BaCC: Week Four
Introduction / Week One / Week Two / Week Three
Faramound:
Finally, and much to William’s relief, Samantha finally felt it was an appropriate time for her and Zachary to move in.
He seized the moment and proposed to the woman he had loved for so long. She said yes.
Not long after they moved in with William, Zach grew into a teenager. Being as nice and outgoing as he was, it was no surprise he spent a lot of his time developing friendships. The rest of his time was spent playing his father’s guitar.
Despite trying, Zach and William didn’t really bond. There wasn’t any hostility; they just really didn’t have anything in common except an address.
Not long after moving in, Samantha began feeling ill. She knew she was pregnant straight away, she had felt exactly the same when she was pregnant with Zach.
William was ecstatic and the couple both agreed to bring forth their marriage. They discussed having a ceremony, but with Samantha feeling ill, and William believing in setting an example in frugality, the two decided instead to quietly exchange vows at home.
Although William was always considered the town’s leader, it seemed somehow validated when he reached the position of Mayor. Reaching the position opened up many opportunities for Forest Heights, although financing them was another matter all together.
After living alone for so long, William found things were very different in his house now that Samantha and her son had made it their home. Suddenly there were people over for dinner, or the constant racket of Zachary on his guitar and William knew he wouldn’t change a thing.
When Samantha delivered a brown haired baby boy, William felt his life was truly complete. He felt he could honestly say that founding Forest Heights had been a victory, and he named his son Victor in honour of that.
Before both William and Samantha knew it, it was time for them, and their son, to celebrate their birthdays. William certainly had hopes that his son would follow his steps in politics, and perhaps with his more outgoing nature (2/7/7/3/7) he would find the networking aspect that William himself wasn’t so fond of, a much more enjoyable prospect.
Barkworth:
It wasn’t that the Barkworth family had been carless with their money, but after having to replace the expensive items they purchased for Sky’s job, extending the house for their expanding family and paying taxes, it became necessary for the family to have a steady income. Neither Di or Frank Jnr were particularly thrilled with the idea, after happily spending all their time together and with their family and friends, but Di couldn’t refuse when William got her a job in politics.
But much to Di’s surprise, she really enjoyed the satisfaction that working, and bringing home that all important pay check that sustained her family, gave her.
But working full time, as well as sharing the responsibilities of child rearing, was often exhausting for Di, and she often found herself having to sleep more than she used to. This made her feel terribly guilty especially when she slept through Edward’s birthday, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was the reason behind his grouchy nature (7/4/9/8/1).
Soon Di found herself considering sacrificing even further time with her children. With her nephew Brian still at school, her sister Sky was unable to attend work and was in danger of losing her job and her dreams of becoming a game designer. Di desperately wanted to help her sister, and discussed the possibility of moving in with her until Brian was old enough to take care of himself after school. Frank Jnr understood his wife’s devotion to her family, and agreed, although he declared his sister-in-law better become the best game designer ever.
The twins had celebrated their birthday, and while Eric was mostly interested in dating, and Evan just wanted to hang out with his friends, they were still mature enough to understand their mother’s decision.
Edward had just started school when Di temporarily moved out. She hoped her youngest son could understand her actions, and was grateful for her eldest sons’ promises to make sure he never felt unloved.
Even without their mother in the house, life went on for the Barkworth boys. In fact more went on for the elder boys, especially Eric, as their father, remembering what it was like to be their age, gave them more privacy than their mother would have been happy to do.
It wasn’t as if the boys didn’t see their mother though, she visited every day and made sure they were fed, happy, and that their homework was done. If he was lucky even Frank managed to get some time with his wife.
Edmundson:
Sky loved her son more than she had ever realised it was possible to love someone. She even found herself wishing she could give Brian a brother or sister.
Although even if there was a possible baby father in the picture, the truth was Sky couldn’t afford another child. Although Samantha had moved in with William and left her and Brian the house, Sky hadn’t returned to work since her son was born. She had used all her vacation leave and had resorted to faking illness so that she could keep her job while she was at home with her toddler.
