Chapter 32 - Life Goes On

It seems like only yesterday that Christmas was born and today she became a child. Her 'Uncle' Tobias painted a portrait to comemmorate the occassion.

"So, this is the mad house..?"

"I was going to celebrate through the medium of interpretive dance, but.. I didn't."

I realise that I never documented the birth of Christmas.  It was an odd affair but I did manage to get a few snaps of the happy day.  For some reason, known only to herself, Summer invited Grim along as her birth partner.  There seems something ironic about that situation.  

However, Grim excused himself almost the second he arrived.  He had business to attend to.  Well, it is a hospital I guess if work is likely to come up, it's gonna be here!

Summer of course has been here before with little Easter so she wasn't that worried at having to go through it alone.

"Man, are you ever fat."

"You ok in there?"

"Don't worry, it's like the grabber machine at the fair."

"Aren't those machines designed to make you LOSE!"

"Ok, the squirting yellow fluid.  I am concerned.  Did the machine just WET ITSELF!"

"And... release. the. prize... I mean baby."

"You're the best prize at my fair."

"I will love you always, little baby Christm...eugh, eugh baby sick!"

Chapter 31 - Alexandra In A Field

It was Alexandra's birthday and Carson was invited over.  Alexandra called him personally.  He went around with a goofy look on his face for the rest of the day.  And no, most people didn't notice the change.  On the day of the party he got himself dolled up in his own unique style.

I am so glad he had found Alexandra, I really am.  Because I know that Carson is a special young man and only someone capable of looking past, well past his outside is going to see his inside...

"Loooookin' sharp!"

"When I arrived at Alexandra's house I was expecting, well, I was expecting more house than I found.  She had told me that her family lived in a different way to others but I hadn't expected this.  I assumed she meant maybe they had their bedrooms on the ground floor and the living room upstairs, I know people do that sometimes, and that is freakin' crazy right there!  It'd be like being upside down, but, not, cos you wouldn't fall on your head or nothing, but like y'know, upside down!

I still wasn't sure what I wasn't seeing, I didn't even see her family, and then it dawned on me, they must be invisible!  I wanted to ask if it was intentional or like, some kind of horrific accident, like Spiderman, cos that would be cool, well, apart from the horrific accident bit, but I guess that would be rude.  I decided not to mention it at all.

I wonder how the house went invisible?"

"Your house, it's, like, spacious, new-age?  Or something?"

"We stood around for a while, on the pavement.  I wasn't sure what to do.  She seemed to be expecting me to say something.  If there were other guests there then they were invisible too and I couldn't hear them, or the music.  What if I am supposed to be dancing!?  I didn't want to walk anywhere either, in case I bumped into someone I couldn't see, THAT would be embarrassing.

Alexandra looked a little down.  Perhaps she couldn't see her family either, or the party.  That's sad.  Imagine having to live with people you can't see in a house that's invisible.  I couldn't imagine not being able to see my family and I know I would be walking into furniture all over the place, I do anyway, and I can see it!"

I wish... I wish I had taken a shower.

"I am not the best at reading situations but I do know how to make Hot Dogs and the magic BBQ's by the river always have a huge supply of uncooked, fresh, yet unrefrigerated food available to cook.  I worked my magic with the dogs.  

There was a girl tree on the other side of the river.  She looked like the only girl tree in the area.  I guess the boy trees must fight over her.  Unless they are scared of her, like, geeky boy trees, there certainly weren't any near her.  It must take a tree a long time to move over to another tree.  And what if they don't like each other.  What a waste of time.  Maybe that's why they fall down, trying to lean over to far or moving to quick.  Maybe all trees like each other when they get there.  Some must do anyway otherwise there would be no baby trees."

How many dogs actually go into one of these?

"Alexandra didn't say much while we ate the Hot Dogs.  I guess she was trying to imagine what her cake must look like.  I couldn't do cake.  I can only do Hot Dogs.  I asked her if she would like me to see if the BBQ had some visible cake for her birthday she looked at me kind of funny but said no.  Maybe she will feel about for her invisible one later, doesn't want me to see her if she gets it on her face I suppose.  Although if it's invisible, I wouldn't actually see it.  It is confusing having an invisble family."

