at the wedding. Everyone eyed her a little nervously, but she made it through the festivities. Charles and Veronica received word that she’d gone into labor on a few hours later and given birth to a little girl they named Brenna.

And then there were friends and well-wishers.

Arvid Voss

Zhan Wu

And of course the best man Jabari

with his wife Latisha Langerak Keaton

(“She looked like a tramp,” Ada confided to Charles later.)

Ada arrived early so she could be sure to find a seat in the front row.

Charles and Veronica watched the guests arrive from a park bench. “I guess we’re committed now,” Veronica said.

“Yeah,” Charles agreed. “Let’s do this thing.”

“I can’t figure out how I got here,” Veronica murmured as they walked together to the wedding arch. “You know, I’m not really the marrying type.”

“I guess I am just incredibly persuasive,” Charles replied.

Veronica laughed softly. “I guess you are.”

“I, Charles Babbage Sample, promise to love and cherish you as I do our Mother Earth from the birds in the trees to the fish and the ocean.

“I pledge to cherish and protect our marriage as I do the world we live in.”

“I, Veronica Krane, pledge to love and cherish you

“And help you get out of your own head and have a good time once in a while.”

And so Veronica became Veronica Krane Sample.

You may kiss the bride.

When the cake was finished, Veronica grabbed Charles by the hand and pulled him to the lakeside, where she had set up an MP3 player. “Now it’s time to dance!”

“I’ve never really danced before,” Charles admitted as he tried to follow her lead.

“Don’t worry about it. This is a fun skill to teach too.”

———-

This was my first Generations wedding, and I have to say I vastly prefer it this way, with the wedding arch allowing me to pick where the vows take place, guests sitting in chairs, and wedding cake!

I missed getting a dedicated shot of Shanni and Toya, but you can see them in the group scenes. Since Shanni got pregnant this time, the game keeps wanting to change her hairstyle. I changed it back for the bachelorette party, and then again for the wedding. It just seems like any other hairstyle is not Shanni.

I also wish I’d gotten a pic of the whole park. It was just sitting in my lot bin and might have come with the game or one of its expansions. It’s a cute park.

Zhan Wu is so adorable I just can’t stand it. It’s a tragedy I have no way to bring his genes into this legacy.

I don’t know what made Jabari Keaton stand up and take that position just as the vows were ending, but it was so sweet and appropriate!

4.13 A Girl’s Last Night of Freedom

Mar28

Meanwhile…

“While the boys are away, the girls will play!” Veronica cried. “Paaartay!”

She rented out The Queen disco club and turned the music up until the beat vibrated the walls.

“Don’t TELL me you’re related to Shanni Crumplebottom!” Veronica had said while they were filling out wedding invitations. “She’s a buddy of mine from way back! She does my hair!”

Shanni was the closest friend Veronica was able to invite to the party, but when Veronica asked her to be Matron of Honor, she had to kindly refuse. “I’ll be at the wedding if I can, but this baby is going to come any day now.”

Not to be outdone, Toya was due with her and Adjo’s fourth child only a few days after Shanni.

“Let’s get down!” screamed Darlene Branch, a coworker of Veronica’s from the military. She’d already had more than enough to drink.

“I don’t think you’re drinking enough!” Veronica declared to Zahra. “LET ME GET YOU SOME NECTAR!”

“Attention! It’s time to drill your sergeant!”

“Look at the pecs on that guy!”

“I’m not sure. I think I need a CLOSER INSPECTION!”

After the dancer finished his act, Velvet Sharpe and Genvieve Goth got into a bit of a catfight over who would dance with him first.

The dancer, meanwhile, headed out into the entrance hall to cool down.

“Um, you’re about to walk into the ladies’ restroom,” Ada said politely.

“I’m what?” the dancer said absently. “Oh! God! Thank you for warning me.”

“I’m Ada,” Ada said. “I’m really weird. Everyone says so.”

The dancer gave her a charming smile. “I’m Alberto Royale.”

“That’s a great stage name. Are you allowed to give me your real name?”

Alberto Royale frowned. “Am I supposed to have a stage name?”

They turned out to have a lot in common. Alberto was saving up his dancing tips so that he could do some traveling, and he was fascinated by Ada’s vacation stories.

