When Disaster Strikes -- Restoring Similization

[MarianT]

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

INTRODUCTION

     This is a story that is loosely based on Pinstar’s Apocalypse Challenge. Readers who are interested in the full challenge should go to:
 
http://s3ac.wikia.com/wiki/Sims_3_Apocalypse_Challenge_Wiki

     One innovation I’m using, which others might want to consider for their stories as a way to keep things going in the event of a game-breaking bug, is to go into CAS and save a copy of each heir as a young adult. The new heir can continue the challenge, incorporating the abilities that have been unlocked, but in a different town.
     A new ability arises each time a member of the bloodline (heir, spouse of heir, or spare) achieves a lifetime wish. Each lifetime wish should be unique.

     If all goes well, I'll write up rules for the project section, but this is basically a test story.

     The rules for this can be found here: Restoring Similization

CHAPTER ONE -- Denim

   Denim Bellew could not believe his eyes. He had gone off to France to interview someone for the Stary Community School newspaper. When he returned, everyone was gone. Everything was gone. The Twinbrook he had known had vanished, leaving a smoldering, smoky ruin in its place. It was the sort of thing that made you grow up fast. Denim had left Twinbrook as a teenager; he returned as a young adult.
   “Better get inside, son,” a passing stranger suggested. “The zombie hordes start roaming the streets at sunset.”
    Denim could only stare at the man in bewilderment. “What happened?” he asked. “Where did everybody go?”
   The man looked at him in suspicion, so Denim explained about the trip to France.
   “You won’t be doing any traveling for a long time,” said the man. “Well, it started with the meteor shower. Boom, boom, boom! It was like we hit the Perseids or something. One of the meteorites landed right in the middle of some top-secret project at the Science Lab, and the next thing we knew there was toxic sludge all over the place, and then people started turning into zombies.  Everyone except the vampires, worse luck. Anyway, we shouldn’t stand here talking. I’ll take you to the Emergency Powers Committee. They’ll get you sorted.”

   The EPC was located in City Hall, one of the few buildings, along with the Science Lab, the Hospital, the Office Building, the Police Station, and the Military Base, that was still standing. To Denim’s shock, the school was gone – that seemed even worse than his home having disappeared. His former middle school teacher, Mrs. Curious, was still alive, however, and seemed to be in charge of the committee.  For once, her bossiness didn’t bother him.
   “I’ve assigned you to the bunker over on Puddlewick Drive,” she said. “That’ll be $6500, please.”
   “That’s highway robbery!” said Denim.
    Mrs. Curious ignored his comment. “You can work wherever you like so long as it’s not a profession or self-employment or a part-time job.  If you miss a day of work, you’ll automatically be fired and reassigned to some other necessary career. You may stay late if they ask you, and you may complete tasks for the people you work with. You may not take on challenges that require you to go anywhere other than work, however.
   “When you leave here, you should pick up the books on gardening and any other how-to books you might want. You can also meet people and get their phone numbers.”
   She handed Denim a 500-page tome: When Disaster Strikes, A Guide to Re-establishing Similization.      
   “I think that covers everything, and besides, it’s getting late. Good luck. Oh, and sorry about your family. Hope was really a lovely lady, and your dad –“  Mrs. Curious sniffed loudly. “We could use a few like him, but the zombies took him the first day. You should be proud of him; he went down fighting.”
   Embarrassed, Denim edged over to the table filled with books.
   “I forgot!” Mrs. Curious called. “Under no circumstances should you sleep on the ground, plant anything in the ground, or eat any fish you might catch. In fact, you shouldn’t even try fishing until the Science Lab issues the all clear.”
   Denim found a job at the police station and chatted with several young ladies before going home. To his dismay, they were very young ladies – children, really. Everyone else seemed to be either elderly or married. Oh well, maybe they had older sisters he could meet.

