Mesa Vista - My BaCC for fun: Week 4, Part 7 - Mazza
Happy New Year! I bring another update, this time of Madeleine Mazza's family.
Welcome back to Mesa Vista, where we again visit the (Cameron-)Mazza household. The tombstone is all that's left of the Cameron side because, as you may recall, Neil Cameron died of old age sooner than expected in Week 3.
Madeleine had become an ace at the sewing machine and could support herself and her infant daughter Nellie quite well on the profits on her quilts, which brought in 450 simoleons for an easy day's work. Once Nellie was old enough, she would sell them in a store across the bridge in the commercial district of town, but until then she sold them discreetly from her inventory.
And as much as she had loved Neil, she didn't want Nellie growing up without a father, not if she could find the right sort of guy. Being the sole parent of a baby meant scouting for potential partners was limited to snagging walk-bys, and the first one she met was Ryan Wheeler.
"That was so nice of you, picking up my trashcan."
"Happy to do it." And that was no lie. She was beautiful!
"I'm sure it was that George Stompel. We got into a little scuffle a few nights ago at Tracy Messlot's."
"Sounds like he's got issues."
"You said it!" Maybe she was moving too fast, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Hey, the game's starting, would you like to come in?"
Ryan readily agreed, and they spent an enjoyable couple of hours watching the game.
When the time was nearing six o'clock, she announced, "It's my daughter's birthday tonight."
Ryan's attention immediately switched to Madeleine. "You have a daughter?"
"Yes. It's just me and her."
"What about her..?"
"He's..." She looked out the back window, then cleared her throat and asked, "Would you... like to celebrate with us?"
Again, Ryan readily agreed, to Madeleine's relief. It would have been too sad to celebrate Nellie's big day alone.
Madeleine said quietly, "She looks just like her daddy."
Which made her sad, yet at the same time extraordinarily happy that Neil indeed would live on, through their daughter. She stood for a long time just holding Nellie...
"Are you all right?" Ryan asked.
"Where'd you get that?" Madeleine asked a little sharply.
"It was in the backyard." Near the headstone, he opted not to add. "It's threatening to rain, and I was afraid it would get ruined. Should I put it back?"
"No, you're probably right. Just set it on the floor in here," she said vacantly.
Ryan took his cue. "It's getting late, I should go home."
"Okay, goodnight."
Ryan briefly touched his fingers to her hair and said before leaving, "Thanks for today."
"Are you ready to get up? Come on, let's go in the living room."
"Where's Nellie? There she is!"
"Boo-bah!" Nellie glomped onto her mother's hand-crafted bear that Ryan had left in the living room.
As nice as Ryan Wheeler seemed to be, Madeleine didn't want to rush into anything serious with him, especially after meeting Payton Cameron (aka Ringo at Re-Nu-Yu) and seeing how well he and Nellie hit it off. The fact that he had the same last name as Neil was a bit unsettling, but still, she found herself thinking about him a lot.
She had one bolt for each of the two contenders so far, so how was she going to decide?
Duh!
"What do you do for a living, Payton?"
"I'm a Bagman, man."
"Er... should you be admitting that to just anybody?"
"I got nothin' to hide, unlike some of my, um, associates..."
But Madeleine wasn't listening anymore. A Bagman! That wouldn't do for her daughter at all!
"I wish Nellie was old enough to go out," Madeleine told Ryan wistfully the following day. "It'd be fun to see some of the new shops in town."
"Me too, I want to check out that new hair place, I could use a different cut."
"I happen to have a styling chair... I could do that for you."
"Sorry we have to do it out here, it's just too crowded inside."
"Please tell me you're not a Bagman?"
"Bagman? No, I'm a shift manager."
"That's good!"
"It is?"
"It is." Madeleine smiled.
"It is," Ryan repeated with more confidence.
"I really like you, Ryan."
"I really like you too, Madeleine."
"Maddie."
"Maddie..."
Ryan Wheeler moved in with a paltry one thousand simoleons, and I didn't feel like having him dig, so he'll have to wait to set up a new business in a later week.
"Scuffy!" Nellie said when she touched Ryan's new bristles.
"And you're a softie."
Maddie didn't think Ryan's outfit quite suited him, so she sewed him a new one.
Meanwhile, he dug his Porta-Chug out of his backpack to increase their boltage to two, which I'm more than happy with.