“You seem like a really nice guy,” Ada said after they had been talking a while. “Is it weird to ask for your phone number?”

“Totally not!” Alberto said. “But, um, I hope you have something to write on because I can’t keep anything in this costume.”

At that moment, Agnes burst from the ladies’ room.

“Ada, you’re not smiling! Let me help you with that!”

Not long after, Veronica kicked everyone out to go home and sleep it off. She was not going to have a hangover on her wedding day.

——–

So, for story purposes these happened on the same night b/c that would be logical. In fact, I could never have handled two bachelor parties at the same time. Charles slept in so long from his dusk-to-dawn bachelor party that there wasn’t really time to do a wedding the way I was planning without waking him up and leaving him exhausted. So I gave them an extra day and let Veronica have the (shorter) bachelorette party she was wishing so hard for. Bachelor parties are really more her style anyway :).

In an attempt to follow the great party tutorials, I had Veronica bring a key lime pie, but I couldn’t get the “call to meal” menu option to appear at the dance club. I did, however, make sure Veronica was home by midnight, and her party was a “modest success.”

I was surprised to look at Veronica’s relationship bar and discover that she and Shanni were already good friends. I wanted Veronica to ask her to give a speech, but for some reason the menu option wouldn’t come up. I have no idea why. It wasn’t because she was pregnant, because the option was available for Toya. However, Shanni was quite a bit more pregnant than Toya, so maybe that was it?

I have no idea why Zahra changed into a slip before leaving. That’s not even her sleepwear. Hilarious! What happens at the bachelorette party stays at the bachelorette party, I guess.

As far as I can tell, Alberto Royale didn’t actually dance. He just posed under the lights, and the whole group of ladies gathered around to cheer him on. Somehow I missed photographing the crowd, and now I’m sorry. But they really did have a great time watching him. The dancer at Charles’s party didn’t even pose under the lights. I think the first floor of the pub was laid out poorly for her to do her thing, but there was a whole cute second floor of that building with a dance floor that nobody used.

Ada and Alberto get along like a house on fire! What a sweet surprise!

4.12 A Boy’s Last Night of Freedom

Mar28

“So, I know this pub,” Fabian whispered to Charles behind his hand. “Meet me there as the sun goes down. Don’t let Veronica see you.”

Charles was affronted. “Don’t let Veronica see me?” he demanded. “Why should I be keeping secrets from my fiancee?”

“Charles,” Veronica singsonged from the kitchen. “Just say yes and meet him at the pub. And pretend I didn’t hear you.”

And so Charles found himself at Happy Sunset Pub at dusk before his wedding.

“Yahoo!” Fabian exclaimed as he walked in the door. “The man of the hour!”

“Well, I’m here,” Charles said, looking around. “What did you have in mind?”

“This here is your bona-fide bachelor party! It’s time to celebrate your last night of freedom!”

“OK, I understand that bachelor parties are a thing,” Charles said. “But don’t you think it’s kind of mysogynistic to equate marriage to slavery?”

“Awww,” Fabian wheedled. “Lighten up and have a good time. I didn’t get to do this when I got married, and I plan to have a great time no matter what you do. I even invited a surprise guest.”

“Sensei!” Charles exclaimed in delight.

Zhan Wu grinned as he strolled in. “One and the same! I told you I’d be in Sunset Valley eventually.”

“Now we’re rolling,” Fabian said, rolling his hands. “First we have to change you into something more appropriate.”

That set the tone, and things just rolled from there. Charles got a chance to catch up with Wu before guests started rolling in.

“It’s my lady-killing nephew!” Adjo exclaimed. “Congratulations in advance!” Adjo was looking pretty slick these days. He had abandoned management and gone back to making music. He was the front man for his own band, and he couldn’t look happier with his life.

When Jabari Keaton arrived, Charles pulled him aside quickly. “I know it’s kind of late, but I was wondering if you’d do me the honor of being my best man.”

“Ahah!” Jabari said. “I was hoping you’d ask me that. In fact, I was hoping so much that I prepared a little toast.”

“Oh dear,” Charles said. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“Nonsense!”

“Come one come all!” Jabari exclaimed. “I want to raise a glass to Charles Sample. He might seem a little dead on the outside, but I hear he’s really alive on the inside, if you know what I mean!”

