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The Brand New Menu Item < | Challenge Home Page | > Meet Marnie
Benjamin Malone: referred to as Bennie by all who know him – is not always a nice guy. He focuses (too much) on his comedy “career” – which consists mostly of open mic nights at the local lounge and a sometimes gig as a C-lister (when he remembers to go) – and not enough on his large family.
He grew up poor, and apparently is also mostly content to stay that way. He and his family live in a ratty apartment over a local store that he helps to manage. It certainly isn’t the “get rich quick” scheme he was told it was, and it’s certainly not what he wants to do for the rest of his life…. but it’s what he has to do.
His wife tries to keep up with the housework and the kids, while Bennie spends his days in front of the television, hoping to hear the bell of customers coming into the downstairs store. The kids have learned to avoid his ire, and play elsewhere in the house or outside on the nice days. His wife – is often not so lucky. It’s a good thing, I suppose, that they live in the retail district, because otherwise every neighbor within a mile would hear their legendary arguments. I suppose they were in love once.. but that was a long time ago, and things are different now. No one is sure why they stay together – maybe it’s for the kids. However, if it is… they are mistaken. Because hiding from your parents’ arguments is no way to live.
Not knowing any better, however, means that Bennie is unlikely to change. He continues to work during the day and haunt the mostly-empty lounge at night – waiting for his “big break”. The one that will likely never come.
(Stay tuned, tomorrow we meet Bennie’s wife!)
The Brand New Menu Item < | Challenge Home Page | > Meet Marnie
Challenge Home Page | > Meet Bennie
If you’re looking closely, you’ll find I JUST put in a new menu item to the top page menu. “One Sim” is short for “One Sim, One Lifetime”, and is a new project (and challenge) that I’m taking on, and the picture above is a teaser photo of the “One Sim” in question. I’m seriously excited about this. It will be mostly a blog / forums thing, but I will also tweet for each post in the project, and I may make a channel on discord about it (eventually). I have the page set up, and all the info you need to get acquainted with the project. Over the next few days, I will be posting more information about the Sims involved, and the project will be officially launching May 1st. For more information, click on the menu link, or the link HERE.
Also: I will 100% say – this is not going to restrict me posting on the rest of my blog stories. But it will mean there will be something fun on this blog EVERY single day. Blog posts will be in addition to posts from this project, and I’m still convinced I’ve come up with the best way to combine blogging and streaming – by using my “off day” (Sunday) – to play and write up posts for the following week.
I’m afraid that as soon as I read the rules for this, I was already hooked on this challenge. I tried to resist, but it just wasn’t happening. I couldn’t convince myself that a mere one day of sim time per day wasn’t something I could carve out time for. So… here we go again! This challenge is all about playing one sim – for a full REAL-TIME year. I plan to go longer than a year, but that doesn’t change what the challenge is about. Basically, you turn off aging and play one sim-day per real life day. Then, you post one (or more) pictures of the day, creating a picture album that lasts the sim’s whole life. This challenge is less about getting an heir or meeting goals and more about getting to know one sim.. and, in my opinion, about being able to stick to a schedule and go “the distance”. The rules are found on the Sims 4 Forums here: https://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/985472/one-month-one-world-one-year-personal-challenge/p1 and it is one that anyone can do, even if you are too busy to do more than a short commitment each day.
Before I even planned to actually play the challenge, I had a sim and background story in my head. I sat down almost immediately and created some sims. Jazmyn’s story has changed a bit from when I first thought of it, but they are going to be a lot of fun to get to know as they grow. And yes, you read that right. Jaz is non-binary. You (and me) will find out more as Jaz’s story unfolds. The challenge asks for you to start as a teenager, but it was important to my background story to start as a Child-sim, so I am. I am also going to change the age-up length from three months to four. Both of these will make the challenge significantly longer, but that’s ok.
I will post a warning, however: this story WILL have triggering posts in it, and I do try to post a warning on the toughest posts, but I don’t always remember to, so be warned.
As of 9/25/2022: This story is still among my top priorities, although I will definitely say it has grown way beyond the bounds of the original challenge started. For that reason, (and because the name “OneSim” was just.. dumb) I am hereby renaming this story “Adventures With Jaz”.
(more…)Chapter 3.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.5
Generation Three: Red Appearance: Red hair, scandalous clothing style Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Art Lover Aspiration: Serial Romantic Occupation: Art Critic House Goal: 30,000 worth
It was just another morning, working from home and enjoying my solitude. After checking in to work, I decided to go for a swim… only to be rudely interrupted by morning nausea. Now, that wouldn’t normally be too bad – I usually have a very strong stomach, so I figured it would pass soon – but this time, things were a bit more worrying. There was a definite pooch to my belly that really shouldn’t be there with how much I swim.
Unless… of course… there had been a little accident during one of my nightly romps under the covers. So, I took the day to go into the city, and stopped by a clinic to check for sure. One that wasn’t in my hometown and knew my entire family tree.
By the time I left their office, one thing was for sure. I was starting on the next generation way earlier than I had planned. I had NO idea who the father was, either.. so this should be interesting. On “the way” home I met up with a nice older man named Cameron, and we seemed to get along rather well… so I invited him home with me for the evening. At least there wouldn’t be any more accidents while I was already pregnant.. right?
While chatting with him by the beach, however.. I noticed a familiar figure at my front door. Dad. Sigh. And the way he was staring at my body in profile, I could tell he already knew. There was no hiding that belly in this swimsuit. Letting loose a huge sigh, I quickly changed clothes, and invited everyone in for some granola.
Dad bemoaned the fact that I didn’t have a life partner to share the raising of my “first baby” with. (And my first thought was.. first baby.. you mean only baby??) Cameron quickly excused himself.. and there went my idea of comfort for the night. I got out of the conversation with Dad as quickly as possible, told him to have Mom give me a call when she found out the news from him… because he certainly couldn’t be expected to keep a secret from her. And once she knew.. the whole town would know. She would be crowing about her first grandkid from the highest roof.
The next day was Spicefest in the city, and I excused myself from Sulani for the day. Of course, I found a handsome man nearly right away, and he was definitely amenable to my flirting, even though he could clearly see that I was pregnant.
We hung out for most of the day, and I tried the Curry Challenge – but of course I failed. Then, I ordered something that sounded good from the food stall – and that turned out to be spicy, too. Thanking my stars that my stomach could handle everything, and brushing off my new friend’s laughter at my predicament… I dug in anyways. I ended up staying the night at his place in the city… avoiding Sulani and the fact that Mom was probably keeping an eye on my front door from some local bushes or something. I’m sure she was more than ready to mother me while I was pregnant, but I was going to have no part of it.
