Summer 2013: Sunny Sutton is 54, Audrey Sutton is 23, Anna Sutton is 17 (Eric Lloyd is 55)

Eric comes over to eat a lot. Audrey doesn’t mind, except when they start getting all lovey-dovey with each other in front of her. She’s banned them from this behavior at the dinner table, so they talk about other things.

“I can’t believe our little girls are leaving for college in two weeks,” Eric says. “It’s all Madison talks about right now.”

“Anna is really excited too,” Sunny says. “She’s got everything ready to go.” She sniffles, feeling tears well up in her eyes. This always happens whenever she thinks about Anna, her youngest baby girl, going off to college.

“Don’t worry about her,” Eric says, seeing the sadness flash across Sunny’s face. “Anna’s a smart girl, she’ll do well in college. And she’ll have Dewey to watch out for her.”

Sunny nods. Anna is on a date with Dewey that night and Sunny likes Dewey very much. But she still doesn’t feel quite ready to let her baby go.

“Come on, Mom, it’s not like Anna’s going to get addicted to drugs and alcohol and end up in rehab,” Audrey says.

Eric and Sunny exchange a look, but no one knows what to say.

“Uh, that was a joke,” Audrey tells them. “If I can’t laugh about rehab, what else am I supposed to do?”

###

Even if college is only two weeks away, there’s still the toy store to run. Anna has been working there this summer to try to save up some money so she’s not totally dependent on her mom while she’s at college. Emma is taking a little time off to finish up her wedding plans, so Audrey is filling in for her while also working around her baby-sitting duties for Logan and Shelley. Audrey’s hoping to save up enough money to move out on her own within the next year or two.

Anna will be happy to say good-bye to that cash register for good once she’s off to college. She  plans to go into teaching one day so she’ll never have to work another cash register again.

It’s not always so bad though. Dewey comes by as often as he can, buying toys he doesn’t really need, just for the chance to see Anna.

Anna is always glad to see him, but it’s kind of embarrassing how her mom latches onto him and insists he check out the new items they’ve just gotten in stock. Why would her mom ever think that Dewey needs a toy box?

But aside from Anna’s moments of humiliation, Kids Play Toys is doing very well and the Sutton family is finally at a place where everything is just right. No worries, no sadness.

###

“Is everyone okay?” Audrey asks.

“Yeah.” Anna’s voice quivers, barely audible over the siren of the fire truck that has just squealed to a stop in front of their house.

The fire fighters put the fire out, but the kitchen is a total loss.

Eric comes as soon as Audrey calls him. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“We’re fine,” Sunny says, wiping her tears on his shoulder.

“What are we going to do?” Sunny asks. “The kitchen is gone and the rest of the house has smoke damage. I don’t know if we can save anything. Why did this have to happen?”

“You can come stay with me,” Eric says.

Sunny blinks at him. “What?”

“Move in with me,” he says. “I’ve been wanting to ask you anyway. Anna will be leaving for college anyway and Audrey wants to get her own place. You don’t have to be left here alone. Come live with me. Anna can stay until she leaves and Audrey can stay as long as she wants.”

Sunny hesitates. Her girls have always lived in this house. Cecil bought this house and it’s the last piece of him they have left. “I don’t know…”

“You always take care of everyone else,” Eric says. “Let me take care of you a little.”

Sunny smiles at him, feeling tears welling up in her eyes again. “You really want me to move in?” she whispers.

“I do. Let’s salvage what we can from your house and we’ll move it all to mine. Then you don’t have to worry about rebuilding if you don’t want to.”

Her smile grows bigger. “I’ll have to talk to the girls, but if they’re okay with it, I’d love to live with you.”

—————————————

The last house of Round 14 and they got the ROS “Fire! Place two intense fires on lot.” (The stove was one fire, the dishwasher was the other.) I was sad that this happened to the Suttons during the time that things were finally getting back to normal for them. I’m beginning to think this family is just cursed to get bad ROS’s, LOL!

I’d been planning to have Sunny and Eric move in together eventually, so this gave me a reason to have it happen.

