4.18 Occultism

Pregnacy sat well on Veronica in the beginning. She got back to her chemicals as fast as she could.

“If I can come up with a cure for morning sickness, we’ll make millions!” she confided in Charles. He just smiled and nodded. He left that science stuff to his mom and wife.

Along the same vein, Zahra was up to her own experiments at the bistro, but they didn’t go quite as well.

When she’d exhausted her inspiration, Veronica headed to the porch step to pick up the paper. She waved to the mail lady and was met with a pair of squinted, suspicious eyes.

“What’s up her butt?” Veronica asked, scowling out the window as she joined Charles in the sitting room.

“Her?” Charles said. “I don’t really know. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to the mail man. Fabian handles the stuff that involves, you know, people.”

“Maybe she has PMS,” Veronica said. “At any rate, it’s not my problem. Let’s see who’s being stupid to whom in the news.”

A moment later she jumped to her feet and threw the paper on the floor. “What the hell is THAT?”

Charles jumped. “What is what?” Then he peered at the headline.

LOCAL WOMAN FOUND CONSORTING WITH OCCULT.

Beneath was a picture of Veronica kissing Charles… in their own hottub. In their all-together.

“Wow,” Charles said. “I knew this town didn’t like me that much, but I had no idea. If I’d realized that your name would be smeared just because you married me, I’d have–“

“Don’t you dare talk like that!” Veronica raged. “We weren’t bothering anyone! Someone is going to pay for this!”

“It’s a free country,” Charles said weakly. “They can print what they like, and obviously they think their readers want to see this. What can we do?”

“What can we do about what?” Zahra asked as she walked into the doorway. She was in desperate need of a shower, but the look on her dear son’s face made her forget all of that life trivia.

Veronica waved the newspaper under Zahra’s nose. “How is this legal? They come into our private space and take pictures for the newspaper? And Charles is an occult? They use that word like it’s an, an epithet!”

Zahra blinked at the article. “You know, dear,” she said, “things like this wouldn’t happen if you’d keep your clothes on where people can see you.”

“That is NOT the point and you know it!” Veronica cried. “This is harassment, and it’s racist to boot!”

“People out there are frightened of what they don’t understand,” Zahra said. “We’ve never cared what other people think in this house.”

“Oh, really? Well, damn it, I’ll show them. I’ll sue!”

Charles was aghast. “A lawsuit? Are you sure you want that kind of attention?”

“We already HAVE the attention,” Veronica snarled. “We might as well do something about it.”

Before Charles or Zahra could offer up any more thoughts on the matter, Veronica was on her way to the courthouse.

She was undaunted by the paperwork or the expensive lawyers hired by the newspaper. The case was clear. There was a law against hate speech on the books, after all, wasn’t there?

Hearings ran late into the night.

And in the end, she left alone, defeated, and out 600 simoleons in legal fees.

“The occult have never been classified under hate speech laws,” the judge said. “Occult isn’t a hate term. It’s just, well, occult.”

“Don’t say a word,” she warned when she dragged at last into the house. “Not one word.”

Soon she found a perfect place to vent her rage.

“You!” she screamed at the paparazzi lingering near her chemistry lab. “Maybe I can’t sue your pants, off, but this is our property. Get out before I kick your ass into next week.”

“It’s the news, don’t you get it?” the photographer retorted. “You can kick me out, but you can’t stop the news!”

“Then I’ll settled for kicking you out,” Veronica said, her voice now dangerously calm. “Leave.”

As he left, she said under her breath, “This is not over.”

———-

I’m not dead!

But hey, I hope none of you are either. Nobody seems to be posting much on the simblogs at the moment. I’m guessing it’s because this is the end of term for you students out there.

DragonWife, is the port to a new town going OK? Amhranai, is your move going all right?

I’m settled with my dear daughter at my parents’ place for another week while my husband finishes up teaching his last class. Our house is STILL not on the market, but soon. We’re promised it will be soon.

Sim celebrity points are funny. Charles picked up a random one at some pont. Then, when he proposed to Veronica in the park, *she* picked up two points. Then they each got a point for marrying another celebrity in public. So Veronica now has three points, and Charles has two. After they got married, Veronica was immediately disgraced for “Woohooing with an occult.” Oh, really?

It’s good to at least be able to get a post out. Someday I’ll even be able to play again 😛

Simantics: Golden Elders

Apr24

Zahra ran down the stairs to see Cyclone when he manifest, but this was the only picture I got of it, and it looks like her neck is broken.

Perhaps Fabian and Zahra aren’t getting along quite as well as we thought?

Random shot of Pauline, still naughty after all these years.

Another creepy paparazzi in a hospital gown! What gives?

Fixed

Well, this is embarrassing.

And, finally, here is Stiles McGraw, who stood in this corner of the yard for three days. Resetting him didn’t help. Eventually, I annihilated him, and it really improved my game performance. He was REALLY old and not part of the story anyway.

Later, Marty Keaton got similarly stuck, and I gave him the same treatment. Old sims should not cross me!

Random observation: The post on this blog that gets the highest number of hits is, “Shanni Becomes a Woman.” Now, I know I named it that way for irony, but that’s just creepy.

