When the Zombies Come -- a Cottoneye Decadynasty (COMPLETED)

[MarianT]

Chapter Seven – Elaine Writes Again

Dear Dad,

   My goodness, you vampires live a long time. It almost makes me wish that I…but no, Orion and I could not have married if I’d been one. By the way, this is probably the last time you’ll hear from me. The house is getting rather full, and I’m beginning to find the emotions of the living tiresome. Petrus had some issues to work on when Joy got married, but apparently he’s fine now. He told her husband Jeff that he just wanted to be friends – well, I should think so, but I don’t see why he has to make a song and dance about it. Of course they’re going to be friends; I hope everyone in the household is friends.



   Anyway, he’s as fond of the baby as anyone – that’s your great-grandson, by the way, and do you know his name? You should, because it’s the same as yours – Norman.



   Little Norm is a toddler now, having had a birthday early this morning.



Would you believe he’s walking already?



That’s with a little help from his dad, of course.



   Jaeger had a birthday, too, and is now suffering from a mid-life crisis. Not only is he anxious about this dynasty thing and completing all his requirements, but Cheri, his girlfriend, has joined PATCH – Protest Against the Current Hegemony. Jaeger says its members don’t believe in living with the people they marry. I’m sure it’s a fad that will soon run its course. Anyway, Jaeger has lost some of his hair, but he’s not bald, thank goodness.



   He took a trip to China recently. It was arranged by his company.



Jaeger managed to catch some fish and bring them back with him, something that hasn’t been possible recently.



Unfortunately, he couldn’t get any of the assassin bugs he was supposed to catch. It looks as if there’s an embargo on them, sponsored by PATCH, I think. Well, in this case, I agree with them – they’re nasty, vicious little things.

So long, and don’t accept any wooden Simoleons, Elaine.

[saltpastillen]

I hope PATCH membership doesn't become to widespread, and that there is harmony in the house from now on.

[RainBeau]

I love how you worked the patch in! It's wreaking havoc but at least you have a good sense of humour about it! It reminds me of Schipperke's SWAP (Sims With Awful Personalities)> I am sorry you are having troubles though.

[SimBlip]

Brilliant how you worked PATCH into the story. I hope the problem will be resolved soon!

[MarianT]

Chapter Eight – Thank You Notes

   Joy sighed. Writing was not her favorite activity. There were so many other things she would rather do. Inventing, for example, or being creative with Jeff in the wardrobe.



   But considering how old Norman had gotten to be…



…it was high time she wrote and thanked people for their wedding wishes.



Dear Mom,
   You honestly didn’t need to send us a card since we still see you around the house from time to time, but I’m glad that you want me and Jeff to have a happy future together. Enclosed is a picture of Norman that only a grandmother could love – he’s upset because breakfast isn’t coming fast enough.



Dear Papa Ayers,

   Thanks so much for your card encouraging Jeff to relax and enjoy being imprisoned by his ball and chain. We got a big laugh out of it – I can see where he gets his sense of humor. Here’s a picture of Norman getting his favorite toy – an alligator.



Dear Aiden Jones,

   Thanks so much for coming to the wedding, and for your card wishing us a long and happy marriage. Jaeger might not be the only scientist in the family – as you can see, Norman has a strong interest in computers.



Dear Aunt Hope,

   Even though you sent us the card before you died, it’s taken me a long time to get around to responding to your kind thoughts. I hope you’ll forgive me. I really don’t know where the time goes. We celebrated Norman’s birthday today. Obviously, I didn’t eat enough watermelons, but I’m so happy with my little (now big) boy. I’m sending this to the mausoleum in hopes it will reach you.



   Whew! Joy was glad that was done. Now she could turn her attention to important matters, like whether Petrus would ever find true love (maybe casting love charms isn’t the way to go).



And whether Jaeger would ever manage to get over his mid-life crisis. Sure, he has a lot to worry about – five challenges still to complete in the next two weeks – but staring at his wrinkles isn’t going to accomplish anything.

[SimBlip]

You have such clever constructs for your chapters. One never knows, how you are going to present the next flow of information.
It makes your story a very pleasant read!

[RainBeau]

Yes, the "responding to thank you notes" angle was an interesting way to update!

[MarianT]

Chapter Nine – Two Proposals and a Makeover

   Even within one Sim household, there are a multitude of stories. To begin with, there’s Petrus, who finally managed to reach the point where he could propose to Bettina.



   Unfortunately, after they exchanged rings, she informed him that she was a member of PATCH and not at all interested in moving in with him and having a baby. She stuck around for a while the next morning, but after she left to go to work, Petrus didn’t see her again until she returned as a paparazzi. When she tried to attack the pea-shooter and became a zombie, he saw that she had become an elder as well. “If only she’d move in with me, I could make an elixir for her to restore her youth,” he lamented to Joy. “But what’s the point when she’s never around?” The wedding presents were a bittersweet consolation.



   Joy, meanwhile, was struggling with a mid-life crisis. She tried a magical makeover, but the suit the mirror picked out for her was overly dressy, not something she wanted to wear while gardening or inventing (although Jeff seemed to find it attractive).