Please ignore the fact that Audrey is in pajamas in one picture, then clothes in the next. She ran inside and got a shower between photos and I didn’t realize until after I’d taken the crying picture that she was in everyday clothes. I was having problems getting things set up with the fire and all that I didn’t even want to set up the picture again and retake it.

So that’s all of the households for this round. Next update will be the birthday post (which I’m excited about because you’ll get to see Kat Gates and Violet Craig as kids and Madison and Anna as young adults) and then the outtakes post for this round, then we start Round 15!

Title song: “Look After You” by The Fray

Summer 2013: Julie Lloyd is 55, William Lloyd is 54 (Jason Lloyd is 25, Seth and Blake Lloyd and Emma Sutton are 23, Silvia Howell is 22)

Julie and William love when they can get together with all three of their sons and their sons’ girlfriends/fiancees. They drive to Arcadia one summer evening to have dinner with Jason, Blake, and Silvia. Seth and Emma decide to make the drive too so the whole family can be together, something that doesn’t happen often now that Blake and Jason live in the city.

“Order whatever you want,” William tells everyone. “Don’t worry about the price, I have a coupon!”

While everyone tries to decide what they want, Jason tells everyone about Irma Newton, whom he has been seeing off and on lately. She’s in Paris right now for a fashion show and secretly, Jason is happy for the break from her.

“I just don’t really like her personality,” Jason says. “She’s so bossy. If it wasn’t for the sex, I’d have ended things long ago. We’re doing it all over town, in photobooths and changing room–”

“Jason, I really don’t think this is appropriate dinner conversation,” Julie says, not looking up from her menu. As a doctor, she’s not embarrassed by sex or anything, but she doesn’t think the other diners really want to hear about her son’s sexcapades.

“How is the wedding planning coming?” Julie asks once the food arrives.

“Great,” Emma says. “Everything is almost done and settled. I’m just waiting on my dress to arrive and we’ve got to make a final decision on the cake.”

“I want chocolate, she wants lemon,” Seth says.

“No one has a chocolate wedding cake,” Emma tells him.

“They should,” Seth says.

“So when are you going to convince Blake to pop the question, Silvia?” Julie asks, winking toward the younger woman.

“I think Blake is allergic to marriage,” Silvia jokes. “He breaks out in hives whenever I start to bring it up.”

“I’m not allergic to marriage,” Blake says, squirming in his seat. “I just think we’re still really young and maybe we should get settled in our careers first.”

“I’m allergic to marriage,” Jason says.

“Just wait until you find the right girl,” Julie tells him. “Then you’ll never want to let her get away.”

Jason frowns as he pushes food around on his plate, but he doesn’t say anything.

Once everyone has finished, a waiter comes over to clean up the plates.

“Is it just me or was that waiter staring awfully hard at you?” Seth asks.

“What?” Emma asks. “I didn’t notice anything.”

“He was,” Seth growls. “If he’d stared any harder, his eyes would have been permanently stuck to you. What’s that guy’s problem? Can’t he see that diamond on your finger?”

“So what if he was staring? There’s no law against looking at a person.”

“I don’t like it,” Seth says.

“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Julie tells him. “Men stare all the time, but that doesn’t mean that we women pay it any attention. For example, the host is staring at me right now, like he’s been all night. But I haven’t even looked at him since we sat down. And you don’t see your father getting upset about it, do you?”

It takes William a moment to realize everyone is looking at him. “Huh?” he asks, putting his glass back down. “What’d I miss?”

At the end of the night, Julie gives everyone a hug before they go their separate ways. “Try to be good,” she tells Jason.

“I always try,” Jason says with a laugh.

The house is quiet when they get home, the contrast from the busy and loud restaurant very noticeable. Sometimes Julie wishes her boys were little again and all living at home. But they’re grown men now and don’t need her so much.

Scout, on the other hand, is always thrilled when his people come home after being gone. It’s nice to be needed by someone, Julie thinks.

And although she does miss the old days she kind of really likes these days too. When it’s just her and William (and Scout) and they can be silly and affectionate all they want without anyone making gagging noises or interrupting them. And her boys growing up means that eventually there will be grandchildren coming over to visit and run around the house. So when she thinks about it, it’s really not a bad trade-off after all.