Along those lines, two of the current Google search terms that land people on this site are “stinky diaper girls” and “wife is a tramp.” BWAH?

Townie/Cross-Pollination Update:

Toya landed herself in jail for embezzlement! Ah, her poor family.

Oh, dear. Morand Cagley is dating Bella Bachelor. I’m sorry. Maybe he can show her what it’s like to date a real man.

Willem Yo is now madly in love with Justine Keaton (Marty Keaton’s widow after I struck him with annihilation). I’d say he was after her money, but he already has plenty of money.

Not much more because I haven’t gotten to play much this month!

This post was just sitting around already written, waiting for the story to catch up with the pictures. Now I’m through all the pictures I’ve already sorted. It may be a while before I get more done, or I might go insane from moving stuff and need to take a break. I estimate I’m still about five or six story posts out from where I actually have stopped playing. I kind of hope that after the house goes on the market next week, I might be able to get a little peace to play, but we’ll see.

4.17 Closure

Apr23

The golden years were certainly golden for Zahra and Fabian. They had never been so relaxed together.

When Zahra suddenly sat down at the chess table while Fabian was practicing and challenged him to game, the significance was not lost on Fabian. Zahra had been a ranked chess player in her youth, but somehow she’d never wanted to play with him. She only caught the occasional game with Charles.

Then one night Zahra’s eyes flickered open in the wee hours. She slipped out of bed and found her way down to he sitting room, knowing what she would find.

This moment that she had longed for so long was somehow awkward. She cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”

Cyclone looked up. His ghostly face was unreadable. Slowly he closed the book and stood. Zahra’s breath caught.

“Hello!” he said cheerfully. His hollow voice echoed through the house. “I’m Cyclone Sword. This must be your place I’m haunting.”

Zahra felt a sob well in her throat. She forced it down. She was a scientist. Whatever her youthful fantasies, she’d known for a long time what to expect.

Still, her voice quavered as she said, “Sample. You took my name when we were married and became Cyclone Sample. Can you possibly remember?”

He stared at her for a long time. “I knew you, didn’t I? You’re the reason I haunt this house.”

“Yes!” Zahra breathed. “We were married. Your son is all grown up now. You’re about to be a grandfather!”

“Whoa,” Cyclone said. “That’s a lot to dump on a fellow all at once.”

“I know that only part of you projects from the Netherworld, but is our entire life together erased? Can you remember any of it?”

“I,” Cyclone said, then stopped. “I held Charles in my arms. I taught him to read. But, wait, I held you in my arms and taught you to read. It’s so confusing!”

Zahra’s heart lept. “It was a pretty strange romance,” she admitted. “But yes, both of those things are true.”

“I’m going to be a grandfather,” Cyclone said. “Wow.”

“Why did you come back to me now?” Zahra asked. “Why when I’m an old woman?”

Cyclone chuckled. “Something tells me that this is a very funny thing to say. I was an old man when I met you. Older. I was already dead, wasn’t I?”

“Yes,” Zahra admitted. “I said our love was strange.”

She knew better than to ask, but still she heard herself say the words she had rehearsed so many times as a young woman. “I know that the Netherworld is far off, and you are only part of yourself, but… is there any chance you love me still?”

“My lady,” Cyclone said. “I am dead. I can’t describe it. We will have to talk about all this when you get here. But if our love was true then, there is something now.”

Then he stiffened. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

And he was gone, leaving Zahra alone with her thoughts.

Fabian let her sleep in the next morning so long that she was late for work. “Why didn’t you wake me?” she demanded as she rushed about getting ready.

“I woke up last night and you weren’t there,” Fabian said. “I figured you’d need the extra rest.”

Zahra pulled Fabian into her arms and hugged him fiercely. “Things are going to be complicated when we pass on,” she said. “But I wouldn’t change anything.”

“I know,” Fabian said. “It’s what I signed on for when I fell in love with you.”

“Thank you, my love,” Zahra whispered. “For everything.”

———-

At last! Cyclone is manifesting like a normal ghost! And I have complete set of legacy ghosts. Maybe that won’t be so cool a few generations down the line, but now it’s awesome!

It is midnight, and I so shouldn’t be taking the time to write this, but I’ve so missed the Samples.

Oh, yeah, and I have no particular reason to highlight this in the story right now, but Zahra and Fabian have been little bunnies since they became elders. One of them always has the wish to Woohoo or romance the other. It’s so sweet.

WE GOT IT WE GOT IT WE GOT IT!

Apr20

I have no Samples update for the moment, though I have pictures laid out for two of them if I can ever get around to writing the text. I just wanted to say:

WE GOT AN AMAZING HOUSE IN BOSTON!

We do not deserve this house. I am stunned that we were able to buy it.

Now I can’t wait to get out there.

(Sadly, the house repairs for the house we’re selling Just. Keep. Dragging. We’re so not ready to go on the market, and it’s frustrating. But we’ll get through it.)

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!

Simantics: Wedding Power

Apr4

A few pics I picked up earlier but forgot to post:

Sim Fu is everywhere now. Vita Alto (the Leader of the Free World) shows off her moves while Charles and Veronica make eyes at each other.