It’s a good thing Charles couldn’t blush.

Somebody invited a very hot chick named Cherri Pie.

“She’s not my type,” Charles murmured to Fabian.

“She doesn’t need to be your type,” Fabian pointed out. “All you get to do is look anyway.”

The as the evening wore on and the nectar kept flowing, things got sillier.

And sillier.

And even more silly than that.

And then all hell broke loose.

“Damn you for stealing my girl!” It was a very drunk Willem Yo.

“Who let him in here!” Fabian cried frantically.

“Why kind of Neanderthal are you anyway?” Charles demanded. “You think Veronica was some kind of property of yours for me to steal?? She can do what she likes, and she broke up with you anyway.”

“We were going to get back together!” Willem roared. “We always got back together!”

“Don’t do it, Charles!” Wu yelled. “Don’t kick his ass! Remember your training!”

And in short order, the pub proprietor had pushed the entire lot of remaining drunk partiers out onto the street. They stood outside as the sun began to rise and the birds chirp, scratching their heads.

“What were we doing again?” asked Malcom Landgraab.

“I don’t remember,” said Willem, “but I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Great party!” drooled Jabari. “You really know how to have a good time!”

“Eh, you’re all boring anyway,” said Sean Flynn. “I’m sure I can find somebody who sucks a little better.”

And they all went home to sleep it off. Charles was getting married on the morrow.

“It was a good time,” Charles said later to Fabian. “Thanks for throwing it for me.”

“I’ve got your back, Charles,” Fabian said. “Always have. Glad you finally noticed.”

———-

My first bachelor party! I had a blast. This was actually my third attempt to figure out how the bachelor party works, and I’ll document that in a later Simfail post. It was cool that Wu was a vacationer in Sunset Valley while this was going on so I could invite him.

I really like the way the light reflects off Charles’s face in that first nectar-spraying shot. He really looks silver there.

Oh, yeah, and it’s been a long time since I threw a location party. In the past, I thought there was a clear in when people started to leave. Almost nobody left at this party. It ran until dawn and the pub kicked them out. Half of the group was starving and exhausted by that point. Charles got “horrible party” and “Groomzilla” moodlets, even though people seemed to be having a good time for most of it!

4.11 Never Let This Change

Mar22

Charles had never been so happy.

On their very next date, he made a big production of taking her out for a fancy dinner. No holds barred, bottle of wine for the table. He tried very hard not to think about how the beef had been raised and whether the after-dinner coffee was Fair Trade.

Standing outside on the crowded patio, he asked her to be his girlfriend. She laughed. “You mean I’m not already your girlfriend? I couldn’t tell. You treat me like I’m the center of the world.”

She sort of was the center of his world.

“I don’t want the evening to end,” he admitted shyly.

Veronica smiled. “It doesn’t have to. Why don’t we go to your place for a nightcap?”

“Wow,” she said. “Nice place. You hide it well. We had to take my car to get here.”

Charles suddenly realized where this was going. He tried to make nervous smalltalk in the foyer.

Veronica finally wrapped her arm around his. “You’re cute when you hyperventilate. Why don’t you show me around the place?”

“Sure!” Charles said a bit too brightly.

“Just give me a sec to slip into something more comfortable.”

She stopped when they got to his bedroom. “So this is where you sleep? Out on the patio?”

Charles shrugged. “Yeah. I like the feel of the outside air.”

“What happens if it rains?”

“I don’t know. I get wet. It’s not that big a deal.”

“Hmm. Well, this seems like a good place to stop and talk, don’t you think?”

“I love to, um, talk. What did you have in mind?”

Wow.

Charles drew back and looked her in the eye. “I just wanted to say that I’ve never–“

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “This is a skill that is a lot of fun to teach.”

And she taught very thoroughly.

The basic and the advanced course.

It didn’t take Charles long to throw in a few ideas of his own.

Veronica didn’t have much of what you’d call modesty. Once she and Charles had been an item for a while, the place you’d find her most often was skinny dipping in the hot tub.

After a while, she persuaded Charles to join her.

The rest of the family learned to steer clear of the back yard when Veronica was over, at least if they didn’t want to see a show.