The time passed much quicker than I expected – and I did manage to avoid most of Mom’s antics by going into the city a lot “for work” most days – but my “condition” was certainly noticed by everyone in town. Including my dolphin friends, who were unconcerned about me not having a partner, and joyous that I was bringing forth new life. I couldn’t stay away from home forever, though, because my scales were always desperate for the saltwater… so I had to bite the bullet and be at home at least a little bit each day.
Then… one morning, after breakfast and my usual swim, I was taking out the trash when the pains hit. Ugh. I was NOT ready for this. In fact, not even my HOUSE was ready for this. I was going to have to figure out what, exactly, I was going to do with a bassinet when I got home from the hospital.
And, yes, it was definitely time for that trip to the hospital. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had the same doctor that Mom had when she gave birth.. only now he was a ghost. Rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth against the pain, I followed the nurse back to the operating room. … A place I hadn’t been to since I was born… and that I certainly didn’t remember.
They stuck me into this horrible machine, and proceeded to seemingly rip out half of my insides. I could have sworn I even saw my heart at one point.. but things were a bit hazy from the pain of labor.
By the time they announced my daughter.. DAUGHTER! .. I was exhausted, and more than ready to be done with this whole procedure. They requested a name for the birth certificate.. and I went with the first one I could think of. It was a boy’s name.. but I hadn’t exactly started planning out names. In deference to her being born a girl… I changed the spelling.. but she was forever going to be Charlie Naiades, now.
We got home from the hospital, and it was a beautiful afternoon. Which, I suppose, was a good thing, because there she was, in her bassinet.. outside the front door because there wasn’t much room inside the hut. Oof. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I called the local builders, and they approved an emergency afternoon build just to add a few feet to the dimensions of my house so poor Charlie could go inside. By the time the sun was falling, there was finally enough room for her. But neither of us got much sleep. I had called Mom and Dad to let them know the news, but adamantly refused to have either one come over tonight. I was sure I could handle things just fine. “Just fine” ended up being a long night of feeding, diaper changing, and cuddling, but the sun still came up the next morning.. and Sulani had her next heir.
I let her sleep in, and went out to relieve my itchy scales… glad for the smooth coolness of the water .. because I definitely needed that little “pick me up” this morning. With as close as my hut was to the beach, I was definitely in range to hear her cries should she wake up, so I enjoyed my time cavorting in the waves.
Nothing lasts forever, though, so she did wake up… and my computer was the cause. I was going to have to turn off the sounds from incoming mail while Charlie was tiny, apparently. Work was calling. But being a Mom now came first. I took care to get Charlie back to bed and rock her back into a blissful (although probably short) sleep, and logged into work on a now-quiet computer. Life goes on.. and I had work to do.
Author’s Note: Yeah. Risky Woohoo strikes again. I swear, I don’t have the percentage up very high, either! I was as surprised as Kali when the pregnancy notice popped up.. and for reference, the Dad is Rua. And he wants NOTHING to do with Kali anymore after seeing her with someone else. 0.o Oops. I guess she really is on her own now! On another front, Charley was the first name the game suggested, so I took it. … And while Kali was pregnant.. so was half the rest of the world. (See below for proof.) .. Hehe.
Chapter 3.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.5
Chapter 3.2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.4
Generation Three: Red Appearance: Red hair, scandalous clothing style Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Art Lover Aspiration: Serial Romantic Occupation: Art Critic House Goal: 30,000 worth
Travelling back and forth to San Myshuno for work tasks is time-consuming, but it’s been fun. It also allows me time to meet lots of new people. And by people.. I mean men, of course. Which.. is fine by me. I have no intention of settling down anytime soon.
Hawea and I went on a late night date to one of the city’s Karaoke Bars, but neither of us was interested in the singing. I vaguely remember some skinny, creepy looking fellow smirking at us while he sang, but neither Hawea nor I was really worried about it.
After a very successful date, I headed home and Hawea headed to his city office for a long night of charity work ahead of him. Slowly, my house was becoming my haven. I especially loved being right on the beach, because keeping one’s scales hydrated is a constant struggle. Especially when you keep having to head back to the city for work.
Speaking of work: I’ve been happy because lately, they’ve been asking for me to increase my skill in the art department, so I bought myself a real easel and some inexpensive paint. The results were.. well, less than stellar, but it gave me a chance at getting some spare funds.
I didn’t have a ton of time for men with work asking for so much in the way of learning, but I did manage to stay social.
I made friends with the leader of the local pod of dolphins, and he comes back to visit me and tell me of his friends’ antics in the paradise of the local oceans. He was always praising my mother’s work, because her conservation efforts had spread goodness far and wide. I was proud of my mother, but sometimes I felt like I should work harder to do something that would leave my mark on the world like she had. It definitely left me feeling a bit inadequate, but I simply couldn’t figure out what, exactly, an art critic could do that would actually make a difference.
On yet another trip to the city’s Art Center, I saw a pretty face I hadn’t met. Yet. Turns out his name was Caleb. He was a mixologist, apparently, and (since the bar didn’t have any customers at the moment) very happy to spend some time chatting with me.
And by chatting – of course I mean flirting. Because that’s what I do! Having spent most of the week working, I definitely felt the need to spend some time with a handsome man on my arm, so after an enjoyable evening talking to Caleb, I invited him back to Sulani for a date at the local bar. He said he’d never even been to Sulani, which – of course – was pretty much sacrilege to me, so I insisted he come meet some of the locals.
I surprised him with a first kiss… and we had a great evening, but he declined staying the night over at my house. This was a bit surprising.. but that was okay. Maybe he wasn’t digging me as much as I liked him. I headed back into the bar to use the computer to check in on work, and was surprised to see a very familiar – and unhappy – face.
It was my dad. He asked me if we could chat, and I cringed. I wondered if he’d heard about my rotating dates and was about to scold me for it.. but apparently that wasn’t the problem at all. He had seen me with Caleb. I couldn’t see why that particular sim was a problem.. until he took me to a quiet table at the bar and explained that Caleb wasn’t exactly your normal “sim”. Rumors and gossip surrounded him, but the general gist of it was that he was a creature of the night. A vampire. Who lived alone with his sister, and rarely ever got out of the house. Definitely a bit on the strange side.. and Dad was clearly warning me off of him. I thought a moment about it, but with as many eligible men as I’d found around the city and Sulani – I ultimately decided that Caleb could make his way through the darkness on his own. Vampires and Mermaids weren’t exactly very compatible, anyway. You know: the whole sun and salt thing .. just doesn’t work well for Vampires.