   He got a ride home in one of the taxis that had been commandeered by the military. Home was an empty lot with a garbage can, a mailbox, and a stair railing poking up out of the ground.
   “Just a minute, friend!”
   The man who hailed him was rather sleazy looking – not someone Denim wanted to be friends with.
   “It’ll cost you $3200 to head down those stairs,” he said.
   “I already paid at City Hall,” Denim objected.
   “That was your donation to the EPC,” said the man. “This is what you pay the Neighborhood Committee.”
   “This is extortion,” said Denim. He reached for his cell phone.
   The man laughed. “You can’t call the police with that. And trust me, you don’t want to get on the bad side of Mr. Racket by complaining. I’ll come by on Friday for your weekly payment.”
   Denim had heard of the Racket family. According to his dad, they were responsible for at least half the crime in Twinbrook.
   “I’m not going to be able to afford $3200 a week,” he said.
   “We’re not asking that much,” said the man. “$1200 a week, until you build a sub-basement; then the fee doubles.”
   “And what do I get in return?” asked Denim.
   “A guarantee that your property won’t suffer from arson or burglary – at least not by anyone affiliated with the Llama Warehouse Corp. There’s a lot of free-lancers out there, but we’re trying to take care of that.”
   “Isn’t that a job for the police?” Denim responded.
   The man snorted. “Old Dudley’s not done a thing except suck on plasma fruit since the emergency. Bill and Shark are the ones you want to hang with.”
   Denim handed over the money, but he didn’t feel good about it. He knew Dudley was the “good” member of the Racket family, but if he was a vampire now, that wasn’t very encouraging. Apparently, conditions in Twinbrook were worse than he had imagined.

        The bunker was pretty uninspiring. Denim had a bed, a refrigerator, a wind-up radio, a bookcase, and a chess set. Mrs. Curious had told him he was lucky -- the restrictions on meals and bathing had been lifted. He could shower and eat as often as he wanted. He could buy any furniture that cost $500 or less, except for home decor items. He couldn't buy any of those except the cheapest mirror. He couldn't redecorate either.



   After he had his bread and jam, he opened the manual that Mrs. Curious had given him. In capital letters, the first page read:

   ANYTHING NOT EXPRESSLY PERMITTED IS FORBIDDEN.

[MissMaths]

Yay, someone else is doing the Apocalypse Challenge, or something approximating that. Really good start, and I wish you luck!

[MissPlumbBob]

Oh, my. Waiting anxiously for the next chapter.

[MarianT]

Chapter Two – Denim and Emerald

   Denim’s life was in a rut. He went to work; he came home. He ate cereal or canned soup; he played chess. Every once in a while he got promoted.



   As far as he could tell, the only truly memorable day had been when he’d been given a choice between becoming a Special Agent and becoming a DNA Profiler. The latter was his lifetime wish, so he’d had no trouble picking it.

   Finally, he’d achieved his goal. He’d been afraid he’d become an old man before that happened, easily confused and wandering. He picked up the phone and invited his fiancée Emerald over. They’d been engaged a short time, and she’d been engaged to Parker Prudence before they got together.



Denim knew she was a little crazy, but she was so pretty. And he couldn’t help thinking that her blond hair would look nice with his blue skin. As it turned out, she was truly insane, but the only noticeable thing was the way she dressed. Denim didn’t mind her wandering around the house in a bathing suit, but he wished she wouldn’t wear high heels to bed.

   They had a private wedding, just the two of them. People were still nervous about getting together in groups and having parties. There was a feeling that any gathering would attract meteors again. And Denim himself was fearful of more disasters. He got the occasional odd look, the occasional question about his blue skin, but he knew that for every person who asked, there were ten at least who wondered. The last thing he needed was something that would make people suspicious of aliens.



   Both his parents had been half-alien, with mothers who came from another planet. But Denim didn’t think his grandmothers’ people were behind the disaster that had befallen Twinbrook. Surely they would have realized they were killing their own.
   Hardly had they finished writing thank-you notes for the wedding presents (most of which they wouldn’t be able to use until the electricity was turned on again), but Emerald was pregnant. To Denim’s horrified surprise, it seemed like she went into labor immediately.





   They ended up with twins, which seemed inevitable because they had so little room. Sapphire seemed the obvious choice for the first one, the heiress, and they named the other Azura, after Denim’s mother.

[Natsuko]

-reads- -likes- WOOHOO. I likey. And the twins (even though they aren't toddlers yet) are cute!