———————————————

I’m doing a big overhaul of my Sim profiles as I play each household and Julie and William are the first household to be completely done, with a family portrait added.

Title comes from “Many the Miles” by Sara Bareilles

Summer 2013: Logan and Shelley Gates-Watson are 23, Lily Gates-Watson is 2 (Audrey Sutton is 23)

Logan loves these early mornings, when he can take a few moments to play with Lily before he heads off to work at the restaurant for the day.

He wishes his parents could have lived long enough to see Lily. He shows her the pictures of them on the wall and she knows they are grandma and grandpa, but it’s still not the same as actually having them there to play with her and comment on how big she’s getting.

She’s learning really quickly. Lily already can say her ABC’s and numbers up to ten and various nursery rhymes.

She’s growing so fast and the tiny house seems smaller and smaller every day. It’s about to get even more crowded–Shelley and Logan have just learned that they’re expecting their second child early Spring 2014.

“I know this house means a lot to you,” Shelley says, “but we can’t stay here. Where will we put another crib when the baby comes? We can barely walk through the rooms without tripping over things or bumping into furniture as it is.”

“I know,” Logan says. “But this is my mom’s house. I grew up here.”

“Do you think your mom would really want us to stay here knowing that it doesn’t fit our family anymore?” Shelley asks.

Logan sighs. “I know you’re right. It’s going to be hard to leave.”

“I know,” Shelley says.

Shelley and Logan were surprised to learn after the last round of taxes that they are one of the wealthiest families in Pine Hollow. But the truth is, almost all of their wealth is based on the value of The Willow. They don’t have a lot of money in their bank account, so Shelley takes on a side job doing financial consulting over the internet. Logan has taken on another job too, working for a gaming company. He doesn’t have much experience building games, but he has plenty of experience playing them, so they’ve hired him on as a trash talker. Shelley isn’t sure what a trash talker actually does, but Logan seems happy with his second job and they still make time to run things at The Willow.

Between the extra money they’re bringing in and the money they already had saved up, they manage to make a down payment on a house. It’s on “the hill” overlooking the rest of town and even though it’s one of the smaller homes in that neighborhood, it’s still much bigger than the house they were living in.

There is plenty of room for Lily to run around and play with her toys without being right under her parents’ feet all the time. And there’s room for another crib for the new baby. Shelley absolutely loves her new house.

Logan is pretty happy with their current situation too, even if it was hard to say good-bye to his mom’s little house.

###

With a bigger house payment now, Shelley and Logan are working longer hours at The Willow and their other jobs. They hire Logan’s cousin Audrey to baby-sit while they work. Audrey baby-sat as a teenager and she doesn’t mind doing it. At least it’s something to get her out of the house and get some extra money into her bank account so she can eventually get her own apartment.

Besides, Lily is a really easy child to baby-sit and once she’s down for a nap, Audrey can play video games. Not a bad job at all!

Business is booming at The Willow. Shelley and Logan think they may have to hire another server to help handle the constant customers waiting to sit down or order.

Family members stop by a lot. Uncle Orion and Aunt Bessie arrive for dinner just as Uncle River finishes his. Logan and Shelley have learned to accept that his uncles are always going to keep a close eye on them to make sure they’re doing okay.

And they are doing okay. Lily is healthy and happy, they have a new home they love, they have another baby on the way, and Audrey agrees to keep coming back to baby-sit for them. They may work a lot and stress a bit about the restaurant, but Logan and Shelley thrive on staying busy.

—————————————-

Fortune Sims–always wanting to earn money and buy things! I imagine Logan and Shelley to be the kind of people that really throw themselves into their work and always need some activity to keep them busy. So two jobs each, a toddler, and a baby on the way seems like the perfect situation for them, LOL!

Pine Hollow is having a baby boom again. Chelsea just had a baby (also, the unplayable Ginger Newson and her husband had a baby girl the same time Chelsea did, Skylar McCarthy) and we still have Nancy, Carol, Annette, and Shelley to go so far. Something’s in the water. Who will be next??