Fabian was presented with an unexpected chance to prove himself. Temptation was all of a sudden sleeping over and hanging out in her skivvies most mornings.

He did pretty well. Whatever he might be thinking, he kept it to himself.

The sleeping over was the best part. Well, ok, aside from the woohoo.

When he wasn’t training at the dojo and wasn’t spending time with Veronica, Charles was sifting through his adventure spoils, looking for just the right gem. Eventually, he found it: a perfect square brilliant cut tanzanite.

When it seemed like he’d waiting long enough, he invited her out to Aldana National Park for a picnic.

“I just wanted to tell you that the time we’ve been together has been the best time of my life,” he told her earnestly.

Veronica frowned. “You make me happy too. Really. But you say that like like it’s going to change.”

“Oh, wait!” he interrupted. “Just a sec.”

“What are you doing down there?” Veronica demanded. “You have a goofy smile–“

“Oh my God.”

He drew out the ring set with the tanzanite and slid it on her finger as she stared at him with mute astonishment.

“I mean I don’t ever want it to change,” he said. “Marry me, Veronica.”

“Wow,” Veronica said at last. “I wasn’t expecting that. You have to give me some time. I have to go home and pack.”

“Huh?” Charles said. “You have to what?”

“Are you kidding? I’m moving in.”

———-

Did you never think we’d get to this point?? Ha!

I’m serious that Veronica spends all her time skinny dipping. I’m not sure if that’s the Dramatic or Daredevil trait.

The dinner and afterward were all in the same day. Veronica changed clothes for no apparent reason. I just have changed her back just for continuity’s sake, but oh well :).

Oh, yeah, and blog template change! I love this look, but it won’t make as much sense when Charles is no longer the patron. I think that after Charles I will have pretty much wiped out World Adventures, and I expect to focus on other expansions :).

4.10 Put Your Heart Where Your Mouth Is

Mar16

When Charles returned from France, there was a message waiting for him on his voicemail. It was Velvet Sharpe. “I know it’s not exactly Sim Fu, but what would you think about me holding a concert at the dojo?”

Charles called her back immediately. “That’s a great idea! I never thought about the place as a venue, but if you think it would work, you can have it dirt cheap.” He hung up feeling proud of himself. The dojo was turning out to be a great business in all sorts of ways, and this was just a new way to get people in the door.

Then, before he could lose his nerve, he dialed Veronica’s number. “Hey! My dojo is going to be hosting its first concert! Yeah, Velvet Sharp is going to be performing. I thought maybe you’d like to drop by and listen for a while.”

“Velvet Sharpe!” Veronica exclaimed. “I’ve even heard of her. I’d love to be there.”

All right, then, it was now or never.

 

As Velvet set up and did her sound check, Charles lingered around outside, hoping to catch Veronica without a crowd of people around her.

He was in luck. Veronica saw him and hurried over to say hi. She’d obviously come straight from work again.

“You’re fresh back from vacation, right?” she said. “How did it go?”

“I, um, saw something there that made me think of you,” Charles said. “I hope you like it.”

“You got me a present?” Veronica was astounded. “You have to be kidding! I’ve never gotten you anything.” She pulled off the paper and gazed at the music box with shining eyes. Then she gave him a probing look. “Wow. You shouldn’t have. Really.”

Charles just shrugged. “Sounds like Velvet’s started her first set. You can probably hear her better from here than you can from the back of the audience.”

Veronica seemed happy to let the moment drop. “Yeah! It’s just like having private celebrity seats! Let’s stay out here and listen.”

So they did.

It was so comfortable with the two of them, listening to the music as it drifted through the night air. Charles just had to believe there was hope.

At last, Veronica pulled away and stood up. “I think this is the last set,” she said. “Let’s go in and listen to it.

Velvet had pulled in a nice crowd. This wasn’t such a bad place to hold a concert, really.

There was the final song, the applause, the encore song, and then a commotion of packing up sound gear and hawking Velvet’s latest album. Veronica pulled Charles aside as the crowd pressed around them.

“I have a confession to make,” she said, just loud enough for Charles to hear. “I’ve been kind of leading you on.”

Charles couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just raised his eyebrows to invite her to explain.