[MarianT]

Chapter Three – Emerald

   Emerald Bellew was going crazy. She couldn’t leave the house because the twins were toddlers, and even if she could, there wasn’t anywhere to go. No one had time for movies and concerts; the restaurants couldn’t guarantee the quality of their food; air pollution made the parks and playgrounds hazardous. She couldn't even buy new clothes. She compensated by changing around the outfits that the EPC had given her.



   The twins were adorable – that went without saying. Sapphire was obviously a genius. Having mastered the pegboard, she was now working on the xylophone.



   Azura was very bright too, and Emerald thought she might look like her, although both girls seemed to have their father’s pale lavender eyes.



   Emerald loved the girls; she just wished she had some other reason for going out besides dumping the contents of the potty chair. She was considering taking a job when the twins started school. Denim didn’t think much of the idea. They had plenty of money; more than enough to satisfy the demands of the Racket gang. It would be better for everyone if she worked on achieving her lifetime goal of developing logic and handiness, because that would enable them to move around the town more.
   Denim was right, of course, but Emerald knew she had to get out of the bunker before something terrible happened. She was already beginning to talk to herself, and she had spent the entire day in her underwear. Suddenly she had a bright idea – she would work for a day and then quit. It would get her out of the house and stave off her cabin fever. Whenever she started feeling like a tea kettle about to blow, she would just take another job. She clapped her hands in joy.
   “I think that’s a great idea, don’t you, Emerald?”
   “Yes, I think that’s brilliant,” Emerald responded.
   Sapphire and Azura both looked up from their toys briefly, but they weren’t particularly surprised. They babbled to themselves all the time and didn’t think it strange in others.

[MarianT]

Chapter Four – Emerald

   Emerald couldn’t believe how quickly Sapphire and Azura were growing up. They had been such cute little girls, playing with their blocks together.



   And so imaginative – transforming their tiny bunker into a dinosaur’s den…



   And a castle…



   And then playing as a princess and dinosaur together.  Emerald smiled as she remembered all the fun they had had.



   But now they were grumpy teenagers with mood swings and a propensity for pranks. Emerald thought they were both quite pretty girls, Sapphire especially with her blue skin and honey-blond hair. Emerald wished she could put some lighter blond highlights into it, but the salon was still under construction and about fifteenth on the list of improvements to be made in Twinbrook.





   “It’s not the end of the world,” Emerald told herself. “It’s just a mid-life crisis.”
   “And being crazy,” she added. “And losing my job because of the way I dressed.”
   What had been okay for a snitch just hadn’t been considered appropriate for someone who worked in the office. The day after she’d been told not to wear shorts to work,



Emerald had dressed up a little more.



   Unfortunately, she had still been wearing shorts.
   Maybe, she’d look into getting a job in music, although both Azura and Sapphire had echoed Denim’s plea that she not work. “We’re counting on you,” they’d said. “Right now, we can’t go anywhere, but you could change that.”

[MarianT]

Chapter Four – Sapphire

   It’s not much fun being a teenager in a world that’s recovering from disaster. My name’s Sapphire; I have light brown hair, blue skin, and lavender eyes with an Asiatic slant. I inherited the hair from Mom, and everything else from Dad, courtesy of great-grandmother Azura (my sister’s named after her) and great-grandfather Wei Keane. Great-grandmothers Azura and Cerise both came from another planet, but that’s a big secret between Dad and me on account of all the paranoia here in Twinbrook. He tells people he was exposed to some radiation during the disaster, and it resulted in a genetic defect – me.



   At least that’s what he told people before he started losing his marbles. He used to be a high-ranking police officer, but now he’s an old man who wanders around the house all day. He went through a bad spell where he would just stand for hours, forgetting to eat and sleep (and bathe and use the bathroom). He’s better now, but you still have to keep an eye on him. The other day he started a fire because he forgot he had hot dogs on the grill and started preparing another batch. And once he starts exercising, he’ll keep going until he’s exhausted unless one of us turns off the radio. But he’s still as sharp as ever when it comes to playing chess. I expect he’ll be one of the people I have to beat when I go for the Grand Master title.