Connor congratulates his great-granddaughter on graduation!

I love the way Ada’s hair ribbon accessory stuck with her graduation gown. It looks like she tied it to her mortarboard, which is totally what she would have done.

Veronica was apparently expecting a ring way before Charles was ready to give it to her!

The mysterious Sim quick-wardrobe-change caught on film!

Veronica thinks some wedding crasher is hilarious.

Fabian finishes his stepson’s wedding doing what he does best.

Charles freaks out at seeing his own wife naked.

I actually did the wedding three times too. The first time, I managed to put the chairs too close together, and people could only sit in the front row. Whoops. The second time, night fell during the vows, and even though there was lighting in the park, it wasn’t close enough to the wedding arch. Veronica’s dark skin just makes her fade into the darkness, and that made me grumpy. So I did it a third time with a whole bunch of extra lighting around the wedding arch. Hey, it was her special day. She should be able to see herself in the pictures!

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!

Simantics: Bachelor(ette) Redux

Mar29

It took three tries to get Charles’s bachelor party to work.

Bachelor Party Attempt #1: Nobody came. I have no idea what canceled the party.

Xander Clavell was the only guy in the pub.

Charles sat around for a while and had a drink before I reached the conclusion that nothing was going to happen.

Bachelor Party Attempt #2: This time I tried it at the Sample Estate.

Charles changed into goofy party clothes. So this time there really was a party!

Except that nobody would come into the house. They just stood on the front step, complained about the old newspapers, and did the pee-pee dance.

But hey, there’s Avid Voss! That guy never changes out of his hospital scrubs ever. But I think by current gameply he has actually made it to World Renowned Surgeon.

Bachelor Party Attempt #3: Success!

Sean Flynn REALLY needs to pee. I wonder where the bathroom is?

Bachelorette Party: This one worked on the first try. However, the game crashed as everyone was lining up to get into the club. I really need to delete that bouncer. Fortunately, I had just saved the game and only lost about a minute of progress.

However, Veronica had just changed into her party clothes, and when I reloaded, the game forgot to do it again. Here’s a shot of what she would have looked like.

Alberto Royale is mad that he can’t get into the ladies’ restroom.

See?? I wasn’t kidding when Ada said he was going to do that.

I’ve heard of “joined at the hip,” but this is ridiculous.

Townie/Cross-Pollination Update:

Darlene Branch and Arvid Voss are finally engaged! Their kid Christopher is now a teen.

Malcolm Landgraab and Beatriz Williams are also engaged. Beatriz just gave birth to a baby boy they named Darwin. She’s moved in with Malcolm at the Landgraab estate, but they haven’t bothered to schedule a wedding.

My two celebrity lookalike sims, Michelle Yo and Bill Cos-b started dating the moment I put them in the town. They now have two kids and decided to get married. However, they can’t seem to find a house for them both and the two kids. (Which is weird because Michelle’s current house should do it. I should check that out.)

In the tradition of sweet young sims marrying REALLY OLD ones, Lisette Williams married Gus Hart. During Charles’s party, I got a charming notification that Lisette was pregnant, and the coming baby had stayed the hand of the Grim Reaper when he came for Gus. Apparently Grim then forgot about him, because as of current gameplay, Gus is still around, and he and Lisette are expecting their second kid.

The Cagleys are around, but they haven’t done anything terribly interesting yet. They’ve moved houses twice, though the first one was because there were no houses available for starting funds, and I dumped them on an empty lot to see what they’d do. Morand is getting pretty good at tinkering, and Faith has been promoted.

Genvieve Goth is nemeses with half the town, and I’m not kidding. I don’t know what her traits are (other than Coward), but you don’t want them.

Mortimer and Emma Hatch Goth aren’t having a terribly happy marriage, though they haven’t actually split up. I guess Mortimer really is a jerk through and through.

Elton Hatch (Emma’s eldest son with the late Christopher Steel) is seeing Starr Ursine-Sample.

Beatrix and Jess Ursine-Hodgins are expecting their second child together.

Charmaine Ursine-Sample has gone through about three girlfriends and is currently seeing Latrice Hodgins (Trixi’s daughter with Xander). She recently aged up to Young Adult and moved out on her own.

That was convenient because Zelda Mae Ursine has passed on, leaving her child Valerie Ursine orphaned. Toya adopted her into her and Adjo’s family, so she is now raising a half-sister who is younger than her first three kids. Since Charmaine moving out meant that their house (the old Victorian that Lance and Layla lived in when Zahra was born) is still large enough for the family.

Hank Goddard and Pauline Wan have collectively bedded half of Sunset Valley. I believe Hank is currently dating the daughter of a previous girlfriend. Bella Bachelor has recently given birth to his love child. Pauline is also seeing someone young enough to be her son. I’m going to be sorry when Hank and Pauline finally kick the bucket.

Bella Bachelor’s taste in men is really suspect. Her first serious boyfriend was Xander Clavell. Then she dated Hank just long enough to get pregnant. Now she’s with VJ Alvi.

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!