Chapter 40 - Quit Slacking, Watcher!Writer's Note: This chapter is brought to you by: a really slow day at work where not much of the stuff I actually get paid to do got done, but during which I talked myself into going straight home and completely finishing off Rose's requirements. That hasn't happened yet, but we're much closer now.
A full sim-week had passed since the arrival of little Chimo into the Morven household. And it couldn't be denied that the little guy demanded all of the attention of everyone in the family. But Rose and Norman were especially at Chimo's beck-and-call.
Chimo was a clingy child, especially where his father was concerned. He did nearly everything with Norman by his side, and wouldn't have it any other way. Norman couldn't help but seriously question whether or not the child would have fared as well with his other parents, as he had with him. And once again, Norman was so, so grateful for the opportunity he had been given to raise his youngest child himself.
But the sheer amount of attention Chimo was getting when compared with the other sims in the house hadn't gone completely unnoticed by the others. Sure, he was a toddler, and he needed encouragement and support, but the fact remained that he was a spare, not an heir, and that the existing heirs and their requirements weren't
quite progressing as quickly as some would have liked.
And Harley, who had recently taken it upon herself to learn as much as she could about the ins and outs of Dynasty life, including its requirements, couldn't help but notice this.
"Not good enough, not good enough!" Harley muttered, pacing the floor. She was clearly engaged in a deeply enthralling, and highly animated, conversation with herself.
"We're not making progress, and time is slipping away!" She continued. "Weddings and parties, skills and collections. Progress, no progress. Children and grandchildren, aspirations and angelfish. Not enough, not enough, there's just not enough! Promotions! We need more promotions! Bestsellers, three more! Good friends – lots! How on earth will Gerald ever speak civilly to someone long enough for them to become good friends? Camping trips, camping mascots, away we go! But no time, no time for the children. Chimo, it's Chimo's fault!"
Her frustration was building, and I couldn't help but share in it. Eight sims in the house? Who ever thought I'd be able to manage that? I guess this is how it's going to be, from here on in.
"Priorities," Harley decided. "Gerald needs to set his priorities straight." She sounded resolute. "I must speak with him about his priorities. He's never cared about the dynasty he said, just a bunch of stupid rules, he said. Well he'll care soon, if he doesn't work this out. Max mischief, perform voodoo, plug some drains. And a wedding! We need to have a wedding!"
It all seemed too much. She couldn't figure it all out herself, but no one else seemed terribly concerned. Even Henry had grown slack after an initial burst of woohoo with the ladies of the town. And he was hardly flying through the ranks of the secret agent career, either. Edith was an adult now, but who knew how quickly she would be able to progress through the science career without the watcher ever being able to give her any attention at the lab?
Harley examined herself in the mirror. She just wanted to take a nap, but she felt like too much napping was what had gotten her into this mess. When had the weight of the dynasty fallen to her shoulders, rather than those of Iris or Rose? Gerald wanted,
needed her to find answers, but why was she the one carrying the family? When would Gerald pick up the slack? He had work to do, too. Chief of Mischief should have been simple. He should have finished it as a teenager. Why hadn't he?
Then there was Chimo. Harley blamed him. Maybe keeping him was a bad idea after all – children were so much work now! All the work Norman was putting into teaching Chimo how to be a decent toddler could have been better spent on other projects. On
her child, perhaps.
She thought about her inevitable, impending motherhood more and more often, now. Almost as much as she thought about the wedding. When she'd first moved in, she agreed she wasn't ready. But now? The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Her twin sister Rosa was pregnant now; Henry's child of course. If her relationship to Andrew made her head spin (both half-siblings as well as cousins), how much more did this one. Her...nephew? She supposed he would be her nephew twice – both by blood and by marriage. Weird.
Either way, she looked forward to it now. To raising a child, that was. She would be a good mother, she decided resolutely, and even if she wasn't, there was Iris and Rose and the others to help. She even thought maybe Gerald would make an okay father. He'd helped with Chimo's potty training. Once.