   Mom’s changed some since she went through her mid-life crisis. She’s in the music business, trying to cheer up all the people who are depressed about the disaster. She still dresses oddly, though, wandering around the bunker in the same hoodie and shorts she wore to bed.



   Of course, we all look a little strange. You never know what the EPC is going to drop off in the way of clothing. They’re always sending someone over with a camera and a clipboard, taking notes to make sure we don’t violate any of the restrictions.



   Mom’s been working overtime to do her task of restriction-lifting. Once she’s done, we’ll be able to go to the library and invite people (like chess players) over. Also, we’ll be able to take classes and make a little extra money through opportunities. It’s a very strange system, like we’re in the middle of a game or something. The restriction I’ll be lifting is the one on electrical appliances. I don’t particularly care whether we have a stove or a dishwasher, but Mom and Dad both remember the “good old days” when you could just throw the dishes into a machine instead of washing them in the sink. Of course, with Azura pranking the sink at every opportunity, you can see their point.



   Last but not least among the members of my family is my twin sister Azura. To say that she could benefit from a personality change is putting it mildly. Grumpy, neurotic, slob, and loser, she was voted Stary Community School’s Most Likely to Motive Fail. What’s slightly annoying is that she was also Class Valedictorian. She made the Honor Roll more often than I did, thanks to some tutoring from Dad. The reason it’s annoying is that I’m the one who’s supposed to be a genius.



   Anyway, we both graduated from high school yesterday. For some reason, I’m the only one who made it to the ceremony, but I had a great time. I was voted Most Likely to Take Over the World. I guess I am a little bossy.



   After graduation, I invited Clarence Knack over. One thing led to another, and we decided to get married right away.
 


   It’s not everyone who gets married in their graduation robes, but really, with the grab bag we get from the EPC, we could have looked a lot worse.



   There’s one problem with sharing a very small house with your parents, your twin sister, and the snoopy representative of the Emergency Projects Committee – you don’t have any privacy for the things that matter. You’d think some people (and if you think I mean you, Azura, so be it) would have the sensitivity enough to give us some space, but no. We finally found the one place where no one would disturb us.
   

[TheChronicR]

I'm glad to see that you're giving a go at the Apocalypse challenge, too. I've never had the courage to do it, and also for I can't juggle any more. Heh.

I love the blue skin color of the founder. I think you could guess that I am fond of unusual-colored Sims.

Ooh, that's a little something they got going on there, can't wait to read more!

[MarianT]

Yeah, Chronic, you do have a few stories going, and probably school starting pretty soon. Anyway, it's an Apocalypse Lite; I'm trying to figure out something that can be written down in one or two pages and that isn't tedious to play.

[TheChronicR]

Yeah, Chronic, you do have a few stories going, and probably school starting pretty soon. Anyway, it's an Apocalypse Lite; I'm trying to figure out something that can be written down in one or two pages and that isn't tedious to play.

Yep, school starts in two weeks, set to finish my rainbowcy and dynasty by then too. Don't know how, but have to. Go figure.

Anyways, best of luck!

[MarianT]

Chapter Five – Sapphire

   “Great is the matter of birth and death” – that quote keeps sticking in my mind. Dad left us a couple of days ago. I’m sad and I’ll always miss him, but I don’t think he’d been really happy lately. He did recover from his bad spell, where he just kept standing around, but he missed going to work.



   He left behind an incredible legacy, however. He started building an above-ground addition to the house. It’s not on the ground, but on pillars, which is acceptable to the EPC. It’s slow going, due to the difficulty of getting materials and the fact that all the construction workers are busy with things like the school and the library, but we are making steady progress. He also left enough money that Azura’s lifetime wish of being wealthy is not unreasonable. But his best legacy is this – his little blue grandson will have the ability to apprehend burglars. Yes, that’s Teal Bellew playing astronaut with his grandmother.



   Being pregnant was not the most enjoyable experience of my life, what with vomiting and backaches and cravings for foods I’ve never even heard of. At least when I went into labor, I had the loving support of my mother and sister…



   Not. And then they got bored with the whole thing and went back to bed.



   Clarence has been a big help through all this. I’m glad Dad got to meet him before he died.