It was her sister Di that came up with an answer. Despite having a husband and three sons of her own, she offered to move in for a while, as her work hours meant she’d be able to care for Brian while Sky was at work. Sky gratefully accepted, knowing she would never be able to repay her sister’s kindness.
So Di moved in after her son Edward, and Sky’s son Brian, had both begun school. Brian loved his aunt and the two became very close even though she made him do his homework and eat his vegetables.
Sky also bonded with her nephews during this time as they often came by to visit.
But they weren’t the only ones to visit. Much to Sky’s surprise, and Di’s annoyance, Samuel came by and asked to meet his son. Di said he had no right after having nothing to do with Brian all his life, but Sky was more sympathetic, saying she felt she had no right to say no. Brian’s response was very straight forward; he said that unless his father had been on the Moon all this time, that Samuel had a lot of explaining to do.
Samuel agreed that he did have a lot to explain, and promised he would when Brian was old enough to understand. Brian wasn’t used to being told that he wasn’t old enough to understand, but after secretly wanting to meet his father for so long, agreed instead to play a video game with Samuel. They played all afternoon long, and his father even stayed for dinner, and Brian went to bed really happy even though his aunt was in a bad mood.
In the middle of the night he woke up thirsty and got out of bed to get a glass of water. He was surprised to see his parents kissing each other and completely oblivious to his presence. Brian couldn’t help but be confused, if they were in love, why hadn’t his father been here all along?
Pauwau:
Merlin was still deeply depressed, but Danielle did the best she could to make her daughter’s lives as normal as possible. The twins had joined their older sister at school and Danielle, as well as taking on the household tasks her husband had previously been responsible for, continued working towards her next promotion at work.
Running the household, as well as a business, and working full time was made much easier for Danielle by the fact that Endora and Morgana were very self sufficient children. Although she couldn’t help but worry that they would grow up to think their father walking around aimlessly in his underwear was normal.
It was a struggle keeping the shop running, although as soon as Guinevere grew into a teenager she jumped at the opportunity to work on business related skills. Danielle knew it was only a temporary solution as eventually the stock would all be sold, and her husband still hadn’t shown any desire or inclination to return to work.
But when Guinevere was caught sneaking out, Danielle had had enough of having to tip toe around her husband, as it was obviously affecting their children. Taking the same straight forward approach as she did at work, she made the decision to close the business. She converted the space into a bedroom and bathroom for Guinevere with the strict understanding that if she was caught misbehaving again she was back to sharing with her twin sisters.
The approach appeared to work, especially on Merlin, who had no choice but to become involved with his family again. He didn’t exactly return to his usual self overnight, which Guinevere mercilessly took advantage of at chess, but it was certainly an improvement.
Merlin’s ‘episode’, as they had taken to calling it, appeared to have no long term effect on their youngest daughters who both grew up very well. Endora was very academically minded with a passion for science, and after mastering the chess board, had begun working towards mastering robotics.
Morgana was more interested in spending time with her friends but had ambitions of working in the media. Danielle was keen for her daughters to spend their time productively, and while Guinevere worked with her in law, Morgana supervised her high school’s yearbook.
Uduak:
Winter had celebrated her birthday, and like so many of the teenagers of Forest Heights, was mostly interested in hanging out with her friends.
She didn’t always have the free time to do this as she helped her parents out in their newly opened restaurant. It was a small venture, in what was essentially their front room, but it had lovely views and the food was excellent.
Samuel had, after all, been honing his cooking skills since their arrival in Forest Heights and was overjoyed he could finally put them to use. Due to the isolation of the restaurant they only opened a few days a week, so Samuel also began working washing dishes. It was far from glamorous, but was a position in the career he hoped to succeed in.
Samuel and Caitlin hired Samuel’s nephew Zach to wait tables. They sincerely hoped his clumsiness was just a passing stage.
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Playables: 19
City-Owned Community Lots: 1
Sim Multiplier: 2
Population: 38
Town Funds: 19,820
Unlocked: A connection to Downtown, or at least the possibility of it!