This whole thing is a little crazy

"After we had eaten Alexandra thanked me for being with her on her birthday, she said it was nice to have someone around.  Someone around she could see I guess.  I said that I was glad I was here.  And that it must be difficult not to be able to see her family, and get, like, a birthday hug.  She looked at me funny again. 

Then she hugged me real tight.  I think she was crying."

Chapter 30 - Summer Changes Direction

It seems that Summer took what I said to heart. She decided to try her hand at something else. But she didn't know what to choose. She decided that she needed to speak to someone who had seen things from the other side. And not just the other side of the argument.

Erik may have passed on but he hasn't moved on, every so often he floats in. One of the perks of being dead is there is no need to buy footwear anymore. And also wear and tear on carpets is no longer a problem.

That evening Erik came to speak to Summer, for most of the conversation he hovered unsettlingly over a plant, he looked like a basil bush with a head.

Are you and that plant, like, a thing?

Erik told Summer that she needed to do something like his job as a doctor. He told her it felt as if some force greater than his was guiding his moves every step of the way and that's why he succeeded. Perhaps she should look for a job where she could be pushed around more, kind of like at home.

Are you and that plant, like, a thing?

So Summer grabbed her phone and told her job where they could post their pastries and chose a job she knew would fit her calm, selfless, ditzy, grey matterly challenged demeanour...

I'm done with doughnuts. Through with Chou. Quittin' cake!

Summer became a police officer...

I'm going to get hat hair."

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Chapter 29 - Things Get Serious

It seemed to me that this household had lost it's focus. We were supposed to be making a million here but people seem to be doing their own thing without any regard for the big picture. Here we were living it up and I felt like I was the only one really trying.

I called a house meeting.

And no, I have no idea who the guy to my right is. He was just walking past the house and got caught up in the excitement!

"Listen guys, we've got a problem."

I asked Summer to prepare some food, and credit where it's due, she did an awesome job, Rack of Lamb and a Cheesecake. But I had to let them know that I wasn't happy and Summer was an issue. I told her that although she was a great cook and had worked hard she was still only on level 4 employment with the restaurant and continually did poor work there. Something had to change.

"Basically, it's you."

I had to say these things. They needed a shake up. Did I feel bad? Possibly but this was all about my goals and we were running out of time. I think I may have upset Summer but that was a risk I had to take.

"But, but I love pie!"

Next I got serious with Carson, this is not my problem alone. There is no way this raise a million is going to happen in my lifetime (not at this rate!) so he needs to come up with some super idea for what he is going to do when the challenge becomes his. I am concerned. Carson is not known as a bright spark, or even a cheap, battery powered tea light, but I have to trust he can do this. I have no choice.

"Tobias.  Tobias. TOBIAS!! Hearing Aid!  Turn it on!"

Tobias. Tobias has done relatively well with bringing in the cash with his paintings but I don't see how he will ever progress far through his chosen artists career, even with all his talent.  He has just become an elder.  Time is ticking big fellow!  The new guy at the table kept trying to butt in with 'helpful' suggestions but to be honest he was more of a hinderance.  I would have been happy if they had even had some link to what we were talking about.  His best idea was something about selling fish from an old lemonade stand he had seen washed up on the banks of the river.

"His ideas... they are so bad!  Please make him stop!"

Chapter 28 - A Tale of Three Dates

February 14th has arrived and everywhere we see birds and bees trying to woohoo each other, at least that is my understanding of the Birds and the Bees talk me mother gave me. I never fully understood it. I mean the practicalities alone are immense!  Wouldn't the bird try to eat the bee?  Or the bee sting the bird assuming the former?  And even if there was some kind of attraction there, an inter-species thing, y'know....how?

Anyway, in our little household there was love aplenty, or at least attempts at love.

Tobias' Story

Tobias was first to try his luck.  After his isolation phase he doesn't really know many people so he decided to hit the bar and see if he could make love happen...

 

"Oh yes it's ladies night and the feeling's right
Oh yes it's ladies night, oh what a night, oh what a night!"

When he first arrived at the bar he began to think he had gone to 'the wrong kind of bar', there wasn't a girl to be seen in the place. The dudes just kept flooding in, he'd use the term 'sausage-fest' but he's too polite for that.

"So, yeah, I'm a girl..."