“Things haven’t been going that well with Willem recently. Last night, we called it off and–“

“Wait,” Charles interrupted. “You mean you’re not seeing Willem anymore?”

“Right. He said –“

———-

I am on vacation in Boston this week, visiting with our daughter’s godparents. I can’t play, but apparently I can blog! I’m inching closer to being caught up with gameplay. Yay!

I looked up Veronica’s relationship with Willem before Charles started putting the moves on her, and it was three-quarters down the red. I’m not sure if some of Charles’s other advances might have been considered cheating, but it didn’t really seem like he’d gotten that far. Maybe they were on the verge of breaking up anyway.

Willem Yo has had a rough time in this legacy. I didn’t put it in the story, but Toya Ursine had just started dating him when I finally figured out why Adjo wasn’t getting her attention, and Adjo had her break up with him. Then he took a ride on Rollercoaster Shanni, and now in the next generation, Charles is taking his girlfriend. That’s two generations of Samples trashing his love life!

But never fear. Willem has rolled through at least two other girlfriends since this breakup. I don’t know if he’s seeing anyone right now or not.

Oh and Velvet was busking in the middle of the dojo when Charles got there. Pretty cool! It looks like both of the Collingswoods and Sean Flynn all came out to hear her. Man, I wish Courtney were still around because her sims are getting so much attention!

OK, you worried folks, here Charles is winning one!

4.9 France is for Lovers

Mar15

Ada was such a bright and cheerful, if non-sequitur girl that everyone immediately noticed her moping around the house. Maybe Charles was particularly aware of it because he was doing the same thing. The Sample house got gloomier by the day.

Finally, Charles had had enough. “What we need is a vacation,” he announced.

Ada perked up. “I want to paint France,” she announced. So Charles bought the tickets, and off they went.

Ada made short work of setting up her easel, and passersby stopped to watch her unusual creative style.

Charles left her to her passion and took a while to explore the quaint town. And met the kind of reception he was accustomed to seeing everywhere.

It was really getting old.

“Hello! Wow, you’re really something special! Where are you visiting from?”

Charles looked up from an awkward exchange with the Special Merchant to meet a pair of shining, curious eyes.

“Hello! I’m Berthe Girard. You must be a tourist because I know I would have remembered seeing someone like you.” She reached out her hand for his without hesitation.

Charles took it. “Charles Sample. I’m here for the week from Sunset Valley.”

“Really! Where is that?”

They had a bit of smalltalk about tourism and home and then turned to go their separate ways.


As he turned to go, it suddenly occurred to Charles that he was being an idiot. Here was an attractive woman who wasn’t the slightest bit frightened by him. Why wasn’t he trying to get to know her better?

“Berthe?” he called after her. “If you happen to have some free time, would you be willing to show the sights to a couple of tourists?”

Berthe turned around and gave him a bright smile. “For you, I’ll make the time!”

So Charles gathered up Ada and made introductions, and Berthe drove them to the local nectary, cheerfully chattering about local history as they went. She painted a picture with words that almost matched Ada’s canvas.

“This place has been making nectar the old fashioned way for over a hundred years,” Berthe said. “I can show you what I like best, but I think you should try everything. Don’t let the nectarers make you feel guilty. That’s what nectar tasting is for!”

So they had a sip, and then another, and then another, and soon they found that they had run out of conversation and were just staring into each other’s eyes.

Ada, meanwhile, found the nectary tour guide and told him all about how the orbital mind control lasers programmed grapes so that when people drank the nectar they would vote for certain political parties.

The tour guide seemed to take the whole story with equanimity. “All right, then,” he said when she’d run out of steam. “I can do you one better. Have you ever heard of the Zombie of Chateau Nectary?”

“No!” Ada said. “Who is that?”

And he told them.

It was the only thing Ada could talk about for hours afterward. “We have to be careful!” she told Charles more than once. “Did you know that after they saw the zombie, the children were never seen again?”

“I have to go to work tomorrow,” Berthe said reluctantly. “I hope you’ll drop by again before you head home.”

“Definitely,” Charles said, breaking out of the nectar haze. He gathered up Ada, and Berthe drove them to their hotel.