Title comes from “Sing Me Sweet” by Matt Nathanson

Mini-update, Spring 2013: Jessica Craig is 27; Tucker Craig and Cynthia Morris are 24; Richard Norman is 21

“Stop looking at me like that,” Jessica says.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re holding back laughter. I’m well aware that I’m wearing a bubblegum pink dress.”

“I’m not going to laugh,” Richard says, even though the corners of his lips curl up a bit.

The bubblegum pink was not Jessica’s idea. But it’s Annette’s wedding and Annette likes pink, so pink it is.

Annette and Darin have been looking forward to this day. They can’t wait to be married and start a family together.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. West.

Richard knows he should be watching the ceremony, but he can’t keep his eyes off Jessica, even if she is wearing bubblegum pink.

He finally realizes maybe he should clap too, but he still doesn’t take his eyes off her.

Cynthia doesn’t understand why people want to get married, but at least there’s free cake involved so she’ll cheer for that.

“You know, I thought powder blue was my best color,” Tucker says, “but I have to admit I’m really rocking this pink tux.”

Cynthia rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Let’s just get some cake before everyone else eats it all.”

Darin did invite someone Tucker could potentially hook up with, but he barely pays her any attention. Cynthia all dressed up like this is a rare event and Tucker only has eyes for her.

Cynthia gets her cake and then she has to listen to Darin and Annette talk about their plans for having children right away.

“We just don’t want to wait any longer,” Darin says. “Why not have kids now while we’re still young and can keep up with them?”

“Why the hell would you want to do that?” Cynthia asks. “Pregnancy and childbirth completely messes up your body. Trust me. Things never go back where they’re supposed to be. Wait until you’re older and already saggy and wrinkly, when it doesn’t matter so much.”

But Cynthia’s words don’t do any good. Annette and Darin have their minds made up.

And even though Darin and Tucker have ended the casual relationship they’ve had over the years, Annette knows Tucker will never be completely out of their lives. He’ll always be there, like he is now during their dance.

“So what’s your dream wedding?” Richard asks. “Lots of pink just like this?”

Jessica shudders. “No, thanks. I’ve never really been a big wedding kind of person. I think I’d rather have just a private ceremony somewhere quiet and far away from everyone. My mother especially. She’d take over and make it into this huge affair.”

Richard twirls her around. “Quiet, private. I think I could get on board with that.”

“Is there something I should know about?” Jessica asks. “Are you making plans?”

“No,” Richard says. “I was just curious. But if you’re interested…”

Jessica laughs. “We just moved in together. Let’s focus on not killing each other before we make any long-term plans.”

———————————————-

A few extra shots:

Fishing at a wedding is always a hit.

Cynthia’s warnings really didn’t do any good. Annette and Darin got pregnant immediately after the wedding and are due at the end of Winter 2013/2014. They both have the want for a baby, so it was definitely planned!

Seth Lloyd is visiting Xander when he gets the shock of his life as Chelsea goes into labor. If you want babies one day Seth, you’d better get used to this!

Xander calmly runs over to help. He feels like an old pro at this by now. But he’s not sure where his mom is running off to in such a hurry.

It isn’t long before the newest member of the Gates family is here. Xander and Chelsea have another little girl, Olivia Gates!

PSU, Spring 2013 Semester: Darcy Sutton is 20, Richard Norman is 21 (Jessica Craig is 27, Anna Sutton and Madison Craig are 17)

They haven’t had much time to spend together these days, with Edwin busy training to graduate from the police academy and become a full-fledged police officer and Darcy trying to study for finals and pass her junior year. So they steal moments on the phone when they can.

She’s going to stay with him this summer in his little apartment, a decision which her mom wasn’t too happy about. Sunny had hoped to have all of her daughters home with her in Pine Hollow for the next three months. One last girls’ summer, she had said, before Anna goes off to college, Emma gets married, Darcy graduates, and Audrey figures out what she’s going to do with her life outside of rehab.

But Darcy isn’t coming home for more than weekend visits and Audrey is already talking about getting her own apartment and finding a job and Emma is absorbed in wedding plans while Anna is absorbed in Dewey. So the plans for a girls’ summer have already fizzled out.

Richard has plenty of time on his hands as the semester draws to an end. He’s a senior, so most of his work is done. He’s just basically waiting to take a couple of exams and then graduate before he’s out of here.