Clarence has started working at the shed that currently passes for the school. It’s not his heart’s desire – he wants to be a firefighter. However, he realizes it may take a while before we’re organized enough to have a Fire Department with a truck and everything. The EPC has given fire extinguishers to every household, and for the time being that has to suffice. When we graduated, Clarence was voted “Most Likely to Save the World,” so education is a natural for him.

[MarianT]

Chapter Five -- Sapphire (continued)

        “O frabjous day, calloo, callay!” Mom has completed her task. Because she mastered the logic and handiness skills, she can now show all the taxi drivers how to install zombie repellers in their cabs so that we can move about Twinbrook a little more freely. We can take classes; we can go to the library; we can handle opportunities at places other than where we work. The biggie for me is that I can invite people over to play chess. None of us ever has to go stir-crazy again! Let’s all sing with Aretha:  “Freedom! O freedom! O freedom! O freedom!” I took a ride in a taxi just to get out of the house. You can see that the military still has to maintain a presence.



   But I had to hurry home to my little guy.



   My big guy, incidentally, has decided to go into medicine now that it will be relatively safe for him to go around town to treat people. He’s starting as an organ donor – I hope they take something he has two of. And speaking of spares…



        I've won my first two chess matches, but I'm dreading when I have to play Mom. Luckily for me, ghosts aren't part of the challenge.
I took Teal to the library. Not only is he more educated than I was at his age, he's probably more educated than I am now.



        But probably the person who has benefited the most from the easing of restrictions has been Azura. She was able to get some counseling, and is almost an entirely new woman. She loves reading now and is looking forward to starting a family of her own. She's still a bit clumsy, but that's a big improvement on being grumpy and neurotic and a perpetual loser.

[ratchie]

I am really enjoying this story,I too have a fondness for different coloured Sims. I have never tried an apocalypse challenge maybe when I have (crosses fingers) completed my decadynasty I might think about doing one.

Rachel

[MarianT]

My founder was a character from a previous story that succumbed to a computer glitch. So I've decided to allow for glitches in the story by saving a copy of each heir. If a bug destroys my game, then I'll start over with the most recent heir in a different town. Of course, since I have a Plan B, I'll probably play the whole thing in Twinbrook.

[MarianT]

Chapter Six – Sapphire

   I’m afraid that Teal had a very intense and probably traumatic birthday. He definitely was confronted with some of life’s realities in a hurry. First of all, one of the EPC’s representatives, Newton Baker, decided to die while he was counting the number of lamps we had in our sleeping area. (Okay, I know it wasn’t his decision, but I do wish he’d at least gone outside first. Maybe we should try building an entryway around the stairs, but with space so tight, I hate breaking it up with walls.)



   Teal had his birthday while I was hitting the Grim Reaper with a pillow, trying to make him go upstairs.



   Clarence kindly removed the urn, and we all settled down a bit. Teal wasn’t sleepy, so he went upstairs for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then Mom came home and had to tell us all about her experience watching a woman die just outside the theater. I tried to signal her that this wasn’t quite the most appropriate topic for a six-year-old, but she just kept on talking.



   And who am I to talk? I’m the one who went into labor right in front of my horrified child. I would have gone to the hospital, but Clarence told me they’re not set up for childbirth yet.



   His organ donation was a success, incidentally, and now he’s been promoted to bedpan cleaner.
   I almost forgot – Skye has joined the family. She’s the same shade of light blue as Teal, but it’s too soon to tell about her hair.

[MarianT]

Chapter Six – Sapphire (continued)

   Kids – one moment they’re cute and cuddly, (like Skye a few days ago),



the next they’re plotting booby traps and mouthing off to their elders. I’m thinking mainly of Teal, as Skye seems fairly congenial.  Yesterday, he was running around pretending to be a prince.



   Today he’s gone from one time-out to another, always parked by someone’s high-school diploma or reward certificate for inspiration.





   He’s not gotten in trouble with Azura yet; she says she was much worse about pranking than he is, and besides, he hasn’t done anything yet because he keeps getting caught. And he hasn’t gotten in trouble with Clarence because he’s at the hospital all the time. He vaccinated 24 people yesterday, trying to prevent an outbreak of schistosomiasis. But I keep worrying about how Teal will turn out. I was so distracted this morning that I lost a chess game and had to play my opponent over.