I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I got home – and the sun was already up. I stumbled back to my home from the water, and vowed to sleep for the rest of the day.
By that evening, I was fully rested, and ready for some more time on the water. I met a curly-haired local that caught my eye on the beach, and spent some time getting to know him. His name was Rua, and “some time” turned into the rest of the weekend.
Neither one of us seemed to be worried about the time or the rest of the world, however. Rua tried not to complain about the lack of .. well.. facilities at my house, but he eventually decided to make do with the bush outside the front door. The cooler of granola, cereal, and yogurt was another point of contention, apparently, though. He couldn’t seem to understand that just keeping a roof over my head was a struggle some weeks, and I wasn’t about to explain why I hadn’t splurged on an actual kitchen or bathroom yet.
By the time he left, I wasn’t horribly upset by the weekend ending… and my new computer and desk had finally arrived. I was fully connected to work and the world now, and my trips to check my email at the local bar were a thing on the past. Work was over-joyed, and quickly found a ton of new projects for me to critique and topics to expand my knowledge on.
Which.. meant some trips to the city, of course. I found Graffiti alley, and learned about painting from a can.. but I wasn’t sure it was something I was really into.
More time in the city did mean more time to meet men, however, and Koji caught my eye pretty early on. I was avoiding the Art Center bar at night, of course, because I didn’t really want to explain to Caleb that I wasn’t supposed to date him anymore because my DAD had told me not to. Koji, on the other hand, was easy on the eyes, and easy to flirt with. He did come to Sulani and spent the night, but after seeing my “house”, he left quickly in the morning. I wondered if I’d ever see him again.
Another conquest of mine, Rohan, didn’t seem to be nearly so worried about the state of my home. His last name was hilarious – Elderberry – and he sometimes made strange gestures with his hands while muttering to himself… but I wasn’t really all that worried about it. It wasn’t like I was planning on marrying the guy!
Now that I had the computer, I had started keeping my journal there, and I hid my childhood journal in the only hiding place I had – my bed. Keeping up with work and the parade of guys in my life was so much easier now that I had my own computer, so I was glad I had saved up long enough to get a good laptop instead of just grabbing any old computer that would work. Even though it meant I was still living in a one room hut with no plumbing or kitchen. That would come. Eventually. I think?
Bloopers:
That tall, creepy man??
You guessed it.. Hawea and Kali were serenaded by Vlad himself. LOL!!!
Chapter 3.2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.4
Chapter 3.1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.3
Generation Three: Red Appearance: Red hair, scandalous clothing style Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Art Lover Aspiration: Serial Romantic Occupation: Art Critic House Goal: 30,000 worth
The next major town party came none too soon. I felt like I had been working way too hard, but the payoff was showing in the promotion I had gotten, and the increase in my paycheck. Add to that the bounty of shells I found the other day, and I had a nice little nest egg. Not a lot, mind you.. but enough. Without me even asking, a local handyman had approached me asking whether I would need help getting my new home built, and offering his services at a fraction of the cost a big company would charge. Of course, I jumped at the offer, because the skies were darkening each day, and the winter monsoons were definitely on the way. Sleeping in the ocean was okay – even wonderful – but for some reason, doing so with lightning coming from the sky seemed like a poor idea. Even mermaids conduct electricity. But – I digress. The party.
I tried out fire dancing for the first time, and was surprised by how easily it came to me. It helped catch the attention of a few of the island men, too… which was a topic on my mind, since the guys I’d spent time with lately were still teenagers.. and therefore, were off-limits. I casually put the fire away, secured myself a plate of delicious island food, and “wandered” towards the nearest picnic table.
Before long, one of those handsome bronzed men made his way to my side and introduced himself. … Again, as the case may be. He was apparently one of the bears I’d met at the bar the other night, although I certainly had had no idea he looked like THIS under that fluffy costume. His name was Hawea, and he was a Charity Organizer from San Myshuno, but he based himself mostly here in Sulani. When I mentioned who my mother was, his eyes twinkled. Her work repairing the islands was well-known, apparently, and he’d worked with her in the past for donations during things like Turtle Hatching Season. We chatted for what felt like forever, and I hoped I wasn’t reading the signals wrong… and I leaned in a bit closer.
His smile widened, and I couldn’t help but smile back. Clearly, he was into me… and I wasn’t going to pass up on an opportunity like this.
He was a bit surprised… but he certainly wasn’t slow on the uptake.
Ignoring the sideways looks from some of the others at the party, I accepted the deepened kiss, and wasn’t sorry I did. Man, the guy could kiss! With a sly wink, I took his hand and mentioned my new home. I mean… it wasn’t much, but it was private.. and .. would he like to come over??
He accepted easily, and we snuck out of the crowd assembled, and left the party. I noticed my parents were in and among some of the new faces showing up at the party, and smirked to myself. At least they didn’t seem to have noticed me.
Hawea didn’t seem to mind that the floor was still concrete and the walls were barely dried drywall… and I wasn’t going to make a big issue of it, either. I had other things on my mind. We barely noticed when the skies opened up and the thunder started. My home had been “completed” just in time, it seems.
Afterwards, we cuddled a bit, turned the lights out, and decided staying in for the rest of the night was the best choice. I certainly wasn’t about to complain. And round two turned out to be even better than the first one.
The next morning, he excused himself early, and I made my way to the bar to sign in on the computer to get the day’s work done. By the time I got home, my house was transformed. I brought home some decorations and a large cooler of food (since I didn’t really think I should be eating out all the time with my limited funds).
I curled up into bed that night alone… but happy. Even with it being stormy again (as it so often is in wintertime here in Sulani), I felt comfortable and safe in my little hut, and I slept soundly.
The next evening found me at the bar again, working away on the computer, hoping for a break in the storm before making a dash for home. I wasn’t paying attention, so I was a bit surprised when the chair next to me was suddenly occupied, and Hawea’s smile lit up the dreary evening. I wrapped up the column I had been working on, and happily shared a drink or two with him while we watched the rain. When there was a break in the rain, I excused myself and headed towards home. I hadn’t invited him home, and he certainly didn’t ask.. which was okay, because I had another full day of work tomorrow.
