Chapter Five – Maids and MuralsWe have had to let Bonehilda go. One of the conditions of her employment was that she would help take care of little Jezzie (we’ve decided to call her that, as Jezebel seems a heavy burden for such a small creature). Unfortunately, when Jezzie would cry, Bonehilda would just stand at the crib. She wouldn’t pick up the baby, and she wouldn’t move when Tori wanted to get at the crib.
And when she wasn’t cleaning, she would stand in front of the bathroom mirror and primp. I think it annoyed Tori because she likes to do that herself.
In Bonehilda’s favor, I pointed out that she was very good at doing repairs, especially the dangerous ones. Wouldn’t it be better to have somebody already dead tackle the dishwasher rather than have me risk my life? I asked Tori. She gave me a look and reminded me that doing repairs around the house would help me get a promotion at work. Besides, she added, we needed the extra room in the nursery.
I agree that we need more space, but neither of us has wished for a larger house yet, and the Watcher won’t move us until we do. The result is that I’ve been developing my skill as a muralist on the living room carpet. As long as I clean up afterwards, Tori doesn’t mind – most of the time.
The first mural I did was of a recreational vehicle or mobile home. “That might be nice for family vacations,” she remarked.
The next one was a landscape. “Oh, how pretty!” said Tori. “It kind of reminds me of when we went to China.”
And then I blew it. “Who is THAT?” Tori inquired suspiciously.
“No one in particular,” I said nervously.
“She’s very pretty,” said Tori. “Is she your ideal woman?”
“No,” I said. “You’re my ideal woman.”
Tori didn’t say anything; she just looked at me through slitted eyes.
“Actually, she would look a bit like you if you wore your hair that way,” I added.
“So you don’t like the way I wear my hair?” Luckily for me, the conversation broke off at that point when Tori ran to the bathroom to throw up. Yes, she’s pregnant again. We both want a little boy.
To my relief, she didn’t make any comments at all on the next mural I did, and I didn’t ask for her opinion. It’s not my favorite, but it did win me the opportunity to do murals around town for City Hall.
I will now turn my attention to the other “maid” in the house – Jezzie. It seemed to both Tori and me that she was taking a very long time to become a toddler. Other sims in the bin said that their infancies lasted only a day or so or until the baby became best friends with both parents. “Three days max,” was what I was told. I asked the Watcher about it. She explained that Tori and I had a longer life than most sims, and one consequence of that was that the stages of a life were longer. But she did confide that we could hasten Jezzie’s becoming a toddler by wishing to have a party for her. Out came the cake, and we could finally see what our little girl looked like.
"She's beautiful," I said. "She looks just like you."
Tori laughed. "Dear, she has your hair, and your ears, and she must have inherited her skin color from your side of the family. Plus, her eyes are shaped like yours."
"But they're your color," I said. "Beautiful, just like you."
I’m not sure what the future holds for Jezzie. She might become a gourmet cook.
Or maybe a scientist.
Right now, it looks like her main wish is to be a bunny.