Eventually a rather lovely lady named Jade came in and all eyes where, uncomfortably, on her.  Tobias was delighted that she chose the seat next to him and not Don.  In your face Lothario!  The chatted happily for a while but Tobias was sensing a lack of 'fizz' between them.  It wasn't helped that Lothario kept butting in at random intervals with some smooth line.  Seriously who does this guy think he is?  Tobias tried to remedy the situation.

"Would you shut the hell up, Lothario."

"Now, where were we?"

But even with Don contained Jade was just not interested in our poor Tobias, he began to feel it was because he was getting on a bit.  But then a pretty young lady named Lillian sat at the end of the bar and began laughing at his jokes and seemed much more interested in him than Jade had been all night. 

"Hey, how YOU doin'?"

Tobias excused himself from Jade and went to sit closer to Lillian.  Se was wonderful and he couldn't believe his luck, he quickly updated his Simbook page...

"Status: Smooth and Cool!"

He and Lillian hit it off, she wasn't much of a dancer but she loved to talk and Tobias was more than happy to listen.  He tried a lot of his best moves on her but she politely rebuffed him, he gave up in the end and decided that a new friendship was enough for him.  And who knows where it might lead in the future...

"Get over it Jade, I've moved on!"

Summer and Farrah's Story

Well, as my lovely husband is no longer with us and Summer is between baby daddy's right now we decided that Valentines Day was the perfect time for the pair of us to spend time doing what we love.  We hit the Spa.  We really should make it a regular thing.  Or, here's a rib tickler, we could have our own little Spa Club, with matching jackets and secret handshakes!

We headed to the newly opened Spa in town, its an old estate house that has been converted, any Sim who is anyone is going there, so we, obviously, had to join in.

"I already know I can't afford this place!"

First things first, a bit of wallowing.  Thank goodness they supply towels, robes and paper pants in this place because it is messy!

"I can't believe I am paying money to sit in dirt.  I have dirt at home.  And a hose."

The next sim who was waiting for my bath room was a nice guy called Zander.  I had given myself a new found confidence with my mud bath, apparently being up to your pits like a pig does that to you.  So I hit him with my best chat up line.  He seemed very impressed.  And we chatted for a while.

"Your muddy confidence has stolen my heart!"

Meanwhile, Summer had finished her wallow and had moved on to hand and foot massages.  She later told me how amazing they had been and that she could have fallen in love with the masseuse just because of his foot talents!  I said that seemed a little flimsy a basis for a relationship, but who am I to talk, I just chatted up a guy because he was interested in sitting in mud!

"Thank goodness I am wearing my solid towel, this is not a ladylike position!"

"Marry me, oh, silver haired hand rubbing foot man!"

I tried out a Hot Stone Massage, basically they heat some stones and play Backgammon on your back.  I chose it because it was most expensive, so must be the best!

"Mmmmm.....Make me into your Zen Garden!"

Summer decided to give Yoga another try.  She had been practicing at home and felt that she wouldn't look so out of place this time.  The yoga area was beautiful and the teacher caught her eye.  But he proved difficult to talk to as he kept starting classes mid sentence.  I think Summer caught his eye during them though as she was by far the best pupil!

I met up with Zander again in the sauna and I tried some of my best moves but to no avail.  I had failed to take a shower after my mud bath and had become nasally offensive.  Zander tried to be polite but in the end he excused himself and left, gagging.

"What is that fragrance you are wearing..it smells..so...so...natural.."

Carson's Story

My young man is, even I have to admit it, not the brightest, but he has snagged himself a gorgeous lady who seems to see past all his goofiness and sees the wonderful guy that I see.

"So, I was looking at my wall and I thought of you.."

He called Alexandra and invited her out.  He had planned the most perfect date but upon arrival realised that this was not the place he had been intending.  He had tried to think of somewhere that and bright, intelligent young school student would want to go.

He took her to the library.

"The library!? This isn't what I meant.  What's the one with all the dancing then!?"

It didn't seem to bother Alexandra at all, in fact she found his messing up endearing.  She told him that anywhere was perfect as long as they were together.

"Well, this is the Romance section."

After their date they even managed to get some school work done.  Carson caught up on his homework, which he then left at the library, and Alexandra checked out some books for her science project.

"So, if tin whistles are made of tin, what are fog horns made out of?  Or baby milk!!?"

Alexandra wanted to do some more research on the mating dance of the Belly Flopping Ibis, so Carson stayed with her. 

"If that ain't love..."