Because plain and simple, Ryan was a great guy.
Not much of a cook yet...
But still a great guy.
"Do you ever think about moving to a bigger house, Maddie?"
"I'm not ready to do that yet. I... I'm afraid Nellie's father..."
"Neil."
"Yes... Neil. I do want him to be at the new cemetery eventually, but not until he... gets a chance to see Nellie. Is that morbid?"
"Not if you don't think it is."
"So you don't mind waiting a bit?"
"Hey, I'm as curious about ghosts as the next guy."
"Next Knowledge guy, you mean."
"That's what I said."
"I wouldn't want to rile Neil up or anything, but I need to get something creative for more promotions."
Ryan had no idea if it would speed things along, but at best it would kill three birds with one stone, and at the worst, only gain some Creativity for his job.
"If you don't like it, Neil old boy, come on out and tell me to keep the racket down. Or hands off your woman. Whatever floats your ghost."
While Ryan softly played his new ceremonial Pahu drum, Maddie was well on her way to The Zone.
Ryan was advancing with fits and starts up the Culinary career, while Maddie stayed home and taught Nellie her toddler skills.
"Bu-bee!" Yes, Nellie also did some skilling with the Bunny Head.
But mostly she played with her Boo-bah.
"Wuv oo, Boo-bah."
And while Nellie played, so did the adults of the house.
"I heard Yvette Tan had her first styling mishap, on her ex!"
"Ooh, guess that means I'd better be extra nice to my stylist then, eh Maddie?"
"Yes, you'd better."
"Extra, extra nice."
Ryan wasn't present at Nellie's next birthday, but this time Maddie didn't mind.
"Look, I'm a big girl now!"
"You bet you are!"
"Where's Ryan?"
"Honey, he's still at work."
"What?"
Madeleine tried to distract her with the birthday present she had sewn for her, which worked fine until Nellie heard a commotion in the front yard. She dashed outside, and then slumped with disappointment when she saw it wasn't Ryan, but a stray digging up the yard again...
Next Maddie tried to distract her with shopping.
"Because birthday girls get to pick the ice cream."
"Can we get Chunky Monkey?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Can Ryan have some with us?"
"We'll do our best."
Maddie picked up the more mundane things they needed.
"Did I hear someone is having a birthday?"
"Me! Tomorrow's my first day of school!"
"Then you'll probably see my son Noah." To Maddie, Kerie Ng said, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
"Much too fast."
"Long time no see, Madeleine, how are you doing?"
"Ethan Barrett! I'm doing well, thank you."
"And who is this young lady?"
"Nellie Mazza!"
"You look just like your father, Nellie Mazza."
"My mom says that, too."
"Hurry, Mom, I don't want to miss Ryan!"
"Chunky Monkey, here we come!"
But when they got home, still no Ryan.
"I know, let's have a girls-only slumber party until he gets home, okay?"
"We can stay up all night!"
But Nellie didn't make it. Work isn't fair, I hate it! was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep...
"My gosh, she was all 'Ryan this' 'Ryan that' all night. I really didn't think it would be such a big deal to her."
"Oh man, now I feel awful."
"It isn't your fault, it was my misjudgment. We just as easily could have done it before you left."
"Still feel bad..."
"And I love you for it. Did you get your promotion?"
"Yeah," he said morosely.
"I blew it, didn't I, munchkin?"
The following morning, Ryan went to apologize to Nellie.
"Hi, how's it going?"
"Why? You don't care."
"Nellie... of course I care."
"You care about work more than my birthday. More than me!"
"Sweetheart..."
"Don't hug me! Leave me alone!"
"Okay, sorry... I'll leave you alone."
"Ryan, what's this?"
"Nellie's still pissed at me, but I want you to know I will never stop trying."
"You... want to marry me?"
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course I'll marry you!"
"Hoo! You and Nellie mean the world to me, Maddie."
Maddie told Nellie their news and asked if she'd like to join them, but her daughter stood ramrod straight, saying nothing.
"What did she say?" he inquired anxiously.
"The time for talking is over for today, I think."
There she was, left out again! "How come I can't have a real daddy who loves me?!"
"WHY...IS...THAT...SO...HARD?!"
Nellie continued taking out her hurt and anger on her Boo-bah, until a faint ripping sound stopped her mid-pummel.