When I had gotten almost all the way home, I ran into a face I didn’t recognize. And wondered what a child was doing out and about in the area at this hour. I wandered over, and asked him if everything was okay. To my surprise, he immediately recognized me and handed me a package. It was a gift from my uncle and aunt! Inquiring the lad’s name, and how he came to be in possession of this, his face lit up. His name was Justin, and apparently he had just been adopted by my uncle Austen and his wife, Meilani. How exciting! I congratulated him, gave him a huge hug of welcome, and as quickly as I could – sent him home. It was already dark, and I could feel another storm coming, so I wanted him to get home safe. He skipped off into the distance, and I smiled to myself, heading home with what I soon found out was a house warming gift. They had sent me some produce, and a cake (NOT made of fruit, thank goodness!) .. and a note. Looks like I knew what was on the menu for dinner tonight!
The next day dawned gloomily over the horizon, and I blearily greeted the day with a refreshing swim as I always did. Then, suddenly, I remembered what day it was. Winterfest!! I hurried home, and pulled out the decorations I had brought home. The lights looked perfect on my little red hut, and – with the day off of work – I spent the rest of the day cavorting in the waves and collecting seashells to sell.
Father Winter apparently hadn’t forgotten me, however… and despite the rain that had set in once the sun had gone down, he had poofed in from who knows where to drop off my Winterfest gifts. They weren’t much, but that was okay.. since I didn’t have much of a home to put them in.. but they were welcome none the less. I waved goodbye and headed inside to set up the desk he had brought me. Perhaps soon I would be able to afford a desk chair and a computer to go with it!
Author’s Note: Hello again! I was able to carve out some time to write this chapter tonight – and I have another couple in the works after it. At least I have the pictures to prove I’ve played ahead, and they’re just waiting for Kali to whisper in my ear what to say to go with them. If you have been reading along on my home page, you’d have noticed that both my Drifter Challenge and my Master Simmer challenge are back on “rotation,” as well… so I’m hoping for some spare time this weekend to work on them, too. Enjoy!
Chapter 3.1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.3
Chapter 2.17 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.2
Generation Three: Red Appearance: Red hair, scandalous clothing style Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Art Lover Aspiration: Serial Romantic Occupation: Art Critic House Goal: 30,000 worth
Well, here I am. Standing with two suitcases of clothes, one of other stuff, and me. On a very barren stretch of sand .. as long as you don’t count the mailbox. I can see the beach I visited a lot as a child just down the beach in one direction, and in the other – some more homes and a fishing dock. This was my chosen “home” – but I can assure you, other than these three suitcases and what I’m wearing – there is nothing I have that will help me build a house. Spying some thick bushes near my “homestead”, I drag my suitcases there and hide them in the brush. I look over them, and can see the corner of one peeking out – but it will simply have to do. The only other thing I could do is bury them in the sand – and I’m NOT doing that. Feeling overwhelmed, and thinking that I probably should have actually had a bite of that birthday cake before jetting out the door… I decide to do the only thing I can think of: hydrate. When in doubt: swim…. right?
It’s the middle of a day on a weekday, so I’m pretty much the only sim in the water – and definitely the only mermaid, so I stretch out my fins and enjoy the water sliding past my scales. I put on a brave face to mom and dad, but it was just that: a brave face. I have no earthly idea what I’ll be doing with that stretch of beach behind me… and I have even less of an idea how to go about getting a roof over my head before winter’s monsoon season.
…. “Just keep Swimming.” ?? Maybe that old song is useful. At least: it gives me something to do. While splashing around, I notice a debris pile on the beach across from my “home” (I really should stop using quotes for it.. it IS my home for better or worse!) .. and I head over there, an idea slowly growing in the back of my head.
Perhaps I can find some shells so that I can sell them. Then, at least I would be guaranteed dinner at the bar just down the road. I luck out, and under some beach trash, I find a couple of nice shells. Selling them gets me enough money that I don’t feel quite so useless. … Which then reminds me.
.. I needed to check the job forums, to see what I could find. I knew I wanted to do something artsy, but being a painter seemed too… possibly hard to guarantee a paycheck on any given day. Not that I knew much about the painter career. But it just seemed like it might be tough, you know? I scrolled past those postings, and scanned what else there was. Cooking.. heck no. Engineering… didn’t you have to go to school for that?? Acting… not my thing. Bartending, no way. Although meeting new sims might be fun? Then I spy a notice in the corner of the page. It’s from the city, but it does mention that the job can be done mostly online, and from home. (I remembered not to use the quotes!) … A chance to visit the city on occasion wouldn’t really be a bad thing. I do like traveling, and I don’t really mind the bus. Taking a deep breath, I dial the number. A bored-sounding receptionist answers, and quickly ferries my call to the right person. After a whirlwind phone interview, I find myself just standing here – staring at my phone bemusedly.
I had a job! As a critic. I could, apparently, choose between specializing in food or art – and I bet you can guess which one I’ll be going for. Even better, they started me out with a couple promotions, and an assignment. I had to raise my skill in writing, and do a small practice column for them. Guess I should find somewhere that has a computer so I can log in and get started.
I swim across the water, back towards home, wondering where I could go. I didn’t EXACTLY tell my new employers that I was virtually homeless and without a computer – I figured I could find a way. Somehow. While I was still pondering everything in my head, a familiar figure stopped in front of me, and started talking excitedly. My cousin – or whatever he was – Grayson. If I recalled correctly, he had ended up moving from the city where he’d been born and moved here to Sulani with his wife.. who was also my distant relative. Weird… but apparently they were far enough apart for it to be okay with the marriage authorities.
He waved a hand in front of my face. Oops. I had been wool-gathering, and hadn’t heard a word he’d said. He asked (probably again) how I was doing, congratulated me on my birthday, and mentioned that his wife was expecting, and that they lived just down the road. His wife wasn’t coming over today (apparently she felt ill), but Grayson was playing the “welcome wagon” and had brought me some fruitcake from her. I accepted it graciously, deciding not to mention that the thought of fruitcake made ME feel a little ill, too. I gestured to my mailbox, and my lack of anything else, and thanked him and his wife for thinking of me. I excused him early from the “party” .. dubiously shoved the fruitcake and paper plate into the trashcan at the beach next door to my mailbox, and started walking towards the bar.