   Skye, by contrast, is easy. She does her homework and plays with her little doll. She went on a field trip to the police station, something Azura and I were able to do because Dad worked there. Like us, she got sick on the jail food and enjoyed locking someone up. She came home with a police badge, too – we have quite the collection now. She's going to be a beauty when she grows up.



        We've decided to do something about the representatives from the EPC instead of just complain about them. We're building a foyer where they can stand around and question us if they really need to. We all hope it will prevent them from coming downstairs into the bedroom. Frankly, we'd be happier if we didn't have to wall off some floor space, but we really have no choice. With six of us in the family, plus my chess opponents, plus the children who come home with Teal and Skye, it gets pretty crowded.



        I'll be glad when we can start putting some stuff on our above-ground level, but as soon as we do that, we'll have to pay out an extra $1200 a week in protection money. Sometimes, you just can't win.

[MarianT]

Chapter Seven – Sapphire

   I am the Champion Chessmaster of Twinbrook! More important, we have electricity! (And I have no idea how the two are connected. It’s just that a couple of men came by, put a few holes in the bunker walls, and announced that we could put in a stove and even – gasp – a dishwasher any time we wanted.)

   This was good news to offset my continuing annoyance with Teal. He’s rude to his grandmother, claiming she bores him so much that she puts him to sleep.



   And I’m pretty sure that he’s the one responsible for the suddenly malfunctioning sink.



   I had a little chat with him, pointing out that Grandma is probably not going to be with us very much longer, and it would be nice if we could all make her last days happy ones, etc., etc. He tried to excuse his behavior, saying that the house is so crowded, he has to let off steam somehow. I pointed out that we’re building another floor as quickly as possible, that people in China have twice as many family members in half as much space, and that there will be a little less crowding now that I’m not having chess opponents over. Also, I’m going to work in Journalism, and the additional money should help Azura save up enough to move out.

   During our talk, Skye kept proclaiming herself queen of all she surveyed. She’s a sweet child, but she does have her moments.



   Unfortunately, her childhood seemed even shorter than Teal’s. Overnight, she’s become a lovely young lady. Mom doesn’t like her hairstyle, but I think it’s more elegant than mine.



        I'd like to think that Dad agrees with me.

[ratchie]

Just to let you know I am really enjoying this. Would you be able to post the rules you are playing by.

Rachel

[MarianT]

Thanks, Rachel. I do plan to post the rules, probably on the Projects board. I wanted to wait until I was sure this was playable, but I guess if I'm on generation 3 it is.

[MarianT]

Chapter Seven -- Sapphire (continued)

        Middle age has struck with a vengeance. Clarence was the first to be affected. I caught him examining his wrinkles in the mirror and asked what was wrong. “I’m getting old,” he said.



   “And so am I,” I responded with a laugh. “One day at a time, the way I’ve always been.”

   “You don’t understand,” he said. Later, I caught him examining his high school diploma and the plaque he got for being most likely to save the world.

   The next day I had that birthday, and suddenly I did understand. I just hope we don’t have the idea of getting a divorce at the same time. Actually, it wouldn’t matter if we did. City Hall isn’t ready to handle divorces yet. It can barely register births, deaths, and marriages.

   Clarence has also been toying with the idea of changing his job, something that makes me nervous because he’s so close to making it to the top and achieving his dream of becoming a world-renowned surgeon. Luckily his free clinic went really well.



My only concern is that he seems to spend a great deal of time treating attractive young ladies.



 I do wish I could get a new hairstyle and maybe some more flattering clothing. Green just doesn’t look good on people with blue skin.

   We had a bittersweet moment this evening. Azura has finally amassed enough money to bring a really good child psychologist and trauma specialist to Twinbrook so that children growing up here won’t have to suffer the way she did. With good parenting, no one will ever again be labeled a loser and get laughed at because they got gum on the seat of their pants and didn’t realize it. Teal will probably be the first beneficiary. Growing up clumsy, grumpy, and inappropriate, he can’t wait to get therapy.