The next day, Ada woke Charles up just past dawn. “Today, you’re going to go with me to the Muse D’Arte!” she announced. “There’s nothing like it in the world. A little more art will do you good.”

Charles’s thoughts were elsewhere, so he just went where Ada told him to go.

“These are the masters,” Ada declared. “I have to learn to be this good or nobody will remember my art.”

So she set up her easel in the middle of the museum and started to work. Everyone was so surprised that nobody told her to stop.

In the evening, she got tired. The bed of Queen Chartreuse XII was out on display without even a rope dividing it from the spectators. It looked so comfortable that Ada had to try it out.

In the morning, she woke to a crowd of astonished onlookers. She smiled at them. “What a great night’s sleep! This museum has such nice hospitality!”

Charles, meanwhile, took advantage of his ghostliness to get up close and personal with the Egyptian exhibit after hours.

Some places were better off unexplored.

Charles left Ada absorbed in the museum and took his time exploring ancient burial mounds nearby. When he returned he drifted into the antiquities dealer and gift shop to sell some of his finds.

There, a charming music box caught his eye. Inside, a clockwork ballerina danced alone to a romantic tune, seeming to beckon the watcher to join her.

“How much?” he found himself asking.

“Less than what you just offered to sell me,” the merchant pointed out.

Something in the ballerina’s dance touched Charles’s heart, and he found himself trading for it more antiquities than it could possibly be worth.

The vacation was ending at last. Charles and Ada’s flight departed the next day. Berthe had been on his mind for the entire trip. At last he took a deep breath and dialed her number.

“I was hoping to see you again before I left,” he told her. “Would you like to meet me at the cafe?”

“Of course I would!” Berthe replied on the other end of the line.

So they met again where they had met the first time. This time, they sat at the table and laughed over coffee. Conversation came easily.

Charles thought of the music box in his bag. It was a gift for a hoped-for lover. Should he give it to her?

Being with Berthe was….

…almost as wonderful as being with Veronica.

Then he knew. He couldn’t ask anything of Berthe because he wasn’t free to ask her. He had to tell Veronica how he felt.

“I have to pack my bag,” he said at last. “Our flight leaves bright and early. Thank you so much for showing me and my sister around the town. You’ve been… you’ve been a great friend.”

Something flashed behind Berthe’s eyes. “A friend,” she said evenly. “I’m glad I could be of service.”

The last of their visit was awkward. Charles watched her go, wondering if he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

No, this was the way it had to be. He was done being a passive gentleman. He couldn’t step aside and lose the woman he loved because he never let her know.

It was time to go home.

———-

France was so much fun. Lance never went here except a quick trip when he was a teenager because the best tombs and swag aren’t in France. So I got to explore it essentially for the first time.

Berthe was almost perfect. She had fun personality traits, she was Brave and thus not afraid of Charles, she had a LTW I would have enjoyed, and she was single. Plus, she was game-generated. Plus the two of them got along like a house on fire. I’m sure her Charismatic trait didn’t hurt their relationship. Charles should have married her on the spot. Instead, as soon as he talked to her, he rolled a wish to go home. Charles the adventurer wished to go home. If I were going to look for my sim to tell me who he wanted, that seemed like the best hint I was going to get. Plus, hey, Veronica got most of the votes anyway :).

Actually, Charles ran into two more Brave French folk: the antiquities vendor and a random guy playing chess on the plaza. Clearly France was the place he should have gone mate hunting a lot earlier.

I thought Ada looked adorable while listening to the ghost story!

The bit with the music box was from a couple of wishes Charles had. He wanted to buy a music box, and he wanted to give Veronica a gift. I thought they went together nicely.

4.8 Commencing

Mar13

With Ada’s birthday came her other big day.

“How do I look, Daddy?” she asked eagerly.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” Fabian answered. “All I see is a baby girl I lost a long time ago.”

The ceremony was long and filled with speeches. But Ada got the most important part.

She was voted, “Most Likely to Offend Others,” and she seemed ridiculously pleased about it.

Jabari Keaton graduated the same day. He’d finished his credits a while ago, but he hadn’t been able to attend the ceremony with the rest of his class.

Charles jumped at the chance to catch up with his best friend. “Hey man! I haven’t seen you at the dojo yet!”