I noticed a very handsome sim wandering down the beach, and stopped to say hello. Turns out he was an ex-classmate of mine, and still a teenager. (Darn. … Well, I suppose I can wait, right? He IS a senior in school…) He showed off some photos on his phone, and I played along for a while, enjoying the conversation.. until I noticed the sun was starting to head for the water again. That.. and.. well, to put it delicately.. I was starting to notice a problem.
I had to pee. Quite badly. Remembering that the town gathering spot had a public bathroom, I waddled that direction. Turns out, there was a celebration in the works. Gotta love Sulani. Any excuse for a party – and people turn out en masse. I sneak past them, use the facilities (which, lucky for me.. are free!) .. and then wander back out to say hello.
Some thoughtful being had cooked a feast in the community pit. I snatched up a plate and started mingling. Free food! No way was I passing THAT up. I was nearly done eating when some strange man in cat ears mentioned that he had to work the next day, and needed to head home. I ruefully mused that I needed to find a computer to do my daily work task, and he perked up. Apparently they had a laptop at the bar that was connected to the internet that people were welcome to use, so long as they were paying customers. I thanked him VERY much for the information, thanking the heavens that I had been able to sell that little cache of shells for some cold, hard cash – and headed down the beach again.
To my surprise, it was bear night. And apparently alien night, too – the bartender was … um…. very blue. She certainly wasn’t hiding her differences. I purchased myself a drink (woohoo! I was old enough to buy them on my own now!) and settled at the computer at a table, watching the bears wander by bemusedly. Some of them said hello, other just watched me curiously, but I was busy.
Apparently the cat eared guy from the party either wasn’t THAT worried about work in the morning, or he was enamored with me.. because he showed up without a bear costume to spend some more time flirting with me. I mostly ignored him…. and kept working on the mock column for work. I was nearly done with it when a welcome face suddenly appeared next to me. I’m not sure what mom was doing at the bar – and quite frankly, I forgot to ask – but man, was it good to see her. She didn’t ask many questions, sensing in her own “mom” way that I wasn’t ready to be grilled about my new situation, but she gave me a huge hug and congratulated me on already landing a good job. I bit my tongue on the questions of how to get a roof over my head at my beach – I was still too proud to ask something like that… and simply asked after the family.
After finishing my juice, my conversation, and my column… I headed home, feeling very tired, and more than a little bit overwhelmed. I nearly tripped over a pile of shells. Looking around, I notice that there really wasn’t anyone around. So the shells had just been abandoned here? Hesitating only for a moment, I started picking them up. Some were pretty valuable… and I was desperate enough in my living situation that I wasn’t too proud to look a gift… er.. shell in the mouth. (Wondering briefly about where that statement about gift horses ever came from?) .. I collected all I could carry, toted them home, and hid them under the bushes. I could sell them tomorrow. Meanwhile, my eyes were definitely trying to close. I needed to find somewhere to sleep. Tomorrow was most definitely another day…. but this one was overdue to end.
… “Just Keep Swimming”… I chuckled at my little song, and floated in the glowy water. Before long, I was sound asleep… and my concerns were forgotten. The joy of the ocean lulled me into a deep, happy, RESTFUL sleep… and it wasn’t until the sun came up the next morning that I again opened my eyes. Another day was here. Time to get back to figuring stuff out.
Author’s Note: Yes, I’m back!! And as much as I want to dive straight back into some of my more difficult challenges (like my Decades War) – I figured starting with some of my older, simpler challenges to get back into the “swing” of posting things was a good idea. I can’t honestly say how often posts will be coming out – I mean, I HOPE they’ll be daily or every other day – but we’ll see how far the muse takes me. Meantime… welcome back to Sulani. *smile* And I hope you’ll like Kali Naiades as much as I’m starting to!
Chapter 2.17 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 3.2
Birthdays came and went with very little fanfare in the Tangles household, and Abraham and Florence both grew up as the new year came and went. Abraham had lost a bit of his easy to get along with outgoing side with the passing of his parents, and had apparently discovered a love of books. Stefan regularly found him slacking on his household chores with one novel or another.
Florence started school and seemed to enjoy it, usually coming straight home to do her homework. Stefan was proud of his little girl, and he tried to be done in the fields early enough so that he was available to help her if she needed it.
Then, one morning at breakfast, Abraham cornered Stefan after Juliet had left the room to care for the younger children, and started stumbling over asking something. Nonplussed, Stefan looked at him blankly, waiting for the boy to start making sense.
“Mr Tangle, sir.. I really appreciate all you and Juliet have done for me, and all, but I don’t want to be a farmer when I grow up.”
“Whyever not? It’s a noble profession. It’s what your father did.”
“Well, no, sir, he had a farm, yes, but mostly he was the town’s teacher. Still, though, I’d like to make something of myself. I want to go to school.” Abraham stumbled over his words a bit, but his voice remained steady, determined.
Comprehension finally dawned on Stefan’s face, and he felt his head start pounding. How could his wife’s brother even contemplate schooling instead of helping out on the farm? He HAD to know how expensive school was. There was no way Stefan could justify paying 1000 simoleons on high school for the boy. He had never expected to have to take care of him, anyway, and the cost of an extra mouth to feed was already worrying enough. Winter was coming again, after all, and if the Almanac and last year were any guide at all – it was going to be another long one.
Stefan felt his temper rise another notch or two, and tried to keep his voice down so he wouldn’t upset the rest of the household as he answered the boy. “Oh, that’s right. It doesn’t change anything, though. The answer to your questions is: absolutely not. Do you think money grows on trees? I assure you, it does not! I’m not paying for a pretentious orphan to better himself to make his pig-headed, deceased father proud, instead of sticking with the lot he was given in life. THIS family is all about farming, and that’s what’s in store for you. There’s plenty to keep you busy around the house, we can’t afford to have you wasting time with book-learning!”
Stefan pretended not to notice Abraham’s cringe, and directed the boy to do some woodworking on the bench outside. Perhaps that would keep him out of trouble for a while.
Feeling pretty proud of himself for handling that well, Stefan dropped the matter from his mind, finished his breakfast, and headed outside to care for his fields. The leaves were already beginning to change colors, after all, and a chill was in the air. He dreaded the plants going dormant for Winter, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was make as much money as possible so that they would make it through the cold season.
Stefan pointedly ignored the boy working diligently at the workbench and hurried past him to take care of the plants and gather produce for the market that evening, missing the dirty look that Abraham shot him behind his back.