But of greatest concern to Harley was how much Rose herself had left to do. Mainly in the friendship department. Rose wanted to have bestsellers in the family museum – nothing else would be good enough. And so she was spending far too much writing when she needed to be socialising. Especially with her grandchildren. Harley thought she needed to visit the Goth girl and make friends with the twins. Would a toddler grandchild outside the home suffice as a friend for the six friends requirement? Harley wondered.
Rose would have an easy time making friends, Harley was sure of that. But Gerald would struggle. Gerald made enemies, not friends. Gerald was rude and abrasive when it came to keeping civil company. Even with her, his manner was often curt and impatient. They had a very
romantic relationship, but often had to work at their friendship. And that was with her! How Gerald would fare with sims outside the household, Harley would never know.
Finally, having thought about and thought about and over-thought about some more all the woes of the family that she, for whatever reason, felt rested squarely on her shoulders, she turned her attention to me.
"You need to pick up the pace, missy," she chided.
"What do you mean?" I asked, though I knew full well that the problem lay mainly with me.
"You need more focus in your playing. Forget me and Gerald and Chimo. We'll chug right along at our own pace, thank you. You need to think about Rose, first and foremost. Get her fishing maxed, get her friends sorted, get that aspiration finished. Once she's had her Ambrosia, worry about the rest of us."
"Fair point," I replied. "But in order to finish her aspiration, you and Gerald need to tie the knot."
Harley considered this, then nodded. "Fine," she said. "We'll get married tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? But tomorrow is Thursday?"
Harley glared at me. "It is, yes. And if you wanted us to get married on a Saturday, you needed to be paying more attention. We get married in the morning, before we go to work. Henry takes a vacation day - Edith hasn't started working yet, has she? I thought not. The wedding will be tomorrow."
There was no arguing with her.
"Now, where's Gerald?" She asked, pointedly. "I need to sort this out with him, don't I?"
Harley eventually found Gerald in the basement, working on a sculpture.
"Gerald, honey," she said, sweetly, "I need to ask you something."
"Can it wait?" Asked Gerald, "I feel like I've finally got my mojo."
"I think it's waited long enough," Harley replied.
Now, how did they do this on TV shows? Usually on a bridge or in a beautiful garden or something like that. Oh well, the focused room in the basement would have to do. She got down on one knee and pulled out a ring.
"Gerald Morven," she said pointedly, dramatically, with almost a bit too much flair. "Will you marry me? Tomorrow, so that your Mom can finish her aspiration, would be preferable."
"Oh!" Exclaimed Gerald. Funny, this had always been the plan. Why did she even need to bother with the asking. "Wasn't I meant to do that part?"
"Well you were taking your sweet time about it, so I thought I'd do it. It needs to happen, you know. So much depends on it."
Gerald smiled. He fingered the ring Harley had presented in his hands. Trust her to be more on top of these things than he was.
"Oh Harley," he smiled, as he slipped the ring on his finger and examined it thoughtfully. "What would I ever do without you?"
"Fail, probably." Harley replied with a smirk.
But she allowed herself to be enfolded in his embrace all the same.
"They're finally doing it," Henry announced to his mother and sister the following morning. "They're finally tying the knot. Gerald texted me at about 3 in the morning to ask me to be his best man. I accepted, of course."
"So you're still Gerald's BFF?" Rose asked.
"Well duh, Mom. And his partner in crime. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," mused Rose. She just stowed the information to the back of her mind for later.
"Does this mean we have to have a party?" groaned Edith.
"Heck yeah it does!" Henry enthused. He'd been outgoing since he was a child. He actually wondered if it would be possible for him to be more different to his sister than he already was. She hated children; he now had five and counting. He loved meeting new people, she preferred solitude.
"They're part of the dynasty requirements, Edith," Rose explained, though Edith was all too familiar with the dynasty requirements, "so you really should get used to the idea of having several."
Edith let out a rather annoyed sigh.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Gerald finally found the time to call all of his, er, acquaintances, really, to invite them over for a wedding.
He tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, as he kept his voice even and polite.
"Hey, this is Gerald. Yeah, from high school, you remember me, don't you? Say, uh, want to come to my wedding?"
