Chapter 11 -- The First 10 Points and Free DayA compact has been agreed upon by Lewis Zest and the Watcher, to wit:
Lewis will not sabotage the Zest Family Dynasty.
Lewis will allow the Watcher to narrate and record events as the Watcher sees fit.
Lewis will speak courteously to the Watcher.
In return, the Watcher agrees to refrain from giving Lewis the Grilled Cheese aspiration and from giving his lot the Cursed lot trait.
"You might have told me I'd be doing all the cooking from now on."
(And if you'd paid attention, you'd have noticed that your father did much of the cooking for your family.)
"I always thought that was because he enjoyed cooking."
(And you might come to enjoy cooking, too. Cooking, cleaning, and repairing, although I provided you with the Gnomes lot trait, so you might not have to repair things too often.)
"Now this is something I'll never learn to enjoy."
(I can understand that. But if you wait for someone else to clean, you might find that it's broken, too.)
"Ugh."
"Watcher, I love Hazel, I really do, but watching her eat, or should I say, devour a fish taco..."
(It does destroy the mood a bit. I'll try to get you on a different eating schedule.)
"I thought you said fish tacos had 0 calories. How did she get so fat in so short a time?"
(It's not fat. It's a baby.)
As he left for work, Lewis noticed Manuel playing with the dollhouse.
"Watcher, I keep getting this insane urge to stomp on that dollhouse. I don't understand -- Manuel's not a child, why would I want to break his dollhouse?"
(Who can explain the strange compulsions that Sims get? Just keep walking. Once you get to work you won't be tempted anymore.)
At work, Lewis discovered a couple of elements while practicing analysis, which helped him finish the third milestone of his aspiration. And soon he was promoted to level 3 of the Science career.
Meanwhile...
"Now that Amber's destroyed the dollhouse, I'm not obsessing about it."
(You could make Manuel very happy by fixing it for him.)
"Yeah, but then I'd keep wanting to break it again."
The Zest-Houser family occasionally congregates in the living-room, some to watch television, others to block their view. From left to right, that's Hazel, Manuel, Lewis, Katlin, Norah, and Amber.
Manuel had received his second notice that day, but his older sister Katlin was the first to go. Because she'd been so fit and active as a gym trainer, she'd lived quite a bit longer than the norm for elder Sims.
Grim had a word of advice for Lewis, "and for that gal in the purple skivvies behind you. There's a special place in my realm for people who destroy dollhouses."
Lewis gulped. "I never..."
"You were thinking about it," said Grim.
Manuel died the next morning. He'd been a gentle, childish soul who spent much of his time at the hospital being examined for various ailments. Ojo knew him well.
After doing some digging, Lewis had the metal and crystal he needed to make a Sim Ray. He's developing a relationship with the Invention Constructor, too.
(Some things never get old.)
"Watcher, this is the first time I've frozen someone with the Sim Ray."
(First time for you, maybe tenth time for me. Like I said, it never gets old.)
Unfortunately, the Watcher forgot about the fire-setting propensity of the Sim Ray and told Lewis to see if he could make something out of the rubble of the dollhouse. The result was -2 points for a fire.
"Which wasn't my fault."
(I agree, Lewis. Now, can we move on?)
Despite dancing to pop music and never eating carrots, Hazel gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, Houser Zest. The good news is that Elsa Bjergsen's third child was a girl.
"Look, no matter what anyone says, I don't hate you. I just felt kind of tense about the idea of having you. And now that you're here, I think we might actually become good friends."
(I'm not seeing any angry or tense moodlets. It could be that you're fine with babies; it's just children you don't like.)
"And toddlers. I've got a feeling I could really dislike toddlers."
(You and EA both.)
(Lewis, are you torturing that child by making him wait for the toilet?)
"No, I'm showing him which screwdriver to use. It's important that he learns this stuff before moving into a house where there aren't any helpful gnomes. Speaking of which, why didn't the gnomes take care of this?"
(Beats me. Maybe they only show up once a week. Why don't you let Houser run along and play?)
"Sure. Dynasty lesson over for the day, kid. And Watcher, guess what? Apparently I don't hate children that are my own. Or maybe I don't hate ones that I'm good friends with. Anyway, no angry moodlets when Houser's around -- isn't that great?"
(Hey, little fellow. Are you doing okay?)
"Yeah. I'm just feeling kind of sad about Grandmother Katlin."
(But you never even met...oh, you've got the gloomy trait, don't you.)
"Sigh, yes I do. Anyway, my dad's going to come and play with me as soon as he finishes his game with Aunt Norah."
(Lewis! Norah will never become good friends with you if she catches you cheating. And what kind of example is that to set for your son?)
"Help! Help! Monster under the bed! Wake up, everyone!"
"Grumble, grumble...we put the anti-monster light in his bedroom, but does he sleep in there, no. No one in this house sleeps where they are supposed to. Grumble, grumble."
(Oh quit grousing. We'll get an anti-monster light for this room, too, and once you've finished spraying, you can take a disco nap.)
The days flew by until the Watcher realized that it had been 10 days since Ojo became an elder.
"I can't believe this is the first time we've been together since I got married. Did I tell you that Hazel and I had the ceremony in the foyer here? How are you guys doing?"
"Your dad's still waiting for someone to show up to have a baby delivered. Why didn't you bring Hazel when she was due?"
"Um, the Watcher couldn't manage it. Say, why don't we go over to the house and you can meet little Houser?"
"Son, I just want you to know that I'm proud of all you've done. A level 4 Scientist already -- that's great. And Houser looks healthy and Hazel looks happy...Is there any way you can get that sister of hers to stop prancing around in her underwear? I'm surprised Hazel hasn't said something."
"Not to worry, Dad. Our first free day, Amber is going to get a job -- Norah and Hazel, too. They'll have to dress in street clothes then."
From the house, they went over to the museum.
"Oh, look," said Olivia. "There's my mom and dad. You should go introduce yourself, Lewis. You never did get a chance to know your grandparents."
"Sure thing, Mom," said Lewis.
"You know, it's all starting to make sense," said Ojo. "I think I see the light."
"Alice, Eric, no call for you to cry," said Grim. "I'd have thought you'd be happy to have Ojo join you."
"We are," sobbed Alice, "but we're sad for Olivia and Lewis, too."
"And just where is my grandson?" asked Eric.
"He went to meet you guys," said Grim. "Don't bother him -- he's got enough on his plate already without adding grief to it."
(Good-bye Ojo. You were a great first heir, and did the dynasty proud. Lewis will make sure your tombstone gets placed in the cemetery.)
(And Olivia? Will he make sure she joins me?)
(He'll try. I'll see to it that he invites her over every evening. But you know how hard it is to manage something like that.)
(I know. 'Bye, Watcher, it's been real.)
Lewis picked up 12 points: 4 from satisfaction points, 2 from promotions, 2 from dancing skill, and 4 from becoming good friends with Houser, Molly Edmondson, Kaydence Guinn, and Olivia Zest. He had to get 12 points to offset the -2 from a fire, which was the Watcher's fault.