With all the housework Juliet had to do, Stefan had taken over care of the beehive. It went better on some days than others. This was apparently not going to be a good day. He applied the mite treatment, collected the bounty of honey and beeswax for Juliet’s candles, and left the bees alone to (hopefully) calm down.
Luckily, the trip to the market was profitable, and the next morning, Stefan paid the bills and the loan with confidence. This farm had been a wise purchase, and, though the first winter had been rough on the bank account, Stefan was pretty sure this one would be less stressful. Whistling happily, he headed back inside to check on Juliet and the children.
Juliet adored all of her children, but for some reason, she felt particularly close to Florence, her first born. Perhaps it was because she was older now, and her curiosity about the world was finally really blossoming.
Juliet was making breakfast one morning and Florence came down with an imaginative story of making friends with a monster under her bed. Juliet shook her head silently in bemusement, and tried to encourage Florence’s creativity – especially when that creativity saved Florence from having to wake up her tired parents.
After breakfast, she shuffled Florence off to school, and sat down to do some knitting while watching the three toddlers. She kept an ear out for Charlie waking up upstairs, but, now that he was a bit older, for the most part, he seemed to be a very easy baby to care for. His fussiness when he was a newborn seemed to have been replaced with a patient calm that was a welcome change. Nellie had become as precocious as her older sister had been, and keeping her from getting bored and making messes could be a challenge. The twins, on the other hand, still had plenty to learn, and seemed to do the best at that learning when both could be in the same room together while doing it.
Stefan was still in the fields by the time Florence got home from school, but Abraham had finally come in, complaining about splinters and hitting his hand with a hammer. Juliet found some housework for him to do, and tried to ignore the slight temper tantrum he had when Florence wasn’t given similar chores. Instead, Juliet encouraged her eldest to do her homework, and spend some time practicing on the piano.
Stefan still hadn’t come back in for dinner, so Juliet made sure to save him some in the icebox. She wondered what was taking him so long, but didn’t really want to leave the children to check on him. Perhaps he had gone straight to market without dinner for once? If so, he was likely to be grumpy when he came home, so she was careful to get everything as tidy as possible so as to not set off his temper.
While Juliet was rocking little Charlie to sleep, Stefan came in, mumbled something about it taking extra long to sell things at the market, then stumbled straight into bed. Juliet finished her tasks as quietly as she could and, finally, joined him.
As the season went by, Nellie continued to grow and learn. She was trying to be just like her elder sister, and wanted to help out by playing with the twins whenever she could. Juliet often found her curiously watching her baby brother, Charlie, as well, as if wondering when he would be big enough to play with, too.
One evening, as Juliet was making some Forager’s Stew for dinner, Abraham approached her. He related Stefan’s dictates about school, and begged for Juliet to speak to Stefan in his favor. Juliet told Abraham she would think about it, and try to find an appropriate time to do so. As she finished dinner, she wondered why Stefan had been so adamant at saying “no” when he, himself had been denied school as a teen, and had seemed to regret it ever since. Perhaps the farm wasn’t doing as well as Stefan had seemed to say it was. Maybe they just couldn’t afford to send Abraham to school?
Juliet stayed quiet all through dinner, and the time that it took to get all the children settled into bed, but her mind was whirling.
“Stefan, dear, I must talk to you.” she began while Stefan was cooing to his newest son in the privacy of their bedroom. Stefan sighed and turned towards her, waiting for her to continue.
“Why can’t we send Abraham to school? Do we not have the money? I thought the farm was doing alright for funds!?”
Juliet watched a flash of anger go across his face, and he seemed to pause before replying, “Of course we can afford it. The farm is doing very well. Don’t you worry about that.”
“Well, then.. why..?” Juliet began, only to have Stefan interrupt.
“The boy has his own inheritance from your Mother and Step Father, as well. I have been given control of it until such time as he moves out on his own. There was no provision made in it for his schooling, however, and no mention of you or your children in the wills. Which would mean any funds for schooling would come from us, not his blessed inheritance. I felt it was more important to save the money for our three boys.”
“So we can’t afford schooling for all of them?” Juliet was confused, and knew it showed on her face.
Stefan sighed, “No, I have enough for all of them. And for the winter. – Even after the additions we just put onto the house. I just didn’t think an orphan like him needed to go to school. I thought you would want him at home to help with chores. The girls will, obviously, be staying home to learn to care for a family, and I thought Abraham should learn how to farm so he could be ready to take care of his own family.”
“Well, yes, he should learn that, too. But as you know, school would afford him more opportunities in town, and with his interest in books, I think that would be good for him. He works hard around here, and going to school in the mornings shouldn’t affect his chores too much. I would think you would want him to make the most of himself, especially since you were denied the same opportunity.” Juliet watched guilt, and, strangely, anger, go through Stefan’s face as he thought about it before answering.
When he didn’t answer, Juliet added a plaintive, “What about just letting him go to school for me? I swore when Mother died I would do the best for my brother, no wonder what I personally thought of him. He deserves to go to school if he wishes it. Plus, it was probably my father’s dying wish. He always wanted Abraham to be a teacher like him.” To herself, she remembered how bitter she had been about that fact.. and yet, now she was lobbying for just what she had hated a few years ago. Times certainly did change a person.
“Alright. Fine.” Stefan said, and started to say something else, but Juliet was already squealing with joy and jumping into his arms. “He can go to school. I will tell him in the morning. But- this won’t absolve him from working around the home!” Stefan pushed Juliet away a bit and held her shoulders as he emphasized his last sentence carefully, “He can’t keep his nose in the books all the time!”
“Of course not!” Juliet replied. “Thank you, Stefan! I knew you would come around!”
She was overjoyed, and quickly turned to finish preparing for bed.
Stefan couldn’t believe he had let himself get talked into this. Apparently Juliet could talk him into anything. Next thing you know, she would be trying to get him to pay for the girls to go to school, too. Utterly ridiculous. Why did Abraham even need schooling?! His father had owned a farm, why was Abraham so focused on following him into the teacher profession? Rolling his eyes (after making sure Juliet wasn’t still watching him, of course), Stefan turned back the covers on his side of the bed and crawled into bed. It’s not like the man had seemed to be all that successful at being a teacher, he had died penniless and the farm he owned had been repossessed by the bank. All he really could remember of the man was his vitriol towards himself, his family, and his beloved Juliet. It just didn’t seem right.