Oh no, the corner of Boo-bah's ear was torn off! Frantically she pushed a tuft of leaking stuffing back into the tiny hole.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
"Is that better? I'm sorry, Boo-bah..."
Ryan was true to his word and the following morning came to Nellie's room again, but this time he knocked first. He was encouraged when a small voice told him to come in.
This time he went right to the heart of the matter. "I'm really sorry for missing your birthday, Nellie. Can you ever forgive me?"
"... Do you promise not to do it again?"
"Cross my heart, hope to... I'm sorry. Yes, I promise, Nellie."
"Are you really marrying my mommy?"
"Yes."
"So you'll stay with us forever?"
"Yes!"
"... Okay, I forgive you. Wanna play catch?"
"Whatever you want, I'm yours for the day."
"Can I tell you a secret?" Nellie asked.
"Of course."
"I was really mean to my bear yesterday and he ripped a little. Don't tell my mommy, 'kay?"
Ryan looked at her solemnly and made a lip-locking gesture, which she repeated, the corners of her mouth turning up the tiniest bit.
"I won't be missing any more important events, I promise. I've got vacation days coming now."
"I just want a daddy like everybody else. I never knew my real one."
"I'm really sorry for that, Nellie. Can I tell you a secret?"
"Yes."
"You're not as alone as you think. A lot of people in Mesa Vista don't remember their parents."
"Do you remember yours?"
"No, I don't, but it's not as sad for me. What's important is I would be honored to be yours if you'll have me. I love you and your mommy to bits... more than anything in the world."
"You do?"
"Yes, I really, really, really, really do!"
"Okaaaaaaaaaaayyy!!"
Yay! That's it for the (Cameron-)Mazza-Wheeler household. I read on MTS that if you want to have ghosts haunting your cemetery, you have to wait for the ghost to appear on the home lot first. So far, no sighting of Neil's ghost, so they're stuck in cramped living quarters for who knows how long...
Ryan is now a Prep Cook (Level 6). He got demoted once from a chance card, making him a Fast Food Shift Manager twice (hours 5-10 pm), which was why he missed Nellie's birthday.
BaCC quick stats:
Sim count + graves: 38
Sim multiplier: 19
Population: 722
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!
Welcome back to Mesa Vista, where we again visit the (Cameron-)Mazza household. The tombstone is all that's left of the Cameron side because, as you may recall, Neil Cameron died of old age sooner than expected in Week 3.
Madeleine had become an ace at the sewing machine and could support herself and her infant daughter Nellie quite well on the profits on her quilts, which brought in 450 simoleons for an easy day's work. Once Nellie was old enough, she would sell them in a store across the bridge in the commercial district of town, but until then she sold them discreetly from her inventory.
And as much as she had loved Neil, she didn't want Nellie growing up without a father, not if she could find the right sort of guy. Being the sole parent of a baby meant scouting for potential partners was limited to snagging walk-bys, and the first one she met was Ryan Wheeler.
"That was so nice of you, picking up my trashcan."
"Happy to do it." And that was no lie. She was beautiful!
"I'm sure it was that George Stompel. We got into a little scuffle a few nights ago at Tracy Messlot's."
"Sounds like he's got issues."
"You said it!" Maybe she was moving too fast, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Hey, the game's starting, would you like to come in?"
Ryan readily agreed, and they spent an enjoyable couple of hours watching the game.
When the time was nearing six o'clock, she announced, "It's my daughter's birthday tonight."
Ryan's attention immediately switched to Madeleine. "You have a daughter?"
"Yes. It's just me and her."
"What about her..?"
"He's..." She looked out the back window, then cleared her throat and asked, "Would you... like to celebrate with us?"
Again, Ryan readily agreed, to Madeleine's relief. It would have been too sad to celebrate Nellie's big day alone.
Madeleine said quietly, "She looks just like her daddy."
Which made her sad, yet at the same time extraordinarily happy that Neil indeed would live on, through their daughter. She stood for a long time just holding Nellie...
"Are you all right?" Ryan asked.
"Where'd you get that?" Madeleine asked a little sharply.
"It was in the backyard." Near the headstone, he opted not to add. "It's threatening to rain, and I was afraid it would get ruined. Should I put it back?"
"No, you're probably right. Just set it on the floor in here," she said vacantly.