He fills most of his time with Jessica, when she’s able to come to Arcadia to visit. She even goes to the student quad sometimes and listens to him play under the shade of his tree.

Although these outings don’t always put Jessica in the best mood. She’s learned that one long-haired sensitive guy plus guitar equals swooning girls everywhere.

The change her in behavior doesn’t go unnoticed.

“You okay?” Richard asks as they walk back to his dorm.

“I’m fine,” Jessica snaps.

“You’re not fine. What’s wrong?”

“Do you have to play your guitar like that?” she asks.

“Like what?”

“So seductively,” Jessica says. “All those girls were practically drooling as they listened.”

Richard laughs. Jessica scowls and says, “What?“

“You’re jealous.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. You think I’m going to run off with one of those college co-eds in their short skirts just because they like the way I play guitar.”

Jessica’s face turns red with embarrassment and anger and she starts to turn around, but he grabs her hands to stop her.

“Haven’t you figured out by now that you’re the one I want?” Richard asks.

The tension that filled Jessica’s body at the sight of the swooning girls melts away. “Really?” she asks.

“Really,” he assures her. “You’re stuck with me.”

###

Madison and Anna come out to Arcadia to visit PSU and tour the campus as part of their getting ready for college transition. They come out to the dorm to visit Darcy.

Madison thinks she already loves college. There are guys running around in nothing but their underwear here!

Darcy starts to give Anna a lecture on college safety, but Madison gets bored, so she wanders off to find something else to do.

A pinball machine in the corner catches her eye, as does the guy standing next to it.

“You playing?” she asks, nodding toward the pinball machine.

He looks her up and down, then smiles. “No, go ahead.”

“I have the highest score on this thing,” he tells her.

“Not for long,” Madison says.

In no time, Madison has bumped him from the top of the high scores list.

“Not bad,” he tells her. “I’m Marshall.”

“Madison,” she says.

“You go to school here?” he asks.

“Not yet. I will in the fall.”

She hears Anna calling for her and turns to go. “See you later,” she says.

“Definitely,” Marshall says.

Darcy doesn’t like how popular Madison already seems to be with the guys around the dorm. Even that guy that wears the mascot costume all the time seems to take an interest in her. Since their parents are dating, Darcy kind of thinks of Madison as a second little sister and feels as protective over her as she does Anna. And Darcy has the feeling that having Madison on campus with all of these college guys following her around isn’t a good idea.

Maybe a really bad idea.

“You got something right there,” Marshall says, reaching out to softly brush her cheek.

“You do realize she’s in high school, right?” Darcy asks him.

“I graduate in two weeks,” Madison says. “God, I’m not a baby, Darcy. Mind your own business.”

###

Graduation day for Richard arrives and Jessica comes to see him accept his degree in philosophy.

But Richard has bad news. “So I couldn’t get an apartment,” he says.

“What do you mean you couldn’t get an apartment?” she asks. “I thought you looked at some weeks ago.”

“Yeah, I looked,” Richard says. “But none were in Pine Hollow. I can either live in a run down part of Arcadia or I can pitch a tent at the park in Pine Hollow.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Jessica says. “You could be mugged or murdered sleeping in a tent. Or at least eaten up by mosquitos. Just come move in with me.”

She says the words before she’s really thought about it, before she has a chance to change her mind or get scared at the idea.

“I’m hard to live with,” he says. “I never throw my socks in the laundry hamper and I drink straight from the milk carton. I’ll drive you crazy.”

“You already drive me crazy,” Jessica says. “Besides I have a few bad habits of my own. We’ll learn to live with each other.”

“You sure about this? It’s what you want, right? You’re not just letting me move in because I have nowhere else to go?”

“No,” Jessica says. “It’s what I want. Come live with me.” She realizes that she doesn’t feel terrified at this idea at all. It feels right and she can’t imagine living with anyone else.

———————————————–

Madison and Marshall kept following each other all around campus, flirting and talking. She still only has a low two bolts with him, but so far he’s one of the top guys she has chemistry with. She is very picky and doesn’t have really high chemistry with anyone she’s met!