Jabari answered with a lovestruck smile. “That’s because I just got married!” he said. “To Latisha Langerak!”

“Isn’t she amazing?”

“Whoa,” Charles said. “I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”

“It did happen a little bit fast,” Jabari admitted, “but we wouldn’t change anything. Would we my dear?”

Ada watched the conversation, but she didn’t try to say anything to Jabari herself. Jabari had tutored her in Math and English and helped her make a B average by graduation. Had she felt anything else for him?

Halfway through the quiet and awkward drive home, she just said, “I’m happy for him, then.”

That evening, it was time for two more birthdays.

Zahra and Fabian were dragged into their golden years. They might not be thrilled about getting older, but they took it cheerfully.

At least they had each other, with all their flaws, and that wasn’t looking too bad these days.

———-

The game crashed right as Zahra was aging up, and I didn’t get the picture of her makeover. (Notice the clothing change between her birthday and Fabian’s :).) You should see what she looks like in future screen shots.

This update doesn’t advance Charles’s romantic crisis at all either, and it deals a blow to Ada. Poor Gen 4 has been terribly unlucky in love. Ada couldn’t get Lavar Andrews to give her the time of day. So she turns her attention on Jabari, and I got the notification that he married Latisha Langerak RIGHT after the end of Ada’s birthday party. Good grief.

Rest assured. There will be progress :).

4.7 Ada Lovelace Day

Mar9

Fabian’s little girl was becoming a woman. He wanted to give her the world, but he had to settle for a really big birthday party. He asked her where she wanted to celebrate, but that was just a gesture of affection. Everyone knew it would be at the art museum, of course.

Charles arrived early to set everything up before the guests arrived.

First was Adjo and Toya, with their eldest daughter Charmaine.

Charmaine insisted on bringing her new girlfriend, Jenna Yo.

Shanni, lovely as ever.

Agnes, rocking her fresh status as a respected elder.

And there was Veronica! She came after all!

She even brought her former roommate Trixi Ursine-Hodgins, who needed to get out with her newborn son Harrison. Trixi was Toya’s sister-in-law, and they exchanged a bit of family gossip.

“I’m so glad you came,” Charles said awkwardly to Veronica. “I know it’s kind of weird to come to a birthday party of someone you don’t know.”

Veronica laughed. “There will be cake and dancing, right? How could I say no?”

Everyone crowded around the birthday girl.

“Blow out the candles! Make a wish!”

Ada Lovelace, now a young adult. Her traits are: Artistic, Brave, Born Saleswoman, Easily Impressed, Insane.

“Now it’s time to party!”

“So,” Adjo said, “If you have a minute, could we talk about your intentions toward my daughter?”

“Jabari was so great when he tutored me in English. Do you think he would think I’m too weird to dance with?” Ada asked Charles in a whisper. “If that’s not too many ‘thinks’?”

“Jabari’s a great guy,” Charles said. “Go ask.”

“Wish me luck!”

“Are you having a good time?” Charles shouted over the music.

“Cake and dancing!” Veronica shouted back. “Just what I came for!”

They danced and laughed and visited until dawn, then they helped pick up the dirty dishes and clean the place up for the museum opening. By then, it felt like Veronica was one of the family herself.

Charles decided it was time to make his move. “I’d really like to see you again,” he said, reaching for her hand.

Veronica’s eyes went wide, and she shrank away. “I’m so sorry I gave you the wrong impression,” she said. “I have a boyfriend. Willem Yo. I think he works with your dad.”

Charles was so crushed he almost forgot to say anything. “Fabian’s my stepdad,” he said at last, quietly. “I’m glad you had a nice time.”

———-

Every eligible woman in this bloody town appears to be in a relationship except Genvieve Goth, who is a Coward and not feasible no matter what her personality is!

On the positive side, Charmaine and Jenna have the honor of being our first progression-generated same-sex couple. I thought that StoryProgression was set to give sims a 30% chance of being gay. It turned out that 3 was, ahem, 3%. Whoops. I fixed it.

Man the entryway of the art museum has NO LIGHTS. I need to fix that.

Jabari Keaton did in fact come over and do homework with Ada, but I somehow failed to take screen shots. His aging seems to be delayed as well, because he reached adulthood only a couple of sim-days before Ada did.