Ryan took his cue. "It's getting late, I should go home."
"Okay, goodnight."
Ryan briefly touched his fingers to her hair and said before leaving, "Thanks for today."
"Are you ready to get up? Come on, let's go in the living room."
"Where's Nellie? There she is!"
"Boo-bah!" Nellie glomped onto her mother's hand-crafted bear that Ryan had left in the living room.
As nice as Ryan Wheeler seemed to be, Madeleine didn't want to rush into anything serious with him, especially after meeting Payton Cameron (aka Ringo at Re-Nu-Yu) and seeing how well he and Nellie hit it off. The fact that he had the same last name as Neil was a bit unsettling, but still, she found herself thinking about him a lot.
She had one bolt for each of the two contenders so far, so how was she going to decide?
Duh!
"What do you do for a living, Payton?"
"I'm a Bagman, man."
"Er... should you be admitting that to just anybody?"
"I got nothin' to hide, unlike some of my, um, associates..."
But Madeleine wasn't listening anymore. A Bagman! That wouldn't do for her daughter at all!
"I wish Nellie was old enough to go out," Madeleine told Ryan wistfully the following day. "It'd be fun to see some of the new shops in town."
"Me too, I want to check out that new hair place, I could use a different cut."
"I happen to have a styling chair... I could do that for you."
"Sorry we have to do it out here, it's just too crowded inside."
"Please tell me you're not a Bagman?"
"Bagman? No, I'm a shift manager."
"That's good!"
"It is?"
"It is." Madeleine smiled.
"It is," Ryan repeated with more confidence.
"I really like you, Ryan."
"I really like you too, Madeleine."
"Maddie."
"Maddie..."
Ryan Wheeler moved in with a paltry one thousand simoleons, and I didn't feel like having him dig, so he'll have to wait to set up a new business in a later week.
"Scuffy!" Nellie said when she touched Ryan's new bristles.
"And you're a softie."
Maddie didn't think Ryan's outfit quite suited him, so she sewed him a new one.
Meanwhile, he dug his Porta-Chug out of his backpack to increase their boltage to two, which I'm more than happy with.
Because plain and simple, Ryan was a great guy.
Not much of a cook yet...
But still a great guy.
"Do you ever think about moving to a bigger house, Maddie?"
"I'm not ready to do that yet. I... I'm afraid Nellie's father..."
"Neil."
"Yes... Neil. I do want him to be at the new cemetery eventually, but not until he... gets a chance to see Nellie. Is that morbid?"
"Not if you don't think it is."
"So you don't mind waiting a bit?"
"Hey, I'm as curious about ghosts as the next guy."
"Next Knowledge guy, you mean."
"That's what I said."
"I wouldn't want to rile Neil up or anything, but I need to get something creative for more promotions."
Ryan had no idea if it would speed things along, but at best it would kill three birds with one stone, and at the worst, only gain some Creativity for his job.
"If you don't like it, Neil old boy, come on out and tell me to keep the racket down. Or hands off your woman. Whatever floats your ghost."
While Ryan softly played his new ceremonial Pahu drum, Maddie was well on her way to The Zone.
Ryan was advancing with fits and starts up the Culinary career, while Maddie stayed home and taught Nellie her toddler skills.
"Bu-bee!" Yes, Nellie also did some skilling with the Bunny Head.
But mostly she played with her Boo-bah.
"Wuv oo, Boo-bah."
And while Nellie played, so did the adults of the house.
"I heard Yvette Tan had her first styling mishap, on her ex!"
"Ooh, guess that means I'd better be extra nice to my stylist then, eh Maddie?"
"Yes, you'd better."
"Extra, extra nice."
Ryan wasn't present at Nellie's next birthday, but this time Maddie didn't mind.
"Look, I'm a big girl now!"
"You bet you are!"
"Where's Ryan?"
"Honey, he's still at work."
"What?"
Madeleine tried to distract her with the birthday present she had sewn for her, which worked fine until Nellie heard a commotion in the front yard. She dashed outside, and then slumped with disappointment when she saw it wasn't Ryan, but a stray digging up the yard again...
Next Maddie tried to distract her with shopping.
"Because birthday girls get to pick the ice cream."
"Can we get Chunky Monkey?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Can Ryan have some with us?"
"We'll do our best."