Getting to sleep was harder than usual for him that night, and he watched Juliet sleeping peacefully beside him. He was torn between feelings of guilt for trying to deny Abraham school, and the inexplicable anger over letting him go when there were so many chores he could be doing at home, instead. Abraham should have been grateful for what he had, instead of asking for more. The orphanage certainly wouldn’t have let him go to school… why should things be so much different for the boy here? Then there was the fact that Abraham’s father had been so horrible to Juliet and Stefan’s family. That certainly didn’t make him any more willing to spend good money on the man’s only son. Stefan argued back and forth with himself for most of the night, and it was quite late when he finally got to sleep.
Because of this, breakfast was well underway before Stefan came downstairs. Florence was talking about some art project they were supposed to be starting in school today, and seemed to be dominating most of the morning conversation. After getting his food, Stefan loudly cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention.
“After talking with Juliet last night, Abraham, you will start going to school today. I will make sure the fee is paid for you.”
“Hooray!!” Abraham yelled, pumping his fist into the air.
Stefan was quick to interrupt to say, “This doesn’t mean your chores around the house will lessen – you will still have to earn your keep.”
Abraham’s smile faded for a moment, and he nodded dutifully at Stefan, then turned and shared a smile with Florence and Juliet.
Just as Stefan had feared, the morning without Abraham’s help was hectic, and forced Stefan out of the fields to help Juliet out. The fireplaces all had to be stocked and lit for the season, because it was starting to get cold in the house, and every time they turned around one toddler or another was missing, and one of them would have to go chase them down. Finally, Juliet shooed him outside again, saying she could handle things.
Juliet breathed an expressive sigh of relief when school let out for the day, but she wasn’t going to complain out loud about the two eldest not being home, for fear that Stefan would change his mind. Somehow, she would persevere. She had to.
She rushed Abraham to do his homework before Stefan came in, so he wouldn’t complain about “wasted time”.
Florence wanted to work on her aspiration, since she had almost finished it – and she promised to finish her homework as soon as she was done. Juliet agreed, and went back to gathering up the laundry for the next load of washing.
Abraham was as good as his word: he finished up with his homework and immediately stepped in to help with the toddlers. He cleaned up and set the dinner table as well, which was a big help. Juliet fought exhaustion, and made it through most the evening, getting everyone in bed just in time.
Picking herself up off the floor wryly, Juliet took a deep breath, and trudged off to bed. She would make it. She had to.
Caizey started off the week with the best of intentions. She could totally do this – be a wholesome, happy, and supportive stay-at-home parent.
Little Kailyn seemed to be pretty well-behaved for a toddler, too, so that should help the situation. She quickly learned to climb stairs, and was more than happy to get her own breakfast off the counter.
Perhaps pancakes with sticky syrup was a mistake, however… one Caizey soon regretted when she had to give Kailyn a bath right after breakfast. At least none had gotten on the fancy couch..!
Kailyn loved her new kitty-cat toy, and spent quite a bit of time playing with it – anytime Caizey needed a break and went back downstairs to paint or harvest the garden, Kailyn would end up playing with it.
Winterfest dawned early, and Caizey baked a cake for her own birthday just to get it over with as quickly as possible. No need to dwell on the fact she was getting older.
The maid, however, thought that any birthday was cause for celebration, and ended up waking Kailyn up with her raucous version of Happy Birthday.
Caizey quickly hid the cake and called her baby girl down to open her presents. There was no need to fill the kid up with sugar. Kailyn adored her laser light show gift, and wanted Mommy to take it upstairs and plug it in right away.
Caizey, however, was less than impressed by the Jazz cats painting that was in her present, but she pretended she liked it so as not to ruin the day.
The rest of the day was spent teaching toddler skills. Kailyn was really working hard, stretching her thinking skills and expanding her vocabulary. Caizey wanted her to have the best start on life possible, and she knew all these skills would pay off later.
The stress of being a full-time parent was definitely getting to her, though. Not having the freedom to leave her home anytime she wanted was very tough when she’d gotten so used to it. She missed the magic realm, and the exciting duels.. and she was really considering getting a nanny for Kailyn and taking some time “off” for herself.
It only took one look outside .. and picking up the phone.. for Caizey to immediately feel selfish for wanting to leave her baby so soon. Spring – and Kailyn’s birthday – were coming up soon, and surely things would be easier then.
Impulsively, Caizey spent the rest of the afternoon painting, and let Kailyn play (seemingly happily) by herself upstairs with her blocks.
The days drug by, with each day mind-numbingly the same. Cook, teaching Kailyn, harvest the garden, paint, and send the paintings off to the gallery. Money was certainly not an issue, because the Money Trees were netting her a fortune. She had become a sim-millionaire, and was only painting because she was bored – not because she needed to.
Finally, Kailyn’s birthday arrived, and the precocious youngster was eager to move on to bigger and better things. Caizey looked forward to being able to travel again while Kailyn would be at school. Surely Kailyn would be old enough to look after herself if she hadn’t come home before school ended??
They took a trip to the store, and Caizey let Kailyn pick out all the clothes she wanted for her first day of school on Monday. Well, and clothes for at home.. and well, for whenever, really. Caizey approved of the fun, artsy, colorful outfits her daughter put together, and getting out of the house was a balm for Caizey’s wanderlust. Once again, she felt like she could do this parenting thing.. and was feeling magnanimous enough to agree when Kailyn asked to join the Scouts after school and weekend activity. Maybe that would even mean Kailyn would want to do some traveling with her while hunting for her badges? .. Caizey sure hoped so!
Stefan considered all that had happened lately, and wondered that they were still getting by as a family. Juliet’s parents dying suddenly had really changed things, though, by adding young Abraham to the mix. Juliet hadn’t seemed too phased by her Mother and Step-Father’s deaths, but having an extra mouth to feed had certainly made things harder for her.
Then there was the twins – they were almost out of their cribs now and would be fully mobile within the week. Which meant there were going to be four toddlers in the house. With this in mind, Stefan had been glad for the savings he had stashed away in the bank – an addition to the house had been necessary to make room for everyone.
While they were adding on, they expanded the upstairs a little, as well, so Nellie and Florence would have more space in their room.
The biggest renovations were on the ground floor, though. Abraham now had a small room to himself, while the twins were going to go in the “spare room” – that wasn’t quite so “spare” anymore. With this many people in the house, Stefan had also felt that another bathroom was needed, and the expansion to the parlor allowed him to surprise Juliet with a piano. When she would have time to play it was in question, but he had felt she deserved some sort of grand gesture from him for all she did, and this had worked greatly for that.