Edwin did come around a couple of times to visit Darcy, but he ended up not being in any of the pictures.

This is the graduation picture I took for Richard:

Spring 2013 grades:
Darcy: A+, junior, 3.7 GPA
Richard: A, senior, 3.6 GPA – graduated

Title song: “Crazy for this Girl” by Evan and Jaron

Prom, Spring 2013: George Tang is 15; Madison Craig, Anna Sutton, Dewey Richard, Bryant Smith, and Mona Wiggins are 17

“George?” Zane Smith asks. “Why are you calling me at home?”

“Mr. Smith, I have a proposition for you.” George Tang is ready for his moment of greatness. And this is the first step to put him on that path. “I’d like to offer my band, Two-Bit Karma, to provide the music at prom.”

“What?” Zane asks.

“We’ve been practicing every day,” George goes on. “We’re really good and I guarantee that everyone will love the music.”

“George,” Zane says, “I appreciate the offer, but we already have a DJ scheduled to provide the music–”

“We’ll do it for free,” George says quickly.

Zane is quiet for a moment, then he says, “You do know how to play songs everyone has heard of, right?”

###

This year’s prom theme is Romance in the City. Anna’s date is Dewey, of course. They’ve become a pretty solid couple and have both decided to attend PSU next fall so they’ll be together for college.

Madison is going stag this year. She’s given everyone an earful lately about girl power and not needing a date to have a good prom night.

Anna and Dewey are the first ones on the dance floor, while Two-Bit Karma plays with all they’ve got.

Mona vowed that she would stay away from Connor Dawn after he gave her such a terrible prom night last year. But he’s not easily dissuaded and follows her into the bathroom when the chaperones aren’t looking.

“You don’t really hate me, do you?” he asks, giving her puppy dog eyes.

Well, it’s just a stupid school dance. Might as well makeout with the guy who’s there and willing, Mona decides. High school will be over in a few more weeks and then she can put Pine Hollow and Connor Dawn behind her. In the meantime, what’s the harm in having a little fun?

When they emerge from the bathroom, Mona spots the one person that she always tries to avoid. Connor still thinks Madison is hot, and Mona knows that. Why does loudmouthed, sports playing Madison Craig always have to look so pretty? She parades herself around school in those little outfits just to get attention from the boys. Mona can’t stand it.

“Stay away from Connor,” she growls at Madison.

“You can keep Connor,” Madison says. “I don’t want him.”

Then Madison does the unthinkable. She knows prom night is not the night to give noogies, but she couldn’t resist. Mona’s big head was just right there, tempting her to do it.

“You, Madison Craig, are the biggest jerk in this entire school,” Mona says, poking a finger into Madison’s chest. “You’re not as hot and special as you think you are and I can’t wait until the day someone puts you in your place.”

“Stay just like that,” Mona says. “I want to remember the moment when you don’t look so pretty.”

Madison has to get out some of her frustrations before she punches Mona in the nose. So she finds Bryant and grabs him in a headlock for a noogie.

But the difference with Bryant is, he doesn’t mind. Because this is Madison and he’ll even take a noogie for the chance to be close to her.

“Do you think I’m a jerk?” Madison asks.

“Is this a trick question?” Bryant asks.

“Can I tell you something?” Madison asks. “I know I said I was happy going to prom alone and I didn’t care if all the other girls had dates, but I kind of hoped to find a really hot, nice guy who would pick me up in a limo and take me out to dinner and tell me how pretty I look. Is that so much to ask?”

“I don’t think so,” Bryant says. He hesitates a moment, then says, “Madison? For the record, I’ve always thought you looked pretty. Prom night and every night.”

“Thanks, that’s really sweet,” she says. She sighs as she looks across the dance floor. “So what should we do with the rest of our senior prom night?”

“Well, you could sit here all night being alone,” Bryant says. “Or you could dance. With me.”

Madison considers it a moment, then says, “Okay. But just as friends, got it?”

But they don’t get very far. “Hey, Madison,” Connor says. “Sorry about what happened with Mona. You know if you’re interested, I drove my car tonight. It’s got a nice, roomy backseat.”