   She went to the salon and found a nice dress there.



Ultimately Joy settled on an outfit that really brought back the early days of her marriage – maternity clothes.



   “And little Wilfred was so happy to get a baby brother that he promised never to play any pranks again,” she read to Norman. There’s a reason they call it fiction.



   Norman’s childhood has been fairly happy. He plays king of the dining room.



He goes to school – in his athletic clothes.



Just recently he received his badges for knot-tying and fishing.



   And what about Jaeger? He’s reached the top of his career and is making friends with the service people of Riverview. His technique is unusual – he cures the zombies who show up at the house, which makes them his friends, and then he asks them what their career is. Graham Esposito is an aspiring magician.



   Petrus decided it was high time his brother started to think about settling down, so he hit him with a love charm.



   Jaeger immediately called Cheri and invited her over.

   “I just need to make two more friends and grow some cheese – can you wait just a little while longer to marry me?”



   Cheri thought it was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard, but then she’s hopeless. Even so, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to live with him. “I’ll move in with you when it snows,” she said.

   Jaeger smiled. He was pretty sure that could be arranged.

[SimBlip]

Argh! This PATCH club is so tragic!
I hope the snow will come soon.

[Louise56]

Let us hope it snow soon! Awesome story.

[MarianT]

Chapter Ten – Upheaval

   Time was not standing still in the Cottoneye family. Joy went into labor while she was on her way to a party.



She hurried home, and soon little Prudence joined the family.



   Also Norman became a teenager.



   The most active person, however, has been Jaeger. He decided not to wait for his cheese plants to fruit but instead played a cameo in a show at the Cottoneye Theatre. It was the role of a mad scientist, so it didn’t require much acting. After that, he made friends with the mail woman, the child delivering the newspaper, and last but not least, the repairperson.



   Then Cheri called and invited him to a party. Jaeger picked up a bunch of flowers and hurried over.



   While he and Cheri were flirting with each other, she decided to grill some hot dogs. When Jaeger distracted her with a kiss, the hot dogs caught fire. Luckily, some of the guests chipped in to put out the fire, and Jaeger called the fire department.



   Even though Cheri was willing to marry Jaeger, she still didn’t want to move in with him.



   “That’s not really a problem,” said Jaeger. “The rule of this dynasty I’m in is that I have to move in with you. So we don’t have to wait until the snowflakes fly.”

   “We don’t?” said Cheri. She considered for a moment whether this would be acceptable to PATCH. “Well, okay then!”

[SimBlip]

Ha! That's excellent news! So pleased that the PATCH issues can be resolved!
Well done, Marian!

[MarianT]

Chapter Eleven – Ooh la la!

   If you’re a hopeless romantic, there is really only one place you want to visit on your honeymoon – France.



   As soon as they got off the plane, Cheri got a new wardrobe and a new hairstyle.  Jaeger was duly appreciative.



Very appreciative.



   Afterwards, they went over to the nectary. While Jaeger bought a nectar maker and picked some grapes, Cheri sat and sipped a glass. She felt deliciously happy – content with her marriage and pleased with the way she looked. She felt elegant and chic and, well, French.



   All too soon she had to return home. Whether it was the plane trip or the nectar, Cheri didn’t know, but she woke up feeling sick the next morning.



   Nevertheless, she felt well enough later in the day to go to City Hall and change her name. She was now Cherie Cottoneye, adding the “e” to her first name because a couple of people in Champs les Sims had told her that was the feminine form.



   Upon her return home Cherie read about her wedding in the paper. She didn’t think “quaint” was the right word – “hectic” rather, because of the fire, maybe even “explosive.”



   Thank-you notes came next. Cherie was surprised at the number of ghosts who had sent them presents, not only Jaeger’s parents but also one of his former co-workers, Meadow Carpenter-Rhodes.



Her favorite present was the Scholar’s Rock, which looked very nice in the garden.



   Cherie might have felt a bit depressed about having to leave France, but Jaeger had a surprise for her. Visiting his family, he’d been reminded of how pleasant it was to have an upstairs deck (he’d also played a bit with his niece Prudence).



   When she went upstairs, she discovered that Jaeger had set up a rooftop garden for her, planting in pots all the grapes they had brought home from France.



   A rocking chair made the place ideal, especially for someone expecting a baby.



   The baby – Cherie thought she was going to be pregnant forever, but finally the labor pains began. Jaeger and her sister Shannan freaked out immediately, which Cherie considered ridiculous.



   She told them to go away and leave her alone, but as soon as they did, the pains really started.



While she was in France, Cherie had learned the perfect name for a boy in the Cottoneye family, the French for hunter – Chasseur. It was different, it was unique, it was parfait – the perfect name for a perfect baby.

[SimBlip]

Oh-la-la, indeed!
I always laugh at the wedding announcement in the paper. They get it totally wrong most of the time.
The game doesn't seem to take into account whether it was a big do or a private affair either.
Anyway, so happy Jaeger and Cherie finally found marital bliss!
I thought the little one might be called Chasseur... The name has a double entendre in France, though.

[MarianT]

Oh dear, I didn't know that. Well, I was planning on calling him Chase for short.