AfterwardsThe morning after she’d completed the challenge, Ally spent some of her accumulated lifetime happiness points on a Clean Slate and went out on a date with her husband.
Their first stop was Tasty Treats and Tomes, for a romantic child-free celebration meal. It didn’t quite work out as planned. First they put their plates down on separate tables and then both had pathing issues when they tried to sit down and eat. The ‘romantic’ part worked OK, though.
They looked ready to spend the rest of the day proving how irresistible they found each other. Eventually, I gave up on the food and sent them over to the theatre to see
Simdonia in June. They both enjoyed the film and, clearly inspired by the way those foreign Sims did things, Billy presented his wife with a bouquet as they were leaving.
Overcome by the romance of it all, they rushed back inside for some backstage woohoo – and Billy notched up his second celebrity disgrace
.
They got home just in time to cheer as Herb Robert celebrated his young adult birthday…
…but narrowly missed seeing Thistle age up to teen.
Now that there was a space in the household, I temporarily turned off ageing and started moving in the unmarried townies, one at a time, for Young Again potions. Some of them really made themselves at home.
Then Ally’s adult and elder children had the same treatment. Iris, as the eldest living child, was first.
I’d had a vague feeling that Fluellen wasn’t the only one with the pyromaniac trait but the game was so hectic at that point that I wasn’t at all sure. It turned out that it was Iris, as a result of her genie heritage. She also appeared to have some other special powers. Maybe it’s a side effect of wearing all those superhero outfits.
Not only could she pass through walls while looking in the fridge for leftovers but she found some food that I didn’t know was there – a plate of ambrosia.
Nigella, who had apparently inherited her father’s cooking talent, had taken to playing with the toy oven – although she never seemed happy with the results.
Her big sister sitting down next to her and tucking into a divine meal just emphasised her own inadequacies as a cook. Angelica seemed put out as well – maybe she’d had her eye on that ambrosia for herself.
When Val moved in for his rejuvenation, I discovered the explanation for his hitting on his mother during her brief time in the police force – the game no longer recognised their relationship. Then, while fixing that and checking on everyone else, I realised that the family was one child short. Poor Lotus had been accidentally left behind in Hidden Springs. I went back into an earlier save and retrieved her.
Once the town’s population was set up the way I wanted it, ageing was turned back on, with extended young adult and adult life stages but the others left on the medium setting. Then I installed NRaas Story Progression and waited to see what would happen. The answer was very little: there was a pop-up to say that Zinnia had proposed to Dandelion and there were a few house moves and promotions but that was about it. I’ve been tweaking the settings but suspect they’re not right yet. If Ally hasn’t acquired in-laws and grandchildren by the time she ages up to elder, I’ll start moving people in again and take a direct hand in their futures.
Angelica and Kale had birthdays…
…and winter arrived…
…provoking an outbreak of eccentric behaviour from the Flowers.
Ally spent some more points. Naturally, her adored firstborn was the first to benefit from the philosopher’s stone.
Poppy hadn’t seen snow before.
Eventually, she agreed to stop building snowmen and go inside to regain her life and youth.
She was followed by Primrose and Lupin, although I don’t seem to have taken any screenshots of their revivals.
Kale had another birthday…
...and so did Thyme.
The children were growing up fast. There were now only four left at home and Thistle would also be growing up and moving out soon. The house was starting to feel empty, especially during the day when the kids were at school. Well, Alison was an expert at dealing with that kind of problem.
Since there were no chimes and Ally was now Simmune to morning sickness, it wasn’t obvious whether they’d Tried for Baby successfully. Ally seemed convinced, though…
…and she turned out to be right. As soon as the pregnancy was confirmed, she rushed outside to give Billy the good news.
At long, long last, they were going to have
their family.