Juliet’s bees were active again, and pestering him in the fields constantly, so he had started trying to get them to bond with him, too. So far, it wasn’t going well. Despite the bees, the produce was growing and selling very well, which made Stefan very glad for the income. That addition had not been cheap.
Juliet’s days were packed full of things to do since Abraham had moved in. Between the twins learning to walk, the girls being everywhere all at once, and trying to keep up with household chores, she found herself burning the candles at both ends of the day – literally.
Mornings were the worst, however. She had a sneaking suspicion that there was going to be another addition to the family soon. She hadn’t brought it up to Stefan yet, because she wanted to be completely sure, but the nausea that assailed her every time she tried to eat breakfast was telling. What would they do with yet another baby?! She hoped she just had a touch of malaise, instead of the alternative.
Abraham was grateful for the home and tried to pitch in as much as possible. He did dishes, took the trash out, and even kept the girls occupied when Juliet needed to do other things – like cooking or laundry. She didn’t want him to slack on his schoolwork, though, especially since he was behind his class due to all the time off for the funerals in Brindleton Bay, so she made sure he wasn’t doing chores all the time.
All of the fireplaces had been banked for the summer, and a heat wave had moved in. Juliet was miserable, and decided it was past time to let Stefan know. She was sure she wasn’t just sick – the signs were all there.
So, the very next morning, she had Stefan sit down – and broke the news.
Stefan seemed speechless at first, and just sat there and looked at her in wonder. As if this was all her fault.
His consternation seemed to clear, though, and he smiled, shrugged, and tried to make her feel better. He promised to help out around the house as much as possible to make things easier on her.
Stefan tried to put on a brave front for Juliet, but inside he was in turmoil. Another baby? … And what if it were twins again? They really didn’t have room for more children, and he dreaded the possibility that it could be a girl. At least the twins’ room potentially had room for another boy – but there was definitely not room in the house for another girl. Cringing, he dearly hoped it would be a boy, because – even with the farm’s profits – he really didn’t want to have to spend more on another addition to the house.
He tried to remain positive, though. At least the produce had been consistently good this summer, and was selling at the market well.
Despite the construction on the house, he was still able to make the loan payment and pay the rest of their bills. He ignored the spots on his arms, and the faint feeling of being overheated, and chalked it up to the current heatwave.
Abraham was getting used to his new home and family. He had never been very close with his sister, but he was grateful to be living in a home instead of the orphanage back in Brindleton.
He had difficulty making friends at the school, though, and mostly kept to himself. He tried to ignore the whispers behind hands about him being an orphan from back east, and concentrated on his schoolwork instead.
At home, he tried very hard not to make Stefan or his sister regret taking him in, for there was always something to do in the house, whether it was his studies, or keeping up with the cleaning. The toddlers were always making a mess, it seemed, and there were always dishes to be washed and trash to be collected.
And now there was to be another baby in the house soon. He watched his sister’s abdomen growing with not a little bit of horror and interest. How could her body stretch like that? And how much more could she take? She was already exhausted most of the time, and took naps whenever she could. He felt badly for her, but he was already doing as much as he could to help.
Florence didn’t seem to be impressed with the new additions to the household, and had started really causing trouble whenever she could. Juliet tried to discipline her, but nothing really seemed to work.
Every time Juliet turned her back, she was into something else. Juliet simply didn’t have the energy or time to spend all her time with the youngster like she had at the beginning, and Florence really seemed to be upset by it. There was little Juliet could do, however, especially since Samuel and Benjamin were finally walking.
Samuel had grown up to be a real charmer, much like his sister Florence, and seemed to use all his energy to try to get as much attention as he could from everyone around him.
Benjamin, however, was much more independent. He was content doing things on his own, and seemed to rarely make trouble. How twins could be so completely different, Juliet didn’t know, but she was grateful that at least one of her children seemed like he was going to be easy.
Florence continued to act out, even more now that the twins were out of their bassinets and demanding attention.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like her brothers, though, for they seemed to get along okay. Perhaps she was just jealous of the time that they took away from what she considered should be “her” time with her parents.
Juliet’s physical misery seemed to grow apace with her belly. Just making it through each day was impossible without a nap. She tried to last until Stefan came in from the fields, but she had to admit that some days she just couldn’t. And running to the outhouse every hour wasn’t helping the situation.
Nellie was starting to follow her troublesome sister around, and they were often found outside the house when they were supposed to be inside, quietly playing. Nellie didn’t seem to be as interested in making messes, she just wanted to be close to her big sister.
Juliet was trying to carve out some time to work on an outfit for the coming baby, but with the four toddlers, that was incredibly difficult. Even Samuel was taking after Florence, and was now getting into the bookshelf on his own, accidentally ripping books and scattering them about the room.
Juliet just couldn’t keep up. Exhausted, she fell asleep, only to have the toddlers escape to the great outdoors. Stefan didn’t really appreciate the kids out among the fields with him, but he understood his wife’s energy levels were low and she needed a break. How things were going to work when there was a baby in the house, too, was yet to be seen, but he doubted it was going to be good.
For today, however, he decided he wasn’t going to be able to get any more work done, and he gathered up the toddlers that had escaped and went in search of the missing Florence. She was running about upstairs, and had managed to get the wardrobe open to spread their clothes all over the bedroom. Sighing deeply, he began cleaning up the mess, only to have Florence disappear again. She moved much too fast, he mused wryly, and gave up cleaning to go try to occupy her.
Juliet woke up from her nap, and hobbled towards the outhouse desperately. To her horror, she didn’t make it. Nobody noticed, but now she was filthy, and she had yet another mess to clean up.
That night, little Charlie was born. Giving birth seemed almost routine at this point, and Stefan only woke up long enough to help before he fell asleep again. Juliet glared at his sleeping form and tried to settle the new baby as best as she could.
Getting back to bed, however, was more difficult than she had anticipated, and she woke up a bit later, curled up on the floor. Crawling to the bed, she didn’t even bother to get under the covers before she fell asleep again.
The next few days were a struggle for both parents. Charlie seemed to be the fussiest baby they’d ever had – and was even more difficult to keep happy than even the twins had been. By the time either parent had found time to fall asleep, he was awake again, and demanding food or other care. It was infuriating. And it wasn’t going to end any time soon.
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