Maddie picked up the more mundane things they needed.
"Did I hear someone is having a birthday?"
"Me! Tomorrow's my first day of school!"
"Then you'll probably see my son Noah." To Maddie, Kerie Ng said, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
"Much too fast."
"Long time no see, Madeleine, how are you doing?"
"Ethan Barrett! I'm doing well, thank you."
"And who is this young lady?"
"Nellie Mazza!"
"You look just like your father, Nellie Mazza."
"My mom says that, too."
"Hurry, Mom, I don't want to miss Ryan!"
"Chunky Monkey, here we come!"
But when they got home, still no Ryan.
"I know, let's have a girls-only slumber party until he gets home, okay?"
"We can stay up all night!"
But Nellie didn't make it. Work isn't fair, I hate it! was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep...
"My gosh, she was all 'Ryan this' 'Ryan that' all night. I really didn't think it would be such a big deal to her."
"Oh man, now I feel awful."
"It isn't your fault, it was my misjudgment. We just as easily could have done it before you left."
"Still feel bad..."
"And I love you for it. Did you get your promotion?"
"Yeah," he said morosely.
"I blew it, didn't I, munchkin?"
The following morning, Ryan went to apologize to Nellie.
"Hi, how's it going?"
"Why? You don't care."
"Nellie... of course I care."
"You care about work more than my birthday. More than me!"
"Sweetheart..."
"Don't hug me! Leave me alone!"
"Okay, sorry... I'll leave you alone."
"Ryan, what's this?"
"Nellie's still pissed at me, but I want you to know I will never stop trying."
"You... want to marry me?"
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course I'll marry you!"
"Hoo! You and Nellie mean the world to me, Maddie."
Maddie told Nellie their news and asked if she'd like to join them, but her daughter stood ramrod straight, saying nothing.
"What did she say?" he inquired anxiously.
"The time for talking is over for today, I think."
There she was, left out again! "How come I can't have a real daddy who loves me?!"
"WHY...IS...THAT...SO...HARD?!"
Nellie continued taking out her hurt and anger on her Boo-bah, until a faint ripping sound stopped her mid-pummel.
Oh no, the corner of Boo-bah's ear was torn off! Frantically she pushed a tuft of leaking stuffing back into the tiny hole.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
"Is that better? I'm sorry, Boo-bah..."
Ryan was true to his word and the following morning came to Nellie's room again, but this time he knocked first. He was encouraged when a small voice told him to come in.
This time he went right to the heart of the matter. "I'm really sorry for missing your birthday, Nellie. Can you ever forgive me?"
"... Do you promise not to do it again?"
"Cross my heart, hope to... I'm sorry. Yes, I promise, Nellie."
"Are you really marrying my mommy?"
"Yes."
"So you'll stay with us forever?"
"Yes!"
"... Okay, I forgive you. Wanna play catch?"
"Whatever you want, I'm yours for the day."
"Can I tell you a secret?" Nellie asked.
"Of course."
"I was really mean to my bear yesterday and he ripped a little. Don't tell my mommy, 'kay?"
Ryan looked at her solemnly and made a lip-locking gesture, which she repeated, the corners of her mouth turning up the tiniest bit.
"I won't be missing any more important events, I promise. I've got vacation days coming now."
"I just want a daddy like everybody else. I never knew my real one."
"I'm really sorry for that, Nellie. Can I tell you a secret?"
"Yes."
"You're not as alone as you think. A lot of people in Mesa Vista don't remember their parents."
"Do you remember yours?"
"No, I don't, but it's not as sad for me. What's important is I would be honored to be yours if you'll have me. I love you and your mommy to bits... more than anything in the world."
"You do?"
"Yes, I really, really, really, really do!"
"Okaaaaaaaaaaayyy!!"
Yay! That's it for the (Cameron-)Mazza-Wheeler household. I read on MTS that if you want to have ghosts haunting your cemetery, you have to wait for the ghost to appear on the home lot first. So far, no sighting of Neil's ghost, so they're stuck in cramped living quarters for who knows how long...
Ryan is now a Prep Cook (Level 6). He got demoted once from a chance card, making him a Fast Food Shift Manager twice (hours 5-10 pm), which was why he missed Nellie's birthday.
BaCC quick stats:
Sim count + graves: 38
Sim multiplier: 19
Population: 722
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!