   Well, that was the good news, and the semi-good news is that Azura is moving out, flying the coop, and possibly starting her own family. I’ll miss her, but I hope she finds a little romance before it’s too late.



        And yes, it does mean we'll be a little less crowded. The other night we had two ghosts, trying to do exercises in our kitchen/dining room/living room -- Dad and the paparazzi. I don't know why they want to exercise; it's not going to make any difference to the kind of shape they're in.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER EIGHT – Sapphire

   Life has been rough lately. The worst thing was Mom’s dying. I’d taken her to the library because she complained that she never got to go anywhere now that I was working. As soon as we arrived, however, she started complaining that she felt too tired to read, and that she wanted to read something really good like A Magnetic Attraction, and why weren’t there any good books at the library anymore instead of all these how-to books. For as long as I’ve known Mom, I’ve never heard her complain about anything, but that afternoon it was one thing after another. When we got home, she went to get a peanut butter sandwich, and then – she just went.



   Needless to say, we were all upset about that. Clarence, in particular, was really depressed. Mom’s death on top of his mid-life crisis just about sent him over the edge. Luckily, he was able to see the therapist that Azura brought to town – Jennifer Freud. Therapy was pricey, but, boy, was it worth it. I think it was the first time I’d seen him smile in about a week. I considered getting therapy for my own crisis, but Clarence was able to cheer me up. He would have done more cheering up if his beeper hadn’t gone off.



   Work on the upper portion of our abode has progressed to the point where we’re able to use the space. This means another $1200 a week to the Racketeers, but Clarence is making enough that we can afford it.
 


   Teal is a young man now, and not a moment too soon.



   He left a memento of his adolescence – a booby-trapped chair which I managed to sit upon.



   It’s easy to forgive him, however. The same night he had his birthday, we had an uninvited guest – a burglar! Because of Dad’s genetics, Teal was able to apprehend him single-handedly before he took anything. Thank you, Dad, and thank you, Teal!

[MarianT]

CHAPTER NINE – Teal

   Things were not going well for Teal. First of all, he got blamed for a booby-trap that his younger sister Skye had set.



   Then he had to skip work because of Skye’s graduation. His boss had a fit when he told him and said he was lucky he wasn’t getting fired. Teal had been close to getting a promotion, but he could tell that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.



   The other bad thing that happened that day was that Jacklyn, the girl he’d had a crush on in high school, made it clear to him there was no way she intended to break up with her boyfriend. To make matters worse, Skye overheard the whole thing.
   “I can’t believe you said that,” she giggled.
   “What?” said Teal.
   “I quote: ‘I’ve got a new double bed at home if you’d care to help me break it in,’” said Skye.  “I can’t believe that’s your idea of a pick-up line.” She giggled again.

   Back at home, both his mother and father were dropping not-so-subtle hints that he might benefit from professional counseling. “If anyone can straighten you out, it’s that therapist I saw,” said his father. “Jennifer Something.”

   “Freud,” said his mother. “And you know, you did have a traumatic experience when you were a little boy, seeing that man die and then seeing me give birth. That might explain why you have so much difficulty with social skills.”



   Teal wanted to protest that his social skills were just fine, thank you, but the evidence was against him. Even though he’d been valedictorian, his classmates had voted him “Most Likely to Offend Others.” He just called it the way he saw it, but apparently some people had trouble with honesty.

   Some people like Jacklyn, and the woman runner he tried to pick up, who turned out to be his boss’s sister. He paid her a compliment, and she reacted like he’d said she smelled funny. He couldn’t even get Jacklyn to come over anymore. She was starting to play head games with him too, saying she’d be over in a little while, and then calling back to say something had come up.

   Dr. Freud’s first recommendation was that he try painting pictures of how he felt. When he showed her the pictures, she observed that he made heavy use of the ultramarine shade of blue. “Do you think the color indicates that you feel blue?”

   “Duh,” said Teal. “I live in a basement bunker with my parents and my sister. I can’t go anywhere except to work and the library. I’m supposed to get married and have a child to carry on this “restoring similization” project my mother keeps talking about, but there’s not a woman in this town who will let me get within five feet of her. And to top it all off, I can’t go anywhere at home without tripping over a ghost.”



