The Vincis (A) - Round 4

Starring:

Gretchen Chin, Adult Knowledge Sim, LTW Become Mad Scientist

Salvatore Vinci-Chin, Child Knowledge Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

~*~*~*~*~

Last round at the Vinci-Chin house, Gretchen adopted Sal and began working her way up the food chain in her science career. The two get along famously, and Sal is definitely being spoiled, though he retains his sweet, friendly nature.

Gretchen had come to the realization after visiting Enzo on campus that there probably was no chance for a romance between them. She knew that he lived in a house with Paolo and his girlfriend Caitlin, and Caitlin's sister Fiona. Gretchen may have fallen in love when it wasn't the best idea, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that Enzo would likely find someone at college, and perhaps it was better that way. He was so much younger than she was, and now she was his brother's adoptive mother. Even thinking the phrase made her head spin a bit. Yes, Gretchen decided she needed to move on, and Craig Ray was a wonderful man she'd met at work.


They'd been spending more and more time together when Salvatore wasn't around. Gretchen didn't want Sal to feel like she was distracted from him in any way, so she tried to be discrete.



Unfortunately, all the discretion in the world couldn't prepare her for what happened after her night with Craig.


All the nausea she'd been feeling for the past week finally made sense. She was pregnant. This was...an absolute disaster. She wasn't even married to Craig, and things with she and Sal were going so well... how would he feel about it? Would he think she was a tramp? Would he hate her for sleeping around? For getting pregnant with another baby when he was supposed to be her baby? Gretchen was sick with more than just morning queasiness; she was downright ill with worry.



But there was no time for worry. She had things to do. Like congratulate Sal on his special fundraising success at school. He was such a bright boy. Gretchen worried more about what would happen when he found out she was pregnant.


But Salvatore remained oblivious thanks to Gretchen's careful concealment. He brought home Imelda Vinci from school one day - his brother's daughter. It seemed weird to think that Enzo was old enough to have a kid of his own now. What was even more weird was that he was technically Imelda's uncle! He teased her mercilessly about this fact, but with good humor, enjoying tormenting her because she would chase him and play when she got mad.



Unfortunately for Gretchen, the time came when Gretchen was unable to hide her pregnancy any more, and she had to confess to Salvatore when he asked why she was gaining weight. She explained that sometimes these things simply happened, and Salvatore took the news thoughtfully, without any heartache or bad feelings. In fact, he seemed more curious than anything to know how babies were made - a conversation Gretchen was NOT ready to have with him.


Unfortunately, only a day later, it seemed as though the stress of worrying took its toll on the pregnant Gretchen, and she lost the baby. It was a shame because it had occurred to her so recently that Salvatore would have been fine with it. In fact, he probably would have loved to have a sibling. But it was too late for that now. Gretchen felt drained, exhausted, and as though the tears would never stop.


It was the dear Salvatore that helped her get through it. He was such a sweet child, and he hugged her tightly when he came home from school, saying he was sorry the baby got lost. It made Gretchen cry harder, but she was so thankful for Sal, she could hardly stand it.


Every day, it got a little easier. Sal went out into the greenhouse and came back with a basket full of tomatoes, carrying them in and plopping them on her bed to cheer her up. "Look what we grew!" he said excitedly. Gretchen looked at him proudly. "You know what else is growing?" she asked, and he looked at her quizzically. When he shook his head no, she answered with a smile. "You. We need to be throwing a birthday party for you here soon, young man." Sal agreed and leaped up excitedly. "Can I invite Alex and Aurélie and Imelda and..." he asked, bouncing down the hallway. Gretchen knew she had to get up.


She called in sick to work so she could plan, and a few days later, everything was ready.


Everyone Sal wanted to invite was there, and Alex even brought his older brother Alain along. They all cheered as Salvatore grew from a bright, wide-eyed boy into...



...a handsome, intelligent young man. It was truly a day for celebration. "What do you think you want to be when you grow up, Sally?" Gretchen asked him. He gave it some thought and finally answered, "I think I'd like to work near the water. On the ocean. Maybe be a fish doctor or something like that." Gretchen ruffled his hair, and Salvatore smiled.


Although it was his birthday party and Gretchen had worked hard to prepare everything, Sal could see that she still looked tired. He thanked everyone for coming and quickly shooed them on their way. Then he and Gretchen sat down for a quiet game of chess. They talked a lot while they played, and he softly expressed his sorrow for her.


He even worked hard to make sure that he could take care of his mom the way she had always taken care of him, and he took over kitchen duties for a while so she wouldn't have to cook. He teased her lightly, "You weren't really built for the kitchen anyway, Mom." She chuckled and agreed.


After a while, Gretchen felt well enough to go out, and she and Sal went on hikes together, sharing their love of nature. Slowly but surely, she started to feel alive again, well again, and it was at that moment she really looked at Sal for the first time since he'd grown and realized what a handsome young man he was.