“Ugh,” Madison says, shuddering. “I’m not brave enough to see what kind of diseases I can pick up from a leech like you, Connor.”

“Come on, Mads,” Connor says, moving closer to her. “I haven’t forgotten that time I kissed you.”

Bryant has wanted to be Madison’s knight in shining armor from that first night at the movie theater. And he thinks that now just might be the one and only chance he has.

So he takes it.

And he’s pleased with the results.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Madison says. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, but…” Bryant shrugs.

Madison smiles as she looks at him. Maybe Bryant isn’t as bad as she thought. Definitely not her dream guy, but he’s not a bad friend. She leans toward him, but Bryant isn’t expecting her sudden movements and is startled, bumping his chin into her nose.

“Are you okay?” he exclaims.

Madison laughs. “I’m fine. Just stay still.”

Maybe he deserves one kiss. It is prom night after all.

Two-Bit Karma has been playing all night long, energized by the dancing couples all around them.

This is the start of something big, George can feel it. In his mind, he’s already playing to huge sold out crowds, all screaming his name.

###

Anna and Dewey slipped away from prom early. His parents are gone for the weekend and it’s just the two of them, alone in his room.

He smells like aftershave and soap. Anna giggles nervously as his lips tickle her cheeks and neck.

“Are you sure?” he asks. “We can stop if you want to.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to stop. I’m sure.”

Yes, she’s nervous and scared, but not anything like she was the first time. She’s sure. Because this boy she trusts completely. This boy says he loves even the huge ugly zit on her chin that makeup couldn’t quite cover up.

And later, when they entwine their fingers together and lay there, just looking at each other, she’s happy.

Mini-update, Spring 2013: Audrey Sutton is 23, Sinjin Couderc is 33, Sunny Sutton is 54

“You sure about this?” Christy Toyanaga asks.

Audrey nods. “I think so. I think it’s time.”

Christy smiles. “I do too. You’re ready. Just remember everything you’ve learned here.”

There’s one last good-bye to say, the hardest one of all.

She never came here expecting to meet someone like him. But now all of her thoughts revolve around him. She wouldn’t have made the progress she has without his friendship.

“Hey,” she says.

“Hey,” he answers.

“So my mom will be here any minute now to pick me up.”

He nods slowly. “Yeah.”

“You know,” she says, tilting her head to the side as she looks at him and tries to ignore the aching in her heart, “you could come with me.”

He shakes his head. “No, I can’t. Not yet. I left too early the other times I’ve been here. When I leave next time I want to make sure it’s for good.”

“Then I could stay here,” she says. “All you have to do is tell me not to go.”

“No,” Sinjin says. “You’re ready. You need to go home.”

His kiss is light on her lips, but it sends tingles throughout her body. She wants more, but she knows there isn’t time and this isn’t the place. They’ve already made the promises of dates and picnics and lazy afternoons together, once he’s finished his stay at Oaktowne Place.

“Don’t forget about me,” she tells him.

“That would be impossible,” he says.

Sunny and Audrey drive back to Pine Hollow in silence. When Sunny finally pulls into the driveway in front of the little house where Audrey grew up, she looks over at her daughter.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” she asks.

Audrey smiles. “I’m sure, Mom. I’m ready.”

———————————————

Audrey entered rehab in Spring 2011 and now leaves in Spring 2013. She learned what she needed to learn (lifelong happiness and anger management) and so she was ready to go back home and reconnect with life outside of rehab. As part of her leaving rehab, she was able to reroll her lifetime want. So now instead of wanting to become a Professional Party Guest (probably not the best career choice for someone who has a problem with alcohol and drugs), she wants to have 10 dream dates.

Title comes from “Hanging On” by Cheyenne Kimball.

Spring 2013: Sarah Lloyd is 54, Zared Smith is 30, Carol Smith is 27, Adam and Ethan Smith are 2 (Ian Lloyd and Nancy Crawford are 23, Jason Menon is 45)

It’s hard to find time for yourself when you have two-year-old twins. It seems that as soon as Zared and Carol find a moment for a quick kiss, one of the boys decides he needs attention right away.

They know they’re lucky — the boys are good babies and get along well with each other. But they still need constant attention and it’s hard balancing family with full time jobs.