   “I think you might be exaggerating a trifle,” said Dr. Freud.

   Teal shrugged. “You’re not bad-looking,” he said. “Would you like to contribute to the bloodline?”

   Dr. Freud’s recommendation that week had been to take a class in charisma and not return for any more therapy sessions.

   The charisma class was a real eye-opener for Teal. He learned how to make a charming introduction, how to offer praise appropriately, and even how to flatter. Teal resolved to practice his lessons on the first good-looking woman he encountered.



   Her name was Cheri Blalock, and she was thrilled to be meeting the guy who had single-handedly captured a burglar. Teal wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of compliments, but he thought he could handle it. At that moment, disaster struck.



   Teal recognized the man – it was Greg Jean, who had visited the house to play chess with his mother. He felt badly about his dying, but he didn’t want his first chance at romance going down the tubes because of it. Desperately, he fell to his knees and pulled out the diamond ring he’d been carrying around ever since he’d graduated from high school.



   To Teal’s utter amazement, Cheri accepted his proposal. She even agreed with him that they might as well get married right away, seeing as how they were there at City Hall already.



   The rest of the family was asleep when he brought Cheri home. He and Cheri were pretty exhausted themselves, so they stumbled downstairs to bed. “What made you decide to marry me?” he asked, as they were cuddling.

   “You’re rich,” she said. And then she turned over and went to sleep. It had never occurred to Teal that Cheri might be a gold-digger.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER NINE – Sapphire

   Clarence and I decided to move. It wasn’t because of Cheri, although I could tell that she and I would have more than a few disagreements. The first day of their honeymoon, she wanted Teal to take her over to the cemetery. Given her interest in Teal’s wealth, I thought that was a little ominous.



    I was torn between staying behind to “protect” Teal, and getting out to minimize conflict. Clarence persuaded me to leave.  There was a place available that we could get, and he wanted us to move while we were still young enough not to have to go through excessive bureaucratic rigamarole. We made it just in time, waking up with gray hair right after the last box was unpacked.

   Soon after that, we got a panicky phone call from Skye. The baby was on its way, and neither Cheri nor Teal had the faintest idea what to do.





   I arrived in time to give snuggles to little Royal. Needless to say, I was very pleased to see that he had inherited Teal’s skin color, although I would have loved him no matter what color he was.



   The next day we were invited over for dinner, along with Azura. She’s gotten married since she moved out. She has a little girl named Carey, and apparently another on the way. Obviously she hasn’t gone gray yet, but I was very happy to see that things were going so well for her.



   Sometime during the evening, Teal took me aside and told me that although Cheri does have the desire to live in the lap of luxury, she really doesn’t want to see his ghost. She wanted to go to the cemetery so they could go swimming in the ornamental pool, since the community pool hasn’t been restored yet, and we’re not allowed to build pools ourselves.
   I considered pointing out that there were reasons why the pools were all closed, but I didn’t want to spoil the happy occasion. Besides, it was obvious neither of them had come down with burning loins or whistling pixies or any of the other diseases that Clarence keeps vaccinating against.

[MarianT]

CHAPTER NINE – Sapphire (continued)

   I’m going to brag on Skye for a few minutes. Who do you think trounced that unwelcome visitor the other night? Yes, that’s my baby girl tossing that burglar around.



   She has almost finished her “Sound Mind in a Sound Body” correspondence course, and she plans to become a teacher as soon as she graduates. Skye has also been doing volunteer work at the EPC, trying to organize their clothing system so that people can choose what they want instead of having to accept what’s in their drop-off bag. She was particularly annoyed by what they gave little Royal.



“Green shorts, blue shoes, and no shirt at all,” she fumed to me. “I just hope he doesn’t come down with pneumonia.”

   Royal starts school today, which makes me feel both proud and melancholy.  He’s a very handsome little boy, if a trifle dictatorial.



   I have a granddaughter now. Her name is Chicory, and she is obviously carrying on the blue gene tradition. One thing I will say about Cheri – she does produce beautiful babies.