"Sal, look at you!" she exclaimed. "We've got to get you into private school before you're too old. Your brothers both got in, and you can too. It's great on a resume and on your transcripts for college, and you won't feel bored the way you do in your courses now."


Gretchen jumped into action, inviting the headmaster and scouring the house. Sal smiled, thinking how nice it was to see her back on her feet again. She was too naturally happy a person to stay down for long.


The headmaster did come, but unfortunately, he was not impressed enough with their modest home to admit Salvatore. Gretchen was furious and wanted to tell the man a thing or two. Sal calmed her and shrugged. "We'll get him next time," he said simply and hugged Gretchen. Things were going to be all right.

Stay tuned for the Cleary house, with the new baby and the loss of Roisin to her new hubby Santiago!

~*~*~*~*~

Scoring:

No new points, I don't think.

Net worth to be added to neighborhood total: $TBA

[[Author's Notes: Wow, so Gretchen's pregnancy was completely unplanned, and the miscarriage was unfortunate but definitely a solution to a problem for me, as the player. I didn't want to marry in Craig Ray and have a townie couple...I'm already letting my population sort of boom with these gen2 babies, and I didn't really want her to have to raise the child alone - nearly an impossible task if I ever hope her to get to TOC. Sal turned into SUCH a handsome teen, but he looked so much like Paolo that I had to distinguish him somehow; hence the hair and the glasses and five o'clock shadow. I think it makes him bookish, which fits since he's a knowledge sim. I'm not quite sure how his outgoing nature is going to mesh with his niceness and bookworm tendencies yet. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how his personality manifests itself. Not sure what will happen with Gretch later in life, though Sal will obviously inherit the house. Their future's a mystery to me, so I guess I'll just play it by ear. Oh, btw, Sal's LTW is to Become the Hand of Poseidon. :') So cute. No bloopers for this round; it was a quick one.

This Entry's MP3:
TBA]]

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The Beaumonts - Round 4

Starring:

Armand Beaumont, Adult Family Sim, LTW Become Education Minister

Adelaide Beaumont, Adult Family Sim, LTW Become Chief of Staff

Alain Beaumont, Teen Family Sim, LTW Reach Golden Anniversary

Alexandre Beaumont, Infant Knowledge Sim, LTW Grow Up Well


Aurélie Beaumont, Infant Family Sim, LTW Grow Up Well


~*~*~*~*~

Last round at the Beaumont household, Adelaide got pregnant later in life and had a set of twins, Alexandre and Aurélie, the first two generation 2 sims in the neighborhood. Let's see if they can handle the insanity of raising a teenage son and two infants while still managing to work toward their lifetime goals.

After having been stuck in the house, ponderous and heavy with two infants, Adelaide was relieved to have her old body back, more or less the way it always had been. Her car had sat, unattended, for all the months she was pregnant, and now that it was summer, she used every opportunity she had to go out and work on it...even if that time was only in the middle of the night after the babies had woken her up.

She was delighted to realize that the engine only needed a bit more work before it was ready to go, and then she could focus on the body. Of course, the car seats might damage the leather of the back seat a bit, but that was alright with Adelaide. She felt she'd accomplished two amazing things: having her babies and finishing her car.

Alain, despite being very family oriented and attentive to his much younger siblings, still had ideas of how he wanted to spend his free time. Most of those ideas revolved around Meadow Thayer, the absolute prettiest girl in the neighborhood, or so Alain thought. He had been calling her every day for weeks, hanging out with her at school, and trying very timidly to get to know her better. Finally, one night, he got up the nerve to ask her out on a date, and he was shocked and delighted that she said yes.

The bowling alley wasn't exactly the most romantic place in the world, but after a long afternoon of nachos and sodas and rented shoes, Alain felt like he and Meadow were the only two people on the planet. Leaning in gently, he tried to stifle the whirlwind of butterflies in his stomach and slowly, softly pressed his lips to hers.


At first, he closed his eyes and waited for her to slap him, but when the blow didn't come, he cracked his eyes open again and saw Meadow from close up. It was then he realized she was kissing him back. This was the best day of his life, hands down, he thought.



It must have rated pretty good for Meadow as well, because that night, she sneaked by and left a present for Alain. When he saw it in the morning, he felt his heart skip a beat and his stomach twist into knots for how exciting and wonderful this new love was.


From then on, Meadow was pretty much a permanent feature at the Beaumont house, always over at Alain's invite. Any excuse was a good enough excuse for Alain to invite her over, especially the twins' birthdays. Adelaide bought two cakes and helped each child to blow out the candles, delighted as they seemed to grow before the cheering family's very eyes into beautiful toddlers.


Alain still found his siblings adorable, but he especially took to Aurélie, with her soft blonde hair and tendency to reach up and grab at his nose. However, the twins weren't just adorable; they were also a massive handful. Adelaide and Armand weren't exactly spring chickens, and with both of them working full time, they often found themselves not falling into bed until they were exhausted and ready to pass out the moment their heads hit the pillows. Chasing after two young ones was a joy, but also exhausting. They were extremely grateful for Alain, who truly enjoyed watching out for his little brother and sister, teaching them things.