So they’re thankful that Zared’s sister Sarah lives with them. They don’t know how they would have managed without an extra hand around the house to help out.

Sarah is looking forward to becoming a grandmother. She might have liked to have another child, back when she was young, but things didn’t turn out that way with the divorce and all. So Ian has always been her only baby and now she’s both nervous and excited about her baby having a baby of his own.

She tries to give Ian and Nancy advice about parenting when they stop by, but they suffer from a condition that many young people suffer from: thinking they already know everything they need to know.

“This’ll be easy,” Ian says. He’s been reading lots of parenting books lately and honestly, it doesn’t sound that hard. Feed the kid, change the diaper, put him or her to sleep. What’s hard about that?

It doesn’t even look hard. Ethan is taking a nap and Adam is playing quietly with his toys.

While Sarah goes to prepare lunch, Ian picks up Adam and takes a look at him. “You’re not so bad, are you?” he asks.

“Why does everyone think this parenting thing is so hard?” Ian asks. “Look, I can totally hold a baby without making him cry.”

“Look, Nance,” Ian says, “I’ll make a great daddy. Little kids love me.”

Ethan wakes up from his nap and Nancy goes to get him, to see if this baby thing is as easy as Ian makes it seem. Well, Ethan doesn’t scream in terror when she picks him up, so that’s a good sign.

They are cute and cuddly, Nancy admits to herself.

“We have this parenting thing down,” Ian says.

###

Sarah has been dating Jason Menon for a long time. He’s a bit younger than her, but he’s sweet and kind and showers her with affection.

He even gets along really well with her family. He and Zared have become like best friends.

Even though they’ve been together a long time, it still comes as a shock when Jason looks at her during their date and says, “Why don’t we get married?”

“What?” she asks. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Jason says. “I love you, you love me. Let’s just do it.”

“I can’t get married,” Sarah says.

“Why not?”

“I–I’ve already been married.”

“And you’ve been divorced a long time. You are allowed to get married again.”

She’s never considered it before, but now that the idea is in her head, it would be kind of nice to be married again. To have constant companionship like Zared and Carol. But…

“Zared and Carol need my help with the babies,” Sarah says. “I can’t get married and leave them.”

“They’ll survive,” Jason says.

Sarah shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Jason sighs. “Okay. How about this? The twins will be starting school in a year and a half, right? Zared and Carol won’t need your help as much then. We’ll just wait and get married once the twins have started school.”

“You would wait that long?” Sarah asks, smiling.

“I’ve already waited fifteen years,” Jason says. “What’s another year and a half?”

###

“You’re up late,” Sarah says when she gets home from her date.

“I was starving,” Carol says. She glances around to make sure the door to her bedroom is still shut, then lowers her voice. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure,” Sarah says, smiling.

“I think I’m pregnant! I haven’t even told Zared yet, but I took a test and it came out positive. Can you believe it? We just stopped using birth control and I didn’t really think we’d get pregnant again so soon.”

Sarah smiles. “Congratulations. I’m really happy for you.”

But her smile fades as she turns around. She can’t even make herself tell Carol her own good news about her engagement. What’s the point? Zared and Carol will need her for a few years longer now.

——————————————-

The Smith baby is due Winter 2013/2014.

Just random FYI: The game doesn’t recognize any relationship between Sarah’s boyfriend Jason Menon and Waylon Menon, but in my head I think of them as cousins. So Waylon is now staying at Jason’s apartment during his separation from Tammie.

Nancy’s stomach shouldn’t really be that big. She’s in her second trimester, but you know there’s that bug with second trimester bellies looking like third trimester whenever the Sim is on a lot other than their own home.

Just one birthday this winter — little Caleb Gates is now one year old! It’s hard to tell in that shirt from this angle, but mom Chelsea is currently in her second trimester with baby number three.

And here’s a better shot of Caleb’s face. He got his mom’s nose and that’s really the only thing that I can say at this point definitely resembles one parent over the other. We’ll have to see as he gets older if he took after Xander any. I swear his eyebrows look black, but he grew up into brown hair so now I’m not sure! But he did get Grandpa Orion’s curly hair.