The stress of raising two little ones was one of the reasons why, when Adelaide stumbled upon a lamp in the front yard, she felt a spark of hope well up in her. Could it be what she thought it was? She'd heard rumors about a lamp of some sort that appeared at the college, and though it seemed unlikely, she couldn't help but wonder.



Peeking around to make sure none of the neighbors were looking, she furtively bent and gave the lamp a gentle rub. To her shock, a genie did indeed rise from it, and she choked back a little shriek of fear. It turned out there was no need to be afraid, as Adelaide soon found out. The genie told her she could make three wishes. The first thing she wished for was a longer life. She was so tired; she needed to be around for the babies! The genie granted it, and she felt her body loosen from some of the stiffness it had acquired lately. The second thing she wished for was lifelong happiness. She didn't know if she would ever achieve her goal of becoming Chief of Staff, but she wanted to be happy nonetheless. It was granted, and Adelaide put away the genie lamp, saving the last wish for Armand.




Armand came home tired and in a sour mood. He'd had a bad day at work, and he was already exhausted even before he knew he would be on baby duty. He and Adelaide were very lucky that their schedules alternated well enough that one of them could be home with the children all the time, but it meant none of them ever had free time. Armand was relieved to walk into the house to find Alain and Meadow playing with the children in the living room. "Keep an eye on them for a while, Alain?" Armand requested tiredly. Alain nodded. "Sure, papa. Go sleep; you look beat." And Armand did just that.

That evening, Adelaide came home with another promotion at work. It meant her schedule shifted a bit, but she thought she and Armand could still make it work. When she crept into bed after taking care of the babies that night and tucking them in, she whispered in Armand's ear about the lamp. He was too sleepy to really process it and thought he was dreaming.


The next morning, however, he found out the truth. He had not been dreaming, and the genie lamp was very real. He wished for a long life, as his wife had, and now they were both feeling younger and more spry. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he was certain his life had gotten longer.

When Alain wasn't helping out, he was going on dates and visiting Sue's Kitchen, which was a pretty fun place to go. He went mostly so he could get a little bit more instruction and perhaps a recommendation for a culinary scholarship. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be a cook - mostly he just wanted to get married and have a family - but cooking was pretty fun, and he needed to find money to go to school.


His efforts were successful, and he managed to accumulate $2500 worth of scholarships! With that money going toward his schooling, Alain packed up his things and got in the cab with Armand. Adelaide hugged him hard and kissed both of his cheeks. "You be good, my angel," she said, and he nodded, hopping into the back of the cab.


From now on, he was college-bound, and the best part was that Meadow was coming with him. He could hardly wait.


After Alain had left, it got a little bit tougher for Adelaide and Armand to keep up with the toddlers, but they were growing fast, and soon it was time for another birthday.



They transitioned into two bright children with the Beaumont blonde-over-blue appearance and their same-sex parents' noses.



Alexandre turned out to be a fairly shy but not unpleasant boy who mostly loved to play.


And Aurélie was definitely more grouchy than her brother, though she trumped him with her activity levels and incredible confidence. She would give her parents a run for their money, they could see already. Headstrong, she already tended to tear through situations like a hurricane, leaving her quiet brother wide-eyed in her wake.


However, the Beaumonts loved their babies as much as they ever had, and they would instill in them the same values they'd instilled in Arnaud and Alain. Their family was truly blessed.


Scoring:

I don't think there are any points I'm forgetting.

Net worth to be added to neighborhood total: $TBA

[[Author's Notes: OUCH, Aurélie's personality!!! She will be totally entertaining to play, I can see it already. Poor Adelaide's only daughter will chew up the world and spit it out still wriggling. And Alexandre is just as sweet as he could be, and super neat, so he tends to run around cleaning up after his sister. The relationship between them is already completely adorable. Alain and Meadow only have one bolt, but I'm going to try to finagle them to have at least two once I get them to university and have control over the both of them. I can't wait to see what sort of babies they come out with - they're such a handsome couple! As for Adelaide and Armand, it was a really rough round for them. They are really struggling with promotions and being able to skill with two new children in the house, so I'm hoping that now Alex and Aurélie are children, they'll be a little more self-sufficient and maybe their parents will have a shot at reaching their LTWs. I had a bit of trouble this round because Alexandre simply would NOT grow up from infant into toddler, and I ended up spawning the tombstone of L&D and forcing him to age so he wouldn't be behind his sister. Once he aged, things seemed to run smoothly and glitch-free, so hopefully that's the last trouble I'll have in that house. Other than that, nothing else to report other than I'm considering not keeping score any more. I don't care about points so much as playing the game fully and blogging it well. I'll give this some thought and may reach some sort of decision at a later date. I have no bloopers for this round, only a song, which will be uploaded as soon as I get home.

This Entry's MP3:
TBA]]

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